(IC) Quickleaf's Rime of the Frostmaiden

[Neurotic]

"This...ghost...is looking for a host. It is the enemy of the Frost. But it may be tricky to let it in, depends on what work it has unfinished." Lumrolur whispers quickly to the group behind him "I have some experience with the spirits. If you all agree to it, and will support me later in controlling it, I can try to make a spirited discussion with it."
As he turns back, his eyes flash red for a moment and in a growl he adds to himself "Power is power."

OOC: I'll wait for OOC from everyone. Lumrolur is already haunted and phantom rogue so, what's one more spirit

 

[Neurotic]

Lumrolur reloads his hand-crossbow and motions toward his head with it as if he'll shoot himself.
"Oi, spirit! You are welcome here, but only conditionally, I have my own things to do, first being catching a killer for the Frost. If you help with that, we can talk about your agenda and how can we integrate our goals. First part is non-negotiable. Agreed?"
He levels the crossbow toward the remaining kobold and says in Undercommon.
"Stay still or die."
and immediately after growls "Kill it."
The finger twitches on the trigger, but short-lived haze surrounds his head, as if ectoplasm tries to enter this world and for barest of moments hides the kobold from the killer-gnome. Lumrolur steadies his hand, which now points half-way between the spirit and the kobold.

 

[Quickleaf]

Lumrolur reloads his hand-crossbow and motions toward his head with it as if he'll shoot himself.
"Oi, spirit! You are welcome here, but only conditionally, I have my own things to do, first being catching a killer for the Frost. If you help with that, we can talk about your agenda and how can we integrate our goals. First part is non-negotiable. Agreed?"
He levels the crossbow toward the remaining kobold and says in Undercommon.
"Stay still or die."
and immediately after growls "Kill it."
The finger twitches on the trigger, but short-lived haze surrounds his head, as if ectoplasm tries to enter this world and for barest of moments hides the kobold from the killer-gnome. Lumrolur steadies his hand, which now points half-way between the spirit and the kobold.

Trails of spectral frost seem to run off the ghost’s clothes, yet never quite reach Lumrolur. The terrified kobold pulls its recovering bewildered leader (the one wearing fake wings that had been possessed) away from the ghost, back into the dead-end corner.

After several breathless moments, the spirit utters a single hollow word, “Agreed.”

GM: Whether it needs an assenting creature in order to possess it, or the spirit is exercising a surplus of caution/restraint, is hard to tell. For now, however it appears that it will only possess you if you let down your defenses…

 

[Neurotic]

"Very well then. Come!"

 

[happylace]

Alma's brows furrow as some sense of familiarity tugs at her. Something about that presence up there stirs her senses. A buried memory? But even as she tries to stretch her mind and grasp at it, the idea refuses to solidify. Whatever that feeling is remains intangible as smoke.

"Is it general consensus that Lumrolur is competent at decision making?"

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

Logrim looks over at Alma confused.

"I haven't known him long. He has seemed slightly off to me. Why do you ask?"

 

[Necropolitan]

Zeth shrugs at Alma's question.

"If Lumrolur chooses to enter an agreement with a ghost of his own free will with no coercion that I can ascertain then that's his decision to make. Honestly, I just met all of you a few days ago and now we're all hunting a serial killer together, this my new normal."

 

[Quickleaf]

"Very well then. Come!"

Wisps of spectral bluish light pass through Lumrolur as the ghost approaches, washing over you like a wave. Hovering over your face for a moment – long enough that you can see how its head, floating two inches above its neck, must have been severed by a claw stroke – the ghost then collapses like smoke. And you feel another presence inside your mind, one with an urgent need to return to Kelvin's Cairn...

The two huddling kobolds look on in terror... like they've seen a ghost.

Spoiler: Ghost details...

You are "spirit-ridden", but for now you are still in control of yourself. You can consult the ghost via internal dialogue (possibly you speak out loud). If you and the ghost come into conflict later, we can treat it like an opposed Charisma check to determine whether you maintain yourself or the ghost possesses you... kind of combining how sentient magic items work & the ghost's Possession works.

You know the ghost's name: Janth Alower. He was a sage and naturalist. After he died, he found his spirit trapped inside the kobold leader. The kobolds were cowed by a cult of Auril the Frostmaiden who are active in the uppermost level of the mine.

 

[happylace]

Logrim looks over at Alma confused.

"I haven't known him long. He has seemed slightly off to me. Why do you ask?"

"He acts strangely, at least compared to what I've observed of expected behavior. But he has yet to directly cause any harm or inconvenience, so I suppose there's no reason to doubt him now. He is... eccentric."

 

[Neurotic]

Wisps of spectral bluish light pass through Lumrolur as the ghost approaches, washing over you like a wave. Hovering over your face for a moment – long enough that you can see how its head, floating two inches above its neck, must have been severed by a claw stroke – the ghost then collapses like smoke. And you feel another presence inside your mind, one with an urgent need to return to Kelvin's Cairn...

The two huddling kobolds look on in terror... like they've seen a ghost.

As the ghost melded into his body, the pressure in Lumrolur chest raises as if the air itself thickens around him. Slowly, a cold, prickling sensation crawls up his spine as the murdered sage seeps into his consciousness. The world within his mind flickered between vivid memories of green forests and shimmering natural wonders — places Janth had cherished in life — and the malevolent darkness that had clung to Lumrolur since his exile.

Suddenly, his entire body spasmed. His scars blackened, deepened, almost seeming to pulse with shadows as his eyes glow an ominous red - the tell-tale sign Vorr is coming forward. His breathing becomes erratic, his skin glistens with an unnatural sheen and the air around Lumrolur becomes very hot for an instant and immediately after bitter cold.

For a brief moment, a gust swirled around him, making his mustache and beard treble and waft this way and that as if hit by a gale winds. Small pebbles around him dance on the floor, few even lifting up or flying away into the walls violently. The finger on the hand-crossbow trigger twitches several times, luckily for everyone involved, the weapon is not loaded yet.

A growl comes from deep within his chest "You're mine!" and as the air cools down in a whisper "Not this path. Not ever."
Janth’s presence settled, not forceful, but inquisitive, merging into the chaos, offering knowledge and clarity where there had been only torment before. Lumrolurs glow dimmed, the shadows receded, and he gasped, trembling, but in control - at least for now.

He looks up toward Aric, bewildered at first and resolute in a second after.
"Right! Let's finish this vermin and get back, there is only dead end here. And the above, there is a cult of Frost...but we're not after them for now, right?"