Where the Hydra Sang, We Spoke Her Name

After making their way deeper into Elminster’s hidden bunker, the Uninvited faced off against the last remaining guardian construct — a massive, insectoid machine named Bug. As the battle intensified, the party discovered that the lightning pillars scattered throughout the chamber were fueling the construct’s regenerative capabilities. Working quickly, they began targeting and destroying the pillars to cut off its energy source. Amidst the chaos, Manasa unleashed his polymorphic form — a towering great ape known as Bananza — swinging through the crumbling chamber with primal fury. With Bug finally drained of energy, the fight ended as a sealed hatch opened from within the construct’s body. Inside, the party found Selena, a human artificer and the daughter of Elminster himself, who had been piloting Bug from within. Their conversation revealed long-buried truths: after their battle with Gambino, Elminster had teleported Selena and the bunker to Eberron, where she studied artificery in hiding. But danger followed, and Elminster eventually teleported the entire facility into the Feywild, sealing it away. Selena only awakened a month ago, disoriented but determined to carry out her father’s last instructions. The party informed Selena about the Magen, mysterious beings encountered during their journey. Selena, skeptical of their sentience, joined them in exploring a damaged laboratory, seemingly the origin of the Magen. Upon seeing the wreckage and cage fragments, she theorized that a number of these artificial beings had escaped into the Great White Nothingness, where they likely built their own society over the years. Exhausted and wounded, the group settled in for a short rest, while Selena began her work repairing Bug, preparing for what came next.

Following their short rest, Selena entrusted Kilijan with the controls of Bug, allowing him to pilot the massive construct in a daring escape from the buried bunker. After nearly an hour of tunneling through dense Feywild terrain, the party finally emerged at the Spring of Frost, just outside Silverfall. Before they could part ways, Greg urged Selena to spare the escaped Magen, warning her that they might be more than just machines. Selena hesitated, her creator’s instincts clashing with a newfound uncertainty. Though she initially felt compelled to eliminate the Magen, she ultimately promised Greg that she would not harm them, on the condition that they truly possessed consciousness. Selena then departed alone toward the Magen tribe, seeking the truth for herself, while the rest of the Uninvited made their way to Tallmud’s secluded cabin, hoping for rest. However, they were met with an unsettling surprise — Tallmud no longer recognized them. Unwilling to cause him distress, they quietly departed and began the trek back toward Silverfall. En route, they were intercepted by Melya, the elderly librarian of Silverfall, who had fled the village the night before. Breathless and shaken, she relayed fragmented news: Kilijan’s machine to suppress the song had failed, and something terrible had begun to unfold in the village. Melya gave them a torn page from one of Kilijan’s research books — the section detailing the elusive and terrifying creature known as the False Hydra. Arriving at a nearly deserted Silverfall, the party wasted no time. With the warning signs mounting and answers buried deep below, they made their way directly to the caves beneath the town, ready to face whatever awaited them in the dark.

Navigating the cave system beneath Silverfall proved treacherous. The Uninvited pressed forward through narrow passages and echoing chambers as falling stalactites, collapsing stone, and sudden environmental hazards slowed their advance. All the while, the song of the False Hydra grew louder — a haunting, melodic pull tugging at the edges of their minds. But the party remained resolute. As they entered a twisting labyrinth, the group became separated. One by one, they succumbed to the song’s hypnotic influence — all except Kilijan, whose mind resisted the invasive melody. Eventually, they awoke together in the False Hydra’s lair, a cavernous hollow draped in shadows and lined with memory-warped bone. There, the False Hydra greeted them — not with rage, but with a twisted kind of affection, whispering their names as though she’d known them forever. The battle that followed was brutal and surreal. With each blow they landed, the creature seemed to revel in the pain, yearning not for survival but for an end. When Weneon refused to take the killing shot, something shifted. The others sensed it too — killing the Hydra might not be victory, but another erasure. As the tension reached its peak, Kilijan began reading aloud the letter from Faeriel — the forgotten companion. The Hydra recoiled. Her voice faltered. The others followed, each reading their personal letters from Faeriel, their words woven with memories that had been stolen. As they spoke her name, as they remembered, the Hydra began to unravel. In that moment of clarity, the party was seized by a shared vision — a memory lost to time. They saw Faeriel beside them, once again, standing proud and unafraid. Together, they fought the False Hydra the first time. Faeriel delivered the final blow — but as the creature died, it devoured her, erasing her from memory, history, and even their hearts.

