All Roads/Session 13

ST: As Isis waits the dour weather of her inner reflection of the city shows no signs towards improvement.

ST: The dull, uninviting streets seemed drained of colour. Not another soul could be seen, and along the road each and every building had its curtains draw or its shutters lowered.

ST: After some time, however, the echoing of distant footsteps reached the girl's ears. They grew and grew, issuing from the yawning black maw of the tunnel by which she had entered.

ST: Soon enough a figure emerges. Nebuchadnezzar. It is, fortunately, only a moment later when Kenan steps out into the gloomy light also.

Isis: Alerted by the parting of her oneiric seal as the dream bridge takes effect Isis is not surprised at her cabalmates' arrival. Her astral self is wearing robust working clothes under a mantle of fine black cloth closed with silver buttons.

Kenan: "Isis! I finally found you, it took me a while. Interesting choice of clothes" - Kenan is wearing more or less the same, casual, outfit as he does every day

Kenan: looks around and remarks "it's rather gloomy in here, even more so than I expected"

Isis: "Kenan, Nebuchadnezzar, welcome to the Hall of Arrival within my Oneiros," Isis greets the others seriously.

Kenan: "Oh, yes. Er, thank you for the welcome." Kenan is somewhat distracted by the surroundings

Nebuchadnezzar: Neb reminds silent. His own clothes shimmer slightly shifting between a polo shirt and trousers, funeral blacks and his ruffled common day to day appearance.

Isis: At Kenan's comment she looks down briefly. "Where I grew up this was the traditional garb and symbol of status of magi," she explains. "Black to represent the absorption of knowledge."

Isis: She doesn't reply to the 'gloomy' comment.

Isis: "Thank you for coming. I hope your own journeys were smooth and enlightening."

Kenan: "I see. It's a shame there don't seem to be many traditions like that around these parts"

Kenan: "It was certainly interesting, thank you"

Isis: "If you are prepared then ... ?"

Nebuchadnezzar: Still wordless Neb gestures onward.

Isis: nods. "Best stay close then so we don't get separated."

Kenan: follows closely behind the other two

Isis: She begins walking in a direction seemingly randomly chosen. "I suspect we'll find the source within the realm of the dream memories it has created, or find it from there."

Isis: "Since those dreams were nightmares the most direct path is Fear ..."

ST: The streets twist and wind. Though this place feels like London the layout is nothing like anywhere in the city any of you have ever been.

Nebuchadnezzar: "A place within a place, a box within a box... a tower within a tower..." Neb mutters quietly.

ST: It's almost labyrinth-like, endless rows of bolted doors and covered windows. The hum of distant traffic is permeating and ever-present, though you have not encountered a single being apart from yourselves.

Kenan: observes the surroundings carefully, not entirely sure what to expect

Isis: Isis doesn't even try to make sense of the streets. The opposite, in fact. She recalls the feeling of not knowing where she is, not understanding what is around her, of towering faceless entities all around ... flight. Walking at first, then speeding up more and more and finally breaking into a run. Recalling the fear.

Kenan: Kenan rushes behind Isis, not wanting to get separated in this eerie landscape

ST: Every street looks different, though is at the same time a clone of the one before. To someone who didn't know their destination it would seem as though you were running blindly.

ST: You take a sharp turning, one you were almost blind to until it loomed suddenly, and break onto yet another city road.

ST: This one, however, is different. The street stretches endlessly forward with no end in sight. The pavement is cracked and broken, and all around the buildings sag with urban decay run rampant.

ST: Perhaps the most noticeable difference, however, is the presence of figures besides yourselves. Pedestrians walk the pavement ahead. Not many, but it is a stark difference to the loneliness of the earlier scene.

ST: Most are slouched, trudging onwards with their faces concealed with hats, hoods and in one case a newspaper.

ST: The wind here is bitterly cold, and though you were unaware of the time it seems that dusk is suddenly setting in.

Isis: Isis slows down again, taking a moment to look around with eyes sharpened to be supernally penetrating.

Isis: After a moment she nods to herself. "From here ... nightmares."

