"I have a request of your group," Elminster addresses the party. "You have gained certain notoriety in the past year with your heroic deeds and exploits. I need you to escort Princess Yasmin, niece of Count Farouk of Urmlaspyr, to her wedding to Prince Harith in Marsember. This wedding could be a turning point in the estranged association between their lands, Sembia and Cormyr."
Knowing that a "request" from Elminster is never turned down, the party agrees to escort the princess.
"What of the price on Cel's head?" Delf asks the mage.
"I have seen to it that her name has been cleared in this region, and regions south of here. I will accompany you to Selgaunt, a port town on the Sea of Fallen Stars. I will part company with you there. You will then sail to the princess' home in Urmlaspyr. Give her uncle this note," he says, handing the note to Delf. "The note explains that you will escort the princess to the wedding site in Marsember. We will leave in the morning."
The next morning the party and Elminster set off to the south to the town of Selgaunt. After an uneventful trip, they arrive there fourteen days later. The next morning Elminster takes his leave of the party. Soon after, the party sets sail for the princess and Urmlaspyr. Twelve uneventful (except for the occasional bouts of seasickness) days later the ship docks in the town of Urmlaspyr. The party meets with the count and gives him Elminster's note. The count is glad such sturdy adventurers will be escorting his niece to her wedding.
The next morning the party finds the count's private ship at the docks and waits for the princess. A short while later, princess' procession arrives, lead by Asaron, a blustering mage concerned only about the princess' safety, not the interpersonal relationships between him and our heroes. Then the princess steps forward. She is very young and very beautiful, cascading blond hair framing her delicate features and sparkling eyes. Asaron guides her onto the ship and a short while later, the ship is on its way to Marsember.
The second day out at sea, three large gray gargoyles erupt from the water immediately surrounding the ship. As the party starts to fight them off, the ship's lookout screams, "There's a light over the water, coming our way!"
Within a minute the light reaches the ship, coalescing into a bright globe just outside of the princess' quarters. Cel and Tiron, guarding the princess at the time, notice light seeping out the cracks of the door to her quarters. Tiron yanks open the door just in time to see the princess slowly dematerialize from her cabin and rematerialize in the glowing globe. The globe suddenly lifts into the air, then it and the two surviving gargoyles streak toward land.
Knowing she must not let the sphere get out of her sight, Raven casts Fly on herself and Brau'ni. Both of them fly toward shore. As they land they can see a building in the distance, its twin towers jutting high into the sky. The globe appears headed there.
The rest of the party arrives shortly thereafter. They all hike to within a mile of the building. Since Raven's spells are depleted, they decide to spend the night there.
The party cautiously approaches the grounds the next morning. The grounds themselves consist of a square stone wall surrounding a courtyard and the two-towered building at its center. As the party approaches the large doors leading into the compound, they spy an inscription carved into the stone just above the doors: "Heed this warning! This ground has been cursed by Nazir al-Azrad. Beware all who enter here!" Pressing on, the party warily opens the doors and steps into the courtyard beyond.
A large fountain, long dry, a statue of what appears to be a water elemental in its center, lays in the center of the path leading to the palace. The palace would look more at home in a desert, and seems strangely out of place here in the marshy grasslands. Stone statues grace one of the corners of the courtyard. The party approaches the fountain, surprised they have gotten this far without resistance.
Suddenly sand erupts from the mouth of the statue of the water elemental, forming into three ghostly humanoid shapes which quickly attack the party! The party is taken aback as a successful attack by one of the creatures not only causes extensive damage but also inflicts some sort of electrical damage! Tiron gets an idea and casts Create Water directly over the head of one of the creatures, hoping for a "short circuit". The creature screams a soulless scream, and fizzles out of existence! The other two creatures are eventually vanquished, one by the same method, the other by more conventional means.
The party opens the palace's outer door and steps inside. The room is circular and large, 70 feet in diameter. A metal screen roughly 50 feet in diameter affords a 10-foot wide passage around the outer walls of the palace. Two doors, leading to the towers, are set 90 degrees around the room from the main entrance the palace. The party gets closer to the screen to peer inside and is shocked by what the see.
