Shiva stares at the levitating blades that surround the figure, then down to her own weapon. She looks up to the entity, staring into the pinholes of his eyes and comparing the sound of his voice and his manner of speaking to the one she heard in her dreams. 

"No...I don't think it was you. What spoke to me sounded so immense that just hearing it felt like a threat." She holds her sword out horizontally in front of her. "Do you know the name of this blade, then?"  

The Collector scoffs at Shiva's assertion. The paler colours drain from her surroundings as the black depths of his corporeal form disperse and expand, until all that that the tiefling can see is a void.

"Z̵̢̬͚̹̜̮̣̞̼͔͉̑̐̒͜ḑ̸̜̘̼̤̤̗̜̎̌͊͑̽î̴̭͒̈́̍̾͌̎y̵̡̖̫̯͉̰̬̹̤̭̘̼̅́̑͆͘k̸̨̧̮̰̣͇͛͐̐r̷̛͖̖͔̠̋̂̉̀̕y̷̻̤̳͍̗̤̖̘̟̰̻̏͑̔̾̊͜͝a̴͍̔́͊̎͒̿̀̍͜s̶̢͈̩̤̤̟̠̞̹͍͂̌̆̄͌̈́̇̇̕f̴̢͍̥̙̤̫̬̀̏͋͗͆x̵̺͙̳̜̮̪͚̝͇̟̓́y̴̢̰̭̻̳̘̰̫͕̻̼̓́̌̚," the Collector's voice booms at her in an incomprehensible, alien tongue. The sound has seemingly no origin, existing everywhere simultaneously.

Shiva's eyes dart all around her as the void consumes the surrounding area. The booming, eldritch speech that follows rattles her bones and drowns out all thought, carrying with it a dread that brings Shiva to one knee. Beginning to hyperventilate, she covers her ears in a vain attempt to block out the sound. 

"Shiva! SHIVA! HOLD ONTO YOURSELF! HE'S JUST TRYING TO SCARE YOU!"

As quickly as it came, the noise is gone. The silence is broken by the cawing of a raven and the trickle of running water. When Shiva opens her eyes she is on her knees, staring at her reflection in the water of the brook near the carriage's campsite.

Looking around, Shiva exhales in relief and falls back onto her behind to catch her breath. 

"So, that ended on a decidedly sour note."  "Yes, but I think he was just trying to communicate that we shouldn't **** with him."  "Yeah, seems he thought I was saying that his arcane dick is small. Which definitely was not my intention, but it did show where his weak spot is." "Mhm, he wants more power and perhaps the suggestion that you're connected to something greater than him puts him on edge."  "Right. Anyway, how the hells is it still night? Walking down that staircase alone took hours."  "Time was altered there, you may have been gone for less than ten minutes."  "Ugh, I need sleep." 

Shiva makes her way back to the campsite and sees Alaris and Caio speaking quietly. "Hey, guys." 

Quote from ZeeOfIstus >>

 

Shiva makes her way back to the campsite and sees Alaris and Caio speaking quietly. "Hey, guys." 

Alaris freezes, one hand on Astrid's shoulder, shaking her awake. "Astrid, wake up! We don't know where Shi- oh, there you are. Are you alright? You look exhausted!"

"I had a rough night." Shiva then goes into as much detail as she can about crossing into the other world through the brook, the descent into the earth, the muted world, and the Collector and all that he shared with her. "...and then I walked back here. So, I don't know what to make of most of that."

    Astrid listens wide-eyed with wonderment as Shiva tells her story.  "Hmm... Sounds like you found a way into another plane. Mhrnankor... The shadow realm. They says that's where all the things go that have been forgotten and lost - even memories. This Collector must have some power to handle all the energy of decay that fills the plane... Not to mention all the undead that live there."

Alaris remains quiet, falling back into themselves as the discussion of the shadow realm continues. They glance at the silent Caio several times over the course of Shiva's story and Astrid's response. 

Caio listens intently as Shiva recounts her encounter, and even Ghoul stills upon his shoulder as the inquisitor takes in the information. “I know this place as Ardhgwath. It is the source of the darkness which imbues my people and it is the domain of our Queen of Ravens. As Astrid says, this realm is a place where lost and forgotten things fall to, and it is she who finds them and hoards them in her fortress. Perhaps this Collector is an agent of hers or perhaps he is of the Unseelie court. I can’t say that I’ve ever heard of him, or of this runestone.” His eyes drift away now, in thought. “Could this stone be used by all of us to sever ourselves from these echoes? And is that what you desire? More than the rest of us you seem to have kindled a bond with yours.”

Shiva does her best to take in this information, coming to understand just how fortunate she was to have gotten in and out of that place unscathed. At Caio's question, she looks off in thought. "She has her own life, all of our Others do. If things were switched and it was me riding around in her, I know that she'd do everything that she could to get me back to you all. Plus, she really covered my ass down there. If nothing else, I owe it to her." 

"Thank you, Shivala. I won't forget what you're doing for me." "You deserve to live. Just as much as I did when I was down in that pit." 

The thought of the pit brings her mind to her blade. Before she was turbulently returned, something horrific was spoken in response to her question. It was an unspeakable sound that dripped of malice and suffering. "Maybe..."

