From the journal of Kenari Sanura
"Where are we, anyway?" Ef Utan asks as he rolls out the map in the helm room. "According to this… it looks like we're near the Dragon Constellation."
"Here there be treasure…" I mutter to myself.
"Yeah, but right now, I'm more worried about fresh air," Ef Utan nods. "We're going to have to search all of these areas anyway, so let's start with the nearest one and if the Scope of Celestial Analysis agrees, we'll replenish our supply."
I nod and shrug my shoulders, as I can't think of anything better at the moment. I definitely need to shake this feeling of dread, though… and I know just how to get my distraction as I head down to my quarters for the night.
From the journal of Vedis Valentine
Finally! I've had more than I can take of the Flogistan. I could use some SERIOUS shore leave. We came to the Sphere of Shadows to find that it got its name from the swirling, dark mists that surround and infuse it. It was hard to enter, but Lenata hopped on the helm and used her piloting skills to win us through.
Once we entered the sphere, the smoky swirls seemed to congeal, though there was no odor to them or any physical sense of what they were made of. All they seemed to do was mess with our vision (also, the crew). Dark mutterings seemed to spring up from everywhere. I tried my best to bolster morale once more, but the singing sounded eerie, even to me, amongst the half-light and darkness rising all about us.
We spent days headed toward the nearest planet on our charts to replenish air and water (if there was any water there). It was getting rather musty in our envelope. We were about halfway there and I was on watch, when all of a sudden, a horrible-looking creature appeared in the middle of the deck. I've always tried not to judge a person by their appearance, and so far no one had managed to "appear" on the deck without being friendly, so I hailed the (ugly, horrible, GROSS!) creature in Common.
It turned its glowing eyes on me, and in a blink was right on top of me! I narrowly missed being pinned to the deck by its barbed tail and slashed by its claws. "Guys! WE HAVE COMPANY!" I screamed loud enough to wake the dead, hoping to get aid fighting off the invading ugly. This thing was twice my size and meaner than anything I'd ever want to face alone. I manifested my mindblades and prepared to try to hold him off until the cavalry arrived.
Pulse-pounding moments passed as I traded blows with the monster. In no time at all, or ages, (who can tell in these situations?) my allies arrived on deck and gave the creature more hell than I could do on my own. As Word flew up the stairs, screaming "Guard your minds, friends, for this is the enemy of which I spoke!" I took a right hook from the beast that sent me flying across the deck into a pile of ropes.
I shook my head to clear it as the clang of Word's glowing blade met the creature's claws. "Take that, you creature of nightmare!" Word yelled and I spotted Kenari slipping into cover behind a door frame. A second later and I would have missed her entirely. I dragged myself to my feet and manifested new blades, ready to bring a little Maenad payback to the monster.
I got a few good slices in, while Kenari shot from cover and Word flew all over in front of the monster, taunting it and drawing its attention. Lenata arrived at the same time as Ef, though from different doorways. I had to force myself not to stop and stare when I realized that Ef was wearing Mage Armor… and nothing else.
Flashes of nightmare passed into my brain for a moment, courtesy of one black look from the 'Quori,' but I shook that off, too. All that mattered was keeping my friends safe from the hellish beast. It seemed poor Takero wasn't so lucky as he began attacking the ship itself. Amidst the screams and clangs of battle, I swiped and swiped with my blades, missing the creature time after time as it wiggled just out of the way when I was about to strike. Damage done by bullets and mundane weaponry healed before my eyes on the nightmare creature's hide, and blow after blow looked nasty one moment, but ineffectual the next.
Frustration and hopelessness filled my heart. This was a creature of the darker realms of my homeland. Why couldn't I kill it? Why couldn't I just will the bad dream away? With a cry of abject hatred, I slashed into the creature, sinking my blade in deep and felt for the first time the very essence of a creature from my realm touching my mind, sticking to my blade. I held onto that essence with all my might, and as I drew back my weapon, felt it being drawn out with it, into my keeping. Into me. It felt like inhaling a breath of frigid air into starving lungs: painful, yet sustaining…
In that moment, I pulled back with all my might, slipped on the black blood on the decking, and fell. Stars exploded before my vision, pain radiating out from my skull, then darkness.
I open my eyes to the strange visage of my Warforged friend. If he could have expression, I'd swear he was looking down on me with concern. "Is it dead?" I croak.
"Indeed. The creature is no more."
"Did I kill it?" I wonder aloud, still watching stars flit about the periphery of my vision.
"Whatever you did seemed to have killed it, yes," he replied, stoically. I might have heard a smile in his voice.
Kenari approached, still snickering. It was strange to see her from such an angle… as I watched, something caught my eye. A shadow remained after the stars had gone, revolving around my head like a planet or one of those "Ioun Stones" Sapphira's dad had floating about his. Worried I might actually be going crazy, I pointed at it. "Do you see that?" I asked Word.
"Why yes, I do…" he replied, tracking its progress. I raised up a hand in its path and as it passed through my skin, I caught the mental image of a dark, desolate space with a little boy being terrified by gibbering monsters.
