Rise of Tiamat

The Shadow of Old White Death

Tomb of Diderius

After they got the information they needed, the Spellforged headed into the Serpent Hills in order to pursue the cult. The trek was dangerous, as the hills had many unsteady paths, and the horses they had acquired were at constant risk of plummeting to their deaths. At one point, Nayiss's horse slipped as part of the path gave away, but fortunately Iza was able to quickly react and use magic to ensure that the fall didn't occur by levitating the horse back to safety.

While they were camping, a group of hill giants happened upon their campsite and hurled a boulder at them as they thought they would be easy pickings. However, the hill giants proved to be no match for the group, and they were swiftly cut down. The following morning, a group of travelers that were fleeing from the yuan-ti deeper in the hills happened upon the carnage, though they were assured that the group of adventurers there meant them no harm. They were given some food and directions back to civilization, and in return they explained that deeper in the hills was a tomb of a powerful Netherese mage, which they had recently witnessed activity around. The Spellforged felt that this was as good a lead as any, and they set off in pursuit of the tomb while the yuan-ti survivors continued their trek back to safety.

Tymanther

Farideh used her magic to transport the group to the teleportation circle that was established in the Verthisathurgiesh enclave in Djerad Thymar. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by the clan's matriarch, Anala, who was also Mehen's aunt. Mehen, as his form of apology, introduced the group and notably used Jarkul's chosen clan name: Ourobori. Anala was immediately intrigued—as such as statement implied Jarkul intended on attempting to get a new clan recognized—and promptly made it clear that she would be keeping an eye out, as a new clan meant new opportunities for clan Verthisathurgiesh.

Almost immediately after leaving Anala, Nayiss was put on alert as she felt the tell-tale burning in her missing fingers that indicated the presence of fiends. A hell hound barged out of one of the apartments, tailed by two imps, but Havilar promptly intervened and introduced the hound as her own excitable companion. She informed the group that she would meet up with them later, as her hound likely needed a run given she had been gone for a while. However, the hellhound was hardly the biggest surprise. The group left the enclave and got their first glimpse of the sprawling enclosed city of Djerad Thymar, but were also greeted by flocks of devils that filled the air and marched with vayemniri lance defenders—something that was not the case the last time Jarkul had been home.

Farideh explained that the fiendish presence was due to an agreement that had been made with Asmodeus, and they were soldiers that helped to defend Tymanther against the demonic allies of Unther. Mehen took the lead to guide them to where Kallan and Medrash were waiting to debrief with Jarkul. As they entered, a handsome, lithe dragonborn man stood up to greet Mehen with a wide grin, and they promptly nuzzled and, who was assumed to be Kallan, cheekily grabbed Mehen's rear. The other dragonborn that was present was a slightly larger man with both wide, leathery wings and a tail. He opened his arms to Jarkul with a wide grin, and Jarkul returned the smile, though Nayiss picked up that the smile was tense, and as Jarkul approached to greet Medrash, he wound his fist back and punched him in the face. Kallan winced and made an audible "oooo" sound, and Medrash stumbled, but then laughed and admitted he deserved that, before Jarkul closed in for an actual hug.

Jarkul then turned to make introductions, and Nayiss and Medrash engaged in a bit of banter as they had both heard a great deal about the other one. Kallan and Medrash then explained that they had already spoken with the Vanquisher about their involvement in the entire situation: ultimately, it had been their intention to get Jarkul's station approved retroactively once the new Vanquisher was named, as Kallan was unable to legally name ambassadors as an interim Vanquisher. Unfortunately, their gambit wound up failing, as Medrash or another immediate ally had not been named. It had been Uadjit, and she ultimately had wanted to get her own read on the situation, and hear about it from all involved parties so that a call could be made. They admitted it was hard to tell how that was going to go, as Uadjit was a hard woman to read.

The Road to Unthalass

The morning of the march to Unthalass, the party was introduced to a man named Verthisathurgiesh Arjhani. He was the qal partner of the Vanquisher and was known for being a skilled warrior, though it soon became evident there was some history with him and Medrash, Farideh, and Havilar because they didn't seem to be overly happy to see him. Medrash was there to see the group off, as he unfortunately had other responsibilities he needed to attend to and couldn't accompany them himself, but he did pull Nayiss aside to speak to her briefly. He asked her to take care of herself, as he had never seen Jarkul look at someone like he looked at her, and Nayiss promised him that she would.

They set off and were able to travel for some time without any interruption.

However, a bit into the march, some scouts returned to inform the company that they had encountered danger in their ranging and several others had been taken by some sort of monsters. Arjhani was willing to divert the rest of the procession and avoid further losses, but the Spellforged argued that the scouts that had been attacked could still be saved. Arjhani countered that more would be lost if they chose to attack, but the group continued to pressure him and he reluctantly relented, though assured them that further losses would be on their hands.

The procession approached an arrangement of floating rocks that, at first, seemed to be devoid of any life, but then they started to see the webs that stretched between the stones and were wrapped in thick cocoons around motionless bodies. The creators of the webs were nowhere to be seen at first.

Until a massive spider suddenly emerged out of nowhere to spring upon the group, while a hoard of smaller spiders scuttled around of every crevice they could fit. Arjhani barked at the Spellforged to handle the larger beast while they focused on the smaller horde, and the battle commenced as the large spider scurried around the webbing and seemed to vanish into nothing only to reappear again to strike. The Spellforged hunted the large spider as it attempted to use ambush techniques to wear them down, and it seemed that they would be victorious, but at an inopportune moment another, slightly smaller spider attacked from the aether. It seemed to be a male companion of the much larger female, or at least, one that had been haunting the area around her webbing.

Fortunately, the Spellforged were able to triumph over the spiders and they were able to beat them back and give the rest of the contingent an opportunity to extract the vayemniri scouts that had been entangled in the webbing. After they retreated from the area, it was determined that all the scouts had been successfully recovered and survived, and no losses to the column had been sustained. After the scouts recovered from the paralytic poison of the spiders they were informed of what happened, and they thanked the group repeatedly for the party they had played in ensuring they weren't left behind to their fate.

A few days later, Hostu happened upon a flask that was mostly buried in the dirt when the entourage settled down to camp for the night. She was intrigued and dug the flask up, as it was, at the very least, a curiosity of wars past. However, when she investigated further she soon realized there was a scent of magic about it, and she was able to identify the object as an iron flask. Even further, it had something inside it.

Hostu decided not to confide her finding to anyone and opted to go a small ways away from the camp so that she could investigate what planar being had been captured. When she released it, she realized it was an incredibly indignant steam mephit. She promptly told him that he could leave, but the mephit retorted that nothing was that easy and he fully expected her to pull something over him later, like expect a favor for her freeing him. Hostu insisted that was not the case, and the mephit reiterated that he wouldn't be bound to any favors later, but then flew off, muttering about how he still fully expected some trickery and that he had no idea where he was. The hobgoblin chose to keep the flask, as she believed it would be no small amount of use, and she hoped she could potentially capture something more powerful within it.

Iza decided to approach Arjhani to explain her magics and get his support if the situation evolved where she would need to fully channel her draconic abilities. After all, she knew the vayemniri were not fond of dragons, and she didn't want to cause a panic if the situation was already tense. Arjhani promptly replied that he would be happy to give her his support, though the promise accompanied the clear indication that he expected something in return—specifically her company, given the way he glanced back at his tent. Iza said that she might see him later, but she decided to discuss the offer with Nayiss first. Nayiss was not impressed, and after discussing it, Iza decided that she didn't want to put herself under Arjhani's claws in that way, as he was clearly a manipulator and she imagined the "deal" would just become more and more of a noose around her neck, as Arjhani was also the mate of the Vanquisher and the two of them doubted she really approved of him engaging in such dalliances.

As the company continued to draw closer and closer to Unthalass, tanar'ri became increasingly more prevalent. It started with quasits first—many of which were hunted or chased away if they got too close—but as the numbers increased, larger and more powerful demons also materialized. They could be seen watching or tailing the group, but did not interfere with their progression. However, Nayiss was quick to notice a marilith with a tail that had the coloration of a coral snake as they approached the main gates. They locked eyes, and the marilith seemed to have visually similarities to Nayiss herself, but there did not seem to be any recognition. The marilith simply grinned eagerly, and Nayiss lashed her tail in agitation, as it was clear she had every desire to attack any demon in her vicinity.

Jarkul distracted her with a hand on her shoulder before they continued on.

Failed Diplomacy

As the group entered the city, they saw more and more monstrous creatures that were lurking in the shadows of the ruins—demons and mortals both. They were brought before the god-king Gilgeam as well as his consort, the lamia queen Ereshkigal, a masked man that stood at his side—likely his Chosen, who was infamous in the lands around Tymanther, and a man that appeared to be his vizier. However, it was soon evident that the Unther representatives were not pleased that Uadjit had not come herself, and the situation was tense as Ereshkigal mused that such a circumstance was unfortunate, as the god-king wished to make her a queen. Throughout the discussion, Gilgeam did not speak at all. Instead, he was sitting upon his throne, watching, as Ereshkigal and his vizier spoke on his behalf.

Jarkul did his best to navigate the situation, as ultimately he had come to Unthalass with the voice of Uadjit, and it was under his jurisdiction to discuss the conditions of peace between Unther and Tymanther. Gilgeam whispered something to Ereshkigal, and she announced that the god-king was willing to compromise, but he still wanted a queen from Tymanther. He had decided that, in the absence of Uadjit, he was willing to instead gift the honor to Farideh and Nayiss instead. There would be peace between their nations, and the two women he had chosen would be elevated to his side—an honor in its own right.

As the massive, monstrous god began to loom over the city and monsters started to pour from every shadow, the Spellforged and their allies were forced into a retreat before they were overrun. The artifacts of Gilgeam's Chosen were grabbed in the flight, and they quickly reconvened with Arjhani, who barked at them to get back to Djerad Thymar and inform the Vanquisher about what happened. He would not take any arguments, and Farideh was able to utilize her magic to teleport herself, Mehen, Havilar, Dumuzi, the Spellforged, and their other immediate allies back to Djerad Thymar while Arjhani and the rest of the contingent fought back against the monsters and made for the entrance to the city, gathering up any Untheran refugees they could to flee with them now that the city had turned into mass chaos with the arrival of Typhon.

The Spellforged reappeared in the teleporation chamber in the Verthisathurgiesh enclave, and they took a moment to get their bearings while the twins, Dumuzi, and Mehen rushed off to give a preliminary report. Jarkul focused on touching up some of his injuries, as well as those of the others, and the group briefly spoke about what happened. Hostu explained that she had managed to capture Rule-of-Three, and they could get answers out of him, and it was agreed the cambion would be interrogated after they spoke with the Vanquisher.

Council of Dragons

The Green Wyrmspeaker

Xonthal's Tower

Hostu had immediately returned to her research. However, before long, she received a surprise message in the form of a letter attached to the leg of Odz's owl familiar, Professor Eve Vocation. It explained that he had an opening to steal the blue dragon mask, as Cazra had left it protected in the tower that served as a base of operations, and he had planned to do so. However, it was likely that he would need help with an extraction, and he felt that Hostu and her companions were the ones best equipped to aid him, as a strike at the Blue Sect also served their motivations as well. Hostu promptly entered a panic and quickly informed the rest of the Spellforged, who rapidly began to make preparations to mobilize and travel to the tower that Odz had described: Xonthal's tower, an ancient wizard's tower that was located in the Western Heartlands near Amn.

When they arrived, they could see the tower in the distance at the center of an expansive hedge maze. It seemed that there was no way to actually enter the tower from the outside. There were no doorways of any sort, and when they surveyed the area, all clues pointed to the fact they needed to go through the maze to access the tower. Blaire decided to use speak with plants to converse with the hedges to try and get some clues, but all they were able to provide was that people that entered the maze seemed to disappear after a point, and Hostu's attempts to create a magical map to navigate the maze were completely inconclusive. When the map was formed, the entire area that would be the maze was simply blank. It was evident that the tower itself, and the maze, all seemed to be completely warded against divination magic.

Eventually, their extended presence there drew the attention of some of the locals, who came to investigate what they were doing there. One of the farmers warned them that they shouldn't enter the maze, as adventurers that did never came back out, and some other onlookers had started to make comments and bets on whether or not these adventurers were going to go in and whether they would come out. However, Iza swiftly took charge and dispersed the crowd before it got too big.

The Maze

Given they had taken as many precautions as they could, the Spellforged entered the mysterious maze and were greeted with a surge of magic as the sky and surroundings completely shifted to appear identical no matter where they looked. They could see Xonthal's tower on all sides, and with convenient timing, they saw a hobgoblin man appear on the singular balcony the tower possessed. It was Odz. It seemed like he was able to see them in some capacity, and he called out a greeting and explained that they had to follow the shadows, or failing that, they had to complete the tests the maze created in order to get out of it. He then fled, as blast of fire flew by his head.

Left with all the clues they would get, the Spellforged surveyed the clearing in the maze they had arrived in. At the center was a sundial that had slots of various shapes. There were eight different paths that branched off from the intersection, and the shadow being cast from the sundial pointed in one of the directions. They chose to follow that shadow, as that was the clue that Odz had offered, and upon doing so, they ended up in another almost identical intersection.

However, this time, the shadows pointed down two paths. They decided to see if they could backtrack, and they went back the path they came, but they did not arrive at a sundial intersection. Instead, they were greeted by the site of a pagoda. A man sat within it, and he turned to acknowledge the group, and then gestured to the cushions near him as well as the tea kettle that was brewing. The group was suspicious of the strange man, but eventually a few of them decided to approach. Nayiss opted to try and hold back, and the man watched her briefly, but didn't seem inclined to do anything more. There also didn't seemed to be any way out of the clearing, thus Nayiss eventually relented to approach, though she warned over their telepathic bond that the situation felt like a trap.

Tower Extraction

Aftermath of Xonthal's Tower

Upon returning to Waterdeep, Cazra was taken into custody and the blue dragon mask was delivered to the metallic dragon representative to be returned to Protanther and his council.

Following an interrogation of Odz by Jarkul, Nayiss paid him a visit in private under the guise of wanting to "compare notes" about their different experiences in infiltrating the Cult of the Dragon—while under the effects of a detect thoughts spell. However, the conversation did not remain cordial for long, as the tiefling swiftly began to call out Odz's behavior and implied she knew of the relationship he had fostered with the hobgoblin Adrel before he betrayed her—a relationship that very much mirrored the fondness that Hostu seemed to have for him.

"You are nothing more than a con-man who crossssses rivers on the ruins of the bridges he'ssss burned."

Confused as to how Nayiss knew Odz's relationship with Adrel given she had only witnessed them interact briefly, the tiefling could sense him start to get angry and defensive, his surface thoughts demanding that he didn't have to explain himself to her even as he maintained an illusion of poise, calling out that she seemed like a woman that would have done the same thing. While she didn't refute it, she continued to express that Hostu clearly looked up to him—to the point that the one-way sendings that Odz had then used for his own means had been more of an outlet for the young hobgoblin than any of the conversations she had with the party had been, and also that Hostu had been having a hard time. One where no one in the party itself had been able to reach her. She also stated that, ultimately, neither him nor herself got to choose the role that Hostu had placed upon them, even though Odz's surface thoughts stated that he had never asked for this.

Nayiss concluded the conversation with a statement that if Odz chose to stab Hostu in the back, Nayiss would then stab him in his, and—picking up on surface thoughts that were now debating killing Nayiss before she could kill him—added that if he wished to assassinate her he would need to be quick because he wouldn't get a second shot. Odz correctly identified that Nayiss was utilizing some amount of telepathy, given she had ceased hiding it, and she confirmed, stating that he had been given a second chance to live, and it would be best he didn't squander it.

Odz had ceased actively thinking as she left to ensure Nayiss could not get any more of his surface thoughts, but she had left the impression she wanted.

However, simultaneously to Nayiss leaving, Hostu was struggling in her own room in the same inn. Overwhelmed by the accusations Adrel had thrown at her, and a conflux of intense emotions, in frustration she punched a bookcase in her room and promptly set it ablaze with an explosive inferno that began to spread. Hostu fled.

Nayiss, who was leaving as the explosion happened, as well as Odz, immediately joined the guards trying to find Hostu. However, unable to locate her, Nayiss instead reached out to Jarkul and they rendezvoused with Laeral Silverhand. Hostu was briefly apprehended by the griffon cavalry, but instead of surrender, she chose to continue running, even after being given assurance that no one had been killed in the explosion. She managed to make her way into the early levels of Undermountain.

Utilizing the power of the Sisters, Mystra manifested to Hostu and tried to reach out to her—assuring her that everyone made mistakes, and this one did not herald the end. However, Hostu was still panicked. She insisted she knew what type of goddess she wanted to be, and that there was nothing that represented true freedom. Everything was a cage, or a chain, and she wanted to tear them all down. Fight tyranny. Tear down rulers. Ensure freedom reigned. She never wanted to be put in a cage again.

Hostu apologized to Mystra, but told her that she had to go back on their deal. Mystra tried to reason with her, and emphasized how much the order of the world could be upheaved if a new greater deity and portfolio were to suddenly manifest in the Weave so soon after the Spellplague. She extended a hand to Hostu, but Hostu was unwilling to listen and Mystra saw no other choice but to sever Hostu's connection from the Weave. Her manifestation faded as Hostu rapidly tried to conjure the incomplete ritual she had been working on to change her into an outsider.

At that moment, Laeral teleported onto the scene along with Nayiss and Jarkul. They also tried to reason with Hostu and reach out to her, but Hostu chose to push through the ritual with the last fragments of her magic, as she was terrified that she would be taken away in chains. The ritual took hold, but not in the way she desired. She was rapidly mutated by the fel essence that she had taken from Rule-of-Three and became a monstrous half-fiend that promptly attacked the group that had arrived. The trio fought back and were able to wear Hostu down.

When she was left panting and severely wounded, Nayiss asked Laeral if there was anything that could be done, but upon scanning over the research, the Chosen of Mystra stated that reversing whatever had happened was beyond her. Nayiss approached and laid a hand on Hostu's arm.

"You were never alone."

The tiefling intended compassionate words to be the last thing Hostu heard before she was executed. However, right as the crossbow clicked, time froze, and Tasha materialized with an intention to make good on the favor she had promised Hostu. With the aid of a time stop spell, she swept Hostu away to her realm of Prismeer. When the spell faded, Hostu was simply gone, and Laeral quickly sensed that powerful magics had been at play. While it was unclear who had interfered, Jarkul had a suspicion that it had been Tasha given Hostu's previous contact. Regardless, the trio recognized that nothing else could be done.

Soon after, there was news of an altercation between Odz and Drahl in the street, and Odz left, likely partially out of fear that Nayiss would come for him. Drahl cursed Hostu's name and stated that if Hostu had decided to not help the hobgoblins, then he would pick up where she had left off, so he also set off. A few days later, Nayiss received a letter from Odz via the claws of his familiar, which simply stated that maybe neither of them were what Hostu needed.

Amn's Council of Six

Resolution of Helm's Hold

Given the drama that surrounded Hostu's departure, Odd chose not to ask any of the Spellforged to accompany her when the Raven Circle alerted her to the restless dead that had started to cause problems in the catacombs under Helm's Hold. Given the Raven Queen's distaste for undead, and the thread they posed, it was enough to draw the attention of the Circle and earn their involvement.

The Spellforged utilized griffons in order to ascend to Skyreach Castle and investigate why Blagothkus had arrived over Waterdeep. Upon their arrival, they first spoke with the frost giant Harshnag, who had returned to Waterdeep with Blagothkus. Harshnag explained that the Ordning of the giants had been shattered, which was why he had left to investigate, and he felt it important to seek guidance at a sacred place of giant kind known as the Eye of the All-Father—a temple that was believed to be a place where giant kind could commune with their gods and beseech their wisdom. However, Blagothkus disagreed.

Upon meeting with Blagothkus himself, the Spellforged found him playing chess with an older halfling man and his dog, who introduced himself as Hobart Boldmeadow and his trusty companion, Pepper. It seemed he had proven delightful company and Blagothkus opted to give him a ride. Lewis, however, recognized the man as the leader of a fairly well-known mercenary group. He had vanished from the public eye and it had been largely believed he had passed away given his age, but there he was, whole and hearty. Blagothkus greeted the Spellforged heartily, and everyone was introduced to Hobart.

Mission to Thay

The Spellforged gathered the following morning for their departure to Thay, however it quickly became apparent that Eo Ashmajiir was not a morning person, as she did not materialize until well after lunch. During the period they spent waiting, Iza opted to use legend lore to investigate the realm of Prismeer, as it was the realm that Nayiss had overhead Tasha refer to as her realm.

"Whether hither, thither, or yon, Prismeer is a place where your greatest dreams come true. Zybilna's land of wonder and wishes cares not from which light your sky shines bright, only that your hearts are filled with joy and delight."

However, eventually, Eo made her appearance, and she swiftly teleported herself and the group to Thay. They arrived at Nethwatch Keep in the Tharch of Lapendrar. There was no sun. Instead, the clouds loomed and cast the entire city into dim, arid light—a safe haven for vampires and the various other undead that could be found in the Thayan frontier. A group of vampire spawn soldiers met them and introduced themselves as the guard that would be escorting them to meet the tharchion. It was clear the Spellforged were unwelcome in Thay. The citizens they passed regarded them with hatred and suspicion, as they were immediately recognized as representatives from the Sword Coast.

A young boy abruptly broke away from the crowd to charge them and threw rocks and whatever else he could get his hands on. He shouted that they wouldn't hurt his father, as he wouldn't allow them, and the group glimpsed the presence of pronounced canines that indicated he was likely a dhampir. The vampire spawn around the Spellforged swiftly intervened to deflect the child away, and his wrist was swiftly grabbed by a woman in heavy red robes with a bald head that displayed the tattoos of a red wizard. She apologized for her son's behavior, and swiftly scolded him as she began to hurry him away. Lewis, however, called after him that they had no intention, nor desire, to harm his father, but it was evident the boy had no desire to listen as he was pulled away.

One of the vampire spawn also apologized to the Spellforged, and assured them that the boy would be taught, and no such outburst would happen again. They continued, unbothered, to the sanctum where they were introduced to Tharchion Eseldra Yeth.

The Shattered Ordning

Upon returning to Waterdeep, the Spellforged opted to reconvene with Harshnag in order to slip away and try to find the Eye of the All-Father without Blagothkus's knowledge. Nayiss briefly returned to the palace to inform Jarkul of the fall out with the Thay dealings and also of the nightmare she had while in Thayan custody: namely, the fact that she knew, without a doubt, it was the demon Shaktari that was telling her to seek her out. Jarkul was concerned by the development, as it appeared the conspiracy around his beloved's bloodline and birth was escalating, and he expressed he would try to look more into the Queen of Mariliths where he could.

Nayiss assured him she was only informing him because he wanted to know but she didn't want him to overwork himself, and she jokingly assigned Rikka to keep an eye on him. They shared a small moment of affection before Nayiss returned to join her fellows at the Yawning Portal, which was where they were meeting Alustriel Silverhand in order to get passage to one of her teleportation circles in the Silver Marches—closer to where the Eye of the All-Father was said to be in the Spine of the World. Odd seemed to be very quiet and pensive following the events in Thay, but the otherwise generally casual attitude the group seemed to have in response to being mentally tortured was a bit much for Blaire, who demanded to know how they could be so calm about being functionally nothing more than expendable adventurers in the face of everything. There was a brief discussion, where both Lewis and Nayiss acknowledged it wasn't a life for everyone, but it was something that needed to be done, and Alustriel arrived in time to assure Blaire that there were people on the Council that did not view the Spellforged as simply expendable—herself included. However, Blaire decided to go on a walk to clear her mind, and took Hobart's dog, Pepper, with her for company.

While walking, Blaire encountered her father, who was out with her niece, Lida, in the streets of Waterdeep. It was an awkward encounter, as Blaire had clearly been crying, and her father tried to avoid saying that he noticed as he was unsure of what to say, but Lida asked why she looked sad. Blaire brushed off the question, but Lida ran over to say hi to Pepper, and it seemed that she was able to actually understand what Pepper was saying, which was yet another sign of her growing druidic abilities, and also a reminder of the fact Lida, who Blaire's father doted upon, was very similar to the daughter that he had effectively rejected.

They parted ways with more guilt ladled on Lord Silmerhelve, and a continually bittersweet realization that Lida was getting all the love that she deserved—even though Blaire was denied it.

Upon Blaire's return, Alustriel bid the Spellforged good luck and teleported them and Harshnag to one of her circles in Silverymoon. When they arrived, they were greeted by Remallia's son, Arthius Ulbrinter, who they had met briefly at the funeral of his father, but had not had much time to truly meet. He gave them a warm welcome, and briefly spoke with Iza about sights in Silverymoon before he directed them to the best path to the outskirts. The city itself was beautiful, and Iza especially was amazed by the architecture as well as the harmonious presence of nature within and around it.

Harshnag found his bearings so he could start to lead the group into the mountains, but Blaire used wind walk to cut down on some travel time. Able to communicate through Iza's telepathic bond, the party made good time as they set off into the Spine of the World with Harshnag's cloud in the lead. They chose to stop a half day or so from the supposed site of the Eye so that they could rest and approach at their best, and Iza erected a magnificent mansion. While it took some clever squeezing and contorting, they were able to finagle Harshnag inside so that he could rest in the safety of the magical manor.

After everyone got settled, Iza went to check on Blaire, who had made her way back outside into the snow and was sitting in it and staring at the sky as a large bear. Iza tromped through the snow to her side, and she asked how Blaire was doing. Blaire admitted that she was quite overwhelmed by everything and was somewhat baffled by how everyone could just be okay with what was going on. Iza gentle corrected her that everyone was not okay, even if they tried to appear like they were, and she admitted that she had a similar reaction to Blaire's at first... and ultimately the approach of just pushing forward hadn't sat well with her either. At least, not at first. She continued on to say that only really Nayiss was truly fully in her element, but Nayiss had lived her entire life like this.

Most other people didn't.

They talked and commentated on the other members of the party for a bit longer before Blaire decided to go back into the mansion, the reassurance that she wasn't alone in her feelings doing wonders to help her pull herself back together. She was still in the form of a bear, and she decided to rush at the heated pool that Nayiss happened to be lounging in and did a bear-sized cannonball, much to the tiefling's amusement.

The Eye of the All-Father

The Spellforged were confronted with a massive doorway upon reaching the location of the Eye, and there was an air of unease as it appeared the area had been recently disturbed. Upon creeping into the doorway, they were greeting with pitch blackness and silence, though as they braved further into the dark, Nayiss's missing fingers started to burn painfully, indicating the presence of fiends. She hastily warned the rest of the group via their telepathic link, but torches in the hallway flared and an ambush was launched.

A massive pillar was dropped from the ceiling of the corridor—an ancient trap—and all the Spellforged were able to avoid being crushed, but their group was effectively split as several white abishai and monstrous draconians began to attack alongside a few token Cult of the Dragon members and a dragonborn cleric of Tiamat mounted upon a redspawn firebelcher. Hobart, Nayiss, and Lewis were trapped on the side with the cultists, while the rest of the group were on the other side. But not for long.

Blaire used her druidic magics to transmute the stone pillar into thick, soupy mud as the battle commenced, which allowed the rest of the group to fight. Iza cast a spell that bathed the majority of the corridor in searing light, and the rest of the enemies were swiftly executed—though not before one of the golden draconians managed to temporarily magically dominate Odd's mind and force her to attack Lewis.

The dragonborn cleric was determined, and charged down Nayiss even as she was cut and battered. Harshnag reached in and managed to grab the cleric in order to pull her off his allies, but before he could finish her off, Nayiss utilized suggestion to compel the cleric to monologue about why the Cult was present, which ultimately revealed that Severin Silrajin would soon return as they were attempting to use the Eye of the All-Father as a means to curry favor with the Doom of the Desert, Iymrith, and sway her to the side of the Cult of the Dragon.

Harshnag finished off the cleric, and Iza recognized the name Iymrith as belonging to an infamous, powerful blue greatwyrm. The group realized that they were on a time limit, as it was only a matter of time before Severin returned—likely in the company of this blue greatwyrm as well as possibility the red greatwyrm, Klauth.

The group continued into the central atrium of the temple, where they were confronted by a large statue of god Annam surrounded by statues of the other types of giant (his sons), all raising their weapons up to him. Lewis recognized the scene from his premonition, and they quickly recognized that the statue of the frost giant was missing the axe he was supposed to be wielding. The north of the chamber was crumbled and destroyed, the portal on the other side of the room was simply a misty archway with empty runes, and the doorways to the south were frozen over completely.

The group decided that they likely needed to find the missing weapon and return it to activate the portal, and Iza summoned her draconic spirit, Idalaska, to breathe fire and melt the ice on the doorways to the south so that they could investigate. Beyond, they found a massive, dark feast hall with rotten food and bones left forgotten on the massive plates and goblets left strewn about. The room was illuminated only by a massive fire on the far end of it, and the light of it revealed a massive axe leaning against a slab... with a large remorhaz sleeping coiled around it.

Nayiss, Lewis, and Hobart chose to sneak forward to try and get into a better position to ambush the remorhaz so that the axe could be retrieved, but as they drew closer to the massive greatwyrm skull that loomed as a trophy near the fire, they heard the sound of soft chittering. Further investigation revealed a nest of several remorhaz babies sleeping within the skull. The discovery was relayed to the others over the telepathic bond, and it was decided that they couldn't murder a nest of babies in good conscience. Iza instead suggested using Idalaska to distract them and give Harshnag an opening to run forward and grab the axe. The scouting crew looped around to the far side of the room to get on the other side of the fire—away from the nest of babies—and Idalaska landed on the skull and made a show of sneaking up on the young.

The slumbering remorhaz was alerted by the scraping of claws, but so was the actual mother: a massive, albino remorhaz that emerged from the heart of the burning fire with a screech. It seemed the remorhaz coiled around the axe was the smaller male.

Idalaska took off into the air and the mother remorahz surged after it. She burst up beneath a table and threw it up at the summoned creature, successfully knocking it out of the sky as the young began to swarm. Meanwhile, Hobart darted under the scurrying legs of the male and hid beneath the axe so that Harshnag could extract him with it when the giant arrived. Iza's draconic spirit managed to get back up into the sky, and Nayiss used a scroll of fog cloud to conjure a thick cloud of fog around the head of the mother remorahz to further distract it. Idalaska used this opportunity to breathe fire into the cloud and further harass the mother remorahz, ensuring that she could continue pursuing the draconic spirit instead of any other noises.

Harshnag swept in and grabbed the axe (and Hobart) and started to retreat with it while Odd worked to gather some heavy chairs and other debris to block the doors. The male remorahz and one of the babies tried to pursue, but the combined efforts of some poisoned pebbles in a sling from Hobart and some strikes from Lewis left them stunned and unable to do so. The party managed to escape the feast hall just as the mother remorahz was able to rip Idalaska out of the sky. They slammed the door shut and barricaded it, and the albino remorahz attempted to break down the door several times.

After a long pause, there was one more loud SLAM before she opted to give up as the doorways had been successfully barricaded. The group breathed a sigh of relief before heading back to the central chamber.

Harshnag scaled the frost giant statue and slid the axe into place. The party waited for something to happen, but nothing did.

Lewis suggested that Harshnag hold up the axe and say the word "Ise", as that was the affiliated word used in his premonition, and Harshnag complied. He pointed the axe around at multiple places and kept repeating the word, but again nothing happened.

Finally, he climbed down, and at another suggestion from Lewis, instead touched the axe to the corresponding rune on the door and said "Ise" once more. This time, the portal activated. Harshnag urged the rest of the group to go through while he stayed behind to keep an eye out for the return of Severin or other cult members. Lewis tried to encourage him to join them, but he insisted that it was not his place, and also pointed out he seemed to be the only one able to reactivate the portal if it closed.

The party relented, and stepped through the roiling mists into the inner sanctum that held the Eye.

Inside, they saw the body of a young cloud giant, long dead, and partially frozen over. They came to the conclusion it was likely Blagothkus's son, but it looked as if his head had been bashed on one of the rocks.

Lewis took a step forward, and something started to stir: a ghost that rose from the corpse. He was confused at the presence of small folk in the inner chamber of the eye, but Lewis explained they had come to seek guidance and answers to the shattering of the Ordning. They then mentioned Blagothkus, and darkness and anger washed over the spirit's face. He was, in fact, Blagothkus's son, Eigeron, and he explained that he and his father, like many others, had come to the Eye to seek wisdom.

The oracle told them that a great upheaval would upset the balance of power in the world, giving all giants the opportunity to win the respect of their gods and bring glory to their race. However, when Blagothkus asked how he could gain the gods' favor, the oracle told him that he could never impress the gods enough, and then advised Eigeron to step out from beneath his father's "dark shadow". Blagothkus was enraged, and a fight broke out. In the scuffle, Eigeron was shoved, and his head connected with a rock, killing him.

Blagothkus had claimed the Eye was cursed in order to cover up his sin of killing his son, rather than face justice for the act.

Eigeron beseeched the group to ensure his father would be brought to justice, and he offered his equipment to help their journey after Lewis promised they would. Grateful for their aid, Eigeron then explained how to use the Eye's power, and that six questions could be asked before the divine oracle was drained until the next dawn.

Lewis stepped forward to ask questions of the Eye, and in the process, it was revealed that Annam the All-Father himself was the one that broke the Ordning in order to rouse his children from their complacency. Other questions also revealed that Queen Neri had been killed, and King Hekaton's whereabouts were unknown, though his daughter Serissa had a clue to his location and she needed their help. Furthermore, the dragon Iymrith had been involved in the death of Neri and the disappearance of Hekaton, and that she had disguised herself as the storm giant advisor, Imeria.

At that moment, the group received a warning from Harshnag over their telepathic link. There was a commotion, and it seemed Severin had returned.

The group urged Harshnag to enter the chamber and retrieve the body of Eigeron so that they could teleport out of the eye, but Iza sensed the chamber was warded against teleportation in or out. Instead, she cast plane shift and prepared to release it as soon as the group left the chamber with Eigeron's body in tow. However, upon stepping out of the portal, they came face-to-face with Severin. In his company was the red dragonborn with a withered hand, Arkhan, as well as a tortle with a dark, spiked shell and staff with skulls upon it, a massive, black-furred minotaur with two flaming blades, and a large draco hydra. Arkhan immediately identified that Iza was holding magic with which to escape and warned Severin of it. Severin greeted the Spellforged and expressed that simply would like to speak, though given the tenseness of the situation, it was unlikely to be an amicable dealing.

The group decided to not humor such a thing, and Iza released the spell. In fury, and recognizing the group had already utilized the Eye, Arkhan chose to hurl a spell at the statue of Annam and bring the entire temple down. Harshnag cried out in horror, and Severin also seemed to be angered by the action, but the two groups escaped before they were trapped within the cave in.

Aftermath of the Eye

The Spellforged arrived in the court of Lady Rain in Arborea, much to the gathered court's surprise. Guards immediately started to assemble, but they were dispersed by Diarmuid as he and Lady Rain recognized several amongst the group that had appeared—notably Iza. Iza explained what had happened, and Lady Rain immediately invited the group to rest and recoup, which in turn gave her, Diarmuid, and Iza time to catch up. The group had also discussed the fact that Iza was nearing the strength she needed to resurrect her father, and by extension, could likely attempt to resurrect Eigeron as well in order for him to bring his father to justice himself. Lady Rain offered to keep Eigeron's body safe in Arborea until the time was right, as the fact the Spellforged knew of Blagothkus's sin needed to be kept from him.

