Previously: Chapter 79: The Woman Behind the Curtain
Foreboding
During the night, while the group sleeps restfully in their assigned beds, they have vivid visions about the shape of things to come. Penny dreams of playing to an audience of those who have fallen to the Forgotten One, but is drawn away from the ominous bells of a distant bell tower. Thistlethorn wanders through a forest, seeing a frozen landscape with a waterfall filling up a basin of darkness. Kal dreams of a constellation of something she feels is important, with a bell tower amidst a foggy landscape beneath it. Relic doesn’t dream, but gets a vision from Adea, showing him a large hovering sphere covered with runes, with Adea telling him to seek it out, should she fall, as it might be the only way to maintain the weave should she fall. When they awake, they feel more powerful, more ready for what is to come.
Kal immediately grabs a piece of paper and some ink from Relic, trying to recreate the constellation from her dream. She shows it to the others while eating breakfast, but only Relic recognizes it as a constellation representing Adea herself. He tells them that it used to be visible in the night sky during his time, but it is not there anymore. The stars have changed in the last 4000 years, and they can only speculate as to why. Penny mentions that she heard a bell tower, while Kal recalls seeing one. They wonder if their dreams are all connected somehow. Thistlethorn, who dreamed of the waterfall they are searching for, tries to recall details about the landscape, but her vision was drawn to the darkness in the pool.
During the morning, the party explores the castle and relaxes before they are to set out to the Feywild. Thistlethorn heads to a nearby balcony to look out over the sea and get some fresh air, not liking to be cooped up inside for long periods. She thinks she’s alone, but soon realizes that someone is standing on the balcony with her. Delphine is leaning against the doorframe, smiling at her. Thistlethorn tries to act casually, asking what she is doing there, but Delphine is vague, telling her she has to leave, but just wanted to tie up some loose ends.
Disturbed by the implication, Thistlethorn returns inside so as to not be alone with her, with Delphine following her. As they walk back, they come across Bertram who is walking in the opposite direction. He seems surprised, asking Delphine what she is doing here as she told him she had to leave suddenly. She tells him she just forgot something and will soon be gone. None the wiser, Bertram wishes both Thistlethorn and Delphine a good day, before continuing down the hallway.
The rest of the party sees the two together, and hurries over, but acts casually, so as to not cause any disturbances. Delphine asks the party how they are holding up, something the party reads as trying to probe for information about how much they actually know. Penny asks her in return how her night was, almost mockingly, something Delphine sees through, and drops the facade and accent, but still keeps up appearances of being a high elf. She is disappointed that the party learned of her true identity so soon, but tells them that it matters not, they would have discovered the truth eventually. She asks if they can talk more privately, walking over to the door of their quarters, but doesn’t open it. The party doesn’t open it either, so she keeps her voice low and waits when people pass before continuing to talk.
Malice tells the party that the offer she gave them still stands. All they have to do to keep their families and home safe in the coming calamity, is to give her the key when they have the final part of it. The party mocks her, saying that their loved ones are beyond her reach, but Malice rebukes them, saying that no place is safe from her forever. She asks the party what they want in return for the key. The party is blunt, saying they want her to die for what she has done, but she assures them that when the time comes, she is prepared to die, as she has been waiting for it. The party seems confused, so she clarifies that many have tried to kill her, but none have succeeded, and she is tired, hoping to finally rest when her task is done. They tell her that they will be the ones to do it, but Malice laughs, saying they have no way of doing so.
They continue to try to push Malice’s buttons, mocking her relationship with Nezznar, but she laughs, saying that he cannot wait to see them again. She admits that she was disappointed to see him flee from their last bout, but promises that next time, she will send with him some friends who will make sure the job is done. They mockingly ask if she means the Dread Enclave, considering they seemed to be quite the pushovers when they last met. She tells them that they were quite upset when they were ordered to spare the party, but figures that it could be more fun if she gave them free reign the next time.
