"Hurry up and do whatever needs to be done. The girl might live if your plan yields successful result, otherwise it will be another case of premature death. Time will tell."
Ermasnietsz sounds a bit impatient when she blurts out the bitter truth. She's been growing wary of the presence of the otherworldly creatures, seemingly puzzled by the fact that none of these creatures had not made any move to create any obstacles. These tentacles didn't protest, didn't attack nor did they try to pull the intruders towards them since such kind of actions are expected from them. It's not normal behavior and something is wrong.
She can sense a dreaded possibility but doesn't wish to share her assumption with the group. She believes that it will freak them out and she's not prepared to deal with a crowd of frightened comrades.
Nikita - ((Crackin' roll!)) You feel a strange sensation wash over you as the bizarre-looking creature sings. Fortunately, you steel your mind to any potentially harmful effects of the song. You sense that there was no ill-intent on behalf of the Sagacitas, though the way it braced itself suggested that it knew what was coming.
As you think back to the visage of the man, you realise he was not faceless at all. The face belonged to an overweight, pudgy, sweaty individual you would assume to be Theodore Sedgewick himself. You search your memory and are able to recall that he had been wearing wax earplugs and coaxing the creature into performing, using a needle to prod and agitate it.
Could this have been the strange doll that Nancy Carver mentioned seeing the night of Billy and Esther's abduction? It seems likely. The creature's song must have the power to influence others' minds, increasing their suggestibility.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Faila's eyes are wide and she pants slightly, struggling to get a grip on the terror and revulsion jolting her system. While she understands what the others are asking of her, emotionally she is still hostile to the terrible purple worms and the images in her mind. Taking a deep breath, bolstered by Meresaa's moral support, she tries again as carefully as she can.
Snapping out of her momentary vision, Nikita attempts to communicate with Asha. "Yes... those names... friends and colleagues... I remember,"her voice sounds echoey, as though she is trapped down a deep well. "Betrayed? Perhaps. I remember... travelling through the portal... to another world. Then I heard Theodore's voice, he was arguing with Reggie... Something about a power drain. I tried to travel back through the portal... now I am here.Where is here?" The voice once more sounds distant.
A psionic shriek of pain cuts through the scene. Faila, in her haste, has clasped firmly onto the remaining larvae; her thumb piercing into its side. She quickly removes it from Esther, on closer inspection, it looks as though a viscous, fluorescent purple fluid is leaking from the side of the creature. Tentacles come crashing down into the water, sending water spraying everywhere.
Rage and anger wash over the party as the adult Sagacitas projects its raw emotions into their minds. This is followed by a series of images, likely a flashback;
A group of the giant creatures from before. They hold all sorts of wicked looking instruments, ranging from clubs, to tridents, to spears. Steadily, they approach the pools of Sagacitas larvae; this is not the first time they have visited. Enormous, thick, leathery hands reach out towards the infants with little regard for the creatures, a few of which are clumsily crushed in their grasp.
An image of Faila and Meresaa's faces replaces the closest two giants . Paniced, the vision pans around - instead of seeing the giants it now see's the rest of the party: Boyd, Ermasnietsz, Nick, and Nikita.
Fear replaces the anger now. The tentacles assume a defensive stance, if the party is to act they need to be quick.
Nikita, almost overwhelmed with sensations, snaps back to herself to see (and feel) the situation on the brink of disaster.
Oh, no - no, no no!
"Faila! Or Meresaa! Quick, one of you must heal the damaged larva if you can."
Turning towards the creature. "Please believe us - we did not intend to injure. We wish to return your young to you whole. We may be able to heal them. We are NOT like those giant humanoids with clubs and spears that hurt and crush carelessly. Now that we know you are sentient. And we know this Sedgewick that uses the singing creature to help implant suggestions. He is our enemy and we mean to stop him. He hurts our people too."
"Faila, would you put the lamprey like creature back inside the girl's stomach and see if it can restore it's own health?" Ermasnietsz speaks falteringly as if she has been growing weaker gradually, probably because of the lethal type of injury she sustained during the previous fight or the repeated projection of psychic image is draining her mental energy. Anyway, she keeps re-adjusting her aim so that she can take down the nearest moving tentacle if it decides to attack Faila.
Faila, holding the squirming larvae in her gloves hand, struggles to hold down the bile rising in the back of her throat. She wants to crush it and fling it away from her like so many of the awful parasites.
