Trinkets

When the heroes exited the cave, they found themselves in a surprisingly calming glade. The air, the foliage, it all felt very relaxing. There lay four gift boxes on the ground near a set of very peculiar tracks. The adventurers all set to open one box each.

In the first box, Vike found a chain necklace with a shiny metal bat on the front. Something about the necklace felt magical, but he couldn't quite tell what it could be.

In the second box, Jeffeus found an old-fashioned camera. Now, he's not familiar with technology, but he is familiar with magical photography. The camera had its flash enabled, which, interestingly enough, could not be turned off. He snapped a picture of Vike, but there was no figure in the photo. Typical vampires...

In the third box, Cyrus found something that resembled a huge battery, or perhaps a power-cell. Looking closely, the brand name "HEX" could be read. He secretively stashed it inside his cloak.

In the final box, John found a seashell of some sort. It was covered in magnificent colors, and felt calming to hold. Putting his ear up to it, he heard a song play.

When the song finished, John said aloud, "I refuse to be bound by the nature of my origins! I am finally AWAKENED!" Surrounding him, a shell of purple glass-like material shattered, and he felt truly free.
He approached his allies and greeted them. "I am John Smith, a member of the fifth platoon of the Knights of Casselia. You think you already knew me, but truly I tell you, you knew only a part of me. I was put under a curse by a wretched wizard, which caused me to only be able to speak in common phrases, and not express the emotions I wished to. I look forward to being able to freely communicate with you as teammates, and get to know you better. And for you to get to know me better."

Jeffeus and Vike excitedly asked questions, but Cyrus looked him over and said, "If you, 'John Smith,' turn on us, you can be sure I will end you."

John answered, "You can trust me, friend. I will not turn on you. I will stand by your side in combat, and defend you all as best I can. Now that I am no longer cursed, I can help in combat in a brand new fashion. You will see it when the time comes."

The heroes finished collecting their thoughts, and ventured to find the prison in which Paula was being kept.

So, yeah, John Smith was, this entire time, under a curse! The curse made him act exclusively like an "NPC." He could only pick from 37 set lines of dialog to speak from, only being able to make a new phrase with a successful Constitution save.

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