Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General The Afflicted

Chapter 2 - The Last Fishermen

The inside of the section of the nautiloid that they crept into was huge. Fire damage could be seen everywhere. The smell of smoke and sulfur nearly choked the life out of them. The amount of damage the place had sustained was staggering. There was debris everywhere.

Towards the center of the chamber, however, there was life. Three fishermen were frantically clawing away at the ruin. They were the only living souls that anyone could detect. Even Vexir, with her superior darkvision, could see no other movement.

One of the fishermen was a human. He looked exhausted and thus was hovering over the other two. He had a cropping of brown hair on his head and a full beard and mustache on his face. He kept these trimmed so that they weren't too shaggy. He was, in fact, a relatively good looking commoner, strong and lean. "Come on, dig! Faster! Get her out of there! Don't die. Don't die. Don't die..." he said as the group moved close enough to see what it was they were digging out.

Everyone made an Investigation roll against a DC of 15. Kaedyn rolled a 6+2=8, Vexir a 5, Ryth-Shan a 15, Shadowheart a 9-1=8, and Astarion a 5+1=6. Only Ryth-Shan succeeded.

Much to the surprise of everyone except Ryth-Shan, a young girl lay amidst the debris. It looked as if the fishermen had been digging her out for some time, and all that remained was to free her lower half. She was broken and weak and whimpering for her papa to save her.

But Ryth-Shan saw what she really was. He saw past the illusion spell the creature was maintaining. There was no mistaking what it was. Its fiery orange eyes still glowed with inner fire. "That's the creature from the ship!" he hissed at the others. "The one who infected us. It's clouding your minds. Really look at what's in front of you."

Then, he made a Persuasion roll. The difficulty was 10. He rolled a 4 with no bonuses. Failure.

His voice cut through the air like a sharp knife. All three fishermen stopped what they were doing and looked at the heroes. There was a male dwarf with a cap on his head and a female Halfling with a curly carrot-top. They all regarded the adventurers with fear and uncertainty as they picked up their weapons.

Ryth-Shan's own companions regarded him strangely. "What are you talking about?" asked Kaedyn. "It's a young girl.

"Stay back!" the human fisherman snapped. "Stay away from m'daughter! I'm warning you."

"Papa! Please save me! Protect me from them. They're bad people! Please, Papa!"

The three fishermen looked down at her and then back at the heroes. "She's right. They're here to kill her! We have to protect m'daughter!"

"Take it easy," said Kaedyn. "We're here to help."

But Ryth-Shan had decided to take matters into his own hands. He lifted his bow to shoot the Mind Flayer laying within the debris; the very monster who had committed the atrocity of putting that parasite in his skull. As he did this, the fishermen cried out in alarm and attacked.

Initiative. Kaedyn rolled a 10+2=12, Vexir a 4+2+6, Ryth-Shan an 8+2=10, Shadowheart an 11+2=13, and Astarion a 20+3=23. The three fishermen rolled a 9+1=10, 14+1=15 and 18+1=19. So the order was Astarion, Halfling Fisherman, Dwarf Fisherman, Shadowheart, Kaedyn, Ryth-Shan, Human Fisherman and then Vexir last. The animals would go on Ryth-Shan's turn.

Round 1. It was Astarion's turn. He really didn't care what was happening. Weapons were drawn and enemies were about to attack them. Was it important that they were mere fishermen? Not to him. He rushed forward with rapier in hand and struck the dwarf. He rolled a 2+5=7. "Blast it!" he cried. "Missed."

The Halfling Fisherman then rushed Astarion to attack him. She gained advantage because he was now being flanked. She rolled a 2 and a 4, so 4+2=6, and missed. Next was the Dwarf Fisherman. He attacked Astarion as well and rolled a 17 and 18+2=20. Hit. He was wielding a shortsword, so he did 1d6+1 damage and rolled a 3+1=4. Astarion lost 4 HP and was down to 17.

"Bah! Bloody beasts! I'll rend you all asunder!" he spat viciously.

Then it was Shadowheart's turn. She decided to use her cantrip, Word of Radiance. She uttered a divine word, and burning radiance erupted from her. Each creature of her choice that she could see within range needed to succeed in a Constitution savings throw or take 1d6 radiant damage. She chose the three fishermen who then rolled their savings throw. The Human Fisherman rolled a 1, the Dwarf rolled a 19, and the Halfling rolled a 9. They needed 12, so the Human and Halfling suffered 1d6 damage. She rolled a 5 and a 1, so the Human took 5 HP and the Halfling took 1.

Now, it was Kaedyn's turn. He really didn't want to fight them. "Please stop!" he cried, and he made a Persuasion roll of 5+3=8. "We're not your enemies. We want to help you. My friend is just."

"Liars!" cried the Human Fisherman. His roll had failed.

Ryth-Shan's turn. He cast Hunter's Mark on the Mind Flayer, ran up to point blank range, within 5 feet, pulled out his shortsword and took a swing. Because he was within 5 feet, he did not get a disadvantage against it. Since it was prone, he normally would have gotten disadvantage with a ranged shot. He rolled a 17+4=21. Hit. Because of Hunter's Mark, he did 2d6 damage and rolled 10+2=12 damage. The Mind Flayer only had 15 HP left, so now it had 3 HP. It then rolled to see if it could maintain its concentration. It rolled a 7+1=8. It needed a 10. Failure.

The battle ended as everyone stared at the Githyanki in horror. He'd just slashed a little girl with his blade. The fishermen were beside themselves. And then, the creature's hold on them wavered and died. The illusion collapsed, and a Mind Flayer replaced it. As its influence waned, they clutched their heads, blinking in confusion.

"Wha...What happened?" asked the Human Fisherman. "Where's m'daughter?" Then he blinked rapidly. "Wait a minute. First, there was... fire in the sky, and then... the voice. Oh gods, the voice."

"This monster was using you like a puppet," Ryth-Shan informed them with disdain as he held his blade to the creature's face.

"Gods, I... I think you're right," said the Human Fisherman. "It called out from the wreckage. Sounded just like my daughter. But... she's been dead for years. That thing got into our heads; drove us mad. We wrecked our boat just trying to get close to it. What do we do now?"

"Your boat," said Shadowheart. "Can it be repaired?"

"Not a chance," said the Human Fisherman. "It's bloody driftwood. And we are in the middle of nowhere, even. Wait! You... I can feel you. Just like one of those things. You're one of them!" He said this as he pointed his finger first at Ryth-Shan and then at all of them.

"Calm down," advised Kaedyn. He was trying to be the picture of calm. "They abducted us, but we escaped."

"There's something in your heads!" said the Human Fisherman. "Please. We'll take our chances out here. Just... just leave us be!"

"Seriously?" said Kaedyn in frustration, but before he could say another word, the three darted away through the ship, racing off into the darkness towards the south.

Astarion sneered. "Useless wretches," he muttered, nursing his injury.

Vexir could see further than the rest of them in the dark. She saw which way they went. They were head back towards the southwest edge of the beach where they'd found the food supplies in the crate. "We could go after them."

"What's the point of that?" asked Kaedyn. "I'd rather just get out of this thing and move on. Wouldn't you?"

"Agreed," said Shadowheart.

"The sooner we get away from this thing, the better," said Astarion.

Ryth-Shan ignored them all. He was focused on the dying Ghaik. The foul thing was at his mercy, and he would have its head. He could end its life right then and there, if only he didn't feel... Compassion. Compassion?

No. He should be furious... shouldn't he? Yes, he felt hate. And he deserved to be punished for it. He should be whipped; made to bow before the creature in shame! It was possessing his mind, forcing him to love it. He rolled a Wisdom savings throw and rolled a Natural 20!

But then, the feeling slipped. The creature's mind seemed to focus elsewhere. Ryth-Shan concentrated on its thoughts. His mind fused with it. He was lusting for something that was... gone. But then its grip clawed back with a vengeance: a vice locking his mind into obedience. It needed sustenance to survive, and with Ryth-Shan's very body, he could provide. He resisted the intrusion with everything he had.

And he won. The monster lay exhausted, defeated. Its eyes were wet, orange pearls that radiated malice. Ryth-Shan sneered in disgust. "Die! Ghaik!" Then he closed its eyes forever with a jab in the face with both of his shortswords.

Chapter 2 - The Dead Three and the Tale of Gorion's Ward

After Ryth-Shan killed their original kidnapper, the party did a quick search of the area. They didn't want to hang around for too long in case there were anymore enemies. So they searched the Mind Flayer's body and any other bodies in the immediate area. They found another potion of speed, a potion of invisibility, another 14 gold pieces, and another chest.

When the popped the chest open, they were pleased to find three things. One was a Breastplate. This was a better armor for Ryth-Shan. It provided the same bonus as Scale Mail to AC without the Stealth Disadvantage. It weighed a lot less too, but it was worth a lot more in gold. And so, he immediately put it on and stowed his heavier Scale Mail.

The other two items were two more Magic Pockets. Now they had 6. Kaedyn handed one to Astarion. "We already have some of these. Not sure if it'll do the same thing for you or not. The four we have might be apart of a different set. I..."

Like everyone else, Astarion took the pocket and panicked as his gear vanished. They had to calm him down and assure him that it was all there. They soon discovered that the pocket did, in fact, work with the others. They all shared the same inventory.

"How convenient!" said Astarion, though it was clear that he wasn't necessarily pleased with this. "I must admit, they have their advantages, don't they. However, I'm not entirely sure I like the idea that any of you can go messing around in my things."

"Anything you don't want them to mess with," said Shadowheart, "you can take out right away and put in a different pocket or bag."

More than one of her party members then realized that by saying this she must have done this very same thing. What was she hiding? Would it be an issue for them? Perhaps they should question her about it later in private. She obviously wasn't the most subtle and clever person, or she never would have said such a thing. Now, she had given away that she had some sort of item that she didn't want them to know about.

Shortly after this, they made their way at last out of the nautiloid and out into the open countryside beyond. There had been two ways for them to go, but one was still on fire. Some sort of internal gases from the ship were feeding the flames. They could have put them out or tried to jump over them, but they figured why bother when there was a perfectly unblocked gaping hole just off to their right.

And so, they came out into the open and made their way along a path that ran south once more. Almost immediately, they found the bodies of goblins. "Goblins," said Shadowheart. "I wonder if they have anything useful on them." A brief search turned up a few crude weapons and armor and shields, a few healing potions, and some gold.

"I wonder what this symbol means," said Kaedyn as he examined one of the shields. It was a skull in the middle of an upside down triangle with a bloody left hand smeared on the face. He made a Religion roll of 14+2=16. Success. He added, "It's almost like a blending of three gods; Myrkul, Bhaal and Bane. How peculiar!"

Vexir looked over his shoulder at it, for he was stooping down while examining it. She also made a Religion roll, but only got a 2. "I don't know much about them. Who are they?"

"They are known as the Dead Three, the Dark Gods. They were a collective of three, death-themed deities. Bane was the Lord of Darkness. Bhaal was the Lord of Murder. Myrkul was the Lord of Bones. They began as mortal adventurers and became gods. Jergal was the god of the dead at the time, but he grew tired of it. So, he basically split his power into three and transferred it to them. During the Time of Troubles, over a hundred years ago, Bane and Torm killed one another. Some mortal mage killed Myrkul, and Bhaal was slain by Cyric."

"But long ago, in the year 75 DR, a great seer named Alaundo arrived at the library fortress of Candlekeep. He gave the monks there many prophecies. Among them was a vision that Bhaal would become aware of his imminent death. He would ensure his essence would be preserved by... well... having lots of children with many different women."

"Oh my!" said Astarion scandalously.

Kaedyn ignored him. "His plan nearly succeeded," he said as he stood and stowed the shield in his magic pocket. "He had spawned SO many mortal offspring. One of which was known as Gorion's Ward. Legend tells of how he or she, no one is quite sure of the gender, was raised by Gorion, a known Harper. Gorion's Ward fled from Candlekeep where he/ she was raised. He/ she soon met up with other companions who basically worked together to save Baldur's Gate and the surrounding region from a wicked conspiracy."

"But the story goes on from there. Gorion's Ward became known as the Bhaalspawn because he/ she was one of Bhaal's progenies."

"I've heard of this story before," said Astarion. "The party of the Bhaalspawn was caught up in some sort of Thieves' Guild War in Athkatla, the capital of Amn. I heard some ridiculous rumors about how the rival Thieves' Guild that had sprung up was actually a coven of vampires. Ha! Utter nonsense if you ask me. Either way, the Bhaalspawn's party wiped out the rival Thieves' Guild and so forth."

Kaedyn nodded. "I'm not sure of all the details, but in the end more Bhaalspawn began to spring up everywhere throughout the entire region." After all, in order for him to have known all the details, he would have needed to have rolled more than 20. If he had not rolled more than 15, but more than 10, he would have told even less of the story. "They almost fulfilled Bhaal's plan to bring him back to life. There was something involving Bhaal's throne, but anyway... in the end, Gorion's Ward thwarted everything and was either made into a god or goddess or they became some sort of wandering hero who faded into obscurity. I'm not sure which." Then he paused to consider. "Or did they die? I can't remember."

The others made rolls to see if they knew anything. Everyone either failed or rolled a similar result as Kaedyn. Everyone, that is, except Shadowheart. "I know the story well," she said, having rolled a 19+1=20. "Like you, though, I don't know the gender of Gorion's Ward or anything. Those details were purposely obscured, I think. It is said that Gorion's Ward didn't want people to know too much about him/ her. When all was said and done, he/ she wanted to indeed fade into obscurity. He/ she had enough fame and fortune to last a thousand lifetimes. So, no one really knows what happened afterwards. Like you, no one is even really sure whether they all lived or died during the whole affair."

"All that is known is that Bhaal was not reborn. He was defeated and remained dead. The Thieves' Guild rivals in Athkatla WERE vampires, by the way. Spellhold, a wizard's stronghold in Athkatla, was laid to ruin. AND the only Bhaalspawn to survive was Gorion's Ward. Maybe. At least, that's how the story I heard goes, anyway. Who can really be sure what happened? History is always subject to the information passed on to the one writing it."

She knew more about all this, actually, but she kept the rest of the details to herself. She thought it wise to not speak of what she really knew about Sarevok Anchev, Jon Irenicus and his sister Bodhi, the Throne of Bhaal, and so forth. Knowledge was power, and who knew how she might be able to use those secrets later to her advantage.

"Well," said Vexir after a moment. "Can we be done discussing dead gods? We're still way too close to this Mind Flayer ship, and I'd like to remind everyone that we have these parasites still in our skulls."

"She's right," said Astarion. "We should get a move on. Let's save all future ghost stories for camp later. Okay?" Everyone agreed, and the party continued on up the path for only a short way before yet another surprise literally jumped out at them with a flash of magic and a flare of the dramatic.

Chapter 2 - The Wizard Debate

Off to their left, on the wall of a slope heading back northward, there was another of the runes they had discovered near the beach. All at once, it came to life with purple magic swirling around to form a portal. Then, out of the portal, a human male appeared. He was wearing blue robes and carrying a quarterstaff on his back. He had brown hair that he combed back, a noble chin, and a regal beard. On his belt, he wore pouches most likely filled with spell components. The portal closed almost as soon as he appeared.

Before anyone could utter a word, though everyone had fallen into defensive stances, the man spread his hands wide with a bread smile on his face. He said, quite happily, "You're alive! That's unexpected." He was looking at Vexir and Kaedyn. "Last I saw you, you were lying in a crucible's worth of blood; an intellect devourer nibbling at your ear. Glad to see my eyes deceived me. I'm Gale. Well met!"

Everyone continued to eye him with suspicion. "Well met," said Kaedyn. "You were on the ship as well, I presume?" He, alone, seemed to relax more. He was always so quick to trust people.

"The very same," Gale replied in a charismatic way. "A traumatizing experience; if an instructive one."

"Instructive? What makes you say that?" asked Kaedyn.

"Nautiloids are incredibly rare vessels. They are a Mind Flayer colony's most guarded secret and a Gith pack's greatest prize. Not to mention..." He paused, seeing the expressions on everyone's faces as if for the first time. "... You're staring at me like Rashemi at a blackboard. You're no wizards, are you?"

"No, We're not a wizards," said Kaedyn.

"Pity," said Gale. "But that'll have to wait. The primary need now is a healer. I take it you recall the insertion of the parasite?"

"I recall it, yes. Vividly," said Kaedyn.

"Are you aware that after a period of excruciating gestation, it will turn us into Mind Flayers? It's a process known as ceremorphosis. It is to be avoided. I assume you're no accomplished healer either. A powerful cleric maybe?"

"I am a cleric," Kaedyn replied. "My patron god grants me many spells."

"But not the power to remove tadpoles, I gather," replied Gale."

"I pray daily," said Kaedyn, "so I may be granted that power yet."

Gale gave him a patronizing look. "How about we look for someone who already has that power? How about we embark on the quest for a healer together?" This last part he said as if it would be great fun.

"That sounds like a plan," said Kaedyn without thought. "You're welcome to join us." Then, realizing he'd made the same mistake again, he turned to the others. "That is, unless any of you have objections."

"A few," said Vexir, "but I'm usually shot down. I hate wizards, for one. Second, remember what Ryth-Shan said about intellect devourers? We have no idea whether this guy has been body snatched. Third, we didn't mind-swap with him, so we don't know if he has one of these things or not. He might just be saying that he does. Fourth, we know very little about him. Fifth, where did he come from that he just popped out of this portal. Sixth, why is he here and why didn't he just take off on his own? Why has he been hanging around here for more than a day? Seventh, he seemed to have observed us getting taken out by intellect devourers, and yet he did nothing to help us. Eighth, did I mention I hate wizards and don't trust them. Ninth, he's human, and tenth, I think he's trying just a bit too hard to get us to like him."

"I thought you said a few," said Astarion with a chuckle. Ryth-Shan joined him. "But, I will say, you've hit pretty much everything I was thinking as well."

"Agreed," said Ryth-Shan.

Gale was taken aback. "Ouch! You are definitely traveling with some shrewd companions, My Friend," he said to Kaedyn. "Fine. Fine. Let me explain a few things. First, I can't help you with your hatred for wizards problem." He said this to Vexir.

She replied, "I don't see it as a problem." She folded her arms across her chest as she gave him a look of disdain. She still had her greataxe in hand, and it was obvious she could bring it to the ready at any moment.

He continued, ignoring her. "Second, you see that rune there? It's Netherese. Now. Last I checked, though intellect devourers can take on some of the skills and knowledge of their host bodies, I doubt that they'd be skilled enough to be able to cast the magic necessary to operate these Netherese runes."

Everyone made Arcana rolls to see if they knew whether the runes were Netherese or not. The only person who succeeded was Astarion with a Natural 20, for no one had any proficiency in it, and the DC was 20. "How do we know they're Netherese?" asked Shadowheart. "We can only take your word for it."

Astarion grunted. "They're Netherese, all right. I've seen similar runes before in my travels. It is a valid point. I doubt one of those brain things could do that. Right?"

Ryth-Shan shook his head. "You either don't know too much about intellect devourers, or you actually ARE one of them." Since he'd made rolls about knowing intellect devourers previously, the DM did not make him roll again. "When an intellect devourer uses Body Thief, it knows EVERYTHING the host knew, including spells and languages."

They all tensed once more, ready to fight. Kaedyn was shocked. "You lied to us?"

Gale had his hands up, gesturing for them to please calm down. He was not a threat. "Alright! Wait! Listen. So, my knowledge about Mind Flayers and intellect devourers is a bit lacking. Obviously, I'm no expert. Bad move on my part. That doesn't mean I'm an intellect devourer."

"We could always split his skull open to find out," suggested Vexir with a devious grin.

Gale shook his head quickly, and something about the way he spoke at this point caught everyone off guard. "I REALLY wouldn't do that, if I were you," he cautioned quite seriously. "I can't go into details, right now, but please trust me when I say that it would be most disastrous if you killed me right now."

"Idle threats," said Vexir. "I highly doubt they're true; just like anything he has to say."

"Okay! Wait!" said Gale. "So, I can't really prove I'm not an intellect devourer. But, actually, doesn't my lack of knowledge somewhat indicate that I'm not one? Wouldn't an intellect devourer have known what the Gith said? Wouldn't I have NOT made such a stupid mistake?"

Ryth-Shan did relax a bit at this. "I suppose that makes sense. Still, intellect devourers can be quite sneaky."