Swallowing hard, she holds onto the injured larvae just long enough to sense the damage and Cure Wounds. Then she lets it go fast into the water.
Nikita - Persuasion roll with advantage ((on accounts of your compelling argument)), please.
Ermasnietsz - At the moment, the creature has yet to attack Faila. Though if it does those that are ready will get a surprise round prior to rolling initiative.
Faila - You cast Cure Wounds on the larvae and notice the wound in its side start to knit together and mend. The larger mass projects feelings of gratitude, relief, and uncertainty toward you.
Nikita - The creature appears to comprehend your words. To emphasise this you get the image from before but this time instead of the party's faces being on the twisted-looking giants each member of the group stands next to the Sagacitas, ready to confront the threat.
All - The remaining larva swims joyously free before joining ((quite literally)) the greater mass. Feelings of relief and a sense of completeness telepathically emanate from the Sagacitas. It wriggles and writhes, morphing further it now stands on four legs.
((Fully Merged Sagacitas))
Like a faithful dog, the creature bounds over to the party and Esther. Several of the tentacles gently brush against her, they radiate a bright neon purple glow and she opens her eyes. Startled at first, Esther manages a weary smile, a little of her energy regained.
Images of Sedgewick enter your mind and the Sagacitas looks around the party expectantly.
**Saving Esther and dealing with the immediate threat of the Sagacitas is one of the storyline milestones of Chapter #0! As such, everyone, learning from their experiences within Saltmarsh/Prospect, gains a level!**
WELCOME TO LEVEL 2!
**I will rule that the level-up occurs after a long rest is taken, assuming everyone wants to recharge before they head towards a potential confrontation with Sedgewick**
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Exhaustion from the strange ordeal the party has been through comes crashing down on Nikita and she slumps momentarily. She gapes at the tentacled creature. A... a quadruped? Dog-like in demeanor? She tries again to think of whether she has ever heard of anything like it before, now that she can see the whole and has heard its thoughts. It seems nothing like an illithid, other than the tentacles and the telepathy...
She both thinks and speaks out loud, including the creature in her communication:
"I believe Esther is momentarily safe? But some of us have taken wounds to arrive here. I would like to remove Esther to safety, but I am not sure we can do so and survive, given the strangeness and danger of this house. We even left a hallway behind us on fire, with two potentially hostile shrubs waiting for us, though they too may have been consumed by the fire now. The key may be Theodore Sedgewick. He may not let us leave."
She turns to the tentacled creature: "Do you know where Sedgewick is? Or the portal? And what is your name? I am Nikita Tantsora."
Boyd looks at the dog-tentacle-monster with concern and hesitation, but finally says, "Well, all's well that ends well, I suppose." He looks around the room they're in, "This ain't no place to stay, but going back might not be a great idea. We've got to get Esther out of here, and maybe we can even stop Sedgewick on the way..."
After a moment of looking around the two rooms they're half-trapped in, Boyd looks the octodog up and down and says disgustedly, "Wait a minute now, is this Sedgewick? Ain't he supposed to be some sort of monster now?"
Meresaa chuckles as she falls back to a sitting position from where she was crouched with Faila over Esther.
"I've known people with a deep-seated self-loathing, but what I've heard of this Sedgewick doesn't lead me to believe he hates himself the way this creature seems to."
She wipes the sweat from her brow with a handkerchief and returns it to her pocket. "No. I do not believe this is Theodore Sedgewick," she adds, motioning to the dogtopus.
Looking around the room, at the ceiling, the fey-touched denizens growing and scurrying about, and at the faces of her companions, she continues.
"This may sound crazy, given the circumstances and our surroundings, but nothing since we entered this room as tried to harm us -- excepting, of course, our new friend's potential when they thought we were harming them -- and this is the first moment of calm we've had since our trek from the carnival. Now that the most pressing task of ensuring the girl's safety is accomplished, is anyone opposed to resting for a bit? I, for one, feel nearly ready to pass out on the floor."
Without waiting for a response, the tall blue woman pivots to put her back against a wall, wraps her robe more tightly about her, and closes her eyes, entrusting the group to wake her should the need arise.
Nikita agrees hesitantly to the rest, though she stays awake to start with, planning to go into her trance later.
"Regardless, well done, Faila! Your quick work removing, then healing the larvae from Esther's belly both saved the girl and made an ally out of a potential enemy. It was a close thing as it was. And now the creature themselves seems to have partially restored Esther's health."
