Previously: Chapter 52: Return to Wave Echo Cave
Returning Home
As Dandelion wakes up in the morning, making sure to awaken before any of her companions rise, she gathers her stuff and heads out into the dark cold morning outside Ravenforge. With Argus and Ira flying alongside her, she makes her way to the large tree to the south of their house, to prepare to head towards her forest. Sitting down next to the tree, she takes out her small mirror, and scries on Wren to see where her tribe is currently heading. As he is not the most resistant to magic, she easily manages to spot him and her tribe heading westwards, having already started their trek.
Dandelion gets on her feet, and approaches the tree, and pulls it open to reveal a passage within, which she and her owls walk through. On the other side, she emerges where her tribe had camped the previous day. Noticing the large group of footprints heading away, she wild shapes into a giant owl, and flies in the direction they’re heading.
Not long afterwards, she spots a group of firbolgs, being led by a lone figure in front. Dandelion, flanked by Argus and Ira, swoops down between the branches and lands in front of them, immediately turning back into herself, greeting the group. Sage is at first surprised to see her, but gets a genuine look of joy in his eyes as well, greeting her along with the rest of the tribe. After everyone has greeted her, with even Corn flying at her to say hi, Sage asks her why she has returned, and if it is for good, to which Dandelion replies that she wants to know about the shrine of Faunus that she has heard about in the forest.
Everyone starts looking at each other, murmuring at the revelation, with Sage giving Dandelion a look of wanting to speak in private. Sage gestures for the rest of the tribe to keep moving onwards, as they have to make it to their destination before nightfall, and walks with Dandelion to the south of the group, wanting to speak in private with her about her questions.
The Glowing Tree
They spend some time talking about her experiences on the outside, with her showing him various coins, explaining that they are used to buy material components, specifically diamonds that have been “literal life savers”. Clarifying, she says that diamonds can be used to bring people back from the dead. Sage is a bit disturbed by the idea, wondering if she has thought about the fact that by bringing people back she is affecting the balance of life and death. Dandelion justifies it by saying that people being killed in battle before their time is different from someone dying at the end of their natural life. Sage agrees with this, but is just as perplexed as Dandelion when she explains more about the outside world, specifically that people don’t sleep outside.
Sage asks Dandelion if she is returning for good, but she tells him that she has been tasked by Faunus to help her friends protect the world from the Forgotten God. He tells her that he hopes that she can return home for good at some point, but understands what it must be like to be chosen for a task. Dandelion goes on to explain that she was told by Delphine about a shrine to Faunus in the forest, with Sage asking if Delphine is a trustworthy source. She says that she has tried to kill the party before, so no. He seems genuinely troubled by this, asking if she told her the information under duress, and is even more troubled with Dandelion explaining that she told them over a cup of tea in their home. In either case, she asks if he knows about the shrine.
He tells her that on Clementine’s death bed, she explained to him some of the secrets of the tribe, and specifically warned him about the shrine, saying that the tribe that guards over it is a group of what can best be described as “fanatics”. Apparently they are guarding a grove that has Faunus himself within. Dandelion says that she didn’t know that Faunus walked on this plane, to which Sage replies that he doesn’t, which makes the idea dangerous. She tells him that she also met a group of orcs to the north who also followed him and his spirits, but had other names for them. Sage wonders if Faunus or Fau’nok came first.
Dandelion begs him to tell her where it is located. He asks her if she’s going to go look for it no matter what, to which she responds that yes, she will not let this go. He thinks for a whole minute, before looking up, asking Dandelion if she can also see the light that has suddenly appeared.
Turning to her left, she can see it coming from a couple hundred meters away. The rest of the tribe have stopped, seemingly noticing the light as well. Sage seems to recognize it, and starts walking over to it, but Dandelion stops him, saying that she should go. He nods, and holds back the rest of the tribe, allowing her privacy. Getting closer, she can see that an ancient tree is glowing from its core. When she reaches it, she sees that it is a passage through the tree, leading somewhere. She gives a small prayer to Faunus, and walks through.
