Day 17.4: How to Kill a Tune

Finally get a look at the 2 statues after a bitter battle. Amorphous, twisting shapes, like sand through your fingers. Even their names shift. Unfortunately, no one in the party can discern what or who they are.

As we start to move out Him returns, but before Diana can tell us what Him reveals, We chance upon three singing (if you can call it that) heads – that talk…kinda. Gregor’s winey ass voice comes back and he starts his yammering again. Once again, I tune him out. Unfortunately, his “Do-Re-Me Choir” entertains us, Just as Charles starts to glow again.

The song(If you can call it that) is one of those annoying tunes that you just want to shut up, so that’s what the party proceeds to do. Unfortunately, bad music isn’t the only thing the trio can do with their mouths. Although Charles manages to burn their tune a bit, RE takes several vicious bites out of Mutu, but not enough to stop his protective streak for Charles. The rest of the party sings a death knell for MI, “Killing him softly with our song”.

RE continues to be a pain in the ass, biting at Charles, while singing to Mutu. I guess he managed to stay on key because Mutu listened. “If Looks could Kill”, DO might be dangerous, but that would require Him to have a music appreciation for sour notes. I’m grateful Him has some taste, and DO’s crescendo fails. The party decides its “Time to Kill” and return DO to an afterlife full of music theory classes.

With the loss of his atrocious harmony heads, RE accelerando his fighting tempo, focusing on Mutu, perhaps due to jealousy against the better performer (never thought I would utter those words). As if we reenacted a Black Sabbath, the party moves “In for the Kill”, instilling the “Sounds of Silence” to the final head, much to Diana’s relief. 

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Him finally has a chance to explain to Diana what he saw upon returning from him soul ferrying. It seems “we” are still in the real-world dancing, yet only a few moments have passed there. Time runs differently here and the party decides to return to the cleared area to rest and heal. More refreshed, the party explores the long corridor and we find a waterfall of sand – a literal Stream of Consciousness. Since Him was able to move from the real-world to this one to return to Diana, the thought occurred that perhaps we could bring something (or someone) else into this world to help us. Geist! Diana bids Him to fetch our wayward companion. (He’s going to be soooooo pissed!)

Arriving, Geist glows – his form becoming very obviously a construct of the dreamland to trap him. What is worse (better?) is Geist is afraid to be in this dreamscape – something I never thought I would see. He claimed was dangerous here. We could remake reality if we made changes. (Might have already done that…) When we ask about this dreamscape and the keys Xonthran spoke of, Geist told us of the three gates (Not even in limerick form – a true sign of his disquiet)

Gate #1 – Can move a physical form to dreams (This gate is obviously open as we are here)

Gate #2 – Move to the Dreamland itself (not there yet – so not sure if gate is opened or only partially cracked)

Gate #3 – Leads directly to Nod and the black lake, according to Geist somewhere we do NOT want to be (Or maybe he doesn’t want to be?)

Hearing music again and voices, I move closer to the falls. Everyone in the party hears something different and a large face appears in the sandfalls. I notice images of the 2 gates in the air – just like our tattoos.

Whisper from the Waterfall: “Drowned… not in water, but in fear. Our dreams… his keys…”

Echoing Voice: “Bound by the torrent, our spirits… ensnared… We weep for the gate… it hungers…”

Sorrowful Murmur: “Bessenne… the first… we followed, a chain of souls… to pry open the crack he wrought with her …”

Distorted Lament: “Our life force… trickling… into his grand design… The gate, it crackles… now wide agape…”

Faint Cry within the Cascade: “Dreams once ours… now his… entwined with the gate… we cannot rest…”

Hollow Intonation: “The key lost … we are the key he remade … In the waters, our essence… forever part of the gate…”

Women trapped within the torrent of chaotic sands – their souls captured by Gregor.

The entire party advocates to their respective deities for the release of as many of the souls as possible, allowing Him to escort them to their rest. The face dissolves and the falls trickle to a calm ribbon. Beneath, a black well appears – a complete void of nothingness. (Nothing in the void is good so stay far away from it.) Mutu climbs up the rocks that were hidden behind the prior flood, throwing a rope to the rest of the party to climb up. I glimpse a pathway on the opposite side and decide to sneak around to hopefully give our party an advantage.

Another area and statue appear… What have we found this time?