Combat
The session started off with most of you reaching the center of the camp.
Hysteria had just placed the
talisman on
Ilven before flying up into the air and away from this spirit.
Kaswink and
Frode were stuck in a spooky darkness prison.
Namina was busy communing with Ilven while in a trance.
Agave was recently deafened, and
DAN had just arrived to be the only one within earshot of a familiar face,
Logren.
In the beginning, combat was mostly against nameless
Myotlings as Ilven was rather motionless and slowly gaining corporealness. This quickly changed the moment Ilven gained the chance to display her power as she bent in unnatural ways before bending limp and motionless like a wind-up ballerina or marionette of some kind. Darkness extended from her in all directions, rose up into the air and then fell back to the ground like shadowy strings. These strings pulled members of her
Court from
The Unblinking Sein that still surrounded all of you. The court members that appeared were Clari, an advisor that whispered in Tympi's ear the secrets of your group to help her counter attacks and spells, Flu, a silent and monk-like myotling that carried a pole with 71 holes drilled into it, and Reco, an accountant or something that held an abacus to make sure combat stayed balanced. Reco also displayed a strange ability to cast spells using your own spell slots and spell lists.
Meanwhile, Frode was dying. He found himself in a vast expanse of the dark, oily substance that this spirit was made of. This darkness seemed to extend in all direction, but he did see a tiny spot of light far in the distance. He started swimming towards it, and, over the course of a few turns, would eventually reach it to discover he had been carrying it with himself the whole time. A jar! Indeed, a
Jar of Euphoria! He was able to use this item to launch a powerful spike of light that pierced through this darkness. It began to fracture the surrounding area, revealing more light from beyond wherever he was.
Kaswink, on the other hand, was walking around in the
Prison. She found the chains she was unable to remove the last time y'all were here, and she started to pull them from the walls. The voice she heard the last time she tried was either gone or too quiet to hear. Either way, it didn't damage her like last time and she was able to make a great deal of progress on this strange mission. The chains started to break, and, as they did, screams from a myriad of different voices could be heard, and some of them matched herself and the rest of you. She continued screaming and completely pulled the chains free. As she did so she used her wild Oni-cursed abilities to electrify the chains. The section of wall that was removed as the chains were pulled free matched what Frode had created in the "ceiling" of wherever he was. Oily darkness and mist poured from this crack, and Frode was pulled back to his body, conscious once more. Kaswink continued her journey through the prison and found her own way back to her body.
As combat continued around her, Namina was in a trance and having a tea party with Ilven. Most of what was said between them is unknown, but she was definitely making progress as Ilven continued to become more and more corporeal.
Amongst Ilven's Court, the first to fall was Reco as she was defeated by DAN. She was chosen as the first primary target due to her rather annoying ability to "balance combat" by matching everyone's movement speed to 30ft, removing all advantages/disadvantages, and casting spells using your own knowledge/spell slots. As she died, the chasm that had developed at some point at the center of this camp grew. More branches formed and some of you had to act quickly to get to a solid surface. From these new chasms came three copies of Reco and, while she had been defeated, her mind, body and soul lived on to continue pranking you. One of these shades carried her special ability to "balance" the battlefield, one of them continued to cast spells and one of them seemed better equipped for the simpler parts of life: swinging a sword n such.
These shades were slowly disposed of while the other members of her court were also attacked. Additionally, throughout combat, some of you felt your fears being consumed by the Unblinking Sein, and as these fears were eaten more were created. Namina had multiple drowned folks appear around her, though she was unable to see them they just attacked her and provided some stress. Agave saw more rat/plant/rot abominations, Hysteria saw the
Black Banner appear again, Kaswink eventually saw her grandfather and croak...and so on. Things just kept stacking up.
The next court member to fall was Flu. Their abilities were more centered on hitting people with a pole, but they were vanquished just the same as Kaswink unleashed a massive blast of cold energy across the battlefield. As they died the ground split again and shade-like copies of this court member again appeared at the edge of each new chasm. Their "soul" was capable of pushing people or knocking them prone or both while their body and mind continued to hit people with a pole or cast spells.
Logren eventually died to the myotlings and members of Ilven's court. His body was dragged away from the unstable ground thanks to Kaswink. Namina was at risk of death or distraction many times, but each of you saved her and the mission in different ways throughout. It was also noted that most of the myotlings that were attacking you seemed to be moved against their will, like marionettes being moved around with strings.
The last member of her court to fall was Clari. Her abilities involved countering your spells, attacks, and casting spells of her own now and then as well...though most of her time was spent concentrating on whispering information that was likely about all of you into Ilven's ears. She was defeated by Frode, and as she died more chasms appeared along with more versions of herself just like the other court members.
Namina had been dealing with Ilven's mind, of course, and it was beginning to get apparent that it was taking a toll on her. She was slouching more and more, and blood was leaking from her nose and ears. Hysteria got close enough to hear her mumbling in some unknown language that they somewhat understood, but it took some time to realize that she was just repeating
"There's no way out, there's no way back." over and over again.
Home Again
Combat ended in a rather unexpected way. Hysteria flew down to support Namina in case she fell into the pit while still shooting anyone that would pose a threat to her or the mission. Namina did end up collapsing due to a plethora of complications, but Hysteria was there to catch her as planned. They were quick, strong, and she was saved...for a moment. The fear that had been building up in Hysteria was consumed, and The Black Banner appeared before them once more to psychically harm them.
"I will cast you aside once you die here. Your failure will mean as little to me as any of your successes."
They were prepared though, and they resisted most of the effects of what this banner was hoping to do, but they still succumbed to an absence of hit points before falling with Namina into the chasm.
This chasm seemed to lead into the mind or spirit of Ilven... they were able to see the glass walls in the distance, the strange nothingness, and they were also able to see some new developments.
Thera Relovut was above them, upside down and pristine while a chasm of light was slowly spreading out in all directions.
In this strange place they found Namina and Ilven, though the tea party seemed to have taken a strange turn as they were both just rocking back and forth while mumbling mostly incoherently. The only recognizeable words in any language that Hysteria could understand were the same
"There is no way out. There is no way back." type phrases. This muttering caused Hysteria to get a bit closer to death, but they pressed on with more determination.
Hysteria first asked where they are, to which Ilven replied simply "Down below" before admitting she doesn't really know. She guessed that she is in her mind, at least that's what Namina told her. Hysteria glanced at Namina as Ilven asked,
"Can you fix this?"
They held out a hand, unfurling their wings of flying, though Ilven was hesitant, still scared that the spirit that took her would not let her go. She relented, however, and the two of them flew into the air. Ilven would sometimes snap her head around in fear, about to break again, but Hysteria had ways of snapping her out of these moments as they flew into the air.
Immediately after reaching the surface, Hysteria found themselves unconscious once more and falling into the chasm again. Ilven's body began to move more naturally and she flew to a nearby solid surface before collapsing and falling unconscious as well. The myotlings stopped their assault and combat came to an end. Those of you that were still alive and kicking were able to provide first aid or healing magic to those that needed it.
The Unblinking Sein condensed, shrinking down and pouring into the chasm. It slowly vanished and Hysteria was able to see it pass through Namina's unconscious body down below. She was flown back to the surface as well, and the two of them were restored to health. The spirit was gone...though it is unclear if it is gone for good.
The myotlings agreed to return to the
Mothlights for the first time in over 50 years. They were happy to, in fact, and Ilven's unconscious body was also carried there by Kaswink. Logren, still a corpse, was added to Kaswink's inventory to save space on the teleport.
The myotlings were finally returning home.
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