(S048) Unexpected Side Mission in Toril

Plunged through a rift in time to a mysterious tower and a serpent-coiled chamber, the party negotiates with a multi-headed Yuan-ti anathema, discovers a sentient Torilian orb containing echoes of Captain Meklan, and snaps back to the exact moment of their battle in the beholder's lair.

📝 Session Summary

The Wild Cards were called The Menagerie by some until they came up with the name The Wild Cards.

• Barlo: A grizzled tabaxi barbarian who has been doing some work for a network that one should be wary of.
• Bastion: An orphan human who spent his life studying magic and blades, even though his elder pushed him away from the sword. He replaced Reginald.
• Calliope: This bardic faun joined the party late when she needed to find help to save her homeland.
• Reginald: A leonin cleric who was off to show his family's royal background and would later find out there were secrets leading to him becoming a king.
• Sas: A tortle hermit was given an item of power and a quest.
• Shadow in the Snow: This tabaxi got a coin, and her curiosity set her on a path.

🎬 Scenes

• Scene 1: Barlo's Backstory — From The Bronze Canyon in Kampos. Gave up Tabaxi name, "Smiles". Help move people. On way to Eushia to help Black Road with a client. Currently on ship near Carrune.
• Scene 2: Bastion's Backstory — When Bastion Bladesinger was very young he lost both of his parents to a plague. He took care of himself as he taught himself how to use the rapier his father once wore. He lived in Dyrt and watched all of the great knights. He also had an interest in the ways of magic and he wished he could do both – use swords and excel in magic – like many elves he had heard about.
• Scene 3: Calliope's Backstory — Calliope was born into the nestled highlands of the Oraniad Mountains. The Skola Vale, wild and free, blessed by the gods and inhabited by whimsical Satyr and Faun. Deep within it among the lush valley, reside the Dawngreets, a long generational line of storytellers and lore keepers.
• Scene 4: Reginald's Backstory — He was born at home, a modest-sized mansion where his family lived a modest means – even though his father could never stop talking about how they were royalty and yet this was the only lands they currently possess. His childhood was generally a happy one full of several friends. He was an only child.
• Scene 5: Sas' Backstory — Sas was born on the continent of Oth'Mar – a content mostly inhabited by Tortles and is far to the south of the Carrune Isles.
• Scene 6: Shadow's Backstory — Deep in the snowy mountains high in the north, there lived a large group of Tabaxi, The Blinding Wild Clan.

📜 Missions & Quests

• Completed:
  • Established individual party origins and initial connections to the world of Dierde.
• Active / Discovered Threads:
  • Barlo's ties to the smuggling rings and the Black Road.
  • Bastion's mysterious past and fallout with Grognard.
  • Calliope's quest to save the Skola Vale.
  • Reginald's pursuit of his family's royal mint commission and claim in Neyer.
  • Sas's vision of the Cat Goddess Bast and journey to find her lost lands.
  • Shadow's golden coin and mystical calling from her clan shaman.

NPCs

S048: Unexpected Side Mission in Toril

Date: 2023-03-04

Short

The party — Barlo, Calliope, Sas, and Shadow — were suddenly transported from a battle in a beholder's lair to a mysterious tower chamber, leaving Bastion and Shadow's owlbear behind. The unfamiliar room featured black stone floors, a barred window overlooking an unrecognizable landscape, a foreboding winged statue atop the rubble of a broken one, and a shattered, drained glass orb. After struggling with a riddle-sealed set of double doors, Sas cracked the puzzle with the word "threshold," opening a passage to a vast serpentine chamber below. There, they encountered a Yuan-ti anathema — a six-headed, snake-bodied monstrosity imprisoned for seeking godhood — which Calliope briefly pacified with her pan flute. The fragile truce collapsed when Shadow fired an arrow, triggering a brutal melee in which the creature coiled around Barlo, savaged him with all six heads, and struck him blind and deaf. Through desperate teamwork, the party drove the bloodied anathema into retreat.

