“Home is where your friends are, and I’m so glad I’m home.” 

—Penelope, Heroes of the Vale

Watch Heroes of the Vale – Chapter 2, Episode 18: The End of Many Things

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Dramatis Personae

Our heroes are 8th-level characters:

• Todd Kenreck as the Dungeon Master
• Keen, Eladrin Eldritch Knight Fighter played by TJ Storm
• Briv, Half-Orc Oath of Heroism Paladin played by Adam Bradford
• Penelope, Halfling Circle of Land Druid played by Hope LaVelle
• Alyndra Alexandria Garanahil Sarrbarand, Lorekeeper of Rime Spiro, Kinscribe of Clan Monkeymouse, High Elf Cleric/Wizard played by Jen Kretchmer
• Orkira, Dragonborn Light Domain Cleric played by Lauren Urban

Full Summary

The sky darkens as swirling clouds begin to pour rain and turn the ground to mud. Now buried in the dirt after the cave collapsed, surrounded by zombies, with a mind flayer clone of Avren and the restored deity Saranthis nearby, all six heroes struggle to pull themselves free and regroup. With the undead digging closer Orkira casts turn undead to repel the zombies from her friends who are working to claw their way towards the surface. Penelope casts guardian of nature and transforms into a majestic autumn tree with pink flowers, providing roots and branches for everyone to grasp and assist in pulling themselves free. The zombie dug tunnels are quickly filled with a grease spell by Alyndra which not only prevents them from escaping but sends them sliding back deep underground.

Freely uses prestidigitation to remove the mud from everyone, and the Heroes pull off the magical bracelets gifted to them by Illithid Avren to prevent the items from being used against them again. Pulling out Death and Void, the two still-blank cards from their Deck of Many Things, Briv suggests they use the cards the same way they did all those years ago to capture and trap their enemies. Everyone agrees to work to weaken and distract Illithid Avren and Saranthis, and the blank cards are given to Alyndra who will wield them with her mage hand.

Floating in the air and rain above them appears Saranthis. She thanks them for her freedom and announces that those who worship her will live and be safe, while those that defy her will lose everything. Freely attempts to reason with her, claiming that they’ve helped each other and there’s no need to fight. However Saranthis is only interested in her ultimatum and creates a shimmering wall of force around the entire area. While Briv moves forward asking how the god gained her divine powers, Alyndra sends a frantic message to Keen to tell him to try using the Rod. The ground begins to shake and suddenly drop out from under everyone as they are all hurled through space. Orkira grabs Alyndra and spreads her wings to glide as Keen uses misty step to appear behind Saranthis and hit her with the Rod. For a moment the divine light is pulled from her arm as her body starts to shrink and change, but eventually she manages to resist the effects and laugh in the Eladrin’s face. This is enough to distract her so Briv can leap through the air in a vicious divine smite.

The fight is interrupted as they arrive on the side of a cliff overlooking the battlefield that used to be Verdeneth. A massive army of githyanki and red dragons are engaging the mind flayer fleet with the kraken illithid at their backs. Explosions, death and destruction are rampant and unending. The old wizard’s tower has also appeared, now on its side rolling towards them! Most manage to dodge or fly over it, while Keen times where the window lands to expertly avoid being crushed. Both Saranthis and Illithid Avren float above the ground as many zombies stagger nearby. Since they have returned home, Briv uses his whistle to call for Spiral. Freely recognizes the area from his visions, explaining that the vault where the God killer he warned about is below this city. This description of the vault matches what Alyndra remembers from the story she was told, and she warns that opening the vault to release the being there could be a disaster.

