From Beyond the Void

**"From Beyond the Void"** is the thirty-fifth episode of *Mountain of Mystery*, airing on December 19th, 2023.

The eighth and final episode of *The Warden of Vespershire* story-arc, the session was DMed by Capwithoutacountry and hosted on TanisJr93's channel on Twitch.

## Summary

*...continued from session thirty-four*
In the moments after Siobhan drives her rapier into Orison Moore's chest, the Warlock connects telepathically with Shiloh and thinks to him: "I know what it means to feel small and weak, and unwanted and alone, and you are *none* of those things. You have *nothing* to prove to anyone." Siobhan then hears in her mind as well as the Paladin answers: "May the Stormlord find a reason to see you again." Orison thanks both of them for ending his agony as the Rogue twists the rapier, killing the Warlock; the grey crystal in one of his rings shatters and the shimmering shield surrounding the Transplanar Beacon dissipates, after which the seam in reality crackles and a streak of lightning ripples from it, arcs across the room and strikes Orison, skittering up the blade of the rapier and Siobhan's arm to pierce her in the neck.

The Rogue is blown back onto the table and knocked unconscious as the lightning weaves into itself and takes on the form of an enormous serpent that then bites Shiloh, knocking him back unconscious as well before striking the Paladin with its tail, killing the man; Moon casts *Mind Spike* on the creature as Thava attempts and fails to strike it, while Bells cast *Cure Wounds* on Siobhan, who remains unconscious. Jean recovers the spell scroll that Macarius had given to Shiloh and reads from it to *Revive* the fallen Paladin as Moon attempts to disrupt the Beacon by casting a *Chaos Bolt* at it; he discovers that the energy of the spell that should be causing damage instead strengthens the device as he picks it up from the table and hurls it to the floor, realizing as he does that the frequency of the Beacon is intensifying as he attempts to destroy it.

Having fallen unconscious, Siobhan finds herself in an identical dining room with an artificial texture to it, and the only object with any vibrancy is the periapt of wound closure she carries, which glows and pulses like a heartbeat; her team is missing, and only the serpent occupies the space with her. She attempts to attack it with her rapier and discovers the weapon missing, after which she manifests a spectral sword of psychic energy and successfully strikes the creature; she then manifests a spectral crossbow and delivers a shot of psychic energy with it, causing the creature to thrash from the attack within its own mind. On the Material Plane, the serpent attempts to bite Shiloh and Jean and strike at Thava with its tail, but misses all three attacks. The Monk then delivers a series of blows after which the Paladin strikes the creature twice with his maul, infusing both of his attacks with radiant energy; Bells then casts *Cure Wounds* on Shiloh.

Jean casts *Dissonant Whispers* on the creature, after which it siphons a small degree of psychic energy from Siobhan, who casts *Hex* on the creature and attacks again with her spectral rapier from within its mind. The creature attempts to retaliate against the Rogue but is unable to strike her as it successfully lashes out at the Bells and Thava on the Material Plane, biting the Ranger and hitting the Monk with its tail. Moon attempts to cast *Chaos Bolt* at the creature, but his wild magic surges in the same instant that the Beacon crackles, and he vanishes in a blinding flash; Thava responds by clawing her way up the creature, prying its jaws open, and unleashing a devastating surge of her radiant breath weapon into it, tearing the creature apart from the inside out and reducing it to ashen shadows that gradually fade back to nothingness.

Siobhan gasps as she regains consciousness and calls out to Shiloh, who assures her that he the creature has been destroyed; Bells approaches the Beacon to search for Moon and notices the seam in reality still present, at which point Jean recalls their conversation with at The Toothy Maw, where the bartender mentioned that the village had at one point been attacked by nilbogs, which have the ability to absorb energy and invert it. Shiloh heals himself before inspecting the device, and surmises that it may also use some sort of arcane inversion; casting the last of his curative magic into the apparatus, he watches as the energy holding the mechanisms slowly dissipates and the seam in reality smooths itself out and disappears as the Beacon ceases to function.

