With Temphalic's ability, he gets to roll one more time.

Investigation: 28 + 4 (from the Guidance and Bardic Inspiration)

With a total of 32, Lord Akkron finally, just barely, manages to open the box... and inside sits the shriveled, blackened heart of Talice. Though it is mummified, it still beats slowly. Akkron slowly lifts it out of the box, turning it over in his hands as if he isn't sure what to do with it...

"Father... if you don't want to do it, I can take care of that damned thing for you," Bridgette whispers, putting a hand on her master's shoulder gently.

The lich stirs, placing the heart on the table in front of him.

I suppose I was just wondering if I can really just obliterate her like this... Akkron says quietly, with a pained chuckle. Or if perhaps I should let her reform one more time so that she can see the monster that she created before being consigned to oblivion... maybe I should ask her why...

He trails off. It's pretty clear that Akkron isn't thinking with cold undead logic right now. What you're looking at is a bereaved father holding the very soul of the one who took his child from him.

Quote from Mister_Whisker>>

With a total of 32, Lord Akkron finally, just barely, manages to open the box... and inside sits the shriveled, blackened heart of Talice. Though it is mummified, it still beats slowly. Akkron slowly lifts it out of the box, turning it over in his hands as if he isn't sure what to do with it...

(OOC: Yikes!  That was close!  It's a good thing we still had some resources to throw at the puzzle!)

Hewelathan has been resting and eating an entire day's ration while Lord Akkron works on the puzzle box.  When it is finally open, the half-elf moves closer to see its grisly contents.

I suppose I was just wondering if I can really just obliterate her like this... Akkron says quietly, with a pained chuckle. Or if perhaps I should let her reform one more time so that she can see the monster that she created before being consigned to oblivion... maybe I should ask her why...

He trails off. It's pretty clear that Akkron isn't thinking with cold undead logic right now. What you're looking at is a bereaved father holding the very soul of the one who took his child from him.

Hewelathan thinks that all undead are a perversion of the natural order of the world, but listening to this conversation, he can imagine the man who was broken by the betrayal of his beloved.  He tries to offer his own counsel, but he is somewhat harsh in his impatience with the sentiment expressed by Lord Akkron for the vile mummy the party just destroyed earlier in the day.  Her sneering tone and hateful words still ring in his ears. 

Hewelathan says, "I beg your pardon, Lord Akkron, but why do you give her this power over you?!  I believe that the Talice whom you loved was always a lie, a fantasy designed and performed by the priestess to deceive you and further her own evil plans.  Mourn the loss of that fantasy of your beloved, but the one who betrayed you was the true Talice all along.  Just today, when we saw her, she called your daughter a 'half-breed' and said that she could serve no greater purpose than to spill her blood for Lolth.  What mother could say such a thing?!"  He gives the lich a look of understanding and of pity, but he cannot countenance letting Talice reform for so little purpose.  He gestures to the table and says, "Her heart was always this black and shriveled thing!  How else could she violating the bonds of motherhood to murder her own child?  Talice was always devoted to the Demon Queen of Spiders.  Do not let her reform just to taunt you, to scorn your love, and to laugh at those who care for the pain and suffering of others.  Do not give such a monstrous evil that power!  Hildegard offered Talice a chance to repent and do penance for her crimes, and she laughed and sent you a taunting message that your little girl would forever be damned to suffer in Lolth's web."

Hewelathan casts Produce Flame and holds the flame in front of him, cupped in both hands, in a gesture that could be seen as begging Lord Akkron...or perhaps offering the flame to the lich.  He says, "You can hold on to the fantasy of the woman you thought you loved, but give the true Talice the end she deserves: OBLIVION!  Let us help you burn this black heart to ash!"

Hildegard spends the time that Lord Akkron works on the puzzle box meditating, and praying for his success. She breathes a sigh of relief when he succeeds, and she echoes her agreement with Hewelathan. "As much as I wish it were otherwise, Talice is beyond redemption. It is a mercy to destroy her, so that she will not continue to add crimes to her black soul."

He pauses for a long moment... it seems that it's true what they say: hate is not the opposite of love. And Lord Akkron has not reached apathy yet, even after thousands of years.

Then, he sighs.

I suppose it is only fitting that I finish her off, the lich says at last. I suggest not standing too close...

He raises his hands, and and dumps a massive fireball on the heart. It sizzles for a moment, as if trying to cling to existence just a moment longer. Then, an inhuman screech echoes through the air as the heart crumbles into nothing but a pile of ash.

She always was so dramatic... Akkron mutters as the echoes of that screech fade.

