Previously: Chapter 80: Fey Crossing
Venturing Through the Gardens
The party starts trekking through the forest leading to the castle, and soon loses sight of any landmarks. They are completely isolated in the forest now, and have to make their way forward in order to free Argus and Ira, and to help Gleamshroud. Thistlethorn and Penny take charge leading the trek, helping each other with surveying the road and finding the best path. Eventually they come to the start of a river, which just appears out of thin air. They discuss whether they should cross to the other side or not, but decide to just follow it. Penny is very tempted to taste the water as it has a very tempting smell and look, but both Kal and Relic talk her out of it. Thistlethorn in the meantime sees that they are not alone. A figure is walking in the forest along with them, just outside the others' perception. They lock gazes, and Thistlethorn gets a short wave from what appears to be a middle aged woman. She decides against telling the others about her as they continue downstream.
As they follow the flow of the river, they talk about how they want to approach it, and suddenly hear a voice commenting on them being new to the feywild. They don’t see anyone, but the branches of a nearby tree gesticulating to indicate it is talking to them. Thistlethorn accidentally convinces it to take a walk, and so the tree drags its roots up and begins walking away. The party is about to continue, when a small figure that was hiding behind the tree tries to hide behind another one. They lure the figure out, finding it to be a very short treant sapling, who calls itself Stumpwick. He asks if the party is heading to the castle, and if so, if he can join them, as he is on a secret mission which he doesn’t want to reveal to the party.
After a bit of discussion, they decide to bring Stumpwick along, as Kal offers to carry him on her shoulders, seeing as he is so small, in exchange for a compliment, since Stumpwick is adamant that he wants to pay for the service. The compliment ends up being that he is impressed how well her skin is hanging on to her flesh. Transaction completed, he hops on up, and joins the party on their trek.
Thistlethorn asks Stumpwick how long he has been looking for the castle, and he replies that it’s been years in their timekeeping. The reason being that he’s so small that he can’t see the sky, and doesn’t know which way is lightwards, and since the queen moves around from time to time the lightwards direction changes. He clarifies that the queen is the one moving, not the castle. Armed with this information, Thistlethorn and Penny try to follow the lightest direction.
Suddenly, they are walking on some very rocky ground, with the river nowhere in sight. Stumpwick is gone, and both Relic and Thistlethorn can’t hold themselves up and fall off the cliff. Stumpwick appears at the top of it and shouts at them to hurry since they’re taking too long. Relic decides to cast spider-climb on himself, and begins to walk up the cliff edge, albeit slowly since the ground is now sticky. Kal turns around and climbs downwards, trying to help Thistlethorn, while Penny keeps going up, eventually reaching the top. In the end, they all make it up the cliff, and continue to follow the river, but realize after a couple of hours that it’s getting darker, meaning they’re going the wrong way, so they turn back around.
Eventually, they grow tired, and decide it’s time to set up camp for the night. They don’t appear to have made any headway, and it might be because they are not all equally in a hurry to get to their destination. While Relic prepares the mansion, the party asks Stumpwick why he’s so tiny, as he should be bigger based on his supposed time spent looking for the castle. He accidentally reveals that he’s cursed, prompting Penny to ask if she can identify the curse with her wand. Stumpwick agrees, even though it won’t hurt, and so Penny uses her magic to discover that he indeed is cursed, but it’s nothing that the party can’t fix if he wants. He declines, saying that he’d be more confident if the queen were to help him, as that’s his whole reason for traveling.
As the mansion is summoned, they all head inside, with Stumpwick taking a corner in the kitchen, being uncomfortable with the whole ordeal. Before Thistlethorn makes her way inside, she spots the woman once more, looking at her from between the trees. She smiles at Thistlethorn, but she decides against speaking to her once again, heading inside to join the rest, who have congregated around Stumpwick who is trying to feign sleep by closing his eyes. Penny offers him one of her pillows to sleep on, which he pays for with a peanut. Before they leave, they spot him fidgeting with a small amulet that has an hourglass within, but they decide not to ask about it. The others then go to sleep, while Relic heads to his quarters to recharge.
