Chapter 6

Betrayal and Flight

The party returns from The Beastlands to a devastated Grey Hawk where they try to make sense of the aftermath of the invasion. They met with Orbital Strike but refused to return the Astral Orb until Alduin Silversmite promised to leave the town in peace. With Void and Gabriella Starsyx's help they convinced Alduin to let them talk to the Mindwitness aboard the Psurlon ship about the orb, the invasion, and the recent strange disappearances of the party around the orb. They were told about the Grand Scheme and the Eldritch Elder Evil that seeks to enter the material plane via the orb and that the party has imprinted on it and will soon be made "perfect." Shortly after Serax-Dral, who had faked its death during the battle, revealed itself and attacked the party. Once it was destroyed and fed to the Mindwitness Alduin panicked and imprisoned the party to fulfill his oath and protect the material plane. Feannag MacDamhan escaped then returned at nightfall to break the party out of house arrest with Void's help. They commandeered the Psurlon ship and made their escape while Feannag sacrificed himself to take down Alduin, the man who had wronged him and who represented everything wrong with "justice" and the "law." Leaving their home and friend behind the party learned how to fly the ship from Void and went to the city of Arnesport on the moon for repairs. Indebted to the city for unpaid docking fees the party was conscripted onto a Treasure Barge captained by one Erastus Wyndhoek to bring the monthly tithe to the lunar dragon, Selunius. Realizing her ancestor and source of sorcerous power to be supremely evil, Nira renounced her draconic lineage and was stripped of power, leaving an arcane void in her the Astral Orb rushed to fill with something terrible.

Session 29

Seedtime 9

• After resting the party gathered their gear and got ready to leave The Beastlands with Clarence's blessing
• Trisfina and Aired Helelar talked about wanting to go home to visit their village together someday now that the orcs have been brought to justice
• Passed through the oaken portal and trekked back through The High Forest to Grey Hawk, along the way they noticed lots of heavily armored bootprints near the town
• Arriving in Grey Hawk, they immediately saw that the town was in ruins, about half of the houses were burned down or crushed, others had signs of forced entry
• The Bursting Barrel was missing most of the top floor and the area around the door was plastered with posters of crudely-drawn townsfolk who were missing
• The party found their posters and pulled them down and searched through the rest for loved ones
• Near the bridge they ran into Suki on guard duty, she was surprised to see the party alive and well and she filled them in on what happened in the Battle of Grey Hawk
  • The villagers who holed up in Ogdin's Overlook fared the best, and the fishing village was empty and spared most of the fighting as a result
  • The others who hid in the Reeve's Manor were safe until the ground forces invaded and the ill-equipped town guard had to hold them back, most of the guards died or went missing that night
  • Orbital Strike and Ogdin's Horde managed to bring down the worm monsters then focused on driving off the alien troops, but the collateral damage was immense, Gabriella Starsyx's magic was indiscriminate in destroying alien ships and houses alike
  • Ogdin's Horde had burned their dead and moved on to the north, likely toward Mirabar
  • Alduin Silversmite's paladins were pivotal in defending the town and since the fight they've been camped out on Nira's ranch not letting anyone near the crashed ship
  • The Bursting Barrel was being used as an infirmary for treating the wounded and Reeve Fona Goldcrest has been very altruistic in letting the homeless stay in her manor and orchestrating free meals, but she left town yesterday saying that she hasn't been able to access her credit since the robbery of the manor
  • Suki also thanked Nira for the mittens she was wearing
• Continuing through town they saw that the Reeve's Manor still stood but the grounds were destroyed, Geshtai's Chapel was missing it's doors, and Tam Thunderhand was hard at work crafting arms and armor so that the townsfolk wouldn't be caught unprepared in a battle again
• Wrenn Lingenhall checked in with Tam and he seemed to be doing well, happy to be doing work that mattered again but impatient for them to get back to work apprenticing at the forge
• At Nira's ranch a haughty paladin named Commandant Bradley stopped them from entering an orderly arranged encampment, but Feannag MacDamhan intimidated him to let them past
• Next they met Gabriella who was happy to see them (but still rude to Nira and hot for Feannag) and she mentioned that Alduin has been a pain lately and wont let her investigate the ship
• Nira stormed past guards into her house where Alduin and Hubert Mugwort were busy doing reports and administration work, they were surprised to see her so soon and wanted the Astral Orb immediately
• Feannag lied and said they didn't have the orb, but would surrender it when the paladins agreed to leave Grey Hawk
• Alduin apologized for coopting Nira's house and agreed to move his encampment to Foke Barnswaggle's farm, but insisted that they would need to remain in town for weeks or months to conclude their investigation and cleanse the area of extraplanar influence
• He mentioned the Mindwitness was still in the ship and that he wanted to destroy it but Gabriella was making him transport it to Neverwinter for academic study, the caravan with containment equipment would arrive in 3-6 weeks
• He seemed satisfied when the party agreed to get him the orb at a meeting at noon if he would agree to leave as soon as possible
• Outside the party discussed what to do about Alduin, the orb, the ship, and the Mindwitness
• Void overheard their conversation and joined in, excited to see them and asked for their help in convincing Alduin to let him talk to the Mindwitness
• They explained that it was a beholder infected with a mindflayer tadpole, but that it could be controlled and would be an invaluable source of knowledge of the enemy's plans
• The party let ship that they had been popping in and out of existence since they got the orb, Nira even demonstrated and Void got visibly nervous, mentioning something about having to "tell the council about this development"
• Nira went to see her flock, of which 88 sheep were left and Zuri Xibloes had been carefully looking after them, but in Nira's absence she had started to shear them and donate the wool to make blankets and clothing for the newly homeless in town with Greta Goldcrest's help
• Nira said Sukis mittens were substandard and Zuri seemed upset (she had only been knitting for 3 days!) but apologized and beamed when given some praise
• Going back into town they ran into Simon Sais who was in a great mood, he said his wife and newborn were healthy and they were blessed by the gods to have only a two-week pregnancy and to have survived the battle while Iwana Sais was in labor
• Curious about this development they followed him home to see the child, who seemed to be maturing rapidly and Detect Magic showed that it was shrouded in illusion magic
• They then went to the market to buy gems and spell components from a shifty travelling merchant who clearly couldn't read the mood of the destroyed town

