(D&D 5e) The Plague of Nightmares IC

[Requilac]

You all come down right before Yaotl moves forward to slap Imbert. Only after a few seconds delay does his hand strike true right where the phantom is, but his palm ends up hitting nothing but empty air. By the time his fist reached there Imbert was already gone. Vanished in thin air at the exact right moment. All that is there now is a piercing scream in a distorted version of Imbert's voice screaming out in pain which rises from the position he once was. The loud yelling continues and mixes with the howling of wolves, some sort of playback of the noise when he was nearly killed by the zombified wolves. All of you can hear the terrible screeching which continues for what feels like minutes but probably only lasts a couple of seconds. The horrific sound is nauseating and causes you to gag.

The inkeeper man looks confused at you and the boy's reaction. "What's wrong? Why are you all clutching your head like that?"

[Sariel Vailo]

The nightmares of the dead,i hear one such nightmare.

[Zergrinch]

Still rubbing his head from pain, Zuzu stares at the innkeeper. He replays the sound he heard and the sight he saw of Imbert using his Minor Illusion.

"That was what I saw and heard. Didn't you hear it?"

[bc56]

"It would appear that only we and the boy can hear or ssseee thisss phantom." Yaotl is perplexed and worried.

[Awful]

Yvonne bore the screeching stoically, merely muttering a prayer to Vitay.
"How wretched. As a precaution, none of us should sleep alone in a room, lest we be assaulted by whatever umbral ghost attacked the boy. The most proper way would be of miss Anatasia and I in one, Zuzu and Yoatl in another."

She frowned.
"Dark magic is clearly afoot, and only a fool would lack sufficient caution."

[Requilac]

Still rubbing his head from pain, Zuzu stares at the innkeeper. He replays the sound he heard and the sight he saw of Imbert using his Minor Illusion.

"That was what I saw and heard. Didn't you hear it?"

Both of the inkeepers look at the illusion in a mix of confusion and terror. After what seems like a minute's pause the woman eventually speaks up. "I fear that you all have contracted the plague too then. I am so sorry that this had to happen to you. I... I wish I could say more". After a noticeable pause the husband eventually speaks up to. "Don't look at your reflection for too long. The people with the infection tend to see hallucinations when they look through mirrors." He looks at the anxious boy who stands their in awe of where Imbert once was.

[Sariel Vailo]

Ah so my worst fear has come to pass their is now truly no going back.

[Zergrinch]

A numb Zuzu stumbles back into his room. Completely rebelling against good advice, the young gnome takes a mirror and studies his reflection intently.

[Requilac]

A numb Zuzu stumbles back into his room. Completely rebelling against good advice, the young gnome takes a mirror and studies his reflection intently.

You are surprised to find that all of the mirrors in the inn have been removed. Even in the places where they should be they aren't they and have been quite clearly taken out. The innkeepers must have taken proactive measures so that people wouldn't see the hallucinations. That being said, a large enough bucket of water should suffice, if you felt that you had the energy to take it.

[Zergrinch]

"I have the Plague. I have the Plague. I have the Plague," Zuzu repeats to himself as he motions to his Unseen Servant to take a bucket and fill it up with water.

[bc56]

Yaotl follows Zuzu, mainly because he wants to see the effects of the plague in someone else, but also because he's worried about the boy and does not want him to be hurt in his sleep by the shadowy creature. He takes care to not let Zuzu see him.

Spoiler: stealth

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(1d20)[9]

[Sariel Vailo]

Hmm, so in keepers do you have any wine? Seeing as how i know have a death sentence, id like to throw myself a wake while i live. That way i can do what i came here to do no regrets no surender.

[Awful]

Yvonne let out a grimly amused snort at Anatasia's request.
"Hmmph! That is one way to look at it."
She shook her head as if to dismiss despair, standing tall and strong.
"I did not fear death before, and I do not now. I knew coming here there would be danger... this just gives me a time limit, to find the cause of the plague and tear out its heart. Innkeep! I'll join the lady in wine."

