Log
Chapter III: Fear, Itself
6/16/03: Attendance:
Joe, Ken, Shawn, Dana
The party left swiftly, taking the boat they had claimed from Loika. Atorin proved to be a skilled sailor and even Althea was able to help some. The day long journey downstream started in the afternoon, so the crew had to sleep on the ship. Onoros fell victim to yet another nightmare, leaving his comrades questioning his sanity. By early the next morning though, they had reached their destination…a small stream emptying into the river that had been nearly blocked by large, rotting logs.
After anchoring the ship it was only an hour walk inland to the village, which had indeed emerged and had constructed several wooden building that were in good repair. The party soon found things amiss, however. The few houses held only terrified, crazed women and children who were manic in their fear. One of the few that did not immediately scream when approached by the party only called the party demons and said that there was nothing out there but this town. At this point Onoros decided to trek back to the ship to get some food for the starving, frightened people. After traveling about halfway there he reemerged back into the village. Confused, he alerted the others who again tried to leave and found themselves back in the village after walking some distance. After some investigating, they realized they must enter the Cairn of Dormer.
The darkness seemed tangible as the party walked down the ages-old steps into the cairn. In fact, the glow-torches were visibly dimming upon entry. Shadows crawled at the edge of their light as they pushed further into the former underground home. Children’s laughter and bone-rattling screams seemed to come from all directions. Soon, they found a passage way that was lined with the dark Onoros flowers. They seemed normal enough except in the center of the bloom there was an eye. Hundreds of eyes watched them as they passed the flowers lining the passageway. Their minds also began playing tricks on them…Onoros appeared as a walking, rotten corpse and Althea looked ready to murder the party…but none of it was real. Then men appeared, gleeful, and invited them to a party, the noise of which could be heard down the corridor. The party ignored them and followed the blooming flowers to their final destination…an incredibly large flower from which dropped a ten foot long snake-like creature. Its mouth was rounded and sharp teeth could be seen not only at the rim, but lining the entirety of the interior of the beast. A circle of malicious red eyes surrounded the mouth. The Second Expedition had just encountered its first true Horror.
The battle was swift. Both Onoros and Althea felt the thing trying to pry into their minds, but were able to resist. Althea proved her aim with a bow was true and shot the creature both through the mouth and through and eye. A final blow from Onoros put the thing down for good. It boiled and melted into a shiny goo as the party watched. All around them flowers wilted and fell from the walls as the glow-torches brightened. They had faced fear, and they had won!