Goblin Quest - Mind Games

Seeking answers, Xmoek invoked a grim ritual upon the naga’s lifeless remains. Its voice, hollow and spectral, spilled secrets: the dragon’s actual name, Aeteperax, and the knowledge that no traps lay waiting around the dark mirror. Xmoek cast doubt on the validity of the claims. When pressed if there were other threats, it whispered only "yes" before the spell faded. Frustration boiled over, and Xmoek sent the naga’s severed head rolling with a sharp kick.   The monastery revealed its darker face. The kitchen, once warm with the scent of food, now reeked of chemicals and charred experiments. Stains streaked the counters, and a cauldron hissed over firelight. Gakk tested the concoction, eyes narrowing. Dragon scales dissolved, their essence turned to protection. Xmoek gave up his decorative armor without hesitation, and Gakk’s hands turned sacrifice into survival by creating potions to resist the dragon’s breath.   In a chamber of iron coffins, the stench of death lingered. Beneath a pile of rocks, they found a half-orc general, dead but defiant even in starvation. Gooch severed the head. Questions would be asked later.   A campsite told of the alchemist’s quiet life before death—bedrolls, scattered papers, and dust where breath once lingered. No magic. No threat.   Gakk’s shadow slipped through the halls, leading to a dormitory of soot and ash. Six grioths slept in narrow alcoves, their alien forms curled like predators waiting to wake. The party, not willing to risk an ambush, struck first. But Gakk’s opening strike faltered, rousing the creatures into a telepathic frenzy. Gooch and Gakk found their minds spiraling into confusion, muttering nonsense and attacking each other as they staggered under the psychic assault. Through chaos, grit, and very sharp teeth, the party broke the grioths, their foes collapsing one by one.   Then came the whispers. Two spectral monks drifted from the walls, their translucent robes a haunting echo of monks long dead. Their touch sapped the mind, and their voices clawed at willpower. Blades passed through them, but magic and determination won the day.   Bruised and mentally worn, the companions mended what they could. A return to the library brought a final revelation. With Gakk’s sharp eyes guided by Xmoek’s subtle magic, a hidden seam in the wall gave way to a secret door leading into a shadowed hall crowned by a lone statue. This, they felt, was the path forward, a whisper of progress amidst the ruin. As they gathered their courage and prepared to step beyond the threshold, the promise of confrontation with Aeteperax loomed ever closer.