Act 2: Upheaval I - The Werewolf

Steve does so and takes her hand. He holds his out for Konrad.

With an inaudible sigh, Konrad holds Steve's hand.

Mihai squints, not daring to believe what he thinks is about to happen.

The fairy confidently puts his little arms into Konrad's and Mihai's hands. In the darkness, Florolf looks up at the party and waits.

"Good," Nadzieja whispers. "You might feel a little sick."

The warning doesn't come soon enough. All the party members suddenly feel completely weightless for a fraction of second before gravity takes hold of them again. In the distance, the streetlamps have disappeared. So have the stars. Or any other sources of light in the city. The adventurers are in complete darkness, and the absence of sound makes this even more unnerving.

"You can use your ring again," the young woman says to Steve.

Steve grabs his stomach. "Ugh, I feel sick." He activates his ring and looks around between heavy breaths and stomach cramps.

Mihai grits his teeth, bracing himself.

"Mm." Konrad grunts as he shakes off the vertigo. Then, he places a hand on the hilt of his weapon as a precaution, and inhales deeply.

Awareness 18
using my senses of smell and hearing for whatever I can smell or hear.

With Steve's magical light, the party members can only see a few meters around them. Fluffle flies down to the ground and examines the cobblestones they are standing on.

"Are we still on the plaza?" the fairy asks.

"Yes," Nadzieja replies, her arms folded. She stands in the same spot as before, perfectly calm. "Sort of."

Konrad and Steve notice something peculiar; the cobblestones under their feet have lost almost all of their natural color, now looking more gray than their usual yellowish hue.

Furthermore, the three adventurers notice how the air is now odorless, except for their own scent and their companions'. Coupled with the complete absence of sound, this makes Fluffle feel very unsettled

Unlike Nadzieja and Florolf.

"What is this place?" Steve looks around in wonder. "Is it part of our reality?"

"Explain what just happened." Konrad's voice has lost all trace of mirth.

"..........."

Mihai lights a hooded lantern (bright light 30ft, dim light 60ft).

Mihai sees only more of the plaza.

The monk unfolds her arms and peers into the darkness around her. "I'm not sure how to describe it," she says with a thoughtful expression. "We're... inside the belly of a beast. That's how our world looks like from here. Well, not exactly. The light should come back soon."

Fluffle gasps and immediately puts his hands over his mouth, afraid that something else has heard him.

"Don't worry," Nadzieja reassures him. "It doesn't eat people."

Mihai asks grimly - "Does it collect limbs?"

"I-I don't understand. What is this thing? How big is it? How did you find it in the first place? Does it have a name?"

"No," she answers Mihai. Just as she's about to say more, Steve bombards her with questions. Very calmly, she continues her explanation. "I call it the Shroud. I'm not sure how big it is, but it covers at least all of the Archipelago."

"...It's not going to eat us?" Fluffle asks, worried.

"No. It eats magic."

"Oh, phew."

The carbuncle is lazily waggling his tail while listening to the discussion.

Realization dawns on the pirate. "What? Don't tell me we're inside that. Why did you bring us here? What did you just do?"

Steve is calming down as he understands more. "How did you find it? How did you bring us here?"

Mihai shoots Konrad a look when he lets on that he knows this thing. He otherwise lets Nadia answer their questions.

Nadzieja puts her hands on her hips and sighs. "Your questions will have to wait for now. What you need to know is that the werewolf lives somewhere in the Shroud and it might know we're here already. Konrad, Mihai, ready your weapons."

Suddenly, the sky brightens just a little, turning to a very dark shade of gray. Szef Zerva raises her head and mutters under her own breath, "Finally."

"Well, fine." Steve gets his staff ready. He then immediately asks more questions. "Are we the only ones here? Are any of the others going to pop up?"

"Not all of them." - Mihai puts out the lantern and draws his sword - "If werewolves are like people tell, there could be someone trapped inside it."

He states calmly and deliberately, indicating he expects an answer.

"Hmph." Konrad unsheathes his sword, and the ether around him begins to flow in a pattern. "So you're certain it wants to find us now?"

The sky turns a shade lighter.

"No, I'm not certain," Nadzieja retorts as she starts to cautiously walk toward the Den district, expecting the adventurers to follow her. "And the werewolf isn't human. It's an ‘Endless’; they're an unimaginative bunch, but they can be dangerous. So don't hesitate to kill it. I'll explain everything later. Okay?"

Mihai raises his weapon and stares ahead - "I hope they're easier to kill here, because it's impossible to do it out there."

"Oh them. Wonderful." Steve follows his disappointed exasperation with a sigh.