To Boyd she muses: "You are right to be cautious, but do not think this is Sedgewick. From the impression of its memories, Sedgewick came with some strange singing monkey-octopus creature, doubtless the 'singing doll' that has been spoken of, which allowed him to implant suggestions and perhaps steal (harvest) the Sagacitas larvae. I think this creature, being defensive of its young as it is, regards Sedgewick as a threat as well."
"In any case, if we are to rest, let us rest. Thumbtack and I can take first watch as we are unhurt."
She then repeats her question to the telepathic, tentacled creature, having been utterly unable to place it in any framework of reference she has other than her prior notion related to illithids: "Do you know where Sedgewick is? Or the portal to your home? And what is your name? I am Nikita Tantsora."
Nikita - Unfortunately, as far as you recall you have never encountered anything like this creature.
When you ask about the location of Sedgewick, it seems unsure and you get the sense that it has not seen him for some time. However, in response to the location of a portal, images of a lake spring to mind, followed by a small warehouse/outbuilding, tucked away from sight. The building is within the grounds of Prospect, to the back of the main house.
Concerning a name, the many Sagacitas that comprise the creature seem to draw a blank, not understanding. Confused images of their home enter your mind's eye, of their birthing pools, of the bright flora, of hundreds and thousands of their kin; squirming, wriggling, surviving.
The party put the dingy, damp cells behind them and enter the large store/office room. Esther's health seems to have already improved, whatever energy she received from the Sagacitas serving to revitalise her.
As for the Sagacitas, it bounds along after the group. If one was to look closely at the mass they might be able to make out the individual creatures that comprise it, though its form seems to be ever-shifting. Pleased to see other creatures from its homeland, it crouches down on its legs to observe the strange, colourful insects. They appear to act differently around the Sagacitas; their movements becoming more structured and organised.
"That's pretty," Esther, who had been quietly watching the creature, declares. Several of the insects march in single file, carrying tiny glowing seeds that light the area. They circle around the girl before splitting off and standing in formation. Esther giggles, injecting joy into the otherwise bleak situation. "Would you look at that -- ain't they clever?!"she says, turning to the party with a grin on her face. "Looks like a diamond with, I think its a star, in the middle! The seeds they've used to make the shape of the star are brighter, why they're almost a blue colour!"
Sure enough, the creatures appear to have made the shapes as described by Esther. "Wonder what it means?" she asks, a look of confusion on her face.
Ermasnietsz silently watches the silly shenanigans of the revitalized girl with the expression of an disinterested observer. She starts to speak when she suddenly remembers multiple similar events of the immediate past.
"There were more creatures like them with some of the people who've been living in Saltmarsh. Do you want to know what happened to the little lampreys? Esther, did you made friends during your stay here?"
I told them not to kill the lampreys, but they didn't listen to me. The clockwork sorcerer thinks before suddenly freezing and dropping on the ground like a clockwork toy who's run out of rotational power. She's slowly preparing for a long rest that's mechanically an active hibernation period for her when she can retain full consciousness of her surrounding.
"It sounds as if the planar portal is in an outbuilding on the grounds here. Perhaps one of the ones Thumbtack saw on her initial scouting and..." (Nikita swallows, realizing she had not thought of their erstwhile companions in a while) "... and where Toska and Claude/Maud may have gone."
She pulls out a bit of paper and makes a quick sketch of the pattern the extraplanar insects seem to be making, and even shares a bit of Esther's wonder. She collects from the office any documents and maps that look important and safe (and uncontaminated) to take with her.
As Meresaa sleeps and Ermasnietsz rests motionless but alert, Nikita signals to the others that she too will remain awake, at least for the first two hours, perhaps four, before entering her four hour trance in lieu of sleep. Slowly, she puts on the new Studded Leather armor that Nick Nack had so nicely bought for her (albeit with Nikita's share of gold), studying the fastenings and straps like a student. She pulls out her rapier, a weapon she had seen some in her coterie use but had never wielded in anger herself before. In pure silence, and so so slowly, she begins to move through the forms that she had been taught, back in the forests of Celene, far to he north. Unfamiliar yet her training coming back to her like breathing and walking.
Ermasnietsz
"Hurry up and do whatever needs to be done. The girl might live if your plan yields successful result, otherwise it will be another case of premature death. Time will tell."
