stonegod's Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Ch. I [IC]

[pathfinderq1]

As soon as she was sure that the spectral creature had truly been vanquished, Tessa began to struggle towards their fallen companions. Even the warmth of the power of the Sovereign Host that Ashlyn generated seemed to give the young healer little comfort now. She knelt beside Perriwimple's corpse, her hand half-outstretched. The look that she turned upon Jarrith was anguished, but as he went about his work, she briefly closed her own eyes, then stood up. When she got to her feet, she had managed to bring some composure to her own features, but her expression was still grim. "More funerals," she muttered. "Did we learn enough here to make this loss mean something, or was this the stone that tilts the scales irrevocably in our enemies' favor?" She didn't seem to be asking anyone in particular, except perhaps the Host. She gave one quick glance in Janis' direction, then began to assist Jarrith with his grim task.

 

[stonegod]

As the party begins to recover, something odd begins to happen---a stirring of memories begin flashing through their heads. Most of brief, glances as most: Impressions of fear, darkness, madness. But a few hold more coherence.[sblock=Jarrith]Jarrith recalls a himself running through a tower at night being chased by a frenzied and blood-covered Khensu, and throwing himself in desperation out a window, only to land a broken heap near the rubble where he stands. He remembers hearing the sound of them as he is helpless to move, life ebbing away from him.[/sblock][sblock=Tessa]Sitting around the corpses of the others, in the tower's dark cellar near the cursed pillar of rock, Tessa remembers herself slowing drawing the knife to finish the cleansing of herself. Placing the blade on her arm, a sharp cackle fills the air. It is her voice.[/sblock][sblock=Ashlyn]Ashlyn remembers being led up to the ruins by Perriwimple her paramour, only to flee screaming over the cliff from robed ones with knives and a mad crone wielding darkness and a gleaming silver sign of a raven, an out of place thing for sure.[/sblock][sblock=Janis]Janis sees her monastery---what another part of her mind recognizes as what will be the ruins now---burnt and cracked, her monk's bodies scattered and mutilated from an orgy of madness. As she falls to the ground weeping, she sees the spirits of her former friends coalesce into a twisting mockery, their faces calling to her.[/sblock]The impressions are strong and confusing a moment, but slowly their strength seems to fade, the ghosts of countless years of torment fading into oblivion.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Jarrith's eyes go wild as the images flicker through his skull, and he whips his head back and forth trying to find the reason for this intrusion. Is there a psychic resonance here? Did a kalashtar suddenly appear? What's going on?

"I... what... who did..."

He takes a second and shuts his eyes, his breath shallow, his body swaying. Ever since finishing that journal he's been slowly getting creeped out, and this has only intensified that sensation.

"I don't-- think... I want to be here anymore. Let's go. I want to just go back to town."

He mentions to the group as they make their way back to the horses, "I'm not so sure I want to spend more time looking for the sunsword. I just want to go up into the castle, grab the tome, then get out of here. This land needs to be aband--"

He stops himself as he realizes what he is saying... an admission of fear and defeat that he's never done before. A Shadowbane Stalker should not be this way... he needs to be steadfast. But one thing is for certain... without his Lumin Brother by his side, Jarrith Bronns is not the moral rock he usually is. Not anymore.

 

[James Heard]

Madness.

Janis seems to ignore the Flame cultist, until she speaks with a gravel voice and dead eyes.

" No. This is a Testing, and the land calls to us to restore it entire. Not a singe stone left unturned...not a sparrow left unexamined..."

"Something breeds and breathes the evil in this place and attempts to infect our souls when it cannot reach our bodies with its shadowed hands. I shall scrape the death and shadow away from the soil with tooth and claw if necessary, if you all desert me, if light and sanity abandon me."

"This travesty is like my own country with a purpose, left here unannounced for centuries and festering like an open wound...I may not ever...if I am ever to make any sense of what has happened to my parents, to my country then I must make my purpose here first, where the scale might be less formidable but the obscenity no less apparent."

"But abandon your dead if you must, Priest. I, for one, champion mine."

Her form shimmers in place before settling into that of a pale white horse with strange green eyes, which nods at the large bear beside her and breaks at a canter down the hill toward the horses with the animal following.

 

[pathfinderq1]

Tessa's head sweeps upward at the sudden burst of thoughts, and though her eyes roll wildly for a moment when that first shock passes she calms quickly. For a few moments, she stands motionless- only then does the faintest trace of a smile cross her lips. "It was neither punishment, nor warning, nor Testing," she says then, so quiet that she might be talking only to herself. "It was a gift of sorts, from souls finally free to leave... Perhaps once we've returned our friends to town we might speak of what we were shown. I've no wish to linger here and discuss the matter now."

 

[stonegod]

The group regains their footing, physically if not mentally. Making their way back to their animals, the remains of their companions---some long-time, some new---are secured on the animals. The night has moved solidly into evening, and the smell of snow lingers on the overcast sky.
[sblock=Janis]But, for those with senses beyond normal ken, another scent lingered. It was clear to Janis as the smell of the recent dead. The smell of dirt and animals, the smell of man. Someone was lurking in the darkness, most likely at the treeline some 10 yards to the north.[/sblock]

 

[James Heard]

Janis shifts back into her human form when her companions arrive, and without a word of announcement, shifts again into the form of a bear, its fur being a dirty gray despite being a Brown.

Once aligned in a form able to communicate with her ursuline companion, she speaks:

[sblock=The Bear]"How long has the man-creature being there? Have you seen it?[/sblock]

Unfortunately, it's not even bearly understandable as speech by her other traveling companions.

OOC: Sorry. Couldn't resist.

 

[stonegod]

OOC: Best Janis can do is a Black Bear, as Browns are Large. Still good enough for speech.

The bear sniffs the air, then groans back at the changed caster.[sblock=Janis]<New scent. Not here when go to place of fear. Have seen nothing, but smell of road.>[/sblock]

 

[James Heard]

OOC: Best Janis can do is a Black Bear, as Browns are Large. Still good enough for speech.

OOC: Ah, I just can't keep my bears in order. I suppose it's no wonder I don't keep a dog, I'd be hopelessly lost.
[sblock=The Bear]"Let's chase it down then, and if it fights back then maybe you can eat it," Janis growls, with a hint of satisfaction.[/sblock]

Janis breaks out into a run.

 

[stonegod]

Without warning, the bear-Janis and her large companion rush to a stand of trees to the north. Everyone can hear a startled sound in the bushes, and then a few moments later, a groan. Turning in that direction, the group can see what appears to be a man in the peasant garb of the region being pinned by the very large bear. The man has greasy hair, and a rough beard, but what really sets him off is what appears to be some sort of bonespurs growing out of his legs.

Panicked and pinned, the man blurts out in the thick Barovian tongue, "Peace! Don't kill me!"