Episode 4

The thumbnail for Episode 4, illustrated by Nelson

"**Temple of Venom - Episode 4**" is the fourth episode of the first arc of *Soulbound.*They finally defeat Arkoni, but are quick to realize that the trouble is far from over. A new opportunity also presents itself, despite some mistrust of it on the party's part.

## Synopsis

The fight against Arkoni continues as his summoned cobras attempt to attack Ronja, though only one of them hits. Kalius casts a second level *Cure Wounds* on himself, since he's still at one hit point, and then attempts to attack Arkoni and misses. Ronja casts *Scorching Ray* at Arkoni, avoiding having the spell going wild, and lands her attack. Flint attempts to shoot a crossbow bolt at Arkoni as well, but misses. All of the cobras try to strike at Kalius but miss, as does Arkoni's attempted bite attack against him. Kalius makes two more attacks, but only hits with one of them. Ronja casts *Magic Missile,* again without a wild magic surge. Flint attacks the snakes, killing two of them in one go and provoking an attack from the third snake, which misses. Arkoni attempts to constrict Kalius but is shrugged off. Kalius uses Channel Divinity to buff his weapons, then very nearly finishes Arkoni off with one hit. Ronja casts *Fireball,* incinerating Arkoni just after he throws his staff to the ground and breaks it.

Ronja runs downstairs to check on the girl, who is crouched on one of the trapped tiles with one arrow in her shoulder and one in her side, though she is still alive. Kalius follows Ronja downstairs and uses Lay on Hands to heal the girl while Flint stays behind to investigate the upper level of the temple. He notices green mist floating up from the shattered remnants of the gem that had been part of Arkoni's staff. The mist drifts toward the forest and a large, dark shape among the foliage that turns out to be a giant cobra, which is also what has been leaving the trail of destruction that they had been following earlier. It rears up to look at Flint, who bolts for the stairs after a moment to warn the others. As he's doing so, the cobra crushes one side of the temple as it leaves, following its own trail back toward Petalnew.

The party gives chase, Kalius carrying the unconscious child as they do. They briefly lose sight of the snake, but instead notice smoke and the sound of screams coming from the town. They quickly sneak past a group of giant spiders feasting on the carcass of the Displacer Beast they killed in episode one and rush into town. There, they find the cobra in the center of town, surrounded by crushed houses and a few dead bodies. Rumor is hiding behind a piece of rubble, ineffectually throwing things at the snake in an effort to help. Medrith is also hiding from the snake. A red tiefling woman riding a wyvern is also present, single-handedly keeping the cobra's attention on herself.

Kalius charges into the fight and lands one hit out of two on the snake. Flint lands a sneak attack, and Ronja attempts to attempts to cast *Lightning Bolt.* However, it goes wild, and instead everyone except Ronja, including the snake, is made invisible. The snake attacks Ronja, as she's the only one it can see, and constricts and then bites at her. The attack does, however, negate the invisibility effect on the cobra. The tiefling woman throws a spear at the snake and does hit it, also becoming visible again. Kalius casts *Aid* on Flint, Ronja, and the tiefling woman, then hits the snake and becomes visible again as well. Flint gets a critical hit on his sneak attack, negating his own invisibility as well in the process. Ronja attempts to cast *Thorn Whip,* but fails to do so because she is grappled. The snake bites Ronja again, beginning to swallow her whole. The tiefling woman also lands a critical hit against the cobra with one of her spears. Kalius attacks it twice, and Flint attempts to finish it off, but misses. Ronja attempts to escape the grapple, but fails, so she tries to cast *Firebolt* instead, which also misses. The tiefling woman takes aim with her crossbow and does manage to hit the cobra, but not for very much damage. Kalius manages to behead the snake, freeing Ronja from its grasp and ending the fight.

Kalius heals Ronja and the party returns the girl to Medrith, who in turn pays them. The tiefling woman requests to discuss the situation in private, and the party agrees, moving over to the wreckage of one of the houses for some privacy. She introduces herself as Nacria, a member of a guild who was sent to Petalnew to kill Arkoni, and asks how the party got involved with him. After the party explains, Nacria offers to bring them back to her guild in an effort to recruit them. Despite Flint and Ronja's initial reluctance, Nacria's explanation of some benefits that come with joining as well as the appearance of the Golden Bird they had encountered a few days prior eventually convince the party to accompany Nacria back to her guild's base. They join her on her wyvern and take off, headed away from Petalnew.

## Featured NPCs

* Arkoni: a yuan-ti priest
* Medrith: the man who initially hired the party
* Nacria: a red tiefling from the Soulkeepers guild
* Rumor: a young beekeeper

## Trivia

* Kalius casts the first healing spell of the campaign on himself during the fight with Arkoni