Episode 56
Visions of Fire and Light
Willa receives a message. The party continues their trek up the mountain. Anton takes an oath. A monster comes home.
Recap
With the dwarven town of Khel Kuldir behind them, the Soul Survivors continued their trek through the treacherous Ember Rim Mountains. Willa’s amethyst Dragonmind Shard suddenly flared to life, and a psychic connection from the Voice of the Ruby Dragon seized her mind, drawing Gemma and Anton into a vivid shared vision. The group witnessed Sovemil bound in fiery chains, forced to channel corrupted divine magic to heal cultists and empower a dark ritual. At the heart of the chamber rose a massive emerald crystal—radiating ancient power now being defiled by flame. Overseeing the ritual was a gaunt, ember-eyed cult leader with a jagged sigil and a burning trident—the once-sacred Trident of Water, now being twisted into a weapon of fire. A chilling voice warned: "The trident will burn with the might of Eodroansag… and so will you."
Another voice, emanating from the shadows and out of sight within the vision chuckled and spoke of the outsiders approaching. “Let them come. The fire is patient.”
When the vision ended for Gemma and Anton, Willa remained connected, allowing her to ask questions. The Voice revealed Willa’s true name—Jezra Lorrakryn—and her lineage as a native of the distant land of Pangenan. Her parents still live, serving the homeland that once sent her away. The Voice instructed her to seek out Vildash, an amethyst dragonborn in Vuldohr, and to stop the corruption of the emerald gem. It’s an overwhelming revelation that shakes Willa to her core.
The party camped for the night, reeling from the magnitude of what they’d seen. Questions swirled: Can Sovemil be saved? What is the nature of the gem dragonborn's destiny? And how many more secrets does Pangenan hold? Gemma spent the evening reading the Draconomicon, the illegal book taken from the Empire’s settlement of Oaktown, researching the malevolent Eodroansag, the Red Dragon, and gem dragons created by Sardior, the Pangenan god known as the Ruby Dragon.
By morning, the mountain proved no less dangerous. The thin air slowed their progress. A giant footprint hinted at a stone giant nearby—fortunately heading in another direction. As night fell again, they found shelter in the ruins of an old dwarven structure surrounding a cave. They discussed their options with the new information they attained, but ultimately, they decided to continue to the arcane sanctuary in the clouds, known as Skyhaven, where a portal to Vuldohr and answers to Gemma’s past await.
Searching the cave, they discovered a severed hand and foot made of stone, perhaps broken from a statue. Gemma correctly identified it to be the result of magical petrification. Beside them was a pouch of Imperial gold and a magical, elven dagger. Anton took watch, as Gemma and Willa cautiously began to rest.
Anton slipped into a divine vision from his goddess, Sehanine, who presented him the tenets of the Oath of Redemption—and the opportunity to stand as her champion. The human warrior accepted, and Sehanine told him to look up before disappearing in a wave of moonlight and the scent of jasmine. Snapping out of the dream, his senses alerted him to a presence—something scaly and predatory slithering into the cave. He called out to his friends, but it was already too late.
A hulking, multi-legged basilisk lunged from the shadows. Its glowing eyes scanned the room. Willa and Gemma, groggy and prone, caught off guard began to stir. The basilisk sank its teeth into Willa, rousing her with searing pain. It then turned on Gemma, dealing a vicious blow that left her unconscious and bleeding out on the cave floor.
Anton charged into the fray, averting his eyes to avoid the creature’s petrifying gaze. Slashing with his longsword, he managed to wound it—but the beast was far from done. Meanwhile, Gemma recovered just in time to hurl a lightning bolt that crackled through the cave, illuminating the horror with brilliant arcane energy.
Willa, filled with rage and fear, unleashed her draconic resonance from her Dragonmind Shard, roaring with psionic force. She called upon a blood curse and then swung her Maul of Hell-Ice, smashing into the basilisk with primal fury.
Despite a near-death, failed saves, and a few wild swings, the Soul Survivors managed to bring the creature down. The cave grew quiet once more, and the adventurers tended to their wounds before taking their long rest. They awoke in the morning, rejuvenated, attaining 11th level.
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