Chapter 8, Part VII: Restraint and Temptation
After losing BOJO, the party gathered to debrief. Xerxes, ever pragmatic, reminded them that death was part of the journey they had all signed up for. Drez, more sentimental, insisted that BOJO was still part of the group, even in this new form. He had pledged his life to the Wiltspar, and in this way, he would continue to help them.
They then headed up to Doumshar via the Underdark Rail, where they grabbed Carl Preston, the Ocean Fisherman. He and the gang prepared to head off to the river to fish for the colossal trout they would use to lure out the Jorgkatsnacht. They talked about the plan to catch the massive fish and bring it to the lake. Carl led them into the forest, though after about an hour, it became clear he had no idea where he was going. He was lost.
As they tried to get their bearings, Drez sent Dr. Hoo to survey the area. The owl noticed animal tracks on the ground and the group worked together to spot the large footprints with a single unretractable claw. They followed this path successfully toward the lake.
Xerxes used his locate plant or animal spell and brought the group to a clearing. Nohki sent his companion Shroot down a nearby rabbit hole to look for any signs of the large cat. Xerxes cast his detection spell again and just in time to give Vance the heads up as the mythical Jorgkatsnacht pounced at him. Drez, thinking quickly, used his ability to communicate with animals, convincing the cat to let him take its broken nail as a prize. Just as Drez moved to slice the nail off, Xerxes cast Hold Person on Vance, preventing him from intervening.
The cat, who introduced himself as Louie, allowed Drez to claim the nail. Shrinking in size, Louie asked Drez if he trusted him. Despite the tension in the air, Drez affirmed his trust. Louie responded by biting Drez, hard enough to cause real pain, before vanishing into the forest.
Xerxes, having previously given himself advantage to an attack on a tree, went to hit it. It was then that Shroot finally popped back out of the rabbit hole, getting punched directly in the face by Xerxes's swing.
With the nail in hand, the party returned to Gyama's hut. Drez handed over the nail, and Gyama worked her magic. The broken nail transformed into a golden arrow, a powerful and mystical item that seemed destined for some greater purpose that Gyama promised would reveal itself to him in time. She commended him for his interpretation of the hunt, and told him that a true member of the Kraven Guard knew the right moments to show restraint, and sparing the cat's life was one of those right moments.
From there, the party headed to the grand fortress where they spotted Hildar. Tagg called out to her, but she continued walking, her destination clear. Inside the war room, Hildar shouted at Chieftain Ouglana, overwhelmed with grief. She demanded to be sent into the Veil to take vengeance on the Harvestman. Ouglana, however, counseled her to mourn BOJO's death rather than recklessly throw her life away. The party members sided with the Chieftain, persuading Hildar to take some time to re-evaluate her priorities. They invited her to join them at the Wiltspar, where she could use her abilities to honor BOJO's memory. Hildar, after a moment of reflection, she agreed to go to the Wiltspar, seeking a new purpose.
The next morning, the party met with the Vega twins in the greenhouse. The twins informed them that they would meet at the docks the following day to board the Arcademy boat. That night, the group retired to Hildar's house for a long rest. Xerxes, in a lighthearted moment, exchanged his hat for one of Junior's detective hats, adding a bit of humor to the otherwise heavy day.
The following morning, they met the Vega twins at the docks and boarded the Arcademy boat. The ship's mascot, a purple Almiraj, greeted them as they learned more about the Arcademy's structure. Xerxes informed his firneds about the Arcademy, having attended the annex during his stint as a soldier on Terriah. He explained that there wree three schools within the Arcademy's main campus, each representing one of the mental abilities. Charisma was represented by the Naga in green and gold, Intelligence by the Kraken in blue and silver, and Wisdom by the Phoenix in red and bronze. Xerxes explained that the Almiraj was the main school mascot and was what represented the Annex in Terriah. When they arrived, the Vega Twins ushered them through security. The guards there were familiar looking--they were slightly less menacing versions of the Sentinels that upheld the peace in Platinum City. As they scanned through, everyone received visitors' badges with the exception of Xerxes, who used his old school ID, and Tagg, who was given a Faculty ID.
Once they arrived at the Arcademy, they entered the main building and met with Adriana Grayforge and her protege Teigrid in the lab. Together, they worked to assist the pair with creating spirit bracelets by completing the rune circuit. Teigrid explained there was only one more step, but that it would need to be done just before they left on their voyage to the Maw. She explained that these Bracelets were able to tap into a special form of magic that was preventing anyone from entering the town of Glintcove. When the wearers of the bracelets were in range of the magic, they would begin to glow, and hitting the gem would activate a power that turned them, very briefly, into ghosts and would allow them to pass through solid objects. They had 6 seconds to make it through the object or they would take a great deal of damage. The bracelets had a 10 minute cooldown before they could be used again.
Xerxes noticed that the book Teigrid was using to build these bracelets was one of Thanastra's tomes. As the Vega Twins brought the group back to the dorms, Xerxes and Tagg stayed back with Teigrid and Adriana to help them work on the bracelets. Vance used an invisibility spell to follow after Xerxes and Tagg.
Xerxes asked Teigrid about the book, and he learned she found it in school, and that it was extremely dangerous. Xerxes began to open the book. She cried out that he shouldn't, and tried to grab the book back. Xerxes took psychic damage and then handed the book back to her. He asked why she could open it and she shrugged helplessly, telling him that she didn't know why, but she had always been able to. He asked if he could have it, but she told him that she was uncomfortable with the idea of letting such a dangerous thing loose in the world. That she would come and bring it when he had the other books available. Xerxes also learned that Teigrid had gone to the Arcademy a few years ago, and was classmates with their good friend, Chauncey Stoutfoot.
Xerxes and Tagg took their leave. Vance created a distraction and then stole the Thanastra book, before dimension dooring-ing himself out of the room.
He met up with Tagg and Xerxes, and as they walked, hoping to find their way to the dorms, they passed by a large building with a statue out front. Tagg stopped short, dropping his bag as he looked over the statue. Before him stood a pair of beings, one bugbear and one human, and their faces were ones he would always hold tightly in his heart. His mother and father stood, immortalized in stone, with a plaque that read, "Scrod and Veronica Dyson, Arcademy Legacies."