Lore of Lurue

• An Adventure for 8th-level Characters

• Developed & Edited by Kim Mohan

• Written by Kelly Lynne D’Angelo

Lore of Lurue is the work of Ecamane Truesilver, the first High Mage of Silverymoon, at the behest of the lesser deity Lurue the Unicorn. It was later added to Ecamane’s personal library, where it collected dust long after Ecamane’s death in 712 DR. Eventually, the book made its way into the hands of a young and eager traveling monk, Ulraunt. He thought that the book would be an appropriate offering for his entrance into Candlekeep, and right he was. After being accepted, the book was stored in the library’s archives. The book offers a look into the history behind the founding of one of the most prominent cities in Faerûn, Silverymoon.

In actuality, Lore of Lurue is an enchanted storybook—one that, if read, could bestow upon its reader gifts and blessings. The moment the characters open the book, they are transported to a demiplane in the heart of a forest. From there, they are set on a course that leads them to investigate a blight that has arisen in the woods. It’s up to them to find the source of this corruption and expunge it from the world. What is causing this disruption, and what is its purpose?

Finding The Book

Characters in Candlekeep might discover Lore of Lurue in its place on the shelves, or elsewhere in the library, in one of several ways, including:

• Assisting one of the Great Readers of Candlekeep by helping them sort a pile of books that need to be reshelved
• Talking to a scholar about books that describe ancient conflicts between deities
• Examining the History of Faerûn section of the library

Whether the book is shelved or not, it captures the characters' attention the first time any of them sets eyes on it. If it’s unearthed from within a pile, it stands out immediately because of its rich purple leather covers and the golden relief of a unicorn’s head that adorns the front cover.

If the book has been properly put away, on a high shelf in the History of Faerûn section marked “Silverymoon,” the vibrant color of its leather outshines the dusty tomes on either side of it. The title appears on the spine in elaborate gold calligraphy. Someone who looks closely enough can spot the crest of Silverymoon intricately rendered at the end of each word: a silver crescent moon with horns pointing to the right and a silver eight-pointed star enclosed within the crescent.

The tome is large—twelve inches wide and sixteen inches tall—and contains hundreds of pages. If the characters intend to read it, all they need to do is find a place in Candlekeep where they can all gather around as the book is opened.

Lurue’s Origins

Thought by many to be the daughter of Selûne, god of the moon, Lurue the Unicorn is a lesser deity with strong ties to Mielikki, god of the forest. Mielikki oversaw the forest in the early days of creation, but once her work was done, she needed a guardian to represent her and be her eyes and ears on the Material Plane. Selûne agreed with Mielikki’s assessment and offered Lurue for the role. Lurue took on the mantle of Mistress of Moonlight with pride, diligently working for the coexistence of humans, elves, and other talking beasts within the forest’s expanse.

Lore Comes to Life

A successful DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) check confirms that the book is enchanted. As soon as a character opens it, a few sentences in Common appear on the first page, as if someone is writing it, word by word. As this text unfurls, read:

“Our story starts during the time leading up to the winter solstice on the final night of Uktar in the year 374 DR. A nearly full moon rises behind wispy clouds, as a star-speckled sky darkens against a fading horizon. It seems silent and still, here in the heart of the forest. But to anyone who knows the forest well, that silence can be misleading.”

“When you are ready to proceed, turn the page.”

When the reader turns the page, the book glows briefly, as a delayed-action gate spell is activated. Any creature within 10 feet of the book is pulled into the portal and transported to a demiplane along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying (see the “Other Planes” section in the Dungeon Master’s Guide for more information on demiplanes). If other player characters are not in the vicinity when the gate is activated, they are free to move to and through the passage to join their comrades.

After the characters open and “enter” the book, their literal path through the demiplane is dictated by the story that Ecamane Truesilver penned long ago. The characters begin a short distance south of where a meadow meets the edge of a forest. If anyone tries to move away from the forest, they are halted by an impassable barrier of force that disallows any other route.

