Episode 39: In Defense of Wine

Our episode opened on the heels of the battle with the siren. The young woman, unconscious yet stable, was taken back to Brilfax by Lucky and Fearne to rest while the rest of the party investigated the temple exposed at the bottom of the drained lake. Gallogk revealed the temple to be guarded by transmutation magic and a lock of sorts that required a password or access device. Continuing their investigation, a bear appeared back on the shore above holding in its mouth a golden scroll. 

Curious, the party returned to the bear and took from it's mouth the scrolls. Inside was an invitation to join Sankara and Mr. Ravani at the vineyard. Accepting the invitation, the scroll swept the party up in magic and transported them to the vineyard-- an old Ravani trick. 

Mr. Ravani revealed that their family were werebears and had, for generations, guarded their land from The Deans-- a dejected family of werewolves who beleived the vineyard had been stolen from them. Usually, the Ravanis had been able to defend, but a strange malevolent magic had entered the region and empowered the werewolves. Under the light of the full moon tonight, the Ravanis stood to lose their land and The Tree of Balador-- a sacred tree blessed by Balador (a god of nature and werebears) to bring prosperity to this family and their land.  

Sankara and the party agreed to help and valiantly defended the vineyard that night. As a token of gratitude, the party was given gifts by the Ravani Family. Bim received new bedding and a dining set. Notably, Sankara received a token of his companionship with the Ravani family-- a bear companion that could be summoned and returned at-will into a magic talisman (brown bear stat block). 

The episode ended with Sankara using the Sands of Time to elucidate the history of the Tree of Balador and bore witness to a ceremony with Balador, Silvanus, and Vishnaiva planting the seed of the tree and blessing it with their divine energies.