Pieces on the Board

The party had just returned from the fight in the image of the memory in Avernus, leaving Selena in a state of shock. She had just learned her memory contained blindspots, deliberately created by her father Elminster so her memory could act as a safe place for his knowledge. Wiki scanned Selena, but found no physical problems. Suddenly, the tower's alarm went off. Wiki then used a Scrying spell to project the happenings in front of the tower's entrance. Two individuals were spotted: a dragonborn named Kharn, whom the party had met previously in the Lesnina forest, carried a wounded General Taylor. Knocking at the door, trying to get in.

Selena granted Kharn and Taylor permission to enter the leisure room. Taylor was heavily wounded, his right side completely paralyzed. The bot Wiki and Manasa immediately began tending to Taylor’s injuries. While they worked, Kharn explained that he had saved Taylor from certain death on the battlefield east of the tower. They had been fighting against the harengon. During Kharn’s explanation, Sagiato noticed the images displayed around the room. All of them had wooden frames, except for two. One of these was the image they had just been inside. The other showed Selena playing chess against Elminster. Sagiato realized that these two images were likely the ones they could enter. Kharn offered his assistance, since Manasa was busy helping Wiki care for Taylor. Selena told Kharn he did not have to help. Kharn insisted on contributing, at which point Selena smiled. She remarked that she was amazed at the party’s ability to involve as many people as possible in trouble they had just met. Selena then entered the image with the Mnemonic Lens. Kilijan exchanged strategies with Kharn, equipping him with several infused items. Afterward, the rest of the party followed Selena into the memory.

The party found themselves transformed, appearing as pieces on a chessboard. Enormous figures of Selena and Elminster hovered above the board, engaged in conversation. Elminster spoke to a nine-year-old Selena within the memory, emphasizing the importance of knowledge. He told her, "knowledge is not just information, but also something that needs to constantly be used." The chess match then began, and the party quickly realized they were the actual pieces on the board. They soon understood how their individual movements affected their overall strategies. The party managed to gain the upper hand against their opponent. As the match drew near its conclusion, strong Dream Watchers surrounded them, closing in from multiple sides. Weneon suddenly had a realization regarding the unfolding situation. He immediately moved towards the monster representing the king piece. Weneon shot the king piece. As he did, a flash of a memory surged through Weneon's mind. He saw himself playing chess against a silhouette, though he could not place the identity of the shadowy opponent. This figure was Weneon's forgotten grandfather, a memory that had been taken from him while he was in the Feywild.

The chess combat concluded, and the party found themselves ejected from the image. They reappeared in the leisure room of Elminster's tower. Selena, with her memory partly restored, revealed that the mechanism to open the stairs to the second floor was housed within a model of the tower itself. Selena then led the party into an adjacent room, where a machine designed to awaken Elminster's creations stood. She first requested Weneon's cape of leaves. Weneon handed it over, and Selena placed it into the machine, but nothing happened. She then turned to Kilijan. Kilijan produced his own cape of leaves, which Selena inserted into the machine. This time, the machine hummed to life, awakening the cape of leaves and transforming it into a Mantle of Blooms. Selena explained that her father always took great pleasure in seeing his creations utilized to their maximum potential. Selena then began to ascend the stairs leading further up the tower. Mr. Wickett remained downstairs to look after Taylor. The rest of the party, along with Wiki, followed Selena as she climbed.

Tamil had Flora, the harengon leader, pinned in the mud of the battlefield. He held his sword underneath Flora's chin, ready to strike, and asked for information. "I am asking just one more time, who was the red dragonborn who took Taylor and where did he take him," Tamil said. Flora laughed in Tamil's face while she remained pinned to the ground. She then spoke, "Find out yourself. I thought you were the only dragonborn in the Feywild left." Tamil killed Flora. He looked with a worried expression towards Elminster's tower in the distance.