Thursday, December 13, 652 AU, continued

“If you want to get rid of a flameskull,” says Utaz, “you must douse it with holy water.”

“Should we go back for it?” asks Valya.

“The flameskull nearly killed us,” says Aurelia.

“It was very smart, though,” says Valya, “I don’t know if it will try to go back to the keep, or if it will terrorize people in the valley…”

“What’s one more undead in the world?” asks Qhask.

“We could get holy water…” says Thaldohr.

“…I think we should get rid of it,” says Aurelia.

After some discussion, Valya decides to spend the rest of the day training with the mages at the Andirune Institute. “Perhaps the focus should be on combat spells,” says Utaz. “I fear things may be coming to a head. We need to discover the location of this circle, and stop the ritual.”

“Is there any way you could convince the prince or the militia, or the people of the town to prepare for what may come?” asks Valya. “If we don’t find the circle in time…”

“Prince Calvin has returned to the Shining Citadel,” says Utaz. “The Daykins… their focus is on the Wood Scorpions, understandably. They are… wary of the arcane. It could be difficult to convince them of the threat, without concrete proof…”

“Do you know if the Daykins practice magic?” asks Valya.

“It could be that one of the younger ones is enrolled in the Crystalport Mages’ Guild, I think I may have heard something to that effect… but none of them take it seriously, as far as I know. Why do you ask?”

“Some people reported seeing imps flying from their estate when it was on fire,” says Valya.

“I have heard the rumors, but they seem unsubstantiated… no one is really sure where that rumor started.”

“It’s also interesting that we haven’t seen any shadows in the Osorin Forest since that day,” says Valya.

“No? Well, I suppose that is a bit of good news…” muses Utaz. “But if you believe the two are connected… Hm. I have had no inkling of any dark magic practice by the Daykins.”

“They’re invested in the rail, so maybe they were creating the shadows to keep the druids at bay?” ventures Valya.

“You believe they are responsible for the shadows?” asks Utaz.

“I’m just considering the possibilities. It’s not entirely crazy, right?” asks Valya.

“No,” says Utaz. “Many things that would be thought crazy, well, in these times… The return of a lich thought defeated long ago… We can’t be too careful. Can’t discredit any possibility out of hand.”

“Well, I’ll stay here to train. What will the rest of you do?” asks Valya.

“I’m going to the pub,” says Thaldohr.

“Oh! And we owe Torba a turkey,” says Valya.

“Yes, you do!” says Torba.

“A talking bag?” says Utaz, surprised.

“Uh… yes?” says Valya.

“Bags of holding normally don’t talk,” says Utaz.

“This one is, defective,” says Valya.

“Hey!” says Torba. “We’ve been over this!”

Utaz gives the party a long stare. “Considering the circumstances… I have not seen or heard anything.”

“We appreciate your discretion,” says Valya.

⁂

As everyone files out of Utaz’s office, Aurelia stays behind. “May I have a quick word?” she asks Utaz.

“Of course,” replies Utaz. The door closes behind the others, leaving them alone.

“I seem to have been afflicted by some sort of dark magic,” Aurelia tells Utaz. “I’ve consulted Cedric and the other clerics of Soleil, but they have not been of any help… I was wondering if you had any knowledge of what is happening.”

“Hmm… perhaps. Do you mind if I cast identify?” Utaz touches Aurelia’s shoulder and mutters a few words. “…Curious. You’re not under a spell.”

“I’m not?”

“No. But I sense something… something about you. Strange… a disruption in… it’s hard to explain. But I am reasonably certain it is not the result of arcane magic. If I had to hazard a guess… You haven’t experienced any sleepwalking? Found yourself in strange places with no memory of how you got there? Heard any weird voices, or had objects around you spontaneously move or break?”

Aurelia is taken aback. “No… But I have had visions.”

“Visions,” Utaz mutters under his breath. “If I had to guess… Well, you don’t show any of the classic signs of possession—”

“Possession?”

“Possession by an undead spirit would account for you detecting as undead to divine magic, but it doesn’t quite fit.”

“Curious,” says Aurelia. “Well, I appreciate your attempt to bring me an answer.”

“I wish I could do more, but I believe this is in the realm of the divine.”

“Thank you,” says Aurelia. She leaves the office and joins the rest of the party as they descend the winding staircase.

Qhask and Thaldohr spend the rest of the day in a pub, while Aurelia does some shopping and spends the rest of the day in meditative prayer, hoping for answers. That night, everyone rejoins at the temple.

Friday, December 14, 652 AU

The next morning, Aurelia still finds herself exhausted. “Perhaps I should search through the archives for any information about irregular cases of possession.”

“I mean, there’s also the option to—” begins Valya, but she stops when Aurelia glares at her.

“I need to figure this out before the time of the ritual… I’m not at my best,” says Aurelia.

Despite spending a few hours in the temple archives, she isn’t able to find information about possession cases like hers.

“Well, do we have a plan for what to do next?” Aurelia asks the rest of the party.

“If we want to get people out of the city,” says Valya, “I have a crazy idea. If we bring Caranthiax’s hoard to the Talons, maybe they’d be willing to help us. It’s in their best interest, after all, that the city not be destroyed. Maybe they could get the Citadel Sentinel to print the truth?”

“We won’t be able to get everyone out that way,” says Aurelia.

“No, but… well, the prince isn’t around anymore. I don’t know what else we can do.”

“The most effective way would be to interrupt the ritual,” says Aurelia.

“I’m just planning for contingencies,” says Valya.

“And besides,” says Aurelia, “the deal was that we would give the Talons the treasure in exchange for the rest of our books—why would they also help us with this?”

“Maybe we don’t need the rest?” says Valya. “We’ve already gotten some information from the few books they already gave us.” She turns to Thaldohr. “Have you heard of the Virren family before, from Hearthollow?”

“I traveled there, once, as a visiting apprentice. But that was many, many years ago.”

“Do you know if they’re still in business?”

“I can’t say for sure, but I would expect so. These family businesses go on for very long times.”

“Well, I think I got the clue I’m looking for already,” says Valya. “We could shift the deal instead of getting the books.”

“We promised that we would return Tolman his books,” says Aurelia.

“Yes, but what is more important—returning the books, or making sure everyone leaves the city?”

“We don’t know that that’s how the deal will turn out,” says Aurelia. “It may be that they take the treasure and it doesn’t work. At least if we get the books, we stay true to our word. It is our fault that the books are in the Talons’ vault.”

“Hmm…” says Valya, looking at the floor. She then looks around at the rest of the party. “But it seems we’re going after Caranthiax’s treasure regardless?”

“How far away is it?” asks Aurelia.

“A two days’ walk,” says Qhask, “though if we took a boat or the train it would be faster—maybe a day.”

“We could convince the Talons to get us a boat,” says Aurelia. She casts sending, focusing on Sqreeth. Hello, it’s Aurelia. We need a boat to get to Caranthiax. Can you help?

A few seconds later, she gets a reply. Sure, for a price. Meet at docks, look for mermaid—contact will be there.

“We can meet them at the docks,” Aurelia informs the party.

⁂

On their way to the docks on the northern shore of the city, they stop to buy Torba a turkey. He eats it messily. “So we’re even now, right?” asks Valya.

“Yeah, yeah,” replies Torba.

“And if you’re a good bag,” says Aurelia, “we can get you more.”

⁂

At the docks, they aren’t quite sure what Sqreeth meant. A literal mermaid in the water? But no—after ten minutes of searching, they find an old tavern called The Mermaid. Upon entering, a grizzled middle-aged man looks up at the party expectantly, and then his face falls. It’s Captain Green. He sighs, then motions the party over to sit with him.

“Well met,” he says, sounding defeated.

“Nice to see a friendly face, again,” says Valya.

“You know, I almost died last time I took you on a boat. Where are you headed to now? What, you want me to anchor off of Silverdale this time?”

“No undead this time—we promise,” says Valya.

“So you think,” says Captain Green.

“We’re going up the Osorin River, but past the keep, as far as you can take us,” Aurelia says.

“If you go up much further past the keep, the river gets unnavigable,” says Captain Green. “It narrows, and there are rapids.”

“Can you do it, though?” asks Aurelia.

Captain Green sighs. “Yeah, I can do it. I owe the Talons something.”

“We can add a bit of gold for you as well,” says Aurelia.

“I’m upping my price—10 gp for the lot of you,” says the captain.

“We can do that,” says Valya.

As the gold is exchanged, Captain Green mumbles under his breath. “Bunch o’ rich adventurers, taking advantage of an old sea captain…”

“We’re paying you a fair price,” says Valya.

Captain Green sighs. “You’ll be wanting to leave today, I assume?”

“As soon as possible,” says Valya.

Captain Green finishes his ale, slams a copper piece on the table, and motions the party to follow him to the docks. He leads them to his boat. Most of the damage from the zombie attack during their last adventure together has been repaired. “I’ll take you up the Osorin River, shouldn’t take but a couple of hours… If you don’t mind me asking, if you’re not going to Vargrath Keep, where are you going?”

“There’s something we’re looking for in the Osorin Forest,” says Aurelia.

They pile into the boat, and Captain Green sets up the sails. They skim across the surface of Corentin’s Mirror, toward the northeast.

⁂

Once sufficiently far from shore, Captain Green casts invisible servants again to help him with the rigging. “It’ll be about six hours. I’ll take you as far up the river as I can.”

During the journey, Aurelia re-attunes to the brooch of living essence, while Valya tries to master a new weapon—a greatsword. Captain Green raises an eyebrow. “What kind of game are you all hunting with that, miss?”

“Just preparing for what might await us,” says Valya.

The captain’s other eyebrow goes up. “You said this would be a safe journey!”

“For you,” says Aurelia.

“How long do you plan on taking?” asks Captain Green.

“How large is the place?” Aurelia asks Qhask.

“It’s not that large, but we don’t know what we’ll encounter there,” Quask replies.

“So one to two days?” says Valya.

“I’ve got supplies enough for that,” says Captain Green, “but last time I was attacked by a whole hoard of zombies. So maybe it’d be safer if I came with you?”

“…No, it’ll be safer if you stay in the boat,” says Valya.

“I can prepare some warding spells,” offers Aurelia.

Captain Green continues to mumble complaints under his breath while adjusting the sails. Qhask sits at the front of the deck, watching the sea with his bow at hand. Thaldohr practices close-quarters combat belowdecks.

A few hours later, they make it to the mouth of the Osorin River. Valya shows the captain her map. Could you make a stop around here?" she says, pointing to the location where they buried the flameskull.

“In the forest? Again?”

“There won’t be any undead nearby,” promises Valya.

“How can you know that?”

“We have, uh, we heard that they had disappeared,” says Valya.

Captain Green looks at Valya, dumbfounded. “Oh, you heard that they had disappeared!” he says in a mocking voice. “Thankfully the infallible adventurers are here to tell me that everything is safe! We certainly won’t be attacked by undead this time!”