Given his age, Hobart decided to try ambrosia, and several young satyrs eagerly gathered around to see his response as he could "drop dead at any moment". The ambrosia is as delicious as it was described to be, and after savoring it, Hobart looks at the empty vessel that contained the celestial liquid.

"I wish everythin' could taste as good as that."

Unbeknownst to anyone around him, even Hobart himself, the last wish in his blade was enacted, and he felt a small tickle in his nose. Amazingly, after he went to partake of the other foods on offer, they were just as satisfying as the ambrosia had been—much to the disbelief of the curious onlookers.

After a few hours, Iza gathered up the Spellforged from their various entertainments and arranged their passage back to Waterdeep. Given Harshnag's size, she thought it best to warn Remallia they were coming, and she plane shifted them back to the High Harper's teleportation circle. Harshnag was fortunately able to leave the mansion with minimal damage, and the group dispersed to rest for the evening.

That night, Nayiss had a third nightmare that was more eerily lucid than the others. She was once again confronted with the endless blood seas of Vudra, and she was on a dark-sand beach surrounded by the corpses of her enemies. She herself was soaked in their blood. But everything was motionless. No other enemies emerged from the thick trees, and she was her, not the massive visage of Shaktari as she had taken on in the prior nightmares.

She chose to walk the blood-soaked beaches, alert for any movement, and in her idle wanderings she was drawn to stone stairs carved into a cliffside. She ascended them, and came to the edge of a cliff that looked out over the massive, dark oceans. Beneath the black-red ichor, two massive, red eyes peered up at her. Shaktari. She spoke with a voice that seemed to come from the very essence of the Abyss. Asking who Nayiss was. Musing that Nayiss was the presence that she had felt. Observing that Nayiss could hear her.

Nayiss avoided specifying what her relation to the demon lord was, but turned the topic to Reluhantis. Red lightning crackled across the sky as Shaktari's eyes narrowed in fury at the name. It was the name of a traitor. Nayiss asked if Reluhantis had been the one to imprison her, and the demon lord simply responded that Reluhantis wished she was strong enough to do so.

"I am not sssso easily chained."

The conversation continued, and Shaktari confirmed that Nayiss was bearing witness to Vudra. Nayiss asked what she wanted, and Shaktari replied that she wanted what everyone wanted: Freedom. Blood. Vengeance.

Nayiss asked if she knew the god Typhon, and once again, red lightning pierced the skies as Shaktari said that he once knew her. But not anymore. Once again she repeated she was not so easily chained, as well as an offer. After all, if Nayiss sought her out, they could ensure Reluhantis was destroyed. Nayiss said that that would need to wait to be seen, and Shaktari said that she was older than the world. She had seen more than gods, and her mind spanned time beyond time. Waiting was nothing. This time she said we are not so easily chained.

She then asked what Nayiss wanted, and Nayiss smirked, and repeated back the same statement that Shaktari had used.

"Freedom. Blood. And vengeance."

A smile spread beneath the burning red eyes under the waves, and the sea began to churn. A vaguely feminine, humanoid shape that seemed to be made of the thick, blood-like tar slithered up onto the cliff and extended a hand out to Nayiss. After a moment of hesitation, Nayiss reached out and took the hand, and was promptly pulled with the figure off the cliff and into the sea. However, she did not start suffocating. It was if she was part of the sea itself, and it started to churn and form into a massive tidal wave. The wave barreled through Vudra and the other layers of the Abyss, rending destruction in its wake layer by layer until a massive palace loomed before them. The wave flooded the streets, and drowned any that could not evade its wake.

The wave burst through the gates, and Nayiss saw a dark-skinned man sitting on a massive thrown: the demon lord, Graz'zt. Immediately, a large marilith put herself between the wave and the demon lord. It was like looking in a mirror, her features distinctly similar to Nayiss's own. Reluhantis. As she prepared to try and cut through the wave, there was recognition in her eyes, though it was unclear if she recognized Shaktari, Nayiss, or both.

"I know you."

The wave crashed.

Nayiss awoke from the nightmare with a start, and her missing fingers were burning as if in the presence of a fiend, but the pain subsided quickly as she took a moment to calm herself in the darkness. Jarkul was still sleeping soundly next to her, and a quick glance out the window showed that it was very early in the morning; only the faintest traces of dawn touched the horizon over the sea. After a brief moment of hesitation, she reached over and gentle shook Jarkul awake to tell him about the nightmare. Upon hearing that Nayiss had seemingly spoken directly to Shaktari at length, any grogginess left the dragonborn's eyes. He asked what she needed from him, and she asked where he kept the box that contained the Lash of Shadows—the whip that contained the marilith Sizlifeth. He was caught off-guard, but showed her, and Nayiss took out the whip.

Sizlifeth mused that she was wondering when Nayiss would come back to talk to her, and Nayiss asked more about Shaktari and her relationship with Reluhantis. The marilith snapped that Reluhantis was a traitor and a snake and that she wanted the bitch dead, but when Nayiss tried to press for more, Sizlifeth returned that such an exchange needed to go both ways. She wanted something too. Nayiss smirked.

"You offered before that you wanted to be wielded. But you're a marilith. You undersssstand the importance of one's weaponsss. And unfortunately using you would be a bit of a downgrade for me."

Sizlifeth hissed, clearly offended, but was willing to compromise. If Nayiss was planning on destroying Reluhantis, all she wanted was to be present. Bringing the whip along was something Nayiss was willing to do. Satisfied with the deal, Sizlifeth explained that Reluhantis was someone who won. She was one of Shaktari's first daughters, gifted with powers beyond those of most mariliths, and she was an ingrate that turned on their queen for her own ambitions. She and her sister both. Reluhantis had actually been responsible for Sizlifeth's destruction during the revolt, along with the destruction of many other mariliths that were loyal to their queen, and it was only because her essence was pulled into the whip that her own existence was preserved.

The marilith then asked why Nayiss was suddenly asking so many questions about Shaktari, and Nayiss admitted she had spoken with the Queen of Poison in her dreams. Sizlifeth was immediately intrigued and honed in on Nayiss to examine her more closely through the eyes of the snakes that made up the whip. Then there was recognition, and excitement as she mused that Shaktari had chosen her.

"She has chossssen you as her key. What doorway you are meant to unlock... that... that is what remainssss to be seen."

Now entirely invested in Nayiss, Sizlifeth said that she could help her further, and produced poison from the fangs of the snakes. She explained that if Nayiss wished to use her own weapons, she could provide poisons to make them more potent. As long as she was kept by her side. Nayiss agreed, and Sizlifeth continued to chitter in excitement about her queen and her queen's machinations.

Jarkul, who had been listening to the entire conversation due to the nature of how Silifeth spoke through the snake heads, asked if Nayiss was sure about this. Nayiss said she was, and he accepted her decision before pulling her into an embrace. He said that he would listen for any news from the Abyss that would indicate that the tidal wave Nayiss had described was something that actually occurred. Including, much to his chagrin, interfacing more with Tasha given her connections to Graz'zt and her expertise with demonology. Nayiss suggested they try to get a few more hours of sleep, and Jarkul agreed after glancing as the barest traces of dawn at the horizon. They went back to bed, where he spent time holding his beloved and listening to a full explanation of the dream before they eventually dozed off again.

The Maelstrom

The following morning, the group gathered and made arrangements to once again ascend to Skyreach Castle to meet with Blagothkus. He was pleased to see them and assumed they had given up on the pursuit of the Eye as even Harshnag had managed to hide his nervousness. Eager to get moving, he retrieved the conch that could take them to the Maelstrom and blew it, which immediately teleported them all to the entry hall of the underwater castle. Several members of the Spellforged had to deal with the abrupt change in pressure, and Nayiss asked if the conch was one way. Blagothkus confirmed it was, though he had faith the party could get themselves back, or the storm giants could arrange for their return to the surface.

However, there was no one there to greet them. Which Blagothkus expressed was strange, as when he had arrived before there had been at least guards. The group observed there was the sound of music deeper in the castle, and Blagothkus opted to lead them further inside. Upon entering the great hall, they are greeted by the sight of two beautiful storm giants entertaining several other giant petitioners. The giantess with darker hair was singing, while the other with white hair was tapping on the corals on the back of a massive crab, which in turn produced a beautiful melody. The other giants seemed to be enraptured, especially the fire giant woman, who was fixated on the dark-haired singer.

Upon noticing the new arrivals, the giantesses ended their song and approached to demand why Blagothkus had brought puny small folk to the domain of the storm giants. Blagothkus greeted the giantesses as the beautiful sister princesses, Mirran and Nym, and stated that he was there to speak with Hekaton about the status of the Ordning—a very important topic indeed. The sisters expressed surprise that he didn't know, and explained that their mother had been killed, and their father was missing. For the time being, their youngest sister, Serissa, was on the wyrmskull throne. Mirran started to get upset, and Blagothkus apologized and expressed his condolences, and asked to speak with their sister instead. The sisters scoffed and expressed the pressure of leadership was a lot for their sister and she had a lot she was dealing with. The other giant lords present were still waiting to speak with her about what she planned on doing about the Ordning: the cloud giant count Vaal, the fire giant duchess Tartha, the frost giant jarl Hellenhild, and the stone giant thane Braxow.

The sisters then said that the small folk could be taken to the guest quarters to wait, but Hobart opted to appeal to their vices as he noticed they seemed to be pleased their sister was struggling, and subtly emphasized that the news they brought was very important and would likely cause more stress. He and Nayiss both littered in some compliments to sell it. Finally, the sisters exchanged a look and said it really wasn't any of their business who spoke with Serissa. After all, she was the regent. Not them. The group could go try and meet with her themselves.

There was an outcry amongst the other giant lords, and some verbal scuffling between Blagothkus and Vaal (including some jabs about how Vaal didn't have a sky castle, and Vaal shot back that he had yet to acquire a dead wife), and some posturing at Harshnag from Hellenhild as she wouldn't tolerate being sidestepped by a clanless upstart. However, Harshnag proclaimed he was the wielder of Gurt, and displayed the axe, which earned some begrudging acknowledgement. When the Spellforged vouched for his prowess in combat, the jarl reluctantly stepped down. Tartha, meanwhile, got fiery for a moment, but was quickly soothed when Mirran told her sister that they should return to their performance.

Blagothkus led the group to the doors to the throne room, where they were confronted by two hill giant guards named Tug and Cog. They demanded to know where the group's escort was, as they didn't know they were coming, but Blagothkus insisted that Serissa was expecting them and they should have been informed. There was confusion between the two hill giants, but they eventually decided they believed Blagothkus and would "make the door happen."

The Spellforged, Blagothkus, and Harshnag stepped into the throne room and the doors closed behind them as they were confronted with Serissa, as well as a storm giant man—her uncle Uthor—and a storm giant woman—the advisor, Imeria. With her special eyes, Blaire immediately saw the true guise of the massive blue greatwyrm, and informed the rest of the Spellforged via their telepathic link. Imeria demanded to know who had allowed the group into the room, and why he had brought small folk into their court. Blagothkus hastily stepped forward to defuse the situation. He explained he was here to speak with Serissa about the Ordning, and that they brought news from the surface world.

The exchange went back and forth for a moment, and Nayiss used the opportunity to reach out to Serissa with the message spell so that she could exchange words telepathically. She explained that they had visited the Eye of the All-Father, and they had information that was valuable to her—including information on someone she couldn't trust. Serissa was taken aback by the voice in her mind, but after some hesitation, she announced that she wanted to speak with the small folk in private. Uthor expressed his concern, as it had been small folk that had taken her mother Neri, but Serissa insisted and said that if any harm came to her, Uthor and Imeria would be nearby. Imeria, similarly, was not keen on the situation, but stepped down when Serissa made her will known.

The Spellforged accompanied Serissa to a private meeting chamber, and they explained what the Eye had told them—including that Imeria was actually the Doom of the Desert, Iymrith. At first, Serissa was in shock, unable to believe that her family's closest friend and advisor was actually a dragon, and Iza expressed that, if Serissa was willing, Iza could use magic to allow her to see through the dragon's glamour. Lewis also spoke up and said that they wanted to help her find her father, and that the Eye had told them Serissa had a clue to his location. This also took Serissa completely by surprise, as she admitted that she had told no one about the clue she had found, not even her uncle Uthor, so there was no way the Spellforged could have known unless they had gone to the Eye exactly as they said. Such a reveal added a new level of credibility to their statements, and the reality of the situation began to fully sink in.

Blaire then expressed that, if she desired it, she had the ability to resurrect her mother. However, the ritual was expensive, and it wasn't something they could afford on their own. Serissa demanded to know what was needed, and Blaire explained the sheer amount of diamonds such a ritual would take. Serissa admitted that there were not enough diamonds in Maelstrom, but if the small folk was willing to take treasures to the surface to exchange for them, she could provide them with the funds to do so. The party agreed they would do so, and Blaire and Lewis offered to say behind as collateral while the rest of the party returned to the surface to get the diamonds that were needed. Iza then cast true seeing on Serissa before they returned to the throne room.

Serissa returned to Imeria and Uthor and informed them that the Spellforged had the power to resurrect Queen Neri, and had offered to perform the ritual to do so. True to the party's word, she did see Imeria for what she actually was, but managed to keep her expression neutral even as she was faced with the guise of the massive blue dragon. Uthor was cautious, but quietly in awe, while Imeria retorted that the small folk couldn't be trusted and demanded to know what their catch was. Serissa replied that it was a ritual that was expensive, but she felt it was worth it if it meant her mother could be returned. Imeria suggested that the small folk could simply be trying to con the storm giants out of their treasures, but Serissa stated she was not hearing any of it as she had decided to trust the small folk, and some of them were going to be remaining behind as collateral anyway.

As Serissa left the throne room to begin hunting down treasures that could be traded with the surface world, Lewis caught Imeria look hungrily at the wyrmskull throne.

The Spellforged helped appraise the different treasures throughout the treasury and in other parts of the castle, and selected pieces that would be easy to transport, as many of the most valuable artifacts were massive in scope. The ornate bedframe in King Hekaton's bedchambers could have funded the resurrection on its own. They were also shown other intriguing artifacts, such as an apparatus of kwalish. Serissa informed her sisters of what was going on and that they would need to part with some of their own treasures, and at first Mirran especially expressed outrage, but was swiftly talked down by Serissa, who was upset that her sister would put so much value on material wealth that could be replaced over the return of their own mother.

Once adequate treasures were gathered, Nayiss, Iza, and Odd took off back to the surface to arrange for them to be traded for diamonds. Serissa eagerly showed Blaire and Lewis around the castle and invited them to stay with her in her tower until their comrades returned, where she asked them stories about the surface world as her mother had taken her to deal with friendly small folk when she was younger.

Meanwhile, Hobart took to snooping around Imeria's office. He was able to follow her into the room and sat for hours while she worked, hoping to get any insight into her plans. Unfortunately, Imeria worked largely in silence, though as she rose to leave, she started speaking. She claimed she knew there was someone there, and mused on whether it was the four-armed tiefling or the little Hin as they were the most likely to be snooping around. She started to approach a barrel, and asked what they thought they were trying to find. Then she broke the barrel and sent the salt inside it spilling everywhere.

No one was there. Hobart was behind a different barrel.

Imeria scoffed and gave a final look around the room before she left and called for a guard to clean up the salt that was spilled. Blaire happened to materialize as the giant was considering the best way to clean up the salt pile, and she offered to sweep it up herself—as long as she could keep it. The guard let her at it, and Hobart slipped out of the room as if nothing happened.

In Waterdeep, the other members of the Spellforged had a fair amount of success in trading the giant treasures for diamonds. Nayiss was utilizing her mutagens to add to her charm, but Jarkul noticed a difference in the markings that materialized when they were in her system—coral snake markings that were spreading up her tail. He called her attention to them, and Nayiss took a moment to stare at the new development, before she opted to deal with it later and instead focus on selling the objects. They managed to get the diamonds they needed in good time.

However, upon the return of the rest of the group to the Maelstrom with the diamonds, Mirran was there to greet them. She requested to look at the diamonds, as only the best were acceptable to be used in the raising of her mother, and without waiting for agreement, she leaned forward as if she was going to retrieve them. However, while doing so, she produced a small knife and slit one of her wrists while crying out for the guards—claiming that the small folk had attempted to assassinate her.

Nayiss was somewhat incensed that the guards would believe such a sloppy performance, but opted to remain defensive instead of drawing her weapons, while Iza approached Mirran and used her magical abilities to radiate an aura that could compel those within it to blurt out truths. She demanded to know what happened, and Mirran spat that she knew what happened, as the group had just tried to assassinate her, and she once more called for the guards that were flocking into the room. However, compelled by the magic, she blurted out the demand that they should:

"Kill them! Kill them all before my sister arrives!"

Which was a notably strange thing to say. However, it did not stop the guards and petitioners from continuing to come to her aid.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party were alerted to the commotion when Uthor arrived to attend to the safety of Serissa. He called that the small folk needed to be put into custody due to an attack on Mirran, which was apparently vouched for by Nym. However, Hobart, Blaire, and Lewis claimed that such a thing was ridiculous, and Serissa agreed, as she had determined she had no reason to distrust the small folk. Insistent on examining the situation herself, Serissa ignored Uthor's demand, and instead took the small folk with her to address whatever situation had arisen.

The giant lords and guards continued to rally around Mirran, but Serissa and the others arrived quickly and an altercation between Mirran and Serissa began. Imeria and Nym also arrived with them, and Blagothkus and Harshnag finally made their way on scene. Iza looked worn for wear, but Blaire managed to remedy some of her wounds with a life transference. Mirran begged Serissa to believe her, as she was family. However, her lie rapidly began to come undone. Hobart, who had managed to hide behind Mirann's dress, produced the dagger that she had used to fake the attack, and commented that he had never seen an assassin use an antique before. When Mirran asked for the Spellforged's side of the story, Nayiss made it quite clear what actually happened. One of the guards slowly made his way behind Mirran, even as she continued to argue that the Spellforged were lying.

However, other pieces started to fall into place as Mirran panicked and begged Imeria for help. Imeria, however, simply stated she couldn't save them from this one. Serissa then realized that her sisters had been involved in the murder of their mother. Meaning it was likely they had been working with Imeria all along.

Serissa then turned on Imeria, outing her as the Doom of the Desert, Iymrith. Realizing she was caught, Iymrith didn't even bother to refute the claim, and instead chose to agree with the Spellforged on how sloppy the framing was. She mocked the sisters, berating them for thinking they could kill the Spellforged before Serissa arrived despite them knowing the tales of the group's prowess. She allowed her visage to partially fade, and revealed a crown of horns and a tail closer to the massive form Blaire had been able to see all along. The two older sisters promptly turned on each other, and each accussed the other of colluding with a dragon. Iymrith attempted to attack Serissa, but Lewis interfered by flinging a dagger at her hand—which distracted her just enough that Serissa had an opening to avoid her. The situation rapidly devolved into a fight, and Lewis unsheathed his blades before unloading on Iymrith with a series of strikes and kicks. At first, Iymrith was unimpressed by Lewis's display, but as Nayiss closed to take a shot of her own, it soon became clear that Lewis had managed to do more damage than she cared to admit.

The dragon chose to ignore the small folk that were harassing her and went for Serissa again. This time, she managed to grapple her, and there was a struggle as Iymrith started to cast a teleportation spell. Iza, however, was quick to counter it, which earned little more than a smirk from the greatwyrm.

"So predictable."

She then grasped at the shreds of magic and harnessed it to cast dimension door instead. The dragon vanished, and Serissa was left behind. However, Serissa quickly realized that the scepter around her neck that controlled the wyrmskull throne had been taken. She ordered everyone to get to the throne room. In the meanwhile, Mirran and Nym had continued to turn each other during the altercation and each fought to escape ahead of the other. Mirran finally kicked Nym in the back and dragged her away from the nearby pool so she could dive in first, which resulted in Nym's capture—though Mirran successfully evaded the guards.

When the group arrived at the doorway to the throne room, they found the doormen severely injured with bleeding gashes across their chests as if they were attacked with massive claws. Water was also pouring into the castle from a massive hole in one of the windows, and the throne was gone. It seemed Iymrith had escaped. With some quick thinking, Lewis produced the magical pearl he had received from the naiad in Wave Echo Cave and used it to cast water breathing over those that couldn't breathe underwater. The spell could touch exactly enough people to ensure that no one would drown.

The hole was temporarily plugged by the guards until more final repairs could be made, and the injured were taken away to be cared for while other storm giants started the process of bailing the water out. Serissa took the Spellforged to the upper levels of the castle to talk about what happened, and expressed that the power of the storm giants was at risk because of the theft of the wyrmskull throne, and also her own show of weakness for allowing a dragon to infiltrate her court—weakness she apologized to the other giant lords for. Uthor also arrived with the news that Mirran had been discovered in her tower. She had chosen not to truly flee, but instead barricaded herself within it—wailing that it was her birthright to rule and that she wouldn't leave until the crown was given to her.

Serissa expressed to the Spellforged that they had already done enough, especially with the potential of resurrecting her mother, so she didn't feel right to ask them to do more. However, Nayiss responded that the unity of the giants could be invaluable should the Cult of the Dragon succeed in summoning Tiamat to the world, and they had every interest in restoring order. Iza agreed, and also offered that the Spellforged had fought dragons before, and they would be happy to aid Serissa in dealing with Iymrith. Harshnag also offered his axe, as if the Spellforged had agreed to aid, then so would he.

Serissa thanked them and then addressed the other giant lords to appeal for their aid. Duchess Tartha asked what would become of Mirran, and Serissa replied that her sisters' punishment would be up to Neri should she be resurrected, though she did not anticipate a kind reception. Tartha acknowledged the statement, and said she would help deal with Iymrith, provided Queen Neri would honor some requests that she would discuss with the queen upon her return. Thane Braxow, likewise, agreed to help. Jarl Hellenhild stated she would not stand by while a clanless example of a giant (Harshnag) was taking part in the dragon hunt, and she claimed that she would be the one to claim the killing blow. Blagothkus also threw in his aid, expressing that any that helped would be able to lay claim to a portion of the massive lair that Iymrith likely posessed, and Count Vaal agreed, if largely to ensure that Blagothkus was denied a larger share.

The other giant lords were dismissed until it came time to plan the assault on Iymrith's lair, and Neri's body—blanketed in a veil of thick, dark kelp—was brought through the doors. Serissa asked what she could do to help, and Blaire explained that those close to the lost could take a part in the ritual to help coax the deceased's spirit back. A total of three could aid, and Serissa promptly insisted she would, as did Uthor. It was asked if Neri had any friends that could offer the third contribution, and Serissa said there was, though she felt she had a better idea. Instead, Nym was brought forth. Serissa informed her that she would face justice for her part in the death of their mother, but this was something she could do to start making things right. Nym agreed to help.

Blaire harnessed the power of her druidic magics and started the ritual after the magical circles were drawn around Neri's body and the diamonds were lain in a circle around her. She started to burn incense and adorned Neri's fingers with wicker wreathes, chanting to the spirits and gods of nature to conjure forth the magics to return Neri to life. Serissa appealed to her emotionally, while Uthor used their family ties and claimed her his own sister, as his brother had brought her into his family. Nym apologized for her part in Neri's death. After a long, one hour ritual, the magics faded, and the queen drew breath once more. She partially unwrapped herself from the dark kelp, and was promptly embraced by a crying and overjoyed Serissa, who explained it had been the small folk that had given her a second chance at life.

Neri, while exhausted, expressed her gratitude to the Spellforged and explained that she had fallen to the hands of other small folk. Specifically, it had been a band of mercenaries that had sought to meet with her under the guise of wishing to offer tribute. Mirran and Nym had encouraged her to go, and had gone alongside her instead of her normal escort—only to abandon her when the mercenaries attacked. While Neri attempted to defend herself, she couldn't bring herself to actually kill the small folk, and due to a combination of surprise and their numbers, she was eventually overwhelmed.

The queen then realized she was nude beneath the kelp, and Serissa took her away to her room to get her dressed and also explain everything else that had happened—including the betrayal of Imeria, the disappearance of Hekaton, and the theft of the wyrmskull throne. This gave the party time to briefly rest and patch up their wounds before Serissa and Neri returned. When prompted about the clue Serissa had to Hekaton's whereabouts, she produced a small wooden coin with the symbol of a goose on it. Iza immediately recognized the coin as being a chip from the Golden Goose casino, which was located in the city of Yartar. Serissa suggested that the Spellforged go to Yartar and investigate, as they could potentially find the mercenaries that worked for Iymrith. If they could, they would likely have treasures the dragon paid them with, which could in turn be used to scry on Iymrith's lair and give them an easy way to locate it in order to take the dragon down and retrieve the throne.

In addition, it could give them a lead on Hekaton's location, so that the Storm King could be recovered as well. The Spellforged agreed.

The Golden Goose

Serissa took the Spellforged to the meditation pools beneath the Maelstrom while her mother rested, and she explained that the waters in the pools had the ability to send those that meditated in them wherever they desired—which was one of the primary reason it had been decided to build the castle here. She showed the party how to use the pools, and also allowed them to keep one of the conch shells so that they could return easily to the Maelstrom. Lewis and Iza both meditated within the pools. Iza focused on Yartar as she had spent some time working in the city in the Golden Goose in the past, and then reached out to her allies and successfully swept them all to the city by using the wooden coin as an anchor.

When they arrived in the city, they were immediately approached by guards who demanded to know what they were doing, but within moments they recognized Iza as the Moonstone of Athkatla and promptly left them be. Nayiss had used her shapeshifting abilities to appear in her half-elven disguise so that she was less conspicuous, and she suggested that some of the group investigate the city to see if anyone had been flaunting a lot of coin. Iza, meanwhile, suggested that the group approach the patron of the Golden Goose and get his permission to investigate his ship, as the man was known to dislike shenanigans on his ship, and they would be less likely to be thrown off if his blessing was garnered—plus it would give an opportunity to get a read on him.

It was decided to pursue both avenues, and Nayiss and Hobart disappeared into the city while the rest of the party headed toward the Grand Dame riverboat. Blaire, rather than appearing as a person, instead took the guise of a seagull so she could spy on people in the area in a less conspicuous fashion. The group that approached the riverboat first encountered the ship's captain, Nelvin Storn. He informed the group that no one except the crew was permitted on board during the day, but Iza insisted that they needed to speak with Khaspere Drylund about an important matter. Nelvin stated that while Khaspere owned the riverboat, he was the captain, and he wanted to know what was going on with his ship, so Iza explained it was Queen's Rout business, and produced the papers that marked them as acting with the power of the council. Nelvin quickly realized this was far above his paygrade, and he stated that the group would need to speak to the head of security, Pow Ming.

One of the other sailors fetched her, and she arrived looking quite annoyed and clearly having been drinking. She stated that Nelvin knew Lord Drylund didn't take visitors during the day, but Nelvin responded that the group had papers. Begrudgingly, Pow Ming took the group to meet with Khaspere. His quarters were excessively opulent and gaudy at first glance, and possessed a large tank that contained his pet octopus. At first the man was annoyed at being interrupted, but Pow Ming stated they had papers, and he then recognized Iza as the celebrity she is, and he immediately changed his tune. Iza explained the situation—that they were looking into a group that was working with a powerful dragon and that their activities had been tracked back to the Golden Goose because of the coin that had been discovered. Khaspere expressed he didn't intend to interfere with the group's investigation, though Lewis noted that, despite him being known as a baseline sweaty man, he seemed to be getting even sweatier, as if he was nervous about something. Khaspere introduced them to his octopus, Oleander (or Leanne for short), and sent them on their way until later that night, when the ship was playing host to their guests.

After the group left, Blaire, as a seagull, landed outside the window to eavesdrop on the follow-up conversation Lord Drylund had with Pow Ming. At first he seemed to be skirting around the point of the conversation, but Pow Ming snapped at him to get to it, and he concluded that the group was not to be interfered with, though he emphasized that they should be escorted if they decided to investigate any of the crew quarters, and that Pow Ming and her team should be available to do so. After all, it wouldn't do to make the crew nervous if their things were being searched. Pow Ming left, and Khaspere started to talk to his octopus in a language that Blaire did not understand. However, she heard the octopus's response.

"Ah, my dear Khaspere. You are so dumb. So foolish. You do not realize my intelligence is superior, and I understand your every word. Yet, I would die for you."

Blaire reported back to the group over the telepathic bond what she had heard, and that the octopus seemed to be a lot more intelligent than she otherwise appeared to be.

Meanwhile, Nayiss and Hobart were canvassing the city for information, with Nayiss focusing on the middle class while Hobart worked on the lower class. Nayiss did not find much relevant information, but Hobart managed to uncover that hit jobs were sometimes organized on the riverboat. They were not frequent, but when they were, it was through an onyx-skinned tiefling man with bright red eyes that was known simply as the Gambler. Hobart passed this information to the rest of the group via the mental link, and he and Nayiss both reconvened with the rest of the Spellforged to make plans for that night.

When dusk fell, Iza utilized her enchanted evening spell to transform the group's armor into clothing that would fit the high-class dress code of the establishment, and then, like Nayiss, disguised herself so that she wouldn't attract too much attention. Blaire remained in an animal form, though this time she took on the role of Iza's purse dog, and was dubbed "Sweetums". They had to hand over their weapons when they boarded the ship, but Nayiss managed to sneak a thigh-dagger by security so that she had a weapon on hand. The Spellforged fanned out, and Iza was personally greeted by Khaspere—who did not recognize her in her disguise. He encouraged her to partake in the games, and offered a few free chips on the house to get her started, before gloating that the Moonstone of Athkatla herself was on board that evening. To Iza's surprise, he pointed at an attractive woman that wore her hair similarly to Iza's, who was advertising herself as the Moonstone, and Khaspere had clearly not paid enough attention to the differences to realize she was a fraud. Iza eagerly expressed that she would have to go talk to her, and made her way over to start up a conversation, while Blaire reported over the link that she noticed several people disguising themselves in various ways with magic. Most notably, she saw two doppelgangers on the ship.

Hobart promptly headed off to get involved in some gambling, while Odd was swept away by a trio of women that recognized her from other cities. Lewis started to stake out the boat, while Nayiss headed up to the upper floor to start schmoozing on the dance floor. Throughout the night, every member of the group had sightings of a man that matched the description of the infamous Gambler, though he seemed to disappear as readily as he appeared. He was sighted going into the crew quarters, and Lewis informed Pow Ming, who was annoyed, but checked anyway. She found nothing, but Nayiss and Lewis both observed the Gambler coming out of the crew quarters after she left.

Lewis attempted to get a read on the men, but registered nothing, and Nayiss used detect thoughts and fanned it around the dance floor. She got several annoyed thoughts off of Pow Ming, who was mentally berating Lewis and venting her annoyance as the "country boy", but when she tried to direct the spell at the Gambler when she saw him again, the spell just bounced off, and the man promptly met her gaze before putting a finger to his lips. Nayiss relayed the sighting and informed the others of her location before she followed the man to the outside deck of the ship. They spoke briefly, before Nayiss wove in the code phrase Hobart had been told.

"I've been rolling ssssnake eyes all night. I could use ssssome help turning my luck around."

The man replied that she certainly could, and it was a shame that she and her fellows had decided to stick their noses into business that they didn't belong in, as they had ensured they wouldn't get what they were searching for. He then called her by her full name, Nayiss Ourobori, and as Lewis came around from the other side, the Gambler mused that he never left a trail.

At that moment, there was a series of piercing screams. Down below in the gambling hall, while Lord Drylund was speaking with Iza, his veins had started to bulge and then he began to foam at the mouth and cough up blood before he dropped dead on the floor. The rest of the party relayed what had happened over the telepathic bond and Nayiss promptly grabbed the dagger hidden on her thigh. She activated her crimson rite, and red lightning began to crackle around it as she darted forward and promptly plunged the weapon into the other tiefling's neck.

However, her hand passed right through.

The Gambler simply chuckled and continued to muse that everything was going according to plan and that everything would burn eventually. And that he would see the Spellforged again soon. Lewis also tried to strike him, but his fist also just went through what was recognized to be an illusion, and the tiefling vanished. Lewis and Nayiss went to reconvene with the rest of the party.

Down below, Blaire had hopped out of Iza's purse and transformed out of her purse-dog guise to examine Khaspere. A quick assessment verified that he had actually not died from poison, and she believed that she could actually get him resurrected. With a combined effort of Pow Ming and Iza (who had also dropped her disguise, and triggered a great deal of embarrassment from the young woman that had been pretending to be her) they were able to calm down the crowd just as Nayiss and Lewis arrived and informed the rest of the group that the Gambler had escaped, and he had simply been an illusion.

Pow Ming grabs Khaspere to take him up to his room with the Spellforged in tow. Upon crossing through the threshold, Blaire heard his octopus, Oleander, cry out in fury and promise to massacre those that had harmed her beloved fool. Blaire quickly calmed the octopus and informed her that she had a way to bring Khaspere back, and the creature relented... but with a promise that should Blaire fail, countless tentacles would rise to drag her into the depths below. Blaire acknowledged the threat, and then began to pull out her cauldron and turn her hat over to proceed to dump salt in it.

For a small time, Pow Ming and the other Spellforged discussed possibilities of what had happened, as it hadn't been poison. Khaspere's hat was removed, and they noticed the trademark red markings of the Red Wizards of Thay. However, Pow Ming insisted there was no way he was a Red Wizard, as he had no magical talent at all. In addition, the markings themselves seemed to have been burning recently, as if magic had surged through them. With the aid of an identification ritual, Pow Ming was able to confirm there were no active spells on the man any longer, and Blaire didn't think they would interfere with the ritual, but the group was able to surmise that there had been some sort of geas at play that acted like a remote kill switch.

After the salt was fully loaded into the cauldron along with Khaspere's body, Blaire explained that the resurrection ritual needed contributions from those that knew Drylund. Oleander was quick to volunteer through action alone, as she clambered out of her tank, walked over to Nayiss, and took the tiefling's dagger. She then proceeded to approach the side of the cauldron and used the dagger to sever one of her tentacles into the pot in a proclamation of loyalty, before returning the dagger to Nayiss and then returning to her aquarium.

Pow Ming approached the cauldron and opted to use intimidation, as Khaspere owed her three months of back pay. Lewis and Hobart offered up their own contributions as well, and Hobart dumped some of the ambrosia he had taken from Arborea into the cauldron. It was then left to simmer for the eight hours that was required to see if the ritual was a success. Odd and Lewis went to check on the rest of the ship to ensure there wasn't anything else dangerous planted on it, and Iza and Nayiss chose to go through Khaspere's belongings to try and find some answers in case the ritual wasn't successful. They uncovered his journal, in which they found ledgers and notes of different jobs, but also mention of his "masters". He didn't call any of them by name, but it seemed that these "masters" (which were likely Red Wizards) were the ones orchestrating a lot of his dealings.

Blaire chose to talk to Oleander more, who was willing to explain that the tiefling man Blaire described would come in with some frequency to meet with Khaspere—which also confirmed Pow Ming's explanation that he had been something of a VIP by Drylund's command. Oleander also described him as working with the "masters" that kept her fool chained. However, the conversation rapidly derailed into Oleander musing about the endless tides that would eventually claim the world, and the old ones that dwelled in the depths of the sea that she clearly revered.

