(PrP) Nightmare At Large, Pt. 3

[Lynn Mills]

Lynn pulled her fiddle from under her chin and tucked it close to her body, watching with sad eyes as her wraith drifted from next to the Sandman's body over to her. Taking a deep breath, she looked it in the face for only a brief moment before slowly starting to pack her fiddle away.

"Sleep now, my love." her voice barely carried over the ripple of the water; but it wasn't meant for any of the others that might be listening.

Straightening, she brushed absently at the tears that slowly worked their way down her cheeks. Sorrow was an old friend, one she could work through given enough need. And they weren't quite done here.

"We need to take a look around. He might have the names of the children he was tormenting, some sort of list or mementos. Some way to identify them. If we can identify them, we can maybe help them heal from what happened."

"Maybe…." She started wading across the room, reaching the Sandman's body and looking down at him. "Maybe we can get the answer a bit more directly."

[Coco]

A snide remark had risen to the Wasp's lips as she saw the melancholy enter the musicians features. If she'd merely waited then there would have been no reason for her to inflict such sorrow upon herself, or to force the shade of her husband to commit such violence. Alas, as it was with all things, it now seemed, Lynn was quick to overlook and discard her.

Of course, Coco could not dwell upon such thoughts for long. A sharp splash dashed the bitterly mocking sentiments aside, the Wasp whirling to find Ava submerged beneath the water. Her blade arose, her eyes hunting for some yet unseen threat, yet when the Nix arose and began to swiftly march away the sword lowered. Hastily wiping the steel upon the edge of her coat, Coco hurried after her.

"Ava! Are you alright?!" she called, moving after the retreating form of her friend. H

Had some spell been cast upon her? Was the water not as benign as it had seemed? Well, she'd leave the others to figure that out. Sheathing the blade in her cane, Coco darted forward so she could come abreast with the Archivist.

"Ava, what's the matter? What are you saying?"

[Malcolm Green]

Green watched, somewhat helplessly, as Ava slipped and plunged into the watery depths. At that moment, he didn't entirely trust his own heavy feet on the slick and slippery surface. His eyes followed her as she struggled free of the water's embrace and as she hurried away.

His expression did not change.

Connections easily made by others were lost on Malcolm Green; he may be once again flesh and blood, but the knot where his soul once lay remained proud stone. Impervious heart of the mountain. He could only watch with bland curiousity, quite aware that he was missing.... something.... but unable to articulate what.

[Lynn Mills]

Lynn heard Ava fall into the water, turning and watching the Archivist in concern. But whatever was happening, it seemed private. And there was still something to be accomplished. She stood over the body of the Sandman, thinking to herself that it was remarkable how quickly such a terrible person had died. For all the power he'd held in dreams, it hadn't been enough to protect him in life. Something to remember.

But either way, they weren't done yet. She hadn't know him long enough in life to be able to speak with his ghost easily, but that didn't mean it couldn't be done.

Brushing one hand over her eyes, Lynn focused on the next world over, where she might be able to pursued the ghost of the Sandman to give them what they needed.

  failure

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-10-27 19:22:54		Lynn Mills rolls 7 to speak with Ghosts [Wyrd (2) + Presence (2)] (10 Again, WillPower)		1, 7, 3, 2, 4, 5, 5		failure

At first she couldn't see anything, still distracted by grief and the dragging depression that made every effort almost unbearable. With an angry toss of her head, Lynn dug her fingernails into her palms and tried again. She'd been through this before and she would not fail when needed.

  5 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-10-27 19:23:21		Lynn Mills rolls 7 to speak with Ghosts [Wyrd (2) + Presence (2)] (10 Again, WillPower)		9, 9, 1, 5, 10, 7, 8, 10, 6		5 successes

This time, she knew that she'd succeeded, as the world around her faded back just a tiny bit and the ghostly forms of the spirits inhabiting the Hollow came into focus. Including one very important one. The ghost of the Sandman.

