The priest greets you as you approach. "Welcome, good people, to the house of our Lady Luck, and may good fortune be upon you."

"Ehrland is not here, friends. He usually comes for the morning service. I do now know where he spends his time during the day, but I do know that he likes to dine at The Golden Eagle. You might look for him there."

"However, if it's a Cleric you seek, then you have found one, and I would say that you are lucky to have come at this time, as I was about to leave in a few minutes to partake in the evening meal myself."

"A cursed mask of Shar?! he exclaims with alarm. "How did you come to be in possession of an item of The Dark Lady? And you say it still has a hold on one of you? What sort of hold, may I ask?"

"Ehrland had given us a task to deal with some goblins who were attacking travelers on the road between here and Melton. We took out their leader and she had this mask. One of our companions put it on before we could examine it and his behavior changed. He became greedy and when we tried to take the mask from him, he turned into a bear and attacked us. Fortunately we were able to knock him out and take it from him, which somewhat restored him to his normal personality, but for the last several days he's still been talking about how he'd like to see the mask again."

"We also broke the mask into a few pieces, which may also explain why its hold's weakened. Can you remove curses? Restore our friend to his usual happy, helpful self? He did contribute his entire life savings, including his winnings from being this year's champion at Shieldmeet. He was quite taken by the sermon the following morning. I hope Tymora smiles on him."

"Ehrland did inform me that he had sent a group up to deal with the recent goblin problem on The Evermoor Way. I'm the one who provided him with the healing potions that I assume he gave to you. So, I am glad to see that you have returned safely and have taken care of those nasty little beasties. And... now that you mention it, I think I do remember seeing some of your faces here at morning service a few days ago."

 "I would say that it's unfortunate that your little friend here unknowing donned a cursed mask, but I'm sure he didn't know it was cursed, did you, small one," he says gently, looking at Krackle in his swaddle on Lumen's back.

"And not knowing the true nature of an enchanted item, it is certainly a gamble to take that kind of step. The rewards could be great, and they could be disastrous, but such is the gamble of life for an adventurer, and The Lady Luck looks favorably on those who take chances and put put their lives in the hands of fate."

"So to answer your questions...yes, if it's a simple curse, I can try and remove it with a divine prayer to Tymora, and if you say that he's a devotee of our Lady Luck, then I'm sure she will indeed smile down up open him with a blessing of good fortune. Normally we would ask for a donation of 90gp to perform that sort of ritual, but if you says that he has made a significant contribution to our temple the other day, then I would be happy to offer those services for a large discount... say 50gp for the service."

"But first, I should like to see this mask which has caused all the trouble. Is that possible? Do you still have it in your possession?"

"We do." Vesper puts her two bags on the ground and uses Mage Hand to fish the mask pieces out of the two bags. Then she fishes the mask piece out of Chrys' bag. "We tried to destroy the mask, but this was all we could do with physical means. We split the pieces up for safe transport." 

Could Lumen attempt to persuade the cleric to perhaps remove a curse from a devotee out of the kindness of her own, and her goddess', heart? For no money?

Roll in spoiler, feel free to ignore:

 If this is a failure, as I assume it would be even without the roll, Lumen will ante up to 15 gold to the cause.

"Be careful if ya touch it," Chrys adds.  "We only did after it was broken, but it's been givin' at least three o' us some pretty bad dreams.  Like it's still tryin' to reach out an' grab someone's soul.  That thing needs to be destroyed for good, an' it's beyond our powers to fix it."

She turns to Krackle.  "But I don't think it's beyond yer own power to fix yerself.  Maybe this is what Selûne wanted for ya to do with that moonstone.   She gave you a blessin', but it's just like that mask.  Ya gotta reach out with yer own power an' take it, if ya want her help."

The priest, a human of about 40 years of age with long, dark hair that has streaks of blue in it, watches with great interest as Vesper produces the three pieces of the mask. Without touching them, he carefully inspects each piece, looking as closely as possible. 

"I do not know the exact nature of this kind of mask... but if what you say is true, perhaps the Dark Lady's followers use items such as this to ensnare new followers. You say that his behavior changed when he first put it on... it would seem quite possible that wearing it could change a person's nature and turn them into someone who is more in line with the ideas of that particular cult. I don't know if putting it on once would cause one to become cursed, but as with many arcane items, the more you use them, the more the magic begins to seep into you and bend you to its will."

"Of course, The Lady Luck would never need to resort to trickery in order to attract followers," he scoffs. "Tymora blesses not those who force others do to their bidding, but instead casts her favor on those who take risks and who place their fortunes into the hands of their own luck and skill, especially when it involves enjoying the best of what life has to offer."

"She tells us that it's better to take a chance to do something than to sit around and do nothing, and that the greatest fortune is gained by those who take the greatest risks."

"So, my little friend," she says to Krackle, "the mere fact that you risked your life and well being to help your friends rid the road of goblin raiders, shows our Lady Luck that you are indeed one who takes risks. And fret not about putting on this mask, for you clearly took a chance, perhaps hoping that it would grant you special abilities that you could use to further help your friends."