Session 30

Seedtime 9

• Went to the Reeve's Manor to talk to Bailey Fanteaser, but were stopped by Perce Pewtercrest outside, who was guarding despite a clearly injured leg
• Bailey seemed super coordinated and put together, he was on top of everything and they even noticed him managing to accidentally foil Goop's mischief while he served stew to the villagers
• He said that he was running from the ships when he got abducted during the battle, but insisted that their worms were instead "celestials" and that the aliens were "super nice beings of pure light" who politely questioned him then returned him to the town but he couldn't remember most of it and seemed confused how he made it to shore when the dumped him in the river and he couldn't swim well
• Rip tried to Detect Magic but Perce stopped him and they got into a big shouting match, and when he did cast it didn't see any magic around Bailey
• Next they went to check on 'Greasy' Greg Gremble who had been holed up in his hut since the attack, fearing letting shapeshifters in
• They convinced him to let them in and struck a deal for access to mind-shielding potions if they could get him the Mindwitness's fluids
• These potions are highly experimental but he wants to be there to witness the results of the test
• The party planned for their meeting with Orbital Strike and went to meet them at the Crescent's Rest, where Alduin Silversmite, Gabriella Starsyx, Void, and Perce were waiting
• They convinced Alduin that Greg has been protecting them from alien influence and that they have potions to safely approach the Mindwitness
• Got him to agree to let them talk to it before they decide if it needs to be killed
• Perce argued that it should be destroyed immediately but he was overruled
• Alongside Gabriella and Void they also convinced Alduin to let them try to repair the ship so it could be used to take the Mindwitness away from Grey Hawk
• Void revealed that they are from the same plane as the shapeshifters and that their family had been killed by the same type of aliens
• Alduin asked for the Astral Orb and Feannag MacDamhan tried to retrieve it, but it was missing from his pack
• Insisting that they had it, Cock demonstrated the ability to blink out of existence, appearing in the demiplane for a few seconds and shooting off his gun once for fun
• Gabriella was super excited with academic theories, but thought the party must have attuned to the orb somehow to get this behavior
• She questioned how they had grown so powerful so quickly over the last few weeks and theorized that the orb was granting them power by proximity
• Alduin made to arrest them and told them he would need to take them to headquarters to do experiments and observe them, the party was not pleased to hear this