“Half of us can stay in the boat,” says Aurelia.

“Yeah, it will only take a few of us,” says Valya.

“Fine! Fine, I’ll make the stop,” says the captain.

Once they arrive at the marked location, everyone peers into the forest. It seems safe… at least, if the flameskull escaped, it didn’t set the whole forest on fire when it left. “It seems clear,” says Valya. “It looks fine.”

Captain Green wordlessly grumbles.

“This will be short,” Valya promises.

Aurelia and Thaldohr get out of the boat, wade through the water to shore, and begin searching for the cairn that marks where they buried the skull. It takes them around forty-five minutes of searching, but eventually they stumble across the pile of rocks. As they approach, they hear a muffled voice. It sounds like it’s complaining, but they can’t make out any words.

“Great,” says Thaldohr. “It’s still there. So, how do we do this? I dig, you pour the water?”

“I think we’ll probably have to knock it out again before we bless it with the water,” says Aurelia. She casts bless on the two of them, just to be safe.

They decide to have Thaldohr dig, while Aurelia waits outside of fireball range, ready to cast spells.

Thaldohr pushes aside the rocks and starts digging. But as he moves aside the first few shovelfuls of dirt, there is a small explosion as the skull rockets out of the ground and into the air. “Ha ha ha!” it cackles. “I’m free!” It looks around, and notices Aurelia and Thaldohr. “Idiots! Back for round three?”

Thaldohr slashes at it with Mage-Slayer. The flameskull casts shield, but Mage-Slayer hits it anyway. “Cheater!” protests the skull. Thaldohr swings again, but misses.

The flameskull says “Bye!” and casts fireball, centered on Thaldohr—those remaining on the boat see the explosion in the distance. Then the skull begins racing away to the north. “I’d love to stick around, but I’ve got a job to do!” Thaldohr manages to hit it with his sword again as it passes, cracking the skull.

Aurelia casts guiding bolt—it’s a critical hit. The skull says “Gah!”, then falls to the ground, motionless and no longer wreathed in green flame. Aurelia runs up to it and splashes it with holy water. There’s a blood-curdling scream, and the skull turns brittle and blackened.

Those on the boat hear the scream as well. “Were you here to assassinate someone?” accuses Captain Green.

“Well, we were here to assassinate an undead,” clarifies Qhask.

Aurelia and Thaldohr quickly make their way back to the boat. Captain Green shakes his head, wordlessly pulls up the anchor, and they continue their way up the river.

⁂

Three hours later, they pass Vargrath Keep and continue north. The terrain gets hillier, the river gets narrower and more turbulent, and it becomes more difficult to navigate. Eventually, they are unable to progress any further. “This is as far as I’m comfortable taking you,” says Captain Green.

Aurelia looks around, but can’t see anything suspicious. Valya sniffs the air, but she doesn’t smell any sulfur or other weird smells—just impending snow. “Well, there’s no sign of demons around here,” says Valya.

“Well, I guess this is where we part ways for now,” Aurelia says to Captain Green.

“Aye,” he replies. “Good luck to you. I’ve a feeling you’ll need it.”

“I doubt you’ll be attacked,” says Valya, “but we saw you casting magic when you were attacked by the zombies. Just send a fire bolt up in the air if you’re in trouble.”

“And you’ll notice a dinky little fire bolt?” asks Captain Green. “Well, go do whatever it is you’re doing. If you’re not back in a couple days, I’m leaving.”

“That’s entirely fair,” says Aurelia.

They get out of the boat, and Qhask begins guiding them toward Caranthiax’s lair. He estimates they will have to camp overnight in the mountains and arrive at the lair the next morning. The peaks in the distance are already covered with snow, so the passes might be dangerous.

Once they climb to the next ridge, Qhask points out the mountain where Caranthiax’s lair lies. It’s far in the distance, and it’s indistinguishable from the others. No smoke rises from it, nor can they see any other signs of current habitation, demons or otherwise.

A few hours later, the sun is low on the horizon, and they decide to make camp. “We should look for an area sheltered from view,” suggests Qhask. They set up their tents and sleep for the night.

Around two in the morning, Thaldorh, on watch duty, hears something above the howling wind. A roar, faint and far away, followed by a muffled explosion and some rumbling, which dies down after a few seconds. He wakes up Qhask and tells him what he heard, trying to imitate the sound.

“That sounds like it might have been a dragon,” says Qhask. “Odd—there shouldn’t be any other dragons in the area.”

Saturday, December 15, 652 AU

The party continues its journey further into the mountains. Thankfully, there are centuries-old paths carved into the mountainsides. “Caranthiax enjoyed visitors… but she never made it too easy to visit her,” explains Qhask.

A few hours later, they climb up a ledge along the face of a steep cliffside. At this elevation, the snow is several feet deep. “The entrance is up here,” says Qhask. They climb slowly, not wanting to lose their footing and tumble two hundred feet down the mountainside.

Qhask notices something partially buried in a snowdrift ahead of them. Valya cautiously approaches, and realizes it’s the head of a kobold sticking out of the snow. She returns to the group. “I’m sorry, Qhask—I think it’s one of your companions.”

Qhask investigates, and is saddened to see that he does recognize the kobold. He brushes away the snow, and discovers there is no body below the head—it’s held up by a wooden spike, presumably placed as a warning by the demons.

“What funeral rituals do your people have?” Valya asks Qhask.

“Cremation,” Qhask replies.

“I can perform the rites,” says Aurelia. Valya places the head back on the snowdrift, and Aurelia reduces it to ash.

Valya goes ahead to scout for more warnings or traps, and discovers two more kobold heads on spikes before she reaches a large, ornate set of doors carved into the cliff face. The door is part of the façade of an ancient dwarven fortress—angular planes of rock carved in the likeness of a dwarf’s face, as if surveying the valley below. The doors serve as the face’s mouth. Valya listens to the door, but doesn’t hear anything on the other side.

The rest of the party catches up to her. “Don’t touch the door just yet,” warns Aurelia. She casts detect magic, and discovers an aura of abjuration magic. “It’s trapped,” she informs the party.

“Caranthiax never warded this door,” says Qhask.

Aurelia investigates the door more closely, trying to determine which spell is guarding it, but she can’t find any runes.

“There’s a secret entrance in the eye,” says Qhask, pointing up to the dwarven façade. “Also an entrance in a valley on the other side of the mountain, but we’d have to climb the mountain to get to it.”

Aurelia misty steps up to the small ledge under the eye, discovering the well-hidden passage—it’s barely wide enough for them to squeeze through. She wedges a piton into the rock and throws down a rope so the rest of the party can climb up.

Once they have all climbed up, Qhask leads them down the narrow, twisting tunnel, which abruptly ends in a wall of flat rock. “This wall is illusory,” says Qhask. He peeks his head through, and sees his old barracks. Corpses of kobolds and demons litter the floor among the overturned cots, most of which have been smashed to splinters. As he takes in this carnage, he hears arguing in an unknown language. It’s faint, and seems to come from behind a locked door, which he knows leads to a flight of stairs that descend to the armory and common room. Qhask sneaks forward and inspects the room. The two other doors lead to the main hall—one of them is ajar, the other shut. He peers through the open door.

The main hall is in the shape of a double cross, and the walls are covered in beautiful bas reliefs of dwarven warriors. Narrow shafts in the ceiling allow sunlight to illuminate the hall, and Qhask takes in a scene of horrifying carnage. The floor is covered in frozen gore, and someone has pinned the corpses of dozens of kobolds to the walls with metal spikes. Hung from the ceiling by iron chains is the corpse of a brass dragon, mutilated almost beyond recognition—it’s Caranthiax.

Qhask attempts to maintain his composure, and returns to the barracks. He gets closer to the closed door that leads to the armory, trying to hear the argument better. But as he leans in, he suddenly feels intense, incapacitating pain, and a noise, the chime of a bell, fills the room. The sounds of the argument abruptly stop.

The rest of the party, hearing the chime, rushes into the room and sees Qhask writhing in pain. Thankfully, Aurelia still has detect magic active, and she points out the warded area before anyone enters it. She casts dispel magic, and successfully dispels the symbol of pain. Qhask staggers to his feet, and they all rush back to the secret passage, assuming that someone will come to investigate at any second.

Breathless, they wait behind the illusory wall and listen. A few seconds later they hear the door creak open, followed by silence. Valya casts detect thoughts. She feels the presence of another mind. New materials for my art, thinks the mind. Where are they… Then, they hear the other door to the main hall creak open. A few seconds later, the mind exits the range of Valya’s spell, and she can no longer detect it.

Valya sneaks back into the barracks. She slowly approaches the door to the main hall, and is suddenly hit in the chest by some sort of barb that whips around the door! The creature, whatever it is, hisses as it’s damaged by Valya’s armor of agathys in retaliation. Valya sees the creature now—it’s a demon, with a goat-like face and a long, barbed tail. I will enjoy rearranging you, the demon says, directly into Valya’s mind.

The rest of the party, hearing Valya’s gasp of pain, rush out of the secret tunnel and into the barracks. The demon stabs Valya again with its barbed tail. Valya rushes forward, casts booming blade, and slashes at the demon with Soul-Snatcher, but misses with her first attack. She attacks again, and this time she hits. Don’t struggle, says the demon, it will all be over soon. You will become art.

“Who are you? Did you kill Caranthiax?” asks Valya.

The demon cackles. We all took part. It was beautiful…

Aurelia casts fire bolt, but misses the demon. Such lovely skin, says the demon. I will unroll you before I pin you to the wall.

Qhask casts hunter’s mark, then shoots the demon with his longbow, hitting his target. His drake rushes forward and breathes fire on the demon, which does little damage.

Thaldohr bringing up the rear, rushes into the room and prepares to attack. The demon lashes its tail at Valya again, but she dodges out of the way. Then the demon belches forth a cloud of black flies, which begin swarming and biting Valya, Qhask, and Valya.

To make matters worse, one of the kobold corpses nailed to the wall pulls itself free and runs up to Valya. Its arm transforms into a grotesque tentacle, which it swipes at Valya, hitting her and sapping her of vitality. The corpse stinks of sulphur—Qhask recognizes it as Zurpi, one of the kobolds present during the last stand against the demons. It turns to Qhask and laughs. “You came back to join your fellows in death! Such loyalty!”

Another corpse peels itself off the wall and swings at Valya, but misses. “You have to get out of the doorway!” Aurelia shouts at Valya.

As the second corpse lurches into view, Qhask recognizes it as Chotrur Moonchewe, his old chief. “I will put you both to rest,” says Qhask.

Valya casts booming blade again and hits the demon twice, which screeches in anger. She then teleports behind Aurelia. “Healing, please!” Aurelia casts healing word on Valya, and then uses radiance of the dawn, catching the demon and the two zombies in the blast—the demon collapses to the floor, smoldering.

