Percy's Log - Day 55

Once we were well rested we made our way to the base of the Heart. The Heart itself is a massive stone island that hovers over Chult a large tree sits atop the island and its roots are scattered among the island’s dirt making the entire thing look… well like a heart… With the aid of Xandala and Biera’s magical abilities we all flew up to the levitated island.
Upon arriving on top of the heart there were a set of stairs leading up towards the tree and a cave leading further within the Heart itself. We chose to head inwards towards the cave in which we met an Elven woman calling herself Reylana who announced herself as a scholar. Sufficed to say Arden and her had much to talk about given their shared interests. She says she came here to study the Heart but she’s also in Chult to seek out the Soulmonger and to study that as well. She went on to say that studying it would put its unique magic to good use for all.
During this time I was still under the effects of the Arm of Vecna which had caused me to act… selfishly to say the least. So while Arden spoke I whispered things into the ear of Xandala that would make her feel self conscious… I’m not proud of myself for this but at the time when I wasn’t myself I saw this as an opportunity for Xandala to be less reliant on Arden in case problems were to arise, firmly placing myself in a more leadership capacity though given what happened a few hours later this was all for not and I only look back on this with regret. Suffice to say Xandala was bothered by this and took off out of the cave. After Arden stopped speaking I approached with questions about the scepter that is suppose to reside in the Heart and that’s when she shifted interest to my arm. This is when my previous mindset really began to distrust this woman. Outside of the questions about the arm the room itself housed a cage and the woman was always changing the subject to find out what we knew rather than answering our questions. It was around this time that Arden asked Azzaun to look after Xandala for him. This in itself was suspicious but not as much as the woman before me. She asked if she could take a look at the arm and of course I said no… even if I were in my right mind I would have said no. Scholars tend to want to use the information they gather for their own purposes and I didn’t want her to gather any information about the arm for fear she’d be tempted to take it or use its evils for other uses.
Meanwhile in the center of the room was a large puddle. Beira being the playful spirit she is was trotting along through it without a care in the world. Not soon after Beira began playing in the puddle Reylana told us that Beira should end her parade through the waters as it would rally the bats. Arden told her to get out of there thus continuing my plan to bolster my favor with the party I remarked that Arden was always ruining Beira’s fun… again not something I’m overly fond of that I did.
Reylana continued to question our mission and now wished to see our map. She called me over to her and we began discussing a trade of sorts. She’d get a copy of the map and we’d get the scepter. She was allowed to glance over the map which is about all she was able to do since I only allowed her a brief instance to see it and began going to work on a new map for her to have. All the while she continued to question me about voices, headaches, and how I was feeling. This only proved to make me further on edge and wanting to leave this place as quickly as possible, so I rushed the map as haphazardly and as best as I could to quicken my pace making it the bare minimum but legible. I left out the location of Kir Sabal… selfish me would say that it was because that’s where his meal ticket was located but I’m certain even under the influence of the arm he.. or… I cared for Mwaxanare enough to leave the location off the map. While I began work on the map Arden decided to check on Xandala for himself as Azzaun came back into the chamber.
While I drew the map Reylana continued to hover and even tried examining me further. Out of curiosity I allowed her to but could feel the prodding behind my ear as if she was attempting to do more than check on my well being. Soon after Arden reentered the chamber and the two went off to check out a magical teleporting sigil. After they returned was about the time I had finished the map that I made for her and was ready to depart. The others wanted to stay and study but I wanted nothing more to do with this place and wanted out as Reylana was making me nervous. I suggested they stay and study while I depart to Kir Sabal. Reylana attempted to give me a hug goodbye but I took a step back. While the others continued to question me. I had enough of their questions and began the motion to teleport.
Just as I was to teleport away Reylana disabled the spell, I tried again, and yet again she disabled the arms magic. After that she took control of my very mind and my own party tied me up and presented me for the slaughter. It would seem they dealt behind my back and offered up the hand and obtaining the Soulmonger for her in exchange for removing the arm and saving my life. Although their intentions may have been good I still believe they were better off just cutting it off and keeping it away from her even if it meant killing me in the process which it no doubt would have. Not to mention they were taking the arm from the evil they knew and giving it to a complete stranger one that was very mysterious and suspicious.
Once they agreed on the deal the layed me down in the pool and tied my arm outward to make cutting it off easier. After the first swing from Azzaun I broke free from the witches mind control and tried to argue my point. It was of little use as my mouth had been gagged and Arden was all too eager to be the next one up on the chopping block. So with a slice from his magical blade the arm came off. Zamisi healed my wounds as best she could which left me in stable condition. With my mind back to normal once again I was relieved though not happy. I wouldn’t allow this to be the end of it. Reylana should not be allowed to keep the arm for fear she uses it for her own desires. I will rest for now but in the cover of darkness I will be back and either she will return the arm to me or I will most likely end up dead in trying to obtain it from her.