6.1 STAY AWAY FROM THE CELESTIALS!

I heard rumors of some more whispering on the wind near the Whispering Falls so decided to check it out. Turns out Zugg Zugg, Freya and Renaldine had heard the same thing. We all set out on our week-long journey to the falls.
 
As we near the falls, we begin hearing the sound of flowing water and what at least appears to be a sort of sighing within the sound of the water, or perhaps the wind. I can't quite tell. Freya makes a comment on how cold the water feels, which makes sense as it's flowing rather than standing. If the sounds of the roaring falls didn't tip us off to how close we were to the falls, the cold water certainly does. Renaldine looks toward the sky, seeming to ask Kelemvor for guidance. Apparently he answers as she's able to discern some words within the sighs that were otherwise unable to be heard, much less understood. She says it's vaguely female, and sounds like she's talking to herself.
 
Renaldine guides us northward, presumably toward the source of the voice, and definitely to the falls themselves. We follow the roar as we find ourselves at the bottom of a small bluff of three small waterfalls. Just above the bluff is one large falls. This must be the place. Renaldine fashions a grappling hook out of some rope and pitons, and she expertly throws it up, making purchase with some thick bushes - enough to hold our weight as we make our way up easily enough.
 
Once atop the bluff, we all see a being floating just above the relatively small pond of water. The figure appears to be female, a red-tinted celestial of some kind. Renaldine reaches her arms out to her as if showing she is not a threat. Renaldine kneels and bows her head to the figure. The figure glows radiantly as she listens to Renaldine. I've seen beings like this before, but I just can't place where or when exactly. I'm not as trusting as Renaldine, so I gingerly make my way up just a little further, keeping my hand on the hilt of my greataxe just in case things go south. Renaldine tells the being that she feels this is part of the prophecy revealed to her by Kelemvor. I may not be as trusting, but I'll submit in support of Renaldine. I kneel as well, but keep my eyes up. Freya and Zugg Zugg follow soon after, though Freya has similar hesitation.
 
The figure looks toward all of us and welcomes us. She asks what brought us here, to which Renaldine says she heard her whispers and came to answer her call. The entity says she needs assistance piecing together what happened to her. All she has are visions, mere flashes of distant memories, that all seem out of order. She is willing to show us those visions if we should agree to help her figure out their proper order, but warns us that doing so could be harmful to us. That should help her remember what happened. Renaldine immediately agrees without much question. The being manifests a chalice, from which Renaldine drinks. Just then, Renaldine, seemingly put into a trance-like state, walks to the edge of the water and sits, as if meditating. I ask the being if Renaldine is okay, to which she assures me she is, briefly explaining that she is now within the vision. She says that the more minds that view the vision, the better. I'm skeptical, but ultimately relent once again to assist Renaldine on her quest. I drink from the chalice as well, and am nearly immediately brought into the same trance-like state. I can only presume from here that Zugg Zugg and Freya both partake in her offer as Renaldine and I feel the others' presence soon enter.
 
As long as we're within these visions, our consciousnesses become one with the being's. She shows us six visions, one by one. As each one comes, we are able to ask her questions about things within the visions. She answers as much as she can to help us help her piece together this timeline.
 
The first vision we see depicts an almost angelic figure backlit by radiant light, wings fully spread and a longsword in hand, flying above what appears to be a fiery landscape below. Once again I feel as though I have seen such people before. I feel as though they're angels called to battle. What ever this vision represents, this person is hurriedly rushing into battle.
 
The second vision she shows us is one of a large ballista firing multiple rounds upward into the sky in a mountainous landscape. Along with this vision, we get the feeling this was not a friendly attack. I am somewhat familiar with this type of ballista from my time in Dis. I sure hope I was not somehow involved in whatever transpired here. I do not wish to harm such angelic creatures, if indeed that is what happened. What if I just don't remember, thanks to this curse?
 