Qhask lets out a draconic cry, then looses an arrow at Chotrur. Thaldohr slashes at Chotrur with Mage-Slayer, hacking most of the way through its shoulder. He swings a second time, almost decapitating the zombie, but it gives a gurgling laugh and teleports behind Aurelia. It swings its tentacle at her, but she casts warding flare and it misses.

The other corpse, Zurpi, also teleports to Aurelia (the radiance must be stopped!) and attacks—this one is a hit. “A little help, please!” Aurelia shouts.

Valya casts green flame blade and decapitates Chotrur, and the flames jump to Zurpi, dealing an immense amount of fire damage.

Aurelia disengages and runs to a safer location. Qhask shoots an arrow at Zurpi, and with some extra fire from his drake, Zurpi goes down.

Thaldohr notices little translucent worms crawling out of the corpses of Chotrur and Zurpi, making their way to new corpses to infect. “Valya!” he shouts, pointing at the worms. Valya, casts another green flame blade and hits one of the worms—the flames jump to the second worm, and both shrivel up.

“We should take a few minutes to heal,” says Aurelia. Everyone gathers in close and she casts prayer of healing.

As they survey their surroundings, Torba says “Lovely place you’ve brought me to!”

“Get used to it,” says Aurelia.

“Think you could throw one of those corpses in…” Torba trails off as he sees everyone’s expressions. “Never mind.”

⁂

The door to the armory has not opened during their short rest, and the arguing has not resumed.

“We have to go down there to get to the treasure chamber, right Qhask?” asks Aurelia.

“Or we could head up the skylight in the receiving chamber beyond the main hall,” says Qhask. “There’s a tunnel up there that also goes to Caranthiax’s private quarters.” He thinks. “I suppose it’ll be dangerous no matter which way we go. I’d prefer to go by the main hall, because I don’t want to be trapped fighting on a spiral staircase with a bow.”

“I also don’t know what other spells are protecting the door,” says Aurelia. “It’s still abjured.”

They head through the door into the main hall. To the north, they see the receiving room with its large skylight tunnel. Qhask leads them cautiously forward, but stops when he notices movement out of the corner of his eye. On the other side of the main hall is the door to the guest room—the movement seemed to come from there.

Qhask points it out, and Valya approaches the guest room to investigate. The room was decorated with ornate hardwood furniture and lavish silks, but is now trashed. Bloodstains suggest that kobolds were killed in this room and then dragged back out into the main hall, but Valya doesn’t spy anything moving. She looks up at the ceiling, hoping to catch an ambusher, but sees nothing.

Suddenly, the four-poster bed lifts itself up and throws itself at Valya, knocking the wind out of her. Qhask runs into the room and looks for whever threw the bed. “It threw itself at me!” says Valya, but Qhask notices a flutter of fabric from the other side of the room—someone invisible?

Suddenly, Qhask is flung thirty feet into the air, hitting the ceiling, and then falls to the floor. “Ow,” says Qhask.

An echoey voice fills the room. “Begone, murderers!”

“It wasn’t us!” says Aurelia.

“I live here!” says Qhask.

Thaldohr also looks around, trying to figure out where to swing his sword. He points out some fluttering fabric to Valya, who moves closer to the spot and casts sword burst, but doesn’t catch anything in the blades. She summons her new greatsword into her hands, and waits.

Aurelia casts faerie fire on Valya’s location, and suddenly everyone sees the outline of a ghostly humanoid form next to Valya. “Leave this place!” it moans.

“How can we help you move on?” asks Aurelia.

“Begone!” says the spirit, seeming not to hear.

Qhask tries speaking to the spirit in draconic. “Please, brother! We are not enemies! We didn’t kill anyone here, that was the demons!”

“I am not your brother! Begone!” says the spirit.

“Oh,” says Qhask, “this might be the sorcerer who was staying here when the demons attacked.” He switches to elvish. “Are you Jannalor Holatris?”

“I am,” replies the spirit.

“We did not murder anyone,” says Qhask.

“Liars! Grave robbers! Murderers!” says Jannalor. He tries to swipe at Valya, but Valya dodges out of the way.

Thaldohr swings Mage-Slayer at Jannalor, who shrieks.

Valya puts down her sword in a gesture of peace, and says, in Elvish, “Listen to me! We are here to avenge Caranthiax and destroy the demons. We are not your enemies!”

“…Very well,” says Jannalor. “But you are too late. Most of the demons have already fled.”

“Who remains?” asks Aurelia.

“A mere few. They’ve looted this place… The goat-like one rearranged the bodies of the fallen.”

“We’ve killed the goat-demon,” says Valya.

“That pleases me… But I will not be avenged until my murderer is killed,” says Jannalor.

“Who is that?” asks Valya.

“The balor, Zorgug.”

“Oh dear…” says Aurelia, who seems to recall that a balor is an unusually powerful type of demon.

“Is Zorgug here?” asks Valya.

“No. I have heard them, talking amongst themselves… I understand abyssal. The demons plan to use this place as a base from which to mount their attacks. ‘Once the chaos starts’, they said.”

“Could they be working with the lich?” Aurelia asks the party. “Perhaps they know about the ritual. That would certainly be chaos.”

“Did the demons ever mention the name ‘Tharruk’?” asks Valya.

“No,” says Jannalor.

“Anything about the Daykins?”

“No.”

“Do you remember any other names?” asks Valya.

“They were looking for something… a statue, they said, in the hoard. That’s what they came for,” says Jannalor.

“And I assume they found it?” says Valya.

“I do not know. They left a few days after they arrived,” says Jannalor.

“How did they arrive?” Aurelia asks.

“A portal was opened within Caranthiax’s lair… that should not have been possible,” says Jannalor. “It should have been warded. And I have heard rumors among the demons, that they plan to open a permanent portal to the abyss in this location. I do not know how.”

“That would be bad…” says Aurelia. “Opening a portal will take a lot of energy, and maybe a permanent structure. Perhaps we can disrupt it, if we find it. I’m sorry about what happened to you. We’ll try to prevent more tragedy.”

“You must defeat Zorgug,” says Jannalor.

“…We’ll do our best,” says Aurelia.

“It may take some time,” adds Qhask.

Jannalor nods, and fades out of view.

⁂

Looking around the room, they find a backpack—presumably Jannalor’s. “Jannalor,” says Aurelia, “do you mind if we borrow some things?” There is no response.

“That sounds like a yes!” says Thaldohr. Aurelia rolls her eyes.

“I’ll go through it,” says Valya. Aurelia hands her the bag.

Inside, Valya finds several gold pieces, a medium-sized emerald, and a map of the Whitestone Valley and the surrounding mountains. Valya compares the map to their own map, and notices a few curious features. Three question marks have been drawn on the map—one in the Ilvassar Forest, one on Cobalt Rock in the Cobalt Bay, and one near Silverdale. The question mark near Silverdale has been scratched out, and replaced with a check mark.

“Interesting…” says Valya. She copies them into the party’s map. “I wonder what he was investigating? The statues? Something else?”

“Qhask,” asks Aurelia, “do you know what Jannalor’s business was here?”

“I assumed he was just here to train,” replies Qhask. “They both liked lightning.”

Valya decides to put the gold, the emerald, and the map back into Jannalor’s pack, and leave them behind. Qhask takes one of the pillows in the guest room—the least singed one—and stuffs it into his pack.

They explore the guest quarters further, and find a luxurious bathroom. Unfortunately, it too has been destroyed, and the large claw-foot tub has been cracked in half. A large wardrobe stands along one wall. A hole has been punched through the door of the wardrobe, as if someone thrust a sword into it with immense force. A large pool of dried blood covers the floor around the wardrobe. Valya, expecting what she’ll find, opens the door, and Jannalor’s body tumbles out of the wardrobe.

Aurelia asks Valya to lay the body on the bed, and performs funeral rites for Jannalor. She doubts it will put her spirit to rest, but it’s the right thing to do.

⁂

They make their way back through the main hall to the receiving chamber. The ceiling of this hexagonal room is supported by four pillars, each carved into the likeness of Bahamut. In the center of the ceiling is a large shaft—large enough for a dragon to fit through.

Suddenly, in less than a second, the small skylights in the main hall go dark, one by one, in the direction of the large skylight, which goes dark as well. Then, as soon as it happened, the light returns to normal.

“Something pretty big just passed overhead,” says Qhask.

“And you said you heard a roar last night, right?” Aurelia asks Thaldohr.

“Ah. Yeah, I did,” saks Thaldohr.

“Are there any other dragons nearby?” Aurelia asks Qhask.

“No… but with Caranthiax gone, one could move in…” says Qhask.

“And it’s probably not a friendly one,” says Aurelia. “We should be quick.”

“Maybe it’s Caranthiax’s spirit!” suggests Valya.

“That would be nice…” says Qhask, but he’s extremely doubtful.

“Or it’s another dragon that’s realized Caranthiax is dead and there’s an unprotected hoard to plunder,” says Aurelia. She turns to Qhask. “So, where’s the tunnel?”

“Up in the side of the shaft, maybe fifty or sixty feet,” Qhask replies.

Valya, suddenly worried that someone may be in the room with them, says “Who is there?” There’s no response. Still suspicious, she casts detect thoughts.

Surprisingly, she immediately hears the thoughts of a creature—it’s thinking Please don’t see me, please don’t see me, please don’t see me…

“We can see you,” says Valya.

“Eep!” says a voice, coming from one of the four columns.

“Why don’t you just show yourself?” says Valya.

“Uh—I’d rather not!” says the voice. It’s high-pitched, as if it comes from a tiny creature.

“Valya dismisses her weapon. “It’s fine,” she says.

“That doesn’t fool me—I saw your magics!” says the voice.

“Are you a demon?” asks Valya.

The voice pauses, as if calculating for a moment. “Nooooo…” it replies.

“Oh, too bad, we like demons,” says Valya.

“You do?” ask the voice, sounding uncertain. “Maybe you can help me…” Suddenly, the creature reveals itself. A tiny demon, no more than a foot tall, is clinging to the side of the column. Aurelia recognizes it as a quasit.

“How many of you are left here?” asks Valya.

“Just me and the three bosses,” says the quasit.

“Are they good bosses?” asks Aurelia.

“They’re great!” he motions at the main hall. “One of them is a fantastic artist!”

“Oh, that one left on some urgent mission,” says Valya. “Where are the other two?”

“Left? Huh… The other two are in the basement,” says the quasit.

“What are their names?” asks Valya.

“Well, the artist is Dorud, and then there’s Arnag and Galvorus. Oh! And I’m Vex.”

“What do the other two do?” asks Valya.

“They’re mostly fighters,” says Vex.

“Do they receive many guests here?”

“Oh, we’ve only been here a couple of weeks. There used to be more of us, but they left only a few of us behind to guard it.” Vex pauses. “You said you like demons?”

