Tangled Terrors Aftermath

[faileas]

Tangled Terrors, Now Untangled: Aftermath

The Heart Tree It takes five days after the destruction of the Cwyldheart to let the seeds, imbued with Mirrorbound magic and amplified by Creia’s own, do their grateful work. They grow rapidly for something of this magnitude, but everything takes time, and the wait, at least, should be fraught with happy anticipation rather than dread. Fresh green tendrils twine with the tree’s own roots, banishing the darkness, growing up and into the ancient trunk. It comes back to life, bursting with green and purple leaves, shedding blackened bark to grow a new, bone-white covering. The tree bears fruit again, glowing pale pink things shaped like mangoes and tasting similar, bursting with juice - and energy, as they can restore a tired traveler’s depleted reserves. But the most monumental thing to happen after five days is this: the faces and limbs within the trunk of the tree, frozen in time and terror, gain new color. At dawn on the fifth day, two dozen Dryads tumble from the tree trunk into the soft grass, breathing once more. They’re confused, scared at first (it has been a very, very long time, after all), but reassured by Creia’s presence and grateful to the Mirrorbound who remained to see this miracle. It takes most of them time to get their bearings, and Creia chides not to interrogate them when they’ve just been through a right ordeal. After the Dryads confer, one who declares her name to be Filomena steps up to tell their story to curious faces. She’s a slight thing, not more than four feet tall with bark-dotted pale green skin and hair hanging in white-flowered spikes of sweetspire, but she speaks with authority as this tribe’s leader. “We have long been residents of this Heart Tree,” she tells those gathered. “When the Cwyld spread, we tried to save it, but we were overcome instead. It took root in the Heart Tree, formed a heart of its own, leeching off this land. Without you, we would still be prisoners in a dark mockery of our home. So, you have our gratitude, chosen ones. You and our Guardian Dragon.” Her smile is wide and sweet; she seems young, but an old soul at the same time, because she continues, more seriously. “But there are more of these Cwyldhearts out there. Geardagas will never be free until they’re all eradicated. If you need our help in the future, we will offer it freely, but my people need to see what has become of the world. There might be more of us frozen out there, trapped by the Cwyld, and if so, they want to free our kin. For now, they will disembark, and my friend Junius and I will return with you to see your city.” In the coming days, the pair will receive a warm welcome and new residence at the Coven's greenhouses, where Nessie wants to hear all about what happened from the Mirrorbound and from their new guests. Dryads returning to Geardagas is a monumental occasion, and if destroying these Cwyldhearts can save their continent, she wants to pursue this avenue of beating back the Cwyld.

The Tunnels Freed As you all wait for the plant to grow, and for the Heart Tree to come to life again, eventually down below, the residents of the Underground show up. The Matriarch herself leads a small crew of warriors and a few of their Witches, and their normally stern faces are awash in wonder. “No sign of it below at all,” the huge Arachne woman says, her spear lowered, her many eyes directed upward. They don’t venture above, finding the light too bright for their eyes, but they do make their way into the underground chamber that once housed the Cwyldheart, and now only bears the living, healthy roots of a tree, and plantlife like they have never seen, grown from the seeds you planted. “We saw no signs of the Cwyld on our way here. The tunnels are safe again.” The Matriarch sounds as if she doesn’t believe it, almost, and after a moment, her intimidating face breaks out into a toothy smile. “The tunnels are safe. We owe you a great deal. You are all truly warriors of the highest caliber, including your Witches.” A high compliment, from a society where they think Witches are more fragile creatures, needing to be protected. “I did not think I would live to see this day...” Her party murmur agreements, their eyes glimmering with the excitement of what it means for them: exploration, expansion, safety. The Matriarch turns her gaze finally to the Mirrorbound, like she can hardly bear to look away from rock and stone that bear no streaks of oily blackness. “Our tunnels, and our city, are open to you and yours. You and your Wilders can use our caverns as a place of safety and to restock your supplies should you ever need it. As well, with the Cwyld gone, the moss that protects us...” She huffs a laugh. “I know some of you were very interested in its properties. We were defensive, unwilling to fully open our arms and share, but now... Now I think that can change. Our guards will help you cut away pieces to take with you, should you wish to study it more. Maybe you can find another good use for it.” What will they do now, you wonder? “We hope to expand. To see the full extent of our world, and maybe some day, we’ll come up aboveground to see yours.” You can rest easy at night knowing you have another ally out there, a safe haven in the middle of the Wilde should it ever be needed.

