The party passes through Riverside Crossing, and continues southwards. The weather is still rainy, but after talking to the locals about it they find it to be quite the norm at this time of year. Raenerys stops one traveler heading in the opposite direction, asking about the way down south, learning that there are four settlements on the way to Unknown. As he is about to walk away he mentions that he is happy to be back in the sunlight, and then, when asked about it, tells the party that Starfall Basin has been enchanted with perpetual twilight to give denizens from the Underdark some comfort. The party thinks this sounds very intriguing, and are looking forward to seeing it in person.
After about a days travel they reach the first settlement, Doranstead. A small hamlet with just a few houses and a couple of barns, of which the owner, Doran, is asking for an exorbitant price to stay inside for the night, so the party opts to sleep in the tent, buying some hay from Doran for the horses at least. Quill wanders around looking for rumors, learning of some problems with the mining operations south of Starfall Basin, there are some bandits bothering the people of Applewatch, and there are rumors of an expedition into the Heron Jungle. Gaia continues working on her little boat while sitting in the tent before going to sleep.
Raenerys wants to know more about her patron, so she walks into the nearby woods, in an attempt to connect with him. Suddenly, the rain stops, and all color is drained from the forest. Her patron comes into view from nowhere, and looks down at her as she stares back at him. She demands answers, who he really is, why he forced her into the arrangement, and so on. He gives the name Athreos, but says that he has several other names, like the Last Witness or Cleric of the Unsaid. He describes her as a special case out of all his disciples, but when Raenerys grows more frustrated by being “forced” into submission, he offers her to give back his ring, and return her to how he found her. She declines, saying she doesn’t want to go back. He reminds her that he never asked her to kill anyone, as those who died would find her themselves.
Raenerys wants to know more, like why he’s having her and presumably others around the world gathering the last words of people, to which he replies that in time he hopes to replace the goddess of death when she steps down. The words she hears from the people she witnesses gives a glimpse into the beyond, and could lead to clues, if she only listened instead of just hearing them. Athreos hints that Korra, in her last words, indicated that Legion had her, so Raenerys should be listening closer to the words. Before leaving her, Athreos tells her that he wishes her to hear the last words of an old man in Starfall Basin, so that she can record them, and is told to look out for a “big, blue eye,” whatever that means. He then leaves her, as the rainfall resumes and color creeps back into the world. She returns to the others, passing by an orc relieving himself who checks her out. Entering the tent, she sees Quill writing a letter to her sister, while Gaia and Miryks are sleeping.
𐡸
The next day, after traveling for most of the day, they see a particularly sad looking old man riding alone on a cart in a larger group. Quill catches up to him as they pass, asking him if he’s okay. He barely looks up, saying that a monster took his child, Amelia. It happened about half a day's journey out of Applewatch, and she was taken as she was picking up her toy. Something then took her into the mists, and he just ran, but regrets it. Quill tells him to have hope, much to Raenerys’ dismay. As they continue onwards, after coming across a field of fog that extends into the valley, they come across Elspeth’s Rest House, surrounded by loads of tents of people waiting to travel to Starfall Basin when it’s safe.
They enter, finding around 80 people crammed inside the cozy little rest house. A radiant woman is tending the bar, getting stares from several of the patrons, with a literal halo around her head. She warmly greets the party as they enter, telling them that there are no available rooms, but there is always a drink to be had. A tall orc comes through the back door, carrying a couple of kegs of ale, before heading to the door to act as a bouncer and guard.
The party sits down at the bar where there are available spots, and begins asking the innkeeper, who introduces herself as Elspeth, if she has seen Hazzek and Ulvira, who were due to arrive a couple of days ago. She confirms that she has tended to them, but hasn’t seen them since yesterday, when they went out to hunt the basilisk that roams the area. Supposedly it came close to the rest house, but the sheer amount of people made it back off. They’re just the last in a long line of hunters who have been looking for it, but none have returned. The basilisk have been plaguing the area for a few weeks now, and is quite large, mostly hunting during the day.
Quill begins asking Elspeth about her story, and learns she used to travel the lands looking to take in the sights, but decided to settle in the valley to live out her sunset years in peace. Most of her travels took her to Asimaria, which she says is not filled with aasimars like her, contrary to what people believe, but the largest city state, Arcan City, has two aasimars as its rulers, who find each other again each time they pass away.
