Session 23

The dark fortress stood on a hill above the scrubland, silhouetted against a burning orange sunset. Spiked walls formed a circular perimeter around five interconnected towers within.

Creatures flew above, weaving between the spires, and humanoid guards patrolled the walls and stood at the entrance at the base of the perimeter wall.

The wheels of the cart crunched through a patch of loose stone on the road a few hundred yards away from the imposing structure. The sound breaking the oppressive silence that seemed to have settled upon them as they travelled.

Brabara snorted. “You reckon there’s an architecture company out there that specialises in designing buildings for Dark Lords?”

“What, like a kind of ‘Evil Lair’s ‘r’ Us’ type thing?” Xalen said with a chuckle.

“Exactly,” Brabara said. “I mean, look at this place. It’s not designed to be luxurious.”

“From what Vocar told me, the nexus should be at the top of that tower there,” Ebyn said pointing.

A bird squawked above them, causing everyone to look up. A crow, little more than a black shape in the sky, darted past, but far above that, almost invisible in the fading light, something else – much larger – flew in lazy circles.

“What is that?” Seknafret said, a slight crack in her voice.

Brabara shuddered and she returned her gaze to the road ahead. “No idea, and I’m not at all keen to find out.”

The cart trundled on toward the gate. As they drew near, the guards stationed there called for them to stop and one of them approached.

“You lot look like you’ve seen some trouble?” the guard said as he stepped up to the side of the cart.

Seknafret nodded. “Got hit by some fire elementals after the quake yesterday. Lost our cargo in the process,” she said holding up the empty chains and indicating the fire damaged sides of the cart.

The guard didn’t bat an eyelid at Seknafret’s lies and signalled for his fellows to open the gate.

“Fair enough,” he said with a shrug. “Park the cart in the stables and then hit the mess hall. Cook got his hands on some mountain lion, so it’s steaks for dinner tonight.”

Seknafret nodded. “Sounds good. Will make a nice change from what we’ve been eating.”

She flicked the reins and started the cart moving, passing the guards, through the gate and into the courtyard within. She guided the horses toward the stable and once inside they closed the stable doors behind them.

“The nexus tower is just over there,” Brabara said, keeping her voice low. “We passed by the door on the way here.”

“I can use my arcane eye to map out the place from in here,” Ebyn said. “That way we can know what to expect once inside.”

Xalen was looking out the window. “That eye thingy can’t pass through walls or open doors, can it?”

Ebyn shook his head. “No, it can’t.”

“So, it’s not going to get very far without help,” Xalen pointed out. “I can make myself invisible and go in with it.”

“I can make us all invisible for an hour,” Seknafret said. “Then we can all wait by the front door over there once we’re ready to go in.”

Ebyn first cast Telepathic Bond to link their minds, followed by Arcane Eye. Once those preparations had been done, Seknafret made them all invisible, and the Succulent Juices exited the stables and crossed the courtyard to the entrance of the tower.

Xalen checked the door and found it unlocked. He eased it open as quietly as possible and slipped inside with Ebyn’s arcane eye behind him.

Two guards sat at a table facing each other, concentrating on a game of chance set up between them. Neither one looked up as Xalen snuck inside and padded quietly over to a door to the right of the entrance. He waited for the next throw of the dice before opening that door enough to let the arcane eye through.

Ebyn used their telepathic link to share what the eye saw with the group.

This large room was bathed in colourful light from several floor-to-ceiling stained-glass windows set into the exterior wall. The brightly coloured scenes depicted a mighty warrior with long dark hair wielding a cruel sword in battle with an undead wizard.

The scene was instantly familiar to all of them, who’d lived this exact moment in their final nightmare before leaving Eberron. Seeing it again now sent a shiver down Ebyn’s spine, and he turned his attention to elsewhere in the room.

The room was empty, and two more closed sets of double doors exited the room toward the interior of the tower. Ebyn let Xalen know the room was clear and the young rogue slipped inside and closed the door carefully behind him.

Xalen made his way to the first set of doors and listened. Hearing nothing, he opened the door and waited for Ebyn to confirm the eye was inside. He then went to the second set of doors and paused there while Ebyn scouted that first room with the eye.

It was empty save for a wide circular staircase in the centre of the tower. Ebyn guided the arcane eye up the curving path of the stairs but couldn’t go past the closed doors at the top.

As Xalen waited down below, he heard muffled conversation coming from beyond the doors in front of him. He placed an ear closer to try and make out the words, but he was unable to do so.

“There’s talking in the room in front of me,” Xalen shared over the link. “Two people, a man and a woman.”

“I’ll bring the eye to you,” Ebyn said. “Hold on.”

Once the eye was in position, Xalen carefully eased the door open wide enough to let it in and then closed it again.

“Looks like an armoury,” Ebyn said. “No other exits, and you were right, Xalen. There are two people in here.”

Ebyn continued to observe the pair as they spoke. The eye didn’t allow him to hear what they were saying but he did notice a familiar look on the woman’s face.

