The Soulstone

The soulstone (also spelled soul-stone) is a rare and powerful magical contraption that functions as a spiritual vessel, capable of binding and preserving a mortal soul within the Material Plane. This particular artifact is set as a purple gem on a golden chain and was carried as a pendant by Gilmore, the second son of the noble House of Stork of Stork’s Rest, located in the Moonshae Islands.

Origin and Acquisition

The soulstone contained the trapped spirit of Gilmore’s sister, Elire (sometimes spelled Elira). From a young age, Elire was groomed to marry one of the noble Elven houses of Silverymoon, and was sent to an Elven boarding school there at the age of twelve to learn the refined manners of the High Elven courts. However, approximately half a year ago, she was abducted and killed by a mysterious faction of cultists wearing red, dragon-shaped masks.

In accordance with House Stork tradition, the next in line must go on a journey to retrieve their elder sibling’s remains to ensure their proper passage to the afterlife before they can ascend the seat of power. Traveling to the Sword Coast and Silverymoon, Gilmore found that his sister’s remains had never been recovered, prompting him to beseech the gods for aid. He visited the temple of the Matrons of Ravens (the Raven Queen), goddess of fate and death, where acolytes instructed him to immerse himself in a pool of dark liquid in the center of the temple. After stripping off his road-worn clothes and fully submerging himself, Gilmore realized the heavy liquid was blood.

As he began to suffocate, he was granted a vision of the Raven Queen herself—a female figure adorned with a white mask, weaving golden threads. Explaining that her burden is to accompany all souls to their rightful resting place, she offered her aid at the cost of entwining her fate with Gilmore’s. Plucking one of the golden threads, she returned him to the Material Plane.

Gilmore awoke fully armored on a moonlit road, where he was immediately ambushed by two dragon-masked cultists. Upon slaying them, he discovered the soulstone encased on the body of one of his attackers. Because the soulstone prevented Elire’s soul from moving on to her proper resting place, Gilmore became obsessed with finding a way to release her, heading to the town of Phandalin—the original home of his family’s bloodline—as his only lead to finish the rite.

The Ambush at the Temple of Ioun

While camping at an abandoned temple to Ioun (the Knowing Mistress) in the ruins of Conyberry, Gilmore took the night watch. During his watch, he was approached by a seemingly harmless, cute chameleon. This creature revealed itself to be a Green Dragon Wyrmling in service to three Dragonborn attackers (two green, one white) who ambushed Gilmore. The attackers used holding magics and physical brawn to try to capture Gilmore and seize his pendant, showing a deep interest in the vessel. The party successfully fought off the ambushers and saved Gilmore from the brink of death, preserving the soulstone.

The Choice at Gond’s Smelter

Family tradition and the ancient rites of House Stork dictated that the only way to put Elire’s soul to rest was to encase the soulstone in the molten metals of Gond’s Smelter, located deep within the ancient Wave Echo Cave in the Phandalin region.

Activating the legendary Smelter of Gond required fulfilling three conditions:

Ultimately, Gilmore chose not to follow through with his family’s traditional task of encasing his sister’s soulstone in the smelter, deciding instead to find another way to resolve her fate.

The Bargain at the Hand of Sehanine

During the party’s harrowing battle against the Baelnorn High Mage Larellion in the Observatory of the Hand of Sehanine, the wizard Farwald was killed by a sickly green arrow spell. As the druid Nalini desperately drew life essence from surrounding plants to anchor Farwald’s soul, Gilmore turned to the soulstone. He besought Elire’s spirit within the vessel to aid in the resurrection process. Elire agreed to help bind Farwald’s soul back to his body, but her cooperation came with a heavy cost: she demanded that Gilmore visit the Dragon Barrow as soon as possible, claiming she sought “revenge.” Unbeknownst to Gilmore, this demand was a calculated trap orchestrated by Elire and the Cult of the Dragon.

The Trap at Dragon Barrow and Dragon Reincarnation

The party eventually traveled to the Dragon Barrow, where they encountered the Green Wyrmspeaker, Sidorna. Sidorna lured the party in, anticipating that Gilmore would bring her the soulstone.

Inside the main chamber—which was actually the bone-white skeletal remains of the ancient green dragon Villathas (also known as Virethas, the Jade Queen)—Gilmore drew Lady Tanagar Alagondar’s legendary Dragon Slayer sword to bypass a ward. Doing so triggered a paralysis trap that froze Nalini. Sidorna stepped forward, and the soulstone around Gilmore’s neck strained toward her before she violently ripped it from his chest.

Gilmore was pulled into a dark vision of Elira. No longer a passive victim, she revealed herself as a willing member of the Cult of the Dragon, sporting a Green Dragon Mask. Mocking him as “the second son, the one not expected to matter,” she urged him to join her, proclaiming that the cult’s ultimate victory was inevitable. Sidorna then initiated a dark ritual to resurrect Villathas, using the soulstone as a crucial vessel.

Though the party fought valiantly to disrupt the ritual, Sidorna’s dying actions allowed the final cultist to sacrifice himself while wearing the Green Dragon Mask. Elira’s soul within the soulstone, the soul of Villathas, and the draconic power of the Green Dragon Mask fused together. This dark fusion completed the ritual at 66% power. The skeletal remains of the dragon reanimated, and Villathas was reborn as a weakened, adult shadow of her former self, carrying the combined consciousness of the ancient dragon and Elira. The reanimated dragon broke free from the Dragon Barrow and took to the skies, leaving Gilmore’s folly behind and forever altering the fate of the soulstone.