Some Time Later
The next morning, Relic is the first to awaken, and discovers that Stumpwick is gone, with a chair from the kitchen lying on its side next to the door out of the mansion. When the others awaken, they figure that he probably just got bored, and decides to head outside looking for him. As soon as they open the door, he is sitting next to a tree clutching his tiny staff, and in an exasperated way thanks the holy that they are back, as they have been sleeping for many weeks. The party doesn’t understand how that works, as they have only been asleep one night, and so figures that Stumpwick probably perceives time very differently than they do.
Thistlethorn notices once more that the woman is still lingering nearby, picking apples from a nearby tree. She makes the others aware of her, and they suddenly notice her as well, not realizing fully how they didn’t see her as it’s very obvious that she was there. The woman introduces herself as Agatha, and is wondering if the group is heading towards the castle to see the queen. The party confirms this, and Agatha says that she can tell they are seeking something, and that she might be able to help them, in return for a small favor.
She holds up a small resin ball on a chain, telling the party that if they make sure to place this in the queen’s throne room, she will give them what they are seeking. The party debates this amongst themselves, but decides against it, as it is a risky move, especially if they are caught. They still have to retrieve Argus and Ira, and that is something they will have to speak to the queen about anyways. Agatha is clearly disappointed by this, and so decides to leave the party. Stumpwick comes out, asking if she’s finally gone, so the party asks if he knows her. He says he doesn’t, but at the same time thinks she’s really nice.
Thistlethorn decides to check up on the owls by using the sending stone, saying that they are on their way as soon as they can. Argus replies quickly, clearly exasperated, claiming that they have been out of reach for weeks, and they have nearly given up hope, and that Ira says hi. The party realizes that time is working against them, and so they all feel the rush to reach the castle swiftly. They gather up their belongings, and set out to follow the river once more. This time, Stumpwick decides to sit on Penny’s head instead, as she has horns he can hold on to.
Red Caps
After walking next to the river for a few hours, getting apparently closer and closer to the light, Kal and Thistlethorn suddenly spot a figure in the forest clearing next to them, surrounded by dancing lights, and gesturing for them to follow. Never has a trap been more apparent, but they decide to give it the benefit of the doubt after Kal does a divination, asking for advice regarding the figure. She gets a response from someone, not Udall, that it looks like someone that wants their help. Kal thinks the voice might be Shehemis’, suggesting there might be a card waiting for them if they follow, which they do.
The party follows the figure, who suddenly dissipates when it gets close to a clearing. They sneak up to it, seeing a group of small creatures with red hats that most of the party recognize as Redcaps, fierce little fey creatures who love blood. They appear to be rummaging through some loot, but as the party tries to sneak closer, Thistlethorn manages to snap a twig, drawing the attention of the Redcaps, who charge at them.
A few of them come running straight towards them with their iron boots, trying to knock them over, but the party manages to dodge it. There are some mean looking ones with big blades and whips lined with razors, causing those they hit to bleed profusely, and their apparent leader sends crows at the party to pluck their eyes out.
One particular mean looking Redcap with an arsenal of nails gets close to Thistlethorn, who lashes out at him with her primal savagery, but he just mockingly takes it, saying:
“I like it when they fight back.”
Penny gets assaulted by two Redcaps who knocks her down, and it at first seems like the party might have taken on more than they can chew, but they eventually get the upper hand when Penny manages to get a fireball out of her Wand of Wonder, as well as Relic sending out a lightning bolt while also immolating the Crow King. The one accosting Thistlethorn takes a few nails and nails them to her shadow, forcing her to stay in place. Penny uses steel wind strike to lash out at a few, appearing next to Thistlethorn in order to help out, while Kal uses a thunderwave to blast them away. In the end, they manage to take down the whole band of Redcaps, helping free Thistlethorn from her spikes.