"Okay," said Gale. "This is a start. Let me address some of the other things she said. Um... Why didn't we mind-swap? Good question. I don't know. Anytime, now, Tad! Anytime would be MOST helpful." He seemed to be rolling his eyes up to look at his cranium, as if talking to it and expecting it to respond.

"We don't need this guy," Vexir decided. "Either we kill him or move on. I'm done here."

Gale was desperate now. "Wait! Listen. I really need your help. I have scouted out the area, and I've seen a good deal of potential hostiles. Even just a few minutes ago, some Tieflings captured another Gith and are holding her in a cage just off to the north of here. They are trying to figure out whether to kill her or leave her. To the east, there are mercenaries. Not sure what they are up to at the crypt."

"Besides my need for you, don't you need a good wizard?" he added. "I mean, my abilities could come in handy, you know."

Kaedyn looked over at the others. "We don't have a wizard yet," he replied. "It's true. We could use one."

"One that we trust, maybe," said Vexir. "But I don't trust this one."

"You don't trust anyone," said Ryth-Shan. "I mean, not that I trust him either."

"He still hasn't explained a few things," said Shadowheart. "Like Vexir said, we know very little about him. Where did he come from when he came out of the portal? Why is he here? Why has he been hanging around here for more than a day? Why didn't he help us fight the intellect devourers? Oh, and I agree, I think he's trying just a bit too hard to get us to like him."

Gale was exasperated now. He sighed heavily and seemed to just give up. "Alright! Alright! I give up. It seems you're all against me except this guy." He gestured to Kaedyn. "Look. Take me or leave me. Fine. Whatever. To answer most of your questions, though, the answer is simple. I'm a wizard. I'm no fighter. I'm powerful, but only as a support to people like you. There is a very likely chance that I'm going to die out here on my own."

"So, why was I hanging around here? I was looking for people like you; hoping beyond hope that I might find you. The mercenaries in the crypt do NOT seem friendly to me. If anything, they seem quite greedy and hostile. There are goblins around." He gestured to the ones they'd recently looted. "I barely managed to take them out. They nearly killed me yesterday during everything. I had to hide myself with my last invisibility potion. Afterwards, I found a decent-enough place to crawl into and hide so that no one would find me while I slept. I actually feared that it wasn't good enough, and I dreamt mostly of being discovered."

"And in regards to not helping you against the intellect devourers, I was still locked in my pod at the time. It was damaged, and I was struggling to get out. Nonetheless, I was stuck fast. All I could do was watch you fight those things from where my pod was, suspended form the ceiling in the next chamber by some claw-like apparatus. My pod's window was facing towards where you were, and the light of day was illuminating your battle for me. By the time I got free, HOURS later, you were already gone. I'm no tracker, so I had no idea where you might have disappeared to. I looked around for awhile. I thought maybe you'd taken a dip across the river."

"Then, this morning, I ventured out of my hiding place to go look for you again. I made my way down to the beach and found the portal there by the entrance to the crypt. Just now, I decided to activate it to see where it led. I was actually quite pleased to encounter you here. I assumed it was the fortune of the gods that I found you. I was thinking this was destiny. Silly me."

"So, there you have it," Gale concluded. "Naturally, I'm trying hard to get you to like me. I really don't want to try to travel alone. In fact, unless you're going to kill me - which, again, I highly advise against for reasons I will not disclose at this time - I plan on following you anyway. If you won't make me a part of your party, I'm at least going to follow you in the hopes that I can escape this dreadful place in your wake and maybe, just maybe, assist you if you need me."

Then he winced as he said, "Therefore, what's it gonna be? Are we going to be traveling companions, or are we all about to die today?" Then he chuckled, but his expression was genuinely sad. "I can guarantee that if you kill me, I'm taking you with me."

Kaedyn turned to the others. "Look. I know I'm maybe a bit too trusting." Vexir snorted as if he'd made a gross understatement. "I like him. I trust him. I think we can really benefit from him coming with us." His relationship with Gale went up to 52 because he said this. "I think his story pans out. I say we take him with. Like he said, he's just going to follow us anyway."

Vexir rolled her eyes and said nothing. Ryth-Shan closed his eyes and nodded. "Fine," he replied. "But I'll be looking for any signs that you are, in fact, infected, AND that you aren't an intellect devourer or thrall." By the end of this entire debate, her relationship with Gale was 45.

Shadowheart shook her head. "I suppose having him around won't hurt. Hopefully."

Astarion just shrugged. "I really don't care," he replied. "But I will warn him that if he tries anything, I won't hesitate to slit his throat." He said this in the most pleasant of manners, as if he was talking about carving open a turkey for everyone to eat.

Gale was beyond relieved. "Excellent! Wonderful! Thank you so much." He said this last thing to Kaedyn. "You are, by far, my favorite party member." Then he paused as he glanced over at Shadowheart. "Well, that is, for now. I suppose things could change. You do keep the most interesting company." He said this with a sly grin. "A woman with shadows for eyes; as deep as a dark lake. A pleasure! Truly!"

Shadowheart raised an eyebrow at this. "Is it now? We'll see." Then she said nothing more. It wasn't clear whether she liked him saying that or not.

"Well then," said Ryth-Shan suddenly, much to everyone's surprise. Gale had said something that had caused him to feel apprehensive. He had mentioned a Gith female in a cage, captured by Tieflings. He couldn't help but wonder if it was Lae'zel. He really wanted to check on that situation and fast. He wanted to reach her before the Tieflings maybe killed her. Even if it wasn't Lae'zel, it was a Gith, nevertheless. "We should get moving. Wizard, lead the way to the Gith at once."

Shadowheart regarded him with a steely expression. "Why? Sounded like the Tieflings had everything under control."

Ryth-Shan gave her a nasty look. "She's my kin. I want to help her."

"It's probably that nasty wench from the ship," Vexir replied with a sigh. "I agree with Shadowheart. Do we really need to bring her back into this?" Vexir's relationship with Ryth-Shan dropped to 54.

"She wanted to leave me for dead," said Shadowheart, trying to support her reasoning."

Ryth-Shan was determined. "Then I'll go alone," he told them. Come on, Wizard. Show me the way."

This time, Kaedyn said nothing. Did he agree with them for a change? Did he not want to have Lae'zel, or another Gith female, traveling with them? Astarion also said nothing. He just seemed to be sitting back and watching everyone in amusement.

As Ryth-Shan started to walk away, however, Vexir caved. "Fine," she said at last. "We'll go save your girlfriend." Then she joined him just up the path where he stopped. He was totally shocked.

"You... you're coming?" he asked.

Everyone else was equally stunned. "Yes," said Vexir, clearly in a foul mood. "If it is Lae'zel, she is one of us too. So, who knows. Maybe she'll come in useful somehow." Then she looked back at the others. "Well? Are you all coming? Let's get this over with. Shall we?" Her relationship with Ryth-Shan went back up to 55. However, her relationship with Shadowheart dropped to 52. (Just to note, the DM was keeping these relationship scores to himself. He did not reveal them to the players.)

And so, the party set out, following Gale, around the bend in the path and up the slope towards the north. He then led them down an intersecting pathway, for it did split at one point, and over to another intersection where there was a hanging cage. There, within, was Lae'zel, and there were two Tieflings standing there with weapons ready, still debating what to do with her.

Before facing the Tieflings, it was time to level up Gale. He began as a Level 1 Wizard. Because Wizards were more complex, right from the beginning, the DM decided to let the player decide on his stats and spells right from the beginning. He would level up to level 3 before the players were done, but the DM allowed them to pick each level in order to craft him to fit more with their party.

His basic build was that he was a Sage. So he got the special ability Researcher. This allowed him to know where he might find information and obtain it if he failed on a roll to determine if he already knew it. He had a quarterstaff, a component pouch, a scholar's pack, a spellbook, a bottle of black ink, a quill, a small knife, a letter from a dead colleague posing a question he had not yet been able to answer, a set of common clothes and a belt pouch as well as 10 gold.

At level 1, he also got to pick 3 cantrips and 6 level 1 spells. The players chose Fire Bolt, Light, and Ray of Frost. For his 6 level 1 spells, they chose Burning Hands, Find Familiar, Identify, Mage Armor, Magi Missile, and Silent Image. He could prepare 4 spells, so he prepared Burning Hands, Find Familiar, Silent Image and Magic Missile.

Then they leveled him up to level 2. One of the players rolled a 6, so his HP went up from 8 to 16. Maximum HP! It was time to choose which school of magic he was going to go with. After discussing it, the players chose Evocation. They wanted him to be their damage spellcaster. Immediately, he gained the Sculpt Spells ability. With this, he could use an area of effect spell that might even affect his allies. However, he would choose a number of them up to 1+ his spell caster level. The selected creatures would automatically succeed on their saving throws against the spell, and they would take no damage if they would normally take half damage on a successful save. He also got Evocation Savant. Any gold and time he would normally have to spend to copy a spell to his spell book would be halved, making copying his evocation spells easier and less costly to the party.

At level 2, he gained 2 more spells of his choice at level 1. So, the players chose Thunderwave and Witch Bolt. He could then prepare 1 additional spell. They chose Thunderwave.

Finally, they leveled him up again to level 3. They rolled a 2+2=4, so his HP increased to 20. He acquired 4 level 1 spell slots and 2 level 2 spell slots. He also learned 2 more spells of his choice from either Level 1 or Level 2 spells. The players chose Dragon's Breath and Mirror Image. Then they unprepared Silent Image and prepared both Dragon's Breath and Mirror Image. So Gale's prepared spells, in the end, were Burning Hands, Find Familiar, Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Dragon's Breath and Mirror Image.

After leveling up, Gale summoned the Find Familiar spell, creating for himself a cat.

Chapter 2 - The Return of Lae'zel

One of the Tieflings, the male, was built like a fighter. He was strong and intimidating with red skin and ram's horns and flaming eyes. His dark hair was slicked back, and he was wearing Ring Mail armor, a crossbow and a longsword.

The female was almost the opposite. She was of similar coloring, but that was where the likeness ended. She was petite, wore leather, carried a crossbow and a shortsword, and she was trembling with fear. She was aiming the crossbow at the cage.

Meanwhile, Lae'zel was staring at them with eyes that could kill. Her arms were folded across her chest, and her stance was that of a fuming mother who has just caught her child in a bold-faced lie.

"Zorru was right, Nymessa," the male Tiefling was saying as the group approached from behind. Neither Tieflings were aware of them yet. "Yellow as a toad and twice as ugly."

Nymessa glanced over at him as if afraid to even take her eyes off of Lae'zel. "The thing's dangerous, Damays. Please. Leave it for the goblins to kill."

Just then, the party stopped. Everyone, including Gale, it seemed, stopped as they clutched their heads in pain. Their skulls pounded in response to the prisoner's white-hot stare. Her lips didn't move, yet they heard her voice.

"You again," her words struck them like a hammer. "Get rid of them. Now."

It was then that the Tieflings took notice of the party. Immediately, Nymessa pointed her crossbow at Ryth-Shan. "Holy hells! Another one!"

"Blades high!" cried Damays as he drew his longsword and held it in both hands.

The party recovered, and immediately Astarion was there with a witty comment. "That's nice armor you're wearing," he said with a sinister grin. "I bet our Drow Fighter here could use that better than you."

Ryth-Shan interrupted, though. He stepped forward to address the Tieflings with a truly frightening look on his face. "If you value your life, walk away." He rolled a 17 Intimidation check. He had no bonus, but he only needed a 15 to succeed.

Nymessa stumbled backwards and fell. Her crossbow bolt fired into the air and vanished out of sight. "Damays!..." she cried in a panic.

Damays withdrew to her side, helping her to stand. He obviously recognized that this was their best chance at surviving. "Come, Nymessa. Now," he instructed. Then, helping her to her feet, the two fled off along one of the pathways further off to the north. They continued to glance over their shoulders at the party as they disappeared.

Ryth-Shan's relationship with Kaedyn went up by 1 to 52. Vexir was also, actually, impressed by his ability to intimidate them, so her score with him went up to 56. His relationship with Gale also went up to 51. However, his relationship with Lae'zel dropped to 48, with Shadowheart it dropped to 51, and with Astarion it dropped to 51 as well.

Lae'zel was like a statue that could talk. "Enough gawking. Get me down."

Ryth-Shan nodded and approached the rope that suspended the cage in the air. "Now that they're out of the way, sure," he replied. Then he hacked the rope with both shortswords, callously allowing the cage to fall hard to the ground. The somewhat flimsy prison splintered to pieces. Lae'zel fell prone, hard, and roared in anger. Then she threw the cage's remains off of her and drew her longsword as she approached him.

Everyone tensed, ready to defend their companion. Lae'zel, however, made no move to strike. Ryth-Shan also did not raise his weapons to defend. Was this some sort of odd Githyanki greeting ritual? Was she actually pleased with how he released her?

Indeed, she was impressed by his lack of fear towards her, and their relationship went back up to 50. She didn't like spineless people, and it seemed he had come to realize this. Still, when she spoke again, her tone was harsh. "The tadpole hasn't yet scrambled all your senses. Auspicious. But the longer we wait, the more it consumes. You will join me. We must find a creche. Our people possess the cure for this infection."

"I welcome our alliance, kin," Ryth-Shan said in reply with equal strength and confidence. "We will seek out a creche."

Lae'zel actually seemed pleased. She adopted a proud stance. "You have made an ally from Creche K'liir. Few know such fortune. In case you don't remember, call me Lae'zel. Come. The horned ones mentioned a camp. One there, this Zorru, has seen Githyanki. A creche must be near. We will ask this Zorru where he has seen our kin."

Then she set off towards the direction the two Tieflings had gone.

Ryth-Shan stopped her by grabbing her elbow. She shot him a vicious look as if to say that he had crossed a boundary and was in danger of being put to death. "Chatter already? Tas'ki."

"There are others with us," he replied. "We need to consult them."

Lae'zel barely glanced in their direction. "Must we?" she said with a superior air about her. "We do not need them any longer. Dismiss them, and let's go."

Ryth-Shan shook his head, much to her displeasure. "Thinking of that worm inside me... it's driving me mad. But, I think we need their help if we're going to get through this. There are too many enemies around."

Lae'zel regarded him curiously. "We were flayed, beaten, burned, and poisoned in our training. It is our duty to withstand suffering, and our pleasure to conquer it. I am seriously questioning your upbringing. Come. We must locate a creche. Observe everything. Assume nothing. Endure all to the bitter end."

Ryth-Shan stopped her again, still not releasing his hold on her arm. "From which creche do you hail again?"

Lae'zel was growing more agitated. "What does it matter? And I just told you. I was trained on Creche K'liir among the Tears of Selune. Of this place... I know nothing. Why?"

Ryth-Shan seemed to ponder this for a moment. "That's what I thought. Selune. It struck me as unusual because there is, or was, a sect of Selune here. Coincidence?"

Lae'zel was now taken aback. She then gave it some thought. "Perhaps Vlaakith has ordained this. Who knows? I suppose there may be more to us crashing here than we first thought. Is that what you're getting at?"

Ryth-Shan nodded. To Kaedyn, he was clearly using this to win her allegiance to the group. She didn't seem to recognize it, though. The Gith Ranger then said, "Perhaps we should search around the area more thoroughly. Let's not be too hasty. As you said, the tadpoles have not scrambled all our senses, yet. Perhaps there is a reason for it. Maybe Vlaakith is even holding it in a dormant stasis for now."

"We have noticed a bit too many coincidences around here," Ryth-Shan continued. "The gods may be up to something. I think whatever is happening here is beyond what it, at first, appears."

"For example, what might happen should we not be purified?"

Lae'zel grunted. "Your ignorance concerns me. It starts with a fever and memory loss. Then you start to hallucinate. Your hair falls out and you bleed from every orifice. Your bones will change form. Your jaw will split to allow room for four great tentacles. All skin will turn to gore, and be shed to reveal new flesh underneath. Then your physical body will have ceased to exist, and a Mind Flayer is born."

"But what happens within the first few hours?" he asked.

"You cease to exist mentally. Your brain is gone," she replied. "What are you getting at?"

"Like I said, it's just an example of how things aren't normal. The Mind Flayers were different. The intellect devourers were different. The parasites are different. There's a Selune sect around here. Harpers were somehow involved. We found a symbol that looks like a cross between the three symbols of the Dead Three Gods. Harpers were involved with them. There's a Druid's Grove nearby with something shifty happening within. Goblins are about. There are gnolls and Tieflings."

"In short," said Vexir, cutting in, "this place is a hotbed of activity right now. If we're going to survive, we need to not rush things too much. If we haven't lost our minds yet from the tadpole, there's nothing saying we will anytime soon. So, let's try to work together as a team to increase our chances of survival. I think that pretty much sums it up."

"And we're not going to let the parasites turn us," Ryth-Shan assured her. "We will find a cure."

This actually seemed to make Lae'zel feel better. In fact, both Vexir and Ryth-Shan were easing her own anxieties. Their relationships went up by 1 each. Then, she said, "Words forged in steel. May your actions express the same mettle. Fine. We will travel together. Our ultimate priority must be to find our kind and be rid of the parasite. It's as simple as that. We should find this Zorru and the red hunters' camp. He will point us to a creche; hopefully. There, we may be purified. It is our only hope."

Just then, there was some sort of commotion from the path off towards the southeast. It drew everyone's attention. Therefore, they exchanged a brief series of glances with one another, and they hurried off to see what it was. Though they all wanted to get rid of the parasites as soon as possible, curiosity won them over at that moment. It wasn't long before they were wandering onto the upper level of the ruins of the ancient crypt.

Before going any further, it was time to level up Lae'zel. The DM decided to level her up to Level 2 already because there was no real benefit for the players to do the leveling up for her. The DM rolled a 4 for her HP, so with her Constitution of +2, she got 6 HP more for a total of 18. She, like Vexir, also got Action Surge.

Then she leveled up to Level 3. She received 7+2=9 more HP, for a total of 27, and now it was time for the players to decide what Archtype they wanted to pick for her. They chose Eldritch Knight. The first thing this did was give her Weapon Bond. During a Short Rest, she could bond a weapon to herself. Once bonded, she could not be disarmed unless she was incapacitated. If the weapon was on the same plane of existence, she could summon it to her hand as a Bonus Action. She could bond up to two weapons at once.

As an Eldritch Knight, she also got to learn 2 cantrips and 3 spells from the wizard spell list. She had 2 level 1 spell slots. So, besides already having Mage Hand and Jump, because she was Githyanki, she picked Minor Illusion and Mind Sliver for cantrips, and Find Familiar, Magic Missile and Thunderwave for level 1 spells. When she was finished, she instantly cast Find Familiar, and summoned a spider. She called him Shpri.

Chapter 2 - The First Group of Mercenaries

No sooner did they enter the crypt's upper-most level, but they encountered a Halfling lookout. As soon as he heard them coming, he spun around and cried, "You! Not another step, hear me? Boss! Got company up here."

The "boss" and another of their group were arguing over the nautiloid, it seemed. The elf seemed to want to remain at the crypt while the Halfling "boss" wanted to go explore it.

Immediately, the boss spun to look up at them. "What's this then? Trying to creep around us to loot the crypt? Not happening. Or is it the ship you're after? Don't matter either way. It's ours, all of it."

The boss then led the elf up the stairs to the top of the wall they were standing on. The path from where they'd run into Lae'zel had led right to that wall. The party waited for them to arrive, but they had weapons ready, just in case the mercenaries were planning on fighting.

"That ship is full of monsters," Kaedyn told them as they stopped just short of the party. Behind, a female human wizard was racing down from the other wall and coming up the stairs to join them. Kaedyn continued. "I wouldn't go near it." He made a Persuasion roll of 5+3=8. He failed.

"Hah! A likely story," said the Halfling boss. "You're just trying to keep all the loot for yourselves." The wizard woman finally joined them, and it seemed the Halfling boss was about to issue the order to attack.

That's when Vexir stepped forward and rolled an Intimidation roll. She rolled 15+4=19, a success. "I suggest you and your pathetic, little band of misfits and piss-ants turn around and get out of here before my axe cleaves your entire body down the middle." She hefted the axe to emphasize her point. "Go! Go search the ruins of the MIND FLAYER vessel. See if I care. I hope you find a few intellect devourers so they can eat your brains out of your skulls."

The entire group of four were frozen in terror. The elf then said to the Halfling boss. "These people seem to mean business, Gimblebock. M... I don't think I want to face them."

"Well, uh, in that case..." said Gimblebock. He was also quite petrified with fear. "C'mon you lot. No point in gettin' killed. Second worm gets the cheese, an' all..."

The elf then looked at him oddly. "Uh, second mouse gets the cheese, no?"