The third vision we see is one of a small gold pendant on what appears to be a necklace, all perched on a rock, as if waiting to be found or recovered. The pendant is adorned with a small turquoise gem at the 12-o'clock position and a larger turquoise gem in the center. Renaldine notices some carvings and etchings along the edges of the pendant, as though it has been modified in some way. My immediate thought was a take a closer look, searching for the name "Neia" etched into it, but am unable to find any names. It would have been quite the coincidence if this belonged to the same Neia whose necklace I still have in my possession. Freya is able to determine the pendant is magical, with a conjuration aura about it. Zugg Zugg feels that the gems found in the pendant are commonly used as a sort of spell focus in certain rituals of the conjuration type. Renaldine realizes this pendant could host a soul inside, like a prison of sorts, as she notices a faint image of a face within the central gemstone peering out. If it is indeed a face, it looks evil, with faintly red eyes and what appear to be fangs or tusks.
 
The fourth vision is of a dank prison hall lined with chains. Renaldine feels like this location is within the Material Plane. She also recognizes the architecture of the building. On her realization, she and I then realize we've been to this place before. Not these prison halls specifically, but the location of the prison itself: Castle Drakenhoff. It must be somewhere within the castle that we have yet to explore. Freya has a feeling of dissociation, like an out-of-body experience, and hopeless claustrophobia.
 
The penultimate vision she shares is one of a large-scale battle. In the vision, there appears a fiery landscape beyond a colossal army. There is one figure in the centerof the ground that stands out a bit, perhaps a commander, or captain, of the army. There are winged beings flying in the skies above the battle below. These winged creatures are not angelic, but rather more akin to red-tinged bats. Renaldine once again feels this is also from the Material Plane. The battle has scarred and desecrated the land. I can't help but hope I am not somehow responsible for such desecration myself. Freya recognizes the area as that between the Withered Grove Cemetery and Castle Drakenhoff. Again with the castle. It's a recurring theme in these visions. We keep that in mind. Freya is also able to determine that agents of the Nine Hells were involved in the battle, but unsure whether their conflict spilled out into the Material Plane, or if this battle took place entirely within this area near Castle Drakenhoff. She can't determine who won the battle, however. Thinking back to the pendant vision, Renaldine begins questioning whether this being is being truthful with us, or whether we're being manipulated into helping her release someone, or something, malicious. We put that inside for now and continue.
 
The final vision we're shown is of the same angelic winged female, now naked and bloodied, crawling her way through the rain attempting to escape wherever she is. We don't have many questions about this image as it seems clear that the being seeks escape or rescue.
 
The entity explains that this is the part of the process that could be harmful to us. From here, we attempt to piece together the story, putting the visions in their correct order. Renaldine once again immediately agrees to assist, believing this is part of her path of judgment and another step in her becoming a Doomguide. I have my hesitations still, but I assure her I'm here to help as I didn't come all this way to leave empty handed. Freya and Zugg Zugg also agree to help.
 
Our first and second attempts end in failure. In each case, we are able to get three of the six images in their correct orders. After our first failure, we find ourselves afflicted by a condition which causes us to produce flaming spittle as we cough uncontrollably. The second affliction ends up paralyzing Zugg Zugg and myself for some time. However, we are still capable of assisting with the visions.
 
On our third attempt, we finally fully piece together the puzzle. First, the large scale battle takes place to set the scene. Then the winged angelic woman with her wings outstretched and sword in hand flies into battle. Then the ballista fires upward, bringing her down. After being brought down, stripped of all her belongings, and beaten, she attempts to escape with what strength she has remaining. After getting caught, her soul is ripped from her body and locked within the pendant. Her body is located locked in the prison within Castle Drakenhoff.
 
We feel a powerful surge of emotion and understanding. We suddenly share in her own feelings. She exclaims "That's it!" She says she now remembers feeling some demonic power pulse through her when she was hit by the ballista. She recalls she was indeed captured, but can't remember how exactly. She says her soul resides within the pendant, and that her body is located in the deepest level of the castle.
 