Session 31

Seedtime 9

• Continuing their meeting with Orbital Strike, the party tried to convince Alduin Silversmite that they truly didn't know where the orb was, despite the fact that Cock had it
• Feannag MacDamhan and Aired Helelar blinked out of existence, deepening his suspicions
• They mentioned Bailey Fanteaser had been abducted and Alduin sent Hubert Mugwort to go deal with that, they overhead something about a "quarantine"
• As Alduin continued to get more frustrated he made to arrest the party but Void convinced him to hold off until after the Mindwitness was dealt with
• 'Greasy' Greg Gremble was eavesdropping on the meeting and walked in, clearly wasn't on great terms with Alduin
• They mentioned Iwana Sais's baby and Alduin seemed even more flustered but it wasn't his first priority
• The group went to the ship and Gabriella lowered the wards
• Wrenn Lingenhall and Cock took Greg's experimental mind-shielding elixir before they boarded, the entire party along with Gabriella and Perce went along
• Greg took samples from the Thri-Kreen bodies that were decomposing on the ship
• Everyone who wasn't mind-shielded heard the mindwitness's voice in their heads asking for its master
• Cock and Nira went to get the helm of the ship from the evidence locker, Nira also gathered some personal effects that had been impounded there
• Cock suddenly began to recall his previous life, starting with fighting an urge to shoot Alduin and to kill Commandant Bradley
• On the ship Perce got impatient and decided to go in alone to see the Mindwitness despite Nira's successful persuasion
• After a moment the rest followed, onboard they saw the mess of cargo and a toppled bookshelf, each party member searched through it: Rip found some books on Faerun etiquette and Kenku, Cock was drawn to a treatise on the Shadowfell and a book on the royal bloodlines of the Sword Coast, Nira couldn't find any books on dragons or the moon, and Wrenn Lingenhall found the manual on the operation of the ship
• They followed Perce to the room with the Mindwitness where it seemed to accept Gabriella as its new master and they fed it the alien heads while Greg collected its saliva
• They began to question it, hearing about the "Grand Scheme" and the Nine-Tongued Worm which would be using the Astral Orb as a "conduit" to enter the world
• It said the Astral Orb had been "imprinted" on by six entities and that they shall be made "perfect" in 3-4 "cycles" which was the highest honor to be chosen by the Worm
• Wrenn suddenly fell ill from the effects of Greg's experimental elixir, shedding their armor and sprouting an eyestalk over their shoulder that started blasting stunning rays at the party
• After a moment they vomited up the potion and the eyestalk shriveled and fell off, which Greg collected along with the potion to "reuse"
• Speaking to the Mindwitness it said that "all of our agents on the Kiba System are in place for the Grand Scheme" and that soon the next phase would start
• It then predicted the arrival of two more imprinted members and said farewell to Wrenn

