Session 117

Following Sabine's release and assault, Skinner used his chains to slam Ravayn into the wall twice. Ravayn, enraged by this, escaped the chains with his strange form of teleportation and jabbed Skinner, draining him and robbing him of another 10 years of his life. He then gathered blood spilled by the attack and used it to heal himself. Summer took a shot at him, after which he quickly attacked Skinner and then missed when attempting to claw at Summer, before vanishing. Meanwhile, Merrick, face-to-face with the remaining minion, used his Green-Flame Blade to bisect the creature, finishing it off. Valdor then used his magic to detect the blood Ravayn had absorbed to locate him, standing on the platform above them. Dain rapidly fired off a Fire Bolt, singing his flesh, before Sabine launched another mote from her Crown of Stars, punching straight through Ravayn's chest. Stunned, Ravayn toppled over the railing, falling to the ground below. Skinner attempted to capture his soul, but realized there was nothing to capture, recognizing Ravayn's undead nature. So instead, Dain rushed over and decided to make sure he wouldn't get back up, and used Stormsmasher to pulverize Ravayn's head. Dain wasn't the only one seeking closure, as Skinner then rushed over and begin to savagely attack the corpse until it was unrecognizable. Dain hugged a shell-shocked Sabine and delivered the unfortunate news about Samira before going to Valdor to ask him just what that creature was. Valdor explained that it was one of Maven's darkest creations, the most powerful users of Ruxor on Aellorah, and the darkest path a Bloodmarker could walk -- a Vampire. He explained that these Vampires feed not on blood, but the animate Flow found within living creatures, using it to sustain themselves. Skinner asked if there was any way to restore the life force he had been robbed of, but Valdor explained that if he had been able to take the animate Flow back quickly enough, perhaps they could, but Ravayn had already consumed it to recover from his wounds, and that it had to be Skinner's own Flow, as it is tied to his identity, and that unfortunately he and Sabine could not be restored. Skinner and Sabine stormed out of the chapel as the rest of the party gathered their stolen things from around the chapel. They then trekked back to the camp, where they found Sabine inconsolable, mourning Samira. As they discussed the events of the night, Sabine began to cry out, screaming towards the sky, as her skin began to glow and the ground began to quake. The party panicked, unsure of what to do about Sabine's grief-stricken outburst. However, Valdor went to her and managed to calm her. The party then turned in for the night and reflected on the night's dark events. In the morning, they held a funeral for Samira and buried her, with Sabine saying a few words for her, being the only one among them that knew Samira well. Dain then contacted Chandira to let her know about Samira's death and where she could be found, to which a shocked Chandira replied, agreeing to send someone to collect her remains. With that, the group set out for Mt. Ardreth, arriving a little less than a week later.

As the group ascended Mt. Ardreth, they encountered a group of Letheni afflicted by the Ferroplague, clearly members of the Sorcerer's Cabal, including Tabitha, who was unaware that they had been dispatched to stop Dain and Summer. A man named Eltinar accosted the party, attempting to prevent them from ascending, believing that Valdor would attempt to make the corruption worse. After talking didn't do any good, Valdor used his Ruxor to paralyze the group before going around and purging the Ferroplague from each of them, as he had previous done with Merrick, Summer, and Moonshadow. He then released them, attempting to show good faith, and convinced them to let the group pass, though with a heavy degree of skepticism. Before reaching the Fringe of the Wellspring, Merrick decided to use True Polymorph to become a Deepwalker, the creature of the Deep One that they had fought in Seldain Ithael during Sabine's ascension trials, in case they ran into any trouble along the way. As they neared the Maelstrom, Sabine steeled herself and advanced, rising into the air and glowing fiercely as she gathered energy around her, drawing all of the nearby Flow towards herself. The inky black tendrils of the Wellspring, Maven's corruption, lashed out at her -- however, she responded with a furious blast of raw magical energy which shone as brightly as the sun, blinding all nearby, which eradicated the corruption. As the light cleared and Sabine fell back to the ground, Dain caught her. There was no longer any trace of the corruption, and the Fringe had gone eerily quiet. However, the Maelstrom had stopped completely, with no spout indicating the Wellspring's presence, being replaced only by a lake of raw power swirling about as if waves being battered by a storm were calming. Valdor quickly set to beginning his ritual to prepare the cure -- however, he was interrupted as the Deep One assumed control of Merrick for having dared to take the form of one of his Deep Spawn, causing Merrick to grab Valdor with his tentacle-like tongue and chomp down on him hard. Valdor screamed in agony and managed to gather enough strength to teleport a short distance away, and the shocked party members charged. Merrick managed to combat the Deep One's influence enough to prevent him from acting for the first half of the battle, but soon lost control and began to attack the party. Dain attempted to Vortex Warp the Deepwalker near the edge of the Maelstrom, hoping to shove him in, but failed. Valdor then used a trick he learned from Ravayn, flaying the Deepwalker, tearing off enormous chunks of skin from the Deepwalker's arms. Summer then got off a devastating shot with her bow, causing Merrick to revert to his normal form, breaking the Deep One's control. As Merrick, who had blacked out during the battle, came to and found the party with weapons trained on him, he questioned what happened, and was told he had attacked them. Dain and Valdor gave him an earful for being so reckless, and Merrick walked off in shame. Valdor then completed his ritual, producing a brightly glowing cloth, which he rolled up and brought to the edge of the Maelstrom, which had begun to gather its power again and swirl to form a spout. Valdor tossed the cloth into the Maelstrom, where it was torn apart and scattered, producing countless brilliantly glowing particles of light which suffused the Maelstrom and were scattered into the atmosphere above them, causing the sky to dazzle. As the group relaxed, realizing that their journey was now over, they head back down the mountain path, where they came upon the members of the Sorcerer's Cabal, who thanked them and apologized for their earlier confrontation, admitting that they were wrong. After making peace with them, the party descended the mountain with the Cabal, escorting them to the location of Samira's remains, where the Cabal thanked them and took them with them. They then set out for Mythwell.

