- We gather in a tavern in Luskan, surrounded by a boisterous crowd. - Jarlaxle continues to aggressively flirt with Cedric - Jarlaxle reveals themselves to be a changeling, proclaiming “long live Vecna”, before stabbing Cedric - The knife plunges into Cedric’s chest, seeming to merge with his flesh. A large, circular pattern of necrotising skin appears around the wound - Kyo uses Ensnaring Strike to capture the changeling - The changeling has a number of poorly healed scratches in the centre of their forehead - Kyo attacks the changeling each time they refuse to answer a question, their body begins to burn away in response to the radiant damage - Astryx fetches a guard, who approaches with magic manacles - Cedric asks where the real Jarlaxle is - The changeling again refuses to speak - Valethar approaches from across the bar, brandishing her sword - appearing to wish to strike down the changeling. Ellette stops her. - Valethar is very adamant about killing the changeling, despite Ellette’s protests - Valethar lays claim to Luskan, wishing to take it as her own - declaring herself to be the five kings - Graxen interjects, angering Valethar. She attacks him, he defends himself - attacking in response. Ellette intervenes - causing Valethar to leave, announcing that she has made her point. - Ellette chases after her, seeing her approach the docks - Valethar asks if Ellette wishes to join her crew - Ellette rebuffs her, demanding a more level headed approach to the situation - Valethar reveals a plan to distribute her holy coins amongst the townspeople. The coins can inflict radiant damage on any who touch them. She believes this will reveal who among them are changelings - Ellette attempts to convince Valethar that magic is not the problem in Luskan. Valethar continues to show reluctance to work with the other Five Kings - Corvath appears from behind the bar, seeming to be slightly disheveled - Graxen brings him up to speed on the happenings with the changeling and the stabbing of Cedric - Ellette orders Corvath to report to Valethar’s ship, to converse with her plan to root out changelings - Kyo, having snuck the changeling out of the tavern during Graxen’s confrontation with Valethar, brings them to the Wizard’s Tower. - Ellette leaves the tavern, joining Kyo while Steve, Astryx, Cedric and Graxen depart to seek a temple - hoping to aid Cedric. - In the tower, a wizard enters the chamber with Ellette, Kyo and the changeling. Ellette declares a need to make the changeling talk - The wizard introduces himself as Arklem Greeth. He is old - and appears to be blind. - Kyo reiterates the need to make the changeling speak - mentioning the injury inflicted upon Cedric. Ellette also stresses the possibility that more changelings may have infiltrated Luskan at Vecna’s behest - Greeth seems confident that he can glean at least one piece of information sought from the changeling, but the creature will likely not survive the extraction. - He asks that Kyo and Ellette choose between discovering the nature of the changeling invasion of Luskan - or Cedric’s injury. - Ellette and Kyo elect to learn more about Cedric’s stabbing. - Greeth begins to chant a spell, placing a hand upon the restrained changeling - The changeling’s body spasms and writhes as the spell progresses. - Greeth physically transforms, his body growing younger and vision returning to his eyes - as the changeling wilts and dies. - He announces that the dagger contained the blood of Vecna. His posture straightens - with Kyo sensing him to be Undead - Greeth recommends dealing with a deity to cure Cedric - offering an alternative he can try himself. - Greeth claims to harbour an interest in the knowledge held by Vecna. - He reveals his alternative option to be the casting of a Wish - something he can do once every 100 years. He does, however, mention that this can result in the destruction of both his and Cedric’s bodies should it fail - or draining his body to a husk and reviving him in the aftermath - Meanwhile, the others have found a temple dedicated to various gods - leading Cedric inside. Almost his entire torso has been engulfed by the cursed blade. - The lead cleric believes that he can help Cedric in exchange for 5,000 GP. - Astryx pays the 5,000 GP - with the cleric asking that Cedric lay on the alter as he and his fellows chant a celestial spell. - It first appears to be working, but the lead cleric then begins to violently scream. His face melts and his body contorts and decays into dust - Steve suggests cutting the dagger out of Cedric’s chest. Astryx believes she can heal Cedric in the aftermath of the impromptu operation. - Ellette and Kyo arrive just as Graxen is about to begin. Ellette screams at the group to stop - Startled by Ellette’s scream, Graxen accidentally nicks Cedric’s chest. The blood on his dagger looks like some kind of necrotic ooze - M. T6t6ycxQ123345 - Back at the tower, Greeth reveals that he has used his wish spell three times in the past - with it working once. The first wish he made was for the knowledge of eternal life. This worked. He then wished to extend his power, but this caused his body to suffer greatly. His third wish was to kill the Raven Queen. This also failed. - Greeth also reveals himself to be a lich - Steve asks about curing her current state as a Squidling, but Greeth believes this can only be achieved by divine intervention - baring the use of his wish on her instead of Cedric. - Greeth asks Cedric the wording he would use for the wish. Cedric initially suggests “I wish my body is as it was when I woke up this morning”. He alters this, consulting with the group - workshopping a number of versions that the lich warns may have dire consequences, should the wording not be carefully considered - Cedric seems uncertain of using the wish, thinking being drained to a husk and brought back to life afterwards may have better odds - Greeth agrees to attempt this - warning again that should the process fail, he will gain all the benefits of draining Cedric but the bard will die in the process - Greeth begins the drain, pulling the life force entirely from Cedric. The dagger seems to pass from Cedric to Greeth - causing the lich to appear much younger - Having gained a large amount of power and strength, Greeth agrees to attempt to use his wish to cure Steve - Steve wishes for her body to be restored as it was during the events of the Kiss My Anthia concert - Steve sees, in a flash of light, the entirety of her life - and everyone she has met throughout it. She lays on the ground crying, as her body is returned to its Gnomish form - Cedric hears Vecna’s voice, booming in his head - vowing to return to claim him and the rest of the world