Having vanished, Moon feels his consciousness simultaneously scatter through the Void and merge with every variation of his himself in every universe across the multiverse. He finds himself surrounded by true nothingness, which begins to swirl and pulse before the Void thinks at him: "Oh, I look forward to tearing you apart from the inside out. It is only a matter of time... before I find you." In a moment of terror, Moon thinks back only "no" before feeling a gravity at the center of himself pull the scattered pieces of his mind back together again, finding himself once again in the common room of The Last Word. The tavern is empty except for a bartender who reveals himself to be Kord, and the god tells the Sorcerer: "I don't talk to you all that much. You've never really seemed to need me, which I respect." The Stormlord explains that "things are going to get so much worse by the end" before insisting that there is someone that Moon deserves the chance to meet.

In that moment, Fresh Prints finds herself in the tavern as well, sitting next to an impossibly familiar man she has never met, and Kord steps back behind the bar to give the two a moment to speak. Prints understands instinctually that Moon is her father, and he assures her that he was happy during his life with Bells and their time with the Super High Intensity Team. He advises her on some of their shared wild magic heritage, after which he apologizes for whatever happened to prevent him from being in her life; he insists that she is incredible with or without him, and assures her that everything he did was worth it if it made her. The two hug as the storm outside the tavern rages, and Kord steps back up to the bar as Moon and Prints feel their minds gently shift back into their proper points in time and space.

Moon rematerializes next to Simeon in The Toothy Maw, and both are incredibly confused for a moment before both feel a thunderquake that seems to originate almost immediately outside the bar. Simeon instinctually reaches for a sign behind the bar that reads "YES, I AM A VAMPIRE. AMA." Hitting the sign activates a *Glyph of Warding* that triggers *Leomund's Tiny Hut*, and the spell safely encircles both the vampire and the Sorcerer as a wave of shadowy energy washes through the bar, killing the other five people inside; Moon assures Simeon that his arrival was not intentional and explains his wild magic, and the bartender leans out of the *Hut* to cast *Sending* to Bells, telling her: "Your Tabaxi friend is here at The Toothy Maw. Just arrived. Several people are dead. This is– okay, now they're slightly less than dead."

Bells alerts the rest of the team to Moon's location and as Shiloh explains to Siobhan what occurred during the fight with the serpent; the Ranger then reveals to the Rogue that the Paladin died during the battle, after which Siobhan grabs Shiloh by the collar and kisses him before ordering him not to die again. The party quickly collects the Stormgirdle, the Bracers of Defense, and the Ring of Protection from Orison's body before leaving the Estate and hurry back into town toward The Toothy Maw, where Moon and Simeon watch from the safety of the *Hut* as the five dead bodies jerkily push their way off the floor and stand, shambling toward the *Hut*. The bartender casts *Mage Hand*, closing and barring the door to prevent any of the creatures from escaping into town, and Moon casts a controlled *Fireball* that destroys all five zombies while causing as little damage to the structure of the building as possible.

As a cacophony of chaos rises outside, the Sorcerer decides to wait for the team to arrive, and spends the next ten minutes casting *Mending* on the damaged areas of the bar. The rest of the team rushes through town, witnessing dozens more dead bodies rising as zombies and attacking residents, killing them and causing them to rise as zombies as well; arriving at the tavern, Moon allows them inside, where Shiloh reveals that Siobhan kissed him, and Moon admits that he owes Thava ten gold. The team jokes in this moment of reunion until they spot the swarm of zombies advancing toward the tavern, having seen the group head inside, and the sight of several children among the undead forces the party to realize that they will have to destroy every zombie in the town to prevent the event from spreading.

In The Bar Barian in 839 PD, Siobhan admits that the team doesn't generally like to talk about what happened in Vespershire, and explains that the team made it back to Rexxentrum within the next few days; Bells admits that she regrets ever having joked about killing Moon for his unpredictable disappearances, but Lazarus claims that "sometimes you have to make dark jokes to deal with darkness." Thava invites Sado to accompany her on a walk, and explains that she is proud of the group of friends that he has collected around himself; they return to find the tavern empty as both parties have retired for the evening, and the Dragonborn admits to the Goliath that she has had no greater joy in her life than being his mother.