Session 32

Seedtime 9

• While the party was exploring the ship and interrogating the Mindwitness Wrenn Lingenhall blinked out of existence and Feannag MacDamhan and Aired Helelar appeared with Aired holding the Astral Orb
• When asked how to destroy the orb they were told it couldn't be destroyed but it could be cut off from the source of power by destroying the Monoliths in the Kiba System
• It told them that they would be "perfect" in 3-4 cycles, which was less than a year
• It said "perfect" meant one with the Nine Tongued Worm and that its crossing into the material plane would be complete when their power was too great for their physical forms and instead they melded into the worm itself
• Feannag wanted no part in this so he and Aired took the orb to give to Alduin Silversmite in exchange for their freedom
• He was surprised to see them and glad they were ready to hand over the Astral Orb, but he informed them that they'd need to be quarantined and and questioned about their experiences with the orb and that the Mindwitness's information was changing the situation
• As the Mindwitness answered their questions Perce said it was poisoning them and needed to be destroyed as he stabbed it with his sword
• Nira warped him away from it and the party tried to calm him down while Rip used Detect Magic to check, but nothing was showing up around Perce, meanwhile 'Greasy' Greg Gremble collected the Mindwitness's blood
• The Mindwitness offered to kill itself in the ultimate act of subservience, but the party told it not to, instead ushering Perce and Greg out of the ship
• Gabriella Starsyx was thrilled with the research possibilities with the Orb and Mindwitness, and she wanted to take the party back to Neverwinter to run experiments on them
• Outside things were getting heated between Alduin and Feannag, and as Gabriella opened the forcefield the paladins surrounded the party to take them into custody
• Perce asked Rip to create a diversion, which he did by lighting Alduin's tent on fire, which created chaos that Commandant Bradley used to shoot Cock
• Perce grinned a wicked smile and thanked the party for their help in returning him to his orb and ship
• The party watched in dismay as his eyes glowed blue with psionic energy and he unleashed a mind-crush blast onto everyone, stunning much of the party and paladins before grabbing the orb and running back to the ship
• Furious about the betrayal Rip sent a Fireball hurtling towards the revealed Serax-Dral, followed by an upcasted fireball from Gabriella, not to be outdone
• He knocked Aired unconscious as he boarded the ship, but as he looked set to get away Rip dropped him with a Tasha's Mind Whip and he collapsed on the deck
• Cock was near death from being attacked by a paladin with a gun, but he got Alduin's attention and was healed then bound and restrained
• Rip and Nira soon followed as the paladins beat them down and forced them to surrender, Rip managed to set Pointy free and send him to go get help without anyone noticing
• Meanwhile Greg revived Aired and they went with Gabriella to get more information out of the mindwitness
• It told them it could gain memories and knowledge from eating brains, and they decided to feed it Serax-Dral's body
• In a horrifying, grotesque display the Mindwitnes's tentacles strangled the body and pulled its head toward the rows of sharp teeth for cutting through skulls, but suddenly the body began to thrash as Serax-Dral's Feign Death wore off and he woke up just in time to feel his brain get sucked out of his head
• Feannag had managed to escape capture by the paladins and fled stealthily to Greg's house where he picked the lock and found a secret door leading to a secret lab in the basement
• After solving a riddle and brewing some poison to satisfy the lock he got in and heard a voice calling up from the basement