[InvertedMonkey]

The Twilight rebels at the presence of the dread musician. Why should it not? Enslaved as she has one of it's own to be her weapon. Left with her own morose grief at the use of her Token, it might be difficult for Lynn not to feel as though her failure is somehow deserved. Her fault for interfering where she should not. Yet the Twilight reveals its self anyway, not just to Lynn but to Green as well. Light dims. Colors fade. Shadows lengthen and creep. Smoke wafts out of the Sandman's corpse, bubbling up through the water and then writhing into the air, thick and gray like charcoal. Confusion is obvious, the smoke moves as if ton this way and that. Here, one could seems to form a skull torn of flesh. There, a severed hand, withered and decayed. What Lynn has summoned is not the Sandman. It is perhaps an echo of what he once was, but it is not the Sandman, and it shows in the way it slowly coalesces into being, mismatched parts fitting together like half-remembered memories. The man appears, crafted of smoke and shade, for just a moment. His eyes are wild and his limbs flail, until he catches sight of Lynn. His mouth sets in a grim line, then he bares his teeth, anger coloring his expression... and then he is gone. The smoke swallows him again, whirling and churning, then parting like stage curtains to reveal... a little girl in a yellow dress. Hair once blonde and perfect is now faded and thin. A skirt once bright and wholesome now ratty and tattered. Old blood stains the front of her dress, in two long waterfalls that blend into each other, one from her breast and the other from the throat. "Funny," she says, her too-sweet voice somehow distant and faded, "I thought it would be Daniel. Then again, even his name proves him a liar." Her smile fades, irritation filling her expression, "What do you hope to gain now? You've ruined everything already, what more can you take from me? Or are you here to save me?" The smile returns, mocking this time, "Even you don't know what happens to us next, do you? Neither do I. Will you keep me here, then? Anchor me from passing into the terrible beyond? Don't want to be responsible for another death?" Her eyes flick to the fiddle.

[Lynn Mills]

Lynn shook her head at the child. "You're right, I don't know what's going to happen next. I wish I did, maybe then I'd be able to help my husband move on." She took a step closer and tilted her head, looking at the girl with tired eyes. "But I've got one thing to offer you, something I'd want in your place." She reached down and tapped her finger on her fiddle case. "You've managed to do something the Freehold will be talking about for years. We'll be months trying to figure out just how far you managed to reach." She spread her hands just a bit. "I want to write about you, sing about you. It will be an epic song, a series of songs, one that people listen to for years. They'll know your name and they'll be afraid, so very afraid. Of you."

"You say that Daniel is a liar. I'm not. I'll keep my word and I'll write about you." Lynn leaned closer.

Oaths sworn and kept. I've kept my word and now I call upon my boon. Lynn's mantle flared for a moment, bringing with it the distant sound of a storm and a cooling breeze.

"All you need to do, is tell me everything. All the names, everything you did. Tell me everything."

  All the details, all the names

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-10-29 19:24:20		Lynn Mills rolls 7 to persuade [Manipulation (3) + Persuasion (1)] (8 Again, WillPower)		10, 10, 3, 7, 3, 10, 8, 4, 6, 8, 1, 7		5 successes

[Coco]

"He doesn't matter anymore, Ava," Coco uttered softly, her gloved right hand settling gently against the coat's damp fur between the Nix's shoulder blades. "He never even saw you slip, or get more than your shins wet, and now his bones will molder in that cave forevermore..."

The Wasp's voice trailed off, unsure what else there was to say. Fear was something Coco was familiar with, but only in the context of herself. Never before had she tried to slay another person's fear. All she could do was counsel as if she were speaking to herself.

"Come," she said, patting Ava's back. "Let us rejoin the others. Let us prove that, in the end, the Sandman's plan was for nought. That you are still standing stalwart in his feeble trap. Let thatbe your last blow against him and his memory. A sign that, even in your mind, that wretch will eventually be meaningless and forgotten."

[Malcolm Green]

While Lynn whispered, standing over the shoal where the Sandman's body lay, and Coco and Ava moved off down the tunnel, the big Elemental gingerly began moving again. Stooped like an old man, his large hands groped and explored the slick surface beneath the pooling waters.

Just in case. One never knew what one might find in a Hollow. The Sandman's threat might be over but his Hollow could still hold clues to his activities and his victims.

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-11-02 03:37:08		Green to search for stuff rolls 4 to Wits + Investigation (10 Again)		7, 9, 5, 2		1 success
2015-11-02 03:36:20		Green to keep his footing rolls 3 to Dexterity + Athletics - 2 (10 Again)		3, 4, 9		1 success