A Beholder, a grotesque creature consisting of one large eye, a gaping mouth, and ten eyestalks, lies on cushions in the center of the room. Beside him, feeding him figs from an ornate shell, stands a beautiful woman, her beauty perhaps surpassed only by Princess Yasmin, standing in a cage close to the Beholder. With a booming voice, the Beholder speaks.
"You have betrayed me, my sweet! The Mirror of Desire has shown me one more beautiful than you!" With that, a beam emanates from one of the eyestalks, striking the woman and turning her into stone, capturing her beauty forever. "Tomorrow, my dear," the Beholder looks up at the captive princess, "we shall be husband and wife!" The princess merely giggles in response, obviously charmed by a beam from another of the Beholder's eyestalks.
The party, after much discussion, decides to try to reason with the beast, knowing a battle with it would almost certainly result in their deaths. Raven casts an illusion of Raphael casting a spell and Raphael casts Spectral Forces, creating the illusion of himself, being cast by himself! Raphael guides the illusion into the inner room.
"Ah!" the Beholder smiles. "Are you here for the wedding?"
"Yes, great one," the illusion answers. "I..." The illusion suddenly flickers, then returns to normal.
"What is this?" the Beholder bellows and wishes the illusion away. Raven quickly cancels her spell as she and the party duck for cover. The Beholder levitates out of the room, but upon seeing nothing, returns to his lovely bride-to-be.
Raven, after much discussion, volunteers to speak with the Beholder face to face. She nervously enters the room, aware of the great power before her.
"Another visitor!" the Beholder chirps up. His mood turns dour. "Are you real?"
"Yes, great one," Raven answers. "It was I who created the illusion."
"Why? Were you afraid of me?"
"Yes, great one."
"Well, there's no reason to be afraid, my dear!" the Beholder grins. Suddenly a beam from one of his eyestalks strikes Raven. "Now, you are staying for the wedding, aren't you?"
"Of course!" the charmed Raven answers back. "I wouldn't miss it for anything!"
"Damn it!" Delf hisses in the relative safety of the outer room. "This isn't working. I say we explore the rest of the palace and try to see if we can find something to help us beat this thing!"
The party agrees and opens the door to one of the towers. Hearing a commotion from the bottom of the tower, Delf descends the stairs and peaks through the crack in the door at their landing.
"Don't drink that! That's for the Eyeball!" Delf sees a Gremlin grab a bottle of wine from another Gremlin. "And you!" he orders, pointing to the remaining Gremlins, "Keep cooking! The wedding is tomorrow, in case you've forgotten!" The other Gremlins reluctantly get back to work.
Delf comes back up the stairs and rejoins the rest of the party. "I don't think they'll be a big help. Come on!" Delf leads the party up the stairs to a door.
Delf opens the door and is shocked by the sight which greets him. A ghostly figure stands next to a desk in what appears to be a library. He looks at Delf and points an ephemeral finger down at the desk. Delf cautiously enters the room and sidles over the desk. Upon it rests a yellowing parchment. Delf picks it up and starts to read...
In sorrow I must relate herein the tale of my master Sultan Firouz al-Algarin. This tale began the night my master peered through his magical mirror and beheld a woman of such exquisite beauty that his heart longed to be with her. Through the surface of the mirror he was transported to her presence, traveling across the vast, moonlit desert like a shooting star.The rest of the parchment has a large ink spill on it, but seems to describe the cure for the sultan's condition. Try as he might, Delf cannot make out the specifics of the cure. Looking back up at the ghost, Delf asks, "What is the cure?" The ghost says nothing and continues to point down at the desk. Seeing nothing else of interest on the desk itself, Delf opens the drawer beneath it. Spying an envelope, he looks inside of it and finds it contains a very fine white powder. Glancing up at the now nodding ghost, Delf sprinkles the powder onto the ink spill. Softly blowing the powder away, Delf sees the impressions of the quill strokes in the ink spill outlined in white by the powder. Delf is able to read the cure.The fair lady Aurelia returned with Firouz that very night. Her arrival brought much happiness and reverie to the sultan's qal'at. Few were surprised at the haste with which their marriage was arranged. However, the next day during their wedding, all reverie was shattered with the sudden arrival of Aurelia's father, Nazir al-Azrad, who cursed Aurelia for betraying him and damned Firouz for stealing his daughter. In his rage, Nazir used his magical staff to transform the sultan into an eleven-eyed monster and slew the holy cleric about to marry the couple. Finally he turned upon his daughter and changed her into a statue of purest unliving crystal. With blinding fury he vanished, taking his daughter from the sultan's sight forever.