[Requilac]

"I have the Plague. I have the Plague. I have the Plague," Zuzu repeats to himself as he motions to his Unseen Servant to take a bucket and fill it up with water.

You take a bucket and fill it with water, desperately trying look at your reflection whilst under a compulsion. Eventually you do so. And what you see horrifies you. It frightens you to the very core. It is hideous beyond all belief.

Spoiler: this is what you see...

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Your own ugly face!

No seriously, that is all you see. Just your face. Nothing special really. It is quite anti-climatic really.

Yaotl follows Zuzu, mainly because he wants to see the effects of the plague in someone else, but also because he's worried about the boy and does not want him to be hurt in his sleep by the shadowy creature. He takes care to not let Zuzu see him.

Spoiler: stealth

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[roll0]

You are able to look into the bucket too and see what Zuzu's reflection is of.

Hmm, so in keepers do you have any wine? Seeing as how i know have a death sentence, id like to throw myself a wake while i live. That way i can do what i came here to do no regrets no surender.

Yvonne let out a grimly amused snort at Anatasia's request.
"Hmmph! That is one way to look at it."
She shook her head as if to dismiss despair, standing tall and strong.
"I did not fear death before, and I do not now. I knew coming here there would be danger... this just gives me a time limit, to find the cause of the plague and tear out its heart. Innkeep! I'll join the lady in wine."

The innkeepers look at you solemnly and give the both of you a glass of wine, the husband hands Yvonne her glass and his wife hands anastasia her's. Neither of them seem to want to say anything. It isn't until then that you realize the boy has fainted. Lukcily he still appears to be breathing though.

[Sariel Vailo]

To yvonee
Make a pact with me yvonne, no regrets, no surrender and should i die before i wake i pray my soul the demons do not take.for when i wake i bring the end to this plague by sword,by spell,and by song.the night will be gone for we four will bring the dawn.
Though you need not say the rhyme raise your sword to my rapier for we will bring the dawn.

[Zergrinch]

Zuzu continues to study his own ugly face to see if anything has changed. Do his eyes look a bit more sunken? Is he paler than usual?

[Requilac]

Zuzu continues to study his own ugly face to see if anything has changed. Do his eyes look a bit more sunken? Is he paler than usual?

You are indeed paler and look more tired, but you have been through a rough day so far and travelled for a very long time so that isn't all that surprising. Nothing out of the ordinary about your appearance. And you have none of the symptoms that the child downstairs had. Perhaps they were a little quick too jump to the conclusion that you were infected?

[Zergrinch]

Zuzu smacks himself on the head. Perhaps he was too gullible and quick to believe the ramblings of the innkeeper. Giving his hideous visage one last look, the boy motions to his unseen servant to put away the barrel.

After the gnome finishes inscribing the spells he devised in his spellbook, he strips to his underwear and goes right to bed.

Spoiler

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OOC: I am now ready to move on to the next scene.

[Awful]

To yvonee
Make a pact with me yvonne, no regrets, no surrender and should i die before i wake i pray my soul the demons do not take.for when i wake i bring the end to this plague by sword,by spell,and by song.the night will be gone for we four will bring the dawn.
Though you need not say the rhyme raise your sword to my rapier for we will bring the dawn.

Yvonne smiled, a thin, grim thing on a face more suited to imperial dismissal, and clanged a fist against her breastplate.
"I have already vowed to end this curse, and I intend to hold that oath. By sword and by spell... you forgot one more thing as well, miss Anatasia. Faith. It is through faith in the gods that we gain the strength to endure any trial."
She was silent a moment, then out of curiosity, she spoke again.
"Do you follow the gods, bard?"
She added another thing as it occurred to her. She leaned back, and her tone held no real heat, but there was steel in it nonetheless.
"And that is Lady Yvonne, or Knightess Yvonne, to those not my peers. The Plague has not eroded my bloodline, and I have not given you leave to address me without a title."

