5.3 STOP LETTING THEM INTO YOUR MIND! (Milestone - 6th Level!)

I heard rumors of some hills in which passersby began hearing howling in the wind as if there were some restless spirits seeking release from an ancient curse. That sounds right up my alley if I'm being honest. Apparently a few others heard those same rumors. I met up once again with Valric. And we met two new faces, a reborn grave cleric woman of Kelemvor named Renaldine and a female harengon named Zabbi. I've never met a harengon before. They're quite intriguing to say the least. The reborn was just as intriguing to me. She claims she had been reborn with a strong calling to Kelemvor. I don't know how our relationship as colleagues will go. I won't tell her that her deity might not get along so well with mine, but as Kelemvor is the god of Judgment, hopefully she isn't too quick to judge me for what I look like. It's well known to those who know me that I do not wish to be a follower of Dispater, but that I'm rather forced into his beliefs after being cursed by the maleficent Malvora when I was caught attempting my escape from the oppressive Dis.
 
Anyway, after making our acquaintances with the new faces, we discussed what we were each able to find out about these mysterious Howling Hills. Zabbi and I came to the same conclusion that there is a powerful spirit residing within said hills who must bestow their powers onto worthy allies or else risk becoming too powerful themselves. We find out that these Howling Hills are located a couple days' walk northwest of the Tranquil Haven Monastery along one of the main roads. After talking with some locals, Renaldine determines the hills are nearby. We confirm this by the feeling of a magical energy we feel that can't readily be described.
 
Upon arriving, we feel pulled, but not quite compelled, toward a large grassy opening within the trees. Just then, a massive spectral wolf creature wanders out from behind the tree line. Too stunned to ask questions, I freeze. The wolf speaks with a distinguished voice: "So you've come. I have power to bestow, but only onto those whom are worthy of of receiving it." More than a little interested, Zabbi walks forward. I'm more than a bit interested as well, but I stand back, hoping for more information before making any moves toward the creature. The spectral wolf, while massive, seems unthreatening at the moment. It is enveloped in an aura of sorts, exuding magical energy that I wish not to approach should it be harmful. The wolf's shimmering blue coat and shining blue eyes are somehow both tranquil and threatening simultaneously.
 
Renaldine steps forward as well, bowing her head and reaching her arms out toward the creature not in a threatening way, but rather as if to accept its offer of power. She claims her deity has sent her on a journey, and that this wolf creature must be part of her prophecy. She explains how she wishes to become a Doomguide, a sect of the Kelemvor faithful who believes in various things, among which are life, death, and undeath, and the judgment thereof, only agreeing that necromancy is fully out of the question. I suppose it's a worthy cause to work toward, but I'm not fully familiar with Doomguides, or even Kelemvor for that matter.
 
Once Renaldine finishes her conversation with the being, the wolf says that our first test is about to begin, and that we must learn to master the spirit. Suddenly, some of the magical aura around the wolf coalesces in front of Renaldine, manifesting into a ghostly entity. The ghost reaches out toward Renaldine, forming a tether between her and itself. The tether pulses with energy. The ghost is seemingly gone. Renaldine turns toward us. The wolf stands behind her, watching as Renaldine marches toward Valric and attempts to swing her axe at him. Valric deftly casts Hold Person on Renaldine as Zabbi summons some slick grease in hopes of hindering Renaldine's free movement. She is possessed, but we do not wish to harm her. The ghost releases Renaldine, instead possessing Valric. Again not wanting to harm an ally, Renaldine attempts to turn the ghost possessing Valric. That works very well as the ghost immediately releases Valric. I reach into my fuzzy bag and pull out Rafiki once again, just in time for Rafiki to be able to make an attack of opportunity on the ghost as it attempts to run away from Renaldine. Rafiki lands a hit, stopping the ghost's movement away, but dropping the effects of Renaldine's turn spell. Just about then, the ghost temporarily retreats into the Ethereal Plane, giving us enough time to strategize. We simply follow the ghost as it follows Renaldine, unable to harm it, but with it also unable to harm us while in its pocket dimension. Once it rematerializes into the Material Plane once again, we pounce, quickly putting an end to its brief existence.
 