The story takes the characters generally northward through several noteworthy locations, each one equivalent to a major section in the book. No map is necessary for the adventurers to get from one place to the next; if they try to deviate from the direction the story takes them, the same barrier of force prevents them from making any progress.

The Book’s Demiplane

Anyone who opens Lore of Lurue and begins to read it, and those who accompany the reader, become subject to the book’s unique enchantment, which was placed upon it by Ecamane Truesilver shortly before his death in 712 DR.

The geography of the demiplane to which the book permits access bears some resemblance to the area of Faerûn near where Silverymoon is located today, particularly the High Forest and the River Rauvin, but the book’s story dates back to the days before the future site of the city was settled.

As the story opens, the weather in the demiplane is brisk but not frigid, and the winter solstice is imminent. When the characters follow the course of the story, they arrive at the site of the adventure’s climax just before midnight on the day of the solstice.

The characters are active participants in the story, and its events are real to them: they can defeat enemies and be defeated by them. But a player character who drops to 0 hit points while on the demiplane is immediately teleported out of the demiplane and back into Candlekeep where the book is located.

A teleported character reappears with 1 hit point and loses any items they had collected on the journey so far. Explain to the player of the character that they can rejoin the party by going through the gate again after finishing a long rest. In the meantime, the other party members will have moved along in the story. Because time passes differently on the demiplane from how it flows on the Material Plane, the returning character appears back with the party in the encounter area that follows the one the character previously experienced.

The gate remains active until the characters' contribution to the story has come to an end (one way or the other), whereupon the characters are ejected from the demiplane and deposited around the book back in Candlekeep. No one other than the characters can use the gate, or even perceive it, while the mission is under way.

Satyrs in Distress

Once the characters have entered the book, read:

You’re on the fringe of a meadow that borders a forest. Tall trees of several varieties stretch before you as far as the eye can see. Behind you is a range of formidable mountain peaks. As the remnant of the setting sun dips below the horizon, a rising full moon illuminates the darkening sky.

When one or more characters move to within 20 feet of the forest’s edge, three Satyr come into view. When this happens, read:

Three bipedal creatures that combine the features of men and goats laugh drunkenly as they stumble from the woods. They sway back and forth while greeting you enthusiastically in Sylvan.

If none of the characters speaks Sylvan, one satyr laughs and greets the party in Elvish. A character can confirm the truth of what he says with a successful DC 16 Wisdom (Insight) check:

“I’m Tragos… and this is Artelio and Funagi,” he says. “We were out for a bit of a revel when a swarm of wild-eyed ravens attacked us. We’re in no fit state to fight. Could you perchance help us get home?”

The satyrs want to get back to Polvarth Plateau, where they can party safely. They aren’t sure how far they’ve strayed, only that the plateau lies to the north and is a journey of a few hours by hoof. The satyrs pass the time by singing, drinking wine from wineskins, and sharing ribald stories.

During the trip, the characters have an opportunity to converse with the satyrs. If this happens, the characters learn the following information:

• Often over the past tenday, several cracks of thunder have sounded, even when there appears to be no storm brewing. At night, in places where the canopy of trees thins to provide a clear enough view, occasional bolts of red lightning can be seen in the distance.
• Strange tribesfolk, foreign to the area, have been wandering the forest, killing any animal they see on sight.
• There’s a community of pixies and sprites near the Polvarth Plateau called Dewlight. Tragor is friends with a jovial sprite there, Wheeldoli, who might know more about recent happenings.

Random Encounters

The journey with the satyrs should take at least 2 hours and as long as 6 hours, at your discretion. After every hour of travel, roll a d20 and consult the Demiplane Encounters table to determine if the characters have an encounter at that point. If you get a previous result (other than “no encounter”) a second time, that might be an appropriate spot to end the trip and proceed with the story.

