Hovering in darkness, under a 'sky' torn by continuous storms, and a 'ground' that oozes and writhes with shapes that would make the most hard-core Lovecraft fan blanch, and need a Disney flick, bobs a fragile dreamscape, in the shape of an iridescent soap bubble. Inside, Harriet dreams... A forest. Black and skeletal, in drifts of snow that are an odd off-white, like the color of bones left in the desert. The trees are full of black-purple leaves, some of which occassionally drift downwards. Anything that they touch is sliced by the razor sharp edges. Some of the tree trunks are heavily scarred by such marks, as if they'd tried to commit suicide. And from the darkest, most forbidding heart of the forest, any interlopers in the dream may hear Harriet screaming. Zach has just entered the dreamscape to investigate, and see if there's a way he can soothe Harriet and lure her back across the Vale. He eyes the trees and the leaves warily, and makes his careful way towards the screaming. As Zach moves through the forest, the freezing wind that winds its way with him seems to carry soft, malevolent gibbering, even as the trees above hiss their displeasure with the intruder through the rustling of their leaves. Still, the few leaves that loose themselves from the branches are easy to avoid as the Malakite makes his way towards...a clearing. A place where even the trees seem reluctant to stand. In the center of the clearing is Harriet, collared and chained to a stake in the frozen ground. Rimming the clearing are shadowy forms, amusement clear on their indistinct faces. And there's a shadowpuppet of some sort, an oily doppleganger that is slowly being clothed in Harriet's skin. Torn off the screaming woman in long strips as she tries, with hysterical intensity, to run away in some direction. Every time, though, the length of the chain jerks her back by the neck. Zach is in vesselshape, and creeps closer, trying to sneak up behind the malevolent dream-critter. He is clutching a small paintbrush, with which it intends to make the critter's 'life' interesting. Just then, amidst the forest, some distance away, the Vesselform of Cristobal appears. He chuckles, as he looks around. "Ah, the imagination... who needs a Hell, when you could have this?" He puts his hands in his pockets. At Harriet's next shriek, he begins walking in that direction, making his way quickly, but not running. Indeed, it might be said he's genuinely enjoying hearing the pain-filled cries. Zach tries, fearfully, to use his Attunement on the brush. AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 1 + 2 = 3 . Check die: 1 Zach cries. Cristobal says, "Power+1 Ethereal Weapon?" The Shadowpuppet is inert, a doll, standing oblivious. It is the observers who appear to doing the most harm, as they wait until the artist has jerked herself up short, then reaching down and tearing off another skinstrip with the sound of ripping paper. The strip is passed along solemnly until it reaches the shadow near the puppet, who pastes it on the oily skin. Cristobal is also marked as intruder, and the trees hiss and gnash their leaves at his passage. But again, the razorleaves that fall are easy to avoid. Zach drops the paintbrush, realizing it won't help him much. It's time to get even more up-close and personal. He glides up to the nearest nightmare and proceeds to try and rip it to pieces. AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 5 + 4 = 9 . Check die: 1 Zach makes. Harriet has TN 11 for Dodge. AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 2 + 6 = 8 . Check die: 4 Harriet makes. Cristobal says, "Actually, they're probably 1-2 Force Ethereals, with crappy stats. They ARE just figments of a dream with no real existence of their own... but whatever rules you'd like." Harriet knows nuffink about Ethereal rules. Just sort of assumed that they were her mind turning against her. :) Cristobal says, "How many Eth-Forces do you have, Harriet? :)" Harriet says, "2, almost 3." Cristobal says, "So 2-force baddies, with your stats, will work, I s'pose." Harriet says, "Okay. It still makes." Cristobal glances, irritably, at the falling leaves, and comes up on the clearing. Through the strange way of dreams, he's standing opposite the clearing from Zach. With a chuckle, he watches the shadows, and begins slowly walking around the circle. He spares the