With the creature withdrawn, Barlo unlocked a nearby chest, revealing coins, gems, scrolls, a potion, and most remarkably, a smoky quartz orb containing the preserved consciousness of a wizard version of Captain Meklan from the destroyed world of Toril. The orb revealed that the party's home universe, Dierde, is actually Toril's future and the last remaining universe in existence, and that dying worlds had long stored knowledge in orbs like itself. It suggested that the Captain Meklan they knew — who had bent time to protect his family — may have inadvertently sent them to this timeless place, and that the orbs now appearing in Dierde had nowhere else to go. Before more could be learned, the party was snapped back to the beholder's lair, arriving at the exact moment they had left, carrying the staggering weight of what they had discovered.

Summary

In the midst of a fierce battle deep within a beholder's lair, the air grew thick with smoke and the world went dark. When sight returned to Barlo, Calliope, Sas, and Shadow, they found themselves standing in a vast, circular chamber at the top of a tall tower, with no sign of their companion Bastion or Shadow's owlbear. The floor was made of cold, matte black stone eerily reminiscent of the stone beneath the Skull of Bast, and a long horizontal slit of a window ran nearly all the way around the room, its iron bars framing an utterly unfamiliar landscape. In the distance, a pale white tower rose against the horizon, and the world outside offered no landmarks the party could recognize. At the center of the room stood a proud, foreboding winged statue placed atop the rubble of an older, broken one — and nestled within that rubble was a shattered glass orb, unmistakably similar to one they had encountered before, now drained of nearly all its power.

Dominating one wall was a massive set of double doors, sealed shut with no visible lock or mechanism. Above the doors, a plaque bore a cryptic inscription: "A spoken word unseals E. Halfway between twins, the next character lies." The party tried everything they could think of — the word "friend," religious phrases, random incantations, and even the word "turd" — but the doors remained stubbornly shut. Shadow pressed her hands against the raised letters, Calliope attempted to draw on her mystical gifts, and Barlo rattled off word after word into the silence. It was only when Sas cried out "threshold" — the very answer she had instinctively gestured toward when the riddle was first read aloud — that all the letters blazed gold and the great doors swung open, revealing a stairwell descending into darkness below.

The party made their way down a long, steep passage that seemed to go on far longer than the tower's exterior should have allowed. At the bottom, an arched doorway of slightly glossier black stone framed a chamber bathed in an eerie light. The room beyond was enormous, its walls carved and banded to resemble the inside of a coiled serpent, as though the party stood within the body of some impossibly vast snake. High on the far wall, a circular dome supported a humanoid skull with a red glint deep in its left eye socket, and ancient runes lined the walls — worn and weathered, but unmistakably similar to those the party had seen beneath the ziggurat and in the Feywild. Most unsettling of all were the four great holes in the floor, each one radiating a deep purple light that seemed to open onto the void of outer space itself.

Guarding a chest at the far end of the chamber was a creature of terrible majesty: a Yuan-ti anathema, its six serpentine heads rising from a pair of broad, muscular humanoid shoulders, its lower body flowing into a massive serpent's coil, and its hands ending in long, monstrous claws. Calliope stepped forward and began to play her pan flute, weaving a soothing melody that caused the creature's heads to sway and its aggression to soften into wary curiosity. The creature spoke through all six heads at once, revealing that it had been imprisoned here for an age as punishment for seeking godhood, and that time moved strangely within these walls. It recognized the name "Abeir-Toril" when it arose, and seemed to know more about the orb Sas carried than it was willing to say. But the creature's terrifying presence began to seep into the party — Calliope felt a wave of dread wash over her, and Barlo, stepping forward to protect his companions, was overcome by a deep and paralyzing fear of snakes.

The fragile peace shattered when Shadow loosed an arrow into the creature's shoulder. All six heads snapped toward her, then toward Calliope, and the spell of soothing music broke. The anathema surged forward with terrifying speed, slashing at Barlo with both clawed hands before coiling its massive tail around him in a crushing grip. Then all six heads descended upon the Tabaxi in a frenzied flurry of bites, leaving him pale and barely standing — a sight none of the party had ever expected to see. A guttural, trumpet-like sound erupted from the creature's throats, and Barlo was plunged into sudden blindness and deafness, cut off from Calliope's bolstering song and the sight of his enemy.

