Session 025: Mindscape Report
General Summary
The party went into the mindscape of the swarm hearing whispering voices that cannot be made out.
Ahnje put on the Crown of Hylax feeling a sense of peace. (All the party is counted as attuned to it, & it doesn't count against the magical items.)
Magic works the same, time is similar, though likely with a time dilation effect, & you are fully present so injuries & illnesses will affect those within it.
The smoky color of silver obscures this space entirely. Soon enough, colors begin to appear in the miasmic fog, dancing like muted wisps of painted air within the encompassing mist. The ground becomes tangible, each step or movement generating the telltale crunch of sand, and this sand has the
same silvery coloration as the encompassing fog. Clicking noises can be heard off in the distance, though their direction and source remains a mystery. Many different odors assail the senses. One moment the air smells like cinnamon, while the next moment it switches to the salty smell of the sea.
Finding two mindscape mindreapers they dispatched them quickly. Then they came up to a mental mirage from their pasts.
Ahnje & Crasian each took 1 dmg to all of their mental stats, passing the save the second time.
Each member of the squad saw a place connected to an event from their past:
- Ahnje - the location of the incident with the Azlanti
- Fumbles - A traumatic incident from his past that he kept mostly to himself
- Crasian - being experiemented on by the Azlanti
- Negaflare - the darkness of the Thylean undeath deity, Versi.
- Rivet - where he copied the minds of the people into himself
This alien vista is a churning maelstrom of color, above which is a dull, black, starless sky. In the distance, through the break at the top of the eye of the storm, a shining comet of silvery light streaks across the empty heavens
A creature that appeared both Shirren & Swarm, & neither Shirren & Swarm appeared before them. He was blue with lightning flickering on him.
He greeted them telepathically & told them that his name was Independence & that he knew that they weren't swarm.
He gave directions to them so they could find refuge.
The fog slowly lifts from all around, revealing the horizon and distant features of the landscape: titanic termite mounds and other frightening organic structures. The night sky above is a starless dark with the faint glow of a small comet providing the only light. Soon, the wind picks up, carrying with it stinging sands and a barely audible inhuman wail.
Clouds the color of dark bruises move quickly in as the howl becomes a terrible, soul‑wrenching screech that couldn’t possibly come from the throat of any mortal creature. The sand being blown by the winds becomes like thousands of tiny needles and swirls in strange shapes and colors just at the edge of vision.
A whirlwind of unusual effects
(most common one was) Dangerous Inquiry: A complex scientific question physically manifests in front of the PC. It appears as a cloud of glowing text and symbols and demands to be answered. To do so, the PC must succeed at a DC 26 Life Science or Physical Science check. Failure means that in the following round, roll twice on this table for that PC and choose one effect from the two results as you see fit.
After 15 successes they were able to proceed.
With a single step, everything changes. You unexpectedly feel yourself inhabiting another’s body, seeing through their eyes. You hear the sounds of terrified shouts nearby and the scuttling of your own chitinous feet on stone. You smell the tangy odor of foul organic acid along with the fear and desperation of those who stand in your way. You feel a powerful instinct to overwhelm and destroy.
Looking down Midnight Squad saw that the were all Swarm Thresher Lords in the temple room they were in with Tuvah.
They helped the fighters win the battle & learnt that time was progressing slightly slower in the mindscape than it was on the comet.
Coming to the refuge two huge creatures blocked the path & after a long combat one was finally defeated. Upon that defeat the second one faded away.