There were mixed receptions on the rest of the ship. Pow Ming had assured the crowd that the proprietor would make a full recovery, and some went back to gambling and other vices, but others clearly wanted to just get off the boat as they had witnessed a man drop dead. It was far less lively than it was before, but everyone was trapped until the riverboat docked again—unless they chose to jump overboard. Fortunately, no one did.

At the conclusion of the eight hours, after the Grand Dame had docked and the patrons had all left, the Spellforged and Pow Ming gathered around the cauldron to see the results. Blaire had not stopped watching over it for the majority of the night, and for a long moment, there was no movement. But then there was a sudden shift of salt and a gasp as Drylund awoke. Without any amount of hesitation, Oleander launched herself at him and stuck herself to his face with enough strength that the man had to pry her off himself. He was baffled as to how he was even alive, but was informed that Blaire's magic had resurrected him—and that he needed to provide some answers.

Khaspere explained that he had been born in Rashemen, a nation near Thay, and when he was young he had been enslaved by the Thayans and used to fulfill jobs in the west. The Gambler had served as a liaison from his masters, and brought forth orders as well as funding where it was needed. He was the one that had put him in contact with Iymrith, and directed him to orchestrate the murder of Queen Neri and the abduction of King Hekaton, though he no longer knew where Hekaton was. Iymrith had chosen to also use her for her own schemes, and had paid him handsomely to keep their further dealings silent, as they did not interfere with whatever the Red Wizards had planned. The tattoos on his head had been used as a thread and insurance: if he didn't follow through, then he would simply be killed. However, as he had now died, the spell had ended.

He directed to the Spellforged to a chest in which he kept gold and a very valuable, sapphire-inlaid bracelet that Iymrith had given him. He then wanted to know what would happen, and Nayiss simply said that if he stayed, the Red Wizards would come to remove him again, or those he had wronged would find a way to claim justice. Pow Ming promptly piped up that his best bet was to go into hiding, and she claimed his octopus-hilted sword and said that she would take over and inform his patrons that he had decided to "retire" after his harrowing incident.

Khaspere saw no room to argue (and Blaire noted Oleander was pleased by this arrangement, as it meant that Drylund could leave his life behind), and he agreed to leave and that the Spellforged would never see him again. Within an hour, Khaspere left. The Spellforged bid Pow Ming goodbye and teleported back to the Maelstrom.

The Doom of the Desert

When the Spellforged arrived, they were greeted by some storm giant guards and then brought before Serissa, Neri, and Uthor. Serissa was pleased to see them returned so soon, and overjoyed their return came with success as Nayiss produced the bracelet from Khaspere. Serissa took the piece and said that she could sense the power of the dragon's lair within it, thus it would serve perfectly as a guide to Iymrith's lair. Both Neri and Uthor also wanted to accompany the group in the attack on the dragon, but Serissa was able to talk them down, as the Malestrom needed some to remain behind to ensure it was not attacked when news of the loss of the wyrmskull throne spread.

The group was then gifted six potions of giant size as well as a claw of the wyrm rune as a thank you for the aid they had offered. The potions, in the past, had been bestowed on trusted small folk so that they could fight shoulder to shoulder with giants, and Neri hoped that they could serve them well either in the fight against Iymrith, or in the fights to come. The group thanked the giants, and were then taken to rest as it was clear they had not gotten any sleep the night before while Serissa and her advisors worked to create a battle plan for the assault on Iymrith's lair.

Blaire was able to provide a preparatory meal in the form of a heroes' feast for the Spellforged and several of their giant allies, and Lewis took some time to check in on Serissa and offer her some kind words of encouragement. However, the following day, it would be time to attack.

The assembled warband was teleported via the pools under the Maelstrom to the Anauroch desert, where the greatwyrm made her lair in the ruins of the Netherese city of Anarath. Serissa gave a rousing speech to the gathered giants and small folk both, and they all engaged in a war cry. Lewis downed his potion of giant size so that he could stand at Serissa's side, and he gave Harshnag a potion of growth so that the frost giant was even bigger than he was prior. The group then turned to begin their charge, and were confronted with an army of gargoyles that were rising from the depths of a coliseum that rose around the entrance of the great dragon's lair. Trebuchets also began to fire, and it quickly became clear that Iymrith had planned for a fight.

Blaire, however, utilized her druidic magics and conjured a massive tsunami that swept the trebuchets and a great number of the gargoyles away as the giants and small folk started to barrel toward the coliseum. As they entered the ruin, the massive dragon, in her true form, rose out of the sand and proclaimed that she would spare them if they chose to leave right here and now. However, the war band was not turned, and more gargoyles started to attack, along with Iymrith herself and two massive statues of sand worms that came to life. Iza chose to utilize her draconic transformation and took the guise of the moonstone dragon she would eventually become. Iymrith started to kite around the group as her minions converged on them and drew several of the giants into their own conflicts.

"I'll show you all why they call me the Dragon of the Statues!"

With a loud roar, pillars of stone rose from the earth at the dragon's command and were hurled at the intruders. She was able to knock Iza out of the air into the massive sink hole that served as an entrance to her lair, and she then landed on the other side of the coliseum and opened her massive maw to unload her first terrible blast of lightning. With a tactical call from Hobart, half of the group was able to dodge out of the way of the first blast. Blaire managed to use her magic to start to melt one of the stone worms, which interrupted its structure and slowed its movements, while Lewis began to wail on the other. The gargoyles were swiftly dealt with by the others.

Iymrith bit down on Nayiss and attempted to grab her as she took off, but quickly realized the tiefling had somehow evaded her grasp—much to her frustration. She landed on another side of the coliseum and released another crackling breath weapon, and Lewis and Serissa closed on her to try and deal some damage now that the ranks of her minions had been thinned. She chose to focus on Lewis, given the dragon slayer sword in his possession, and slashed and bit at him until she was able to grab him in her claws. She then took off into the air and started to soar up. Tartha attempted to hurl a rock at the dragon, but the attack went wide, and Iymrith clawed and battered Lewis before she spiked him back to the ground. Serissa was able to slow his descent with feather fall.

Nayiss unloaded a series of shots on the larger of the living worm statues while Harshnag and Serissa clobbered through the smaller one on the other side of the coliseum and left it as a pile of rubble. Iza conjured a crown of stars and shot one of the glowing motes at the remaining living statue. Iymrith roared and turned her focus to the ruins of the massive humanoid figure that was scattered across the seats of the coliseum, and with a surge of magic, it began to reassemble. The great dragon then disappeared as she used dimension door.

As the colossus stood up, Hobart charged up the steps on Pepper, and the dog hurled him at the stone behemoth. With a skilled strike, he was able to use his momentum to unset the statue and sent it tumbling over the wall of the coliseum just as the remaining living worm statue chomped down on Blaire and swallowed her. However, the enervation she had placed upon it was still active, and it seemed to be structurally falling apart. Over the telepathic link, she assured the rest of the group that she would be fine, and Iza used that opportunity to use dimension door to get Odd and Nayiss up to the colossus. Given the statue was trapped down below the wall, the Spellforged made quick work of it, but not before its eyes lit up and it fired a laser through several of them and then exploded. Fortunately, the damage was not as bad as it could have been.

Meanwhile, Blaire sent a surge of necrotic energy through the living worm statue and it exploded around her. She was left freed in a pile of rubble, but everyone else was gone. After a brief moment of confusion, she glimpsed the rest of the party up on the top of the coliseum, and she hopped on her broom of flying and the group reconvened for a quick breather before they descended into the darkness of the sink hole and the lair below.

It was pitch black, and passages snaked off in multiple directions. To the north, the darkness seemed even darker, but Nayiss could see movement, and there were the sounds of chanting in abyssal. As she approached to take a closer look, she saw a group of yuan-ti standing around an open, pitch-black hole beneath a state of a monstrous serpent. They called out some sort of ritual incantation, and one of the yuan-ti purebloods stepped forward and slit her own throat before plunging into the darkness of the pit. Nayiss called a warning to the rest of the party over the telepathic bond, but not before most of the ritual seemed to be completed. The head priestess's eyes lit up, and dark, smoky miasma started to flow from the pit as they chanted some sort of revelation:

"The Shattered Become One
All Life be Undone
The Cycle Begins Anew
Devour the Sun
Nowhere to Run
Eternally, Thy Must Pursue."

At that moment, Iza conjured a dawn over the cluster of yuan-ti, and one that attempted to charge the group got blasted by one of the motes of light she had summoned and promptly dropped to the ground. Nayiss also darted forward and shot a cone of acid from her crossbow, Stygian Spite, which coated the yuan-ti in the acidic bile and several of them dropped melted and dead. She then darted behind a pillar, but a large, monstrous, shadowy snake shot from the pit and closed its jaws around her before dispersing into dark shadow. Nothing seemed to happen, but she felt a distinctive air of uneasiness, as if something was watching.

Nayiss recalled some of Jarkul's investigations and theories into the World Serpent mythos, and she recalled Dendar, the Night Serpent, as one of the entities that was believed by some to be linked to it. The entity was believed to feast on nightmares, and was one of the many snake-like gods that were worshipped by the yuan-ti. It was likely these rituals had been done in honor of the serpent.

The yuan-ti priestess, a nightmare speaker with the lower body of a serpent, called out for a cease fire as the majority of her cabal had been decimated, and she explained they were not in league with the dragon. They had gotten the prophecy they sought, and they asked to be allowed to pass, as they would not interfere with the business the group had in the lair. Nayiss allowed her to speak, but chose to show no mercy given the likelihood the cabal would continue to partake in the sacrificial rituals to their god. She shot the priestess multiple times, and as the yuan-ti fell to the ground, she looked up at Nayiss and began to smile as she reached out to her.

"I undersssstand now... it was you. It was always you!"

But at that moment a massive, blue claw rose from the sand and pulled the rest of the yuan-ti beneath it. Iymrith spoke, berating the serpentine people that it was not the Spellforged they needed to ask for permission to leave. Those that were plunged into the sand were also definitely dead. The greatwyrm brought her head out of the earth and she stated she was going to give the party one final chance to leave alive, as the throne was rightfully her's. It had been stolen from its original owners long ago, and several centuries ago it had been repaired with the skulls of her first mate and three of her first brood, and had steadily passed from hand to hand until Queen Neri had eventually claimed it. She also added that Hekaton was not there, and she doubted he still had his mind, as the Red Wizards had likely done much to it.

Serissa was angry and declared that they would not be backing down, and Iymrith growled but then disappeared into the sand again. The party tried to find a way to pursue Iymrith, and Lewis, Nayiss, Iza, and Odd started to head into one of the side caverns that was not filled with sand. However, Iymrith's tail appeared and shook the foundation of the lair, which in turn caused a cave-in that cut them off from the rest of the party. In the darkness, they could see the beady eyes of kobolds as they scurried around and gathered weapons, as it appeared they had been trapped in the kobold living quarters. Meanwhile, Iymrith erupted from the earth again and started to fight the rest of the party now that their numbers were split.

Iza was able to intimidate the kobolds and get them to back down, if only for them realizing that they could not serve Iymrith while dead. The party was permitted to loop around unimpeded by squeezing through the narrower kobold tunnel, which Lewis was just barely able to wiggle through. However, once he did, he scooped up Nayiss and carried her the rest of the way into the next chamber while Iza prepared to dimension door herself and Odd out of cavern.

Meanwhile, Blaire used her druidic magic to turn the stone ceiling above Iymrith into thick, sticky mud and dropped it down on her. She roared, able to avoid the brunt of the collapse, but she then noticed the rest of the party had started to arrive. While Harshnag and the others had managed to get one or two hits on her, she opted to retreat again as the numbers were once again no longer in her favor. The party pursued her through another partially collapsed passage, and on the other side they discovered Iymrith's hoard. There were three hoard drakes resting atop it that immediately rose in defense of the massive pile of treasure, and the hoard itself also started to move as the coins and treasures shifted into a mass of whirling treasure that served as some sort of golem.

Nayiss shot one of the drakes three times and a lucky shot to its leg forced it to drop to the ground, while Blaire followed up and knocked a second one over with sapping sting, which in turn gave Lewis a valuable opening. The hoard golem whirled into action and struck at Nayiss with a wave of heavy coins, but the attack gave her an opportunity to pluck an item from it: a potion of supreme healing. The rest of the group also started to attack the hoard protectors, but at that moment Iymrith emerged and struck at Lewis before she opened her mouth to start charging a breath attack in the enclosed room. Harshnag was able to flank around to the side, but everyone else took the brunt of the crackling lightning, which left several members of the party wounded.

Iza hurried over to the most injured, Hobart, and patched him up with a cure wounds before she fired another mote of light and then retreated to take cover, and Blaire finished the job by casting a mass cure wounds. Odd was able to finish off the hoard golem before turning to focus on Iymrith, and the hoard drakes were also struck down, though Lewis managed to just nock one unconscious. He was alternating weapons, each core strike triggering a wild magic surge that resulted in a few benign effects as well as giving Nayiss some spectral draconic wings and empowering Harshnag's axe.

Hobart was calling out commands, which gave Lewis an opening to strike a devastating blow on Iymrith and open a grievous wound. She roared in fury and began to focus her assault more thoroughly on Lewis and Serissa, but it was obvious she was starting to get worn down. Hobart called out and gave another opening to Nayiss, who managed to land a strike directly in the greatwyrm's eye. She shrieked and stopped for a moment, lightning starting to pulse and crackle around her massive body.

She said that she would give the party the Wyrmskull Throne, as that was what they had come here for, and they would never see her again, but she wanted them to leave. She was desperate, and it was obvious she knew that she was being overpowered. However, Serissa exchanged a look with the group, and she declared that they were not going to leave without the greatwyrm's head. Iymrith snarled and declared that she would ensure she took some of them down with her, and she grabbed Serissa as she charged her breath weapon again. This time, she seemed intent to focus-fire it directly on the giantess, but Lewis intervened and took the brunt of the hit in her stead. He managed to hold on, though he was quite charred, and his body seized up as paralysis took it.

Nayiss unloaded a series of shots at Iymrith and one of her bolts managed to pierce one of the greatwyrm's eyes, successfully blinding her in it. Iymrith roared in fury and grabbed both Serissa and Lewis before she leaped to the other side of the lair with a bright crackle of electricity and lightning that struct the ground beneath her. One of the strikes surged through Hobart and he dropped into unconsciousness as Pepper stood protectively over him. The dragon then continued to try and maul Lewis, but he was able to just barely hang on to consciousness.

Iza poked around the cover she had taken to use a twinned healing word to wake Hobart up and also mend some other wounds before she flung another mote from crown of stars at Iymrith and took cover again. Iymrith reared back and started to once more charge her breath weapon, but the newly revitalized Hobart was able to call out an opening for Nayiss and Serissa to attack. Nayiss darted forward and managed to shoot a bolt into the greatwyrm's other eye right before Serissa swung her maul around and crashed it into the side of the dragon's skull before the charged lightning could be released.

"Wait! WAIT! Without me you will never find the wyrmskull throne! You. Need. Me!"

Iymrith interrupted Serissa's killing blow, but it was clear that the greatwyrm was bested and gravely injured. She launched into an offer: in exchange for her life, she would dedicate her fortune to the fight against the cult, tell them where the wyrmskull throne was located, and also use her clout and the respect she commanded amongst other chromatics to draw support away from the cult. Even Klauth respected her. However, if they killed her, she swore that they would never find the wyrmskull throne, as she had hidden it away.

It was enough to cause some hesitation amongst the group as they considered the offer, though Klauth specifically, she admitted, she could not promise she would be able to sway him. But many other dragons she assured would abandon the cause. Iza believed it would be worth it to take the deal, but Hobart and Lewis were vocally against it, as even though Iymrith claimed that they would never see her again, they did not trust her, and there was still ample harm she could cause. Iza rebuked that blue dragons, at least, always kept their word, and she preferred the better odds they would receive if some of the cult's forces were scattered.

Nayiss pointed out that there were several of their allies that would be furious if such a powerful chromatic dragon was allowed to live, but she ultimately chose to abstain from weighing in on the consensus, as she ultimately recognized enough pros and cons to the deal that she was largely neutral on it. Blaire, however, after some hesitation, also sided with killing Iymrith, as she had no way to contact Nymmurh for any other insight. It was obvious Serissa wanted the wyrmskull throne, but she also wanted Iymrith's head, and the dragon had made it clear that she had no idea where her father had been taken.

Iymrith made one last desperate attempt. She roared that she would ensure that they would get none of her hoard, and she promised that the skies would darken with her kin. She claimed that the arrogance they showed in their belief they could defeat the Cult of the Dragon without her influence was hubris and that it would be their downfall. However, Serissa brought her maul down on the dragon's skull with a killing blow. The lair immediately started to tremble as an earthquake rumbled to life with the greatwyrm's death. Most of the Spellforged was able to teleport out of the lair with Iza's use of a dimension door, and Lewis was able to take Serissa as he scooped up a handful of the dragon's hoard, but Hobart stayed back to help Harshnag as the Spellforged did not have access to any of the spells that would allow them to take him as well given the resources they had expended fighting the greatwyrm.

After a tense several minutes of waiting on the surface once the shaking stopped, Harshnag and Hobart fortunately broke through the sand and managed to escape. Hobart was on Harshnag's shoulder, the frost giant sighed and relief as he commented about how the stories about halflings being lucky charms were true.

With Iymrith dead, Serissa addressed the other giants. The fight had been successful with no casualties, and she admitted that while she believed she could find the wyrmskull throne again in her lifetime, its loss may also herald the dawn of a new era. After all, the All-Father had tried to tell his children something with the shattering of the Ordning, and she saw this as an opportunity for giant-kind to work together and in unity, perhaps with allyship with the small-folk as well. She then addressed the Spellforged and stated that she desired to give them the support of the Maelstrom and any other that would follow them to the fight against the draconic threat. The other gathered giant lords agreed, and Tartha kneeled before Serissa and stated that she would follow her as her queen. Serissa, however, reminded her that she had just said that she meant for no one to bow to anyone else, and Tartha blushed awkwardly as she got back to her feet.

They also noticed that a lock of Serissa's hair had changed and became the same blue as the hair Iymrith had in her storm giant guise of Imeria, complete with a slight curl. It was a mark that served as representation of the killing blow she had inflicted.

The group then left the Anauroch desert to return to the Maelstrom so that preparations could be made to send representatives to the Queen's Rout council. In the interim, a celebratory feast was had, as a great threat had been removed.

Phandalin in Flames

Lewis stated he was going to spend the night at the Maelstrom as he needed time for the potion to wear off before he could reliably fit in any of the rooms in Waterdeep, but the rest of the Spellforged chose to return for the evening. However, just before Iza finished attuning to the pools, Lewis received a sending from his brother, Bran Colt. Phandalin was under attack. While they had not had the time to fully rest and recoup from the strenuous fight with Iymrith, Iza redirected the teleportation magics of the pools beneath Maelstrom and instead sent them right to the heart of Lewis's hometown. Harshnag went with them.

They arrived to a scene of destruction, as the Cult of the Dragon were attacking the farming village, along with many dragons and wyverns that were sweeping and burning the countryside. They were greeted by Silda Hallwinter, who had taken the role of commanding and directing the defenses of the town as its mayor. She was relieved to see the Spellforged arrive—though clearly had many unspoken questions about the presence of Lewis as a blue giant alongside a frost giant—and quickly debriefed them of what was happening before the group promptly dispersed to attack.

Odd took a more aggressive role as she charged through any groups of cultists she could find, while Nayiss systematically assassinated key targets and caused general chaos through leading groups into traps or stealing their weapons or ammunition. Hobart swiftly fell into a role of commanding squads of the Redbrands, and Iza summoned Idalaska and took to the sky to help put out fires and harass the other flighted units. Meanwhile, Blaire took the guise of an ox and managed to convince the scattered farm animals and wildlife to fight back.

It was an effective counter-attack, but the Spellforged were herded into the center of the town as the cult redoubled their efforts. Several of the lower-ranked minions were swiftly dispatched by Lewis and Hobart, and Nayiss was able to shoot a war wyvern and its half-dragon rider from the sky, but it soon became evident the young red dragons that were flocking around the town were also being ridden by lanky, alien looking entities that were capable of psionic techniques. Many of them were also among the ground units. Githyanki.

Iza was harassed by some of the dragons in the air, and Idalaska was dispersed, though Iza remained aloft thanks to her wings, even though one of the githyanki tried to immobilize her with telekinesis. The attempt was swiftly dispelled by Iza, and Blaire backed her up with a blast of necrotic energy as she cast cone of cold and changed the blast into a wave of necrosis. Odd decimated two of the githyanki soldiers and charged straight for the additional approaching forces and their red wizard allies. She dispatched two others, but the psionic abilities of the gith and the sheer power of their draconic mounts was able to start cutting through her defenses.

The red half-dragon general that Nayiss had dismounted roared and charged at her with a lance, which gave Nayiss an opening to swipe the crossbow from the half-dragon's hip before she was able to notice. When the general went to grab it to follow her charge, she was further in enraged as Nayiss dangled it in front of her.

"Looking for thissss?"

However, more cult reinforcements had started to arrive, and their sheer numbers were at risk of overwhelming the Spellforged. Or so it seemed. But then a great vine shot up from the earth and grabbed an approaching dragon from the air. Blaire recognized the magic as belonging to her mentor, Reidoth Bellcroft. Sure enough, other familiar faces emerged, as Qelline Alderleaf and Daran Edermath were also sighted as they arrived to back the Spellforged up. There was also a beautiful swan that soared from above, and those that met him in Elturel recognize the man on its back as Cardinal Whitefield.

Soon after, another familiar face arrived on site to back the Spellforged up more directly: Lewis's brother, Kevril Colt.

However, before Kevril even had a chance to attack, Lewis, with some direction from Hobart, was able to get into a position that allowed him to decimate the young red dragons that had arrived on scene in a flurry of attacks that tore them out of the sky. Similarly, the cultists that had surrounded Hobart were also taken out. The half-dragon general, who had leaped up onto the back of one of the dragons, was torn out of the sky and killed. It seemed as soon as Kevril had arrived, the battle began to drastically turn against the cult. He opted to focus on the half-dragon assassin while Lewis ran to back up Odd and cut off any escape for the remaining dragons.

The githyanki gish that had been trying to fend off Odd turned her attention to Lewis as well and leaped off of her dragon. As she landed, she extended her hands toward both of them.

"Say hello to my crèche for me."

She then cast plane shift, and for a moment, Lewis and Odd had a vision of a camp filled with other githyanki warriors on an alien plane, but they were both able to resist the spell, much to the githyanki's frustration. She, and the two red wizards, realized that they were outnumbered and that the other members of the Spellforged would close in on them in moments if they remained. Thus, the two remaining githyanki that still lived used dimension door to escape, and left the last red dragon to make his own way using his wings. The red wizards, similarly, retreated via teleportation after an attempt to banish one of the Spellforged failed, and Odd was instead left trapped in the dome of a wall of force so that she, at least, couldn't pursue.

However, the remaining red dragon was not able to outfly Lewis, and he too was struck from the sky, all four of the red dragons dead by Lewis's hand. Meanwhile, Kevril and Blaire were able to finish off the green half-dragon assassin, whose very life essence was drained and withered as Blaire had used a powerful necrotic immolation. The conflict was thoroughly ended.

The Spellforged then took a moment to catch their breath and assess the magical dome that Odd was trapped in. The tiefling had not stopped yelling and banging on the dome of force since she was placed within it, but it was evident that it would not give. A quick assessment by Iza confirmed that no one possessed the destructive magics needed to dispel it and all that could be done was to wait out the spell's duration. This did not appease Odd, who continued to try and bust her way out while the Spellforged that had known Kevril took the opportunity to catch up with him.

Silda Hallwinter, as well as Daran Edermath and his crew, found the group as the rest of the cult invasion splintered and she reported that Phandalin's defenses had redoubled and the attack had been successfully repelled, in no small part due to the Spellforged's timely arrival. Their attention was drawn by the arrival of Lewis's brother, Bran, and his gnomish partner, but before they could greet him there was an abrupt burst of darkness from a nearby home that enveloped the area. The Spellforged leaped into action, though only Nayiss and Blaire could see through the magical gloom. A black abishai had attacked, but before it could successfully strike at Bran, another figure tore into it and buried a set of fangs into the fiend's throat. The darkness was dispelled to reveal an unkempt elven vampire in the company of another human. The situation immediately turned tense as Nayiss called out a warning, and Daran and the others approached with their hands on weapons, but the vampire called for a cease-fire and claimed that she had an offer to make.

With a fair degree of hesitation, she was allowed to continue, and she introduced herself as Sandesyl Morgia, while her companion was named Iskander. They were members of the old Cult of the Dragon, many of whom were scattered throughout the ranks of the new cult, but also hidden in in various places throughout the Sword Coast so that they could bide their time for when the upstart, Severin, could be dispatched and the true glory of the old ways could be returned. As a further show of good faith, the vampire extended a clawed finger and, before anyone could stop her, shot a disintegration beam at the dome of force that trapped Odd, which safely freed her.

Sandesyl noted that the members of the old cult had been watching the Spellforged, and they had decided that the Queen's Rout was a force that was powerful enough to have a fighting chance to dismantle the plans to summon Tiamat. They wanted to offer their aid, as they could summon those in the cult's ranks that were still loyal to the old ways, and could weaken their forces when it mattered. She also said that there were hidden traps and defenses in the Well of Dragons that the Spellforged could be given free passage through. Offer after offer streamed through the fangs of Sandesyl Morgia, but the party remained suspicious, and Nayiss demanded to know what they would want in return.

Sandesyl said they wanted the Well of Dragons. Or rather, whatever remained of it, when the conflict was resolved, as it was a sacred, powerful place, and had a great deal of importance to the old cult. It seemed the vampire sensed that the group had redoubled their apprehension, as she quickly spilled more information. She revealed that they did not approve of the machinations being done of a certain other cult member that the group had prior encounters with, and the way that she glanced at Daran revealed that she was speaking about Catalia. The vampire expressed that, in whatever machinations Catalia was pursuing, she had stolen something very important, and they wanted it back. Or more specifically, out of Catalia's hands. She did not reveal what the object was, but she hinted that she knew where Catalia could be found.

She also mused on the activities of the rogue red wizards and stated that she knew the Spellforged had been dabbling with the storm giants. Their king, Hekaton, was in the custody of the red wizards at the Well of Dragons, and he could be freed and delivered back to his home, though she could not make any promises on what sort of state he would be in. She also made reference to a castellan of the Well of Dragons that was still loyal to the old ways, and who could be convinced to turn on the current inhabitants and turn the advantage in the favor of the Queen's Rout.

It was the mention of Hekaton that gave the group pause, as the telepathic link with Serissa was still active, and making a deal with the old cult was a path to get her father back. However, it was clear the Spellforged were not going to make any agreements here, and Sandesyl said that she would give them a tenday, but then she would want her answer. Her eyes, however, turned to Nayiss, and she seemed to take an abrupt interest in the tiefling. She approached and reached out toward her wrist, where blood had seeped into her bandages. However, Nayiss pulled away, and warned that she would not be giving any donations.

Sandesyl asked if the name "Keytris" sounded familiar, and Nayiss returned with a question of "and what if it does?" but the vampire chose not to embellish further, and she and Iskander took their leave.

The Spellforged and their allies discuss the offer briefly, as reference to Catalia had suddenly made things far more personal for Daran. Reidoth spoke up that he knew where Catalia was going, and Nayiss asked if it was to the site where Gulthias fell, which Reidoth confirmed. He also admitted that it was likely Catalia had stolen the relic known as the heart of Ashardalon. Blaire was somewhat incensed, as it seemed there was more information that Reidoth had not told her, though that was something she would be speaking to him about later. Reidoth explained that he had noticed activity at the Sunless Citadel, but he did not want to sound an alarm unless he knew for sure.

Sandesyl's behavior had been the confirmation he needed, and it was the only reasonably place for Catalia to go if she sought to resurrect Gulthias. Or whatever else her machinations entailed. The group agreed that it was important to try and head Catalia off, and Reidoth said that he could get them to the Sunless Citadel after everyone rested. Daran suggested that it may be worth dealing in a two-prong assault, as even though Sandesyl's immediate aid had been rejected, it was not impossible that she might try to tail them to the Citadel so that she could make her move. Hobart and Nayiss both expressed that ultimately Sandesyl did not benefit from the ceasefire afforded members of the Queen's Rout until a deal was made, so if she chose to interfere that would simply be an invitation to remove her as an issue. Daran agreed, but it was also collectively decided that distracting her, should she choose to follow the group, would not be a bad idea.

At that moment, Serissa arrived via teleportation magics alongside some other storm giants, and once the denizens of Phandalin recognized that they were allies, the storm giants quickly started to aid in cleaning up the village so that it could be rebuilt. Iza took the chance to ask Serissa what she thought of the deal that had been offered, as her father was part of it, and there was a pained expression across Serissa's face, but she admitted that she had accepted that her father may have been fully beyond aid ever since the comment that Iymrith had made. While she would prefer her father be returned home so that they could perhaps try to help him, she did not feel it was right to put the Spellforged, nor the Queen's Rout, into a position where they felt they needed to make such a deal for one man, even if it meant that they may have to fight him in some form in the days to come.

Blaire, meanwhile, took Reidoth aside to speak as she had been hurt by the amount of secrets the elder druid had kept from her. It was a conversation during which Reidoth shared very few words, as was his way, but he explained that he had meant to tell Blaire about Catalia and the prior events at the Sunless Citadel when the time was right. However, in hindsight, now he had realized that such a time was long passed, as it was clear just how strong Blaire had become. He also explained that the mantle of watching over the Gulthias trees, and the Sunless Citadel, had been one he had taken on his own, and ultimately it was important for Blaire to blossom on her own and decide to be whoever she wanted to be: not held to whatever mantle he had just because he had chosen it.

Odd also ran into Burley, who seemed to be quite concerned upon seeing her again as they had priorly gotten drunkenly married. Or at least, that was what seemed to have happened at the time. He apologized to her and danced around the subject of the fact that he had, unfortunately, found someone else, and it was clear that he was incredibly worried about hurting Odd's feelings, despite the fact Odd did not seem to be bothered at all. Odd assured him that it was fine, just in time for Grista Kettlecopp, the dwarven keeper of the Sleeping Giant taproom, to eagerly green her "sweetums" and pull Burley down to kiss him on the cheek before she proudly announced that all drinks for the Spellforged that evening would be free of charge.

Once a body count had been confirmed, it seemed that there had been very few casualties. However, the woman that ran the Phandalin Miner's Exchange, Halia Thornton, who Nayiss had briefly dealt with in the past, was among them.

Festivities for the evening had picked up into full-swing, and Hobart briefly visited the small shrine to Tymora and spoke with Sister Garaele before he took the time to catch up with his niece, Qelline, and her son, Carp. As the night wore on, the Hobart shared some of his prior history with the old cult with the other members of the Spellforged, as it turned out that he had been involved in the first assault on the Sunless Citadel, though admittedly it had been in a less direct sense, as he and his mercenary crew had been responsible for drawing the bulk of some of the defending forces away. He said that it had been the old cult that had given him his start into adventuring in the first place, as his story was much like every other adventurer's: he had been wronged, and he had set out to right that wrong.

Iza also took the opportunity to chat a bit with Cardinal Whitefield, who had taken up a quiet vigil on the periphery of the festivities where he was absent-mindedly playing a soft melody. He was friendly, but not quite forthcoming with much of what he talked about, as it was clear something weighed heavily on his mind. He mentioned it was rare that he stayed in one place for long, but ultimately, in the absence of his mentor and friend, Jander Sunstar, he felt it was his duty to see out the return to the Sunless Citadel before he moved on and continued his search for Jander. Hobart had mozied his way over as well, as he had a history of his own with Cardinal and Jander, and the conversation quickly shifted to Iza and Hobart both comforting Cardinal, who seemed to have some degree of hidden regrets he was ruminating over, even if he hid them with a smile.

However, the dire nature of the discussion eventually waned into idle chatter, just in time for Nayiss to materialize with a merry proclamation about chatting with the "cryptid," as Iza had referred to Cardinal after the night they had spent together, as he had been incredibly kind. Iza immediately flushed as she hastily explained what she had meant, but Cardinal was horrified that his treatment of her had been such a rarity, and he promptly took off into an explanation that she, and anyone in her profession, was more than deserving of such care.

In the meanwhile, a tree had blossomed nearby, and Lewis started calling for who had put the tree there, as it had not been there before. He hastily set about asking the druids if they had grown the tree, but Hobart simply stared at Cardinal as he continued to chat away, as strange manifestations of beauty had always happened around the bard, even if the man seemed to be completely oblivious.

When the group turned in for the night, on Nayiss's request, Iza used the rest of her magic to sent the tiefling to Jarkul in a dream so that they could discuss the developments that had occurred.

Iza had her own dream. She was flying above the icy clouds, and there was fear in her heart. She had only narrowly escaped the clutches of the dragonslayers that killed her mate and her children. Adrenaline was the only thing that was keeping her going. Beneath her was nothing but the expansive wasteland of the Anauroch Desert.

She wasn't an ancient wyrm, not yet, but the Netherese remnants would not trouble her. This was a good place to hide, and to rebuild, so that she could eventually destroy those who took everything from her. Time passed. It was lonely.

She had taken other mates, but they were hollow. She couldn't get attached. That was a liability she couldn't afford. She appreciated her children the same way she appreciated her favorite blouse. They were useful. But they hadn't seen what she had seen. She found ancient texts in the ruins of Netheril that even her own brilliance could barely scratch the surface of. She had never actually been alone. She found other minds, alien, yet so familiar across the cosmos. Being a dragon was so much more than just being yourself.

She started to form figures of stand. They stayed. They obeyed. They were children she could be proud of; that would service and protect. Nothing would be taken from her again. She got vengeance, but it wasn't as satisfying as she hoped. She searched for satisfaction. She engaged in political dribble with Old Snarl and others. But it didn't compare with the truth.

She was incomplete well before the dragonslayers took her family. When Iza awoke the next morning, she found a horn on her forehead that wasn't there before. At least, not outside of her draconic transformation. Something had changed. And now, the time was ripe, and that dream was not a passing memory. It was a series of memories from Iymrith that felt very, very personal.

Lewis also had a dream. He awoke in a forest that was choked with vines, and nothing was alive. He tried to move through it, but suddenly a hand reaches out and grabs him. It's Tanamere. She shifts into the form of her blade, and he was able to use her to carve through the vines. Suddenly a patch of vines in front of him also was carved away, and it was Kevril before him.

They were having the same dream. They had a moment of confusion, but then they turned to head in the same direction together. Together, they saw a figure in the midst of the vines. She was a half-elf with pale skin: Catalia Edermath. Her body was crucified in the vines. Across her face was a skull that resembles a combination of an elk and a dragon.

Around her were other figures that were crucified in the same way: Qelline Alderleaf. Reidoth. Izadora. Nayiss. Daran Edermath. Blaire. Their mother. Their father. Lord Neverember. Jarkul. Every single member of the Queen's Rout council, both people they recognized and people they did not.