The battle raged on with desperate intensity. Shadow continued to pepper the creature with arrows, each one finding its mark and leaving the anathema looking increasingly like a pincushion. Calliope sustained her inspiring melody to shore up her companions' courage against the creature's aura of dread, while Sas struck at one of the snake heads with enough force to knock out a tooth and slow the beast's movement. Barlo, blind and deaf but driven by instinct, managed to slip free of the creature's grip and lash out into the darkness around him. Eventually, the anathema — bloodied, bristling with arrows, and visibly wounded — retreated, still standing but no longer pressing its assault.

With the creature driven back, Barlo turned his attention to the locked chest near the strange apparatus at the room's far end. After some careful work, the lock gave way, and the chest opened to reveal a trove of coins, gems, scrolls, and a potion. But the most remarkable discovery floated up from within: a smooth, solid sphere of smoky quartz, deep and dark, with two tiny silver pinpricks of light glimmering at its core like a pair of watching eyes. It drifted upward out of reach, and a voice emerged from it — familiar, yet slightly off, like an echo of someone they knew. It was the voice of Captain Meklan, or rather, a version of him: a wizard from Toril, preserved within the orb during that world's final days.

The orb explained that Toril had been destroyed long ago, and that the universe the party called home — Dierde — was in fact Toril's future, the last universe remaining in existence. It described how wizards, in the dying days of their worlds, had poured their knowledge into orbs like itself for safekeeping, and how this practice had made it dangerous to certain powers who had imprisoned it here. The orb spoke of the Captain Meklan the party knew — a man who had bent time itself trying to protect his family and his grandson — and suggested that his meddling with the timestream may have been what sent the party to this strange, timeless place. It hinted that the orbs appearing in Dierde had nowhere else to go, drawn there because it was the last world left. Before the conversation could go further, the world lurched, and the party found themselves back in the beholder's lair, standing exactly where they had been when the smoke first rose — as though no time had passed at all, with Bastion poised to act and the battle still waiting for them, but the party carrying the weight of everything they had just learned.

Scenes

The Sudden Displacement

In the midst of combat in a beholder's lair, the party is suddenly transported to a mysterious tower, leaving Bastion and Shadow's owlbear behind.

• The party is in the middle of combat in a beholder's lair when the room fills with smoke and everything goes dark.
• Barlo, Calliope, Sas, and Shadow wake up in a large, round room within a tall tower, noticing Bastion and Artie the owlbear are missing.
• The party observes an unfamiliar landscape through a barred, 360-degree window slit that runs around the room, stopping about 20 feet on each side of a large double door.
• A mysterious winged statue stands in the center of the room, placed atop rubble from an older statue, appearing proud but foreboding.
• The party discovers a shattered glass orb in the debris, similar to one they encountered previously held by a dragon statue in a tunnel.

The Riddle of the Double Doors

The party investigates a large set of double doors featuring a cryptic inscription and a series of raised letters, attempting various methods to open them.

• The party finds a large set of double doors with a plaque reading: 'A spoken word unseals E. Halfway between twins, the next character lies.'
• Shadow attempts to open the door by speaking the word 'friend', but nothing happens.
• Sas and Calliope attempt to use magical gifts and visions to understand the door, but feel a strange disconnect from their powers.
• The party examines the raised letters on the door, noting the fine craftsmanship but finding no obvious mechanical locks or mechanisms.
• Shadow begins rattling off various religious and random words in an attempt to trigger the door's magic, but none work.
• Barlo points out the letters on the door, and Sas speaks the word 'threshold', causing all the letters to light up gold and the doorway to open, revealing a stairwell descending into a dark cave below.

Descent into the Serpent's Coil

The party descends a long stairwell into a dark, cavernous chamber reminiscent of the Skull of Bast.