My master was driven mad by the shock of his own transformation and beholding that of his beloved. His memories were jarred from him, and he used the fearsome powers of his eyes to destroy all who stood before him. The court became an empty reflection of its former self, leaving Firouz as lord of nothing.
When the destruction ended, he turned his eyes to the magnificent mirror, and a beautiful woman from a nomadic tribe was shown to him. A prisoner of his own feelings of loss and regret, he used his mirror to capture her and charmed her with his power. He kept her as his wife until her looks were surpassed by another, at which time he immortalized the nomad woman's remaining beauty in stone.
Thus I fear the centuries will pass as the sultan tires of his concubines, petrifies them, and takes new ones. But as his hall fills with statues, his heart will grow lonelier. Now, of all his true friends, only I, his scribe, remain. I hide in my library where the sultan never ventures and have spent my time searching for some remedy for his cursed enchantment. I believe a cure is possible, though I myself am unable to effect it, since the components are beyond my reach and the ceremony beyond my abilities.
The cure requires the following ingredients:The party sets out to find the goblet and the pearl, and find the goblet in the next room they explore, locked away in a chest. After more searching, they open a door and behold (pun intended) an iron statue across the room, blocking a door. Knowing the statue will almost certainly animate when they approach it, Brau'ni, Delf, and Fugnus simultaneously rush it. Before the statue has a chance to move, they strike it with three well-placed blows, destroying it.The pearl from the sultan's chain of office. I believe this is still in his bed chamber, where it is guarded by the iron statue.
Pure water. The evil wizard Nazir al-Azrad has cursed the fountain in the courtyard so it now produces only sand. I do not know how to repair the fountain and have to collect dew in a copper dish for myself.
A golden goblet in which the water and pearl must be placed. The blessing on the walls of the chapel must be read over the goblet and ingredients by a holy cleric. If this is done correctly, the pearl should dissolve completely into the water. The potion must be administered to the sultan. Although I do not know how he can be persuaded to drink it, the elixir may be removed from the goblet and placed in some less obvious container without affecting its potency.
Try as they might, the party cannot open the locked door. Raphael casts Wraith Form, slips through the keyhole, and finds an amulet with the pearl inset into it.
The party eventually locates the chapel. Tiron places the golden goblet on the altar and casts Create Water, filling it with pure water. He drops the pearl into the water and reads the blessing. After a breathless moment, the pearl slowly dissolves in the water. By the time Tiron is done with the blessing, the pearl is completely gone. Emptying one of his waterskins, Tiron pours the contents of the goblet into the skin.
"Now how do we get the Beholder to drink this? Throw it down his throat?" Tiron wonders.
"There was a half a bottle of wine in the kitchen. Maybe we should water down the wine," Delf muses.
"That's a good idea, Delf, but how can we be sure the Beholder, and only the Beholder, would drink it? The only way to ensure he gets the elixir is for me to perform the ceremony..."
Tiron returns to the main room, opens the door to the inner room and steps inside. The princess is still in the cage, while Raven sits beside the Beholder, content just to be by his side.
"Hello! On behalf of Corellon, I congratulate you on your wedding!" Tiron smiles, putting on a brave front.
"Hello yourself," the Beholder answers. "Look, Raven! Another guest has arrived!" Raven continues to gaze lovingly into the Beholder's monstrous eye.
"If you will tell me where the chapel is, I will begin preparing immediately for the ceremony," Tiron says. "Here we go," Tiron thinks to himself.
"Oh, you're performing the ceremony?" the Beholder replies. "That's very interesting, considering the shaman performing the ceremony is already here!" Suddenly a beam from one of the eyestalks lashes out, striking Tiron!
Tiron feels his body start to stiffen, but manages to fight it off, turn, and bolt for the door.