They could hear a loud heartbeat beneath the vines, and they could smell smoke. Lewis held back to watch while Kevril approached and tried to rip a vine away from his mother. It was tangible and seemed very real, and it immediately grabbed onto his own arm. Then the vines ignited, and the smoke started to choke them out. The heartbeat became louder and louder as the entire forest was encompassed in flames.

They both awoke in Phandalin.

Catalia's Gambit

The next morning, the Spellforged gathered together with Kevril, Daran, and the others, and Reidoth used transport via plants to whisk the group to the site of the Sunless Citadel. When they arrived, they were greeted by the site of a massive structure that was surrounded by rocky formations. However, as Blaire looked closer, it soon became evident that the rocks were, in actuality, the bones of a gargantuan skeleton that wound around the citadel with its spire piercing directly through the skeleton's chest.

The group took a moment to discuss the vision that Lewis and Kevril had, and Reidoth expressed that it was the tree. Blaire explained that Gulthias trees spawned blights, and frequently they had traits of the vampires that germinate such things. He seemed to believe the Gulthias tree was at the heart of whatever vision had been presented. Cardinal agreed and embellished more as he explained the Gulthias trees were believed to be spawned from the stakes they were killed with. Even the ashes of the stakes could germinate a tree, thus it was unclear if the vampires could return from the trees.

He also believed that Catalia did not fully escape the grasp of Gulthias, it was quite possible that she wasn't fully in control of her actions.

Nayiss suggested that they get a read on the area and see what other creatures were active, and it was decided that the group split up, with Daran's group serving as a distraction in the event Sandesyl Morgia had tried to follow.

Iza cast telepathic bond and Cardinal enhanced the magical ability so that she could cover the entire group.

They approached the mountainous spire that the skeleton was impaled on, and it became obvious to more of the group that the entire area was encased in the dragon's ribcage. There was incredibly ancient abjuration and necromancy magic coming from the skeleton. Kevril opened up his own senses, and he recognized there was a primal energy that had left an imprint on the skeleton. There was some sort of hallow consecration on the skeleton. It was probably from the time when Ashardalon fell.

Cardinal directed the group to the passage into the underdark entrance that led into the stronghold, and they split ways as the Spellforged head down the narrow crevasse. Blaire found druidic markings from Reidoth that was able to direct them.

Lewis and Blaire noticed recent tracks that were only perhaps a day or two old that were also accompanied by the tracks of a small cart. They appear to be clawed, but not any sort of claw that anyone recognized. After a bit more walking they see light from a campfire, and Nayiss squeezed ahead to take a look. There was only one entity: a large creature with a thick cloak and an apron that was covered in vials and stained in thick sediment. He was covered in thick fur and had massive, bat-like ears.

Nayiss decided to reveal herself to attempt friendly conversation, and her sudden appearance started the bat-like man enough that the jerk of his arms sent the mushroom he was cooking flying into the air. After several attempts to grab the mushroom, it slipped through his claws and fell into the midst of the fire, where it quickly caught alight. The man made a sad sound, but looked up at Nayiss as he fished in his bags for another and held it out in her direction with a chirp.

Nayiss tried to introduce herself and make conversation, but it was quickly evident that the bat-like entity did not understand anything that she was saying, even as he went through her small rolodex of languages. He visibly tensed when she tried abyssal, but was able to identify she was just trying different tongues. He tried to use hand gestures to offer her hospitality in his camp, and she was able to pick up what he meant, even though he didn't know thieves' cant proper. She requested the rest of the group make themselves known over the telepathic link, and she held up a hand to show the number of her companions as they appeared one by one; much to the individual's surprise as he counted the (rather large) number himself.

Iza cast tongues so that she could serve as a translator between them, and she quickly took over conversing with the man, who introduced himself as Chiro. He was excited that someone was able to speak his tongue, but Iza apologetically clarified that she was using magic to do so.

He was here as part of a trade route he followed as the people that currently occupied the Sunless Citadel traded with him for some of the fungi and other plantlife of the Underdark. He wasn't able to give much information on what was going on in the citadel proper as he only dealt with the individuals he referred to as the "twilight grove tenders," and, specifically someone named Narux. Lewis was able to recognize the name as being the same as one of the half-orc cultists that Catalia had raised into a vampire spawn, alongside Dretha.

Nayiss asked more about the twilight grove tenders and he explained that they cared for the grove up ahead, though he said that it was dangerous to go further in, as he had been attacked when he stepped into the grove the first time he arrived. His dealings with Narux primarily took place in the small cavern he was sitting in now, and he admitted that there were undead about, though he didn't ask many questions as he was just here for trade. The group decided to head forward, and Chiro once more emphasized the danger, but they assured him that they would be fine and would retreat if needed. While hesitant, he didn't stop them.

Nayiss crept forward ahead of the group to take a quick look, and she saw several skeletons tending the plants in the grove. There were two doorways that went off it, one to the east and one to the south, though it was unlikely the entire group could slip past undetected, so they decided it would be best to go straight in. Nayiss stayed hidden in the shadows, and Odd was actually able to walk directly into the grove with no effort. The skeletons didn't even acknowledge her presence as she made her way to the door on the east side of the room, but as Kevril entered to follow after her, all the skeletons turned on him in unison.

"The living shall not pass!"

Odd had just started to open the door, but as the skeletons attacked she drew her axe and turned around to clobber the nearest one. However, the plant-life and fungus also started to attack, and one of the mushrooms near Odd flashed with a brilliant, blinding bioluminescence. Everyone except Blaire was able to avert their eyes in time. Nayiss emerged from the shadows with a rapid-fire barrage of bolts over the skeletons and fungus, and Iza summoned a beam of light that she directed through the majority of the enemies. The lead grove tender attempted to respond with a spell of its own, but none of the Spellforged succumbed to it as the rest of the skeletons and flora began to converge on them. Hobart called out some orders over the telepathic link that allowed Nayiss and Lewis to pin-point some weak points.

Lewis attempted to close on the spellcaster, but he became entangled in the vines of a massive, nearby violet fungus. Nayiss followed him and fired several poisoned bolts into the large fungus, which caused it to twist and melt as its life faltered and it dropped Lewis as it fell limp. Lewis, Iza, and Odd were able to finish off the rest of the enemies in short order.

Chiro took that opportunity to peer into the grove to see what the newcomers were doing, and he noticed the carnage. Now nervous, he chirped an observation that it seemed the group was not there on a friendly mission, and the observation was confirmed, but the Spellforged didn't offer further details. Unfortunately, this stop on his trade route was now going to be defunct, and he sadly commented that he would need to hopefully find someone else that would buy his wares.

Blaire actually spoke up and asked some additional questions, as she was interested in fungi and plantlife from the Underdark, and, through Iza, she made arrangements to meet Chiro in the same place in a few weeks to buy some of his wares. He seemed to be in slightly better spirits, though he was still cautious, and he told the group to not die, but also to be kind to Narux, as he had been a legitimately kind man to him. He then turned to scurry back to the campsite so he could pack up quickly and leave.

There were two directions to go: the eastern doorway that Odd had opened, or the other passage that wound down to the south. Nayiss scouted ahead, and about 40 feet down the passage, the corridor was partially collapsed with a large gash that ripped right through it. The air was warm, and as she peered down the crevasse it only got warmer as the heat seemed to radiate out of it. Across the chasm, the corridor continued. She returned back to the group, and they decided to investigate the room that Odd had opened.

The room was rimmed by doors; there were three on each side and one final one across the room. There were several tables, as at Nayiss looked more closely at them, she identified numerous notes that were written in goblin. Unfortunately, none of the group spoke goblin, and Iza began to ritual cast comprehend languages while Nayiss investigated the doors. However, as Nayiss tried to focus on hearing beyond the thick wood, her vision shifted and the solid walls became nothing more than ghostly silhouettes even though they remained structurally solid. Beyond the first door there were several goblins. She quickly hushed Iza's casting as she continued scouting the remainder of the rooms.

The next room also had goblins, and a large rat that was strapped to a table with fungus growing from it. It seemed the goblins were doing experiments on it. Across the way were even more goblins, and Nayiss could see that several were slumbering beneath the earth. They were all vampires. Beyond the far door was a hobgoblin patrol, who paused and looked at the door before continuing on. Nayiss relayed her findings to the rest of the group via the telepathic link, and she scooped up some notes for Iza to translate later before the group opted to instead retreat from the heavily-populated area and head down the other passage.

Lewis and Nayiss climbed down into the crevasse to scout it more closely, and as they continued toward the west the heat increased even more. They arrived at an opening that led to a small cavern, and inside was a large, glowing, reptilian creature that was curled around a flaming brazier. It was fast asleep, and from what little of the brazier Lewis could see, he was able to identify it as something that was potentially both valuable and useful. After a brief discussion with the group over the telepathic link, they decided to ambush the creature, and the rest of the group climbed down into the sweltering crevasse.

However, Iza and Blaire both sensed magic in the area. They honed in on it and were able to identify the presence of a magical alarm, which Iza promptly dispelled so that it wouldn't alert whoever had placed it there. The group then got into position and attacked.

Nayiss fired off three shots and the new demon cannon on Darklight triggered and fired off a burst of energy through the salamander, and Lewis and Odd followed the opening assault with a barrage of fearsome hits that caused fiery energy to singe their skin and clothes. However, they were able to decimate the creature before it fully realized what had happened, and it fell dead on the ground. Blaire and Iza took a closer look at the brazier, and they were able to identify it as a brazier of commanding fire elementals. The exact reason it was here and what it was being used for was unclear, but Iza cooled the eternal flame in it with a clever use of control flames and it was then stashed inside the cauldron that resided in Blaire's hat of holding.

Nayiss peered down a hole on the far side of the cavern and she was hit with a waft of hot air, as it seemed the cavern connected directly to an active lava flow far below. They left the cavern and returned to the collapsed passage to climb up to the other side and continue down the corridor. They had so far succeeded in not alerting any denizens of the citadel to their presence—at least none that were left alive.

At the end of the corridor they were confronted with a heavy doorway that was emblazoned with the symbol of a draconic skull over the arch. Nayiss and Iza both recognized the symbol as the symbol of the little-known dragon god, Null, who was the entity that the old cult of the dragon had zealously worshipped, unlike the Tiamat-worshippers of the new cult. Lewis quickly examined the doorway for any traps, and, finding none, they continued into the chamber beyond.

It was very dimly lit on the other side, and a massive statue that was made in the image of the enigmatic dragon god loomed over the room before a dark, obsidian basin. Lewis proceeded inside the examine the room while Nayiss looked at the basin itself. Lewis was unable to find anything that would be deemed overtly dangerous, and Nayiss was able to find a hidden drawer beneath the basin that opened to reveal a curved, dark-steel dagger that had the phrase etched in draconic on each side:

"Faluzure's Eyes Guide The Way. May Life be Forfeit."

Nayiss's eyes then rolled into the back of her head as a vision was triggered by the dagger and basin. She could see the shrine, but there were people present. They uttered prayers to the dragon god of death and spilled blood into the center of the basin, which plunged into darkness like a never-ending, hungry black hole. Some were killed outright as a sacrifice to the god, their lives instead twisted into undeath or snuffed out entirely, while others survived, but had to bear the burden of the toll the sacrifice had taken, their very life essence slurped into darkness until they were able to slowly recover.

The shrine was a site to innumerous blood rituals, where members of the cult plead for favors from their god and offered a gift of blood in exchange, either draconic or mortal. As she returned to the present, she relayed to the rest of the Spellforged what they had seen, and after some discussion, they decided to try and do the same thing the cult had done and offer a gift to the dragon god so that they could perhaps earn a passage directly to the grove of the Gulthias tree without interruption or interference.

They produced some of the vials of ancient dragon blood they had harvested from prior kills and poured them into the darkness of the basin, and Iza chose to step forward and offer her own blood to make up the difference, as she was ultimately to soon become a dragon herself. She held out her hand, and Nayiss cut open a wound in her palm with the dagger.

From Iza's perspective, she saw the eyes of the statue of Null flare with an eerie, purple glow, and a raspy, death-rattle voice spoke to her. It insinuated that it knew who she was, and what she was seeking to be, and wanted to know why she had reached out to death itself. Iza replied that she desired a passage to the Gulthias tree grove to be opened, and in a way that would ensure the other denizens of the citadel could not interfere. The voice laughed as such a mortal request, and reminded her that it had been present since the dawn of very creation. For a price, she could request any boon she desired, or any answer to any question, including the one that it knew burned so hotly.

It could provide confirmation to what would happen to her soul when she became a dragon, and it was unlikely she would ever get the chance to ask death anything else before she met with Null again at the end of her life. Iza caved and requested to know what would happen to her soul when she became a dragon, and Null explained that the dragons of the First World were sundered along with it, fragments of them scattered across the worlds. The dragons of the modern age were not whole, like they once were, and once they realized it, they sought to reconnect with their missing pieces: their reflections across the spheres.

Each time a dragon died, their reflections rejoined the cycle of reincarnation, and were born again. Dragon souls could not be created, and there would never be as many dragons as there were flourishing on the First World.

The brief moment of empathy that Iza had shown toward Iymrith had forged a connection, and when the soul of Iymrith arrived on Null's doorstep, she had flitted through the halls faster than most. For to become a dragon, truly, Iza needed a draconic soul. And through that connection, that newly reborn soul had forged with Iza's so that she could enter the cycle. She was not Iymrith, but the soul that was Iymrith's would be a part of her, and the reflections of that soul across the spheres would also become her own.

Meanwhile, Nayiss was watching Iza, who appeared to have entered a daze. Without even looking at her hand, the other woman had reached up and pressed the blade further into her palm as part of the price for the question that was asked, her eyes alight with ghostly purple energy. But then the light faded as Iza ended the trance, her blood falling into the hungering abyss.

Nayiss asked if Iza was alright, and she confirmed she was, though there were certainly some things to process. However, there wasn't time to dwell on what had happened. There was a rumble, and the wall beyond the statue of Null started to shift as a passage was opened for the group. In the open courtyard beyond, they could see the twisted grove of the Gulthias tree, and before it stood Catalia as well as her two half-orc vampire spawn, and the husk of the massive heart that she had taken.

She turned to the group, mounting distress evident as she called out that she should have known it was them that had come to the Sunless Citadel, and that she had told them to leave it be. She reiterated for them to leave and not get involved, so that her plans could come to fruition and everything could be "fixed".

However, Nayiss stated that they wouldn't be leaving, and Lewis tried to talk Catalia down, but she was unreceptive, even when Nayiss argued that she had no way of knowing whether or not whatever she was doing was exactly what Gulthias wanted. Over the telepathic link, Nayiss informed Daran they had found Catalia, and he reported back that they would get there as soon as possible, but the citadel walls had started to shift. They had to find another way.

Catalia then drew her katana and split into multiple copies of herself as the sheer speed she was capable of allowed her to seemingly materialize in multiple different place, and her vampire spawn also prepared to fight. The Gulthias tree itself twisted and started to move, and Catalia raced toward the group. A fight broke out as the Spellforged defended against the multiple different versions of Catalia, her two vampire spawn, and the twisted blights that were spawned by the Gulthias tree. However, the effort of the assault was incredibly draining on Catalia, as each "copy" that was broken caused a magical backlash.

Lewis was able to non-lethally incapacitate Narux and Dretha before he tried to appeal to Catalia and convince her that this wasn't the way to what she wanted and there was still time to stop. However, Catalia was resistant to any of his pleas, and she continued to fight back against the Spellforged even as she started to get overwhelmed. One-by-one her copies were destroyed, and they instead focused on the Gulthias tree itself.

Pursuit to Nightfang Spire

The Spellforged and the rest of their allies went through the portal and met with Daran and Cardinal on the other side. They had briefly taken a survey of the area and determined that it was likely Gulthias had fled to the heart of the volatile, blasted land: the citadel known as Nightfang Spire. Unfortunately, the stone bridge to the citadel was incredibly exposed, and the denizens of the massive volcanic crater seemed to have stirred into a frenzy, and would likely pick off any that went alone.

Iza summoned Idalaska, and both Blaire and Reidoth turned into giant eagles so that they could ferry others more quickly over the bridge, and they collectively started to run.

By some miracle, resistance was limited for the first two-thirds of the passage. While there were natural hazards that emerged, or interference by a stray mephit, the group was able to make good time. Lewis momentarily got entangled in the fiery tongue of a hunting lava frog, but he was able to break free before he was pulled into the fiery depths the frog called its home.

However, as they got to the final section of the bridge, the presence of opposition grew more apparent. The environment was borderline inhospitable, as the bridge itself had started to crumble in places and one wrong step would send small sections crumbling into the molten rock below. There were toxic fumes emitted from slag, and vicious, fiendish wasps patrolled the area and attacked any that drew too close. There was a close encounter due to the crumbling of the bridge, but the group was able to pull through with minimal injury.

As the Spellforged and their allies stepped off the bridge they were confronted with a citadel with crumbling walls. Burning skeletons, mephits, and lava elementals were amassing to stop the ground from entering, and several skeletal dragons soared overhead as they prepared to attack the group. Blaire noticed the twisting tentacles of a magma octopus that lurked beneath the smaller bridge that lead to the gates of the citadel, and at the center of the swarm of mephits was a larger, important-looking mephit that wielded an obsidian scepter and wore a black crown.

The mephit king called out for his subjects to chase the "interlopers" from his lands, though only Iza could understand his cry due to the still-active effect of tongues as he was speaking in some ancient primordial language. However, Lewis did not give him much time to bark out his orders, as his spectral wings unfurled from his back and he dove into the midst of the enemies. With extreme speed, he was able to grab the mephit and drag him back before any enemies could fully comprehend what happened.

After she assessed the situation, Iza withdrew her wand and pointed it at the citadel.

"Think I'm going to cool things down by taking something out of Blaire's book."

With a surge of powerful magic, geysers started to erupt from cracks in the rock and the water amassed into a massive tsunami that surged forward. It crashed over the ancient walls and swept over everything, leaving only destruction in its wake. The skeletal death dragons were able to evade the damage by flying up and away, and the magma octopus also decided it was best to retreat. The Spellforged raced behind the wall of water to make use of the opening it created, and while they ran, Lewis called for Iza to try and get some information from the mephit king after his attempts to speak draconic to him didn't work. However, the mephit king was not cooperative and managed to wiggle out of Lewis's grasp after he expelled hot fumes into his face. He shot the mephit king out of the sky before he could fully escape, and he quickly gathered up the dropped obsidian crown and scepter and handed them off to Iza to put in her bag of holding.

They were able to enter the keep before the death dragons returned, Daran and his crew on their tail, and Nayiss shot Iza a smirk.

"Way to clean houssssse."

Iza smiled proudly.

"Couldn't have done it without Blaire's inspiration."'

Reidoth overheard the compliment and shot a grunt of approval in Blaire's direction before they continued deeper into the keep and ascended the staircase. They encountered pockets of resistance, such as renegade quasits, lesser demons, or skeletons and other undead, but they were ultimately of little threat. As they went deeper, Nayiss's missing fingers started to itch and burn even more painfully, and Kevril also became aware of an oppressive demonic presence.

As they stepped through a large doorway they were confronted with an open chamber that seemed to have been used in rituals, and they could see a floating, flaming draconic skull with a massive sphere of burning blood red fire floating over it. It started to cackle loudly, and flaming, demonic undead immoliths and twisted treants and blights started to emerge from the fires at the base of the altar and the thorny planters that lined the center of the chamber.

Lewis wasted no time and attacked the nearest blight. As his attack connected there was an abrupt surge of magic through the Weave and eight galeb duhr materialized out of thin air. They spoke to each other in their own language, and appeared to be very confused as they took in the combat that was erupting around them. They thought it better to leave and promptly headed for the exit.

Kevril gripped his sword and several people around him became wreathed in warm flames that felt pleasant like sitting in front of a hearth, and he bestowed upon them resistance from some of the elements of the room as Nayiss unloaded her crossbows into the nearest immolith that had crept toward Kevril. It began to sputter and dim as she jumped into one of the twisted arboretums and hid amongst the brambles. Iza followed her lead and conflagrated the immolith with moonlight, and the fire that kept its charred and blackened bones together guttered out as the bones crumbled into ash. She then hurled one of motes of light that were still hovering around her at a blight, and the shot went wide, but she pulled on the threads of magic and tapped into the ambient warmth that radiated around Kevril to transition it to a flaming orb before she brought it through the injured blight near Lewis.

A twisted demonbough lurched toward Lewis and attempted to bite down on him, but he was able to deflect the attack away as Blaire conjured a web of fire that flowed toward one of the weeping treants. It promptly burst into flames as another hurled a rock in Blaire's direction. The massive fireball that was hovering over the floating skull was suddenly launched at the group as the Herald of Ashardalon continued to laugh maniacally. Fortunately, everyone was able to dive for some cover. Smoke began to waft into existence in a circle around the group as it then tried to erect a wall of fire, but Iza was able to counter it and the smoke was dispersed.

An ancient blight wrapped a vine around Kevril and Odd ran to give Lewis backup. She was able to hack through one of the blights with her axe, and she continued through to a demonbough as Hobart drew Nayiss and Lewis's attention to an opening on another of the demonic plant creatures. The demonbought decided to scuttle toward Nayiss and clawed at her, but as it tried to pull her into its gaping, fanged maw, she was able to slip from its thorny grasp.

Iza stepped around the aboretum that she had taken shelted behind and summoned a beam of starlight that she shifted to a fiery inferno as it washed over the treants and blights. She burned one of them to a final pile of cinders with another one of her motes, freeing Kevril, as one of the remaining weeping treants swept at Hobart. It was wailing and begging for an end to its suffering, and Hobart redirected his focus to the tormented creature to try and end it. As it sobbed, acid splashed from its contorted face.

An immolith grabbed at Odd and started to sear through her natural resistance to fire as the demonbough that had attached Nayiss pitched around her to instead claw at Iza. It drew upon her magical essence to heal, and it gurgled in abyssal as it cried for more and more. Nayiss fired two shots straight into its gnashing gullet and the tree demon broke apart, leaving Iza free of its fangs and claws. Nayiss leaped to another pillar and shot the remaining weeping treant before she disappeared back into the foliage again. Another immolith attempted to find her, but it was unsuccessful.

Blaire ignited the last weeping treant and he crumbled into ash with a blissful cry of thanks. Lewis wove through the remaining immoliths and charged for the Herald of Ashardalon. It released the spell it had cast earlier while Iza and the others were preoccupied, and a beam of brilliant, emerald energy shot at Lewis. He was able to narrowly avoid it, and the disintegration beam continued through to one of the immoliths, but it too was able to dodge. Fortunately, the beam disappated before it could threaten anyone else. Lewis grabbed the skull and ran back to the group with it before he started to pummel it with Cloudchaser.

Nayiss emerged to fire off a series of shots at the grappled skull, which, upon closer inspection, appeared to be a half-dragon skull. It was barely holding itself together before she disappeared into the foliage again. Iza then pulled out her wand of magic missile and plinked the skull to death with a series of arcane bolts. It continued to cackle wildly even as it fell to pieces.

"You're too late! You're all TOO LATE!"

The remainder of the immoliths were destroyed in short order through the teamwork of the party, including a cone of necrosis from Blaire and a fearsome smite from Kevril. Lewis pulled out his shortbow to take a few shots at an immolith that was a small distance away. Suddenly, sap from one of the dead treants started to spread across the ground beneath him as there was another shift in the Weave. He stumbled briefly on the slipperiness, but remained on his feet as Hobart gave Odd and Nayiss an opening to finish off the final demon. Nayiss shot it in the skull at the same moment Odd hewed off its head.

Ashardalon's Return

The interference now vanquished, the Spellforged continued up through the doorway that lead to Gulthias's chamber.

As the Spellforged entered the next room, they were confronted with a ruined room that was infested with twisted, interwoven roots and brambles. At the head of the chamber stood Gulthias, who gave one final offer for the group to stop their senseless pursuit. Of course, his offer went unheeded, and he summoned macabre wicker effigies of the Spellforged from the brambles as wargs that were made from vines and thorns emerged to defend their master.

However, the bramble effigies did not lost long, as Hobart provided an opening for the Spellforged and Nayiss was able to unload a barrage of crossbow bolts. Iza, wary of the defensive capabilities of Gulthias, ducked behind a wall to enhance her magic and summon the power to conjure a blast of brilliant light before she leaned around the corner and let it loose over Gulthias and his minions. The room was filled momentarily with sunlight, which burned and blinded the undead monstrosities and gave an even greater opening for Lewis, Odd, and Hobart to pick off stragglers. Kevril, with a show of holy power, released a destructive wave of energy that burned several of the thorny wolves away.

Gulthias had managed to shield his eyes against the blinding light and he closed on the group to try and rake through their numbers himself. His gnarled claws stole life essence from any he touched, and as Odd swung into him with a loud battle cry, his eyes glinted and a shadow overtook her mind. She redirected him at her companions, and Odd then struck at Blaire. Kevril was able to quickly negate the charm effect that Gulthias had inflicted, but a dangerous tactic had revealed itself. The vampiric monstrosity had turned his attention to Blaire and Nayiss and separated them from the rest of the group with a wall of thorny brambles, though Blaire was able to swiftly burn them away.

Qelline was momentarily able to break away from the efiggies that she and her fellows were also combatting and she raised her holy symbol into the air.

"Alright Chauntea, I need you to give us some help here!"'

With a sudden burst of holy light, the remainder of the bramble-twisted undead were compelled to turn away from the combat and flee. Qelline gave a quick nod to the Spellforged and ran to continue helping her companions.

His minions now melted and burned around him, or fled from the combat, only Gulthias himself remained.

Iza raised her scepter over her head and in a flash of light, she summoned a celestial avatar of Diarmuid, who promptly fired his bow at the leshen-like vampire. Odd ran up and cleaved into Gulthias's midsection and, once again, spores and ash entered her mind and her body started to move on its own. She wrenched backward and clipped Kevril with her second strike. Kevril chose to ignore Odd this time and instead drove his blade into Gulthias with a brilliant flash of radiant energy as Lewis unloaded a flurry of attacks on the twisted vampire.

Gulthias disappeared in a flurry of bats and reappeared on the other side of the chamber. Ichorous, sap-like blood seeped from his various wounds, and radiant flashes sporadically emitted through the cracks in his root-like body as he struggled to overcome the influx of holy magic. He socketed a partially distended arm back into place.

"If your blood will not pave the way to my master's return, then there is only one choice."

Fel energy began to swirl around Gulthias, and it then wafted out around him. It formed together in a figure above him, and Catalia appeared, her blade at the ready. In an act of pure fury, she thrust the blade through Gulthias's chest and then started to attack repeatedly with the blade, her form flickering across multiple places at once. She steadily tore him to pieces as she screeched in unbridled rage.

"I am SICK of being your PAWN!"

She sent a surge of arcane energy through her sire, but with a sudden burst of speed, he grabbed her in his remaining claw.

"We'll have to go together then."

Before Catalia could react, he threw himself into the open pit of fire that he had retreated to, and dragged her along with him. Daran rushed forward, but a pillar of fire and smoke erupted from the pit and prevented him from getting closer. Nayiss's missing fingers pulsed painfully as the fires of the Abyss roiled out from the pit and hordes of lesser demons began to crawl into the material plane. The stone around it began to crumble. There was a terrible roar and an explosion of flame, scale, and flesh burst from the opening. The sheer power of the act blew the ceiling of the citadel completely off.

It was a massive dragon: Ashardalon. As the lava and fiery debris settled, they could see the immense form of the greatwyrm as he tried to force his way through the portal that had been opened. All they could see was his head.

"Tremble mortals and despair, the apocalypse walks on your world once more!"

A fiery figure stepped stepped out of the dragon's chest. It was a balor, specifically a manifestation of the balor that Ashardalon had used to replace his own heart. The balor, Ammet, spread his wings and took off into the air. He started to laugh and then abruptly folded his wings once he had achieved satisfactory height, and plummeted back to the ground--aimed directly at the center of the Spellforged. There was an explosion around him as he connected with the ground, and the fire and rubble washed over the group and knocked them off their feet. The entire around him was promptly engulfed in blistering flames.

Ashardalon commented on a stench he could sense in the air, and he then fixed his gaze on Blaire. He seemed to believe she was the druid that originally slew him, Dydd, and he roared in rage as fire ignited in his throat and he lashed out at her. Ammet lifted his fist to start more waves of burning hell, but Hobart hit him in the back of his head with a sling stone. The act distracted the balor from his focus and he turned on Hobart with a growl, though the halfling was unfazed.

"Hey heartburn, come get some!"

Kevril swung at Ammet and managed to open a small bleeding wound. Ashardalon threw his head back and let loose a horrifying roar, but Lewis shot forward and struck the dragon in the throat, which interrupted whatever show of power he had planned on using. Nayiss darted around the corner she had been sheltering behind and fired two shots at Ammet, which were touched with affliction poisons. One of them started to take hold, but he forced it off with a growl as he turned his fiery gaze in her direction. However, she ducked back behind cover.

Iza used her magic to patch the more severe of her wounds and then sent Diarmuid to help Blaire. He healed her and then took several shots at Ashardalon as Blaire called upon her own magic to send a wave of healing magics over her allies to ease the burns from Ammet's plunge. Odd let loose a battle cry as she swung at Ammet and then gulped down a potion of flying so that she could lift herself off the still-burning ground.

Nayiss continued her hit-and-run assault and once again materialized with a flurry of attacks using bolts that she had smeared with affliction poisons she had created from the Lash of Shadows. This time, the holy poisons were able to take hold, and Ammet was left blinded. Hobart called out the opening for Kevril and Odd, and Kevril drove his blade through the back of Ammet's wings while Odd flew down and cleaved her axe into the balor's skull. There was a roar, and his body swelled and then started to rupture as a massive explosion swept out from him. Iza was knocked completely off her feet and Diarmuid disappeared, her concentration on the spell that kept him manifested now lost.

Hobart and Pepper charged through the carnage and he was able to get Iza back on her feet, but Ashardalon roared in fury and small meteorites rained down from above and crashed into the earth, which knocked Iza down again. Reidoth was able to break away from the other fiends that had swarmed from the portal and he impaled a balgura with a massive thorn. He crushed a mushroom in his hands and blew on the resulting dust; a wave of druidic healing magic washed over the group and he extinguished the flames that Ammet had left before he returned to help his comrades fend off the horde of lesser demons.

Wings sprouted from Lewis's back and he closed on Ashardalon with a flurry of attacks. The Weave shifted and a spectral image of Ammet emerged from Ashardalon's chest with a cackle as he grabbed at Lewis, his oppressive presence weighing on him. Ashardalon glared at Lewis and his unadulterated rage washed over him. However, Blaire summoned her magics and used immolation. She shifted the damage to necrotic as it started to sear through the gaps in his scales, and he roared loudly in pain.

"No. Not again. I WON'T LOSE TO YOU AGAIN!"

Ashardalon struggled to break through the portal, and the ground cracked around him. He snapped wildly at Blaire as she flew away from him, and Iza took off after her and hurled her last remaining mote from crown of stars at Ashardalon as she cast death ward on both herself and Blaire. Kevril charged at Ashardalon and the dragon bit down on him. He could hear the grinding of teeth against his shield, and the heat from the dragon's breath wafted over him as he heard the crunch of some of his armor, but Kevril broke through the dragon's jaws and struck, cold energy wafting around his sword. The heat began to kick up once again around the portal as fiery light ran up Ashardalon's throat. Hobart shouted out a warning.

"Oh. Shit. Get the hell out of dodge!"

The Spellforged ducked for cover as Ashardalon released a gout of hellish fire that washed over them. Kevril instead ran toward the dragon's face and planted his shield in the ground to use it to weather the fiery inferno. Ashardalon continued to try and break free of Blaire's immolation as the necrotic energy raked through his scales, and Lewis rushed forward to seize an opening and attack. Ashardalon was clearly starting to get desperate as the structure around him started to crumble down. Cardinal used misty step to materialize on top of Ashardalon's head and he drove his sword into the top of the dragon's skull and twisted it. Petals swept from him and immediately ignited in the hellish heat that radiated from the greatwrym.

Ashardalon shrieked and fire started to rush from his mouth again. He turned his ire toward Blaire and another gout of fire surged over Blaire, Odd, and Lewis. Nayiss emerged from the rubble and fired a barrage of attacks, seizing the opening in his desperation, and Odd ran through the fire with another battle cry. She swung her axe down onto Ashardalon's skull and she heard a crunch, but Ashardalon began to laugh manically and defiantly. He wasn't dead. Lava started to spurt from his wounds, but he bit down on Odd. His body was falling apart. Thick necrosis wrapped around the chasm where his true heart should have been. Hobart noticed the phenomenon and he shouted for Blaire to attack.

Blaire pulled out her moon sickle and sent a surge of necrotic energy through it as she flew down to Ashardalon and tore the sickle through the dragon's necrotizing chest. He shrieked as energy rippled through the blow, and fire and explosions started to rip his body apart. Hobart and Odd were sent flying back as the dragon's body crumbled in on itself and fell back through the open portal to the Abyss.

The citadel continued to collapse, but twisting vines held some of the debris back. Blaire could see a translucent woman with a wide-brimmed hat appear and, slowly, her face became more visible. She looked like Blaire's mother, but also different, and the rest of the Spellforged seemed to be able to see her as well, though her form was much more blurred and unfocused. She called for the group to flee, and she would do her best to ensure the portal was seal. However, she warned that they should never return.

Daran and Lewis had ran toward the portal to try and get to Catalia, but they were held back by their comrades. Blaire realized that the woman was, in fact, her ancestor, Dydd, but the only words she had time to exchange were to compliment her hat.

Odd saw a small ring on the ground, Catalia's wedding band, and she grabbed it as the conflux of planes threatened to collapse. She captured the memories of the final sacrifices that were made here within it so that they could be delivered to the Raven Queen. Daran continued to fight to try and get to Catalia, but Qelline raised her holy symbol and chanted "there's no place like home!" There was a flash of holy light as she whisked the group away with her divine magic, and they appeared in the home of Qelline Alderleaf, in a small room that she had set up as a shrine to Chauntea.

Daran dropped to his knees and started to weep as Catalia was now entirely out of his reach. Blaire, meanwhile, was a bit shell-shocked by everything that had happened, even as her friends commemorated her final strike on Ashardalon. She tried to deflect the compliments, but Reidoth swiftly put an end to it, as even though it had been a team effort, she had still played her part.

Daran was distraught about Catalia's loss and snapped at the idea that the assault on Nightfang Spire was truly a success as she was gone. However, Cardinal was swift to counter him, as him seeing what had been done as a loss was distinctly untrue and stood in opposition to everything Catalia would have wanted. Instead of fighting Cardinal, Daran decided to leave the room.

Cardinal also bid his goodbye as he didn't want to tarry overlong now that Gulthias was gone, as misfortune had a tendency to find him. He was just as cryptic as he had been before when he spoke about whatever was chasing him, but he expressed that it had been an honor to fight alongside the Spellforged. He plucked a feather from his jacket and let it fall, and it transformed into the large swan that had been his mount. He got on the bird and took off to head into parts unknown.