Shortly before arriving at Mythwell one morning, Dain awoke to find Sabine hurriedly packing her things, apparently angry. The group questioned her, and she lashed out at them, telling them that every bad thing that had happened to her since her parents died always seemed to come back to Dain and his companions, how she felt like she had been used as a tool first to kill cultists, and then forced to clean up the party's mess after they tainted the Wellspring, and during which the only parental figure she had known since her mother died, Samira, had become food for Ravayn. She lamented that she had lost her entire childhood and now had lost her teenage years as well and would be forced to live in the body of a young teenager for the rest of her life while losing more than a decade. She said she didn't know where she was going but needed to get far away from them. Dain attempted to convince her to stay, despite Valdor's protests, and even attempted to force the matter with Vortex Warp, to which Sabine responded with a Counterspell so powerful that it knocked Dain backwards head over heels. Skinner then attempted to appeal to Sabine, saying he understood her frustration, as he had lost two decades of his life as well during that fight, but Sabine became angry, suggesting he clearly wasn't listening if he thought that's the only thing she was angry about, and when Skinner attempted to hold her back, she threatened him. Seemingly unwilling to listen to their pleas, Sabine employed a rapid metamagic to produce a spell she had never used before, and vanished in a flash as she teleported somewhere unknown. Dain was distraught, saying he knew she wasn't going to stay but only wanted to offer her some money so she could survive on her own. Troubled by this development, the group continued to Mythwell, with Dain making a beeline for Oops! All Enchantments, hoping to sell some of the dead weight enchanted items he was carrying, hoping to take his mind off of things. He fetched a small fortune selling some of his more valuable items to the Letheni shopkeeper, Emrys, but after having his interest piqued by a Ring of Teleportation that Emrys claimed to have, and attempting to barter to bring down the price of the ring, Dain offered a custom magic item in order to secure a discount, with Merrick backing him up and mentioning Dain's name. Emrys seemed to recognize the name, with Dain assuming it was due to his valiant actions throughout Arak… however, when Emrys realized where he recognized the name, he made an excuse to go to the back room, and then bolted. Dain, alarmed, went to attempt to enter the back room but found it locked. He attempted to teleport past the door, but was Counterspelled by the shop's defenses, setting off an alarm. He and Skinner ran around the back to look for Emrys and found him dashing down the back alleyway. Emrys was spry despite his age and Skinner couldn't keep up… however, Dain cast Fly in order to pursue him. He was too late, however, as Emrys reached the main road and quickly flagged down an Enforcer, shouting that the Dwarf following him was Dain Brawnanvil and had a bounty on his head. The Enforcer, alarmed by this, drew his weapon and ordered Dain to halt, explaining that he had a bounty out on his head from the magistrate of Nenthafiaran, and would need to surrender immediately. Dain decided to flee, using Dimension Door to flee down the road, hearing the telltale fireworks exploding in the air behind him as the pursuing Enforcer signaled the rest of the city. As he fled, Chandira contacted him through the Sending Stone, explaining that they had found more information about Archmage Kyran's death, and wanted to know how close he was to Mythwell. Dain replied that he was currently fleeing Mythwell, explaining the situation. Chandira, alarmed, said she would be in touch, and Dain and Summer made their way out of the city.