Session 22

Falling into their deep slumber, our heroes found themselves also falling towards the ground. With what little time they had to think, Kalydin instructed his guardian angel, Seraph, to catch the party members and use his wings to help them glide to the ground below safely. With them now on firmer footing, our heroes observed te land around them, looking for any kind of landmark.

In the distance with mountains, whose shape shifted almost imperceptibly. It was then that Sam Calas thought that there should be some form of difference in the vast plain where they now stood. A forest or a city or something. Looking around, he found a forest. He also found a town that in the opposite direction. Liaden O'Legal, looking for anything that would be familiar looked around to find their home, standing out in the centre of the newly appeared town.

Wondering about the limits of this dreamscape, and exactly how much control they had, Kalydin began to ponder about the existence of nightmares, even going as far to ask aloud if they would ever exist in this realm. As Kalydin then turned to the forest to try and inspect it, he was two glowing dots of light from amongst the trees, which had now grown dark. So too had the sky in the distance. The longer Kalydin held his eyes upon the being, it emerged. It's gnarled, claw-like, fingers curled around the tree bark revealing the rest of its face. While Kalydin looked into its eyes, he could hear the creature's awful wail as vividly as if he were right in front of it. A horrid, wet screeching filled his mind as he was filled with a sense of impending doom.

Noticing their companion startled, Oryim and Sam asked him what was wrong. He pointed to the horrid creature, now slowly shambling from the woods. The three of them agreed that the town would therefore be the best place to go. As the creature crept closer, they noticed that it followed the night that also crept across the sky and the ground. Any time they made eye contact, the shrieking filled their ears and they felt as thought they were bring drawn closer to the pin-pricks of orange light.

Having arrived at the doors to Liaden's home, the Talo-Sali Orphanage, the night nipped at their heels. Sam swung open the doors and ushered everyone inside. It wasn't until they closed the door that they realised something was different. It was Liaden who niticed first, as disappointment filled her heart. This was no longer the inside of her home. This was a separate orphanage, dishevelled and thrown around. Outside, through the windows, sounds of fighting could be heard. Sam and Oryim peered out the window to see what was going on. As they gazed upon the land outside the orphanage, Oryim was struck by a memory. He had been here, in the bloodiest time Mitlind had ever seen. This was a memory from the midst of the Second Dossil War.

However, as this memory occured to Oryim, the uniforms sarked a memory in Sam, as he recognised the military uniform of him home country, Morris Cove. He watched as agents of Morris cove, properly armed and trained soldiers, routed their enemies who were little more than farmers and civilians armed with whatever sharp objects they could find in their homes. The two of them shared a moment, Sam now realising the true horror of war and the devestation that his homeland had brought here. However, Sam was not without his own criticism. He looked Oryim in the eye and asked: "If you wanted to defend this place, why did you run as soon as you were losing?" A question that Oryim either could not, or chose not to answer.

As they watched on, absorbing the history of Oryim's memory, Kalydin saw that night was approaching again, and darkness crept across the soil towards them. The horrid nightmare creature pulled itself around a building and locked eyes with Kalydin, the wailing wracking his brain. As Kalydin broke eye contact he searched around for somewhere to run. He saw a door on the far side of the building and ran to open it. As it opened, Liaden's spirits rose again, as they were greeted by her garden back home in Silvaantar. Seeing the need for urgency, they entered the garden and slamed the door behind them.

Liaden looked around relieved to see that everything was where she left it. However, she did not appreciate the weeds that had grown. She reminded herself that none of this was real, and that her real garden would never be in such a sorry state. Looking around at the garden for anything out of the ordinary, she noticed a thick brass key. Unlike any key she had ever seen before. She knew not where the key had come from nor where it would, or should be kept. EIther way; finders keepers.

Seeing that they had two ways out, our heroes decided to try the door. As Kalydin opened the door, Sam's heart sank. On the other side was another garden, Sam's garden. He peered into the garden and noticed a doll, covered in dirt resing against the fence. He remembered that doll well, and remembered now that he was suppose to mow the lawn. Feeling panicked and unable to face what he would find, he slammed the door shut. His companions understood and said that they would go elsewhere. Kalydin hopped the fence with ease, inviting the others to follow. Oryim gladly hopped the fence, while Sam and Liaden used the gate like civilised adults.

