The Chained Watcher

Meeting the Queen

Morning arrived, and the wolfkin person who had found them last night could be heard downstairs talking.

"How long do you think it'll take? There's a lot of books, plus one of the magic books upstairs."

"Maybe half a day? We're not going to translate them here, just copy them down to bring to the Sanctuary."

The party's tank stumbled blearily down the stairs, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Morning... Anyone got something to eat?" One of the new beastkin pulled out a piece of jerky from their bag, passing it over. "Thanks."

"We're going to be heading out later today, make sure you've got all your stuff ready."

"M'kay." 

~~~

Most of the day passed without much interesting happening. The extraction team finished transcribing all the books in the building shortly after noon, so they set out for wherever Sanctuary was. It was sunset when they reached a foreboding forest, looking like the textbook definition of a haunted wood.

"We're going in there?"

The addressed panther beastkin looks confused. "Well, yes, we are. How else are we supposed to get to the Sanctuary? The woods surround it entirely."

With that, they are led through the very clearly haunted forest for about ten minutes which stretched to feel like two hours. They didn't even notice the edge of the treeline before they reached it, feeling an odd sensation brush over them like a curtain of ethereal feathers. Their guides laughed at their disgruntled expressions, before one of them enlightened them as to what they just felt.

"Good to see the World Tree accepts you here. I don't know about you, but wandering around the living woods for the rest of my life doesn't sound like a fun experience."

"We could have been stuck there for the rest of our lives?!? Why didn't you tell us before going into the haunted forest?"

An eye roll answered that question. "It's not a coin flip whether you get through or not, no one wants to have to take that risk. Any with evil intentions or cruel hearts cannot enter the Sanctuary, and instead join the lost souls wandering the woods for eternity."

Any further protests at the callous risking of their lives were cut off when they actually took in their surroundings. Starting around eye level, rolling hills covered in soft grass and pastel flowers surrounded them. Next to draw their attention was the isekai town, with a pleasing medieval vibe to it and shrieking children playing in the streets. Their gazes then rose to the towering tree covering the sky, and they realized that calling it the World Tree really wasn't an overstatement. 

"Wow... just, wow..."

"You haven't even seen all of it yet. You otherworlders apparently recognized the clothing styles of the fae, so the queen wanted to know what you think of the buildings made by them."

"Quite magnificent, is it not?" A voice suddenly came from behind the party, and their guide dropped to one knee. "Don't you start this again. I told everyone this last time, no bowing in the Sanctuary no matter who shows up."

Turning around, the heroes see who had just spoken. A woman stood proudly, dressed both regally yet also with allowance for swift movement should the need arise. Her skin and hair were snow white, with sharply slitted eyes watching their reactions. Curving over her head were twin horns, completing her demon queen vibe.

"What do you think? This place was raised from the ground up by the fae, and was left behind when they disappeared from our world. Tell me, o heroes, what does their Sanctuary bring to mind? Do not worry about choosing your words, honesty is more important if I am to truly learn more about the fae."