The night began again in the familiar Scarlet Shield Tavern, where the party finally had a moment to breathe. Bixby Wizzlethorpe presented them with a gift he’d meant to present to them when he arrived: a painting by Brenlan Kael capturing the group at Rusty’s Tavern in Southaven. Meanwhile, the Thistles shared their newest research, pointing to three potential sites of Vel Seryn. Scouts were dispatched toward the Blackridge Vaults, and the party retired for the night, awaiting the Queen’s summons.
In the morning, Bixby concocted cocktails from ingredients the party had gathered. Momeline’s skin began to glow (beautiful but dangerous for stealth). The group sold their wares in the shopping district, where they saw Bixby commandeering a corner of Celine’s Bakery, The Velvet Crust.
No summons ever came. Concerned, they went to the castle, where they met Elarin Vess, son of the Queen’s murdered advisor. Momeline returned the priceless Vess heirloom, and in return he told them of the Queen’s last sighting: entering The Verdant Reliquary, for which there exist only two keys. One had been stolen from his mother.
Velara recalled that, while in jail, the cells were filled with cultists, so the party turned their attention to the imprisoned ambassadors. Through deception, intimidation, and a painful wound courtesy of Momeline, secrets spilled. Serelion Thorneweave claimed he would talk if freed, but before he could reveal much, Irielle Duskwhisper betrayed him, revealing the key was hidden in a secret passage out of his cell. Choosing to free her instead, the party discovered tunnels where cultists muttered about “a boy” newly in charge. Momeline, made invisible by Ferinthria, recovered the stolen key while the rest avoided combat thanks to Irielle’s presence.
The tunnels led them to a high-end liqueur factory, where they found Talan Windfern, who the party was starting to suspect might be involved with the cult. Velara guided them to the Reliquary’s hidden entrance. Inside, they found rooms with flowers blooming in different colors: purple, green, and finally red. While trying to pick the lock on a tricky door, Momeline slipped ethereally through it and found the heart tree on the other side. At the green mosaic, Momeline saw visions of her brother, while Lirielle was overwhelmed with nostalgia.
In the red chamber, they found Queen Aelra Sylanthiel lying unconscious. Dravencoles healed her, and she confessed the truth: she had been sustaining Vel Enweir with the Ring of Verdant Stillness, draining life from the druid groves to sustain her realm in eternal beauty. As corruption spread, she collapsed again, urging the party to enter the portals and defend the Groves. Irielle and Velara stayed behind to protect her.
Through the first portal (the Grove of Morning) the party fought cultists chaining a massive Barlgura. In the chaos, Ferinthria’s wild magic surge sent Momeline flying into the sky, where she spotted another group threatening a sacred elk. The party saved it, and the elk bound itself to Dravencoles in gratitude.
Returning to the Reliquary, they ate fruit from the Heart Tree, though it failed to heal the Queen, it brought them back to full strength. They also found the note she had previously intercepted from Lusteris. It was encoded and unreadable. Before entering the second portal, they touched the purple mosaic, gaining cryptic answers to some of their deepest questions:
- Momeline asked “where is my brother” and received the answer: “While you are destined for water, your brother is with the dry sand.”
- Lirielle asked “will Blacksoul Silas fail” and received the answer “While the future is uncertain, Blackstar Silas misinterprets Prophecy.”
- Ferinthria asked “where is the ring of silver water in Vel Seryn” and received the answer “In a deep dungeon, yet under the stars, you will find the ring.”
Now, with one Grove defended and two more at risk, the party steels itself to enter the Grove of Twilight.