Lira in "Kindred Spirits"

After finally defeating Nighith, **Lira** and the party pondered the road ahead of their group. However, before they could decide, Lira encountered someone from her past.

## Black Wings

*Main Article: Black Wings*
As Nighith drew its last breath within Mount Visiga, Lenirith opened her eyes. She was greeted by the Ad-Nilem cleric who had been watching over her, and she immediately asked after her friends. The cleric offered to show her the way, and they traveled up the mountain.

She rejoined her comrades with difficulty after weaving past the masses of drow on the scaffolding; arriving just in time to hear Cassana asking for recompense for the Village by the Mountain. The adventurers offered her a third of the dragon hoard gold, but failed to notice Azula generously hand over half instead.

They eventually noticed Lenirith and asked her how she was. The sorcerer admitted that she felt odd and, upon attempting magic, she found herself unable to cast even a simple cantrip. Cassana observed her and noticed that the arcane aura around her seemed disrupted somehow, and suggested that they consult an expert.

Opposite the ritual circle, the group suddenly heard Thelial speaking to herself. The assassin was visibly jumpy and seemed to believe that the ghost of a man was addressing her. Cassana eventually pointed out that the rapier she had taken from one of the cultists was likely sentient, and had thus become bound to the assassin; a link vulnerable only to death.

Lira meanwhile settled at the edge of the hot spring to skin Nighith's body, partially to recover valuable materials, partially out of spite. Nearby drow called for her to destroy the gem on the dragon's forehead, but she and a few of her allies objected, wondering at its usefulness. Azula swiftly ended the argument by smashing the jewel with her hammer.

The ranger shrugged off the gem's potential, and settled instead with collecting Nighith's hide, horns and claws to be stored in the Bag of Holding. Its heart she kept for herself.

The day after the battle against Nighith, a distraught goatherd from Mugandale came to the Village by the Mountain. The man implored for the adventurers' help, saying that he had heard of their prowess and that a similar dragon had been attacking his flock. They readily agreed to help him, despite squabbling a moment with each other whether they should be paid.

As they reached the goatherd's field, he warned them that the dragon usually attacked near sundown. The group eyed the large open clearing and cobbled together an ambush using only goats as cover.

Axel cast a Minor Illusion of a goat on Marley, and the thief swiftly crouched down into the confines of the small image and started bleating. Lira took a moment to coax a handful of goats into a tight circle then hid among them. Everyone else, including Sentry, stayed with the goatherd in the woods several meters away.

Sure enough, as the sun reached the horizon, a huge winged shape became visible outlined against it. Moments later, a roc swooped down toward the goats. Unable to leave the motionless illusion without breaking it, Marley was stranded alone as the other goats fled in panic. The bird closed one talon around Marley, and another around one of the goats next to Lira. She leaped to grab it, but was only carried aloft.

Without missing a wing beat, the roc dashed to the east, completely ignoring the spells and arrows being fired at it by the other adventurers. At Nicolas' prompting, Thelial turned him into a giant eagle and climbed onto his back. The others boarded Lenirith's Carpet of Flying, and they all took off in pursuit. Though the significantly faster bird outstripped them easily, Sentry strained forward at the edge of the carpet, staring after Lira and guiding the group toward her.

Lira clambered onto the roc's talon to avoid losing her grip, glancing down and recognizing the Wolfswood streaking past. It soon became obvious that the beast was heading toward Mount Igneous, a large peak at the eastern edge of the wood. Despite being familiar with the mountain range, she had rarely climbed the barren rise.

The other adventurers struggled to catch up, with Thelial and Nicolas only just managing to keep pace with the roc and the others lagging some distance behind. Thus, the assassin was the first to notice a shadow darting out of the mountain toward them, clearing the roc's head by a few feet as it charged.

All except Lenirith, who was driving the carpet, recoiled from Nighith in fear. Thelial fired a shot at the dragon but missed, shocked as she was. The dragon retaliated with a claw, and she collapsed against Nicolas' neck unconscious. Surprisingly, her wounds were not lethal.

Lenirith forced the carpet close to the hovering eagle despite the fearful protests of the comrades beside her. Azula managed to heal and rouse Thelial, just before Nicolas fled from the dragon in panic and bore her away.

Worried that their allies were in danger, Marley and Lira attacked the roc with twin rapiers, but they had little effect. Perhaps eventually impatient with their attacks, the beast dropped them as soon as it came level with the black stone of the mountain. The rogue and ranger landed gracefully enough though - with Lira snatching the goat out of the air as well - as the roc flew higher up the cliff.

Lira passed the goat to Marley as she looked around the ledge they had landed on. A yawning cave mouth stood behind them, but as she approached she bumped painfully against a Wall of Force. She banged on it, calling out for its caster, but received no answer.

In the battle, Lenirith scrambled to keep the freshly unconscious Axel from tipping off the side of the carpet. Beside them, Azula cast Detect Thoughts on Nighith, perplexed that it was not trying to kill them. To her surprise, she found that it only intended to keep them away from the mountain, but held no grudge against them.

Seeking diplomacy, the cleric called out to the dragon that they had no intention to trespass. She explained that they had heard of the goat herds being raided, and that they just wanted to save their friends.

The dragon seemed to pause in confusion, before eventually giving an uncharacteristic sigh. With a flicker, the illusion of Nighith gave way to reveal a humanoid balancing adeptly on an odd contraption. The light wooden frame and wings of the glider were unfamiliar, but apparently allowed the elf to hover alongside them.

