The party made its way out of Realmspace and set sail through the Astral Sea, heading straight for Xaryxispace and the Imperial Citadel. The party saw much to take interest in as they moved through the astral sea–dead gods, odd structures, strange lights–things to return to after they completed their mission.
As they neared Xaryxispace, they were circled by red dragon and its armored rider. Hesitant to make the first move, the party stayed their weapons while the dragon landed on the Darkstar. Its rider hopped down from the dragon and removed her helmet, revealing she was of githyanki ancestry. She told the party they were in githyanki region without permission and demanded the captain be brought to her for punishment.
Just as Inrim began to ready his weapons, Dagaz laughed and told them they were fine. She said she was hunting mind flayers and asked if they had seen any. With no intel to offer, she got back on her dragon, asked where they were going, and wished them good luck in an indecipherable tone when they said they were headed to the Citadel. She left them with a parting gift: A vial containing oil of sharpness.
The party resumed travel. All in all, it took a couple weeks to get to Xaryxispace. Once they got there, they set a course for the Citadel, a floating rock in the shape of a moth. In a way, it reminded some of the travelers of the Rock of Bral.
As they neared, they found the Xaryxian navy they expected. Dozens of star moths surrounded the Citadel from all angles. The party determined the most reasonable path in would be a straight path to the docks as they could make, while trying not to look like they were purposely evading any of the other star moths.
Their path had them pass a star moth that questioned why they were out of formation and headed to the Citadel. Idakath began to reason to them, but it was taking a while. Xedalli decided to come out on deck and address the other captain directly. Seeing the presumed-dead princess, the other captain urged her to hurry down to the Citadel because the emperor just died and the ascension ceremony was about to begin.
The party then made the rest of the flight down to the common docks, wanting to avoid any potential guard at the Imperial docks. They landed without issue and decided they were going to give Xedalli a “the princess is back!” parade escort to the Temple of Light. They were met with unexpected silence as they marched through a largely empty lower quarter. As they got closer to the temple, they spotted more people who were amazed to see Xedalli alive after being told she was killed. The crowd started to follow her.
The party was stopped by a guard patrol. The captain of this patrol was loyal to Xedalli, and helped the party push through the crowd the rest of the way to the temple. Xedalli told the guard and party alike that they needed to stop the ceremony before her brother, prince Xeleth, was crowned emperor. As they approached the entry way, the party made Inrim invisible and had him apply the oil of sharpness they received from Dagaz.
The party entered the temple just as the priest was saying the last rites of the ascension ceremony. They saw the former emperor was pushed into a beam of light, a direct link to the star of Xaryxis. The emperor’s body disappeared from sight as it was transported to Xaryxis. As the ceremony continued, and the priest was about to call Xeleth the new emperor, Xedalli called out for the ceremony to be stopped.
Idakath took the goal of stopping the ceremony seriously and weaved magic to paralyze the priest and Xeleth alike. The nearby guard and onlookers all gasped in response to both this action and the claim and presence of Xedalli. Xedalli explained how Xeleth tried to have her killed and used this to fuel his war on Toril. She had Idakath release the priest so he could crown Xedalli as the new emperor.
The priest was puzzled and had a hard time determining the correct process for how to move forward, but ultimately crowned Xedalli. When she was asked by the party about saving Toril, she recognized that she did need to reward those who brought her back to the citadel. Then her posture changed and she ordered the palace guards to seize the party.
The party started to question her betrayal. She began to monologue on how she could save Toril but would not when she was suddenly stabbed through with Inrim’s invisible blade. The shock and pain of the being stabbed with Inrim’s rapier silenced her. The guard all rushed to seize him and the rest of the party.
As the guard rushed, Idakath touched the mind of the guard captain and convinced the captain that the the Xedalli they saw was an imposter witch and that Idakath was the true Xedalli. The captain was convinced of Idakath’s but also confused and cautious. As such, he ordered the guard to take everyone captive until they could sort matters out.
As they made their move, the Zodar–a large entity and protector of the light–went from its previously observational posture to causing a disruptive flash of light and speaking in a loud voice. The Zodar told everyone present that the imperial rule had become corrupt and lost its way. It healed the party of any wounds, emboldened them, and told them that the only way they could save Toril would be to take a royal ring into Xaryxis itself, destroying the star and everything in range.
While the party fought for the fate of Toril in the temple, another battle had begun overhead. The coalition forces had arrived and were engaging the Xaryxian navy.
Commander Vael’s navy outnumbered the coalition forces and had an early advantage, though the battle details would not be easy to make out from the citadel surface. Only the occasional blast of magic would be discernible in the sky.
Against the dire situation, Krux knew there was one option he still held that might turn the battle: The weaponized damselfly entrusted to him by the adventurers that now sat on his ship. Recognizing Commander Vael’s imperial flagship, the Xaryxia, as not only the strongest ship in the sky but also the ship that routed his forces years before, Krux saw his opportunity for redemption.
He started to leave his command deck. Fel Ardra saw him and questioned why he was abandoning his post. “To settle a score,” he said, pausing briefly only to look at Fel. “The navy will need good leaders after today. Quit your damned smuggling and become the leader I know you can be. The Second Wind is yours. Take care of it and her crew.”
With this, he made his way to the damselfly. He boarded the ship, engaged the helm, and separated from the Second Wind. He made a beeline for the Xaryxia.
On his approach, he read the magic words handed to him: “hei see err ee, ahk teeveit seff deez trukk”
“For my crews!” he shouted just before colliding with the enemy flagship. As planned, the damselfly exploded with the force and flame nobody had ever seen before. It split the Xaryxia in half.
The explosion was so bright that people on the citadel could see it. Imperial soldiers recognized that it was their flagship destroyed. The figurative shockwave impacted the morale of all imperial soldiers both in the air and on the ground.
Charlie’s life flashed before her eyes. Recognizing everything at stake, remembering the loss of her crew years before, she made an instant decision to save Toril even at the cost of her life. She shoved her bag of holding into Inrim’s hands, told him to take care of the party, ripped the ring from Xedalli’s dead hand, and stepped into the light. The party that saw her make the move tried to stop her, but she was too quick and determined to be stopped.
As she stepped into the light, her body disappeared as she was transported immediately into Xaryxis. The star got extremely bright then began to collapse in on itself. Shock and grief would soon hit the party as they realized what happened. Terror filled the crowd. Xeleth finally came to his senses and ran to escape the situation and the Xaryxian system.
As Xedalli died, Idakath captured her shadow, absorbing all of her memories in the process. Pulling from that, Idakath took charge of the situation and tried to ease the crowd. The priest informed Idakath, very confused by the situation, that the entire citadel could be moved into the astral sea and out of the path of destruction. It could be done, but it would need to be done right away. Idakath gave the order. While the priest made way to direct that process, the party excused themselves from the temple to return to the palace to plunder and claim the emperor’s private ship.