Tide of Shadows

[SirNitram]

Volemack pushed himself harder. The two purple dragons.. They had to be those, right? ..were still too close. He spotted the human priest he was travelling with, and dove. He was a human, maybe the last one left in this wasteland, and that meant one option.

Grab and strain and lift.

[Rogue 9]

Before Bartel realized that Volemack intended to grab him, he pulled out his holy symbol, theorizing that perhaps the shadow dragons were in fact shadows. Before he could summon forth the holy power to repel them, however, he realized that the dragon was coming right for him. He threw up an arm over his face as Volemack's claws reached out, partially to protect himself and partially to give him something to grab besides the head.

[Charon]

"So .... he just has to face his fears in battle?" Ceridwen asked, looking back at the slight silver-haired teen. "Great. He's facing Chromatic Elder Wyrms, with only Bartel to help him."

Eight glanced back at the Paladin. "If you're really so worried you could always say a little prayer for him." The construct had no mouth, in fact no facial features save for eyes, but it was evident that he would have been smiling.

[Comrade Tortoise]

"That might actually work... We dont know what triggers this thing other than touching it while afflicted with mental impairment, or casting certain mind effecting spells. A prayer to Noxeus might actually let you enter the dream state"

[LadyTevar]

"I've thought of that," Ceridwen answered, "But then you'd just have another body to worry about. Better to be moving towards town, either way." She didn't look to Eight or any of the others, her face unreadable as she stared down the road in front of them, giving the mule just enough free rein to let the animal pick his path along the rutted dirt of the road. Mules were smart animals, smart enough to know a road meant a town, and a town meant a stable.

She'd accepted the job to see what happened to the town. She needed to fulfill that duty. Her long-term duty was to see to Volemack's safety. Staying out in the middle of the road with night coming wasn't safe. He was in a dreamworld, his mind far from his body. "I could go in and help him," she said, more to herself than to Eight. "We all could. But then, who would get us back to town safely, with the warning of the Shadow Army?"

Death is light as a feather, duty heavy as a mountain. Ceridwen had to balance the two duties as best she could, and make the hard choice, even if it seemed heartless.

[Comrade Tortoise]

"That is the quandary. However rest assured that the dream itself can only frighten him. It will not harm him. He is the hands of a benevolent, if somewhat confusing god"

[Charon]

Eight simply remained sitting where he was, keeping an eye on what halflings were still there as much as he watched the others. "I assure you, I have no intention of going into any dreamscape willingly. But as it's been pointed out, no one will believe the construct. They never do. So you do your duty and save souls, and I'll do my duty by killing."

The construct turned to Ophidian, "You know, for only one experience with this thing, you seem awfully certain of how it's going to react to things."

[Comrade Tortoise]

"I have extensive training in theology as well as, what you say is 'only one experience'. I remember this god. Am I certain? No. But I have a fairly good idea. Additionally, I would much prefer it if the lady knight did not rip herself apart with worry"

Naja slithered up and nuzzled the paladin reassuringly. Like a large scaly dog.

[LadyTevar]

The Paladin looked down at the large snake, and then broke into a wry laugh. "Am I that bad, that the snake thinks I need cuddled?" she asked rhetorically, the hand closed to the cobra gently moving to rub the scales just above the eyeridge.

[Charon]

Eight remained quiet after this for a time, clearly whatever served as the giant creature's mind was thinking. "It may be wise to have some of us guard the records wagon. If the halflings are a known force here and their records wagon is known of, it may be targeted to remove a potential threat."

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Indeed. We should probably not separate at night either. Hmm... Alright, just so I am clear on what we were initially planning to do" Ophidian said, his hands slightly out in front of his face parallel and making a little forward motion.

"We move toward the record Wagon, and once we meet up with it, have it move toward the Ashvale and keep it relatively safe there, sending someone ahead in advance, Ceridwen and Volemack originally, to warn the powers that be what was going on, yes?"

[Rogue 9]

Bartel smiled as Volemack managed to lift him off the ground, and thrust out his holy symbol towards the shadowy forms pursuing him.

"BEGONE," he shouted as loudly as he could as golden light began to pour from the symbol.

[Turn undead.]

[Academia Nut]

The shadow dragons were completely unaffected, and considering the fact that despite their strange appearance they were still breathing, that probably had to do with the fact that they were in all likelihood alive.

Still, the act seemed to annoy them a great deal, and they surged forward, one going for Volemack and missing utterly while the other found Bartel's throat with its massive jaws.

But as those jaws closed about Bartel's neck, Volemack realized that something wasn't right, that something was wrong with the image. With a small popping noise, the illusion about the dragons was dispelled. Instead of Bartel's entire head behind ensnared in the jaws of the beast, he only had a tiny nick on his neck from the small jaws of the creature that had bit him.

Instead of the flying titans of Volemack's nightmares, these creatures were smaller than him, not much bigger than cats, and instead of roaring monstrosities they were like hissing kettles.

[Comrade Tortoise]

The Paladin looked down at the large snake, and then broke into a wry laugh. "Am I that bad, that the snake thinks I need cuddled?" she asked rhetorically, the hand closed to the cobra gently moving to rub the scales just above the eyeridge.

Naja loved being petted there and pushed his head into the paladin's hand

[Rogue 9]

Bartel swatted at the suddenly small creature as it tried in vain to do him serious harm. It was a dream, and he was aware of it. He didn't know about this god-induced coma, but knew that when he was aware of the nature of a dream, such as when he was just waking up but still in the throes of one, he could control it. Since he knew it now, perhaps the same was true.

