Yuna’s Revivify spell was successful, returning Magnus from death and in so doing freeing him of his geas. But all was not well; as the party watched in terror, his left arm withered, becoming a twisted, dessicated thing that resembled mummified flesh, parchment-thin skin stretched over bone. He seemed able to use the limb normally, however, and it was resistant to both lesser restoration and healing magic. In fact, healing magic seemed to be less effective with Magnus generally; two of Yuna’s spells failed outright and a healing potion was only partially effective.

Magnus had also seemingly lost the faculty of speech, though whether this was simply shock or something more permanent remains to be seen.

Stu, the mysterious elven alchemist who claimed to be able to safely dispose of the residium, began constructing an anti-magic field around the crystalline deposit in an effort to prevent its growing any larger through the absorption of residual magical energy in the area.

While the party came to grips with Magnus’s transformation, and wondered anew what, if anything, to do about Stu and the residium, several small spiders made their way into the ancient dwarven building. One quickly went out the way it came in, and the party followed it outside only to be met with an entire swarm of spiders, a pair of giant spiders, a pair of phase spiders, and a drow mage that commanded them, all of which had ascended out of the massive sinkhole not far from the building. Battle was joined, and though Keen fell to the mage’s powerful lightning bolts as he dueled Levani, trading deadly spells at range, Magnus revived him with a health potion and the party simply overwhelmed their attackers, dispatching them.

Returning inside the building they found Stu finishing the ritual casting of the anti-magic field around the residium crystal, but news of the drow’s presence in the area concerned Stu, who announced he would have to move the crystal to his “pad,” which he claimed was a pocket dimension, before destroying it, in case the drow learned of its presence and came in force. Levani and Yuna remained suspicious, Keen bemused, but Ara and Magnus both seemed inclined to believe Stu was their best shot at safely disposing of the residium.

During their conversation, Ara introduced himself to Stu, who recognized Ara’s family name, Akiir, and asked if he knew Aleh Xa. Excited, Ara said he did and attempted to introduce Alex ha, the ancestor guardian within his quarterstaff to Stu. Amazingly, Aleh Xa announced that Elstuviar am Vakaralithien was the Fist of the North Wind, whom she had been entreating Ara to find for weeks, and demanded Ara “Take his power, take it now,” repeating her cryptic claim that “everything depends on it.”

Stu, for his part, seemed to know Aleh Xa but seemed unconcerned about her instructions to Ara, and settled down into a trance to recover his strength before attempting to plane shift the entire residium crystal deposit into his “pad.” Ara sat down across from him, unsure of what action to take.

Magnus fell asleep instantly, and the rest of the party uneasily settled in for a long rest.

Plot Twists: Heavy, Brah

DM dice level: polyhedric betrayal

Left Hand of Darkness Rating: weird

RP Rating: Awesome!