The dream was always the same.
Nighttime. The sky was gray, the buildings dark, everything was in grayscale. Sphinx briskly walked down empty streets – the pattering of rain in a thunderless storm, along with the gentle howl of the wind were the backdrop to the centerpiece – namely the high-pitched echo of his footsteps reverberating with each step like an tribal drum . The houses and manors were empty – no lights or telltale signs of life inside.
He walked faster, turning into a street corner – still searching for signs of life, to no avail. Only after a few moments of walking did he come to a horrifying realization: the sounds he thought were produced from his stride were actually a low-pitched cawing. His head snapped up briefly to shift his attention from the road ahead to the sky above. It took him a moment to wipe off the now heavy precipitation from his eyes.
He nearly fainted. Black birds littered the sky, circling above him. Crows.
The ones close to him were quite large, further away, they speckled the gray sky in what resembled a dark, swirling cloud. There was something…hungry about their motion. He loosed a cry which, too, echoed throughout the empty streets, then broke into a run. This time, his motions were desperate, as he searched for some reprieve. His footsteps splattered water onto his pants, the murky fluid soon covering the whole of his lower body. “N-No!” He shouted as the caws became louder, and he began to sprint.
The crows were descending.
The street splashed violently under his heavy footsteps, and he made his way towards a nearby manor, breathing a short-lived sigh of relief as the gate gave way, swinging open with an obscenely loud creak. He rushed past the cobbled pathway to the front door, somehow knowing it was open.
Without bothering to knock, Sphinx frantically twisted the knob and barged inside. The foyer was dark and musty, and the furniture in the expansive parlor draped in white sheets, indicating that no one had lived here for a long time. There seemed to be a light source coming from upstairs.
Sphinx didn’t have time to take in the scene much longer, as the rapid fluttering and vicious cawing to his immediate behind told him that the dark birds had come in through the door behind him. Without thinking, he dashed up the grand staircase, his breaths coming in ragged gasps – drowned out by the ever-louder cawing of crows fluttering in.
Upon reaching the second floor, he was a bit surprised to find that the light was coming from a room in the corner with very tall windows. One of the windows was wide open. The gentle lights from the city filtered inside. Surely this wasn’t the same dusky city he had just ran through? With the horde of crows giving chase, he made a final push for the lighted room, not bothering to close the door behind him as his pursuers would not afford him the opportunity.
Sphinx lunged out of the window onto the pleated roof. The elevation was steep, and his leather shoes did not offer him a firm grip on the steep surface. Looking down, he was shocked to see that he was indeed in a different town, at a much higher elevation than he had previously imagined. He teethered precariously, attempting to keep his balance.
But it was too late. The dark swarm behind him flooded out the window, surrounding him, pecking ravenously at his exposed flesh. As chunks began to be taken out, Sphinx yelped. The yelp quickly developed into a scream of pure agony as his eyes were pecked out of their bony sockets. He felt the leather of his shoes lose contact with the shingles. The last thing he remembered before waking up was plummeting into oblivion.
It was always the same.
****
Sphinx briefly experienced a similar sensation of falling, and a rapid flashback as the telepathic link with Grisev's men was abolished. After relaying the scene to Rivullera- he stiffened in fear, and started breathing heavily, wiping the emerging sweat from his furrowed brow.
[no action this round]
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Still writhing on the floor, Nim continues to shriek and wail until she manages to push herself up. When she lifts her head up and makes eye contact with Virash, her eyes are solid black.
In Abyssal:
Assuming the check succeeds, secret message for Virash only: