The Crucible Campaign

27: Entering The Feywilds

.^^ Hydra ^^

— Tommy —

The day following my stunt with the two gargantuan creatures, I found myself waking up with the heaviest hangover of my entire life.

I sat up with a long-suffering groan, and cracked my neck slowly, sliding out of the bed and padding over to the bathroom, fighting the urge to puke, as I knew if it started it wouldn't stop. I ran some water over my wrists, and simply rested my head on the cool marble countertop, feeling my natural healing ability kick in and begin getting rid of my headache and vertigo.

"Are you Alright?" Glade asked, sitting up from where he'd been laying on a chair. The girls had claimed the bed, when we finally decided on the sleeping arrangements, which suited us fine, because it was more than big enough for all of us.

I sighed. "I will be in a few minutes... killer headache and vertigo. Did I drink anything yesterday?"

"No, no; you overexerted yourself magically. It happens from time to time. Not terribly pleasant, but at least it isn't deadly. Here." He handed me a small cup of tea that smelled heavily of cinnamon.

"Oh thanks, I love cinnamon!" I smiled wanly, and tossed back the tea, nearly gagging at the heavy turmeric taste. "Oh that's not cinnamon!!!... fuck that's nasty!" I groaned, then sighed. "But I don't need to throw up now, so that's fine. Warn me before you medicate me, next time?" I sighed.

He chuckled. "Will do. That was Aurora Tea, it helps with magical regeneration. A more concentrated form can be used during an intense situation, if you want to cast more magic than you're normally able. Tastes like death warmed over, however."

"Ha! A price for everything, Yeah? Alright... well, wake up, ladies, we've got things to do! The auction is probably already over, considering the timepieces on the wall say it's 3O'Clock." I kicked the bed calmly, and then walked over to the door. Outside, I found a basket with all our clothes in it, cleaned, shined, and folded, and I pulled it in and laid out everyone's clothes as my headache fully stopped.

They came to, stretching, and I led them each into the bath for a quick rinse, then to their armor, were we all dressed and buckled each other's armor on, then I sat them all down with a cup of coffee, and relaxed a bit.

Glade sat next to me hesitantly, and I smiled, pulling him against my side on the couch we were claiming for ourselves, one of two in the sitting area portion of this suite.

"What's on your mind?" I asked, and set my empty coffee cup aside.

He sighed. "I'm still not sure how I feel about selling that poor Beast... but other than that, just making plans for the Feywilds."

"Yes, that was badly handled, I think, but killing it would have been just as bad, and the money will help us. Honestly, if we released it, it would just be killed by some hunter who brings those hearts to one of these merchants, or it would have tried to kill us once we released it, so I'm trying to put the morality of selling it to these people aside. And do tell about your plans, my dear, I'm curious." I sighed.

"That sounds a lot like ignoring the problem until it goes away." He frowned.

"Much the same, yes. It's a harsh world, don't stress yourself to death over it." I nodded firmly.

He sighed. "Alright, moving on. The plan is simple, we trek through the Feywilds until we reach the northern portal, which is located southward. Everything there is reversed, so the Eternal Dusk of the Duskmeadow is set in the West. Keep it to your left, and you will reach the Frozen Wastes, where the portal is located."