The next morning, Prints wakes with a sense of profound joy, though she does not remember the specific details of her dream; she also realizes that the fur of her right arm has turned completely black. Cash finds his mother asleep but improving, and his father promises to let the Cleric know if when she wakes; the party congregates for breakfast, during which a small adventuring party including a human Sorcerer, a Gold Dragonborn Monk, and the Elven woman they encountered after defeating the gnolls outside Alfield arrives at the tavern. Sado immediately recognizes the Dragonborn as a fellow student from his monastery as Kahlan notices a floating disc carrying a large decapitated ogre head, and the Dragonborn condescendingly congratulates the Goliath for finding a team while the Elven woman thanks the party for allowing her to collect the reward for dealing with the gnolls.

As the Dragonborn mentions a gathering outside the tavern, Lazarus and Kahlan spot Prints's tribe, though the Tabaxi is unexpectedly hesitant about seeing her family. Joining the party for breakfast, Alistair and his team also reveal teleportation tokens given to them by Razielle, explaining that they will be assisting in the Marquesian dragon hunt; when Sado voices his displeasure at the idea, the Dragonborn assures him that it shouldn't be too dangerous, after which Prints explains that the Goliath has already killed a dragon. Alistair admits that he is relieved to know that there will be experienced dragon-hunters on the expedition, after which Sado leaves the tavern to go on his morning run; while exercising in the fields around Trostenwald, the Goliath hears footsteps behind him and picks up his pace, after which he discovers Qhore following him. Winded, the Dragonborn admits that he was trying to startle Sado before walking back to town.

Qhore returns to the tavern fifteen minutes later, as Bells, Wisp of Air, and Smoke on the Water break away from the tribe to join the group for breakfast; Lazarus gives Smoke an apple, and the Tabaxi notices Trouble's exhaustion before giving the Druid a potion of *Greater Restoration*. Another ten minutes later, each member of the team feels a thought within their minds as Razielle tells them: "Everyone. This is Razielle. You have one hour to prepare yourselves." Lazarus asks how much bacon they can make in an hour, after which Trouble announces that she won't be going, explaining to Prints that her presence will put the group in more danger; she also insists that she cannot leave her her father again so soon after rescuing him.

Realizing that she cannot talk Trouble out of her intention, Prints retrieves the Sending Stone from Mama and gives it to the Druid, and Caleb offers to teleport them both to the Menagerie Coast where The Mighty Nein will provide protection until it is safe for the Druid to rejoin the group; Trouble agrees, and Aboukir offers to accompany them as well. The Druid then speaks with Kahlan, assuring her that the group needs her and asking the Tiefling to watch Prints's back before suggesting that the two get tea after she rejoins the party. Trouble's father collects several more pieces of bacon, then heads outside with Caleb, Frumpkin, Aboukir, and Trouble, and the Wizard inscribes the runes of a teleportation circle before the five of them vanish.

Shortly after, the group feels another thought within their minds as Razielle indicates that his previous communication was a test, and that the dragon-hunt to Marquet is still about a week out. Siobhan then approaches the group, suggesting that they need to collect the next egg, which is hidden in an ancient tree on one of the two islands in the Fevergulf Lake in southern Xhorhas, not far from Sado's monastery. Thava explains that the tree is worshipped by a cult that believes it to be the burial site of a dead god, and Lazarus suggests that the party could attempt to gain the trust of the cult in order to acquire the egg.

### Epilogue

Arriving at the Menagerie Coast, Trouble approaches a lavish chateau outside the city of Nicodranas to find Caduceus Clay, introducing herself as Aja Ka.