Answering Lumen, the priest says, "I am sorry, but the temple cannot provide all services at the price of no coins. We have already provided you with those two healing potions, which I hope gave you the necessary aid during your adventure. And, I have agreed to reduce the cost of bestowing Tymora's blessing on your little friend here, so 50gp is the best I can offer you for freeing him of his unneeded agony."

Chrys then reminds Krackle of the moonstone that she found and gave to him, which she estimates to be around 50gp in value.

Stepping forward, the priest walks over to Krackle and put his hand on the kobold's head, the other he uses to grasp the holy symbol of the coin that he wears around his neck. Closing his eyes, he says,

 "May the blessing of Lady Luck be upon you, child. Please, goddess Tymora, help this worthy soul, who has bestowed upon you his life savings, and rid him of this curse which plagues him." 

Suddenly, Krackle feels a rush of coolness rush through his body, followed by a surge of warmth that flows from head to toes. His mind goes blank for a few seconds, and then his thoughts return... thoughts of good deeds... thoughts of his kind companions who have stuck by his side... thoughts of helping others... thoughts of his sister... thoughts of his friend Silver, who befriended him after saving him from being beat up on the road... thoughts of a silver bird flying overhead, and the briefest vision of a beautiful, graceful, slim maiden with silver hair and eyes like bluish black stars standing over him smiling.

When these visions leave his mind, Krackle finds himself feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, and free of any evil, selfish thoughts. Most of all, he no longer feels the pull of the mask in his mind, even as he looks down and sees the three broken pieces. Looking at them, he feels completely detached, and in fact, remembers the vile aggression that Frida Crabapple displayed when she wore it during her last battle in the temple. 

However, he still feels a little under the weather from his sniffle, although no longer under control of the mask, some of his energy has returned. He's now only down to 1 level of exhaustion. 

When he's finished with his blessing, the priest looks to you all and says,

"That should return your little friend to his normal condition, and may his next gamble pay off a little better than his last."

"As you all have indeed discovered, some magicks are difficult to destroy by normal means. What do you intend to do with these mask pieces? Even though you do not possess the necessary power, do you know of a way that it can be destroyed for good"

Asked about what to do with the mask fragments, he muses, "Lava? Or we could throw the pieces into different parts of the ocean. At least that's what they do in the stories."

He watches the divine cleansing in some minor awe. He's exhausted, but he's really thrilled to have Krackle back. He absentmindedly scratches where the Kracklebear chewed on him.

"Thank you, well, I actually don't know your name! I am Lumen." He introduces the rest of the bedraggled party. "We are very grateful for your help. We'll pool together the resources to get your money to you. And, well, actually, there is one more thing. The place the goblins had taken over was an old abandoned temple to Shar. The only book that was there was The Nightsinger," and he hands it over for the priest to examine. "I don't think there's anything notable about that volume but it can't hurt to have a learned person such as yourself examine it. And the other thing? Well, there's a pool in the temple. With something fiendish in it. The goblins left signs saying 'keep out' and didn't seem to like it. Chrys can tell you more, but it is a bit above our ability, we think. Could you lend us someone, or perhaps if you're interested, would you come along to help clean out the temple for good?"

Lumen, though still talking in a familiar patter, is operating on fumes and sits down in a pew. He won't fall asleep in the temple, but it's been a long day.

"If Krackle gave over his moonstone, I think we got the cost o' this one covered," Chrys tells Lumen. 

When asked about the fiend, she frowns fiercely.  "Well, I dunno what else I can add to that, 'cept that the temple was abandoned, it once belonged to Shar, and it seemed ta be corruptin' whoever was livin' in it at the time, be they goblins or humans.  The pool o' water in there was glowin', an' I could tell there was a fiend hidin' inside it.  We didn't wanna risk tanglin' with that, 'specially since the temple was still full 'o cultists at the time.  But I ain't eager to take on a fiend without knowin' more 'bout it, or what we can do to defend ourselves 'gainst it.  I ain't comfortable with leavin' it alone there, though, waitin' to corrupt the next folk unfortuante enough to take up residence there."

Chrys seats herself on a pew and steeples her fingers under her chin.  "As fer destroyin' that mask... throwin' it in the sea or lava ain't the best o' ideas.  They can still be found in the sea, it has a tendency to wash things that don't belong in it to shore anyway.  And obsidian... well, ya might not know this, but it ain't really a gemstone.  It's a special type o' glass forged in lava.  Givin' it back to the lava might melt ordinary obsidian in time, but magic stuff like that... I bet it's not gonna do anything but sit there an' float.  

I think to destroy the mask, we might need to combine our efforts.  I know I can pray to the Duin in two separate ways.  I can gain the strength to strike the pieces o' that thing with the Duin's divine radiance for a short while.  If my hammer alone won't do it, the Duin's blessin' might.  Or I can try a ritual ceremony on it. Usually those types o' things are fer changing' the path o' one who's gone down the wrong one.  And it ain't always successful.  But I guess I could tryin usin' it on the mask.  I'll need more powdered silver to conduct that ceremony, though, it ain't cheap.  If any o' the rest o' ya got ideas, I'm open to hear 'em."