The elf explained that he was a guardian of Mount Igneous, where the roc also lived. He apologized for Duane attacking their animal friends, before leading them to the mountain to retrieve them. The adventurers did not bother to correct his misconception that their friends were goats.

As Lira and Marley waved to the approaching group from the ledge, the ranger paused and stared in surprise at the approaching guardian. Though it had been about a hundred years since they had seen each other, she easily recognized her master, who had rescued her as an orphan and taught her everything she knew; Triandal Durothil.

Triandal and the other adventurers stopped to hover by the ledge. The guardian greeted Lira and Marley coolly, which Lira returned without comment, guessing that he did not recognize her.

The guardian explained to them all that Duane had likely started hunting in farmlands after Nighith's activities had lessened the prey in wilder areas.

At this, Lira pulled the dragon's heart from her pack and showed it to him, declaring calmly that it would no longer be a problem. Triandal only glanced at it before staring into her face, his brow furrowed. When he called her by name, Lira smiled and admitted that she had been waiting for him to remember.

Triandal invited the adventurers to his home higher up the mountain, and they gratefully accepted. Lira and Marley crowded onto the carpet and they flew with difficulty to a large plateau. The flat rocky expanse was broken only by a single higher crag, and a simple hut constructed within a sparse deciduous forest.

As they came level with the edge, a human child aimed a drawn arrow at them, watching them suspiciously as they landed. Triandal lightly ordered him to stand down and he obeyed, but did not join the other small children running up to the adventurers excitedly.

A half-elf stared at Nicolas in his eagle form, fascinated, and Lira good-naturedly lifted her onto the feathered back. Nicolas took off to the child's delight, and a drow sprinted after the two, rising up in their wake on a glider of her own.

Since she had never trained alongside any other students, Lira asked how many children Triandal was caring for. He answered that there were seven, though none were yet ready to strike out on their own as she had. Because of this, when Nighith had first started gaining power nearby, the elf had been forced to seek it out alone.

Despite being a master ranger and druid, Triandal had barely managed to escape with his life. As he mourned that he had been forced to abandon his weapon, Azula recalled the druid staff from the dragon hoard, and offered it to the pleased elf.

As Triandal drew his staff from the Bag of Holding, he noticed Lenirith and asked if she was a sorcerer. At her assent, he eyed the black scales of her dragon lineage and commented that the source of her power was now gone.

The adventurers exchanged a shocked look as Triandal asked for Nighith's heart from Lira. He spoke a few words, and the heart once again began to beat. He handed it to Lenirith, and told her that the revitalization would not last forever. If she wanted to retain her sorcery, she would need to visit the Astral Plane and conceal the heart in the Pool of Memory.

The sorcerer agreed solemnly, though the group knew that it would be a while before they had time to visit to another plane.

After spending the night camped next to the hut, the group woke to see the children training. Lira joined them and competed at archery with the human, the eldest of the trainees. She matched him easily, both of them hitting the center of the target, but the human was unimpressed.

Beside them, Nicolas threw the Wyrmhunter at the archery target several times but kept missing. The young drow also tried to challenge Thelial to a contest, but the assassin only praised the kid's skillful shot. Much like the elder drow, the younger swore heatedly and insisted that she was not a 'kid'.

After their weapon training, Triandal called for the children to compete at a glider race. Intrigued by the winged contraptions, the adventurers excitedly asked whether they could join. The guardian consented, though admitted that there were only a couple of spare gliders.

Lira borrowed her master's glider, while Nicolas and Thelial took the two spares leaning against the hut. The drow trainee told them that one belonged to her elder brother, who had already graduated, and threateningly told them to bring it back unharmed.

A particularly ugly kid offered to lend Marley his. He took it happily, but the child revealed himself a charlatan, much like the orc, and demanded his glider rental price of ten gold. A bit perplexed, Marley paid him.

By the hut, Azula approached a young dwarf reading in the shade, seemingly uninterested in the race. The child nonchalantly admitted that her studies were more important, and the cleric fondly said that she reminded her of her daughter. The dwarf trainee glanced up and coldly accused Azula of abandoning her daughter in the name of adventure.

A little humbled, the cleric backed out of the race. She instead settled with the others on the sidelines and prepared to offer healing to any who fell from the race's precarious heights.

Lira, Nicolas, Marley and Thelial followed the children down to a lower plateau, from where they could see the distant river that marked the finish line. As they prepared to take off, they exchanged friendly bets, wagering their magic items.

At Triandal's signal, the trainees dashed ahead. Lira managed to keep pace with them but rapidly lost altitude, brushing the tops of the trees. Nicolas and Thelial both accelerated but were swept off their gliders at almost the same time, dangling next to each other by one hand. Nicolas effortlessly did a pull-up to remount the glider; a feat that the assassin struggled and failed to imitate.

The paladin dashed forward five more times, but fell after each. Still, he impressively managed to pull himself up by one hand each time he did.

Marley kept pace with the trainees until the young drow called over her shoulder, insulting him and causing him to hesitate for a moment in hurt shock. Once he had recovered, he turned to insult Thelial in turn, who rammed her glider into his in retaliation.

Lira pulled ahead of the other adventurers after this, catching up with the trainees in a forest of unusually large trees. However, she was knocked violently off course by a treant. A second treant swiped at Marley, who snatched onto it instead of his glider in panic, and ended up swinging from the waving branch.

In the disorder caused by the creatures, the little half-elf managed to pull ahead and come in first. Lira followed closely on her heels and came in second.

After the race, the trainees settled down for a much quieter book study session. Bored by reading in general, Lira wandered off. Nicolas followed her out of the hut since he was tired from his impromptu workout, and searched for a place to nap.