Kenan: begins to look like he might be uncertain if he actually wants to be here, but puts on a brave face to try to reassure Isis

Isis: "This is the path of lightning, the quickest but also most difficult one. This ..." Isis trails off, her eyes narrowed.

ST: You vaguely recognise this scene from memory.

ST: Though you can't put your finger on it.

ST: There is nothing immediately strange in terms of magic.

ST: A figure ahead, in the distance, moves in a ways thats unlike the rest. You don't make it out clearly though.

ST: With your enhanced vision you get a clear picture once you approach.

ST: It's you. An exact duplicate, though barefoot and looking scuffed and dirty.

ST: Her expression is half dazed, half filled with fear.

ST: She wanders slowly, eyes wide. Sometimes she approaches a passing person, though they skim away quickly so she can't touch them, facing the ground the whole time.

Isis: With a quick gesture she casts a spell.

Isis: And changes her course slightly.

Isis: "That one, there in the distance ... do you see? It's somehow different from the other dream actors."

ST: The pedestrians around alter their course to avoid you as they walk by, seeming careful not to get too close.

Kenan: looks in the direction Isis is pointing at

Isis: Isis begins to point as she gets closer but then lowers her arm again with an expression of recognition.

Kenan: "what is it?"

Nebuchadnezzar: glances through the crowd. Looking up from where h e was deep in thought

Isis: "Nevermind," she says quietly.

ST: A figure wandering up ahead shares exactly the same silhouette as Isis, as well as long white-blonde hair.

ST: Though your view is from the back.

Kenan: Kenan looks at her with some interest, but doesn't react in any other way

Isis: "We aren't looking for her," Isis adds after a moment

Kenan: just nods

Nebuchadnezzar: shrugs

Nebuchadnezzar: "Then what are we looking for?" He says glancing around.

Isis: Trying to leave this realm behind along with its actors Isis focuses on the next destination. Nightmares. From the reasonable fears to the irrational, the barely grasped, the nameless. Waking sights and figures twisted, a world without rational sense, menacing even where it shouldn't be.

Isis: "The next step down, from bad to worse."

Isis: The memory of the alien and terrifying city still revisits her sometimes, the transition should not be hard.

Isis: "Places that make less sense than this, that are more menacing, where the actors do take notice ... and are not friendly."

Isis: "This way ... perhaps."

ST: The darkness grows as you move on, dusk becoming night. You leave the lonely figure far behind, and in time the people around you fade too.

ST: Shadows become deeper, longer and so too grows the decay all around you.

ST: Though gradual its still a jarring transition. From merely dull and grey it feels as though you have stepped into the blitz of the second world war. Ruined buildings, some no more than piles of rubble, surround you.

ST: A savage wind howls and the dark clouds in the sky move quickly, unnaturally.

Kenan: "we do seem to be going in the right direction, at least..."

ST: Apocalyptic is perhaps the best way to describe the scene ahead.

Nebuchadnezzar: "How can you be so sure Kenan... you have no idea what we are looking for." Neb says with a little ridicule.

Isis: Isis doesn't answer immediately, examining the surroundings carefully.

Kenan: "nightmares, right? And it's not looking particularly cheerful around here" Kenan replies with feigned good humour

ST: It's hard to see clearly, it is oppressively dark and you're all buffeted by the gale. Over some of the buildings though, to your left, you can just make out the glow of light emanating from something beyond.

Isis: "We are in the Realm of My Nightmares," Isis finally confirms.

Isis: "From here ..." There is a slight trembling in her voice. The prospect of possibly facing some Abyssal thing is not an easy one. "If we can find it, I think it will not be far from here."

Isis: "We're looking for a run-down building, I believe. Smoke. About to catch fire, or perhaps some rooms are on fire already."

Kenan: "right" Kenan replies, while looking around uneasily

Isis: "Newspapers might show the way," she adds cryptically.

Isis: Isis looks for what she has described, the place of the nightmare she was given. Maybe that light in the distance?

