Selune, in position and in her flow, unleashes the full fury of her ursine power, diving back in to bite as she rips and tears into the feargaunt with both claws.
Elby and Selune savage the feargaunt, their enhanced strikes tearing it to black shreads!
20 Mun
18 Selune
14 Patrick
14 Daratar
13 Bon Jon (Damage: 6, -2 Cha, Shaken)
5 Elby (Damage: 33)
4 Radiarch
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Daratar quickly bandages Bon Jon's bleeding...head? Soul? Who can say? But the bleeding of his psyche is stopped before it can cause much damage.
The gigantic mirror cracks from top to bottom, showering the ground with shards of glass. Dark gray mist, churning like boiling water, seeps from the fissures and forms a shadowy cloud.
“Fated, that one. Bound in threads not of her making, impotently thrashing against them and yet—as long as they tug, she dances.” The voice, coarse and ancient, emanates from a feminine silhouette now visible within.
Far taller than any human, she shakes her head and sets her wild mane of hair dancing between her jagged horns. “She dances on and on, and there you are—running behind her. But who, they ask, threaded the strings?”
The silhouette raises one arm, holding aloft a familiar-looking lantern burning with a cold blue light.
"Introductions now, I suppose. I am Aslynn.” Her tone is heavy with amusement. “I am the weaver, the maker, an inveterate taker. Here I am, dreamers. What now?”
"Oh child, this is neither the time nor the place. My little light has a much longer part to play in the events to come. You'll find out soon enough.”
"What is it worth to pursue the truth? Is that not what you came here seeking? Did you concern yourself with the dangers of dreams before you trusted an unknown ritual?"
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"Yes, we came here seeking the truth... and the return of our colleague. Although it would appear that you have already spirited the latter away."
"The Aslynn we speak to here is a facsimile, an image made of shadow, as is the lantern... would you care to share with us where you have taken the original and what you plan to do with it?"
"Is that all that your eyes see? The lantern, nothing more? A pity, to have such a dullard's view. Still, if nothing else, your blind eyes will lead you through things to come."
You must maintain line of effect to the projected image at all times. If your line of effect is obstructed, the spell ends. If you use dimension door, teleport, plane shift, or a similar spell that breaks your line of effect, even momentarily, the spell ends.
There is nothing suggesting Aslynn is present on the demiplane, making her image impossible according to the known rules of magic.
"Oh, she is gone, away from those who would harm her. For now. Venomous serpents are ever so persistent, aren't they?" A chuckle escapes her silhouette. "Asking about wants is a fool's errand, child. Consider, what does my little light know?"
"The truth!" As she throws head head back in mad cackling, the smoke forming her outline withdraws back into the mirror, the surface resolving to a matte black. The edges of the dreamscape begin to crumble, the stone islands turning to dust in a slow dissolve.
Focusing your minds, you find it easy to slip away from the crumbling dreamscape and back to your physical bodies. As you awaken, you realize hours have passed as you slept, much longer than your incursion in the dreamscape seemed. The Second Archivist, the Kelish ifrit Sandaril, is chatting with Aliyas as you stir.
"Quite fortitious," he says with a clap of his beautifully manicured hands. "Your investigations uncovered this hidden archive. I am pleased to announce that we will be reuniting Aliyas with the library's staff and ensuring that her collection is re-incorporated into the Forae Logos as a whole."
The ghost smiles gently and says, "Thank you all for your efforts. My heart warms to know that I will have this position for as long as my spiritual form remains."
Kreighton Shaine awaits your return eagerly at the Grand Lodge. As you report in for your de-briefing, he immediately ushers you into his office (much to the consternation of an important-looking city official waiting by the door). He listens to your report, and asks probing questions about the woman you met.
"It appears as though that lantern is in the possession of a powerful night hag. We've had... reports of her from agents before, which means that we can proceed and recover Aram Zey's soul soon. I'll be launching additional inquires about Aslynn, that elf and possible planar connections before any further harm befalls his soul! Be assured that you have secured critical intelligence and your accomplishments will not soon be forgotten!"
"Of course, there are just rewards available. I have a few rare items pulled up from the vaults that you may purchase. Just one each, sadly, but please let me know which you wish to have available!"
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Bon Jon is relieved to see the feargaunt dissipate before his eyes and nods in acknowledgment to his comrades. "Master always said, 'Before frying the cucumbers, taste the pickles.'"
He remains silent during the dialogue with Aslynn, appearing to meditate but really just checking his reflection in one of the mirrors to be sure that the damage to his jawline is not *too* grave.
When the group returns to the bosom of Kreighton Shaine, he again remains mainly quiet, simply nodding along as the others fill in the master of scrolls on what they had learned in the land of dreams and occasionally murmuring, "Aye, as master always says, 'there y'go, there y'go...'".
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Elby is also disappointed, though sensible enough to know that she can help no one if she is dead. She is especially intrigued by this elf, who she suspects she will meet again/has already met as a likely target for redemption. She offers an apology to Venture-Captain Valsin, as well as promise to be ready should there be a future expedition to find the hag.
She looks over the offered items, leafing through the book for a few moments before settling on the seducer's bane.
She thanks each of her companions for their help during this mission, as she would have been totally lost otherwise, before taking her leave.
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Daratar congratulates Aliyas on her new role.
Back at the Grand Lodge he expresses regret to the Master of Scrolls that they were unable to intercept 322 before Aslynn was able to spirit the elf and the lantern beyond the parties grasp. Although speculates that 322 probably managed to get enough of a head start that catching her would have been extremely unlikely. That said he offers his services if any more help is needed with tracking down Aslynn and the lantern.
Looking at the available items he plumps for the lesser ring of revelation, he can't use it himself but he knows someone who might like it and may just have the ability to get it to them.
Finally he bids his companions farewell and good luck, before creeping off towards an especially dark patch of nearby shadow and disappearing into the darkness.