Nayiss expressed that Blaire deserved a drink, and Odd said that she still had her good stuff. She pulled bottles of whiskey and other spirits from her bag of holding while Iza and Lewis went to check in on Daran. He was lost in his grief, as he had been given another chance to save his wife, but he had ultimately failed. Lewis and Iza comforted him and Iza offered him the opportunity to exchange some last words with Catalia if she was truly dead, as she had a spell in her ritual book that would allow such an opportunity. After some resignation, Daran agreed, and Iza said that she could cast the ritual now, but if he was willing, they could wait until the next day and he could potentially have more time. He agreed, and left Qelline's home to go back to his own and collect his thoughts.

Iza headed off to the Sleeping Giant taproom, as Blaire, Nayiss, and Odd had moved over to the tavern at the insistence of Grista Kettlecopp, as they were still some of the heroes of Phandalin. Iza decided to explain to the group what she had found out when she spoke with the dragon god Null at the shrine: that her soul was that of Iymrith's, or at least, a sort of amalgamation of her own soul and Iymrith's, as she needed a dragon soul to truly join the draconic reincarnation cycle. However, she assured them that she was still her.

It was a fair amount to fully process, especially for a group of people that were drunk, and Nayiss opted to ask several questions about what that meant (such as the fact that someone's soul could change without fundamentally changing the person, whether or not that meant Iza now just knew how to be a dragon, and other such things). A lot of the questions Iza didn't really have solid answers for, and things rapidly deteriorated into resumed fun and drinking. Blaire was still quite overwhelmed from everything and was both drunk and tired, and she eventually dozed off in Iza's lap. The joke was made that Iza could no longer leave, and Blaire woke up just long enough to shift into a mangy cat to complete the joke.

Fortunately, that made her small enough that Iza could simply scoop Blaire up and carry her around while she slept.

That night while she dreamed, Iza had the opportunity to speak with Protanther and inform him of everything that had happened. After a moment of silence during which he reflected on everything Iza said, he decided to give her the night off from his teachings, though he made himself available if she wanted to discuss any of her revelations. She took the opportunity to do so.

The following day, Iza met with Lewis and Daran so that she could perform the ritual that would allow her to reach out to Catalia. Daran produced the certificate that marked his and Catalia's marriage to serve as an anchor for the spell, and the spirit of Catalia appeared, though she looked different than the last time they had seen her. Her expression was more serene, and she lacked the fangs that would signify her as a vampire. She spoke to Daran and explained that she felt at peace, because the hatred and hunger was gone. The pair had a tearful reunion, as Daran did not want to let Catalia go again, as he had now failed her twice, but she assured him that he did nothing of the sort. However, her own fears started to ebb in, as she admitted that she was scared. After all, she had done terrible things while under the influence of Gulthias, and during her time as a vampire.

She was worried that even her part in stopping Gulthias wouldn't have been enough to earn forgiveness, but Daran and Lewis both took the opportunity to instead assure her that she had done enough. Lewis also promised that he would do what he could to take care of those she had left behind, much to Catalia's gratitude. As the spell began to fade, she looked over at something none of them could see and informed them that it was her turn. She disappeared.

As Lewis looked at the red string he possessed that represented Ilmater, however, he got the sense that Catalia had done enough.

Daran broke down again, though it was clear that it was a cry that he needed to have, and Iza and Lewis both embraced him for a short while before he decided to go back behind his house so that he could chop some wood.

As Iza and Lewis left, Nayiss emerged from where she had been hidden. It seemed that she had watched the ritual from the shadows, though had not bothered to impose herself as she had not personally been exceptionally close to Daran or Catalia like Lewis had. She asked Iza if she would be willing to perform the ritual again. At first, Iza thought it was for Jarkul, but Nayiss clarified that she wished to speak to her father, as she wanted answers. Iza was surprised by the request, but agreed. Nayiss asked if his grave or body would work as the anchor, and Iza confirmed it would, and told Nayiss to just let her know when she wanted to do it after they returned to Waterdeep.

Meanwhile, Blaire had a conversation with Reidoth and asked if he ever got scared. He confirmed he still did, and any that claimed they did not were simply lying to themselves. Blaire mused if it ever got easier to face those fears, and Reidoth said that they don't diminish, but they were ultimately what made someone them. However, it would get easier with time, as someone can become wise to their fear: they don't master it, but they understand it.

Blaire admitted she wasn't over her fears even after several life-threatening adventures, and Reidoth said that was a good thing, as to fear was to live. However, he didn't think there was anything else he could teach her, though he had always suspected that she would surpass him someday. Blaire laughed and said that it stopped being about the teaching a while ago. With Ashardalon and Gulthias now dead for good, Reidoth said that Blaire had brought an end to several projects he had been working on for many years, and he couldn't be more proud.

The pair of them hugged and Blaired asked what Reidoth planned to do now.

Originally, he had planned on going around purging the remnants of Gulthias and Catalia's vampiric influences. However, Quelline had insisted on him taking some time to rest, even if he felt it folly as the forces of darkness didn't take such time. However, Daran needed guidance and companionship, and Qelline had offered him a place to stay. So, for the time being, he believe it important to stay and ensure the town was rebuilt and everyone was safe. Blaire had a twinkle in her eye when she told him not to squander it.

The Spellforged gathered in the town square to say their goodbyes to the denizens of Phandalin once more. Kevril planned on remaining in the town and help rebuild, though he told his brother to let him know when the final assault began, as he wished to be there. Lewis's mom dropped a care package into his arms, as well as several pairs of new clothes as his own had repeatedly been burned, and she insisted on ensuring he had everything he needed. Lewis handed the pile off to Nayiss so that he could hug his mother, and in her nosing she noticed that his mother had written his name on the inside of all his clothes.

Qelline and Carp said their goodbyes to Hobart, and Blaire gave another final farewell to Reidoth. Silda once again thanked the Spellforged for the service they gave to protecting Phandalin, and Iza finished the teleportation circle that would whisk them back to Waterdeep.

The Calm Before the Storm

The Spellforged reported back to the palace of Waterdeep so that they could debrief Jarkul more thoroughly on everything that had happened. He, in turn, informed them that the final council meeting would be in eight days time: after they had given their answer to Sandesyl Morgia about the alliance with the old Cult of the Dragon. However, he had been gauging the responses of the other council members, and he seemed confident that they could get all of them on board (especially given the Spellforged were not going to take Sandesyl's deal, which might have caused some outcry), though the Infernal Host would likely need a "generous donation" to grease their hands and get them fully committed. Fortunately that could be arranged.

The rest of the Spellforged dispersed and left Jarkul and Nayiss alone, and Jarkul took the opportunity to embrace her now that she was back. She was feeling a bit cheeky.

"I have two greatwyrmssss under my belt now. Am I a good Thymari yet?"'

Jarkul offered a smirk and replied that she was the best before he broke away and said there was something he wanted to show her. He went back to his desk and produced a slate, which he handed to her. Upon reading the draconic text on it, Nayiss realized it was a formal writ of recognition for clan Ourobori, signed by the leaders of the major clans of Tymanther as well as Vanquisher Uadjit herself. Jarkul himself was named as patriarch of the new clan, and, by extension, as a member of the clan herself, Nayiss was recognized as a citizen of Tymanther.

Nayiss smiled and made an affectionate comment about "Mister Patriarch" before she said that they should frame it. Jarkul agreed he would like that, and Nayiss asked him if he was happy. He said he was, and that it would have never been possible had it not been for her. They embraced again.

The pair settled in to relax for a bit and Nayiss took the opportunity to examine with the dark crown that Lewis had stolen from the mephit king. Jarkul asked her where she had gotten it, as it looked suspicious, and she admitted that Lewis had taken it from one of the denizens of Nightfang Spire. Jarkul asked if anyone had examined it more closely, and Nayiss admitted that no one had, which was why she was trying to figure out what it did. Jarkul suggested that they have the Blackstaff examine it, as it looked ominous, and he had a feeling that anything that came from a place like Nightfang Spire likely had more to it. Nayiss countered that it looked more stylish than ominous, but she agreed to let the Blackstaff look at it before she messed with it further.

Vajra was busy with the monitoring of the Tiamat weapon project headed by Hostu, but she was able to spare a moment to look at the crown. After some investigative spellwork, she confirmed it was good that it had been examined first, as the crown was in fact cursed, though it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Ultimately the crown had absorbed the dark energies of the tower and its wearer would likely manifest some minor vampiric traits: namely an aversion to sunlight and likely some discomfort in running water, and perhaps some prideful and dramatic traits might have been heightened, though it was hard to say. In addition, of course, to the fact that it probably would be difficult to unattune to it once it was attuned. She speculated the mephit likely would have put up a particularly large fuss if it had been taken from him before Lewis decided to destroy him.

Barring those drawbacks, however, it was safe enough, and the crown was released back to Nayiss. Jarkul said that if she wanted to use it at any point, he could at least help her break the connection, and at least now they knew what to expect with it. However, he relented that it was "stylish" as Nayiss had said, and the Blackstaff agreed.

They then went off to find a frame for the writ of recognition and in the process they ran into Elminster and some of the Sisters. Elminster happily delivered the pipe of insight that Nayiss had requested to her, as he had completed it. It was made to resemble a snake and he had engraved her initials into it in the Thymari format. She asked if he was sure he didn't want anything for it, and he assured her he didn't, as she had been doing plenty for the realms, and had also given him no small amount of enjoyment during some of their private meetings. Jarkul picked up on what was being insinuated and realized that he really should not be surprised.

Meanwhile, Odd met up with Lothar to share what happened with the encounter at Nightfang Spire, and together they headed off to Viktor's camp so that she could transfer the memories she had gathered to the Raven Queen and get tokens in return. She was informed by Viktor that he and Lothar had decided to join the mercenaries that had enlisted in the push toward the Well of Dragons. Viktor had reason to believe a few friends of his from the old cult might be present, and he wanted to purge them from existence. Such a battlefield would also be filled with loss and sorrow, and there would be ample opportunity to ease suffering and claim memories for the Queen of Ravens.

Odd produced the trinkets that contained the memories she had gathered, including the wedding band that contained Catalia's, and she retrieved several tokens. Catalia's memory had granted her a gem token. She decided to use the tokens to imbue more power into Hazirawn, and as Viktor smithed them into the weapon, she could hear the spirit in the axe sing. The strikes of Viktor's hammer seemed to resonate with his lullaby.

After Viktor finished, Odd picked up the axe again. She was hit with an overpowering scent, almost acidic and musty like a swamp, but not as offensive as the scent of something like a black dragon: it was the ambient scent of a green dragon.

The Resurrection of Kevkas Laska

Later on, Iza utilized the wish spell to create simulacrums of herself, which she codenamed Pearl and Opal so they could be conveniently referred to individually. One had been done up in pinks, while the other ones were in light purples (or rather, indigo as the simulacrum corrected). Iza introduced them to the rest of the Spellforged and explained that they would be helping her out while she focused on her most important projects and otherwise recovered from the effects of the blood ritual that had given them access to Catalia. Iza herself informed them that she would return to Amn so that she could resurrect her father, and she asked Blaire to accompany her as the druid had more experience with the resurrection magics that she would be using. They were also accompanied by Azehara and Imoen both because they wanted to meet Iza's father, and because they wanted to help in what ways they could.

Iza and Blaire prepared Kevkas's body together, though Blaire took point on the process so that Iza was spared from having to interact closely with her father's desiccated corpse. The grave-worn clothing was cut from him and he was wrapped in a burial shawl instead so that he had some coverage without having to wake up in the clothes he had been in the grave in. Iza was nervous, and Blaire gave her one last peptalk about how it was necessary to be prepared for the chance the ritual could fail, but ultimately it was best to expect the worst and hope for the best. She just needed to put her entire back into it. Iza thanked her, and then withdrew her wand as Blaire stepped away from the body. Iza held the wand up over her head and channeled her magic through it. She looked at the shroud.

"Daddy, please come home."

Her magic radiated around the shrouded body and it was engulfed in a moonlit glow. She started to get choked up for a moment, but then she centered herself and focused. The light on the shroud faded away, and for a long moment there was silence. Nothing moved. Blaired slowly peeked under the shroud, and she saw a handsome half-elf man instead of the desiccated corpse. He moved to yawn, but then saw Blaire, and he shouted in surprise. The sudden noise also startled Blaire and she shouted as well. Kevkas sat up abruptly, and Iza, who had changed her form to look like she had when she had last seen her father, ran forward to give him a big hug. Her father tried to get his bearings as he stammered and instinctively hugged his daughter. Then be began to weep and he asked if this was a dream, but Iza told him that she brought him back. He continued to stammer but then glimpsed Azehara and tensed, but Iza assured him that she helped, and Azehara said that it was a pleasure to see Kevkas again... though she was also clearly nervous about the reunion.

Kevkas took in the unfamiliar people in the room and then touched his neck, as the last thing he remembered he had been at the gallows. He then asked about his wife, and Iza explained it was a long story, but she was alive and safe. A lot had ultimately happened. He asked what year it was, and when Iza told him he realized he had been dead for several years. The fatigue of the resurrection seemed to hit him all at once at that realization.

Iza decided to then relinquish her disguise and show him what she actually looked like. Again, Kevkas was a bit overwhelmed as he noticed the different hue to her scales and also the horn that now protruded from her forehead. Iza explained that she had replaced Lennithon's influence, and Kevkas panicked, as Iza had no reason to know that name. He asked if Lennithon had hurt her, and Iza told him that he had not, but they had been able to liberate Cazra from him. Her father asked her to start from the beginning after he got something to eat, as he had just realized he was starving.

Iza introduced the other people in the room, namely Blaire and Imoen, but then she got to Paik, who she introduced as her boyfriend, and Kevkas's expression suddenly evened. Paik promptly straightened up as he tried to make a good first impression, but Kevkas held up a hand and Paik immediately silenced himself. Kevkas then looked at his daughter and asked if he treated her well, and Iza said that Paik was amazing and even her mother had approved. Kevkas smiled at Paik.

"I look forward to getting to know you very well in the coming days!"

Kevkas was then subjected to the explanation of everything that happened since his death, including his wife's involvement with the Cult of the Dragon and everything his daughter had been through. He took a long moment to process everything, and then apologized to Iza for leaving her and not telling her... anything, especially about Lennithon, their family's connection to him, and the fact their son had been given to the dragon. Iza replied that she was just glad he was back now, and he agreed that he was too. He also explained that he and Cazra had agreed not to name their first-born, as they had not wanted to get attached to the child that would be given to the dragon, but he personally had liked the ones he had been considering better than Langdedrosa: Lázaro or Leandro.

However, Iza said there was one more thing, but she could give him a break if he needed it. Kevkas said he wanted to hear it all so he could process it, and Iza admitted that, very soon, she would become a full dragon, by her choice, so that she could eventually be a force in the world greater than Lennithon. It seemed that this revelation hit Kevkas the hardest, as he immediately replied that she had been through so much and she didn't need to fight the entire world; she could just be her now, but Iza was insistent that this was who had had become. Kevkas clearly was struggling with this idea and he redirected his focus to himself, and the effect such a change would have on him. After all, he had just lost her, and she had lost him, and now she was going to go off and become a dragon and he was terrified he would lose her all over again. Iza assured him that she would still be his daughter, and she would never stop being his daughter.

Imoen took this opportunity to step in and she pointedly reminded Kevkas that Iza had saved a lot of people already, and by the time everything was said and done, she would have helped a lot more. Iza was a lot of things, but Imoen reiterated that she always remained his daughter through all of it, and this decision was her's not make, not his. So if she wished to go through with it, she would. Kevkas nodded and admitted Imoen was right, he was just afraid and overwhelmed at the idea of Iza leaving the nest... quite literally, in this instance.

Iza added that she kind of knew what that felt like, as she had sort of adopted a baby faerie dragon for a bit. She commented that they grew up so fast, and Kevkas took a moment to reckon with the idea he was a grandfather on top of everything. However, Iza promised that she would still be his little girl, and Kevkas was clearly trying to get a grasp on everything, but it was ultimately a lot. He was given some time to rest before he joined his daughter on her return trek to Waterdeep.

When they returned, Iza made arrangements to visit her mother where she was being imprisoned. She had Kevkas wait outside while she went in first, but she couldn't suppress her grin as she greeted her mother.

"I'm fulfilling my promise, mother."

On cue, Kevkas walked through the door and he and Cazra immediately took each other's hands and touched their foreheads between the bars. They started to apologize to each other, but Cazra interrupted, and said that there was ultimately no time for them to be sorry anymore. They took a moment to kiss and embrace before they pulled Iza into a tight hug with them, and there was ample weeping as they took the moment to be reunited again.

Druids and Dragons

Blaire had headed out into the woods after helping Iza so that she could have a bit of a retreat. After a few days, she could hear the sound of wingbeats, and she glimpsed a bronze dragon fly overhead. He landed and Umsheryoth transformed into his half-elven guise. He cheekily commented that Blaire was a tough woman to find, and the druid admitted that she hadn't been trying to be found. Sher plopped down on the ground next to her and explained he wanted to see how she was doing, as he had heard what had happened. However, it soon became evident that Blaire didn't want to talk about it, and the dragon opted to make small talk and explained he had gotten permission to acquire access to Waterdeep alongside Iza. He wanted to know if Blaire would be there with him, and Blaire agreed that she would.

They fell into silence for a bit before Blaire broke it to say that she wasn't going to get into whether or not she was ready for things, as she didn't think she'd ever feel like she had the chops for the heroics and everything going on because she didn't want to fell like everything they were going through was normal. After all, the majority of the Spellforged acted like it was normal to be put into life-or-death situations, or at the very least, it was normal for them. Sher countered that what she was experiencing was basically just humility, even if it was kind of self-deprecating. He suggested that they could just run away and he was certain they wouldn't be found, but Blaire sighed and said that she didn't want to run away from everything now that they were approaching the end. Sher asked what she wanted to do, and Blaire replied that she just wanted to stay in the woods and not go back to the "stinky city" even though she had just promised she would. However, she wasn't going to chicken out. Sher scoffed at the phrase.

"I don't understand that phrase. Chicken out? Have you ever seen a chicken? They are very hateful creatures. They would fight a god. I think the world needs more chickens."

Sher added that, after all this was done, they could just go wherever the hell they wanted, and the statement caused Blaire to fall into a moment of contemplation, as he seemed insistent that it would be them. She finally asked what Sher wanted their relationship to be. She didn't know what to expect, because she had been shipped around most of her life, and then dropped off with an old guy in the woods. She had slept around a bit in her past, but they had never been anything serious, and that had all seemed different from whatever she and Sher had going on. Ultimately, the expectations of the people in the city were different from those in the woods.

Sher said that he had fallen in love with her, and that was just how it was. He had thought about it for a while, and he respected whatever she wanted to do with that information. There was a path that he of course wanted, but if not, that was okay, and they both had time to figure it out if she didn't want to answer now. If his love had to take a different form, he was okay with that, but he would never force her to do anything. Blaire admitted that she thought she could love him, but she wanted to get to know him more first and see where things went after all this was over. Sher agreed that was an excellent plant.

"Do you want me to call you my little chicken? Would that be a good pet name?"

Blaire swiftly rejected the name, and Sher said they could workshop it. They decided to spend some time together until Blaire had to return for the council meeting. However, while they were talking, Sher admitted that before he met Blaire, he had thought more like a dragon. Specifically, he though Nymmurh's fondness of mortals was unhealthy (and it kind of was), but he chose to help him because Nymmurh was his father and Sher was the last remnant the greatwyrm had of his mother. But in the process, Sher had realized that he didn't actually know Nymmurh, really. He had spent a lot of time watching Blaire, and he had seen her loneliness, and he realized he sympathized and actually had the chance to do something about it. That was why his father was so fond of mortals, and Sher became a better dragon that day.

Plus, he added, she did save him from the mind control device and had gone out of her way to accompany him when he cleared out Lennithon's lairs after their encounter, and that had meant a lot to him. Blaire admitted she was still scared that big things were going to happen, and she requested a hug. Sher said that she could ask for one anytime, and then teased whether she wanted a dragon hug or a mortal hug.

Blaire returned to Waterdeep and was informed that Dala was waiting for her along with a guest: who turned out to be Delaan Winterhound. Dala promptly hugged Blaire, who asked if she was underdressed or in trouble, but Dala confirmed neither. Dala and Delaan exchanged a look and they bickered for a moment about who should tell Blaire the news, and Dala opted to do it. Blaire was presented with a symbol of rank in the Emerald Enclave: the Autumnreaver, which was the rank above where she was presently.

Blaire was in disbelief for a moment, but she then snatched the symbol. Delaan spoke up as a witness to the presentation, and he said there was one other thing: Blaire had been invited to the High Forest, as she was to be given the title of archdruid. However, the leaders of the Enclave had to be the ones that did that. Blaire thanked them, and Delaan tried to leave now that his duties were complete, but Dala insisted that he stay for lunch. Dala also asked Blaire to potentially be Lida's teacher, as archdruids normally took apprentices. Blaire started to get emotional, and only got more so as Dala continued to emphasize that she always had a place at home. They started to weep, and Delaan tried to use the distraction to sneak out, but Dala caught him before he could.

Revelations New and Old

Farideh and Havilar had returned from the missions they had been sent on, and Farideh took the opportunity to check in with Jarkul on some of the last-minute preparations for the council meeting that was to come in case he needed help with anything or needed to touch base with those back in Tymanther. However, as Farideh went to leave, her eyes fixed on Nayiss, who had been lounging on the bed while Farideh and Jarkul had their brief meeting. She stopped and asked if something had happened, because there was something different.

Nayiss commented that she had saved her asking, and she asked what was different, and Farideh had explained that the image she saw of her soul had changed: instead of there being a cage around it, it seemed almost like her soul and the cage had merged, and the imprint she was seeing was incredibly similar to those who had been Chosen by a god. Nayiss asked her what god it was, and Farideh admitted it wasn't familiar to her, but it was similar in strength to a greater deity.

Nayiss asked what that meant, and Farideh hastily explained that being Chosen didn't change the person themself, it just meant that a connection had been forged between the Chosen and the deity in question, though they couldn't be forced to do anything even if the deity had some role in mind for them. Nayiss asked if a demon lord could forge that connection, and Farideh admitted they theoretically could, she supposed, if they were incredibly powerful, but it was more likely they had a spark of divinity themselves, much like Asmodeus was both a god and the lord of Hell. Farideh offered to look into it more for her, and Nayiss agreed.

After Farideh left, Jarkul asked if Nayiss was alright, and Nayiss expressed that she was frustrated, but they agreed that ultimately Farideh had just confirmed what had already been suspected after Nayiss's encounter with Shaktari in the nightmare.

They decided to find Iza after she returned from Amn to see if perhaps she could commune with Bahamut and get some answers. She agreed, and three questions were answered. The first confirmed that at least one deity was associated with Shaktari, or rather, it was more accurate to say that Shaktari was the fiendish face, identity, and aspect of an entity that was connected to a deity. There was also definitively a connection between Shaktari and Ekhidna, and Nayiss had, in fact, become a Chosen of one facet of Shaktari.

Later on, Iza and Lewis accompanied Nayiss and Jarkul to the site of Nayiss's childhood home: a rundown cottage in the woods on the outskirts of Waterdeep. It was here that she had buried her father's body after she slew him, and again after Jarkul had asked the body several questions soon after they had first met. Lewis and Jarkul exhumed Onvyr Keytris from his grave one final time, and Iza used it as an anchor to recall Onvyr's spirit back so that Nayiss could speak to him. At first, the elven spirit did not recognize those present. He appeared to be lost and somewhat distraught, but when Nayiss gave her name he immediately recalled it, and realized that the grown tiefling woman before him was in fact his daughter. He said that she had grown into a beautiful woman, and he hoped Frulam was proud of her and was doing well.

It seemed he had no memory of what Mondath and Rezmir had done to him, and Nayiss asked what he knew about the demon that had haunted Mondath and orchestrated her conception. Onvyr didn't know what she was talking about, and seemed to be utterly confused and further distraught, as he had known that Mondath had a traumatic history, but he never had pressed into her past. Nayiss then asked about the demonic rituals she had found in the home after they had moved to the cottage in the woods, and whether he had been in control of himself after his mind was fractured.

Onvyr, again, had no idea what she was talking about, but then realization started to set in, and he became momentary more distraught as he recalled flickers of memories. He realized it had been Frulam that had betrayed him, and he said that he had only wanted a good life for her, and for Nayiss. He asked Nayiss with some amount of desperation if she had a good life and a happy childhood, but before Nayiss could even respond, he recoiled back, as he knew, given the nature of her questions, that she had not.

The line of questioning instead turned toward the old Cult of the Dragon, and Nayiss asked what he had sought with the cult. He explained that it had been a good opportunity for money and power, and with it, he would have been able to have a good life. And, later on, he wanted to give her and Frulam a good life too. Eventually, that path had lead him to become a Masked Lord of Waterdeep, after all. Though he then grew quiet, as he once again realized he had ultimately failed, in the end.

Nayiss also asked about his relationship with Sandesyl Morgia, and he promptly panicked and wanted to know if she had hurt Nayiss. Nayiss assured him she did not, and Onvyr explained that she was something like a cousin, though many generations removed. She had ultimately been the one that approached him about the cult, and by extension, helped him acquire the position he did, as their family had never been anything special amongst the elves.

Nayiss then asked what he would say to Mondath if he could speak with her, and after a long moment of silence, he finally settled on the question of "why?" He wanted to know why she had betrayed him—betrayed them—when he only ever wanted her to be safe and happy. He hoped he could do better in his next life, and Nayiss agreed that she hoped better for him.

The spirit dispersed, and Jarkul put a hand on Nayiss's shoulder to wordlessly check in. She commented that, at the end of the day, Onvyr had just been a man that had gotten too far in over his head, and Jarkul agreed that such was the case for many people. He observed that the elf's spirit must have been too restless to pass on into the reincarnation cycle, but not restless enough to remain as a ghost, but hopefully now he could rest. Nayiss agreed, and thanked Iza and Lewis for their help, before she expressed that, hopefully, this was the last time she would return to her old home.

Jarkul said that they could maybe find someone to fix the cottage up so that it could make new, happier memories, and Nayiss flatly countered that they could just burn it. After all, there were dark things in the house, and she doubted anyone would want a home where a man had been killed. Lewis also pointed out that there was still a dead body buried in the back yard. Jarkul sighed, and said that he would make arrangements to have Onvyr's body burned, and, if no one was interested in the cottage, then he would at least go through the proper channels and inquire with the fire marshal.

Not just set the place ablaze.

Resurrection of Eigeron

Iza brought Kevkas and Serissa along with the Spellforged to Arborea so that Eigeron could be resurrected and Kevkas could also be introduced to Lady Raine and Diarmuid. Kevkas was, once again, quite overwhelmed by everything, but he was greeted warmly by Lady Raine and Diarmuid, and the group was led to the room where Eigeron's body was being kept. He was laid out on a bed and seemed to have been taken very well taken care of.

Iza utilized wish to cast a resurrection ritual over the body, and the spell rapidly took hold and returned life to the corpse. Eigeron awoke with a start, and was confused about where he was, as nothing seemed familiar, but then he recognized those that had spoken with him at the Eye of the All-Father. Lewis said that it was good to see him alive, and Eigeron promptly started to laugh and pat himself all over as he realized he was, in fact, alive, and was no longer trapped as a vengeful spirit waiting for the death of his father. Iza stated that he did have some unfinished business, and Eigeron assured her that he hadn't expected a resurrection when he asked them to help with his vengeance, but he would not squander the chance. He then fully noticed Serissa, who introduced herself, and he scrambled to bow, but she told him to not strain himself, and she offered to fill him in on everything that had happened with the Maelstrom.

Eigeron agreed and listened with rapt attention to what had occurred since his demise at the Eye. After Serissa had completed the explanation, he suddenly expressed that he had an idea, and he started to launch into it, but then the exhaustion from the resurrection set in and he admitted that he needed to rest first. However, it was clear the cloud giant had started to scheme.

Refusing the Old Cult of the Dragon

The night before the final council meeting, the Spellforged and some of their companions met up for drinks. As they left to disperse for the night, they spotted Iskander, disguised, outside the bar they had chosen. He informed them that his lady was expecting her answer, and she wished to speak with them. They agreed, and Iskander led them to a shadowy alley, where they witnessed the vampire messily feast on a rat before she acknowledged their presence. Blood was still dripping from her mouth.

Sandesyl expressed her displeasure at having to contain herself in a city of the living and asked the group for their answer, and Nayiss replied that, after much consideration, they had decided to decline the alliance. The vampire was incensed by the response and immediately cited every mistake they were making by not using the resources they had offered. After all, many of their people were going to die, and it would be because of their own negligence. She started to approach as she tried to convince them otherwise, her anger evident, but Jarkul swiftly loomed over Nayiss and once sternly reiterated that she had said no.

The vampire backed off, as she recognized any attack would be follow, and Nayiss cheekily referred to her as "auntie" as she stated that she should be grateful, as they weren't keeping her and she could leave Waterdeep instead of needing to "contain herself." Sandesyl made a comment about how she knew Nayiss was Onvyr's, as she would never mistake the stench of his blood, but she offered one final hiss before she changed into a bat and flew off.

Lewiss offered Iskander a handkerchief to give Sandesyl later, and Iskander promptly laughed. He said that he was lucky his lady had not heard the comment, but he couldn't keep himself from periodically laughing even as he left.

The Fourth Council (Ches 19, 1490)

The morning after the Spellforged formally refused the aid of the old Cult of the Dragon, the fourth meeting of the Queen's Rout Council was held. Rian Nightshade met them outside the council chamber, as she wanted the Spellforged's answer concerning the offer her employer had made concerning Xonthal's Tower. She was informed that they had decided to keep the tower and not give it to anyone, as it was located in Iza's territory and could get use of it. Rian was surprised that they were not going to hand it off to anyone else, but she stated she respected the decision, and she would have to see if the situation would still be deemed beneficial enough for her employers to give their full support. She informed them she would see them in the meeting.

The meeting commenced with Laeral Silverhand formally thanking the Spellforged for the recent flood of service they contributed with the death of Iymrith and the final vanquishing of Gulthias and Ashardalon. In addition, Serissa was formally welcomed as the representative for the Maelstrom Accord. Overall, the majority of the council was not upset by the absence of Thay at the table—in truth, only the Infernal Host, Amn, and the Arcane Brotherhood were disappointed.

Focus then turned to the other events that had occurred. The Koro siblings and Marfulb had managed to successfully free the dwarven miners from the red sect dragonsoul, Cheela Flegsteel, and she had been successfully captured. Ultimately, her information would provide valuable insight to the activities of the cult while final preparations for the assault on the Well of Dragons were made. Likewise, thanks to the continued aid of Paik, Seldra Tylmarande, and Jamna Gleamsilver, the assassination attempts on a member of the council had been successfully thwarted.

Meanwhile, due to the interference of Suldil Baldoriel, Imoen, Viconia DeVir, Minsc, and Boo, the new base of operations that the Cult of the Dragon had been trying to build between the Gray Peaks and Sunset Mountains, Maekrix Okarthel, was successfully routed and several of the representatives there were either slain or captured, which allowed their resources to be claimed.

The rampage of giants was also ended by a combination of Dahl, Doumi, Chariot Vell, Farideh, and Havilar. Specifically, Zalto, the fire giant duke, was slain and the incomplete Vonindod was claimed at Ironslag. In addition, they were also able to slay the frost giant thane, Storvald, and when they moved to claim his armor at Svardborg they found the frost giants there had captured a white dragon named Cryovain, who was the same white dragon that had been sighted near Phandalin. With the aid of Iza, it was decided to make a deal with Cryovain, who claimed to be a son of Arveiaturace: in exchange for his freedom, he promised to use what influence he had to sway some chromatic dragons away from the final conflict.

Laeral then turned her focus to the council themselves and mandated that it was time to announce who would be supporting the final conflict. Sir Isteval was the first to speak up, and he declared that Daggerford and Cormyr both would commit their forces, most notable of which were the Purple Dragon Knights and the War Wizards of Cormyr. Once he gave the first declaration, one by one, each and every member of the council voiced their support to the effort, and, thanks to a generous donation that had priorly been made to the Infernal Host, even Volmer agreed that the forces he represented would commit. Support proved to be unanimous.

Eigeron's Revenge

Soon after the conclusion of the council meeting, the Spellforged reconvened with Eigeron, who had been disguised as one of Serissa's storm giant honor guards while he made preparations for the confrontation of his father. They made their way up to Skyreach Castle under the cover of Serissa supposedly wanting to have a final meeting with Blagothkus about the conflict at the Well of Dragons that was rapidly approaching. The cloud giant's guards greet them at the entrance to the castle with their frost giant captain, Vulkara, at their head, and Harshnag was sent to stand with them.

They were escorted to the primary tower and Blagothkus greeted them warmly. Serissa explained that she was there on behalf of the Wyrmskull Accord, and they then launched into some chatter about logistics and how much time it would take to get his sky castle to the Well of Dragons. However, Serissa added that there was one more thing she wanted to bring up, and when Blagothkus gave her leave, she explained that she had been led to believe that he had not been entirely truthful, both with the Spellforged, and with herself: he had claimed there was an incident that claimed his son's life at the Eye of the All-Father. Blagothkus looked sorrowful and explained that the place was a death trap and its magic was a lie. He and his son, Eigeron, had been among those that had pursued the knowledge of the Eye in the past, but when they managed to find it, they had found it to be nothing more than a trapped farce; his son's life had been claimed and he had barely escaped with his own. Ultimately, he had been glad that the Spellforged had listened to him and had not wasted time chasing ghosts.

The cloud giant had been given a chance to come clean, and he chose not to take it.

Serissa informed Blagothkus that the Spellforged had gone to the Eye. She then looked at the Spellforged, and Nayiss and Lewis explained that they had spoken to the Eye and had many of their questions answered, including questions that had aided in the uncovering of Iymrith's plot. However, they had uncovered other things there as well. Blagothkus was angered by this revelation and he demanded to know what the meaning of such a line of questioning was. Serissa asked Blagothkus if he killed his son, and Blagothkus didn't answer the question and instead retorted that he had stood at Serissa's side to fight a greatwyrm and had supported her when her own family had turned against her, so he ultimately owed her no answers as the affairs of his own family were his business and his alone. Nayiss piped up and suggested that perhaps, then, he should apologize to his son.

On cue, Iza dropped the transmutation magic she had placed on Eigeron and he stepped forward to confront his father. They started to argue over the events that had occurred at the Eye, and Eigeron asked Blagothkus if he would apologize, or if his pride would get in the way. Blagothkus refused to apologize and retorted that he could not be touched in his own castle, as it was just their word against his own, and he had risen up his guards himself and given them purpose when no one else wanted them. However, they heard thunder outside, and the sound of weapons beating in unison on the ground. Out one of the expansive windows, they could see Vulkara and Harshnag at the head of the guard, and Vulkara was shouting accusations in Blagothkus's direction, such as "kinslayer" and "betrayer".

Serissa reminded Blagothkus that storm giants were known for their mastery of divination magics, and she revealed a clairvoyance censor that she had conjured to project the entire encounter to the soldiers, and the spirit of Blagothkus's wife, Esclarotta. Fog washed overt he grounds, and lightning flashed overhead. Blagothkus was enraged, and he grabbed his morningstar and tried to goad his son into attacking him—after all, it was clear he wanted revenge, so Blagothkus demanded that he showed the courage to seize it.