“Yeah, well—” begins Valya.

“Could you help me?” Vex interrupts.

“What do you need?” asks Valya.

“Well, all day I’ve been trying to lure the chickens back into their pen.”

“And they don’t want to go?” Valya asks.

“No, and they’re mean. They bite me,” says Vex.

Thaldohr stifles a laugh.

“I have to bring them inside!” says Vex. “They’re not safe out there.”

“What’s out there?” asks Valya.

“The dragon!”

“The dragon?” asks Aurelia, looking back to the main hall.

“It’s dead,” says Valya.

Vex rolls his eyes. “Duh! It’s a different dragon!”

“…Is there a different dragon now?” asks Valya.

“It showed up two days ago.”

“What did it look like?” asks Aurelia.

“Well, it’s big, it looks like a dragon, it’s blue…”

Everyone turns to Qhask. “Well,” says Qhask, “generally your metallic dragons are good, and your chromatic dragons—which, blue is a chromatic color—they’re… very, very bad.”

“Yeah!” says Vex. “It wants to take this place away from us and we have strict orders from the general not to give it up.”

“I assume your general is Zorgug?” says Valya.

“You know him?” asks Vex. “He sent you to help protect this place?”

“…Yeah,” says Valya.

“Great! I can take you downstairs to meet the others.”

“First, let’s talk about the statue. Is the statue gone already?” asks Valya.

“Statue?” asks Vex, looking confused.

“Isn’t that what Zorgug game here to take?” asks Valya.

“Oh? I guess, it was something about the hoard.”

“Where is the rest of the hoard?” asks Valya.

“There’s a ton a junk in the chamber up there, if that’s what you mean.” Vex points to the hole in the side of the ceiling shaft.

“Junk?” asks Aurelia.

“How about this—we’ll protect this place in exchange for the junk. Can you bring it to us?” asks Valya.

“Uh… I’d have to get Arnag…” says Vex, unsure. “That’s not my—one moment!” He begins scurrying up the side of the shaft.

“Wait!” shouts Valya. “Would you listen to Arnag, or listen to orders directly from Zorgug?”

“Well, Zorgug, of course, he’s scarier…”

“There’s a promotion in it for you, if the job is well done,” Valya lies.

Vex gasps. “A promotion… Yes, ma’am!”

“Can you bring us the junk?” asks Valya.

“There’s a lot of it… You’ll have to come with me,” says Vex.

Valya throws Vex one end of a rope with a grappling hook, and Vex scurries up the skylight and into the sideways tunnel, securing the hook. Valya climbs the rope, and the rest of the party follows. From far away, somewhere outside, they can faintly hear the clucking of chickens—but something is off about them. The noise echoes from the skylight further up.

“What kind of chickens are they?” asks Aurelia.

“You know, chickens!” says Vex.

“Let’s continue,” says Valya.

They begin following Vex down the tunnel. “Just watch out for the lightning,” says Vex. “You’re immune right?”

“Lightning?” says Aurelia.

“There are traps here?” asks Valya.

Vex gives them an incredulous look. “Yeah—it’s a dragon hoard!”

“Can you disable them?” asks Aurelia.

“No… why would we need to? It’s just a little lightning…”

“It could… damage the junk,” says Aurelia, “and we want it intact.”

“…But it’s just junk,” says Vex, looking confused.

“To you,” says Aurelia.

Vex sighs and shakes his head. “I’ll never understand the higher-ups. I don’t know how to disable the traps, but I can tell you where they are.”

“That works!” says Valya.

After a few hundred feet, they arrive at a fork in the rough stone tunnel. One branch continues ahead, while the other doubles back in the direction they came, but appears to descend to a lower elevation.

“You sure you don’t want to meet the bosses first? They’re right down there,” says Vex, pointing down the tunnel that doubles back.

“After we finish with this,” says Valya.

A few feet later, Vex stops. Here’s one of the traps,” he says. He picks up a pebble from the floor of the tunnel and tosses it in front of him. There’s suddenly a loud buzzing noise and a flash of light—an invisible barrier of electricity, blowing the pebble into smaller fragments.

“This is… problematic,” says Aurelia.

“Can you deactivate it?” Valya asks Aurelia.

“How many of these are there?” Aurelia asks Vex.

“Just the one,” Vex replies. “The other trap is a simple pit trap, but if you fall into one of those, you deserve to die.”

Aurelia thinks. “I could cast dispel magic, but this is a spell cast by a dragon. There’s no way I’ll be able to dispel that.”

“You never know!” says Valya.

Aurelia points to the dark circles under her eyes and her gaunt complexion. “I’m not exactly in the best shape right now.”

Valya shrugs. “Soleil may provide, right?”

“Okay… but just so you know, this is the last powerful spell I can cast today,” says Aurelia.

“Wait,” says Qhask, “I have a hunch.” He reaches into his pack and pulls out a glimmering dragon scale. He walks forward until he’s just before the barrier, and pokes the scale through. The lightning is visible again, but Qhask doesn’t feel anything and the scale is unharmed. “Hmm…” Qhask reaches his finger through the barrier.

“No, Qhask, wait!” says Valya, but, somehow, Qhask is unharmed. Valya is baffled. “How did you do that?”

“I believe I have the key,” says Qhask.

“The key?” asks Aurelia.

“This dragon scale,” says Qhask, holding it up. “It’s one of Caranthiax’s.”

“Oh! Well, can you walk through it?” asks Valya.

Qhask walks through the barrier, and emerges completely unscathed. He tosses the scale back through the barrier, and Valya catches it. She also walks through the barrier, and emerges unharmed. Tossing the scale a few more times, the entire party passes through the barrier.

Vex, bringing up the rear, smiles and says “I knew you were demons. Neat disguises!”

The pit trap is cleverly concealed, but they easily avoid it as Vex points it out.

A minute later, they find themselves in a large cavern, held up by four ornate pillars carved in the likeness of Bahamut. They don’t appear dwarven—they appear to be later additions. The walls of the cavern have been carefully smoothed, unlike the rough walls of the tunnel, and they are covered in bas reliefs of dragons flying through cloudless skies. However, the walls are cracked in many places. In one place, it looks like someone has cracked open an entrance to a hidden chamber. In the center of the room is a pile of treasure. Coins, gems, and objects of all kind lie in a disorganized pile.

Valya approaches the hole in the wall. The room on the other side is quite small and bare. In the center of the room is a pedestal, the top of which is scorched and blackened—the mark of a statue! The faint sensation of nausea Valya feels as she gets closer confirms their suspicions.

“We were right,” says Valya. “Caranthiax had one of the statues.” Looking closer, Valya notices several rings of magical runes carved into the stone around the pedestal. “It looks like she was containing the power of the statue with these runes.”

Aurelia steps forward to inspect the runes. She thinks they are a very advanced version of magic circle.

“We should copy these runes,” says Valya. “They might come in handy.” She takes out some parchment and a quill and begins meticulously copying down the runes.

Aurelia approaches the hoard and casts detect magic, hoping to find magic items. She spots three items that have auras of magic around them. Two bottles—presumably potions of some kind—and a chain shirt. She points them out to the rest of the party.

Vex starts searching through the pile, picking up coins and gems, inspecting them, and throwing them haphazardly over his shoulder. “What should we do about…” Aurelia whispers to the rest of the party, motioning toward Vex as he picks up a jar with some sort of preserved floating object.

“He could lead us to the other demons…” says Valya.

“I think we already know where they are,” says Aurelia.

“I don’t think he’s a threat,” says Valya.

“What do you think?” Aurelia asks Qhask. “He was part of the faction of demons that killed Caranthiax…”

Qhask looses an arrow and takes out Vex with one shot.

“I was starting to like him,” says Thaldohr.

“He was a demon—they’re evil,” says Aurelia.

“Oh, good point,” says Thaldohr.

“If he weren’t stupid enough to think we were demons, he would have warned his bosses and tried to kill us.”

They stuff the most important treasure into their own bags. Luckily, Aurelia finds a diamond among the treasure, one that looks big enough to fuel a revivify. They agree not to spend too much time on the treasure, and that they’ll come back for the rest of the treasure once the demons are taken care of.

“Should we take a break here?” asks Aurelia. “I’m worried about the two other demons. Especially since the demon we fought was just an ‘artist’ and the other two are ‘fighters’.”

“We might not have time,” says Valya. “There’s another dragon out there.” She hands Aurelia one of her healing potions.

“I suppose I can stay in the back,” says Aurelia. “I’m worried we’ll have to fight both of the demons at once.”

⁂

They return down the tunnel, taking the other branch of the fork. They hear voices from up ahead, arguing in a language none of them understand.

Rounding a corner, they find the remains of Caranthiax’s private quarters. There appear to have been two rooms here, but the wall between them has been blown out. Splinters of once-ornate furniture litter the floor. Two doors lead out of this room and into the armory—both are closed. The voices come from beyond those doors.

Aurelia casts bless on the party to prepare for battle. Then, they each sneak up to the doors—Valya and Aurelia take the door to the left, while Qhask and Thaldohr take the door to the right.

“You sure you’ll be okay?” Valya asks Aurelia.

“I’ll be fine,” Aurelia replies.

Then, Valya and Thaldohr kick the doors open. They find the armory—long tables and many chairs and stools are scattered around the floor. Racks of weapons line the walls to the left and right, and in the opposite wall is an arch leading to a spiral staircase, presumably leading to the trapped door on the floor above. In the center of the armory are the two demons—Arnag and Galvoraeus. The abruptly stop arguing and turn to the party, but instead of showing surprise, they grin.

“The meals have arrived, Galvoraeus,” says one of the demons—a bony, gaunt creature with sharp claws and a hook on its head. Galvoraeus, a bloated, misshapen corpse with long arms that end in gaping mouths, babbles incoherently in response.

Qhask casts hunter’s mark on Galvoraeus and shoots him with an arrow, and his drake breathes fire on Galvoraeus. Unfortunately, the demon appears resistant to non-magical damage.

Aurelia casts fire bolt at Galvoraeus, but the demon dodges out of the way.

Valya casts hex on Arnag, then rushes forward, jumping over one of the tables and landing directly in front of Arnag. She slashes the demon with her sword, dealing psychic damage, but Arnag just grins.

Galvoraeus opens all his mouths and screeches. Thaldohr manages to resist the nauseating noise, but Qhask and his drake fall unconscious. Galvoraeus clambers toward Qhask, a horrid proboscis flicking in and out of his mouth in anticipation.

“Qhask!” shouts Aurelia.

Thaldohr rushes up to position himself in-between Galvoraeus and Qhask, and swings at the demon with Mage-Slayer.

Arnag smiles and casts darkness, obscuring himself and Valya. Valya hears a whisper; “Now it’s just you and me.” Valya feels claws rake across her arm, using up her armor of Agathys. The claw marks feel like they burn with acid, and if Arnag took any damage from the armor, Valya can’t tell.