• The party travels down a long 45-degree angled stairwell in darkness, relying on darkvision.
• About 60 feet ahead, they spot an arched opening made of slightly glossier black stone with bright light coming from beyond.
• They reach a massive chamber whose walls are designed to look like the inside of a coiled snake, with banded, scale-like patterns.
• Four large holes in the floor emit a strange purple light that appears to look out into outer space.
• Ancient runes line the walls, similar to those seen under the ziggurat and in the Feywild.
• High on the opposite wall, a circular dome supports a humanoid skull with a red glint in its left eye socket.
• The party spots a large creature with six snake heads rising from humanoid shoulders, a serpentine lower body, and monstrous claws guarding a chest at the far end of the room.

Negotiation with the Yuan-ti Anathema

Calliope uses her pan flute to soothe the massive serpent creature, and the party attempts to negotiate with the imprisoned guardian.

• Calliope plays her pan flute and sings a soothing melody as the party approaches, causing the creature's six heads to sway and its demeanor to shift from aggressive to curious.
• The creature speaks through all six heads, expressing surprise at the party's presence and revealing it has been imprisoned here for a long time.
• The creature states it is not the only one imprisoned in this place and that its existence serves a 'noble purpose' in its own way.
• The creature recognizes the name 'Abeir-Toril' when it comes up, showing familiarity with the orb Sas carries.
• A magical aura of fear emanates from the creature, causing Calliope to become frightened despite her concentration on the music.
• Barlo attempts to step forward protectively but is overcome by an intense fear of snakes and Yuan-ti.
• Calliope uses her bardic abilities to help Barlo attempt to resist the fear effect, but he remains frightened.
• The tension reaches a breaking point as the creature's patience with the party's questions wears thin.

Combat with the Yuan-ti Anathema

The party engages in a fierce battle against the multi-headed serpent creature in the coiled chamber.

• Shadow in the Snow initiates combat by firing an arrow into the creature's shoulder, breaking Calliope's magical influence over it.
• The creature's six heads all snap toward Shadow and then toward Calliope as the spell breaks.
• Shadow lands a second arrow in the creature's arm, leaving it looking like a pincushion.
• Calliope begins a counter-charm performance to bolster her allies' resolve against the creature's terrifying presence.
• Sas strikes the creature with a chilling touch, dealing necrotic damage and hindering its vitality.
• The creature lunges forward at high speed, slashing Barlo with both claws and then constricting him with its tail in a crushing critical strike.
• The six heads of the serpent descend upon Barlo, biting him repeatedly, leaving the Tabaxi looking pale and severely wounded.
• The creature emits a guttural, trumpet-like sound from its six heads, deafening and blinding Barlo.
• Barlo, despite being blinded and deafened, manages to slip out of the creature's grapple through instinct but fails to land a counterattack.
• Shadow in the Snow resists the creature's aura of fear thanks to Calliope's inspiring melody.
• Sas strikes one of the snake heads, knocking out a tooth and slowing the beast's movement.
• Shadow lands several more precise shots, and the creature eventually retreats, still standing but visibly bloodied and wounded.
• The party notices the dangerous holes in the floor emitting purple light throughout the battle, making positioning treacherous.

The Talking Orb of Smoky Quartz

After the battle, the party loots a chest and discovers a sentient magical orb that claims to be a version of Captain Meklan, revealing lore about the connection between Toril and Dierde.

• Barlo successfully picks the lock on the chest found near a strange apparatus in the chamber.
• The party finds 2,300 copper pieces, silver, gold, various gems, two scrolls, and a potion inside the chest.
• A smooth, solid smoky quartz orb floats out of the chest, possessing two silver pinpricks of light resembling eyes.
• The orb speaks with a voice reminiscent of the Meklan/Grognard the party knows, thanking them for rescuing it but expressing hesitation about being grabbed.
• Barlo catches the floating orb after a brief struggle as it tries to stay out of reach.
• The orb identifies itself as a version of Captain Meklan from the past, specifically from Toril before its destruction.
• The orb explains that Toril was destroyed and that the universe the party inhabits, Dierde, is effectively Toril's future.
• The orb discusses how wizards preserve their knowledge in orbs during their world's final days, and how this made it dangerous to certain powers.
• The orb explains that the Gems of Tharizdun-like orbs appear in the party's universe because there is nowhere else for them to go as the last universe in existence.
• The orb mentions that the party's Meklan has been finding ways to manipulate time and that his interruptions may be connected to how the party arrived here.
• The conversation is cut short as the party is suddenly transported back to the beholder's lair, appearing exactly where they were before the displacement.