Demiplane Encounters

Into the Wood

After being guided by the satyrs through several miles of the forest, the characters ascend a gentle slope as they come upon a break in the foliage. From this elevated vantage, they behold an impressive sight: a circular clearing beneath and around the canopy of a gigantic maple tree. This is Polvarth Plateau, a hidden sanctuary for fey creatures.

Polvarth Plateau

As the characters approach the clearing and the tree at the center of it, read:

Before you stands a maple tree of impossibly large size in the center of an open area nearly one hundred feet in diameter. Shafts of light cut through the leafy canopy overhead and reflect off thin streams of water that trickle along and between the tree’s gnarled, thick roots.

As you approach the trunk of the tree, the satyrs gambol ahead of you, elated to be back in their safe haven. Suddenly, the tree seems to come awake. It gives off a guttural noise—and then it speaks!

“Pardon my rudeness for being asleep!” it says. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen travelers like you in these parts.”

The tree is a treant. The satyrs call it call Feynor.

Feynor embraces the satyrs and welcomes them home. The satyrs, who keep their wine reserves hidden nearby, quickly scamper off to get drunk and be merry, leaving the characters alone with the treant.

Feynor apologizes for the satyrs' behavior (“I’m sure they’re grateful to you, but they’re so happy to be home they forgot their manners”) and then asks why the characters are traveling through the forest. If they respond truthfully, Feynor treats them as allies and offers to add to their knowledge.

The treant takes a moment to communicate with the wildlife throughout the region. He reports his findings in a sonorous voice: “The Pool of Eternal Spring is being sullied, tainted by blood lust.” He begs the characters to continue on their journey, which is taking them toward the pool, and do whatever necessary to make the pool pure and clean again. The treant urges the characters to resume their travels and suggests that they stop along the way at the community of Dewlight to speak with a sprite named Wheeldoli, who might have more news for them. Feynor gestures with one of his branches toward a narrow path leading north into the woods.

Treasure

Before the characters leave, Feynor uproots a corked wooden vial buried in the dirt and offers it to them. The vial contains a Potion of Hill Giant Strength, and the treant says as much. The potion vanishes when the characters leave the demiplane if it is not consumed before then.

Dewlight

A narrow path leads north from Polvarth Plateau, wending its way between densely packed trees. Less than an hour after setting out, the characters reach their next stop:

Moss-covered trees and overgrown brush suddenly thin out, giving way to a small glen not more than a hundred feet across. This area is peppered with colorful mushrooms growing virtually on top of one another, some of the clusters more than three feet high. A warm glow emanates from tiny lanterns that hang from each mushroom. Jutting up from the caps of the mushrooms, chimneys made of petrified bark let out wisps of acorn-scented smoke. These mushrooms appear to be homes—dozens of them—scattered around the clearing.

Moments before the characters emerged from the forest, the pixies and sprites that live in Dewlight detected their approach, turned invisible for safety’s sake, and fled into their homes for good measure. The lone exception is Wheeldoli, an elderly sprite whose curiosity outweighs his sense of caution. After a moment, he steps out from behind the stem of a mushroom and introduces himself:

“Greetings, big folk. I, Wheeldoli, welcome you to Dewlight and suggest you be on your way.”

Wheeldoli is prepared to turn invisible and make himself scarce at the first sign of aggressiveness, but if the characters start by mentioning that they have spoken with Feynor, or if they talk to him about the book they discovered, the sprite becomes friendly and contributes some additional details about their situation.

As a scholar among his kind, Wheeldoli knows about some of the gods revered by the big folk, and he shares his supposition about the nighttime thunderclaps and lightning strikes in the distance. “Signs of a battle brewing,” he says. A group of vicious predators have been stalking through the forest of late, and Wheeldoli fears they are disciples of Malar the Beast Lord (see the “area Cult of Malar” section later in the adventure). The disturbances to the north, he says, seem to be coming from the vicinity of the Pool of Eternal Spring, a hallowed site associated with a lesser deity known as Lurue the Unicorn. The sprite says he would not be surprised to find that Malar’s minions are behind that turn of events as well.