Both Illithid Avren and Saranthis resume their assault on the heroes, with the clone gravely injuring Orkira with a guiding bolt while the God sets Penelope ablaze with a fire bolt. Still in her magnificent tree form, Penelope uses earthbind to grasp Saranthis with a vine and pull her to the ground, and Keen is quick to position himself under her to let loose a devastating series of attacks. Freely is angered at the sight of his fellow halfling burning, and while he doesn’t know exactly what Orkira was grappling with earlier he calls out encouraging her to do something, then sends an eldritch blast at Saranthis. Alyndra isn’t able to hit the God with a card just yet, so she creates the illusion of a card in her hand and calls out asking to come to an arrangement in a bluff to get closer. As Alyndra focuses on one enemy, Orkira reaches into the wizard’s pocket and pulls out the other blank card, dropping her off on the ground and then flying straight at Illithid Avren. With a desperate attack she plants the Void card on his forehead, and before everyone’s eyes the cloned, mind flayer version of Avren is twisted and sucked into the card! She stashes the card in her pack and growls out in satisfaction “One God at a time!”

With one foe destroyed Briv is emboldened in his onslaught against Saranthis, once again unleashing his Divine Smite upon the creature. Saranthis remains steadfast despite her wounds, and turns on Orkira, accusing her of causing the massive destruction around them due to her defiance. The guiding bolt is enough to knock the cleric out of the sky, and while her unconscious body remains crumpled on the side of the cliff, Orkira wakes up to once again finds herself outside the walls of the golden city of Pelor. Nearby is Avren, the real one, still petulantly throwing rocks at the divine afterlife. He’s annoyed to have been waiting for quite a while for her to die again, but is interrupted as Orkira demands to know how long he’s been aware of the impostor. He admits to knowing about it the last time they spoke, but the other Gods were upset that he was meddling in the affairs of mortals and forbid him from divulging that knowledge. The dragonborn is uncharacteristically derisive, “And that’s stopped you before?” She turns her back on both the city and trickster god, grumbling about how things would have been easier if information had been shared, and begins to scan the horizon for the Phoenix.

Avren tries to explain that if he told Orkira earlier nothing would have changed and they probably would have all died. But the cleric sadly speaks on how it would have mattered to his friends and especially his daughter, and that maybe other deaths would have been prevented. In an attempt to appease her, Avren asks what he can do help, and Orkira is upset that she can no longer help her friends if she is dead. He's unsure about resurrecting her as that might get him removed as a divine being, and this causes the cleric to launch into a frustrated rant. She rails on him for claiming to be her friend, and yet when she wants to help keep his daughter safe and protect the world all he cares about is if the other Gods are mean to him despite calling himself a trickster. Taken aback by her harsh words, Avren concedes the point and uses his powers to resurrect her, but not before Orkira can say thank you.

A blinding bolt of lightning streaks out of the sky and strikes the dragonborn cleric, restoring her to life! She stumbles to her feet again, grateful but grumbling about how coming back from the dead is never fun.

Penelope stands in front of the earthbound Saranthis, the fire in her branches now smoldering embers, proclaiming “You are a blight on this land.” The necromantic energy from her spell sucks the moisture from her form, turning the god into a withering husk who tries to retaliate with hellish rebuke. It’s an overwhelming amount of damage, but before it can burn the druid to ash her death ward activates and she is spared! In triumph Penelope announces “I am Neverember, I will never burn!”

Everyone can sense the opportunity to finish Saranthis off, and as Alyndra steps forward Freely quickly grants her the last of his bardic inspiration. She smiles as she lies to the God, claiming to have changed her mind and offering aid, then holding out her hand with the illusion of the card. As Saranthis falls for her ploy she fails to avoid the mage hand holding the real card and it strike her in the back. “I am Alyndra Alexandria Garanahil Sarrbarand, Daughter of Oblivion, and you should know I am my father’s daughter.” Saranthis dissolves into the card, trapped inside as the new Death.