"Nobody's getting any cheese!" cried Gimblebock, completely coming unglued. "Now move it!" Then the four turned and fled down the stairs and out past a statue and beyond the main entrance. They didn't stop until they were long gone, far away off to the north, abandoning the crypt and the nautiloid and everything.

Vexir turned to Kaedyn with a smug grin. "THAT is how you influence idiots. Fear works much better than kindness."

Kaedyn closed his eyes and shook his head with a slight chuckle. "There's no winning with you, is there? Fine. You win this round. I admit defeat. Fear definitely worked better this time than trying to be nice."

She smiled all the more. "At last," she said. "You finally submit."

"Nah," he replied. "I just decided not to argue further. I was enjoying your smile too much." Then he started off down the stairs and towards the statue. Vexir followed, her eyes narrowing into slits. Had she won the fight, or not? And was that flirting? Were they ACTUALLY enjoying one another's company for a change? She wasn't sure. Either way, she couldn't help but feel both anger towards him and something else. She wasn't sure what. Was it... joy?... happiness?... fun? Whatever the case, she was confused but not entirely hating it. Their relationship went up to 47.

Astarion looked over at Ryth-Shan, and they rolled their eyes at one another without saying a word. Shadowheart and Gale were walking together, and Lae'zel was trailing behind in the rear. As Kaedyn reached the bottom of the stairs, Lae'zel stopped and drew everyone's attention back up to her. "That was a fun little excursion. So, may I ask, why we are still continuing on into this place?"

Kaedyn shrugged. "We're here, right? They seemed quite curious about it. I was actually thinking that it might be good, at this point, to check it out. Like Ryth-Shan was saying, there are too many coincidences around here. We may want to try to explore a few places, see if there are any other clues to help us figure out what's going on. We still have a good portion of the day ahead of us. Why not search the ruins for a few hours and then move on to find the creche? What's a few hours at this point?"

She sighed in response. "Is this everyone's decision?"

They all looked around at one another and seemed to agree. "Might as well," said Shadowheart. "Aren't you curious at this point? If those mercenaries were here, maybe there's something truly valuable inside."

"Lost treasure," said Astarion with a gleam in his eye.

"We might even find some magical artifacts," Gale said, almost distantly.

Lae'zel rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let's hurry then."

And with that, the group made their way first to the front of the massive statue in the courtyard. As they examined it, none could read the plaque. It was too obscured. The statue itself was also too corroded by age that they couldn't recognize who it was a statue of.

So they abandoned it and explored about a bit more. A Perception roll from all of them was made in secret. Astarion made the roll, as did Ryth-Shan. The noticed vine traps in various places that could harm them. Thus, the entire team avoided these wherever they went. They noticed some sort of heavy crate was suspended on some sort of pulley above a shattered section of the pavement just at the base of both stairways that led up onto the walls. There wasn't much of a gap, but there was enough of one for Vexir to stoop down and peer inside.

"Some sort of chamber down there. Looks pretty heavily looted," she reported. "It's lit by a few torches. Someone's obviously down there."

"I bet they were using the pulley to lift the crate out of the gap," said Gale. "They probably loaded the crate and hauled it up. Looks skinny enough to fit."

"So, you think it holds valuables?" asked Astarion. "Best try to see what it holds. Might be quite useful. After all, people don't haul things out of dungeons that are useless."

"Agreed," said Shadowheart. "The best adventurers are those that are well equipped."

And so, they found the other end of the pulley and lowered the crate slowly to the ground. Then they popped it open to reveal that it was, indeed, fully packed. "Jackpot!" said Astarion with a greedy smile. They found a plethora of useful items as well as a myriad of items that would fetch a few coins at a market. The best items were Arrows + 1 that Ryth-Shan stole, several vials of Alchemists' Fire, some bottles of flammable grease that Gale pointed out could make some serious hostile surfaces for enemies, and best of all, a beautiful suit of Chain Mail + 1. The blue trimming on it even went well with Vexir's midnight eye-shadow.

She snatched it up before anyone else could. "Excuse me while I go change," she said without even consulting with anyone about it. It increased her AC from 16 to 17. When she returned, the others were already finished divvying out the rest of the items they found.

Kaedyn smiled. "It looks good on you," he said. "Looks like it was made for you." It did, in fact, seem to be made for a woman of about her size. His relationship score with her went up 1 to 48.

Vexir eyed him with what appeared to be insincere disdain. She obviously did appreciate the praise, but she was trying to pretend that she didn't. "Praise will get you nowhere. If you think flattery will somehow make things better between us..."

Kaedyn shook his head and smiled. "I wouldn't even dream of it."

Astarion could no longer resist making a comment this time. "You know," he said as if the world was perfect and everything was wonderful. "Don't you just love romance? Ah! How beautiful it is! Am I right? Love blooms just like the flowers in springtime right before your eyes."

Vexir shot him a hot look. He noticed, as did the others. Kaedyn grinned and looked away, blushing. Ryth-Shan and Lae'zel snickered, though Lae'zel's usual hard expression didn't change much. Shadowheart and Gale also chuckled a little. Everyone could see plainly that there was something going on between Kaedyn and Vexir, whether they liked it or not.

But Astarion proceeded to isolate himself from everyone, and he didn't really care. "Kaedyn and Vexir, Ryth-Shan and Lae'zel, and Shadowheart and Gale; such a beautiful collection of amours." He then concluded with a flourish and a bow, as if he was an actor on a stage giving a monologue. As he bent over, his grin was truly devious; hidden from all. His relationship decreased by 2 for everyone.

Vexir was the first to respond. "We are wasting our time here," she said, heatedly. "Let's move. Should we try to squeeze down through the gap or make for the door at the end of the courtyard here?"

Everyone seemed glad for a change in subject. "I opt for the gap," said Ryth-Shan. Everyone agreed. The door would be too straight-forward. If there were other people in the dungeon, stealth would be preferred. They had no idea how friendly the mercenaries inside were going to be, and if they realized that the party had taken items they were claiming for themselves, it was highly likely they were going to try to kill them.

Chapter 2 - Marli and Barton's Mercenaries

One-by-one they descended into the crypt. The room was a mess. The mercenaries had obviously ransacked it. It had once been some sort of personal quarters for someone important, for the chamber was rather large. Once ornate furniture was now utterly decayed and wasted. Boxes were smashed open and drawers lay strewn about everywhere. There was literally nothing of value in the room.

It was only after he was ready to descend into the crypt that Ryth-Shan noticed that Bomrush was gone. He must have bowed out sometime after they'd escaped the nautiloid. Ah well. Ryth-Shan couldn't blame him. He didn't owe any allegiance to them. He was actually just happy that Zriek had remained.

"Let's try to avoid attacking the mercenaries immediately," suggested Kaedyn in hushed tones as they all gathered in the barely lit chamber. "Maybe we can convince them to leave similar to how we did the rest."

"I wholeheartedly disagree," said Astarion. "I say we assassinate them one at a time. That's the best solution, if you think about it. That way, we don't give them a chance to..."

The door suddenly opened to the room, and in came a burly human with long, dark beard and hair. When he saw the party, he froze. "Son of a... To arms! We're under attack!"

"No wait!" cried Kaedyn as he spun around to try to convince them they were not hostile, but it was clear the mercenaries were not going to have any of it. The battle began. The adventurers didn't even know who they were going up against or how many.

Initiative. Kaedyn rolled an 11+2=13, Vexir rolled a 17+2=19, Ryth-Shan rolled a 15+2=17, Shadowheart rolled a 20+2=22, Astarion rolled 7+3=10, Lae'zel rolled 4+1=5, and Gale rolled 5+2=7. All animals and famliars would take their turns on the same turn as their masters. The mercenaries were using Bandit stats with two Bandit Captains, Marli and Barton. After the DM rolled for them, the Initiative Order was as follows: Shadowheart, Barton, Mercenary 5, Marli, Vexir, Ryth-Shan, Kaedyn, Mercenary 2, Astarion, Mercenary 4, Gale, Mercenary 1, Mercenary 3, and then Lae'zel.

Shadowheart was the quickest. She decided that she wanted to hit Barton, who was the bearded guy who discovered them, as hard as she could. She cast Guiding Bolt, and rolled a 3+4=7. Failure. The bolt zipped past him and struck the wall behind.

Barton rushed Kaedyn, who was closest. He took a swing with his scimitar. He rolled a 9+5=14. Miss. But, he got three attacks. So, he attacked again with his scimitar and rolled a 14+5=19. Hit. He rolled 1d6+3 for damage and got a 5+3=8. Then, he had a dagger in hand as well, and took a swing with his offhand as a Bonus Action. He rolled a 3+5=8 and missed.

Then it was Bandit 5's turn. She was all the way in a different room, the library/ study. Thus, she had to do a Dash action to run as fast as possible towards the enemy. She could not reach them that turn. Marli was somewhat close by, but again, the heroes were in a different room. All she could do was position herself so that she could shoot at them next round. She used a Dash Action to line up with the open doorway so she could see them.

Then it was Vexir's turn. She rushed to attack Barton. She rolled a 2 and 16, for she got advantage for flanking Barton. 16+4=20. Hit. She rolled 1d12+2 for damage and rolled 8+2=10. However, she chose to also use Menacing Attack. After she hit, she decided to spend a superiority die to attempt to frighten her target. She added another d8 to her damage roll and got a 5. So she did a total of 15 HP off. He had 61 total, and now he was reduced to 46.

He also, then, had to make a Wisdom saving throw. If he failed, he received the Frightened condition until the end of his next turn. He rolled a 4 and failed. He was frightened. She scared the living tar out of him with her vicious growl and swing.

But she was not finished. She used Action Surge and swung again. She rolled a 5 and 17. 17+4=21. Hit again. She used another superiority die to then slam Barton away from them up to 15 feet into the wall. She only rolled a 1 and a 3 for damage, so she did 6 more HP off him, reducing him to 40 HP. He rolled a Strength saving throw to see if he was pushed away, and he only rolled a 6+2=8. Failure.

So, she essentially swung and hit him with her axe. She didn't manage to connect, however, with her blade, for he brought his two blades up to defend. Instead, she knocked him off balance and shoved with all her might. He staggered backwards, and as he did, she continued to rush him until she pinned him up against the wall between them and the adjoining room with the rest of Barton's Mercenaries.

Next, it was Ryth-Shan's turn. He had his bow out already. He moved to get a clear line of site with Barton and positioned himself in a corner so no one else could hit him from the room beyond. He had one spell slot remaining and used Hunter's Mark on Barton. He rolled 14+6=20. Hit. He got advantage, because Vexir was flanking Barton, but that didn't matter since his first roll hit. 1d8+1d6+2 damage thanks to Hunter's Mark. Dang! He only rolled a 3+2=5. Barton was down to 35. Because he used his own Action to attack, Ryth-Shan could not order Zriek to attack. Therefore, the Raven did nothing. He just hovered in the air near the hole out.

Now it was Kaedyn's turn. He rushed to the door and slammed it shut to isolate the enemies from his companions. Then, with his remaining movement, for it only took him 15 feet to get to the door, he used Shield of Faith on Vexir as a Bonus Action and rushed Barton with his mace. He increased Vexir's AC by 2. Then he rolled a Natural 20 to hit. Critical Hit! 2d6+2 damage. He rolled 9+2=11, reducing Barton's HP to 24. He had advantage, but he certainly didn't need it.

Thus, after slamming the door shut, Kaedyn rushed up to Barton and took a swing. Barton saw him coming and tried to shift to avoid Kaedyn's blow. Too late, the mace came down at Barton's head. Though it didn't solidly connect and crush Barton's skull open, it managed to swipe the right side of Barton's head, just behind the ear. The mace raked Barton's cranium painfully, but it wasn't enough to take him out.

Mercenary 2 was next in initiative order. She was in the same room as Marli and closer to the door. Seeing Kaedyn shut the door, she used a Dash Action to rush to the door and fling it open. Then she moved about 10 feet away from it to a barrel of gunpowder nearby. It was clear what her intention was for next round. She would toss the barrel on its side and roll it into the room. If someone lit that barrel up, it would make a powerful explosive.

Astarion took note of this, and it was his turn. He didn't even move. Instead, he just pulled open his magic pocket, pulled out an Alchemist's Fire, and lobbed it at Mercenary 2 and the barrel of gunpowder. He still needed to roll to see if he hit, because if he didn't, the alchemist's fire might land somewhere he didn't want it to go. He rolled a 2, in fact, and he needed a 10. Instead of hitting the barrel or Mercenary 2, the Alchemist's Fire flew past them and hit an unoccupied area beyond them. It exploded, but nobody was hit.

Astarion swore. Then he used Cunning Action to Dash, allowing him to Dash as a Bonus Action. He ran out the door and right up to Mercenary 2 with his rapier in hand. This exposed him to others, but he knew someone had to stop Mercenary 2 from rolling that barrel and exploding it in the room everyone was in.

Mercenary 4's turn. She was an archer, but she was in the library area, along with Mercenary 3 and 5. Therefore, she was too far away from the fight to do anything this round. Like Mercenary 5, she used Dash to try to get closer.

Now it was Gale's turn. He was not at all happy with Astarion. If the elf had not run up to the barrel, he could have ignited it with Fire Bolt. The two were not coordinating well as a team. Oh well! One enemy at a time. He wanted to hit Barton, but he decided that Mercenary 2 was the biggest threat next to that barrel. So he used Magic Missile on Mercenary 2. He rolled 3d4+3 for damage and rolled a total of 6+3=9. Mercenary 2 had 11 HP to begin with and was now reduced to 2. Gale then used his Move Action to try to run to a corner, and his Bonus Action to crouch behind some debris for cover.

Mercenary 1 was next, but he was in a dining room area near the main entrance. It would take him some time to get to the fight. He used Dash as well. Mercenary 3, again, was in the library area, so he had to do the same.

Finally, it was Lae'zel's turn. She decided to join in on the Magic Missile fun, using her last spell slot to do so. She launched 1 missile at Mercenary 2 and the other 2 at Barton. She did 2 points off Mercenary 2. The woman was so tired from the beating she'd received from Gale's Magic Missiles that she was barely standing. There was no way she could even remotely avoid Lae'zel's attack. The missile slammed right into her chest with white-hot fire. She screamed as she clutched her wound and fell dead on her back.

The other two missiles hit Barton. Lae'zel rolled a 3 and 1 for her dice, effectively taking off 6 HP. He was down to 29. Like Vexir, though, Lae'zel was not finished. She ran up to Barton to join in on the Barton bashing. She used Action Surge so she could use her longsword, swinging with both hands on the hilt. She rolled an 18+5=23 and hit. She then did 1d10+3 damage and rolled a 5+3=8. He was down to 21 HP. Her longsword hit hard, but it didn't fully penetrate his armor. Still, it was enough of a wound to weaken him further.

Round 2. Shadowheart made another attempt to blast Barton with her Guiding Bolt spell. She rolled an 18+4=22 and hit. She did 4d6 damage and rolled 15 total. Barton was down to 6 HP. The man was clearly tiring. He was enduring so much of a beating. He now had a mystical dim light around him, giving the next person advantage on their attack roll.

"Barton! Get out of there," cried Marli, and it was his turn. He did just that. He didn't even need to be told. Vexir had scared him half to death anyway. Using Disengage as an Action, he shoved Vexir off of him and dove for the nearest gap in between his enemies. He rolled to his feet and ran out the door. Trying to avoid his enemies as best he could, he threw himself up against the adjoining wall to have as much cover from them as he could. He was not far from Astarion, and his opponents could still catch him, but he would at least be luring them out of the room so his allies could hit them.

Mercenary 5's turn. She ran hard using Dash a second time. She had been the furthest from the fight, examining a blank wall behind a statue in the library. Therefore, she was still not in range to do any good.

Marli, however, was. Unfortunately, Barton was too close to the gunpowder barrel. She couldn't just shoot it with a fire arrow and blow it up on Astarion. Otherwise, there was too much of a chance that Barton would be hit. So she ran 30 feet away from Astarion and fired at him with a poison arrow. She rolled a 2+5=7. Miss. The arrow struck the back wall not even close to the elf.

But Marli was, in fact, the leader of the band. Though Barton was her partner, she was the true boss. Just as he got two attacks, so did she. She put another poison arrow to the string and fired in rapid succession. This time, she rolled 10+5=15. Astarion's AC was 14. Hit! She did 1d8+3, and she rolled 2+3=5 damage. He was down to 12 HP. The arrow penetrated his armor in his left shoulder, but only enough to prick him. "Gah!" he hissed in pain. He also had to roll a Constitution savings throw to avoid the effects of the poison. He rolled an 11+2=13. Success. The poison's DC was 12. Fortunately for him, there wasn't enough poison to enter his bloodstream to hinder him.

Next, it was Vexir's turn. She rushed through the open door after Barton without hesitation. Then she attacked with a 17+4=21. Hit. She rolled 9+2=11 damage and she used another superiority die to do Menacing Attack again. So she did another 7 damage for a total of 18. Barton had 3 HP left. Her greataxe came at him, nearly taking his head off as she let out another fierce battle cry. She was like a raging demon to him. He rolled another Wisdom savings throw to avoid the Frightened condition and rolled an 11 with no bonus for Wisdom savings throw. The DC was 8+Vexir's Proficiency Bonus of +2+ her Strength OR Dexterity bonus. Since both were +2, her DC was 12. Barton failed again. Not that it mattered. With 3 HP, he was not about to continue fighting her if he could help it at all.

Now it was Ryth-Shan's turn. He darted out the door and chose to try to finish off Barton. After all, he was his mark. He rolled a 15+6=21. He then rolled 1d8+1d6+2 damage and rolled 12+2=14. The arrow went right through Barton's skull. He fell to the ground; dead in a pool of blood.

"BARTON!" Marli cried in fury. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Ryth-Shan then used his Bonus Action to switch his Hunter's Mark target to Marli.

Kaedyn rushed out into the adjoining chamber where Marli was, and he immediately saw Barton's dead body. Marli was the next obvious threat, so he hurled a Guiding Bolt at her. He rolled a 19+4=23 and hit. Then he rolled a 17 for damage on 4d6 dice. Marli had 73 HP to begin with. Now she had 56 HP.

It was Astarion's turn. The barrel of gunpowder was too heavy. There was nothing he could do to kick it over or roll it. He only had Strength 8, after all. So, instead, he chose to use his Cunning Action to do a Dash as a Bonus Action. He charged Marli and attacked with his Rapier. He rolled a 15+5=20 and hit. Unfortunately, the conditions for Sneak Attack were not met, so he only did a 1d8+3 damage. He rolled a 5+3=8. Marli had 56 HP, so she was reduced to 48.

Mercenary 4 used Dash again and rushed into the room at last. She stepped to the side of the doorway and prepared her bow to shoot next round. Now it was Gale's turn. He ran through the open door and saw the three mercenaries coming from the library/ study area. His cat familiar followed him. Seeing the fight was far from over, he decided to hit the archer who'd just stepped into the room before she could attack the next turn. He had 2 more level 1 spell slots, so he used one to cast Magic Missile again. 3d4+3 points of damage. He rolled 8+3=11. All three missiles slammed into Mercenary 4, but she remained standing with 2 HP left.

Mercenary 1 used Dash again to reach the door to the room just in time to see the Magic Missiles slam into Mercenary 4. He could do nothing else. Mercenary 3 also made it into the room from the library/ study area with his great club ready for action.

Lae'zel's turn. She ran into the room, switched to her crossbow, and fired at Mercenary 4. 16+3=19. Hit. She rolled a 2+1=3 for damage, and her bolt stuck fast into Mercenary 4's chest. The woman fell to the floor; dead.

Round 3. Shadowheart raced into the room now. She was just in the doorway. She cast Bane on Marli, Mercenary 3 and Mercenary 1. Marli rolled a 2 for her Charisma savings throw. Mercenary 3 rolled a 1. Mercenary 1 rolled a 15. And so, Marli and Mercenary 3 would receive a 1d4 penalty to their attack rolls and saving throw rolls for up to 1 minute as long as Shadowheart maintained concentration. Shadowheart had 1 spell slot left for level 1

It was now Mercenary 5's turn. She came to the doorway from the library. It was then that they all saw that she was a mage. Still, she'd had to use Dash to get there, so she was done for the round. Marli, though, was the biggest threat remaining, and it was her turn. She used her first attack action to shove Astarion away from her. She rolled her Athletics skill and got an 18+4=22. Astarion resisted with his own Acrobatics skill and rolled an 11+5=16. He failed to resist, and she shoved him. He staggered backward 5 feet, effectively giving her the ability to make a ranged attack without disadvantage.