Aurelia casts healing word on Qhask, but it fails to wake him up.

Valya, not able to see the demon, disengages and rushes outside of the darkness, and regains some hit points with her second wind.

Galvoraeus stumbles around Thaldohr and stabs at Qhask with his proboscis. Aurelia tries to blind Galvoraeus, but it doesn’t work. Qhask is abruptly woken up by the sting, which deals massive damage. Worse, Galvoraeus begins to slurp up Qhask’s insides.

Thaldohr hacks at Galvoraeus with Mage-Slayer again, but the demon just hisses and continues slurping.

Arnag, within the safety of the darkness, casts a spell at Valya—she feels her strength sapped away.

Qhask, horrified and in extreme pain, casts zephyr strike and stabs Galvoraeus for massive damage, then backs into the corner, as far from Galvoraeus as possible.

Aurelia casts a fire bolt at Galvoraeus, but is disappointed when the demon barely reacts to the fire. She backs into a corner.

Valya casts eldritch blast at Galvoraeus, hitting with both beams. (Aurelia, recognizing the spell, wonders how it is that Valya is able to cast it, but remains silent for now.)

Galvoraeus shrieks in pain and frustration, then vomits up a mixture of acid and Qhask’s insides all over Qhask, Thaldohr, and the no-longer-sleeping drake. They all take a massive amount of poison damage.

Arnag suddenly appears right next to Aurelia and swipes at her with his claws, but Aurelia casts warding flare and Arnag’s attack misses. “Oh, you don’t want to play?” taunts Arnag.

Qhask shoots at Galvoraeus, and his drake moves in and breathes more fire over him.

Aurelia casts misty step to get away from Arnag, then casts sacred flame at Galvoraeus, but the demon easily dodges it.

Then, suddenly, a smaller demon emerges from the darkness—around three feet tall and mostly teeth, it rushes at Aurelia, biting her leg. “My pet has joined us,” says Arnag.

“Stay away from her!” shouts Valya. She turns and casts lightning lure on the maw demon, pulling it away from Aurelia. She then swings at it with her sword, provoking a screech of pain.

Galvoraeus tries to stab Thaldohr with its proboscis, but misses. The demon then crawls up the wall and onto the ceiling. Thaldohr takes out a bow and shoots Galvoraeus.

Arnag slashes at the drake, which fades away, then slashes at Qhask, but misses. “It’s so nice of you to return,” says Arnag. “The collection upstairs was incomplete.”

Qhask uses zephyr strike to back up, then shoots Arnag with an arrow. Arnag growls in anger—at this point, both of the demons appear heavily damaged.

Aurelia drinks her healing potion and moves further back.

Valya casts shatter, catching both of the demons in the blast, but they manage to resist most of the damage.

Galvoraeus drops from the ceiling in front of Thaldohr, stabbing him with his proboscis and dealing massive damage. Thaldohr retaliates with Mage-Slayer, hacking a chunk of flesh off of Galvoraeus.

Arnag hisses and drops concentration on darkness, casting heat metal on Mage-Slayer instead. Thaldohr manages to keep hold of his sword, but falls unconscious from the burn. Arnag then chuckles and turns to Valya.

Qhask drinks a healing potion, then shoots Galvoraeus, hoping to kill him before he can attack Thaldohr, but misses.

Aurelia casts mass healing word, bringing Thaldohr back. “Thank goodness you didn’t use that on dispel magic!” shouts Valya.

“It’s no matter,” says Arnag, “a quick chat with the general and we’ll be back here to finish the job.”

Aurelia casts sacred flame on the maw demon, which shrieks and collapses to the ground, oozing its contents on the floor.

Valya misty steps next to Galvoraeus and slashes at the demon with all her might. Galvoraeus stops shrieking, collapses off of the table, knocks over a chair, and lies motionless on the floor. Valya smiles at Arnag. “You’re next.”

“We’ll see. Your position is hopeless, you know,” says Arnag.

“Are you going to hide in the darkness again?” Valya taunts.

“I don’t need to hide,” says Arnag.

Thaldohr rushes over to Arnag and slashes at him with Mage-Slayer, but Arnag dodges out of the way. Arnag then casts fear—Valya and Thaldohr each drop their weapons, scream, and run as far from Thaldohr as possible.

Qhask shoots Arnag with an arrow, and Aurelia casts sacred flame at Arnag. Arnag looks on the verge of death, but is still standing.

Valya runs back down the tunnel toward the treasure hoard, and Thaldohr runs toward another door in the far corner of the room, opens it, and continues down the tunnel. He hears the distorted clucking of Vex’s “chickens” from somewhere ahead.

Arnag casts dimension door, appearing behing Qhask, and claws at him, but misses. “It doesn’t matter,” growls Arnag. “If we don’t kill you, the dragon will. You have no home here anymore, little kobold.”

Qhask takes out his shortsword and stabs Arnag, who finally collapses to the ground.

Thaldohr, no longer afraid, finds that the tunnel opens up into a valley strewn with the rotting corpses of several dozen sheep and goats. Prowling around is a flock of demonic chicken-like creatures. Luckily, they don’t notice Thaldohr, and he’s able to sneak back into the tunnel.

Valya, coming to her senses, hears clinking from the treasure room up ahead, as if someone were rummaging through the coins they left behind. She returns to the armory, finding the remaining demons dead.

“I don’t think we’re alone yet,” says Valya. “I heard noise from the treasure room.” She looks around. “Where’s Thaldohr?”

“I’m not sure,” says Aurelia.

“I think he ran off that way,” says Qhask, pointing to the tunnel that leads to the valley.

A few moments later, Thaldohr returns. “I think I found the, uh, chickens,” he says. “They don’t really look like chickens… Where their beaks should be is just teeth, and they seem to be lacking feathers.”

“So, demon chickens?” asks Valya, disgusted.

“I think so,” says Thaldohr. “I wonder how they taste?”

“Let’s not find out,” says Aurelia.

“Well, I’m an adventurous eater,” says Torba.

They quickly take stock of the armory and the corpses of the demons. Arnag has a doll on him, which appears to be made of sewn-up kobold tongues.

Qhask scans the small bookshelf in the southern wall, finding many of the history books intact, as well as a wilderness cookbook which he takes. Qhask notes that much of the valuables appear to be missing—presumably taken by the demons.

“You said there’s something in the hoard room, Valya?” asks Aurelia.

“Yes, I heard noise,” says Valya.

“We should probably find somewhere to rest—it might be the dragon,” says Aurelia.

“We could barricade ourselves in the stairwell,” suggests Qhask. They all pile in, close the door behind them, and barricade it with some broken furniture. Qhask starts re-summoning his drake.

⁂

A few minutes later, something enters the armory. They hear something sniffing around—whatever it is, it sounds large. They all try to remain quiet, and a few minutes later they hear it leave back toward the armory.

“From the noise, I don’t think it was as large as an adult dragon,” says Aurelia. “It must have been something else.”

“I could investigate,” offers Valya. “Qhask, can I borrow the scale?” Qhask shrugs and hands it over. Valya gets up, opens the door quietly, and begins sneaking back toward the treasure hoard.

In the armory, Valya notices that Arnag’s body has been flipped over. She follows the tunnel, and hears the clinking noise again. As she rounds the corner, she sees something in the treasure room—a juvenile blue dragon. She sneaks back to the stairwell without being noticed.

“It’s a juvenile blue dragon,” says Valya. “What should we do?”

“Well, chromatic dragons follow Tiamat,” says Qhask, spitting on the floor in disrespect. “We should kill it… But I don’t think we can handle another major fight.”

“We need to rest for the night,” says Aurelia. “We should find a more defensible location. Maybe Jannalor’s room?”

Everyone agrees, so they sneak back out, down the tunnel toward the treasure room, but luckily the dragon is elsewhere. They stuff as much of the remaining treasure as they can into Torba.

“Remember, don’t send any of this stuff to the Talons,” says Aurelia. “We’ll get you a turkey once we’re back in Crystalport.”

“I want to try one of those demon chickens—they sound interesting!” says Torba.

They spend half an hour collecting the remaining hoard. In total, they find:

• 3,900 cp
• 2,900 sp
• 120 gp
• 12 gems (including the diamond)
• Various art objects
• Two unidentified potions
• A chain shirt
• A stuffed bullette
• The skull of some creature with horns gilded in silver
• A map of the surrounding mountain range
• A statue of Bahamut made of glass (made by Caranthiax)
• A jar containing a dead tadpole-like creature suspended in greenish fluid

“We can tell the Talons that all the useful stuff was taken by the demons, right?” says Aurelia.

“Well, that is the case…”

“All that’s left is to put my brethren to rest,” says Qhask.

“And get me a chicken!” protests Torba.

Aurelia rolls her eyes. “Fine, we’ll get you a chicken.”

They head back to the tunnel that leads to the valley. Upon seeing the flock, Valya makes a noise of disgust.

“Those are not chickens!” says Aurelia.

“That’s what makes them so interesting!” says Torba.

Qhask shoots the nearest “chicken” with an arrow, dropping it. The others, noticing something amiss, run away, and Qhask sends his drake to retrieve the body.

“Ready for your chicken?” Valya asks Torba. She tosses the body inside.

“Ooh!” saks Torba. “Oh… it’s… bad. Bleh!”

“Of course it is!” says Aurelia.

Torba continues to make gagging noises. “Maybe if you… prepare it properly…”

“No!” say Aurelia and Thaldohr.

“Yeah,” says Qhask, “maybe stew it for a long time.”

“Get all that demonic energy out of it,” continues Torba.

“Let’s clean up the main hall as best we can, take down Caranthiax, cremate the bodies, and get out of here,” says Aurelia. She looks at Qhask, who nods.

⁂

They return to the main hall, and start taking the corpses down from the walls and piling them up in the center of the room. They’re twenty minutes into the task when the lights from the ceiling suddenly dim—something is flying over them. Then, they hear the beating of enormous wings from the shaft in the hexagonal room to the north, and a resounding thud as something lands.

“You guys head toward the secret passage—I’ll set everything on fire,” says Aurelia.

“I’ll stay here with you,” says Valya.

They rush to the stairwell, and Aurelia stays at the threshold of the door to the barracks, casting fire bolt after fire bolt at the corpses of the kobolds and Caranthiax. From the hexagonal room strides a gigantic blue dragon, much bigger than the juvenile that Valya had described.

Aurelia turns and runs, almost knocking Valya over. She grabs Valya’s hand and pulls her toward the secret passage. “What did you see?” asks Valya.

“Shut up!” whispers Aurelia.

From behind them, they hear a great roar—then they hear the crackle of lightning and smell ozone, and suddenly the floor near the door to the main hall explodes in a shower of rubble.

