Session 21 — 21 June 2026
The group stands in a room dominated by a narrow well. A sharp acidic smell hangs in the air, and far below, at the bottom of the forty-foot shaft, something glistens faintly in a shallow pool of clear liquid.
Daiki peers down into the darkness. "What's that? What's it—shiny thingy at the bottom?"
Kroak suggests, "Maybe you can fly down."
Since Daiki is the only one small enough to maneuver through the cramped shaft, he nods. "I'll try to fly down then."
Ruben stops him before he descends. "Just to be a little bit safe… maybe we can attach a rope to you. So if you turn unconscious we can pull you out."
When Ruben asks Lana if she has one, she remembers the old rope Daiki handed her back in the swamp and offers it. With the worn rope tied around him, Daiki grins, dressed only in his tank top and shorts beneath his cloak-proof outfit. "Let's dive."
He flies carefully down into the well. The walls are smooth and rounded, worn away by years of acid erosion. Only a thin layer of colorless liquid covers the bottom, but the smell burns his nose. In the center lies a tiny golden nugget, partially submerged.
"Need that one," Daiki mutters. "That pure gold thing, right?"
From above, Ruben calls down, "What do you see, Daiki?"
Daiki studies the nugget before answering. "I think this is the untainted gold, cleansed of all impurities… but I don't think I can grab it."
Ruben considers the problem aloud. "You probably can, but then you'll most likely suffer some acidic damage. And if you keep it, you make it impure."
"I think we need something like a mage hand. Can anyone send a mage hand with me?"
Ruben proposes lowering himself headfirst into the well while Lana holds his legs so his mage hand can reach the bottom. Kroak enthusiastically begins arranging everyone, suggesting they wrap themselves around Lana's waist.
Lana braces herself against the stone beside the well, positions herself carefully, and tells Ruben, "Okay… you come over. I will hold your feet."
As Ruben lowers himself into position, his mage hand drifts toward the bottom.
Watching from below, Daiki suddenly has another idea.
"They're all bickering," he thinks, "but I know how to clean."
Instead of waiting, he magically pushes aside a cubic foot of the acid, creating a brief opening around the nugget. Before the liquid rushes back, he snatches up the gold.
For a heartbeat, it works perfectly.
Then the acid begins to surge.
The pool rocks violently before rising up the walls of the shaft. Daiki immediately flies upward.
"Oh crap!"
The wave catches him anyway, splashing acid across him. He cries out in pain but continues climbing as the acidic air rushes upward behind him.
Above Daiki in the well, Ruben shouts, "Pull me up! Pull me up!"
Lana and Kroak haul him back just as a powerful column of acidic air surges out of the shaft, stopping perfectly level with the rim without spilling over.
Everyone stares.
"What the fuck happened?" Ruben asks.
Daiki clutches the golden nugget while trying to explain between grimaces.
"I was thinking what we should do, and then getting the rope and everything… and I was like, I can clean. So I cleaned and grabbed it. But then the whole acid… started to rise"
His skin burns painfully. Looking toward Kroak, he asks, "Can I please pour some of the potion on my burning, burning wound?"
"A potion? I don't have those."
"You know you have them in the party stash."
"Why don't you just ask for my healing powers instead of a potion?" Lana interrupts.
Daiki shakes his head.
"I'm just asking for a potion. You don't have to use your magical power. I'm deciding to spare my magical powers."
Kroak agrees with Lana. "I think the potions are more valuable than the magical power."
Daiki eventually decides to save his own magic for later, settling for washing away what acid he can.
Ruben studies the golden nugget thoughtfully.
"What triggered this?"
"I don't know," Daiki admits. "I think the fact that I grabbed the nugget triggered it."
He tosses the gold toward Ruben.
"Do you still have your mage hand? Presto, presto, keep it clean. You have a gold nugget."
Ruben smiles. "Oh, this is nice. I think we're on our way."
The conversation shifts back toward the remaining riddle components.
"We need a black heart…"
Kroak reminds everyone, "We saw a burned guy."
"We also have you," Daiki jokes.
"Yeah, but I need mine."
"Why do you need a heart?" Ruben asks.
Kroak shrugs.
