14. Answers Report

General Summary

13th Eyre, 998 YK

• The party see Lakashtai at a table playing a card game, she seems to be losing.
• Terfel Glas tried to sit at the same table but was turned away. He played at another table and won 8 gold.
• After her round, Lakashtai moved table and played against Terfel. Terfel won again and is now 10 gold richer.
• Lakashtai suggests that Terfel use his winnings to buy her a drink. He obliges.
• He spends 2 gp on a whiskey, which Lakashtai doesn't drink.
• Terfel mentions why they are looking for her, and Lakashtai doesn't wish to discuss it there. They find an alley.
• Lakashtai explains that she had to kill Monan to rescue Daine. Monan had transferred his consciousness into Daine's head and was attempting to take control of his body.
• Lakashtai had to make a choice, they couldn't both reside in Daine's head, and it is Daine's body. She killed Monan.
• She stored the residual psychic energy from Monan's consciousness in a crystal, which she left at Daine's bed side. She explained that this isn't actually Monan, he's dead, it's just an echo of him. It can be used as a battery for psionics (mechanically, it's a material component.)
• Kalshana could use the crystal.
• Terfel pondered if it could be possible to speak to Monan. Lakashtai shot the idea down, but mentioned he spent a great deal of time in Daine's head. It's possible Daine might know something, even if he doesn't know he knows it.
• They don't know anyone else able to do what she's suggested, but Lakashtai can do it. They negotiate, and she's willing to do it for 50 gp and a kiss from Kalshana.
• They go down to High Walls, explain the situation to Daine. He goes to sleep.
• Lakashtai enters Daine's dreams and influences them to get him to dream about his memories of the changeling.
• Daine seems to be having a nightmare.
• Lakashtai "awakens", and kisses Kalshana. The kiss transfers the memories of Daine's dream from Lakashtai to Kalshana. Lakashtai then leaves suddenly.
• Kalshana explains what she saw to the group. They'll discuss it with Daine in the morning.

14th of Eyre, 998 YK

• In the morning, they had a discussion with Daine. They didn't mention his connection to House Deneith, which he appreciated.
• They did a lot of speculating and exchanged theories. They asked if dragonmarks are connected to the soul or the body, and Lei explained that it's kinda both, but the marks don't disappear when you die.
• Warden theorised that perhaps Jode d'Jorasco also got body snatched, like Hugal/Monan tried to do with Daine.
• The party went to investigate the location where Jode's body was found, but it had been picked clean by the sewer oozes.
• Returning to Terfel's old squad, they asked who found the bodies. Daine explained that the bodies had been found by a goblin girl, Rhazala, who had previously picked Daine's pocket after he rescued her from a corrupt guardsman.
• They think Rhazala is homeless, more so than the refugees, and don't know where to find her.
• Terfel asked Lei about her staff, and she explained how she came to acquire it. Her uncle gave it to her after arranging for her to meet an associate of his.
• Lei went to meet this associate, and had to fist fight a minotaur to do so. The associate turned out to be a sphinx named Flamewind.
• Flamewind gave each of them a prophecy, which in retrospect were very relevant to the investigation into Jode's death. Lei might be smart but even the best of us sometimes get "brain like a sieve".
• They each explained the prophecies they had received, which shed some light on things.
• There are lots of leads at this point, they decide the next stop is to visit Alina Lorridan Lyrris, who is in Deni'yas in the upper city.
• They get on the lift to go up, and it is also boarded by two beggars, a tall and skinny human man and a young halfling girl. Once the lift is moving, the man turned to the group, revealing that he is covered in sores and boils, and ominously said "We need to talk."

   

Daine's First Dream

Daine is having a conversation with Greykell, along with Lei and Pierce. Jode isn't there. They round the corner and see Hugal, or Monan, leaning against the side of the Inn where they are staying.   Daine orders his companions to attack, but they don't move. Hugal/Monan taunts him, claiming to be Monan but admitting he's lied before about which twin is which. They do that to confuse people. Hugal/Monan explain what's happening to Daine, they're a mind wraith and they're going to take over his body, use it until they've done all they want to, and then leave him to rot in a madhouse.   Daine fights Hugal/Monan, and the scene shifts to a House Deneith enclave in Metrol. The twin has morphed into Daine's grandfather, and fights him with a House Deneith sword. The fight seems to be going nowhere, with the twin taunting Daine throughout. Eventually, Daine gets the upper hand and kills his grandfather, waking him.  

Daine's Second Dream

Daine is back outside the Manticore, with Hugal/Monan leaning against the wall. The twin taunts him, claiming that his grandfather was a poor choice as Daine knows how to fight him. He shifts the scene to Alina Lorridan Lyrris's manor in Metrol, but surprises Daine by taking the form of Lei d'Cannith rather than Alina.   Daine can't bring himself to fight Lei, and is purely on the defensive. The twin taunts him, asking what Lei would think if she knew about Daine's past. Eventually, Lakashtai's voice breaks the taunts as she tells Daine to look away.   Daine does as he's told, but not before seeing a shadow fall on the false Lei, and the look of sheer terror on her face. The sound she made as she died will haunt him (and now Kalshana) forever.   Daine awakens with a crystal at his bedside.  

Flamewind's Prophecies

Lei

"You will find out the answers you seek in time. For now, you must ask yourself the questions. I am not the only one who can see your flames. Others are watching, and they are shaping your path. The death of Hadran d’Cannith, the presence of your friend Alina … these are not accidents. Beware coincidence. You killed Hadran, Lei, those who are watching have plans for you, and a life with him is not in those plans"   "All of your troubles are tied to your past, to who you are, and those who have come before. Your fate is linked to your family—your parents and your brothers. You carry the legacy of your line, and you have already met one of your brothers. You must forget your house and focus on your family."  

Pierce

"Your friends will rely on your strength in days to come, Pierce,” she said. “But even you do not know your true strength. Do you know what your purpose is, Pierce?"   "I was designed to serve as a light infantry scout and support unit, specializing in stealth and reconnaissance."   "That is what you were told. That is what you have done. But it is far from the truth. You too must learn about your family. Who made you? If you wish to know your purpose, that is where you must begin.  

Jode

"You know your family, Jode. And you know who you are. What matters are the choices that you will make in the next few hours. There is a key that only you can find, hidden between two stone that only you can move. You must find it alone, but you will pay a terrible price to do so. You have the power to end the suffering of others, but you will need to sacrifice all that you have."  

Daine

"What answer do you wish to hear, Daine with no family name? That I am bound by divine and arcane laws and have told you all that I can? That I have told you what you need to know to fulfill your purpose in this world? Or that I have my own plans, and I am shaping your destiny as much as any of the others who watch?"   "Which is true?"   "Which will you believe? You have turned your back on your past, Daine. You sold your family sword long before Jode did. You will need to take up that sword again. You will have lost far more than your sword by the time the sun has set. You must make peace with the shadows if you are to survive. Enemies are all around you, and the deepest darkness is hidden within the light. There will come a time when you will be asked to give away your closest friend. Be careful. You will have to carry the consequences for the rest of your life."