Kenan: Kenan looks around to see if there are any newspapers, just in case

ST: You arn't alone as you walk the ruined cityscape. Small things move in the wreckage of buildings, too dark to see clearly. On the roads, cracked and broken, distant figures scurry aside for your passing.

ST: You round a corner, picking your way across scattered debris, when the source of the light is made clear to you.

Isis: Isis is clearly nervous, jumping at every noise and tracking every movement with her eyes.

Kenan: is doing his best to just ignore all the strange noises and movement (at least as long as they do not appear to be a direct threat)

Nebuchadnezzar: seems relatively unaffected, though tense but then Neb has been tense since he arrived in Isis' Oneiros, so that is no real change at all.

ST: A vast, yawning chasm splits the ground. A good fifty feet wide and impossibly deep, you almost don't see it until you are right on top of it. It stretches in a line for as far as you can see, and a little further down a building is perched upon the edge of it though on the side opposite to you.

ST: It's the brewers hall, the guardian demense, though twisted. Taller, looming and reinforced like a prison complex.

Isis: Isis freezes, raising a hand to warn the others of the chasm ahead just in case they didn't see it

Kenan: looks down the chasm, then at the building, then down the chasm again. "So...?"

ST: Light streams out of heavily barred windows, and sheer steel panels are attached to it's crumbling walls. An ancient, concrete and iron bridge spans the gap across to its entrance.

Isis: Isis frowns at the sight. She hadn't expected this, but on reflection it would be natural to meet that particular place in Nightmares.

Nebuchadnezzar: "The Brewer's Hall. How appropriate."

Isis: "I ... I can't tell whether this is the right place from here. I was thinking of a slightly different way."

Isis: "But even if it isn't then the place I mean will be no more than one step distant."

Kenan: "do you want to keep going, then, or shall we explore this building? And do you think this bridge will hold?"

Isis: "Nebuchadnezzar can make sure of that, I hope?"

Isis: The longer Isis looks at the building the more uncomfortable she feels. Though maybe that is a sign in itself?

Isis: "I think we need to go there," Isis nods uneasily.

Nebuchadnezzar: reaches out an touches the brisge. As he does it straightens, solidifying and becoming far less flimsy.

Isis: "Thank you."

ST: Indeed the bridge was crumbling, though Nebuchadnezzars efforts shore up the creaking iron.

Isis: Feeling that this is her responsibility Isis goes first.

ST: Despite all the additions the door leading into the building is exactly the same as you remember.

ST: As you approach though you are quickly made aware of two figures in the dark, flanking the path. They move forward. Both are swathed in long, hooded cloaks and both wear the iconic iron mask that the Guardians of the Veil use as their symbol so often.

Isis: Isis clothes flicker slightly as she enters, sometimes becoming a strange sort of leather protective gear or a bulletproof vest like on tv.

ST: A long dagger hangs from each of their belts, and as though mirror images of each other they draw the weapons while holding their free hands up to halt you.

ST: "Stay, child." Both speak at once, in a resonating tone. "You may not enter."

Kenan: looks rather worried

Isis: Isis tilts her head slightly, looking at the two figures while keeping a safe distance. "Why," she asks simply.

ST: "Our secrets are our own." They speak at the same time, though with different statements, "You cannot face the creature inside."

Isis: "I must," Isis says quietly. However much she wishes she didn't, she has to do this. "And I am not alone," she adds with a look to Nebuchadnezzar and Kenan.

ST: "This is not your concern." Again, they speak at once. "Some things are best forgotten."

Kenan: "yes, it's so much better to pretend the problem isn't there" Kenan remarks "just let us through, we'll sort it out. And it is very much our concern, too"

Isis: "Curious," Isis notes, not speaking to the two guardians. "A consequence of my fear? Or perhaps the magical confinement laid on these thoughts." After a moment she nods. "Yes, likely."

Nebuchadnezzar: "They are after all guardians." Neb says dryly."

Kenan: "how do you think we could overcome it? I imagine just talking to them isn't going to be of much use"

Isis: She hesitates, then with a thought opens some of the many locked doors in her Memory Vault. "This is the time to face what lies within," she says ambiguously. "Stand aside, guardians, your vigil is at an end."

