After reheating the bath water, Maka crossed the room and gently scooped Winter into her arms, cradling the fox against her chest.
“Hey, Winter,” she murmured, scratching behind the ears. “Why don’t we get you some food and attention, hmm?”
A soft pop accompanies the appearance of a familiar tall, blue-skinned, many-eyed being.
"Ah, my friends!" Zilvazaraat exclaims expansively. "I came as quickly as I could when I got your requests. That scroll was difficult to acquire in a short time, but I know how important it must be to you!"
Anastasia, just (finally) waking up, starts and stares at the person who suddenly appeared in the middle of the room.
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Fin smiles and bows. ”Zilvazaraat! It’s good to see you, prompt, as usual. I’ll get your payment, have a seat. And you might wanna have a taste of this local spirit they call ‘vawdka’; bottle’s on the table…”
The Elf gathers the trade items/gold and brings them to the space merchant to make the exchange. ”Always good to deal with you, my friend; thanks for expediting this. Stick around and rest a bit; you can play cards with Bones and I and try some more of that fermented potato juice…”
Maka knelt beside Anastasia and rested a warm, steady hand on her back.
“Hey. It’s okay.” Her voice was low and even. “He’s a friend. Weird, but safe.”
She offered Anastasia a hand, helping her get up. “Go get some breakfast. We're just buying and selling gear."
Satisfied that the girl was safe and steadier, Maka turned toward Zilvazaraat and gave him a respectful nod.
“Welcome back, Zilvazaraat.” She folded her hands in front of her. “Thanks for coming so quickly."
Anastasia tries to look a bit more like a Grand Duchess than a scared young woman as she hurriedly moves to obey Maka's suggestion.
A couple of Zilvazaraat's eyes flick briefly to Anastasia as he replies, "Yes, yes, when I saw the request I knew I had to come as swiftly as I could. In the midst of such dangerous circumstances it's more than a tragedy to loose a friend, it's a risk to my customer base!"
He laughs at his own joke and conjures up his chest, accepting Fin's payment and then opening the chest to stow it and bring out your purchases. "I am afraid I cannot linger long, I had to slide your request in between a couple very important meetings with some of my other clients, but I do appreciate the offer."
Winter hopped in circles around the merchant, obviously glad he had arrived. She waited not very calmly as Fin took the goods.
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As Quasit trades her Gloombade for her new Sword of Subtlety, she takes a moment to assess its balance and its feel in her hand, and also admires its workmanship. She flips it once in her hand, then stabs an imaginary target in the air before her, followed by a notional slice across an unseen throat. Satisfied, she sheathes the new weapon and affixes it to her belt, assigning it to her main hand. She stows her new healing potions in her pack and refills her hip flask with some of the vawdka, as long as Findurel is offering the bottle around.
"So, who wants to try and resurrect Selena?" she says, looking around at Kalchine and Sakitu specifically. "I can try it, but I'm a rank amateur. And this is a pretty expensive one-shot thing."
Maka stepped forward to collect her purchase; a pair of deep, opalescent crystals. She turned them in her hands, the facets catching the light like captured starlight. With Zilvazaraat’s patient guidance, she attached each to the back of her armored bracers. The faint hum of magic pulsed through the metal, resonating against the fire already coiled inside her.
“They’ll let you shift your flame temporarily.” Zilvazaraat explained. “Cold, lightning, acid; whatever suits the foe. It will weaken you while you use it, of course. Energy doesn’t change its nature without a price.”
Maka nodded, flexing her wrists and feeling the crystals settle into place, a glint of satisfaction in her eyes.
Kalchine is only marginally less off put by Zilvazaraat than Anastasia. Yet, he knew the man was an ally and had seen him once before.
His share of the loot is the headband that they took from a fallen foe so he doesn't have anything coming from this provider of provisions and watches the others get their goodies with empathetic glee.
He watches Quasit test her new blade, admiring the dexterous deadliness displayed. Though, his gaze lingers on her hip a little longer than necessary once he follows the blade to it.
"What? Oh, it's not magic that is known to me," he says, quickly meeting her eyes. "I fear it would make even less sense to me than it would to you. This is beyond the purview of the natural order."
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Tezuzu arrives fashionably late for his breakfast, as usual, and stares disapprovingly when he notices that someone has broken into the jar of preserves he'd been saving. Was nothing sacred? With an indulgent sigh, he scoops some spicy potatoes onto his plate, pointedly avoiding the oatmeal. He helps himself to a cup of tea.
Feeling the need to talk, he makes his way over to the new girl child, Anastasia, and practices his Russian, asking her various mundane questions about her home, her garden, her studies and giving responses about how a sturdy young tengu scholar would be raised. She still seemed nervous around him, as if he were some enormous pink elephant demon, instead of an old fellow just trying to be friendly. Even for a human, she seemed remarkably unwelcoming of diverse races. No doubt that was partly her aristocratic mindset. These people all spent far too much time and energy rationalizing their superiority.
It was at this moment that Zilvazaraat popped into the room, and Tezuzu nearly fumbled his teacup as he flinched in surprise. He didn't really care for the merchant -- too smooth, too eager to please, like all salesmen. He felt the urge to refuse everything offered to him by such people, strictly on principle. But as the little chest was unpacked, Quasit presented him with the simple bronze scrollcase containing Selena's resurrection spell.
Wordlessly he accepted it, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but in truth he was quite curious to see it. He laid it out on a table and began pouring over its calligraphy and iconography, making mental notes about the materials that likely made up the ink and the probable provenance of its creation. The rampant lions against a sunburst background in the corners marked it out for a Sarenrite scroll, but manufactured within Taldor, or ... no, it was Qadiran, but quite old. Yes, those were desert lions. Charming. He pulled out a notebook and began copying the details. He catalogued as quickly as he could, knowing that the others were anxious to have Selena returned to them. He implied that he was researching the ritual itself, though it seemed straightforward enough.
But soon he was ready. He didn't exactly exclude the others, but implied very strongly that he preferred them not to be present in the room, as he'd need to concentrate. Frankly this was true --Maka would be certain to chatter while he worked, and Kachine would likely bring his enormous monkey who would be certain to touch things. Picking an unused room of the Hut, he tidied it up and set about preparing the ritual space with etchings on the floor filled in with pigments, incenses to clear the air and pillows for himself and the fox. Winter was key--she would be the conduit through which the soul would be called back. The little creature seemed to understand what was expected of it, and sat patiently in its spot, watching Tezuzu in expectation, as if awaiting a scrap from the table.
His preparations complete, Tezuzu set about the initial incantations, invoking the indulgence of Pharasma, and naming the soul he sought, drawing on a temporary mental connection with the familiar to properly visualize the lost little witch. Rocking as he sat, and moving his hands in broad waving motions, like one polishing a tabletop with both hands, Tezuzu settled into the redundant portion of the chant, repeated 12 times, interspersed each time with a new phrase of the spell. The magic breathed out of the scroll like a smoke, mingling with the incensed air, and glittering like the diamond dust it was originally made of. The sparkling dust collected wisps of energy from the air, little crackles and wisps of color, settling in little whirlwinds over the central area of the ritual, until after a few minutes a small mound of ashes had collected into a roughly humanoid shape. And like a gingerbread cookie baking, the ashes seemed to harden and solidify into a form that looked more and more like Selena as she had been, but still waxy and unreal, like a mannequin or a poppet of her.
Winter stared soundlessly at the forming body, as if helping to will it into existence, her canine lips pulled back to reveal her sharp little teeth in an eerie little vulpine smile.