Lira climbed the stone stairs leading to the highest peak of the mountain, and found Duane sitting in its nest at the top. The roc eyed her with curiosity, and she lifted a calming hand to it, taming it easily and petting the enormous beak.

Back at the plateau, Nicolas found a large dead tree some distance from the hut where the children were studying. He settled in its shade, but was startled by the feeling of a trapdoor built among its roots.

The paladin followed the ladder within it down into a dark cave. He went instinctively towards the light of its opening and bumped into a Wall of Force. He would later realize that it was the same one that Lira had knocked into when she and Marley had been dropped by Duane.

Nicolas suddenly heard murmured voices, and realized that there were several other figures in the cave. A malnourished male humanoid crawled forward into the light, begging for food. Nicolas tried to question him, but he and the others all only voiced their ravaging hunger.

The paladin hurried to fetch Lira, Azula and Thelial. After Azula had cast Light, they counted fifteen teenagers curled and starving inside the sealed cave. Despite the horrifying sight, Lira was convinced that there was some reason for their pathetic state and insisted that they confront her master about them.

Realizing that the teenagers were possibly those who had finished their training, Nicolas suggested that they first speak with the young drow. He reminded them that she had mentioned her elder brother had already graduated.

After subtly pulling the little drow aside, the adventurers learned that Triandal would often give reasons for the mysterious disappearances of the older children. Aside from them 'graduating', he would also claim that some had disliked the training and had run away in the night.

Knowing that the training she had received had merely been survival techniques, Lira grew suspicious. She entered the hut and pulled aside the eldest trainee, asking the young human what exactly they were training for.

Seeming surprised that she did not know, the child said that they were training to become guardians of the portal. The portal, he claimed, was located near the top of the mountain and led to the Plane of Air.

As the adventurers tried to absorb this surprising detail, a flicker suddenly appeared on the table between them. The ghost of a headless child appeared, and they flinched away from it. Lira fired a critical shot into the wood, but only after the table had splintered did they realize that the ghost was only an illusion.

The ranger glared at Axel, who was peering through the hut's window, and angrily reprimanded the arcane trickster.

Nicolas then asked a few of the children whether they knew about the dead tree, but they seemed oblivious. When they began to curiously press him with questions, he hastily waved them off, not wanting them to find out about their caged friends.

Meanwhile, Lira had sought out her master at the mountain peak to ask about the Plane of Air, as well as subtly question him about the teenagers. Triandal explained that legends of Mount Igneous claimed that the crag had fallen from the sky. The portal it had come through was one of the elemental gates scattered throughout the land.

Triandal explained that he had met the previous guardian of the portal several decades ago, and had inherited the position after the guardian had died. The children were meant to train to be his successors in turn.

With this, Lira asked why none of the graduates were around to help him. However, her subtlety was unconvincing, and her master calmly asked her what she had found. She sighed and admitted that she and the others had discovered the cave, but pressed that she still trusted him to know what he was doing.

Triandal finally admitted that he had trapped the teenagers for their own safety. His wards had developed an unnatural hunger for flesh, and Duane's hunting habits had actually been for their benefit.

When Lira asked what had caused the sudden change, he revealed that the children were natural-born lycanthropes. The werewolf transformations and hunger manifested at puberty, and it was only a matter of time before all the children turned.

At this, Lira suddenly remembered one of her earliest battles alongside Azula, Nicolas and Rob. They had defended Cassana's inn against a werewolf attack, killing several of them. She felt a sudden stab of regret, knowing that they had been responsible for orphaning all of Triandal's wards.

Triandal continued to explain that the lycan blood was strong enough to resist even a Wish spell. However, he ceded that a difficult ritual did exist to cleanse them.

The guardian spoke of a powerful and corrupt mage who had been subjected to a ritual called the Harrowing, which had been used to take away his casting abilities. Lira quickly realized that she had seen the aftermath of the punishment; remembering Rob's uncle in Soliton, Baron Dominic von Schreiber, who had attempted to sacrifice children to regain his magical gifts.

The method for the Harrowing could only be found in the Fey Wilds, and the adventurers would need to steal it from the fey goddess Titania. Lira asked how he knew so much about the other plane, and Triandal casually remarked that he had been exiled from there. She pressed him about it, but he refused to elaborate.

Night had fallen by the time Lira and Triandal headed back down to rejoin the others.

However, as soon as they had reached the other adventurers, the drow trainee came running up brandishing a wand and angrily accusing her master of hurting her brother. As the gaunt figures of the teenagers shambled up behind her, the group realized with dread that she had used the magic item to dispel the Wall of Force and free the young werewolves.

In the split moment before the battle, Marley donned his Cloak of Hiding and disarmed the young drow. A shift in the clouds then cast a beam of moonlight onto the teenagers, and they all transformed.

Triandal swiftly conjured an illusion of a stone wall between the werewolves and the adventurers. To keep up the pretense that the wall was real, Thelial used her Ring of Jumping to clear the stone long enough to grab the young drow then return to safety.

Lira took the child from her and followed her master into the confines of the illusion. They ran through the inside of the wall, out of sight, until they reached the hut.

After taking a moment to convince the human trainee to keep out of the fight, despite his angry insistence, Lira handed the young drow to Triandal. With a nod, the guardian Planeshifted himself and the children away.

Back on the front lines, the adventurers restricted themselves to non-lethal attacks.

Nicolas circled around the wall and threw himself into the midst of the werewolves. Eight of them surrounded him and knocked him prone, yet none of their attacks were able to break his Shield of Faith. As redundant security, Thelial cast a sphere of Darkness onto the paladin.

