Last we left our heroes, they were fending off an onslaught of undead and a banshee. Unsure of how to stop the continual rising of foes, they focused efforts on removing the Banshee from the equation. A well timed stun by Arunak followed by a series of attacks from everyone else felled the whispy woman and she drifted back into the ground. As the rest of the skeletons are dispatched, Yevin, Ryker, and Arunak realize that there is writing on the tombs and begin to fit together missing letters from each tomb. The last skeleton falls and there is a moment of silence broken only by shouts of letters and names.
And then the banshee reappears with a screech, catching Havayla and Wander by surprise. They both fall unconscious as more skeletons rise from the ground. Havayla is attacked with a killing blow as Yevin manages to bring Wander back to consciousness. Nathan rushes to Havayla’s body. Picking her up and turning her invisible, he instructs Wander to follow and runs towards Arunak. Wander follows suit, also disappearing. Next to Arunak, there’s a flash as Wander’s divine magic turns a diamond into life, and Havayla begins breathing again in Nathan’s arms. Ryker, who had been examining one of the tombstones, sees his wife fall and rushes to Nathan and Arunak as Arunak casts Windwall to protect the wounded clerics.
Another round of fireballs, fists, and flourishes as the undead continue to rise. Yevin and Arunak rush to the other tombstones to see what letters might be missing. The team shouts letters to each other as Wander finds an inscription indicating that they needed a name, the name of the Banshee. Arunak finds the banshee’s tomb and suddenly changes his posture, turning aggressively towards his companions.
Havayla begins to fit the letters together and Ryker speaks the name aloud. Suddenly, the onslaught stops. The skeletons collapse into piles of bones and the banshee fades into the ground. Arunak blinks and comes back to his right mind, revealing that he had been possessed and was going to attack his friends. The surrounding mist breaks into a path leading further into the woods, but the team decides to take a moment of rest before continuing on.
After an hour of rest, Yevin retrieves the horses, and they continue on their way, soon coming to a small cottage farm. There’s a cow and goats in a paddock, chickens meandering about, an old cottage, and no other living soul. The group carefully explores, Yevin and Wander going to the back of the house, followed by Nathan, where they are met with the sound of splashes and frustration. Peering in the well reveals an old woman at the bottom, obviously recently fallen in. Yevin flies down and helps her grab the rope as Wander and Nathan pull her up. The wet and bedraggled old lady thanks them for their efforts and introduces herself as Glarion. She invites everyone in for tea as Yevin prestidigitates her dry.
Her cottage is full of odd items, taxidermied creatures, herbs, bottles, and knick knacks. The group squishes in to find seats as she calls to a stuffed raven, who springs to life, takes a word of instruction from her, and flies out the window. Introductions are cautiously made and Glarion begins asking questions, revealing that she already knows quite a bit about them. She points out the high-born ways of Havayla and curiously asks about Nathan’s origins. She expresses familiarity with the Mountainroot clan and fondness for Wander’s great aunt, Vinyard. She knows what they went through to get to her. “Oh Scarlett? Is that what she’s calling herself?” She states that she loves life and the preservation of it, as she looks around to the stuffed animals around her. And then the discussion turns to Yevin.
Glarion listens to his tale and fills in here and there with details about his mother and her situation. His mother, Aria, fell in love with a human and traded her ability to shift back to her dragon form to protect Yevin from the Draconic council. Glarion “bent” Yevin’s soul towards the half-elven side of his lineage, locking away his draconic self. When Aria was slain by Kane, Glarion took Yevin to Hearthollow and there he was raised by his adoptive parents, never knowing his past. When his accident occurred and he lost all his memory, the draconic side began to leak through, giving him sorcerous powers. Now, having his memories restored, he wants to resolve the tension between his draconic lineage and “put on” elven form. As he laments not knowing who his father was, Glarion reveals that he already has met his father; Buck Willingham, the man who found him after the accident and nursed him back to heath.
After discussion, Glarion states that it will be risky, and there will be a cost, but she can help Yevin. The raven had returned with forest grapes, which she shares, and then makes a potion out of the fruit and herbs. This potion will put Yevin in a deep sleep and allow his soul to awaken in whichever form he choses, but the remaining form must be destroyed. In payment, he must return in one year to serve as her protector.
Bartering and negotiations commence as the team tries to find better trades than the remainder of Yevin’s life. Kane’s tie to Yevin, or rather Victor, his original form, as part of Aria’s bloodline, is brought up. Glarion offers a way to break the tie, but it is even riskier. Ryker postulates that if they kill the Victor side of Yevin, then wouldn’t that be the end of the Aria’s draconic bloodline? Glarion states that the theory is sound, but Yevin is unsure if he wants to remove his draconic lineage.
As these discussions continue, Glarion pushes back to the others and asks why they are here. Surely they each have something she can help with, something they need. Most of the group actively pushes back on her questioning; they’re just here for Yevin. Havayla is actively distrustful, but Wander, intrigued by Glarion’s connection with her beloved aunt and elder, listens intently. Her points made, Glarion leaves the group to contemplate as she goes out to feed her cow (named Bison). Wander follows her out the door, unaware that they are both trailed by and invisible Nathan.
In the cottage, the group continues to discuss Yevin’s options. In the end, it doesn’t feel like Yevin is getting the good end of this deal, but he declares that he’d like to sleep on it. Nathan returns through one window as the raven comes in through another. He engages in a squawking discussion, relaying to the group that the raven was following him. Suddenly all the stuffed animals join in on the conversation. Unable to understand, the group watches as Nathan looks from animal to animal and simply leaves the room. Everyone else gathers and establishes that they’ll stay near the cottage for the night. Wander takes a moment out in the forest to herself, and lets Nathan know about an interesting black wolf she saw when she return to the group.
The Derailers begin their evening preparations, contemplating what they’ve learned. Yevin steps out to speak with Glarion once more as a distant wolf howl echos through the valley. And that is where we left off.
What will Yevin decide? And what else does Glarion know? Is she to be trusted? We’ll find out next time…