Session 12, Arc II

Treading Lightly

Played 12 July 2025 Watch the session

The session began with the party continuing their intense battle against the corrupted Phane in the astral plane. Kailyn attempted to slash the tether that the creature was consuming with her scimitar, but the mystical connection proved resistant to physical damage. However, she managed to use her wisdom to successfully pull the tether away from the Phane's grasp, giving the party a crucial advantage.

Naeco unleashed devastating attacks with his great axe, dealing 19 points of damage to the green tether and causing it to fray significantly. He continued his assault with great weapon master techniques enhanced by his barbarian rage, dealing additional damage that further weakened the mystical connection. Muscle, Bones' loyal jackal companion, assisted by helping to pull the tether away from the creature's influence.

Fe joined the coordinated assault, striking the tether with her quarterstaff for additional damage. Crezzida cast detect thoughts on the Phane, experiencing glimpses of multiple futures and random people through the creature's eyes, though pushing deeper into its mind caused her to take psychic damage from harsh static. Wild magic triggered during her spellcasting, causing additional psychic backlash as the magical energy recoiled.

The battle reached its climax when Bones successfully persuaded Bolts to cast Power Word Kill on the Phane with an impressive persuasion check. Though the devastating spell didn't kill the creature outright due to its high hit points, it dealt significant damage and caused black cloth-like material to shed from its form. Naeco delivered the final blow with a critical hit from his great axe, dealing 38 points of damage and finally defeating the corrupted entity.

After the Phane's death, the creature underwent a shocking transformation, reverting to the form of a frightened teenage boy named Dalthos. The child appeared confused and scared, with no clear memory of his location or recent events. Crezzida showed compassion toward the frightened boy, while other party members remained suspicious that this might be another trap.

The boy's condition rapidly deteriorated as his damaged, sickly green tether floated nearby, slowly draining his life force. Crezzida cast detect thoughts on Dalthos, seeing memories of a beautiful mountain, sunset, and deep regret about wasted time. When she attempted to give the dying boy a new tether to save his life, Naeco blocked her with Misty Step, fearing the consequences. The tether rejected the boy's soul and he instantly shriveled to dust, leaving Crezzida to take the green tether into herself instead.

The party then faced the complex challenge of redistributing their soul tethers while in the astral plane. They discovered that once tethers were removed from souls, they could never be reinserted into the same person due to damage to the soul's receptacles. Kailyn made intelligence checks to understand tether compatibility, learning that different tethers worked better with different souls.

Through careful manipulation, the party redistributed their tethers in a complex arrangement. Fe took Naeco's original tether while Naeco received Fe's half tether, and Crezzida received a full tether. They learned the dangerous consequence that if one person with a shared tether died, both would perish. Bones attempted to eat a tether from an unconscious duplicate, resulting in him vomiting golden threads of fate.

The party discovered a strange cloud realm filled with mirror-like reflections showing alternate versions of themselves. These mirrors displayed different possible futures and life paths, responding to the party's actions but remaining impenetrable barriers. Kailyn discovered a thin strand of pure golden magical weave floating in the center of this realm, which she identified as the essence of all magic that channels magical energy throughout existence.

Following the magical weave's trajectory, the party found their way back to the library where their adventure in the pocket dimension had begun. Bolts began awakening from unconsciousness, though they discovered his memory had been magically rolled back like a factory reset. While he retained core abilities like casting detect magic and disintegration, he had lost most of his learned experiences and memories.

The party used a magical map to navigate through the pocket dimension, eventually reaching a waiting room where they encountered Bazzur. The guide had been trapped for over two years and expressed genuine remorse for his past failures. He revealed he had been originally paid by someone named John and had become more accepting of magic during his imprisonment.

In a study room within the pocket dimension, Kailyn discovered a Dunamancy sigil that controlled the flow of time. The sigil consisted of two circles with a theta symbol and spiral, allowing the user to speed up or slow down time in the pocket dimension relative to the outside world. After careful consideration of the consequences, the party decided not to manipulate time and left the sigil alone.

The party encountered two massive young astral dragons guarding the exit from the pocket dimension. These intelligent creatures served as guardians of the astral plane and were initially hostile to intruders. Bones successfully deceived the dragons by impersonating the master, convincing them that the party was authorized to pass and that there was a threat from someone named Dalthos that required their attention.

Finally escaping the pocket dimension, the party emerged in a cave 200 feet above the ocean near Kailyn's home waters. They used their magic carpet to descend from the dangerous cliff, with Kailyn's attempt to scout as an eagle ending in a crash that required a dramatic rescue. After reaching a peaceful cove, they met Long Gone, a halfling healer who successfully treated Fe's infected leg and Nillituh's gnawing plague symptoms.

The party discovered a nearby cave filled with recent corpses, all bearing neck slash wounds and stripped of possessions. Among the bodies, they recovered the Orb, which appeared scared but calmed when held by a familiar party member. The victims included many magic users, and they found the same mysterious sigil on the bodies that they had encountered before.

Following Muscle's scent trail, the party tracked down a suspicious caravan of six people with two covered carts. Kailyn and Fe wild-shaped into ravens to scout the group, overhearing discussions about selling mysterious "high quality" and "rare" cargo worth thousands of gold pieces. The party's attempts at diplomatic contact failed when the caravan guards proved hostile and secretive about their cargo.

The session culminated in violent combat when Naeco attempted to investigate the covered carts and was stabbed through the hand by a guard. Naeco's rage and retaliation sparked a full battle, with Crezzida casting darkness over the battlefield to level the playing field. The Genasi leader proved to be a formidable opponent, expressing reluctance about the violence while wielding a great axe and demonstrating magical abilities. The session ended with the party engaged in intense combat against the mysterious caravan guards, their true purpose and cargo still unknown.