Last Part of Your Test

**"Last Part of Your Test"** is the eighteenth episode of *Mountain of Mystery*, airing on July 18, 2023.

The session was DMed by TanisJr93 and hosted on his channel on Twitch.

## Summary

*...continued from session seventeen*
After having navigated through the Labenda Swamp to the cavern at the center of Ätzend Moor, Cash casts *Cure Wounds* on himself and Aboukir before the party proceeds down a fifty-foot tunnel into the sprawling cavern of a newly-formed dragon's lair, finding a squad of ten Kobold soldiers. One steps forward, identifying himself as the inventor and constructor of the warwagon, which he demands the party return to him; instead, Sado drives the machine into the cavern and launches a Spitfire attack, killing the Kobold as Lazarus attempts to move stealthily into the darkness. Distracted by memories of the horrific Brokenveil Tunnel Battle fourteen years prior, the Aasimar misteps and triggers a trap that catapults him into a pit of acid, causing him to misfire his crossbow as the string snaps.

The Rogue scurries back toward the group, deftly restringing the crossbow as Aboukir slams the ground with a psionically-amplified blow from his warhammer, triggering all of the hidden traps within a twenty-foot range. Trouble reloads the cannon of the warwagon as one of the Kobold soldiers pulls a lever, opening a gate that allows one of the pools of acid to spill across the cavern floor toward the party; another Kobold soldiers shoots Aboukir with a crossbow bolt while two more fire at Cash and miss, after which Sado fires another Spitfire attack, killing another soldier. Still invisible, Kahlan maneuvers between the two soldiers who shot at Cash and swiftly decapitates both with her scimitar as Prints conjures a sword of shadow and kills the soldier that shot Aboukir, after which Cash casts *Toll the Dead* to kill another soldier.

Successfully restringing his crossbow, Lazarus shoots one of the Kobold soldiers guarding the hoard just moments before the ebony dragon Umbrah emerges from the acidic pit in the center of the cavern and unleashes its devastating breath weapon; the attack injures Sado, who reduces the injury with his *Stone's Endurance*, as well as Cash, who is protected by Kahlan's *Psionic Protective Field*, and Trouble, who is largely shielded by the body of the warwagon. Aboukir retrieves the crossbow from the Kobold that shot him and fires a bolt at the dragon as Trouble casts *Healing Word* on Sado while reloading the cannon; the same Kobold soldier then pulls another lever, opening a gate that allows another of the pools of acid to spill across the floor around the warwagon.

Sado deploys the machine's Fire Breath weapon before piloting the tank out of the acid; the dragon strikes it with its claws before signaling one of the remaining Kobolds guarding the hoard. The soldier answers: "Understood! I'll get it!" and dashes into the hoard as Prints casts *Misty Step* to teleport onto the dragon's shoulders, delivering a devastating blow to the creature's neck with her shadow blade as Cash casts *Guiding Bolt* to channel a blast of radiant energy through the sword, decapitating the dragon. The creature's body tumbles toward the central pit of acid as Prints dexterously leaps to the ground nearby, spotting the Kobold soldier emerging from the hoard with a small box; the soldier discovers that the dragon is dead, and begins unwrapping the box as Lazarus kills the Kobold pulling the levers and Aboukir kills the other Kobold guarding the hoard.

Trouble casts *Entangle* to secure the body of the dragon as Sado fires one last Spitfire attack, obliterating the final Kobold; the soldier drops the box, which opens to allow a small bead of pure blackness to roll out onto the cavern floor. The party freezes, and Trouble is overcome by an insatiable connection to the bead. She climbs out of the warwagon and advises the group not to touch the item, approaching it herself as Prints follows; Kahlan attempts to use her Telekinetic Movement to place the bead back inside the box, but her effort has no effect. Prints then spots the figure of Endless behind Trouble, and the psychopomp instructs her to "pick it up, and put it in the box"; she attempts to do so with *Mage Hand*, which also has no effect.

Prints explains to Trouble what Endless has instructed her to do, and then picks up the bead, falling almost immediately unconscious; Kahlan catches the Sorcerer, instructing Trouble to retrieve the box, but the Druid reaches for Prints's free hand instead, at which point Lazarus manifests his spectral wings and flies across the cavern to get to the box. As he does, Trouble falls unconscious as well, finding herself with Prints in a vision of the empty cavern, where they both spot a small shadowy figure that stands and approaches them. It recognizes Trouble, and asks which of the two of them wants its power, but when Trouble suggests shattering back into the pieces it came from, it reaches out and touches her hand, at which point both of them awake in the cavern.

