Saralas: The Feywild Chapter 1

The Feywild: Chapter 1

Translated from the original Elvish by the historian Steve Block

Initial bullet points captured during the translation process can be found in the raw notes section below.

The aftermath of our fight against the winter

It's been some time since we enlisted Wodna's help to remove the Mythallar from Ythryn. This was ostensibly to prevent Avarice and her cult of Levistus worshipers from using its power to free him from his imprisonment. It turns out Baerwin was right, and Auril was casting her spell of everlasting winter to keep the glacier locked away to delay them. Once we tricked the lich Iriolarthas into killing Avarice and then stole the Mythallar she kept her word and stopped casting her nightly winter spell.

The weather in the Ten Towns returned to normal shortly after our adventure, and though it will never be the warm and wonderful place that Neverwinter is, life appeared to quickly return to normal.

Having succeeded in my goal to uncover what was going on in the north, and later to solve the perpetual winter that was hurting so many, I took some time to head home and find what had happened to my daughters. Wodna was never supposed to bring the second Elodie and her girls home to Neverwinter, at least not before I had a chance to explain what happened.

Unfortunately the created Elodie desperately wanted to return home to Neverwinter, and the problem that there were now two of them slipped Wodna's mind and she teleported them home. I forgive her this lapse, I know she is very busy, and she did it out of concern and care for my family.

I am fortunate to have such a good and generous family. I came home to Neverwinter to find both young women at home, baking and talking animatedly with each other. They were delighted to see me. I learned that though they were initially shocked to meet each other, and though things were quite uncomfortable at first, that has for the most part worn off and they are getting along well.

The first (original? prime? Gods, I will have to work this out at some point) Elodie later confessed to me that she had always wanted to be twins. They are both wonderful, and the Maris and Willows seem to get on famously as well. I think they may get mixed up at some point but no one seems too worried about this. Mika is as generous a man as ever, and loves them all.

I didn't realize how strong the connections our family have built in this city really were. But after living here for so long, with Eleanor's work in the library, me building a client base with my carpentry, and now with Elodie's weaving and Mika's skill as a builder, I find we are well loved by the people of Neverwinter. The town is delighted to have more of our small clan, and came together to build a new house for my second daughter and her children.

I spent many evenings in the local taverns recounting the tale of our Northern adventure, our travels on the road and in time, the second family, and our eventual ending of the neverending winter of Icewind Dale. It makes for a good story.

I feel content. I found the source of the odd happenings in the North and saved the Ten Towns from a slow death by endless winter. I am sorely tempted to come back home and stay here with the people I love. But I remember the warning of the Vast Gate, what we heard from our future selves, and Karthos' dreams of the World Mushroom. We have helped some, but I fear if I hang up my bow and armor now I would be ignoring an even larger threat.

I'm heading back to the Ten Towns

Before we parted ways after the death of Avarice and end of the perpetual winter, we pledged to return to the Ten Towns and our Inn in Lonelywood to catch up and discuss what we have learned in our travels.

Lonelywood has returned to the usual weather for the time of year. It is quite pleasant to be traveling here now, though winter is never far away in Icewind Dale. I was heartbroken to see how far the logging has progressed. The once lush forest has been greatly reduced; clearly Wodna's logging arrangements have accelerated now that winter is not preventing travel and there is no deadly awakened moose to prey on loggers.

I sigh as I write, thinking of the destruction. Did Wodna truly want this? Or was it in service of some larger goal. We haven't spoken since she took the Mythallar, and my thoughts turn to her often. I recall holding her hand to pass through the barrier surrounding the Mythallar. It was small and soft, dry and warm, firm and determined. I miss her but have no reliable way to contact her. I finger the small purple stone in my pocket. Does she still know where I am? Does she think warmly of me as I do of her? I know there was never much chance of anything between us, but my initial wariness has grown to something far warmer and I hope.

I entered the inn, our inn I suppose, though my name is not on the deed. It was the day we agreed to meet and I truly wondered if the others would all be there. Sahas was still in the inn, and it is apparent he has spent a great deal of effort restoring it. The inn was previously shut down after the death of its owner and then and used as a warehouse. We obtained the deed from Nimsy after dealing with Ravesin and the white moose, and it is now a fine place for travelers to stay. Kate Bush was there as well, and had grown a new set of spring berries. I greeted them both warmly, glad to see they are doing well. I spent some time talking with Nimsy, who seems quite happy with how things are going, though nothing of import was said.