“The treasure is rightfully mine, worms!” roars the dragon.

Everyone rushes into the secret passage.

“What do we do? She can just follow us!” says Aurelia.

“She’s still inside, maybe she won’t know we’ve left?” says Valya.

“Okay, we’ll run for it. Worst case, we jump in the bag,” says Aurelia.

They exit the passage, climb the rope back down the ledge, and start running back down the path.

They hear another explosion, and then another roar. “What good will you may have garnered by killing the demons you have lost by taking my treasure! I will hunt you down!”

“It wasn’t even that good a treasure!” whispers Aurelia. “Hey, if the dragon attacks Crystalport, then all the citizens will have to leave!”

“There you go,” says Valya.

Qhask leads them down the mountain, off the main path and sticking under tree cover as much as possible. The sun is setting, so they’ll soon have the cover of darkness on their side.

They see the dragon fly overhead a few minutes later. “Show yourselves, thieves!” she roars, but she doesn’t seem to notice them. “Once I’ve secured this lair for me and my progeny, I will come for you. I’ll destroy a village a day until you return my treasure to me and submit to death!” She flies out of sight, back toward the lair.

“Well, that sort of takes care of the demon problem,” says Aurelia.

“Hopefully they all kill each other,” says Qhask. “But it’s a blue dragon… the demons might just be able to buy her off. They’re driven by greed.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do… Even if we bring the treasure back, she’ll just kill us. We’ll have to figure out a plan later,” says Aurelia.

⁂

They return down the mountainside, back to Captain Green’s boat. “You’re back!” he says. “You all look like shit! What happened out there?”

“We should go,” says Aurelia.

“It’s the middle of the night,” says Captain Green.

“…We should go,” Aurelia repeats.

Captain Green raises his eyebrow. “You’re up to something horrible, I bet.”

Qhask hands Captain Green a ruby. “For your trouble.”

Captain Green looks dumbfounded. “Is this… real?”

“It is, says Aurelia. “Consider it a thank you for putting up with us.”

“It’s not glass?”

Aurelia shakes her head.

“Well, why the hell are you giving it to me? This is—”

“Well, you’ve helped us with transportation,” says Valya, “and you might help us in the future, right?”

Captain Green’s mood instantly brightens. “Ha! You got money like that, I’ll take you wherever you want to go! You didn’t steal this from a dragon hoard, did you? Not gonna come back and bite me, will it?” he jokes.

“…Nope!” says Valya.

Captain Green starts whistling as he guides the boat down the Osorin River.

⁂

They arrive back in Crystalport around four in the morning. “Well,” says Captain Green, “I thank you for the surprisingly lucrative little journey. If you ever need another boat ride, you know where to find me.”

They head back toward the Temple of Soleil. Thaldohr notices a hooded figure staring at the party from an alley as they pass through the docks. He whispers to the party, and Valya casts detect thoughts.

As they continue walking, Thaldohr confirms that the cloaked figure is following them. “After we take this corner,“says Valya, “we should stop, so he has to enter my spell’s range.”

“I’ll loop around the building to get behind him,” says Thaldohr. He runs up ahead and takes the next turn.

A few moments later, the man peers around the corner, startles as he realizes the party is right there, and then darts away—all without triggering Valya’s detect thoughts!

Valya and Qhask start chasing the man down the street (leaving Aurelia, who is too weak to give chase, behind), and watch in dismay as the man casts invisibility on himself. Fortunately, they can still follow the sound of his footsteps.

Valya dashes up to him, then teleports right next to him. The man attempts to sneak away… but steps on a twig. Valya tries to knock the man unconscious, but misses. Qhask rushes up and hits the man with the flat of his short sword. The man drops concentration on his invisibility.

Looking at his face, they see his expression is crazed and his eyes are bloodshot. Thaldohr grapple him. “Why are you following us?” he shouts.

“I—I have to!”

“Says who?” asks Thaldohr.

“The master, I would serve him even if, even if he—I have to!”

“Who is your master?” asks Valya.

“I can’t tell you!” he shouts. He tries to stab Valya, but misses. He struggles against Thaldohr’s grapple, breaks free, and continues running. However, as he is no longer invisible, the party are easily able to subdue him.

“No! Let me go! If I don’t, he’ll, he, he—” he begins shaking.

“Is there a way for us to free you from your master?” asks Thaldohr.

“Why would you want to—no, the master’s word is—”

“You don’t seem too well,” says Thaldohr.

“Would you like to meet him? I can show you—you’ll understand, you’ll see—”

“Where is your master?” asks Valya.

“Can’t tell you, I, you—” The man looks around, confused. “What… what am I doing here?”

Aurelia catches up to the party. “You got him?” she asks.

“What have you done with me?” asks the man. “Where am I?”

“Are you okay?” Aurelia asks him. She peers at him.

“I was home—did you abduct me? I can’t remember…”

“You were stalking us,” says Valya. “You said something about your ‘master’.”

“What?” The man looks confused and afraid.

“Where is your home? We can return you there,” says Aurelia. “I think you may have been sleepwalking.”

“I don’t… think so… why am I here?” says the man.

“Perhaps we should bring you to the temple,” says Aurelia. “And perhaps you can put down the weapon,” she adds.

The man suddenly drops his dagger. “Why was I holding that?” He looks quite frightened.

⁂

At the Temple of Soleil, there are a few priests and priestesses up. “Oh dear,” says one, “what happened to this man?”

“He seems to have been possessed,” says Aurelia, “though we’re not sure.”

“He seemed to have his mind somewhere else,” says Valya, “talking about someone he had to report to.”

“I don’t remember any of it,” says the man. “I went to bed in my home, and then I was in the street, and I had a dagger in my hand and—I don’t know what’s happening!”

“He seems to have been compelled to follow us,” says Valya.

“Quite strange,” says the priestess. “Please, come this way—we’ll need to examine you.”

They lead the man to the infirmary and lie him down on a bed, while the priestess gives him a potion to calm his thoughts. A few minutes later, Cedric arrives, bleary-eyed. They explain the details to him. “This is quite strange…”

Cedric and the priestess examine the man. After fifteen minutes, he returns to the party in the hall outside. “We can’t detect the effects of any lingering magic. But based on your report, it seems like he was certainly under the influence of something. And,” he leans in to whisper, “he’s wearing a magic ring.”

“When he was following us,” says Valya, “I tried reading his mind, but he was shielded. I wonder if that’s what the ring does?”

“Perhaps,” says Cedric. He motions them to return to the mans bedside. “Sir, do you mind if we examine your ring?”

The man looks confused. “What ring? I don’t wear—” He holds up his hand and notices the ring on his left pinky. He takes it off. “First the dagger, now a ring—what is happening?” He hands the ring out to Cedric.

“Does the ring have initials?” asks Valya. Cedric displays the ring to the party, but it doesn’t look like the “M. and F. Talos” rings they found in Silverdale. Instead, it’s a purplish-bronze ring with a cloisonné brain.

“Very strange…” says Cedric.

“Can anyone cast identify?” asks Aurelia.

“I’ve been studying it,” says Valya, “but I need a pearl.”

“Do we have any?” asks Aurelia. They take out the gems they got from Caranthiax’s hoard and, luckily, find a pearl! Valya heads to the courtyard outside and scratches some runes in the ground with her sword. She begins casting the spell, and after a few minutes her mind is suddenly flooded with the knowledge of what the ring does.

“This is a ring of mind shielding,” says Valya. “It shielded his thoughts from detection… and it might have a soul inside it. Whoever did this wanted to make sure no information leaked. Maybe we should take this to the Andirune Institute to see if Utaz can determine what is going on. I doubt this magic is of divine origin.”

“Yes, it’s most likely arcane in nature,” says Aurelia.

“So,” says the man, “can you tell me what happened? Oh, and I forgot to mention my name—Jonas Fairweather.”

“We think there might be some sort of entity influencing you,” says Aurelia. “Do you have any family in the countryside, or…”

“My family is here,” says Jonas. “Why? Do you think someone is after me?”

“Maybe not after you, but using you,” says Aurelia.

“But why me?”

“Maybe you were in the wrong place at the wrong time and whoever this ‘master’ is put you under their spell,” says Valya.

“I don’t remember seeing anything I shouldn’t have… I go home, I work at the Hall of Justice during the day—”

“The Hall of Justice?” asks Aurelia.

“It’s the largest courthouse in Crystalport—I’m a clerk. Like I said, I go to work, I go to a tavern with friends, I go home—nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Do you remember where you got the ring?” asks Thaldohr.

“No!” says Jonas. “I’ve never seen it before!”

“Well,” says Valya, “if you can’t remember, that’s probably what they intended—making you into a perfect spy—”

“Who is they?” asks Jonas. “Why would ‘they’ do anything to me?”

“Where were you last before you went home last night?” asks Thaldohr.

“A tavern, but nothing out of the ordinary!”

“Are there any blanks in your memory other than the one from tonight?” asks Aurelia. Aurelia notices Jonas flinch at this—he’s clearly thinking of something painful. “It’s okay, Jonas, you’re safe with us.”

“I don’t know—I think it’s nothing, but I—I think I may have dozed off at my desk a few weeks ago. I had some disturbing dreams, but… that was it.”

“Can you describe the dreams?” asks Aurelia.

“I… I was in a strange place, and there was a soothing voice, but, there was something wrong about it, and… then I woke up at my desk. It was just a dream.”

“What did the voice sound like?” asks Aurelia.

“Male, I think… I don’t know if it spoke to me physically, but it was more… in my mind.”

“Can I try something?” asks Valya. “I’d like to read your mind.”

“What?” asks Jonas.

“Just to see the memory,” says Aurelia. “That’s all she’s asking.”

“Okay…”

“Try to think about that memory,” says Valya. She casts detect thoughts and tries to read Jonas’s mind. She gets a brief glimpse. Jonas is in a small stone room, and across the room from him is something horrible. A gaunt, humanoid creature with pale blue skin stretched tightly over its bones. Instead of a face, it has tentacles, evenly spaced around a gaping mouth filled with sharp fangs. Valya recoils and the link is severed.

Jonas appears not to be consciously aware of the memory. “Well,” says Valya, shaken, “whatever happened, I’m sure the priests will be able to help you.”

“I hope so,” says Jonas, “I’d like to put whatever this is behind me.”

“You should be safe now,” says Valya, trying to control her expression.

“Was I not safe before?” asks Jonas.

“That’s not what I meant—” begins Valya.

“You’re in good hands here,” Aurelia interrupts. “Try to get some rest.”

They speak with Cedric in the hall. “We’ll keep him here overnight,” he says, “to see what else we can determine.”

“And maybe keep a guard at the door,” adds Aurelia.

“Yes,” replies Cedric. He pauses. “I say overnight, but it’s almost morning… Thank you for bringing him in. He doesn’t seem well.”