When their target vanished behind the shroud, the seven werewolves at the back instead turned on the other adventurers. Lira rejoined the fight in time to intercept the attacks against her less hardy comrades. She was knocked unconscious twice in succession though, and Azula struggled to heal her many wounds.

After the second affront, Sentry charged in front of Lira protectively, swiping at the offender. However, just as he left her side, the ranger was grappled by a werewolf behind her. The werewolves swiftly tore her apart and killed her; the first death among the adventurers.

Sentry was immediately driven to rage, and he leapt upon the one who had killed Lira, neatly ripping out its throat.

Azula shook off the blood on her hands and cast Revivify, dragging Lira back to life. It would take some time, but the ranger would realize that she had not escaped her run-in with death unscathed.

As Lira retreated, Marley opened his Bag of Tricks and threw out a beast to cover her. Almost fatefully, it turned out to be a weasel, and the Scout-lookalike scampered over to protect her.

Completely abandoning the non-lethal approach, Azula cast Spirit Guardians and dissolved several of the werewolves with light. At the front, Nicolas finished the last werewolf with a shield bash, and the plateau fell abruptly silent.

Amid the blood of both enemy and ally, the adventurers stared upon the eight of the fifteen teenagers they had killed, mourning the young ones they had decided to save.

## Family Matters (Part 1)

*Main Article: Family Matters (Part 1)*
As the group pondered what to do with the bodies, a large shadow flashed over them. They looked up to see Duane circling once before landing heavily beside them. It glanced at them meaningfully, before gently taking one of the unconscious in its talon and taking off. They assumed it would bring the teenagers back to the cave they had been sealed in, using the cliff entrance.

Remembering the second, plateau entrance, Nicolas hurried back to the dead tree. He smashed the ground around the ladder shaft with a mace, and managed to obstruct it with a chunk of stone. Reassured of their safety, the injured adventurers retreated into the hut to sleep.

The next morning, they woke to find the corpses lined up neatly away from the battlefield, with Duane curled up asleep beside them. However, it lifted its head sharply at a loud whistle, and took flight toward the mountain peak.

Lira followed its path and saw that Triandal had reappeared through the portal to the Plane of Air, the children close behind him. As Duane ferried them back to the hut, Lira offered apologies for her and her comrades killing more than half of the teenagers. Triandal waved it off solemnly, saying that he should not have lied to the children in the first place.

Since they had recovered, the adventurers next decided to work on restoring Lenirith's spell casting abilities. They left Ellion and Marley to comfort the remaining children, before joining Triandal back in the center of the plateau.

As the guardian briefed them about the Astral Plane, Nicolas paused upon hearing that it was the realm of souls. He asked whether trapped souls would be affected by that plane, presuming they were "hypothetically" inside any of the group's weapons. Triandal seemed confused but did not suspect him, confirming that souls would indeed be stronger there. The adventurers glanced at the Godslayer and the Bow of the Fey Queen but said nothing.

To prepare for shifting into the Astral Plane, the adventurers sat in a circle. Triandal instructed them to hold hands, much to Thelial's and Azula's mild disgust. They settled with just touching fingers to sate Thelial's dislike of so-called peasants, and Azula's dislike of people in general.

As the guardian cast a spell beside them, they all felt a falling sensation and their spirits floated upward out of their bodies. They flew through a silver mist, trailing behind cords that Azula would later tell them led back toward their material forms.

When the rushing sensation stopped, the group looked around at each other as they hovered in a seemingly empty space. Lira and Lenirith tried without success to move through the air. The others, however, realized that they could move through will. Nicolas shot straight upward, while Thelial swam through the fog, and Azula scoffed at them and walked normally.

Triandal joined them shortly afterward, and told them to be careful of illusions as they headed toward the Pool of Memory. He cast a line of lights out into the mist to guide them. As Lira tried to ask her master how they would return afterward, the guardian disappeared. Azula calmly spoke up, unsettling the rest by saying that all they needed to do was kill themselves.

They eventually practiced enough to move forward together in a small tangle. As they followed the light trail, the group passed several other creatures flying through the fog, as well as longboats manned by familiar githzerai.

One particularly close longboat suddenly hit them with a bow wave, scattering them. Lira, Nicolas and Thelial staggered in pain, while the other three were left completely stunned. The former three waited a moment for their companions to recover, but Lira eventually grew impatient and picked up Azula. Bemused that the cleric was feather light, she tossed her slightly, much to Azula's wordless irritation.

Nicolas picked up Axel, while Thelial pushed Lenirith along, and they all continued toward the lights. Just as they reached a city seemingly made of clouds, Azula shook off the stun and punched Lira, who dropped her in surprise.

As Axel and Lenirith woke up as well, they all continued onto the city streets and were surrounded by misty figures. Lira waved in front of one's face, but it only passed through her hand. Azula studied the architecture of the buildings around them, and said that it resembled Zephyrus, though it was much less weathered than she remembered.

Nicolas abruptly called their attention to an elven child crouched on one corner, and Lira was surprised when the paladin asked her whether she had a daughter. As she denied it, the child stood and slipped quietly into the crowd. She swiftly cut wallets from passing belts, and the ranger realized that she recognized herself.

A cry of alarm suddenly sounded from a nearby guard, and the young Lira sprinted off into an alley. The memory flowed around the adventurers as it kept pace with the child, who stumbled suddenly as she turned a corner and slammed into a tall figure. The elder elf caught her by the arm, and Lira fondly realized that it was the day she had met Triandal.