She was high enough of a level to get 2 attacks. Much to everyone's horror, she put a fire arrow to her bowstring and fired at the gunpowder barrel. She rolled a 10+5=15. However, because of Shadowheart's Bane spell, she got 1d4 penalty to attack. She rolled a 4, so Marli's attack total was 11. She needed only a 10 or higher. Still, she needed to do enough damage to penetrate the barrel to get to the gunpowder inside. She rolled a 1d8+3 for damage. She got a 4+3=7. The DM decided that she only needed 5.

BOOM! Everyone within a 10-foot radius took 7d6 fire damage. This included Shadowheart, Mercenary 5, Mercenary 3, Vexir, Ryth-Shan, Kaedyn, Gale and Lae'zel. If they succeeded in a Dexterity saving throw, DC 12, they would take half damage. The fire would also burn for 1 round. Anyone caught within would suffer fire damage each round. The DM rolled 29 for damage.

Shadowheart, Mercenary 5, Mercenary 3, Ryth-Shan, Gale and Lae'zel all failed the saving throw. They all scream in agony as they are consumed in the fireball. Their bodies are tossed 10 feet through the air away from the source of the explosion like ragdolls. Because the damage reduced them all to 0 HP, instant death was possible. Shadowheart lived because she was at full health of 21 HP. So the amount of excess damage was 8. If the excess damage had been 21, she'd have died. Mercenaries 5 and 3 were dead, for enemy NPC's die instantly upon losing all HP unless the DM makes an exception. Ryth-Shan was at full 26 HP, so he was also alive but dying. Gale had 20, so the excess was only 9. He was still alive as well. Lae'zel had 27, so she was also down but still alive.

Vexir and Kaedyn succeeded and suffered 14 damage. They managed to throw themselves to the ground, narrowly avoiding the concussion blast and debris. Vexir went from 27 HP to 13. Kaedyn went from 16 to 2. Finally, Kaedyn had to make a Constitution saving throw to keep up his concentration for his Shield of Faith spell on Vexir. He rolled a 16+1=17 and made it. He maintained the spell.

It was Vexir's turn. She picked herself up and activated Second Wind. She regained 1d10+3 (her character level) in HP. She only rolled a 2+3=5. Her HP went from 13 to 18. Furious, she charged at Marli. "Stupid WITCH!" she screamed in rage. Then she swung her greataxe. She rolled 13+4=17. Marli's AC was 15. Hit! She used Menacing Attack on Marli. 1d12+1d8+2. It was her last superiority die. She rolled 19+2=21 total damage. Marli's HP dropped to 27. Seeing Vexir coming, Marli tried to dodge and deflect the furious swing of the greataxe, but it still struck her in the chest. Fortunately, Marli had deflected the blow enough that it only barely breached the armor she was wearing. The blow seriously knocked the wind out of Marli, but she was not out of the fight. She then made a Wisdom saving throw and rolled a 7. She failed. Vexir successfully terrified her.

It was Ryth-Shan's turn, he had to roll a death saving throw. He rolled a Natural 20! Because he rolled a Natural 20, he actually regained 1 HP and was stabilized and able to act. However, all he could do that round was move. He could not act. He stood up, scrambled out of the fire and slumped against the wall near him, bow in hand. He used half his movement just to stand, and the other half he used to get away from the flames. He did not take fire damage because fire damage was applied at the start of his turn, before he rolled to see if he survived. Therefore, he regained 1 HP after the fire damage was applied. Since he immediately got out of the flames, he was okay.

It was now Kaedyn's turn. He used Cure Wounds on himself. If he died, no one could be revivified. He rolled 1d8+3 (his spellcasting ability modifier) and rolled a 6+3=9. He was up to 11 HP. Then, as a Bonus, he used Healing Word on himself. He healed another 1d4+3 and rolled 4+3=7. He now had 18 HP. He then moved into position to try to use a potion on Lae'zel. If he could get her back up, it would probably be the most helpful to their survival. But it would have to wait until next turn.

As this was happening, Astarion used Fast Hands to use his Cunning Action to pull out a potion and use it. This was one of the major benefits of Fast Hands for a Rogue. If drinking a potion was a Bonus Action already, it wouldn't benefit Rogues as much. He regained 2d4+2 HP and rolled 6+2=8. He now had 20 HP. He then got back on his feet using half his 30 movement points, and he rushed Marli. He would gain advantage on this roll because he and Vexir were now flanking her. He rolled a 6, however, so his total attack was 11. Miss.

It was Gale's turn. He had to roll a save vs. death. He rolled an 8. Failure. He could only fail 2 more times. Mercenary 1 then went. He immediately determined that their best hope of survival was to kill Vexir. He ran up behind her and attacked. "I'll save you Marli!" he cried.

Since Vexir was now flanked, Mercenary 1 got advantage on his roll. He rolled 10 and 9, so 10+3=13. He needed a 19 to hit because Kaedyn had increased her AC by 2 with Shield of Faith. He missed. After this, Lae'zel made a save vs. death roll and succeeded with a 10.

Round 4. Shadowheart failed a save vs. death roll by rolling a 5. Then Marli's turn came. The fires from the explosion abated. She was frightened. However, a person who is frightened can still attack. They just get disadvantage on their rolls. Marli decided that her best chance of surviving was to kill Vexir. She pulled out her scimitar and dagger and attacked. Like Barton, she got 2 attacks with her scimitar, because she was high enough of a level, and 1 with her dagger, her offhand weapon. She also got advantage.

For her first attack, she rolled a 15 and 6. 15+5=20. Hit. For her second roll she rolled a 15 and 1. 15+5=20. Hit. For her third attack with her offhand, she rolled a 17 and 7. 17+5=22. Hit. So, for damage, she rolled 2d6+6 and 1d4+3. She rolled a total of 7 with the dice and added 9 to it. (Note: Marli had a special ability that allowed her to use her damage bonus for her offhand.) Vexir lost 16 HP. Vexir now only had 2 HP.

Vexir trusted Kaedyn to heal her. Therefore, she just attacked, hoping to take Marli out. She was their greatest threat. She rolled a 6 and 13+4=17 and hit. (She had advantage still because of flanking.) Without anymore superiority dice, she just did 1d12+2 damage. She rolled a 3+2=5. Marli was reduced to 22 HP. "Kaedyn!" she cried. "Keep me alive or we're all dead!"

Ryth-Shan was the unexpected ally still standing. He was out of spells, and since he'd lost concentration he no longer had Hunter's Mark. Still, he could fire his bow and help his allies. He chose to do that instead of heal. Unlike Vexir, he chose to take out Mercenary 1. In that way, maybe Marli wouldn't get advantage on Vexir. He got advantage, however, because Mercenary 1 was flanked now by Astarion and Vexir. Ryth-Shan rolled a 2 and 13+6=19. Hit. Then he rolled 5+2=7 damage. Mercenary 1 was truly green. He had no real combat experience. A single shot between the shoulder blades, and he was dead. Only Marli remained.

Kaedyn heard Vexir's cry and used his Bonus Action to do Healing Word on her. He rolled 1d4+4 and healed her 7 HP total. That was his last level 1 spell slot. He was out of level 1 spells. She now had 9 HP. He glanced back at some of his companions. If he didn't start healing them, they could die. He had to risk not giving her anymore health. "Use a potion!" he cried. "I've got to save some of the others before it's too late." Then he whipped out a potion of healing, tilted Lae'zel's head back and made her drink it. Hopefully, another fighter would be better, he reasoned. He rolled 2d4+2 and got a 4+2=6. Lae'zel was up with 6 HP.

Astarion dropped his rapier and pulled out both of his daggers to attack Marli. He got advantage, so he rolled a 15 and 3 for the first attack, and 14 and 5 for the other. Both attacks hit because he took the 15 and the 14. He used Sneak Attack, since conditions were appropriate, adding 2d6 to his dagger's damage roll of 1d4+3. He rolled 7+3=10 total. For his offhand attack, he only rolled a 1. So a total of 11 off of Marli.

"Don't give up yet, Darling," said Astarion with a hungry look in his eyes. "I haven't really made you bleed yet."

As for Gale, he rolled save vs. death again and failed. That was his second failure. If he failed one more time, he was dead.

Lae'zel was back up on her feet, but she had just been revived that turn. She couldn't perform an action until next turn. (This is actually subject to DM ruling. The rules aren't real clear. Some DM's allow action after first waking up from being 0 HP. However, if you think through it clearly, who's going to wake up from being knocked unconscious and the immediately rush into battle all within 6 seconds. It would likely take a person a few seconds to reorient themselves.) Therefore, all she did was pull out her bow and prepare to fire.

Round 5. Shadowheart succeeded in her save vs. death roll by getting a 17. That was 1 success and 1 failure. It was Marli's turn. Vexir was weak, but she noticed that there were too many enemies still left standing. Her only hope now was to drink a potion. She whipped out a Greater Potion of Healing and recovered 4d4+4 HP. She rolled 8+4=12. She was back up to 23 HP. Although she had a weapon in her offhand, she could not use a Bonus Action to attack with it. A person could only use their Bonus Action to attack with a weapon if they had already used an Attack Action already. Since she used her Action to drink a potion, she was finished with her turn. She could only hope that her AC would keep her alive.

It was Vexir's turn. She decided to press the attack while Marli was trying to dodge and guzzle a potion. She rolled a 13+4=17. Hit. She rolled 11+2=13 for damage. She basically clubbed Marli with the end of her axe right in the chest. Marli gasped. "Gah!" she cried. Vexir could see she was weakening, but so was she.

On Ryth-Shan's turn, he saw that Gale and Shadowheart were still down. Kaedyn might not help them both in time. Therefore, he chose to help Gale. He ran to his side, pulled out a potion, and he forced it down Gale's throat. He rolled a 4+2=6. Gale was awake with 6 HP. Kaedyn then ran to Shadowheart and administered another potion. He did the same for her. She had 6 HP.

Now Astarion attacked with his daggers. He rolled a 3 and 15. Hit. Then he rolled a 5 and 11+5=16. Hit again. His first attack was with Sneak Attack again. He got 1d4+2d6+3. He rolled 13+3=16. Marli was exposed after being clubbed by Vexir, and Astarion saw his chance. He spun around behind her, grabbed her by the hair, jerked her head back, and with a single swipe, blood spewed from her throat all over Vexir. The battle was over. They all gained 146 XP. The DM decided to round it up to 150. They now all had 1,100 XP. They still needed 1,600 more for the next level.

As she watched Marli's body fall and twitch on the floor, Vexir made an Insight roll and got a Natural 20. She noticed the way Astarion was staring, wide-eyed, at Marli. It unnerved her. She got the distinct impression that he was overly delighted to have spilled her blood all over the stone floor. It was the look of a disturbed psychopath; someone who enjoyed eating his victims. He was even shaking as if he found it hard to restrain himself. What kind of person had they invited into their party? She decided right then and there that she would have to keep a MUCH closer eye on him.

They all picked themselves up and looked around, exhausted. "Remind me to avoid standing anywhere near gunpowder kegs," said Gale as she shook his head to clear it. "Well, that was fun." He was dripping with sarcasm. "Wha'da'ya say we call it a day. We won. Yay us! How about we take the keys, seal the place up and come back tomorrow to further explore it. Eh?"

Vexir shook her head. "I did not go through all this to quit now. Suck it up, Mage! We stay and loot the place. I don't want to risk some thief coming back while we're napping, and have them take all the good stuff."

"Agreed," said Astarion as he continued to stare down at Marli's dead corpse lying in blood. He had lost the look of total starvation, but he could not tear his eyes away. "While everything is still fresh, we should... you know..." He couldn't complete his thought. He was too distracted.

"We could at least search the areas that we know are empty," suggested Kaedyn. "The immediate area should be clear of enemies since others would have come to help them by now if there were any. I agree with Vexir and Astarion." His relationship went up by 1 for both. "Who knows if that Halfling, Gimblebock, might return with his four before we're able to get the best items."

Chapter 2 - The Spoils

And with that, they all agreed. It was, in fact, a tidy score. They searched the dining hall area near the front entrance and the library/ study along with all the bodies. Not only did they find a bunch of useless things they could sell for some gold, but they also acquired a lot more food that was still quite good. There was cheese and wine and pitchers of water and sausages and so forth all over the dining room table. It was clear that Marli and Barton's Mercenaries had been using the place as their hideout for at least a few days.

More importantly, they also acquired potions of healing, including some Greater Potions of Healing. They acquired gold as well and all the weapons and equipment from the mercenaries. Most of it was common, but much to their delight, they found a Spear +1 on Mercenary 2 that Lae'zel copped onto. She immediately bonded with it, giving her the ability to throw it as an Action and retrieve it as a Bonus Action because of her Eldritch Knight Weapon Bond ability. This would give her a +6 to hit with her Spear even if she used it as a ranged weapon.

Besides this, they also found Bracers of Defense on the wizard mercenary. This they gave to Gale. These would increase his AC by 2 if he didn't carry a shield or armor, so it fit him best, raising his AC to 14. There were several magic scrolls as well, adding to Gale's arsenal of spells.

The library/ study had many books and tomes and a statue with a plaque on it. The text was ancient; a dedication to a forgotten god. They also found a book that was records for the chapel. A list of obituaries was written within. The people in the record were from all walks of life; followers of a variety of gods.

"Grobian Tipple, Ilmater - Drowning," Kaedyn read from the records. "Ivain Arkenson, Oghma - Internal Rot. Devryn Stoutt, Selune - Fever. Hmmm. Perhaps this crypt had something to do with one of the gods of the dead."

"Another coincidence?" said Vexir. "The strange symbol on the goblin shield implying the three dead gods of death, and now another item in that regards."

"Maybe," said Kaedyn. He stowed the book in his magic pocket.

"I found another book," said Gale. "Might be of some interest. It's about Shar."

"Shar?" asked Shadowheart. She seemed curious. "Let me see it?" She made a grab for it, but Gale withheld it from her.

"Now. Now," he said with a sly grin. "I can share it with everyone. The most interesting portion is as follows:

In life, her service had been impeccable. Daily did she devote herself to the Lady of Loss. Daily did she free herself from the tyranny of memory. All, in time, was lost to her - her relations, her preferences, even her own name. Upon the altar of her devotion placed she the ultimate offering: her emptied mind.

And when she died, when she awoke in death and found herself standing in the pale and faded City of Judgment, she waited for the Lady of Loss to retrieve her. A million souls and more passed her in colorless gusts, but no hand materialized in her hand; no voice whispered instruction in her ear; no guidance proffered itself from the bleached and barren sky. Time, immaterial time, passed around her like air, coming and going. And still, the goddess did not come for her devotee.

Kelemvor pitied her, as much as the Lord of the Dead is able, but could not intervene. The cleric of the Lady of Loss, unclaimed despite her worthiness, might yet have one more lesson to learn: That not of forgetting, but being forgotten."

He closed the book with a snap. "How... interesting. Wouldn't you say?"

"A ridiculous bedtime story for children," Lae'zel barked. She was in a foul mood. "I didn't even want to enter this stupid crypt, and now we are wasting time reading books about Shar and how she can't even remember her own followers. Sounds like a wretched goddess to serve."

Shadowheart shot her a dirty look. "Now there's an informed opinion for you," he commented sharply. "Leave it to a Gith to be totally ignorant of facts."

Lae'zel hissed in reply. She drew her spear and was ready to run Shadowheart through. Shadowheart, in return, pulled out her mace and shield. It was clear that a fight would begin in moments.

Kaedyn, naturally, stepped in. Fortunately, he was aided by Ryth-Shan who put his hand up to Lae'zel. Kaedyn rolled a 4 and 12+3=15 for Persuasion. Since Ryth-Shan was aiding him, he got advantage and succeeded.

"Ladies! Please! Do we really want to do this?" said Kaedyn. "We're all half dead already."

"We need one another right now," Ryth-Shan added. Then he whispered to Lae'zel, "You can always save killing her for AFTER we find a cure. Yes?" He gained a point of relationship with her, increasing it to 52.

Both began to calm down and they lowered their weapons. Shadowheart stormed away. "I can't WAIT to be rid of them." She gestured at Lae'zel and Ryth-Shan as she said it. Then she was out of the library and pacing angrily in the adjoining room to cool off. Her relationship with Ryth-Shan dropped to 50.

Then Perception rolls were made. As Lae'zel turned and stormed to the little alcove behind the statue, her eyes beheld a strange crack in the stone wall behind some cobwebs. (She had succeeded in her Perception check.) "What is this?" she said, and she jammed her fingers into the crack and pulled. A small hatch popped open to reveal a nook. Inside the nook was a skull with a lever in its mouth.

Everyone but Shadowheart came to see. "Another skull," said Kaedyn.

"They're bloody everywhere," said Vexir.

"Should we pull on the lever?" asked Ryth-Shan. "I don't see any traps."

Astarion chuckled. "A clever trapper NEVER lets you SEE their traps. I'll tell you what. Let me step out of the room first. Then YOU can pull the lever. How does that sound?" Then he didn't hesitate. He spun around and darted towards the door. He wasn't about to wait to see if any of them would be stupid enough to just pull on it.

The others looked from one to the other. Gale then made an Investigation roll and succeeded. "There is a door in the adjoining room we can't get open," said Gale. "This could be the mechanism that opens it. I noticed a nasty magic trap on it. Anyone who tries to open it without finding the lever that'll do so is likely not going to live to tell about it. Could explain why we found a few skulls near it."

"Okay," said Kaedyn. "No sense in everyone risking their lives here. I agree with Astarion. Let's have everyone leave the room. Then I'll pull the lever and we'll see what happens." Kaedyn gained 1 relationship point with everyone but Shadowheart and Astarion, for they weren't in the room.

"That's awfully noble of you," said Gale, "but you ARE one of the ONLY people who can use a Revivify scroll on us to bring us back from the dead. I'd prefer someone else pull that lever." Kaedyn's relationship went up to 54 with Gale.

"I opt for the Mage," said Vexir. Her score with Gale went down by 1 to 44. "He's not needed."

Gale shook his head. "I wouldn't advise that," he replied. "Again, I can't say why right now, but I really shouldn't die. It would be bad for all of us."

"Oh for the love of all that is good and decent," said Ryth-Shan. "I'll do it. Everyone get out of here." His relationship with all of them increased by 1.

There was no further arguing. Everyone else rushed out of the room and into the adjoining chamber. Ryth-Shan waited until they were completely out. Then, as he was about to pull the lever, Astarion pointed out with a wicked smile, "You know, your familiars could have done that. Right? Then, if they died, you could just summon a new one instead of risking our only ranger."

They all looked at him as if totally stunned. No one had even considered such a thing. They had all recently gained familiars, so they weren't used to them yet and what they could do. Too late, Ryth-Shan pulled the lever. Fortunately, nothing happened to him. Instead, the door near them popped open to reveal a small bedroom. Another door led out of that bedroom.

Ryth-Shan joined them. "Did it do anything?" he asked, but they didn't reply. He could see the door was open, so there was no need to. He sighed. "Thank goodness. I was a bit nervous there."

"Don't ask Astarion about his idea," suggested Gale. "You won't like it."

Ryth-Shan glanced at him dumbfounded. "Huh?"

"Never mind," said Kaedyn as he led the way into the bedroom. "You really don't want to know. Let's just say that we have a better plan for next time we run into a situation like that."

Then, without another word, the group passed through the decayed bedroom to the doorway at the far end. When they opened it, they saw that it revealed a stairway that led down. A musty smell was wafting up from below. "Well," said Kaedyn as he glanced back at them. "Should we go down or no?"

Ryth-Shan closed the door behind them, plunging the room into darkness. The room they were in was not lit, like the others. They all heard it latch and the mechanism sliding back into place. It was likely that no one would be following them unless they also found the lever. "I say we sleep here for the night," the Gith said. "I'd prefer that we were all well rested and fully recovered before we explored a lower level of this place."

They all agreed. Gale soon lit his staff with the Light spell, illuminating the room for 1 hour each time he did so, and Kaedyn closed the door that lead down. They agreed to rest and recover and take turns keeping watch. Then, in the morning, they'd explore further into the dark and musty depths of the Dank Crypt.

Chapter 2 - The Second Night

The group was gathered in that bedchamber. Eventually, the started a fire and popped the two doors open for ventilation. Zriek, the raven, kept watch in the adjoining chamber where they'd battled with Marli and Barton's Mercenaries. Shpri, the spider, kept watch on the stairway down. They ate lavishly, for there was a good variety of foods to go around. Bread, fruit, sausages, fish, wine, ale, water, and just about everything they could have hoped for; all these things were theirs because of the spoils of the fight and their loot from the crate of the fishermen.