"You know, I haven't done enough research to actually know if I still need a heart. I would like to give it to someone one day, maybe."
Daiki briefly wonders whether the corpse they encountered earlier might have belonged to a once-great lord before jokingly asking Lana if she is secretly a princess.
"I am not, I can assure you."
With nothing else immediately useful in the room besides the well, Kroak waits until the acid settles back down before attempting to collect some in a vial. They lower the glass carefully, but the acid burns their fingertips. They instinctively let go, and the vial drops into the pool.
"No! My magical vial!"
Unable to retrieve it, Kroak turns hopefully toward Daiki.
"Would you mind flying down again and getting me some acid vials?"
Daiki folds his arms.
"Sorry. I think I got hurt enough already. I have to do everything. I got the gold nugget. I'm not doing anything else anymore."
Kroak says, "That's so rude."
The group decides to leave the well behind and continue exploring.
They make their way back through the corridors toward the unexplored southern room. As they walk, Daiki quietly apologizes to Kroak.
"You know I was just joking, right? About your heart and everything. I would never offer your heart."
Kroak sighs.
"I think this place is getting to me. It is quite dark and uncertain where to go."
Ruben nods.
"That's why we're here. We don't know the path ahead, but we do know that to get out we have to complete the riddle."
At the end of the southern corridor stands a massive iron door.
"I don't like iron," Daiki mutters.
Lana steps forward.
"I have an iron key."
She carefully checks for traps before examining the door more closely. There are no traps, no keyhole, and the door is not actually locked.
She pushes.
The enormous iron doors slowly swing inward.
Beyond them lies a chamber shrouded in black smoke streaked with crimson lightning. On the far side stands a solitary lever.
"Does anyone have any idea what this could be?" Kroak asks.
After examining it, they conclude there is clearly a necrotic force field in the room.
"It seems like it's kind of… powered," they explain. "It drains energy from other sources."
Ruben studies it carefully.
"The question is whether pulling the lever harms us. We have to bear in mind that we are potentially releasing something into this world."
"What if it holds the last breath of something?" Daiki wonders. "Something about to die, lost in time."
"Then we need Kroak with a vial."
"I've got vials," Kroak says, "but I don't know if they help collect breath."
Lana searches the chamber but finds nothing besides the lever and the necrotic barrier.
Meanwhile, Kroak reconsiders the acid.
They hand Daiki a fresh glass vial.
"I give you a new vial to fill."
Daiki blinks.
"So… you want me to grab two vials of acid?"
Ruben laughs.
"I love your thinking."
"And if you think, yeah, that sounds great," Kroak agrees.
Trying to be a good friend despite his earlier complaints, Daiki flies back into the well. Once again he parts the acid just long enough to skim across its surface like a dragonfly, filling both vials before darting back out ahead of the rising acid.
He hands them to Kroak.
"Oh, you're so amazing," they tell him. "I'm so lucky to have friends like you."
Daiki smiles.
"Yeah. That's everything we do, right? We are the heroes of Strixhaven."
Attention returns to the mysterious chamber.
"I think we have to pull the lever," Ruben says.
"I don't feel good with necromantic energy," Daiki admits. "I'm going to stay outside."
"I guess I can pull the lever," Kroak volunteers.
Everyone who wishes to, leaves the room first.
Once they are clear, Kroak reaches out and pulls the lever.
Immediately the crimson lightning begins to fade.
Behind Kroak, the heavy iron door slams shut.
The crackling red energy disappears entirely, leaving behind only a pool of unnatural darkness.
Kroak calls through the sealed door, but only muffled sounds reach the others outside.
"I think Kroak is still alive," Ruben says dryly. "Do you think they are a former great lord?"
"Oh my god," Daiki replies. "You are right."
"There is no keyhole," Lana reminds him before throwing her full weight against the iron door.
It does not move even a fraction.
"Kroak! Pull the lever again!"
Unsure whether Kroak can hear through the thick iron, Lana reaches out telepathically instead.
The mental message gets through.
Kroak turns toward the sound—
—and finds floating bones suspended above the darkness.
"Oh… you don't look too great."
Through the mindlink, Kroak quickly reports, "There's a bony creature. I’ll pull the lever again."
The door opens. Lana winces.
"Fuck."