The memory faded into a grassy clearing trampled by many hooves. Cavaliers charged forward all around them, followed closely by soldiers dragging siege weapons. Ahead, the group could see the opposing force coming to meet them, and quickly recognized Nicolas riding at their head.

As Nicolas recalled the defense of Zephyrus, in which he had forged a name for himself, the battle met. Though the flying blades and spilled blood were formed out of mist, the hemophobic Thelial still found herself growing nauseated from the sight.

The scene shifted again, this time to a large manor. The adventurers watched a small human child padding down a carpeted hallway, before turning a corner into an ornate room. The boy froze upon finding a mangled and bloody body lying amid the finery.

There was a wail as an adult figure rushed over and hugged the child's face into their chest to shield him. As Thelial finally lost her nerve and turned away to throw up, the other adventurers glanced at each other in confusion, surprised at not knowing of such a tragic past. Nicolas pointed at Axel, being the first to realize that the arcane trickster was the only other human besides himself.

Mist shifted again to form a crowd of dwarves, milling around as if in a city square. Azula wildly tried to wave it away to little effect, as her past self became visible in the throng. A small girl skipped forward to catch her hand, but the other only continued forward, absorbed in her studies, leaving the child hurt in her wake. Lira assumed the young one to be Azula's daughter, recalling what the cleric had mentioned to Triandal's dwarven ward.

The quiet scene abruptly surged upward in a twisted chaos of flames and screaming drow. Huts burned all around them as the residents fled their village. Among them, a contingent of humans threw torches into the houses and dragged out the slower, elderly villagers to slit their throats.

Just as a young, crying drow came into view, Thelial quickly mimicked what Azula had attempted and swept the scene away, ignoring her comrades' protests.

The clouds around them swirled again to depict the interior of a fine villa. A human woman hunched over a fireplace nearby to clean it, her skin covered with bruises barely distinguishable from the smudges of charcoal. Dark silhouettes appeared periodically, striking and beating her.

The scene shifted to the woman carrying a water pail down a forested road. She paused as she passed a handsome stranger, who met her eye with a smirk.

Abruptly, all except Lenirith were startled by figures of mist. Lira took a step back as Triandal approached her, only distractedly noticing the other people from her comrades' pasts closing in a circle around them.

A piercing wail suddenly tore through the air, and Lira, Azula and Thelial felt a momentary pain before they vanished from the others' sight.

Three specters rose from their places and attacked the remaining adventurers. Axel struck out with his shortsword, but it had little effect. Having never fought incorporeal enemies before, Nicolas experimentally slashed at one with his Flametongue, and was satisfied as wisps of the specter curled and burned away under it.

The arcane trickster mirrored him and quickly switched to his Dagger of Venom. As he glanced fruitlessly around for somewhere to hide, he remembered the Astral Plane's dependence on will. He concentrated hard and managed to shift his body into a translucent form, sneaking toward one of the other specters and stabbing it in the back.

Meanwhile, Lenirith continued to watch the woman in the villa. The woman opened the door for a grotesque demonic figure, and the sorceress flinched slightly at rapid flashes of the two tangled among pillows and blankets. As Lenirith looked away, she remembered her task of hiding Nighith's heart. She called her confidence over her shoulder to Nicolas and Axel, then willed herself away.

Lenirith stood in a dark cave, echoing with dripping water from the pool at its center. The woman had followed her it seemed, and she knelt to place a bundle into the water, minding the cord that also trailed behind her, presumably also to her material body. The sorceress copied her awkwardly, splashing the dragon heart into the pool, but was dissatisfied as she saw it clearly through the ripples.

She concentrated again, and the cave shifted around the pool to instead form a pillared sanctuary. The woman had finally disappeared, but instead, a hooded person stepped forward from the outer ring of shadows. As the astral figure knelt to retrieve the woman's bundle, huge black wings flashed overhead.

As Lenirith shook her head and cleared the memory from the sanctum, she knelt by the pool again but hesitated a moment. Just then, Nicolas and Axel appeared at her shoulders, having dealt with the specters. The two crouched to help her, and the sorceress was pleased as they managed to sink the heart deep into the water, where it vanished without a trace.

Satisfied that they had completed their mission, the three glanced uncertainly at one another. Nicolas shrugged and drew the Wyrmhunter, nonchalantly plunging the spear through his own chest and trying to skewer the other two with him. Lenirith quailed and swiftly stabbed herself with a dagger to evade the morbid image. Axel, whose first instinct had been to try to attack Nicolas, found himself alone for a moment before he followed suit.

Back on Mount Igneous, Lira waited patiently with Azula and Thelial for their comrades to return, only slightly disappointed that she had missed the fight. When the three finally woke, frantically clutching at nonexistent wounds, Triandal spoke up and asked them whether they had been successful. Lenirith cast a Ray of Frost at a nearby rock, and nodded in satisfaction.

As they prepared to leave, Lira eagerly asked her master whether she could have one of the gliders, knowing it would be useful. Triandal thought a moment, before retrieving a glider that had belonged to one of the teenagers they had killed. The ranger hesitated a moment at the painful memory, but took it anyway.

Thelial pulled Triandal aside to consult him about the magical rapier she had claimed. She said that it had been speaking to her constantly before, pressing her to kill, but it had abruptly stopped. The guardian told her that sentient weapons had feelings as well as a voice, and that it had likely grown hurt that she did not listen to it.

