Hello, Everyone!
Did you post your questions for the upcoming Q&A? You have a chance to learn more about the story and characters from the sourse - our DM and all the players!
Last time, our heroes, joined by Balaine Endoras and a few guards, managed to find Correlon Entivio’s laboratory and discovered much of what’s been going on in there. There was a ritual circle covered with blood, a bunch of undead cramped behind iron bars, and the four elven maidens (alive!) chained up into a prison cell. They also found ‘the next Maquiel’, i.e. the man who was going to be blamed for Kloth’s deeds if our heroes had agreed to his deal.
The caskets of Mary’s parents were also in Entivio’s laboratory. Mary tried to avoid thinking about them, and then, a distraction came, in the form of some noise from the other room. An elven girl was pointing at the wall there, as if to show them something.
It wasn't hard to find the secret door. Once they knew there was something out of the ordinary in the room with the shackles, they got to work and discovered it fairly quickly.
It was a heavy metal door, which had, just now, mysteriously been opened and shut, as if someone had peaked out and hadn't liked what they saw.
When they went through the doorway, it was like they entered a completely different place. There was no dirt or filth in there, nor could they feel the smell of death anymore. It was… comfortable. Cozy. Even, in some sense, luxurious.
A mahogany wardrobe, covered with delicate wood carvings, stood in one corner of the room. A dressing table leaned next to it, small perfume vials perched on top of it. Soft red carpet covered the floor, and paintings adorned the walls. All of that was illuminated by the light of a huge crystal chandelier.
The centerpiece of the room was a big four-poster bed. On it, hugging her legs and trembling with fear, sat an elven woman.
Or… what used to be one.
Her features had the ethereal beauty typical for her race, but her skin was grey and her eyes had the milky color of death. Her hair had lost its blonde color and was now almost white. She was dressed in an elegant gown, with silky slippers on her feet, but all this did was give her an even eerier feeling.
Balaine Endoras was visibly shaken by this sight.
“Oh… Olivia!” he gasped, all pale-faced.
“Where is Correlon?” the woman said, her voice raspy and dry.
“I am sorry,” Bruno said. “There was a fight. He attacked us and we didn’t have any choice but to respond with violence. He… perished, unfortunately.”
He was talking gently and reasuringly, as if wanting to console her. Mary couldn’t help but feel anger in her chest. There was nothing unfortunate in Correlon’s death. He’d killed so many people!
While she was ruminating on that, Olivia’s mouth spread into a grin. She started cackling.
“You’re wrong!” she said through her amusement. “He hasn’t perished. He can’t. He is eternal and he will be back!”
Her voice echoed through the laboratory. Tesaya punched the nearest wall and stomped out of the room. Unable to take it anymore herself, Mary followed suit.
It was soon after that, when Mary and her friends had to head towards Tesaya's house. Balaine Endoras had looked them up and down and had insisted that they went and got some rest.
Before they departed, Mary stopped and turned to him. She was at the end of her strength but there was one more thing she had to take care of.
“What will happen to the caskets?” she asked.
“What?”
“The two caskets in the other room,” Mary repeated. “Will you take care of the people inside?”
“Yes, of course. We just need to find out who they are and…”
“We know who they are,” she interrupted. She didn’t feel like dancing around the subject. Her feet were ready to crumble under her weight.
The elf looked at her, surprised.
“Halas an Terros and… his wife Dalia,” she said. She was now realizing she didn’t remember her mother’s surname.
“How did you know?”
“Kloth told us.”
“But why would he…”
Balaine Endoras stared at her. He looked at her hair and her face, he furrowed his brows and she saw a sudden recognition in his eyes.
“I see,” he said.
“What will happen to them?” Mary repeated her question.
“They’ll be taken care of. Put back to rest in Falka’s mausoleum, when all else has been sorted out. Don’t worry about them, miss…” the elf paused, “Windfiddle.”
Mary nodded and headed out to her friends.
Miss… ‘Windfiddle’, eh? I like Balaine Endoras. He’s super sus and all he cares about is the superiority of the elven race… but I can’t help but appreciate how smart and perceptive he is.
What do you think? Was it a mistake for Mary to hint to who she actually is?
And what about Olivia? Her soul was supposedly destroyed and now she's some weird undead. It must have been disturbing for her people (especially the Paladin Tesaya) to see her like that.
Next time, our heroes will have some time to recover from all the tension and injuries they suffered during this boss-fight. Hope to see you then!
And don’t forget that I’m still waiting for your QUESTIONS for the upcoming Q&A. There’s only one week left until I post it.
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide and the Glossary for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: These are my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum and Bruno) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.