“That’s interesting,” Ebyn shared.  “I think the woman is concentrating on a spell. Xalen, open the door so you can hear them.”

Xalen did as Ebyn asked and focused on the words.

“Do you think it will be long before the master returns?” the woman said.

The man shrugged. “Beats me. That info is way above my pay grade.”

The woman chuckled. “Yeah, you and me both.”

“Besides,” the man continued. “I think Tejen is enjoying being the big man in charge for a change. Not sure he’ll welcome being relegated back to number two.”

“Like it or not, he won’t have any say in it,” the woman pointed out.

“Nothing too interesting here,” Xalen said.

“Agreed,” said Ebyn. “Let’s check out the door at the top of the stairs.”

Xalen waited for Ebyn to let him know once the eye had left the room and closed the door once more. The sun had fully set now, and the glow through the stained-glass windows had gone, leaving the room completely dark.

He padded silently to the top of the stairs with the arcane eye floating behind him. When he reached the door, he placed his ear against the cool wood and listened. He could hear movement from beyond the door and an acrid smell in the air. Xalen carefully opened the door and Ebyn guided the eye inside while Xalen closed the door again behind it.

Inside was a large chamber that seemed to fill the entire width of the tower, but the lack of any windows made it difficult to be sure. Hunched humanoids hung from chains along one wall, while two robed figures leaned over another strapped to a gurney. Various tools and other dissection equipment rested on a tray beside the figures as they worked on whoever they had strapped down. Two circles etched with magical runes were inscribed on the floor in opposite corners.

There were no further exits.

Ebyn guided the eye around the room, noting the five dishevelled people chained to the walls. One of the prisoners groaned and the robed figures turned to look, giving Ebyn his first look at their faces.

“Undead!” Ebyn hissed. “Several prisoners are chained to the wall here with another being worked on. I’ll try and get a better look.”

The two undead were skeletons, yet they worked with the precision of skilled surgeons.

Ebyn floated the eye over the gurney to try and see what foul surgery these creatures might be undertaking. He watched for a moment, and gasped. “It looks like they’re transplanting the limbs from an ogre or something onto a human torso.”

“The subject is alive?” Seknafret asked.

“Can’t say” Ebyn said. “The people on the walls definitely are, but this one isn’t moving.”

“Sedated, perhaps?” Xalen said.

Brabara grimaced. “Or passed out from the pain.”

The whole idea made Seknafret shudder. “It’s time we made an entrance.”

“Agreed,” Ebyn said. “I can go no further with the eye anyway.”

“I’ll come back downstairs,” Xalen said. “I can distract the guards while you three try and sneak inside. I’ll let you know when I’m in position.”

Xalen made his way back down the stairs and eased into the guard room where the two men continued playing their game. He spotted a wooden beam, presumably used to bar the door, leaning against the wall nearby.

“Get ready to come in,” Xalen said as he picked up the beam and tossed it. “Now!”

The two guards jumped up at the sudden sound.

“What was that?” one of the men said.

The door burst open before the second man could reply and they both stood aghast as Brabara popped into view, her glaive already swinging down toward them. The pair didn’t stand a chance and with a few deft cuts they both dropped, lifeless, to the floor.

Ebyn closed the door to the tower and sealed it with an arcane lock, causing him to become visible. Only Xalen and Seknafret remained unseen.

The fight ended quickly but Xalen ducked back into the room with the stained-glass window to make sure the man and woman in the armoury hadn’t heard anything.

“We’re clear, so far,” Xalen said, his eyes fixed on the closed armoury door.

The group padded past the giant windows and gathered outside the double doors. Xalen pressed an ear against the door but heard nothing. Perhaps the conversation was over, or perhaps the two occupants had barricaded themselves inside and now waited for the party to come blundering in.

“Nothing,” Xalen shared over the telepathic bond, and stepped away from the door.

Brabara stepped forward, raised one booted foot and – before anyone could say anything to stop her – kicked the door open with a loud crash.

“Wait!” the wizard called out as the doors flung open.

The occupants whirled around, startled from their clandestine embrace and jumped apart.

“Fountain trestle balls!” Brabara roared, charging with her glaive levelled to skewer the man.

He froze, eyes wide, then slipped aside as her thrust cut air.

“Who are you?” he shouted.

Brabara gave no answer. She pressed forward, polearm whipping in a zig-zag blur. Two deep slashes opened across his chest before she snapped the haft upward, cracking his chin like split timber.

Xalen strode in, popping into view as three arrows slammed into the man’s chest. He dropped like a sack of potatoes.

The woman squealed and raised her hands. “I’m Xorala!” she said urgently. “I’m with the resistance.”

Ebyn stormed into the armoury. “Have you two lost your minds? We could have questioned him. He’s of no use to us dead.”

Brabara pointed at the ceiling and then her shoes. “Twelve apples in a wine barrel.”

Ebyn stared at Brabara for a long moment and then turned and walked out of the room, his head shaking.