As they walk back to their quarters, Valya tells the party about what she say. “I saw something bizarre, some sort of humanoid creature, but it didn’t have a humanoid head, it had—like, a flower, with teeth.”

“Ew,” says Thaldohr.

“It was some sort of monstrosity,” continues Valya. “I wonder if that was the thing controlling him.”

“How many monstrosities can one valley have?” Aurelia laments. She sighs. “I think we should all get some sleep.”

“And then go to the Talons?” asks Valya.

Aurelia nods.

Sunday, December 16, 652 AU

They sleep in, and wake up in the early afternoon to discuss their plans. “So you think the Daykins are hiding the circle?” Aurelia asks Valya.

“Maybe, maybe not,” says Valya.

“We should talk to Leander—he might have some more information,” suggests Aurelia. “Utaz said he could arrange a meeting.”

They head to the Drunken Goblin, hoping to find Remy and get another meeting with the Talons, but they don’t see his wagon outside. Rather than cast sending, they decide to find Captain Green instead, and head to The Mermaid by the docks.

Captain Green is sitting at his usual table, and looks surprised to see the party. “Back so soon?” he asks. “I won’t say no to the money, but…”

“Do you have a way to contact the Talons?” Valya whispers.

“I can set something up, yeah. How do you want me to contact you when it’s ready?”

“We’ll meet you back here around sunset,” says Aurelia.

Captain Green nods. “Oh—you hear what the papers are saying about you? Not that I’d believe anything written in that rag, but it’s pretty entertaining.”

Aurelia sighs. “It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

“Were you really hired to take care of the sewer rat problem?” asks the captain.

“No!” says Aurelia.

“Oh. Well, someone has to take care of it.”

⁂

They take their leave of The Mermaid and visit Utaz in his tower at the Andirune Institute.

“Well?” says Utaz, looking at the party expectantly.

“We can update you on the Caranthiax situation,” says Aurelia.

“Ah, yes. If I recall correctly you claimed she was slain by demons. Any ideas why, or how?”

“It seems Caranthiax was protecting or containing a statue of some demonic or evil influence,” says Valya. She fishes around in her bag and pulls out the drawing she made of the runes. “This is the circle we found. The statue is missing.”

“It seems the demons are planning to use my former home as a staging area for an invasion of the valley,” adds Qhask.

“Oh dear,” says Utaz. He studies the drawing. “Well, I have to hand it to Caranthiax—this is quite the powerful magic circle. She was quite knowledgeable—truly her death is a great loss for the magical community.”

“And,” says Qhask, “there’s a blue dragon fighting the demons for control of Caranthiax’s former lair.”

“And the dragon is angry at us for stealing the treasure,” says Valya.

Utaz raises an eyebrow. “These are… interesting times.”

“Yes indeed…” says Aurelia.

“Well.” Utaz clears his throat. “I’ve gotten word from General Dahr. He will allow us to question Leander.”

“When could we arrange that?” asks Valya.

“Now, if you are ready,” says Utaz.

“Let’s go now, then,” says Aurelia.

Utaz stands. “Very well. Gather close, everyone.”

“Why?” asks Valya.

Utaz speaks some arcane words, waves his hand, and everyone suddenly finds themselves standing outside the Crystalport guardhouse.

“Ugh, my stomach!” complains Valya. “What was that? Where are we?”

“The guardhouse,” says Utaz. “If you practice, Valya, you too can achieve such efficient means of travel.”

“Does it always feel like this?” asks Aurelia, also nauseated.

“…More or less,” says Utaz.

Utaz nods at the guards and leads the party into the guardhouse, down a hall, to General Dahr’s office. The general is there, conversing with Atris of the Hammer and a few lieutenants. They stop talking as the party enters. Atris stands, smiles at the party through her blindfold, nods, and leaves the room.

General Dahr nods at the party. “Well, you’re here. Leander is cooperative, I’ll give him that… but he is, most definitely, a vampire. This is a difficult situation, politically—by law, we shouldn’t even be holding him. He should be executed on the spot. The only thing preventing us from doing so is the will of the prince.” He pauses. “The prince is an idiot teenager. But I must do my duty.”

He motions at one of the guards. “Lead this group to the cells.”

The party are led to the basement of the guardhouse, past several cells, some occupied and some empty, until they reach Leander. He’s blindfolded, and his hands and feet are shackled. “He’s blindfolded so he doesn’t use magic to escape,” says the guard.

As they approach, Leander sniffs at the air. “You’re here. Hello Utaz. Aurelia. Valya. Qhask.” He sniffs again. “Dwarf I don’t recognize.”

“Hello, Leander,” says Utaz. He turns to the guard. “May we question him in private?” The guard shrugs, and returns up the stairs.

“Nice of you all to visit,” says Leander. “I’m sure you’re here to get more information out of me.”

“Yes,” says Aurelia.

Leander sighs. “I thought I had already told you everything that was relevant.”

“We’re just trying to cover all of our bases,” says Aurelia. “Are you aware of the location of the magic circle in Crystalport?”

“No,” says Leander. “That was one of the secrets that Tharruk kept from me. I’m only aware of the circle under Vargrath Keep.”

“Do you know of anyone else who could have that information?” asks Valya.

“Only those closest to Tharruk,” says Leander.

“Any names?” asks Valya.

“Well… Xatriq would have known, but you murdered her that day in the keep. And there’s a beholder zombie that Tharruk is quite fond of. Not very intelligent, but Tharruk uses him as a watchdog to protect his most important secrets. And there’s Azzox, though as far as I know, he’s still in the Underdark managing Tharruk’s former lair.”

“Azzox?” asks Aurelia.

“Tharruk’s other most faithful servant.”

“How do we get to the Underdark?” asks Valya.

“Most of the entrances to the Underdark around here are to the west, near Hart’s Crossing and Kharst. That’s the easiest way in. But I doubt Azzox is relevant here.”

“Has Tharruk been using innocents as his spies?” asks Valya.

Leander frowns. “Why? What do you mean?”

“We found someone recently who was wearing a ring that shielded their thoughts. This person seemed to be under the control of someone else—someone they called ‘the master’. But the odd thing was, after we apprehended them they seemed to snap out of it and couldn’t remember anything. It was like talking to a different person.”

“Oh dear…” says Leander. “Then perhaps Azzox is in the city.”

“Is he a spellcaster?” asks Valya.

“No. A vampire. But not a humanoid vampire—an illithid vampire. Have you heard of illithids?”

“No, what are they?” asks Aurelia.

“Psychic creatures. They can control the minds of others. Azzox is brutal, and powerful. This person that you mentioned—he must have been under Azzox’s control.”

“How does Azzox look?” asks Valya.

“Tall, emaciated, bluish skin. Tentacles for his face.”

Valya goes pale. “That’s what I saw in Jonas’s memories.”

“What does it mean, that Azzox is in Crystalport?” asks Aurelia.

“It means you can’t trust anyone,” says Leander. “There could be spies everywhere, people compelled to act a certain way with the right trigger…” Leander struggles to his feet. “I’m not safe blindfolded in a jail cell. Tharruk will almost certainly want to kill me for revealing the truth to you.”

“Then you’d better help us defeat him, says Valya.

“Tharruk has been preparing for years,” says Leander. “He’s already prepared a location in the city for his ritual. If Azzox is involved, who knows where it is—he could have gotten anyone to build it and hide it for him.”

“Do you think the Daykins are involved in this?” asks Valya.

“Tharruk never mentioned them, and I didn’t get that impression from them, but if Azzox is involved, they might be involved without consciously realizing it.”

“I’m sure you’ve been through some of the darker parts of the city,” says Aurelia. “Do you have any idea where the circle could be?”

“There’s not many places with that kind of space,” says Leander.

“Maybe it’s under Neesha’s temple,” says Valya.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” says Aurelia. She turns back to Leander. “What do you know about the statues?”

“Statues?”

“Like the one that was in Vargrath Keep,” says Aurelia.

“Oh! That thing. I don’t know, but Tharruk used it as a power source for his ritual. It’s filled with dark energy.” Leander looks thoughtful. “And, I think the shadows came from that statue.”

“Oh!” says Aurelia. “Then the shadows must have vanished because the statue was moved!” Aurelia frowns. “But we brought the other statue into the city…”

“Another statue?” says Leander. “You shouldn’t mess with those things! Tharruk didn’t seem to know where the statue came from or how it worked!”

“We discovered one in Maplethorn,” says Aurelia, “and we didn’t want it to harm the villagers there—”

“So you brought it to the city?” Leander asks, incredulous.

“Well, we didn’t know what it was,” says Valya.

“Not even Tharruk knows what they are!” says Leander. “He just used it because it was powerful and could fuel the ritual.”

“Utaz,” says Aurelia, “can you recreate the spell that Caranthiax had used to contain the statue?”

“It’s a powerful circle, but not beyond my abilities,” says Utaz.

The party convenes at the other end of the hallway to take stock of what they’ve learned. “Well,” says Aurelia, “Leander will almost certainly be killed if he stays here. He’s just waiting for a guard to get mind-controlled and assassinate him. Do you think we can convince General Dahr to transfer him to the Citadel?”

“I could try to convince him,” says Utaz, “but I don’t know whether we should tell him about Azzox, or invent another plausible reason to transfer Leander.”

“How do we get General Dahr to buy into… this?” asks Aurelia. “Perhaps we could connect it to the Wood Scorpions, say that they summoned an entity… a vampiric entity, so we already have that connection—”

“Speaking of vampirism…” says Leander, apparently able to hear their conversation.

“Yes…” says Aurelia, “when is the last time you… fed?”

“A while ago,” says Leander. “I’m not asking for… blood. I’m asking… if you go to my room at the Andirune Institute—which I’m sure has already been searched—there’s a floorboard under the desk. There are some vials—not blood. Surely you must have wondered how I could go out during the day and cast a shadow. It’s a potion that Tharruk taught me how to brew. It will be difficult to brew more—one of the ingredients was shadowstuff.”

“Ah, that explains it,” says Aurelia.

“And it lessened the hunger. I had been feeding on animals in the forest, but… I’m starving in here.”

“You don’t feed on humanoids?” asks Aurelia.

“No! I used to, but—no, not anymore,” says Leander.

Aurelia looks at the rest of the party. “Let’s talk to the general.”

They return up the stairs to General Dahr’s office. “Did you get anything useful from him?” asks the general. “The whereabouts of the Wood Scorpions, perhaps?”

“No,” says Aurelia, “but we learned some more potentially useful information about the situation.”

“Which situation?” asks the general.

“Well,” says Aurelia, looking at the others, “we think the Wood Scorpions might have made a deal with… a vampiric entity… that isn’t Leander.”

The general rolls his eyes. “You do know what the papers say about you, right? Please don’t—”

“Okay, fine!” says Aurelia. “I don’t know if there’s a connection to the Wood Scorpions. But there is a vampire illithid in the city!”

