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Message: <blockquote data-quote="cstyle" data-source="post: 2261428" data-attributes="member: 15947">The solutionOk, this is coming along nicely.  Much props to jmichels for the ‘entering her dream’ idea and to noskov for helping me work out the details (outside of this post).  Here’s what I’ve got:The shock and fright of the ritual that released the devil was enough that Ciona’s mind retreated inside itself.  She is now locked in a dream world, her reasoning self (which appears as her adult, rather old, self) held prisoner by the irrational scared part of her (which appears as Ciona did as a child).  Back in the opening sessions, Ciona was proclaiming that one of the PCs was their savior sent by her god, Chauntea.  “He is the chosen one, as I have dreamed of.  Chauntea has sent him to us!”  This actually ties in nicely as she had what she considered prophetic dreams about the PC, and now she’s trapped in a dream.  At any rate, she still thinks he is the savior, and when he came to visit earlier that jarred her.  Adult Ciona actually surfaced and recognized him (the whole really seeing him thing, trying to remember something), but then child Ciona came in and stamped her down (the throwing a fit and then cowering thing).So now adult Ciona has a slight crack in her prison.  She uses it (and magic) to enter into the dreams of the PC.  In the dream, he will see Ciona (as he knows her, an old woman) sitting cross legged in a forest glade on a sunny morning, across from a small child, say five years old, that bears some resemblance to old Ciona.Child: “Tell me another riddle, Nana!”Ciona: “OK, how about this.When I’m young I sit and sunI never run and play.And then some nice whiskers comeWhich I won’t shave away.Tear me apart, find my hard heartReally, I don’t mind.Then with keen or even creamMe you’ll surely find.”Child:  "Nana, that riddle is too easy.  Ask me a harder one… Wait, why are you telling me THAT riddle?"  Ciona visibly starts to get nervous and shaky.  Ciona:  "No reason.  We're just playing a game!  You love the riddle game!"  Child:  "Don't lie to me!?!?" The child stand up, begins growing larger with fire in her eyes (not literally), visibly getting angry.  As she gets angry, the trees start to close in and vines start wrapping around Ciona, the sky darkens, and so on.Ciona:  "No, don't hurt me.  Don't lock me up again!"  And the dream winks out.When the PCs ask around, they will find that Ciona has a peach tree that she loved and tended well.  If they dig around the tree, they will find a small box with some scrolls in it.  One of the scrolls will have a spell to allow a group to enter someone’s dreams.  If they mention riddles, they will find that Ciona use to love riddles as a child and would play the riddling game with her children and grandchildren.  (And the scrolls provide me with a way to work some treasure into this encounter.  If they free Ciona, she will gladly let them keep the scrolls.)When they enter Ciona’s dream, they will be in an old and beautiful forest.  They will find child Ciona playing at the edge of a pool or stream.  Old Ciona will be no where to be found.  If they ask the child to let Nana go, she'll ask "Why?"  When they try to reason with her, she'll be all "This is boring.  Tell me a riddle."  Until they tell her a riddle/story/metaphor where the moral is that adult Ciona should be let go in order to stop the great evil that has been released, she won't let Ciona go.  Any attempts to force her into anything, or if they continue to try and reason with her, she will get angry.  (Ever try to reason with a child?)  As she gets angry, the trees will begin to close in, and the sky will darken.  If they continue to make her unhappy, the forest attacks and they are trapped in Ciona’s dream.  I haven’t decided what to do if it gets to the point where the forest attacks.  Hopefully it won’t come to that, but if it does, I suppose I could have them make a will save.  If they “succeed”, then they awaken and they blew their chance.  If they “fail”, then they are trapped in the dream along with Ciona.  When the child calms down sometime later, they might have another shot to try and free her as mentioned above.  This time they’d have adult Ciona working with them.  When they told her how they needed her to imprison the devil through this new ritual, she would give them the idea that they need to convince the child through riddle or story that she must release adult Ciona for the good of the world.</blockquote>

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