The wolf says "Well done. You have shown one element of mastering yourself, and an understanding of the spirit. Going forward, you need to learn the lesson of sacrifice." The wolf then turns away from us, leaping quickly into a cave entrance. We follow quickly behind it.
 
Upon entering the cave, we are met with a smattering of light sources scattered throughout the darkness. We find ourselves surrounded by various kinds of flora and a shallow pool of water, in the middle of which is a stone pathway leading to where the wolf now stands, waiting patiently for our approach. As we do so, we notice a 15-foot tall statue upon a small altar depicting an elf man with a wolf companion. Nearby are four stone pillars, each standing about four feet tall with a small orb sat atop it. Each pillar has a small square hole just large enough for perhaps a hand to fit inside. To our west we see the wolf standing guard next to a spectral portcullis blocking the path ahead.
 
The wolf patiently waits for us to complete this test. Renaldine approaches the pillars first and inspects them. She finds that there are shallow hand-shaped indentations along with some arcane runes that we are unable to decipher. She reasons that we must each place a hand into the receptacles in a pillar. As we each place our hands upon the receptacles, we feel a gentle tingling sensation, as if the pillars are charged with electricity, beckoning us to give something of ourselves to it. The looks of consternation upon our faces prompted the wolf to repeat a single word, "Sacrifice." Renaldine gives herself to it by opening up her spirit to it. She feels as though she had just cast a spell into the pillar, and the orb above her pillar illuminates. In turn, we each give a part of our power to the pillars. I called upon my infernal nature, imparting my Infernal Conduit into the device, which it accepted as the orb above my pillar also illuminated. Once all four pillars had been sufficiently powered, the spectral portcullis dematerialized, and the wolf beckoned us to follow.
 
The wolf then said, "To hold power, one must be capable and willing to make sacrifices. Meet me at the summit." Going through the once-blocked corridor, we find ourselves outside in a most ethereal-looking place. I cannot speak for the others, but I can certainly say I've never been to a place like it. While it appears we are outside the cave once more, we have somehow found ourselves in an unfamiliar land, one that does not match the natural environments from before we encountered this wolf spirit. We see in front of us a pathway leading up to what appear to be ruins at the peak of the mist-enshrouded hill.
 
We spend some time walking the path upwards, but no matter how much time passes, we look behind us and find that we have made no progress at all. It's a seemingly endless path. Thinking back on our previous tests, we gather we must use our skills to forge our own path ahead, using what we have already proven we are capable of, our spirit within us and our ability and willingness to sacrifice some of ourselves to assist our friends on our journey ahead. I attempt to use my Hellsight ability to perhaps find an invisible track through the mist, but unsurprisingly doesn't work as that ability is more tuned to being able to see hidden creatures instead. Zabbi quickly follows by using her familiarity with magic to discern a path forward, successfully getting us ever closer to the summit. We're making real progress now. Renaldine attempts to use her survival skills to find a true path forward, allowing us to do so successfully. I then try using my innate ability to be intimidating, speaking all the languages I know until I find that speaking Infernal causes the mist to seem to cower away, allowing us further progress. Renaldine then tries to use her ability to heal those she cares about, but finds that the mist is not in need of such healing. The mist doesn't budge for her. Valric attempts to convince the mist that he is a part of it, that they are one and the same, and is successfully able to convince it such that it opens itself further to our journey ahead. I then attempt to photograph the mist in hopes that my ability to perceive a pleasing visual composition might assist in finding a good path upward. Once again, to my surprise, it worked. We're seeming making great progress so far. Zabbi attempts to misdirect the mist, trying to be stealthy about how she maneuvers around it. Her armor ends up making too much noise, preventing us from progressing. Finally, Renaldine enters a trance-like state in hopes of perceiving a passable path that otherwise might have gone missed, but unfortunately the mist is just too thick at this point.
 