Before anyone can react further, the confrontation begins.
Ruben carefully reminds the others, “Well, make sure to preserve their blackened hearts, people. We don't want it to go away.” With that warning given, he raises his hand toward the mountain above the Dreadlord and attempts to trigger a volcanic eruption. Molten lava bursts forth, but it cascades harmlessly down the wrong side of the mountain instead of onto its intended target.
“Well, it's always tricky to get the lava right. It's always unpredictable. I'm not very good with close fights, so I'll just peek around a corner.” He retreats from the doorway, keeping an eye on the main hall. Daiki gathers his strength and buffs Lana with a conjured white dragon sort of helmet. This helmet can breathe cold upon activation.
Instead of charging blindly, Lana moves beside Kroak, helping block the entrance so the creature cannot reach Ruben or Sszethik. She draws a javelin.
The throw flies true.
The weapon pierces the darkness, and the javelin's tip erupts with radiant light. Lana immediately recognizes the creature for what it is. She doesn't need to be told twice after Kroak's description.
The radiant glow illuminates the gloom. It is still magical darkness, but brilliant rays burst outward where the weapon strikes, sunlight seemingly breaking through the black cloud itself. Radiant energy courses through the undead foe.
Inspired by everyone else's efforts, Sszethik advances to within a few paces of the Dreadlord. Raising his hand, he conjures a poisonous cloud. Sszethik releases the toxic mist. It swirls into the creature's own darkness before disappearing without effect. The Dreadlord is completely immune.
Looking disappointed, Sszethik retreats around the corner toward Ruben.
“Are you okay, Sszethik?” Ruben asks.
“Yes… he seems to be immune to my Spray the Poison spell. I don't know. Strange.”
While everyone regroups, Kroak quietly shifts position.
The Dreadlord surveys the battlefield with unsettling intelligence. Instead of pursuing Kroak, its attention shifts toward the people hiding behind the corner. Moving more slowly than before thanks to Lana's javelin, it closes into melee with her.
Without warning, it whispers something unintelligible.
Black smoke begins creeping across the stone floor. Thick, writhing tentacles emerge from every crack in the hallway.
The tentacles surge upward.
Lana barely escapes their grasp, but Ruben and Sszethik are seized. Dark tentacles wrap around them, dragging them downward as though trying to crush them into the stone itself. Their limbs are pinned, their movement stolen, and agonizing pressure bears down on their bodies.
Ruben winces.
The Dreadlord simply smiles.
It is an eerie smile, visible to Daiki over Kroak's shoulder.
Daiki steps forward, channeling radiant magic. Bolts of light slam into the undead creature, cracking bones beneath its cloak of darkness. The black smoke thickens around it, making it increasingly difficult to see, but Daiki's assault continues relentlessly.
The first blast splinters ribs.
The second tears deeper through the creature.
Realizing the creature is maintaining the spell restraining Ruben and Sszethik, Daiki changes tactics.
“I have a very difficult choice then.”
He channels even more radiant energy. The final burst strikes home. The Dreadlord almost keeps its footing. Its neck twists violently from the accumulated impacts as it reaches one hand toward Lana, preparing another spell.
Then Daiki's last surge of radiant power overwhelms it.
The creature simply disintegrates.
Its body collapses into dust. Bones clatter across the floor before dissolving as well. The black tentacles vanish instantly, releasing Ruben and Sszethik from their crushing grip.
Silence settles over the chamber.
All that remains is a shriveled black heart lying in a mound of dust.
“Oh my God,” Daiki breathes.
Ruben immediately turns toward Sszethik.
“Sszethik, are you okay?”
“It hurts,” Sszethik admits. “I am not strong enough to resist it.”
Dark bruises spread where the tentacles had wrapped around him, and Ruben feels exactly the same injuries himself, as though his bones had nearly snapped.
“Can someone help Sszethik and me, please?”
Lana is already moving.
She had been staring at the place where the Dreadlord collapsed, still holding her weapons and wishing she had managed one more strike before it disappeared. Hearing Ruben call, she rushes over.
Warm divine energy closes many of Rubens’ wounds.
She immediately channels another healing spell into Sszethik as well.
Daiki raises an eyebrow.
