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

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.