As the curse is removed from Krackle he would feel himself return to normal.. even though he hadn't realized he has been feeling differently. A smile would spread across his face for a brief moment before his tiny clawed hands moved towards his face. Tears would fall to the ground through the kobolds thin fingers. "I am really sorry! I wanted to be a helper and I wasn't a good helper and I tried to eat Lumen and I let you all down and I let my sister down and my mom and dad down" He would say in-between sobs before pulling out his tiny coin purse and handing it towards the priest. "Take as many coins as you need.. if I don't have enough I guess you can take my moon rock.. it is in the bag too.." The kobold would say with a frown. it was obvious he would rather not give up the moon rock but was willing to do whatever he needed to make sure he paid off the dept. After he was given the bag back, he would hand it to Vesper and then to Kess and Chrys. "Take what I owe you all... I got a bunch of coins in that goblin cave.." He would say while looking down at his feet. He would then turn a little while later and look up to the priest. "I could bury the pieces... really far in the ground.. like really really far so no one can find them." He would add as he wipes his eyes. 

OOC: So after adding in Krackles share of the gnoll coins and his share of the treasure chest loot from the goblin cave, Krackle has like.. 92 gold worth of coins. I don't think that includes his expensive moon rock...

Vesper will take 35gp from Krackle's pouch, resolving his debt with her.

"Weren't we going to see if Dundragon could do anything about the mask?"

(So does that mean Krackle has 92 minus 50 minus 35 gp, meaning 7 gp left and his moonstone? Boy howdy do we need to get this kobold a financial advisor to talk to before making more big decisions!)

Lumen defers to Chrys and the priest on the best way to dispose of the mask. He awaits the priest's response about dealing with fiends.

When Krackle returns to himself, Lumen lets out a long sigh he didn't know he was holding in. "It is good to have you back, little one. You were gone a while, it seems. I thought you tried to eat me, but it was the mask. Shar tried to make you what you are not. We couldn't have that, so we called in a favor with Tymora and her disciples, here. You know, the goddess you gave your life savings to? The bet may have paid off."

To Vesper, Lumen says, "Dundragon may know a way. If our new friend here," he indicates the priest, "can give his wisdom, perhaps combined with Chrys' abilities and Dundragon's arcane acumen, we can find a way to destroy it."

OOC: Maybe losing all this money will teach Krackle the value of thinking before acting.

OOC: ...Vesper muses to herself while counting Krackle's coins :)

"Well, Lumen, and to the rest of you, I say well met. My name is Callum. Callum Albannach, at your service. And I glad to be of help."

"For that is one of the tenants of being a follow of The Lady Luck; helping adventurers. There is no one more apt to take risks out in the world than adventurers like yourselves, and Tymora shines her favor on those who act with a brave heart and the willingness to take risks. Without direction or goals in life, you are are likely to feel the embrace of Tymora's spiteful sister Beshaba, who is also known as the The Maid of Misfortune.

"It's easy to see that you all live by that tenant, even you, little one, and so you have certainly received the Lady's favor."

"Regarding payment, I would be glad to accept either coin or the moonstone, but perhaps the little one wishes to keep it as a token to remind him of his friends and of the favor that the Lady has bestowed upon him. In times of uncertainty, it can remain him that it's better to take a risk and place your fate in the hands of chance, rather than to slink away and do nothing. Although a special coin would serve the same purpose. After all, a coin is the symbol that we use to represent the Lady Luck. But whichever you choose is entirely up to you."

Regarding this mask and how to destroy it, I'm afraid that is not my area of expertise. Perhaps it would be better to consult a mage, or perhaps try the method that your dwarven companion has outlined. Honestly, I do not know what would be the best course, but I agree that an item such as this should most definitly be destroyed so that it does not corrupt the minds of any other good folk."

"What about the fiend in the glowing pool? That does seem to be your area of expertise..."

"Oh... right. Of course. From what I know, there may not actually be a fiend in the pool. Most often, pools like the one you described are used as summoning portals, which bring the otherworldly being into this plane using that particular area. So, even if you felt the radiance of a fiend within the area of the pool inside the temple, it could very well be that you were feeling the lingering effects of the fiend having been summoned there many times over the years. I can't say for sure."

"One thing I do know, however, is that with such a portal, it's not always necessary to summon the otherworldly being with a spell; it may be possible to call the fiend to this plane by merely disturbing the waters. In which case, that does present more dangers, because anyone could therefore summon this evil being, whether they intended to or not."

"I would ask you, once you cleared the goblins out, did you secure the temple so that no others would be able to enter?"

"Huh.  I agree that askin' Master Dundragon 'bout this mask is our best course o' action, then.  But in the meanwhile, Vesper, can ya split it up 'tween the three of us again? Just havin' all the pieces out an' close together is givin' me the willies," Chrys declares.  "As fer the temple... we did our best ta try an' seal off the entrance with rocks, an' we put up warning signs in goblin for the residents out there.  I hope it'll be enough, but I guess we'll find out if somethin' else has happened when we swing on back to Melton after we're done 'round these parts.  I'm hopin' no news will be good news, though."

Vesper will once again use Mage Hand to put the mask shards in separate bags.