Loose threads: Lynn/Nacrea: will they/wont they?, The Faceless Night monsters and Nightmares, is the dream waters purified of this blight?
Participants: Zinlynndise Imare Ruun Bethany Claie Hecret
Locations: Dreamwaters Eleutheria, the Purple Barony
Short summary:
TL;DR: Lynn gathered her party and went to have a chat with Lady Nacrea about their bethrothal to each other. They discovered that the dream waters have been taken over and corrupted by Nightmare creatures that realizes their worst fantasies, doubts, fears, and realities. They were just barely able to fight off a swarm of these creatures.
Full Report
Lynn here, again, with yet another adventure. That was less happy fun adventure and more the stuff of nightmares. I kinda get the feeling those Taldan fairy tales are a bit overrated. Well, at least there’s dashing princes and lovely ladies in my story so I can’t complain.
Any ways, any ways, tangents I know. [some writings have been scratched out here as if the author changed her mind about putting them to paper] So not to get into embarrassing details, but I accidentally offered my hand in marriage to one Lady Nacrea of the Dreamwaters. I gathered some friends of mine to try and talk that out. This led to a trip through the portals in the Elemental Shrine, my second - no third - wait fourth? - visit to the continent ever!
On the other side, we met with Beety, Elgie, Marsyas, Ombretta, and Xamak / Kamax - Fey that live in the Temple of the Two Suns. We caught up and had pictures taken, they were so silly. Marsyas gave us passage through the lake that sits at the basin of this mountain valley, and we arrived at the border zone between day and night in the baronies.
This kinda puts us at late evening however, we can only travel so long. We went to bed and then…well…each of us had a nightmare. It was horrible. Horrifying. Terrifying. And really personal. I saw…people I loved die. I think Ruun and Beth saw something similar. Hecret? I dunno. Does anything bother him? He still looked tired.
P.S: All of us were terribly exhausted from this sleep. I felt my own life force drain away even from it. We were all stressed and weary before the day even began.
So that set the mood for what was to come. Some strange monsters have set up residence here, haunting our minds at night. The whole forest near the dream waters was corrupted as well. Not so much wilted but like, foul, sinister, turned against us. Blighted. Nector, Lady Nacrea’s familiar, showed up to guide us the way thanks to a bird I sent from the Temple of the Two Suns. I’d die for Nector, that big bundle of happiness and joy eeeeeee. Somehow this affliction didn’t affect him, but apparently Nacrea has been dealing with this ever since I last met her a month or so ago. Poor thing.
We made it to the Dream Waters, where we encountered Nacrea holed up in more wards than I can count, looking sad and miserable. She’s been living this nightmare so long she can’t tell what's real anymore. Honestly the wedding was the last thing on my mind, saving her butt was more important. Of course, those nightmare creatures descended upon us and attacked right there and then!
That was…the toughest fight I've ever fought. More so than the skeletal giant that took Mesper, more so than the worm at the soul nexus in Unekawa's Reach. I literally cried myself to sleep when I got back from this trip, how horrifying it was. And these things…they get inside your head. All of us clobbered off our feet, only to get back up again and keep on fighting despite wanting to beg for it to stop.
That…was hard to write. But that concludes our little adventure into the Dream Waters. Ask Ruun for more about what these creatures are. I don't think she shared all too much.