Session 33

Seedtime 9-10

• Feannag MacDamhan entered 'Greasy' Greg Gremble's secret lab and met Nora Gremble, who had been hiding out there since the attack
• He studied the complex Alchemist's equipment and stole as many ingredients as he could, including a mystery potion made from Manticore blood
• There was a knock on the lab door and Feannag could hear Void's voice asking him to come out and talk, but he didn't answer
• He brewed some poisons and prepared some bombs over the course of the day then headed out at midnight to rescue the party
• Rip, Nira, Cock, and Aired Helelar were under house arrest in Nira's home
• Nira used the sheep as an excuse to go out to the barn to get Zuri Xibloes to agree to provide a sheep-based distraction at her signal
• Cock found Goop and bargained to get their stuff out of the chest in Alduin's tent and into the ship in exchange for something shiny
• Aired went to the outhouse and took the Astral Mushrooms, which caused him to Astral Project through space: seeing himself as if from above, then a birds-eye view of Grey Hawk, zooming out further to see all of Faerun, the planet of Toril, the moon, the entire crystal sphere of Realmspace, the deep reaches of the Astral plane and the constellations of crystal spheres, past a verdant living citadel floating in space and finally to a gargantuan creature with a single eye and massive claws that said "the gods deny passage" before sending him hurtling back along his silver cord to his body, waking up a moment later from his trip feeling like an eternity had passed
• Dutch 'The Boozer King' Ottenbrau stopped by the house with a six-pack of healing potions disguised as beer and some equipment at Rip's request
• Long Rest- everyone but Wrenn didn't recover full hitpoints due to nightmares and poor sleep
• Meanwhile Wrenn Lingenhall spent hours trapped in the pocket dimension and used the time to learn to maneuver themselves around, study rocks, extract silvery ore from them, and approach the barrier at the edge of the space
• They could see that it was expanding slowly and objects were phasing into the space as it expanded
• After hours waiting Wrenn reappeared on the ship holding the orb next to Gabriella Starsyx who was deep in notes from interviewing the Mindwitness
• She didn't seem to mind Wrenn's presence so they asked the Mindwitness some questions and tinkered with the enchantment that allows the ship to fly
• They learned about where the party has been going when they blip out of existence and how it was part of the process of becoming "perfect"
• At midnight Feannag left Greg's house and ran into Tild, whom Pointy had summoned when sent to get help
• They approached the camp together and snuck into Alduin Silversmite's tent where he poisoned Alduin's bedside milk and saw that Alduin had a chest of the party's equipment along with Greg and Bailey Fanteaser
• Meanwhile in Nira's house Commandant Bradley entered and said he needed to bring Cock to see Alduin alone, which everyone saw through as a lie
• Cock and Aired worked together to fight him off but he called for backup, claiming the party had attacked him first
• They managed to defeat Bradley and Cock took his gun, then they used the commotion to escape the house while Nira called in her distraction and had sheep stampede through the camp and her house
• Simultaneously Tild caused a massive Copper Dragon to appear above the camp and swoop threateningly overhead which scared the paladins and allowed the party to escape capture and Nira took refuge in Alduin's tent where she and Feannag recovered the party's gear before fleeing to meet the rest of the group near the forcefield around the ship
• Nira teleported Aired through and after he failed to convince Gabriella to lower the barrier he attacked her and broke her concentration, and after a brief fight subdued her
• The party gathered with Void and Tild on the ship as the paladins advanced, but Feannag didn't join them, instead choosing to take on the ranks of paladins that had wronged him and his friends

Session 34

Seedtime 10

• Tild, Void, Rip, and Wrenn Lingenhall worked to restore the enchantment to the ship and get it flightworthy again and Wrenn took the helm
• Feannag told the party to help him kill Alduin or leave without him, then shot Alduin and dove into the crowd of paladins seeking revenge
• They thanked Tild and offered them a chance to join the ship but they declined and flew off on Pointy
• Cock and Aired Helelar decided to ensure a random bush near Nira's house came with them on the interstellar voyage so they tied a rope around Aired and he hung off the bottom of the ship as it got airborne
• Alduin and Feannag battled into Nira's house where Feannag hid and struck from the shadows and Alduin returned with an incredibly powerful smite
• Aired offered Feannag one more chance to come with the party but instead Feannag just handed back Aired's Ring of Shared Suffering before going back into a death-struggle with Alduin
• As the ship began to fly away an angelic paladin burst from the camp and flew at the ship, nearly killing Cock before it was neutralized
• Aired managed to uproot the bush as the ship flew away, and as he did it started yelling at him for waking it up from its slumber
• Rip got pulled into the orb and heard strange echoing voices speaking in a strange eldritch tongue about the party
• Feannag downed Alduin with a stun-sneak attack combo and went in to finish the job as Nira's' house exploded in flame around them
• Nira, enraged by the loss of her house, blasted Gabriella with a lightning bolt to knock her unconscious
• The party left Feannag to his grim work as paladins surrounded the burning house and they flew off into the night
• Onboard the bush introduced itself as The Garlicle and says its grandmother, the hag, had planted it there
• Void said that they needed to dock and make repairs and Nira suggested the moon where Void mentioned there was a spaceport on the far side
• They also mentioned that they should avoid any lunar dragons at all costs as the party ascended above the world and into the unknown of Wildspace