Seknafret, now visible, approached Xorala. “What are you doing here?”

The woman’s eyes flitted from Brabara, to Xalen, and Seknafret. “I’m here to find out if the dark lord is in residence,” she said. “He isn’t.”

“We know,” Seknafret replied. “When we burst in it looked like you two were getting quite intimate.”

Xorala blushed. “Yes. I. Umm… I was trying to find more information about Kas’s whereabouts.” She glanced over at the man’s corpse.

“Grass covered tablecloth,” Brabara said.

Xorala frowned. “What’s wrong with your friend?”

“We’re not exactly sure,” Seknafret said. “The gibberish only started yesterday.”

“But the stupidity has been there all along,” Ebyn said from the doorway. “We met some of your companions on the road. Their leader, um, what was his name?”

“Rolan?” Xorala offered. “Or Eric.”

“Yes, Rolan,” Ebyn continued. “He is taking some children we rescued back to the city and to tell The Sleeper about you.”

Xorala shook her head. “I know it was silly of me to sneak in here by myself, but we’ve never seen the place so quiet and I wanted to find out why.”

“And did you?” Ebyn asked.

“I think so,” Xorala said. “The dark lord isn’t here, and his minions are obviously lost without him. If I can find out where he’s gone or even for how long, we can plan accordingly. Maybe strike a real blow for the resistance.”

Xalen focused on the wall at the rear of the chamber. “I think there’s a door hidden in here,” he said, while his hands traced tiny gaps between the perfectly engineered stones. “Ah, yes. That’s got it.”

There was an audible click, and a section of the wall tilted away to reveal a darkened room beyond.

Xalen peered inside and grinned. “Looks like a treasury.”

Ebyn’s eyes snapped over to Xalen. “Be careful, remember where we are.”

Xalen stepped into the room and spotted six closed iron-bound chests, and an ornate longsword mounted on a wall. The sword looked familiar to the young rogue, and he stepped up to get a closer look.

It was a beautiful weapon. Arcane symbols were engraved into the blade near the hilt, all glowing with the faint light of the stars. Xalen recalled the nightmare, remembering the care and precision it took to forge this weapon, and the effort he – Vecna – took to extract the precious rare metal from the fallen star.

“It can’t be,” Xalen said. “Can it?”

This was the sword of Kas – the very weapon he – Vecna – made for his then lieutenant.

“Beautiful, aren’t I?” came a voice inside Xalen’s mind. “Would you like to hold me?”

Xalen blinked. “I’m not much of a swordsman,” he said.

“That’s because you have never had me,” the sword replied. “Go on, take me up.”

Xalen shook his head. “No, I really prefer to use my bow.”

“Bah!” the sword scoffed. “If you don’t want me, perhaps you know of one who can. Present me as a gift to your strongest companion, they will be forever in your debt.”

“There’s a magic sword in here,” Xalen shared with the group. “It looks just like the sword of Kas and it’s trying to convince me to take it.”

“The warrior in our group doesn’t use swords either,” Xalen explained, responding to the sword once more.

“What kind of warrior doesn’t use a sword?” it replied. “But no matter, I can be whatever bladed weapon you choose.”

“Don’t do anything!” Ebyn’s urgent words appeared in his mind. “Let me cast some auguries.”

“Any blade I like?” Xalen said, taking a step closer to the weapon. “How about a short sword, or a dagger?”

“Of course,” the sword responded, and in an instant, it transformed into a magnificent looking short sword. “What do you think? Am I not incredible?”

Xalen certainly did think it was incredible. A magical blade that could become any weapon sounded like the most fabulous thing he’d ever heard of. Xalen reached out to touch it.

His hand gripped the hilt and gently lifted the sword off the wall. At the first touch he felt a momentary tingle up his arm, and he hefted the blade, taking a few practice swings to check the balance.

Never had he wielded better.

“This thing is amazing,” Xalen said as Seknafret entered the room.

“He’s holding it,” Seknafret said, and removed a straight piece of iron from a pouch belt.

“Idiot!” yelled Ebyn, abandoning his previous spell and entered the room behind her.

Seknafret moved her hands in an intricate pattern over the iron and spoke a few arcane words.

Xalen’s movements slowed and his body stiffened until he couldn’t move at all. “What are you doing?” he said telepathically.

“It’s for your own good,” Seknafret said, her tone as reassuring as possible.

“Beetle wings eat dung,” Brabara said while pointing at the side of her head.

Ebyn stepped forward and set up a portable hole beside Xalen’s unmoving form. Careful not to touch the sword himself, he pried Xalen’s fingers from around the hilt and let the sword drop into the portable hole.

Seknafret, while maintaining her concentration on Xalen’s paralysis, stepped forward and laid a hand on Xalen’s shoulder. “Relax, Xalen,” she said. “Don’t fight me and this will all be over soon.” She sprinkled a good pinch of diamond dust over the young elf while speaking arcane words.