“Are you sure you're using that much energy?”
“Well,” Lana replies simply, “I am equipped to heal, so why not?”
Daiki smiles.
“I'm also equipped to heal, and I have a lot of power and energy surging through me right now.”
Radiant energy visibly pours from him as he touches Sszethik and Ruben, restoring their strength completely.
While everyone catches their breath, Lana notices the lingering lightning around the chamber.
With the battle over, she uses its remaining power to harmlessly interact with the lightning dancing across the pit, disappointed she never had the chance to unleash it against the Dread Lord itself.
Kroak finally explains what happened.
“When I pulled the lever, the doors closed and this guy just came up from behind me.”
“That's scary,” Ruben says.
“Luckily you guys weren't far away.”
Ruben nods toward the pile of dust.
“I'm glad the Dreadlord was killed this fast. I think there's no competition about the amount of kills or who does it first. I think it was quite dangerous. Sszethik and I were caught by black tentacles crushing our bones.”
“I think this was a lich,” Kroak says thoughtfully. “I've heard of those. They're like undeads, and they have an item that keeps them alive. So that must be the black heart.”
“What if this wasn't the strongest enemy here?” someone wonders aloud. “What if this was just the beginning?”
Kroak merely shrugs.
“I haven't cast any spells yet either. So, good to go.”
Ruben volunteers to retrieve the heart before realizing it is simply lying on the floor rather than inside the lightning-filled pit.
Daiki studies it.
“Does it still beat?”
It does not.
The heart is shriveled, hardened, and lifeless.
“It looks like a plum,” Daiki remarks. “Like a dry plum.”
Kroak peers into the prison chamber where the Dreadlord had emerged. With the magical darkness gone, it is obvious the chamber is empty.
“So this was some form of prison,” they conclude.
Satisfied, the group returns to the central chamber with the heart.
The floating runes remain, still listing the ingredients required to complete the ritual.
Ruben sits cross-legged.
“I'm just going to sit down for a minute and see if starting or completing this ritual will be good or bad.”
He begins preparing an Augury. The others debate their remaining objectives.
“We're still missing the final breath of a faded soul,” Daiki notes.
“And a cup of purest water.”
“We already took the water from the pond,” Ruben reminds him.
Kroak casually suggests, “We could just throw the nugget in the bowl and see what happens.”
Ruben laughs.
“Yeah, well that's just what I don't want to do.”
He closes himself off from the outside world, focusing entirely on the ritual. Sszethik quietly watches from across the room as Ruben casts the bones and seeks an omen.
The answer is unmistakable.
Completing the ritual promises good results.
“I think we should just proceed with getting all the components,” Ruben concludes.
The group agrees there is only one unexplored room remaining.
Following the final corridor, they reach a simple wooden door with a silver handle.
Daiki presses an ear against it.
A faint chill brushes his skin.
“It feels more like your room,” he tells Lana with a grin. “It's cold.”
Laughing, Lana steps forward and opens the door.
An unnatural gust of icy wind bursts outward.
It is unlike any cold she has ever experienced. It chills something deeper than flesh.
Inside the chamber stands a single black marble sarcophagus, upright against the far wall.
“Well,” Lana mutters, “that's a sarcophagus.”
“I don't need Ruben's peering into the future abilities to see that it will probably come to life.”
Sszethik hesitates at the doorway.
Lana gently reassures him.
“If you're not able to, or if you don't want to, it's okay.”
Kroak immediately replies, “It's okay if you're a pussy. Don't worry about it.”
“That is not the way to say this to somebody,” Lana scolds.
“Okay,” Kroak corrects themself. “It's okay to be scared.”
“Exactly.”
To comfort Sszethik further, Lana briefly links minds with him, reassuring him that he is free to leave if he wishes.
Daiki adds a Prismari mascot to Sszethik's shoulder.
“For one, I'm not wet. So he will stay warm and not be scared anymore.”
Kroak contributes their own Inkling mascot.
The combined gesture visibly relaxes him.
Ruben opens his spellbook.
“I should be able to give you all some warm energy.”
He blesses Lana, Kroak and Sszethik before apologizing to Daiki.
“I'm so sorry. I don't have the energy to also bless you.”
