Argynvolstolt, Part Two

Oswald approached the next chest. He prodded the latch with his sword, in an attempt to open it and avoid the same situation Brynden found himself in… once again, the mimic opened its mouth and bit down on the first thing it could grab – fortunately it was Oswald’s sword, and not his arms…
 
Right when we all attacked the mimic, it turned to Ireena and vomited a swarm of stinging hornets at her. I don’t know how she managed to keep her feet and her wits, but she did. Oswald and Brynden promptly laid into the mimic, until blood began seeping through all of the cracks in the wood. It was pretty disgusting – and it’s not like I am particularly squeamish… Trevor and Ezmerelda attacked it as well, but it was the “professor” Van Richten who finished it off, with a well-placed blow to the keyhole of the chest.
 
One more chest down, and no luck on the key…
 
Everyone was debating what to do for the next chest. A few of the others wanted to use Mage Hand to open the chest from a distance, while still others thought we should go about it the old fashioned way… open the chest and beat it down if and when it reveals itself to be the mimic.
 
Finally, it was decided – in frankly the only logical course of action. Van Richten cast his Mage Hand spell and all of us surrounded the chest as he moved the magical hand to open it. An eye opened in the center of the chest, and a voice rang out through the room, offering us a deal in exchange for its life.
 
Oswald said that it wasn’t a mimic at all, but a demon in the form of a mimic. None of us were inclined to believe anything that it said – for it claimed that the paladins of the Order of the Silver Dragon had made a deal with it and left it alone for the past centuries. Van Richten, in what I have learned seems to be his style, pulled out a candle and cast a zone of truth on the area. The demon mimic apparently didn’t even attempt to resist his spell.
 
Trevor and I talk to it, while Oswald and Van Richten glare. I don’t remember the conversation exactly, but the gist of it was that the demon would lead us through the next few chambers, until it grew tired of us. When we ceased to amuse it, it would betray us. Apparently, it didn’t want us to fight it, because it said that it would end up being defeated if we all fought it, although it would kill at least one of us.
 
I wasn’t wanting to make a deal, but I didn’t really see what other options we had. There was no way that I wanted to make a deal with unforeseeable consequences, but I also wasn’t sure how else we were supposed to get out of here…
 
Van Richten got all pissed off and attacked it. The demon mimic looked at us in turn and said “I’m sorry, children.” I had the uncomfortable realization that its mouth hadn’t moved at all… and yet its voice was reverberating throughout the room…
 
A tendrilous mist swirls around the mimic and around all of us, before coalescing into an exact replica of Oswald. It looked down at its hands and then turned to Oswald. It asked him how it would feel to watch his companions be struck down by his own hand?
 
Trevor shakes his head and calls out that he accepts the deal.
 
The evil shade of Oswald reaches out his hand for Trevor to clasp, and when Trevor pulls his hand back, he is holding a key.
 
Trevor opens the door, and the demon (I’ll just call him Evil Oswald), leads us into a narrow hall of mirrors. He dares us to look into the mirrors and see what knowledge we could gain. I purposefully keep my head down and my eyes trained on Trevor in front of me… as we walk along, I noticed that Brynden was standing with his hand pressed against the mirrored wall, as though he was in some kind of trance.
 
Oswald and I forcibly pull him away from the mirror and he seemed to snap out of whatever his trance was, but he was talking nonsense. Brynden kept saying that Elaine was there, asking why Elaine had been there. She had wanted to tell him something, that there was a secret to defeating Strahd and that she was going to tell him, but then he got pulled away.
 
I felt a sinking pit in my stomach when Brynden hurried toward the front of the group and asked Evil Oswald if he knew anything about the Amber Temple.
“You ask me about my home…” he replied.
 
Fuck.
 
The pit in my stomach turned to bile. I had hoped that Brynden would deviate from that train of thought, at least for a while – if the stories are true… the Amber Temple is dedicated to dark gods – and there is no way that I want to be involved in anything to do with the dark gods… isn’t it enough that we are trying to defeat Strahd, the Devil Himself? Why go and tempt fate with those who, apparently, are the ones who cursed Strahd and the land of Barovia. They would have to be worse than even he is…
 
The next door opened up and we found ourselves looking into an empty, circular room. Oswald took a step through the doorway and disappeared. He stepped back out and reappeared in our midst. So, since he came back seemingly unharmed, we all followed him in.
 
We found ourselves in a massive library with four stories spiraling up. Evil Oswald appeared again and told us a tale… apparently, Strahd once faced a foe who was so strong that he couldn’t defeat him, so, instead, Strahd imprisoned this person in a plane of existence all his own.
 
Based on that context, I could only assume that this must be that different plane imprisoning Strahd’s enemy.
 
Evil Oswald led us up to the third story of the library, where we found an old man pouring over stacks of books and muttering. He looked to be a wizard of some sort. At least, that’s what I gathered from the broken staff behind him and the arcane texts everywhere.
 
The old man has clearly lost his mind. He accused us of being agents of Strahd, which is something I am growing increasingly tired of… I understand the misunderstanding, as more than half of our party is wearing his insignia, but come on… we are obviously seeking a way to defeat him… else, why would we be here? Why would Oswald be completing all of these stupid tests?
 
