>Someone needs to come up with a word for breaking things at whatever level "breaking" happens
The firmament, perhaps? Elizabeth might call it the tapestry, or I suppose if you wanted to be gauche we could make some kind of Matrix analogy.

>Rise
Huh. She seems to have bought into the dream, here. Not acting like someone trapped in a maze. (Was that why Sidhe was more interested in traps than escapes earlier? Or maybe why the hunter defaulted to hunting? It traps you in your nature).

>Perhaps you could talk her down in some way.
>What brings you to these sacred halls of the blade, outsider?
Maybe if we talk to her, in the terms of this illusion, we can get through to her.

You seek to return to a child prophet, with eyes of two colors, who you are charged to protect. She bade you to return with the one she seeks, and you believe that person to be her, Rise.

Aim is to get her interested enough to follow, and hope maybe getting her out of this room (or seeing it for fake) snaps her out of it. Worst case, you could offer some formal challenge to win her cooperation, but you'd probably end up fighting the entire dojo (it's okay, those other people are probably only dreamed up and safe to kill. Hopefully not hapless normals sucked into the trap and dumped in her dream).

...I'd note in ghost form you have way better will for persuasion rolls, but in context, changing forms in a tense situation like this probably doesn't net any points. Looks like you're preparing to fight, and/or just looks freaky or off putting or like you are up to something.

"I... uh... seek to return to a child prophet, with... um... with eyes of two colors, who I was charged to protect. She bade me to... ah... to return with the one she seeks, and I... uh... I believe that person to be you."

Rise settles back into her seat, if that is at all possible, musing over your words. Her eyes close for a moment, a you think you see a flicker of discomfort slip into her expression, before that calm reasserts itself and her eyes open again.

"I'm afraid I know little of a child prophet. However, if she desires I speak with her, it must be of some important reasons. However, I cannot just abandon my position here as Grandmaster, nor can I ignore the duties I accepted. Perhaps she could be brought here?"

This... this is utter bullshit. You're hoping this leads to a fight of some kind. You were terrible at the talking thing, unless you were deliberately trying to put the fear of pain in someone. Then you were rather good at it. As if you could even bring the little brat here. She was the reason you were gallivanting around in this stupid place, hunting for her ass.

"Look. I don't have time to be explaining this, and I'm terrible at all that polite bullshit. What's it going to take for you to come with me?"

The woman's eyes widen slightly in surprise, before a small smile places itself on her face. She stands in one fluid motion, perhaps with a little difficulty, if you don't miss your guess, before gesturing for you to follow. You do so, albeit you make sure to hang back a few paces out of caution, especially when she picks up that long sword as easily as if it were a toy. Regardless, she eventually leads you outside, onto a veranda, and you find yourself gawking.

What lays before you can only be described as breathtaking, or would be if you actually breathed in this form. A valley stretches as far as you can see, and you can spot waterfalls off in the distance. Trees grow everywhere, and you get the feeling this... dream... is imitating some remote mountain monastery somewhere. You hardly get a moment to take it all in, however, before your host is pointing out across the valley, towards another, much bigger monastery(you think). You are quickly proven wrong.

"That is the imperial palace of this realm. Go there, ask for the Emperor's permission that I might leave my place and travel with you. I do not expect a positive response, but that is what it will take."

You frown as you gaze off at the building. With your strength, you could easily get to the building by literally jumping from mountain to mountain till you reached it. Of course, there's no telling what you'll have to deal with on the other side, and from what she just said, it likely won't be something good. Either way, it would probably eat up a lot of time. It might just be easier to knock her out and drag her. Of course, that might not help her get out of whatever funky dream thing she's in. Actually, the other method might not help either.

Well, either choice would at least get you closer to Lizzy, one way or another.

You hope.

>>>Input Command

Pffff-hahahaha. Wow. That sure is bullshit, and completely not what I was expecting. (Totally the wrong character for this too. Send the grumpy merc instead of the person with dream powers and who would understand this Japanese anime nonsense).

>I do not expect a positive response
...but you'll believe me if I return with one?

Goal here is to quite simply get her to tell us what form she expects our 'proof' to take. (Would the emperor give us a scroll, some kind of seal or emblem?).

Then we cheat. Head out of sight, and active break the McGuffin into existence. Since 'reality' here is really her dream, it should be easier to twist it into what she expects it to look like. (And it'll be really easy if the plot device already exists over in the 'palace'; we won't create it, we'll just be moving it). Also, since we've got warped reality, that should make it easier too, right? Reality wants to bend and remove obstacles between us and this arbitrary goal.

Might have to cheat further and make it look like you were gone longer (break the dream sun to move across the sky?).

Of course, this gambit depends on 'Grandmaster' Rise being so caught up in her dream she doesn't recognize breaking when she sees it. That it's not part of this feudal-medieval narrative. Although, if she does catch you in the lie and get mad, I guess we get to fix this with a fight after all.

"...but you'll believe me if I return with one?"

The words slip from your mouth almost without you thinking about them, and for a moment, you think you might have insulted her. But then you feel this itchy sensation in the back of you skull, a rather familiar one. That feeling always means your life is about to get a whole lot easier.

"Of course. All it requires is an imperial seal. Much like the engraved onto this sword here."

Rise shows you, the seal itself looking like nothing overly remarkable. A little intricate perhaps, but nothing too fancy. You frown slightly, then nod to yourself. You could recreate this. You think. She raises an eyebrow at your expression, but you wave away any concern. Just you thinking is all. Not really a lie. Rise returns inside once she is sure you understand what you need to do, and you waste little time in literally leaping from you place on the balcony, slamming into the face of a nearby cliff and burying your now broken fist inside it. As always, only a dull throbbing sensation alerts you to any damage, and you throw yourself to the top, landing on solid ground and watching with a mild disinterest as your arm reconstructs itself.

Sidhe seems to take the entire trip as marvelously fun, tinkling bells sounding in your ear, and you allow yourself a small smirk. At least someone enjoyed it. You soon take a seat against a rock before closing your eyes and reaching out with your will.

At first there was no reaction of any kind. You weren't really one to do any... what had they called it? Free-form? Yeah, free-form. You weren't a free-form breaker. You'd seen what those who were could do. Still, as you forced out your will, you began to feel the world around you shift, ever so slightly, to meet your demands. Still, something immediately gets in your way, more specifically, you feel something else push back, forcing what you'd hoped to happen into not happening. What's worse, you can't pinpoint it exactly, at least not while you're concentrated on something else.