The sword’s words vanished from Xalen’s mind and his thoughts cleared.

Seknafret stopped concentrating and took a step back as movement returned to Xalen’s limbs.

“What did you do that for?” Xalen said, shaking his hands and stomping his feet. “It wasn’t hurting me.”

“And now it never will,” Ebyn said matter-of-factly.

Xalen looked as though he was about to say more but instead turned his attention to the many chests in the room. Under Ebyn’s watchful eye, he spent a few minutes checking each one for traps and then proceeded to pick locks and open them.

Inside they found an assortment of precious gems and coins as well as some potions and a scroll or two. He collected the loot in his portable hole and returned to the armoury where Seknafret was in discussion with Xorala about next steps.

“So should I follow you guys?” the resistance fighter said.

Seknafret shook her head. “No, there’s no sense in putting you in any further danger. Better for you to return and let Vocar know the fortress is quiet and that Kas is elsewhere.”

“The password for the arcane lock I placed on the door is ‘aubergine’,” Ebyn said. “Say that first and you should have no trouble getting in or out. But before you depart, please wait while I perform a ritual so I can link us telepathically. That way we can keep you updated on our progress and let you know once we have secured the nexus.”

 “You’ll be able to read my thoughts?” Xorala asked, a momentary look of concern on her face.

“Only the ones you choose to share,” Ebyn explained. “It’s just a way for us all to communicate with one another.”

“I see,” she said brightly. “You really have come prepared. Unlike me.”

The ritual was cast and the group, plus Xorala, were telepathically linked.

“Can you hear me?” Seknafret shared via the link.

Xorala started, her eyes wide. “I can,” she said.

“Now you try it,” urged Seknafret. “Just think about what you want to say to us.”

Xorala’s eyes unfocused for a moment. “Is this right?” she shared.

“Well done. You’re a natural.” Seknafret shared.

Xorala chuckled. “I don’t know about that but thank you.” She leaned down to pick up the backpack at her feet. “I will take my leave,” she said looking at each of them. “Good luck with your mission.” She gave them a brief wave and left the room heading straight for the entryway.

“Now for upstairs,” Ebyn began once Xorala’s footsteps faded in the distance. “The two undead upstairs are performing some kind of black surgery. I had hoped to charm them and find out the operation of the magic circles, but I doubt we’d get much from a pair of skeletons.”

“Big forest needs eggs inside,” Brabara said, her face split in a wide grin.

Ebyn frowned. “I have no idea what you are trying to tell me. In any case, we should kill the surgeons as quickly as possible. Then I can cast identify to learn what the circles are about.”

“Elephant wheelbarrow,” Brabara said.

The group ascended the stairwell, Brabara at the front, her glaive gleaming in the torchlight. At the landing she shoved the doors wide – only to be met by sudden violence.

The first undead spun, skeletal fingers crackling with foul energy, and hurled a necrotic bolt straight for Brabara’s chest. The second traced jagged sigils in the air, and a shroud of darkness covered the room and poured down the stairwell, thick with icy whispers that clawed at the mind.

Brabara roared and lunged, glaive flashing. Steel bit into rotted flesh again and again, each strike ringing with fury, yet the creature refused to fall.

Xalen forced his way through the suffocating dark, blind but relentless. He emerged on the far side of the chamber, where a figure writhed against its bonds on a gurney. For a heartbeat he hesitated – rescue or execution? Then the thing tore free, muscles bulging, eyes burning with feral hunger. Mercy, Xalen realized grimly, would mean ending it before those arms crushed him to paste.

Seknafret appeared in a shimmer of amulet-light beside Brabara. She pivoted, cloak swirling, and unleashed a volley of eldritch blasts that hammered into the undead. She scanned the chamber and saw no one, the second foe had vanished into shadow.

Ebyn climbed into the gloom, fingers weaving precise sigils. His incantation shattered the darkness, and the whispers died. As the room cleared, he saw the missing undead reaching for a cage in the corner. What had once been empty now held a towering hybrid of man and beast, its animal gaze locking on him with predatory intent.

Chaos erupted. Spells streaked like comets, arrows hissed through the air, blades rang against bone, and fists crashed against flesh. The melee churned across the chamber in a storm of steel and sorcery. One by one the undead crumpled, and soon the hybrids followed, their monstrous forms collapsing under the Succulent Juices’ relentless assault.

The chamber fell silent at last, the echoes of battle fading into the cold stone walls. Brabara and Seknafret bore wounds, crimson streaking their armor, but nothing beyond the reach of healing magic.

The five prisoners had been reduced to four. No doubt the person on the gurney had been one of the unfortunates chained to the walls before the ministrations of the undead rendered it a beast.

Ebyn sat by one of the magical circles and laid out the components for the ritual while Seknafret freed the remaining prisoners using a key she had found on one of the undead and healing them as best she could.

Scared, exhausted, hungry, and dehydrated was a bad combination but when the alternative was to be dismembered and grafted to unknown body parts, the former captives were grateful for the rescue.