And now was the moment of truth. Tezuzu began the final repetitive chant, calling for the spirit of Selena to enter this construct or magic and diamond and ash and give it reality. If her spirit chose not to leave the Boneyard, the construct would quickly melt away now, like snow in an oven. But if it came, the waxy substance would rapidly transmute into actual flesh and bone as the spirit slipped into the material, infusing it all with life. In the center of the body, the interplanar connection had formed, a conduit to the dimension of the dead. Tezuzu could hear the winds of eternity and feel some of his pinfeathers pulled toward the void. And he could feel the cold stare of Pharasma upon him, judging him and his claim, weighing his worthiness to beg her boons, holding the spirit of Selena like a protective mother. But it was up to Selena now, to come if she wished, before the conduit closed.
Tezuzu holds out both his taloned hands toward her, toward the body, a gesture of beckoning welcome, and expectantly waits...
The yet lifeless form seemed to almost twitch as waves rippled across the form leaving fully realized skin and hair in their wake, and suddenly there was a gasp that transformed into a deep intake of breath like a diver reaching the surface after too long under the waves. And as quick as it happened, it stopped as the body relaxed and Selena’s eyes opened.
This may have been her first true resurrection, but she had been dead before, multiple times in fact, so it seemed all old hat to her and she rose almost like nothing happened, and began to stretch out her limbs, testing them all and looking for flaws.
While she did so, she acknowledged Tez, ”Thank you. I appreciate you performing the ritual. Winter’s formed is better suited to magical items than spell completion rituals. It is good to be back. Now I just need to become human again.”
Looking around she asked Tez about something he seemed to have forgotten, ”So, did you bring clothes or am I giving Bulvi a problem he needs Maka to alleviate?”
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”Thank you. I appreciate you performing the ritual. Winter’s formed is better suited to magical items than spell completion rituals. It is good to be back. Now I just need to become human again.”
"Well, don't look at me for that." says Tezuzu, with obvious mild distaste for the human condition.
”So, did you bring clothes or am I giving Bulvi a problem he needs Maka to alleviate?”
"Oh." says Tezuzu. He stands and pulls off his housecoat wrap, leaving him in his loincloth and hat. He hands this over to Selena. "Sorry. It's my first time resurrecting someone ex nihilo. One is bound to stumble over the odd detail. Return it when you get a chance."
His curiosity gets the better of him. "Tell me, how do you feel? Are you hungry? Were you actually suspended inside the fox, or do you have memories of the afterlife?"
Selena dons the wrap. ”I feel fine. Not very hungry, though I could do with some tea.” She says calmly as she picks up Winter, who wraps her tail around Selena, and heads for the door to go find where her stuff is and say hello to everyone else.
A moment later Selena enters the room everyone else is in with a big smile on her face, ”Do. what did I miss?”
Maka crossed the space in a few quick strides, tears spilling freely and hot against her cheeks. She didn’t bother to wipe them away before throwing her arms around Selena in a fierce, unreserved hug. With a laugh that cracked halfway into a sob, she lifted the halfling clean off the floor and spun her around several times, Winter’s tail streaming out like a little banner.
Selena endured the monk’s excessive display of emotion as she spun in circles, though doing nothing to reject the embrace, and she smiled as spoke lightheartedly ”One might get the idea you thought I wasn’t coming back or something.”
Winter yapped in protest, not at all enjoying the impromptu theme park ride.
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A moment later Selena enters the room everyone else is in with a big smile on her face, ”So, what did I miss?”
Fin shrugs, saying simply, ”We killed Rasputin….and found Baba Yaga…sort of…”
The Elf gives a somber smile. “Welcome back, Selena. While it’s good to have you back, I would advise the next time we encounter such a powerful being as Rasputin, that you not close with them with nothing but a gun; we don’t currently have another gold reserve for a second scroll such as the one that brought you back…”
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”One might get the idea you thought I wasn’t coming back or something.”