Ermasnietsz sounds a bit impatient when she blurts out the bitter truth. She's been growing wary of the presence of the otherworldly creatures, seemingly puzzled by the fact that none of these creatures had not made any move to create any obstacles. These tentacles didn't protest, didn't attack nor did they try to pull the intruders towards them since such kind of actions are expected from them. It's not normal behavior and something is wrong.
She can sense a dreaded possibility but doesn't wish to share her assumption with the group. She believes that it will freak them out and she's not prepared to deal with a crowd of frightened comrades.
InkedBee (Undead_Analyst)
Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts - Jenviel Tsumara: Fallen Aasimar- Monk|Crimson Sands of Time - Navarra Iltazyara: Human- Druid/Warlock| Bleak Prospect - Ermasnietsz: Reborn- Clockwork Soul Sorcerer
Nikita WIS saving throw: 22
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Nikita - ((Crackin' roll!)) You feel a strange sensation wash over you as the bizarre-looking creature sings. Fortunately, you steel your mind to any potentially harmful effects of the song. You sense that there was no ill-intent on behalf of the Sagacitas, though the way it braced itself suggested that it knew what was coming.
As you think back to the visage of the man, you realise he was not faceless at all. The face belonged to an overweight, pudgy, sweaty individual you would assume to be Theodore Sedgewick himself. You search your memory and are able to recall that he had been wearing wax earplugs and coaxing the creature into performing, using a needle to prod and agitate it.
Could this have been the strange doll that Nancy Carver mentioned seeing the night of Billy and Esther's abduction? It seems likely. The creature's song must have the power to influence others' minds, increasing their suggestibility.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Faila's eyes are wide and she pants slightly, struggling to get a grip on the terror and revulsion jolting her system. While she understands what the others are asking of her, emotionally she is still hostile to the terrible purple worms and the images in her mind. Taking a deep breath, bolstered by Meresaa's moral support, she tries again as carefully as she can.
Sleight of Hand: 10
23
Pandemonium
Snapping out of her momentary vision, Nikita attempts to communicate with Asha. "Yes... those names... friends and colleagues... I remember," her voice sounds echoey, as though she is trapped down a deep well. "Betrayed? Perhaps. I remember... travelling through the portal... to another world. Then I heard Theodore's voice, he was arguing with Reggie... Something about a power drain. I tried to travel back through the portal... now I am here. Where is here?" The voice once more sounds distant.
A psionic shriek of pain cuts through the scene. Faila, in her haste, has clasped firmly onto the remaining larvae; her thumb piercing into its side. She quickly removes it from Esther, on closer inspection, it looks as though a viscous, fluorescent purple fluid is leaking from the side of the creature. Tentacles come crashing down into the water, sending water spraying everywhere.
Rage and anger wash over the party as the adult Sagacitas projects its raw emotions into their minds. This is followed by a series of images, likely a flashback;
Fear replaces the anger now. The tentacles assume a defensive stance, if the party is to act they need to be quick.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Nikita, almost overwhelmed with sensations, snaps back to herself to see (and feel) the situation on the brink of disaster.
Oh, no - no, no no!
"Faila! Or Meresaa! Quick, one of you must heal the damaged larva if you can."
Turning towards the creature. "Please believe us - we did not intend to injure. We wish to return your young to you whole. We may be able to heal them. We are NOT like those giant humanoids with clubs and spears that hurt and crush carelessly. Now that we know you are sentient. And we know this Sedgewick that uses the singing creature to help implant suggestions. He is our enemy and we mean to stop him. He hurts our people too."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Ermasnietsz
"Faila, would you put the lamprey like creature back inside the girl's stomach and see if it can restore it's own health?" Ermasnietsz speaks falteringly as if she has been growing weaker gradually, probably because of the lethal type of injury she sustained during the previous fight or the repeated projection of psychic image is draining her mental energy. Anyway, she keeps re-adjusting her aim so that she can take down the nearest moving tentacle if it decides to attack Faila.
InkedBee (Undead_Analyst)
Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts - Jenviel Tsumara: Fallen Aasimar- Monk|Crimson Sands of Time - Navarra Iltazyara: Human- Druid/Warlock| Bleak Prospect - Ermasnietsz: Reborn- Clockwork Soul Sorcerer
Faila, holding the squirming larvae in her gloves hand, struggles to hold down the bile rising in the back of her throat. She wants to crush it and fling it away from her like so many of the awful parasites.