The Forest Spirit
Emerging, she finds herself in a small grove. Where she came from there was snow, but the weather here is milder, and she can see the Iron Hills to the north, indicating that she has traveled a few hundred miles away at the very least, but she recognizes and feels the forest is still the same. In front of her, she sees a large, 10-12 foot tall figure, made of glowing light, looking down at her. Around her there are several spirits, but she doesn’t recognize any of them.
The large spirit in front of her, which Dandelion can feel is an aspect of Faunus himself, looks down at her, as if he is expecting her to do something. She gives yet another prayer to Faunus, and asks for guidance. The spirit says that she is unprepared, and needs help reaching her full potential. To show her bond with the forest, she must bring him her heart’s desire by dusk of the next day. Dandelion asks what it means by this, but gets no response. The spirit indicates that she should leave, with her sensing that they will probably find her when her task is due.
Returning outside, she can see that Sage is waiting for her, having already sent the rest of the tribe ahead. She wasn’t gone long, so they can see them in front of them between the trees. Sage asks her what she saw, to which she replies that she thinks she met Faunus, or at least an aspect of him, and explains her task. Sage says that she alone must accomplish her task, but she can probably ask for help from her tribe if needed. Dandelion is afraid, as what she wants most is to be back at her tribe, so she wonders if she has to leave them for good. Sage says that being chosen for something is not always wanted, with Dandelion thinking of Kal and her reluctance to be Udall’s cleric.
Guidance
Dandelion spends the rest of the journey talking with Lark, Hawk and Wren, asking if they have any ideas about how she can accomplish her task. They all seem to agree that what lies dearest to her heart is the idea of being back with her tribe, and wonders how she will convey this to the spirit. She figures that she will have to promise to stay away, at least for as long the Forgotten One remains a threat. She plays a song for Lark, which Penny made. He thinks it is beautiful, hoping to meet her one day, especially after Dandelion compliments her beauty and skill. Wren asks about Fie, as she doesn’t mention him at first, with her explaining that he fell in battle, but she has made a new friend in Relic.
As the tribe reaches their destination, Sage makes sure everyone has made it, with Hawk beginning to make a bonfire to keep them safe. The rest of the tribe spends the evening foraging, but Dandelion uses her magic to make Goodberries for everyone. Sitting down to rest and eat with the rest of the tribe, she watches Lark put on a performance based on the journeys of her group, using their earlier conversation to fill in the blanks, and his imagination to embellish the story quite a bit. It is very entertaining, with even Dandelion being enthralled, even though she lived it.
As the night draws to a close, Dandelion lays down amongst her tribe, with Hawk and Wren nearby. She doesn’t get to sleep long however, as she is suddenly awoken by a feeling of dread. Looking around, she can see that everyone around her is cold and lifeless, with no breath leaving their mouths. The bonfire has also gone out, which is unusual, considering it is customary to keep it alive throughout the night. She tries to shake Wren awake, but nothing happens. She doesn’t feel alone, and can soon see a figure creeping towards her.
Peering through the darkness, she recognizes the lanky form of Selene, one of the hags that was killed at the coven, although much larger in stature. Dandelion has no time to think about this, and goes on the defensive. Selene greets her, asking if she really thought she could get rid of her that easily. Dandelion replies that she has killed her once already, she can do it again. Selene laughs, saying that Dandelion took her family from her, so she will take hers in return.
Dandelion says that she cannot allow that, but Selene practically ignores her, picking up the lifeless body of Sage, mimicking his speech whilst using him as a puppet, to provoke Dandelion to do something. She manages to maintain her composure, so Selene tells Dandelion that she can give her a choice. She can either come with the hag willingly, or she will take her tribe with her. Dandelion says she will do nothing of the sort, and tries to cast a spell on her as the hag begins picking up Sage, putting him in her bag. Selene easily corrupts her magic, causing it to backfire at Dandelion.
