Waterdeep: Camel Heist (2020)

Dekhan is in there with Incantis and Strix, hoping for the best.

He approaches without hesitation, doing nothing but resummoning Zhudala from her resting plane, taking the amulet as it materializes in the air in her invisible hand, and holding it up to the light of the brazier. Zhudun who wanders so, he thinks, wherefore do you lead me?

Varinth puts his fingers in his ears.

Incantis, with Dekhan standing at your side, and Strix off in the corner, you approach the brazier.  The flickering of both the gem within the amulet and the green fire intensifies.  There is no response from Zhudun, not directly, though you do once again have the feeling that you were meant to be standing here, at this moment, doing... whatever it is you are doing.  After a moment, nothing seems to be happening, and you are almost at the point of lowering the amulet when there is a sudden pulse of energy emanating from the brazier, starting as a tiny sphere of green energy, expanding and passing through the air, through you and Dekhan, filling the whole room.  You feel a sharp pull on the amulet; it wants to be placed directly above the brazier, or perhaps within it.

Strix, you see the green energy before it hits, and feel it passing through you.  Make a DEX saving throw.

((Oh boy))

Dexterity : 9

(Thank you magic ring!)

Strix, you manage to keep your balance (just), but you are pulled five feet towards the brazier.  Or rather, it seems like there is something in your backpack that is pulling you towards the green flame.  Though the pulse of energy only happened once, the tugging you feel from your pack seems to be more consistent.

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Strix manoeuvres so neither Dekhan nor Incantis are between him and the brazier (if possible), shrugs out of his pack and opens the lid, keeping his face clear because he has a pretty good idea of what's about to come shooting out, and it'll do someone an injury. If it needs a little helping along, he'll wait a second or two before reaching in.

Without hesitation Incantis' hand moves forward.

With his fingers in his ears, Vaz says a little too loudly

IS IT OVER?

Incantis, your hand moves forward and the amulet seems to hover in the air above the brazier; you no longer feel the weight of it.  You look up, and what remains of the roof of this small, strange building seems to have fallen away revealing a perfect night sky, not the fake minerals of this cavern – at least to your eyes.  And where you expected, right above the brazier, Zhudun waits, watching – gem, flame and star flickering in unison.

Strix, the backpack falls to the floor as you manage to unstrap it as one final tug opens the flap.  For a moment, nothing further happens, and then the bone flute you crafted so carefully tumbles across the floor, clattering to a stop to the side of the stone pedestal that holds the brazier.

Incantis, suddenly you feel the weight of the amulet again as it falls down, swinging as the magic releases it.  But the gem remains in place, hovering, sparkling and slowly rotating in the flame above the brazier.  There is a pause; you get the sense that something more is expected, that there is something you need to do.

20

Scupper looks over at Varynth plugging his ears.

What are ye doing ye daft...

Scupper plugs his ears and closes his eyes.

Feck me.

Incantis nods slowly, his eyes shimmering and twinkling with the reflections of his elder patron's cosmic light. Wondrously, almost perceiving himself himself from above in the third person, Incantis lowers the amulet into the brazier's flame.

With the gem now freed from the amulet and floating above the brazier, there's no response as you place the amulet in the green flame.  Then it begins to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster, and the metal seems to lose shape, becoming liquid as it spins in the flame like clay on a potter's wheel.  It's spinning so fast you can't tell whether the transformation is real or just an optical illusion.  However, there is still a sense that the brazier is waiting for something else.

Incantis reaches out with his mind to the gem, channeling all of his practice honing his celestial song. He expends a use of bardic inspiration on the gem.

Incantis, the gem pulses in response; though bardic inspiration would normally fail on an inanimate object, you get the sense that this ritual - this forging - has progressed.  

Dekhan and Strix, do you want to contribute anything?

Varinth and Scupper, you are unable to see or hear anything except your own heartbeats and/or pounding hangovers.

Dekhan stares at the gem, almost entranced. He looks over at Incantis for a moment and then places a hand on his shoulder. He attempts to open a channel between himself and the Half elf in much the same way as when he lays on hands but instead of healing energy he attempts to share his inner light, the source of his strength, with Incantis.

Dekhan, you feel the warmth of light and healing and friendship passing through you and into the gem, its magic welcomed and absorbed.

Strix or Incantis, do you have anything to add?

Zhudala wraps herself around the gem, coming back into sight in her true form. Incantis his hand over Dekhan's and uses it to perform the somatic components of cure wounds, which he casts through his familiar.

9

Incantis, the spell passes through Zhudala and enters the gem; you feel no effect but the spell was definitely absorbed and held.  Zhudala retreats a few feet, her job done.  The gem glows with a new light, blue against the green flame.  Then it shatters into a thousand pieces, each flying a foot from the epicentre before freezing in the air, creating a strange sphere hanging above the flame.  At the same time, the metal of the amulet also freezes in the brazier, its spin halted for the moment, and you can see that it is forming a ring that you might be able to wear.  At the same time, the bone flute that Strix carved so expertly seems to twitch, lying on the ground near the pedestal. 

In your mind, you see a choice - a ring or a flute.  You don't understand fully the implications of the choice, but feel that it will be important.  You can reach into the flame and touch the half-formed ring, or down to the ground to pick up the flute.