The general levels a stare at Aurelia. “You expect me to… what, exactly?”

“We also believe that certain parties have a vested interest in silencing Leander, especially after he’s given us all this information. I think he should be transferred to the capital,” says Aurelia.

General Dahr sighs. “Leander is lucky that I am keeping him alive. He is a vampire. A monster. He should be killed, not set free!”

“I’m not saying you should set him free, just that he should be transferred out of Crystalport,” says Aurelia. “Certainly he could be judged there instead, and it’s what the prince would want—”

“It is exactly what the prince would want!” says General Dahr, suddenly furious. “That is the problem! You want me to send him to where the prince has more influence? If I send Leander to the capital, he walks free within a day at most. The prince is not thinking clearly. Leander is a vampire. At least if he stays here, he doesn’t walk free.”

Valya is quickly losing her patience. “There is another way to look at this. What will happen if Leander dies under your watch? You’ve only recently been assigned here—don’t you think Prince Calvin will use whatever power he has to dismiss you?”

“He may be a prince, but politics does not revolve around him,” says General Dahr. “There are other parties involved—the queen, the Daykins—”

“He could still make your life more difficult, though,” says Valya, “and there’s a chance that Leander will be assassinated, and this vampire in the city is serving a more powerful master, and—”

“First hydras, then liches, now illithid vampires—do you not listen to yourselves?” shouts the general.

Suddenly, they hear a soft voice from the hallway. “They’re right, Turlin.” Atris steps out from the shadows and into the room. “The Wood Scorpions are a threat, yes. We know what they’re capable of, but they are ultimately a distraction in the grand scheme of things.”

General Dahr sputters. “You’re taking their side?!”

Atris smiles. “There are no sides—there is merely that which needs to be done, and that which is a distraction from the true goal. I have not been completely honest with you, general. Queen Oriel did not send me to Crystalport to take care of the Wood Scorpions.”

She turns toward the party. “You have been quite involved in the goings-on of this city, as of late. You’ve proven yourselves quite capable. Useful. I need people like you. While my own powers are formidible, they are also… complex. I am privy to diverse magical secrets, but for the safety of those around me, I am under… many geases.” She grimaces. “Those of lesser talent would be driven insane. My hands are tied in several complicated ways. But it’s for the best.”

“I am not free to act, in many ways. The detective work necessary to discover Tharruk’s lair is beyond me, especially given his anti-divinatory measures. My role is often more advisory. But if you were to discover Tharruk’s lair… you could point me at him as you would any weapon. I am, after all, a hammer of the queen.”

“When you find Tharruk, you will send for me, Aurelia. I will come, and I will bring fire.” Atris gives them a disturbing smile.

“This is… utter nonsense!” says General Dahr. He looks between the party, Atris, and Utaz, then sighs exasperatedly and rubs his temples.

Aurelia ignores the general and turns back to Atris. “We will do as you ask. To be blunt, we are no match for Tharruk. But knowing that a member of the Hammer is involved is… comforting.”

“There is one more thing,” says Atris. “Defeating Tharruk is meaningless if his phylactery is not destroyed first. You will need to find it.”

“Is there a way to evacuate the city before the ritual?” asks Aurelia. “We only have five days. It’s a very short deadline.”

“The queen thinks it best that the city not be driven into a panic,” says Atris. “And we also don’t know what Tharruk will do if the city is evacuated. He might leave, and plan something else in a new city—this could be our only chance to stop him.”

“I see,” says Aurelia. “We’ll figure something out.”

“Well, it’s getting close, and we still have no idea where the ritual will take place,” says Valya.

“We’ll do our best,” says Aurelia, and bows before Atris. She turns to the general. “So, about Leander?”

General Dahr sighs, defeated. “I’ll… transfer him to the citadel.”

Atris smiles at the group. “I’ll take my leave of you, for now. Remember, once Tharruk’s phylactery is destroyed, send for me.” She departs.

“Shall we return to the Andirune Institute?” asks Aurelia.

Utaz nods. “Yes, it seems the guard wasn’t as thorough cleaning out Leander’s room as they could have been.” He turns to General Dahr. “General?”

The general sighs. “Whatever it is you need to do, do it quick. If what you say is… real, if so many people were to die under my watch… Gods, this is insane. A lich?”

“Indeed,” says Utaz.

They take their leave of the general. Utaz suggests they walk back to the Institute, so as to avoid wasting a second teleport. “Atris frightens me,” says Utaz as they walk.

“She is… quite intense,” says Aurelia.

“How much do you know about the Hammer?” Utaz asks.

“Just that they are the chosen few, given more powerful magics than most can imagine,” says Aurelia.

“It must be a great burden,” says Utaz. “They know spells that can conjure firestorms, spells that can dominate the mind… Generations ago—I think it was Raymond Fentris’s grandson—created the Hammer as an institution. I know a little of the geas they are under. It is quite restrictive. I can’t even imagine living with it.”

They arrive at the Andirune Institute and Utaz directs them to Leander’s quarters, leaving them to their devices while he returns to his tower. They search under the floorboard, and find several things:

• Leander’s spellbook
• The History of Whitestone Valley
• Tales of the Undead
• Artists of the North Coast
• Two vials of an unidentified potion
• Two vials of billowing black smoke
• A small velvet bag containing calcite crystals

⁂

At this point it is sunset. They decide to return to The Mermaid, where Captain Green informs them that he’s set up a meeting. “They seem quite keen on meeting you—apparently you’ve got something they want.”

Captain Green leads them to another warehouse nearby, and ushers them inside. This time there are two kenku—Sqreeth, and a female kenku they don’t recognize—along with the same half-elf and tiefling from before.

“Zeesa!” says Torba.

The female kenku nods. “Torba.” She turns to the party. “Well?”

“We managed to take the treasure from Caranthiax’s lair,” says Aurelia.

“Demons had ransacked the place, and killed most of the kobolds,” says Valya. “They took some of the treasure, but there was plenty left.”

Sqreeth narrows his eyes. “That’s not just an excuse to keep the bulk of the treasure for yourselves, right?”

“We have it all in Torba,” says Aurelia.

“Oh! And you may want to know there’s a new dragon trying to move in to the old lair.”

“I thought you said it was demons,” says Sqreeth.

“They’re fighting. It’s a blue dragon, female,” says Valya.

“A blue dragon! Those are hard to deal with,” says Sqreeth.

“She wasn’t happy about us taking all of the gold and gems,” says Aurelia.

“And she might be able to track the treasure,” adds Valya.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,” says Zeesa. “The vault is very well-protected.”

“Let’s see what you got,” says Zeesa.

Valya upends Torba on the floor of the room. Everyone’s eyes go wide. “Well,” says Sqreeth, “this is certainly quite the hoard.”

“The demons called it trash,” says Valya.

“Oh! My heart,” says Sqreeth feigning a pained expression. “Well, I think this is certainly worth your books.”

Zeesa and Sqreeth each summon their Leomund’s secret chest, and hand over the books.

“Okay, Torba, ready?” says Valya.

Zeesa raises an eyebrow. “You think Torba is going with you?”

“We purchased him!” says Valya.

“From Remy,” says Zeesa. You want to keep him?”

“Or have a suitable replacement,” says Aurelia.

“I kind of like having him around,” says Valya.

“I spent quite a bit of gold making him…” says Zeesa. “But I suppose you have done quite a bit for us…”

“Hey, and maybe one day he’ll accidentally dump all our treasure into your vault!” says Valya.

“And it seems Remy isn’t exactly the best at choosing targets for this scam… Fine. We’ll throw in Torba as well,” says Zeesa.

As they pack all of the books inside Torba, Aurelia turns to Zeesa and Sqreeth. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard rumors of certain individuals in the city causing… problems?”

“The Wood Scorpions?” says Sqreeth.

“No, worse,” says Aurelia.

“Worse how?” asks Zeesa.

“One of them wants to turn the whole city into a cemetery under their control,” says Valya.

“Why would you want to control a cemetery?” asks Zeesa.

“Well, the person in question is a lich,” says Valya.

“Oh. Oh! Very funny. Yes, I’ve read the papers,” says Zeesa.

The party stare at Zeesa and Sqreeth. “…You’re serious, aren’t you,” says Zeesa. “We have noticed some weird stuff.”

“The lich has a vampiric illithid working for him, capable of mind-controlling victims. We encountered one last night, spying on us, but when we apprehended him he lost all memory of being controlled,” says Valya.

“Zeesa,” says Sqreeth, do you think…” He turns to Valya. “Did this man have a ring?”

“Yes,” says Valya.

“Weird little brain on it?” asks Sqreeth.

“I have it here,” says Valya, holding up her hand.

“Wait, you’re wearing it?!” shout Aurelia, Qhask, and Thaldohr at the same time. “Take that off!” says Aurelia.

“Fine,” says Valya. She removes the ring.

“Two days ago,” says Zeesa, “one of our guys starts acting funny. Asking questions, getting aggressive, trying to break into locked rooms. We took him down, and found he was wearing a ring exactly like that. Speak with dead revealed he didn’t remember a thing he’d done. Whoever did this is going to pay.”

“They’re trying to take control of the city,” says Valya. “The lich has hidden a massive ritual chamber somewhere in the city, probably underground. If we don’t stop them, they’re going to turn everyone in the city into undead. I know how it sounds, but it’s true—if this happens, you and everyone else are going to die.”

“Do you know of any underground location that could hold a huge ritual circle?” asks Aurelia.

“How big are we talking?” asks Sqreeth.

“About one hundred and twenty feet in diameter,” says Valya.

“A single room, a hundred twenty feet in diameter?” says Sqreeth. “Can’t say I know of a place like that.”

“Perhaps your people could help us scout for one,” suggests Aurelia.

“Well,” says Sqreeth, “It’s not like we don’t have blueprints of most of the buildings in the city.”

“What about the Temple of Neesha?” asks Valya.

“We’ve never been able to get original blueprints for that one, no,” says Sqreeth.

“We suspect that this lich is working with a very old, extremist sect of Neesha’s followers,” says Valya.

“Well, we can put together a list of candidate locations, and if we catch any more mind-controlled victims, we’ll let you know,” says Sqreeth.

“Thank you,” says Aurelia. “Be careful—it’s a dangerous time for Crystalport.”

“It’s always a dangerous time for the thieves’ guild,” says Zeesa. “We can handle it.”

⁂

They leave the warehouse and return to the guardhouse with Leander’s supplies. “Back again?” asks the guard at the entrance.

“We realized we forgot to ask Leander something—we only need a few minutes,” says Aurelia.

“Ah, of course. You know, someone went down to question him just a few moments ago,” says the guard.

Aurelia has a sudden flash of insight. “We need to get down there. Now.”

They rush down the stairs, just in time to catch a guard strangling Leander with one hand, his other hand reaching for his sword… ❦