Return to the Lair

The party reappears in the middle of their previous combat, feeling refreshed but confused by their journey through time.

• The party returns to the exact moment they left the beholder's lair, seeing smoke and Bastion prepared to take his next action.
• The characters feel as though they have benefited from a long rest despite no time having passed in the lair.
• The session concludes with the party back in the heat of battle, now possessing more knowledge about the cosmic connection between Toril and Dierde.

Memorable Moments

"Threshold!"
— Sas W.T. Rayce

After the party spent considerable time trying random words, religious phrases, and even 'turd', Sas suddenly called out the answer, causing all the letters on the sealed door to light up gold.

The Yuan-ti anathema critically strikes Barlo with its tail, grappling him, then all six snake heads descend upon the pale Tabaxi in a flurry of bites, leaving him barely standing.

Barlo, already frightened of snakes, becomes the sole focus of the creature's full fury, leaving the party horrified at how quickly he was brought low.

A sentient smoky quartz orb floats out of the chest, speaks with the voice of Captain Meklan, and reveals that the party's world of Dierde is the future of the destroyed Toril.

After a hard-fought battle, the party expected treasure — instead they found a piece of their own cosmic history speaking to them from inside a glowing orb.

After trying 'friend', religious words, fake words, and 'turd' on the sealed door, the party finally solves the riddle with 'threshold' — the very first thing Sas suggested looking at when the riddle was first read aloud.

The DM noted with amusement that Sas had essentially said the answer immediately, but the party went off on tangents for several minutes before circling back.

NPCs

Beholder Prisoner

A guard taken prisoner by the party who revealed that the beholder has been losing guards, has been preoccupied for months, is using a power source to create a clone, and that some guards have defected to the Bloodhand Orcs.

Yuan-ti Anathema

A massive creature with six giant snake heads rising from broad humanoid shoulders, a serpentine lower body, and long monstrous claws. It was imprisoned in the Coiled Chamber as punishment for attempting to ascend to godhood. It possesses a terrifying aura of fear, can constrict foes with its tail, and attacks with a flurry of bites and claws. It recognized the name 'Abeir-Toril' and was briefly soothed by Calliope's music before combat broke out.

Meklan Orb

A sentient smoky quartz orb found floating out of a locked chest. It has two silver pinpricks of light resembling eyes and speaks with a voice reminiscent of Captain Meklan/Grognard. It identifies itself as a version of Meklan from the past, preserved from Toril before its destruction, and possesses knowledge about the relationship between Toril and Dierde and the nature of the orbs appearing in the party's universe.

Locations

Beholder's Lair

The site of an ongoing battle where the party was investigating a beholder's attempt to create a clone. The party was suddenly displaced from here mid-combat and later returned to the exact moment they left.

The Timeless Tower

A large, round room at the top of a tall tower with black stone floors, very reminiscent of the stone seen beneath the Skull of Bast. Features a 360-degree horizontal window slit with iron bars offering a view of an unfamiliar landscape and a distant white tower, a mysterious winged statue atop rubble, a shattered glass orb, and a large set of double doors sealed by a spoken riddle. Time does not function normally here.

The Coiled Chamber

A large underground chamber accessible via a long descending stairwell. Its walls are designed to look like the inside of a coiled snake with banded, scale-like patterns. Features four large holes in the floor emitting purple light resembling outer space, ancient runes on the walls, a humanoid skull with a red glint atop a circular dome, a strange apparatus, and a chest guarded by a Yuan-ti anathema.