The Mirrorbound With another victory under your belt, return to Aefenglom is blissfully uneventful as far as dangers go. Those who spend much time in the Wilde may notice some changes though - the Cwyld seems to have less of a hold, is easier to banish, does not spread as quickly or as strongly. It still has a presence in the Wilde around the city, but for once, it feels like that could change. It feels like there is hope. All the negative effects of the Cwyldheart vanished or righted when it was destroyed, and planting Creia’s seeds in itself has no lasting consequences, but Witches in particular might notice lingering pains when using magic. It could take up to a few days to weeks to get fully back to normal, and the Coven healers can only advise to use magic regularly, but in moderation, and to take strength from their Bonds with Monsters. OOCly it’s up to players whether they want their Witches to feel any lingering or even permanent side-effects from the Cwyldheart messing with their magic. Everyone recovers at a different speed, after all, but if you want to play with difficulty using magic, backfires of spells, or even days where their magic is unusable entirely, you’re welcome to. These will not be as strong as they were experienced during the event, nor is this necessarily life-threatening. It’s just an option for those who want to explore some lingering difficulties in being a Witch!

And that's a wrap on Tangled Terrors! Thank you to everyone who participated in this fairly significant little plot! Some real, lasting change has come over this corner of Geardagas that will be felt for months to come, and PCs have gained themselves a major clue about how to eradicate the Cwyld from the rest of the continent - if they dare to seek out other Cwyldhearts.

This post is not intended to be another event log, this is just a wrap up, "state of" bit of flavor text so everyone's on the same page about the outcome of their dangerous mission, but feel free to use this log to thread on if you'd like! We have a thread here for OOC questions and one here for IC questions if your character wants to ask Filomena or the Matriarch anything (Creia will be unavailable for questions), though please bear with us on the latter for a few days until our schedules clear a bit!

Comments

OOC QUESTIONS

[moustre]

IC QUESTIONS

[moustre]

If your character has any burning questions for Filomena, leader of the Dryad tribe or The Matriarch, leader of the Underground city, you can ask them here and we'll summarize an answer for you! We will not be doing actual NPC threads, so feel free to ask all your questions at once for expediency.

There may be a small delay in answers coming, but it shouldn't be more than a week at the very most! Thank you all for your patience.

[darkestbefore]

It's not technically a question, but considering how involved she's been in trying to negotiate open borders and a friendly alliance between Aefenglom and the Underground ever since the tunnels first opened up, Yona would definitely make a point to seek out The Matriarch to express her joy after this little announcement. She's more than a little worse for wear herself after all this, but as she's been invested since day one (and technically, her TDM dreamwalking event) she would make a point to reach out to the Matriarch after hearing that all their efforts have finally paid off and reconnected the two cities. Just ambassador follow-ups, you know. ;)

[moustre]

The Matriarch is immediately delighted to see her favorite little ambassador! (Take no offense by that, Yona, most people are little compared to her towering, spidery bulk.) Since she's looking a bit rough, the Matriarch will insist that she sit with her and take a break. Victorious warriors deserve the chance to rest.

Since she's such a familiar face, and has been so involved as a go-between, the Matriarch is free and open with her speech, happy to hang back and talk, expressing her own joy for recent events. She never thought she would live to see this day, her people no longer slowly being caged in by encroaching death. They plan to be vigilant, of course, in case the Cwyld tries to return to the tunnels, but they can better set up protections now that they can actually venture out far beyond their previous bounds. She'll also talk a bit about how they're more in touch with the Wilders now, and plan to keep open talks with the Coven, so all her work has certainly paid off.

And, since she has been such a helpful face down here, and has done so much for them, the Matriarch has a gift for her. A round metal token bearing her sigil, that ensures she will be able to get past any guards in the city, and can come talk to the Matriarch personally whenever she pleases, and a pitch black crystal on a leather cord. These crystals absorb light rather than glow, and they're exceedingly rare below - this cluster was infected until the Cwyldheart was destroyed, but now they were able to harvest a few and have them enchanted.

"There are places in this world where no light can penetrate," the Matriarch tells her, but this crystal will let her see her path ahead no matter how dark it gets. When she wears it, her night vision will be impeccable, even in magically-induced or Cwyld-induced darkness, and she can spread this effect to one other person by holding their hand while she wears it. The Matriarch is sure she will continue to bring light to the world.

[faithlikeaseed]

Myr is positively delighted to meet the Dryads, and when they've had sufficient time to reorient themselves and prepare for the trip back to Aefenglom, he'd approach Filomena with a piece of sensitive information: A year ago or more, he and Caster found and fought a Cwyld-infected Dryad and came into possession of a Dryad seed. For want of any living Dryads to take care of it, they planted it in a hidden place in Aefenglom to slowly mature. Now that Filomena and her people have returned, though, would they like the keeping of their infant sibling? Or barring that, do they have any advice for maintaining the seed to give it the best possible start at life?

[moustre]

They're just as delighted to meet Myr! Filomena especially regards him with a sort of awe when he tells her about the seed, and how they've taken care of it. Oh, it's been so long since their tribe has had a little seedling that actually stood a chance at growth! She'd have questions about how it's doing, and when told how slow a process it's been, would tut, and suggest, "Well, maybe it just needs a little help along from an adult."