You suppose you could just try to keep forcing what you're trying to force. Or you could try to find whatever it is that's stopping you, although you get the feeling that it might notice you if you tried that. Or you could abandon doing this and just go to this imperial palace or whatever it was called.

>>>Input Command

>what had they called it? Free-form?
Yeah, although we tend to call them active breaks once you actually have that ability. (Not that the terminology is standardized, or much of it even used in-character, at all).

>what do
Well... drat. I was expecting either success or that to blow up in our face. Decisive action. Not a fizzle.

Alright. Rev still doesn't want to mess with this bullshit more than necessary, and he's still concerned his charge is in danger (although I'm pretty confident Elizabeth will just control-wire the hunter if he attacks her. And whoever's running this maze seems content to let things draw out slowly).

With that in mind, focus on what's blocking you. Try to figure out what it is. It's probably either the person causing this, or an agent of theirs. Worth removing. That... or it's Rise, enforcing the rules of her own dream. If you discover that's the case you might want to break off that attempt (or we're back to shortcutting to violence as a solution).

...I wonder if Sidhe can or will help with any of this? She can't 'break' per se, but she can prank, and she's got independent reserves of some kind, now.

Hrrm. This is an interestingly tricky situation...Let's save getting the attention of the 'preventer' until after we find Elizabeth, and go see if we can't get a seal somehow or what it would take.

You frown in distaste. This is annoying. And while you'd love to pursue this... "preventer"... you have other things to consider. Like the safety of your charge. As such, you scramble to your feet, and focus instead on retrieving one of these oh so precious seals. It seems the fastest way to do that now would be the palace, so that becomes your new destination. You flip the bird into the air, really only using it as a means of blowing off some steam, before you turn away. You ready yourself, then give yourself a running start and launch yourself once again into the air.

The trip is relatively short, only a few hours from what you can tell. As you arrive at the palace gates, it seems that the "people" of this particular place are going through the motions of a busy market. Of course, that all quiets as you land, sending dirt and debris everywhere. The silence is almost thick enough to cut with a knife as you emerge from the dust cloud, brushing yourself off and letting your regenerative properties do their job, but you ignore the onlookers with practiced ease. There's the gates. That's where you need to go.

As you approach, two guards shove spears in your face, although they are clearly intimidated. You wonder slightly if maybe you could just punch your way in a take a seal, but you get the distinct feeling that wouldn't go over well with anyone. So instead, you go about trying your hand at diplomacy again.

"Uh... I'm here to see about getting a seal or something?"

Both guards blink in surprise, then start chattering in some language you don't recognize. Japanese maybe? Either way, one of them runs off, while the continues to keep his spear in your face. You idly wait for a few minutes, to be rewarded with the presence of someone new. This one is another guard, albeit far more fancily dressed. A captain maybe? He approaches without hesitation, stopping in front of you without any outward signs of hostility.

"You. You are here to receive the Mandate of the Emperor's Will?"

"Uh... that a seal?"

"... Yes."

"Then yeah. Yeah I need that."

"May I ask why?"

"Someone wants it before they'll help me... Um... Rise was her name, I think?"

There's an audible gasp from the crowd that has formed around you, and even the captain looks a bit taken aback. He regains his composure quickly however, although he looks slightly more respectful than before.

"You have had audience with a legend, my friend. Let it be known that the Emperor will hear of this at once. Please, find a place to rest for the night, and I am certain you shall have audience come morning."

He turns to leave, even as you feel a slight twitch reach your eyebrow. You don't have time to wait till morning. Perhaps violence is the answer. Or maybe you should try explaining that you're in kind of a rush. Conversely, after seeing some of the things Sidhe can do... maybe she can provide a distraction and you could slip by, in this form or your other...

>>>Input Command

...Hrrm.
Kinda wish we had tried breaking Rise outta her current mindset or something...Hrrm.
So, on the one hand, need to get to Elizabeth, on the other hand...If we try and break something that's not ourselves, we'll probably catch the Preventer's attention...
Now that I think on it...
This might be how this jail works.
One person is 'Master' of the domain, and the realm matches them. The next fellow becomes the 'Prisoner' held by the 'Master's world...
We could TRY and explain that yanno, we're in a hurry, but I'm betting some other issue will arise...
I think the key is patience and making our move at the right time. As tempting as it is to just RAMBO through, we might need to be smart about this. I figure try and negotiate, and if that fails see if Sidhe wants to have some fun with these guys.
From there, find a Servant, ask him/her about the Emperor's throne room and where the Emperor is. With any luck, we'll be able to ghost to the rooms where the seal things are kept, ghost out, get Sidhe, and start slogging back up the mountain to get Rise's attention.

>hours
>wait till morning
I really hope dream time distortion is in effect, otherwise this is getting really annoying.

>You have had audience with a legend
Man, ego much? Maybe these aren't rooms aren't about trapping people in nightmares so much as giving them something they'd want. Seductive prisons?

>Let it be known that the Emperor will hear of this at once. Please, find a place to rest for the night
Let's try words once more before we do something else.

I have no need of rest. If word of this will come to the Emperor's attention at once, then I would as well. My quest is one of some haste.

It might be nice would be nice to break some kind of omen to reinforce our words, here. Superstitious medieval japan, and you just met with a legend. A falling star or something? (Active break, warped reality, and/or Sidhe?).

That doesn't work, we'll reevaluate backing down or pressing forward.

"I... uh... have no need of rest. If word of this will... um... come to the Emperor's attention at once, then I... uh... would as well. My quest is one of... er... some haste."

You admit, it's somewhat difficult to come up with how you should be talking. Period dramas and the like were never your thing. You much preferred to just do your job. You've seen a couple while guarding some rich man's brats, but other than that have little association with anything coming from the Imperial East. Regardless you try your best, and it seems that the guard doesn't seem to think anything of it. Perhaps he thinks you're a commoner of some kind?

"I... see. Well, if you are coming from Master Muramasa's school, than you must have some urgency. Particularly if you need the seal to acquire her help... I shall see what I can do. Wait her, if you will."

The man leaves, and you impatiently start tapping away at the ground with your foot. Sidhe seems to echo your thoughts, her own foot tapping rhythmically against your shoulder. Some time passes, and the crowd grows bored with watching you just stand there, eventually dispersing. As if on que, the guard appears again, gesturing for you to follow him quickly, but as you begin to take a step forward, something brushes against your sense of reality. You halt in place, a little surprised, only to find yourself more surprise when you can feel where its coming from. You turn to the direction, frowning slightly. It wasn't from where your charge's friend was, that was for sure. This feeling was more... unhealthy. You feel a shiver come from your shoulder, and you glance down at Sidhe in confusion.

hate... enemy... trap... hate...

