Last Time On Impasse...
Araña looked up and saw another phantom emerging from the fog. “I’m sorry friends," she said. "I can feel my strength waning. Let's hope these creatures are deterred by water.” With a swirl of mist, she vanished before either of her companions could offer a rebuke.
But no response would have come from Ithil if she had waited. He stood glassy-eyed, staring at nothing in particular. A smile came to his face and he whispered, “I have an idea,” before disappearing just as suddenly.
“That leaves us to deal with these lubbers, Mellow,” Vusk shouted between blasts of searing light emanating from outstretched palms.
“Indeed, my friend," replied Mellow, "It is a shame there are so few of them!” Firelight glinted off his katana as it swung through the air in perfectly timed precision strikes. Mellow and Vusk stood defiant against the malicious spirits within a shimmering dome of light. With every strike by the enraged specters, radiant energy crackled against the edge of the globe of holy protection. The discharge generated golden arcs of light in the dark forest, illuminating tree limbs and the twisted faces of the oncoming spectral horde.
In the shallows of the nearby pool -- a splash. Those with keen eyes may have seen the faint silhouette of a woman against the firelight and sparks of radiance. Appearing out of thin air with an arrow already knocked and aimed towards the melee, Araña loosed two missiles in rapid succession. They sang in the air and passed through their quarries as they did the mist, embedding in a tree trunk behind them.
Reaching back for another arrow, Araña was startled as Ithil appeared beside her and dove into the water.
“What the...” Araña began to curse, but the words were forced back into her mouth by a sudden torrent of water. A massive wave suddenly reared up from the pond and crashed on her from behind; pulling her beneath the surface with its force.
Despite the shallow water, Araña felt an enormous pressure against her chest driving the air out. She struggled, but the cold touch of the spectres lingered in her limbs and slowed her movements, weakening her desperate attempts for the surface. As she tried to call out to Ithil, more water rushed into her lungs, robbing her of the little oxygen she had left. As she lost consciousness, she recognized the watery form of the strange aquatic intelligence they had seen accompanying the water fey the day before. She felt her leg being yanked and she was dragged deeper as her eyes shut.
“I think Araña be havin' herself some swimin' troubles,” Vusk said as the sound of frantic splashing mingled with the incoherent screams of the specters. “Indeed, we must slay all of these blasphemous creatures in her honor,” replied Mellow.
Back-to-back inside the radiant sphere, Vusk and Mellow sliced and blasted another pair of spirits back to oblivion as the distant splashing ceased. As Mellow’s sword swung down to decapitate another spectre, a withered hand reached for him and caught his forearm in its icy grip. Mellow shuddered as the freezing hand seemed to draw warmth from his arm and watched as the soft fur under the pale fingers began to turn brittle and white.
Mellow pulled back his arm and swung his sword with the other hand. As the blade passed through the creature's wrist, it shimmered with golden light and the hand dissipated like vapor back into the mist. Another set of spectral hands found purchase around Vusk’s neck and squeezed. Vusk lifted both hands and blasted the creature back. Gasping for breath, Vusk managed to rasp out a question to Mellow. “Perhaps we should ensure Araña isn’t payin’ an early visit to ol' Davy Jones?”
Mellow glanced toward the water and back to Vusk. “Yes, fish her out," he said. "Halal and I will keep these abominations busy.” Vusk waited for an opening in the shifting banks of fog and sprinted through when one appeared. He dodged a pair of snapping jaws connected to a revolting head mangled by some unspeakable violence in its former life and ran into the water, but the mist made finding Araña below the surface by the dim light of the distant fire nearly impossible. He stumbled through the shallows up to his chest and was startled when a floating arrow bumped against him. He dove beneath the water’s edge and the light and sound from above was instantly dulled. But Vusk knew the water -- this was his domain. By what little moonlight that filtered through from above, he could just make out the shimmering outline of Araña being pulled away by a swirling torrent of water.
Vusk hardened his resolve and thought of the crew members he had lost to the sea. He would not let that happen here. Not in this fishless pathetic excuse for a miniature unsalted ocean. “This be water,” he thought as he swam toward Araña and grabbed her wrist with a grip strengthened from climbing rigging and hauling halyards for more years than he cared to count. He kicked his feet and stroked with his free hand and felt the torrent of water intensify in defiance. He pulled with everything he had and roared with a torrent of bubbles: “THIS BE WATER!” He felt Araña break free of the watery intelligence's grip and tore her away as he ran through the shallows.