(If anyone wants to take a Long Rest, Lord Akkron has made sure that it's safe to do so here)

((Long rest taken))

Quote from Mister_Whisker >>

(If anyone wants to take a Long Rest, Lord Akkron has made sure that it's safe to do so here)

(OOC: Gladly!  Of course, either before our long rest or first thing in the morning, we'll need Lord Akkron's advice about what to do next and how the Luck Blade can help us.  

Ever since April 2024, the campaign has been focused on getting to the drow city, recovering the Luck Blade, and getting back to Lord Akkron with it.  Now that we've destroyed Talice and acquired the Luck Blade, we're going to need to figure out what The Accursed need to do next. High Priest Grewynn thought that we should travel to the Shaded Isle (done), seek the advice of Lord Akkron (done), and find a way to reach the Ethereal Plane where "the weave of reality may be changed contrary even to the will of gods."  Not sure whether that's still the next step.

If we're going to be stuck on the Shaded Isle for a few days, Hewelathan will want to get back to training our two dragonnels!  Still trying to prepare for a potential aerial battle with Firion's cult!)

Nickeline tries to follow Lord Akkron's movements and imagine his decisions as he opens the box, but ultimately finds it is far beyond her comprehension.

With the threat of Talice's return now subsided, Nickeline takes a rest. As she drifts off to sleep, she hopes the magic sword the group brought back can do what they need it to.

When you're done with your long nap, Lord Akkron explains how to use the Luck Blade to rid yourselves of the curses...

The blade contains three wishes, he explains. One for each portion of Sserah's soul that is in your possession... when you use one of these spells while on the Ethereal Plane, you will gain the power to manipulate the soul of even one as powerful as the mad dragon lord, forcing each piece into a new vessel, one that is not tied to you and can thus be safely disposed of. But I will warn you: when making a wish, you must word it EXTREMELY carefully. If you do not say exactly what you want without room for error or interpretation, it can easily go wrong and create an even more severe problem than the one that you were already facing. I have a storeroom of items which are powerful enough to contain these fragments...

Notably, he does not seem to have a solution to Hildegarde, Temphalic, and Nickeline's problems yet, as none of the three have a fragment of Sserah tied to their items. Hildegarde and Nickeline might be best helped by taking down Firion and the Cult of the Dragon, though. Hildegarde knows that Peridita's horn was taken by the Cult, and Nickeline's curse was literally placed on her item by Firion himself. Temphalic... has less of an obvious rout to ridding himself of his curse, and Akkron has been busy for the past several days trying to prevent the end of the world as we know it.

Korba asks Lord Akkron, "Do you recommend that we go next to the Ethereal Plane?  And if so...could you help to send us there, Lord Akkron?"  He looks at the rest of the party.  "As far as I know, none of us have the means to travel to the plane ourselves."

Quote from Mister_Whisker >>

When you're done with your long nap, Lord Akkron explains how to use the Luck Blade to rid yourselves of the curses...

The blade contains three wishes, he explains. One for each portion of Sserah's soul that is in your possession... when you use one of these spells while on the Ethereal Plane, you will gain the power to manipulate the soul of even one as powerful as the mad dragon lord, forcing each piece into a new vessel, one that is not tied to you and can thus be safely disposed of.

Hewelathan says, "When you say that the new items can be safely 'disposed of,' you don't mean destroyed, do you?  You said before that you intended to have us scatter the new items to the planes so that it would be difficult for even Firion to recover them all.  But 'difficult' is not the same as 'impossible'.  And until Firion's cult realizes that we have transferred the curses, they will continue to pursue us, won't they?"  He looks around at the rest of the group to gauge how they're feeling about this plan.  He says, "Several weeks ago, when I began to worry weeks ago that my magical belt was cursed, I set out to find out more about it and whether I could rid the belt its curse.  But now that I understand the source of the curse and the true stakes involved, I won't rest easy until Firion's cult no longer poses a threat to the world."  He realizes the implications of what he's saying.  The party would eventually have to confront and defeat Firion, Lord of the Black Tower and leader of the dragon cult.

Either that, or they would spend their whole lives running from Firion's cult, at least until the cult realized that the party's items no longer held the fragments of Sserrah's soul that they seek.  The first time that Firion confronted the group was just 2 weeks ago, and since then, they have been stalked by spies and hounded by cult members and their allies.  How long can they keep running before they're caught?

Lord Akkron's explanation remind Nickeline of the Ring of Mind Shielding. Nickeline takes it off her finger and raises it up to the lich. "Lord Akkron, sir, thank you for lending me this ring. It was very helpful. I found something that can work in its place, so I am returning it now."