“It's okay,” Daiki replies. “I'm overpowered anyway.”
The sarcophagus itself bears no inscriptions, though it is tightly wrapped shut with thick, dark twine.
“How are we catching the breath?” Kroak asks.
“I don't know,” Lana admits, “but I'll have my longsword ready if something undead comes out.”
Ruben conjures three illusory duplicates of himself.
“Basically you now see four Rubens.”
Daiki stares.
“That's a really neat trick, Ruben.”
“It's called magic.”
The plan is simple. Cut the cord. Open the sarcophagus. Catch whatever breath escapes.
Using Mage Hand and a knife, Ruben slices through the binding twine.
The cord snaps away.
The lid remains closed.
“Can you push it open, maybe, Lana?” Ruben asks.
“Sure.”
Lana plants herself before the upright sarcophagus and pulls.
The front swings open.
Immediately, an immense blast of icy wind erupts from within.
“Catch it!” Ruben shouts.
Before anyone can react further, the air itself begins to scream.
A piercing shriek echoes through the chamber, vibrating through every bone in their bodies.
Combat begins once more.
The banshee unleashes a terrible wail. Kroak feels nothing; being undead, the sound has no effect on them. Lana, standing right beside the ghostly creature, is not so fortunate. She drops to her knees as the life drains from her face before collapsing onto the ground.
Daiki stares in horror. "Catch Lana's breath! It's her final breath!"
Ruben mutters. "Oh my god."
Everyone else remains standing as Lana lies motionless beneath the banshee. Sszethik is the first to react. Looking baffled, he extends a hand and conjures another Spray of poison, only to watch it dissipate harmlessly against the undead creature.
"This is so strange," he mutters. "This always works."
Ruben steps forward as four identical versions of himself spread out around him, all opening their mouths at once.
"Daiki, please save Lana. I can't do much to help her, I think. But I can only try to invoke the power of Mount Hotenow."
He bends fate itself, recalling countless possible futures until he finds one where the banshee looks the wrong way at the crucial moment. The lava crashes into the spirit's head exactly as foreseen. The radiant lava singes the banshee, but only barely.
Kroak, unconcerned by the banshee's horrifying appearance, casts a Witch bolt. The spell connects perfectly. A crackling beam of lightning tears into the banshee with devastating force, but despite the tremendous blast, the creature weathers it far better than expected.
Kroak immediately changes priorities. They hurry to Lana's side, retrieve a healing potion from the party stash, and carefully pour it into her mouth. After retreating a short distance, Kroak leaves space for Daiki.
Still overflowing with energy, Daiki calls upon his magic once more. He flies toward Lana, shrugging off the banshee's supernatural fear, then kneels beside her.
"I'm going to heal Lana."
Warm restorative magic floods into her. The healing is far greater than expected. As the spell overflows through him, shimmering energy surrounds his body, granting him temporary vitality as well.
Lana opens her eyes. She slowly stands, leaving her fallen glasses on the ground.
Still shaking off the effects of collapsing moments earlier, she steadies herself and draws her longsword. The banshee's dreadful presence claws at her mind, but her Kalashtar resilience pushes it aside.
"My time will come at some point."
She channels divine power into her blade. The weapon erupts with radiant light, illuminating the chamber. She drives it through the banshee in a righteous slash. Radiance floods through the blade, followed immediately by a powerful Divine Smite. Her radiant strike nearly cleaves the banshee in half. Its body tears apart before ghostly strands pull it back together, though the stitching between its two halves is now visibly weakened. It has finally begun to show signs of serious damage.
Looking around quickly, Lana meets each of her companions' eyes.
"Thank you."
The battered banshee lashes out at her in return, reaching with skeletal fingers. But the ghost's own body begins to unravel as it attacks. The strands binding its form separate even further, and its arm falls apart before reaching Lana. Confused, the creature struggles to pull itself back together, completely missing her.
Meanwhile Sszethik decides poison clearly is not the answer. He conjures a thorn whip instead. The magical vines lash around the banshee, digging painfully into its form before yanking it closer. Only afterward does Sszethik realize he has just pulled the horrifying spirit directly into his own face.
He stands frozen, eye to eye with the banshee.
Ruben blinks at the absurd sight.
Clutching his spellbook instead of the mascot, he plucks three feathers from himself. The glowing bolts streak across the room, punching through the ghost's already weakened form. The banshee tears apart completely.
"Oh. Oh. I didn't see that one coming."
The white strands that formed its body dissolve into nothing, but one curl of blue smoke refuses to fade. Instead it gathers into a small swirling sphere.
"Kroak, get it in a vial or whatever."
"I'm not touching that again. I already have a blue ball following me. I'm not touching another."
"Well I don't have a fucking vial. You're the alchemist here."
"I give you a vial."
Ruben summons his Mage Hand, takes the offered vial, and carefully captures the floating blue smoke inside.
The strange essence slips easily into the glass.
"I hope you're all right. You went down. Oh my, Lana, how are you?"
"What happened? It came out and it screamed… did I just fall down immediately?"
"Well, basically that's what happened."
"Oh, goddammit."
"I think you are too sensitive in the air," Daiki suggests. "Just because you have such delicate senses for the music."
"If that is your explanation," Lana laughs, "I would not mind that."
"But your attack rocked, Lana," Ruben says.
"It was like I saw a god. A god of wars," Kroak adds.
"We go to the gym every day," Lana replies proudly, bumping fists with Daiki.
Ruben turns his attention to the now-empty sarcophagus, searching its interior, but finds nothing of interest. Kroak examines it more carefully and notices numerous deep scratches lining the inside, as though someone trapped within had desperately clawed at the lid in an attempt to escape. Otherwise it is empty, everything inside reduced to dust.
Ruben suggests beginning the ritual immediately.
Before they do, Lana pauses.
"I'm so grateful that you guys brought me back, so thanks."
"No worries," Kroak replies. "That's why we have the potions, right? And Daiki did a lot of healing."
"I just need to get used to the fact that people take care of me for once."
Kroak briefly wonders whether the sarcophagus—or at least its lid—might fit inside the Bag of Holding. After comparing the enormous stone coffin to the tiny opening of the magical bag, they reluctantly abandon the idea.
Attention turns instead to the ritual bowl.
Daiki produces the faintly magical blue gem. As it is placed into the bowl, glowing letters drift away toward the floor behind the altar, and the stone floor begins to descend, forming the first two steps of a staircase.
Ruben removes the next ingredient with Mage Hand and places it into the bowl. Two more steps sink into the earth.
Kroak retrieves the skull and lowers it into the mixture.
More steps descend, the entire structure shuddering heavily with each movement.
Ruben uncorks the vial containing the banshee's final breath and empties the swirling blue mist into the bowl.
Again the staircase grows longer.
Sszethik contributes the blackened heart, lowering another section.
Kroak pours in the cup of the purest water. The letters swirling above the bowl twist and curl. Some settle onto the remaining steps, while others linger overhead, glowing red.
Only one requirement remains.
"Blood willingly given."
Lana hesitates.
"Kroak, since you have a curious taste in… liquids… do you have anything on you that might come in handy here?"
"I've been experimenting creating fake blood potions," Kroak admits, "but it's not completely that."
Lana remembers the blood they collected from unwilling victims.
"The blood is not willingly given…"
Ruben recalls the ritual notes.
"I think it was in the letter, right? We need a mixture of both willing and unwilling victims."
The missing document describing the host was never found.
"Let's just see what happens if Daiki gives his blood," Kroak suggests.
Daiki willingly offers the final ingredient.
The instant his blood touches the bowl, the entire mixture erupts into flame. Stone rumbles throughout the chamber. This time the staircase does not simply descend. Instead, the wall at its base unfolds upon itself, each slab folding away until a hidden doorway opens, revealing yet more stairs leading downward.
"Well," Ruben says, "I think we can go down, right?"
"Let's do it," Lana agrees. "We have nowhere else to go."
The ritual consumes every ingredient. Nothing remains inside the bowl.
The group descends the seemingly endless staircase. Eventually the staircase opens into a vast underground cavern.
The steps continue straight into crystal-clear water.
Everything ahead is flooded.
The air is damp, every surface slick with moisture. Though the water is remarkably clear, darkness limits how far anyone can see beneath its surface.
There is nowhere dry to stand.
The flooded depths await them.