They tallied up their loot. "200 GP in total between us," said Kaedyn. "And that's just in coins. Besides our equipped weapons, we have the following: 2 Scale Mails, 2 Leather Armors, 2 Chain Mails, 4 Chain Shirts, 1 Ring Mail, 2 Priest's Packs, a Holy Symbol, a Prayer Book, 10 Sticks of Incense, a Vestment, 7 backpacks with bedrolls, etc., 7 Sets of Common Clothes, 7 Belt Pouches, 60 Bolts, 7 Revivify Scrolls, 1 Alchemist Fire left, Silver Locket with Papa inscribed on it, 5 Bottles of Grease, Chapel Records Book, The Unclaimed Book, Umberlee's Book we found on the beach, a Scroll of Animal Friendship, one for Burning Hands, Detect Thoughts, False Life, Fire Bolt, Inflict Wounds and Mage Armor. We also have 8 Potions of Healing and 2 Greater Potions of Healing, 3 Dungeoneer's Packs, 2 Insignias of Rank, 2 Sets of Bone Dice, some sort of broken blades, 4 Longswords, 20 Arrows, 20 Arrows +1, a Staff, a Hunting Trap, some sort of animal trophy, I think, a Set of Traveler's Clothes, 2 Thieves Tools, one for Astarion and one for Ryth-Shan, 3 Light Crossbows, a Burglar's Pack, a Set of Fine Clothes, a Purse, 4 Shortbows, 4 Goblin Shortbows, a Goblin Shield, a Goblin Scimitar, 2 Rapiers, a Scholar's Pack, 4 Bottles of Black Ink, 3 Quills, 20 Small Knives, 23 forks, 14 spoons, 16 cups, 18 plates, and basically a crap ton of other useless items that we can sell for next to no gold."

"And don't forget Vexir's lovely leather cap," Astarion added as a joke. "She looks so fetching in it. Doesn't she?"

They all chuckled a bit. She was not wearing the cap at that moment. She was applying bandages to a few of her wounds with her hair down. Even she did not think the cap was flattering. Astarion's relationship went up by 1 with everyone. Still, it offered at least some protection from Critical Hits.

(Quick Note: I am making a correction as to the effect of the Leather Cap. They are not items found in the rulebooks and are assumed to be apart of the overall armor already purchased and worn. However, in Baldur's Gate 3, they are items you can find or purchase. I do not approve of their bonuses, as they make no sense to me. A helmet should reduce Critical Hit damage, not add bonuses to saving throws or negate Critical Hits altogether. However, the Damage Reduction I mentioned earlier in the story could potentially negate damage from a Critical Hit altogether. So I came up with a better idea that I am using from here forward. The Leather Cap will provide Resistance to non-magical Piercing or Slashing weapons only, and the Resistance is applied only to the Critical Hit dice. So, if you roll 1d8 for a normal hit, you would get 2d8 for a Critical Hit. If you rolled a 4 and a 5, the Resistance would be applied to the 5 only, making it a 2. So instead of doing 9 damage, it would only be 6.)

"We're not doing too bad, actually," said Ryth-Shan. "Besides all that an Vexir's lovely cap, she is wearing her stylish Chain Mail + 1, I found a nice Breastplate, and Lae'zel has that Spear + 1. Now, if we could just get these things out of our skulls..."

"Humph! Well said, Kin," said Lae'zel. She didn't seem to be as mad now, but she was still unhappy with where they were and what they were doing. "The sooner we find a creche, the better."

"We know," said Shadowheart with a groan. "You're endlessly reminding us. You're such a nag."

Lae'zel shot her another vicious look. The two never made up. They were still quite spiteful towards one another.

"Let's not start that again," said Vexir. "I am only going to put up with it for so long before I start hacking both of you up with my axe."

"Like you could," said Lae'zel, but she turned away as if she didn't feel like challenging her right then.

Vexir let it go. After the fight with the mercenaries, she seemed a bit less angry than she'd been before entering the crypt. Either her sun sensitivity had been part of what set her off, or she was feeling better after getting all of her aggressions out; or both.

Just then, she noticed Gale doing something peculiar. He had conjured a Mirror Image of himself and was examining himself. He was also humming as he did so. "What are you doing?" she asked him, drawing everyone's attention.

"Be with you in a moment," both versions of Gale said almost in unison. "Sorry about that. Just indulging in a spot of vanity. Handsome devil, aren't I? Be that as it may..." After a few more closer looks at himself, he dismissed the illusion and turned to face them.

"Oh, here we go," said Astarion. "A good bedtime story to put us to sleep. I was wondering who was going to tell it."

Gale ignored him. "Ceremorphosis. What does it make you think of?"

"The tadpoles, of course," said Shadowheart. She seemed curious to see where this was going.

"Spot on!" replied Gale. "Day 1: Fever and memory loss. Day 2: Hallucinations and graying skin. Day 3: Hair loss and blood leaking from all orifices. Day 4: Excruciating pain as the skeleton and organs reform and reposition. Day 5: The host's personality has disappeared; fingers, toes and limbs elongate. Day 6: The flesh around the mouth splits to make way for tentacles. Day 7: A Mind Flayer is born. A faultless, if annotated version of the facts."

"Your description is not vivid enough," Lae'zel remarked.

"I would also note that the host's personality disappearing on Day 5 is really just the personality," Ryth-Shan added. "Their conscious minds are gone within hours on Day 1, so it is only the personality that lingers. They are not even truly technically themselves. The parasite has absorbed their personality for those first few days after devouring their brain."

"Not the prettiest of transmutations, is it?" Gale continued. "The point: Thanks to the tadpole, we should have developed more than invasive symptoms by now, but we haven't. Our orifices remain blissfully unblooded, our heads remain clear, and our blood pressure normal. Any expert will agree, this is... abnormal."

"Long live abnormal!" cheered Astarion as he lifted a glass of wine to it.

Gale didn't chuckle or even smile, but he said, "I'll toast to that."

"Can you explain why this is happening?" Shadowheart asked.

"That, alas, is where my knowledge fails me," said Gale. "A rogue might call it luck. A priest might call it fate. The pragmatic in me, however, sees only the silence before the storm."

"And what makes you think you're the expert on this?" asked Lae'zel.

"Study," said Gale. "But what is happening, or rather not happening to us, is entirely undocumented. Uncharted territory. As I said, the silence before the storm. Something to sleep on. I think I'll get some rest."

Lae'zel only grunted in disdain, muttering a bit to herself. Shadowheart stretched. "Well, I don't think I can argue with that. I am awfully tired as well. This whole thing has been brutal."

"I can keep watch," said Astarion. "I'm not very tired, myself. Also, I'm an elf, so we don't really sleep. We just sort of meditate for a few hours."

"Same," said Vexir. "Maybe I'll guard the stairs down and you can guard the other door." She said this in hopes of catching him. She wasn't sure what she'd catch him doing, but she had a feeling it would be something.

"No need," said Lae'zel. "Everyone can relax. Shpri is guarding the stairway and will inform me the moment something moves in that direction. And Ryth-Shan has his bird guarding the other way. We'll be fine."

"True," said Ryth-Shan, and his relationship with her went up 1 to 54. He was quite happy that she not only said his name, for once, but that she also trusted him and Zriek enough to say that they could just relax; that everything from that direction was taken care of.

"Hmmm," said Astarion, looking a bit frustrated. "Well, no offense, but I don't trust a bird and a spider with our lives."

"Nor do I," said Vexir. "We'll keep watch also. Like he said, we don't need much rest anyway." Her relationship with Astarion went up by 2 to 50.

Lae'zel just shrugged at this. "Fine. Suit yourselves." Then she decided to turn in for the night.

It wasn't long after that before the rest of the group did the same. One by one, they got into their bedrolls and drifted off. Astarion did, indeed, sit at the door to the adjoining room, and Vexir sat at the top of the stairs, just out of his line of sight. She was hoping that if he didn't see her that she would catch him slip out into the next chamber.

Sure enough, after a bit of time, Astarion got up and paced a bit. Then, he slipped out through the door and vanished. By this point, she had carefully removed all of her armor, for she had used her injuries as an excuse to do so. She needed to bandage them after all. Right?

And so, she waited until he was out of sight for about thirty seconds before she slipped back up into the chamber and to the door he'd been at. She made a Stealth roll of 11+2=13. Astarion's Passive Perception was 13. Success. She crept along into the adjoining room and watched as Astarion came up to Zriek who was perched silently on a candelabra. "Hello, Friend," said Astarion pleasantly, though he kept his voice low. "I know you and I can't really understand one another, but I don't suppose I can trouble you to keep my activities quiet. Can you? I do rather feel as if I have a good thing going here, and I don't want to mess that up. So, if you don't mind, let's just pretend you didn't see me. Okay?" The bird just twitched its head from side to side as if totally unsure what to think of him.

"Bah!" he said in frustration. "It's no use. Hopefully, he won't question you or anything about me, and if he does, maybe you won't remember this anyway. You are just a dumb bird." Then he turned around and strode over to where Marli's body still lay on the pavement. "Such a pity," he said as he sighed. "Such a waste. So much blood." He seemed to be truly grieving. Vexir thought it was most unusual. It was as if he was now grieving for their loss. Did he actually care about them for some reason? Was he some sort of religious person after all who was concerned for the souls of the dead?

Nah! That made no sense. He'd been totally thrilled when he'd killed her. Maybe he was just unstable. Maybe he had dual personalities, or something.

Then he clenched his fists together tightly and grit his teeth. It was as if he was in intense pain. "Gods, I hate you!" he cursed up at the ceiling. "You all are cruel and vicious. What game are you playing with me now? Huh? Why are you tormenting me like this?"

"Because you're all the same," he continued with his monologue. "You're all the same. Just like HIM. Controlling, manipulating, self-serving... ALL of you!" Then he spun on his heel and headed for the main entrance of the crypt. Vexir continued to follow. She rolled a 12 for another Stealth roll. He did not stop. He continued out into the night air. Then, much to her amazement, he ran. He ran up the stairs and along the path back towards where they had met Lae'zel in the cage. She thought about pursuing him, but there was no way she could without him detecting her.

"Well," she said softly to herself. "Either he's gone for good and that's the end of that, or I'll just have to keep an eye out for him to see when he actually returns. Curious. SO curious." And with that, she returned to her position at the top of the stairs. She wondered if Zriek would alert them all if and when he returned, or if he'd be able to sneak back in without anyone noticing.

It was the latter. At some point in the night, Vexir glanced over her shoulder, and there he was. It was as if he had never left. For some time, she watched him with his back to her. No matter how hard she tried, she simply could not figure him out. What had he been up to? Why did he leave? Where did he go? She had no logical ideas, but she was determined more than ever to find the answers.

End of Chapter 2.

Been getting caught up! These are still amazing :]

Glad to hear it. Im enjoying writing them, and it's nice to know someone is reading them and liking them.

You're an amazingly talented (and probably experienced) writer It is hard not to like your text! Personally when I write similar fanfiction, I skip the entire technical stuff (XX rolled AA, failed - YY rolled BB, success and the + / - rep thing) - but I must admit... Around the third post, it felt natural to read those parts too - and it really made it feel like basically reading a version of Critical 20.

Whoever is DMing your sessions is doing an amazing job portraying the existing companions as well!

Thanks again. I normally wouldn't include all the dice rolls, but I'm partially writing it to show how true D&D stats and mechanics are supposed to work. So it is kind of a, "See everyone? There is no reason why we couldn't have the genuine rules in the game. In fact, it would be more balanced and fun."

I love BG3 as is, but it could be better, and that's part of the point. Sure, I admit, if the video game had the amount of dialogue I have in the story, I think it'd lose a lot of people with too much talking, but there is also an in between. The game needs more character interaction for sure so that players really get to know the origin characters like Lae'zel and Shadowheart. The party needs to have group dialogues where they are discussing things together.

Anyway, as for the DM, that's me. I've played BG3 so much, the story just kinda comes naturally to me now. It's so nice to know you think I've done well with the story and characters. It means a lot. I've been writing stories and DM'ing for a long time, but you never really know how good you might be until someone tells you. Very much appreciated! 😌

Chapter 3 - The Tomb

It wasn't even technically dawn by the time the party woke and started on their way. After a decent breakfast, they sent Zriek, Shpri and Gale's cat, his familiar, Will-o'-wisp, down the stairs to do some preliminary exploring. Before long, they had some basic intel.

It wasn't the most complex layout. There was a somewhat grand hall with a high ceiling. A few ornate chests were set not too far within the doorway; one on either side. There was a good deal of debris in the section of the hall across from the door leading to the stairs and another ornate chest. To the left, there was a locked door with a keyhole. The lock looked quite complex to those looking through the eyes of their familiars, namely Gale and Lae'zel. To the right was another door, almost identical, except that there was no lock on it.

Gale did a brief mapping out of the entire structure before they joined the animals. "I'll wager that door to the right leads to a hallway or chamber that then leads to the same door that leads out onto the beach," he observed.

"Convenient," said Shadowheart. "Now if we can just get it open, we'll have a way back to our original camp."

"Not that we left anything there," said Ryth-Shan. "But, it would be nice. I liked that spot, actually. It was cozy and provided a good source of fresh water and fishing."

"We'll see what we can do," said Gale. "Either way, there's got to be a key either in the hall or that door to the right. Well, hopefully there is a key, anyway."

And, with that, the party set out down the stairs to explore. They threw open the chests and looted them. One contained a non-magical ring and the other two in the hall contained magic scrolls; Guiding Bolt, Silence, Protection from Evil and Good. As they went, they grabbed anything that seemed of any value, and they put them in their magic pockets. Only Lae'zel did not have a magic pocket, but she didn't seem to care. She traveled light anyway, and so it was no big deal to her to let them be the pack mules.

At last, they entered the door off to the right. It led into what looked like a tomb. A central sarcophagus was surrounded by four pillars on each side. Beyond the pillars, both on the left and right, were more sarcophaguses; some opened and empty while others were still closed. Still others were shattered, as if someone had destroyed them. Gargoyle heads were set into the walls on either side of the room; eight in all. At the far end of the chamber, there was another door that appeared to be locked, and there were many candelabras around along with jars, vases, rotted crates and bones. There were lots of humanoid skeletons.

"There's the door I mentioned," said Gale with a look of triumph on his face. He did so love to be right. "That should be the one that leads to the beach, as predicted."

"There's a plaque on the central sarcophagus," observed Vexir.

Gale then stooped down to see if he could read it. "Let's see." He then dusted it off and held a candle up to it to bathe it in light. "Hmmm. A dead language. Something ancient must have been worshipped here. I can't make it out, unfortunately." One by one, they all tried, but the DM had determined the roll to be impossible, so no one even rolled.

Slowly, they made their way around, lighting old candles as they went. Perception rolls were made in secret, almost immediately. Kaedyn rolled a 14+2=16 and found some sort of odd vent near the central sarcophagus. Then Vexir found another between two pillars on the left. Gale found another between two pillars on the right, and after he did, he said, "I'm sensing a theme here. I'll bet you a bottle of wine that we'll find more just like these there, there and there also."

Sure enough, they found identical vents in matching places; six in total. Then Astarion noticed a tripping mechanism on the central sarcophagus, but there were no such traps on the others. Shadowheart found a button under the dust and cobwebs and behind a secret panel on the first pillar to the left. Astarion also found a Soul Coin in the rubble near one of the sarcophaguses. Looking around and seeing no one was watching him, he pocketed it. He did not put it in his magic pocket but in one of his normal pockets.

Then everyone made Investigation rolls. Kaedyn rolled a 19+2=21 and figured out everything having to do with room's decor. He noticed traces of oil on the vents and in various places on the floor. He noticed scorch marks as well, all over the room, as if a fire had once burned up everything within. The skeletons were also charred and blackened. The gargoyle heads had scorch marks on them near the mouths, and he noticed what looked like a nozzle at the throat of each one.

"As soon as we shift the lid off the central sarcophagus, oil is going to spew up out of the floor vents all over the floor," he told everyone. These gargoyles will then launch flames out which will set the oil on fire, turning the entire room into an instant furnace. They didn't care who looted the other sarcophaguses. They only cared about the central one. The button on the pillar will deactivate the trap once we shift the lid off. We'll probably have about ten seconds or so to deactivate it before the gargoyles launch the flames and the oil is spewed all over the floor."

"Ah yes," said Gale with a sideways grin. "Makes sense. Bravo! Indeed, most traps have a safe deactivation switch. Otherwise, how could the caretakers of this fine establishment get at whatever it is they hid in the sarcophagus?"

"Let's loot the others first," suggested Shadowheart. "Then we throw the lid open, hit the button, and we're all set. Yes?"

"Tell me why we're robbing graves again," said Lae'zel, arms folded across her chest defiantly.

Ryth-Shan replied, "We might find something to give us clues as to what's going on. Could be a connection of some kind."

"I'm really struggling to see any connection whatsoever," said Lae'zel. "Seems more like you are all looking for excuses to rob graves."

"What do the dead need with valuables?" said Shadowheart with attitude. "Seems like the living would benefit more from them than a bunch of dusty, old bones."

"Here! Here!" said Astarion. "Unless you're undead, what do you need with weapons, armor, and magical jewelry?"

"And if something IS undead, we wouldn't want them to have weapons, armor and magical jewelry anyway," added Kaedyn. "They would just be a bigger threat to us." His relationship with Vexir went up to 51, with Ryth-Shan to 53, with Shadowheart to 52, with Gale to 55, but with Astarion down to 48.

They then looted the other sarcophaguses and found a Rapier, a suit of Ring Mail, a couple more magic scrolls; Guiding Bolt and Silence, and a Trident. Finally, they tried the door at the far end, but they discovered it was locked with another rather complex locking mechanism in place. "Apparently, the caretakers didn't want anyone to loot the tomb here," said Astarion in his typical smart-butt fashion. "How unwelcoming! It's actually rather rude."

"Maybe the door will open once we deactivate the trap," said Kaedyn.

"Let's at least cover the vents," suggested Gale. "Put crates and vases over them. That should help stem the flow of oil."

"Great idea," said Kaedyn, and his relationship with Gale went up to 56. They quickly broke up the task, went around, and put crates and large vases over the six vents.

And with that, they decided to get it over with. Vexir shoved the lid of the central sarcophagus to the side. There was a click. Immediately, oil bubbled up out of the vents on all sides. Even with the crates and vases covering them, the oil still burst up and out. Vases tipped over and broke as oil began to spew across the floor. Astarion was in position by the button. He hit it as fast as he could. There was another click, and the oil receded. It was quick enough to prevent the oil from spreading across the entire floor, but there were still remnants around the vents.

"Wow!" said Ryth-Shan. "They meant serious business."

"Indeed," said Astarion. "If I hadn't been ready at the button, the oil would have covered the floor in seconds. I doubt we could have made it to the door without slipping and falling all over."

"I'm guessing that's how these other poor sods died," said Gale as he looked down at the charred bones. "This one probably tried to just snatch and dash. Then he fell, and BOOM! Fireballs from the gargoyles torched him and everything else around him."

As they were speaking, Kaedyn and Vexir were already searching the sarcophagus. The dead person within held a spear clutched in both hands. Around his neck, on a chain, was an engraved key. Vexir took the spear and Kaedyn carefully undid the clasp on the chain so that he could remove the key. "I think we found the key to the other door," he replied.

"Most excellent!" said Gale. "I figured it had to be around here somewhere - either that or a lever or other mechanism release."

"It has an engraving on it," said Kaedyn. "Can you read this?"

Gale took it and turned it over a few times. "Same language, I'm afraid," he replied. "Nothing I know."

"So, it still could be a trap?" said Astarion. "I'll stand by the door leading upstairs while you all use the key on the other door. How does that sound?"

"It could just be the key to the door right there," said Shadowheart pointing at the door to the beach.

"Could be both," said Gale, "like a master key."

"What does this staff do?" said Vexir, handing it to Gale. "It seems magical."

Gale took it as he handed the key back to Kaedyn. Then he said, "Ah yes. It most certainly is. I know the Identify spell. This'll take a few minutes. I'll perform the ritual in the hall." He then left the tomb chamber with the spear while the others tried the key on the beachfront door. Sure enough, the key clicked in the lock and it opened. Kaedyn threw the door open to reveal the early morning sunlight. Vexir instantly faded into the shadows of the tomb to avoid it. She noticed that Astarion did the same, almost out of instinct.