Reunion

I was mildly surprised to find everyone showed as planned. Karthos with his strange ways and mushroom obsession, Resda with her three arms and stone teeth. She was still pregnant, and still carrying around the Professor. Korag was standing in the corner, looming slightly. I wonder if he's been back to see the old clan. Min was standing in another corner, muttering to herself. She looked distressed, and I soon found out why. Baerwin was standing tall and proud, though he looks less human than ever. Chosen of Auril indeed, he appears half frost now. How far can he be trusted? Am I the only whole person in our crew? I have more family than before, but seem to have escaped from larger crises.

We said our greetings and shared what we had been doing while apart. It was good to see everyone, even though I've had much cause to not trust them. Still, together we were able to stop the return of Levistus and end the winter here (with the help of Bearwin's bond with Auril). I am not comfortable with every approach we took to achieve these goals, but we did achieve them.

Min was fidgeting, more uncomfortable than ever. Eventually she looked up at us and told us how she traveled all across the sword coast from town to town searching for clues on how to help Bun. After much travel she found herself in Waterdeep. There she found information that showed that Professor Skant's reckoning on the matter might be right. Bun is some sort of a construct of an unknowable nature from the Fey, and his only chance to survive may be to return to the Fey. She said she wanted to travel to the Feywild and try to help Bun, and needed to leave. She made an awkward goodbye and walked out the inn without looking back. I suppose it was good of her to join us here as planned even if just to leave us shortly after. I hope she can help Bun and get rid of those awful daggers.

After watching Min go, Karthos relayed what he learned of the World Mushroom. He found that it is not only real, it is the counterbalance to the world tree. Though the World Mushroom itself is located in its own plane of existence, the reality between the plains is thin in the Feywild, and so the influence of the world mushroom is found particularly strongly on that plain. He also learned that if a blight were to kill the world mushroom it would wreak havoc across all the planes. Apparently such a blight occurred thousands of years ago and a group of adventurers was able to stop the blight and save the World Mushroom. He is certain a similar blight is happening now and we must act to save the planes.

Though I am tempted to retire home to Neverwinter, this sounds like a threat to all the people of Faerûn, and I can't stand aside while such a threat exists. I pledged to Karthos that I would go with him to the Feywild if he wanted to look for this World Mushroom. If only Min had told us how she planned to find an entrance.

Resda spoke up to remind us of the danger of the Vast Gate as well. So many problems threaten the world. I must do what I can.

But what do we know of the Feywild? And how do we get there? Professor Skant had some ideas. There are many ways to enter, though the scroll of plane shift we stole from Iriolarthas may be the most sure. The others were hesitant to use it though, feeling that scroll may be our ticket home rather than our ticket in, so to speak. Skant noted that there are also places where the boundaries between the plains are thin, and one can travel without magic. But how do we find such a place?

Enter Wodna

Perhaps Wodna knew something. Though I have no way to contact her, Korag was happy enough to send a message. We asked her to meet us at the inn if she was available, and a few moments later she appeared.

I asked how things have been since we parted. She said things have been going great, and now that the winter is over they are making great progress on the work. Apparently even the Unseen Hand was forced to acknowledge our greatness. That's all well and good, I suppose.

"Were you able to deal with your library problem?" I asked.

She looked confused for a moment, then said "Yes..." The others appeared skeptical. I asked if the Mythallar was safe. She looked uncomfortable and then said "Yes" again. Why does she look so uncomfortable? Why can't she say more? Did something go wrong? I am worried.

Karthos brough the conversation back to the present, and explained that we are trying to get to the Feywild to solve the problem with the World Mushroom. She looked incredulous, and asked if we are serious. Karthos insisted that we are. I kept quiet, thinking.

Wodna didn't know how to get to the Feywild directly, other than something like our scroll of plane shift, but she told us of a warlock show knows who might. He is an old member of the Unseen Hand, and is looking for adventurers to help him with a task in the Feywild. Given that, he might know a way to get there. She was happy to mark his location on my map. I wanted to ask more, to catch up on things since we last spoke, but she disappeared before I could speak.

"She seems forgetful," I said. I'm worried about her. But she gave us a lead, one better than simply wandering in search of one of these places of thin reality.

Traveling south to the warlock

We made our plans and started our journey south. Now that winter is ended, travel from here in Lonelywood to Neverwinter via Luskan is much easier than it was the first time I came up north. We hired passage with a caravan and made our steady way south. We stopped in Neverwinter for a day to rest and resupply and I introduced everyone to the family. Karthos also stopped in Neverwinter Wood.

