Previously: Chapter 31: The Veil Crumbles
Starting off with a Bang
As Kal returns to Tempervale, the rest of the party (and city for that matter) wakes up after hearing the lightning strike hit the ground. Penny notices that Kal is no longer in her bed, but her armor is left behind, with the window closed. She soon returns however, walking in with brand new white tunics and pants. Kal simply hand waves it away, blaming Udall.
Fie and Demetrius, having shared a room again, joins the rest of the party, as well as Willowbark and Granny, all also woken up by the thunder. They spend some time preparing for what they can, waiting for Reidoth to arrive. Demetrius is approached by a human rogue, Mira, with a letter from Horza Gyula, asking him to return to him, as he might have a clue to his mothers murder. But he understands that he needs to help Willowbark first. Mira is introduced to the rest of the group, promising to help out. As the days go by, they eventually meet him in Minotaur Park, where he tells the party that he can help them get near Faunus Forest, but it will require a trek to the woods to find a big enough tree to transport through.They set out in the evening and arrive late at night, traveling to a small grove outside of Maplemere.
Into the Heart of Darkness
Having spent a night resting in the tavern or out in the grassy fields surrounding Maplemere, the party set out, looking for The Coven, and Wren. The group enters through the woods, with Willowbark wildshaping into a Giant Eagle, hoping to scout out the location. Reidoth turns into an eagle, promising to watch for the party, but makes it clear that he cannot intervene, as he has made a vow of non-interference.
As soon as Willowbark crosses the threshold of the woods, she is overcome with a horrible sensation of dread, as her vision turns bleak, and she is drawn towards a watchful eye, staring back at her. This causes her to fall out of beast form, and tumble down between the trees to the forest below. She decides it's best to just stay on the ground for now, but as midnight hits, she is again overcome with the pain, causing the party to grow concerned. In the morning, after getting their sleep, Fie examines her, and can tell that she is cursed. Willowbark realizes that they did something to her when the hags confronted her in the woods, all those weeks ago. Luckily, Kal manages to lift the curse, and Willowbark feels better.
The group spends the next week or so treading through the forest, in search of the hags location. Luckily, Willowbark could tell where the Eye that caused her to fall came from, so they head towards that direction. They quickly notice when they are heading in the right direction. By helping each other, sniffing out the path and asking a local squirrel where the hags might be, they are led to an old tree trunk that has a veil of sorts running over the entrance. As they pass through, the hallway twists, and on the other side they reach a swamp, with purple sky beyond the wooden dome trapping them within. In the middle of the swamp, is a small hut, and on top of that hut, strung out between two poles, is Wren.
The Coven
Shortly after Penny approaches the hut to try to message Wren to see if he is alive, the coven leader makes herself known. She appears before the group, mocking both Willowbark and Granny, with the other two laughing by her side. They claim that it was Clementine that started all this, by insulting the coven, asking them to leave her tribe alone. Having nothing of interest to offer in return, they took a particular interest in torturing that particular tribe. Most surprisingly of all, is that they next set their sight towards Granny. Saying it’s nice to finally have a face to the name. Apparently they were the ones that killed Nema.
Enraged, insulted, and ready to be done with it, both Willowbark and Demetrius go on the offensive, and the hags spring into action. It quickly becomes apparent that the hags taints the magic of the group, which forces them to be more careful in casting spells, as they backfire, causing them to take damage, without being able to hurt them back. The group is forced to use unusual tactics for them, avoiding using spells and making sure that the leader cannot corrupt their magic. The problem is that the lair itself causes members of the party to be either flung around, or downright being sent to a separate demi-plane, out of harm's way. There are also Will-o-Wisps floating around, charming the party.
The weakest member of the coven, a green hag with what appears to be stitches over her chest, falls first. She asks her sisters for help, but they get no response. Mira finishes her off with an arrow through her eye. With one member down, they are severely weakened, as a coven needs three members to be most effective. The Night Hag, Hala, waves a kind farewell to Granny, and vanishes. As the group sees this, they notice that the Wisps no longer float in place, but head straight towards Wren. Two of them manage to reach him, but before they manage to end him, Granny takes out the final hag remaining by decapitating her, before Willowbarks moonbeam melts her body away. She dies with a smile on her face, and the party fears that this is not over. Hala tells the party to enjoy what they have, because they will see eachother again.