Lira called to Triandal to thank him, and promise that they would return when they were ready to travel to the Fey Wilds. The adventurers took flight, with Nicolas, Axel and Thelial on Duane, Azula and Lenirith on the latter's carpet, and Lira on her new glider.

They landed on the outskirts of the Village by the Mountain, and waved farewell to Duane. As they headed for the center of town, picking past what looked like the remains of a party, they bumped into Cassana and Minos. The swordmaster scolded Nicolas for disappearing without telling him, while Cassana told them that they had all missed the celebration of Nighith's defeat.

Here, the adventurers parted to rest and drink the leftovers of the party in their honor.

Azula spoke to the goatherd who had asked for their help against Duane, only half lying that they had "killed the dragon" and that he no longer had to worry about raids on his flock. Though he thanked her profusely and offered her a heavy pouch of coin, she refused kindly. Neither of the two noticed as Axel passed and pickpocketed the reward.

The arcane trickster continued through the village, until he passed a handful of children playing around a fallen tree. He conjured the illusion of a snarling tiger in their midst, scattering them in panic. Lira, who was relaxing in the shade with Sentry, was later confused as the parents stormed up to her to scold her companion.

Thelial visited the drow refugees on the outskirts. She offered Ad-Nilem as a place for them to relocate, and another drow spoke up that he was from there, and would be able to lead them to the city. However, he admitted that the large group would need supplies for the road.

The assassin left to ask for supplies from Cassana, but she admitted that there was barely enough for the residents of her own village. She offered to take care of purchasing rations for the drow, as long as she was given the funds for it. Immediately, Thelial ran off, calling coyly for his highness and searching for Nicolas.

The paladin had settled in the tavern with Minos, drinking and trading stories. When Thelial sat next to them, Minos gave Nicolas a meaningful and hardly subtle wink before stumbling off and leaving them alone. Thelial ignored him and asked the prince for supplies, but Nicolas only stared at her for a drunken moment before loudly declaring "surprise".

After several minutes of Thelial failing to get Nicolas to understand her, Azula sighed in frustration from the corner she had been drinking alone in. She approached and offered gold from the party's Bag of Holding funds, simply asking the assassin how much she needed. Thelial ran off momentarily to ask Cassana, and came panting back to ask for two hundred gold. The cleric stared at her since the amount barely dented the tens of thousands she was carrying, and handed over two hundred and fifty.

Meanwhile, Axel had wandered off to find more ways to amuse himself, when a villager stopped him. The man admired the Dagger of Venom on his belt, and referred him to an arcane blacksmith in Zephyrus. Instead of needing to activate and wait for the poison to coat the blade, the villager claimed that the blacksmith would be able to make the effect immediate. Axel thanked him, and decided to search for the smith when the adventurers returned to the city.

The next morning, after their first relaxing rest in weeks, the adventurers prepared to leave for Zephyrus. Minos and several outriders joined the caravan and, after two days travel with a night at a well-guarded outpost between, they returned to the starting point of their journey.

As Zephyrus came into view through the Wolfswood, the group immediately noticed the large shape hovering over it. The huge, leather dirigible was roughly sewn to resemble a dragon, and was tethered to several towers. Nicolas, having lost track of time during their travels, was startled for a moment before he shared that it was a tradition for Izar's Day.

Within a few days, the dirigible would be painted in bright metallics, representing the platinum dragon of the goddess of love and beauty. The streets would also be filled with colored banners and festival booths.

Though the adventurers were distracted by the idea of the festival, Minos reminded them to finish their current task. He and Nicolas led them to castle, where they were greeted by the royal court. Nicolas' sister Cornelia, flanked by the Ministers of Estate and of Law, came to ask them how their mission had gone.

The paladin triumphantly held the Godslayer aloft, to cheers from the crowd. After the weapon had been borne away on a cushion, the Minister of Coin stepped forward to offer their reward. The adventurers followed him to his office, where he began accounting the gold and items to be distributed to them.

Thelial volunteered eagerly to take the first lot, ten thousand gold, but quailed when the minister calmly asked for her name. She begrudgingly gave her true name instead of the alias she had been using. Upon hearing it, the other asked in awe whether she was the heir to the Merbrandt Textiles conglomerate. She impatiently confirmed it, waving the attention away.

The adventurers divided up the remaining magical items among themselves, with Lira claiming a Wand of Wonder and magical studded leather armor.

Though it was not yet Izar's Day, the women excitedly left to explore the scattering of booths that had set up early. Axel departed to have his Dagger of Venom upgraded, while Nicolas stayed in the castle to catch up with his sister.

As the long-ranged fighters of the group, Lira and Thelial gravitated towards an archery booth. Three targets swung back and forth within it, each succeeding one faster than the last. However, despite trying a dozen times between them, they only ever hit the first target if any at all. Lenirith tried her hand at a single round out of curiosity, embarrassing the archers by striking both the first and second target with her crossbow.

Afterward, Azula and Lenirith visited a fortune telling booth. The sorceress paid two hundred gold for the cheaper, less detailed prediction, and was pleased to interpret the seer's movements to actually be the Portent spell. Encouraged by the discovery, Azula paid four hundred gold for the more expensive version, but failed to follow the gestures and unfortunately wasted her money.

As they all returned to the open street, a passing tabaxi suddenly called for Lady Thelial's attention. The assassin ducked and hid quite poorly in the crowd, sighing as Sahil walked up to her without hesitation. The shopkeeper, apparently in charge of the Merbrandt Textiles of Zephyrus, invited her to visit.