Lazarus reaches the box and gets it open for Prints to drop the bead inside just as they both realize that the bead is now gone; Trouble apologizes profusely as Prints spots Endless, and the psychopomp explains that the Sorcerer has failed her test. Prints insists that they were attacked, and that Trouble can not be made to pay for one failure, and the Reaper offers the Tabaxi one more chance: he instructs her to reach into Trouble's soul and rip out the piece of the multiversal monstrosity attempting to further infect the Druid. The Reaper then touches Prints's forehead, at which point the Sorcerer discovers that she can see the white-blue aura surrounding each member of her party. She then sees two black spots within Trouble's aura: a large one in the Druid's chest, and a small one in her hand, slowly moving along her arm.

Without hesitating, Prints grabs for Trouble's hand, her own hand passing through it as Trouble shrieks from the sensation of her soul being torn; Kahlan catches Trouble as she collapses, and Prints finds the small black bead in her hand, clutching it briefly before depositing it into the box that Lazarus is holding, which he then slams shut and ties off securely. The Reaper commends Prints on her unconventional success before vanishing, and Kahlan gives the bag of holding to Lazarus before consoling Trouble and carrying her out of the cavern as she continues apologizing almost incoherently; Sado climbs off of the warwagon as the wheels disintegrate in the acidic pit, and the Monk salvages one of the dragon's claws and four pounds of its scales while Lazarus successfully collects three vials of its acidic breath weapon. Gathering up the remainder of the hoard, they also recover twelve star rose quartz, potion of superior healing, and a spell scroll containing an unidentified incantation. They also discover the body of the final member of the previous adventuring party in the stomach of the dragon, along with a lute in suspiciously good condition, and Aboukir collects half-a-dozen Kobold skulls before the party evacuates the cavern.

Cash attempts to cast *Sleep* on Trouble, but the incantation fails, and Kahlan unsuccessfully performs the somatic gestures of *Calm Emotions*, a spell she does not know; Lazarus gingerly attempts to use his Psychic Whispers to connect with Trouble's mind in order to use his Healing Hands mentally, but she refuses to allow the telepathically connection. The party makes its way through the Swamp into the early evening, finding a sufficiently dry location to make camp for the evening, and Aboukir cooks a portion of dragon meat for dinner; Prints and Kahlan remain with Trouble, and the Tiefling recites a poem in Celestial that Lazarus immediately recognizes. Trouble thanks Kahlan for her concern, but insists they need to be more worried about Prints, though Kahlan counters that she worries about everyone, which she admits can be exhausting. Cash attempts to cast *Calm Emotions* on Trouble, but the incantation fails.

Prints sits with Trouble as Kahlan joins Lazarus, who tells her that she almost sounded like his mother when she recited the poem. Trouble apologizes to Prints again, and the Sorcerer insists that she has nothing to be sorry for; moments later, Endless appears at the fire to both the Druid and the Tabaxi, explaining that he was only able to give Prints a second chance because of Trouble's actions. He explains that the party must return the box and the bead back to Zadash to determine what to do with it, after which the Reaper makes himself visible to the entire party, commending all of them for the part they played in helping Prints to succeed in her test. Trouble asks how to deal with the fragment of the being inside her head, and the Reaper explains that the entity is confused, suggesting that she keep it that way.

Kahlan then reveals her father's dagger, describes what it did to the Kobold she killed with it, and the Reaper reveals that the blade of the weapon is an ancient item that was created prior to the Cataclysm, having "been passed down and reforged and remade into different daggers" over time. He borrows the dagger and throws it at a tree, at which point the Kobold that Kahlan stabbed reemerges from it; Lazarus points his crossbow at it, but Endless snaps his fingers and the Kobold crumples to the ground, after which Prints sees its soul leave its body and evaporate into the moonlight. He then returns the dagger to Kahlan, he notices that the weapon is no longer warm to the touch.

Trouble then asks the Reaper how her father died, and after a few moments of thought, he claims: "I cannot tell you that." The Druid initially accepts the response, though she gradually realizes from the expression on his face that the reason he cannot tell her is because he does not know, and that he does not know because her father has not died. The moment that he realizes that she understands, he vanishes, and Lazarus offers Trouble a potion of watchful rest that she declines, knowing that she isn't going to be able to sleep. As the party settles in for the night, Cash removes his armor to reveal a discolored burn scar in the location where Trouble had cast *Heat Metal* during the fight at the Empyrean Arena; he casts *Mending* to repair the armor before going to sleep and experiencing a dream in which a man in the clouds offers his hand, showing him a vision of his father trapped in the hells and surrounded by creatures of shadow before Lazarus's mother and Sado's mother arrive and obliterate the beings of darkness to extricate him, *Plane Shift*ing back to the Material Plane as Cash wakes shortly before midnight.