We are suddenly overwhelmed by the oppressive nature of the mist as it envelops us, clearing the path ahead, but at a cost. While enveloped by the mist, we feel ourselves unable to control ourselves as well as normal. It feels as though we've had the Bane spell cast upon us.
 
We climb our way to the top of the hill and find ourselves face-to-face with the spectral wolf amongst the open-air ruins. It says "You have learned well the lessons of the spirits themselves. You have demonstrated your capability of sacrifice. But you still lack true vision and direction. What do you value to move forward? These questions you must answer. The final lesson you must learn, is that power must be seized." The wolf snarls threateningly toward us. We know what we must do.
 
The wolf immediately pounces on Valric, taking him down in a single round. Valric appears unconscious, but doesn't look to be in immediate danger of death. We notice at this moment that he shifts from his red-haired and natural color to a fully pale gray color all over. Is this the doings of the wolf, or is there more to Valric than I know? I am unsure, but pay no attention to him as I instead turn my attention back to the wolf. I quickly hand Zabbi a scroll and instruct her to cast it on me. She does so, causing me to double in size, allowing for a better match with this huge wolf. The wolf wants us to seize power. I took that to heart. It's on. I'm able to land a few powerful attacks on the wolf before its next move. The wolf turns its attention on Renaldine, and is also able to take her out, but she's lucky enough to hang on to life just about as quickly as she got knocked unconscious. It's great to have powerful friends like these. She heals Valric. Thanks to her grave cleric abilities, her heals are far more powerful than normal, allowing Valric to get back into the fight with not much worry. Zabbi unleashes her power by casting a Color Spray onto the wolf, briefly blinding it, giving us a much-needed advantage in the battle. Renaldine uses her radiant powers to call upon a spectral weapon which she uses to make the final blow to the spectral wolf.
 
The wolf briefly disappears, and reappears seemingly unhurt. The wolf graciously looks in our direction and says "You are powerful. And you are wise. But you still have lessons to learn. May this boon guide you in your adventures in learning these lessons." We each suddenly feel a magical surge of energy course through our bodies as the spectral wolf imparts a powerful boon, which it calls "The Wolf's Bite". Using this ability, we can call upon the wolf to assist us in combat when the need arises. While we're only able to use this ability once a week, it will surely be greatly beneficial to us in times of great need.
 
The wolf turns to leave, but I stop it before it has much of a chance. I ask it its name, to which it replies "In a past life, I was known as Valthorn." Renaldine takes the opportunity to thank him for everything, and asks if there is anyone we can deliver a message to, perhaps lost family or friends, that he hasn't been able to get a message to. Valthorn says "It's complicated, and I will not explain further here. Look for the descendants of Aric Stoneclaw. Tell him to 'seek the bow'." Taking note of that, I ask if Aric is the figure depicted in the tall statue we saw in the cave moments before, which the wolf confirms to be the case. I then ask if Valthorn is the wolf depicted to be with Aric. The wolf simply replies "That's perhaps a tale for another time." The wolf then disappears, leaving behind an ethereal chest, which we take a moment to sift through.
 
Valthorn left behind several useful items for us. We take our pick and divvy out the coin, and make our way back to Urithiru.
 
I spend that time reflecting on our encounter, and the lessons learned. Valthorn taught me many things. One lesson I learned is that not everything may be as they seem. Perhaps the way some people present themselves may simply be a facade, an illusion, of sorts, as to their true nature. I know this to be true about myself. Hardened commanders must appear hardened so as to gain the trust and respect of their troop, but behind that hardened facade may be a gentle, caring person simply troubled by goings-on in the world, just like anyone else.
 
Thank you, Valthorn.