We traveled uneventfully for the most part, aside from the extended debate on whether warlocks are evil, since they draw power from a Patron. It devolved into another argument with Baerwin on whether Auril is evil, and whether Baerwin himself is evil now that he serves her. There are no clean answers here, and I held my tongue.

Eventually, thankfully, we made our way to the to the spot Wodna marked on my map. We found ourselves riding up to an old pumpkin farm at twilight a day outside of Neverwinter. It's a delight to travel in my old haunts again, and to be able to camp and rest where I please without fear of freezing to death.

We found the warlock Madrick Roslof sharing his rustic space with rodents and pixies who seem to be his companions. He is an old man, frail in appearance, and his adventuring days are long over. I wondered why a warlock would need the help of adventurers like us, but I doubt he would be up to long travel and hardship now.

Madrick seemed delighted to see us. He said he has a job for us, and told us that he has had many adventures and collected many treasures in his time with the Unseen Hand. I know I have my issues with this group, but one must respect them for never failing a job given that many of them have been dangerous.

Still, I was feeling cheeky since one group of them we met could have gotten us all killed. "Oh you must have never failed then," I said. Friendly-like, but I probably didn't fully succeed in keeping sarcasm out of my voice.

"I have indeed never failed!" he replied cheerfully. He knows Wodna as well, and recalled that she commissioned the unseen hand for many activities. How old is she, this man hasn't adventured in years I can tell you that. Perhaps Wodna is a title? She never talks about herself.

As she said, the old man had a task for us though. In his career he obtained many treasures, and would like to pass them on to others who can use them. But in exchange we would need to travel to Prismeer in the Feywild and find out what has happened to his patron Zabilna. She is the archfey that rules Prismeer, and the source of his magic, but he has been unable to contact her for the better part of a year. He was clearly worried about her, and our task is to head to the Feywild and search for her to find out what has happened.

I asked if perhaps he had done something to offend her and that is why he can't contact her. He replied angrily that of course he has not offended her and never would. I was apologetic, I didn't mean to insult the man but I did. Though this may be the simplest explanation it is clear he would not believe it and for all I know he's right. He believes she must still be alive even though he cannot contact her, as his magic still works.

I apologized again and we asked a few questions about the Feywild and his patron. He warned us that the Fey are extremely dangerous, but also orderly. He thinks the elves native to the Feywild will probably be polite to Karthos and me, as elves tend to stick together, but we should avoid offending anyone. We are warned to not come into debt of any of the Fey, and to also avoid having any of them come into ours. This may be difficult given the way we operate. We'll need to be careful in what we say and do. His patron Zabilna is known in our realm as well as hers, and appears as a fairie godmother to mortals. Her realm is a realm of light, and there she usually appears as a statuesque woman with long white hair and a tattoo shaped like a chicken's foot below one eye.

He does have a plan for us to get into the Feywild. Every eight years our world is visted by a traveling extravaganza called the Witchlight Carnival. The carnival was run by a pair of Feywild Elves named Mister Witch and Mister Light, and assumes they still run it today. It recently returned and is camped only three days travel from here. He cautions us to hurry, as it may leave at any time, and it contains the means of crossing to Prismeer. He admitted he has not visited the carnival in over 64 years, and a lot may have changed in that time. We should travel carefully, as he does not know the form the crossing to the Feywild may take. We'll have to go and see and find it ourselves.

We asked more questions. Baerwin was focused on the treasure. It is of course buried in a hidden location, but it contains all manner of riches, including a bag of beans, magical cloaks and armor, wants, a lot of money in the form of gemstones, and a number of letters carrying favors to the holders from various powerful entities across the planes. Resda asked if he knows of a staff that can control wild magic. He said he once heard of such a staff, but is sorry to say he has no idea if the stories are even true.

This seems like a better route to get to the Feywild than wandering the land asking about holes to other realms, and we can hold on to the scroll of plane shift if we find we need to quickly leave. We thanked him for the information and made our plan to find the Carnival.

The Witchlight Carnival

We traveled towards the spot Madrick marked on my map. True to his word, after three days on the road we found ourselves approaching a remarkable sight. Giant dragonflies were flying through the air, the sky was a shade of apricot. The ground was covered in a misty fog, and there were pixies and fairies everywhere. Music danced in the air. It was quite charming.

This place apparently holds the key to traveling to the Feywild, so we needed to explore. We saw the ticket booth, staffed by an elderly goblin perched behind the counter. He was peering at us from behind a spyglass, and called out, "Greetings, fair fairgoers!"

We approached and asked about entry. He said an adult's ticket costs 8 silver and a child's ticket costs 3. "That's a good deal," Karthos remarked.