The two Wisps next to Wren, manage to suck his soul out, creating a new Wisp. Desperate to help her friend, Willowbark calls down lightning, damaging the Wisps, with Fie finishing off the newborn Wisp, causing Wren to return to the living. The group finishes off the final wisps, hopefully freeing whatever souls they were made from, and what is left is just the hut. Willowbark helps Wren get down, and they embrace, long lost friends reunited. He doesn’t know how he got there, as he was kidnapped trying to reach a playful crow. Next thing he knows, he is looking at Willowbark, or Thana as he knows her.
A Gruesome Hoard
The group decides to examine the hag lair, and finds an untidy mess, with trinkets, bottles, and remains of dead creatures littering the place. Among the trash, they find a Crystal Ball, a wooden staff, a painting, a jar with an eye, a perfect sphere, a tarot card, and most gruesome, a cloak made of the faces of several humanoids, mostly firbolgs. Theren and Penny decide that it is best to burn the cloak, hiding it from Willowbark.
As Granny enters the hut, she immediately notices some rocks on a shelf, and feels drawn to one of them. She tries to break it, and is immediately confronted with Nema, or at least her soul, trapped in this soul shard, ever since she was lost. They embrace, a tearful goodbye at last, as Nema moves on, and hopes that Granny can find peace in her life.
As the group takes the stuff outside, Fie gives Willowbark the staff they found, but Willowbark and Wren both are drawn towards two other soul shards, containing the lost souls of Clementine and Galen. Willowbark breaks both of them, getting to chat with Galen first, who is happy to see her again, thanking her for releasing him from his prison, before moving on. He remarks that he is glad to see him carrying his staff, which they found in the hut. Clementine seems to be more reserved, almost shameful, having failed the tribe by angering the hags. She wants Willowbark to tell Sage something, but she moves on before she can finish the sentence.
As they destroy the rest of the soul shards, most are random humanoids, one Firbolg, that simply thanks them, before moving quickly on. But one shard contains a darkness. A figure, without discerning form or any way of identifying it, simply stares back at Willowbark, before moving on without saying anything. Willowbark is understandably fearful of what she might have released.
As Fie identifies the objects, they realize that the crystal ball can be used for scrying. They do however burn the cloak as they said, sparing Willowbark and Wren from the sight. Reidoth appears before Demetrius, asking if they would like to abandon this dreadful place, which they do, after Willowbark, Penny and Kal has done their funeral rites for the fallen, buried under the mounds in the swamp. As they exit, Reidoth transports them back to Maplemere, before helping Demetrius and Mira get close to Cantalos. Demetrius bids his quick farewell, promising the group that they will see each other again some time, before disappearing through the portal. The rest of the group walk towards Maplemere and the forest, with Wren hoping to get back as soon as possible, being uncomfortable with the outside world, but fascinated by Willowbarks stories about what she has learned.
As they reach the forest, Granny suggests that the party goes after the rest of the corruption, finishing off the hag danger once and for all, while she helps Wren return to his tribe. Penny seems to be taking it the hardest, giving Granny a tearful goodbye, with Granny leaving a note behind for Penny and the rest of the group. It’s a short goodbye letter, with good words for the group. Willowbark tries scrying on her tribe, and gets a hint of their general location. Wren and Granny sets off into the night, to find the tribe and explain the situation for Sage, in the hopes that Willowbark can be redeemed and accepted into the group again.
Epilogue
As the party rests in the tavern, they go to one of their rooms, Where Penny finally gets to scry on her lost mentor. Her vision is drawn deep underground, and she can see the shape of an Aetheris male, petrified, with a sword piercing his chest, and a look of absolute horror on his face. Now they know why he never responded. Before she can get a good look around, she is shunted out of the scrying, as a presence behind her suddenly throws her out of it.
Before they go to bed, Kal, having gotten a new outlook after her meeting with Udall, finally reveals her secret, and bamfs out her wings, frightening Penny, revealing herself as an Aasimar. Penny, after coming to her senses, asks if she is Morgan Lowblade's sister, as he has told her that all Aasimars are children of Mova and “some other dude”. She says this can’t be true, as her parents are human. They spend some time reflecting over the last weeks events, with an uncertain conflict waiting for them, back in the Jaded Wilds…