However, Thelial was only concerned about being seen, insisting to Sahil not to tell her parents. When he cocked his head and asked why, Azula calmly supplied that Thelial had run away from home. The assassin hastily persuaded the startled tabaxi that Azula was only kidding, and that she was just on a vacation.

Nicolas meanwhile had been pulled into a private room by Cornelia. He was shocked to hear that their eldest brother Duilus had died in his sleep during his campaign in the south. Though he had known of the assassination plan, Nicolas had thought he had persuaded the perpetrator Quintus to wait for his command.

Cornelia tearfully told him that Duilus' body was currently being transported back to the castle. The three heads of the religious orders in Zephyrus had been convened to revive him.

When the other adventurers returned to the palace, they were surprised to see the black mourning banners draping its walls, as well as the half-masted flag of Zephyrus. Lira carelessly asked one of the guards whether the elderly king had finally died. The man was irate but begrudgingly excused her as an outsider, explaining that it was Prince Duilus they were mourning.

Nicolas came to find them, and brought them to where his brother's body was being tended to. The chamber was sparsely populated, with the king, Cornelia, and Nicolas' younger brother Aidan standing mournfully by the shroud. At one side, a thin, balding man in manacles was held under heavy guard, though he seemed to be little more than a military desk worker.

Achelon, the priest of Aitur, had taken the first attempt and was preparing the sigils and materials for a complicated ritual. An hour later, within which Azula had complained about the priest's inefficiency, Achelon sadly reported that Duilus' soul seemed unwilling to return.

Iulia, priestess of Eirene, stepped forward to try. She closed her eyes and reached out toward the void, but later said that Duilus seemed to be beyond even her reach, suggesting that he was in either the Abyss or the Nine Hells.

The last priest to step forward seemed ill-prepared, and was dressed as if for the festival. Terrentius, priest of Izar, took a moment to study the body and its aura, before saying that Duilus' death had been a personal betrayal. As such, he would not be able to return until he had been avenged.

The accused man Hermin was then given a chance to speak. He explained that he was a cook for Duilus' army, and that the southern city they had come to liberate had wanted to hold a feast upon their arrival. Hermin claimed that he had prepared the prince's meal, and had subsequently poisoned it himself. Slightly dubious, Lira studied his face, but saw that he was not lying.

As the king angrily asked Hermin why he had done it, the cook simply looked toward General Quintus and claimed that he had paid him. The general grew outraged and denied the claim, but the king spoke over him, saying that the truth would be revealed in the trial the next day.

At sunrise, the court reconvened. Nicolas' uncle, the Minister of Estate, presided over the trial, counseled by the Minister of Law and the three priests. Cornelia stood to speak for her brother, while a dwarven lieutenant represented Hermin.

Hermin spoke out his intentions in detail to the gathered and murmuring crowd. Though he had poisoned Duilus, he had only done so after being paid four thousand gold by Quintus. When the prince had died, Hermin admitted that he had been surprised to be apprehended immediately afterward. However, he had not been harmed and had simply been delivered to the palace.

Quintus shook his head and continued to deny any involvement. However, he conceded that his spies had been gathering information, and that they had caught word of an assassination plot. The minister demanded to know who had been leading the scheme.

Deliberately, Quintus turned and pointed straight at Nicolas, declaring Prince Daveth to be guilty.