Quasit hung back by the wall, watching with arms crossed. She's wearing a polite public smile, but her eyes narrow a little at this cheeky statement from the reborn witch. Then she looks away and grinds her teeth a little.
“...we don’t currently have another gold reserve for a second scroll such as the one that brought you back…”
Quasit snorts sardonically then makes her way to the table where she re-acquires the raspberry preserves and helps herself to another large spoonful. Pulling the spoon clean from her mouth, she catches Selena's eye and favors her with a terribly sweet little smile, silently adding her acclamation to the welcome back, then returns her attention to the preserves.
Tezuzu, entering in only his loincloth and hat, notes what Quasit is doing and subconsciously ruffles out his feathers to full density, making him appear nearly spherical with indignation.
“...we don’t currently have another gold reserve for a second scroll such as the one that brought you back…”
”Well, short of a very high level spell like what he used, I should be able to handle any deaths without such scrolls.”
Whispering to Fin as she looks at Quasit, ”Given her deathglare, I look forward to reviving her if she needs it. Bet she doesn’t think I would bother.”
Kalchine nods to Selena as she makes her presence known after the grandest return possible for a living being.
"Thank you for agreeing to return. Your skill, power and knowledge are great boons to our cause," he says, appreciatively.
He gives Quasit a slight nudge with his elbow before putting that arm around her waist and giving her a sleight squeeze.
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Tez marched out of the kitchen with his normal imperious air and walked down the hall leaving the living room. Sakitu guessed he was going to a private room to do the ritual to bring Selena back. It seemed fitting to Sakitu that he would be the one bringing Selena back from where ever it was that her spirit floated. Those two really were cut of the same cloth. She bet that neither of them would be pleased to hear that though.
While waiting she watched Fin fiddling with his new gear. He had another stone floating around his head. Those things seemed strange to her but they never got in her way when she kissed him so it was fine. And, whenever he laid down he always put the stones away. He had told her that they gave him some extra magical properties. Maybe she should think of getting a couple of them floating around her head.
She tried to imagine what that would be like. Maybe then, when she leaned in for a kiss, her orbiting stones would bump into his. Or, since he was so taller than her, maybe one of her stones would circle around and hit him in the eye. He would half to bat them off like shooing away flies. She raised a hand to her mouth to hide a giggle.
At that moment Selena, the new Selena, came walking into the living room. Tez followed behind her. Yep. They both walked with their noses in the air. The same cloth. In fact, Selena was wearing Tez's cloak.
Everyone's reaction was predictable. When Selena finally made eye contact with Sakitu she gave a brief smile and waved.
"Welcome back." She didn't add 'we missed you' because she wasn't sure if she did miss Selena. But she didn't want to be mean. She expanded her smile and added "I hope your time in limbo wasn't unpleasant."
Maka was still grinning, brushing the heel of her hand across her damp cheeks. “Feels good having everyone together again.” she said warmly, entirely oblivious to the subtle sharpness in Selena's voice or the too sweet smile Quasit shot back.
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Once Zilvazaraat had completed his business and bamfed away, Quasit actually managed to get in her bath, lounging in the heated water longer than she expected, reclining against Kalchine, and nuzzling her cheek against his chest periodically. She spoke little, and it felt good being able to just relax and not have to be 'on' for whoever she was with. She dunked her head a few times and rubbed her soap into her scalp until she actually felt clean.