"It is a good deal," he agreed.

So we purchased tickets. I briefly put on my hat and took on the appearance on a tall child, as if I was trying to get a discount. But I was playing, and with a grin and wink, swept off the hat, and bowed. He didn't even react, and I paid for my ticket feeling slightly annoyed. He produced our tickets from a monogrammed box and handed them to each of us. He also produced several sets of colorful butterfly wings and said we must wear them to show the staff that a ticket had been purchased.

We put on the wings, but not before first exchanging our armor for the magical robes we found in Ythryn. I didn't expect much threat here and hope I am right. We all look fabulous and fantastic. The weather was pleasant, and I found myself looking forward to the sights and wonders we may find here.

We entered the Carnival and looked around. I saw a number of attractions. There was swan racing, a hall of illusions, a big top, a carousel, a lost property booth, dragonfly rides, a feast, the bubble pop teapot, the pixie kingdom, the mystery mimes, gondola swans, and a calliope. We wandered for a bit and saw all manner of strange sights and creatures. There were pixies flying to and fro, and a potted plant walked by, swinging its pot by lifting itself up with its leaves. Baerwin tried to say hello but it merely looked at him and kept walking.

We knew we'd need to explore to find this passage to the Feywild, so we might as well start somewhere. Resda wanted to visit the big top, and we headed that way. The roof of the massive tent reached towards the night sky in three swooping peaks topped with spinning gold stars. Painted panels whirled with colorful motion. The sound of music and laughter drifted out of the canvas door. I lifted the canvas and walked inside.

The current event was an elf ballerina who danced with magical costumes that spring from a magic wardrobe. We settled in to watch the show. It was beautiful and my face grew warm as I watched in admiration.

While watching the show, Resda noticed that two Witchlight Hands were guarding the entrance to the staff area. They were arguing and their attention was not on the door. She pointed this out, but though I glanced over my attention was on the show and the beautiful ballerina.

But Baerwin was more focused, and he walked over and tried to sneak past them. He slipped right past the arguing stagehands and disappeared. He returned shortly after, clearly trying to hide something under his robes. Though he made it in alright, the guards saw him as he come out. He cleverly pretended he was looking for the bathroom, and rejoined us. "It was a dressing room," he said, "and I found a clown costume that fits me!"

Raw Notes

A New Adventure

Meeting in Lonelywood

• The party meets back up in our inn in Lonelywood as agreed, which has returned to its normal weather. However, we are heartbroken to find that the return to good weather has allowed the logging to accelerate. The town seems happy though, and Sahas is happy to see us, as is Kate Bush, who has grown a set of spring berries. Sahas has fixed up the inn while we were away, and Nimsy seems happy.
• Resda, seeing something wrong, reaches over and I suddenly feel more myself.
• Min says she wants to go off to the Feywild to search for a cure for Bun and excuses herself.
• Karthos starts telling us about the world mushroom, and that the Feywild might be a good place to make some progress on that front.
• The vast gate is letting the fabric of nightmares through, but the world mushroom issue might be more pressing.
• Feeling satisfied with our work returning spring to Icewind Dale, and content that my family, though larger, appears happy, I pledge to Karthos that I would go with him to the Feywild if he wanted to look for this world mushroom.
• The Feywild is organized into kingdoms, of which Prismeer is one of the more prominent. There are many ways to enter, though the scroll of plane shift is the most certain. Otherwise there are places where the boundaries between the plains are thin, and one can travel without magic.
• Resda suggests holding onto the scroll of plane shift and try to find one of these locations where reality is thin. Resda suggests trying to follow Min.
• We talk a while about how we plan to enter the Feywild, and our ways to get out. Korag has a spell that can probably return us to our plane, and we have the scroll of plane shift.

Wodna Appears

• She says things have been going great, and now that the winter is over they are making great progress on the work and logging.
• Even the Unseen Hand was forced to acknowledge our greatness.
• "Were you able to deal with your library problem?" She looks confused for a moment, then says "Yes..." The others appear skeptical. I ask if the Mythyllar is safe. She looks uncomfortable for a moment and then says "Yes." I worry about her memory.
• Karthos explains that we are trying to get to the Feywild to solve the problem with the world mushroom.
• She asks if we are serious. Karthos insists we are.
• She says there is a warlock south of Neverwinter who is looking for adventurers to complete something in the Feywild, and he might know a way to get there. She marks the location on our map.
• She then disappears.
• "She seems forgetful," I remark.
• This warlock may know the way in, I suppose traveling to visit him would be a good next step.