Brynden kept asking the old man who he was, because he was convinced that he'd seen him before in a book somewhere. He lamented the sad fact that Elaine isn't here, far, she would be able to tell who the old man is. I'm not so sure about that, but I wasn't going to argue with him on the matter…
 
Finally, I got tired of all of the back and forth conversation without ever getting anywhere. I asked the old man if he would be willing to let Van Richten use a spell to try and identify the broken staff - for, if we could find out anything about the staff, we might be able to find out more about the man’s identity. He finally agreed, with an overabundance of paranoid suspicion.
 
While Van Richten was studying the old wizard and his staff, the rest of us began searching through the sections of the library, trying to find anything that would give a clue as to the man’s identity. I wondered if this was going to be some kind of a test for Oswald, like a test of his intelligence or something…
 
Shortly thereafter, Van Richten called down from the upper level that the wizard was none other than Mordenkainen. Brynden immediately began freaking out, and even Oswald and Trevor were acting super impressed. Apparently, Mordenkainen was one of the most famous wizards in Faerun, but he’d disappeared some decades ago and no one had heard from him since.
 
Van Richten said that Strahd had stolen a piece of the staff, and repairing the staff would be the only way for Mordenkainen to regain his memories, and thus, his powers.
 
Mordenkainen scryed on the missing staff fragment, and we saw some of his memories play out as though reflected onto the metal plate on his head. We saw a great duel between the wizard and Strahd. It was insane. Mordenkainen cast a massive fireball at him, and Strahd shrugged it off like it was nothing. We heard the words “Seek Mount Baratok.” Then, the scene changed. We saw Vallaki burning and Strahd walking among the flames, and the servants of the former mayor being flayed alive. I didn’t, however, see any glimpses of Izek Strazni. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or worried by that…
 
The broken piece of Mordenkainen’s staff was on display in Strahd’s throne room. We didn’t see it when we were there for dinner, but then again, I hadn’t really been looking for Strahd’s trophies - nor had we been invited into the throne room…
 
The old man, Mordenkainen, said that he would teleport us out of the library. Before I fully knew what was happening, we found ourselves in another chamber with yet another chasm. Evil Oswald appeared behind us and directed his ominous speech at Oswald:
“We have tested your loyalty. We have tested your faith in your friends. We have tested your ability to deduce. We have not yet tested your faith…”
 
With that, he led us down and across the chasm to a large summoning circle. Oswald said that he didn’t understand what was going on, to which his demonic counterpart told him that he needed to prove his faith and protect his friends.
 
With that, he disappeared.
 
Oswald looks at all of us, and then with a shrug, walks into the middle of the summoning circle. We all, with the exception of Van Richten and Ezmerelda, follow him into it. There was no way that we were going to let Oswald deal with whatever was in that circle by himself. Absolutely not. Van Richten said that he wasn’t here for that, and basically cowarded out. I get it, no use risking your neck unnecessarily, but does he or does he not want us to succeed? If Van Richten and Ezmerelda actually want us to succeed, then they should be jumping in with the rest of us to defend Oswald.
 
A dark purple, swirling mist surrounded us and obscured any view of outside the circle, to where Van Richten and Ezmerelda stood. Evil Oswald appeared in the center of the circle and turning once again to Oswald, the demon asked if his faith would be able to handle him in his true form.
 
Oswald ignored him, as though he hadn’t even heard, and more of that mist swirled around the demon as he transformed into a giant man wreathed in flames, astride a flaming horse, with a massive burning sword unsheathed.
 
Oh fuck.
 
Oswald and Ireena immediately attacked the giant demon. He looked over at me and I could feel his burning gaze pinning me as though he was seeking some entrance into my mind. Nothing happened though, and he swung at Oswald, which Oswald blocked with his sword. Even the wendigo didn’t strike such a blow against Oswald… I didn’t want to know what would happen if he actually landed one… I had the horrible feeling that one of us might be cut in two.
 
Oswald chanted an incantation and attacked again. The fight went on, and I saw the demon pin Trevor with his gaze much as he had me a few seconds earlier.
 
Trevor then walked over to me and grabbed my shoulders. "Make it through this." He said, and cast Protection from Good and Evil on me. He was salivating and looking like he was suffering from the hunger pangs of a starving man.
 
The fight got more desperate with each passing moment. The demon's gaze burned with flames and I could tell that he'd cast some sort of spell. I still am not entirely sure of the manner of his casting, but it was bad, whatever it was.
Ireena was the next one he pinned with his gaze. She began to fight far more recklessly, as though she didn’t believe she could possibly be beaten.
 
About that time, the demon hits Trevor hard. Somehow, Oswald managed to mitigate the damage.. something happened and I could see that the wounds that should be on Trevor, instead materialized on Oswald. Trevor was still hurt badly though, because the demon hit him two more times in a flurry of attacks… and now there was a symbol branded into Trevor’s forehead. It matched the symbol that was on the summoning circle we were in.
 