As the vision of Faeriel faded, so too did the memory — slipping once more beyond their grasp. The False Hydra was finally defeated, her massive form collapsing with a dreadful stillness. Then, from her split abdomen, a short sword pierced outward. Emerging from the vile mess, slick with bile and blood, was Moroz. Disoriented but alive, Moroz offered the party a hollow thanks — then immediately began looting their belongings, which they left behind during their first fight against the false hydra, stuffing anything of value into his bag of holding. Before he could flee, Kilijan tackled him to the ground, and Greg quickly seized the bag. Realizing he was outmatched, Moroz surrendered and spilled the truth. He confessed to once being in Tasha’s service, betraying her long ago. He claimed to be on a desperate mission to stop Krampus and Endolyn from completing a secret project in the desert. He spoke of Tasha’s return to the Feywild under a new identity — Baba Yaga, her mother’s name. But before the party could press him further, Weneon calmly drew his weapon and shot Moroz in the head, ending his tale. Inside the bag of holding, they recovered their stolen possessions — and something more: a final letter from Faeriel, addressed to all of them. In it, she wrote with quiet sorrow, describing how her existence felt like it was slipping, her memories rewritten. She feared she might not vanish completely, but be reborn as a forgotten woman working quietly in a library, surrounded by books no one reads. Above the fallen Hydra, the party discovered the missing Revillon soldiers, suspended and bound in the cavern’s ceiling. They freed them, and the soldiers told of how Moroz had saved them, concealing them from the Hydra’s song through illusions and stealth. With heartfelt gratitude, the soldiers began their return to Silverfall. The party followed. Upon arrival, they were greeted by the last remaining villagers, now freed from the False Hydra’s curse. Melya, the librarian, met them at the gates, offering a gift — an old, weathered copy of Mysteries of Candlekeep. As they held the book, flickers of a memory returned: a quiet day in Revillon, all of them — including Faeriel — complaining of boredom and bickering over who had the worst jokes. False hydra Though her name never passed their lips, they all felt her absence like the shape of a missing note in a familiar song. Sharing a final look with Melya, the party departed Silverfall, leading the freed soldiers back toward Revillon — and whatever came next.

Arriving in Revillon, the Uninvited were met with an unexpected and electrifying sight — members of the Revillon Rebellion openly roaming the streets, cheering and celebrating. The Harengon occupying forces had been arrested, and the town felt like it was breathing freely for the first time in months. At the heart of the chaos stood Frul, the rebellion’s defiant leader, who greeted the party with pride. When asked what had happened, he simply smiled and gestured toward a familiar figure at the center of the square: General Taylor, alive and well, commanding the rebellion with charisma and unmatched energy. The party was stunned. Taylor, they learned, had been swept into the Feywild at the same moment they had arrived. From there, he had fought and carved his way across strange lands, determined to find Revillon and reunite with them. When Kilijan asked about the cape — the one that once belonged to his father — Taylor explained with a grin that Aran gave it to him, having stolen it back from "the Chinese chick in Graviheer”, as Taylor put it. Taylor, never one to linger, informed the group of his next move: he was heading north to confront what he called the real Hydra, mocking the party in good spirit after hearing about their encounter with the false hydra. With the dust settling and Revillon finally liberated, the Uninvited stood at a crossroads. The path ahead was no longer clear. They had fought for the Feywild — bled for it — but now questions loomed over their future. Would they continue the fight across realms, or finally turn their gaze back to the Material Plane they once called home?