As the carnage has died down, they look over the corpses, when suddenly two Faerie Dragons come swooping down towards the loot, rummaging through the silverware, and then taking with them a very pretty looking spoon, before flying back into the forest. Apparently they wanted the spoon but didn’t have a way to deal with the Redcaps so they recruited the party. Penny, exasperated, looks down at the corpse of the leader, seeing a card lying in the blood pooling from his body. She picks it up, and gives it to Kal who is carrying the deck, adding it to the others.
Thistlethorn walks around looking for pretty rocks, finding a few of them, among them a witch stone with a hole in it. She adds it to her pile, and at the same time does her regular ritual of honoring the dead Redcaps, although she doesn’t put as much effort in it as she usually does. Kal takes the silverware the faerie dragons didn’t take, while Relic and Penny both use prestidigitation to clean a pile of bloodied children's toys that the Redcaps had found somehow. The party decides to take a short rest to heal up, using the coffee pot, who appreciates that Penny brings him to such "wonderful places", rewarding them by making the short rest take a mere 5 minutes. Stumpwick gets a taste of the coffee, and pays for it with his finest oak nut. They then walk back towards the river with Stumpwick. They don’t have to walk long before they hear voices of a settlement ahead of them, and suddenly the tree trunks next to them start moving. Looking up they see a house with wooden legs start walking around.
Wandertown
They have reached a small town, where all the houses appear to have legs of various heights. People walk around on the ground, to and from the buildings, and it seems that all the houses are congregating around a large oak tree. A bit further ahead they see a massive circular building with eight legs, where a minotaur and a kenku make their way up the ladder to head inside. Thistlethorn can read the sign in sylvan, “The Wayward Inn”. As it’s getting late and they don’t want to push themselves too hard before meeting the queen, they decide to take a rest there, hoping that it’s safe enough.
Thistlethorn can easily reach, but the others are having a harder time, so she kindly asks if the building can lower itself so that the others can get up. The building complies, and tilts lower to allow them access, much to the annoyance of the patrons within. When they walk in the see a large circular room, where there is an alcove above in a circle, where the sleeping quarters are. In the middle of the inn there is a small circular bar where an Eladrin woman is standing preparing some drinks. She sees the new arrivals, and in very broken common welcomes them to Wandertown, and the Wayward Inn.
The woman introduces herself as innkeeper Lidanya, and offers them a place to stay while assuring them that in her establishment, they don’t have to worry about accidentally entering contracts with fey creatures. She asks what they can offer in payment for staying the night, and so Penny suggests that she can entertain the crowd for the evening in return for a place to rest for her and her friends. Lidanya accepts, and then gestures to a large table surrounded by patrons that suddenly begins to move and walk over to an open corner, lowering itself as a makeshift stage. Penny takes to it, and begins performing, entertaining the whole crowd who appears to be loving the show.
Looking around the room while she does, Penny spots a few interesting characters, some travelers, Agatha again, as well as an autumn eladrin who is being approached by several others. Thistlethorn follows her gaze, and reads on their lips that they are discussing payment and delivery, so apparently he is a shopkeeper of some kind. In the alcove above, they also spot their old acquaintance, Silas, who is leaning on the railing while watching Penny.
Thistlethorn makes her way up to him to have a chat. He greets her as if he knew she was there. They talk about how they keep meeting, but he assures them that he’s not here for them this time. He just likes to travel and to be entertained, so he wanders where he is needed. At the same time, he somehow knows that they were offered an easier path to their goal, but they decided not to take it, and he commends them for it. Thistlethorn is unsure what he means at first, but realizes it’s probably Agatha’s proposition from earlier.
He says that he hopes they find the flower they are seeking, before declaring that he has to go take a piss. He wishes Thistlethorn by name to have a good evening, before descending the ladder to the common area. As he passes by the stage he flicks her a platinum coin, before giving a courtly nod to Kal and Relic, leaving through the front door.
After Penny is done with the performance and has rejoined the party, having picked up a few coins in tips, they ask Stumpwick what the device he was seen fidgeting is. He explains that it’s a timepiece, and he’s surprised that they ask since he figured it was obvious considering how time flies in the queen’s gardens. They suddenly realize that since all other flying is banned, then time is free to fly more than usual. Groaning, they ask Lidanya where they can acquire a timepiece. She says that Thalindor can sell it to them, if they’re willing to pay. She shouts for him, and the autumn eladrin they saw earlier comes walking over.