“How long have you been chained up here?” Seknafret asked one of the freed prisoners, a girl who looked to be in her late teens, but - given the rapid aging of this realm – was likely a good deal younger.

“I don’t know,” she managed weakly. “A long time I think, they fed us four times.”

“What’s your name?” Seknafret asked.

“Marissa,” the girl said keeping her eyes downcast.

“Do you know what they were doing?” queried Xalen.

The young girl shuddered. “Nothing good.”

“Bananas make great boats for cats,” Brabara offered.

Marissa looked up at the big warrior and then to Seknafret. “You’re not going to hurt us, are you?”

“Of course not,” Seknafret said in her most reassuring tone. “But this is a dangerous place, and that means there might be times when you’ll need to cover your eyes or hide when we tell you. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” Marissa said. “We’ve all been doing a lot of that since the bad people took us.”

Seknafret smiled and looked over the whole group. “That’s fantastic. Well done everyone.”

“It’s a type of teleportation circle,” Ebyn said once his ritual was finished. “But limited to a single point. Just stand on the circle and you will be teleported to a paired circle elsewhere.”

“Can you tell where they go?” Xalen asked.

“No, we will have to use them to find that out.” Ebyn replied.

Seknafret tapped her chin for a moment. “Is anyone able to make me invisible?”

Ebyn shook his head.

“I can,” Xalen said. “But it will only last an hour.”

“That should be plenty,” Seknafret said.

Brabara placed a hand on Seknafret’s shoulder. “Tomatoes horse dung.”

“Relax,” Seknafret said, taking a guess at Brabara’s meaning. “While invisible I can use each of the teleportation circles, and if I get trapped anywhere, I can use my amulet to teleport next to you here.”

“My elbow is opinionated,” Brabara said and skipped back while moving her arms in a wave.

Xalen uttered an arcane phrase and touched Seknafret on the shoulder.

Seknafret disappeared and walked over to the nearest magic circle to stand at its centre. In a heartbeat the magic activated, and she was transported into a spacious empty room.

To her left was a large wooden table covered in papers and what looked like terrain models with tiny soldiers arranged upon them, and to the right was an orrery depicting the multiverse and the outer planes. Directly opposite the desk was an imposing set of double doors with some kind of script above it. Seknafret squinted but the writing was too small to make out so she took a few paces forward.

A riddle, Seknafret thought and read the words. “Sometimes white, sometimes bold,
Useful to the young and old, A question answered by a ploy, what fabrication can destroy?”

She thought for a moment. “A lie perhaps,” she said.

“What’s a lie,” came Xalen’s telepathic response.

“The answer to the riddle above the door,” she replied. “At least, that was my initial response.”

“Can you read it for us?” asked Ebyn.

Seknafret did so.

“I think it might be truth,” Ebyn said once she was finished. “The last line, ‘what fabrication can destroy’. A lie will destroy the truth – so the answer is truth.”

“But the reverse is also true,” Seknafret said. “And a lie suits the rest of the clues better than truth does.”

“Hmm, I suppose that’s true,” Ebyn conceded.

Seknafret returned to the teleportation circle and waited to be transported back to the room where the others waited. “Now I’ll try the other one.”

Still invisible, she crossed to the opposite corner and stood at the centre of that teleportation circle. Once again, she vanished, and this time she reappeared in a massive chamber. Three men, one hugely muscled and dressed in plate armour, stood with two others in the uniform of the Daggers, pointing at a huge stone table with a three-dimensional replica of the realm of Tovag sitting upon it.

To her right, at the far end of the room, was an upright stone circle with a great number of different runes carved into it. To her left was a set of double doors – very likely leading to the first room she teleported into.

“The Transplanar Nexus is here,” Seknafret shared over the link.

“That’s fantastic,” Ebyn replied eagerly. “We’ll come to you.”

“Don’t do that,” Seknafret said. “This room is occupied, and I have a feeling this last circle has landed me in a prison.”

Beside her, slumped against an invisible wall of force was an unconscious human. An older man, perhaps in his mid-forties, with bruises visible on the flesh of his arms and legs. Seknafret bent down and found that the man was still breathing but his injuries suggested he would not be alive for very long.

“I have an idea,” Seknafret said. “The first teleportation circle leads to the riddle room. Answering the riddle correctly should allow you to open the doors that lead to the room I am looking at now. I propose that I remain here, unseen, and you three go to that first room.”

“Okay,” Xalen said. “Then what?”

“I’ll wait for you to open the doors, then I will trap as many of these men I can like I did in Barovia. We should have no trouble handling the remaining occupants alone and we can then deal with the others.”

“Fish make good kissers,” Brabara replied.

“Sounds like a good plan,” Xalen said after. “We will let you know when we’re ready to open the doors.”

The others, along with the four rescued children, stepped onto the northwestern teleportation circle and one by one were transported to the so-called riddle room. Ebyn, seeing the various papers and other objects on the desk, immediately went over to investigate, while Xalen approached the doors to check them for traps.