They came upon the next nearest house, the town's layout was exactly how Liaden remembered it, minus the people. As the door creaked open, they saw only darkness within. Eventually, their eyes adjusted to the darkness identfying the room as an entry way to a home. Sam looked to the mantlepiece in the entry way and recognised the pictures here. He saw himself smiling with his wife, a drawing of a small blob like figure with two taller but no-less blobby figures and a picture of his wife daughter and himself together. This was his home, and he came now to realise that he must face whatever it is that wants him here.

As he stared down the hallway he noticed that the door at its end, the kitchen, had light seeping from the gaps around it. As he stepped closer he heard the faint sound of humming. His wife's voice was humming in the kitchen, then the smell came to his nose. His favourite meal. As he continued to wander forward, he forgot about the floorboard that creaked. As the floorboard creaked the humming stopped. And he heard the soft voice of his daughter. "Is daddy home?"
"I think he is sweetheart, why don't you go and greet him with a big hug?"
As Sam steeled himself to see his family again, the door to the kitchen swung open. The room was empty. Sam stepped quietly into the kitchen, the food was still cooking on the stove. His daughter's chair pulled out from the table. A realisation came to him as he barged past the others and threw open the door to his bedroom.

Glowing on the walls and bathing them all in a pale red light, were runes written in blood. No bodies were there as Sam remembered, but the anger and shame still filled his body. He threw the bed frame across the room as his companions noticed a dark smoke start to creep from the gaps in his armour. He turned and saw his foe, Rohan. The man he thought to be his mentor. He stood there wide toothy grin worn on his face: "Sorry Sam, this is how it has to be." He reached out and clutched the apparition by the throat. Meanwhile, Kalydin and Liaden watched on in horror as Oryim was lifted off her feet by a smoke-wreathed Sam. Clucthing at Sam's hand and gasping for breath, Oryim managed to pull themself free of his grip and catch their breath.

Not content to let Rohan escape, Sam tackled him to the ground and wrestled for the man's knife. Oryim struggled in vain as he was tackled to the group and had his knife pulled from his belt. Before Sam could plunge the knife into his heart, he saw the smoke form a mask of sorts, pulling together at the front to form a crooked beak. The beak gurgled with the faint remnant of Sam's voice but all that could be made out was Sam's voice dripping with venom to say: "You..."

As the knife came down, Kalydin and Liaden lunged toward Sam to restrain him. Holding him tightly and telling him to breath. As they all struggled, Sam eventually came to his senses. Realising that he had gripped the knife so tightly as to draw his own blood, he dropped his weapons and fell to his knees. Emotionally spent and mentally defeated, he curled into himself and let out a sob.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw movement at the front door. Standing at the entrance to the hallway was his wife, though she now had a knife protruding from her chest and blood dripping down her arms from the wound. "You killed us Sam." She let out a terrible scream which stunned some of our heroes before lunging towards her husband with her bloodied claws. Already defeated, Sam attempted to reason with her, a prospect that Oryim didn't like. Oryim, preparing to strike, felt a sharp pain in their shoulder as they looked back they noticed a roasting fork sticking out of their back. Not only that, they saw much of the cutlery swirling around in the kitchen.

The image of Sam's wife drew closer to him. "You can make it right though darling," she pleaded "You can die here and join us." Her cold, sharp claws closed around Sam's face and dragged him to his feet. Sam was, naturally, torn. Could he hurt his wife in order to save his own life? Just as he began to ponder the answer, Kalydin saw an approaching shape in the back window. His eyes locked to it and the wet shrieking of the nightmare continued. Only now the creature was much, much, closer.

Liaden, not willing to wait for Sam to come up with an answer, took the shot at his wife lodging an arrow square in her chest. As the arrow pierced the creature, she flickered revealing for a moment, the very same face of nightmare that had been chasing them. With a new found clarity of purpose and the realisation that none of this was his fault, Sam steeled himself to strike out at the monster that tormented him. As Liaden continued to volley arrows into the creature and Sam wrestled with it in hand to hand combat, Oryim and Kalydin watched as the nightmare outside slowly crept towards the door.

