Fifth Adventure 04: The Choice

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."

Fierneceal steps forward and stops just short of the boy. "We will not kill him 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!"

Rory glares at the stone man. "No," he says in a raised voice, interrupting others. "First, I would have you answer questions."

tab cast Reflect on the boy level 1 but as he dose the spell fizzles completely, which confuses you.

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

*tab moves to stand next to the child*

"Narrow-minded little bastard, aren't you?"

Kolson stands next to Tab, supporting his friend in protecting the child.

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!" he snarls, narrowing his eyes. He takes a quick glance over at the boy; a flash of confusion briefly playing over his face before looking back at the nightmare.

Zeiss, his rapier ready looks at the kid. He examines his silhouette.

Spoiler:

Gwydo steps up to the child and and lays his hands on his shoulders. "He will not die by our hands today."

Spoiler:

*Approaches the kid and plops down, eye level with the boy.*

"Andrei. Can you hear me?"

There is a pause, and no change in its tone or posture. "You have earned three questions."

While next to him, Kolson takes the opportunity to examine the boy. (Arcana +8, Spellcraft +10, Weaving +18)

Zeiss:
Yes.

Gwydo attempts to heal the boy, but finds his healing... blocked somehow. None of his uses of Lay on Hands are used. The boy, similarly, completely ignores Higaide.

After thinking for a moment, Rory begins walking toward the Obsidian figure with his axe holstered and a glare so intense his eyes may as well spit fire. "First, you said..." he begins. At this point, someone grabs his arm. He stops talking, and turns to see who it is.

Kolson:
You've seen something exactly like this boy before, in a young Elven woman washing her hands of blood in a river. The boy is in the exact same fugue state, with the non-Elemental energies raging through him. You theorize that anything violent or sudden would probably set him off just like it did her.

tab study's the room looking for anything that can break the link between the kid and the force wall

Spoiler:

*Examines the room for anything out of the ordinary.*

Spoiler:

Snarg half-turns to the group and whispers: "What ... what ya be thinkin'? I ain't trustin' anythin' crazy's sayin', but he's sayin' he ain't gonna be hurtin' Kez if we ain't touchin' the boy."

Gwydo looks at his hands incredulously. "It.....It didn't work."
To the group, "Something is blocking my healing."

Fierneceal grabs Rory's arm and turns him toward her slightly, giving him a look. "Firstly - Why would you threaten us with this ultimatum, kill you or let you go, if your intent is to return her unharmed if we release you unharmed?"

"Gwydo its blocking my spells too"

Fierneceal wrote:Fierneceal grabs Rory's arm and turns him toward her slightly, giving him a look. "Firstly - Why would you threaten us with this ultimatum, kill you or let you go, if your intent is to return her unharmed if we release you unharmed?"

"Wha--hey! Disregard that," he demands after turning back to the obsidian creature.

Tabran:
It seems clear the force field is actually being generated by the boy, though probably unwillingly. Returning him to a normal state would probably remove it, one way or another.

Higaide:
The more you look around the more you believe you are back in the real world.

"Gwydo you think you could knock the child out with out hurting him too much?"