Raenerys asks about any rumors about bad things happening in Starfall Basin, learning as they have already heard rumored, that people who travel through tend to disappear after leaving. There seems to have also been a few thefts from the local temple to Lot, and livestock in the farms south of the town have been acting strange in the last months. She doesn’t know if any of this is connected, but she relays what she hears to them. The fog is normal, as the waterfalls in Starfall Basin cause the air to become more lush with water vapors, and the wind causes it to drift north.
Gaia decides to leave the bar for a bit, getting some air, passing by the bouncer, Olek, who gives her a friendly nod. She sees that people are tired of waiting around, filling the days with drinking, gambling and lounging around, but the atmosphere is tense. People want to move on, but the basilisk makes it difficult. Meanwhile, Raenerys and Quill are still talking to Elspeth, who seems to be intrigued by Gaia’s exotic appearance, but Raenerys asks her about any big blue eyes, but nothing comes to mind. Before the party finishes their drinks and heads out to set up the tent, Elspeth comments that Raenerys seems awfully familiar, but cannot place her.
As the night falls, the party still decides to keep watch, even though they are in the middle of a group of people who would probably all protect each other. As Gaia sits outside the tent looking out for danger, two humans approach her, wearing dark robes, long and unkept hair, and looking, for lack of a better term, shady. They ask about Raenerys, saying that they wish to speak to her, as they’re old friends. Gaia gets a sense that these two are up to no good, so she tells them firmly that they should leave. One of them puts their hand on their sword, but the other one, smartly, pulls him away, sensing that Gaia is not to be trifled with. They disappear into the night.
The next morning, Gaia tells Raenerys about the visitors, who told her that they were friends of Raenerys. She tells Gaia that she doesn’t have any friends, and that she and the others should assume that anyone that is looking to find Raenerys is someone that she does not wish to meet.
As they decide to head out to try to find the basilisk, having heard Elspeth talk about a hefty reward in the form of a weapon from before the sundering, they decide to blindfold the horses, just in case, so they’re not affected by the basilisk’s glare. They then head out, after Elspeth gives them each a little drink in a small waterskin, some liquid courage as she calls it.
𐡸
After wandering through the fog for a couple of hours, passing by people who were lucky enough to avoid the basilisk, they suddenly hear a bloodcurdling scream that is suddenly choked off, and several people fleeing as fast as they can towards them. The passing people tell them to run, as there is a monster right behind them. Gaia takes to the skies, while Quill makes an illusion to make herself appear taller, hoping to not have the basilisk meet her eyes. In the fog ahead, Gaia can make out a massive shape eating something on the ground. As it appears to be distracted, they decide to leave the horses behind with Miryks, and sneak forward to catch it off guard.
As they get close, Quill decides to position herself behind the beast, and then tries to distract it, causing it to focus on her. It turns towards her, but Quill averts her gaze, so it decides to attack her instead, but not before Gaia lets off a bolt beacon, causing the basilisk to glow up, making it an easier target. The basilisk seems to be a difficult target, with a thick hide that is very hard to penetrate. At one point, it bites at Raenerys while swiping its tail at Quill, but Raenerys gets a slight tug from something, pulling her out of the way.
Eventually, having gotten in a few hits, but being bit back in return, Quill protects herself by lighting herself on fire, before summoning a rune circle around her, throwing the basilisk backwards. Gaia plunges her falchion into it, causing it to attempt to flee, burrowing itself deep below ground. Right as it is about to disappear, Quill casts an illusion of a flag on top of its head, making it easier to track. It helps for a bit, before it disappears deeper below ground, running through several tunnels it has already dug. Gaia and Raenerys attempt to track it, but they eventually lose it in the chaos.
After about half an hour of searching for it, Raenerys comes across a cave and calls the others over to her. They find several large footprints, as well as a large amount of blood that matches the basilisk. Apparently they have discovered the lair of the beast, so they quietly make their way inside, trying to sneak up to it while it’s licking its wounds. Raenerys is the only one who can see in the dark, so she takes the lead, with the other two holding onto her. Unfortunately, there is not only a basilisk within, as they are being hunted by something else. Something suddenly comes flying down from the ceiling, biting Gaia’s neck. As Raenerys turns around, she sees a large bat-like creature with its mandibles lodged into Gaia.