Everyone but Gale, Astarion and Vexir stepped out of the crypt and into the glorious light of dawn. It felt good to get out of the cold tomb that had the stench of death mingled with a musty stink. They stretched their legs and breathed in the morning air. Zriek flew about, immediately scoping out the area. He returned without uttering a sound. Ryth-Shan took that to mean there were no enemies in the immediate area and that they were safe. He assured the others of this, and they made their way to the camp.

Once there, they enjoyed freshening up a bit. They washed their faces and cleaned their gear. It felt good to wash all the blood and grime off from the battle with the mercenaries. They then tidied up the place a bit, just in case they decided to come back later after they finished exploring the crypt.

Finally, Gale joined them. Only Astarion and Vexir did not. When he approached, he held the spear up and said, "It is called 'The Watcher's Guide.' It assists the person who wields it. If they ever miss when attacking an opponent, the magic within gives them an advantage on their next attack against that same target. Vexir has already rejected it. Anyone else interested?"

Shadowheart decided to take it after she saw that no one else was wanting it. She hefted it a bit to get a feel for it. "Not bad," she thought. "I could get used to it, I think."

Chapter 3 - The Vampire Spawn

Meanwhile, as soon as Gale had left the Dank Crypt, Vexir and Astarion began to prowl about in the shadows. They propped the door open with a rock just in case, and then they retreated into the hall. There was some light streaming down through a crack in the west wall near the ceiling, but as long as they avoided the direct sunlight, they both seemed content.

It was then that Vexir decided to confront him. They were alone, and she figured it was the best opportunity to get him to confess. "Where did you go last night and what are you up to?" she asked suddenly.

Astarion's countenance fell. "So, you caught me leaving. How annoying!" He then faced her and saw the hard expression on her face. "Please. We really don't want to go here."

Vexir decided to use Intimidation to get answers. "This is a problem for me," she replied. "I am done with this. I don't trust you. Who knows what you are up to? For all I know, you could be working for the Mind Flayers. Talk now, or we're done here." She made it clear what she meant by that. She already had her greataxe in hand, and she took it in both hands. She rolled a Natural 20 for her Intimidation check and got a total of 24. Astarion tried to resist with a Wisdom saving throw of 12+1=13. He failed.

"Okay! Okay!" he hissed, gritting his teeth in frustration. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise to keep an open mind. I really don't want trouble. Like you, I'm just hoping to survive this whole mess, and maybe, just maybe, come out on top."

Vexir just stared at him with hostility in her eyes. It was clear that she would not relent. She also made it clear that she would not promise anything. He would talk, or she WOULD give him trouble. There was no in-between.

Astarion's relationship with her dropped to 48. "Fine," he said with disdain. "Have it your way. If we have a problem, we have a problem." He took in a deep breath. "But I will warn you, if we have a problem, you won't like it when I bare my fangs."

Vexir just rolled her eyes at this. Astarion withdrew a pace, pressing his back against the wall. He couldn't look at her when he spoke the next words. "I'm a vampire spawn," he admitted in a voice that she barely heard.

This took Vexir completely by surprise. The hard expression she'd been wearing was gone in a flash. Her eyebrows lifted and her mouth fell open. She was aghast. Astarion looked up at her to try to gauge her reaction, and he winced. "I know. Hard to believe. Right?" But then he bared his fangs in a non-threatening manner.

It was Vexir's turn to drop back a pace. She still could not wipe the shock off her face. "But... how? You... The sun... You're not burning up."

"What? Really?" said Astarion, his witty personality returning. "I hadn't noticed." He then walked around her to stand within the beams of light from the sun as he looked up at it while shielding his eyes. Then he looked back at her and spread his arms out. "Well. Would you look at that! I think you're right. I can somehow walk about in the sun. And yet, here we are." He then left the light to join her again. "So..." He then paused. It seemed he was now waiting for a typical response.

"So what?" asked Vexir, still completely off balance.

"Isn't this where we get into an altercation; where you try to jam a stake through my heart?" he replied.

Vexir recovered at last. She looked back at the doorway to ensure no one else was listening. Then, she said, "I have no intention of trying to kill you."

Now it was Astarion's turn to be shocked. "Is that... concern I see in your eyes? Do you... actually care?" Her relationship with him went back up to 50.

Vexir hardened her expression immediately. What he had seen was now gone, shoved behind her usual wall. "No. This is simply unexpected. That's all. Why do you think you can walk about by day?"

Astarion shrugged. "I can only guess it has something to do with the tadpole. Someone, or some-THING, has changed the rules. Sunlight no longer kills me, and I can enter places uninvited now. Running water still stings like an imp's stinger, and I still require blood. That's where I went last night. That's what I was doing. I was hunting an animal to drink its blood."

"That explains why you were almost like a wild animal yesterday when fighting the mercenaries. When you slit their leader's throat, you couldn't stop staring at her."

He closed his eyes. It seemed as if he was fighting back the anguish of that memory. "I've never actually feasted on a person," he told her. "My vampire master, Cazador of the Baldurian Szarr family, enjoyed cruel games. He forced me to sustain myself on mere rats from the sewers. He liked to toy with people just for his amusement, and I was one of his favorites."

"I was once a High Elf from a wealthy, noble family," he continued. "I had everything... until he took it all away."

"How long have you been a vampire spawn?" Vexir asked.

"Since the 13th century," he replied. "Cazador thought it was great fun indeed to take someone who had once been the master of others and make him into a sewer-dwelling, rat-blood sucking thief and murderer. I was allowed to kill others. I just wasn't allowed to enjoy the spoils of my labor afterwards."

"But now, I've become conveniently lost." He said this with such hope and excitement that Vexir couldn't help but feel his enthusiasm. It hit her all at once that for him, the tadpole was not a curse. It was a blessing. It was his freedom. No wonder he had said that he wanted to learn how to control it. He didn't want to get it removed. He wanted to keep it and become its master.

"It all started when I was seducing a young fellow noble," he told her. She could see that he was being totally honest with here. There wasn't even a hint of lying. "Cazador wanted me to lure the man to him. All of a sudden, I was taken by a Mind Flayer. Just like you, I was infected with that tadpole. Now I am free, Vexir. I am free from him and from the darkness. I can't go back to that. Never again! Never again!"

He then looked up at her with pleading eyes. "Can we keep this between us? Please don't tell the others. Please don't make this into a big deal. I've never feasted on anyone, and I promise I won't. I'll keep feasting on animals. There are plenty around here. I know the Gith Ranger won't like it, but it's better than feasting on people. Right? I mean, as long as I keep feasting on animals, I won't crave people. That's what I was thinking, anyway, and..."

She stopped him with a raised hand. She'd made her decision already. Something inside her felt pity for him. She couldn't help but have a strong desire to help him. "Relax," she said, her expression soft. "I'll help you."

Astarion was beside himself with relief. "You will? I mean... really? You will? I..."

She cut him off again. "I think we should tell the others, but I will stand by you and help protect you from them." Astarion no longer had words. She had struck him so deeply to the core that he could no longer comprehend what she was even saying. It took him a few more moments to recover, so she continued. "I think it's stupid to hinder you. It benefits us more if you can use all of your weapons. I say, use your fangs, if that helps strengthen you, but use them on enemies we encounter."

Astarion finally found his voice. "But what if Kaedyn, or whoever, refuses to go along with it? I have serious doubts that he'll agree to continuing on with a vampire spawn."

Vexir rolled her eyes. "Kaedyn can be such a prude. However, I think if we appeal to his soft-hearted nature, we can convince him that you are his next mission from Tyr. It will be his holy quest to help find you a cure both for the tadpole and your vampirism. You have been given a second chance at life. Surely, isn't that a noble crusade?"

Astarion was elated. "You, my dear, have become my new best friend."

"I had better not regret this," she warned him. "Try to bite me, even once, and I swear it'll be the end of you."

"Hah! Darling, I'm not sure if I even CAN die right now," he laughed.

"Would you like to test that out?" she asked.

He laughed again. "Of course not, Darling," he replied. "At this point, I am willing to do just about anything you think is best. Of everyone here, you are probably the most desired companion. My chances of surviving with you are far greater than with anyone else. So, if you think we can convince the others to travel with me even if they know I'm a spawn, I'm right behind you. Lead the way."

"We'll wait for them in here," she told him. "I'm not going out in that cursed sun."

"Ironic, isn't it?" he said. "Who would ever have thought that a Drow would be more adverse to the sun than a vampire spawn?"

She chuckled at this a bit. "Why don't I get the advantage of not having issues with the sun? You're free from it. So, why not me?"

"But you are free," a voice hissed in her mind. She spun around, fully expecting to see someone standing there behind her. There was no one.

"Are you all right, My Dear?" asked Astarion. Her sudden reaction caught him off guard. He had not heard the voice.

She continued to look around. "You didn't hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Astarion.

"I could have sworn I heard a voice whispering from behind me. It said, 'But you are free.'"

Astarion now looked about as well, expecting to see some trace of a ghost. Nothing. "Perhaps you were imagining things."

An idea suddenly compelled her to do something she never dreamed she would have done in the past. She ran into the beam of sunlight and let it engulf her. As she did, she felt the sun's warmth on her skin and her eyes adjusted to it. It wasn't unpleasant. It felt... good. "Wha...? I... Why?"

"What?" asked Astarion, puzzled.

"The sun," she said in disbelief. "It's no longer causing me issues, like it should. Why is it... what is happening? This wasn't like this yesterday." From this point onward, the sun no longer affected her, just like any other surface-dwelling elf.

Astarion approached her. His eyes were narrowed as he also tried to reason through it. "Perhaps the tadpole isn't as dormant as we were hoping. Perhaps it is merely transforming us in different ways. Maybe running water won't hurt me in the future. Maybe it is taking away our disadvantages one by one. You started out with sun aversion, just like any Drow, but now..."

She nodded as she stepped back out of the sun. "You might be right. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that it was as if the tadpoles were refining us; making us stronger."

Astarion's voice became foreboding. "Maybe they are. Maybe, they are." Just then, the others returned.

His relationship with Vexir jumped to 60, a whole 10 points, because of her decision to ally herself with him and help him.

Chapter 3 - The Book of Dead Gods

"Vampire spawn?" asked Kaedyn in surprise. "Are you serious?" Vexir and Astarion had just informed everyone of Astarion's secret. Most were stunned into silence.

"Utterly fascinating," Gale remarked, deep in thought. He didn't seem angry or concerned. He just seemed intrigued.

Vexir glared at Kaedyn threateningly. "Do you have problem with my decision?"

Kaedyn's expression became unreadable as their eyes met. Then, much to both Astarion's and Vexir's surprise, he said, "No. In fact, I'm glad to know the truth. I knew something wasn't quite right, and the more he kept that from us, the harder it was for me to trust him. I WAS trusting him, mind you. After all, until someone has done something wrong, how will I know whether he or she can be trusted unless I first trust them? If he has done nothing wrong to us, should we cast him out of the party just because he is a vampire spawn?"

Then he added, "And, it's important to know your predicament. Now we know there's an even greater complication. I'd rather know you are stuck in a terrible situation, and try to help you get out of it, then to have you attempt to handle it yourself because you are afraid you'll be back under Cazador's power. It's better to plan these things out together than to have us messing each other over in the end." And, with that, Kaedyn's relationship increased with Vexir by 5 and with Astarion by 10. So he was at 56 with Vexir and 58 with Astarion. His acceptance went a long way with the vampire spawn, and the fact that he didn't resist Vexir on the matter also went a long way with her.

Lae'zel was also a surprise, and she spoke up next. "As long as he doesn't attempt to bite me, I see no reason to reject him. But if you so much as look at me the wrong way, Astarion, I will end your miserable existence without hesitation."

Astarion grinned mischievously, and he remarked, "Ooo! Hsss! I do so love spicey food."

This got a chuckle out of more than one person in the room. Ryth-Shan then added, "I agree with Kaedyn, actually. Astarion makes a fine addition to the party, and I'd rather know his situation now than find out later. This way, we can all keep our eyes peeled for something that might somehow fix his problem." His Astarion Relationship Score then went up by 5 as well to 55. His wasn't as touching as Vexir's and Kaedyn's for he felt as if Ryth-Shan was now just jumping on the bandwagon. He also knew Ryth-Shan a bit better already, and he figured ahead of time that the Gith might not have as many problems with his true identity.

"Well," said Shadowheart. "Why not? I mean, it's not like the craziest thing we've encountered so far. Nothing about this little adventure is normal, so why shouldn't we travel with a vampire spawn who can travel about by day?"

Gale then concluded the conversation by saying, "Well, that's settled. Perhaps we should get moving then. I don't know about all of you, but I'm dying to find out what's beyond that door over there." He pointed to the locked door across from the tomb.

And with that, the party unlocked the door and made their way inside. The musty smell became more prevalent, and they could hear the sounds of rushing water echoing about the chamber. It wasn't obnoxious. In fact, it was quite peaceful.

This chamber had not been disturbed for a very long time. As the party looked around, they saw that there was a thick layer of dust on everything and cobwebs upon cobwebs. It was a rather large chamber. At the center was a statue that stood about thirty feet tall bathed in the light of the sun. The only way to get to this central courtyard was by descending one of two staircases on the right and left. Straight ahead was a five foot diameter brazier. Near it was a corpse; all bones wearing a dark robe of some kind.

The raised walkway they were standing on went right and left and then framed the central courtyard with the statue. There were three more of the robed corpses. Each was armed with a quarterstaff or knife. The party confiscated these items and looted other ornate chests in the room. None produced any items of true value.

There were two other ways out of the chamber. From both of these, the party could see mists and hear running water. Light was coming from one of them, but the other was completely dark. They sent Zriek to the tunnel with light and Shpri went to the passage that was totally dark. As Zriek returned, Ryth-Shan used Speak with Animals.

"Looks like there's another way out from over there," he reported. "The river runs through that passage very swiftly. No one could swim or row against that current. There is a lever and a ladder. It seems pretty obvious that if we pull the lever, the ladder will drop and let us up to a hatch above. He's not sure where the hatch leads, but he's guessing it's up to the cliffs overlooking the camp."

"Makes sense," said Gale as he checked his map and made additions to it.

Then Lae'zel reported, "There are sarcophaguses in the other chamber. It opens up to a massive underground network of caves. However, the river runs so fast, there is no way you could go beyond the chamber in that direction. Looks like there's a heavy chest and some sort of book."

"All this seems almost... anti-climactic," remarked Astarion. "I thought we'd at least have some sort of fight here."

"Why would you say that?" asked Ryth-Shan. He was joking; just giving Astarion a hard time. "Don't you know anything? You can't say things like that. You've just doomed us all. Everyone! Expect a giant dracolich to come out of some secret passage and devour us now. Thanks, Astarion!"

The vampire spawn gave him a look as if to say, "How cute!" but he said nothing.

"Shall we check out the statue in the center or the room with the book?" asked Shadowheart.

"I opt for the room with the book," said Gale. No one argued, and so they did. Once again, they found a few non-special items in the heavy chest and sarcophaguses. Then they made their way to the book.

Kaedyn was the first to the book, as was Gale and Shadowheart. In fact, the others remained at a reasonable safe distance. They didn't need to speak. Each communicated to the others the same thought. If something was going to happen, they wanted to be far enough away to not be caught in the wake.

Kaedyn picked up the book. "The Book of Dead Gods," he said, reading the cover. "It's locked. Odd. The book seems light for such a large lock on it."

"Should we try the master key?" asked Shadowheart.

Gale shook his head. "It's not a standard lock. It requires a bit of either arcane magic or divine energy. Either that, or I supposed you could always just break it or pick it."

Kaedyn shrugged. "I guess I'll try." Then he took his holy symbol and placed it on the massive lock as he prayed to Tyr for a spark of the divine. He made a Religion roll of 6+2=8 and failed. Nothing happened.

Shadowheart took it. "Let me try." She then did the same with her own holy symbol. An Insight roll was then made by Gale and Kaedyn as she did this. Kaedyn rolled a 2 and Gale a 3. Both failed. They did not notice that Shadowheart was purposely positioning herself to block their view of her holy symbol. She rolled a Religion roll of 19+1=20 and succeeded. There was a spark of energy, and the lock clicked open. Shadowheart then flipped the book open and noticed a loose page that was being used as a bookmark. It was an unrolled scroll of some sort. Gale would need to identify it later.

As she opened it up to the bookmarked page, all three of them made a Religion check to see if they could figure out what they were looking at. All they could see, at first, was that the page contained a list of names. What was once script was now an obliterated scrawl. It was clear that it was a list of names, but of what? Kaedyn rolled a 5+2=7. Shadowheart rolled an 8+1=9.

Gale rolled a 15+3=18. They only needed a 10. "Well! Would you look at that."

"What is it?" asked Shadowheart.

"The names of gods," said Gale. "Once lost, but now restored after the Second Sundering. Most of them are unfamiliar. I can't even pronounce many of them. However, I recognize this one and this one too. There are entire pantheons from all over the realms listed here; entire pantheons that have dwindled and been reborn, silently recorded by this book"

He then took the book from Kaedyn and flipped to the last page of writing, for there were many blank pages afterwards. He pointed to the last three entries. Now it was Kaedyn's turn to look over his shoulder. "Look at this. It is as if someone has been updating it; even presently. Several entries on the last page have been stricken through, the final three thoroughly enough to be completely illegible."

"Three gods?" asked Kaedyn with raised brow. "Here we go again. Another coincidence? We were just talking about the Dead Three yesterday. Now we have three gods from this book completely obliterated on the page."

"I don't get it," said Shadowheart. "What are you trying to say?"

Kaedyn replied, "This is a book of gods who died. So, if it lists gods who are dead, and those last three are so obliterated on the page that we can't make them out, is it possible that those three are no longer dead? Maybe, just maybe, they are very much alive. If so, and we found a shield with a symbol that is like the combination of the Dead Three, Myrkul, Bhaal and Bane, then could it be that the Dead Three have somehow been resurrected by the Second Sundering?"

A heavy atmosphere fell upon the chamber. Even Lae'zel, who normally didn't care what they were looking at, seemed to be paying attention now. "And you, somehow, think this has to do with us?" she asked. "I admit that there are a number of things pointing to the Dead Three, but how does this form a connection between them and us?"

The three looking at the book turned to face the others. Kaedyn shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "Maybe it doesn't. I guess it just seems somehow important."

Gale considered her question carefully. "Oftentimes, things are not just coincidences but divine intervention. Although I admit that I can't see a connection between the Dead Three and us right now, I can't help but think that we've stumbled onto something here. Did we crash on some random beach, or was it by divine design? I'm beginning to wonder if our meeting up with one another was also something that was meant to happen. I wonder if we've all been brought together on purpose."

"Yes, but what is that purpose?" wondered Ryth-Shan. "And who is giving it to us? Are we being manipulated by good gods or evil?"

"THAT is the million gold coin question, My Friend," said Gale. "THAT is why it is important to keep looking into it. You serve Vlaakith, yes?" he asked Lae'zel.

"Of course," she replied.

"What would Vlaakith say if she learned you were hypothetically doing the will of the Dead Three?" he asked.

She sneered. "I would rather die a thousand torturous deaths than serve anyone but my queen."

"Exactly," said Gale. "So, we need to be sure who it is that is guiding us here."

Another silence fell between them. Kaedyn closed the book and stowed it in their gear. "Okay," he said after a few moments. "Why don't we go explore the statue now. We can always ponder this whole thing about the dead gods later." Everyone agreed, and they were off to the central courtyard.

Chapter 3 - The Entombed Scribes

The area around the statue was filled with plantlife; grass, bushes, moss and vines. As the party spread out and searched the area, several discovered another corpse. It was the skeletal remains of some guardian. He had a helmet and a great club. They confiscated these immediately and then joined Gale, Shadowheart and Kaedyn as they studied the statue and the plaque at its feet.

Religion rolls were made. Only Gale made it with a 17+3=20, for it was a DC 20 roll. "Jergal," he said. "Well, now. Doesn't that just put the icing on the cake."

"Jergal?" said Shadowheart. "Isn't he the one who transferred his power to the Dead Three?"

"Correct," said Gale. "Caring for little besides an orderly accounting of the fate of the world as it slowly sank into death, the Final Scribe was the one who kept the records of the ultimate fate of all the dead. 'The throne is yours. I have grown weary of this empty power. Take it if you wish - I promise to serve and guide you as your seneschal until you grow comfortable with the position. Who among you shall rule?' - Jergal conceding his divinity and throne to the Dead Three."