In conclusion, Wheeldoli injects some urgency into the situation. “Whatever’s happening at the pool is likely to reach its peak on the winter solstice, which is at most a day or two from now.”

When the characters have learned all they can from Wheeldoli, the sprite directs them to a narrow gravel path that skirts the community and then continues northward through the underbrush.

“Hurry along now,” he says. “Danger along the way might impede your travel, so there’s no time to waste!”

Webbed Path

The pebbled path leading out of Dewlight soon turns into dirt, and the area on either side of it is sparsely covered with underbrush. After the characters walk for a few more minutes, they discover that the road ahead is covered in large patches of spiderwebs. The webbed path, 20 feet wide and 60 feet long, is difficult terrain. A creature that enters the area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or become restrained by the webs. A restrained creature can use its action to try to escape, doing so with a successful DC 12 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. Each 10-foot square of webbing has AC 10, 15 hit points, vulnerability to fire damage, and immunity to bludgeoning, poison, and psychic damage.

Four cowardly Ettercap are lurking nearby, waiting for their webs to snag some prey. At the sound of intruders, they scurry into the underbrush and hide, staying 30 feet away from the webbed path, loosely spread out. The ettercaps are ambush hunters and run from a prolonged fight.

Hag’s Hovel

The characters' path takes them into a densely forested area. By following a break in the trees that sends them north and west, they come upon a sign that this area is inhabited:

Gnarled bushes and dead or diseased trees surround a run-down wooden shack. A wisp of smoke rises from a rotted-out hole in the roof that is lined with fungus. South of the shack is a low stone wall that forms the perimeter of a large hole, while east of the building is a larger wooden structure covered with creeping vines.

As you come a bit closer, the sound of voices suddenly emerges from the shack. One occupant cackles wickedly, and two other voices emit muffled whimpers and groans.

The following locations are keyed to the map of the hag’s hovel.

H1. Dry Well

The characters might correctly assume that this place is what it looks like: the site of a well (which is now abandoned). If they approach to within 5 feet of the stone wall, they can peer over the 2-foot-high wall into the hole, which is dark, but they don’t get an idea of how deep the hole is or what’s in it.

If a character comes up to the stone wall and looks down inside the hole, this activity attracts the attention of a grick alpha that uses the place as a lair. The water source at the bottom of the 30-foot-deep hole has long since dried up, making it an ideal place for the grick to lurk when it’s not out hunting.

The grick’s Stone Camouflage trait prevents the characters from realizing its presence—unless they shine a light source down into the hole or have some other way of seeing the bottom of the pit. If they don’t see the grick at the same time it sees them, the monster lurches out of the well to confront its prey. A character who can see into the hole and has a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 14 or higher notices the grick before it attacks; any other characters start the encounter surprised.

H2. Hag Shack

This run-down shack is the occasional home of a night hag named Lanedrie Staggersoul. When she spends time on the Material Plane, she enjoys imprisoning and terrorizing denizens of the forest. Her two “house guests” at the moment are among the prisoners she has taken most recently.

The only way into the shack is through the door on the east side. When a character first peers into the room, read:

The inside of the shack is in a terrible state of disrepair. The only contents of note are a ramshackle bed, a scratched-up table, a warped wooden shelf with several containers on it, and a fireplace with wooden spoons and ladles hanging from hooks above it. To your left, two figures are bound and gagged on the floor while a blue-skinned hag looms over them. The captives appear to be dryads.

The night hag is focused on tormenting her captives and can be taken by surprise if the characters succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) group check. Lanedrie begins by using her claws and spells to teach the interlopers a lesson, but if the characters don’t dispose of her promptly, she does not hesitate to cut her losses and uses a plane shift spell to leave their company.

