Mayor Oseph approached our heroes with concerns about his daughter, Dorianna, who had been suffering from nightmares and seemed unwell. Our heroes made their way to the Menhemes mansion to investigate. They found nothing physically wrong with her, nor did they detect any immediate magic. Questioning her revealed that a motley man assisted her during her nightmares, though details were hazy.
Torren used detect magic and discovered a magical influence on Dorianna. His attempts to dispel it failed, but he had the idea to use Asterion’s blood, which he forced Dorianna to drink while clutching her Griffon toy. They learned she had recently started playing with her old childhood toys again.
Seeking further insight, our heroes consulted Wrin, who suggested a curse might be at play. Meanwhile, Thumper noticed something odd about Dorianna’s griffon toy. Investigating further, Dreg took the toy and found a red ruby inside. Torren took possession of the ruby, intending to question Oseph.
However, the ruby vanished by morning, only to reappear within another of Dorianna’s toys. Seeking answers, they consulted Wrin again, learning about the Denizens of Leng and their connection to the dreamscape. Symbols on Dorianna’s hand, identified by Thumper, confirmed this link.
In an attempt to break the curse, they ground the ruby into dust and kept it overnight, but it mysteriously reformed in a new toy. Dorianna’s father and the heroes felt an unnatural repulsion towards her, amplified by her excitement about joining the motley man forever. Her hand began to wither, with the ruby reappearing in her toy every morning.
Remembering their one-handed skulk friend, they sought her out and learned about the man who took her hand, named Ysondkhelir, located in a stone room. Armed with this knowledge, our heroes returned to the vaults and realized the ruby could now be used to locate Ysondkhelir.
Their descent continued with battles against a Seugathi and a devil, both accompanied by grothluts, which they defeated with skill and determination.