She's heading back to Aefenglom with them to see the city and connect with the Coven, and she hopes he'll be alright handing over custody of the little thing to her. She's had seedlings of her own in the past, she knows what she's doing, and it would be so wonderful, to bring a Dryad into this world who hasn't been shaped by the tragedy the Cwyld left on them.

So yes, she'd love to keep their itty lil nibling, but to honor Myr and Caster for saving the seed and preserving it, would they like to be the one to name the infant Dryad? There are no cultural pitfalls to avoid here, she'll reassure, she just thinks the small one should have the gift of a name from their rescuer.

I apologize that I'm so slow responding to this; health woes ate me.

[faithlikeaseed]

This is an IMMENSE RELIEF to Myr and Caster, as well as an honor! (It's good to have their seed in the best possible hands.) They'll be more than happy to give the seedling over to Filomena to raise.

They'd like to volunteer the names Deichtine and Iolan, after Caster's mother and Myr's father.

no worries!

[moustre]

Little Deichtine Iolan has an auspicious name, Filomena decides, and thanks them again for all their care and thoughtfulness. It is no small thing, what they did, considering it would have taken ages for a Dryad seedling to grow on its own like that, and she knows how easily one can fall into "out of sight, out of mind".

After this meeting, and after the seedling has been handed over, a week later, Filomena can often be spotted around the Coven carting around the seedling, newly bloomed into a being that looks the equivalent of a human toddler, with tender green sprouts for hair and pale green skin. They're welcome to visit - little Deichtine Iolan seems naturally inclined to brighten when they see Myr and Caster, and often offers them chubby handfuls of dirt as a gift.

[yesdoubt]

drags myself in here late because rl

Since Momo got pretty involved in the Underground stuff over the course of it all, tried to keep communications open while visiting and helping out wherever he could (particularly in all the leyline purging/tunnel clearing efforts), and he feels some kind of way about potentially accidentally starting this course of events by suggesting the leyline cleansing methods be brought underground in the first place since he's guessing that's what pissed off the Cwyldheart into waking up, he's also going to go check in with the Matriarch and offer congratulations and continued help (...and thanks for letting them study the moss because he's definitely going to be interested in that). He's also going to be a bit curious about how the Cwyldheart's destruction was felt back in the Underground city, and if the disappearance of the Cwyld from the tunnels was immediate after it happened or took a few days to reach out to the places further away from the heart, since he figures they probably left the city around when the heart was destroyed to have gotten to the tree when they did.

[moustre]

The Matriarch is delighted to see her other favorite little ambassador! Like with Yona, she's all too happy to pull him aside to talk openly and unrestrained by conventions. She talks about how his efforts have not been for naught, and they're more in touch with the Wilders now, and will continue to have open talks with the Coven, especially now that they can worry more about building anew and reconnecting rather than simply surviving.

She assures him as kindly as she can (which still comes off somewhat stern, despite her wide, toothy smile) that he should feel no shame in whatever part he had in this series of events. The method of leyline clearing he helped teach them was a gift to her people, and even if it is what woke up the Cwyldheart, wasn't that ultimately a good thing? The suffering it brought was not for nothing.

She's candid about what happened on her end. They felt its destruction in the city as a strong throb, and then silence, the heartbeat sound they'd been hearing suddenly gone. The Cwyldheart's dark fingers had just reached the outside of the city, she confides, had made first contact with the moss, but then they destroyed it and the infection just... receded before their eyes. She came herself to see what had happened, if the Mirrorbound needed any assistance. ("Not necessary, apparently!")

After his curiosity is sated, she reaches for his hands, and drops a gift into them, thanks for his work and recognition for his deeds in helping to bring them here - a metal token bearing her sigil, that will let him past any guards in the city so that he can talk to her whenever he needs to, and a clear glass locket on a leather cord.

The locket cannot be opened or broken, and the Matriarch suggests he does not try, for inside is a piece of the moment the Cwyldheart touched the barrier that surrounds the city, gray-green and slightly fuzzy moss, only blackened at the very, very edges. It pulses with magic. "We cannot test it ourselves, nor do we want to seek out the conditions to do so, but maybe you and yours can find some use for it, Momo."

Theoretically, she explains, the locket will show his proximity to another Cwyldheart - the moss inside will turn more blackened the closer he gets to that kind of terrible infection. It will turn completely black the moment he reaches a distance from a Cwyldheart equal to the distance between the Underground city and this Heart Tree, so it likely will not be useful to pinpoint an exact location, but he'll be able to tell when they're close enough to find one, or when something is related to a Cwyldheart rather than just the regular sort of infection (it will not respond to regular Cwyld).

"Just in case your leyline clearing wakes another one," the Matriarch says with a wink and a smile.