The two Dryad are named Trekaila and Argentia. If the characters free them from their bonds, the dryads are appropriately grateful. If the characters ask how they got here, they sheepishly explain that the hag caught the two of them and a third dryad named Hanah unawares while they were paying little attention to their surroundings. Trekaila and Argentia are quick to disclose that Hanah was taken away by the hag several hours ago, and they fear that the worst might have happened to her. The dryads tell the characters about seeing the hag return from someplace that lies to the east of the shack and urge them to investigate.

Treasure

All of Lanedrie’s prized possessions are sitting on the shelf. A character who makes a successful DC 12 Intelligence (Arcana or Investigation) check identifies two useful items: a potion of clairvoyance and a Potion of Greater Healing. As figments of the demiplane, these potions vanish when the characters leave if they’re not consumed before then.

H3. Hag’s Menagerie

Tucked in a clearing is a ramshackle structure 15 feet wide and three times as long. If the characters rescued Trekaila and Argentia in area H2 before coming here, the dryads follow closely behind the characters, eager to find their missing dryad companion, Hanah. A door on the west end of the building opens easily, revealing the following:

The moment the door is opened, you are met with a cacophony of wild sounds. Clawing and gnashing at the cages that confine them, animals of all sorts screech and holler in every which way, some growling with pent-up aggression, others wincing in pain.

Eighteen cages, most of them occupied, line the walls of this grotesque menagerie.

The door to each cage is barred on the outside and features a small window through which the characters can see what’s inside. Seven of the cages are empty (though their doors are still barred). Ten of them hold single specimens of various animals—a baboon, a hyena, a boar, an ape, a vulture, a blood hawk, an eagle, a giant rat, a hawk, and an owl. All of them are weakened from minor wounds and insufficient nourishment, but they are still able to fend for themselves. If the door is opened on an occupied cage, the animal inside immediately bolts (or flies) for freedom, doing what it must to foil any attempts to keep it from escaping.

The door of the last cage, in the far southeast corner of the building, has no window. The characters need to open the door to see what’s inside:

Curled up on the floor is a dryad. Her arms and legs are bound, and she appears to be unconscious.

This unconscious dryad is Hanah. If Trekaila and Argentia are present, they try to rush to Hanah’s side and minister to her. Hanah has been reduced to 0 hit points from the hag’s rough treatment, but she is stable. If the characters don’t administer healing of their own, one of the other dryads casts a goodberry spell and force-feeds the berries to Hanah. If she regains even 1 hit point, Hanah becomes conscious.

After she gets her bearings, Hanah says she’s able to travel. She wants nothing more than to leave this place. Trekaila and Argentia, of course, are in complete agreement. The dryads part company with the characters, heading back toward Polvarth Plateau after wishing the adventurers success in whatever they are trying to do.

River’s Edge

At last, it seems as though you have reached the northern edge of the forest. The trees are fewer and farther between, and a short distance ahead you can see the edge of a body of water. As you come closer, you see it’s a wide river running perpendicular to your path. Off to the east, the river runs between two swaths of dense forest. To the west is a well-worn trail that leads through the underbrush and seems to follow the watercourse. On the ground in front of you are the remains of campfires, suggesting that others have used this area as a place to rest.

This stop is what it seems: an opportunity for the party to rest before their next confrontation. The characters can finish a long rest (if they choose to do so) without incident. The river water is good to drink, and if the characters have the means, they can fish for their supper.

When the characters are ready to move on, they quickly discover that the story is compelling them to follow the trail heading west. (Turning back is not an option.)

Cult of Malar

In the prologue of Lore of Lurue—not a part of the story that the characters witness or experience—Ecamane Truesilver describes the underlying truth of the situation and identifies the entity responsible for the upheaval of the demiplane.

The evil creatures waiting to confront the characters at the end of their journey are the bloodthirsty minions of Malar, god of the hunt, also known as the Beast Lord. Malar’s goal is to assume dominance over the forest—particularly the area around the Pool of Eternal Spring—and his agents have been hard at work brutally killing animals of all sorts in tribute to their god, then casting the carcasses into the pool.