Well... whatever it is, your companion doesn't seem to like it. As for you... well, you think this is what stopped you before. It seems it couldn't find you earlier, so it tried again and gave itself away. Still, this guard is waiting for you, and there's no telling if it noticed that you'd found it or not, or if it would move again.

>>>Input Command

Zaealix 2014/10/26(Sun)14:34 No. 599460 ID: 2149ae

Well, that's telling.
I THOUGHT that 'thing' was simply an enforcer, but it looks like it's actually more like a 'chaser' that intends to catch you for...Something.
I want to say that we might want to consider breaking that thing to us and force a confrontation on our terms instead of walking into the trap, but tell Sidhe the plan first before starting up with the 'yoink the chaser' plan...
Possibly we COULD do something fun- given the whole 'eastern' theme of this place we could make the 'yoink' some sort of 'formal challange' to boost the odds of it working?

Note the direction you sensed the presence, and leave it, for now.

You already spent those hours jumping across mountains to get here, you might as well see if this is going to work. You can always confront the thing later (and if it's not there, that tells you it can move quicker than you, or that it has some way to cheat moving around these dreams).

That, and Sidhe's reaction suggests she ran into this thing before. Might be better to face it at full strength. Ie, after you've gotten giant-sword lady working with you.

You stare off in the direction of the... thing... before finally shaking your head and moving on after the guard. You'd spent all this time getting here and getting a meeting, you might as well see it through. Besides, if there was something that made your little companion nervous, it was probably best to face it with as much strength as possible.

You soon find yourself walking through carefully cared for gardens and wooden hallways. Guards seemed to be stationed at regular intervals through out the route, and each you can swear is eyeing you suspiciously. You ignore the feeling as best you can until you eventually arrive at an incredibly ornate pair of doors. The guard captain stops in front of them and turns to you, bringing your attention back to the man.

"Beyond these doors his Imperial Highness is prepared for your arrival. Before you meet him, you must understand the rules. His Highness will be on a raised dais. You are to stop 100 paces from this dais. You are to never look his highness in the eye. You are to keep your forehead pressed to the ground when you are seated. You are not to-"

"I get it. Be respectful."

The man seems slightly taken aback, but takes it in stride and turns to the doors again. He pushes them open then instantly bows to someone on the inside. Then he steps to the side, maintaining his bow, letting you step past him into the surprisingly small room. You bow awkwardly, trying your best to mimic the guard's actions, even as you eye the room.

Like everything else you'd seen so far, wood seemed to be the way to go. There really was a raised dais, and on top of that was a semi-transparent screen, blocking you from getting a clear view of who you can only believe is this Emperor. You take a few steps in to the room, hearing the wood doors shut behind you, even as you stop at what you think is 100 paces and drop to you knees, keeping eyes on the ground. There's no way, however, that you're going to make yourself anymore vulnerable to any... unpleasant surprises.

Thankfully, this Emperor seems to take it in stride, even if the various courtiers in the room don't. He speaks softly to a man who sits near him, and its this other man that speaks.

"His Highness greets you, traveler. He has been informed of your plight, and asks why it is you require the aid of Master Muramasa."

You pause, mind trying to form a proper response.

>>>Input Command

>each you can swear is eyeing you suspiciously.
As any guard worth their salt should be looking at a conspicuous monster come to visit their employer.

>and asks why it is you require the aid of Master Muramasa
Ahaha, crap. Now we've got to explain to him, in dream-universe, why he should give permission, and Rev has to somehow be polite and well spoken. Why didn't we see the flaw in this going forward.

Variation on the story you gave before. You've done it once already, so maybe you can pull it off without sounding terrible.

Your duty is the protector of a child prophet. But she bade you to enter this place and return with Master Muramasa. You wish to complete this task with haste, as you believe your charge may be in danger (we can truthfully say something about seeing it in the stars, and a hunter?). As for Master Muramasa herself, she should come. You don't understand the full breadth of the prophecy, just that is trapped, by something she does not currently understand.

There, that's suitably formal, and all true, I think. Assuming that matters, here.

You take a deep breath to settle yourself a little more, than you raise your head ever so slightly. Here goes nothing. You'd given this story before, you could do it again.

"I... I am charged with protecting a child prophet. She claimed she was in danger, and she... um... she sent me to find R- Master Muramasa, and return with her. Shortly after she made this claim, she was taken. Where I do not know, but I hope with Muramasa's help, I can find her again."

There is silence as you make your case, and then there is a low chatter from the various courtiers. A single raised hand from the Emperor silences everything, then a whispered conversation. The man who spoke seems a bit surprised, but quickly recovers and begins to speak.

"His Highness has heard your claim, and feels for your plight. He grants Muramasa leave to join you, for a time, in hopes that your journey will lead to success. Please, recieve the Mandate of the Emperor's Will."

Another man comes from your right, stepping up and kneeling to present you with what looks like a small stone seal. You take it with a little hesitation, examining it briefly before tucking it securely into a pocket. You got what you needed. You offer a brief thanks, then stand and turn to leave. You don't have any time to waste.

As you start to leave however, you feel it. The static effect that seems to strike whenever someone alters reality. You halt in surprise, and then someone bursts in through the doors. Actually, a lot of someone's. Guards charge in and level spears at you, anger clear in their faces.

"Demon! We know what you are!"

You stare in disbelief, then mutter a muffled curse. That can't be good. The courtiers seem frozen in shock, and the guards, while angry, and at least cautious and moving to circle you. Still, as they do so, you notice someone beyond the doorway, someone that feels breaker off.

A woman, eyes narrowed and lips curled in what you can only describe as a smug grin, seeming to almost literally fade into the scene.

Breaker.

You don't get much longer to ponder the issue, however, as one of the guards charges forward with his spear. You're about to react, when the spear suddenly meets a barrier, and Sidhe is suddenly hovering in front of your face, arms outstretched as if pushing something away from her. A few more guards try jabbing at you, but they meet similar resistance.

Well... it seems you've outstayed your welcome.

>>>Input Command

Huh. Didn't expect that to work so easily. Maybe warped reality works better than usual in dreams, since even the people are mostly passive parts of the environment.

>enemy breaker manipulating the guards
An enemy finally appears! About time. You were getting sick of not having anything to fight. Although it's kind of annoying to have to fight these guards after going through all the diplomatic bullshit.

...also, we never confirmed if the actors in Rise's dream here are fake dream people, or if they're real people trapped like her. Maybe fighting them would be the equivalent of killing hostages.

