Date: Sometime in the year 1456 DR

TREASURE

During their escape, the Dream Seekers were forced by Nature Spirits to witness events from the past, which tie directly to each of them. The death of the Silvercloaks with rock their worlds.

As the Dream Seekers left the cell block in basement 2, climbing the stairs towards the arena, they found themselves suddenly not inside their own bodies (cast back 23 years in the past). Looking around they find that instead of climbing stairs they’re climbing a steep path up the side of a mountain to a cave above which they knew well. They are the Silver Cloaks, the chosen of Lady Alustriel of Silverymoon. They have sworn fealty to her and taken oaths to protect the Mother Node and any information pertaining to it.

During the Time of Troubles, the gods were cast out of the Astral Sea and made to take mortal bodies so they could learn humility. During this time Mystra, the goddess of magic, was slain and where her body fell to Faerûn, the land was infused with mana and a human, by the name of Midnight, was raised to the status of godhood. The world is now crisscrossed with underground rivers of magic. Wherever these rivers cross, nodes of intense magic are formed. In the place where Mystra’s body fell is found the Mother Node, the main node, from which all magic flows. Realizing the great potential and possible detriment that this node posed, Lady Alustriel and the high mages who worked with her found a way of sealing this node so that it could not be accessed without first removing the seals. The keys to these seals were then hidden away and any information about them was collected into one single book. The Silver Lady then created the Silver Cloaks to protect this information from everyone, even herself.

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That morning they had been in different parts of the Silver Marches, living their own lives, when the call from their Lady had come. Their Wayfinder Badges had warned them of an intrusion into the Cave of Secrets and not long after they had all been teleported to the path just below the cave where they knew the secret book was sealed away.

Falling into old patterns of habit, Arc (Zanne’s ¼ Ice Genasi grandfather) had taken charge and sent Fyre (Nyx’s mother) to scout the path ahead of them. Thrall (Koye’s Orc father) followed close behind, ready to protect the gnome. The Elven sisters Sylanna (Nomi’s mother) and Alátriël (Aria’s mother) brought up the rear, covering the group with their longbows. As they entered the cave, they gave it a moment for their low-light vision to adjust to the darkness, barely lit by glowing algae growing in the small river. They couldn’t see anything in the cave, but their battle-hardened senses told them they were not alone. Thrall lit a sun rod and threw it to the other side of the river, revealing a Duergar warrior taking bead on him with his crossbow. He leapt back and warned the others what he’d seen. Covering each other, they made their way across the river and attacked that dark dwarf and the other two they found skulking in the darkness. Then, as Thrall rounded a corner, he was attacked by the Drow leader. That surprise attack was all he got to do before he was quickly smashed by the Barbarian. Now they knew who was trying to get the information.

In the Southwest corner was an 8 foot wide hole that the group had to shimmy down. On the next level, they found a group of Drow cleaning their blades after having killed some other Silver Cloaks. The horde ghouls that they had brought with them were starting to chow down on the dead bodies when Fyre and Sylanna snuck close and began attacking them. The ghouls rushed across the bridge to attack while the Drow fired off poison darts from a distance. The group was often bloodied, but once they broke through the ghouls and pushed their bodies into the chasm below them, they rushed the Drow warriors and working like a well-oiled machine, they quickly slew their opponents. As they took a small rest to catch their breath, Alátriël took a closer look at the dead and found her husband and Sylanna’s laying close by, as if they’d died protecting each other. She called her sister over and tears sprang to their eyes. Their companions let them have a moment to mourn, until the ranger’s tear-red eyes filled with anger. The group decided to forge on to avenge the dead and keep this great evil from succeeding.

As they stepped out onto the ledge they could see a natural pipe letting water flow out of the mountain, down a small stream and then pouring off the mountain in a 60’ waterfall. More dead littered the opposite side of the stream where the secret cache was sealed. The perpetrators didn’t seem to be anywhere in sight so the group crept out to further investigate. Fyre and Sylanna crossed the bridge to find the hidden trove had been opened. Just as they turned to warn the rest of the group, a Drow assassin with blue eyes appeared on the ledge above and behind the group. He nailed Thrall, doing massive damage on the already injured Orc. A slight sound was all the warning that the ranger and rogue had before they were slashed by twin short swords held by a Rakshasa. Even though the Silver Cloaks were battle hardened, their opponents were no pushovers and they inflicted massive damage on the group, keeping them bloodied. Realizing that the situation was hopeless, and being gravely injured, Thrall threw himself off the waterfall, just barely being missed by a death blow. He could hear the Drow’s evil laughter as he fell into the water. At the same moment, Sylanna called out to Lady Alustriel to aid them. Unbeknownst to the Silver Cloaks, Silverymoon was under attack by trolls. The Silver Lady healed them and Alátriël hung back to keep the group alive as well. Fyre noticed a bulge in the Rakshasa’s vest and turned invisible. As her companion snuck closer, Sylanna tried to splash oil in the panther’s face, hoping to keep his attention upon her and off the gnome rogue but he dodged. That was enough of a distraction for the gnome to pickpocket the book from his vest. Unfortunately, she was bloodied and with his enhanced animal senses, the Rakshasa was able to locate and backhand her. He ripped the book out of her hands and threw it up to the Drow on the shelf, reminding him to get it to their master. He didn’t know that before she went unconscious, the rogue had ripped pages from the book. The warriors could tell that this battle was hopeless. Sylanna rolled the unconscious gnome into the river, hoping to save her, and then went ballistic on the panther, followed closely by Arc and Alá. She gashed open the Rakshasa’s stomach before being killed. The aged Arc tore a chunk out of the creature’s leg and the Bard slashed his arm. The three of them went down in a blaze of glory, like true heroes. The Rakshasa and the Drow were barely able to limp back to their mysterious master.

The fates smiled on Fyre and Thrall. They survived the waterfall and escaped drowning in the river. Together, they climbed back up with heavy hearts to bury their friends. They sent the silver cloaks back to the elves and sent Arc’s family sword to his son.

This whole vision/dream happened between one step and another. The Dream Seekers shook their heads, tears in all of their eyes over the tragedy that they had witnessed. Even Fera and Dredge who hadn’t lost family in that calamity felt that their hearts had broken. As they reached the top of the stairs, Cid ducked into the storage room to retrieve his backpack and a staff that he could lean on. When he rejoined the group he pulled something from his backpack. He handed one to each of them. “I was told that I would know who to give these to, and that has now been made clear to me.” In their hands they held versions of the Wayfinder Badges that had belonged to the Silver Cloaks. Cid smiled a sad smile at them. The mysteries around this captain deepened.