As the adventurers will discover, this cult of Malar (otherwise nameless) includes several crazed berserkers as well as worgs and werewolves. When the characters arrive on the scene, the cultists' depredations have corrupted the water of the pool, setting the stage for Malar’s final act in his campaign of terror.

Malar believes that there is no better way to demonstrate his dominance than by using his cult members to help bring forth a corrupted version of the avatar of Lurue the Unicorn to serve the Beast Lord’s ends in his newly claimed domain. It is this effort that the characters must foil if they are to see their role in the story of Lore of Lurue end happily.

Cult of Malar Campsite

No matter when the characters set out after their rest, the passage of time on the demiplane speeds up or slows down to ensure that night has fallen by the time they reach the next encounter location:

Following the river course enabled you to make good progress for a while by skirting the forest. Now, as the sun dips below the horizon, the river makes a sharp turn to the north away from the trees. From the opposite direction comes a rumble of thunder and a flash of red lightning, vivid against the darkening sky.

The thunder and lightning should make it apparent which direction the characters are meant to take. The last leg of their journey takes them south along a wide trail through the forest. After a few minutes of careful travel, they get evidence that they’re not alone: from somewhere nearby ahead, they hear gruff voices growling and roaring. It’s easy for the characters to sneak toward the sounds for a closer look. The following boxed text corresponds to the campsite shown on the right-hand side of the Pool of Eternal Spring map:

Six huts circle the perimeter of a clearing. In the center of the open area, a large bonfire burns. Targets made of bones and stuffed animals, as well as dummies made of hides and furs, complete the encampment.

A group of vicious-looking warriors are gathered around the fire. They clink together their bone mugs and rip into raw animal flesh with their teeth. Fresh blood drips from their mouths and hands. It seems like a celebration of some sort. Occasionally, between the warriors' cruel laughs, you can hear a cry of “To the Beast Lord!”

Eight Berserker of the cult are consuming a pile of animals they have killed as a way of paying tribute to Malar. If they aren’t tearing at the meat, they are playing with the dead bodies, kicking them to and fro. Two Worg chained to nearby posts snarl and growl anytime a dead carcass gets close enough.

This noisy revelry provides each character with advantage on any Dexterity (Stealth) check to get closer to the cult members. If the characters linger too long before acting, one of the worgs picks up their scent and, with a roar, alerts the berserkers to the characters' presence. The berserkers fight to the death until one remains. That warrior tries to retreat to the south, hoping to alert the cult members gathered at the pool (see below).

Peril at the Pool

After the characters deal with the cultists at the campsite, the way forward is obvious: lightning flashes in the sky every few minutes, seeming to be centered over a place that’s within a couple minutes' walk to the south.

In the far distance, the sky is clear, but directly above the pool is a black storm cloud spitting bolts of red lightning. When the characters arrive, standing at the edge of the pool are six wolf-like humanoids, their backs to the characters. With faces raised up in supplication, they chant ominously. Read:

You have come upon the Pool of Eternal Spring, or at least what’s left of it: its once clear waters are now streaked with red and black impurities. Standing at the edge of the pool is a feral-looking human clad in animal skins. This individual leads five werewolves in chanting “Water into blood, earth into bones!”

In less troubling times, the Pool of Eternal Spring was a little slice of Mount Celestia on earth. Its crystal-clear waters nourished the nearby lands and fostered the most abundant plant and animal life imaginable. The usual pleasant fragrance that wafts from the pool is now replaced by the scent of metal and blood.

The cult of Malar has prepared the pool in anticipation of the winter solstice. By filling the Pool of Eternal Spring with offerings to Malar—creatures of the forest that have been brutally killed and slain, then tossed into the water—the cult has tainted it as a gesture of reverence to their deity. Unbeknownst to them, the arrival of the solstice triggers the final phase of Malar’s plan.