However, Eigeron didn't attack. He retorted that he knew Blagothkus's tricks, and he knew that if he did attack, and he managed to kill him in his castle, Blagothkus would banish Esclarotta from it and instead seize it for himself so that he could crash it down on the city below. However, there had been preparations made: the massive statues down below could move, and the woman that controlled them had been alerted to what would be going down. So even if Blagothkus did die here, any schemes of retribution he had would be stopped. However, Eigeron said that killing him wasn't what he wanted. What he wanted was for Blagothkus to leave and never show his face again, so that he would have to live knowing he lost everything he had built with his blood-stained hands. If he chose to come back, he would be killed then.

Blagothkus threatened that Serissa's accord would crumble because she didn't have the strength to make the tough choices people like him could. Ultimately, someone else would finish what he started. The cloud giant whistled and then turned and heaved himself out the window, and he was caught in mid-fall by his roc. He continued to curse Serissa and anyone that had undermined him as he started to fly away, but a bolt of lightning careened out of the sky and struck him. There was raucous laughter from the guards, and Blagothkus was forced to fly away with his tail between his legs.

Eigeron laughed at the sight and then looked to the Spellforged with excitement clear on his face, as his vengeance had been successful. He thanked Serissa and the others for their help, and he then headed down to talk to the guards and explain everything more thoroughly to his mother.

Reflection in the Astral Sea

Lewis had accompanied Serissa back to Maelstrom so that he could spend mor time in their meditation pools. He was trying to center himself for the storm that was to come, and he felt himself leave behind the immediate worries of everything. His mind projected outward, and something in the back of his mind urged him to open his eyes. He had come to a strange place. It was filled with beautiful lights and stars, but it was also an empty, vast, endless expanse that spread out in every direction. He was floating in the middle of it, and he knew he wasn't there physically, but yet his spirit, through meditation, had found a realm beyond the realms.

The realm felt familiar, as if he had passed through it many times in the past, no matter how briefly. It was the Astral Plane, and he had come her seeking a way forward on whatever path he had chosen to pursue. He returned to the Astral Plane multiple times between the day of the final council meeting and the march on the Well of Dragons. The first few times, he just floated in the emptiness. He saw storm clouds in strange patterns, and constellations that seemed to move and twist an infinite distance away. He saw a sun that resembled the eye of a great beast in the depths of the ocean, but he didn't find anything alive he could speak to, nor anything that even acknowledged him. He was alone, yet also not alone.

However, on his final journey before his duties took him elsewhere, he found something he could touch: it was a body of earth. It wasn't a planet, but it was something that he could approach, and what looked like a desolate waste alighted with life as his feet came in contact with it, as if it responded to his very essence. He stepped forward, and with each step, something else bloomed. When he turned around, however, the path he made wilted as he moved away. He created a pattern of rebirth and death with every step.

He walked along the hills and curves of the strange alien formation. It was almost like a chunk of an asteroid. He eventually came to what appeared to be the end of it: a large, lonely expanse of twirling nebulas, as if he was looking out into an empty ocean. It almost looked like fingers. Then he realized they were fingers. He could make out the face of a titanic entity that was mostly covered in rock and stone; two eyes stared open and petrified forever. But on the hills that looked like the figure's lips, he could not see sadness or grief. He just saw acceptance. It was impossible to say who or what this entity was, but he had born witness to the final resting place of something much larger than him. Perhaps she had been some sort of god of life, or perhaps some titan of death. Regardless, every footstep brought forth a spark of life just for a flicker of a moment, and it felt significant even if no one else ever knew it had happened.

Lewis sat and took it all in, because it was beautiful and precious, even in the small moments it had. What he took from that moment would be up to him.

A Union of Ravens

Iza had gone and sought out Lothar for guidance so that she could adequately plan his and Odd's wedding, and with Blaire's help, they were able to find a nice copse of trees in the Neverwinter Woods. It was close enough to Falcon's lodge that they could have an after party there as well and, true to the customs of the Raven tribe, it was to be a simply decorated ceremony.

A few days before the allotted day of the ceremony, giant ravens began to arrive with people on their backs: representatives of Lothar's tribe. Most were human, though some had clear orc blood, and they bore ceremonial garb. A shorter, broad man with dark skin and long, braided hair down to his ankles was among him. He was Odd's height exactly. He looked up at Lothar and then straight at Odd, and Lothar greeted him as father. However, the man ignored him and instead squinted at Odd. He squeezed her arm and commented that Lothar found a strong one, and his mother would be pleased. At that moment, there was an impact as a 9-foot-tall humanoid covered in black feathers landed. She transformed out of her wereraven form, which was not much shorter. She was also dark-skinned and covered in battle scars. Lothar bowed his head and greeted her as the elder shaman.

The woman looked at Odd and commented she didn't expect Odd to be almost taller than Lothar's father. She asked if Odd believed herself strong enough to bond with Lothar of the Raven Tribe, and Odd said she was. The elder shaman whistled and some other tribesmen brought over a stone. The woman touched the stone and engraved it with the symbol of the Raven Tribe. She commanded Odd to break the stone, and Odd took it and immediately broke it in two. The large woman's brow rose in surprise. She said that Lothar had her blessing. Odd was told later that the woman hadn't actually expected her to physically break the stone, as the Raven Tribe was also about cleverness and innovation, but strength worked. She also found out later that the woman was not Lothar's biological mother: his father was his biological father, but Lothar's mother had not been a member of the tribe and left Lother with his father when he was very young. The elder shaman, Lothar's father's now-mate, had effectively taken the role of his mother.

On the day of the wedding, Blaire presided over the ceremony. It was set up amidst makeshift standing stones, and in the middle was a large slab where the elder shaman and Blaire stood. Lothar and Odd entered on opposite sides of the grove. Lother was dressed in a mantle of thick black raven feathers with pieces of bone and jewelry woven through his hair. Odd was in a dress of black feathers. As the two of them met in the middle of the standing stones, they presented themselves before Blaire and the elder shaman. Blaire fidgeted, and Koh cut the drum beat that she had been leading. Blaire informed the pair that the ritual of the hunt would begin, and they were asked to strip to the ritual garb beneath the more ornamental outfits. Odd had three minutes to run as far as she could, and after that time, it was her job to ensure that Lothar couldn't catch her, though Blaire informed her that she was not to go beyond the marking stones that denoted the barrier of the area. It was Lothar's job to hunt and track her, and ultimately bring her back.

The elder shaman lifted a large raven skull with ash in it and she marked Odd's forehead.

"With this, the raven's spirit will bless you with the wisdom and cunning to perform your duty."

She then moved on to Lothar and marked his forehead in the same way.

"And with this, the raven's spirit shall bless you with the speed to succeed."

A horn sounded and the drumbeats resumed. Koh cheered Odd on as she broke into a sprint into the woods. Three minutes later, a second horn blew, and Lothar shed his cloak and leaped into the trees to hunt for Odd. It didn't take him long to find her. They proceeded to wrestle and Odd was able to slip away from him by grabbing and hurling a boulder into his path, which caught him off guard. Odd thought that she had successfully evaded him, but she was suddenly swept off her feet and they tumbled over each other until Lothar landed on top of her and pinned her to the ground. He smiled and told her that it had been a great hunt, and they kissed before he scooped her up and took her back to the site of the ceremony.

Nayiss passed a gold piece to Justice, as she had bet Odd would have gotten found faster.

Blaire began to move into the closing of the ceremony, and Lothar took Odd's hands and told her that he saw her. Odd returned that she couldn't wait to make more memories with him. But at that moment, everything froze, and a single black feather fell down between them. Odd was the only person that could move, and, sensing something, she looked around. At the very edge of the audience was a tall, feminine figure cloaked in black feathers with a porcelain mask: the Raven Queen. She approached and told Odd that she had done so well gathering rich, beautiful memories. She ran a long, talon-like fingernail down Lothar's cheek and asked Odd if she loved him. Odd said that she did.

The Raven Queen commented that the fact she could experience such emotions was strange, and her "little Odd" continued to surprise her. She looked forward to watching her more, but for the time being, she had a wedding gift for her. Of sorts. The Raven Queen pulled something from her sleeve and placed it in Odd's hands. She said that Odd would need it, and when the moment was ripe, she would know what to do with it: in Odd's hands was a heart-shaped scale that seemed to be made of pure ruby.

"Go, my lovely child. Continue to live. To laugh. To love. One day, all of these people you chose to be your beloved will die. You'll lose every one of them. Grow that love so that when that sorrow consumes you, you may share it with me. Congratulations."

The Raven Queen touched the lips of her porcelain mask to Odd's forehead, and she disappeared. Everything started to move again, and the elder shaman handed Odd and Lother a perfect, obsidian hand axe. She lashed their clasped hands to it with hempen rope, and Blaire explained that, for the next day, they would carry the axe as a representation of their bond. She said the final statements and declared them mates, and they kissed. Everyone retired to Falcon's lodge for the afterparty.

Odd told Lothar that the Raven Queen had appeared to her, and she showed him the scale that the goddess had given her. He said it looked like a dragon scale, though it wasn't one he had ever seen before. He suggested that she showed the scale to the rest of her friends, and she and Lothar went to find them. Lewis suggested that it could perhaps be meant to capture a memory of Tiamat, should her avatar arrive and be defeated. The scale sparkled like a gemstone, and Iza recalled some of the lessons from Protanther and Bahamut: specifically the name Sardior, the ruby dragon, and the first child of Bahamut and Tiamat. It seemed that the Raven Queen had gifted Odd with a scale from Tiamat's deceased child so that she could collect her sorrows.

Near the end of the party, Volmer showed up and approached Odd and Lothar while they were talking with Nayiss. He had not been invited, but he wanted to extended his congratulations as he had an unorthodox present for Odd. He was glad Nayiss was around as well, as Lorcan had returned from his sojourn into the Abyss and had found what they needed to track down Rohini. Odd crushed the cup she had in her free hand, and Volmer told them to seek him out in Neverwinter when they were ready to go. Lothar said it would be a good first hunt.

The Double-Agent

Thanks to the aid of the Blackstaff, Nayiss was able to visit the dreams of Frulam Mondath. Vajra had allowed Nayiss to borrow her quarters for the part of the evening that would be required, as she assured Nayiss she would not be getting sleep that night with the excessive amount of work she still had to do as the construction of the weapon to be used against Tiamat continued.

The dreamscape that manifested was the dark, bloody realm of Vudra, and Mondath seemed to be struck with panic and confusion when she initially arrived in the dream, but then her eyes found Nayiss. Mondath wanted to know what Nayiss wanted, and the tiefling replied that she was simply checking in on whether Mondath would stay true to their deal, or if she needed to put a target on Mondath's back. Mondath admitted that she had heard of the activities of the Spellforged, and she imagined that a march on the Well of Dragons was inevitable. Nayiss confirmed.

Mondath agreed that if they managed to make it to the ritual chamber in the Well of Dragons, she would make good on her part of their deal, as she had no intention of dying for the cult. She also confirmed the state of the storm giant king Hekaton, as the red wizards had turned him into some sort of death knight using their necromantic magics. She also confirmed some of what Sandesyl Morgia had said, and identified the supposed "custodian" of the Well to be a death knight, of sorts, that was only truly loyal to the protection of the fortress. She also informed Nayiss of a series of tunnels that entered the structure, as an assault from above would likely result in far more deaths than her allies would have been comfortable with.

Nayiss then took the opportunity to make a cheeky jab about how Onvyr had said that he hoped Mondath was "proud of her," which gave Mondath pause, and she asked Nayiss if she had found a way to speak with him. Nayiss confirmed, and said the only question that he had for her was a desire to know why she had betrayed him when all he had wanted was to give her a good life. Mondath stated he had been a good man, one that had been too good for someone wretched like her, but he had gotten in over his head. However, she said that she didn't waste thoughts on those who were dead.

Nayiss said she would see Mondath soon, and the dream was allowed to fade. She decided to return to her suite with Jarkul instead of remain in Vajra's chambers, but she took the liberty to fix the Blackstaff a pot of coffee before she left. Vajra was nearly in tears due to sleep-deprivation when she saw it, and she told Nayiss not to breathe a word of the show of emotion at something as benign as coffee to anyone.

A Meeting of Not-So Chance

Hobart had spent much of his rest time focusing on sending letters to old allies and making arrangements to go on a mop-up mission to try and further splinter the old Cult of the Dragon when everything was said and done. Many people were both surprised and pleased to hear he was still around, as they had not known what happened to him after he entered a quiet retirement before the resurgence of cult activity.

One night, while Hobart was out walking with Pepper, he heard a whistle, and when he turned to look he noticed Sister Garaele was there. She was dressed in traveler's clothes, and she greeting him warmly. Hobart invited her to a late-night dinner, and then went off. Garaele informed him that she had looked into some of Hobart's other exploits since they had last spoke, and Hobart said that he simply had a knack for trouble and some good luck. She asked if he was glad that he came out of retirement, and he replied that he was happy enough, but he tended to just accept things as they happened. So far, things had worked out. Garaele asked how he hoped things would turn out after Tiamat, and he said that he wouldn't mind keeping busy. After all, retirement was nice, but he ultimately wasn't much of a homebody; he had wandering feet and they were raring to go.

Garaele got quiet as she ran a finger around the edge of her wine glass. She expressed hope that the situation with the cult could be handled well, as fortune favored the bold, after all. Hobart assured her that boldness was in surplus, and he had seen worse odds before. He explained that apocalypse scenarios had a tendency to hamstring themselves, as there was frequently infighting, and he was confident that things would turn out fine. Garaele mused that she was familiar with the idea of tearing oneself asunder, even if one didn't want to. She asked Hobart to look out for the Spellforged, as they had done a lot for the world. Even if they likely would go their own ways after, she hoped that he could ensure they were safe. He replied that such a task was both his privilege and his specialty, and he jauntily flipped a coin.

The priestess asked if she could see the coin, and Hobart flipped it to her. It was a lucky coin of Tymora. He explained that he couldn't remember how long he had it. She smiled as she looked at it, and her lips moved silently. Then she flipped the coin. She looked at the result, smiled, covered it, and then blew into the hand before she flipped it back. She said that she was glad she could run into Hobart again, and she thanked him for the meal. Hobart, in turn, thanked her for the company and explained that he loved Pepper, but she wasn't much of a conversationalist; she was a woman of profound by few words. Garaele chuckled, and Hobart asked what brought her so far from Phandalin. Garaele replied that it was just business. She flashed a Harper pin, and Hobart replied that such was enough said. They parted ways for the night.

However, several days later, he received a letter from Garaele. It explained that she had been thinking a lot about the time they spent together when they met in Phandalin, and she wanted to thank him for the conversation, as it was something she had needed. However, she hoped he could visit her again in Phandalin sometime, as she couldn't leave that often, especially with the rebuilding efforts. For a moment, Hobart was confused, but as he looked back on the encounter with her in Waterdeep, he realized he couldn't fully picture Garaele's face. The last time that had happened was when he had spoken to a woman during the Time of Troubles who had turned out to be an avatar of Tymora.

Hobart folded up the letter and then withdrew his coin. He flipped it, caught it, looked at it, and then nodded before he pocketed it again. Unbeknownst to him, his luck blade had gained another charge.

Izadora's Ascension

The preparations for the party that would celebrate Iza's transformation into a dragon were made for her by her father and her two simulacrums, and the guest list contained all her friends and other big names that she could trust, which were all invited to her family manor in Athkatla. Even Lady Raine and Diarmuid had made it, though Lady Raine, in her humanoid form, was clearly clutching tightly to Diarmuid's arm, as she was quite overwhelmed by the crowd even if she was laughing and having a good time. Tasha and Hostu were also present, and there was some tension between them and the other attendants, but they opted to stay out of everyone's way.

Iza was given several gifts: a mirror that could be used for scrying from Nayiss and Jarkul, a plush hoard drake from Lewis (because they were unable to recover actual hoard drakes from Iymrith's lair), and a magic hand mirror from Hostu that always showed Iza's best angle and what she looked like in a well-lit room. Hostu then opted to make herself scarce because she was trying to dodge too many people. Blaire had produced homemade chips and dip from her hat of holding, as she wasn't sure what one brought to one of these parties and chips and dip was always a safe bet.

Iza then got tackled by a faerie dragon, who was revealed to be Yumi, though they had started to turn blue. Iza introduced him to Kevkas, and Yumi tackled him as well with a gleeful call of "grampa!". They then saw the rest of Yumi's family, as well as another faerie dragon who was green with a few yellow specks that resembled freckles on their face. Yumi introduced them as Rushi, and they were revealed to be Yumi's mate. They had talked about moving into their own mushroom soon, and they also were hoping to having a clutch of their own in the future once Rushi fully turned green. Apparently, they had met over their shared enjoyment of bugs.

Meanwhile, Hobart was taking the opportunity to catch up with and chat with old friends he recognized at the party. He settled down to engage in some good-natured philosophical waxing with Elminster over their smoke pipes, and in the process he accidentally spent the wish his luck blade had been recharged with: specifically that he wished everyone could hold on to the good feelings they were fighting for until the dust of the battle settled.

As the night wore on, Iza thanked everyone for coming, and she said that she had wanted this party to be for everyone as she couldn't have gotten to the place she was at now without the help of everyone there. She raised her staff to cast the spell that would transfigure her into a dragon, but Paik interrupted her and asked if he could say something. She encouraged him to do so, and Paik also thanked everyone, but he said that he wanted to specifically say something to Iza, as they had been through a lot together and he was incredible proud of everything she had done. He wanted her to know that he would be with her for every step of her future journey, not matter what was asked of him.

At that moment, he withdrew a silver box and knelt before her and asked her to marry him.

Iza put a hand over her mouth and started to tear up as she said yes. The audience cheered, and Paik kissed her under the moonlight before he told her to spread her wings. Iza raised her staff so that the moonlight glinted off the gemstone at its tip, and she wished to become a dragon in both body and soul. The magic swirled up from the staff and a single shooting star careened across the moonlit sky as the magic lifted Iza off the ground. Her form became a silvery platinum color, and her form began to shift as she turned into the radiant silhouette of a dragon. And then she roared.

Protanther, who had attended the party disguised as a cantankerous cat on the windowsill, nodded in approval. Sher and Leosin cheered, and Amundra and Lady Raine beamed. Fireworks went off, and an immense wave of exhaustion washed over Iza as she sat back on a large, silken couch that had been prepared to support her larger draconic form. Kevkas took the opportunity to also thank the attendees and began the process of seeing off those who would be leaving, and making arrangements for those that were spending the night. Iza was escorted back to her own room once the crowd dispersed, where Paik, Kevkas, and several of her friends nestled in to sleep in a comfortable pile for the night.

While it was painful to do so, Iza was able to connect her entire family in a dream so that they could share the night together. Kevkas and Langdedrosa started at each other for a long while, as it was the first time they had seen each other since Langdedrosa had been given to Lennithon as a baby. Finally, Langdedrosa said that it was a pleasure to meet Kevkas, and he started to apologize, but Kevkas interrupted him because, after everything, he and Cazra should have been the ones apologizing to him. They started with a handshake, and Kevkas joked that Langdedrosa wasn't to call him "Mr. Laska." Langdedrosa decided on father instead, and Kevkas pulled him into a hug that was then joined by Cazra and Iza.

Forging the Next Generation

After Iza had mostly recovered from her transformation into a dragon, and had gained access to Waterdeep, Lewis called upon her and Hobart to see if they could find some luck stones as he wanted to purchase one for himself as well as for Serissa. They ran into Sir Isteval, who was walking through Waterdeep in the company of another Cormyrian man. Isteval waved down the group and informed Lucas that his companion was the man he had wanted to introduce Lewis to. His name was Aubrin Crownsilver, though the man added that he preferred to just be called Brin. Brin explained that he had made an adventuring band of his own after the last few years, and he wanted to know if Lewis and some of the other Spellforged could talk with them and raise their spirits as they would be fighting against the Cult of the Dragon during the attack on the Well of Dragons.

However, at that moment, a voice shrieked his name from down the road: it was Havilar. Before anyone could fully respond, she had ran directly for the group. Brin paled and turned to run himself, but a hellhound emerged out of a gate and caused him to trip and fall to the ground. Havilar leaped over the hellhound and landed right on top of Brin, successfully pinning him to the ground. She kissed him, and then slapped him immediately after. Brin was baffled and expressed he thought Havi was mad at him, and Havi confirmed she was, especially because he hadn't told her that he was in town, but she decided she wasn't anymore. She then waved to the rest of the group and introduced Brin again, and decided to tag along on whatever they happened to be doing.

Lewis goes to speak with Brin's crew along with Iza and some others. Four people that had gathered recognize them: two are members from the false "heroes of Greenest," the leader and his mage companion. The third and fourth were the rogue and gladiator Hostu and Odd had fought at the inn after the Trollclaw Ford. The gladiator promptly asked for Iza's autograph as he said his kid sister would love it.

Lewis gave a motivating speech about always growing and improving, even after everything seemed to be said and done. One recruit asked how to keep going when things got hard, and Lewis said that he always thought back to the people he had already helped. They moved on into training so they could help teach the recruits more about how to protect those that could not protect themselves, and Lewis returned multiple times with different companions, including Seldra, who shared her own experiences.

Loose Ends

Meanwhile, Hostu had decided to try and track down the people she had hurt when she went rogue as she wanted to try and make amends to them in what ways she could. She also decided to try and contact Toast, and she managed to actually make contact. However, he explained a lot had changed since she left, and it was best that she forgot about him because he couldn't do work for her anymore; something else had gotten their claws in him. He mentioned the Great Horned Rat, which Hostu was able to identify as the demon Chittr'k'k, who was a powerful demon lord in the Abyss.

Hostu decided to utilize the contact other plane spell to try and contact the demon and threatened him. There was no response, but for the next several days she found rats watching and following her. She decided to give Tasha a warning of what had happened and that she planned on going to the Abyss to get Toast back. Tasha informed Hostu that she wouldn't be attending the actual assault on the Well of Dragons, but she wished to give Hostu a lender, if it was Hostu's plan to charge into the Abyss. She held up a book: specifically, it was the Demonomicon of Iggwilv. Tasha explained that it contained information on most powerful demons in the Abyss, and several were even imprisoned within it. She expected more information to be added by the time she got it back, though she warned Hostu that it was an incredibly dangerous tome, and it should only be used when needed, as the demons trapped within would try to possess whoever attuned to it. Hostu was amazed and graciously thanked her for the loan.

Hostu also tried to contact Odz, and she said that she wanted to have the talk they never had the chance to have, as he owed her at least that much. However, he didn't bother to respond. When she reached out to Drahl, however, he did respond, but he said that they could talk when she actually proved herself worthy of the words.

Serissa's Favor

As the day of the march on the Well of Dragons rapidly approached, Lewis sought out Serissa so that he could check in on her, as they all knew that they would be facing whatever remained of her father, Hekaton. He had also brought along a luck stone, which he had ensured was appropriately sized for her. She was incredibly touched by the gift, and she asked Lewis what he planned on doing after the threat of the tyranny of dragons was ended. He answered that he wanted to keep helping people, no matter where it took him.

Serissa replied that it was a wonderful goal, though there was clearly sadness in her eyes. Lewis asked what was wrong, and Serissa attempted to deflect the question, as she felt it was for the best she didn't say. However, Lewis insisted, and Serissa admitted that she was wondering if he would return to Maelstrom with her when all this was over. Lewis countered that he wouldn't be spending all his time adventuring, so he didn't see why he couldn't come spend some time with her, and Serissa further explained that she felt it would be good to have someone that knew the smallfolk around... and she would enjoy it if he came back with her again, even for a little time. Lewis confirmed he would love to help her, and that what she wanted to do was wonderful.

Serissa was quite embarrassed about the entire thing, but admitted that she used to be fascinated by stories of human knights, and she recalled that the knight champions would receive favors from ladies... and she wished for Lewis to accept her favor so that it could maybe protect him in the challenges that were still to come. She withdrew a smallfolk-sized wreath of aquatic plants and flowers and held it out to him, but she said he didn't need to accept it if he didn't wish to. Lewis said that he would be happy to, and she draped it around his arm like a sash. They joke for a little bit about how it even matched the blue color of his skin, and Lewis said he would need to ensure his new clothes would match it as well.

Lewis thanked Serissa for the favor with an added "my lady" to the end, and Serissa blushed and curtsied and she returned that he was most welcome, "ser Colt".

End of Rohini

Odd got together with Nayiss, Hobart, Lewis, and Blaire to meet with Volmer and Lorcan in Neverwinter. Farideh and Havilar also insisted that they came, as they also had history with Rohini, and Chariot also wanted to lend her support. Lothar, of course, was there to help support his new wife, and Jarkul also insisted on coming as there was little more he could do to prepare for the attack on the Well of Dragons and he didn't want Nayiss to go to the Abyss without him at her side.

Lorcan informed them that he had a contact in Azzagrat, as Rohini wasn't popular in the Abyss either. He also explained that things were more hectic than usual, as apparently a massive wave of blood and ichor had wiped out half the city and it was in the process of being rebuilt. Nayiss and Jarkul exchanged a look at the news, as it was the blood wave she had experienced in the nightmare in which she spoke to Shaktari. The cambion went on to further explain that there were layers of the Abyss that were even deeper than the accepted "expected" number of 666 layers—many of which waxed and waned and were replaced based on the politics of the plane. Apparently Rohini and her cohorts had been tracked to a fading layer deep beneath the current 666 layers that was called Olvoth. Lorcan further stated that almost nothing was known about it, and that he couldn't be blamed if this was a trap because he vetted everything as well as he possibly could.

Lorcan also produced a scroll of plane shift that would be used to get them to Azzagrat. Lewis asked how they would get back to the material plane, and the cambion replied that he could get himself back without a problem, but he hoped the group was resourceful enough at this point to have a ticket back as he couldn't cover everything. Farideh said that she could handle it, and she also took the scroll as Lorcan was ultimately not equipped to cast it himself. There was a sickening lurch in the group's guts as the spell was cast, and they appeared on the outskirts of a truly bizarre city: there was an expanse of opulence and silver and violet that spread across the horizon, and there was a fake skyline with a violet moon overhead. However, there was a trail of destruction that carved right through the center of the entire city, all the way to a massive palace made of silver.

Nayiss's eyes burned as she stared at it, as she was keenly aware Reluhantis was somewhere inside, and Jarkul placed a claw on her shoulder to draw her from the apparent trance. He reminded her that there would be a time, as tempting as it was, and she responded that she had just been admiring the destruction. Jarkul gave her a look that clearly indicated he saw through the statement, but Nayiss pulled herself away from the sight.

Lorcan led them to an alleyway behind a twisted building, and a hunched shadow lurked out from the darkness. It was a small-sized rat-demon that was wearing a long cloak. A snout with long incisors peeked out from the edge of the hood. He informed them that he could get them out of the city, and he lead them all the way to a tunnel, though he warned them to remain close as the tunnels themselves could change and there was a risk that they would get split up onto different layers if they were separated. They walked for a while, though it was likely not long enough for where they were going. However, at the end of the tunnel, the demon bid them farewell and informed them that the Great Horned Rat wished them a good hunt. He seemed almost melancholy as he retreated back into the tunnels.

Lorcan warned the group not to stare at anything for too long, and Volmer stepped first onto the layer they had arrived on, as he was also clearly excited to be rid of Rohini. Everything was dark and almost swampy; the ground had a sort of stiff give to it that seemed spongey but also not. Blaire was able to navigate fairly easily through the swamp-like terrain, and eventually they arrived at the edge of an inky black lake. Nayiss felt her stomach twist and churn with a deep, deep hunger that rippled through the very fibers of her being as she glimpsed dark shapes and shadows that resembled massive, gnashing teeth. She felt the overwhelming desire to consume, and a hunger beyond all reason, though it also resembled an unquestionable deja vu beyond her understanding.

It seemed the others were also discomforted by the sights, though the extent of the effect varied.

At the edge of the water, her feet dangling in it, was a woman. She was humming, and her tuned filled them all with unimaginable dread. She didn't have wings, as if they had been torn off, and her skin glistened in the anti-light, as if it was slick with moisture. Her hair was wet. It seemed this was the woman they were seeking. Volmer shifted to his full bone devil form as he called out for Odd to attack. Odd raced forward, and Rohini seemed unbothered as she calmly commented that she was there. Odd brought her axe down and buried it right in the succubus's chest. Rohini turned to look at Odd, and her eyes were nothing more than inky pools of blackness.

"You're all just in time. Can you hear it? The chorus. The song of Olvoth. It's all around us. It's getting louder. Come. Let us welcome it. Let us welcome it together!"

Odd wrenched her axe free and Rohini's body started to bend in upon itself. A nest of writhing tentacles emerged from her chest, and she kept repeating the request for the group to come and sing with them. An illusion of Rohini's ripped face gazed upon them, and as her body continued to warp, she started to resemble the silhouette of a twisted aboleth. Bloated, drowned enemies surged from the inky waters of the lake and started to attack the group. Lewis ran straight into them and knocked several into a grouping before he brandished his sword and blasted them all with a cone of radiant damage. His companions seized the opening and broke through the burned remains of the drowned forms, which seemed to be a mix of demons and mortals alike.

The tentacles flailed about and then shot forward at the group. Nayiss ran forward to meet them and draw their attention. The tentacles wrapped around her and attempted to constrict, but she was able to effortlessly break free. She aimed Darklight at the mass of tentacles and the demon canon began to whirl and then fire. The beam cut through several of the writhing masses. Jarkul followed after her and cut through more as he bright his weapons down and released a wave of destructive, radiant energy. However, a wave of water washed over him, and he started to cough and choke.

Blaire countered the wave with a wave of mud that crashed it apart, and she was able to purify whatever toxins had caused Jarkul to choke. He thanked her, and Havilar summoned her imps. Hobart directed them, and they were able to break through another horde of drowned creatures. Lorcan and Volmer followed up and carved an opening through the next onslaught, and Volmer barked at Odd to attack. Lothar linked arms with Odd and then used his momentum to hurl Odd straight at the aboleth. She raised her axe and could feel a sound resonate through it. She released a scream and ripped right through the center of the monstrous creature.

"It comes. The light... devour... its song... so... sweet."

The monstrous, distorted aboleth began to crumble and fall to pieces, and the tentacles and drowned, bloated bodies of its servants also melted into a thick sludge. Volmer dryly commented that it was about time Rohini was truly put to an end, and he reached down and ripped off a piece of one of the tentacles so that it could serve as proof for the innumerable bounties that had been put out for her. He said that it was likely wise for them to leave, and Nayiss commented that was Farideh's cue. Farideh started to cast plane shift as Odd took one final look at Rohini and commented that she had never heard her say the name "Olvoth" before. Lothar said that the realm they were in was wrong even for the Abyss, but it was ultimately over.

Farideh completed the spell and they were spirited back to the material plane. However, all of them had terrible nightmares that night, and felt a gnawing hunger.

Burying the Hatchet

In the final days before the march to the Well of Dragons, Blaire sought out her father in his study so that they could have a final conversation. She informed him that she had been offered a position as an archdruid, before launching into a targeted question:

"Would this finally make you proud of me? Would that be enough?"

Her father was taken aback by such a question and said that she didn't need to judge her own achievements based on his pride. She had ultimately achieved the role of archdruid despite everything he had put her through, and despite the lack of support from him or the majority of the Emerald Enclave. However, Blaire retorted that being told he was proud of her was what she wanted when she came back from the Well. Olrath replied that she needed to promise him she would come back, then, and he also told Blaire that her mother hadn't achieved archdruid until she was a few years older than Blaire was now. Blaire joked that if she did die, then she could tell her mother hi for him. He said that he wanted to be able to tell her that before Blaire did.

Olrath offered to throw Blaire a birthday party before she went off to accept the rank of archdruid, and she admitted that sounded nice. He also said they could hire clowns to make up for the parties that he had missed, and Blaire refused, as she didn't want clowns or a pony; clowns were kind of terrifying and she could just be a pony. Olrath offered his daughter a bittersweet smile and said that he loved her, and Blaire went off to say goodbye to Dala as well.

July 7th Session (Organize)

The Rise of Tiamat

19th of Tarsakh

The Eve of Battle (Tarsakh 29, 1490)

The march arrived at the camp near the Well of Dragons. It was humble, but large. Dragons were camped out around it, and they could see the fortress of the Cult of the Dragon rising from the mountain in the distance. For a hundred miles in all directions, the landscape served as a grim harbinger of what Tiamat's rule would mean for the world. There were bones of ancient wyrms scattered across the entire vicinity like moss on a forest floor. Little remains in the territory surrounding the Well of Dragons, and the constant drone of the Draakhorn has forced the local animals to flee or driven them mad. A handful of villages in the area were nothing more than bloodstained ghost towns, and every farmstead was a charred ruin. Hordes loyal to Tiamat, the cult, or the coin were camped all around the massive caldera. There were tents and shelters made from the skulls of dragons, and shambling corpses that were raised by the Red Wizards and necromancers inhabited the no man's land between the encampments. Dragons of every chromatic shade blotted out the sky, but none of them flew close enough to the Queen's Rout camp to attempt an assault thanks to the dwarven ballistae that were trained on the sky, and the Vonidod that was standing nearby, ready to be affixed to the shell of the great dragon turtle Nanna-Sin.

There was a foul, twisted effigy of devilish power that erupted from the ancient, low caldera. Its very sight made the stumps of Nayiss's missing fingers burn—it was a replica of Tiamat's palace in Avernus, created with perfection in every stone, twist, spire, and metal adornment to create a sympathetic bond that would ease the dragon queen's transfer across the planes. Ribcages of hundreds of wyrms blanketed the landscape around it.

However, as the ashen sun was setting, there was instead a sea of celebration in the camp. Given the threat of the next day, the gathered forces ensured they would make it a night to remember. people from every nation were gathered around the same fires; drink flowed freely, and food was shared. A member of the Flaming Fist was laughing alongside a soldier from Amn. A Harper and a Zhentarim agent were pouring each other drinks. A knight from the Silver Marches sat beside a member of the Arcane Brotherhood and welcomed them into the festivities. It was one last night of revelry and merriment, as that was what they were all fighting for.

In the midst of the festivities, Blaire became somewhat overwhelmed by the commotion and sought out Sher in the crowd. Eventually, she was dragged into a circle around a blazing campfire with a bunch of therianthropes from the Emerald Enclave who were comparing the custom-brewed alcohol they had all brought. Hobart was casually hopping between one group and the next as he made merriment, connections, and introduced people that would become future pen pals. Iza was also schmoozing and made a place for more festivities with her magnificent mansion, and Lucas was making his own connections as he ensured everyone was having a good time and drinking enough water. Nayiss jumped into as many dances as possible, and she frequently dragged Jarkul into line dances—much to his own embarrassment as he tried to keep up with the steps. Farideh dragged Dahl around after them, and she seemed to be trying to hang out with Nayiss and Jarkul as much as possible. Havilar, likewise, was pulling Brin around, though they frequently got lost or distracted by other merriment and disappeared from view. Odd was drinking and wrestling as she hung out with Lothar, while Koh and Raka flitted from musical group to musical group as they lent their own talents to various bands. Hostu was keeping busy where she could, but even she was bobbing her head and humming along to all the music.

