17 - A Portal Home?
| Session 1 | Session 16 | Session 17 | ||
| ◀◀ | ◀ | ▲ | ▶ | ▶▶ |
| Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Frostbite | Ashira Frostbite |
But not for today
Zephyr pulled the ribbons from the kite, and the little goblin girl finally let go. The moment she realized she was free, she lit up with excitement, giggling as she handed Zephyr a tiny hourglass in thanks. I figured Maeve had done the hard part—calming her down—but whatever.
She babbled on about her parents, how they work for Endelyn, how she stole some masks and got punished for it. As if that mattered to us. She did mention a cave nearby where she wanted to hide while we told her parents. Or rather, where Zephyr promised to tell them. I had no such intention. More importantly, the cave sounded like a good place to rest—shelter from the wind and rain.
The Cave
Later that evening, Zephyr asked to see Endelyn’s letter to Skabatha. He wanted to forge one, pretending we were repairmen for the orrery. I let him see it, but the result was… unimpressive. Not sure who will be fooled by that mess.
Feenia swallowed a lizard whole. Guess she was hungry. I gave her a berry. Later, I saw Frostbite with a similar looking lizard too, but his was spectral—some kind of spirit form. Interesting. Before bed, I conjured more berries, then slept well. In the morning, I cast False Life on myself. This is becoming routine.
The Deathbringers
As we prepared to leave, we heard low singing. A procession of goblins approached, their little bells jingling, animal skulls perched on their heads, bone trinkets clinking. One introduced himself as Gnyld. They were deathbringers—claimed they could talk to the dead. Any dead. Not someone specific, just… whoever picked up. Creepy. We sent them on their way as fast as we could.
The Goats
We descended the mountain and ended up in a grassland valley. In the distance, three giant goats. As we neared, they spoke in our language. One recited Endelyn’s eclipse prophecy. The other two muttered something incomprehensible—something about a cat, a horn, a scepter. If it’s important, someone else better remember. I gave one a berry. It seemed hungry. Then it wandered off.
Dhanell explained later that Zybilna had Awakened them, granting them intelligence and speech.
The Lake
The road continued and we walked up another mountain and reached a plateau. A lake stretched out before us, encircled by eight towering towers. A lone figure was climbing one, torch in hand. Eight birdlike creatures circled above. He reached the top, lit the flame—only for the birds’ wings to snuff it out.
Frostbite and I agreed we didn’t need to get involved. But, as usual, people started talking. The man, Alagarthas, was some kind of prince cursed by Endelyn. He had to light all eight beacons to leave the Feywild, but the birds—Perytons—kept extinguishing them. I offered to shoot them. The others refused.
Turns out the Perytons were also cursed. Former performers who worked for Endelyn. Dhanell made a good point: If we figured out how to light all the beacons, we might learn a way to escape the Feywild. Not now—we still had to reclaim what was stolen. But later. So each of us took a tower, plus Alagarthas and Glym. Eight total. We lit them all at once.
The Portal
The lake shimmered. Visions flickered across its surface. I recognized some. The Carnival. Baldur’s Gate. When I descended, I saw Frostbite leap into the water. Was he leaving us? After everything? Then again… would I have done the same in his place? It didn’t matter. It didn’t work.
Alagarthas believed one person needed to light all the towers alone, to control the destination. He planned to jump from the final tower into the lake before the images shifted. Again, I suggested killing the birds. Again, no one listened. Frostbite, of all people, suggested talking to them. As if that would work.
The Ritual
Still… it was intriguing. I followed him to the top of a tower. He performed some kind of ritual for ten minutes. It looked… legitimate. Then he made strange noises. The Perytons responded. It went back and forth until, somehow, he learned they wanted to perform for us. And that they wanted Maeve to perform for them. Only then they would let Alagarthas light all towers.
I offered to shoot one more time. Denied.
The longer it went on, the more I realized: Frostbite really could talk to animals. Even Dhanell believed it. The Feywild itself seemed to favor him. My shadow shifted uneasily, as if it, too, hadn’t expected Frostbite to actually succeed.
| Session 1 | Session 16 | Session 17 | ||
| ◀◀ | ◀ | ▲ | ▶ | ▶▶ |
| Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Frostbite | Ashira Frostbite |
Updated on: 01:37