Later, dried off and her hair actually brushed smooth, dressed again in her magical winter clothing but without the armor (her swords stowed in her pack), she was ready to make the hike out to the village to check on the soldiers. The day was gray and cold and windy, but she was in too good a mood to mind, and she walked alongside Kalchine chattering away about whatever popped into her head. A walk of a few miles was no great chore for her anymore, after all the physical exertions of the previous months, and an irrational giddiness had banished the paranoia she felt yesterday about Elvanna ambushing them on this strange world. Once in the village, she greeted the peasants with pleasantries in their own tongue as she passed them, and made her way to the little church where the soldiers were quartered. Once there she found the cleric in charge and pushed a large handful of the odd paper money into his hands. She couldn't imagine why these people put any value into something so intrinsically worthless, but the cleric seemed eager enough to accept the largesse and shoved it into a fold of his cloak with unseemly haste. She accompanied Kalchine as he made his rounds checking on the men, acting as translator when needed to speak to the ones who were not asleep or passed out. As she was getting ready to leave, one of the cleric's assistants (she supposed) offered them three onions to take with them. The gesture touched her--these people had so little, and yet were so generous with what they had. She saw more crosses and more paintings of their mother goddess -- maybe there was a connection to their sense of kindness and charity.
By the time they got back to the Hut, the afternoon was half over, and the sun was just over the horizon on this short winter day. The pine forest was quiet and fragrant, the only sound being the rustling of branches overhead in the lazy blowing breezes and the crunching footsteps of herself and Kalchine through the shallow snow. Impulsively, she embraces the Triaxian, exulting in how relieved she was to have a day that didn't involve running from danger into terror.
*****
After the evening meal, Quasit addresses her companions.
"Well, if everyone is feeling up to it, I think we need to see why Babs wants us to take her to the attic. Shall we?"
It takes some doing, but Kalchine convinces Chest Thumper to stay behind. Soon enough, he is smiling and chatting with Quasit, though and all the frustration and guilt involved in leaving his brother melts away.
He is particularly happy as she seems happier than he's seen her in a long time and his own giddiness rises to match hers as he laughs and jokes.
When they come in sight of the village, he grows notably more somber. This is serious business, after all. He also transforms himself. Given Anastasia's reaction to him, he suspects it would only cause problems if he walked into the village in his normal form.
So, it is a human man with prematurely white, shaggy hair and beard who enters the village with Quasit rather than a humanoid covered in fur and with exceptionally large ears.
There was a bit of excitement when he used his magic to summon water but Quasit had already made her donation so it was decided that he had performed some sort of miracle rather than called upon demonic forces.
Kalchine was careful to hide any magic he needed doing after that, though.
He was surprised when Quasit spontaneously embraced him, but returned the hold. He hadn't changed back so they looked like just human couple out on a stroll. He didn't know it, but, given the turmoil surrounding them on this world that moment of peace and calm was almost as rare as if he would have been in his normal form.
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"I think it's needed before we can move on with our quest," he replied out loud. "And we won't have peace until that quest is done," he thinks.
Zilvazaraat vanishes again not long after delivering your purchases and taking payment, again apologizing for how he can't linger because of the rushed nature of the delivery.
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Sakitu glances up at the ceiling as if she's able to see through it to the attic. It seems too much to hope that whatever there is up there will be simple and safe. But that doesn't bother her. Even just a couple months ago, the thought of facing the unknown sparked bursts of anxiety in her chest but now it was different. Sure, she acknowledged the risk and potential danger, but she had confidence in her friends and even in her self. They had faced so much already and come out ok, mostly. Maybe it was naive but she believed they could do it again.
She gave a quick nod of her head. "Right. We should go up there and see what she wants."
“Let’s get it done.” Her tone was simple but sure. She gave Fin a nod and moved to follow him toward the ladder, her steps light but purposeful.
Fin opens the attic door... and it's immediately obvious it no longer opens into the attic. The sound of falling water immediately meets his ears, loud enough he should have heard it even before opening the trap door. As he pokes his head through, Fin sees that the trap door now exits on top of a boulder in a misty grotto. Sunlight shines through the spray of a nearby waterfall, sparkling and casting multicolored lights across the area. The dark shape of a huge tree looms in the mist near where the waterfall is, by the sound of it, though the chill fog from the water makes it impossible even for his elven eyes to make out the details of it from here.
Quasit can feel a distinct sense of "Finally" radiating from the doll in her pack.
