13 - We got the Painting

Session 1	Session 12	Session 13
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Ashira Brolin Frostbite	Ashira Brolin Frostbite	Ashira Frostbite

And even have 1 more!

Played on 23-02-2025

Day 13-14
by Ashira

Lamorna the unicorn was still gone. I turned to Will and pressed him again—without the alicorn, we couldn't break the curse. But Lamorna had told me they could still find the lake without it. Will hesitated, then finally agreed: if we freed the children, we could get the horn. I guess we'll see if any children will be freed. If not, we'll find another way to get the alicorn.

The closer we got to Loomlurch, the darker the woods became. Will went over the plan again—how his band would create a distraction while we slipped inside and stole the painting. I only half-listened. I didn't need every detail. Just an opening.

Loomlurch

At last, we arrived. The Goblin Market was the first stop, just as planned. Three stalls stood beside the fallen tree, goblins selling strange sweets. But more importantly, there were two enormous glass windows, and behind them, children toiled away. No tin soldiers in sight. Frostbite joined me and asked if it was an entrance. It could be.

While the others spoke with some goblin whose head was a giant toffee apple—Brolin even bought some candy, which somehow doubled the size of his head—Dhanell and I were growing impatient. No point wasting time, so we walked towards the entrance.

There I sneaked towards the large patio. It was spread out at the tree’s roots, and I ducked behind a chest, watching. Then, shouts rang out—Will’s group had begun their distraction. Time to move. I sneaked to the door and waited till the noise behind it calmed down. Dhanell catched up with me, and we slipped inside.

Three children stood in the hall. As we passed, I told them in a low voice to run for the forest’s edge if they wanted to be free. No time to make sure they listened—we had a painting to find.

The Paintings

Straight ahead, second circular room. That was where Bavlorna’s painting should be. We reached the room without issue. Five paintings hung before us, surrounded by sharp brambles. Then a voice—Will, calling for help from behind a closed door. But I didn’t stop. We didn’t have time. I reached for the painting, careful not to cut myself, and pulled it from the wall.

In the hallway, we ran into Frostbite. And he made us realized our mistake. Bavlorna didn’t want a painting of herself—she wanted one of Skabatha. A curse slipped through my teeth, and we rushed back. This time, in my haste, the brambles caught me. I hissed as they tore at my arms, but the magic of my false life dulled the pain. I yanked Skabatha’s portrait free.

Now we had two paintings. No reason to give one back.

We made our way outside, but the others had triggered an alarm. Dhanell and I pushed forward to the edge of the forest, a few children were already there—five in total. Some crying. Some silent. The others followed, except for Brolin and Zephyr. Apparently, Brolin was fetching a pig. No idea what Zephyr was doing. But eventually, they returned. Zephyr brought three more children with him.

We were all back. Except Will. But he would either get out on his own or he wouldn’t. We had what we came for. Time to go.

Back at Little Oak

Back at Little Oak, exhaustion settled over us. We had the paintings. But I still didn’t have what I truly wanted. My laugh was still missing. And worse—I had felt something at Loomlurch, a pull, something familiar. The answer was there. I needed to go back. But not today...

My watch was quiet until Will staggered into the treehouse, scared and exhausted. He had barely escaped. And despite all his talk of saving the children, he hadn’t freed a single one himself.

Morning came, and we finally convinced Will to hand over the alicorn. With that settled, we decided to head back to Clapperclaw and use the repaired balloon to return to Bavlorna. Star, the displacer kitten, stuck close to Frostbite as we traveled.

Clapperclaw's balloon

Clapperclaw’s balloon was a marvel. Golden patches stitched it together, and a strange fire mechanism allowed it to rise into the sky. Nib had helped with the repairs. We ascended, the swamp waiting ahead.

As we floated over the land, Brolin peered through his looking glass and muttered something about a Jabberwock far in the distance. I tensed at the mention. But the journey passed quickly, and by evening, we neared Downfall once more.

Back to the swamp. Back to Bavlorna.

Session 1	Session 12	Session 13
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Ashira Brolin Frostbite	Ashira Brolin Frostbite	Ashira Frostbite

Updated on: 16:47