📜 Session Overview

Dawn crept into the forest between Wyrmhollow Reach and Vysteerie like a cold leak of light. The party woke scraped, exhausted, and worse—Sorina and Xercomath now visibly marked by Arcane Wasting as the infection spread through them in ugly, undeniable ways. Before anyone could even settle into a plan, Broj began speaking strangely: fractured questions, wrong-word riddles, and sudden pauses as his eyes flashed gold, then returned.

When the party finally pressed for answers, the Dream Entity answered through Broj—watching through his eyes, learning, and trying to translate itself into their world. It spoke as if language were music: "tone" and "harmony" instead of meaning, calling the mind the "skull-cave," memory a "place of not visited," speech a "mouth-melody," and understanding a "meaning-melody." The entity's presence felt less like guidance and more like observation—curious, alien, and unsettlingly close.

With no time to linger, they pushed toward Vysteerie under Xavril's guidance. TyelKoron reached out to Myrium as an anchor, and she told them to meet at the next platform. The bramble forest punished every step; worse, it reacted to magic—faint glowing in vine and thorn as if spells painted targets on their backs. At a ravine, the only crossing was a fallen tree choked in brambles. Xavril nearly fell clearing a path, and Egg saved him—twice—though Xavril lost his sword into the depths. Egg offered his own blade without hesitation. From the struggle they learned the brambles weren't just plants: they behaved like spiderwebs for hushstalkers, a living alarm system waiting for the wrong vibration.

The terrain thinned into rocky, sparse woodland as they reached the platform. Myrium arrived and stunned everyone by kissing Xavril on greeting, then immediately set about moving them. Xavril, increasingly shaken and aware something was wrong—maybe with the group, maybe with his own mind—was taken with TyelKoron and Egg as they realmstrided. During the stride, Egg was hit with a horrid vision of screaming tied to Xavril's presence, like a mind brushing the party with something sharp.

They landed in Tarkir.

Myrium moved quickly, giving them barely a minute to follow before she'd be gone, forcing rapid reattunement to Tarkir's leylines. But Tarkir cracked open something raw in Xercomath—hope, grief, obsession. The chance of finding his son outweighed the party's momentum. Xercomath stayed behind as the others realmstrided back to Myrium's shop in Wyrmhollow Reach, leaving a hollow absence that immediately changed the air in the group.

Warwick reached Xercomath with Sending to confirm he was alive and thinking clearly. Xercomath answered: he was on Tarkir, and he was looking for his son. Warwick offered the party's help. Xercomath didn't take it.

TyelKoron, furious at the detour and desperate to treat Sorina, proposed an aggressive pivot: realmstride to Theros and seek Nymis, the Seedbound God. Nymis would help, but not immediately—it would take days. So the party waited. Egg realmstrided back to the Manticore and was greeted by Vyr, then spent his time helping with guard duties and the logistical fallout of the pteranodon losses. On Theros, TyelKoron meditated for two days, and Warwick used the downtime to develop an absorb/refract defensive technique for his magic.

Broj's situation worsened in a different direction. The Dream Entity continued peering through him. Visions came: a golden-eyed female figure like a shifting mirror-self, sometimes in a different backdrop, sometimes more threatening. Broj even shifted in dream-space—appearing as a woman at times—while the entity tested identity the same way it tested language. When Broj demanded a name, the entity gave a cryptic hint about "hooks," then denied it, insisting it had no name and answered to none.

On the third day, the air changed. Nymis arrived—an immense vine-and-wood humanoid avatar—and with it a unicorn and a treant procession. The party knelt and offered calm respect. By then, Xercomath had returned to the Manticore and found Egg—shaken, exhausted, ill, and visibly haunted by whatever he'd seen or learned on Tarkir. Egg brought him to Theros in time. The unicorn touched Sorina with its horn, cleansing Arcane Wasting. It touched Xercomath next and purged the infection from him as well.

But the cure didn't touch the deeper wound.

Xercomath, eyes hollow with dread and grief, reached toward the unicorn as if begging for something beyond healing. TyelKoron tried to steady him—pressed him to breathe, to think, to stay with them. Xercomath snapped. In a sudden eruption of anguish, he lashed out at TyelKoron, then realmstrided away to the Manticore. The party followed soon after, but the damage was done: the group had never seen Xercomath so feral, so stripped of humor and composure.

When pressed, Xercomath gave them only one truth, cold and final:

"I am going to war. With or without you."

⚔️ Key Events

• Arcane Wasting Spreads: Sorina and Xercomath wake showing visible signs of infection, the disease taking hold in earnest.
• Dream Entity Communicates: The entity speaks through Broj in cryptic musical metaphors, observing the party through golden-flashed eyes.
• Bramble Forest Traversal: The party navigates treacherous magical brambles that glow in response to magic and act as living alarm systems for hushstalkers.
• Ravine Crossing: Xavril nearly falls twice crossing a bramble-choked fallen tree; Egg saves him both times but Xavril loses his sword. Egg offers his own weapon in replacement.
• Myrium's Arrival: Myrium greets the party at the platform, surprising everyone by kissing Xavril before rushing them to realmstride.
• Accidental Landing in Tarkir: The party lands in Tarkir, Xercomath's home plane, creating an impossible choice.
• Xercomath Stays Behind: Unable to leave the possibility of finding his son, Xercomath remains on Tarkir while the party returns to Wyrmhollow Reach.
• Journey to Theros: TyelKoron leads the party to seek Nymis, the Seedbound God, for a cure to Arcane Wasting.
• Three Days of Waiting: Egg helps with guard duties at the Manticore, TyelKoron meditates, Warwick develops new magical defenses, and Broj experiences shifting visions from the Dream Entity.
• Nymis Arrives: The immense vine-and-wood avatar appears with a unicorn and treant procession.
• Xercomath Returns Broken: Xercomath realmstrides to the Manticore and finds Egg, visibly shaken and ill from his time on Tarkir.
• The Healing: The unicorn cleanses both Sorina and Xercomath of Arcane Wasting, but cannot heal Xercomath's emotional wounds.
• Xercomath Snaps: In a moment of anguish, Xercomath lashes out at TyelKoron and realmstrides away, declaring war.

👥 NPCs Encountered

🔍 Important Discoveries

✨ Character Moments

🎭 The Horror in Gloomspire

📝 DM Notes

Session Highlights: This session marked a critical turning point in the campaign. The Dream Entity's communication through Broj added layers of cosmic horror and mystery, while the bramble forest created genuine environmental tension. The accidental landing in Tarkir created an organic dramatic moment that split the party.

Emotional Peaks: Xercomath's arc dominated the session's emotional landscape. The decision to stay on Tarkir, his return in broken condition, the healing that couldn't touch his grief, and his violent outburst at TyelKoron created a powerful through-line. The epilogue revelation—Vendui's death and his son's eyestalk—was designed to be absolutely devastating.

Mechanical Notes: The bramble mechanics (glowing in response to magic) forced players to think tactically about spell use. The three-day waiting period allowed for meaningful downtime activities. The Arcane Wasting cure via Nymis provided closure to that thread while opening Xercomath's personal quest.

Player Feedback: Strong emotional investment from all players. Xercomath's player delivered an incredibly powerful performance. The Dream Entity's cryptic speech pattern was well-received, though challenging to roleplay.

Future Hooks: Xercomath's war has begun. The party must decide whether to follow him into what may be a suicide mission, or pursue their own goals. The Dream Entity's influence on Broj continues to grow. Xavril's disturbing effect on Egg during realmstride needs investigation. Myrium's kiss and cryptic behavior warrant attention.

🎭 Looking Ahead