The cultists at the edge of the pool are six Werewolf. Five begin the encounter in hybrid form, and the one leading the chant is in humanoid form. The characters have come on the scene just in time to witness the final stage of the ceremony, which culminates at midnight. Before the characters can do anything to prevent it, a bolt of red lightning splits the sky and strikes the surface of the pool. When the resulting steam cloud dissipates, the corrupted avatar of Lurue (see the accompanying stat block) materializes at the edge of the pool—and suddenly, the characters and the cultists have a common enemy (see “The Corrupted Avatar” for more information).

If any creature drinks the corrupted water from the pool, it must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the creature gains a randomly determined form of short-term madness (see “Madness” in the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

The Corrupted Avatar

In normal circumstances, the avatar of Lurue is a breathtaking sight; her silver, stardust-like mane, her shimmering hooves, and her perfectly formed spiral horn elicit awe from even the most hardened souls. As powerful and striking as she is in her true form, she’s just as wicked in her alternative state. With necrotic energy twisting and dancing at the tip of her black horn, this corrupted avatar of Lurue is instead a nightmare come to life.

While tainted by the influence of Malar, the avatar of Lurue carries out the Beast Lord’s will: to slaughter anything that dares to cross its path.

When the corrupted unicorn comes into being, it does so within reach of at least one of the cult members. If a fight has not already started, roll initiative. On each of the avatar’s turns, and when using its legendary actions, it randomly attacks one or more creatures from among any targets it can reach. The avatar prefers a wounded foe over a fresh one, but it also singles out enemies who deal grievous injuries to it and attacks them without mercy.

The cult members, briefly transfixed by the spectacle they have just witnessed, are not immediately hostile, though they defend themselves against characters who threaten or attack them. When it becomes apparent to the werewolves that they are also being targeted by the avatar, they might join forces with the characters (if the avatar is getting the upper hand) or break off and run away (if the characters seem to be in control of things).

Final Scene

If the characters vanquish the corrupted avatar of Lurue or are in danger of being vanquished themselves, read:

A jagged stroke of white lightning originates from the moon and strikes the unicorn, transforming it into a true, living avatar of Lurue the Unicorn with a silvery mane, shimmering hooves, and a spiraling horn. She gives a thankful nod and bends down to dip her horn, now cleansed of corruption, in the pool.

The lightning bolt from the moon either destroys the corrupted avatar to spare the adventurers from a likely tragic ending, or revives and purifies the slain avatar. (The book speculates that this divine intervention is courtesy of Selûne, who has been waiting for Malar’s plan to come to fruition so that she might demonstrate to him the utter futility of his desire to hold sway over the forest.)

Divine magic pours from Lurue’s horn and turns the tainted pool back into silvery, glistening pure water. The Pool of Eternal Spring is restored to its former nature. A short distance away along the bank of the pool is a narrow, spring-fed outlet stream that leads north toward the river. The purifying effect continues to flow into and along the stream, removing all traces of corruption that might have escaped in the current. Her work finished, Lurue lifts her head, regards the characters once more, and prepares to take her leave.

Conclusion

Regardless of the outcome of the characters' efforts, the book’s final scene ends the same:

The avatar of Lurue galloped through the night, freed from the threat of Malar. As a way of showing her gratitude, and ensuring that Malar and his minions would never dare to ravage the forest again, she continued to let the silvery spring flow, turning the place into a Pool of Eternal Silver. These waters, forever protected by her grace, lie near the site of a city now called Silverymoon, which was named as such in honor of this tale.

As these words pass into the characters' consciousness, the book begins to pull the characters out of the story. When the last line is read, the characters return to the same spot in Candlekeep they left. Lore of Lurue, closed and sealed, rests where it did when the characters' experience began.

If the characters defeated the corrupted unicorn before Selûne intervened, and thus they feel deserving of a reward, they might discover that Lurue herself has provided them with one. Sitting on the front cover of the book as the characters emerge from the demiplane is a moonstone and opal ring. A successful DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals this to be a ring of shooting stars. In addition, each character is the recipient of a supernatural gift from Lurue: a charm of animal conjuring (see “Charms” in the Dungeon Master’s Guide).