Brabara kept the children huddled behind her in the opposite corner, as far away from both Ebyn and Xalen as she could. If either the door or the item strewn table were trapped, she hoped they were far enough away to avoid whatever might happen.

Ebyn looked down at the assortment of maps and figurines trying to make sense of what was depicted on them. He was no military man, but he got the distinct impression that the maps displayed troop positions. Two distinct groups of forces arrayed against a third.

One of the armies bore no markings, while their apparent allies were marked with a spider symbol which Ebyn felt certain represented the demon queen, Lolth. The third group were marked with some other demonic symbol which Ebyn did not recognise.

There were numbers and arrows, perhaps indicating supply lines and troop movements, but the exact interpretation was well outside his area of expertise. One thing he did recognise though, given his extensive research into the outer planes, he felt certain the maps showed the layer of Pandesmos, topmost layer of Pandemonium – a place of persistent strong winds and unpredictable terrain.

He carefully took up the maps and papers and placed the lot of them in his portable hole. Perhaps he and Mordenkainen might be able to make some sense of them back at the sanctuary.

“As far as I can tell, the door isn’t trapped,” Xalen said. “Are we ready to go through?”

“Hold a minute,” Ebyn said as he crossed the room to the orrery. “I just want to check this contraption first.”

The orrery was a marvel of artifice. An interconnected set of gears, poles, and spheres depicting the multiverse, sigil, and the inner and outer planes. Ebyn reached out and gently pushed one of the larger sphere’s causing it to rotate along with smaller spheres in its orbit.

“Incredible,” Ebyn said, eyes glued to the spinning spheres.

The movement of one thing caused movement in everything else and in this elegant construction the interconnectedness of all reality was depicted. This was what Vecna threatened, Ebyn mused as he studied the intricate device, this was what they were all working toward saving.

As the spheres and planes moved about one another, Ebyn finally saw the true scope of Vecna’s ambition. Imagine the power it would take to control such a complex thing as reality. Imagine the incredible ego one must have to deem themselves worthy of wielding that control.

He’d always viewed Vecna as an evil being – the cruelty and horrors he had lived through in their shared dreams was evidence of that. But now, looking at this brilliant representation of all existence, he finally understood that evil was too small a word to describe Vecna. This was something more, beyond hubris, a megalomania that transcended all obstacles. This was what they were up against, and the realization staggered him.

He looked across the room at his companions, simple Brabara, and impulsive Xalen. Even Seknafret had her shortcomings. How could it be that the wish cast by three of the most powerful spellcasters in the multiverse had yielded them as the result?

Surely some wicked joke had been played, and they were the punchline.

Ebyn took a moment to gather himself. Punchline or not, they still had to get out of here, and the way to do that lay beyond those doors. “Ready when you are,” he called over to Xalen, and then telepathically to Seknafret. “Get ready, we are coming through.”

Xalen stood before the doors and said, “Lies.”

There was a faint click as the doors unlocked. He stepped back and ushered Brabara forward.

“Sheep monkey nuts,” Brabara said to the children, then hefted her glaive, approached the doors and pulled them open.

The three men looked up as she entered, but before they could move, two were snared in a shimmering prison of force as Seknafret revealed herself. Tejen, broad-shouldered and grim, spat a guttural incantation. Seknafret staggered, her body wracked as though torn apart from within.

The lone dagger charged, blades flashing. Brabara met him head-on and cut him down with ease.

Ebyn raised his hands. Dawn blazed, searing the trapped men. One dissolved in radiant fire but Tejen remained standing, scorched but unbroken. His laughter echoed – not triumphant, but hollow, the brittle mirth of a man remembering the punchline to a very bad joke.

Seknafret, clutching her amulet, vanished and reappeared beside Brabara. Together, the group retreated into the riddle room, shielding themselves from Tejen’s gaze – lest they too suffer that soul-rending agony.

Ebyn leaned around the corner and cast Dawn again. Radiance poured over Kas’ general, burning him with divine fury. Yet Tejen endured, blistered but defiant. His laughter rasped through the chamber, brittle and mocking, the sound of a man who had finally tasted the hopelessness he had inflicted on others.

Ebyn swallowed his rage. He would not grant Tejen the dignity of words, nor the mercy of hope. The architect of so much pain now faced the consequences of his own hubris, trapped and powerless.

He cast Dawn a third time. The radiant energy seared Tejen’s flesh, stripping away the remnants of bravado. His laughter faltered, replaced by silence as the light shone down upon him. This was no mere punishment; it was a sentence long overdue, commensurate with his countless crimes.

As the spell waned, Seknafret stepped forward, her eyes cold as stone. With a flick of her hand, she unleashed a storm of eldritch fire. Seknafret’s unrelenting assault finally brought Tejen low. The silence was absolute – until the acrid stench of blue cheese seeped through the chamber, absurd and overwhelming.

The universe, it seemed, had a sense of humour after all. A cruel one.