Quickly Freely moves to Penelope’s side with lay on hands to heal her burns, and Orkira joins him with a cure wounds. The druid returns the favor by casting her healing spirit to offer everyone some relief. Briv feels that their new priority is to secure the deck of many things and keep it safe and hidden, while Freely is worried about the entity locked away under the city. The gith and illithid armies are still battling their fierce war, but the epic displays of power have drawn attention to the Heroes and now hordes from both sides head in their direction leaving them very little time to decide what to do next. Figuring Alyndra is the best person to keep the deck secure everyone hands all the pieces they have over, and she casts all the wards of protection she can on the now complete artifact. Keen questions if there is anything left protecting in this world or if he should use the Rod to teleport them to safety. There are still many innocent people who are in grave danger, but both Briv and Keen recognize that it would take an army to battle the forces they face.

Reaching out to take Orkira’s hand, Freely tells her that he can see she is afraid to act because of the destruction she thinks will occur. However he knows the horrible plans the mind flayers have for the world, and the gith’s desires to release the God killer under the city, so whatever she has in mind must be better. The cleric once again pulls out the red gem from her pack and explains that her reticence earlier stemmed from knowing that summoning the Phoenix would result in the death of her friends. But now they can use the Rod to teleport to safety and focus on protecting the deck of many things, so she offers to remain and call on her God to destroy all the warring armies. Her friends are loath to leave her behind, worried that she will be killed, and despite knowing otherwise Orkira reassures that she’ll be fine. “I’m made of fire, remember?” She begs them to leave as they will only be caught in the blast, but everyone feels like they are abandoning the cleric when she needs them the most.

The group is torn on the right thing to do, and as they discuss plans Orkira silently reaches out to the Phoenix again to confirm that her request will result in only the destruction of the city and not the entire world. Reassured, she blurts out loud “OK, you might want to get out of her real fast. Love you all, bye!” before taking off into the sky and flying towards the two armies, hoping her friends will finally take action and escape. Alyndra casts message and starts to sing one of the songs from the letters they exchanged over the years, while Penelope pulls off her acorn necklace and wild shapes into a giant eagle to take off after her. Believing it has fire protection abilities, she catches up to the dragonborn and gives her the necklace. Orkira gives a nod of thanks, and they share a moment of silent flight before Penelope returns to her friends.

Keen takes out the Rod and concentrates on using it, but instead of the Shadowfell he attempts to direct the teleportation to the Feywild. However only the Eladrin is transported away, leaving everyone else behind! There is a moment of shock as the remaining Heroes realize what has happened. Freely and Penelope join hands, sad at the turn of events but comforted to have a few last moments together. Spiral arrives in a flourish and happily lands next to Briv. The paladin climbs aboard his steed, intent on watching the spectacle from the air and bidding his friends farewell. But a sudden idea causes Alyndra to gasp, and she casts tiny hut to offer a safe shelter. As everyone climbs inside Walton wakes up, ready for battle and glory, while Flo appears and admits she always wanted to fight a red dragon. Alyndra prays to Oghma to bless everyone, and then pulls out a notebook and pen as she prepares to record the events about to take place. A moment later a voice gleefully announces that he will help all the Heroes die, and dispel magic is cast on the tiny hut. As the protection falls they see Valasar standing nearby in triumph. Briv charges the traitor in a fury as Alyndra frantically tries to recast the spell, but they realize there is not enough time.

Orkira has been watching and waiting for her friends to reach safety even as she flies as far away as possible. When they entered the tiny hut she sighs with relief, then pulls a small bag of marshmallows from her pack to enjoy one before beginning the ritual. In that moment she notices the tiny hut dispelled, but a platoon of red dragons are seconds away and there is no more time left to stall. Sadly she completes the ritual with a final request, “If there’s any way you can start things far away from my friends I’d really appreciate it, and I’ll save the rest of the marshmallows for when I see you again.” Her body is consumed by flames as a blast wave radiates outwards, turning red dragons to ash as the Phoenix is called forth by their champion. The immense firebird begins setting both gith and illithid armies ablaze and destroying even the largest of ships.