Session 35

Ship's Log 0 (Seedtime 10) - Ship's Log 1

• Onboard the ship Wrenn Lingenhall learned the ship's controls and Aired Helelar figured out how to manually control the grappling claw at the front
• Nira researched lunar dragons using the ship's library and found that they were xenophobic, aggressive, territorial, and love black-and-white imagery, especially silver metal and diamonds in their hordes
• Aired got pulled into the orb and saw a huge destroyed moon with a burning village floating in the space as the pieces of the moon drifted apart slowly
• Long Rest
• Arrived at the far side of the moon, saw a glittering lake amongst the barren lunar wastes with a huge island in the center that was packed with the immense city of Arnesport from coast to coast
• Lots of ships of varying sizes and shapes were coming and going from a shipyard, and after a brief communication with a tower they were given permission to land in the drydock for repairs
• A bespectacled gnome approached the ship with some papers and asked for a 100gp docking fee, which the party gave him
• Void went to see the harbormaster about repairs
• While leaving the harbor the party was stopped by guards who demanded an actual docking fee of "3 pieces for the horde or 750sp"
• They realized that they had been swindled by the gnome and couldn't pay the real docking fee, so Nira discussed how to pay off their debt with the guards
• They said the treasure barge would be making a trip to the other side of the moon to deliver the monthly payment to the dragon in exchange for the dragon leaving the city in peace and that they could pay off their debt by manning the barge and to find the captain at the tavern "The Happy Beholder"
• Much of the party was in awe as they moved through the city which was much bigger than anything the Grey Hawk locals had seen before
• They arrived at the tavern and Aired immediately befriended the barkeep, a jovial beholder named Large Luigi, who pointed him to one of the heaviest drinking regulars in the bar, Erastus Wyndhoek
• Erastus was a shabby-looking human with a thousand-yard stare past his mountain of empty beer mugs and a monotone, self-important way of speaking about his duty as the captain of the Treasure Barge
• He was unimpressed with the party, but was undercut by his first mate Anihala and ship's scribe Algarjax, who took a liking to the party and helped convince Erastus to let them join the next mission to deliver the treasure to the dragon
• Erastus told them to meet him at the docks in an hour and left to get the ship ready
• In the tavern they were approached by a merchant selling magic items who told them to come to his shop and Wrenn asked around to get an idea of other points of interest in the city including a fortune teller named Madame Mystica, a teleportation circle, and the Mercane Agency where there were odd jobs to be claimed for cash

Session 36

Ship's Log 1 (Arnesport Sunrise)

• In the tavern Large Luigi noticed something magical floating over Aired Helelar's shoulder but no one else could see it before it disappeared
• The party went with Anihala and Algarjax down to the docks to help Erastus Wyndhoek load the treasure onto the ship, it was tough work and many of the party exhausted themselves
• As they were about to set off there was a flash in the sky half of a spelljamming ship careened out of space over the city in a fireball and crashed into the drydock with an explosion, Algarjax identified it as the Icarus, an immensely powerful pirate vessel captained by Haus Wexler, one of the Pirate Lords of Arnesport
• A booming voice interrupted everyone's thoughts announcing that all vessels leaving the moon must pay tribute to and accept inspection from "The Dealer" or suffer consequences like the Icarus
• Shaken but undeterred they set off on the treasure barge towards the dragon's lair on the other side of the moon, the clunky old ship belching out black smoke from it's outdated engine and swimming through the air just above the ground with six enormous tentacles that had been grafted onto the hull
• Everyone short rested as the ship left the tropical air of the Arnesport bubble and crossed the frigid lunar wastes, Aired got a long rest
• Anihala asked Cock if he was a Black Saint after seeing his weapon and seemed incredulous that a moron like him could be a master assassin
• As they crossed the moon they began to see a creeping black frost on the ground radiating out from their direction of travel and they heard a low moaning howl on the wind
• Lunar dust tornadoes kicked up all around them and suddenly three rushed towards the ship and attacked
• The moon devils tried to fling the crew overboard into the frost and nearly killed Cock and Aired before they were defeated and driven off
• Wrenn successfully harvested a Volatile Mote of Ice from a moon devil as it dissipated

