Bright Red Tapestries, Dominating Will (Aelar's Thoughts in Battle)

We are continuing to explore this strange building in the Siege World in hopes of finding our way to the Centenarch.

As we make our way through, we find another large room, shaped like a cross. On the walls of this room are red tapestries, covered in markings. Kale, our Human Mage, is studying them closely. "There are indicators woven into the tapestry," he warns.

Suddenly, the tapestries begin to pulse, and glowing shapes began to emerge. The shapes are hauntingly familiar. We had seen this before when we battled the bear that was possessed. These shapes -- animata -- could take hold and control other living creatures.

"These are the guardians of the room," Kale shouts, "and they intended to punish us for our intrusion!"

Quickly, I draw my bow and fire an arrow at one of them. The arrow passes through the shape without doing it any harm.

Another shape shoots forward and dives into Bran, our Halfling Rogue. I come to the realization that he is no longer Bran -- the animata is in control of him. Bran's body stumbles across the floor and the floor suddenly shifts open. Bran's body tumbles into a deep pit. I can barely make out another body in the pit, perhaps that of a recent and unfortunate explorer.

One by one, the shapes leap toward each member of our party: Tiny, our Dwarven Cleric; Firinne, our Half-Elven Paladin; Ryn, our Eladrin Warlock; Kale, our Human Mage; Garg, our Half-Elven Warlock. (Where is Carlangnios, our Dragonborn Fighter?) Some of us get possessed and turn on each other; some of us successfully fight off the creatures.

Kale is taken by one of the shapes and is made to walk into the pit with Bran. Other members are attacking each other. I must help. I must -- that shape is approaching me! I can't --

Flesh. Flesh is weak. The physical form has no will, no strength, no power. It is only useful as a tool -- a tool to be used by us.

They have intruded. They will pay. Shoot them. Shoot them all. They must be punished.

-- I shot at them. I shot at our party! But I thankfully missed badly. I cannot let them control me again.

Tiny is possessed. He cannot shake these creatures out of him. But Loom -- his hammer -- has just spun around sideways and struck one of these shapes. How is that possible?

We must stop these creatures. What they cannot possess, they lash out at with a shock. I'm feeling the pain of the last shock as another one approaches me to --

You must obey. You are flesh. I am will. You cannot resist. Shoot them. Shoot them all.

-- I hit someone! No. I must not fall prey again. Bran is crawling out of the pit. Kale is crawling out as well. Clever! Kale has switched the possession from Bran to another one of these creatures. One shape now possesses another shape. As it rises out of the pit, we strike it down. Ryn kills one shape. Bran will two. We manage to destroy the rest of the shapes.

There is smoke in the air. The tapestries are smoking. Kale stares closely at them. "The magical aura -- it's gone."

We go back to the pit and check the corpse of the halfling that Bran found. The corpse wears a leather bag -- a satchel. We open it to find a book (the halfling's journal) and some magical residue. It seems as though this halfling was some sort of ritualist. He has been dead for 2 weeks. He'd taken some wounds before he fell in here.

Perhaps this was one of the members who set up camp in the other room. Perhaps this was the rider of the giant lizard we found.

This building still holds too many questions. We need to find the answers soon ...