Gordian option, again. Standing behind Sidhe's shield, apologize to the emperor, but you don't wish to harm his ensorcelled subjects.

Then use all your strength to do one of those mountain jumping leaps, right through the paper thin walls or roof of this Japanese castle. (This would be what we're apologizing for).

If the breaker can follow you? Fine, you'll fight her, outside, without the convenient mind-washed cannon folder. If she can't? Tough. You got what you needed and you're moving on.

As much as you'd love to bash everyone's faces in, they might be actual people trapped in here like you. Normally this probably wouldn't stop you, you had bigger concerns, but you doubt Nicole, or even your charge, would be very pleased to find out you'd harmed innocents. You make the quick decision that simply leaving would probably be the best option, and you turn back to this supposed Emperor, and give another small bow. Might as well finish this well enough, you suppose.

"I apologize for the trouble, your Highness."

Then, without much more hesitation, you snatch Sidhe out of the air, crouch to brace yourself, then launch yourself skyward, body slamming through the wooden ceiling. You'd made sure to give your jump a slight angle and you soon found yourself crashing into someone's house. You offer a mumbled apology to the occupants, who look extremely confused, then find your way outside and get your bearings. There. There was the monastery training school thingy. There was your destination.

Then you feel it. Another radar like pulse of reality breaking power. And whoever it was, likely that girl, knew where you were. Just as soon as it hits you, you feel where it came from.

The monastery. The damn bitch was already at the monastery.

You launch yourself without hesitation, following the same path back the way you came. The journey feels much shorter than the first time you done this, but then, you knew the route now, and could much more easily traverse the terrain.

Still, as you arrive at your destination, smashing into the balcony you'd taken off from, you find the monastery covered in what look like spider webs. You pause in the destroyed doorway, gazing into the dark, empty hallway within, your fairy companion choosing to hover just off your shoulder instead of resting. You can tell she's nervous and agitated.

Looks like its time to come up with another plan.

>>>Input Command

Hrrrm...
Spiderweb right? If video games has taught this quest-player anything, it's that a blade or a torch is the way to handle webs...
Buut we're probably going to have to FIGHT in that web, not get rid of it.
So. I'm not sure if form types can do this but could you temporarily break some sort of...Viking armor onto you or something? Or summon a zombie or two to step onto the web to trigger the trap...Or you can just go ghostly and hover through...
Hey, why not combine a trick or two? Summon a zombie, go ghostly, then send the zombie. The opposing breaker is probably gonna attack once the zombie hits the web and then you ambush the ambusher!

I think it's time to mix things up a bit. You've been breaking all the tricks in this place by brute forcing through. It's how you got out of Sidhe's area, and dealt with that last attack at the palace. If this breaker chick has been paying attention and is trying to intervene, she's here to stop that. Use your strength against you.

She wants you to power through the webs. I'm guessing they're a lot stronger than they look, and pulling on them is a bad idea.

Swap forms, ghost through the traps. We're looking for Rise so we can recruit her, and the baddie to stop her.

Hey... spiderwebs are kind of forest-y and fairy-y, right? Maybe ask Sidhe if they're something she can work with, like we saw her do before. It'll be amusing if we can turn this breaker's tricks back against her. Spider may not find herself so comfortable in her web.

Ghostly Remnant Revenant 2014/11/16(Sun)18:51 No. 603041 ID: c4468a
File 141619269885.jpg - (17.42KB , 350x218 , Wraith.jpg )

You stare at the webbing for a moment, turn slightly. It was a good thing you had your own little tricks. A snap of your fingers and a little use of will, and suddenly there's one of your little zombie friends standing next to you. This seems to freak out your fairy friend a moment, until she sees you ignoring it and calms. You make sure you have full control over your minion, who moans in response to your mental command to "speak", and then you turn towards your other companion.

"I'm about to go all ghosty on you, so I don't think you'll be able to follow me. Still... spiders are all foresty ain't they? Think you can cause some of your brand of mischief for me?"

Sidhe's eyes light up like a lightbulb, and she gives you a grin that could only be described as vicious. You smile in return and gesture to your zombie. She darts over and settles down, although you can already feel a familiar feeling of breaking coming from the fairy. Interesting, that an avatar would be able to do that. You've never seen one do that. Then again, you've only met a couple before Sidhe.

That leaves you to your own task. You close your eyes and take in a ragged breath, and then you command the change to begin. For a moment, you feel your skin and muscles return, and take a single breath of living air again. Then, as you exhale, you feel the all too familiar chill of death overtake you again. This time, however, instead of dead flesh, you simply feel your body become intangible. The feel of air and warmth against your skin disappears, to be replaced with nothing. You watch skin disappear into a dark, black cloak that seems to spring from nothing and wrap itself around your form. Fingers lengthen to shadowy points, while your feet seems to disappear completely in favor of you floating just above the floor. The final step follows soon after. Where your heart would be, a small glowing point exists. This is the only one of your two form that the "heart" of your breaking is even somewhat visible.

As the transformation finishes, you feel your new, ghostly senses reach out and begin to paint a picture around you. Like a pulse, your "heart beat" sends out a wave of what can only be described as spectral energy, and you can feel little points of life within. Or more accurately, only two points. There are other things moving, but they only feel hollow. Inhuman.

And surrounding one of the living.

>>>Input Command

>ghost senses
Ooh, useful, you've got a radar, now.

I think it's safe to assume the inhuman things are probably hostiles, or at the every least, creature of the dream.

Your course of action seems obvious. Two lifesigns, one surrounded. Someone is in need of help, here. Make a beeline for the person in trouble, right through the walls.

Did the stuff you were carrying turn intangible too? It'll be inconvenient if we can't carry the emperor's seal with us to Rise.

You home in on the living one being surrounded and will your incorporeal form in its direction, simply passing through the walls and webbing that might get in your way. You also tell the zombie minion of yours to start moving, and it begins to stumble into the webs like an idiot, although it doesn't seem to be getting stuck at all. Regardless, you easily reach your own destination to find Rise fighting against a bunch of her apparently mind controlled students, swinging her two-handed sword around like its a twig. Still, the sword does her no good as she remains defensive, likely trying to see a peaceful way out of this situation.

You hold no such reservations.

One of the students spots you as you emerge fully into the area, and he lets out a startled squeak of surprise before you descend on him. Your ghostly hands pass through his physical form to tear away at what amounts to his soul, and whatever the lifeless husk has a replacement. He drops to the ground instantly, apparently there isn't much holding them together on the inside, but the noise he makes draws the attention of the rest, and some of the students break off from the Master to surround you instead. Like that matters at all.

