Fifth Adventure 03: The Long Night

"you know if this dosnt get the party killed i may just do it myself"

puts his hand on the wall

Zeiss, on his horse, and Higaide are the last ones.

"After you."

"Whatever."

*Walks into the portal.*

"Oh frell..."

Zeiss is the last one. He looks around, still not sure. Then he brings his horse near the wall.

Hanuel, Zeiss, Higaide, Snarg, Sethos, and Caladrius all emerge from the door into a vast hall which lights up as they enter. The area is sprawling, and as you blink into the light you realize its design and style is similar to the catacombs you were in before. Turning around, you realize with a jolt that there is no door behind you, from where you just came.

"...The others aren't here. I hope we are finished with whatever that was."

Zeiss looks around for an exit, with his ring still on.

"Wha ... what's this place bein' now? This gettin' darker an' darker." Snarg comments, beginning to wander around the immediate area.

A few seconds later, Z, Rory, Fierneceal, Tabran, and Kolson emerge from thin air just behind the group.

With the full group assembled, they realize three things in rapid succession as the room finishes lighting up. The young Elven boy is standing in the middle of the room, unsteady on his feet, and a strange energy is emanating from him towards the far end of the room, which is creating a force field blocking the furthest edge of the room entirely. Past that forcefield is a creature of nightmares.

The Nightmare is much easier to see now in the light. It looks like grown Obsidian, very sharp and angular, with chunks of it breaking off here and there to give it a broken appearance. Its legs are similarly a constant sharp slab of Obsidian, terminating in impossibly sharp claws which look like they can stretch out into further claws. It has no face to speak of, nor any features whatsoever save the two yellow slits that you assume are its eyes. At the moment it only has five legs extended, but as you observe two more 'grow' from the Obsidian core, erupting outward and sending shards of the black material everywhere before they terminate in two long, grasping claws.

The flat, inflectionless voice echoes horribly in the room. "You see what horrors your world produces. Let's see what you produce." It 'stands' taller, and starts moving towards a doorway you spot on the far wall. "Kill the child, the field will drop, and rage can be had against me. Spare the child, and watch me go, and I will promise your friend will live." The eyes seem to glow brighter. "Choose."

"Go then and give Kez back, Shadow! We will not murder this boy!"

"NO!" Rory thunders. "I would ask you questions first."

Fierneceal steps forward and stops just short of the child. "No. We will not kill him just to prove our wrath."

Snarg blinks several times, his sword dropping to his side to hit the floor. He composes himself quickly and responds to the Nightmare: "What kinda game ya playin'?" he says loudly, "we ain't gonna be killin' some boy. Ya gonna be givin' 'em both an' get on ya way!"

Hanuel:
Just looking at the boy you can tell he's Water Affinity, and yet... not. Something is very wrong with him, something you recognize from before, in a cave north of a town called Kheynth.

Tabran:
The boy does not look well at all, in fact looks like he's barely being held together at an Elemental and Magical level.

Zeiss still has his rapier ready. He stays silent.

Fierneceal wrote:Fierneceal steps forward and lays a hand gently on the child's shoulder. "No. We will not kill him just to prove our wrath."

"That ain't the point," he said, still glaring at the rocky person. "I'd love to, but I want to save Kez. Still, I'd rather this fuckin' thing explain itself."

tab cast Reflect on the boy level 1

"That WAS my point, Rory."

Tabran:
Your spell fizzles completely, which confuses you.

Zeiss:
The thing definitely looks constructed, but at a level centuries past your own knowledge of engineering and technology. Either that or it is a mesh of organic and technological, though how such a thing is even possible is beyond you.

Snarg quickly scrambles to pick his sword up again. He points it at the Nightmare in an indicative manner. "Since when ya kind bein' nabbin' kids an' bugs? What ya really wantin'?" he snarls, narrowing his eyes.

Spoiler:

Snarg & Fier:
The child looks like Water Elemental energy gone wrong is half ripping him apart. You're not even certain what is keeping him stable.

"you can not expect us to kill a child?"

*tab moves to stand next to the child*

The nightmare paused. "You have earned three questions asked. Choose."