"Where do you think you're going?!" the Beholder purrs. "Wouldn't you just rather stay here? Why don't you join Raven and me?" Another beam lashes out from a different eyestalk, once again hitting Tiron!
Tiron suddenly feels a compulsion to join the Beholder. After all, wouldn't it just be easier to stop running and turn around...? Tiron shakes his head, fending off the Beholder's charm attack, and reaches for the door.
"You're not going anywhere, little man!" the Beholder bellows as he unleashes yet another beam from yet another eyestalk, striking Tiron full in the back!
For the third time, Tiron is able to fend off the attack, this time saving his life as he crashes through the door and into the relative safety of the room beyond.
Luckily for Tiron, the Beholder has other things to worry about (like the pre-wedding banquet about to be served shortly), and does not pursue the fortunate cleric.
"Looks like the direct approach just isn't going to work," Tiron relays. "He already has someone here to perform the wedding. It must be one of the Gremlins... we've explored the entire palace and they're the only other ones here."
"Then it's time to see if a Gremlin shaman will take a bribe," Cel says. "Raphael, let's go have a talk with him."
Cel and Raphael go down to the kitchen, taking with them Tiron's waterskin with the elixir and two shiny gems. They do indeed find the shaman and strike up a conversation with him about the ceremony.
"Is there wine taken during the ceremony?" Cel asks the shaman.
"Of course... it's tradition!" the shaman replies. "Just between you and me, dear, the Eyeball sometimes drinks up all of the wine himself..."
"We need you to do us a favor, if you could," Raphael says, holding up one of the shiny gems.
"Yes?" the shaman answers, now looking intently at the glistening gem.
"We need you to make sure the Eyeball drinks all of this wine during the ceremony." Cel points to the half-filled bottle of wine.
"Why?" the shaman replies, his eyes never wavering from the gem held out in front of him.
"Inside this waterskin is a potion that will rid the Eyeball of the curse that was placed upon him. We're going to fill up the wine bottle with this elixir. You just make sure he drinks it all, okay?" Cel says.
"I don't know," the shaman says. "That job sounds like it would be worth two gems..."
Raphael produces the other gem. "You'll get this one after the ceremony and only if the Eyeball drinks all of the wine!"
"Fine! Fine! Fill up the bottle! The Eyeball wouldn't have been pleased with a half-empty bottle anyway. I told these idiots not to drink his wine!" The shaman gestures at his Gremlin acquaintances, who are are all staring at the gems.
Cel fills up the wine bottle with the elixir from the waterskin, then she and Raphael go over the plan one more time with the shaman. When they're sure he has it right, they give him one of the gems and then they and the party settle down for the night.
The next day, the Gremlin releases the princess from her cage, and everyone proceeds the chapel, the shaman carrying the wine. Everyone in the party (but Tiron, of course!) are also there, posing as guests to the wedding, but are also there to make sure the shaman does as he has been told.
The ceremony proceeds normally up to the taking of the wine. As the shaman pushes the bottle across the altar to the Beholder, he pushes it too far! It teeters on the edge for what seems like an eternity, then falls toward the floor!
The Beholder catches it just before it can tip enough to spill its contents, then drinks half the bottle in one giant gulp. The party leans forward as one, holding its collective breath.
The Beholder suddenly levitates into the air, spins wildly about, and falls to the ground, semi-conscious. Cel hesitantly approaches him and arrives by his side just as he comes to.
"What's going on?" the confused Beholder asks, the sultan's mind finally starting to break through to the surface after being subdued all these years.
"Sir, you've been very sick. If you'll just drink the rest of this wine, I know you'll feel much better." The Beholder drinks the last of the wine.
"I remember everything!" the sultan wails, his mind fully restored but still trapped in the Beholder's gruesome body. "Aurelia! We must find her! My mirror will take you to her! Will you help me free her from her crystalline prison?"
The party tells him they must deliver the princess to her wedding in Marsember, but still need to remove the charm the Beholder had placed upon her. The sultan is unable to help them in this regard. When his mind was restored, he lost all knowledge of how to use his powers. The party tells the sultan they will help him reunite with his beloved when they return from Marsember. The sultan then tells the party the mirror will deliver them to Aurelia, but will only return them if they successfully find and free the princess. The party prepares to set out for Marsember.