"The Lost Light" (RTx08) is the eighth episode of The Re-Slayer's Take. Tricked by the possessed mage, the Re-Slayers must face trials of a different kind, and save Timpani's friend from the aboleth's clutches.
Synopsis[]
The entity that controls Duddy takes control of the Magnificent Mansion spell cast in the lighthouse and uses it to send the adventurers away, making Timpani and Poogs disappear, and then repeating it with Farah and Heera (who manage to hold each other), and Frog and Idrin (who are forcefully separated.
Farah and Heera appear in a cavern the former remembers from her youth, since she defeated a glabrezu there. Someone approaches and Heera hides, while Farah reveals a younger version of herself who starts attacking her with a greatsword while expressing her disappointment; a voice (from the aboleth's ghost) whispers to the older Farah that it can make her whole again instead of struggling with old age, but Heera encourages her friend, and the blood hunter defeats the alter ego. The two adventurers then disappear, appearing again in the ruins of a village, where they see young Delphine crying. Although Farah points out nothing there is real, Heera goes to the child, who immediately runs away from her. When she looks at her reflection, she sees herself covered in flames and chains, as an infernal entity. A voice then promises her to turn her into someone extraordinary that her family would be proud of, blowing her horn and summoning a raging army of soldiers. Heera hurts herself trying to attack the reflection, but then, listening to Farah, she looks for three red eyes, finding them in her horn, which she crushes with her hooves, sending both her and her friend into the darkness.
In the meantime, Idrin appears in the Barren Valley in Xhorhas, where he is faced by his past lives: first a hulking ogre, then a sword-wielding orcish woman, and finally a drow man with the symbol of the Kryn Dynasty; the later is the most aggressive, asking him if he intends to allow the light of the Luxon to be extinguished, and Idrin, very distressed, assures that he doesn't want to fail. A voice mocks the wizard, and offers him a way to guide him and protect him from his past lives. Idrin instead focuses on the red lights and on his desire to return with his friends, repeating several times that he is ok.
Frog appears in a snowy mountain, in the monastery where she studied, hearing the voice saying that her search for knowledge leaves her vulnerable, and that the aboleth can provide both knowledge and safety for her and her friends. She sees disappointed monks and her best friend Delmy telling her that she abandoned her; although she suffers some damage, Frog starts to fix herself while she reminds Delmy that it was her who told her to leave the monastery. Noticing three eyes in her friend's face, Frog stands up and headbutts her hard, causing the entire lighthouse to shake, as a scream rings out.
The Re-Slayers appear together in the same room with different degrees of nervousness. Farah confirms to her friends that they are facing an aboleth with the abilities of a reflection ghosts, connected to the Ethereal Plane, and motivates them. Shortly afterward they hear Duderonomous's voice upstairs, and find him still under the control of the ghost, who laughs from the reflections of the windows; Farah begins to break them while Idrin, following the old mage's advice, lights the beacon, revealing the spectral form of the aboleth. Farah shoots it, causing it to flee to a well on the other side of the island; then, after they discover a secret message written on Duddy's back, they use a combination of his potions to restore his mind and memories.
Featured characters[]
"Re-Slayers"[]
Returning[]
- Delphine (in a vision)
- Duderonomous
New[]
- Delmy, a member of the Cobalt Soul (in a vision)
- Idrin's three past lives (in a vision)
Mentioned[]
Quotations[]
Trivia[]
References[]
Art:
- ↑ Re-Slayer's Take promotional art, by Elaine Tipping (source). Used with permission.
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