Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nthal" data-source="post: 7786928" data-attributes="member: 6971069">Faith healing - 08/15/2019 Belief is the strongest thing in the multiverse.  It transcends the mortal self and forges places and powers. Most of the time you don’t question what you believe in.  When you do that is normally a crisis. But sometimes we don’t know what we believe.  And there is an interesting journey from there. I grasped at Daneath and tried to pull him back.  Just within an arm’s length, I saw a shape of a tall, extremely slender figure, almost sickly.  But where its face should have been was smooth and featureless.  Silently it reached for the big warrior and I only had a moment to throw a blast of energy, striking it in the midsection.But I was too late, as the form grasped at Daneath, its shadowy hand like appendage, passed through his armor.  I could hear him groan in pain, and he staggered backwards, breathing heavily.  Within me I could feel that sickly resonance, but stronger than I had felt before.    Iesa whirled, drawing his rapier and stared at the entryway where Daneath stumbled backwards from.“What?  I don’t see anything,”“I cannot see in there,” Beepu said frantically, looking for something to throw his magic at.“It’s there!” I shouted, pointing wildly at the opening, and then I looked again.“They…are.  Move!” and I pulled Daneath backwards away from the door.  Within the next room, I saw three figures slowly and deliberately moving towards the opening.Then, the three figures suddenly surged forward.  I felt slow as I watched the entities moved with a fluid like grace and speed.  One reached for Daneath and he swung desperately with his sword, attempting to fend off the shadowy foe.  A second one flowed straight towards Iesa, who thrust straight into its amorphous chest, then he spun avoiding its grasping tendrils. The third one streamed towards me, and I could feel the resonance again; the Strand vibrated and struggled against the negative energy that the figure exuded.  The feeling was intense and I could see it struggle to grasp at me.   Time felt slow as I watched it strain towards me. Finally, it twisted and rushed towards Beepu.  He scrambled to the back of the room and as I watched he faded from sight, leaving the shadowy form without a target for the moment. I reached out with the Strand and a pair of skeletal hands grasped at the shadows in front of me.  I could feel them rend and tear at the foul energies holding them together.  Daneath and Iesa both swung again, both finding success with their swings.  Daneath was fortunate that the undead thing scraped against his shield, while Iesa’s agility was enough to keep himself safe.Then the hairs stood up at the back of my neck and turned to see the third one reaching towards me.  I barely had enough time to raise my shield keeping it between me and the shadow, but once again the strand held and it twisted and tried to attack Iesa this time, with no success.Fortunately, Beepu didn’t stay hidden, as he threw a bolt of fire at the shadow attacking Daneath.  It started to dissolve into a fine mist.  With that one down, I focused on the Strand again, this time pulling on the lighter energy.  Instantly, a beam of radiant light struck Iesa’s attacker, causing it to dissolve in the air as well.Daneath whirled and charged the last one on his brother, cleaving at it twice with desperation, while Iesa attempted to lunge at it.  His blade didn’t strike it, but it was enough of a distraction that Beepu’s second Fire bolt found its mark and the last one fell, its form dissolving away.The large warrior was winded, and he sunk to a knee, breathing heavily.“D…what’s wrong?” I asked reaching over and steadying his shoulders as he gasped.“Feel cold…tired…the armor feels…heavy,” he panted.“Sodding…they must have drained him.” I said.“What in the hells were those things,” Iesa said looking over his blade, unsure if he wanted to clean it.“Shadows.  Creatures of undeath that rob you of your vitality.  Make you weaker,” I responded looking over Daneath to see how serious his wounds were.“Well, that was more than I expected.  And I still cannot see into that room, now that they are gone.” Beepu said peering towards the doorway.“Give me a moment, and I rose and walked into the room.  If it was dark, I couldn’t see it.  All the rooms, the halls looked the same to me; well-lit and no shadows.  As it turned out, the room was mostly empty; with only some moldering cots and mattresses ravaged by time.  On a table nearby, I found a small coin purse falling apart with a case of dry rot.  I could see the glint of golden metal and I swept up the coins and pocked them for later.  Once I saw the room had no other exit I returned to my compatriots.“Nothing much, some jink is all.  Better Daneath?”The warrior shook his head, “I’m real tired, but I don’t want to stay here.”We retrace our steps to the first intersection and come past another pair of impassible stone doors.  Continuing past that the passage twists and turns until we enter a large hallway, with pillars supporting a vaulted ceiling.  Here there were remains of banners, their color leached away with time.  Here also were more carving and symbols on the walls.This all felt primal in some way, unlike the other room which had a more spiritual feel to it.  I traced my hand on the carvings in the rock, wondering about the Elk tribe.  Why did they create this?  Why did they seal it away?But as I wondered, I could feel the wrongness too.  Some shard of darkness was near.  No, not darkness; sickness.  It was now strong enough to make my stomach turn. “You feeling alright?” Iesa asked.“I…no…I don’t know.  Something isn’t right.  I’ll be fine let’s keep looking around.”Iesa nodded and touched me on the shoulder.  