[Sariel Vailo]

Of your gods their are two that i pray to vitay for health and to restore what was broken be that bones,or the world itself. Prolus this war any and all wars are waged in the mind and with good tactics can be pulled back from failure.

[Awful]

"I see. There are worse gods to worship." She smiled thinly, as if to acknowledge the 'Well, of course an adherent of Vitay would think that'. "Now, however, I intend to retire for the night. I am aware you elves do not sleep as we do. Fortunate creatures... nonetheless, it would be smart for you to share a room." she added wryly.

She ensured the last of her wine was drained from the glass and rose, beginning to head upstairs, there to carefully shed her armour - one can't really sleep in full plate - and sleep.

[Requilac]

You all eventually reach the agreement to finally retire for the night. Yaotl and Zuzu enter one room and Anastasia and yvonne go to the other. All of you manage to enter a troubled sort of rest in the dreary place, but rest it is nontheless. Nightmares which you can only remember your horror and not their reasons infest your subconscious hours. Only Anastasia who does not sleep but meditates can find some semblance of peace. Nontheless, the sun does find its way to shine upon Senckried and through the minute cracks in the wall, even if it is only the crack of dawn. You all gain the benefits of a long rest. You were not attacked during the night luckily and try your best to jump out of bed in the faint morning.

But you find the act of doing so impossible. You all try your hardest to pick up your limbs, but they do not move. Somehow you all have been paralyzed in place.*

* Anastasia is unaffected.

____

In the girl's room a figure appears next to Yvonne's bed. Its shadowy form is vague and featureless, as if you were seeing the outline of a person and not the person itself. Atop its head sits a wide brimmed hat, but other than that you can determine no other definining characteristics. Except for two glowing white circles for eyes which stare down Yvonne's. She feels an overhwelming sense of horrible fear and is almost paralyzed but manages to steel herself and jump into action quickly.

Yvonne resists the shadow person's gaze.

Anastasia looks on with absolute surprise as to seeing it. She swore that she saw a vague shape pass her by, but it could not have been this fully formed creature which she sees across the room now. How could it have snuck past her so easily?

___

The resting place of the boy's experience a similar phenomenon. Out of the corner of their eyes, the both of them can see a black vague figure approaching them. One with a somewhat cloaked head strides toward Yaotl but a different one with what appear's to be a bird's beak makes its way over to Zuzu. They approach each of their beds while in their paralyzed state and their eyes flash a white light of hellish nature.

Zuzu's is overtaken with fear and cannot do anything but suffocate in place at the shadowed being with the indistinct head of a vulture's. Zuzu is frightened, for 1 minute. While frightened in this manner he is also stunned. He can re-make a DC 13 charisma saving throw at the end of every turn, ending the conditions on a success.

Yaotl though is not so easily left quaking by the cloaked shadow person and is able to shrug off the paralysis and react quickly. Yaotl is unaffected by the shadow person's gaze.

Initiative combat has begun, it is your turns now.

[bc56]

Yaotl stiffens. Then his body starts to transform. He lurches forward, his arms and legs becoming thin and spindly, and extra limbs erupting from his sides. His skin becomes hard and chitinous, and his joints become segmented. His face also is not spared a hideous alteration, several extra eyes opening in its surface. When it is finished, a spider the size of a large dog stands where Yaotl was. It hisses at the shadows.

Spoiler: OOC

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Yaotl wildshapes into a Giant Wolf Spider

[Awful]

Her sleep was uneasy, fraught with nightmares, ajnd tossing and turning. In truth, she was glad to wake to see the dawn, even if it was in this gods-forsaken fief.

She tried to rise.

Yvonne grunted in anger when she found her limbs immobile. Her eyes widened as the shadow-witch assaulted her with sheer horror, before they narrowed. Her hands spasmed, then clenched into fists as she fought through the eldritch power.
"I..." she hissed, voice rising into a roar. "I am Knightess Yvonne, and I will not be cowed by phantoms!"
She tore her sword out its scabbard and hurled herself to her feet, bringing down a pair of fearsome slashes!
"Have at you, fiend!"