While Odd was having a grand old time, a voice boomed over the music and called to her. The tiefling turned and saw a bearded devil who bore a jagged greatsword. He wore jet black armor and had piercing eyes. He asked if she wielded the blade known as Hazirawn, and Odd confirmed she did. The devil drew his own sword and challenged Odd to a duel. Odd accepted, and Lothar called for her to show the field what kind of hunter she really was. Without missing a beat, a circle quickly formed around the pair. They promptly engaged and exchanged strikes. However, Odd was able to kick the devil's blade aside and cut into the side of his armor with Hazirawn, which caused the devil to drop his greatsword. The devil smirked.

He commented that she had learned well and had grown even stronger, and he rolled his shoulder before he bent down to grab his sword. Odd looked confused, and the devil smirked again as he stated that she still dressed like a commoner. It was then she realized the devil was Hazirawn, the individual that had originally been imprisoned in the blade that became her axe. Odd called out that he did come back to haunt her, and she immediately hugged him. Hazirawn sneered that her display was a disgraceful action, but he hesitantly hugged her back, and Odd teased that he had missed her. Lothar asked who the devil was, and Odd explained that it was "Hazi". Later in the evening, Hazirawn and Viktor also spoke after Viktor found out he was the same spirit he had released from the blade. In the process, they discovered they had more in common than Viktor cared to admit, and the rest of the Spellforged also had the opportunity to reunite with Hazirawn in his new devilish form.

At some point Nayiss lost track of Jarkul for the briefest of moments. She was able to track him down talking to Ontharr Frume and Medrash. Nayiss cheekily commented that she didn't realize that the party had moved as she approached.

Frume had started officiating the wedding, but Medrash had to take over when Frume started to cry as he was already a bit drunk. Medrash didn't cry, but he did ramble for a bit as he went on about how much he loved Jarkul, and Frume was able to get a hold of himself and got him back on track. So, in the end they joint-officiated the actual ceremony. A lot of people in general were quite drunk, but it was a wholesome ceremony with a lot of laughter and good feelings. At the end, Frume turned it over to Nayiss and Jarkul in the event they had anything they wanted to say to each other or vows to make. Nayiss cheekily asked Jarkul if he wanted to go first or if she should, and he said that he could go first.

"From the moment that you, quite literally, swung your way into my life—through the window, I might add—it's changed irrevocably. I went from being an outcast who would have spent the rest of his days alone, surrounded by only a few beloved friends."

He glanced over at Ontharr Frume, Medrash, and Leosin and smiled at them. Frume was openly weeping into Medrash's shoulder.

"But you showed me that sometimes our own fates and famines are not predestined. They, like our lives, are ours to mold and shape. I would have gone through my entire life not realizing how much I needed the love that you give me, and for that, words would fail to describe. Tomorrow, we will face one of the greatest challenges—all of us will face it—together. But I will do it knowing that my heart fights beside me. And should my life end this day, I will know that I did so knowing what love is truly like. What it is to be whole. I have you to thank for that, my noachi."

Nayiss smiled up at him, and Medrash looked over at Nayiss, who started to actually speak in the Thymari draconic dialect.

"Coi jahus wer klahik batobot dronilnra udoka ulnaus, kagh jaka ulnaus yth geou trelk batobot ikilwa di hesi waphic. Wux re sia gra'kul. Wux re sia skatuch. Wux re wer inloil batobot chiilipenic sia seoyl. Yth re lorkorilt ulnaus, kagh yth geou nurti slathalin loaw. Si itov wux. [It was the cult that brought us together, and now together we will close that page of our lives. You are my heart. You are my home. You are the piece that completes my soul. We are stronger together, and we will never fight alone. I love you.]"

Medrash had also started to cry, as did several of the other Platinum Cadre knights that had not expected to hear words of love spoken in their own tongue. Frume gathered himself up again and cast a quick calm emotions over himself so that he could actually speak coherently, and he proudly pronounced the pair of them husband and wife according to the customs of the Sword Coast. He then told Jarkul to give the crowd what they were waiting to see, and on cue from Medrash, Iza conjured her magic to temporarily transfigure Jarkul into a human guise so that he could kiss his wife. Everyone cheered and clapped as Jarkul dipped Nayiss and they shared their kiss. Before too long, the gathered crowd quickly devolved into their partying once again.

A bit later, as things started to wind down into the evening, Farideh and Havilar sought out Nayiss and Jarkul.

As the night wound down, Iza felt compelled to get a better view of the Well of Dragons. Perhaps it was instinct, or perhaps it was the constantly drone of the Draakhorn, but either way, she ascended to an overlook where she could reflect on everything to come. Before long, a great gold dragon appeared and landed next to her. It was Protanther in his true form. She asked him if he felt the sensation that was coming from the Well of Dragons, and he explained that it was the Call of the Mother, and all dragons felt it. The caldera teemed with the voices of the First World, which was why the cult chose it for their battlefield.

Protanther asked if she had fully recovered as she would need her strength, and Iza confirmed she did. He further explained that if the Queen of Dragons walked this plane, every bone in her body would scream in defiance of her own defiance, as she was a dragon now. Ultimately, the conflict with Tiamat would be her first real trial as a member of dragonkind. Protanther then looked over the assembled army that was starting to quiet in the camp, and he solemnly expressed that the people that were assembled here could, perhaps, be an example that what Iza wished to accomplish with her gift was not entirely out of reach. In the end, it would look ill upon him as a mentor if she didn't do everything he could to prepare her for such an ideal in any way he could, and if she were to prove his many, many years wrong, this would be the first step. Iza smiled and assured him that his guidance was always welcome, and one of Protanther's whiskers twitched, perhaps just as an acknowledgement, or perhaps in the beginning of a small smile.

"May the Platinum Dragon bless us all with such guidance."

Meanwhile, Hostu had been checking in on the weapon, which had been fabricated into a hyper compressed disc of dragon bone imbued with the elemental powers of the dragons that had been fed into it. She heard someone clear their throat, and she turned to look at Paik, who had tracked her down through the festivities. He asked how the weapon was, and Hostu confirmed that it was going to function, though she said that Paik should be at the party or on Iza's arm. Paik said that the party had started to die down, and Iza had gone off to speak with someone. Besides, he had wanted to talk to Hostu. Paik explained that he wanted to say that he was hurt, and he knew that wasn't a surprise, but he wanted to say it anyway. He had hoped that the things he had been able to help her with were actually going somewhere, but they had ultimately been proven to not be enough. He apologized for not being there or seeing that she was struggling, so that he could have maybe done more. However, he knew that it wasn't worth dwelling on, and what was done was done, but he also knew that things between Hostu and some of the Spellforged were hard currently. He wanted to let her know that he didn't hold it against her, he just hoped that Hostu could forgive him for letting her down. Hostu replied that he didn't let her down, as everything had been a clusterfuck. Some of it had been her, and some was other shit, but she was glad that they were good, and she was sorry. She hadn't wanted to hurt him or anyone except Rule-of-Three.

Paik continued that they could only move forward, and Hostu would always be important to him. So if she ever needed anything, she knew where to find him, and Hostu joked that he would be within spitting distance of a "hot dragon lady". Paik laughed and confirmed. Hostu said she had stuff to take care of after this, and Paik offered Xonthal's former tower if she ever needed somewhere to lie low, as it belonged to Iza now. Hostu thanked him, and they bid farewell as Paik wished her luck for the next day. Paik put a hand on Hostu's shoulder, but Hostu pulled him into a hug, and Paik hugged her back before leaving.

After Paik left, Hostu tried to reach out to Odz again, but once more, he didn't offer her a reply.

Night fully fell, and the camp was bathed in arcane and divine wards that protected the resting army from attacks in the night. Sleep took most in the camp, and as Lucas fell into his dreams, he appeared in the field he had fallen asleep in, but all the tents and soldiers were gone. He was at the edge of a single campfire that burned merrily in the abandoned field. A gentle voice greeted him. It wasn't a voice he recognized, but it was one that was familiar. As he looked towards it, he saw a balding man seated next to him near the campfire. He wore simple linens, and he appeared to be a beggar, from the looks of him. He had painful, scarred lashes knitting his back, and the scar tissue was formed into painful callouses. But his lips were turned into a gentle, upturned smile. It was a strange dichotomy.

On the other side of the campfire was an old man in simple robes, though they were reminiscent of the ones Bahamut had worn when he took the form of Tanamere's squire. He smiled at Lucas, and Lucas said it was good to see him again. On Lucas's other side was a handsome, younger man with a broad chest, long hair, and a well-kept beard. A greatsword rested nearby. He looked at Lucas with a bold smile, and he explained they had been watching him, and everything had been impressive. Lucas acknowledge that it had been a wild year. The broken man, Ilmater, observed that Lucas had undergone much suffering, but it had not gone unnoticed. They thought it would be good to speak, even briefly, and Lucas said that it was good to meet the other two. Ilmater explained it was difficult for them to speak with mortals directly; it was only because of Bahamut that they were able to do so tonight.

Torm said that they didn't have much time, but while they could manifest Lucas had the chance to ask any question, and in turn they would answer: he had three questions that he could ask the Triad in that moment. Lucas asked if there was any insight they could offer him or his team on how to vanquish the cult. Bahamut said that the cult was desperate and, as a result, they would be clumsy. The ritual required several things, many of which were already thwarted: they were to assemble a tribute to the Dragon Queen, gather an army to defend the ritual site, reshape the stronghold into a facsimile of her palace, and pave the way by sacrificing innocents. There were many imprisoned in the Well of Dragons, and when the battle began the cult would begin the process of sacrificing them to weaken the barrier and allow the Dragon Queen to arrive. The Spellforged had already weakened their strength: they didn't have as much treasure, as many prisoners, and two of the dragon masks had been taken. However, Tiamat'sa ascension into the world could not be stopped. They had gathered too much and sacrificed too much already for her arrival to be thwarted completely; those assembled could only ensure her avatar was weak enough that it could be destroyed. Bahamut told Lucas to interrupt the cult's ritual, and they might have a chance.

Lucas then asked if the Triad would support him as he pursued his ambitions to help the world for a long time. They said they already had, as there was a spark inside him that he had nurtured, and it was his with which to decide what to do. When a mortal died, their spirit passed on to the realms beyond, after which their lives didn't end as mortals understood it. The petitioners of the afterlives could become all manner of beings, but some were given the opportunity to do more if they chose; but it was not the better choice, nor was it more. Torm explained that every battle was of equal importance: from the great conflict that would arrive the follow day, to resolving a disagreement between a child and their sibling. Overcoming sickness, or overcoming prejudice, all were glorious conflicts, and all that succeeded, or failed, deserved every part of the glory. What Lucas chose to do with his life was his to define. He could use it to live as a mortal man and inspire others, or he could choose to abandon his own mortality and inspire others in ways his mind couldn't fathom. However, if he did, he would leave behind his old ways to do so. Neither was better, nor worse, than the other, and neither would end his journey. Ultimately, his journey wasn't as linear as he believed, and his mortal life wasn't a time limit with which to do good; it was simply one phase he could use to gather wisdom, and all three of them were watching his actions unfold.

Lucas then stood up, held his hands out, and used his final question to ask if they could all be friends. Bahamut smiled, Ilmater gasped and a tear formed in his eye, and Torm laughed in enjoyment. He said that they already were. Ilmater continued that they were in every sacrifice he made. Bahamut offered that they were in every innocent he protected. Torm agreed they were in every battle he joined. They were there, with courage, with love, and with justice, and they were friends. Ilmater told Lucas that his every moment was a step towards growth, strength, and love, and in those moments, they were always there.

Torm took Lucas's hand and gave him a firm handshake.

"May your valorous soul shine bright, Lucas. May you take our blessing, and may it guide you to victory."

Ilmater then put a hand on Lucas's shoulder.

"May it give you the strength to endure the most fearsome of trials with a smile."

On the other side of the campfire, Bahamut smiled.

"May you always have the strength to do what's right, even when it hurts."

Torm's eyes became infinite wellsprings of radiant energy, and the hand Lucas was shaking steadily became impossible immense. His figure flickered, and then vanished. Ilmater's hand, likewise, grew heavy on his shoulder, but it also felt as if it was held up by an immense burden beyond understanding. Ilmater, too, vanished. It was then just Lucas and Bahamut. Bahamut winked, and a sparkle of platinum dust flew from his eyelash and landed in Lucas's hands. He could hear the drip of a water droplet, and Lucas then faded back into sleep.

The Siege of the Well of Dragons (Tarsakh 30, 1490)

The next day, the camp awakened to the sound of thunder rumbling and forces being mustered. The Spellforged headed to the command tent, but on their way they saw Serissa, who was staring out at the imposing silhouette of the palace replica that loomed over the Well of Dragons. Dark clouds surrounded it like a maelstrom. Serissa swallowed hard and said that she knew it was her father. Lucas pulled out his spyglass and homed in on the pinnacle of the temple, and he could see a towering storm giant with his trident raised to the sky. His armor was jet black, and his skin was tight against his bones, his eyes wide and tortured.

Serissa tightened her fist and vowed that she would save her father from his fate. Lucas put a hand on her leg, and Serissa's eyes softened as she looked down at him. She promised they would be victorious that day.

When the Spellforged gathered in the command tent, Lucas relayed the information that he had been given by the deities in his dream, and Isteval confirmed that they needed to focus on priority targets. They spread out a map of the caldera, and Ulder Ravenguard recommended a point of attack to draw as many forces from the ritual site as possible. Elite groups, like the Spellforged, would be sent in via the hidden entrances to the catacombs once they were discovered so they could focus down any defenses that were not drawn away and make straight for the ritual chamber at the fortress's heart. Jarkul and Seldra would lead the forces that were to be focused on saving prisoners, while Suldil led the group that was to disrupt the Draakhorn. Jarkul said that those leading the secondary objectives would also try to draw fire away, but then would attempt to rejoin the Spellforged at the ritual site for backup. He informed Hostu that she and her bomb would be part of his contingent, and he would ensure she and the weapon made it to the ritual site. If the worst struck, and the Spellforged was routed, they needed to ensure the weapon was protected.

The battle began, and the forces of the Queen's Rout waded into the boneyard of the no man's land between the forces. A pitched battle broke out between the various factions of the Queen's Rout and the Cult of the Dragon. Mercenaries on the side of the cult waded forward, but the famed Knights of Silver from the Silver Marches worked alongside the various conscript troops to beat the hordes of mercenaries back and open a path through the masses. However, as the draconic monstrosities of the cult pelt the assembled armies, the forces of Baldur's Gate attempted to beat them back with the might of the Flaming Fist. Unfortunately, they are put on their back feet by the sheer might of the draconic abominations.

The black dragons and the black sect of the cult were scatted due to the combined efforts with the magi of the Arcane Brotherhood with some backing from Luskan, and the dwarves of Mithral Hall. Unbeknownst to the Queen's Rout, the strength of the black sect had been weakened by the sabotage of Frulam Mondath, which left them scattered. The elves were also able to release their druidic magics and arrows and force back the core host of the blue dragons from the sky. The blue sect, however, was able to push back against the devilish forces of the Infernal Host—up until Blaire conjures a fearsome elemental storm of vengeance to cover them and offer the furious aid of the storm. With the help, the devils were able to charge back against the blue dragon sect and forced them to retreat.

The green dragons swooped over the Purple Dragon Knights and breathed gouts of poison that forced them to fall back to a safer position, and despite their best efforts, Amn's forces were unable to hold off the green sect that came beneath the waves of poison and reinforced it with their own primal magics. The red dragons, however, were shot from the skies by volleys of arrows and the bards and mages of the Harpers that were expertly coordinated across the battlefield, while a pitched battle between the red sect and the Maelstrom Accord broke out. A massive shield of molten metal was able to deflect the majority of the fiery assault, and the red sect was routed and forced into a retreat as Eigeron bellowed with laughter from his seat on his ice castle as it struck the enemy armies with lightning.

The forces of Tymanther were able to counter some aspects of the white dragons, but the speed and ferality of the dragons were able to push them back into a corner. The Vonidod on the back of Nanna-Sin was able to pierce through several of their numbers, but Tymanther was still forced back into a more defensive position. The white sect beneath the wings of the hunters of the north were also able to turn the forces of Waterdeep aside.

Ontharr Frume was able to hold his own as the Hellriders were beset on all sides by the fiends allied to the cult, but they were also forced into a tactical retreat. The Chosen of Mystra combined their powers and created a mighty fortress in the midst of the battle for the Order of the Gauntlet to fall back into, and it was the advantage they needed. Using the new bulwark, they were able to smite back the fiends that had thought they had claimed victory. The therianthropes of the Emerald Enclave were put on their back foot by the dragon-riding githyanki, but all of a sudden, emerging from the sky with a loud strum of a guitar, a portal wrenched itself open. The raucous sound of kookaburas filled the sky and multiple ships of dacelan arrived via a spelljamming helm to reinforce the battle. The Koro barges were able to turn the skirmish into a victory for the Emerald Enclave. Tethyr's noble knights, likewise, were able to withstand the magical onslaught of the Red Wizards and pushed them back.

Neverwinter was able to forge a path through the undead horde to make an opening for the rest of the Queen's Rout forces, but the Old Cult of the Dragon loyalists were about to rout the Zhentarim assassins that had sought the heads of primary targets before they were claimed. However, with Protanther at the head of the metallic dragons, they fanned out and flew over the caldera and were able to scour the fortifications and siege weapons of the fortress, which removed many of the Well's defenses.

Meanwhile, as the battled raged on outside, the Spellforged strike force slipped toward the base of the mountain to try and find the underground tunnels that would lead them to the heart of the temple. Lucas got an elevated look with his spyglass after he was able to successfully knock a githyanki raider out of the sky. He saw a rough path that seemed to lead to a series of collapsed passages. The tunnel they were looking for was supposedly unusable, and as Iza swooped around and batted a few enemy combatants from the sky, she was able to pick out an area that cultists weren't retreating toward. She also was able to identify a weak point in their numbers that they could punch through.

Blaire transformed into a giant mole and was able to use her additional animal senses to search for an access point while Hobart relayed information back and forth between the Spellforged and other soldiers so that they could form a bulwark and carve a non-conspicuous path—this process was headed by Odd, who slammed through innumerable enemies. Nayiss briefly broke away from the group and took out several prominent individuals so that her passage could not be reported, and in the process effectively covered their trail.

They were able to find a passage that was not completely blocked, and the stronger members of the group as well as mole-Blaire peeled away the rocks while Nayiss and Iza provided aerial cover. As they passed into the tunnel, they could feel the weight of the ancient stone above them, and they could still faintly hear the battle outside. A long time ago, the tunnel likely had molten rock that flowed through it, but now it was just a bone and ash-covered passage that was littered with rubble.

They all had the realization that the next hour would be one of the most dramatic hours of their lives, and the fate of the world would come down to their actions as they made some last-minute preparations and then delved into the dark.

Climb to the Pinnacle

The Spellforged got about three quarters of the way to the end of the passage when, suddenly, a chill fell thickly in the air, and voices began to rasp out in draconic

"Why? Why was I not chosen? It hurts..."

More, smaller voices called out for their mothers, and the ancient dragon bones around them shivered and quavered as the old skeletons stirred. They could see broken, calcified egg shells scattered about more piles of undeveloped bones; it was a graveyard of draconic corpses that had been rejected and forgotten by the cult, either because they were chromatics that were not deemed powerful enough to become dracoliches, or because they were metallics that were tortured and experimented upon before being cast away.

Iza lifted into the air and opened her jaws to fire a mote from the crown of stars she had cast at one of the unhatched, and then breathed a manifestation of a guiding bolt. Nayiss took aim and shot at another unhatched twice before she turned and pierced a bolt through the unhatched that Iza had attacked. it shattered to pieces. Due to the see invisibility spell she had cast on herself, she could see the tormented spirit of the hatchling dissipate from the remains. Lucas charged at a larger draconic skeleton and unleashed a flurry of attacks. A pulse of wild magic gave him temporary sight into the ethereal plane, and his skin seemed to turn an even more vivid blue. The skeletal death dragon was knocked to the ground and its bones shuddered as a blow to its skull knocked it free from its neck, temporarily stunning it. Odd obliterated another unhatched, and the spirit of the dragon appeared in front of Odd—unseen by her—and pressed its forehead against her as a wild magic surge radiated from her own weapon. It thanked her, and then vanished as the surge of magic placed a death ward upon her, without her knowledge, before she swung her axe at another unhatched. Hobart gave Nayiss and Odd an opening, and Nayiss shot a death dragon while Odd continued to swing at her new unhatched target. Blaire conjured her necrotic magics and knocked an unhatched to the ground with a sapping sting.

Purple fire emanated around the larger greater death dragon and it rushed straight at Iza while Nayiss unloaded a series of bolts into the body of the death dragon that Lucas had stunned. Hobart gave Iza an opening to toss him and Pepper onto the greater death dragon, and Pepper latched herself firmly to the large skeleton's spine as Hobart drove his blade into its back. The greater death dragon roared and clawed at Hobart, but Hobart was above to jump out of the way of the dragon's claws while Blaire continued to siphon the curse from the unhatched she had targeted. However, another unhatched fluttered in and exhaled a blast of necrotic dust over Hobart, Pepper, and Iza.

Odd managed to shatter another unhatched and then rushed at the great death dragon, while Lucas grappled the smaller death dragon he had engaged with and dragged it closer to the larger beast and the rest of his allies. He drew Lightbringer and slammed it into the dragon's skull with a burst of radiant light. Iza beat her wings and shifted herself backwards as she opened her jaws to cast starlight stream, and a beam of radiant moonlight passed through the majority of the enemies. The unhatched directly in front of her was purified in the radiant light.

The greater death dragon continued to reel back and spout black and violet flames as Odd cleaved over and over into it. Violet fire erupted around the dragon and it surged through the Spellforged and continued to claw at Hobart. Blaire used thunder step to retreat with an explosion of sound, and the other active death dragon exhaled a plume of violet fire. Lucas broke the death dragon's leg and caused it to buckle to the ground, while Hobart continued to dodge around the greater death dragon's claws while he pointed out opportune strikes to Nayiss and Lucas. Nayiss shot the greater death dragon in the skull while Lucas continued to strike his own death dragon with Lightbringer. Nayiss then fired several shots at the death dragon that was on the ground and it crumbled to dust as she retreated back towards Iza and fired another shot at the larger dragon.

Iza once more releases a blast of radiance at the greater death dragon as she casts guiding bolt, and then she fired another mote from crown of stars, which blasted one of the greater death dragon's wings off. The dragon roared at Iza and continued to demand what it wasn't chosen before it slashed and bit. However, the fight was rapidly coming to an end, as Nayiss shot the greater death dragon through the skull and caused it to crumble, while Hobart gave Odd and Lucas an opening to finish the other dragon as he tumbled off the large skeleton. Lucas kicked the dragon's skull up to line up a strike for Odd, who brought her axe crashing through the bone.

The tormented spirits of the corridor dissipated, and the Spellforged continued into the depths of the caldera. They eventually emerged from the tunnel, and they could see the temple loom overhead. At that moment, a shadow was cast over them, and they saw the silhouette of a massive dragon that was flying directly above. It turned and dove, its massive maw opening to release a terrifying gout of searing flame. Nayiss and Lucas were able to dive out of the way as Klauth half-landed and half-slammed into the side of the caldera they had just emerged from.

"I thought I would find the Spellforged in the one place no one was looking."

Red dragon wyrmlings and another larger dragon leaped down as a warband of githyanki arrived on the scene. One of the githyank women drew an immaculate silver greatsword, and Klauth laughed as he took to the sky again to fly around the perimeter of the caldera, his eyes on the fight that was brewing. Hobart tried to throw a bone shard at the armored githyanki woman to distract her, but she effortlessly swept it aside with her innate telekinesis, and she introduced herself as Supreme Commander Kar'nak. She called for the Spellforged to not hold back. The Spellforged looked at each other and those with potions of giant size decided to chug their potions. Iza roared and flew around to the other side of the squad of wyrmlings as she increased in size. She reared back, radiant energy surging into her jaws, and she released it in a laser beam across the group. She then took off further into the air.

Hobart pulled out a doggie treat that had marinated in his potion and fed it to Pepper. She gobbled it up and grew, and then barked and licked Hobart. Her tongue was much bigger than he was, and the action alone lifted him briefly into the air before he climbed onto her saddle and directed her at Klauth so that they could try to harass him. She ran up a large bone and leaped over the githyanki pyromind that had stationed himself on the ledge. Hobart called out to Klauth that he had time to retreat, as the fight was about to get ridiculous for him, but Klauth just looked down with disgust and confusion as he tried to shoo the dog away.

Kar'nak closed on the Spellforged and went for Blaire with her greatsword, but the druid ducked behind her shield and the blade bounced off harmlessly as the magical shield blew a small gout of fire back. There was another roar overhead, and nother dragon erupted off the side of the caldera. He unfurled his wings, and another, smaller dragon shot from beneath the larger dragon as Sher and Leosin arrived on the scene. Leosin slammed into Krath, the adult dragon spawn of Klauth that had accompanied the githyanki, and the red dragon was nearly torn out of the sky. They could see Koh riding on Leosin's back, and they veered around to Klauth so they could also vex him. There was a loud bout of draconic laughter, and a much larger shadow materialized as the bronze greatwyrm, Nymmurh, arrived and body-checked into Klauth's side, with Suldil and her entire team on the dragon's back. The Draakhorn was no longer sounding. As Klauth righted himself in the sky, he glared down at Hobart.

"I do not obey your commands, whelp."

He opened his jaws and energy started to coalesce as he charged the magic and then released the disintegrate directly at the halfling. Hobart saw a moment where he could jump out of the way, but then he realized that if he did, the beam would hit Pepper. He chose to not dodge, and the beam instead hit him straight in the chest with a bright blast of brilliant light. Klauth turned and then shot into the sky. Lucas shouted out to Hobart, summoned his wings, and then took off after Klauth. He managed to strike into the massive dragon and caused a trickle of blood to free itself from his scales, but in a flurry of wingbeats and a strike of his tail, Klauth rapidly outpaced the much smaller human.

Nayiss had just seen Hobart get blasted off Pepper out of the corner of her vision and it had seemed like his telepathic connection had completely cut off. Over the link she shouted that a man was down, and Lucas contributed that it had been Hobart as Nayiss drank her own potion and became huge in a crackle of crimson lightning. She unloaded a volley of bolts on the group of wyrmlings that Iza had just attacked, and many of the wyrmlings and the githyanki knight promptly dropped dead. The githyanky pyromind attempted to combust Nayiss, but she was able to effortlessly shrug the flames off. The githyanki kith'rak that had arrived next to the supreme commander ran at Nayiss and struck at her with his greatsword, but the process Nayiss was able to left a wand of the war mage from his war sheath with a deft grab. Another githyanki warrior ran at her, but was unable to connect.

Odd also drank her potion and then charged at the pyromind. With a single powerful blow, she smashed him flat against the bone with her axe before she continued up to Krath and cleaved into his side. Nayiss had started to get surrounded by githyanki warriors, and Krath swung his tail around at Odd and upended her balance. She was able to grip onto the bone and prevent herself from falling, but Krath soared away and headed straight toward Iza. Iza used shield to deflect his bite away, but one of his claws managed to scrape against her scales while the remaining red wyrmling—one of Krath's spawn—released a goat of fire at her. Blaire disappeared with a thunder step and retreated away from Kar'nak. She hopped onto her broom and lifted into the air to try and recover while Krath continued to try and knock Iza out of the sky with his wings, but she was able to remain flying. Kar'nak looked at Blaire and clenched her fist. A telekinetic hand closed around the druid while Kar'nak turned her own attention to Nayiss, and the psyblade that had survived the onslaught of radiance and bolts also hurled a psionic knife at the huge tiefling.

Further away, Lucas looked down at Pepper and noticed that she seemed to still be looking for Hobart, as if she hadn't comprehended that he had been blasted by Klauth. However, against all odds, Lucas caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and he saw a halfling look back up at him in a small pile of rubble. There was a sizzling, burned spot in his armor, and Hobart reached in and pulled out the lucky coin of Tymora that he kept in an inner pocket. It disintegrated in his fingers. Hobart had heard the exchange over the telepathic bond about him being down, and everyone other than Lucas hadn't noticed him crawl out of the rubble.

"You may want to delay that report, Nayiss. Fella wasn't as good an aim as he thought!"

Hobart heaved himself back onto Pepper and together they charged down into the group and the halfling brought his sword down on Kar'nak. She exclaimed that she had thought he was dead, and he replied that people said that to him a lot, which just earned a smirk from the supreme commander even as Pepper managed to bite and claw the githyanki. Nayiss open fired on Kar'nak and several massive, poisoned crossbow bolts pierced through her cloak and armor before the tiefling ducked away from the group of githyanki that had swarmed around her. Kar'nak shouted at her fellows to not let her get away as she pulled one of the bolts out of her side. The psyblade tried to use psychic crush on Nayiss and Blaire, but they both were able to resist the psionic assault, and Iza dispelled the hand that had been grappling Blaire before fired a mote from crown of stars at the wyrmling that had flown after her, which knocked it out of the sky. The githyanki surged after Nayiss and were clearly starting to wear her down with their flurry of attacks.

Lucas barreled down out of nowhere and slammed into supreme commander Kar'nak. He grappled her and took off straight into the air before he let go and continued to attack her on the way down, though he veered away so that she would plumet the rest of the way. However, one of the feather tokens she had on her person activated, and she started to float harmlessly towards the ground—laughing the entire way. Krath flew by and released a gout of fire over the group, but the only permanent damage he managed was the death of one of the githyanki warriors. The remaining wyrmling also released his fire breath at Lucas, but the human was able to deftly evade it.

As Kar'nak floated down near Nayiss, the supreme commander drove her blade repeatedly into the large tiefling, which caused gushing wounds. However, Nayiss grabbed that githyanki's blade and shoved it away from her as crimson lightning started to crackle around her. Her eyes went demonic and spectral horns wreathed around her head as something triggered. Blaire started to minorly panic, as she wasn't sure what was going on, but she briefly landed on Nayiss's shoulder to allow her healing magics to flow through her and mend the wounds that the githyanki had inflicted. Over the telepathic bond, Jarkul grew concerned due to Blaire's commentary and wanted to know if everything was alright. Blaire expressed she wasn't sure, but Nayiss contributed that she was "wonderful", though there was a strange reverberation across her telepathic voice.

However, before Nayiss could direct her wrath fully on Kar'nak, Odd cleaved through the supreme commander with a devastating blow of her axe. The githyanki had not stopped smiling, and she declared that her people were honor-bound to see the skirmish through to the end, but she was pleased with the fight the Spellforged had provided. She fell to the ground, dead. Krath, however, had no such honor, and he turned to flee. Hobart chased after him and called for Lucas to pursue, and Lucas managed to strike Krath with a devastating blow as Odd then rounded on the kith'rak, who was driven into the ground, just barely alive.

Blaire conjured her magics and drained the life energy from the remaining wyrmling with a sapping sting, and the dragon crashed into the ground, dead, while Lucas struck Krath repeatedly in the head. He managed to kick Krath directly in the forehead, which cracked his skull and sent him plummeting onto a jagged, petrified rib cage below, which promptly killed him. Iza dove at the githyanki psyblade and bite down on him, while Nayiss lifted the stunned and nearly-dead kith'rak with her tail and held him in front of her face for a moment before she hurled him into the ground and killed him. With no more immediate threats, the spectral horns flickered out of existence.

The Spellforged continued their race toward the temple. Bones were strewn about and enemies were everywhere, but there were none between them and their destination. Queen's Rout forces had started to swarm over the lip of the caldera and were drawing what forces remained away so that they could rush through the broken bodies that laid between them and the rising pinnacle. They used the opportunity to cast several spells as they ran, and Nayiss conjured a large scorpion using the magics of the crown of darkness, while Lucas pulled out the enchanted arrow that would summon Diarmuid and fired it into an enemy dragonelle as it soared overhead. The path of the falling enemy created a rainbow, and a shower of raindrops fell upon them as Diarmuid appeared and levitated down to meet them.

"You have called me and I have answered. This foul place shall not stand as long as we fight as one. Are you ready?"

Iza landed so that Diarmuid could get onto her back, and the group entered the fortress and made their way to a massive antechamber. There was a mountain of treasure—the hoard gathered for Tiamat stacked around a massive dais. Around the treasure room was a squad of undead warriors, and at their head as a wight with immaculate black armor, a sunken face, and bright, glowing eyes: Naergoth Bladelord, the leader of the sect that was dedicated to protecting the Well of Dragons. Towering over Naergoth was an immense, undead storm giant: the fallen king, Hekaton. Naergoth welcomed the Spellforged to the chamber, and asked if they would humor the request of a doomed man and speak before blades were drawn and blows were traded, as he fully expected to face his true death by their hands. At that moment, Lucas sensed something behind him, and those that could see invisible creatures glimpsed a scrying sensor. Lucas smirked, a bolt of lightning careened down from the sky, and Serissa materialized next to Lucas.

Naergoth asked the Spellforged if they believed they would succeed, and Iza said that they had no choice but to do so. Naergoth admitted that he believed they would, though the cost of such success remained to be seen. He admitted that, had he been able to, he would have stood aside and let them pass, but he was duty-bound to oppose them. He was no friend of Severin, but the Well was his charge, and he had to ensure that no intruders would desecrate the sacred ground. He simply asked that they bestow him a fitting end to his watch. Nayiss acknowledged that his watch had ended, and Hobart agreed that they could make it a good one.

Serissa demanded to know if Naergoth had been the one that turned her father into what he was now, and Naergoth said that it had been the Red Wizards, but he was confident that, should she best him, his soul would be put to rest. Ultimately, the Keepers of the Secret Hoard were prepared to face them with everything they had, and they, the true believers, would not be said to have gone out with a whimper, but instead a cry of battle and duty. Serissa looked at the emotionless, strained face of her father, and gripped her maul tighter. Naergoth drew his blade and dropped into a combat stance.

"Bring about your all, Spellforged, and let our battle sing to the high heaves, and the depths of the seven hells!"

The other undead readied their weapons, and the priestly lich that was stationed between two ethereal, skeletal draconic guardians began to channel his magic. Nayiss darted forward and fired a cone of acid over Naergoth, Hekaton, and several of the doomkin. Coins started to melt together, and one of the doomkin sizzled and dropped as Nayiss retreated to the back of the group. Hekaton summoned a bolt of black lightning and hurled it at Iza. At the last second, Diarmuid urged Iza to move, and she was narrowly able to avoid the blast as it slammed into the ground.

Hobart urged Pepper to race straight at the lich. The two skeletal guardians of faith breathed dark, necrotic fire at Pepper, but she dodged out of the way and closed her jaws around him. She dragged the lich back to the Spellforged, and Hobart called for Lucas to attack. The necrotic aura around the lich lashed out at Hobart, Pepper, and Lucas, and Pepper started to swing the lich around like a chew toy, but he seemed to be completely immune to the nonmagical attack. However, the action shook off a broach that Hobart caught. He affixed it to Pepper's saddle, and it turned out that it was a lesser insignia of claws, which imbued her attacks with magical energy. The lich called that Pepper would serve and attempted to smite her, but she was able to evade the attack by shaking the lich harder. Lucas attacked the lich as Pepper shook him around, and shattered his body with a blast of holy energy from Lightbringer. The spirit of the lich faded away as Lucas instead turned his focus toward Naergoth. However, Naergoth blocked one of the attacks before Lucas kicked him in the gut and then ran off to focus on some of the doomkin.