suffering Harriet a glance, and a shake of his head, making a faint 'tsk'ing noise. The Shadows ignore Cristobal, half of them turning their 'heads' towards the one that Zach just attacked, while the other half keep their eyes on the artist. She seems unaware of either Zach or Cristobal, still trying frantically to run away. Another strip is torn, but the lucky Shadow pauses as he has no one to hand it to, as his two brothers are watching Zach. Poor Shadow. The attacked Shadow glides out of the way of Zach's attack, its form twisting like smoke. It regards him with the impression of a fixed, malevolent smile, then attempts the tactic that has worked so far, reaching out with long, pointy fingers to rip at his skin. AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 2 + 5 = 7 . Check die: 4 Harriet says, "Int plus Eth-Forces? That makes." Zach dodges. AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 3 + 3 = 6 . Check die: 6 Zach makes. Zach smiles sweetly at the reaching critter and just /isn't there/ when the claws should have impacted. "Harriet," he calls out. "Harriet, I need you to focus for me. You need to tell these little buggers to butt out, this is your space - not theirs." And with that, he grabs for another shade, with the intent of using it to smite one of its buddies. Cristobal is noted, but well... AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 6 + 2 = 8 . Check die: 1 Zach says, "I make, but the dice hate me still." AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 5 + 3 = 8 . Check die: 1 Harriet says, "That makes, too. Slippery little buggers, aren't they? ;)" Cristobal is going to attempt a Dreaming roll. -2 for Untrained, -2 for creating an Object. TN is 8. Sound right? Harriet says, "Sounds fine." AutoJudge: Cristobal rolls: 3 + 1 = 4 . Check die: 5 Cristobal continues gliding around, with a stately grace. With a smile, he reaches his hand out, and, from the mists, a shining silver basket-hilted rapier forms. He plays gently with it for a moment, adopting a pose. He flashes a broad smile at Zach, as he brings the blade around to a garde stance. Harriet hmms. Is there a specific roll one must make for figuring out that you're dreaming? Cristobal says, "I don't know as there is. Straight up Int, maybe?" Harriet says, "Works for me. TN 5." AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 5 + 4 = 9 . Check die: 5 Harriet sigh. Zach thought the Dreaming skill was it? Or am I thinking of Lucid Dreaming? Cristobal says, "That's true. If Harriet has Dreaming..." Cristobal forgot that. Harriet says, "I do have dreaming." Harriet says, "Is it a Dreaming roll, then? If so, that makes." Cristobal says, "We'll call it a Dreaming roll." Zach's target glides out of reach, with the impression that it might have been stumbling, had it feet. It bumps into the target of his first attack, and the two float around for a moment before refocusing on Zach. The trees rattle their leaves angrily as the two leap fowards, claws extended. Cristobal also attracts the attention of a nearby shade, who reaches out almost delicately to try and pull a strip of skin from him, it's head tilted curiously to the side. Harriet looks up, hearing Zach's voice, and her eyes widen. "Zach? ZACH! Look out!" One of the other shades reaches out for her again, and she turns and glares at it, baring her teeth and trying to will it AWAY. Harriet scratches her head. Okay, two are attacking Zach, one's going after Cris, and Harriet's going to try and Dream a few of them away. Harriet says, "So. The first two rolls are against Zach, the third is for Cris, and the last is for Harriet." Cristobal says, "So, our attacks are Int+EthF. Plus my Small Weapon (Rapier) in my case, ja?" Harriet nods. AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 6 + 1 = 7 . Check die: 6 Harriet says, "Makes" AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 3 + 6 = 9 . Check die: 3 Harriet says, "Fail." AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 4 + 2 = 6 . Check die: 3 Harriet says, "Makes." AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 5 + 5 = 10 . Check die: 6 Harriet says, "Ahhh. If there are any penalties, then it doesn't make, and we're all pushed even /closer/ to Beleth. :p" Cristobal says, "Want to pose the effects before Zach and I pose our defenses and attacks? I need to make a Dodge roll. TN