Harpers Quest Two- Beyond the Mists

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sithicus- Domain Of Dread- Flamerule 1373

Mendis snuggled into Meriel relishing in her warm, solid form against him, wrapping a wing around her, grateful for their large size, although he was wondering why they had changed shape, he was used to them changing colour but not shape so much.
He was drifting off, semi- dreaming, nice and warm, and Meriel's slow breathing and gentle heartbeat against his chest, faintly aware of his own heartbeat and slowly became aware of another heartbeat nearby, Tev's or Caldon's he assumed, although he idly wondered how he could hear it, maybe he was dreaming, the pulse seemed to be getting closer and louder though, I must be dreaming he thought sleepily letting it lull him into sleep.
Suddenly a tendril of bitter cold went up his back, he shivered and then heard a voice "wake up! If anyone can hear me wake up! You're in danger!"
Mendis said " huh?"
"If you don't wake up, you are all going to die!" the voice continued urgently.
"Who are you?" Mendis asked.
"A friend! You must wake up!" the voice continued.
Mendis mumbled and suddenly realised the heartbeat he had been hearing was louder, closer and a tendril of fear went down his back and with it a feeling of danger, pervading his sleeping mind.
Then it happened! Mendis was struck with a blinding headache, a headache he knew all too well as his 'Death Vision' as he had dubbed it, that strange, frightening new power he had gotten from coming in to close to a Lich's Phylactery one he didn't know yet how to fully control, struck him down and woke him up.
"OUCH!! SHIKES THE PAIN!!" he yelped, then bolted upwards, slamming up against his telepathic shields all at once "What the...!"
It unfolded before his eyes, the vision, he saw the campsite, saw shapes made of teeth and glowing eyes and the sound of multiple heartbeats surrounding him, he felt the tinge of fear and smelt the smell of death and blood.
He heard eerie wails as he watched helplessly as all of his friends were drained dry, their brains absorbed, working through their sleeping minds with ghost-like tentacles, he saw Meriel drained dry, all the life going out of her and then been torn apart brutally and without feeling, he saw himself suffer the same fate, pain assailed his senses, sending all of his synapses afire, his mind slammed up every one of its shields brutally.
Mendis staggered to his feet, crying out in pain, knowing his nose was bleeding and his vision blurred, he saw the ghostly tentacles entering the tent, all resting on Meriel's, Tevon's and Caldon's heads, he felt something fall away from him.
"By Tymora!" he gasped, looking up in horror as a fanged maw and a single glowing red eye peered into the tent, accompanied by a raging heartbeat.
Mendis staggered back in pain, he pulled all his focus and let fly one single powerful psionic blast at the creature before him, without stopping to think he felt his sword fly into his hand and it ignited on its own accord.
Mendis let fly another psionic blast and felt his nose start to bleed, under the pressure of using that while caught up in the throes of the 'Death Gift' his head swam, his eyes blurred, his body and mind racked with psychic pain as all of his synapses were set afire and his mind reacted by sending out some powerful psionic attacks.
Mendis fired off another psionic blast, it was of a similar vein of a Mindflayers, the Band knew he could do it, they had seen him kill a Mindflayer with it and with its own power, and they also knew when faced with such circumstances Mendis wasn't shy on using it.
The creature staggered back under Mendis's powerful mental assault, its mind thrown into chaos and pain, it lost its grip on Mendis's friends allowing them to wake up.
Mendis attacked then using his light sword, letting it guide his movements, and the creature backed out of the tent, he heard Meriel praying faintly and Tevon's sword saying "let's go whack something eevill" and some Magic missiles came flying through the air at the creature, and Mendis faintly heard Caldon's voice as the young Halfling went for his best form of attack.

Mendis fought on with his sword, using his psionic attacks, using his powers while trying to ignore his pounding head and blurry vision.
Nearby Skyla, who had also realised that they were being attacked by a psionic creature attacked with her weapons as Varharland rushed in with his swords, Mendis also noticed that Varharland was glowing with a soft blue light that limed his entire form, it looked like a blue fire of some sort.
Narache his Moonblade aglow and in vampire mode attacked another as it appeared that those with psionic powers had been the first to awaken, nearby Darkstar cast a Melfs Minute Meteors, he and his twin had been amongst the first to awaken as Dinan attacked with twin scimitars.
Caldon came out of the tent, looking small and vulnerable and every inch his eleven years.