## Family Matters (Part 2)

*Main Article: Family Matters (Part 2)*
* Nic locked in super max cicero tower
* Next evening, can bear witness
* Minos cannot, may be biased
* Don't mention his name, may be branded as co-conspirator
* Quintos imprisoned next door
* Didn't I tell you to wait for my word
* He was about to start a war
* Hernan also across, why not ask him
* General says cook supposed to be dead
* Were you going to kill another man, for the good if the kingdom, you're stupid
* Are you ready to die
* Lieu was supposed to kill him, Marcel
* Name sounds familiar to Nic
* Others ask guard for directions to tower
* Has bell on top, two guards
* Leni usually does this, Thel you try
* Heyyy pretty guy awkward flirt
* Only minister Tyonia can allow anyone in
* No windows tho
* Person steps out, robes with full hood human, locks door
* Why was he allowed in
* Mithridates, he works there
* Follow him into main palace, sneaking
* Axel Azu trip but succeed
* Reach straight empty living quarter hall
* Enters room
* Hears whispers in foreign language
* Lira press Azu forward to listen
* Eastern sounding lang, sounds like Nong
* Need to lock the door, but nothing big enough to bar
* Axel unlock but voice stops
* Thel open, man expecting, that took long
* Thel says this isn't the bathroom
* Azu said I tried to tell her it isn't
* Uhh all rooms have bathrooms
* Can I use your bathroom
* Sure why not whatever
* We're here for festiv, I'm here for research
* Secret research, I'm from farther east
* Well traveled, speaks well, that's why appointed by master
* Were you alone? Heard voices
* I talk to myself, Lira a bit suspicious
* Thel comes out but goes back
* Introduce selves, you're welcome to use our bathroom
* Invites in for tea, takes out bowl with leaves, brazier at window to boil tea
* Built intimidating but acts welcoming
* Azu looks for research in room
* Let Sentry smell then taste tea, is fine so Lira drinks
* Excused self to work, Azu peek map with xs
* One x near village by mt, east of volcano
* Azu just asks, he covers, secret of trade, information trade
* So you're a spy, laugh caught me
* So Axel can steal his clothes, Sentry spill tea and lick, sorry he liked it too much
* Axel shove robes inside clothes
* You're going to be here a while, done for today, no not yet
* Lab is set up in tower
* Leave, try for unlocked guest room
* Axel disguised by Thel dc17
* Brings Azu as extra hands
* Oh no I forgot my key
* Should I call the guard captain, pls do
* Who's Azu, don't mind her I just need help for research
* Opens for them, just knock to get out
* This floor has couch with spiral up staircase
* Azu suspicious checks couch plant rug, oh look trapdoor
* Ten foot ladder, basement, door
* Trapdoor hasn't been opened for a while
* Earth floor, door with 3 locks
* Sounds quiet, leave
* 200 feet up first room storage
* Next room has many books in not common, desk is empty
* Next room, office, man says master Mith what are you doing up here
* Azu tries to go up, maam pls don't
* Lira whispers kill him
* Guy approaches, you're too close, pull hood
* You're not master Mith, reaches back
* Axel tackles but guard is unmoving
* Azu suggests you should rest
* Gives them bell and sleeps at desk
* Metal bars across top of staircase, Axel goes alone
* Sticks mage hand and ring through
* Nic is working out
* Sees floating ring thinks someone died
* Axel says it's me, Nic gets
* Are you ok, yeah it's comfortable
* General asks are you talking to someone, no myself, okay
* Other two leave, meet at our room
* Look for Marcel, where does he stay
* Hey general where
* In the barracks or in watering hole three wishes tavern
* Sunset, go to old tavern, djinn
* Barkeep found djinn, wished for long life 900, wife, tavern
* But tavern out of range of rings
* Patrons are guards and civilians
* Axel approaches dwarf bartender
* No one asks questions before ordering a drink
* Order elven wine and ale
* Yes I know Marcel, we go way back
* What does he look like, weird question
* We have a prince to save, answer me
* Barkeep is dressed nobly
* What if I tell you he's here, I can bring only Axel
* Cat? No not even
* Gestures to door, you go first, into narrow hallway ladder at end
* Thel sneaks after
* Door at bottom, large room, closes door behind
* Thel listens outside
* Rack of knives, cloth on ground, polished smooth floor
* Why do you want him
* I need him to save the prince
* You've met him, yes traveled with him
* Axel tells honestly
* So you can give witness for Nic innocent, yes, well we can't have that
* Pulls out sword
* Thel opens door, Axel yells get the others
* Thel rushes in stabs twice and hears gush of blood
* Thel completely passes out
* Guy is shocked but stabs Axel but also nonlethal
* Grabs Axel and kicks floor cloth, revealing circle of sigils
* Pins Axel to floor by collar with dagger
* Axel yells for friends
* Lira dashes, sees sigils not teleport circle
* Azu struggle catch up
* Thel woken by Axel yelling
* You can't escape, pulls out gem, blood seeps into it, recites words
* Sentry tries fails tackle
* Lira tries to grapple gem fails
* Circle starts to glow but stops when Axel knock out
* Hand gem to Azu, sees symbol of asmodeus king of nine hells
* Holy symbol of asmodeus
* Sacrifice ritual to summon slave of asmodeus, pull soul from mortal into hell
* Axel takes 6 knives
* Demonic decorated knife
* Look for other exit, Azu sees wooden curtain, drawer opening
* Mummified corpse inside
* Several curtains with several of these
* Lira holds up to help Azu medicine check
* Fetal position curled, drained humans, years dead
* As favored fiends, not sure why, human sacrifice for years
* More than 15 bodies
* Azu teaches how to stop bleeding
* Lira wraps body in cloth, Axel make it look like potatoes
* Lady patron demands master Falgrim where is he
* Thel says I don't know
* I bought this, fine I'll leave when master Falgrim confirms
* Azu suggests that this is fine so allowed to leave
* Back to room at midnight so ask Nic who Falgrim
* Doesn't know so yells at general
* Realizes that friends talking
* Falgrim Walderberg, legend longest living dwarf
* Take long rest, Lira stays up to watch prisoner
* Witnesses called the next morning
* Leave Sentry guard potato
* But cannot start, jury missing one
* Falgrim representive of common people, whoops he was always there
* Cornelia recuses self, Lira pushes Thel represent
* Witness saw Nic at camp
* General denies killing prince, tries to not answer opinion of prince
* Snaps says I did you all a favor, he's a cruel sadist
* Punish me, Nic had nothing to do with this
* So help me gods
* Nic questioned, joined march, secretly met general, knew about assassin
* Yes but tried to stop, says to give a signal, never gonna give it
* Did you want him to die, no persuade
* Sword tells Thel to kill brother murderer
* Bro died between travel camp and capital
* We went to mt and another plane
* We were kind of busy
* Nic do you trust your sis, call to stand
* Would your bro do this no
* We loved him, even if flawed
* Think plan Z escape
* We found Falgrim
* Claims tortured forced to acquit Nic
* Lira accused, didn't see Azu
* Submit to zone of truth roll 20 then 1
* Why did fight start, because of Marcel, why would that start a fight, ummm
* Tyonia wait no Azu's god not valid, fine but well he worships asmodeus
* Judge casts spell, Falgrim able to lie
* Reconvene tomorrow
* Wait also arrest Falgrim, no he's injured
* Lira well not sure if he or I are guilty, arrest both, okay fine
* Others go to tavern, under investigation so has a guard
* Any opinion on trial, no don't care just do it for the copper
* Then let us in for gold, sure 5 gold
* Go straight to back room, circle been destroyed and excavated
* Ask guard if you knew Marcel where is he
* Here 10 gold
* Maybe with one of his women or barracks
* Did Marcel come in here, yes, he's a tall human, tanned skin brown eyes, good looking
* Others head for barracks, Nic and Lira prepare to question Falgrim