Items

Shattered Glass Orb

A broken magical orb found among the rubble of the older statue in the Timeless Tower. It closely resembles a glass orb previously seen held by a dragon statue in a tunnel, though this one has been shattered and broken apart. It retains only faint whispers of its former magical power, like the last embers of a dying fire.

Winged Statue

A proud and foreboding statue with large wings placed atop the rubble of an older, broken statue in the Timeless Tower. Its face appears to be a human face, but at certain angles a thin elven face seems to flicker within it, like a trick of the eye. It is made of a gray stone, distinct from the black stone of the tower floor.

Pan Flute

A musical instrument belonging to Calliope, used to channel her bardic magic. She played it alongside her singing to soothe the Yuan-ti anathema, allowing the party to briefly negotiate with the creature before combat broke out.

Gems of Tharizdun (Abeir-Toril Orb)

A magical orb carried by Sas. The Yuan-ti anathema recognized its name, 'Abeir-Toril,' suggesting a deep connection to the world of Toril. The Meklan Orb also referenced it when discussing the relationship between Toril and Dierde.

Smoky Quartz Orb

A smooth, solid five-pound sphere of smoky quartz found floating out of the locked chest in the Coiled Chamber. It contains two silver pinpricks of light deep inside resembling eyes and is fully sentient, capable of speech and independent movement. It holds the preserved knowledge and personality of a version of Captain Meklan from Toril's past.

Locked Treasure Chest

A chest found near a large apparatus in the Coiled Chamber, guarded by the Yuan-ti anathema. Barlo picked the lock to open it, revealing 2,300 copper pieces, silver coins, gold coins, various gems, two scrolls, a potion, and the sentient Smoky Quartz Orb.

Spells

Countercharm

Calliope performed a sustained musical counter-charm throughout the battle with the Yuan-ti anathema, granting her allies within 30 feet advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed. This proved critical in helping Shadow and others resist the creature's terrifying aura.

Bardic Inspiration

Calliope used her bardic inspiration during combat to bolster Barlo's resolve, granting him a bonus die to attempt to overcome his fear of the Yuan-ti anathema. She also used it to provide a small amount of healing to a wounded ally.

Chill Touch

Sas W.T. Rayce used this spell to strike the Yuan-ti anathema, dealing necrotic damage and hindering the creature's ability to recover vitality during the fight.

Mage Hand

A spectral floating hand used by one of the party members to manipulate objects at a distance. It was noted to have a unique spectral appearance and can be used to activate magic items or carry objects within range.

Classic

Last we left off, our intrepid band of adventurers found themselves torn from the heat of battle within a beholder's lair, spirited away to a strange and foreboding tower of matte black stone. With no sign of their companion Bastion or Shadow's owlbear, the party took in their surroundings — an unfamiliar landscape stretching beyond iron-barred windows, a pale white tower on the horizon, and at the chamber's heart, a proud winged statue standing atop the rubble of a shattered glass orb, drained of nearly all its power. A great set of sealed double doors loomed before them, bearing a cryptic riddle that resisted every answer the party could muster — until Sas, guided by instinct, cried out the word "threshold," and the doors blazed gold and swung wide, opening the way into a stairwell descending far deeper than any tower should allow.

What awaited them below was a chamber of terrible wonder — its walls carved to resemble the coiled interior of an impossibly vast serpent, its floor pierced by four great holes radiating the deep purple light of the void itself. There, guarding a chest, stood a Yuan-ti anathema of six serpentine heads and crushing coils. Calliope's soothing melody bought the party precious words with the creature — a being imprisoned for ages in pursuit of godhood — before Shadow's arrow shattered the fragile peace and plunged them into a desperate, brutal fight. The anathema seized Barlo in its coils and descended upon him with all six heads, leaving the Tabaxi blind, deaf, and barely standing. Yet the party held firm, and through Shadow's relentless arrows, Sas's well-placed strikes, and Barlo's instinct-driven defiance, the creature was driven back — bloodied and bristling, but not slain.

