Chapter 21

A passage from Rutger's Journal

 * Ravel finally arrived to find Cenywn dead.  We decide to carry his body with us with the hope that we can get someone to raise him.  Ravel and I press on with Jakar and Iggy carrying his body a few yards behind.  The doors to the room have panels depicting a scene with a woman, it doesnt look familar, we head up the stairs and find more paneled doors.  Ravel thinks he hears crows.  The doors open outwards into what looks like a church - a basalt church.  The fact that the place is made of basalt seems to be important to me but I don't know why.
 * We appear behind an alter, the panels of this woman are more prevelent her - she is pictured in variuous poses, see seems to be an Eldarin, or perhaps an elf.  The man with her in the last pictures was a human, not sure what it all means.  Light pours in from outside.  Large wooden doors open out into a snow covered graveyard, with an unkindness of ravens perched around.
 * The thick snow hides any obvious path, it's overcast, cold but not actively snowing.
 * Ravel waddles out into the snow to inspect the grave stones and Ravens.  We left Jakar and Iggy to set up a camp inside and we explore around the outside, there are a couple of Yew trees and a small outbuilding made from dry stone, with a slate roof.  In side the outbuilding there were some spades and a pick which we took to help with a barracde.
 * We carry around the building, there seems to be a river, but it is difficult to see.  We decide to split and get firewood and clear out the bodies of the portal room.  When we arrived at the trees the sun sets.  Howling noises catch up with us on our return with wood and we setup camp.  The howling persists throughout the night, it doesn't seem too close.  We have a decent [Extended] rest.  It's still dark.
 * As we head to look what is outside there is a banging at the door.
 * A large group of elves wearing heavy white fur cloaks with a Lion's head on their shoulders, carrying a glaive type weapon with pointed helmets.  What looks like a leader was banging on the door.  We are arrested for burning branches.  We trudge throught the snow for a few hours before the sun comes up.  The occasional flurry of snow happens on our way North East until the sun rises and the weather takes a turn for the worse.  We head between two hills which were obscured by the forest, we walk all day and as the sun sets we come to the grounds of a palace.  Topiary covered in snow, pleasant ponds iced over. Paths through the garden have been dug out, a large Vianesse palace of ice awaits us.


 * 2_Chenonceau-1-.jpges of young women line the halls, humans and elves.  On closer inspection these are not statues, but frozen women.  They are all very similar, all blonde, all around the same height.  All looking a bit like the woman from the panels in the church.  Cortiers hanging around, a pale blue eyed thin man with jet black hair lounging in his chair looking bored - full of regal ennui.
 * We are marched up to face the man in the chair he sits up, the captain and the soliders fall to their knees and present us to him.
 * We are accused of defiling the temple with our presence and assaulting dead branches.  A capricious man I wagered that we could defeat his champion for a pardon and then come to some arrangement over safe passage through the vale.
 * R1: I walk up to the furry snake and shout come and get it, it comes into range and i hit it, it attacks me and i slice it up as it ducks out of the way, it dazed me with its eyes.
 * R1: I walk up to the furry snake and shout come and get it, it comes into range and i hit it, it attacks me and i slice it up as it ducks out of the way, it dazed me with its eyes.


 * R2:Dazed I blast out a spray of acid which invigorated Ravel but missed the snake.  I shake off the daze


 * R3: I run around in a u shape and aim to slam the beast in the face but it's damn eyes distract me and I stop my swing before I miss and hit Ravel. It attacks me but misses and it takes more damage.  It shifts awah


 * R4: I sweep around in an upward swing i lift the flat of my axe blade under it's chin and knock it's head back into Ravel's hammer, knocking it out.


 * The Prince accepts our win and asks us how we will pay for passage through his land.  We tell him of our quest and he offers 2 services in exchange for 1 favour. Safe passage and raise Cenywn.  The snake tamer sobs in the corner.  The Prince breathes into Cenywn and begins to move. He has a blue-ish tinge to him, and his hazel eyes are now a mid blue.
 * The Prince says that he'll contact us, to call in the favour at a later date.  We are escorted to the edge of the realm and have a [short] rest on the way.

A passage from Bors's journal

 * Decided not to go into the Feywild, just in case any enemies of the "Queen of Summer" are around.  I leave them to their fate and instead decide to devote more time to my collection of haemaphrodite halfing erotic woodcuts