Characters:
- Belrith
- Raoul
At the break of dawn, we stealthily slip away from Sophia’s Rest. We initially make for the north, only to then trace a winding route southward. A two-day trek brings us to Wyvernfang Keep, where we find The Valiant safely docked
Raoul battles his curse, facing amnesia and compulsive actions as he helms The Valiant. It storms heavily out on the open ocean, but we carefully navigate through and safely arrive on the island. It’s a short hike to the temple. A looming relic of a nearly forgotten time. Once inside the descending stairs call to Raoul. At the base are heavy stone doors with an impression of the eye split between them. Raoul leans forward, placing his forehead against the door. The symbol glow and the door opens.
Down one final set of stairs we find ourselves in a vast domed chamber, lit with an otherworldly purple glow from magical braziers. There’s a large statue to the left amid bookshelves and two smaller statues flanking an altar to the right. At the center is an arcane circle drawn out on the floor surrounded by the brazier.
We discover a researcher’s journal who was striving to answer many questions about this world. They believe a great power controls this world. Perhaps it is two or perhaps it’s simply one divided, they are not certain. Through their work, they hope to manifest this being’s power and use it as a tool for escape or at least understanding. Many of the pages have lost their text as if washed away by the decades and centuries. Belrith searches both for answers and more importantly a cure for Raoul.
While Belrith moves on to investigate the altar, Raoul instead peers into the mirror resting against the wall. He witnesses a fragmented chronicle from the past The first scene shows the eye being implanted into a man. Then, years later, the man is restrained. The eye is removed, and he dies, foaming at the mouth, consumed by seizures. The third scene reveals two figures locked in a heated dispute over the fate of the eye. Finally, the fourth vision shows the eye being implanted into a massive ram.
Belrith continues reading the surviving texts and confirms that there is a potential method to alleviate, if not fully cure, the curse plaguing Raoul without killing him. Frustratingly, the words and diagrams on many pages appear to be washed away by the passing of time. we dig deeper, attempting to comprehend the ritual’s intricacies, inferring which material components the blank pages by glancing through the mirror.
Armed with this knowledge we set about enacting the ritual. They gather the components and Raoul steps into its center. His face is illuminated only by the purple glow of the fire and his chanting voice resonates through the chamber. The air seems to pulse as Belrith begins. There are moments of difficulty and slight hesitation, Raoul’s third eye burns and his mind is assaulted by its powers but in the end the ritual is successful.
In the aftermath we gather ourselves, Belrith heals Raoul and together ascend the stairs, sealing the door behind us. The heavy rain has persisted and Raoul remembers to collect some in a vial to capture this memory. We sail back in the morning after the storm breaks and find ourselves safely back in Sophia’s.