It does seem to help Rise, however, and that's something. Now that you're here, you have more options, especially with the pressure off of your hopefully soon to be ally.

>>>Input Command

>your hopefully soon to be ally
She may not be so keen on that, especially after watching you kill one of her students she was going out of her way not harm.

I would make sure Rise can see the emblem, or toss it to her, while shouting (or whatever it is that ghosts do) that they aren't real (follow up explanation after combat: you can sense life in this form. She's alive. They're... something less). Then she should stop holding back, and the two of you can mop up these grunts.

"These do not live... do not have life...You have life...Not these Hollow beings...Nothing but strings and dreams..."
Should get the point across to Rise, even if it's going to be creepy as all get out to try talking to her.
Showing the seal should help at least.

You would love to explain why you just effectively murdered one of her students, but that brings up the rather interesting problem of the living interacting with the dead. Thanks to your incorporeal form, you can't really... speak... in the sense that the living do. It was possible in zombie mode thanks to still having lungs(albeit rotted ones) but this form... not so much. You can, however, display the seal. That's a simple matter of pulling it from wherever your transformation stores it. You've done it a couple of times. In kinda feels like throwing up, only not unpleasant.

You will yourself through the students in your path, happily tearing into and ending them along the way, before form settles next to Rise. She seems just as cautious, if not more so, than her opponents, but her eyes widen slightly as your "hand" reaches out and deposits the seal onto the floor at her feet. She stares at it, clearly confused, but you don't have more time to spare for the woman. Better to see about getting her to safety. Or relative safety.

You sniff out where that other life sign was, thinking you could possibly end this without pissing her off any more than you had to, but find a third you hadn't noticed before. Or maybe it was too small for you to notice before, because if its position is anything to go by, it seems the little fairy avatar is the one letting off the feeling. And it seems to be growing in strength. Suddenly, you hear it, the sound flowing through the whole building like a breeze. Tinkling bells and giggling laughter. For a moment, that is all, and then you hear a low groan come from underneath you. Kinda like...

Kinda like wood right before it snaps.

"Oh god... Sidhe, not again..."

Rise suddenly bursts past you, aiming to push towards the nearest doorway, even as her students move to stop her. You hear more of that groaning sound, giggling, and the distant and distinct snap of wood foundations going.

Well... you suppose that WAS mischief...

>>>Input Command

You can't talk in this form? Good thing we didn't pick it before, when meeting with Liz.

Can you ghost-write, maybe? Manipulate the stuff you're made of into letters?

>Sidhe bringing down the house
I had hoped to catch the spider in her own traps, but if she's indoors, I suppose dropping the house on her might qualify.

And it seems like Rise remembered Sidhe! That's progress.

>what do
Clear a path for Rise through the not-students. She needs to be through that exit before she gets crushed. Won't effect you, of course. Ghosting through the rubble may give you a free attack on you opponent, too.

Oh. Can't talk, problematic.
I wonder if that means that ghost girl of the kid-duo is a banshee or something different?

Clearing a path seems good, if push comes to shove maybe use a zombie to stave off the building collapse...Or maybe just turn the building into zombies so they can make sure not to fall on Rise? Seems expensive to try that one though.
A final idea, if making zombie minions/turning into a zombie fails, is to run to Sidhe and ask her to protect you. Iffy, but a possible last resort plan.

>I wonder if that means that ghost girl of the kid-duo is a banshee or something different?
Not sure. We only ever saw her active in a fight or two, and I don't think we witnessed her applying her power. I don't think we observed her talk in-form either (or scream, which is what I'd expect from a banshee).

Notable traits were that she seems to be focused on protecting her partner, and appeared afraid. Unclear if those were form traits, or well, personality traits.

Never really did get close enough to those two to figure out her deal. And as I remember, they were actually going to school before Marc moved them cross county. That leaves some uncomfortable questions about their situation, months later (did we pull them away from parents? A home? What reason was given for their disappearance?).

Not sure we can do anything about that, though. It would be kind of a weird thread for Linda to suddenly go back and pull at, unless it was part of a larger effort checking up on the people in the group? (Or more narrowly, checking up on the situation of our underaged members).

You dart passed Rise, charging right into and through those that are most directly in her path, tearing away at their "lives". Soon, enough, their lifeless bodies are littering the ground, and your companion is crashing through the doorway, the enemy close on her heels.

Rise keeps going, hardly losing any momentum from the door at all, and you easily keep pace, floating around her and keeping your senses as open as possible. Sidhe seems to be doing something, as she's chasing around what you think is the enemy, although you aren't sure what that is looking like. As Rise nears the pathway that leads towards the doorway you'd entered from, she looks like she's going to take the wrong way. You quickly move in front of her and point the right way, and she skids to a halt to glare at you a moment.

"I don't even know you that well? How do I know-"

You dart past her to rip through another group of her supposed students, quickly re-assuming your place in front of her and pointing again, this time a little more insistently. You don't have time for the QnA session. That can come later.

She glares at you another moment, but seems to at least take your advice, heading down the right corridor and towards the doorway out of here. That leaves you to gather up Sidhe. And maybe find out more about this enemy of yours.

You watch as the whole building shakes again and starts to pitch to the side, but you ignore it in favor of sliding through the walls towards your other companion. Soon, emerge in a more collapsed section of the building to find the place covered in even more webbing, your fairy friend jingling like mad as she continues to manipulate something to keep the crumbling building crumbling. Her opponent, on the other hand, is not what you were expecting. Where there was what you were expecting to be a woman, instead you got a giant spider like thing, hissing incoherently and spitting webbing at the fairy, and instead hitting that weird barrier thing. At least you knew Sidhe was the one doing it for sure now.

Still, giant spider or not, you had to get the little fairy back to the door. Sure as you were that this spider thing was somehow related to the woman you'd seen earlier, it certainly wasn't time to deal with her now. You float over to the fairy and get her attention by "snapping" your non-existent fingers in front of you face. She blinks a moments, concentration lost, which makes the very "alive" feeling she had in her disappear, although it does little to stop the building from continuing to slide off its supports. She stares at you a moment, then her voice flits across your mind.

Leave... time... leave...

You nod, and the fairy disengages from her present company, flitting down the various corridors and disappearing from sight. Hopefully she knows the way. The spider moves to charge after her, effortlessly moving across the webs like... well... a spider, but you quickly intercept, placing yourself on its route and flaring you existence as much as you can. Got to buy just a little more time.

Now though, its time to consider. Do you head back now, or do you see if you can't cause some damage to this... whatever it is? It might not matter, it could be just as unreal as the rest of this, if only less so. It feels real enough, but then again, whoever made it could have just put more effort into it.

