Location: Glade's Fall
it doesn't take long for Dibrael's villagers to get over the shock of him being alive all this time, and they quickly slip back into constantly asking him for favors
- this is much to Ruriok and Party's disapproval; Mylz and Zaz point out that the villagers don't act much like "friends"
- everyone urges Dibrael to take care of himself, and Derendil even offers him a place at his castle where people will respect him
- at the mention of Derendil's castle, Party begins to prepare for the next stretch of their journey: taking the prince home
- Ruriok will stay behind, but Dibrael and Zaz promise to write
Location: Nelrindenvane
it takes 1 month to travel to Waterdeep, from which Party takes a boat to Nelrindenvane
a spell is cast on Derendil, Jorlan, Shoor, and Ront to make them blend in before entering the high elven kingdom
- Jorlan feels uncomfortable and Shoor complains about looking like (an obviously inferior) Surface
- Ront looks like the world's beefiest elf and he hates it
Derendil leads everyone to a particular noblewoman's house, who he admits he's in an arranged marriage with
- they're not romantically involved, only good friends - and she is possibly the only one who will listen to their tale
- upon arrival the woman, Faeline, greets Party with confusion
- Derendil assures her they mean no harm and that they bring news of the prince
- Faeline doesn't recognize them as anyone from the castle, but she'll hear them out for curiosity's sake
Derendil carefully recounts the last 6 months to Faeline, and after a beat of silence, she asks if this is a joke
- Zaz asks Derendil if he can prove himself
- Derendil shares a few stories of when he and Faeline snuck out to the mainland together, adventures only the two of them would know about
- Faeline is quiet for a while before pointing out that Derendil's current disguise doesn't look anything like the prince
- to be fair, Skjorn has no idea what Derendil's original form looks like
- to be fair, Skjorn has no idea what Derendil's original form looks like
- Faeline agrees to secure them a private audience with Derendil's parents, then excuses herself for some time alone with her thoughts
that night, Party discusses marriage and if they want that for themselves
- Dibrael invites Derendil to his hypothetical future wedding as the "flower quaggoth"
- with any luck, Derendil hopes he'd be an elf again by then
the next day, Party stands before the king & queen of Nelrindenvane with Faeline accompanying them for backup
- the entire story is told again, this time with Faeline's uncertain addition that Derendil was able to prove himself to her "somehow"
- Derendil's disguise is dispelled to reveal his current quaggoth form
the queen calls for a servant and whispers something to them, sending them off again shortly after
- not long after, two high elves enter the room, introducing themselves as the royal mage and Prince Derendil
- Derendil begins to panic; who is that? an imposter? a clone? is this why no one was concerned about his disappearance?
- the royal mage, recognizing a delicate situation, explains that he is going to dispel the curse now - only for it to fail
- without revealing the failure, the mage casts a different spell to probe Derendil's memories, and this is where the truth is revealed
Derendil is and always has been a quaggoth; it was out-of-control faerzress that implanted the memories of Prince Derendil into his mind
- Derendil has a complete existential breakdown, violently throwing off Dibrael & Mylz who were attempting to soothe him
- Derendil roars and attacks Zaz, scaring the genasi
- Mylz throws a net over Derendil and Zaz links a chain around him, but he keeps struggling and nearly breaks out
- Jorlan finally cuts him with a weapon coated in drow poison
- Derendil, your friend Derendil, collapses in a sad heap on the floor
Prince Derendil, who has always been a kind and honorable man, says that since Party managed to befriend an alternate version of him, he feels they might as well be his friends too
- he invites Party to stay at the castle as his guests, and Derendil is welcome to join them
- at Zaz's request, he will have some more sleep and calming potions sent to their quarters
- Faeline also personally thanks Party for befriending (a version of) someone important to her
- she also apologizes for deceiving them by omission; the royal family was clearly better suited to handling this
in Party's guest suite, things are quiet and tense
- Jorlan and Mylz lie Derendil down on a couch, making sure he's comfortable
- Ront helps himself to the snacks laid out, but really he is watching over Derendil out of the corner of his eye
- as a coping mechanism, Skjorn weakly asks who wants to bathe with him
- Zaz says, "Not the time, slut."
- Zaz says, "Not the time, slut."