"What kind of race was he?" asked Vexir.

"He was often depicted as a member of an ancient alien race," said Gale. "He was sort of a cross between a humanoid and praying mantis. He like to look wizened mummy-like with gray, tightly taut skin. More often than not, he had an elongated skull with bulbous, yellow eyes devoid of life and insect-like mandibles. His nose and ears were barely distinguishable from the rest of his head. He typically had claw-like hands, and his forearms were covered by a pair of white gloves. Most of his form was also covered by a cloak that seemed to absorb everything around it. He was known as the Scribe of the Dead, and he was often seen with a quill with fresh ink and a thick scroll covered in an intricate and incomprehensible script. When Jergal spoke, it was said to chill to the bone; no pun intended. It was seemingly disembodied, echoing with the dry whisper of a tomb that had long been forgotten."

"That explains the writings we couldn't understand previously," said Kaedyn. "If he often wrote in intricate and incomprehensible scripts, it's no wonder we couldn't figure it out."

"Indeed," said Gale.

"Anything else of interest?" asked Ryth-Shan, trying to move past the eerie moment.

They glanced at each other and shook their heads. "I guess not, really," said Kaedyn. "Maybe we should look around a little more and just get out of here."

But Astarion was already doing that. "Well. I may have found something," he reported. "Looks like another button. It's like the one we found in the tomb chamber. It was hidden behind a panel over here in this alcove along the wall here."

Everyone moved to join him. They looked at the button and then at one another. "Well," said Ryth-Shan. "Do you wanna push it, or should we just leave it and go?"

"Once again," said Astarion. "If you're going to push it, I'll just wait a reasonable safe distance..."

"Let's all wait a reasonable safe distance away," said Kaedyn. "Everyone in the hallway, and we'll let either the cat or spider hit the button."

"The button looks too hard to press," said Gale. "I doubt the familiars or the bird could do it."

"I'll use Mage Hand," said Ryth-Shan. "I can be up to thirty feet away from the button. Everyone else can be even further from me, outside the room, just in case a trap goes off."

"You sure about this?" asked Kaedyn, putting his hand on Ryth-Shan's shoulder.

Ryth-Shan nodded. "I'll be fine."

"It makes the most sense," said Vexir. "If we're outside the room, and a trap goes off within, we might be able to figure out how best to disarm the trap and get him out."

"I say some of us remain within and some without," said Kaedyn. "I'll stay with him, just in case."

"Then Shadowheart remains without," said Gale. "She's our only other cleric. If we need someone to use a Revivify scroll, we at least have one of you."

"Makes sense," said Lae'zel. "So can we end this debate and be done with this?"

And so, the majority of the party remained outside the room, in the hall beyond with the master key. Kaedyn and Ryth-Shan remained in the room, approximately thirty feet from the button. They were hiding in shadows, crouching behind a pillar just in case. Ryth-Shan gained 2 points of relationship with everyone, and Kaedyn gained 1.

Ryth-Shan cast the spell and the spectral, floating hand appeared and moved up to the button. Then it pressed the button, and all at once, the entire room began to shake. Dust billowed up into the air everywhere, clouding everything.

"Holy... he was right!" cried Astarion over the noise. "A giant dracolich IS coming out of some secret passage to devour us now."

A secret door did, in fact, begin to open. Just to the left of where the button was, the wall began to slide open. As it did, glowing, sickly, green light began to glow around the room. The five skeletons rose and stood on their feet. Each was facing towards the direction of the button. They emanated angry, other-worldly cries.

"Hells!" said Kaedyn. "Something just woke up down here." Then, without warning, the door slammed shut, locking the others without. Only Kaedyn and Ryth-Shan were in the chamber with the five undead.

Initiative. Kaedyn rolled a 4+2=6. Vexir rolled a 17+2=19. Ryth-Shan rolled an 18+2=20. Shadowheart rolled a 3+2=5. Astarion rolled a 4+3=7. Lae'zel rolled a 4+1=5. Gale rolled a 15+2=17. Scribe 1 rolled an 8, Scribe 2 rolled an 18, Scribe 3 rolled a 16, Scribe 4 rolled a 12, and the Skeletal Guardian rolled a 10.

Initiative Order. Ryth-Shan, Vexir, Scribe 2, Gale, Scribe 3, Scribe 4, Skeletal Guardian, Scribe 1, Astarion, Kaedyn, Shadowheart, Lae'zel.

Ryth-Shan was in hiding, and Scribe 4 was not far from him. If he cast Hunter's Mark on Scribe 4, it required a verbal command. That would reveal his location and remove his advantage to hit. However, Hunter's Mark gave him an additional 1d6 damage. Since he got +6 to hit, he chose to reveal himself and use Hunter's Mark. He muttered the words of the spell and cast it upon Scribe 4. Then, he fired. He should have gone with the advantage, for he rolled a 3+6=9 and missed. "Tsk'va!" he cursed. Then he darted behind cover behind a sarcophagus near him to make it harder for enemies to hit him.

Vexir produced the master key, and she shoved it in the lock. Sure enough, it clicked and the door reopened. She shoved it open and used Dash to reach the nearest Scribe, Scribe 3. Scribe 2 saw her movement and cast Hold Person. She had to make a Wisdom saving throw or be frozen in place. She rolled a 9 with no bonus. Glowing runes appeared inside a shimmering square on the floor just below Vexir's feet. She became like a statue, paralyzed by the spell's effects. She could roll every turn to escape, but she needed a 13 to succeed.

Gale was next. He rushed into the room and cast Witch Bolt at Scribe 3. A beam of crackling, blue energy lanced out toward it, forming a sustained arc of lightning between him and the skeleton. He rolled a Natural 20 to hit. Normally, he would deal 1d12 damage, but since it was a critical, he did 2d12 damage instead. He rolled a total of 23. A surge of extra power blasted from his fingertips, electrocuting the creature, but it did not fall. It had 3 HP remaining.

Scribe 3 saw Gale as a huge threat. It used Magic Missile on him, using a Level 2 spell slot to receive an additional missile. Therefore, it did 4d4+4 points of damage off of him as the searing hot darts slammed into him from different directions. He only had 6 HP remaining.

Scribe 4 was fully aware of Ryth-Shan, but it couldn't see him behind the sarcophagus. Therefore, as a Bonus Action, it cast Misty Step and moved 30 feet closer to him. Then it ran 30 more feet and cast Magic Missile using an Attack Action. So it used both a Level 2 and Level 1 spell slot in one turn. It rolled 14 points of damage off of him as well. He had 12 HP remaining. Ryth-Shan rolled a 14+1=15 for his concentration roll. He needed a 10. He succeeded to keep up Hunter's Mark.

The Skeletal Guardian ran towards the stairs using Dash Action. It was intent on reaching those at the door. Scribe 1 also used Dash to get closer to the open door.

Astarion commented, "Well, at least it's not a dracolich," and then he used his Cunning Action to Dash to Scribe 3 to try to finish it with his rapier. He rolled a 17+5=22 and hit. For damage, he rolled 7+3=10. Scribe 3 fell to the ground in a crumpled heap of bones and dust.

Kaedyn came to Ryth-Shan's rescue. He was still in hiding. Scribe 4 did not see him. Therefore, he got advantage on his attack roll and used Guiding Bolt. He rolled an 18+4=22 and hit. He did 4d6 damage and rolled a 15 total. Scribe 4 was down to 6 HP. He then used Healing Word to try to help Ryth-Shan recover a bit. He rolled 1d4 and got a 4+4=8. Ryth-Shan was back up to 20 HP.

Shadowheart charged into the room and hurled Guiding Bolt using a Level 2 spell slot to increase its damage. She missed with a roll of 3+4=7. The flash of light streaked toward Scribe 2 and smashed into the pillar next to it and vanished in a cloud of dust and debris.

Lae'zel was the last into the room. She saw Scribe 2 and cast Magic Missile at it. She rolled a 4+3=7, reducing it to 21 HP. It tried to hold it's concentration of the Hold Spell, but it rolled a 1 on its Constitution saving throw and failed. Vexir was free.

Round 2. Ryth-Shan drew his shortswords and attacked Scribe 4. He rolled a 10 and 4. Thanks to the mystical dim light glittering around the monster, this was just his first attack. He had advantage on that roll. He hit with 10+4=14 because he needed a 12. For damage, he only rolled a 1+2=3. Ah, but he used Hunter's Mark and got an additional 1d6. He rolled a 6, so he did a total of 9. Scribe 4 was struck hard by Ryth-Shan's slash across the waist. It splintered apart, and bones flew everywhere.

Vexir was free, and she was in a rage. She ran 30 feet towards Scribe 2 and cast Faerie Fire, a spell she had because she was a Drow. Both Scribe 1 and 2 were within 20 feet of one another, so they both were outlined in bright, neon green light along with every object within a 20 foot cube. (They failed their Dexterity saving throw to resist the spell, so they both were illuminated by the light.) Any attack roll against them would be with advantage.

Scribe 2 retaliated by hurling Magic Missiles at her. It rolled 11+3=14 damage. She rolled an 18 to maintain her concentration of her Faerie Fire spell and kept it up. She had 13 HP remaining. Scribe 2 then retreated a bit to keep away from the charging Drow.

Gale ran towards the two scribes to help Vexir. He cast Witch Bolt on Scribe 2. He gained advantage, thanks to Vexir. He rolled a 2 and 16 and used a Level 2 spell slot to increase his damage by 1d12. He hit with 16+5=21 and rolled 2d12 damage; getting a 16 total. Scribe 2 was down to 5 HP remaining.

The Skeletal Guardian reached the top of the stairs and rushed Shadowheart. The party was wise to remove its weapons. Without them, it was substantially weaker. Even if it hit, it would only do 1 damage per fist. It attacked with the first and rolled a 3. Miss. It struck with the second and rolled a Natural 20. Since Natural 20 only doubles your damage dice, and there are none for an unarmed attack, it still only did 1 damage off. Shadowheart still had 20.

Scribe 1 launched Magic Missile, using a Level 2 spell slot, at Vexir. It did a total of 7+4=11 damage. She was hurting with only 2 HP remaining. "I need healing!" she cried to her companions. Then Scribe 1 retreated as well, keeping its distance from her. She rolled Constitution saving throw and made it with an 18.

Astarion sheathed his rapier and drew out his bow. He used his Cunning Action to Dash closer. Then he aimed for Scribe 2 and fired with advantage. He rolled two 15s and hit. He got advantage still because of Vexir's Faerie Fire. Because he got advantage, he also got Sneak Attack, so he did an extra 2d6 damage. He rolled 3d6+3 and rolled 11+3=14. His arrow hit the skeleton's head so hard that it snapped off its neck. The whole body then shattered to the ground in pieces.

Kaedyn then raced 30 feet to get into range of Scribe 1. He could hit up to 120 feet away, and in order to retreat from Vexir, it had inadvertently moved into range of the Half-Drow cleric. Using a Level 2 spell slot for extra damage, he hurled the flaming light of radiance at the undead scribe. He got advantage, and he rolled a 4 and 17+4=21. He hit and did 5d6 damage. He rolled an 18. Scribe 1 was reduced to 9 HP. He wanted to use Healing Word on Vexir, but she was just a bit too far away.

Shadowheart attacked the Skeletal Guardian with her mace. She would have used her new spear, but bludgeoning damage was more effective against skeletons. She rolled a 9+3=12 to hit. Because they'd removed its armor, it only had AC 12. She hit. She normally did 1d6+1 damage, but because it was vulnerable to bludgeoning weapons, she did double damage. She rolled 2+1=3 and did 6 damage. It was reduced to 20 HP.

Lae'zel saw that Scribe 1 was now as good as destroyed, so she focused on aiding Shadowheart. She rushed up and struck with her longsword with both hands. She was now flanking the creature with Shadowheart, so she got advantage. She took a swing, rolled an 8 and 6, and hit because she got +5 to hit. She did 1d10+3 damage, and rolled 7+3=10. The Skeletal Guardian only had 10 HP remaining. She then used Action Surge and struck again with a 1 and 16+5=21. Then she rolled 4+3=7 more damage. The Skeletal Guardian was down to 3 HP.

Round 3. Ryth-Shan sheathed his swords and had his bow out in moments. He ran thirty feet towards Scribe 1 and he got within range. He fired with advantage and rolled a 17 and 11, hitting. He couldn't put Hunter's Mark on Scribe 1 because he was too far away for that spell, and so he did 1d8+2 damage. He rolled 4+2=6. Scribe 1 only had 3 HP remaining.

Vexir ignored her weariness. She used Second Wind and rolled a 2 on her 1d10. She healed 2+3 (her Fighter level)=5. She used Dash to reach Scribe 1, and she used Action Surge to attack. She took a swing and missed by rolling only a 6 and 3. "Son of a...!" she cursed.

Gale maneuvered into position. He could hit both Scribe 1 and the Skeletal Guardian with Magic Missile. He saw the scribe as the bigger threat and fired 2 and the scribe and 1 at the other. He did 5 off Scribe 1, blasting it so it scattered across the floor, and he did 3 to the Skeletal Guardian, also shattering it. And with that, the battle was over, the dust began to settle, all became still, and the party gained 121 XP each.

"Well," said Gale with a charming smile. "That was exciting."

"All this for some dusty old baubles," remarked Shadowheart. "What do the dead need with them anyway?"

"Agreed," said Ryth-Shan with a snort. "Seems a waste to bury them in places like this. Better to be put to good use by the living."

"Or, if nothing else, they might be worth some coin," Shadowheart concluded. Ryth-Shan gained 1 point of relationship with Shadowheart and Astarion.

Kaedyn hurried up to Vexir as she came to meet him. "Some protector you are," she commented, but there wasn't the usual sting in her voice this time. She was joking with him.

He smiled as he laid his hand on her shoulder and held his holy symbol. "Next time, stay closer to me."

"In your dreams," she replied with a short laugh. Their relationship went up by 1 to 58. He used Cure Wounds, and he healed her 1d8+4 points; rolling a 5+4=9. She now had 16 HP. "I guess that'll do for now. Maybe we can take a short rest after we finish searching this place."

"Sounds like a plan," Kaedyn replied. "Let's just hope we don't run into anything worse than what we've already encountered."

"If we do, then I guess you had best stop slacking and try harder, Male," she said, and though her words sounded harsh and superior, once again, her tone suggested she was being playful. It was quite encouraging to Kaedyn. He felt that, at last, maybe the party was starting to bond. Their relationship went up to 59.

"At your command, Matron," he replied with a slight bow. She didn't even give him another look or say another word. With an air of superiority, she strode off towards the secret door they'd opened by pressing the button. Although she didn't allow him to see it, she smiled. It wasn't a sinister grin as if she was manipulating him. It was a genuinely happy expression, as if for the first time in her life, she was enjoying herself. Their relationship went up to 60.

Then Kaedyn followed her and gestured to the others to join them. Finally, they made their way to the last little corner of the Dank Crypt.

Chapter 3 - The Guardian of Tombs

The party made their way into the small, hidden chamber behind the statue of Jergal. As they did, they decided to light the candles on the candelabras and the torches within. There was a single sarcophagus with candles at the base of it as if someone would light those candles in honor of the one buried within. Shelves held pottery and other items that the party figured they could steal and sell for at least a few coins, and there were vases and such on the floor as well that they took.

Besides these things, there was a heavy chest that was locked. Astarion immediately set to work to pick it. He rolled a 19+7=26 and succeeded. The lock clicked, and the chest opened. Within, he found an expensive looking amulet. He held it up for everyone to see. Everyone rolled Arcana rolls but failed to identify it. "I can always use the Identify spell later," said Gale. "Let's see what's in the sarcophagus first."

Astarion shrugged and shut the chest. Then Gale stooped down to read the text on the sarcophagus. This was in the Common language, along with several others, so he could read it easily enough. "Here lies the Guardian of Tombs," he said. "Through knowledge comes atonement." He then stood up and took a few steps away. "Well. Shall we?" He gestured to the lid.

Kaedyn took the initiative and stepped up to it. He then shoved on the lid several times until he managed to throw the entire lid onto the floor behind the sarcophagus. As he peered down inside, he saw a mummified figure, though it was mostly bones. It wore a tunic with leather shoulder pads and some sort of golden cap on its head. The cap was like golden vines criss-crossing and intertwining; all connecting to a single ring that encircled his forehead. Another ring circled under each eye, and they connected across the bridge of its nose to the center ring. From each eye-ring, another band framed the mummified cheekbones. Another band of metal rested under the jawline and came up across the center of the chin, forming a "T". Bandages were wrapped around its bones as if providing it with a skin, but it had no flesh underneath. Only its head had preserved flesh on it, though it had no nose. It had eyelids that were closed as well as lips.

Then, to Kaedyn's horror, the eyelids opened without warning. Eyeballs, living eyeballs, looked right at him, meeting his terrified stare. Kaedyn backed away, a feeling of total dread gripping his stomach forcefully and twisting it like a pretzel. Everyone raised their weapons, prepared to fight as the Guardian of Tombs slowly rose out of its stone box. Not a single member of the party could bring themselves to attack. The chill that filled the air, even though it was bathed in the warm light of the candles and torches, froze them in place.

The Guardian of Tombs set both of its bony feet upon the floor and stood facing them. It looked tired and bleary-eyed. As it looked about the room at each of them, it spoke in a male voice that was almost like two people speaking together; one voice low and the other even lower, in dissonance, "So he has spoken, and so thou standest before me. Right as always. What a curious way to awaken."

He then paused as he looked around him as if taking in the chamber for the first time in ages. "Now, I have a question for thee." He looked at Kaedyn when he said this. "What is the worth of a single mortal's life?"

Kaedyn looked around at the others as if searching their faces for the answer. No one said anything. They were all too focused on the apparition before them. He looked back at the Guardian of Tombs and replied, "'So he has spoken? What 'he' are you talking about?"

"An arbiter of certain matters, but that is not important now," he replied.

"Well, that is quite the question. What's the reason for it?" Kaedyn then asked.

"Curiosity. Nothing more," said the Guardian of Tombs. "Wilt thou answer my question?"

Kaedyn considered it carefully. "Yes," he said confidently, though he was feeling anything but. "Ask away." He had already forgotten the question due to his nerves being on edge. He could feel the pressure. Everyone in the group, for some reason, was leaving him to handle this alone.

"So I ask again. What is the worth of a single mortal's life?" asked the Guardian of Tombs.

Kaedyn considered the question even more carefully this time. It seemed like a simple question, but as he pondered it, he found himself unsure of every response that came to mind. Finally, he settled on, "That depends on the person's deeds." Again, he responded with confidence, though he did not feel it.

The Guardian of Tombs hesitated before answering. The silence was deafening, and each moment the talkative skeleton took gnawed on the party's nerves. Each was thinking the same thing. Had Kaedyn answered correctly? Would they all escape without a fight? Or would the Guardian of Tombs attack them because he answered incorrectly?

Then, he spoke. "I am sure thou believest as such. Very well. I am satisfied. We have met, and I know thy face. We will see each other again at the proper time and place. Farewell." Then, much to everyone's relief, the Guardian of Tombs turned and left the chamber. He began to wander around the Dank Crypt, muttering to himself about how things had changed throughout the centuries, and so forth.

Everyone in the party breathed a sigh of relief. Kaedyn's relationship with everyone went up by 2. He had impressed the entire team by taking the leadership position during that truly frightening encounter. "Well done," said Ryth-Shan with a pat on Kaedyn's shoulder.

"Agreed," said Vexir, nodding in approval. She then hurried to the door to stand watch. She observed the Guardian of Tombs as he made his way about. He showed no signs that he even knew they were there anymore.

"Sooooo... Do we loot the sarcophagus?" asked Astarion.

"Do we dare?" asked Gale. "He's right out there."

Astarion peaked inside. There was a glittering necklace, a gemstone, and a book. "If we snatch it and hurry out of here, maybe he won't even notice until we're long gone."

"He didn't seem to care about the other items we took," said Shadowheart. "He didn't even notice."

Ryth-Shan shrugged. "The book could contain more clues," he said, thinking out loud.

"True," said Kaedyn.

"Just grab the stuff, and let's get out of here," said Vexir. Though the undead made no hostile move in any way, she was unnerved by it. She just wanted to be done with the stupid place as quickly as possible.

Astarion needed no one else's opinion. He grabbed the items and stuffed them into the magic pocket. "Done," he said. "Now let's get out of here."