>>>Input Command

Okay. Your opponent (form type) or her creature (avatar, or dream-thing) is trapped in a collapsing building. It's dead. That's pretty simple, all you have to do is stall it long enough that it won't get out in time. And falling walls don't hurt a ghost.

Your only constraint is the door. We don't know that it will stay open when the building goes. You could be cut off from Rise and Sidhe and the hub, stuck in this far east dream place, if you don't get to it in time.

So: what do. Stall the spider, see if there's anything spiritual for you to actually hurt. And then fly as fast as you can right through the walls to the door before it breaks apart and the walls come down.

You waste little time considering your options. Stall the spider long enough to ensure its demise, then make your way to the door as quickly as possible. Thankfully, you're a ghost, and walls hold little challenge for you. That just makes your life that much easier.

You use your ghost form to shove your way through the spider, tearing away at whatever counts as it's life, then sink through the floor and start "sprinting" back towards the doorway. You hear the spider shriek behind you, although whether that's from pain or the sudden lack of anything to attack you can't tell, but soon enough you've made it through the door, with minutes to spare. You pause just on the other side, watching the world on the other side collapse, and then the doorway vanishes completely, as if it had never existed. Well, isn't that convenient.

"I would assume you are the one my friend here has spoken of."

You turn to face the speaker, Rise, and start to speak, only to remember you're still a ghost. You take a moment to drop your form, re-assuming your normal, human appearance and reveling in the feeling of getting actual air into your lungs. Always felt good to breath again. Regardless, you've hardly finished the transition when you feel something settle onto your shoulder, and you glance over to find Sidhe once again taking up her now customary position. You notice Rise raise an eyebrow at the little fairy, to which the only response is an upturned nose.

"And it seems she is not yet over her... petty sulking over me ignoring her advice."

"I take it from the familiarity you're this friend the little one was talking about."

"You would be correct. Rise Muramasa, at your service."

"You know anything about some crazy girl somewhere in here? Elizabeth... something."

"Elizabeth? She's a lieutenant with the group we are a part of. I don't understand why you would ask about her though, she should still be back home, in the west."

"She's... in here somewhere. Apparently, she thought you lot were in trouble. Seems she was right. Regardless, now she's trapped in here as well. Along with us."

"I... see... That... that is not good..."

Rise drops into thought, leaving the hub-room silent. You frown yourself, not entirely sure what else you can do but start cracking open doors again. Or maybe find out about what's going on, although you honestly doubt Rise has anymore clues than Sidhe did.

>>>Input Command

Might as well try for information, while we actually have the chance.

I don't suppose you can tell me what happened here, or who we're dealing with? Lizzie was pretty cryptic, and this one's here's not so big on talking either.

Assuming information is something Rise doesn't have...
Part of me wants to return to that military propaganda room, see what's in there, maybe we can start to gauge a pattern of what's going on here. Or maybe the dream-maker will send another minion we can fight at us.
That's a good plan B if Rise doesn't have anything good. Chances are though, she at least knows SOMETHING of value.

"I don't suppose you can tell me what happened here, or who we're dealing with? Lizzie was pretty cryptic, and this one's here's not so big on talking either."

The question jars Rise from her thoughts, and she blinks a moment and then refocuses her attention on you.

"I was sent here, along with that one there, to investigate the disappearance of breakers in the area. I can safely say that someone or something is apparently carting them off to here, wherever here is. Judging from what Sidhe has told me, I assume that each area is tailored towards a specific person, but..." Rise frowns again in thought, then shakes her head to clear whatever it is completely away. "I am afraid I do not know much more than that. I remember entering someone else's world briefly, and then nothing until I woke up in what I assume was my own little world. I would also hazard a guess that someone is deliberately making these worlds themselves, and can also somehow interfere with the thoughts and actions of those within. Why Sidhe, and I suppose yourself, are resistant is a mystery however."

You respond with only a grunt of acknowledgment, taking in the small bit of information she's provided you with. Sidhe doesn't seem to offer any different opinions or new information, which you expected in all honesty, but regardless, it doesn't leave you with much to go on at all... if the little space cadet was here with you. Then, at least, she might be able to tell you more. Seems like her abilities ran in that direction anyway. Eventually, you figure that, seeing as you were apparently all on the same team now, you should ask their opinions about what to do next. Rise takes a moment to consider before responding, while Sidhe jumps right into it.

fight flight hunt help choice

"If I thought we had the time, I suppose calling for help of some sort. However, I do not believe we have the luxury, seeing as I have not heard of anyone in the organization capable of traveling great distances quickly. Then again, no one knows who the leader is, or what abilities they might possess..."

No one knows the leader? That's... odd.

Huh. So Linda's non-existence results in an invisible leader. I was kind of expecting people to assume one of the others was in charge, or to see our lieutenants to be seen as a ruling council or something. People being aware of the whole / gap is... interesting. (At the one time, it's a problem of trust, since we appear to have made ourselves unapproachable. Which is conspicuous right after overthrowing Marc, a leader they couldn't trust. At the same time, it's an opening, because Linda could potentially introduce herself as the person in charge whenever she needed to. Although I don't know how we make that claim believable).

>get backup
Unless Liz is just plain overconfident or wrong, backup that can handle this has already arrived. And the fact that this place doesn't work on you right would suggest she might know what she's doing. Not that you can say for sure.

Can't call for help anyways unless we find a way out again, anyways.

I guess we try opening doors again? See if any look promising.
or if the person or force who interfered in Rise's place comes after you here. (Might need zombie form to rip things open?).

You watch. There are thousands of stars around you, and thousands more stretching beyond your grasp. And that alone tells you all you need to know. Only a few thousand stars your sight can touch. A more unconvincing prison probably would have worked more effectively. As it is, your teachers have already taught you too well how to mold the fabric to your will. You've had many teachers, each trying desperately to both curry favor and demand respect. Unfortunately for them, your favor rests with only one, and they are not she.

You suppose your mother would be proud, if she knew how much you loved her.

... A funny word. Love. It leaves an odd taste in your mouth. Figuratively of course. Words can't have a taste. Not unless you will them to.

You snap your attention back to sharp focus. You've been trying to be better about that. Ever since your deal with the Watcher, you've noticed that your paths, while uncertain, demanded your more immediate attention to your surroundings, and not the infinite tapestry of reality. The tentalizing threads that pulled at fate. The gossamer strings that-

No!

Had to stop.

Focus.

Breath.

LIVE.