Mellow felt Hlal’s strength coursing through his arms and sword; it fought back the cold and guided his strikes, leaving trails of judgement in its wake with each swing, Mellow felled the creatures like a sharp wind knocks leaves from a tree; but just as a tree holds an uncountable number of leaves, the fog seemed to hold an army of malevolent spirits. In the distance, Mellow paused for just a moment to catch his breath as another group of ethereal horrors began to advance toward him. Back toward the water, he saw Vusk blasting back another three as he dragged Araña's soaking body onto land. “Halal will provide the answer,” Mellow thought, "Like the dawn brings light, Hlal will bring us to safety...” Mellow stepped out of the sphere of holy light and shouted to the spirits, “I have given you all a fair chance at paradise and you have refused."
Mellow held his sword up to the heavens and a beam of light erupted from the black sky. The beam of radiant energy widened from its focus on Mellow's sword point until Vusk, Araña, the campsite, a dozen nearby trees, and the pool of water were all illuminated with the blinding light of a noonday sun. "Now, back to hell with you!” shouted Mellow above the screaming spirits.
The specters howled with anger and rage as the sunlight burned away the fog and their ghostly bodies. In seconds, it was over and the three companions stood blinking back tears in the middle of a silent forest, at the edge of a glittering blue pool, with the light warming their backs.
But no response would have come from Ithil if she had waited. He stood glassy-eyed, staring at nothing in particular. A smile came to his face and he whispered, “I have an idea,” before disappearing just as suddenly.
“That leaves us to deal with these lubbers, Mellow,” Vusk shouted between blasts of searing light emanating from outstretched palms.
“Indeed, my friend," replied Mellow, "It is a shame there are so few of them!” Firelight glinted off his katana as it swung through the air in perfectly timed precision strikes. Mellow and Vusk stood defiant against the malicious spirits within a shimmering dome of light. With every strike by the enraged specters, radiant energy crackled against the edge of the globe of holy protection. The discharge generated golden arcs of light in the dark forest, illuminating tree limbs and the twisted faces of the oncoming spectral horde.
In the shallows of the nearby pool -- a splash. Those with keen eyes may have seen the faint silhouette of a woman against the firelight and sparks of radiance. Appearing out of thin air with an arrow already knocked and aimed towards the melee, Araña loosed two missiles in rapid succession. They sang in the air and passed through their quarries as they did the mist, embedding in a tree trunk behind them.
Reaching back for another arrow, Araña was startled as Ithil appeared beside her and dove into the water.
“What the...” Araña began to curse, but the words were forced back into her mouth by a sudden torrent of water. A massive wave suddenly reared up from the pond and crashed on her from behind; pulling her beneath the surface with its force.
Despite the shallow water, Araña felt an enormous pressure against her chest driving the air out. She struggled, but the cold touch of the spectres lingered in her limbs and slowed her movements, weakening her desperate attempts for the surface. As she tried to call out to Ithil, more water rushed into her lungs, robbing her of the little oxygen she had left. As she lost consciousness, she recognized the watery form of the strange aquatic intelligence they had seen accompanying the water fey the day before. She felt her leg being yanked and she was dragged deeper as her eyes shut.
“I think Araña be havin' herself some swimin' troubles,” Vusk said as the sound of frantic splashing mingled with the incoherent screams of the specters. “Indeed, we must slay all of these blasphemous creatures in her honor,” replied Mellow.
Back-to-back inside the radiant sphere, Vusk and Mellow sliced and blasted another pair of spirits back to oblivion as the distant splashing ceased. As Mellow’s sword swung down to decapitate another spectre, a withered hand reached for him and caught his forearm in its icy grip. Mellow shuddered as the freezing hand seemed to draw warmth from his arm and watched as the soft fur under the pale fingers began to turn brittle and white.
Mellow pulled back his arm and swung his sword with the other hand. As the blade passed through the creature's wrist, it shimmered with golden light and the hand dissipated like vapor back into the mist. Another set of spectral hands found purchase around Vusk’s neck and squeezed. Vusk lifted both hands and blasted the creature back. Gasping for breath, Vusk managed to rasp out a question to Mellow. “Perhaps we should ensure Araña isn’t payin’ an early visit to ol' Davy Jones?”
Mellow glanced toward the water and back to Vusk. “Yes, fish her out," he said. "Halal and I will keep these abominations busy.” Vusk waited for an opening in the shifting banks of fog and sprinted through when one appeared. He dodged a pair of snapping jaws connected to a revolting head mangled by some unspeakable violence in its former life and ran into the water, but the mist made finding Araña below the surface by the dim light of the distant fire nearly impossible. He stumbled through the shallows up to his chest and was startled when a floating arrow bumped against him. He dove beneath the water’s edge and the light and sound from above was instantly dulled. But Vusk knew the water -- this was his domain. By what little moonlight that filtered through from above, he could just make out the shimmering outline of Araña being pulled away by a swirling torrent of water.