In the aftermath, the chest yielded more than coin and scrolls. A smoky quartz orb drifted upward from within, its core glimmering with two silver pinpricks of light like watching eyes, and from it came a voice — familiar, yet wrong, like an echo of Captain Meklan himself. The orb revealed staggering truths: that Toril had been destroyed long ago, that the party's world of Dierde was in fact the last universe remaining in existence, and that the orbs now appearing there had nowhere else to go. It spoke of a Captain Meklan who had bent time itself to protect those he loved — and suggested his meddling may have been what pulled the party into this timeless place. Then, before another word could be spoken, the world lurched — and the party found themselves back in the beholder's lair, standing exactly where they had been, the battle still waiting, as though no time had passed at all. But the weight of what they now carry is anything but light.

Middle English

Lythe and listin, good companions all,
Who ventured deep in smoke and dread;
Through beholder's lair they heard the call,
To tower high where darkness spread.

A chamber vast with window wide,
A statue proud with wings unfurled,
A shattered orb that could not hide,
The secrets of a dying world.

With riddle spoke, the threshold found,
They descended stairs of endless night,
Till serpent walls did twist around,
And Yuan-ti stood in awful might.

Six heads did sway to Calliope's song,
Till Shadow's arrow broke the spell;
The beast did strike both fierce and strong,
And Barlo fell beneath its knell.

Yet arrows flew and courage held,
Till creature fell back, wounded sore;
A smoky orb its secrets spelled—
Of Toril lost forevermore.

Snarky

When last we left our intrepid adventurers, they were knee-deep in a beholder's lair when the universe apparently decided they weren't having a weird enough time and yeeted them into a mysterious black-stoned tower with no Bastion, no owlbear, and absolutely no idea where they were. After fumbling through a riddle that Sas had basically already solved the moment she laid eyes on it — classic — the party descended into a chamber that looked like the inside of a cosmic snake, complete with holes in the floor that opened directly onto the void of outer space, because sure, why not. There they sweet-talked a six-headed Yuan-ti anathema who had been imprisoned for trying to become a god, which honestly feels like a Tuesday for this group, right up until Shadow decided diplomacy was overrated and put an arrow in it. What followed was a chaotic, desperate brawl that left Barlo blind, deaf, and somehow still swinging, and ended with the creature retreating looking like a very angry, very arrow-riddled pincushion.

The real gut-punch came after the fighting, when a smoky quartz orb floated out of a chest and dropped the kind of lore that makes you need to sit down. Turns out their whole world — Dierde — is actually the last universe standing, the far future of a long-dead Toril, and the mysterious orbs keep showing up there because there is literally nowhere else left for them to go. A wizard version of Captain Meklan, preserved inside the orb like some kind of cosmic message in a bottle, suggested that the Captain's time-bending shenanigans may have been what dragged the party into this whole mess in the first place. And then, just as the questions were really piling up, reality snapped back like a rubber band — and our heroes found themselves right back in the beholder's lair, exactly where they started, carrying the weight of the end of the universe and a battle that still very much needed finishing.

Limerick

In a tower of black stone they woke,
With no Bastion — just rubble and smoke.
A shattered orb lay,
A statue held sway,
And a riddle the sealed doorway spoke!

"Threshold!" cried Sas with a shout,
The gold letters blazed — doors swung out!
They descended below,
Through a serpent-carved glow,
To a beast with six heads, stout and stout.

Calliope played her pan flute with grace,
And the Yuan-ti softened its face.
It spoke of lost gods,
Of time's crushing odds —
Till Shadow's arrow shattered the peace!

Six heads snapped at Barlo with spite,
His world plunged to silence and night.
But blind, deaf, and bold,
He broke from its hold,
While Shadow's arrows won the fight!

An orb floated up — Meklan's voice rang clear:
"Toril is gone, Dierde's the last frontier!"
Then the world gave a lurch,
Left them back in theurch —
The beholder's lair, battle still near!

Exported from GMAssistant on 2026-08-16