Heading South

• We head south, through Neverwinter. We stop in briefly to say hi. Karthos stops in his forest.
• We make our way from here to find this warlock.
• There is a debate about the evilness of warlocks, which becomes an argument about the evilness of Auril and by association the evilness of Baerwin.

Meeting the Warlock

• Just at twilight, we make our way to the pumpkin farm.
• We find Madrick Roslof sharing his rustic space with rodents and pixies. His adventuring days are behind him and he appears old and frail.
• He appears delighted to see us, and tells us he has many adventures and treasures in his time with the Unseen Hand.
• "Oh you must have never failed then" "I have never failed!" He knows Wodna and recalls that she commissioned them for many activities.
• In his career he has obtained many treasures, and would like to pass them on, but in exchange we would need to travel to Prismeer and determine what has happened to the archfey that rules it.
• Zabilna, the archfey, is his patron, but he has been unable to contact her for the better part of a year. He would like someone to travel to find out what has happened.
• He tells us that every 8 years our world is visted by a traveling extravaganza called the witchlight carnival. It recently returned and is camped only 3 days travel from here. We must hurry though as it may leave at any time, and contains the crossing to Prismeer.
• We must find Zabilna and find what has happened, and upon our return we would have all his things.
• Baerwin asks what is in the treasure. He says he keeps his treasure buried in a hidden location, but it contains all manner of riches, including a bag of beans, magical cloaks and armor, wands, a lot of money in gemstones, and a number of letters carrying favors to the holders from various powerful entities across the plains.
• Resda asks about a staff that could control wild magic. He once heard of such a staff but has no idea of where such a staff could be found, if the story is even true.
• He has not visited the carnival in over 64 years, and admits that a lot may have changed in that time. He advises us to travel carefully, and he does not know what form the crossing may take.
• He also tells us that the Fey are extremely dangerous but orderly. But take care not to come into the debt of the Fey nor to have a Fey in your debt.
• He has not heard of the world mushroom.
• He tells us that Zabilna appears as a fairie godmother to mortals, and created the carnival as a way for mortals to travel to the Feywild. It was run by a pair of Elves named Mister Witch and Mister Light. He assumes they still run it.
• He tells us about her realm of light, Prismeer. She usually appears as a statuesque woman with long white hair and a tattoo shaped like a chicken's foot below one eye.
• He hasn't been able to contact her, but she must still be alive because his magic still works.
• He thinks the elves native to the Feywild will probably be polite to Karthos and me, as elves tend to stick together

To the Carnival

• We set out. True to his word, we travel for three days.
• Giant dragonflies in the air, apricot skies, fog on the ground. Pixies and fairies everywhere, music in the air. It's quite charming.
• We find the ticket booth. An elderly goblin perches behind the counter, peering at us from behind a spyglass.
• He calls out, "greetings, fair fairgoers!"
• We approach. He says an adult's ticket costs 8 silver and a child's ticket costs 3. "That's a good deal," Karthos remarks.
• We purchase tickets. He produces them from a box monogrammed in M M. He hands them to each of us. He also produces a colorful set of butterfly wings for each party member to wear. The butterfly wings must be worn to show the staff a ticket has been paid.
• We put on our wings and enter the carnival.
• The weather is quite pleasant.
• Everyone puts on their fancy robes. I join in.
• We walk in.
• There are a number of attractions, including swan racing, the hall of illusions, the big top, a carousel, a lost property booth, dragonfly rides, a feast, the bubble pop teapot, the pixie kingdom, and the mystery mimes, the calliope, and gondola swans.
• As we explore we see all manner of strange sights and creatures. Pixies flying to and fro, and a potted plan walks by, swinging its pot by lifting itself up with its leaves.
• Resda wants to visit the big top.
• The roof of the tent reaches towards the night sky in three swooping peaks topped with spinning gold stars. Painted panels whirl with colorful motion. The sound of music and laughter drifts out of the canvas door.
• I lift the canvas and walk inside. The current event is an elf ballerina who dances with magical costumes that spring from a magic wardrobe. We see a curtain leading to a smaller staff-only area.
• We settle in to watch the show. While watching the show, Resda notices that two witchlight hands are guarding the entrance to the staff area. They are arguing and their attention does not seem to be on the door.
• Baerwin walks over and tries to sneak past them. He slips past the arguing stagehands and finds himself in a dressing room.
• He finds a clown costume with false butterfly wings which will fit him.
• On the way out the guards notice him. He successfully pretends to have been looking for the bathroom.