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Fin arches his eyebrows at the new landscape of the Hut; he climbs up stands atop the boulder, draws his bow and waves Maka up, saying aloud, ”Q, I don’t think we’re in Russia anymore…”
As the fog limits his sight, he just looks over the immediate area for my signs of danger as his friends enter this strange new ‘room’…
As everyone else gets ready, Selena goes and finds wherever her stuff had been stashed upon the group’s return, and digs out her clothes and gear and gets herself dressed and checks everything until the group starts for the attic.
Once in the attic, ”I take it we are up here for a reason. Anyone want to fill me in?” Selena asks as she carefully examines several things to try and determine A) if any of it is illusory, and B) if this space is closed off or if it opens up into a whole world should someone push through the brush.
Fin thinks he might see a bit of motion by the tree.
Selena suspects this is yet another demiplane contained 'within' the Hut, though it feels... slightly different, somehow.
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Fin shrugs at Selena’s query, giving a short two word response. ”Baba Yaga…”
Upon noticing movement by the tree, Fin’s cat-like reflexes kick in. He turns quickly to Maka, whispering, ”Movement by the tree…watch my back, please, Mistress of Fire…”
Fin warily moves over towards the tree to check out what’s moving, senses on high alert for any signs of danger and tracks…
Fin creeps through the mist, the tree growing clearer as he nears it. Soon enough he realizes what's different--the shape of the tree has changed! As he peers through the mists, his sharp eyes pick out what looks to be the head and shoulders of a humanoid figure sticking out of the tree... looking right back at him.
"You have come far, wanderers," the figure says as Fin meets her gaze--the voice sounds feminine, a powerful contralto. "The threads of fate have finally led you here, to Grandmother's Cauldron, the root of Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut. Come closer, for we have much to discuss, and it would be wearisome to shout above the noise of the falls."
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”I take it we are up here for a reason. Anyone want to fill me in?”
Quasit reaches into a pocket and pulls out an egg-shaped wooden doll. "Behold, Baba Yaga's prison. At least that's what we think. After we got past Rasputin, we found this thing hooked up to the Infernal Machine. Whoever is holding onto it is in empathic contact with something inside, and that something has been clamoring for us to take it into the attic of the Hut. We had to wait a day or two to... well, to resurrect you and otherwise recuperate a bit. And I can tell you, 'Grandmother' has been less than patient about it. We think something up here should break her free."
Stowing the doll away, Quasit climbs the ladder in her turn and looks about at the curious glade. "Well. THIS wasn't here before." she observes. "Nice place for a picnic." she adds impassively. Fixing on the dark tree in the mist, Quasit is about to point it out to Findurel, but the elf is already moving in that direction, smooth and silent as a shadow. She turns to Kalchine. "So, real trees and waterfall, you think?" she asks the druid.
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Fin creeps through the mist, the tree growing clearer as he nears it. Soon enough he realizes what's different--the shape of the tree has changed! As he peers through the mists, his sharp eyes pick out what looks to be the head and shoulders of a humanoid figure sticking out of the tree... looking right back at him.
"You have come far, wanderers," the figure says as Fin meets her gaze--the voice sounds feminine, a powerful contralto. "The threads of fate have finally led you here, to Grandmother's Cauldron, the root of Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut. Come closer, for we have much to discuss, and it would be wearisome to shout above the noise of the falls."
Fin lowers his bow; since this likely fey creature appears friendly and knows of Baba Yaga’s plight, not to mention Baba Yaga urged us here, he assumes the witch must want them to talk to her. Besides, she reminded him of the dryads back in his former home in Kyonin, and they were friendly, though a tad mischievous at times…even though he’s inclined to trust her to a point, he still tries to get a read on her…
He bows formally to this tree creature. ”Findurêl, Elf of Golarion, at your service, m’Lady…my friends call me Fin. Anything you can tell us of Baba Yaga would be helpful; we think we have the doll she’s trapped in. I’ll call my friends over now, by your leave…”
Staying alert, the Elf turns and waves his friends to come over to the tree…
"Perhaps," Kalchine says, though he looks around at the others quizzically. All this vibrant green and flowing and standing water is strange. How much life and motion is here? It can't possibly be real, can it?