Cuthbert had not yet granted him the power to call down the flames of the heavens in the waking world, but this was a realm of the mind. Perhaps his god would do so here.

"In the name of the Cudgel, burn!" He willed the pillar of divine flame to appear, bending all his mind to the task.

[Attempting flame strike on the pursuing shadows.]

[LadyTevar]

Naja loved being petted there and pushed his head into the paladin's hand

"I guess that's a hint, hmm?" Ceridwen muttered, and devoted herself to petting the cobra, the other hand on the reins guiding the cart.

In a way, it did help.

[Academia Nut]

Bartel attempted to summon forth power he normally did not have, and while a glowing sign of St. Cuthbert made from fire did momentarily trace itself out in the sky, it quickly guttered out.

The illusion about them shattered, the two shadow dragons quickly peeled off into two different, going on long, looping courses that carried them up and to the right and down and to the left of Volemack's current course.

[SirNitram]

"Hoooold on!" Volemack managed some human-speak in his dreamshape, gripping as tightly as he dared to his friend as he wheeled around. Buy time, instincts said. Don't fight two on one, even if they look small. Keep airborne, you're at your best there.

Draconic senses scoured the end-times sky. Where was that red? If his friend would dare try and call out to a dead god here, to try and save his scaley butt, it was time to fight as well.

Bahamut, if you're out here, anywhere, heed my prayer..

[Comrade Tortoise]

"M'Lady Knght, if I could perchance ask a favor of you? I have a bright idea... Not that those are rare for me mind you. I had to cast detect thoughts to get inside Fehl's head. It is a mind effecting spell. When Bartel cast his fear removal spell. This is not actually a mind effect. So I will like to try an experiment. I will cast a cantrip. This will serve as a control for spellcasting. If you would be so kind as to pray for some sort of divine assistance, a resistance or blessing prayer would work, that will be the independent variable. If we both get sent into the dream, we will know the trigger is magic use. If you do, but I do not, we will know that any divine prayer will let you in, while I must use specific effects. If neither of us get let in, only specific effects for either of us will let us in. Does this sound workable to you?"

[Rogue 9]

Bartel held on. It hadn't worked, but then, the mind was a powerful thing, and he was in a mind not his own. He'd almost done it, though, so there was no harm in trying something else.

"Feel the power of Law," he snarled, thrusting forth his ruby-studded sunburst once more as he attempted to call on an aspect of the Saint that he usually did not draw upon, but that he desperately needed now.

[Attempting order's wrath.]

[Charon]

"M'Lady Knght, if I could perchance ask a favor of you? I have a bright idea... Not that those are rare for me mind you. I had to cast detect thoughts to get inside Fehl's head. It is a mind effecting spell. When Bartel cast his fear removal spell. This is not actually a mind effect. So I will like to try an experiment. I will cast a cantrip. This will serve as a control for spellcasting. If you would be so kind as to pray for some sort of divine assistance, a resistance or blessing prayer would work, that will be the independent variable. If we both get sent into the dream, we will know the trigger is magic use. If you do, but I do not, we will know that any divine prayer will let you in, while I must use specific effects. If neither of us get let in, only specific effects for either of us will let us in. Does this sound workable to you?"

Eight paused. "Yes. So clever. But, poor fleshie, I figured it out several minutes ago." The construct looked between the two humans. "I said it before. It's the prayers in general. Or anything that that brings your mind to a state that could be closer to his realm. Now, if you want to run an experiment, you'd want to have me do a prayer and see what happens. But as it is, you're experiment is not being done because I'm not being left alone with these halflings."

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Fehl is awake. Besides, what are you going to do? Stab us? That rather defeats the point of not being left alone with halflings"

[Academia Nut]

A massive symbol of St. Cuthbert, like the symbol in Bartel's hand but the size of a small house, appeared out of thin air and brought down a brilliant pillar of solid light and thought upon the dragon wheeling off to the left. When the light faded the dragon was still there, if not covered in perfectly defined wounds.

The two dragons continued their long, looping flight paths unabated however.

[LadyTevar]

"M'Lady Knght, if I could perchance ask a favor of you? I have a bright idea... Not that those are rare for me mind you. I had to cast detect thoughts to get inside Fehl's head. It is a mind effecting spell. When Bartel cast his fear removal spell. This is not actually a mind effect. So I will like to try an experiment. I will cast a cantrip. This will serve as a control for spellcasting. If you would be so kind as to pray for some sort of divine assistance, a resistance or blessing prayer would work, that will be the independent variable. If we both get sent into the dream, we will know the trigger is magic use. If you do, but I do not, we will know that any divine prayer will let you in, while I must use specific effects. If neither of us get let in, only specific effects for either of us will let us in. Does this sound workable to you?"

"I have already stated I am not going to do so, M'lord Mage," Ceridwen answered in a calm tone of voice, still carressing the cobra's head. "As I recall, I stated another sleeping body would not get us back to town. Therefore, I will not be joining your Experiment, as I am busy making sure we all get back to town safely. Perhaps you should be thinking of this as well?"

[SirNitram]

Volemack normally couldn't send his breath that far, but one rarely thinks carefully in his situation. He was young, too young to be a great tactician yet, or to be extremely schooled in his own limitations.

That, and he had already filled his lungs. The ice crystals and frigid air were there, waiting. There was only one option that wouldn't lead to serious indigestion.

In a blast of raw elemental energies, Volemack roared his defiance at the sky and sent a blizzard stabbing in the direction of the two.