"z̶̦̜͕̲̊̚d̶̡̢̟͙̮̖̿̄ͅí̴̲̒͂̓͗̂ͅy̵͔̐̌̈́́̑̐͐k̵̊-" Before she's even able to speak the word, a white-hot pain flashes in her throat that leaves her unable to breathe. She begins violently coughing and wheezing, her eyes watering as she stumbles around trying to take a full breath. Eventually, the pain subsides and she inhales shakily. "....ow."

Are you there? Alaris whispers under their breath, thinking about Shiva's retelling of the vision of five sleepers on cold metal slabs. I'm... sorry. I swear I did not realize you were real... or in peril! That other one, the giggling one... he cuts us off and it hurts.

I know, lovey. That guy's one grade-A top-choice *******. But I'm really real. I'm the realest you you've ever met!

I don't like thinking of you lying on that strange table... are you sleeping? Are you in pain?

I dunno, Red. I've been here with you in Big Moon World. Tell you what, though... your Shiva's gotten into more of a hot mess than she may know... that runestone? Where I come from, it belongs to the Angel of Death. That's not a nickname, either. Azrael IS THE Angel of Death.

 If robbing the Angel of Death is what it takes to set you all free to live your lives again...

Alaris' eyes clear and focus back on the Septem Mortale. "Listen up, everybody - this Azrael that we need to rob to set our visitors free? Yeah... whatever world they're from -- this Azrael is the Angel of Death."

Caio shakes his head like a flustered parent as Shiva seems ready to go into another fit. "Matron help this girl." he mutters under his breath before placing a hand on the tiefling's back to steady her. "Truly you've never known serenity for one fleeting moment of your life have you? Are you alright?" Once it's clear that Shiva isn't about to transform or choke or spontaneously explode, he turns back to Alaris. "Did this Collector say we had to steal the runestone right from under this Azrael's wings? If it lies in Beschcadik, perhaps it's already been stolen once or twice and now we must only steal from thieves."

Shiva chuckles as Caio comes to her side to comfort her. "Serenity has never been my style. The Angel of Death, huh? Other Shiva did point out that he could be sending us on a suicide mission, but he insisted that it was within our power to retrieve the runestone. Shivala, what were his words? I would gain nothing from sending you to your doom. But we both stand to profit from your success." Shiva's cadence rises, speaking in a much softer tone than she normally did. "And I've just noticed that we didn't get to retrieve the spurs, dear." "Damn, right. Maybe we can find a way to get them tomorrow." The tiefling sighs heavily, rubbing her eyes before sluggishly letting her hands drop to her sides.

     "An angel of death..? Well, that just sounds wonderful," Astrid sighs. "I think I should let my father know about the approaching Sarameian army that we discovered yesterday. I hope I can make the connection," she adds hesitantly, hoping not to repeat an a similar experience as the previous day when attempting to contact Mistress. 

     The cleric makes herself comfortable on the ground and dumps a few items into her lap from one of her pouches. She then takes a moment to concentrate and focus her mind on her father. In her mind, she she pictures the trip north through the forest and and up the mountains of the Southern Spur. She continues through the gates of Kazad Azgaraz and winding her way through the halls until she makes it to her home in the crafter's quarter of the dwarven city. Staying focused on this image of her home, she picks up the bent copper spring and speaks a quick message.

    Papa - We have come across a company of Sarameaian soldiers - probably a few days travel from The Gap - as we make our way to Littlewood. They have set up a camp near the boarder.

Dearest Astrid,

Mingol Bar is alerted, but the fortress cannot hold the entire gap without Kazad Grimm. If you would help, journey to Grimm and ensure that they are ready to fight.

- Papa

    Astrid's face brightens hearing the familiar, gentle voice of her father. With her thumb, she traces over the face the large timepiece which hangs around her neck as she remembers the days working in his shop as she attempted to learn the trade. She gives a contented sigh and speaks once more into the wire.     

I will do what I can. I hope the plot to allow the Sarameians to pass doesn't run deep through the Grimmi... Give Mama a hug for me!

With the evening resuming its schedule, Shiva finally lays down to sleep and is snoring lightly in a matter of minutes. Before long, Alaris's voice cuts through the dreamless dark and rouses her to meet the morning. As the others pack up the camp and prepare for the day's journey, Shiva recalls that she still needs to get the spurs from the Collector somehow.

Reaching out to summon her sword, its form emerges from the usual manifestation of roiling shadows. But as she tightens her grasp, her fingers sink into the handle as it remains in a semi-corporeal state. She lifts it and strikes a nearby tree, only to watch it pass harmlessly through the wood. "Oh no." She searches for a solution, coming to the idea of attempting what she had been unable to do last night. "z̶̦̜͕̲̊̚d̶̡̢̟͙̮̖̿̄ͅí̴̲̒͂̓͗̂ͅy̵͔̐̌̈́́̑̐͐k̵̥̹̹̊̑̏̍́́͐̉ͅr̴͗͆͗̄̀͘-" The white hot pain sears her throat once more and leaves her choking and gasping for air. 

When she recovers, she hears a familiar voice, "I told you, Shiva. The black blades belong to my collection."

"I need this blade to survive. And the spurs you offered wouldn't hurt either."

"Do you?" The Collector challenges, with a hint of amusement. "You've certainly favoured your claws over any weapon, of late."

Shiva grits her teeth in frustration "How long have you been watching me for!? Why do I matter to you?"