Episode 69
The Cost of Inheritance
The Soul Survivors face off against a behir. Willa faces a test, discovering more about her mysterious past and the key to returning home.
Recap
The session opened with the Soul Survivors locked in battle against a behir in its fungus-lit lair beneath the hill. As electricity crackled around its snout, the creature attempted to swallow Anton, constricting him with its long torso. Willa managed to help free him, and instead of pressing the fight, Gemma used a Bead of Force against it, successfully trapping the behir in a sphere temporarily.
The party seized the opportunity to escape, grabbing several treasure items from the behir’s hoard, including a stone key tied to Willa’s long-awaited test. The dragonborn placed the bead in a tight crevice as they quickly escaped the cave, hearing it explode against the stone walls behind them.
Returning to the sewer, they used the key to unlock the path to Willa’s supposed test. Activating a teleportation spell within the tunnel, they were transported to the exotic jungles of Pangenan. Against an ancient, overgrown temple, they discovered a sealed door marked with an image of Sardior, surrounded by gems of different colors. To open it, they were required to open the book given to Willa by Vildash, The Parable of the Five Gems. By interpreting the story, they pressed the gems in the proper order, opening the door.
Inside, sentient constructs called mindforged confronted them and demanded their names. When Willa responded with the name she was given at birth, Jezra Lorrakryn, their combat stances shifted to nonlethal. The constructs tested the party’s skill – the fight ending after one mindforged was knocked unconscious with the other two close to defeat, proving Willa’s capability.
The mindforged left the temple, their duty complete. The adventurers rested and identified the magic items they discovered in the behir’s lair: a wand of magic missiles, a dancing shortsword, and a flame tongue maul.
Afterward, they approached an altar with buttons and levers, like the helm of some otherworldly ship. After carefully studying it, Willa activated it, and her amethyst Dragonmind Shard flashed. A recorded message from her mother, Shilma, projected like a three-dimensional illusion in front of her. She explained the origins of Pangenan, describing how an object fell from the night sky, igniting psychic powers within the tribes that once roamed its jungles. She described how the mindforged were created to protect their lands, and how agents were sent to bring back magical items and treasures.
She told Willa that sending her away was an act of purpose, that she was meant to survive and serve the will of the Ruby Dragon. Shilma reiterated the choice given to her daughter to save the emerald Heartstone. As a sign of good faith, a panel opened on the altar, revealing the Bracers of Shimmering Scales.
Willa’s father, Thiryas, appeared in the illusion as well, and he explained that the bracers can be used to create Dragonmind Shards from the Heartstones. She needed to remove one of these shards and bring it to Pangenan if she wished to finally return to her homeland. The illusion then faded.
Willa acquired the bracers and learned their properties. They were an incredibly powerful magic item that could indeed remove shards from Heartstones, but if she failed in their removal, the process could potentially kill her – with the Heartstone absorbing her soul.
With the trial completed and the truth of her lineage laid bare, the Soul Survivors teleported back to the sewers beneath Vuldohr – carrying treasure, answers, and the weight of Willa’s choice to return home.
Back to Story | Episode 68 | Episode 70