Burgess — Session 13 (December 3, 2022)

• Started with the prison escape
• Got a book — Tales of the Gloaming Court — Glister suggested kissing the frog, which made it say the name of the book in Elvish
• Fought Endelyn and managed to kill her without creating an eclipse
  • She disappeared in smoke — probably not truly dead
• Reunited with the NPCs; Amidor was willing to take us
  • Discussed going upstairs to the belfry to ring the bell and maybe teleport to the palace
• Returned inside; saw the ornithopter; discussed riding it up to the belfry — but it can only take one
• When we rang the bell in the belfry, a flock of giant cranes appeared — one for each of us
• Flew to the Palace of Heart’s Desire
• “The lion or the hart must wear the crown, but which one should it weigh down?” — engraved on the gate
• Inside the gate was a pavilion with noises — a party:
  • A talking brown bear, a human carrying a pumpkin, an elf, a dwarf missing his head, and another human noble
  • Frozen: a halfling and a female orc
  • All arguing about whether clotted cream should be applied to a scone before or after jam
• Picked and ate a golden apple; carried one — gave a bonus to wisdom saving throws
• The water in the fountain didn’t move, felt doughy; resumed moving when taken out
• Rose garden had ettercaps that attacked the familiar
  • A satyr in the middle with a vine of roses — black, blue, green, red, and white
• Went to the pond; Acesis caught a firefly; touched the water — a humanoid figure made of black fish held up a silver crown
  • Picked it up — made of needles
  • Heard a voice: “The beginning of whenever / The end of ever after / The start of an age / The finale of every moment / The first in history”
  • Answer probably “wrath”
• Went into one tower — saw a lion; his name was Envy. Did not give him the crown.
• Climbed the other wall; found an iron hart named Wrath
  • Put the iron crown on Wrath; the crown turned into golden roses
• Walked through the door with a hart symbol
  • Stairs going up; towers with lightning
  • Right-hand stairs: white coffer on a black basalt pedestal
• Walked to the left side door
  • Short staircase to another tower
  • Black enameled coffer on a pedestal of living vines — a plum-sized jewel, crystallized desire for Zybilna to know what her enemies are planning
• Went back to the first coffer — a white plum-sized gem
  • Acesis determined it was the desire to show kindness to the destitute
• Crystal carriage hitched to glass pegasi, with silk butterfly wings on the roof
• Each door in the long room had an alabaster pedestal with a vase of white roses — “Take one” carved in Common
  • The rug attacked as I crossed to get a rose
• Green coffer with a green crystal on the staircase up
• Strongheart the paladin floating in midair, frozen in time
• Found a changing room; found a pool
• Found the ballroom with the Jabberwock — stealthed in but woke it
  • Distracted it and ran while others tried to free things
  • Got clipped by the jabberwock — nearly died (4hp remaining)
  • They managed to free Ringlerun, whose Cone of Cold went off
  • Managed to escape to the pavilion; freed Mercion

Finished trying to find the true name of Zybilna.