Swallowing hard, she holds onto the injured larvae just long enough to sense the damage and Cure Wounds. Then she lets it go fast into the water.
Heal for: 6
Nikita - Persuasion roll with advantage ((on accounts of your compelling argument)), please.
Ermasnietsz - At the moment, the creature has yet to attack Faila. Though if it does those that are ready will get a surprise round prior to rolling initiative.
Faila - You cast Cure Wounds on the larvae and notice the wound in its side start to knit together and mend. The larger mass projects feelings of gratitude, relief, and uncertainty toward you.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Nikita Persuasion at advantage: 13
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
A New Ally?
Nikita - The creature appears to comprehend your words. To emphasise this you get the image from before but this time instead of the party's faces being on the twisted-looking giants each member of the group stands next to the Sagacitas, ready to confront the threat.
All - The remaining larva swims joyously free before joining ((quite literally)) the greater mass. Feelings of relief and a sense of completeness telepathically emanate from the Sagacitas. It wriggles and writhes, morphing further it now stands on four legs.
Like a faithful dog, the creature bounds over to the party and Esther. Several of the tentacles gently brush against her, they radiate a bright neon purple glow and she opens her eyes. Startled at first, Esther manages a weary smile, a little of her energy regained.
Images of Sedgewick enter your mind and the Sagacitas looks around the party expectantly.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Exhaustion from the strange ordeal the party has been through comes crashing down on Nikita and she slumps momentarily. She gapes at the tentacled creature. A... a quadruped? Dog-like in demeanor? She tries again to think of whether she has ever heard of anything like it before, now that she can see the whole and has heard its thoughts. It seems nothing like an illithid, other than the tentacles and the telepathy...
Nature: 22
She both thinks and speaks out loud, including the creature in her communication:
"I believe Esther is momentarily safe? But some of us have taken wounds to arrive here. I would like to remove Esther to safety, but I am not sure we can do so and survive, given the strangeness and danger of this house. We even left a hallway behind us on fire, with two potentially hostile shrubs waiting for us, though they too may have been consumed by the fire now. The key may be Theodore Sedgewick. He may not let us leave."
She turns to the tentacled creature: "Do you know where Sedgewick is? Or the portal? And what is your name? I am Nikita Tantsora."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Boyd looks at the dog-tentacle-monster with concern and hesitation, but finally says, "Well, all's well that ends well, I suppose." He looks around the room they're in, "This ain't no place to stay, but going back might not be a great idea. We've got to get Esther out of here, and maybe we can even stop Sedgewick on the way..."
After a moment of looking around the two rooms they're half-trapped in, Boyd looks the octodog up and down and says disgustedly, "Wait a minute now, is this Sedgewick? Ain't he supposed to be some sort of monster now?"
Meresaa chuckles as she falls back to a sitting position from where she was crouched with Faila over Esther.
"I've known people with a deep-seated self-loathing, but what I've heard of this Sedgewick doesn't lead me to believe he hates himself the way this creature seems to."
She wipes the sweat from her brow with a handkerchief and returns it to her pocket. "No. I do not believe this is Theodore Sedgewick," she adds, motioning to the dogtopus.
Looking around the room, at the ceiling, the fey-touched denizens growing and scurrying about, and at the faces of her companions, she continues.
"This may sound crazy, given the circumstances and our surroundings, but nothing since we entered this room as tried to harm us -- excepting, of course, our new friend's potential when they thought we were harming them -- and this is the first moment of calm we've had since our trek from the carnival. Now that the most pressing task of ensuring the girl's safety is accomplished, is anyone opposed to resting for a bit? I, for one, feel nearly ready to pass out on the floor."
Without waiting for a response, the tall blue woman pivots to put her back against a wall, wraps her robe more tightly about her, and closes her eyes, entrusting the group to wake her should the need arise.
Characters currently being ruined on this forum:
Neria Tallfellow (Halfling Rogue) - Curse of the Crimson Throne with Ashen_Age
Nikita agrees hesitantly to the rest, though she stays awake to start with, planning to go into her trance later.
"Regardless, well done, Faila! Your quick work removing, then healing the larvae from Esther's belly both saved the girl and made an ally out of a potential enemy. It was a close thing as it was. And now the creature themselves seems to have partially restored Esther's health."