About making the wish, Nickeline says, "Is it more complicated than saying, 'I wish this little piece of Sserah's soul would go from this thing to that thing?' Of course, it'd be the actual names of the items, and I'd point at the things. Is pointing allowed? Actually, Lord Akkron, sir, do you have any books about past times people have made wishes and how it turned out for them? We could learn from their example and make sure our wish is airtight. Or, have you made any wishes yourself? You sound very knowledgeable about it."

She replies to Hewelathan, "I won't go home either, not until Firion goes down. Him and his goons are a menace."

Tamphalic listens to Lord Akkron's explanation, knowing it won't be a solution to his curse. He also knows his curse won't, most likely, be helped by working against the cultists. But he knows he needs to do this. For himself, but also for these new-found friends, and of course for the world itself. For his own curse he might to find a solution on his own, or the only option he might have would be to go back to the dragon's lair that put the curse upon him. However, those are concerns for later. Now he needs to focus on what has just been asked, and that is to got to the Ethereal plane.

((What would Tamphalic know of the Ethereal plane? Arcana (or History same modifier)  if needed: 21))

"I'm here to stay, and fight aswell." Tamphalic agrees with Nickeline.

Jodie attempts to follow the directions of Lord Akkron, "So we'll wish Sserah's fragments into other legendary items?  These are less valuable somehow?"  Jodie seems a bit puzzled at the risk of the trade.  "Will these items be useful as well to help aid us in this endeavor?  If you have many items that would work, should we choose something useful or were you hoping to rid yourself of some foul item along with Sserah's fragmented soul?"

He sighs. You don't know how it's possible, but somehow it looks like the lich is getting a headache.

Alright... so, you do not wish to dispose of the items which are in your possession. That we have already established. The simplest solution to our problem would have just been to take the items which you possess and get rid of them by scattering them into various monsters' hordes and pocket dimensions, never to be seen again. The solution I am suggesting in order to allow you to keep your items of power is, yes, to take the fragments from your items and banish them into items which are of equal power but which are at best useless or at worst actively dangerous to anyone who would use them. Now... regarding phrasing of the wishes: the most likely difficulty you could face from poor wording is that the items you choose to banish the fragments to could accidentally be bonded to the caster of the wish, leaving that person still cursed by the fragment of Sserah's soul, but likely in a new and unpredictable manner.

"Sounds like we gotta really be careful with this spell. Good to know." Tamphalic remarks

Hewelathan understands.  He can't remember ever hearing a story about using a wish that was not a cautionary tale.  But he'll worry about the wish once they figure out this journey to the Ethereal plane!

Hewelathan spoke of the ethereal plane earlier in their adventure, but he has never left the material plane himself.  He says, "Do we just need to step into the 'border realm,' where we can wade through the Ethereal shallows where it laps against our plane, to make this wish?  Or do we need to travel into the Deep Ethereal before we can make such a wish?  While I know that powerful wizards and magical creatures can shift to the Ethereal plane and traverse this world via that misty border realm, I have heard that travel through the trackless sea of the Deep Ethereal is difficult and treacherous."  He also returns to the question that Korba asked: "Without Rhaenys and Stafford (her staff), we no longer have a way to travel to the Deep Ethereal and back.  Will you take us there, Lord Akkron?  Or do you have a way for us to get there and back?"

(OOC: Also, before I forget, as usual, Hewelathan used 3 of his remaining spell slots to cast Goodberry before their Long Rest, using his moon sickle as a focus.  I'll roll for the bonus healing here and add the berries to his inventory.)

• Batch 1: heals 3 per berry
• Batch 2: heals 5 per berry
• Batch 3: heals 2 per berry

Quote from Secretfool >>

((What would Tamphalic know of the Ethereal plane? Arcana (or History same modifier)  if needed: 21))

"I'm here to stay, and fight aswell." Tamphalic agrees with Nickeline.

(( Ah right Ethereal plane, anything for this roll^^))

Hildegard speaks up. "Perdita can travel to the Ethereal Plane at will. And she can take three others with her." The paladin smiles lightly. "She can also bring herself... and us... back to this plane."

Quote from ConstancePhokas >>

Hildegard speaks up. "Perdita can travel to the Ethereal Plane at will. And she can take three others with her." The paladin smiles lightly. "She can also bring herself... and us... back to this plane."

 "Fabulous" marvels Jodie.  "That reminds me of a puzzle bringing animals across a stream in a boat.  Some animals would eat the others if they traveled together."  Jodie looks about in a dramatic fashion and covers up her exposed flesh and blush.  "The beautiful are the first to go."  She laughs at her jest.

Jodie turns to Lord Akkron "Let's take a look at these 'useless' or 'dangerous' items.  You should keep the infernal puzzle box for you solved it.  It may serve a different master in protecting something priceless.  When the wishes are gone, what of the luck blade?"