I ran over to Trevor and reached out my hand to cast a healing spell on him. I cast the spell and the mark on his forehead flared with burning light. Nothing happened. Trevor’s wounds didn’t heal, they didn’t t even look like they were starting to knit back together…
 
About that time, I heard Van Richten call out from the other side of the circle that we are right fucked. I guess that this demon must be a really bad one… as if we wouldn’t have been able to figure it out for ourselves by now…
 
Next, the demon pinned Brynden with his gaze. I don’t know what he did, but all of the sudden, Brynden lost all interest in the fight. He began removing his armor and stripping out of his clothes! This was not the time nor the place for such things! It had to be some kind of enchantment or curse… something to make it easier for the demon to win, because he struck Brynden with a mighty blow… and I noticed that the mark was no longer on Trevor’s forehead, it had instead been moved to Brynden’s. So, I could heal Trevor now, but Brynden was beyond my help until the mark was removed from him.
 
Then I found myself pinned by the demon’s gaze again… unlike the last time when nothing happened, I now felt consumed by desire. I looked over at Trevor and in that instant realized that I wanted him, needed him, right then. I couldn’t wait a moment longer. I should have realized it before, and even in the heat of battle, I couldn’t wait. I remember vague thoughts in my haze that were saying that if I didn’t seize the opportunity now, I would never get another chance. All I could think about was how much I wanted him in that moment. So, I did what any sensible (not that I was in full command of my senses) woman would do… I surrounded myself in beautiful magic and wrapped my arms around Trevor’s neck and kissed him. I surprised him, but at the moment, I didn’t care. All I cared about was satiating that insane desire…
 
A few moments later, I felt myself snap out of my haze. Ireena was down, dead or hurt, I didn’t know, and most of the others were seriously injured. I was in the process of trying to disrobe Trevor… in the middle of the fight with the demon no less! I could feel my face flush with embarrassment as Trevor set me away from him and said “Not that I would normally object… but now is not really the time for this…” and ran off toward Ireena’s limp form.
 
Van Richten and Ezmerelda came into the circle, looking quite the worse for wear. I hoped that they’d gotten their asses handed to them out there – it would have served them right, for leaving Oswald and the rest of us hanging like that…
 
The demon moved as though to attack Ireena again. Trevor jumped on her, covering her unconscious body with his own. It took me a moment to see what he was doing… for when he took the hit that was meant for Ireena, the burning brand moved from her forehead to his. Brynden was able to heal her, and help bring her back to consciousness. Oswald went down next, but was up with a roar. I moved over and healed him a bit, to try and keep him up at least for a while longer.
 
Then, I’d had enough… nothing that we did was seeming to cause this demon any drastic harm. I looked at the demon, deliberately seeking eye contact, and commanded him to “Stop.”
Much to my surprise, he actually stopped. He turned to Oswald and asked him what the most important thing to his god is.
Oswald replied that his god’s final and most important command was to endure suffering for others.
The demon then asked if Oswald would go with him to his realm in exchange for our lives.
“Without hesitation.” Oswald replied.
At that reply, the demon held his hand out for Oswald to shake, and as soon as the half-orc shook his hand, the demon and all of his ill effects disappeared.
 
We decided to stop there for the night. We were all beaten up, and those of us who rely on spells were almost out of what we could cast that day.
 
Brynden and Oswald took the first watch, and Van Richten and Ezmerelda took the second. That left third watch for myself and Trevor.
 
I didn’t really want to talk to him, but knew that I needed too. I apologized for my behavior, and while he said he didn’t mind, it was still out of line. He said that he was far from angry, and under any other circumstances would definitely not be opposed to such, but he understood that I was not in my right mind, having been affected by some magic or cursed presence of the demon.
 
Eventually, I steered the conversation away from my accosting of him, and we were able to have a fairly pleasant and uneventful watch.
 
The next morning, Ireena was still asleep. We tried to wake her up, but no matter how much we tried, she was sleeping as though dead. Finally, she woke up.
 
Ireena told us that she dreamt she was in a new Castle Ravenloft. It was in complete repair and sunlight was streaming in through one of the stained glass windows. She awoke next to someone who looked related to Strahd, but was bigger and more muscularly built. She woke him up in her dream, and the way that he treated her was as though she was precious to him.
 
Later that morning, we made our way to the next set of doors. These were huge double doors, incredibly ornate, with silver dragons winding up the planks. Once again, Oswald opened the doors and was the first to walk through. We found ourselves in a massive court hall. Knights lined the aisle leading up to a throne on the dais at the head of the room.
 
Godfrey, the revenant that we’d met in the first chamber, appeared before us and said that Oswald had passed all of his tests but one… the final test that must be administered bytheir commander.
 
Oswald approached the dais and took a knee before the figure seated there. We all followed him, mimicking his movements and mannerisms.
The commander’s voice rung out. He said that if Oswald is a knight, then he needs to introduce himself.
 
Oswald introduced himself then, much as he had upon arriving to Argynvolstolt. The commander seemed satisfied and introduced himself as Vladimir Horngard. He told Oswald that he had done well, but that in order to prove himself, he needs to undertake one final test…