To Boyd she muses: "You are right to be cautious, but do not think this is Sedgewick. From the impression of its memories, Sedgewick came with some strange singing monkey-octopus creature, doubtless the 'singing doll' that has been spoken of, which allowed him to implant suggestions and perhaps steal (harvest) the Sagacitas larvae. I think this creature, being defensive of its young as it is, regards Sedgewick as a threat as well."
"In any case, if we are to rest, let us rest. Thumbtack and I can take first watch as we are unhurt."
She then repeats her question to the telepathic, tentacled creature, having been utterly unable to place it in any framework of reference she has other than her prior notion related to illithids: "Do you know where Sedgewick is? Or the portal to your home? And what is your name? I am Nikita Tantsora."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Nikita - Unfortunately, as far as you recall you have never encountered anything like this creature.
When you ask about the location of Sedgewick, it seems unsure and you get the sense that it has not seen him for some time. However, in response to the location of a portal, images of a lake spring to mind, followed by a small warehouse/outbuilding, tucked away from sight. The building is within the grounds of Prospect, to the back of the main house.
Concerning a name, the many Sagacitas that comprise the creature seem to draw a blank, not understanding. Confused images of their home enter your mind's eye, of their birthing pools, of the bright flora, of hundreds and thousands of their kin; squirming, wriggling, surviving.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Evening/Night - Day #2 - A much-needed rest!
The party put the dingy, damp cells behind them and enter the large store/office room. Esther's health seems to have already improved, whatever energy she received from the Sagacitas serving to revitalise her.
As for the Sagacitas, it bounds along after the group. If one was to look closely at the mass they might be able to make out the individual creatures that comprise it, though its form seems to be ever-shifting. Pleased to see other creatures from its homeland, it crouches down on its legs to observe the strange, colourful insects. They appear to act differently around the Sagacitas; their movements becoming more structured and organised.
"That's pretty," Esther, who had been quietly watching the creature, declares. Several of the insects march in single file, carrying tiny glowing seeds that light the area. They circle around the girl before splitting off and standing in formation. Esther giggles, injecting joy into the otherwise bleak situation. "Would you look at that -- ain't they clever?!" she says, turning to the party with a grin on her face. "Looks like a diamond with, I think its a star, in the middle! The seeds they've used to make the shape of the star are brighter, why they're almost a blue colour!"
Sure enough, the creatures appear to have made the shapes as described by Esther. "Wonder what it means?" she asks, a look of confusion on her face.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Ermasnietsz
Ermasnietsz silently watches the silly shenanigans of the revitalized girl with the expression of an disinterested observer. She starts to speak when she suddenly remembers multiple similar events of the immediate past.
"There were more creatures like them with some of the people who've been living in Saltmarsh. Do you want to know what happened to the little lampreys? Esther, did you made friends during your stay here?"
I told them not to kill the lampreys, but they didn't listen to me. The clockwork sorcerer thinks before suddenly freezing and dropping on the ground like a clockwork toy who's run out of rotational power. She's slowly preparing for a long rest that's mechanically an active hibernation period for her when she can retain full consciousness of her surrounding.
InkedBee (Undead_Analyst)
Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts - Jenviel Tsumara: Fallen Aasimar- Monk|Crimson Sands of Time - Navarra Iltazyara: Human- Druid/Warlock| Bleak Prospect - Ermasnietsz: Reborn- Clockwork Soul Sorcerer
"It sounds as if the planar portal is in an outbuilding on the grounds here. Perhaps one of the ones Thumbtack saw on her initial scouting and..." (Nikita swallows, realizing she had not thought of their erstwhile companions in a while) "... and where Toska and Claude/Maud may have gone."
She pulls out a bit of paper and makes a quick sketch of the pattern the extraplanar insects seem to be making, and even shares a bit of Esther's wonder. She collects from the office any documents and maps that look important and safe (and uncontaminated) to take with her.
As Meresaa sleeps and Ermasnietsz rests motionless but alert, Nikita signals to the others that she too will remain awake, at least for the first two hours, perhaps four, before entering her four hour trance in lieu of sleep. Slowly, she puts on the new Studded Leather armor that Nick Nack had so nicely bought for her (albeit with Nikita's share of gold), studying the fastenings and straps like a student. She pulls out her rapier, a weapon she had seen some in her coterie use but had never wielded in anger herself before. In pure silence, and so so slowly, she begins to move through the forms that she had been taught, back in the forests of Celene, far to he north. Unfamiliar yet her training coming back to her like breathing and walking.
The blade... it sings.
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk