Inside the Mad Warlock’s Tower, Coravash continues to feel unsettled by the mirror studded with dragon shards.
Taarkhan rescues Iansa from her awkward situation with Thaddeus and the group reconvenes to approach Jolgar. When questioned about the golden book, Jolgar reveals no one has been able to understand its strange script. Iansa attempts to read it anyway, leaving her visibly fatigued from the effort.
Strategy and Seduction
The party debates their approach to acquiring the book. Pallas advocates placing a bid to maintain their wealthy appearance, but Iansa balks at the exorbitant cost.
Taarkhan discusses the merits of seduction versus violence for such ends, noting that while he believes he would be ineffective at seduction, he would be willing to try.
The Shaper’s Servants
Before the bidding can begin, chaos erupts as a group of robed figures bursts into the auction hall. Their leader commands his followers to seize the book for “the Shaper” and kill everyone inside, proclaiming that “fear reveals truth.”
Quick-thinking Pallas uses minor illusion to create the appearance of a replacement book while attempting to grab the real one. As he pulls the book, an invisible thread connecting the book to the auction platform causes violent shaking that sends the mirror crashing to the floor.
Nightmare Unleashed
In a flash of blinding purple light, a snake-scorpion nightmare creature emerges from the shattered mirror. The entity exclaims that it is “free at last” and will feed on their fear. The entire room fills with a disturbing mix of fury and pleasure as Taarkhan identifies the creature as a tsucora quori, Coravash’s sworn enemy.
The battle is brutal and chaotic. Pallas is grabbed by the quori and dragged around the battlefield while the party fights both the nightmare creature and the hooded cultists.
Most party members are badly damaged when Jolgar rushes back in with an urgent announcement: the Sharn City Watch is on their way.