Still, in this instance, the Sight is needed. Your eyes peer beyond this weak veil of stars and inky blackness to the threads beyond. And you SEE. There, a light, shining in the tapestry, like a firefly in the night, a star descended from the heavens. There, a warrior, free but just as alone as she was in her prison, her fate decided long ago and not for you to change.

And the last. Death clings to him like a lover. He has died, truly died, before. Yet reality snapped around him, demanded he live again. To others, they see only a man, or a corpse, or a ghost. You see...

You close your eyes, forcing the image away. Another fate you have no business influencing. Not now, at least. But the Angel would have to know. When the time came, she needed to know.

Now, though, it was in your best interest to guide the threads. To force open a path. The breaker here was getting stronger, accelerating her plans. Others were being devoured, their power consumed to fuel her own. Soon, she'd come for you. Choices lay before you. Do you guide them out, let them call for the Angel, and let the Angel descend upon them with a fury only a mother could have? Do you guide them to you, and let them fight alone, a mere three against a Dreamwalker? Or do you guide them to those that still live, hopefully allowing them to recruit others to the cause?

>>>Input Command

Hrrm...
Out, and call the Angel. Good option, but risky in terms of how long it could take. Safe though.
To you, and fight. Problem: Dreamwalker. Empowered Dreamwalker. Hard to call how strong she would be, but probably very strong and very hard to fight...
Others? Mistrust, perhaps. Waste time, perhaps. But also likely needed. Let the Slumbering masses turn against their rest unnatural.
three versus the Dreamwalker...

Kind of funny that Elizabeth is considering calling in Linda now, when she asked her to let her take care of it before, while and Linda went against her instincts to trust her, instead of running to protect her.

Also, last we saw Linda, she was on the phone with a confused and upset Cass, and we haven't seen how that ends yet. And we don't know how long after that morning this is. And she's supposed to be working on that public address we haven't done or written yet.

>You suppose your mother would be proud, if she knew how much you loved her.
She's proud of you, regardless.

>He has died, truly died, before. Yet reality snapped around him, demanded he live again.
...like you? Except she demanded it.

>what do
If you wanted to call the Angel down, isn't that trivial to do? You broke a connection to her earpiece before, and you haven't undone it yet. (Unless this place blocks transmission? Holiday's place, and their barrier didn't).

Or, if for some reason the earpiece won't work here, what about the control wires? The right to thread type. Connect to a person, use them to pass a message, let them go (if there's a range restriction, and you can't reach someone near her, grab someone nearby and have them call her).

>Do you guide them to you, and let them fight alone, a mere three against a Dreamwalker?
Would they stand a chance of winning? Throwing away lives, threads, would serve no purpose.

>Or do you guide them to those that still live, hopefully allowing them to recruit others to the cause?
Your mother would want to save those that could be saved. (Elizabeth has reached a point where Linda's role as mother can't just be protector. She has to hope that she's had an impact on her, taught her something of her own beliefs).

>she'll come for you
Can you make that harder on her? She put you in an unconvincing prison- can you improve it? Put yourself in a convincing labyrinth of stars? Force her to waste time in getting to you. Tangle the spider's web, weave the threads into something more.

You quickly shake thoughts of calling your mother from your head. You had wanted to take care of this. Had practically demanded it. Calling her now would only make her more protective and less likely to allow you freedom of motion later. Besides, you had seen the outcomes. You had all the pieces you needed. Now to just get them where they needed to be.

First, of course, is the need to protect those who were vulnerable. Mother had made her organization a place of protection. As a member of it, and as her daughter, you needed to ensure their safety. The easiest way to do that would be to simply eject them from the dream entirely, but that could take time, and for that, you'd need to distract the Spider from her task.

Choices choices. You could either use your pieces to force her hand, or use yourself as bait. The former would put your... friends... at risk, while the latter would force you to play far more defensively and in the open than you were used to.

Although, you suppose being in the field at all is rather unlike you.

Then again... with the Weave bending to your will, it might be you could cause any number of scenarios to appear. It's a dangerous prospect to force the tapestry to flow the way you want, however, especially without someone or something to anchor yourself against...

>>>Input Command
Thread Manipulation: Elizabeth, having been under the tutelage of some very powerful Watchers, has begun to understand how to manipulate the threads of reality more directly. This allows her to easily force situations to go her way, however, doing so has its own dangers. Use her new found power carefully, too much change to a thing can cause often unpredictable and dangers repercussions.

Let's see...How badly would it go for the Spider if we just brought everything in her web together?
She wants everything in it's place, so let's make a mess.
If the Spider has to deal with us all she'll be under duress!

>Thread Manipulation
So our seer has a way around the Casandra conundrum. If you don't like the possible futures you see, or you can't do anything about them, you have a way to shuffle the deck, reseed the future, set up new outcomes.

Interesting that the being who objected to your "existing when you shouldn't" would teach you (or make a deal that would lead to you being taught) this.

>this is dangerous without someone or something to anchor yourself against
You're alone, in a dream, in an artificial sea of stars. That's about as short of anchors as I can imagine. (Unless we can use one of the others, or learn on Linda via the memory focus. Although someone who's not real might not be the best anchor). Until circumstances change, that seems very dangerous to use.

Especially if stirring the pot effectively deprives you of foresight (ie, if we change the tapestry, she won't know what futures could be until she reassess).

>use yourself as bait or use the others to distract her
Obvious questions: can you tell which is more likely to succeed? Would using yourself as bait interfere your expelling others from the dream? If you use yourself as bait, what role would your pieces / friends be playing in the meantime?

Not knowing those answers, I'd lean towards being your own distraction. She's a spider, you see and manipulate thread. She traps people in nightmares, but you're no stranger to those yourself. (You're not afraid of your visions anymore, you've known two Nightmares now, and you have your own ways to inspire fear). You're well equipped to be her foil.

>meta stuff
I really want to find an awesome way to turn fear itself on the spider. And I'm half wondering if there's a way we can pull out / tap into Linda's otherwise inaccessible spider fear form through the memory token and throw it at her.

You briefly consider bringing everyone to you, but quickly push the thought aside. Manipulating the Weave that much could lead to dire consequences. Still... bringing your three friends to you...

You set to work, first by expanding your influence over the area around you. A few tweaks of the world, and the endless starry sky that isn't really endless suddenly IS endless. Unfortunately, the Spider notices your efforts. Rather quickly, all this considered, but hardly unexpected. You did just do something rather... big. Still, you reach out with your will again, demanding a passage be opened from your friends to yourself. You thankfully succeed, even with the Spider attempting to interfere, and then you can do little but begin guiding the others out. Hopefully the Undying can get here in time.

