Etrin looks to the Queen for confirmation, then teleports them back to the mysterious island.

"-I should have asked if you had a way back to your base of operations," he frets. "You do, right, I'm not going to have to teleport you there and spend the night in the Underdark again?"

"There's a creepy boat."

"Oh good," he says. "Have fun."

He teleports away.

Deekin tosses a coin into the Black River. "Deekin glad to have gone to weird avariel island," he comments. "Quality interlude."

(Cavallas' boat emerges from the mist and drops the gangplank.)

All aboard the creepy boat. "Yeah, it was interesting and I'm glad they're back where they belong."

"Can't just drop an outside species into a preexisting ecosystem. If they don't die out they might become invasive, and then where'd we be."

"They weren't really in any condition to become the pigeons of the Underdark."

"Yeah, I guess not. We can remove eco-terrorism from the Crimes of Halaster list, which is, you know, plenty substantial without it."

"Oh yeah. Do y'all suppose I can avoid risking my life till the cooldown on my blursed item is up?"

"Hopefully! I imagine it'll take a while for the Valsharess' armies to gather, but I don't actually know how drow warfare works in any significant detail. I certainly hope we don't arrive to Lith My'athar already under siege, that would be very unfortunate."

Lith My'athar approaches at a clip. It is not visibly under siege.

"Ah, excellent."

"Marvelous. We can nap, sample the cuisine, that sort of thing."

They disembark at the port, and are greeted by General Imloth.

     "Mission successful?" he asks.

"Very much so," Jojo says.

     "Excellent. The Seer's at the central temple. Talk with her when you get a chance."

Central temple here they come.

The Seer is there, conferring with her right- and left-hand agents.

"The illithid of Zorvak'Mur were... superficially receptive," Nathyrra explains. "However, they claimed that their withdrawal of support from the Valsharess would accomplish nothing; they are only one of the mind flayer collectives allied with her, as it turns out, and the others have already sent agents to join her forces. Then they attempted to kidnap my party in order to offer us up to the Valsharess and curry her favor. We were able to get out without allied casualties, and I managed while escaping to pour a pint of Brainrot Oil into the Overmind's pool filter. I doubt that this will have any lasting effect on the balance of power, but it makes me feel slightly better."

"We lost thirty percent of our strike force," reports a battered-looking Valen Shadowbreath, "but the Eye Caverns are clear. The Valsharess may still have a few beholders among her ranks, but she will not have an army of them."

"I am glad to hear it," the Seer says. "Nathyrra, do not be ashamed. This circumstance could not have been foreseen. I am simply glad that you escaped. Belmarniss, what news of your own mission?"

"The avariel are up on the surface where they belong and uncursed except one guy who decided to duplicate himself into cursed and uncursed versions for personal reasons. We have this magic mirror to show for it but are warned it's addictive."

She looks at the mirror and her eyes widen. "I... have heard of this artifact. The Mirror of All-Seeing. Do you intend to keep it? I... believe I could make good use of it... but it is yours by right."

"Do you wanna maybe borrow it for these proceedings and get back to us on the addictiveness when things settle down?"

"That sounds entirely reasonable. I confess that I also feel better with someone looking over my shoulder... I have no desire to lose myself to omniscient paranoia like some users of the Mirror."

She takes it from Jojo somewhat reverently. "That said, I should begin scrying as soon as possible. Not directly on our foe, as I have no doubt she could detect it and retaliate, but it seems likely her lesser generals are less equipped for that purpose."

"Makes sense. We miss anything going down hereabouts?"

"A few piddling assassination attempts," Enserric sniffs from the corner he parked himself in. "Nothing worth anyone's time."

"I'm glad everything's going so smoothly."