He introduces himself in perfect common, saying that he would be happy to sell them a timepiece if the price is right. They go through a lot of different options, with Thalindor demanding stuff like a year of their lives, the colors of their eyes, their firstborn, a favor. Penny and Relic both walk away, saying that what he is demanding is not worth it, and they should just take their chances. Kal is close to offering up her ring finger, but Thalindor eventually relents and asks for merely a day of company, at a time they have to agree to, and they will do nothing that they don’t want to do. Basically, he’s asking them to be his friend for a day. Kal and Thistlethorn decide to accept, and so he shakes Kal’s hand, taking out a timepiece from his coat, and handing it to them. As he walks out, business concluded, he speaks to Lidanya in sylvan, laughing at how easy it was to bargain with them, having gotten more than he could dream of. Thistlethorn understands him, and realize suddenly how lonely he must be.
The party decides to retire for the evening, and makes sure to spend some time with the timepiece in order to keep time in check, and then heading off to sleep. The next morning, they find themselves awake and rested, with Stumpwick making no remarks on whether they have “overslept”. The timepiece apparently worked great.
Onwards to the Castle
Not wanting to waste any more time, they decide to head out. When they walk out the door of the inn, having said their goodbyes to Lidanya, they see that they are in the middle of the river. Thistlethorn kindly asks the building if it could walk closer to the edge of the river so that they don’t get wet. She manages to convince it, and it stops at the river banks, allowing them to dismount in a dry fashion. When they step down the ladder, Penny is overcome with the smell, and decides to taste the river, taking a handful of water, gulping it down before anyone has a chance to stop her. It tastes delicious, of strawberries with an aftertaste of chocolate. She feels completely fine, and a quick use of her adventurers wand identifies no curses or effects, other than the ones she knows of. The party counts their lucky stars, and then heads towards the castle.
On the way there, they are led to a detour, leading to a path that passes by the large field that Thistlethorn saw in her scrying earlier, and so a bunch of horses and the centaur come running up to the fence. The centaur woman pleads them to stop, saying that finally someone from somewhere else passes this way. She introduces herself as Clarita, but claims to be an elf called Tela, who was merged with her horse Luna, but is being kept captive by Seraphina who has claimed ownership of her. Feeling bad, and remembering that someone in The Northern Fort spoke of a Tela going missing when they passed through, they decide that they want to help the woman, and promise to do their best to help. Clarita is overjoyed with this, saying she looks forward to being free. She doesn’t remember anything from before, only being found as a centaur in the forests, and then being claimed by Seraphina. The party tells her to sit tight, and then makes their way towards the castle.
On the edge of the field, they see a small birdcage hanging from a metal pole. Realizing this is the prison that Argus and Ira was being kept in, they all run over to see if they can spot them. Thistlethorn’s perception is so high that she can spot two tiny shapes flying to the edge of the cage. She whispers at them when they say she is talking too loud, promising to free them as soon as possible, telling them that they discovered that flying is illegal here, so that’s why they were captured. Penny casts a message to them, relaying what is being said, and gets a reply that they are all right, but looking forward to being reunited.
Continuing onwards, they eventually come to the entrance of the castle, which seems even more grand and beautiful than from a distance, with the highest towers reaching a mile or so straight up. Two bears in armor stand guard outside the stairs leading up to the entrance, and they stop them. Thistlethorn can speak with beasts, and understands that they ask if they have an invitation. Thistlethorn says that they don’t, to which they respond “good”, before gesturing inside. They happily follow the instructions, walking up the long staircase, and then opening the door.
Seraphina
Inside they see a large group of eladrin of various seasons gathered around a life sized chessboard, with living players. The summer queen is lounging on her throne further into the chamber, a field of flowers leading up to her, with a path going through it. Pantharos stands at her side, as she whispers something in his ear. He shouts out, “KNIGHT TO E-FIVE”. They look over to the chessboard, and see a player walking over to another player's space, decapitates the chess piece, who is then dragged away by two people, as another two servants mop up the squirting blood coming from his neck. The game then continues.