He moved and stayed close to Daneath who still was having difficulty.  But he refused help from Iesa and kept moving. The chamber had an exit on the far end, and we continued on.  Soon we found another pair of stone doors.  But now the sense of wrongness was getting far stronger, moving from discomfort to borderline pain.  I gritted my teeth, trying to push it away from my mind, keeping focused on my surroundings.The passage opened into a square room, with a passage leading out ahead on the far right of the room.  As we entered, I could finally feel the source of pain.  I closed my eyes and tried to shake my head to clear my thoughts, letting out a groan.“Myr?” Daneath turned to look at me with alarm.“Can’t…can’t you feel it?” I said between clenched teeth, trying to steady myself as I leaned against the entrance way.“Feel what exactly?” Beepu asked puzzled.Opening my eyes, I pointed to the far corner of the room. “That…the pain it gives off.”In the far corner was a statue of a majestic Elk its shoulder line was taller than I and colored a dark black. The statue was standing in a pool which edge was decorated with carved patterns.  But what caught my eye most was that the statue was covered in sickly green moss on its back, that oozed and dripped a brown liquid in to the basin.  I was almost sure that the moss was glowing, but with my vision it made it difficult to be sure.“I do not feel anything at all,” Beepu said as Foggle landed on his shoulder.  “But that statue has seen better times,” he remarked.  I now noticed that Mo, was avoiding the statue altogether as he scurried around the room.I stepped carefully towards the figure, each step accentuating the pain that gripped me.  As I approached, I realized that it was actually made of wood.  But the statue wasn’t carved from it, but it was rather grown into its current shape.  The black color was a product of mold from the moisture, and it covered the body where there was no moss.  It’s antlers were easily wider than I was tall, and also dripped with moss. What was this?  Why could I feel it?  Why only I?“There isn’t much here, we should keep looking,” Iesa said after glancing into the pool, looking for valuables or signs of his father.“We can wait a moment.  Right Myr?” Daneath asked.“We should look for a way to open those doors is what we should do!” Beepu exclaimed frustrated.“I’ve been thinking; those are probably tombs,” Daneath said.  “And I don’t think our fathers came here to rob graves.“I thought the Elk built cairns,” Iesa commented.“This…this is far older,” I said stepping next to the Elk figure, “This place…hasn’t been used in a long time.  But I think Daneath is right.”“So now what?” Beepu asked the brothers and they began to talk.  But I ceased to pay attention to them. The pain was intense, as I saw the moss had invaded deep into fissures in the wood.  As I looked at it closely, I realized that this looked familiar.It resembled the rot that stole so many on the battlefield.  The discoloration, the ooze, the swelling in the wood.  I realized then that the statue wasn’t trying to hurt me.  It was simply radiating its own pain.  I couldn’t take it any longer.  I didn’t know if I could help, but I needed to do something to lessen it. Anything.  I reached out with a hand and touched the wooden muzzle of the statue and started to pour some energy into it. The reaction was swift.  At first the light flowed into the statue easily. The darkness inside was hungering and trying to swallow it all from me.  I gasped and then tried to force more energy into the darkness; trying to overwhelm it.  I felt my face contorting in pain as I pushed harder and harder.  Around me I knew there was shouting, but none of the words meant anything to me.  All that mattered was defeating that core of darkness inside the wooden form.I pushed again, and I could feel the Strand within me twisting and coiling.  It was active in fighting the darkness. But the battle had moved beyond the statue; I was now a part of the battlefield as I expended more and more power.  I wasn’t in control in any tangible way; all I could do was brute force; my light against the dark.And I was losing.  I was tiring my reserves from the Strand waning.  The darkness was eager to consume again; and I had unwittingly exposed myself.  Sweat poured off my forehead as I strained to find more energy from the Strand.  All the light was gone, and only the scant amount of dark threads were left.  Somehow, I knew that tapping those would make things worse.I was going to die.I could barely think coherently.  My left hand reached up to touch the holy symbol I wore.  My fingers brushed the scales and the bones, and I then gripped it tightly.  It was my shield that had protected me.  It was my beacon that lit the way.  And it needed more.  Like it wanted proof of my faith.  Could I sacrifice all?  Would I?The decision wasn’t hard.  I reached within again, but not to the Strand, but that small part of self that brought light and could cure ailments.  It was all I had left and I with desperation I threw it at the darkness.  I could feel the energy flare up and down my spine, and I could see the flash of light in the corners of my eyes as my ethereal wings appeared.The energy struck the darkness and I could feel it recoil.  It was almost like my wings had swept forward to surround it and hold it place as I started to rend it asunder.  I was screaming now something, words in Celestial pouring from my mouth as I tried to crush the darkness with my will.  With my faith.Then the Strand reacted.   Not the light, but the darkened threads reached for the core I fought against.  And then suddenly, I felt my being swallowing it, wrapped tightly in threads of light and dark.  But as I did so I felt a final burst of darkness leaving me in all directions.The pain fell away, and my knees gave as I fell on the floor, my hand leaving the statue.  