Spoiler: Actions

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Attack, action surge, then attack again!
Attack one: (1d20+5)[18], (1d8+3)[7] damage if hit
Attack two: (1d20+5)[13], (1d8+3)[8] damage if hit

[Zergrinch]

Zuzu's eyes open wide with fear, and every neuron in his brain is telling him to get out of bed. But, he can't move. Even the contents of his bladder refuse to void themselves into the bed despite his great fear.

Was this it? Is the plague going to take him now? Is it the end of the line for the fourteen year-old gnome???

CHA save: (d20-1)[14]
Assuming the effect is magic in nature, advantage: (d20-1)[15]

[Sariel Vailo]

Begone Shadow pervert,atacking us while we are in our in our night clothes.

Spoiler: Vicious mockery

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(1d20+1)[10]
Damage in case they failed the save.(1d4)[3]

[Requilac]

The shadow person with the witche's hat doesn't even seem to acknowledge that it has been damaged at all, and although you know that you must have hurt it, you see no wounds on its body. Its eyes stop flashing and dissipate into hollow voids as it lurches forward to choke Yvonne. After just escaping from being paralyzed with fear she cannot react quickly enough to parry it. Its disproportionately long hands and its talons latch on and seem to leach the life force from her.

Yvonne takes 4 psychic damage and her hit point maximum decreases by 4 for the next hour.

Zuzu manages to break free from the paralyzing gaze of the nightmarish vulture headed monster, but this only seems to spur it on. Its eyes now glow blinding bright as it clamps its hands over Zuzu's still lying head and attempts to choke him in a similar manner. Zuzu although frightened has the charm of the gnome to protect him from this horrifying strike. Regardless though a pitch black hand is still asphyxiating him.

Zuzu takes 2 psychic damage. His hit point maximum does not decrease.

A normal person would have been surprised to see their victim turn into a giant spider, but the cloaked shadow man shows no emotion whatsoever in his face or body. After you transform it raises its hands upwards as thin wispy tendrils of pure darkness erupt out from the ground and try to envelop Yaotl, but his spider form appears to be surprisingly agile and it leaps out of the way.

Yaotl is unharmed.

Your turns now.

[bc56]

Spider-Yaotl bites at the cloaked shadow, then scuttles up the wall.

Spoiler: turn

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bite, then move up the wall as far as possible without provoking an AOO.
(1d20+3)[9].
On a hit: (1d6+1)[4] piercing damage, (2d6)[9] poison damage, save for half (1d20+2)[13]
If poison reduced it to 0, it is stable and poisoned for 1 hour, even after regaining HP, and is paralyzed while poisoned in this way.

[Zergrinch]

Zuzu struggles feebly. Already, the gnome can feel his windpipe starting to be crushed by the cruel shadow. Grabbing futilely at his throat, the boy thrashes as his body starts to feel the lack of oxygen reaching his lungs.

As a last ditch resort, the young mage twirls his hand in the arcane patterns he had just perfected the night before.

"C...crepulus Tonitruum!" he manages to croak out, fashioning a last-ditch space of safety for the transformed spider that he knew was the druid as he unleashes a wave of thunder.

KRA-KOOM!

Spoiler

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Action: Thunderwave (15-foot cube emanating from Zuzu). Use Sculpt Spell to protect Yaotl from the area of effect. All creatures caught in the area of effect must succeed on a DC 13 CON save, or take (2d8)[13] thunder damage and be pushed 10 feet away from Zuzu. On successful save, no push, and half damage.

Saving throws:

• Bird head: (d20+2)[18] vs 13. Success. 6 damage.
• Cloak: (d20+2)[5] vs 13. Fail. 13 damage; pushed to D8. Does it take damage from hitting the wall?

[Sariel Vailo]

Knightess yvonne i shall aid you