"Great trick… but you need to work on the finale," Kenari laughs as she grips my hand to help me up. I guess she can't see what I took out of the Quori. I shook off the remaining chill from playing with my new 'nightmare' and scanned the deck for more uninvited company. 'Least that's what I plan to tell everyone I was looking for, when really I was searching for another glimpse of naked Ef. He was nowhere to be seen.
Lenata set about healing the injured (especially me) and Kenari went back to bed. Ef arrived back on deck a short while later with all his armor on. I smothered a sigh of regret. "I'll take my watch. You should go get some sleep," he offered kindly.
"That's not really necessary," I started, sure I could finish out my watch like a big girl.
"You hit your head pretty hard," Ef teased. He sobered, then. "You were also fighting that Quori the longest. If anybody deserves a break, it's you." I searched his eyes for a moment, seeing a new-found respect, and perhaps a bit of trepidation. However I killed that thing, it wasn't normal. I nodded, feeling suddenly like a freak, and thanked him absently as I headed back to my quarters to sift through my thoughts.
I haven't tried to play with the floating sphere around my head. I don't like the feel of it. I know it's mine, now, but I have no clue what it means. How did a creature of nightmare get on our deck? Dark thoughts slither in the shadows. I think I'll distract myself by bringing up that memory of Ef wearing only Mage-Armor. The sparkling aura caressed his muscles so prettily….
From the journal of Kenari Sanura
Three days into our travel inside the sphere and I am once again woken up by the sounds of battle on decks. "Gods… not again," I mutter as I roll out of the hammock and look for my guns.
"Do you want me to help you with your armor, love?" Dassam asks as he runs a gentle finger down my spine.
"Mmm…I'd rather you help me with something else," I grin as I slip on my shiftweave, "but duty calls and either of those activities will just take too much time." I lean in to kiss Dassam as I grab my gun holster off a hook on the wall.
"I'll be back before you know it," I smile as I slip out the door to quietly sneak my way up the stairs to the top deck. After last time, I'm not about to rush into battle again.
As I peek through the door I see a most dreadful creature with multiple eyes and claws rearing up next to Vedis.
"This is a Quori," Word of Wisdom yells as he propels himself into battle. "Guard your minds, as it is a creature of nightmares!"
"Well shit," I mutter as I duck back in the hallway and click back the hammers on my Dragon Pistols.
Think, Kenari… think… if this creature uses mental abilities like Vedis does, then maybe if it can't see you… it can't retaliate?
"Worth a shot, anyway," I tell myself as I grit my teeth and launch myself through the doorway.
By the third time I'm ducking through the door I've gone through four loaded pistols and have resorted to quickly loading and firing one at a time. As I lean out and shoot my last shot I hear Word of Wisdom once again yelling out.
"Stop Takero!"
Crap… I wonder what spell the Hexblade has fallen under? I toss my spent gun to the ground and prepare to run after the ensorcelled Shu, but am stopped short at the sight of Vedis grappling with the Quori and pulling the strange shadowy stuff out of it like a sideshow mage with a set of scarves. Her strange actions make me momentarily forget the runaway Hexblade, until she slips and falls on her rear with the last of the nightmarish creature dissolving into mist above her. Heh… now that's the Vedis I know.
Now that the imminent danger is over, I run to the top deck to find that Takero was merely running for a place to hide after falling victim to the fear effects of the creature. I can't blame him, honestly. If my hide & seek game hadn't worked, I'd probably of been right there with him… or worse.
I really do need to find a way to improve my mental defenses if we're going to encounter more creatures like this. I wonder if Word and Vedis could give me any advice.
After checking on our frightened Hexblade, I notice that Word is tending Vedis, who seems to be out cold from the fall on the deck after finishing off that Quori.
"She seems to be all right, she just knocked her head when she fell."
Sensing an opportunity, I leap down the stairs to the main deck and grin. "Wait…wait… let me get my giggles out before you wake her up," I chuckle as I mimic her actions with my hands. "WOOSH…BANG! Seriously… that was priceless!"
I take a few moments to reload all my guns in case there are more creatures showing up, when eventually Vedis groggily opens her eyes and sits up. "Do you see that?" she mutters to Word and points to the air around her head.
"Why yes, I do…" Word replies. Feh… secret psychic stuff I guess…
I lean over Vedis and offer her a hand up. "Great trick… but you need to work on the finale," I joke. Once Vedis clears her head she and Word scan the ship for any more of these dream creatures… but all seems to be clear for now.
"Well if there's nothing else that needs immediate attention… I'm going back to bed," I say as I gesture over my shoulder to the stairs. Bed, yes… rest… well… that depends on if Dassam is still asleep.
From the journal of Vedis Valentine
Perhaps some good can come of being so close to nightmare… Word and I got to talking about what this place is made of, where it is Plane-wise, and of course, how that Quori happened to appear. As the cloying swirls of musty dark closed in around us, rendering vision near-impossible, we theorized and tried to find out how we might be able to see through the worst of the fog.
