The party wakes up on the shore of a sandy beach with the startling image of the ocean high above you. Looking around you see a tropical forest, and water around the island, but absolutely nothing else in view besides yourselves.

Ioanna sends Tundi to the sky to get a view of the island but can see little other than forest. Walking to the edge of it you can see a trail and decide to follow.

After following the trail for awhile, you find some fruit, strange fruit that you've never seen before. Firn climbs a tree to gather some.

A little farther down, you blink, and Ferron disappears after traveling behind a tree. Trying to look for his tracks and sent leads to nothing, as if he disappeared into thin air. Then one by one, everyone begins to disappear. You try to keep eye contact and hold hands but as soon as you blink, the others disappear. Confidence is the last one left, alone in the woods, and she starts hearing voices. The voices are the voices of the group.

Everyone else feels themselves transported to a pitch black void. They feel a pressure, the sensation of floating. Then they blink, and they see into the forest again. However upon further examination, they realize they are seeing through Confidence's body. Everyone that is, minus Ferron.

After reconciling with what has happened Ioanna attempts to cast eldrich blast through Confidence and is shocked to find out that it works. Confidence tries to test her strength to see if Firn's strength has carried over.. but it definitely doesn't.

With nothing else to do, Confidence continues through the forest. As she does, she begins to make out the image of some sort of large structure through the trees. The structure appears to be some sort of temple, one that's been long forgotten about that the forest has begun to reclaim.

Confidence (and everyone else) begins to hear a voice in the forest.

Defiler.

Fool.

You wander from the mainland, you come to destroy our home. You come seeking secrets that should remain buried.

You come with the others.

Then from out of the forest, a yuan-ti bursts out of the forest and swings its sword in Confidence's direction. With the help of the group's magic, she manages to fend off this and two other Yuan-ti.

After defeating them you notice the door of the temple is ajar. A dragonborn limps out of the entrance, wounded and bloody. You recognize him immediately as Immeshar iRa'uel.

Seeing him in his weakened state you approach him. He seems suspicious, asks if you came to hunt him down, but he doesn't seem to recognize you.

Immeshar has blood on his arms from a self inflicted wound. There are letters written with a blade.

Save family with 5

and on the other arm

Destroy Aigrei

As you question him he seems to be experiencing some sort of memory loss as he can't even remember the names of his brother and niece (Aben iRa'uel and Ryn Abenxu iRa'uel). He carries the staff you've seen before and a leather gauntlet with metal woven in which Ioanna knows was not present in her vision. He tells you that his own men tried to kill him for the gauntlet. He asks for your advice.

Tell me traveler, what is worth more to you, the way you treat your allies, and loved ones moment per moment, or the ultimate good you're able to do with your life?

Who to you is a better person? A person who loves their spouse, gives offerings at temple, tends to their farm well, but is cowardly to oppose a cruel master who oppresses them

or a person who will slay and torture all who oppose, whom may even treat their friends with cruelty for the sake of dramatically improving the lives of thousands, freeing the slaves, and fostering a future for their people?

He gives you brief debate on the subject, but sensing your hesitancy to help him he becomes disinterested and uses the gauntlet to cast a spell on himself, though you know not what it does. Immeshar notices some Yuan-ti in the forest starting to move towards you and asks for your loyalty.

At this time, Confidence hears a voice from within the temple beckoning her to come. 

CON FI DANCE. YOU NEED TO LEAVE NOW

Confidence ducks quickly into the temple which seems to be another black void but she sees a figure that seems to be lit somehow. He is young and muscular and bald, with both dark and pale skin in patches on his body, specifically pale around his eyes which make his face extra expressive. He tells Confidence to let go of her surroundings, to swim upwards. To her surprise she begins to swim up and as they do, the man begins to turn into an orca whale. This is Dumuzi. Dumuzi asks Confidence to put her mind at peace but realizes all of the voices in her head are too loud, he addresses the PASSENGERS in her head and everyone feels a state of calm come over them. 

You wake up, yet again on the shores of a sandy beach. This time with Dumuzi next to you and an island on the horizon. There is a thin trail of sand that sits just above the waves that makes its way out to the island.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/blood-and-scales-nerd-squad/donations