Ep. 20 Into the Gloaming Chapter Three

## Listen

Ep. 20 Into the Gloaming Chapter Three

—Theodore Roosevelt, *The Strenuous Life*

The party finally gets to explore a dragon's hoard. Unfortunately, they're told not to take anything except the one item they seek. Or maybe they could take more—the instructions are confusing.

## Synopsis

### The Gatekeepers

Beric, Dex, and Therudak find themselves among the greatest gathering of druids Eberron has ever seen. Farlan leads them and confesses that the druids need their help. They're trying to decide what to do about the activity of Mabar in Eberron. It's been more active than ever recorded and based on planar pattern should not be happening. Shayana, the shifter who spoke to them last episode, and he are going to take them to meet Terralen and bring them into the fold.

While they walk Beric falls in next to Shayana and wonders if they've spent time studying Mabar. Shayana says yes, ever since the incident in the Faded Forest and the rising shadow activity there. Farlan had been reporting back and once that happened they put forth all of their resources to figuring it out. Beric hesitates, and then summons Curse-Bringer and asks if she knows anything about it, disappointed when she says no.

The walking stops and they find themselves before a grandly dressed orc who welcomes them and introduces himself as Gro' Terralen, leader of the Gatekeepers. The Gatekeepers are a druid sect honor bound to protect Eberron from planar attacks. He thinks there's a war brewing, and with him leading the druids in a ritual at a similar archway as in the Faded Forest they could deal a blow to Mabar and their ability to commune with this plane of existence. However, part of the archway is missing, intentionally taken to prevent invasion. He needs all of the druids to complete the ritual so he asks for the party's help in retrieving the keystone.

Thousands of years ago the Gatekeepers were taught their magic by a dragon, Vvaraak. She took the keystone and hid it away in her hoard. They have a map showing where the hoard is. Dex shows hesitation at entering a dragon's hoard, and Terralen assures him that the dragon is long dead, and even if she wasn't, she was a kind and giving dragon.

Terralen tells them that if they need guidance, they can turn to Oalian, a tree druid. They'll travel together to the archway and from there the party will set out for the hoard. Dex asks for some magical healing for the battle they've just fought and will presumably fight soon, and some druids walk up and place hands on all three, healing them to almost full.

Shayana and Farlan, along with about fifty druids, walk with them towards the archway. Behind the group two druids are constantly casting cantrips and reinvigorating the plant life they've walked over. Beric turns to Terralen and tells him of the corrupted werebears they fought in the forest. Terralen tells him they were members of the Wardens of the Woods, a druid sect, that had been corrupted by lycanthropy and then by the shadows. They could have been cured, but they embraced the curse and their duty was to protect the forest so it made sense that the lycanthropy would only strengthen that.

Dex grumpily interrupt when Beric asks about the cure, switching the subject to the oncoming war Terralen eluded to. He's told the goal of the Gatekeepers is to prevent the war, but they've fought enough to know that completely shutting a plane out requires greater magic than they have now.

Eventually they come to a parting in the trees that reveals a brilliant white archway similar to the one in the Faded Forest, but larger. There's about a three foot gap at the top, presumably where the keystone will go. Terralen tells them to look for wood that matches that gap, and it will have inscriptions that they can't decipher on it. He also asks them to not take anything but the keystone from Vvaraak's hoard.

Most likely to apease Beric, Dex asks about the corrupted shadows and werebears. He's told that they leaned into their bestial nature and allowed themselves to be corrupted; Farlan was in the Faded Forest for a long time studying the manifest zone there and nothing happened to him. Beric asks about a cure, and Terralen says it's a long process, with ingredients from around the world, but he's willing to give him a list when time is so short. Beric pulls out a paper and quill. Terralen insists that they don't have time, and extends some parchment towards the group. Therudak takes it and sees a map leading them to Vvaraak's hoard, only a few miles away.

Before setting off, Terralen shows them how to communicate with Oalian. There's a hidden language on the trees that only the druids know, and if they place their hand on one it will get back to him.

### Into Vvaraak's Hoard

The pathway is quiet as the walk through the forest, not hearing any animals or footsteps of any kind. They come across a mound in the ground that is round and makes sound that's similar to the crude drawing on the map. It doesn't have any discernable entry points. Beric places his hand on a tree and asks Oalian how to enter the hoard. The tree says he needs a gift showing they know the heart of the Gatekeepers. Without hesitating, Therudak pulls out his shiniest, most beautiful stone and places it on the mound. The mound begins to rumble and shake and a hole beneath the rock opens up, enveloping the ground. The ground parts and falls into itself and stairs lead down, torches lighting the way.

The stairs lead down and immediately turn to the right to a hallway about ten feet wide. Before starting down, Dak puts his hand on a tree and asks if there's any danger. Oalian tells him Vvaraak's spirit guards the hoard, and if she feels they are worthy they will be safe.

They walk down and come upon a room with a firepit in the middle, some venison cooking over it and a doorway on the opposite side of the room. Beric turns on his *Detect Magic* and gets an immediate, splitting headache; *everything* in the room is magical. Even the food. He reaches out to touch an object close to him, just to make sure it's not an illusion. Dex suggests calling out to Vvaraak, letting her know they're there. Dak comments that the food was either made for them, or if they eat it that would be eating someone else's food. Dex walks over and knocks on the other door, and from a voice coming from seemingly everywhere greets them and welcomes them to partake. They ask the voice several questions, including if it's Vvaraak speaking, but get no response.