*continued in session thirty-six...*
## Notes

* The events of the session begin on the evening of 10 Misuthar 815 PD before returning to the evening of 9 Duscar 839 PD.
* Following this session, the Super High Intensity Team advanced from Level 5 to Level 6:
	+ As a Monk, Thava gained a sixth Ki point, an additional 5 feet of movement, and the Wings Unfurled feature of the Way of the Ascendant Dragon
	+ As a Ranger, Bells gained an additional Favored Enemy and an additional Natural Explorer terrain
	+ As a Sorcerer, Moon gained a sixth sorcery point, a third 3rd-level spell slot, and the Bend Luck feature of the Wild Magic Sorcerer
	+ As a Bard, Jean gained a third 3rd-level spell slot, Countercharm, and Additional Magical Secrets
	+ As a Rogue, Siobhan gained Expertise in additional skills
	+ As a Paladin, Shiloh gained Aura of Protection
* Following this session, the Ne'er Do Wells advanced from Level 7 to Level 8:
	+ Cash took a 3rd level of Barbarian, gaining the Storm Aura of the Sea feature of the Storm Herald
	+ Sado took a 2nd level of Barbarian, gaining Reckless Attack and Danger Sense
	+ Kahlan took a 2nd level of Wizard, taking the War Magic Arcane Tradition
	+ Prints took a 6th level of Sorcerer, gaining the Bend Luck feature of the Wild Magic Sorcerous Origin
	+ Trouble took a 2nd level of Ranger, gaining the Druidic Warrior Fighting Style
	+ Lazarus took a 7th level of Rogue, gaining Evasion
* Alternate titles for the session include, but are not limited to:
	+ "The Thought of Nothing"
	+ "With or Without Me"
	+ "Chaos and Cacophony"

