Ep. 88 Out of Time

## Watch

Out of Time | Khyber Shards #88 | D&D 5e Actual Play

—Skander

At Shade's request, Harazi rewinds time and drops them back right before Esri died. Tyris is killed a second time, and Esri is saved.

Daine shares concerning news about Blackbriar; this wasn't the only facility trying to create something that will track aberrant marks.

The group exits the dead briar and meets back up with the waiting drow, who celebrate at its destruction, and take them back to the Black Claw's camp. Nardalee and the Stryke Force are celebrated, with dancing and feasting. They are tattooed in the Vulkoori tradition, with scorpion venom.

Meanwhile, Esri goes back to Blackbriar in search of Tyris's head. When he gets there, he sees Tommel and a giant, already having found the body. They take it and a glaive, and vanish through a magical portal.

## Synopsis

Shade and Ari arrive in Shae Tirias Tolai with the body of Esri. Harazi comes bounding out at the sudden appearance, and Shade begs her for help. Harazi presses something on the wall.

Back at Blackbriar, Daine feeds Nardalee a healing potion. There's a loud noise, and then a large building comes into view. An opening in the top appears and Harazi looks over the scene. She touches the wall, and time resets to moments before Esri died. Ari stabilizes the now-alive Esri.

Tyris tries to flee once again. Once again, Kael and Nardalee gives chase. This time, Nardalee gets the killing blow. Everyone starts making their way out, but the heat gets to Ari and he drops before he can get cleared. Pog goes back and gets him out. The building caves in behind them, and everyone is standing safety on the fields.

Daine tells the group that they were "making people into things." Teodoro died yesterday, and Sarissa the day before. Tyris was trying to develop a way to track aberrant marks, and the creatures were supposed to be able to determine if someone had one. Tyris wasn't the only one attempting this; the Cannith facility was doing the same thing—a sort of competition between the two.

Leaving Blackbriar, they group can see that killing the heart of the briar has spread and there's a long waste of dead plant matter.

The Moonspears run out to greet them. They get Esri to Skander for healing, and he wakes up in a circle of drow.

Solei gives Nardalee a big hug. Other hunters gather around her, yipping with cheer. Solei breaks away and leads them away from the cursed place, to the home of the Black Claw tribe. The drow there have fires lit and an unfamiliar but sumptuous looking feast going, ready to celebrate. Skander tells them they're honored guests.

The drow don't really know what to make of River, but they're not scared of her. They tell her she's the Daughter of Rowa.

Hanging from the branches are firefly-like lamps. The drow are partying, and Pog joins in the moshing. The Stryke Force is seated in a place of honor. Nardalee is sitting a little separate from everyone else, in quiet conversation with Daine. Esri grabs some food and telepathically asks for a word with Nardalee, and she gets up and follows him. When they're far enough away for privacy, he asks about Tyris—specifically, if his head is still there. She says it's not very attached to his body, but yeah. He wants to find it, so he can speak with it. Nardalee says she'll have to ask her people about that.

Shade is dancing in an attempt to explain what's happening to River, who doesn't understand footwork, but is swaying happily. Pog crashes by them, all sweaty and breathless, and says he's *so happy* she came.

When the moon reaches it's highest point, without any apparent signal, everything stops. Skander walks out by the fire and says Vulkoor has brought new champions to his jungle. At Nardalee's lead, the group gets up and walks to the center. Zenaida offers Skander a tray of fairly large scorpions, and he asks where Vulkoor will mark them. Nardalee offers the back of her shoulder blades, and doesn't flinch when Skander uses one of the scorpion tails like a quill to press runes into her skin. Ari, Pog, Shade, and River also get tattoos.

Still away from the camp, Esri tries channeling his mark, and shouts for Erandis. A different voice answers, and he asks for help getting back to Blackbriar. He feels something looking for him, and the voice says they should speak soon. They send a Will-o'-Wisp to lead him. He's very close when he realizes someone else is in the ruins. Two figures; one he makes out at Tommel, and the other a giant, fifteen or twenty feet tall. Tommel says he found "him," and the giant shrinks down to only about nine feet tall. He clears away heaps of metal and glass and stone and they haul out the broken corpse of Tyris. Tommel slides into the pit to retrieve the head. A magical gate opens, and they step through; the giant with the head, and Tommel with the remains of the body and a glaive. They gate closes behind them.

## Locations

* Blackbriar
* Shae Tirias Tolai

## Spells

* **Esri**
	+ Cure Wounds on Ari
* **Skander**
	+ Cure Wounds on Esri
* **Tyris**
	+ Ice Storm

## Quotes

"I'm glad the sphinx thing worked. I did not know what was gonna happen."
*—Shade*

"Was his head intact?"
"Uh…I mean, it wasn't connected to his body at the end, and most of the front of it was gone."
*—Esri and Nardalee*

## References and Footnotes

1. ↑ It's a gruesome one, including a "spray of blood."