*...continued in session nineteen*
## Notes

* The events of the session occurred on the afternoon and evening of 28 Cuersaar 839 PD.
* Following this session, the players advanced from Level 5 to Level 6:
	+ As a Monk, Sado gained 15 feet of movement, Ki-Empowered Strikes, and the Wings Unfurled feature of the Way of the Ascendant Dragon
	+ As a Druid, Trouble gained two 3rd-level spell slots
	+ As a Sorcerer, Prints gained two 3rd-level spell slots
	+ Cash multiclassed, taking a level in Barbarian and gaining Unarmored Defense, Rage, and proficiency with shields
	+ Kahlan multiclassed, taking a level in Wizard and gaining the *Fire Bolt*, *Mind Sliver*, and *Shocking Grasp* cantrips and two 1st-level spell slots
	+ Aboukir multiclassed, taking a level in Cleric of the War Domain and gaining the additional attack of the War Priest
	+ Lazarus multiclassed, taking a level in Barbarian and gaining Unarmored Defense, Celestial Intensity, and proficiency with shields
* Alternate titles for the episode include, but are not limited to:
	+ "The Mouth of the Cave"
	+ "The Head of a Dragon"
	+ "The Endless Beginning"
	+ "No End of Trouble"
	+ "A Deal is a Deal"

## Quotes

* "He built this in a cave... with a box of scraps." – Cash Goldcrest
* "You will regret entering my domain." – Umbrah
* "This is the last part of your test, Prints." – Endless
* "This is the part where you stop listening to the dead thing!" – Lazarus Oldman
* "I'm sorry: someone killed my parents when I was young. I didn't learn manners." – Trouble
* "Well, then. This just got interesting, didn't it? Not one, but two. And I know one of you. Oh, yes: I know you. ... So: which one of you wishes to have my power? ... You took my power, and so I assume you want it. But *you* already have some. So is it you that wants more?" – Everything-and-Nothing
* "This was your test, and I am here to make sure you do not go it alone. Your choice. If anything, I'd love to blast his ass back into the pieces he came from, but I don't think that's exactly possible right now." – Trouble
* "I like you. I see why you have a piece of me. How about the rest?" – Everything-and-Nothing
* "It may have taken a little more than I expected, but you did good. I still have faith in you, Prints. And maybe you should start having some in yourself." – Endless
* "*Gadewch i'r noson fynd â chi. Gadewch i'r sêr anweddu i'ch breuddwydion. Gadewch i gysgu fod yr unig gysur ichi gredu*." – Kahlan Karsus
* "It is okay to not be okay." – Kahlan Karsus
* "Kahlan talks to people the rest of us can't see, too." – Lazarus Oldman
* "Trouble: were you not there... were you not as reckless as you were, Prints would have failed and been consumed by that entity. It is because of you and your actions I was able to give her a second chance. You have nothing to apologize for." – Endless
* "I expected she would succeed the first time, and she didn't. I knew that was a possibility; that's why it's called a test. However: I didn't expect you to be able to do what you did, which gave her a second chance in that same test. Had you not been there for it to jump to you, it would have instantly absorbed into her, and there would have been nothing anyone could do about it. However: since it went into you, and she had the ability, she was able to get a second chance." – Endless
* "Who the hell dictates death?" – Fresh Prints
* "I know death is everywhere." – Aboukir Hogue
* "I wanted to thank all of you. I have great expectations of Prints, and I have great faith. I have that faith because she has all of you. She may not have been able to succeed in her test today without the rest of you. All of you had a part to play, and will have parts to play in the future. You've done well so far. Keep fighting, stick together, and you'll make it through." – Endless
* "So would you say that you have a small malignant spirit inside your brain?" – Aboukir Hogue
* "That dagger is much older than you think. There are many items in this world that were made before the Cataclysm. That... is one. ... The blade itself was made before the Cataclysm. It has been passed down and reforged and remade into different daggers until it came into your hands. As to what it does... I have no idea. It was forged before I was ever born." – Endless
* "He's going to be *so* mad." – Trouble

## Episode

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