is 8, for Precision+Dodge." The glare does not exactly have the effect that Harriet was hoping for. Instead, the sky darkens, jagged blue lightning arching over the heads of the trees. Those nice, razorsharp leaves shiver and then begin to fall in earnest, blown by the wind through the clearing, nearly impossible to avoid. Their touch is not enough to wound seriously, instead causing papercut-like scratches. And the figments that Harriet tried to banish swell; large, leathery wings sprouting from their backs, their pointy fingers becoming true claws. Zach dodging that one who hit me. TN13 AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 3 + 2 = 5 . Check die: 5 Harriet says, "Heh. Just enough." Zach phew. AutoJudge: Cristobal rolls: 6 + 2 = 8 . Check die: 1 Cristobal says, "Alas! Not enough." AutoJudge: Cristobal takes 2 points of ethereal damage. Zach elegantly dances in between his shadowy attackers, and avoids their grabby fingers and claws. And then...the world darkens. "Er, Harriet, honey? That's not /quite/ what I meant, you know. If you can't banish them, I suggest you wake up. We're in a bad place..." He eyes the Big Beaties warily. This is so not good. Ah well... A man's gotta do what a man's...I mean 'kite's gotta do. He lunges for one, trying to tear off a wing. AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 4 + 3 = 7 . Check die: 4 Zach makes. Cristobal glances irritably at the shade. "I beg your..." A hissed curse in Helltongue, possibly including a remark about it being too early for him to shed skin this year. A moment's evaluation, and he sighs, lunging forward with intent to inflict some psychological harm on the creature. "I rather had hoped you would help out, dream-creature." He sighs. "Where are a flock of vengeful Aztec death-spirits when you need one?" Cristobal says, "TN is 13." AutoJudge: Cristobal rolls: 3 + 1 = 4 . Check die: 4 Harriet says, "First roll for Zach's, second for Cris'." AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 3 + 2 = 5 . Check die: 2 Harriet says, "Makes, but you hurt it." AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 1 + 6 = 7 . Check die: 2 Harriet says, "Likewise. :)" Harriet screams as the world changes, and tries to scramble backwards, to the end of her chain. When it tugs, she reaches out with both hands, and grabs it, trying to will it into oblivion. The Big Beastie that Zach targets flicks his wing, but not far enough. It's eerily silent as the shadow-stuff catches and tears in the 'kites hands, and it turns its attention to him, swatting with black claws. Cris' unhelpful little friend is /also/ silent as the blade sinks in, shadowstuff pouring out to blacken his blade. It shivers, and reaches out to rip at him again. The two Big Beasties that have not been distracted by Zach close in on Harriet, reaching out to grab her and hold her down. Harriet says, "Alright. Dreaming to get rid of the chain, first. What's my penalty?" Zach says, "-1" Cristobal says, "-1. Yup, what Zach said." AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 2 + 2 = 4 . Check die: 6 Harriet says, "Now /that/ is a success at CD 6." Cristobal says, "Damn, NOW we're flyin' at high speed to the other side..." Harriet's hands clutch frantically at the chain, just as the Big Beasties close in. With an exercise of will, it shatters, and so do the Beasties, freezing and breaking like obsidian glass. The wave of destruction continues to the trees, leaves and bark exploding into a fury of...black feathers? Yup. Harriet, Zach, and Cristobal find themselves in a plain, empty, open and /safe/ (from Harriet's perspective), and black feathers drifting like rain from the clear, azure sky. Zach blinks, as the wing he was tearing apart vanishes between his fingers. The black feathers cause him a moment's oopsie, but then he relaxes. Well, kind of. There's still that pesky Balseraph with the overgrown needle. Pity it's not a noodle. He smiles, though. "Good one, babe. Could you will weapons into non-existence, perhaps. Make this a truly peaceful place?" He moves to stand in front of Harriet, to protect her. Cristobal is going to make another Dreaming roll, same penalties, altering appearance this time. TN is still 8. AutoJudge: Cristobal rolls: 2 + 2 = 4 . Check die: 6 Cristobal smiles, and looks down at the rapier. He plunges it into the ground. "They