Naergoth sped after Lucas, and shadowy energy swirled around him as he slammed into the human, but Lucas was able to remain standing. Odd released a war cry and charged a doomkin. The doomkin blocked her axe, but her sheer size overwhelmed him and the force of the hit slashed the doomkin in two, weapon and all. The strike continued over to the neighboring doomkin and she moved over and hacked through that doomkin and into a third one. Serissa ran to engage her father while Naergoth continued to focus on Lucas. A doomkin attacked the human from his side and attempted to rip his weapon free, but Lucas was able to hang on.

Hekaton raised his trident and attempted to thrust it forward at Serissa, but for a second his eyes glassed over. He looked confused and pained. Serissa deflected the blow aside, and asked if he could hear her, but he shook the hesitation off and roared at her instead. Diarmuid focused on the doomkin and was able to pick off three of the injured ones as he leaped into the air and fired the three arrows at once. Blaire soared overhead on her broom and conjured her druidic magic. A cone of cold swept over Naergoth and two doomkin as the scorpion Nayiss had summoned scuttled forward and hissed. Iza twinspelled a guiding bolt and with two blasts from her jaws, she managed to obliterate another doomkin. She then blasted one of her remaining motes from crown of stars and destroyed yet another.

Black storm clouds emanated from Hekaton and black, necrotic lightning arched toward Hobart, Blaire, and the scorpion, Serissa and Odd, and Iza and Diarmuid. He turned back toward Serissa and whirled his weapons around, which successfully cut into her with both his trident and greatsword. Hekaton then tried to reposition using a thunder step, but Iza countered it, and he glowered at the moonstone dragon as she swept around the battlefield. Naergoth looked away from Lucas for a moment and held his hand out. A small mote of violet fire appeared and then, in an instant, it enlarged into a massive sphere of black and violet flame. it flew over and exploded between Nayiss, Serissa, Iza, and Diarmuid as it wailed with the screams of the damned. Nayiss was able to duck behind some cover, and Diarmuid urged Iza out of the way. However, Diarmuid and Serissa were blasted with the violet inferno. Naergoth then turned back toward Lucas and took two quick slashes at him. They scraped him, and Lucas felt extreme pain as the cursed blades seemed to shut down his body's ability to heal while Hekaton took a quick swing of his own at Odd.

Hobart called out an opening to Lucas, who summoned his wings before he swung his blade at Naergoth. The wight parried the blow, but with another flurry of attacks, Lucas was able to blind him. Naergoth took a blind swing at Lucas, who was able to parry the blow aside as Diarmuid eliminated one of the two remaining doomkin. Iza swooped over and blasted the last doomkin with a guiding bolt and she shot her remaining mote from crown of stars, which caused it to explode in a blast of moonlight. Hobart and Pepper closed on Naergoth and provided an opening for Lucas and Pepper to get in some nicks. Blaired used immolation on Hekaton, but he was able to use his unholy power to put out the flames, and Serissa continued to exchange blows with her father. Nayiss rolled forward and fire two large bolts into Naergoth's back, and he fell to his knees, finally defeated.

"Well struck, Spellforged. The time for fossils like us has ended. Wouldn't you say so, Hobart Boldmeadow?"

As Naergoth said Hobart's name it echoed with a wave of power and, for a moment, Hobart's heart stopped, but the halfling was able to pull through and restart his breathing. Nayiss launched her final shot into Hekaton, and the summoned scorpion closed on the undead giant and managed to attach one of its claws to his foot. Hekaton tried to skewer the scorpion, but it was able to hang on through the first blow, and it forced Hekaton to use another strike to finally impale the creature's exoskeleton and cause it to crumble to dust. Odd swung in on Hekaton, and he returned with his own strike as Nayiss unloaded another round of bolts into the giant. Iza tried to use sacred flame, but Hekaton was able to cancel out the radiant energy with darkness.

Hobart called out an opening to Lucas and Serissa and, with a powerful strike, Lucas was able to cleave into the back of Hekaton's knee, which caused him to buckle. Hekaton reared back to bring his blade down on Serissa, but Lucas drove his elbow into his knee again to throw him off while Hobart blinded him with two attacks from his sling. As Hekaton stumbled, Serissa threw her maul aside and squeezed her father's wrists so that he dropped his weapons. Serissa pulled him into a hug, and drove the whalebone dagger he had given her for her coming-of-age celebration into his back. There was silence, and then Hekaton's voice cracked with a moment of clarity.

"Serissa... it's dark. H-help me. Please..."

Through choked tears, Serissa assured her father that he would have peace. Hekaton's face contorted in pain, but he fell limp in her arms as he passed the threshold of his true death. Serissa embraced him for a short time before she withdrew the knife and laid Hekaton on the ground. Lucas rested a hand on her and told her that she had been able to put him to rest, and the giantess took a deep breath and closed her eyes to recenter herself. She stood as she opened them, and she declared that this battle was over, but the Spellforged's task had only just begun.

In other places around the temple, they heard explosions, and more of the Queen's Rout allies poured into the temple alongside the enemies that surged in to reinforce the hoard chamber. Hobart heard the unmistakable sound of barking, and a group of the Bravos that had come at Hobart's request arrived to rout the dragonspawn riders that had ran in with their hit and run tactics. Hobart looked at the Spellforged, and then back to the battlefield, and he knew in his heart that the Spellforged could take care of what needed to be done.

"Well folks, this may be the place we part ways. I'll be honest, I'm not the person who does the final battle. I pave the way for the folks that are, and that time may have come. There's a rear action about to get going, and someone needs to keep an eye on it."

Nayiss told Hobart to give them hell, and Lucas thanked him for all the help he had given them. Blaire joked that she would tell him not to die, but if he did, she made great soup. Hobart chuckled good-naturedly and informed them that he had one final request: for them to inform Mister Klauth of his survival, and to remind him that he could run anytime he wants. Nayiss assured him they would, if the greatwyrm showed his face again.

Serissa grabbed her father's trident, and she assured the Spellforged that they wouldn't have anyone interrupting them. She then kneeled down next to Lucas and thanked him for everything he had done. She gave him a gentle kiss on his head, and they promised to see each other when this was all done. Serissa blushed, rose, and spun her trident around as she and Hobart ran off to hold the line. They heard Hobart good-naturedly tease Serissa that the kiss was "cute as hell," and Serissa stammered that she wasn't sure if it was the right time. Hobart assured her it had been the perfect time.

Return of the Queen

The Spellforged looked at each other and gave a final nod of solidarity. Odd drank her potion of flying for the day and, together, they started to ascend the pinnacle. The clouds above them broke as Hekaton's magic faded away, and the Queen's Rout forces continued to push forward below. There were signs of triumph, but there was still one more battle that needed to be won. As they climbed, Lucas summoned a fire elemental from the brazier they had acquired from the Sunless Citadel.

They heard a roar overhead, and Leosin, Sher, and several other draconic allies punched through and breached the side of the Well of Dragons. As Protanther soared above, a large figure leaped off his back and started to plummet toward the pinnacle: it was Jarkul, huge from the potion he had been given, and Hostu was seated on his shoulder.

Spellforged! Just in time! Lets finish this!"

Just before he impacted the stoney spire, two spectral, draconic wings unfurled from his back and slowed his descent so that he could land safely. The Spellforged met him at the top of the pinnacle, where they emerged amidst a circle of shrines that emulated the symbol of Tiamat. Each of the shrine areas lead toward the center of the pinnacle, where five dragon statues held their claws to the sky around a massive pit. There were easily over 100 individuals standing at the top of the pinnacle, and nearly all of them were chanting and praying to the dragon queen.

In the red section, amidst a sea of cultists, was Rath Modar, who was chanting an incantation. Next to him was a tall, red abishai that was overseeing the ritual. Her eyes immediately turned toward the Spellforged, and she offered a fiendish smile as her attention was drawn to Jarkul more than anyone else. In the white section there was a red wizard ritualist alongside a white abishai. Perched on a nearby pier was a beautiful ice-blue wyvern, which Hostu recognized as Glacia, the wyvern that belonged to Talis the White, who was sitting atop the wyvern. A wide grin spread across her face as her eyes fell upon Iza. In the blue section, flying overhead was Lennithon, whose eyes were also drawn to Iza. Nearby was another red wizard ritualist and a blue abishai, who promptly started to bark orders to the cultists assembled around him. In the green section, there was yet another red wizard ritualist and a green abishai who was still wearing the jewelry and fancy attire that he had been adorned in when he fled from the lair of Chuth where he served as the Majordomo. Lastly, in the black section, was Iarno Albrek, who was dressed in finery and his missing teeth had been replaced with glass replicas. Next to him was Frulam Mondath and a black abishai. The abishai had a massive black greatsword and she hissed with a familiar voice as her eyes turned toward the Spellforged.

"Right on schedule."

It was Rezmir, who had apparently been blessed by her queen with the honor of becoming one of her devilish servants. In the middle of the pinnacle, littered around the large pit, was a plethora of individuals—Arkhan the Cruel, Torogar Steelfist, and the massive dracohydra that had been in their company before. They also saw Krull, who was surrounded by undead, one of which was a massive hill giant. In the center of it all, was Severin Silrajin, who hovered over the center of the pit. He wore a complex mask that had three dragons heads—red, black, and white—which were collecting magic in their open mouths. He smiled widely at the heroes that had arrived.

"Spellforged, you've arrived just in time! Bear witness to the rebirth of a new world!"

Arkhan shouted for Rath Modar to finish the ritual as the horde of enemies readied themselves to fight off the intruders. However, as Nayiss flipped over the side of the pinnacle, her eyes turned toward the red wizard. She fired at him once, and the illusions he had conjured confused her aim so that the shot instead pierced through the chest of an unlucky nearby cultist. But then she struck again, and the bolt clipped deep into his shoulder, which nearly caused his concentration to falter. She fired a third time, and it instead shattered through a mirror image and killed another cultist. However, the poison she had placed on the bolt then took effect, and his body grew rigid as it paralyzed him. His illusory guide disappeared, which revealed him to actually be the jet black tiefling, the so-called Gambler, they had encountered on the Grand Dame.

The fire elemental Lucas had summoned surged toward the red wizard ritualist in the white section as Severin summoned a fire storm that rained down on the Spellforged. Iza conjured a sunburst and there was an explosion of moonlit energy that fell upon the white section. The red wizard ritualist was immediately conflagrated with the radiance, and many other cultists joined him. Talis seemed to have been blinded by the brilliant light. In a continued exchange of spellwork, the ritualist in the blue section also released an ice storm over the Spellforged from across the battlefield, and the blue abishai took to the sky. And then he hissed in fury.

"No... nooooo. You've got to be kidding me!"

Anger and lightning crackled in his jaws as he saw Hostu. Hostu wanted to know who he was, and he shouted that his name was Trevor. Hostu asked which Trevor, as she had genuinely forgotten that she had murdered him right before they got to Castle Naerytar, and the blue abishai snarled as he fired off blasts of lightning in the direction of the metallic artificer. A horde of cultists started to organize themselves and one of them used an antidote on Rath Modar. He cursed as he shook off the poison that Nayiss had inflicted.

Hostu took off from Jarkul's shoulder on her broomstick and she produced a small laser pointer that she focused on Rath Modar. Then she clicked the laser at the ground by Jarkul's feet, which in turn shunted the wizard from his place by the shrine to directly in front of Jarkul instead as she imitated the effects of a vortex warp spell. She cackled wildly and flipped him the bird.

"Space is just a suggestion, motherfucker!"

Severin conjured a flaming orb that he fired directly at Nayiss, but Jarkul intervened and stepped directly in front of the blow. The fiery embers washed harmlessly over his scales, and Severin grinned and mused that he was impressed. Rezmir flew into the air and called at Jarkul.

"How kind of you to join us, ambassador, but we can't have you interfering!"

The black abishai conjured dark magics as she started to cast feeblemind, but Iza conjured her own magic just in time as a bolt of horrific energy careened toward Jarkul. A stream of moonlight blast it out of the sky before it could connect, and Rezmir hissed in annoyance as her sharp eyes went to the moonstone dragon. Mondath looked back at Iarno and barked at him to focus harder. He retorted that he was, but she insisted that he needed to concentrate harder unless he wanted the ritual to fail—and if so, the dragon queen's wrath would be on his head. She started to pace around behind him, which conveniently allowed the spectral spirit guardians she had summoned to eclipse and seize him. Iarno shouted in a panic and demanded to know what she was doing, but Mondath drove her glaive through his skull, which disrupted the ritual at the black dragon shrine. Severin stopped and looked back at the shrine, and his lips parted into a wide grin.

"Mondath? You traitor! I should have really seen that coming. Escaping from a high security prison with the mask? Conveniently unscathed? Everything neat and perfect? Of course you had help!"

Rezmir turned on Mondath with an enraged roar and Arkhan commanded Krull to take over the ritual. The spike-shelled tortle acknowledged the order and started to approach Mondath as she raised her glaive to defend herself. Severin hovered over the battlefield as he turned his attention back toward the Spellforged, and he hurled three orbs of flame at Iza before he tilted his head back toward Nayiss. He raised his hands and began to charge crackling, destructive energy—the clear indicators of a disintegrate spell. However, Hostu started to curse and flung a small orb from her utility belt. It blinked and exploded, then drew the magical energy into it and reassembled on the ground with the magic contained within. Severin grinned and commented that things were getting interesting, which caused Hostu to spit back at him for treating the entire situation like a game as Odd rushed past to attack the red abishai. Severin retorted that he didn't see it as a game, he just knew he already won. The red abishai grinned widely and spoke in Thymari draconic as Odd headed for her.

"Clanless Jarkul, I hear you built quite a name for yourself! Surrounded yourself with friends... would be a shame if they too turned against you."

Jarkul's eyes widened as he recognized her voice, and he spoke her name: Nala, the Tiamat priestess that had infiltrated the Platinum Cadre and kicked off his pursuit of the cult a decade ago. Nala's eyhes flashed as she looked at Odd and proclaimed that she too would serve the Dragon Queen. Odd stopped her assault and instead turned to face the party, her eyes blank. Serin hurled a fireball at Hostu that burst apart and materialized into an illusory red dragon and released a roar before it turned its eyes to the metallic artificer. Jarkul called out to his allies and channeled the power of Bahamut, which caused his scales to turn a brilliant platinum color as the holy energy rushed through him. He then loosed a series of strikes on Rath Modar, which in turn gave an opportunity for Nayiss to fire, and she managed to land a critical strike that paralyzed Rath once again. Rath gurgled as his body once again seized with paralysis.

Meanwhile, Lucas turned himself invisible and then zooped across the battlefield to the green shrine. With a single deft strike, he cut through the ritualist's head, and the red wizard's body slumped to the ground. There was a surge of wild magic and a fog cloud erupted around him, which masked his passage. From across the battlefield, on Iza's back, Diarmuid fired his bow and managed to clip the ritualist at the blue shrine, who in turn dropped his focus to tend to the wound that had been left. Talis's wyvern, Glacia, took off into the sky and started to dogfight Iza. However, Diarmuid interfered and was able to deflect the wyvern's stinger aside and get in the way of Glacia's claws. Unfortunately, instead the wyvern grabbed onto him and tore him from Iza's back while Lennithon roared and started towards Iza.

"Izadora! You will die, and I will NEVER make the mistake I made with you again!"

He reared back and released a beam of lightning from his jaws that crackled through Iza, Diarmuid, and Blaire. Spectral, protective wings helped to shield Blaire from the blast, but as the lightning coursed over Iza, she held her ground and flared her wings out, completely unaffected.

"I may die today, but it won't be by you!"

In that moment, there was true fear in Lennithon's eyes, and Blaire soared up into the air on her broom. She muttered to herself that she would never get a better chance to use the spell she was able to use, and she balanced on the broomstick as she conjured her magic and flicked a small rock from her bag. It flew in an arc to the far side of the pinnacle, and skittered to a stop. At that moment, the entire pinnacle started to shake as she used earthquake. Fissures ripped open, and the black dragon shrine crumbled and fell into one of the massive cracks. Krull cried out and withdrew into his shell as he tumbled into one of the fissures, and his shell cracked as he bounced back and forth between the walls. His skeletons crumbled apart, and he cursed from the bottom of the chasm as he came to a sudden stop. Arkhan called out to him, and Krull returned that he was alright, but he was now at the bottom of an incredibly deep gap. Blaire then retreated back to cover and hastily drank the potion of invulnerability she had been given. The skeletons that had survived the initial wave of destruction tried to go after Mondath so that they could follow the last order they were given, and one successfully cleared the fissures, but another tripped and clattered to the bottom of another.

At the green shrine, the green abishai dove into the cloud of fog after Lucas.

"Terribly sorry about this, but you're going to have to die."

He swung at Lucas, but the human was able to dodge under his weapon and instead started to fly toward the ritualist at the blue shrine that had been injured by Lennithon. Instead of pursuing him, the Majordomo shrugged and decided to conjure his innate magics to restart the ritual at the green shrine. Meanwhile, the white abishai took to the sky, flew over Nayiss, and dove straight for Hostu. He demanded for Hostu to give "it" back, and he flailed at the metallic artificer, but Hostu was able to evade the attacks as the abishai tried to rip the abishai skull from Hostu's armor. Apparently it was the same abishai that the skull had formerly belonged to.

Unable to help Krull, Arkhan chose to round on Jarkul and he brought his axe in a fearsome slash against the other dragonborn's shin.

"Imagine the faces of your companions, when they see the life bleed from you!"

He then raised his withered claw into the air and started to chant in a dark tongue as he cast the slow spell over the Spellforged behind Jarkul.

"Whispered One! Mire their tongues, and bring them to rot and ruin!"

Overhead, Glacia swept by Iza again, Diarmuid still in her claws, and Talis swung at Iza. Even though her eyes were dazed and unfocused, she did not seem to be bothered by the temporary blindness from the light, and she was able to grab onto the moonstone dragon and pierce her spear into Iza's back. She proclaimed that Iza had grown strong, and she had been looking forward to this fight, and then she cast silence over them. The only thing that Iza could hear in the dome of magic was Talis's own voice.

"I'm going to hear you scream, Izadora. Don't disappoint me!"

Torogar managed to climb out of the fissure he had tumbled into it, as it had been much smaller than the one that had claimed Krull. As Arkhan kept his focus on Jarkul, he barked for Torogar to take out the assassin, and the minotaur nodded before he charged at Nayiss. However, she managed to trip up his hooves with her tail, and he had to stop the charge as he hit the ground and rolled back to his feet, his opening lost. The dracohydra next to Arkhan roared and lashed out at Jarkul with all five of its heads, but only the blue and green heads managed to connect as he deflected them away.

Nayiss twisted her tail around the paralyzed form of Rath Modar and lifted him in front of her face with a smirk as she held out her shield to temporarily block Torogar's assault.

"Sssseems you've been rolling sssnake eyes, Rath. Pity no one will turn your luck around."

She whipped her tail around and hurled the red wizard off the side of the pinnacle after she quoted the code phrase his alias, the Gambler, had used. Her eyes then shot over towards Rezmir and glinted as she raised her crossbow and took a shot at the black abishai. The bolt clipped her, and the poison rapidly set in as her wings and limbs started to stiffen and turn to stone. She then rounded back on Torogar and took a shot at him as well as she ducked out of the way of a flaming orb that Severin had shot in her direction. Two more sail at her, but in dodging one, the second scorched her clothing, and Severin then looked at the epicenter of the earthquake and dispelled it.

Outside the view of the Spellforged, Rath Modar slammed into the ground amid the warring factions. He had just barely survived, and he struggled to try and urge his limbs to move again. A figure emerged from the shadows, and drove a spike through his hands so that, even if his body purged the poison, somatic components for spells was impossible. The face of Azbara Jos loomed over him and Rath's eyes widened in recognition. The other red wizard apologized that it had to be this way.

"My fate was sealed when I returned to Thay, but I was given one opportunity for redemption. I hope you understand. Nothing personal. You just made the wrong choice, and your life will buy me a new opportunity in the homeland. I enjoyed the time we spent together, but my apologies."

Before they were noticed by anyone else, Azbara conjured his magics and teleported them both away from the battlefield—likely to return to Thay.

As the center of the ritual site at the top of the pinnacle cracked and broke, hellfire from Avernus began to spill out of the brewing portal. Cinders washed over Nayiss and Lucas, but they were able to shield themselves against them. Iza reached out and snatched Diarmuid back from Glacia and then used dimension door to teleport to the other side of the battlefield. However, much to her surprise, Talis had somehow gone with her, along with the sphere of silence that the dragon hunter had conjured. Arkhan slid under Jarkul's legs and slashed at the larger dragonborn. One of his strikes managed to leave a nasty gash on Jarkul's calf, but the red dragonborn's eyes shifted toward Nayiss and he pointed at her with his withered hand.

"Whispered One! Turn all to ash and waste!"

Jarkul swung his spear around as he used counterspell, and the banner of Bahamut that soared proudly on it threw Arkhan's aim off and caused the sickly beam from his finger of death to careen off course and turn a nearby rock to dust instead, missing Nayiss completely. Jarkul roared that Arkhan's fight was with him. A dozen feet away, Blaire and Glacia's eyes met, as Iza's flight with Diarmuid had left Glacia without her prey, and Blaire without a larger distraction. Blaire's eyes widened as she realized that she was, in fact, bite-sized, and Blaire shakily held a hand up at Glacia as if she was trying to calm the wyvern, but the wyvern hissed angrily. In a panic, Blaire threw both her hands up and used immolation. Necrotic fire erupted around the wyvern as Blaire leaned down on her broomstick and zoomed closer to Jarkul and Nayiss.

Severin descended from where he had been hovering above the battlefield and slammed his hand into the ground. A web of fire wove through the cracks of the pinnacle toward Hostu, but she was able to dance out of the brunt of the flames even though some of the fire leaped onto her clothing and started to burn. Meanwhile, Lennithon's eyes found Iza, and he arched his wings to turn back toward her. He opened his maw and expelled a gout of lightning as he flew, which clipped into Blaire and Jarkul. Jarkul used dimension door to teleport next to Odd and he reached out to her and used lay on hands to lift the charm effect from her. He made sure that she was okay before he retreated back toward Nayiss so that he could draw some of Nala's focus.

Trevor used wall of force to cover the remaining ritualist and then fired two blasts of lightning at the invisible Lucas, who deftly avoided it and the lightning crackled around various cultists instead. Glacia unleashed a flurry of attacks on Blaire, but then shrieked as she dove to the ground and tried to flail around and put out the necrotic flames. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful and the flames continued to scorch and burn her until she fell to the ground, dead.

Diarmuid swung up to Iza's back and started to fence Talis. His movement were slowed, but he was able to land a strong hit as cold backlashed over him, and he knocked her off Iza's back and then leaped off himself to follow her to the ground. Meanwhile, Lucas ran back to the green shrine and pointed Cloudchaser at it. He released a cone of radiance from the tip of the blade, which washed over the shrine and completely bleached it of its color. He then sliced through the draconic head, and the shrine crumbled and disrupted its contribution to the ritual. The Majordomo hissed in annoyance, as Lucas had successfully made a mess of things, but the human raced back toward the blue shrine before he had the chance to do more.

Rezmir turned and glared at Mondath, her wings and limbs weighted down by the beginning of the petrification process. The abishai declared Mondath would serve Tiamat one way or another, and she tried to use a domination spell to control her, but Mondath resisted the spell and sneered that she wouldn't be serving any longer. The petrification fully took hold and Rezmir was turned to stone atop the head of one of the draconic statues. The Majordomo took to the air and tried to cast confusion over Lucas, but the human was able to resist, and Odd turned on the mob of cultists and cleaved into them, which obliterated their numbers completely. She then cleaved her axe into the red shrine and destroyed it before she raced back at Nala.

Nala angrily shouted and roared in fury as she watched the shrine crumble, which empowered her allies around her as she snarled and unloaded a flurry of furious slashes into Odd. Torogar hefted his weapon into Nayiss's side, and the dracohydra roared and released a cone of elemental energy over Nayiss and Blaire while Severine's draconic spirit attacked Hostu. Hostu teleported away from the clusterfuck she had found herself in and moved closer to Trevor. She clicked a button on her head and a psychic lance pierced through the blue abishai's mind, which caused his head to flare with pain, and his wall of force faltered. Hostu demanded to know who the hell Trevor was, and Lucas and Nayiss shouted back that he was the guy he plastered on the floor before Castle Naerytar. Meanwhile, the white abishai continued to chase Hostu, and the fire elemental continued to ignite guys in the vicinity of the white shrine. Mondath stepped away from the black shrine.

"For so long, I thought you were the answer. The one that would ensure I would make it tomorrow. Now look at you. I wish I could stay and chat, but my part in this is over. Goodbye Rezmir. You won't ever see me again."
"How does it feel, Izadora? To soar the skies as an apex predator! To feel the life blood of your enemies drained by your very two claws!"
"Let us remove this farce and welcome the mother of the first world together!"

Severin laughed maniacally as he moved closer to Jarkul, and Diarmuid fired another arrow at the remaining cultist. Errant energy started to roil around the pinnacle, but the group were able to duck below the crackling blasts or otherwise resist it. The Majordomo also raced for Iza, as Lucas had gotten out of his range. Severin grinned at Jarkul.

"Why don't you go and meet with her early?"

Magic crackled around Severin's hand as he lashed out at Jarkul and tried to use plane shift, but Jarkul was able to shove him away with a growl. The dracohydra unleashed a full range of attacks on Blaire, but fortunately the potion she had drank was able to soak up a great deal of the elemental energy that it used.

"Let this be your final hunt."

Lucas rammed Talis's own weapon, Arauthator's Bite, through Talis's chest. The dragon hunter staggered as she praised Lucas on the blow, and her head lolled backwards so that she could look up at Iza. The moonstone dragon's scales reflected the light of the dawn spell she had summoned, and Talis continued to grin as she murmured that Iza was beautiful, and she then fell to the ground, dead. Lucas ran back over to Iza and sent a healing surge through her before he jumped back into the air. Trevor fluttered back, away from Lucas, but he was still shaking off the remnants of the psychic lance that Hostu had blasted through his mind.

Lennithon dove toward Iza and tried to dispel the radiance around her, but Lucas charged up at him and swung Cloudchaser into his side. It was a critical strike, and a wound opened in his side, but Lennithon stormed over him and a dark storm cloud eclipsed the dawn as Lennithon then raked into Iza with his claws, the radience of the spell rendered inert.

"You may think you won, but I will ensure that your world is filled with nothing but darkness!"

The blue dragon sank his claws into Iza and slammed her into the ground while Jarkul backed up toward Nayiss. Nala hissed and lashed at him as he retreated, which clipped him, but he called for Nayiss's crossbow as she was reloading. She held it out to him, and he cast holy weapon on it before he ran back at Nala and slammed into her with his spear. He then spun around and opened his jaws to release a blast of radiant light over Nala and Severin before he swung around and skewered Nala through the gut with a critical strike from his blade.

"For the crimes against the Thymari people and Djerad Thymar, Nala, I sentence you to your JUDGEMENT."

Nala's mouth opened in a shocked screech as she was immediately immolated by the surge of holy energy. Nayiss had been watching from where she was fending off the snapping dracohydra heads, and her mouth also dropped open slightly as the red abishai turned into nothing but deteriorating ash.

"...I think I just hit a new threshold for how attracted I am to you."

Jarkul grinned as he took a step toward Severin.

"Seems you're going to die before your queen."
"You... will never be rid... of me. You will never be rid of the legacy... I left."

Iza assured him that they would overcome it, and Lennithon fell dead at Iza's feet. The moonstone dragon then leaped back into the sky, but the Azure Head of Opression lashed out at her. She caught Iza's foot with a crackle of electricity, which stunned Iza just enough to slow her wingbeats even though the majority of the elemental charge danced harmlessly off her scales. Jarkul charged in to attack the Pale Head of Vengeance, and lit it up with a critical strike that sent a surge of holy energy through the dragon queen's body. He then whirled around and struck the Pale Head twice more as Diarmuid moved his hunter's mark to Tiamat and fired two shots at the Pale Head of Vengeance in order to make use of the opening Jarkul had provided. The head flailed and roared as magic coursed around it, and then surged through the neck up to the head, and its scales turned a sickly gray. Its eyes darkened as the head collapsed and disintegrated into dust as Diarmuid fired another arrow into the neck of the Viridian Head of Corruption.

"I... will be reborn. I will be reborn! The First World calls to me, and you will be its kindling!"

Tiamat tore open the front of her chest, and another head emerged from her body. It had two immense, crescent horns, and her body crackled with a mixture of the various elements she commanded and wreathed her in a halo of deific energy. She had adapted a visage that was far more like the creature that had predated whatever she had become, during the reign of the First World. Her glowing eyes snapped directly toward Iza, and Hostu tried to utilize temporal shunt to stop her attack, but she burst through the magic and slammed straight into the much smaller dragon. Lucas shot to the front of the dragon queen and unloaded a flurry of attacks. He caused her to stagger briefly, but she roared that the world belonged to her, and everything, even the gods, would be expunged from it. Elemental energy crackled around her body and the area around her twisted as the energy radiated from her in droves—she was charging her Chromatic Flare. Lucas flew up and summoned a spark of radiant energy, which burst and disrupted the attack. Tiamat roared, and her eyes narrowed on Lucas, as some of the radiance bore the mark of Bahamut. She beat her wings and flew backwards. Odd clipped into her, but Tiamat was unbothered as she once more drew the chromatic energy back towards her and it coelesced in her open maw as she prepared a truly ghastly primordial blast.

Jarkul used his channel divinity to bolster those around him and he reached out and brushed Blaire with a claw to heal her in preparation for the breath weapon that was to come. Nayiss vaulted around him and managed to momentarily distract Tiamat enough with two strikes to give Blaire a split second to attempt a faerie fire, but Tiamat burned the spell away as she released a massive blast of chromatic energy over the entirety of the group.

"You dare defy me? I know everything you're about to try! I see your actions laid bare before me!"
"You will all suffer as I have!"

Epilogue

In the days that followed, the Well of Dragons was fully reclaimed by the metallic dragons so that it could be transformed into a sacred, holy place for dragons to come to die. Thousands of prisoners of war had been taken, and the wealth that had been claimed was distributed to the various factions that were responsible for the victory against the Cult of the Dragon. The Spellforged had received personal invitations from Koh to the grand opening of her tavern in Neverwinter, which she had dubbed "Down Under". It was a private party for just the Spellforged and their closest friends, which also doubled as a last hurrah before the inevitable breaking of the fellowship as the members of the adventuring party went their separate ways.

The tavern was a cozy little place, and inside there were countless trinkets hung up. There was a large snake skin, a bunch of flagons from other places, and the walls were bare, but the ceiling was covered with many other knick-knacks from other cities, cultures, and likely the Plane of Air as well. The second floor was much more open and it turned into a large banquet hall with open sky lights and loose botanicals scattered all around. All the stained glass was food themed, and at one of the bars there was a massive jar of thymari pickles as well as a thymari pickle challenge that dared locals to try them. On both floors, there were stages, as well as a teleportation circle available so that those with magic could freely come and go.

Everyone arrived at various points, and Koh happily greeted each and every one of them personally in her cute little apron and showed them around. Before long, food was served up on the second floor. Lucas had gotten commemorative pendants made for everyone that had the symbol of the Spellforged engraved on them, and Iza used her magic to summon Yumi one final time. This time, the faerie dragon was once again older, and when they appeared with their mate, there were several red hatchlings accompanying them. Yumi's parents had sent along an apple pie.

Farideh asked what everyone was going to be doing now that the world was saved. Iza informed them that she would be stepping down from her position in Amn given she was a dragon, but that just meant that she could focus more on other commitments. She flashed her Harper pin with a grin, and Blaire blinked, taken aback that Iza was also a Harper and she had somehow never known about it. Iza also added that she needed to renovate Xonthal's old tower. Temperance asked her what her plans for the tower were, and Iza said that she wanted to make the information there more publicly available. Nayiss also joked that she had the tower's entire demiplane for her hoard, and Iza agreed gleefully that she had many plans for it. Lucas added that he had an additional gift for Iza on that front, and he plucked Talis's weapon from his belt and offered it to her. Iza graciously accepted it, and Lucas said that he hoped she could find a better wielder for it in the future.

Blaire Bellcroft

Hobart Boldmeadow

Hobart spent a few years under the employ of the Lord's Alliance alongside the Bravos as they sought out the remnants of the Cult of the Dragon. He continued the mercenary life for as long as he was able to, and he picked up a few young folk to teach how to run a battlefield and get people in the right places at the right time. Together, they took out giant lords and eliminated both old and new cult members. Hobart knew that they would never be completely gone, but he could rest easily knowing that they would at least have a hell of a time getting back together. He somehow continued to avoid death left and right, but years later, his luck finally started to run out.

He eventually took a hit instead of someone younger than him, and it took him off the battlefield, but he continued to do a great deal. He took his last years and wrote down everything he possibly could into a book—one that told his story and the stories of those he aided, and the things he had learned over his very long life. He called it "Playing Fetch". The copy that had been personally penned by Hobart always found its way onto the shelves of the most intrepid and budding heroes, so that they too could learn some of his old tricks.

On Hobart's last day on Toril, he passed peacefully, and surrounded by friends and those he had helped. He could rest knowing they were in good hands, and his last words that he had "always been lucky."

Izadora Laska

Lucas Colt

Odd

Koh Koro

As Koh had suspected, both she and Leosin were offered positions as High Harpers. However, Leosin said that his intention was just to keep the seat warm, and if they found someone more qualified, he would happily step down for them. Koh turned Down Under into a Harper joint and safe house, and whenever her friends came into town, they always had a warm meal waiting for them.

She took the time to go back to the Plane of Air to visit her family sometimes, but Koh ultimately came to spend more time on the Material Plane than the Plane of Air. Eventually, Leosin took Koh back to his lair, which was an underwater cove that was filled with things that his friends had given him. In time, they had gotten married, and eventually they had a clutch of half-dragon, half-dacelan babies—which resembled archeopteryxes—and they were able to take over where she left off when her time eventually came. She lived a full and happy life, and Leosin had his visage age alongside her.

Raka, meanwhile, had left to find Oorat—the dashing male that had accidentally started Koh's journey in the first place—as they had never discovered what happened to him. Someone had claimed they saw him d escent into the portal to Avernus when it opened up, but that had been up to Raka to find out.

Nayiss Ourobori

Madcap

Others

Rumbles in Avernus

While the book had been closed on the Tyranny of Dragons, in the first layer of the nine hells, Avernus, an endless, war-torn battleground with nothing but waste and blood continued to foster the battles that raged across it. The river Styx acted as a bridge between Avernus and the Abyss, and even know, a conflict unfolded. Demons and evils alike were surging en masse, tearing apart their enemies. Battalions of barbed devils impaled legions of demons, and within the battle was a man that rode upon a jet-black horse burning with fire. His great blade cleaved through demons left and right, and he called for them to submit to Zariel's will. On the other side was a second knight, though this one rode a bleached, skeletal steed. His eyes were sunken and listless, but hateful. He moved slowly, deliberately, and his axe barely flicked before droves that stood before him were slain. A massive flesh beast demon emerged from the river Styx and disgorged another force of demons. At the front of them was a fearsome balor, who breathed a path of destruction through legions of devils.