The Chase Begins Revenant 2015/01/18(Sun)14:47 No. 620964 ID: 52a0f0
File 142162122608.jpg - (114.91KB , 1024x731 , Drider.jpg )

Barely moments pass as you process the information you'd been given, and consider beginning to open random doors, when one flies open all on its own, and you feel it. The brat is there. Waiting. How you know you have no clue, but just knowing is enough.

"Looks like we caught a lucky bre-"

Your words are interrupted by a shrieking clack of mandibles, the massive spider from before dropping down from the ceiling right in front of the door. As it lands, the thing seems to fold in on itself until that creepy woman is there. She throws an angry glare over her shoulder, then darts through the doorway, already shifting again into something else. You feel a wave of breaking pass around you, you think targeting the door, but something shoves it aside with as much consideration as a man might give a bug. Well, wasn't that convenient.

"What are you doing? We have to go after her!"

Rise charges through the door without any consideration, Sidhe close behind her, although your fairy friend pauses on the other side and stares back at you. You let out a sigh before taking off after them, passing through the doorway into some sort of twisting maze of stairways and starlight. This... this is not what you were expecting at all.

You spot the Spider... woman? What the hell is that?

You quickly shake away your surprise as the half-woman, half-spider whatever scuttles along the stairways, passing by entire sections with ease. Rise seems to have far more trouble, actually having to traverse the walkways instead.

You suppose you really should shift forms... and come up with a plan for dealing with this thing.

>>>Input Command

The Spider seems to be weaving worlds specifically to trap Breakers. But where is the Spider? Three against a dreamwalker in a dream is risky, but three against a dreamwalker in reality?
Guide your companions to the Spider, then eject them all. Or maybe bring yourself to the Spider, and take over all the dreams at once, trapping the Spider in a dream of her own creating.

Ghost time.
Why run the maze when you can bypass the walls?

A 3 dimensional stair-star maze? Neat.

Before you lose your ability to talk, call out to Rise and Sidhe.

She can cheat / sequence break sections by using her sword (cutting through walls, cutting and moving / repositioning stairs) and with Sidhe's help (shield bubbles can act as bridges or stepping stone between areas if she's nimble and Sidhe cooperates. ...and Rise having to ask Sidhe for help would probably sooth her wounded ego).

Obviously, go ghost. You need to cut off and/or attack that spider-woman. She's going right for your charge, and you're still employed as a bodyguard.

>more meta stuff
If Rise falls under the illusions again (Rev being dead and Sidhe being non-human seem to protect them) Liz could probably keep her on target with View the Weave. (See the spider for what she really is, via spirit sight, regardless of the dream).

"Sidhe, help Rise catch up. I'll try to stall the... whatever it is."

The fairy looks a little unhappy, but quickly flits off to do what you asked. In the meantime, you take a moment to let you physical form melt away, to be replaced with the Wraith. Another moment passes as you get your bearing, then you charge in the most direct path possible, passing straight through the spider-things body within a few minutes of beginning the chase and tearing away at its life. You keep going after that, placing yourself directly in it's path in hopes of stalling it. Unfortuantely, you're attack against its life doesn't seem to have done more than stall it temporarily, but even that small amount of time helps. It hisses at you, which at first you don't quite understand, until suddenly the hissing seems to form itself into words... sorta.

"Why?! Why must you stop me?! Why must you care so deeply for no one at all?!"

You don't respond, at least no with words. Instead, you simply flare at your spectral body, making yourself appear as big as possible. The Spider-thing's response is to rear up and shoot webbing at you, which does nothing at all, conveniently. Still, what you don't expect is the spider to suddenly take to the sky, almost literally flying through the air. You stare a moment, then frown.

You... don't think spiders can do that...

Still, it looks like you've forced the thing into an indirect path. You can feel the brat's presence farther along behind you. It might be time to hook up with her. Or you could keep going after the spider directly, eliminate the source of the issue. Or...

Actually, those seem about the only options.

You glance around for Rise, and see her and Sidhe still making their way towards you, although the pair working together seem to make great progress. They'll be here in a few minutes at most. Unless something gets in their way.

>>>Input Command

>Why must you care so deeply for no one at all?!
Ah. The trap is based on connection? The drifter and the doll don't have enough left to catch them.

>You... don't think spiders can do that...
I guess if this is her place, she gets to cheat.

>chase her, or go for the girl
Bodyguard first. Get to the girl, get your allies to her. We can deal with the threat once your client is safe. If you go right for the spider, something might beat you there.

You quickly decide to ignore the Spider for now, instead turning around and darting off towards the source of all this trouble. It seems mere moments pass, and suddenly you are there, on a platform suspended on nothing, Lizzy seated with her legs folded underneath her and eyes screwed tight in concentration. Only a few moments after reaching her, however, her eyes snap open, and she offers you a small smile.

"You have arrived. I must concentrate. Keep her away from me."

Her? Her wh-

You are interrupted by the shrieking of a woman who is likely incredibly deranged dropping from somewhere above you, heading straight for Lizzy. You react instantly, years of protecting others kicking in, and snap your ethereal for right for where you know the creature will be within the next few moments. Even as you do so, your body shifts from Wraith to human, than human to Draugr. You collide with the creature, sending it hurtling off the edge, although you can hear skittering somewhere below you and can only assume she's managed to land on something. You land just before the edge, quickly pushing yourself to you feet. You have a few more minutes before Rise get here, and while you know you need to defend the space cadet, there's the issue of how. If the Spider really is controlling all of this, then she's got a damned large advantage over you.

There's got to be something you can do to slow her down.

Oh hey, rapid form shifting to make a flying tank is a pretty cool trick. (I wanna use that for one hell of an entrance, later. Fly way the hell above a target, form shift, and fall. Zombie terminal velocity orbital insertion strike).

Okay. So, we're playing capture the flag here, and we're on defense. Our opponent can scale walls, fly, and may be able to manipulate the environment in her favor. Flying is out for us, if we want to be able to physically attack her.

If she's below you, we could fight by collapsing stuff down on her? Precision smash attacks to break off terrain to fall on her.

We could summon up some dummy undead minions. Hard for her to catch us by surprise, coming your client from an unexpected angle if we've got the zone flooded. They're probably too dumb to stop her, but it buys us time to react.

And/or you could try to taunt her into focusing on you. She's the big bad here? How come you're the only one she couldn't get, huh? Everyone else got stuck in their own private little world- the fairy forest, feudal japan, the stars. Why couldn't she get you in a box? Too tough for her?