Seknafret looked back at the wretched figure still stuck in Tejen's magical cage. “We should help him.”

Ebyn glanced up. “How?”

“I could go back in there and heal him,” Seknafret said.

“Do you have any way to bring him out?” Ebyn asked.

Seknafret shook her head. “Nothing immediately comes to mind.”

“Then healing him will only prolong his suffering,” Ebyn said. “Best to end his misery or leave him to his fate.”

Seknafret looked away with a sigh. “You can be cold, Ebyn. It’s not healthy.”

Ebyn shrugged and moved across to the transplanar nexus where he prepared to cast the ritual that would allow him to understand its workings. Brabara and Xalen ushered the children into a corner of the room close to the nexus while Seknafret used what remained of her magic to heal herself.

“The nexus is secure,” Xalen shared telepathically.

“That is great news,” Xorala responded. “I have Vocar, Deurant, and several children with me.”

“Already?” Xalen said. “You left less than an hour ago.”

“I met them on the road,” Xorala said. “They’d left Tor Gorak a few days ago in the hope that you’d be successful. We should be back with you in half an hour or so.”

“What about the guards at the gate?” Xalen asked. “You need help getting past them?”

“No,” Xorala replied. “We can handle them. Stay put and keep the nexus secure.”

Xalen shrugged. “Okay, cool, see you soon.”

Ebyn rose once the ritual was complete. “I understand how to operate the nexus now. It’s essentially the same as a teleportation spell. First, we match the symbols on the outside of the circle to the symbols of whatever teleportation circle we wish to travel to. Then, when the device is activated, it will create a link between here and that circle which will remain open for ten minutes.”

Seknafret approached the Nexus, looking over the device. “So, since we can’t use this to travel to Sigil, where will you have it take us?”

“Neverwinter,” Ebyn said. “I had a teleportation circle installed in the apartment Lord Neverember gave me.”

Xalen nodded. “That was forward thinking of you.”

Ebyn gave Xalen a sidelong glance. “And that’s surprising to you?”

“I guess not,” Xalen said with a smile.

“Grunting wolf babies,” said Brabara.

Back in the riddle room, Xorala appeared in the teleportation circle followed a few seconds later by Deurant, then four children; Hina and Eurik, Deurant’s children, as well as Drota and Hector, whom they’d rescued on the road. Finally, Vocar stepped into the room.

The Sleeper walked forward. He spotted Tejen’s ruined corpse on the floor and smiled broadly. “Well done,” he said. “You have succeeded just as I always believed you would. I know our master will be most pleased.”

Xalen looked up. “Our master?”

“The Whispered One,” Vocar explained. “I sensed your ties to our master the moment I saw you. Now, with the nexus under our control we can send people to Cavitus to bolster our master’s forces.”

The box at Ebyn’s side clicked open, and a new secret was added to their collection: Vocar is an agent of Vecna.

Ebyn clenched his fists. “Our master?” he screeched. “You believe that we’re allied with Vecna?”

A terrible rage filled him. The mere idea that anyone could think he was in league with the arch-lich was almost more than he could bare, and he launched a firebolt at the smug man catching him entirely off guard.

Vocar spat a curse and an unholy word. A spectral mace blinked into existence beside Ebyn and smashed into his ribs. Pain flared, and worse, Ebyn saw the burns from his firebolt knit themselves shut across Vocar’s flesh.

The traitor grinned. “The Whispered One protects his favourites.”

“Protect this,” Xalen muttered, loosing three arrows. The shafts thudded home, driving Vocar back a step. He turned, lips curling around another foul word, and Xalen doubled over, clutching his skull as agony lanced through his mind. The young rogue staggered, eyes wild, like a drunk trying to stay upright in a storm.

Deurant saw the exchange and stepped forward, baton raised, planting himself between Brabara and the children. “You’ll not touch them,” he said, voice hard as iron. Brave words. Maybe foolish ones.

Seknafret, still reeling from Tejen’s attack, dragged herself to the corner and spun her staff. Sand whipped into a blinding storm, swallowing her and four of the children in its grit.

Xorala screamed, panic twisting her face, and bolted into the sand to hide.

“Two elephants on a pin,” Brabara muttered to Deurant, pointing at the ceiling. Then she strode toward Vocar, swelling larger with every step.

Steel rang. Vocar and Brabara traded blows, Xalen’s arrows hissing past, while Ebyn’s fury boiled. He waited, teeth clenched, until he had the angle. Then he blinked across the room, raised his hand, and unleashed his most devastating spell.

Disintegrate tore through Vocar, rippling across his body shredding limbs to dust and ruin. Ebyn’s lips curled in grim satisfaction, until the man straightened, whole again, shrugging it off like a man brushing dirt from his coat. Horror chilled Ebyn’s gut. If Vecna’s lapdog could shrug off that kind of power, what in all the hells could the master do?

Spent, Ebyn was down to cantrips. Sparks and scraps, while his companions fought with steel and shaft.