The party wasted no more time. They made their way together out of the Guardian's "bedroom." They passed through the chamber with weapons ready, watching the creature intently until they were completely out into the lighted tunnel that led to the lever with the ladder that would drop down. Once the Guardian of Tombs was out of sight, they jogged the rest of the way to the end of the path, pulled the lever, the ladder dropped, and scrambled up and out. There was a metal hatch that only unlocked when the lever was pulled. And so, they were able to simply throw it open and climb out onto the ridge above.

The sun's rays welcomed them, and immediately the peaceful sounds of the river washed away the crypt's atmosphere from their souls. When the last person ascended, they slammed the hatch shut. It virtually disappeared beneath the bushes that had grown over it. They didn't say a word but instead ran along the ridge until they returned to the upper level of the dungeon.

Chapter 3 - A Short Rest

They were just outside the main entrance area where they had encountered Gimblebock and his crew. There was a peaceful overlook that even had benches for people to sit and relax as they viewed the southern horizon. From there, they could see the wreckage of the nautiloid, a terrible reminder of what they had been through. They also saw the beach below. On the left of the overlook, there was their camp, hidden away and nestled below the trees. They knew it was down there, but they were relieved to know that it could not be seen from where they were perched. To the south was where they had met Shadowheart at the door into the Dank Crypt.

Perception rolls were made in secret. Shadowheart was the first to notice something, for she rolled a Natural 20. "Look! There's a ridge that runs along there. We could get to it from up here. It looks like part of the nautiloid smashed open there. I think I see one of the Mind Flayer chests there. We should check it out."

Gale sat on one of the benches. "Be my guest. I'm going to take a moment to calm my nerves and do the Identify spell on the amulet we found in the crypt. I also want to see what the book is about that we found in the sarcophagus."

"I'll go with you," said Ryth-Shan. Astarion also wanted to tag along. Ryth-Shan gained a relationship point with each. "Zriek. Check it out, please. Make sure no enemies are lurking about that might see us." Then the raven did just that. Before the three even came close to finding the path, the bird returned and gave him a sign that the way was clear. They had to do some climbing and jumping, but they made it without much difficulty. The DM decided that they didn't have to roll. The terrain wasn't so challenging that it was necessary.

They discovered the chest was locked, so Astarion went to work on it. He failed with a roll of 6+7=13, and his Thieves Tools broke. "Blast!" he cried as he tossed the broken tools to the side. They were useless now. He looked up at Ryth-Shan. "I know you had another set. May I?"

Ryth-Shan handed them to him. "You're the expert." For trusting Astarion to the task, Ryth-Shan gained another point of relationship. He was up to 59 now.

Astarion tried again and failed with a roll of 4+7=11. He was not having any luck with the chest. The tools broke as well, and he tossed them to the ground. He cursed a second time. "Well. Perhaps you shouldn't have trusted me after all. Apparently, this chest is a bit more complicated than I anticipated. I don't suppose we found any additional kits?"

Both shook their heads. "We'll just have to bring it with, I guess," said Ryth-Shan.

"What?" said Shadowheart. "Do you plan on stuffing it into your magic pocket?"

Ryth-Shan shrugged and smiled. "Sure. Why not?" They then lifted the heavy, ornate chest and slowly attempted to stuff one end of it into Ryth-Shan's magic pocket. It was awkward, but interestingly enough, as one leg of it touched the pocket, the whole thing began to shrink in size. They continued to stuff it into the pocket until it vanished within.

It was only then that Ryth-Shan noticed the weight. "Oh! Apparently we don't share the weight, unless this load is particularly heavy." He groaned. "Wow! It's going to be difficult to get to the top of the cliff again to rejoin the others."

"We'll help you along," said Shadowheart. She seemed be warming up to him. And so, the three returned along the ridge and back up to the overlook where the others rested.

While they were doing that, Gale used Identify on the amulet. He discovered that it was the Amulet of Lost Voices. With it, the wearer could cast Speak with Dead once a day. "Who should wear it?" he asked as he held it aloft for all to see.

"I don't particularly care for necromancy," said Kaedyn as Ryth-Shan, Shadowheart and Astarion returned.

Vexir shrugged, "I don't want it. I don't care for magic. You know that. The only magic I like is imbued in weapons and armor. You can keep the rest."

Ryth-Shan heard the description of the amulet's powers, and he also declined. "I am also not keen on necromancy."

"Well," said Gale. "If no one else wants it, I..."

"I'll take it," said Astarion. "I AM undead, after all. Yes? So, why not? Seems appropriate. Doesn't it?"

No one else argued. As far as they were concerned, he could have it. Then they all rested for a bit, taking a short rest. Kaedyn was full health, so he didn't need to use any of his Hit Dice to recover HP. Vexir used 1 of her 3 d10's and rolled a 7. She added her Constitution modifier of +2 to that. Thus, she recovered 9 HP. She had 16, so she was at 25. Her max was 27, so that was close enough for her. After resting an hour, she still felt a bit off, but she felt considerably better.

Ryth-Shan also used a hit die. He got 1d10 as well. He only rolled a 1+1=2. His HP was now 22 with a max of 26. He decided to stop there also. He could have used another Hit Dice, but he decided against it. At Level 3, he could only regain 1 Hit Die per long rest. So, it was better to save it for later, just in case.

Finally, Gale used a Hit Die. He had 6 HP out of 20. He would get 1d6 per Hit Die. He rolled 4+2=6. Still not liking how low his HP was, he used another and rolled a 4+2=6. Ah! 18 was much better. The DM also reminded him that he could use Arcane Recovery to regain a spell slots during a Short Rest. He could regain a number of spell slots equal to or less than half his wizard level (rounded up). He had 4 Level 1 slots to begin with, and had used 2, and he had 2 Level 2 slots and used 1. Being at Level 3, he could recover 2 slots total. He chose to recover both of his Level 1 slots.

During that hour, the party enjoyed some food and drink as they rested in the overlook. Then Gale opened the book they'd found in the sarcophagus, and he read the title. "Metatext: Rebound, by Iosefa Elgin, a scholar excommunicated from the Church of Deneir for her heretical efforts to reconstruct the Metatext, her god's annal of lost and hidden knowledge."

Everyone made Religion rolls. Vexir and Astarion, surprisingly, were the only two who had heard of Deneir. Everyone else had a blank look on their faces. Shadowheart even said, "Okay. I give up. Who is Deneir? Any connection to the Dead Three?"

Vexir replied. "I remember hearing about him. He was a neutral good lesser deity of art, cartography, images, knowledge, scholars, etc. He was often called the Scribe of Oghma. I think he was Oghma's younger brother, or something like that." This was not entirely true. Oghma was Deneir's brother god. In other words, they were similar in nature and connected by similar portfolios. However, Vexir didn't roll a 25 or more, so some of the information she thought she knew wasn't entirely accurate. "The teachings of Deneir dictated that his followers avoid designing weapons of war and death."

"During the Spellplague, I think Deneir tried to reestablish the stability of Mystra's Weave," Astarion added. "He wrote the Metatext and seemed to completely disappear. Some say he became apart of the Weave, granting his remaining Chosen more arcane abilities.

"Hmmm. The only connection, then, seems to have to do with the Spellplague," said Ryth-Shan. "That's not much. The Spellplague affected everyone."

"Well, what does it say?" asked Lae'zel.

Gale found an excerpt that he thought was most important, and he read, "Of what value a life?"

"Well," said Vexir. "I wonder where the talkative skeleton got his 'One Question' from?" A few chuckled at this.

Gale continued. "Far too esoteric a topic to warrant any serious critical consideration between these pages, surely - or so it would seem at first glance. But once we push aside the mysticism and dewy-eyed sentiment so often clouding our assessment, it is clear that across all the spinning planes, each and every life does indeed have a quantifiable value. It is simply that not all are equally valuable."

"Looks like you may have answered correctly," Shadowheart commented in Kaedyn's direction. "At least you didn't say everyone was created equally. I wonder what he would have done if you had?"

Gale continued once more. "Consider: we already know that the destruction of our material form is not the end. If anything, our souls are more free after death, transcending planar barriers in search of a resting place that best befits our deeds, beliefs, and station in life. But even this assessment is subject to market forces: Lord Kelemvor weighing our souls against how thoroughly we have given them over to other gods, empowering them in turn."

"There is, of course, an alternate route; not the end of the path, but the chance to retread it. Clerics across the Realms wield the power to return to life to any soul deemed worthy or willing enough. It is strange, then, that these so frequently intersect with those deemed wealthy enough, for the components for such a spell are beyond the means of most mortals."

"I have interviewed those who have made such a return, and in truth have found them to be of the most dull and unimaginative sort that I cannot possibly imagine what it is they were so eager to return to. If a true assessment of the journey is to be made, then there is simply no replacement for embarking upon it oneself. Perhaps, one day, this great volume of learning will make me worthy enough to walk that path - and wealthy enough to return."

He closed the book. "In other words," he concluded, summing it all up, "it seems Kaedyn only answered the question in part."

"How do you figure?" asked Shadowheart.

"If the Guardian of Tombs was taking these words to heart," explained Gale, "then it seems the point of the text is that the worth of a single mortal's life is relative. The writer, Deneir, seems to view the wealthy as not being really worthy to be resurrected. Meanwhile, those who are worthy are those who can't afford resurrection. Priests charge an obscene amount of gold, usually, to cast resurrection spells and bring people back to life, if you can even find one who is powerful enough to do it. So, only the wealthy can afford it, and Deneir seems to view all such people as dull and unworthy of continued life on the Material Plane. Meanwhile, the truly valuable souls, those who are most interesting and precious, are those who die and are forgotten."

"So, of what worth is a single mortal's life?" asked Gale. "Answer 1: It depends on the person's deeds, as our friend here told the Guardian. If their deeds are interesting, then their life was worth a good deal to Deneir. If they were boring and dull, their life was worth very little to Deneir."

"Then there's Answer 2: People like clerics put a price tag on mortal lives. Therefore, from the viewpoint of mortals, the worth of a single mortal's life depends on how much money a person has. Rich people, therefore, are more valuable than poor people, according to the ways of most mortals. And so, if you are poor, you are truly worth nothing."

"But then," said Astarion, "wouldn't that mean his answer was completely correct?"

Shadowheart was lost. "Philosophy was never my strong suit," she said shaking her head.

He continued. "If a person's deeds allowed them to accumulate lots of wealth, then they could afford to pay for resurrection and live longer. Thus, from the mortal perspective, deeds are still the measure of value. However, from the eyes of Deneir and many others, if a person's deeds are interesting, that makes them more valuable. Therefore, deeds determine a person's value from the perspective of gods as well. So, it seems Kaedyn answered correctly regardless of the point of view. Whether you are mortal or deity, a person's deeds determine their value."

"Well," said Lae'zel. "This still has nothing to do with the Dead Three or the parasites or anything. Let's stop wasting time. I think we've rested enough." Then she turned to Ryth-Shan. "Did you find anything on the ridge?"

"A chest," he said. "It's in the inventory. We couldn't get the lock open, and we've run out of lockpicks."

"We could crack it open with Vexir's axe," she replied.

"Could damage what's inside," said Kaedyn. "I say we keep it until we find more lockpicks or a key."

"It's heavy," said Ryth-Shan. "Apparently, though we sort of share an inventory, the person who puts the object in their magic pocket is the only one who carries the load."

"We could leave it at the camp below," suggested Shadowheart.

After a bit more debate, the group agreed. "I'll use the Netherese portal to go from where we met Gale down to the camp area," said Ryth-Shan. "Then we'll meet back here. It shouldn't take too long. I'll be back shortly. Come on, Zriek." Then, before anyone could say another word, Ryth-Shan ran off alone.

It took Lae'zel only a moment before she rolled her eyes and sighed. "Bah! We shouldn't go off alone. Intellect Devourers like to pray on lone travelers. He could get ambushed and we'd never know." Then she ran off after him. Ryth-Shan's Relationship Score with Lae'zel went up to 56. She was impressed that he was fearlessly willing to go it alone, and he was pleased to see that she was concerned for his safety.

The DM then gave them all an extra 279 XP to not only round up their points to 1,500 but also because they reached a checkpoint in the story. The DM also gave each character Inspiration. Either a character had Inspiration or they did not. It did not accumulate. Thus, after the Short Rest, the morale of the party was high, and the DM determined that they would all have Inspiration.

If a character had Inspiration, they could expend it when they made an Attack roll, saving throw, or ability check. Spending Inspiration gave them advantage on that roll. Additionally, they could reward another character for good roleplaying, clever thinking, or simply doing something exciting in the game by giving them their Inspiration. So, if Kaedyn still had Inspiration and Vexir did not, Kaedyn could give Vexir Inspiration as long as the DM determined that Vexir was doing something worthy of that Inspiration. If she was merely trying to barter with a merchant, Kaedyn couldn't give her Inspiration, but if she was trying to save a life, that would be something worthy of giving up Inspiration.

All these rewards they received because they had successfully escaped the nautiloid and the Mind Flayers, formed a party of 7, defeated mercenaries and guardians, and completed their first dungeon together. After Ryth-Shan returned, they began their next story arc.

End of Chapter 3.

Hopefully this works. For anyone who is interested, here is a pic of what Kaedyn, Vexir and Ryth-Shan look like with Lae'zel and Zriek the raven and Shpri.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2447527531

Chapter 4 - The No-Longer-Hidden Grove

After their short rest, the party once more set out to explore the region. As they went, Zriek flew overhead to provide reconnaissance. It wasn't long before he came swooping down, making it obvious to Ryth-Shan that something was happening. Ryth-Shan used his last spell slot to cast Speak with Animals, and he said to Zriek, "What is it? Should we be concerned?"

"A group of adventurers is fleeing from a pack of goblins," Zriek reported. "They're headed towards the Druid's Grove, I think, just to the north of us. Well, that's the direction they're headed in, anyway. They look like they're in big trouble. The goblins aren't super close to them, but they are close enough."

"This could be big trouble for us," said Ryth-Shan. "If those adventurers lure the goblins towards us..." He then turned to his companions. "We've got trouble," he told them. "Goblins chasing adventurers. According to Zriek, they're making their way towards the Druid's Grove to the north. Even if they lose them, it could spell trouble for us."

"Best to find a good hiding place, then," said Shadowheart. "We could always duck back into the crypt and lock the doors. I doubt a bunch of goblins could figure out how to get in."

"You wanna go back into the crypt with that Guardian of Tombs?" asked Vexir. "I'd almost rather hide in the nautiloid."

Everyone considered that a moment. They really didn't have a lot of choices. Hiding in the Dank Crypt or the nautiloid was not appealing in the slightest. "Well, what would you suggest?" asked Shadowheart. She was obviously not sure what else to say.

Vexir took a moment to ponder. "We could set up an ambush. Maybe. How many enemies are we talking?"

Ryth-Shan looked at Zriek who was perched on his hand. The raven said, "Two goblin captains, two bugbears, a worg, a goblin shaman, and maybe a dozen others." Ryth-Shan looked at Vexir and reported this.

"If we get to a good high ground position and focus on the shaman, then the bugbears, and then the worg, that would significantly increase our chances of success," she told them. "Does Zriek know of a place where we could perch where it would be difficult for the worg especially to climb up to it? We could launch arrows and spells at the shaman and bugbears, say, from a cliff or ridge, and we could maybe take cover."

He spoke with Zriek again and replied, "Sounds like the closest thing would be a hill. They could still get up to us, but it would be more difficult. The hill overlooks the hidden gate to the grove, so if the adventurers are heading for the grove, it might be the perfect spot."

"How much time do we have?" asked Vexir. "Can we make it to the hill without them spotting us?"

Again, he spoke with Zriek and replied, "Sounds like it. If we hurry, we might just make it."

"Sounds like our best choice," said Vexir. "Otherwise, we'll potentially have them to deal with later. If things start going poorly, we fall back to the crypt. Agreed?"

Lae'zel shrugged as if indifferent, but everyone else seemed to be ready to follow her lead. Thus, the group followed Zriek to the hill and crested it as they crouched into position to avoid detection. There were only a few bushes on the hilltop. Nothing substantial. Nevertheless, no one spotted them. They had arrived just as the adventurers reached what they could only assume was the main gate of the grove. All eyes were focused on the adventurers, not on the party. The goblins, they could see, were not far behind. They would be there in moments. The party prepared themselves.

The Druid's Grove was surrounded by ridges and almost unscalable cliffs on three sides. The river was the fourth barrier that prevented invasion. This was on the grove's east side. The grove was well hidden by nature. Even on the east side, there was a buffer of hills and ridges that obscured the grove from view. One could traverse those hills and ridges to get into the grove, but it couldn't be seen from that direction. If one did wander onto the shores on the east side, the animals were ever vigilant. Long before someone would enter nature's sanctuary, the beasts of the land would alert one of the druids to ensure that the matter was attended to.

And flying overhead was of no use either. The grove was obscured from view by treetops and hilltops, for the most part. After all, many portions of the place were carved into the stone itself. So while there were open areas, many chambers existed inside tunnels and caves. The only area that could be potentially spotted from the sky was the central altar to Silvanus. No trees or cliffs barred the main sanctuary from the open skies. The idol of Silvanus was set on a raised circular platform surrounded by pillars; all open and free to be bathed in nature. But what very few realized was that Silvanus' power shielded any outsiders from being able to see the entire area. No matter who flew overhead, they could only see more trees and cliffs. Silvanus' power there was strong, and he ensured that an illusion was upheld at all times; shielding against any outsiders so they could not detect its location.

This was true of the main gate as well. It was set into a recess. A pulley mechanism was set up at the top of the ridge to raise and lower the gate at will. Vines and brambles and moss completely obscured the wooden doorway from view. A stone lip ran along the top of the cliff. This acted like natural battlements, shielding the pulley mechanism from view from the ground below, and those who kept watch could also remain hidden if they were careful enough.

But the divine magic of Silvanus aided the grove even there. If any creature that was not welcome in the grove flew up above the ridge, all they would see was more nature beyond. They would not be able to spot any mechanisms or people or anything unless they drew close enough to be shot down by the guardians on the wall.

And so, though hosts of goblins had recently been prowling the area, searching for the grove's location, none had found it. They had passed by the gates more times than anyone could count, but they didn't even remotely detect the grove's presence. The druids even mocked them periodically within the safety of their own sanctuary, laughing about how the goblins had set up their main base not too far away, and they were still unable to find them.

All that was about to change. The adventurers that the goblins were chasing ran right up to the main gate. As they approached, their leader cried, "Open the bloody gate!"

Without warning, a Tiefling male appeared just to the left of the gate on top of the ridge. He had white hair, yellowish skin tone, twin horns, and he wore a wizard's robe. "Nobody gets in, Aradin. Zevlor's orders," the Tiefling called back. "You were warned when you left."

The man called Aradin, a curly, brown-haired human male in his early twenties, was desperate. "That pack of goblins will be on us any second!"

"What's going on!" came another voice. A second Tiefling appeared. This one wore Scale Mail armor, probably magically enhanced. He had red skin and wore what looked like maybe a two-handed sword on his back. It was hard to tell from where the adventurers were crouched.

Aradin called up to him as he pulled an arrow out of his companion's shield. "Goblins are on our tail. Open the gate, Zevlor. Now!" He brandished the arrow as proof of his claims.

"You led goblins here? Where is the druid?" said Zevlor.

"Please! There's no time!" Aradin fired back.

Zevlor then spotted the first of the goblins coming around the bend. "By the Nine Hells. Kanon. Open the gate!"

The mage Tiefling, Kanon, responded by grabbing the wooden pulley mechanism. He started to hoist it with all his strength. The invisible gate began to lift into the air, creating a small opening beneath. The adventurers rushed up to it and worked as hard as they could to try to help force it up.

But goblin archers came within range. Before anyone could respond, they fired at Kanon, and several arrows struck true. Kanon gurgled in pain and staggered away from the mechanism, bloody arrows sticking out through his back. Upon his release of it, the gate dropped, nearly pinning the adventurers beneath.

"Kanon! No!" Zevlor cried with intense grief.

Aradin swore and turned away from the gate. He drew out his great club. "Form a line!" he told his two companions; a blonde male, possibly elf or half-elf with sword and shield, and a short brown-haired human female who carried a bow.

And with that, the goblins charged, surging right into Vexir's ambush zone. "We're missing some," observed Ryth-Shan in hushed tones. "I only count six goblins, the worg, and one bugbear."

"The rest branched off. Looked like they chased a Gnome into some bushes just to the west," Zriek explained."

"No time to worry about that now," said Vexir. "Just keep your eyes peeled, everyone, for reinforcements."

And with that, the battle began.