She continues to bargain with the party, saying that she might be able to convince her god to spare Udall and Faunus, who she describes as a fake god, “farted out by your kind”. Thistlethorn seems confused by this, upset at her words, assuring Malice that Faunus is real. She just laughs at this, with Relic giving a knowing look to Thistlethorn. Penny subtle casts a sending to Thervan, while asking Malice why she is here in the castle now. She gets a reply from Thervan that he will be right over. Malice replies that she wanted to make sure the party actually knew, and wonders how they have gained the ability to notice her surveillance of the party, referring to their newfound ability to see invisible sensors, but it matters not, she will still keep an eye out. Thistlethorn notices that she has no shadow, but doesn’t tell this to the others.
The party declines her offer yet again, no matter what she can provide, they would sacrifice their loved ones if it meant protecting the world. Malice is disappointed, but promises to ask one last time, when the key is complete, and hopes for their sake that they have changed their minds by then. She then vanishes, as the Projected Image dissipates. Relic figured as much, and Thistlethorn realize that’s why she had no shadow.
Crossing Over
Mere moments later, Thervan comes running down the hallway flanked by Ansgar and Raven, who is wielding her new Holy Avenger. The party tells them that they just missed her, and that she wasn’t really here to begin with. Thervan doesn’t want to take any chances anyway, and sends both Raven and Ansgar to patrol the castle to look for any dangers. Raven takes the chance to thank the party for their gift, and that she is in their debt. Thervan then gestures for the party to head into their quarters so that they can talk.
With the door closed, Thervan asks what she wanted, but is discouraged when they have nothing new to tell. Seems that he hasn’t told Bertram about the situation yet, but he promises that he will. He asks if Delphine knows about the blade they are seeking, and is reassured when they tell him they have kept that card quite close to their chests, and it seems she didn’t know they knew. The less people know about it, the better, with Thervan himself having not told anyone. He seems to have been seeking information about the blade for some time, but without the ability to ask anyone for help, he has come up short.
The party seems eager to leave to finally cure Gleamshroud, and Thervan says that he will bring them there when they are ready, just say the word. The party wants to know if everything is okay in the castle, and if they are protected, which prompts Kal to notice something off about him. She asks if she can have a word, and so he leads her to his office.
Chapter 80.1 Appendix: Kal's conversation with Thervan
When Kal and Thervan return, the others follow them back to his office. Thistlethorn puts Berry in the Pocket Ball, and calls Argus and Ira to join them. Relic takes out the rod attuned to the feywild, holding it at the ready. He takes them upstairs to the sanctum, and asks if they know what to do and avoid in the feywild. The party has some ideas, they know they shouldn’t enter bargains or deals without thinking carefully about what it means. If they ask for their name, they should say no, but they can introduce themselves. Thervan says he learned that lesson the hard way, and that he wasn’t originally known as Thervan, but he has forgotten his original name.
Thervan prepares what he needs from his orb, and then tells them that Seraphina is very vain, loves compliments and people being courteous, hating rudeness and sarcasm. They should be truthful about their quest, and try to get back as soon as possible, as the feywild is a dangerous place.
The party seems to be as ready as they can be, and Thervan goes over the plan once more, saying he will bring Gleamshroud in the Iron Flask when he hears from them again, bring it to the Crags of Despair, so that they can cure him, before going after the blade. The party nods in agreement, and so Thervan prepares to cast the spell, saying that he will hopefully see them in a few minutes. Relic holds out the rod to Thervan, who grasps it, saying an incantation while making the arcane gestures needed. Suddenly, the party falls, as the world expands upwards around them. They see Thervan letting go of the rod, as they fall and fall. Eventually, everything turns dark, before they find themselves in a clearing at the foot of a long range of crystalline mountains, with a vibrant forest ahead of them. Far in the distance, they see the massive castle at the edge of a lake of green emeralds that can only belong to the Summer Queen.
Bargains
Around the castle, there are lush and well kept gardens, but to the north, a large area seems to be void of all colors, like a scorch mark in the landscape. Between them and the castle there seems to be a town of some kind. There is no sun, but the world seems a bit brighter towards the castle, and darker beyond the mountains behind them. As they look around, wondering about the weirdness of the plane they have landed in, they hear a short cough, and a voice.
“May I have your attention please?”