Inside the storm, Xorala moved like she could see through the grit. Seknafret caught the gleam of her teeth as she closed in. Too wide, too hungry.

Her eyes hardened, head tilting like a predator sizing up prey. Then the claws came, raking across Seknafret’s flesh.

“You’ll taste sweet, little godling,” she purred, voice dripping with delight.

Seknafret flinched, then planted herself between Xorala and the children. “I won’t let you hurt them.”

Xorala’s smile widened, stretching unnaturally. “Them? They’re scraps. I’ve no interest in scraps. It’s you I want. Rare flesh. Divine marrow. I’ll savour every bite.”

She slashed again as Seknafret fled, dragging the sandstorm with her. Blood welled, and Xorala licked it from her fingers, slow and deliberate. She closed her eyes as if tasting wine.
“Ah… copper and starlight. You’ll scream beautifully.”

Her laughter rose, high and jagged, echoing through the storm. It wasn’t madness, it was joy. The joy of a predator finally off the leash.

Seknafret sprinted, the storm swirling around Ebyn now. Xorala followed, unhurried, savouring the chase.

When Brabara, Xalen, and Ebyn finally brought Vocar down, Seknafret turned her fury on Xorala, hurling eldritch blasts. The bolts passed through her harmlessly. She giggled, sharp and manic, like nails dragged across glass.

Her gaze flicked to Vocar’s corpse. The giggle became a laugh, rich and cruel.

“Thank you for freeing me,” she said, licking her claws clean, then vanished.

“Cover the exits!” Ebyn barked. “We can’t let her slip away.”

Brabara and Xalen sprinted to the double doors, steel ready. Ebyn rose into the air, eyes narrowed, sweeping the chamber in a tight grid. He could see the invisible, pierce veils others couldn’t, but the room was empty. Xorala was gone.

Deurant still stood guard over the children, baton clenched white-knuckle. He straightened as Xalen and Seknafret approached, chin high, shoulders squared. They saw it in his eyes; he knew he was no match for them if it came to blows. But he stood anyway. Brave. Foolish. Admirable, in its way.

“Stand down, Deurant,” Seknafret said. “We’re not in league with Vocar.”

“But… Vocar…,” Duerant said, unsure. “He said you had a link.”

Seknafret nodded. “That part is true, but we are not allies with Vecna, we are instead on a quest to stop Vecna. Keep him from doing something that would hurt everyone. The link Vocar mentioned is a mark on our souls gained in pursuit of that quest.”

Duerant swallowed. “So, what happens now?”

“We are going to use the nexus to leave this place,” Xalen replied. “And I for one am not ever planning to come back.”

Deurant’s eyes fell. “Will you take the children with you?”

“Daddy, no!” Hina cried, and she ran up to wrap her father in an embrace.

Eurik also ran forward to hug his father. “Come with us.”

Tears flowed freely down Deurant’s face. “I cannot, little ones. The resistance is going to need a new leader now that Vocar is gone. I must stay, so that more children can be freed before the dark lord returns.” He looked up and locked eyes with Xalen. “Promise me you will take care of them.”

“Of course,” Xalen said, memories of his own past uppermost. “I wouldn’t be here if my parents hadn’t entrusted me to the care of others. I’ll do everything to make sure these children are safe.”

Duerant nodded, and clasped Xalen’s hand firmly. “Thank you.”

“I have configured the nexus to take us back to Neverwinter,” Ebyn said. “Once I activate it, we will have ten minutes to make it through.”

“Wait,” said Duerant. “Before you go, can you instruct me on how to use this device?”

Ebyn thought for a moment. “Of course.”

Ebyn spent the next few minutes giving Deurant exhaustive instructions on how the Transplanar Nexus worked, even having Deurant repeat those back to him, so he was sure the man understood the lesson.

“Once we’ve gone through, make sure you reset the target runes, so we can’t be followed,” Ebyn said at the end.

Deurant nodded. “I understand.”

“Right then,” Ebyn said while activating the nexus with a flourish. “Let’s go then.”

“Goodbye, godling,” Xorala’s voice sounded in Seknafret’s mind over the telepathic bond.

Seknafret’s eyes widened, heart thumping in her chest as she glanced about. “Where are you, fiend?”

“K’tack Nokrit X’tal!” Xorala said in a harsh language that sounded like clashing metal.

Xalen noticed Seknafret’s distress and started looking around too. “Seknafret, what’s wrong?”

“Xorala,” Seknafret hissed. “She’s taunting me over the telepathic bond.”

“The link will break once we leave this place,” Ebyn said and stepped through the magical portal.

Seknafret said nothing and stepped through after him.

Duerant hugged his children one last time and they crossed the threshold of the nexus. Brabara and Xalen waited for the remaining children to cross over and then Brabara stepped through leaving Xalen alone with Deurant.

“Look after them, won’t you?” Deurant said, eyes fixed on Xalen.

“I promise,” Xalen said, then he too stepped into the mist.