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**Beholder Of Cosmic Perfection**

\*Our first streamed game

“Hungerrrr!”

We fight the beholder. The beholder is dead. During the fight we noticed that the form of Merric appeared to be still within the beholder, clutching the pocket watch in his hand.

Aiden creates a dimension door which we use to flee from the falling city of Thultan Thar. During the escape, the party skoops up the pocket watch and two black keys. (One black key was in the center of the gears, while the other was contained within the Mythaler before it broke. As the city crashes into the lake below, it is more submerged than before.

After Aiden passes through the doorway, Otto attempts to heal him, but his hands pass through his form. “This is as far as I go, kiddo.” he says to Rowan. “What’s left of my body is sinking beneath the waves of light. You are not my son, but you are my dream. I want you to carry on. Find Gerradin in Neverwinter. Tell him he is first chair now.”

Behind Rowan, Pepper whines. *“That’s a good girl.”* says Aiden. *“Where did you come from?”* Cirrine

*“A mother’s intention is never far behind. Stay with him, and take good care of her.”*

Titania \*tears streaming from her face\*

Aiden *“It’s ok. Everything will be…”* and he drifts away. Titania slumps to her knees. *“I never told him.”* -referring to Meera

Rowan *“I think he knew.”*

...

The wraiths appear to be shifting, and drifting toward the dark wood.

**Vaerun; Lord of Shadowfel**

Aziola awakens, feeling soil beneath her. It feels good and familiar, but as she continues to stay she feels almost overcome with sickness. She sees a gigantic white tree in front of her. Bjorn is holding her up. Light itself seems to emanate off of the tree.

B: *“We don’t have much time. I dont know if the others made it or not, but we should probably leave.”*

A: *“What is the tree?”*

B: *“There is a tear between worlds. We can make our way through there.”*

Aziola feels no desire to go near the tree, but Bjorn takes several steps forward. There are small low hanging fruit emanating from the tree.

B: *“Is there something wrong?”*

A: *“I… ummm” -*she notices the eye of the bow pulsing, and there is the same intensity behind the tree.

B: *“Are you coming?”* He looks confused as Aziola appears frozen in place.

A: *“Where does that water go?”*

B: *“It is one of the tears of Selune.”* He appears genuinely confused as to why Aziola would hesitate.

A: *“Do you not feel something awful from the tree?”*

B: *“No. I don’t feel much. This is the way I came before. THis is a sacred place. THis is where the great teacher sleeps.”*

A: *“Who is this great teacher?”*

B: *“He has many names. We’ve always called him Vaeron in the court of stars. The masked one. There are many secrets, very old and very deep. Come, I will show you.”* he begins to walk towards the water. Against her better judgement, Aziola follows.

As they walk around the tree, Aziola strains to see in the dark, even through darkvision this forest is hard to penetrate. Bjorn stands next to the edge of the pool.

B: *”There was once a group of lost children. Abandoned by their father. Those all without find their way to the lord of shadows.”* He points, and across the far edge of the pool, is a dark shadowy figure with a hole in it's face familiar to Aziola. As he sits there, you see Vaeron offer a long slender hand out.

A: *“Isn’t it nice to see you again.”*

V: *“Come to the waters, daughter of Tief. **HE** has forsaken you. **I** will not.”*

A: “He hasn't forsaken me. I don't really know my father.”

V: *“Don't you know your father?*

A: *“He’s the one who saved me at a very young age.”*

V: *“You said once I was trapped here.”* He looks up and sees the swarm of wraiths. *“Not long now. Not long, daughter of Tief.”*

He sits up. He seems much larger. Much taller, than he appeared sitting. Maybe 14-15 feet. There are black chains all about his hands and feet. They clink as he moves. He beings to walk on to the edge of the pool. Aziola feels a sudden wave of nausea. She manages to keep herself from wretching.

A small drop emanates from each footstep. A feels unable to move. As his head slowly arcs down. *“All things are an illusion.”* he puts his hands out and inside is a small cage. Golden, with a bird inside.

V: *”Are you scared, little owl?”*

A: *“My father taught me never to be scared. To fight things head on.”*

At first, he says nothing...then, as if considering, *“I think you are scared. I think we want similar means. To be free..."* he says strained *"I will give you a gift as bestowed upon your companion mortal here..."* He gestures toward Bjorn *"...as I extended towards his formers."* He hold three inhumanly long black fingers up

*"Three is the price. Great gifts will I bestow upon you. For three lives. There is a time coming when a Great Darkness will sweep across your world. And as the world unites you would be wise to have the RIGHT allies.”*

A: “I have powerful allies.”

V: *“If you say so.”* -he bemuses.

A” *I could never give a person's life that is not my own.”*

V: “ *If you say so"* he echoes "*...freedom IS indeed a choice.”* He holds up his shackled hands.

A: *“There really is no way to get around you, is there? Perhaps I am scared, but what's wrong with that? I **DO NOT** take your deal.”* Aziola states sternly

V: *“Very well. Tread softly, Aziola...for a time of wolves and shadow is coming”* and he vanishes in a whisp. Black chains rattle as they seem to lead deeper into the pool.

**Bjorn and Aziola**

Aziola lets out a breath out, then angerly turns to Bjorn. *“Did you tell him my name?”*

B: *“The teacher knows many things. Beyond time. Space. But no, I did not give him your name. Why not take the bargain?”*

A: *“I can not take three lives.”*

B: *“Many lives are meaningless. The farmer who lives covered with nothing but dirt and pig shit.”*

A: *“But the food will feed hundreds of people. I can not give a life that was never mine to give.”*

B: *“Strength is power. If I can take what is yours, what else matters?”*

A: *“You may take what I have now, but that doesn't mean you can take what I have later.”*

B: *“We’ll see.”* He puffs up his chest as if almost disgusted with her. He looks down at his bow.

A: *“Is that the gift he gave?”*

B: *“It is.”*

A: *‘What lives did you give?”*

B: *“It's what was already given...A dwarf maiden. Another...named Borrin, Beerhain.. The second was a Cormyrian noble. Harder than the first." "And the third?”* Bjorn flatly stares at Aziola and smiles a wolfish grin.

*“...be seeing you, Aziola.”* -and with that he lowers into the pool, his eyes *never* leaving Aziola.

Aziola tries to run back through the tree-portal.

…

We return to the portal that Mira is holding open. Damian is the last to go through

Note: Before we fled the falling city of Thultanthar through Aiden’s portal, we noticed that the blight began to harden into black chrystal. This is a phenomenon we had not witnessed before.

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