ST: As the spell fades so too does their aggressive stance. Both bow their heads in unison and sheathe their daggers.

ST: They dont speak but move back, off the path.

Isis: nods and walks forward.

Kenan: "ah. Excellent"

ST: Vastly different to the ruined exterior the interior of the building is just as you remember. Modern, clean. When you enter the hall proper though you find it as it had been when you left. The smell of burning is hinted on the air. Litter, dropped possessions and the like clutter the floor. There is a hole in the carpet and the stone work underneath off to one side, where Neb's quick thinking had brought the beast down.

ST: Shouting and screaming comes muffled, quietly on the air as though distant. The centrepiece, however, is the creature that attacked you all that night.

ST: A heavy iron collar sits about its neck, attached to thick chains embedding into the walls all across the room. A sickening crack reaches your ears. It is leaning down best it can, feasting on a prone body that writhes and moans.

ST: It is every bit as vicious and alien as you remember it. Pallid, thin flesh stretched taut over an elongated skeletal frame. It pauses as you enter, then raises its monstrous head to face you.

Isis: "Is this what you saw, Kenan?" Isis whispers apalled, frozen momentarily by the terrifying aspect of the creature.

ST: "You look just like her." It wheezes, milky eyes looking out blindly.

Isis: makes a reflexive warding gesture, one without supernal meaning

Kenan: "it's similar" Kenan says, his mouth suddenly dry "it's not engulfed in smoke and flame, but it looks like it"

Isis: With one hand hand, trembling slightly, Isis makes the sign of the scales, calling upon Ma'at sight on the soul.

ST: "I am sorry."

ST: It seems to form the words with difficulty, its bristling fangs unsuited to speaking.

Nebuchadnezzar: rubs his hand. "Didn't I kill you already?" he asks quietly.

Isis: "It's a part of it," Isis manages to say despite difficulty, one thought chasing another with fright and desperate inference.

Isis: "You," she addresses the thing, not quite managing an imperious tone. "What is your purpose here? What do you want? Why have you come here where you are not welcome? /Who are you? What is it you're making me see?/"

Isis: "Here I am, the Psyche in person. Attend, show yourself!"

ST: "You look just like her." It tries to smoothly move toward you, but the chains behind it pull taut. "Je suis désolé." Its heavily clawed hands come up, reaching.

Kenan: "the chains, what do they mean?"

ST: The smell of smoke grows in the room, though you can see none.

Isis: At the same time Nebuchadnezzar and Kenan can hear her mental voice, fast and with the fear filtered away. *There's more to it than just this. More parts. When ... if it draws them together, I will signal. Then attack.*

Isis: "What does that mean. Why ... why say that, again and again?"

Nebuchadnezzar: nods in acknowledgement.

ST: It hisses, growing agitated. The chain links grind as it pulls harder and still grasps out for Isis.

Isis: Anger seems to be the way to fight the fear, so Isis continues to rant. "Why do this? Were you sent? Who is pulling the strings Why in the name of all that is holy are you torturing me? Answer me, creature!"

ST: One of the anchors suddenly bursts from the wall with a cumbling chunk of concrete, and the beast lurches forward a step. Others hold it in place, but cracks already blossom in the surrounding masonry.

ST: The surroundings are growing hazy, and as you watch thin smoke wisps off the creature's flesh as it struggles.

Kenan: "It won't be long now, Isis, get yourself ready" Kenan says with urgency in his voice

Isis: "Not before it's fully here," Isis hisses, the words in contrast to her demeanor, her eyes wide and fixed on the thing, ready to bolt.

ST: Another breaks with a crack, then another. With a screeching roar it rears back before slamming forward one last time and wrenching itself entirely free. Its flesh darkens and flames flicker about its sihouette. You just about make out it's wide, open-mawed snarl before thick black smoke billows off it, utterly obscuring the room in a searingly hot blast.

ST: You hear a loud crack, then a girl screaming. The crackle of uncontrolled fire then overtakes everything, and you realise the scene has changed.