Through the cloud above Stormherald appears, helmed by Keen Dayapreth in full Eladrin glory, who announces that the Eternal Court has officially proclaimed him a full Eldritch Knight and given him command of the city! Swarms of griffon riders descend to snatch the Heroes and fly them to Stormherald for safety. Briv switches from attack to capture, netting Valasar to drag him along. On the floating city a dimension door opens for Rarv, who says they were sent by a dead friend, and Boom Boom, who immediately gives Penelope a massive hug. The half-deaf goblin Vim and the winged kobold chef Thraxx step out of the castle, ready to join the fight. Even Glubby, the gelatinous cube with a helm of teleportation, has arrived to join the battle.

Penelope is overjoyed to see her old friends and sadly wishes Orkira could be with them all. She scans the battlefield and spots the body of their cleric, and with that location Briv takes off on Spiral to retrieve what he can. The divine Phoenix continues to shred through armies, but the gith and mind flayers have come in such overwhelming numbers that they still manage to launch attacks against Stormherald. The city defends itself under Keen’s leadership with the expert precision of soldiers battle hardened in the Feywild, supplemented with magic from Penelope, Freely, and Alyndra. But Stormherald is being surrounded on all sides, and as the destruction of the firebird draws closer the gigantic kraken mind flayer begins striking at the Phoenix attempting to drag it to the ground. Briv arrives at Orkira’s body however nothing is left but ash, so the half-orc gathers what he can in a pack before returning to Stormherald.

Rarv doesn’t think they have much longer before everything is destroyed, but he has a ring of wishes and offers to let everyone use it. There are too many innocents to be rescued with just one wish, but he thinks if enough people are willing to use it they might just save everyone. However he warns that those who attempt those wishes will probably not make the journey. Freely steps forward to use the ring, wishing all the innocent people in the world and the Heroes of the Vale would be safely transported away immediately. The halfling can feel a million souls fade, heading somewhere else, as his own body turns to specks of light before vanishing. Alyndra takes the ring, tears in her eyes, and cannot help but wish to have her dad back. Rarv then takes the ring as he can feel that Freely’s wish did not save everyone, and Penelope’s heart breaks as she realizes that since they remain they must not actually be heroes. Briv tries to reassure her that it is deeds, not words, that count. The paladin is absolutely sure his friend is a true hero. Alyndra echos his words, saying that everything Penelope has done, everyone she has helped save, are all proof that she is a hero and will be remembered. But the halfling still believes they may have failed. Taking his turn, Rarv also wishes for as many innocent people as possible to be safe, and he turns into light and glowing embers before fading as well.

Picking up the ring Penelope announces her wish, “Penelope wishes that time would go back to when the Heroes of the Vale first met, and none of this has happened.”

In a dingy, rat infested cell somewhere in the Nentir Vale a group of rough looking individuals take stock of each other. A long haired Eladrin named Keen, a half-orc who looks like he just finished a bar fight named Briv, a small golden dragonborn wearing the holy symbol of Pelor named Orkira, a halfling with bright curly hair and a wide smile named Penelope, a pale elf clutching a book named Alyndra, and a tall, skinny man in a dusty black coat playing with a gold coin named Avren. Regarding the motley crew, Avren asks how everyone ended up arrested when they all look like heroes. As the five introduce themselves, Avren smiles “It’s gonna be a lot more interesting the second time. I think they’re beyond heroes.” 

Special thanks to B. Dave Walters for returning as our special guest! And thank you to to everyone for enjoying Heroes of the Vale! All these players and characters will return November 13th at 2pm PT on twitch.tv/dndbeyond for the new show Beyond Heroes!

Lauren "OboeCrazy" Urban is the Community Manager for D&D Beyond, as well as a professional classical musician on oboe and English Horn. When she's not playing a Bard in real life she's a prolific Dungeon Master and player on a variety of livestreams and podcasts. She lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband Luke where they spend their free time playing video games and drinking tea. The best way to keep up with Lauren's busy schedule is to follow her on Twitter at @OboeCrazy.