After the events of the Sunken Temple, Acererak, the Architect, pulled Takhesis into a vision and punished him for the loss of the souls of Taban and Zitembe. He offered redemption: Takhesis was to kill his clan’s murderer in the ruins of Skyfang Keep. Takhesis fought his way through the keep, bound the ancestral greatsword Vigil’s End to himself with his own blood, and in the throne room killed and beheaded Ras Nsi. Acererak was satisfied, and Takhesis was returned to the Sunken Temple. The killing was real: Acererak had carried him to Skyfang and back.
Recap
The summons
It is the twenty-seventh of Flamerule, 1492 DR. After the events of the Sunken Temple, Takhesis is pulled into a vision by his patron, Acererak, the Architect. Acererak is enraged by the loss of the souls of Taban and Zitembe and demands payment from Takhesis.
Takhesis is pulled from reality into a fractured void of ice and shadow. Below him lie the ruins of Skyfang Keep, his ancestral home, impaled on mountain bones.
Acererak appears on a colossal obsidian throne. He rages, “Centuries of agony—harvested, perfected—STOLEN by sentimental insects!” He punishes Takhesis for allowing Taban and Zitembe to ascend, and twists an icy dagger into his chest.
Then he offers redemption: “Your clan’s murderer hides in your ancestral home… END HIM.” He unlocks what is called the Soulforge Algorithm within Takhesis’s mind, which floods him with repressed memories of the massacre.
The ruins of Skyfang
Takhesis arrives at the shattered entrance of the keep. The gatehouse is guarded by two Yuan-ti broodguards. He topples a tower onto the guards. Then, channeling the Architect’s power, he encases a statue in ice and forces its spear to skewer the survivors. The statue weeps blood.
Beyond the left arch is the ancestral crypt. Takhesis descends into the gloom, past sarcophagi that weep bloody stalactites. He finds the ancestral greatsword, Vigil’s End, entombed in stone and guarded by a specter. He lets his own blood melt the stone. The ghost wails “Bound! Like I was!” as the sword hisses hungrily. Frost creeps up his bleeding arm and binds the weapon to him.
Beyond the center arch is a hall of fractured mirrors, which reflect infinite versions of himself. He attempts to navigate the illusions but succumbs to the whispers. The mirrors show his clan rotting, and his sister, Rani Calva, shrieking “COWARD!” Ice needles pierce his mind.
Beyond the right arch are the bloodied archives. There he finds a Yuan-ti mind whisperer torturing an adventurer. Takhesis kills both the torturer and the victim. Their bodies fuse into a frozen corpse-sculpture, and the Architect’s sigil glows on the ceiling.
The throne room
Takhesis enters the throne room, a cathedral of suffering. Ras Nsi, who led the assault on Skyfang Keep, sits on a throne of petrified serpent bones, flanked by two pureblood wives. Behind him hangs the mummified corpse of the celestial dragon of Skyfang.
Ras Nsi says, “Acererak’s pup? What are you doing here? My deal with the Architect stands.”
Ras Nsi is at full strength, which the Architect had not predicted. Vigil’s End, fueled by Takhesis’s blood and the Architect’s ice, proves devastating. Takhesis does not hesitate. He butchers the wives and engages the warlord. In a display of godlike fury he kills Ras Nsi and cuts off his head. It is no vision. Acererak has carried him to Skyfang in truth, and Ras Nsi is dead.
The Architect’s approval
Acererak reappears. His rage is gone, and he speaks in cold satisfaction: “You are yet my masterpiece, Takhesis. Let success forge you.”
Takhesis is dumped back into the Sunken Temple, gasping for air. He carries the weight of his actions: the blood spilled, the choices he made, and the memory of killing Ras Nsi.
Aftermath
- Takhesis had Vigil’s End, the ancestral greatsword of his family, bound to him by his own blood.
- Ras Nsi was dead, killed by Takhesis at Skyfang Keep. Acererak later raised him, to taunt Takhesis and to drive him further under his control.
- Acererak was pleased with Takhesis.
- Takhesis was back in the Sunken Temple.
Appendix
Present
Takhesis Calva. He was apart from the party throughout.
References
People: Acererak · Taban · Zitembe · Rani Calva · Ras Nsi
Places: Skyfang Keep · Sunken Temple
Other: Vigil’s End · Yuan-ti