## Quotes

* "Wait! You mean to tell me... that we're having... Difficultechnicles? No!" – NimueofAvalon
* "Disembodied men? Oh, my." – NimueofAvalon
"That's the only kind I like." – Megpie
* "Do you feel loved and adored, Jinma?" – NimueofAvalon
"You're all ridiculous." – FloodedBasement
* "You look *so* much like your mother." – New Moon
"Hi, Dad." – Fresh Prints
"That's a new one. I, uh... wow. 'Dad'. Okay. That's a... step. Are you okay?" – New Moon
"That... has a lot of layers to it. The– the– the short answer, I think, is yes. Question mark. Yes with an asterisk next to it, ya– ya know what I mean?" – Fresh Prints
"I think I do. Or: I've known that situation before. The 'It's complicated' part of life. I have a horrible feeling: you don't know me, do you?" – New Moon
"Um... besides right now? No. I don't." – Fresh Prints
"Okay. Okay. So I guess then: let's make it count. What do you want to know?" – New Moon
"I... Were you happy?" – Fresh Prints
"Very. Your mother made *everything* worth it. And the S.H.I.T.s were always there. To be fair, they usually lived up to their name, but so did I. We were in it together." – New Moon
I didn't have context for that for a second, so, sorry. But..." – Fresh Prints
"Oh! Yeah! Super High Intensity Team. We're the S.H.I.T. Um, that's probably at least... I would say a good forty percent my fault. Um... yeah, you can– there are– there are others to blame for the sixty, but I don't know how many of them you know. But, um, the magic. Before I say anything else: it is terrifying, and hard to deal with, and a struggle. And it has turned into one of my best assets. And I hope that it will do the same for you. It's not controllable; it's not." – New Moon
*Prints points at her own blue nose.*
"Ah, I've been there. Um, if you can find a Cleric or a healer of some kind, *Remove Curse* will get rid of that." – New Moon
"Cash! Wait a minute..." – Fresh Prints
"But, uh, it's terrifying, and it's truly not controllable, but the thing you *can* do with time, practice, and a little bit of pissing-off-everyone-around-you as you get through it... you can sort of start to be able to direct it. And over time, it becomes *so* useful." – New Moon
"Okay. I'll try." – Fresh Prints
"Now: are *you* happy?" – New Moon
"It's rough, and we're going through a lot right now, and I'm worried about a lot, and– about a– worried *for* a lot of people. But, I– I think, overall, I'm happy where I am, and with who I'm with." – Fresh Prints
"Good. God, I am so sorry. I don't know what it was that I'm not there, and I don't want to know. That's *not* good information to have back here." – New Moon
"Fair." – Fresh Prints
"But whatever it is, I'm *so* sorry. You're *incredible*. With or without me, you're *incredible*." – New Moon
"I won't say what happens, but I– I... You did a good thing, and it... I hope in the end it was worth it. I'll make sure it is." – Fresh Prints
"Don't live your life in my shadow, kid. You've got your own to cast. And, um, I don't know how much time we have; I don't know what is in store, and it is taking every single fiber of my being not to ask about your mother, because it's another thing I should know. But, uh: if she's there, and if you know her, um, if remember this, uh... tell her I love our crazy ride, and every second of it with her is worth it. *Especially* if it made you." – New Moon
* "It would not be the first fire that has happened here; um, probably not the most destructive fire that's happened here either." – Simeon Bluth
* "New Moon; Mister Worldwide!" – N3rdyTeacher
"Mister Universewide!" – NimueofAvalon
* "As the team charges into town; takes five minutes, ten minutes. As time passes, you all hear screaming and you hear chaos and cacophony, and as you're moving into town, you also begin seeing zombies. You begin seeing people attacking people, and you see people dying, and you see people rising. And you fight your way through town; you make it to the center of town; you make it to the tavern. ... At this point, in the tavern in the present, the parent-party has gotten suspiciously quiet. They describe this moment of reunion in the Toothy Maw, and this moment of reunion, this moment of joking turns into the realization that this town is now crawling with undead. That whatever erupted in this town has turned just about everybody within– with– within the area of the center of town into zombies, and they in turn have turned others into zombies. And the team realized: there's only one way out of here." – Capwithoutacountry
"*Fireball*." – New Moon
"There was quite a few *Fireball*s that day. A lot of things happened that day. We, um... We usually don't like to talk about that. But after we got out of there, um, said goodbye to our new friend, we made our way back to Rexxentrum, and Moon told us about his encounter with the multiversal being, and that was... Well, that was when we first encountered this thing." – Siobhan Oldman
"So you both almost died." – Lazarus Oldman
"No, I *did* die." – Shiloh Oldman
"Oh, yeah; totally dead." – Jean Goldcrest
"Yes." – Sound of Bells
"Look, it happens sometimes. People die, and then they get back up. Sometimes in different bodies." – Trouble
"Yeah. No, I'm– I'm real glad I got to keep this one. I– I'm kinda fond of this one." – Shiloh Oldman
"So was I." – Trouble
"I kept threatening your father, every time he disappeared. Every time: I kept threatening that I would kill him." – Sound of Bells
"I did shave his tail a month later. Told him I'd get it." – Shiloh Oldman
"I do kinda regret those jokes now." – Sound of Bells
"I... I don't." – Jean Goldcrest
"Sometimes you have to make dark jokes to deal with darkness." – Lazarus Oldman
"I think we have spoken enough of the past tonight. Let us go to bed, and we'll consider what to do in the morning. Sado: a lot of this talk has got me... in the mood for a walk." – Thava
"Let us go." – Sado Thuliaga
"We can't go far from the tavern, but a short walk would be nice." – Thava
* "It... it is always saddening to speak of those days, yet... weirdly, any time I think of those days, I also feel a great joy. Those people... they helped show me the world in ways I could have never seen in my books or my studies. They taught me to look into the present, and not just focus on the past. I hope for you, my son... I truly hope that your friends provide the same for you." – Thava
"We shall see, Mother." – Sado Thuliaga
"You have found an interesting group of assholes." – Thava
"Ugh. I know." – Sado Thuliaga
"And I couldn't be more proud." – Thava
"Huh." – Sado Thuliaga
"What's that for?" – Thava
"Just that sentence. You're proud of me finding assholes." – Sado Thuliaga
"Hm. Jean would make some tasteless joke at the moment, but..." – Thava
"Mm-hm." – Sado Thuliaga
"We'll leave it there." – Thava
"Shall we return?" – Sado Thuliaga
"In a little while." – Thava
* "You know, Sado, those days may have been filled with joy, but... nothing compares to... to the joy I've had of being your mother. The day I found you on that mountain is the day my whole life changed, and I could have gone some very dark roads, but I think, because of you, I am a better person. Good night, boy." – Thava
"Good night, Mother." – Sado Thuliaga

## Episode

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