It seemed a simple enough test, so I climbed out onto the prow and tried to affect the waking world as I do when I'm lucid-dreaming. Sure enough, the mists parted out of the way, and Lenata could finally pilot us toward the planet without fear of crashing into anything.
The crew, so worried before, broke into applause. Finally, I can boost morale! Scared sailors are absolutely impossible to work with.
From the journal of Kenari Sanura
It's about 5 days into our travels inside the sphere when we finally have a planet within sight. According to our maps, there is supposedly treasure on the planet Soharas. Just so long as there is air…and that Dragon constellation isn't named after anything living around here.
As we travel closer, it seems that the black haze has started to gather in clumps to block our sight… to the point that it feels like it's almost sentient in the way that it's trying to block us from going there.
"Any idea what this substance might be?" I ask the silent Psiforged as we perform as look-outs on the fore deck. "It seems odd that a creature from your home would all of a sudden appear here."
He seems about to reply when Vedis walks by on the deck below muttering something about "pretty sparkles in the fog." Word turns slightly to listen and then the stones imbeded in his chest momentarily glow.
"There is definitely something odd in the mist," Word confirms. "From what I can tell… it is as if the barrier between the Dream realm and the Prime is especially thin here…and thus allows the Quori to manifest."
"Dreams, eh?" Vedis asks as she climbs the stair to the fore deck. "Watch this," she says as she slaps her hands together and then holds them out and concentrates. After a moment the strange fog seems to thin slightly… to the delight of some of the applauding crew.
"Heh… if that impresses them, they haven't seen anything yet," I snort.
Eventually with Vedis' assistance we are able to make our way through the fog to finally get a good look at Soharas. For a place that's supposed to have treasure, it looks awfully…well… dull. There's hardly anything of note on the surface… just flat lands and lots of holes in the ground of various sizes. Some of them are quite small… but some of them are so big our ship might actually fit.
"The scope says the air is good with moderate intelligent life," we hear Ef Utan declare over the tubes. "We're going down to 1,500 feet to get a closer look at the larger holes in the ground."
As we drop down closer to the planet I lean over the rail and try to spot anything our of the ordinary. Once we stop and hover over one of them I still can't spot anything… but I feel something. It's almost like…like I can feel a shifting in gravity every time we pass over one.
Suddenly it clicks and I run over to one of the tubes. "Ef… I think those larger tunnels are made to be ship entrances! I can feel the gravity shift when we pass over them, like a box flipped on its side!"
"Okay… but which tunnel? There are a few in this area." Ef Utan replied. "The scanner has picked up a few. One of them has a black shimmer to it, one is full of bats, and there are three others that are pretty plain."
"Hmmn… believe it or not, I vote for the one with bats in it. If they are sleeping there, then there must not be any bigger monsters or other disturbances in the tunnel, right?"
"Good point," Ef Utan replies. "I'll tell Lenata where we need to go while the rest of you play look-out on deck."
Today seems to be a good day for ship piloting… as Lenata is able to smoothly take us down into the tunnel where we initiate silent running so as not to disturb the bats sleeping above our heads. As the light from the green pyramid fades, it is replaced by the dim glow of moss along the walls… just enough for those of us with low-light vision.
It isn't long before the silence and slow speed get to me, though. "Hey, you want to see a neat trick?" I ask Word as I grab something out of my pack, as it seems he and Vedis are using their powers for sight on the foredeck. He turns to me with glowing eyes and is about to respond when Vedis sees the Thunderstone in my hand and grabs my wrist.
"No…no he doesn't," she says sternly before letting me go.
Feh… psions… no sense of humor.
Seeing as that diversion wasn't going to work… I construct diagrams in my head of my new idea for an invention for ships: Darkvision Spotlights.
Eventually my boredom is broken by us coming to a fork in the tunnel. Once everything is quieted, I lean out on the foredeck and do my best to listen for any signs of life. I'm just about to give up when I hear the faintest sound from the left tunnel that surprises me. Could that have been a…. meow?
"Sounds of feline life from the left tunnel, guys," I whisper into the tubes.
"…okay…" Ef Utan replies after a moment. "Let's get the crew manning the weapons while the rest of us take point positions before we move on."
Once the catapult and ballistae are manned, Vedis and I take the front, Ef Utan and Takero take the back, and Word… he walks over the side of the ship and sticks to the bottom. Show off.
We continue to "fly casual" as Vedis put it… until I see a large circular entrance carved with runes embedded in the tunnel's path. As we get closer my eyes widen in shock as I realize I recognize these runes… for they are very close to the hieroglyphs of Mulhorand. Could these be from the Egyptos culture that I read about?
"The text speaks of a blessing to Ra, the Sun God and "all-father" to the gods of Mulhorand," I tell the others. "There's nothing about warnings, infidels, non-believers or treasure… and I didn't find any traps around it, so I think it's ok to keep going."
We all hold our breath as Lenata continues to move the ship through the stone circle, and let it out in relief when nothing happens. Just in time for me to gasp, as once I look past the circle I see in the distance where they might have come from.
"By Bast's whisker…" I whisper as I take in the sights of the pyramids and obelisks of home.