The party tries to attack it, but it’s difficult as they are unable to see it. Raenerys sees that its eyes are milky white, meaning it doesn’t rely on sight to find them. Quill lights herself on fire, allowing her and Gaia to see, and they too fight back against the creature, before Quill uses her magic hand to distract it, before trying to hide by standing still. Ranerys sees what she’s doing, and follows suit, jumping away, then standing completely still, in order to hide from it. The beast, which Quill recognizes as an Ekoko, claws at the ground where the magic hand was rummaging, before flying back to its nest, having lost the party. They breathe a sigh of relief, before continuing further into the cave.
𐡸
After a while, as Quill has extinguished herself so as to not draw attention, Raenerys spots an opening in the cave wall. Peeking inside, she sees the massive Basilisk tending to its wounds, while on the other side of the cave there are several statues of petrified people that work as its food storage, right next to an underground lake. She spots four intact statues, as well as a smaller statue of a girl missing her foot, which might be Amelia.
They lay a plan, hoping to make this a quick and easy rescue of the petrified people. Gaia puts on the fleshtakers mask they took from doctor Krantz, and decides to attack it along with Raenerys, while Quill lights up the area using herself. She runs forward while Raenerys pummels it with her beams. As Gaia plants her falchion deep into the side of the basilisk, it turns to meet her gaze, causing Gaia to feel her limbs getting more rigid and difficult to move. The others see the color of her skin growing more pale, so they know time is short.
Quill positions herself near the edge of the lake, which suddenly is disturbed by something emerging from underwater. Another basilisk, the male one, jumps out of the water, causing Quill to jump back. Raenerys manages to kill the female basilisk with a well placed beam of blighting strike, which stops Gaia’s petrification. Unfortunately, the male basilisk spews out acid on the ground, and then meets Gaia’s gaze, causing her to once more begin to petrify. She flies up to avoid the acid on the ground, and knocks loose a stalactite, dropping it down onto the male basilisk. The party fights back at it, and just as the petrification is complete, Raenerys manages to kill the male one as well, saving Gaia.
Gaia immediately flies over to Raenerys to give her an awkward hug, which she returns by patting her on the arm, being clearly uncomfortable by the situation. Gaia starts to take a look around the area for anything useful, Raenerys begins to examine the intact statues of people, recognizing two of them as Hazzek and Ulvira, as well as a goblin and a dwarf. Quill looks around the broken parts for anything of use, managing to pick out some gold pouches and the likes. In the lake, Gaia finds a casting sword, which works both up close and at a distance, so she puts it on her back. She then tries to take off the mask, but finds herself unwilling to do so, until Quill convinces her it’s a good idea.
The party wants to help Amelia, as they have found her leg, but with no way to easily reattach it. They call for help from Elara Shadowfoot, using the speaking orbs, who tells them about some useful fungus that might work as a makeshift glue. They quickly scan the area, finding something that seems to be the right ones, letting Raenerys make a glue using what they find, and reattach the leg. It’s not perfect, but it's the best they have. They then cut out the tongues of the basilisks, and rubs it onto the statue, causing it to regain some color and softness, before returning to life. The girl, Amelia, is confused and terrified, but the party calms her down, telling her that she’s safe from the monsters. She sticks close to Quill, as the others are un-petrified. Raenerys reluctantly un-petrifies the two drow, as well as the female goblin and male dwarf.
After dividing up the gold they retrieved, they tell the others what has happened, jokingly suggesting that they’ve been petrified for 15 years, but the drows sees through the ruse, laughing at the joke. They agree to take a short rest before returning, hoping to avoid the Ekoko, but wanting to be rested if they’re forced to fight. Amelia rests her head on Quill’s shoulder, while looking fascinated at Gaia. Raenerys almost scolds Hazzek and Ulvira for being turned to stone, but considering how close they got to the same fate, she can’t blame them.
After resting up, Hazzek and Ulvira borrow some weapons from the party, as they all sneak out, Amelia in Hazzek’s arms, as Ulvira and Raenerys take charge since they can see in the dark. Miraculously, they all make it out without disturbing the Ekoko, and they emerge into the foggy afternoon. Miryks comes wandering over with the horses, as the drow returns the weapons to the group. They then all make their way back to Elspeth’s Rest House, where a familiar looking cart is parked outside.
Hazzek carries Amelia inside, where she is reunited with her father, Anton, who returned to Elspeth after Quill told him to have hope. The rest of the inn gives the party a hero’s welcome, offering up their beds for them, as a few of them decide to head south towards Starfall Basin now that it is safe. Quill gathers everyone around to regale them with stories about their journey so far, as Raenerys keeps an eye out for the people who were looking for her, but they’re nowhere to be seen.