As Kalydin sprang to the only unopened door in the house in hopes of being sent somewhere far away from here, a specter appeared in the kitchen where the knives swirled around in the air. A little girl giggled to herself and she spooked Kalydin and Seraph before disappearing again. As Kalydin clasped the door handle, he conjured a memory in his mind of a day long since past and threw open the door. As the door slamed into the adjacent wall, a calm night-time clearing in the woods sprawled before Kalydin. A roaring fire surrounded by longs and cooked hares was there. Kalydin called to his companions, signalling that now would be an appropriate time to leave.

With their next course decided, Liaden released her last arrow, colliding with the monster square between its eyes. The force of the impact knocking its body back leaving the spirit of Sam's wife standing in place. Her eyes streamed tears down her ethereal cheeks as she sighed. Sam took one last look at his lost love as she spoke softly: "It was never your fault my love." Sam held the door for the others in order to spend what little time he could with this memory, now that it had been cleaned of it's twisted, guilt driven nightmare. With his last moments in his dream-scaped home he looked to the kitchen where his daughter stood holding the same dool from earlier. Sam's heart sank as she spoke. "I miss you daddy."

The door shut behind them as they sat down here to rest. Though, this lead to some confusion. Could one sleep in a dream realm? How many layers deep could they go? They decided not to dwell on it fr too long, as it cause them much confusion, and in the case of some, a headache. As the dawn drew closer, and the sun began to throw it's light through the branches of the trees nearby, the door they had walked through began to fade. Seeing this as a sign that they should move on, they walked through the door together.

As they emerged on the other side, there was a crunch under their feet. The distinct sound of loose gravel under their boots. Looking around they saw a town, vaguely familiar and full of fast walking people, though their faces were featureless. The sun rose over the crests of these buildings illuminating the walls and the family crests emblazoned on them. One that stood out was that of a shield held by a dragon. Within it differently coloured quarters of red white and turquoise. This, they all recognised, as the crest of The Mistress of Fatoris. This was a memory of Oryim's, of their home from when they were still young. Oryim took the lead from here, looking around for their family crest and their old home.

After eventually finding the building, they were apprehensive to open the door would they too be tormented by specters of guilt? They swallowed the lump in their throat as they turned the handle and pushed the door open. They slowly walked through the hallway of their old home, looking from wall to wall as they realise it was exactly as they remembered it as a child. The early morning light cast a warm filter over the dream, as the sun's rays fell through the windows. The sounds of activity could be heard in the kitchen, a boiling kettle and the sound of a knife scraping over toasted bread.

Turning the corner slowly, Oryim gazed upon the image of their father pouring a cup of tea in the brightly lit kitchen. A news scroll under one arm and a plate of toast on the table where he usually sat. As he turned around, he locked eyes with Oryim saying: "You're up awfully early, I suppose there's no helping it. Shall I make you breakfast?" Oryim, overwhelmed with feelings, stumbled towards their father and embraced him. Though, curiously enough, they only came up to just above his knees. They seemed to have taken on the form of themself as a younger boy.

Inchel II returned to the kitchen as Oryim took his seat at the table, swinging their legs happily beneath them. As breakfast was served, Inchel II took his seat and began to read the news, making light conversation with Oryim about the family business and duties that he would one day inherit. As the conversation went on, the sound of the front door opening created a break in the pleasantries, as Oryim's mother sauntered into the archway. "A fine time to come home." Inchel II said coldly. The icy sting in his voice was apparent to all who witnessed it. It was now clear to the others that this vision would not be one of guilt. Rather a vivid memory of every morning of Oryim's childhood life. "Son, could you please excuse yourself upstairs for a moment while your mother and I discuss things?"

As Oryim and the other's ascended the stairs, they made it to the landing when the screaming match begun. Insults were hurled by both sides, and Oryim being the only thing either of them acknowledged as a positive part of their relationship. As our heroes sat in Oryim's childhood room listening to the muffled yelling of both parents, they began to wonder: What was the key that they had picked up? And what was it to be used for?