Session 37

Ship's Log 1 (Arnesport Sunrise)

• Short rest on the Treasure Barge
• They approached a huge mountain through a massive ship graveyard the howling got louder and the black ice covered the ground, they could see strange wooden statues covering the slopes
• At the base there were ruins of a massive temple built into the side of the mountain which had been broken open so a gargantuan creature could enter
• Outside the lair they met with a cloaked figure and a plate-clad knight who spoke on behalf of the dragon, Selunius, chastising those who spoke out of turn and taking the treasure off of the barge after a terse conversation with Erastus Wyndhoek
• Nira convinced them that she was the dragon's heir and they were led into the lair to meet the dragon
• Inside there were cultists everywhere and they saw a room full of frozen bodies that the main cultist, Gleam, described as the "larder"
• They also saw an old elf trapped behind a solid wall of ice huddled under a threadbare blanket in the corner, Gleam said that Sulumor was the dragon's pet and he had been uncooperative lately
• The party was led into a cathedral chamber with an open ceiling through the caldera of the mountain so a beam of moonlight could penetrate, the floor was clear ice that descended into darkness that shone with the light of millions of pieces of silver, gems, and magical artifacts suspended in the ice
• The cultists around them knelt and the party remained standing except for Erastus who bent the knee as an uneasy silence settled over the chamber
• The beam of moonlight slowly shifted across the room until it fell upon the opposite wall and revealed the spectral form of an immense dragon bathed in moonlight with a halo of stars that passed halfway around her head
• The dragon introduced itself as Selunius and called Nira forward, recognizing her as a descendant of her humanoid bloodline on Faerun
• With Nira's staff in hand Selunius assumed she was a great priestess or leader and must be searching for a mate with which to bear the next generation of Selunius's line, but Nira insisted that she was just a simple shepherd of no importance and that she was much too old to have a child
• The dragon, dismissing Nira's wishes and concerns about age, said that she was just a tool, Selunius's property by which she passes on the bloodline to maintain a presence on the planet among the humans
• Nira was offered great boons and power if she was loyal and accepted the gift of renewed youth in order to bear a child
• While Nira was considering the offer Gleam brought forward a child - her own child - to be used as a sacrifice in Nira's rejuvenation, and Nira immediately refused the rite
• On cue the party broke and ran for the exits, attacking the guards on the way out while Erastus stayed bowed and apologized for them
• After a brief skirmish in which Aired escaped, freed Sulumor, and then returned to find a room of transformed werewolf cultists had pinned down the party and Selunius had frozen them in place, the dragon put a stop to the commotion and ordered Nira to be stripped of her sorcerous bloodline
• Erastus was commended for staying reverent to the dragon and was given a magic sword and made a Paladin of Selunius, though he didn't feel he had much of a choice since the alternative was death
• He was told to return to Arnesport and act as Selunius's agent on the council and to venture into space to track down the Solar Dragon Wyrmlings that recently hatched
• Nira was brought forward, bound, and placed in a circle of runes opposite the child and after a brief ritual the runes glowed and a beam of moonlight connected the two, drawing Nira's magical power out and imbuing the cultist child with her power
• Nira felt empty, drained of the magic that sustained her, and when she tried to summon some arcane energy to cast Prestidigitation she drew from an empty well, going deeper and deeper until she found something strange through which to channel magic, something eldritch and all-consuming
• As the party looked on, Nira's eyes began to glow with an eerie purple light and she began to float upwards along with the Astral Orb and transform into a horrific new form
• Level Up! (6->7)