The Only Thing We Have To Fear

The Only Thing We Have To Fear
Date	10/24/25
Storyteller	Dag
Tier	Legendary
Player Characters	Zeal, Illiam Elro, Vara, Sheeri of the Frozen Wastes, Melfyra
Rewards	Bedroll of deep slumber (and formula), locket of sealed nightmares, restful sleep fulu (formula), blooming lotus seed pod
Result	Progress has been made
Author	Zeal
Downtime	4

Associates begin their hunt for a nightmare-causing creature that roams the Glass Desert.

Log

Thanks to Illiam's magics, we assembled first and foremost in the dream realm to discuss our plans of action. Illiam and Vara had previously gone on a mission with other associates into the Glass Desert to investigate a beast causing nightmares over a massive range, and were now recruiting a team to formally hunt down the offending creature. At the dream witch's recommendation we also sought out the aid of Orion's harrowing. To his credit, the portents provided a modicum of assistance to everyone at different points. That aside, our hunt began the next day by teleporting to a camp near a ravine, one seemingly rife with wild magics. The bodies about told a tale of butchery by a very large, clawed creature. Our target of this hunt.

With Illiam and Vara tracking it through the dreamlands and Melfyra searching for physical tracks, that left Sheeri and I to watch the party's surroundings for threats. Vara determined it had descended into the ravine and exited some time after, then teleporting by translocation spell to around a mile away. As we followed the trail, we learned two important details. First, Illiam determined the magic around this creature was strongly associated with nightmares. Second, Melfyra realized the magical signature we're following, moving the same path as the beast, was of a shard of divinity. One attached to the Nightmares domain. There was a high likelihood our prey possessed a shard of divinity that it was using to amplify its nightmare-inducing powers, explaining why it only recently has been an issue for those near Onadbyr while still being in the Glass Desert. Needless to say, we hastened our movements to catch up to this problem.

The next day in our travels we came across a small camp of living people. 3 are unconscious, and as Sheeri later determined, they were afflicted with a disease known as "Nightmare Fever". Its symptoms were about as blatant as the name would suggest. Constant fear leading to eventually being trapped in an unconscious state, likely in an unending nightmare. Luckily our team was able to cure everyone of this affliction over the course of several hours, and for the safety of these people we elected to rest for a "night" (the eclipse is still ongoing, as of this writing,) to watch over them. Good that we did, as a Thanadaemon attempted to approach them in the night. I made swift work of it, but it did make me worried this was no coincidence.

Over the course of our stay with the people, we learned a great deal of the plight they face. They were being pursued by a creature they called "The Howl", a great beast with long horns, hooves, black claws, and the capacity to walk on two legs.They called it a fiend, understandably so, as the closest fiends I could surmise to its description were the Munagola (executioner devil), Brimorak (arson demon), or the category of fiends known as the Sakhil. The Sakhil are corrupted psychopomps that feed on the fear of mortals, lining up quite well with all the clues given so far. When they heard its howl, the mana well (a large pool of raw magic flowing underground) erupted, though this time it was naught but fear/nightmare magic. This implies some deep connection to fear magic, lining up with the shard connection previously recognized. Granted, the propensity for these people to set up their homes near mana wells seems ripe for all sorts of trouble to brew outside of this, but if fiends are involved it is my duty to sort it out regardless.

Before we set out for the location of their old home, which the tracks we followed led in the direction of regardless, we were given some items as thanks. A bedroll that helps you rest more easily, instructions on how to make them, some fulus for protecting you while you sleep, seed pods, and a locket. This locket was supposed to protect your mind, but it seemingly did nothing for the person that possessed it. We later discovered it was an exceptionally powerful magic item known as the Locket of Sealed Nightmares, a Desnian protective tool that absorbs nightmares and even removes the need for sleep entirely. While useful in the hands of any strong enough to harness it, we had Sheeri hold onto it for the time being to protect her. We also discovered it was "cursed" in the sense that it was, well, overflowing with nightmares. After cleansing the item, we set out to continue the hunt.

With the aid of Melfyra's Migration spell, we swiftly arrived at the endangered settlement the refugees had fled from. We discovered an array of monstrosities lording over tied up people, animated dreams tormenting them all the while. As we near, a woman comes running toward us blabbering nonsense. Her form morphs into that of a soul slime, which I attempt to meet head-on. Upon figuring out what it is, I realize just how difficult this creature is for me to kill. Only bludgeoning weapons can harm it, spiritual impacts do nothing, and despite being able to consume spirits and take on the form of their previous owners, the creature is still entirely mindless. I still endure its attacks for a time, but ultimately my strengths are better used elsewhere. As the fight breaks out fully, this becomes clear with our other foes: An ibex-like, long-limbed bipedal creature hiding in the shadows possessing the ability to turn invisible. The lumpy, pale-white person of the sakhil of fearing magic, the Nenchuuj, and the Animated Dreams mentioned prior.

At the site of what was previously a massacre, our own bloody battle began. The soul slime, if struck, would disperse a cloud of soul fragments to make its already difficult-to-harm form that much harder to get a good hit on. It was a nuisance throughout the battle that took place across the body-strewn town square until its body fully gave out. Meanwhile, those ibex-like creatures, eventually identified as "Howling Spawn", lurked about and charged anyone they found an opening on. No matter how hard Vara hit them, they kept standing back up. Various damage types were used on them, but eventually it was discovered only cold could stop their healing. The Animated Dreams were nothing but bodies in the way, doing little but scratching us on occasion while we resisted their cursed touch. The Nenchuuj, vile and powerful fiends that they were, skulked about invisibly and repeatedly struck the minds of my allies when they were seen using magic. As expected, their melted flesh hardly stood up to my blows once I reached them, but the issue was how many foes we had to cut through just to reach them. Eventually we stuck down all our foes, but what stood left were many unconscious, tortured people, and a well visibly polluted with vile magics distilling the worst nightmares imaginable. We still had much work to do.