"Shouldn' go alone.  Just in case."

Inas makes to accompany Saliq.

Marissa remains in the skiff, just in case.

"Be still and be quiet, little one," Marissa whispers as the others head toward the door. She is tense - aware that she might be frightening the little drake, she tries to relax.

Focusing a small prayer, she seeks to detect any evil that may be emanating from the shack.

Saliq moves forward, followed by the others, first knocking on the door, but finds all is quiet.  And the door is unlocked and opens slightly when knocked upon.  Despite her curiosity, Astral ducks down and remains quiet.

Moving inside, the house looks much the same as it did before, all is very quiet, and a quick look around seems normal till you enter bedroom of Elexi.

Elexi is there, but he is pinned to the wooden ceiling, he appears to be slightly squashed as if some great pressure is pushing him up, though he is facing the floor.  He is surrounded by a transparent green haze.  His eyes are open, but it is hard to tell if he alive in this current state.

Marissa detects a strong aura of evil all around Elexi, be it him or the fog, it is hard to tell.

Marissa hisses.

"Ware the house," she cries to the others, caught between her duty to the dragon and her friends.

With a curse, she gets into the skiff and makes ready to retreat back toward Stormhaven.

Folke had joined those in the house, having spent the extra time with Elexi on their previous visit.  If anyone would be welcome, it should be he and Saliq.  The skald's disquiet grew with each step through the small house, until at last they found their host magically restrained against the ceiling.

"What is it holding him?" Folke asked aloud.  He looked for some sort of device or emanating point that was generating the restraining field.  "Can we try to dispel it?"

Inas looks at the others, waiting for them to tell him if there is anything he can do in this rather unusual situation.

PM

"I can try," Rath grumbled. He glared about, not liking this circumstance on small bit. "Say the word, Musfara, and I'm on it. What the hell did this?" Rath already had a pretty good idea, of course.

A thought came to him, and he shifted his gaze.

[OOC: DM - what's the ceiling and roof made of? I'm thinking we can "dig" him out from above.]
This message was last edited by the player at 20:35, Sat 28 July 2018.

Curious, Marissa asks, "Astral, can you 'feel' anything emanating from inside the hut?"

The ceiling is wooden, too flat to be the roofline, so maybe an attic exists.

Astral whispers, "I can't sense anything, but you are all tense, which is scary".

"Let me do it," Folke replied to Rath, drawing forth his harp.  "I think I'd have as much power as anyone in the group, for this anyway."  He eyed up the position of Elexi versus the bed below, some practical considerations dawning on him.  "I hope the floor doesn't hut too much."

"Stay back, everyone," he warned.  "I don't know exactly what will happen if I successfully cancel the effect."  And once he was satisfied everyone was behind him, Folke plucked a short sequence of chords aimed at the field restraining Elexi.  The tune reverberated beyond what any normal instrument would produce and seemed to war with the greenish fog.


OOC:

Cast Dispel Magic using harp.

Saliq raises an eyebrow at Folke's claim to have as much power in the group as anyone but simply takes a step back.

"I admit I don't immediately recognise the exact magic at play," the illusionist confessed. "Best let Folke try."

Folke begins to play notes on his harp, and immediately, the green mist sends out a tendril that wraps around the bard.  To everyone in the room, it seems like a serpent that wraps itself around Folke in coils.  To Folke, he feels like something physically punches him in the face, and in fact, his nose begins to bleed.

Luckily, this is no fledgling skald, Folke continues to pluck the strings of the harp, and in moments, a golden light envelops the green mist, slowly burning it away until none is left.

As the last of the mist vanishes, Elexi drops to the ground.  A quick check finds him alive, but unconscious.


ooc: BTW, for this dispel, rolling low was a GOOD thing, so those were awesome rolls Folke, nice job!! You could have dispelled the magic of a 18th level wizard with those!
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:57, Mon 30 July 2018.

Marissa hears the notes played by Folke. When the music stops, she waits with bated breath.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:47, Mon 30 July 2018.

In reply to Marissa Ehridol (msg # 17):

Since her spell would still be in effect, with the dispelling of the magic, the evil she could sense also disappears.

Marissa disembarks with Astral affixed to her shoulder. "Are you putting on weight, luv?" she asks, her voice teasing. Entering the hut, she looks at the others gathered around Elexi.

"I'm happy to assist, if need be," she said to the room.

A quick check of Elexi shows him to be seemingly uninjured.  After a few minutes, his unfocused staring eyes blink, and he looks around, finally sitting up.  When he notices Astral, his eyes well up and he rises only to bow his head towards her, he mutters, "I am so sorry little one".

Inas is concerned that while Elexi's immediate peril appears resolved, danger still lurks.

"Sorry for what?  An' what happened here?"

Rath suddenly had his trident in hand and a ferocious glare. "What's the hell is that supposed to mean, Warlock?!!"

Marissa, too, makes ready her weapon, pointing the tip of the spear directly at Elexi.

"Speak, wizard, we've no patience for riddles."

Folke spared Elexi more condemnations but stood with a quizzical look on his face, the harp hugged loosely in his arms.  He'd not thought of it in that sense until the others had spoken, but now worried their interpretation might be correct.

Despite the demands to speak, Elexi continues to kneel, with teary eyes.  After a moment Astral flies over to hover just before him.


"It is you who sent me comforting dreams when I was born into a cage, with evil around me.  And you who sent me dreams of the faces of my rescuers, so I'd know them, and know hope was coming.  My sire already forgave you, for whatever small part you played in his life.  Long ago.  He used to say that until you forgive someone who truly did you a bad turn, you don't know the meaning of the word, or the joy of forgiveness.   More importantly, he would preach, good souls must always forgive themselves when they do wrong.  That was the most difficult part to learn. Every day, for otherwise, the guilt of past actions would poison all the good they could do in the future.  My sire believed in forgiveness."

A few moments after the little dragon speaks, Elexi looks around, blinking away his tears.

"Master Bard, thank you, your skills are great for my sister has some power, I'm afraid she won't look kindly on your kicking her out of here. Let me put on some broth and stew, we should talk.....and thank you all for saving the little one"

"I am proud of you, child," Marissa said kindly to the dragon. "And I am humbled by your wisdom. I think, when all is done, you'll have taught me far more than I will ever teach you."

Rath wasn't mollified, but he shut up and listened to whatever the warlock had to say.