The party carefully make their way up the path to the queen, and is stopped by two more guards, goats in armor this time. Pantharos recognize the party, telling the queen that the guests that he spoke of a few months back have arrived. He then approaches the party, saying he is glad to see them, albeit sad that they all survived. Suddenly, the queen locks eyes with Penny, pointing at her, saying “YOU!”. Pantharos quickly moves to the side and hides in the field of flowers like a prey animal desperately wanting to avoid being spotted by a predator, as Penny approaches the queen.
Seraphina looks down at Penny, at Harmony, and demands to know where she got the instrument, as it belonged to her daughter. Penny says that she received it as a gift from Lirael. The queen demands that she prove it, and so Penny begins playing the song that Lirael played for her when she received the instrument. The whole court is now fixated on the pink tiefling who is playing a beautiful tune. At the end, the queen looks solemn, realizing that she is speaking true. She then demands to know why she has come. Penny explains that she is looking for a flower called the Edenflower, which is the only way to save her friend, and that the one who killed Lirael, Vuthul, is threatening to return, so they need all the help they can get.
The queen looks thoughtful, but agrees to give them the flower, but in return she demands that Penny write her a song to remember her daughter by. If she can perform the song for her to perfection, she will give her the flower. Penny agrees to this, and showers the queen with compliments before retreating. Thistlethorn then takes a chance and approaches, begging the queen to release Argus and Ira, as they are their companions. The queen says that it is not up to her, but she can have Pantharos set up a meeting with the Eladrin Tribunal to plead their case.
Kal then approaches as well, saying that the centaur she has in her field is an elven soldier from the material plane, and begs for her release. The queen declines, saying that it’s her favorite horse to ride, and wants to keep her. After a bit back and forth, they realize the queen loves the horse, but despises the elven part of the horse, and if they manage to remove the “tumor” that is growing on it, they can take the tumor with them, if they leave the horse behind. Kal thinks this is a fair trade, and Tela is probably not as attached to her horse as the party is to theirs, so it should be easy enough. The party thanks the queen for her generosity, and then retreats.
Pantharos then emerges from the flowerbed, gesturing them to a side chamber, where he explains that the song will not be as easy as they think. He suggests heading to the Grove of Eternal Spring, which was Lirael and Seraphina’s favorite place to be, where they might find inspiration for the song. He also tells Thistlethorn that he will prepare the Tribunal for the next day, and offers them accommodations in a pantry if they need somewhere to sleep. Relic, who is gonna put up the mansion anyway, happily accepts, much to the dismay of the satyr.
The party leaves the castle to tell Clarita the good news. She returns to them, asking if everything went well. They tell her the deal they made, as long as the queen gets to keep Luna, she can go home. Clarita is overjoyed with the news, asking if they can do it immediately, as she wants to go home as soon as possible. Kal says she can try, asking Penny to make a bag of diamond dust in order to use the Greater Restoration. Penny makes a bunch of it, with Kal grabbing a handful and then taking the hands of Clarita, casting the spell.
Everythin goes dark. Kal finds herself in a void, wearing only simple clothes, as she feels two hands lurking up her back, touching her shoulders, with a disturbing voice saying in her ear “no, no, no, this one is mine to play with.” She turns around, seeing a disgusting looking hag staring back at her. The hag introduces herself as Hagatha Greenthumb, saying that she can’t take her from her, and that they should have taken the deal she offered them. Kal seems confused, but then realizes that Agatha must be Hagatha, something she confirms. She says that she is the aunt of the queen, and that she can do as she pleases. She then sends Kal back to her friends.
From their perspective, Kal casts the spell, and then is suddenly shunted back from Clarita, landing on the opposite side of the road, holding her head in great pain. The party rushes over to her, asking if she is okay, to which she replies that this is going to be more difficult than they first thought…
Next: Chapter 82: Memories