Vusk hardened his resolve and thought of the crew members he had lost to the sea. He would not let that happen here. Not in this fishless pathetic excuse for a miniature unsalted ocean. “This be water,” he thought as he swam toward Araña and grabbed her wrist with a grip strengthened from climbing rigging and hauling halyards for more years than he cared to count. He kicked his feet and stroked with his free hand and felt the torrent of water intensify in defiance. He pulled with everything he had and roared with a torrent of bubbles: “THIS BE WATER!” He felt Araña break free of the watery intelligence's grip and tore her away as he ran through the shallows.
Mellow felt Hlal’s strength coursing through his arms and sword; it fought back the cold and guided his strikes, leaving trails of judgement in its wake with each swing, Mellow felled the creatures like a sharp wind knocks leaves from a tree; but just as a tree holds an uncountable number of leaves, the fog seemed to hold an army of malevolent spirits. In the distance, Mellow paused for just a moment to catch his breath as another group of ethereal horrors began to advance toward him. Back toward the water, he saw Vusk blasting back another three as he dragged Araña's soaking body onto land. “Halal will provide the answer,” Mellow thought, "Like the dawn brings light, Hlal will bring us to safety...” Mellow stepped out of the sphere of holy light and shouted to the spirits, “I have given you all a fair chance at paradise and you have refused."
Mellow held his sword up to the heavens and a beam of light erupted from the black sky. The beam of radiant energy widened from its focus on Mellow's sword point until Vusk, Araña, the campsite, a dozen nearby trees, and the pool of water were all illuminated with the blinding light of a noonday sun. "Now, back to hell with you!” shouted Mellow above the screaming spirits.
The specters howled with anger and rage as the sunlight burned away the fog and their ghostly bodies. In seconds, it was over and the three companions stood blinking back tears in the middle of a silent forest, at the edge of a glittering blue pool, with the light warming their backs.
Story Summary
Day 1
Araña, Brandy, and Mellow Catgrass meet in the Pinch; a small village a few days travel north of the city of Commercia.
Each of them has their own reasons for their interest in a well-advertised merchant guild job to venture into the forgotten valley and clear the way for merchant caravans which have been disappearing therein. during their time a displaced beast escapes its confines and tries to escape the town killing a woman in its flight.
The trio bring down the beast and revive the woman but are set upon by the purported owner of the beast who claims to be owed money for its destruction. Araña loses her temper with the man , demands payment on the woman’s behalf and threatens his life but is talked down by the others.
That night during the wee hours, Araña makes an attempt on the merchants life but despite dealing significant damage is unable to end him before a large force is mustered including a man on horseback and two dogs. Despite the reinforcements Araña escapes and makes her way to the valley without Mellow or Brandy.
Each of them has their own reasons for their interest in a well-advertised merchant guild job to venture into the forgotten valley and clear the way for merchant caravans which have been disappearing therein. during their time a displaced beast escapes its confines and tries to escape the town killing a woman in its flight.
The trio bring down the beast and revive the woman but are set upon by the purported owner of the beast who claims to be owed money for its destruction. Araña loses her temper with the man , demands payment on the woman’s behalf and threatens his life but is talked down by the others.
That night during the wee hours, Araña makes an attempt on the merchants life but despite dealing significant damage is unable to end him before a large force is mustered including a man on horseback and two dogs. Despite the reinforcements Araña escapes and makes her way to the valley without Mellow or Brandy.
Day 2
During Araña's walk, Mellow and Vusk fly from the Pinch and land beside her. They express their disapproval, but continue their journey into the valley regardless. Along the way they note large sections of earth which have seemingly been broken and pushed upward leaving small inclines, cliff faces, and faults. This mysterious geology intensifies as the trio journeys closer to the valley and eventually they setup camp against one using it as a shelter wall.
Day 3
The trio continues into the valley proper and the rolling plains five way to mixed forest with large especially large pines. Araña is concerned with stealth and insists that the group keep to the trees and stay off the road but their position is discovered by a passing ghost which spots Araña and ages her 80 years in an instant turning a single dreadlock white. Araña attacks in response but is beset by another 2 ghosts and is unable to defend herself from being possessed by one. Vusk and mellow defeat the remaining ghosts with gratuitous smiting and Vusk polymorphs Araña into a tadpole which he places in a jar. They continue into the valley eventually deciding to kill the tadpole freeing Araña from the possession and ending the polymorph spell.
Day 4