Set Al-Sayyid
Changeling Fighter/Hexblade
AC: 17 HP: 36/36 [44]
PP: 11 PIv: 12 PIs: 9
Conditions: Iumenta Pox (-8 max hp); 3rd level Aid for 8 hours (Mal, +10 max hp)
Concentration: Detect Magic

In the Foothills of Mount Beldrin

"You...are all going to want to get out and see this."

Set steps out of the coach, wary of Ulu's words, but the stench seeps through his shemagh before he even gets a chance to look past her. A feast for vultures, or at least for the crows this far north. Even from a distance, the carnage is horrific. Set takes a moment to glance about, though clearly whatever did this was long gone. All that remains are the dead, a few soldiers, and some holy men.

A memory tugs at him. He'd stopped here before to rest a few nights ago. A few days and nights that had come to feel so much longer. This was where his dreams had changed. Or rather, this was where he'd started having nightmares about the fate of Abydos and his sisters.

Set reaches up to pull his spear free from it's lodging atop the coach and fastens it to the strap at his back before stepping forward after the others. His mouth is a firm line in contrast to the smiles surrounding him as Set wanders amidst the casualties, subconsciously searching the faces for anything familiar as he tries to make sense of the magical haze hanging over the scene. Despite his best attempts, however, the arcane remains as much a mystery as ever.

The scene, at least, was straightforward enough. With each new discovery, Set listens to Mal and Soreshu idly discussing the same topic, even noting the Jackalope-charm each mummer carried. It was familiar to Set, if only just. He'd met a woman in the Vale with dreams bigger than serving ale or turning down beds, and she had shared those dreams as well as her charms. Set's attention, only briefly diverted, snaps back to the present.

"Whispers told of Yurl suffering these sorts of terrors. A group of would-be heroes sought to deal with the menace, though the affair turned costly."

Set flinches at the mention of Yurl, looking from Iceblood to Evergreen as she studies the ground around the mutilated corpses. The limbs strewn about take on new significance as Set gazes at the wooden arm. Set's stomach roils, stepping back as if struck by one of the disembodied hands. He stumbles over a loose arm, it's shoulder missing as it terminates in a twist of bone and meat. Set pulls down his shemagh, hands on knees and breathing heavy as he faces away from the worst of it, spitting in the dirt.

A vision turns his sight inward, the grotesque image behind Set creating a new one in the depths of his mind. Smiling-Sisi stares up at him with empty eye-sockets, innards spilling out into the dirt...no, spilling out into the sand. Set seizes up, the sand and heat choking him as he looks on her tan skin, already turning grey. His eyes dart around looking for the only sister he might have left, but she's nowhere to be found. 'Sythpen? Sythpen!' He runs forward blindly calling out to her, but finds only a patch of quicksand instead. His cries grow even more desperate as he sinks, but then she appears. His sister, his savior, only Sythpen has no arms. 'Set!' she calls, but she can only watch him sink further.

As sand covers his mouth, nose, and eyes, Set holds his breath, and a hand plunges after him, clamping roughly around his robes and dragging him out of the depths. Transformed, Sythpen stands before him a patchwork-person made of flesh and stone. Tan skin gives way to light-colored rock, an arm of limestone socketed into her bare shoulder. Noticing him staring, Sythpen asks in a voice that doesn't belong to her, 'don't you like it?' with the same odd smile and empty eyes as her sister.

Set can feel his sanity slipping, riding the ragged edge, but it's just a vision. Just one more nightmare. It isn't real. Nearby he can hear the Mighty's stable voice quietly discussing what to do next, anchoring Set to reality as Thrice-Blessed examines the bodies nearby. Out of the corner of his eye Set can see Evergreen still standing tall despite the fact that this nightmare must've been real for her.

"<I-...I know what- what this is.>"

Clearing his throat, Set chokes down his first attempt at speech before trying again in common. "Selissa?" Set asks carefully without stepping closer. "What is this thing?"

Spoiler: OOC
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Madness save: 13
Insight: 6
Investigation: 22
Religion: 22
Arcana: 4