shall make a desert, and call it peace," he says, chuckling. He catches a feather, and contemplates it for a moment. "I should see about dreaming a factory into existence here. Perhaps I can begin selling talisman-pens, made from authentic dream-feathers." He takes a step towards Zach, spreading his arms... which begin to twist and shift, stretching out into wings, his clothes dissipating as his skin turns green and shifts... and, lo, but he sits, coiled, in an Image of his Celestial form. Harriet makes a Dreaming roll to make the rapier go away. Harriet says, "-2 or -3?" Cristobal says, "-1, same as for the Chain." AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 1 + 5 = 6 . Check die: 2 Harriet stands up, carefully, still a little shaky from having bits ripped off. The wounds appear to have healed, now, though. She eyes Zach, offering him a hug, then the sword, then the Serpent. "Why are you /here/, Lucian? And no, you can't make a factory, you know?" She turns her attention back to the sword, and it sparkles and shifts, into a tall, silver sapling. "You were going to hurt someone with that, weren't you?" Zach tilts his head and eyes the Balseraph. "Cute. Pity about the wings, though." He stands ready to deal with whatever. "Harriet, if things get out of hand, you can try to eject us. Or just will yourself awake. It'll do the sam trick." "I did, if you recall, sskewer one of the creatures that wass happily sskinning you," Lucius points out. He sighs, and stretches, flexing his wings. "Not going to match me, Virtue? I am dissssapointed." He shakes his head slowly, side to side, six eyes unblinking. Zach shrugs and scratches his head. "Well, I'm humanoid in either form so it really doesn't matter, does it? You didn't answer the lady, though. Why are you here, dude?" "Not until it went after you, dearheart," Harriet returns, blandly. Then her expression settles into a look of prim disapproval. "And I'd rather if you two didn't fight, you know? Not here." She looks over to Zach, and smiles, reaching out to touch his arm. Cristobal rolls his head towards Harriet, and exhales, little puffs of dust emerging from his nostrils. "We all have unfulfilled dessiress, my dear." With that, he snaps his head around and lunges towards Zach, uncoiling rapidly in the hopes of taking a decent-sized chunk out of his form... Celestially. Cristobal says, "My TN is 17, yes? Will 12 + CelFor 6 + Fighting Default -1?" Zach says, "But as I read the rules, it's either Will+Cel forces OR Will+Fight." Zach says, "Ditto for the other two realms." Cristobal says, "Hmm. Okay. Then TN is 18." Zach says, "So, for you it's Will+Cel forces, for me it's Will+Fight." Harriet says, "Makes sense to me." Cristobal says, "Okeydokes." AutoJudge: Cristobal rolls: 3 + 3 = 6 . Check die: 1 Cristobal says, "Man, and I STILL manage to suck. Damage is 7. :p" Zach attempts a Dodge. Yikes! TN 14. AutoJudge: Zach rolls: 2 + 3 = 5 . Check die: 3 AutoJudge: Zach takes 2 points of celestial damage. Zach flings himself away from Lucian's toothy maw, but not far enough! He yelps as Balseraph teeth rip into him, and harm his very soul. "Okay, that wasn't nice. Harriet, I suggest you pin us down or kick us out. One way or the other." With that said, he grabs Lu's head to try and poke his eyes out. Harriet says, "Is there a penalty to a wake-up roll?" Cristobal says, "Nope, straight Dreaming Roll." AutoJudge: Harriet rolls: 4 + 1 = 5 . Check die: 6 This is supposed to have turned into a good dream! Harriet yelps in surprise and fear as Lu's jaws close on Zach, and she raises her hands and makes a 'tearing apart' gesture at the sky, shredding the dream and fleeing to a waking state. She wakes up on the pillows in her apartment, sweating and panting. Zach falls on his arse! Thankfully the sand in the Marches is soft, and there's that lovely Tower of Dream just over there. He looks around frantically for the Balseraph, but sees only peace and tranquility and harmony. Time to wake up, and phone Harriet... Zach wakes up and dial's Harriet's number! Cristobal smiles as he snaps out of the dream, and sits up in the back of a van, somewhere in Kansas City. He smiles, and licks his lips. "Paul," he calls out, "I am hungry. Is there a fried chicken place nearby?" Fade out... .... Cristobal says, "So, a Balseraph, a Malakite, and a human walk into a Dreamscape... ;)"