Iesa came to me first and lifted my torso up so I could.“Myr!  Myr!  Come on now!  Talk to me!” Iesa said frantically.I blinked barely comprehending trying to catch my breath.  I felt violently ill and could barely talk.  “I…I..”“Yes, come on.  You’re ok.”I stammered as my thoughts started to coalesce.“The darkness…something is…coming.”Beepu heard that and threw Foggle in the air down the passage we came from.  Daneath, swallowed and tightened his grip on his sword, and faced the passageway, the shield shining the way.“Those tombs are open, and we hav—”And with that figures entered the room and swung at Daneath blocking the passage.  He swung striking the clumsy assailants easily.   Iesa stood, drew his rapier and lunged, plunging his sword deep into another figure, felling it.In a panic, I stood up.  I might have been tired and exhausted before, I now had something.  My unease was now nausea but I choked it down and I quickly hurled a bolt of energy at the figure that Daneath struck.  It was only then I realized that I was striking musties.  But these were much more focused and faster.Beepu had a different concern and he shouted, “I’ll be right back!” and ran towards the passage that we had not explored yet.   As he did so, he faded from sight. More musties arrived and they unleashed their anger on the brothers. One pounded Daneath’s shield ineffectively, while the damaged one an and another manage to land solid blows on Iesa.  All the while I could hear Mo screaming, looking for cover.  I reached out toward the pair and summoned the skeletal hands to grip and hold a pair, causing one to fall.But Iesa’s luck had run out, as I saw him being clobbered with fists from the pair, falling to the floor.  Daneath, despite his exhaustion, screamed and again started to swing at them and backed up towards where I stood.  They thrashed at Daneath as he moved, but it did move them away from Iesa, who lay in a pool of blood on the floor.I heard a noise and turned just in time to see two more musties emerge from the other passageway.  Once again, I could feel resonance as they struggled to focus their attacks on me.  And once again Daneath bore the brunt as they twisted and unloaded their fury upon him, battering his shield and him.Daneath and I stood back to back, surrounded by four of them.  Iesa was running out of time and I was desperate. “Sorry D,” I said as I reached with in and plucked at the dark strands within me.“What—”And with that I freed the darkness that I just claimed from the Elk.  I screamed and tendrils of darkness erupted from me, battering all the musties around me.  But it also battered Daneath who grunted as the tendrils flailed against him.  I ran past the musties and they barely had any energy to respond.  But I knew that with the resonance was gone, any protection I had was gone with it.It was at this point that a solid shard of ice emerged from the passage, It exploded on a musty dropping another one to the ground and cutting others.  Beepu faded back into view and moved away from the doorway looking to get a better view of his foes.Daneath swung and cut down another one, just as I reached Iesa.  I quickly placed a hand on him and pulled desperately on a strand to heal him.  But all I could do was stop him from dying.  And that was enough.Beepu blasted another one with a bolt of fire, causing it to fall to the ground in heap.  And Daneath struck it for good measure to ensure it stayed down.Our ears strained to listen over our breathing.  Listening for signs of more assailents.  Moments passed before Beepu spoke up again.“Foggle didn’t see any other active ones.”“What about the way you went down?” Daneath asked.Beepu shook his head, “It ended in a large oaken door.  I don’t think there were more than two stone ones on the way to it.I pulled off my pack and placed it under Iesa’s head.   I was tired, so tired.  But I started to pull some incantations to clean him up.  Mostly to see his wounds clearly, but also to wipe the filth and blood away.  As I did so, Mo approached Iesa and sat next to his head. As I watched I saw the monkey pull some of Iesa hair and stroke it.  He would drop those strands and repeat with a new handful.  His eyes, so human like looked on the fallen Knight with sadness and hope.  He continued to stroke his hair.  I was struck on how…human it was.  Mo was always there in the background, but not always in front of everything.  But now for I, he was the center of the world as he tried to heal his…Master?Friend?Father?How did Mo think of Iesa?   All I could do is gently stroke the monkey’s fur.  It may have been the first time he had let me, or it may have been the first time I tried.  But the look in his eyes told me all I needed to know; he loved Iesa.“Myr…some warning next time—” Daneath started.“I said sorry!” I said looking him in the eye.  I needed to get to…your brother.“Yeah…thanks,” Daneath said appreciatively.  “Think we are good to rest a bit?”“I hope so!  I am not carrying him!” Beepu said.“Good.  Rest would be good.” I said.  Moving to a wall and sitting down wearily.“Myr, what was it you were screaming in that language…with the elk that is?”“Celestial?  I...I don’t remember.  There was a lot of pain.  Do you?“Something like…’E kohana ma ko’o makunanae’ ?”“Oh…it’s a plea for help.” I said.  But that wasn’t quite correct.  The better translation was:‘Help me my Father.’Session notes:So some of the spell casting done for drama’s sake (the last bit at the end), but I did burn all my other slots healing to purge that elk.  It was a moment of high drama.Here also was really the first time I tried to humanize Mo.  It wasn’t a familiar so keeping track of it was a pain, especially since he never was in combat.  So where’s Mo was a constant challenge to remember.</blockquote>

Verification