The party gives a resounding “NO” in reply, before turning around. They see a clearly homemade looking stand, made of mismatched colors, and a sign above it that Thistlethorn can see saying “Welcome!” in sylvan. Behind the counter, a well dressed satyr stands, putting on some round glasses, while looking at the party expectantly. He bids them welcome to the gardens of the Summer Queen, and that she has decreed that everyone who wishes to see her needs to give a good reason and their names. The party declines to give their name, but introduces themselves. He doesn’t like their names however, and so calls Thistlethorn Poison Ivy, Penny is called Copper, Relic is called Relic still, but they get the feeling that the meaning has changed, and Kal is just called Kal, because to him she is a human and humans are boring.
The satyr introduces himself as Pantharos, and that he is the envoy of Seraphina, the gracious Summer Queen. He asks them what their purpose for being in the feywild is. The party tells him they are on a grand quest, but he seems disinterested in this, and that they should go back where they came from, as there are no quests here. The party realizes that this will be more difficult than they thought, and tries to explain that there is a sick dragon, and they come here to help him. Pantharos is overjoyed with this, saying that Seraphina would gladly kill the dragon for them, but the party quickly says that they want to cure it. Pantharos doesn’t seem to understand, and declines the quest. The party is confused, and clarifies that they seek the Dragon’s Tear, or the Edenflower. Pantharos has heard about this, but says that the Summer Queen would most likely not part with it easily. Penny says that she could offer a song for the queen, and Thistlethorn offers to maybe make a beautiful floral head wreath.
Suddenly, many different flowers come walking out of the forest, with Pantharos saying that it is a lovely idea, Seraphina loves wearing the corpses of her subjects, asking the flowers if they would like to die. They all cheer in unison, but the party is disturbed by the whole idea, saying that they don’t wish to kill anyone. The flowers are clearly disappointed, with one of them walking over to Thistlethorn to kick her in the shin, before returning to the forest, petals drooping down.
Pantharos says that they will probably figure something out, but Kal is frustrated, and lets out a curse. Pantharos seems quite interested in this, saying that he is collecting curses, having grown fond of “fuck”, “shit” and “cunt”. Kal offers up “storming”, and Pantharos wants to buy it from her, saying that he wants the full ownership, but is willing to lend it to her, once per week. She declines, even when he offers twice a week, and then offers a memory of great pleasure, and one where he is murdering another satyr. Kal declines these too, and so he is sad to see the negotiations come to an end.
The party returns to the original topic, saying that the world is in danger, and someone wants to destroy all magic, with Relic pointing out that it would also destroy all magic in the feywild. Pantharos says that this is nonsense, as they get their magic from the queens, reminding them that nothing beats homemade. But it seems to be enough to reluctantly accept their quest, so he “buys” it, throwing them a bag of old gray rocks as payment. Kal is confused, giving them over to Thistlethorn, but even she finds the rocks dull and boring.
He then explains some rules, saying that the road to the castle shouldn’t take more than a few months at most, and that he will see them there. He tells them that flying is forbidden, ever since the owlbears defecated on the queen's castle, so she has decreed it. Thistlethorn suddenly realizes that between arriving in the feywild and talking with Pantharos, her owls have disappeared. Pantharos then says he has to leave, explaining that he will take the servants route, which is far too boring for them. He then walks around a nearby tree a few times, eats something out of his pouch, and vanishes. One of the flowers from before walks over to Penny, carrying a copper piece, giving it to her. She takes it, giving a silver in return, much to the dismay of the flowers parents who are standing in the treeline shaking their head as the flower carries the silver back with it.
Terrified, Thistlethorn checks if magic works by casting a guidance spell, which seems to function normally, and then casts a sending to Ira, asking him if he is safe. He replies quickly, saying that he and Argus are having a great time, and there is no need to rush. She decides to scry on him, finding him in a large cage-like structure, with many different beings with wings. Argus and Ira seem to be in deep conversation with a couple of crows. Outside the cage, she can see the castle looming in the distance, but still far closer than where the group is now. She can also see a large field full of around 40-50 horses, with one female centaur looking woman among them.
Coming out of the scrying, she confirms that they are okay. Penny suggests trying to fly so that they can be brought close to the castle, but decides against it, as they don’t want to start off on the wrong foot with Seraphina. They gather their things, and then make their way into the forest, following one of many paths leading out of the clearing.
Next: Chapter 81: Time Flies