She says she now wants to SEE how her soul was captured. I ask her if she's sure she wants to see such a thing as I don't want her to be more traumatized that she already is as I can only imagine how she felt during the surely harrowing encounter. She assures us that she does indeed wish to see it, so we oblige in her wishes.
 
She then tells us that our next step is to view one last vision. This vision reveals how she was brought down and captured. She charges us with fighting the battle she failed to win. We're more than happy to assist with that.
 
We find ourselves suddenly thrust into the vision, flying over the war-filled landscape below before suddenly our consciousness enters that of a few of the warriors on the battlefield as we watch the being's silhouette continue flying over the nearby hill as she's brought down by the ballista. We remain ourselves, however, as we now are part of the battle.
 
We take some time to prepare for the fight ahead. A nearby soldier tells us we are to take out the duergar and kobold mercenaries and eliminate the captain manning the ballista. Just then, he is himself hit with a large ballista bolt, instantly succumbing to the wound.
 
It's at this point the our paralysis sets in. Zugg Zugg and I are held fast as Renaldine begins restoring our facilities. She assists Zugg Zugg, then Zugg Zugg assist me. I then reach into the my Bag of Tricks and pull out two new creatures which I have never seen before. I call them Chocobos. The final creature was my good friend Rafiki. Rafiki stays behind to alert us of anything coming in from behind us, and the Chocobos follow us into battle. I tell them to attack our enemies, and they do so effectively, helping take out some of the kobolds and duergar throughout the battle. I can hear our foes speaking in Draconic. I answer them back in Draconic, and they turn their heads not realizing they can be understood. The jig's up. We're here to finish this. The ballista is our largest threat as it has great range, and thus advantage, in this decidedly large battlefield as we do what we can to take cover from its incessant fire. I'm hit a couple times, which hurt massively, very nearly causing me to lose consciousness. I retreat for a moment to recoup before reentering the fight. I climb the nearby cliff and fire upon some kobolds that had nearly surrounded Freya. Renaldine heads toward the south side of the small plateau to their flank. She had great cover going this route. Freya, Zugg Zugg and I head down the center path. Freya casts Darkness to conceal our exact location within, allowing us to make our way somewhat more safely toward our foes. I spend my time firing from range as I make my way toward the captain, going prone between crossbow shots to help prevent the ballista bolts from having an easy target. Zugg Zugg reaches the captain first and does a great job keeping him busy. The dragonborn captain reveals a strong fiery breath that greets Zugg Zugg on his arrival. Eventually, we all make our way near the captain and take him out, but not before an invisible duergar makes one final shot with the ballista before being taken out. Renaldine's spiritual weapon gets the final blow, and the battle which our celestial friend was unable to finish is now over.
 
On the dragonborn's body, we find a large metallic spike, similar to those we've found previously. The moment we touch the spike, we are thrust out of the visions and back into reality in front of the large waterfall. Before us once again floats the celestial being. She tells us she finally understands and remembers what happened to her. She said "They found me, they found my body, and they drove a spike right into my chest. When they did, I felt my consciousness ripped from my body and placed inside a pendant. My body was taken into the depths of the castle. Now that I understand what happened to me, I know what needs to be done." Renaldine asks what we can do to help further, to which she responds that we need to reunite the pendant with her body. Just then, the waterfall behind her parts, revealing a small hidden cove behind the falls. Inside is are some rocks. On top of one of them appears the very pendant we saw in a vision. Renaldine takes it. The being tells us we are to take the pendant and place it around her body's neck once we find her.
 
Soon after, she begins to fade away. As she does so, she manifests a chest with rewards for us to take. Before she can fully dematerialize, I ask her name. She replies simply: "Seraphina."
 
After divvying up our share of the rewards, we make our way back to Urithiru.
 
We will soon be back to Castle Drakenhoff.