He reaches out through his connection with nature to determine the truth.
He moves closer to the apparent Fae. His knowledge of nature gives him special resistances to the often mischievous actions of such creatures, in case she has a less than straightforward and honest goal in mind.
The feeling Quasit gets from the doll is something like a combination of "Well finally" and impatience.
Kalchine feels like the plants here are real. Nothing here feels like an illusion.
As you draw closer, you can make out more details of the tree and its surroundings. A waterfall tumbles from a cliff above into a roiling pool that bubbles like a giant witch's cauldron. Frigid mist from the falls mingle with hot steam rising from the pool to make the thick fog that fills the grotto. Colorful lichens grow on the rocks around the pool, and lush ferns erupt from the seams of the rocks. Trees of many sizes crowd the pool's edge, while a magnificent rowan tree with an immense trunk overlooks the pool from a low ledge, its lowest branches hanging down to the water.
The woman whose head and shoulders Fin first saw fully emerges from the tree, standing more than twice the height of any of you. Her skin seems like the bark of the rowan she emerged from, and her hair resembles its smallest leafy branches. A huge pair of shears hangs from a sash tied around her waist, and rough fur clothing gives her a semblance of modesty.
"Your long journey is nearly at its end, travelers. Know then that I am Vigliv, ally and mentor to Baba Yaga, for I am norn, and hold the golden thread of her fate in my hands.
“Baba Yaga has been trapped within the doll you hold by one of her own blood, her own power turned against her to do so. But to free Baba Yaga from her prison and gain mastery over her betrayer, you must pay heed to the wisdom of the universe and homage to its fate. Here, in Baba Yaga’s Dancing Hut, lie the very fundamental essences of Baba Yaga’s being. Should her treacherous daughter recover these, she would gain great power over her mother, possibly enough to destroy Baba Yaga once and for all.
“Therefore, you must seek out these elements of Baba Yaga’s nature first. You must first take the fate of Baba Yaga into your hands, then find her power, her death, and her life. Lastly, you will need the blood of Baba Yaga to finally free the Old Crone. Only in this way can you defeat the daughter who betrayed her, and in so doing, save your own world. I can guide your steps in their quest.”
Having approached more closely, Kalchine takes an involuntary step back. Not as Vigliv's full height is revealed but as she explains who and what she is. Before joining this quest, he had never heard of Baba Yaga, but everyone knows of the norn. After all the threats they've faced, he feels that they're before the most dangerous creature they've encountered and he fears displeasing her and garnering her wrath.
"We are highly grateful for your assistance and guidance, milady," Kalchine says, respectfully.
"Are the items we seek here in the Hut or will we be going to another plane?"
Given even his small experience with this magical structure, he feels like there is an equal chance for both option.
When it seems reasonable to break in with a question of her own, ”Is it truly Queen Elvanna that did this? Is there a way for me to be certain, or even better, prove it to others?” Selena’s thoughts racing ahead to the forthcoming coup and solidifying her place in the following power vacuum, whatever that place may be.
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Fin just nods, letting those with the gift of gab do the talking, as he tries to keep alert since the visibility is low…
"Are the items we seek here in the Hut or will we be going to another plane?"
The Elf whispers to Kal, ”I think we’re already on another plane; thru that trap door used to lead to a loft in the Hut and not here. I used to sleep there quite often…”
Vigliv opens her mouth to answer, then turns as something large splashes in the water behind her. "Defend yourselves!" she says, then steps back into the tree.
From the mists emerges a huge and ugly beast, vaguely boar-like though with short antlers and spikes. It grunts and snarls as it wades towards you.