As the hag picks up Hawk and puts him in her bag, Dandelion finally relents, asking if she promises to leave her tribe alone if she comes along. Selene looks at her, and joyfully empties out her bag, causing Sage and Hawk to fall to the ground, and holds the bag open for Dandelion, gesturing for her to climb inside. Dandelion says that she would rather walk on her own, but the hag says that she cannot walk to where they are going. Dandelion asks what she will do to her, to which she gets the reply.
“I won’t kill you. At first.”
Seeing no other option, and wanting to protect her people, she reluctantly gives a final prayer, and walks into the bag. Everything turns dark, and Dandelion suddenly wakes up, and can see her family around her, all sleeping peacefully, with the bonfire lit once again. Realizing it was just a vision that felt very real, she gives a sigh of relief, with Wren waking up, asking her if she is alright. She just gives him a big hug, with Droop coming running over with Corn, asking if everyone is safe. Dandelion calms him, saying it was just a dream, and he returns to his patrol, with Dandelion laying on the ground, happy to be alive.
Judgment
The next day, Dandelion decides to make the most of it, spending what she thinks is her last day with the tribe for a while just socializing and catching up. Argus and Ira are entertaining the kids, whilst Dandelion reconnects with her tribe. She gives Silver a platinum, gold and copper, with him suggesting that he should change his name daily to whatever coin he happens to pick out of his pocket that morning, and nobody can convince him otherwise.
Before her “judgment”, she ventures into the woods by herself, away from her tribe. Her owls stand by her side, as she sits on the ground, meditating on her future. She can suddenly sense a warmth coming from behind her, with Argus saying that she should see this. Turning around, she sees the same tree as before, and remarks to herself how she couldn’t see it before. No matter, she thinks, and walks through it, with her owls perched on each of her shoulders. Within, she can see the same spirit, surrounded by other spirits, one she believes she recognizes as Galen. She gives him a short nod, and a thank you.
The spirit looks down at her once more, as if awaiting her heart’s desire. Dandelion tells him that she spent the day meditating, wondering about how to convey it, but her deepest desire is to stay with her tribe. She realizes that the world is in danger, and that she must help her friend defeat the darkness, but she wishes it wasn’t so, and that she could just return home and stay with them, but she realizes that she cannot. She must stay away, and not return until her task is done. Her mission requires a sacrifice, and this is hers.
The spirit looks down at her, and gives her the feeling of acceptance, as if her words were enough. She gets the feeling that realizing what must be done is enough, and that she cannot return to her tribe, but she is not forbidden to visit. The spirits of her predecessors begin to disappear, with the spirit of Faunus growing brighter and brighter, filling her up with warmth, before she is blinded. Suddenly the light disappears, and she stands in the space of the tree, which is now gone as well.
Realizing that she doesn’t have to stay away, she returns to her family, and tells Sage that she succeeded. Wren comes running over, overjoyed with the fact that she is still here, asking if she can stay another night. She tells him that she has to go back tomorrow, but can indeed stay for the evening. Wren goes to tell the others, as Sage reveals to her the location of the shrine of Faunus, telling her that it is located where the two rivers meet to the south. She decides to head there as soon as she can, but not without her friends.
Dandelion spends the evening with her tribe, making sure to tell everyone that she has to go away again, but she will return, hopefully with her friends the next time. Wren has finally found his calling. After listening to Dandelion’s adventures, he wants to be a druid, like her. She thinks that’s an excellent idea, and gives him one of her rocks, to start building his own staff. As they feast and listen to music from Lark, she feels happy, content and at home, but realizes that she cannot stay. She says her goodbyes to everyone, as she plans to leave before dawn the next day.
When she wakes up, she tries to sneak away quietly, but manages to wake up both Wren and Hawk, who gives her a very sleepy goodbye, looking forward to seeing the others, Hawk remarking that he looks forward to seeing a pink tiefling. Dandelion laughs, and pats him on the shoulder, before leaving. She finds a suitable tree, and uses her magic to head home, returning to a raging blizzard on the other side.