They eventually decide against eating the food and Dex pushes the door open. The fire goes out and the venison turns to ash, and the hallway before them is clear.

After a little walking they take a left turn and stairs lead up into another room, this one with shelves upon shelves upon shelves of books. Dex looks sharply at Beric, who gives a defeated, *"I know, I know, I know."* Dex warns to not even *touch*. The books are organized by subject matter and region. They see titles like The Histories of the Great Families of Khorvaire, one about the invasion of Sarlona by the Quori, and anything else that's ever happened to Eberron.

After taking a look at the titles Beric points out that they were told not to *take*, they were never told they couldn't *read*. Dak quickly tells him to have to take to read, and after some persuading Beric knocks on the door. The voice offers them her library. She lived long before the lesser races came to Eberron and she witnessed their actions and mistakes and recorded not only what they were, but how to avoid it in the future, which she offers freely to them.

Beric looks forlornly around the room and pushes the door open. The torches set up next to reading chairs grow brighter, and all the books start catching fire, ash filling the room, and the hallway before them is open.

Another turn to the right with more stairs leading down and down and down and down and waaaaaaay down. They've been walking several minutes and finally come to a room with a shut down. Nothing is on the walls except two torches on opposite sides. There's a basin with water on a stand with a blue glow radiating from it. Dex walks up and looks into it but sees nothing, not even a reflection. Dak knocks on the closed door and the same voice rings out:

*"I present to you a means to not only look upon anyone you wish simply by speaking their name or title or meaning to you, but also to heal them. Anything that has afflicted them, driven them away, or harmed them, they will be free."
"I just wanna see Tinsel one more time."
—Vvaraak and Jeff*
Dex sits in the corner of the room and tells them someone else has to open the door; he's not sure what he'll do if he has to walk past that bowl. Dak, the only one to not open a door yet, goes and pushes it open. There's a long, intolerant sigh from Beric. A hole forms at the bottom of the bowl and if they were to look, each of them would see images of the people they would have used this for as the water flows out.

The hallway before them is short and opens into a very large chamber. There is no gold, but ancient and significant looking magical items and tomes, banners of countries they've never seen, and sitting in front of the pile is a three foot long piece of white wood. The voice calls out that they may take only what they sought; it offered them everything they wished as a gift, and now they can only take what they came for.

### A Somber Return

Stunned silence comes from the party as they all take that in. Dex apologizes profusely to Beric, who sits dumbfounded. Eventually Dak goes and picks the wood up. The room begins to shake as stairs come out of one of the walls. The ceiling peels back and the stone bends and curls and on the other side is plantlife as it leads back into the Towering Wood. The voice tells them to leave, and they start walking out.

*"Let's go, Beric. No sense dwelling."
—Therudak*
As soon as they exit, the stairs refurl and it looks like just a mound in the forest again. Dak looks around, hoping to find his stone, but doesn't see anything. They start the miles walk back to the druids. Beric does not speak a word the whole time, brooding(or sulking, depending on who you ask). Dex keeps apologizing and rationalizing, and Dak just just says it's what needed to be done.

After some time they hear the same incomprehensible language of the druids speaking some incantation or ritual. When they get within eyesight they see the fifty plus druids that accompanied them in a semi-circle in front of the arch. They're on their knees, hands extended towards the middle, fingers spread. Terralen is not on his knees but appears to be overseeing the ritual. When he sees the party he holds up a hand to stop and walks towards them.

He asks how the mission went and Beric gives him an indescribable look. Dex steps in and says how they were told not to take anything, but Vvaraak said they could have. After some back and forth between Terralen, Dex, and Therudak, Beric stomps over, grabs the wood from Dak, shoves it into Terralen's hands and walks over to a trees, leans against it with his arms cross and waits for something to *kill*.

### The Ritual

Terralen awkwardly leaves and walks into the center of the circle. He extends his hands and holds the wood aloft. He turns to them and says they've researched but he can't promise what will happen, to which Beric bets that a lich will come out and drag one of his druids through a portal. Terralen pushes the keystone up and releases it and a brilliant energy comes out from the gap in the archway and grabs the keystone. In that moment a green light begins to connect between the druids and their chanting rises in volume as the green energy goes away and the archway is filled with darkness. A figure begins to emerge from the darkness and Beric summons Curse-Bringer. Bright silver light flashes and they hear a pained scream as a voice shouts *"No!"* and the figure recoils. A human figure falls forward out of the archway as the darkness dissipates. He stands up, with long brown hair and almost ashen white skin, and Gram's locket around his neck. He looks up, confused, at Dex and Beric, and tells them they have to find Gram.

Beric asks who's speaking, and the person says he doesn't know what's happened. It's been... fifteen years? Dex and Beric both give a noise as they realize it's Jacob.

End of episode.

## Locations

* The Eldeen Reaches
	+ Greenheart
	+ Towering Wood

## Spells

* **Beric**
	+ Detect Magic

## Quotes

"Alright, who's gonna help me pick this thing up?"
"It's a three foot hunk of wood, you can't pick up a three foot hunk of wood?"
"Oh, it's only that big? Well, I am much stronger now."
"I was gonna say, Mr. 19 Strength."
*—Jeff and Philip*

"Dex, Beric awfully quiet."
"Well, just wait till he pulls his sword out and he'll start talking to that at least. They can have a pity party together."
*—Therudak and Dex*

"Anything else you wanna do while you walk?"
"Stew."
*—Eric and Philip*