Ashera’s Grove → Stormford
Overview
The party chose to sleep in Ashera’s Grove after defeating the hag and halting the planar convergence. The grove, still overlapped by the Feywild, did not observe linear time. When the party woke, the world had moved on without them.
The Grove and the Lost Time
- The party slept within a Feywild-overlaid grove.
- Their rest became an involuntary, euphoric Fey experience. Fragmented memories of revelry remained, but no clear sequence of events.
- All party members gained one level of exhaustion and showed signs of physical depletion, implying extended exertion.
- Upon leaving the grove, environmental changes were immediately apparent.
- River levels were higher.
- Fish populations had increased.
- A bridge now spanned water they previously crossed on foot.
- The Roc encountered earlier did not appear again.
The implication became clear later. Time had passed elsewhere, even if it had not been experienced in the grove.
Return to Stormford
- The party arrived in Stormford to preparations for the Playwright Festival.
- This festival should not have been imminent based on when they left.
- Locals expressed shock at seeing them alive, revealing the truth.
- The party had been gone for approximately six months.
This was the first confirmation that time in the grove was not aligned with time in the wider world.
Audience with the King
Vesolnir and Cheri reported directly to the King of Stormford.
They disclosed:
- The planar convergence at Ashera’s Grove.
- The presence and defeat of Grandmother Wither.
- The death of the Rangers.
- The destruction and destabilization of the grove.
- The broader implications of Fey interference.
The King’s State
- He expressed a growing sense that his kingdom was slipping beyond his control.
- Planar instabilities were increasing within his borders.
- The Ruk’tai were resisting his authority.
- The Ruk’tai viewed Moltorak as a divine gift, not a territorial claim.
- He wished to avoid war, but would not accept the loss of dominion within his realm.
The Advisors
- Osberric, the Mind, and Lady Merrowyn, the Heart, actively influenced the King during the discussion, often in tension with one another.
- Serafina Quickmantle, the Soul, appeared distracted and disengaged, suggesting her attention was elsewhere.
Continued Service
- The party requested and was granted continued service to the crown.
- Cheri’s ongoing presence with the group was formalized as a practical necessity rather than a ceremonial role.
- Vesolnir expressed intent to visit the Observatory and speak with its director.
The Bastion
- The party returned to establish their Bastion in Stormford.
- Kaelis Dovren, the Royal Archivist, arrived to deliver official land records and permits.
- He oversees court archives, land ownership, and bureaucratic authorization.
- His demeanor was controlled, mildly antagonistic, and deliberately performative.
- After delivering the permits, he departed, leaving the party to settle in.
Closing Pressure
- Before the session ended, Lady Merrowyn signaled privately to Vesolnir that she needed to speak with him.
- Vesolnir correctly inferred the location, the place where she had once saved him from a vampire attack.
- This set the stage for a private conversation involving the Heart of the crown, separate from the King and the other advisors.
Unresolved Threads
- The long-term consequences of time dilation within Fey-influenced spaces.
- The political trajectory of the Ruk’tai and Moltorak.
- Serafina’s undisclosed concerns.
- The meaning of Merrowyn’s private request.
- The Observatory and Vesolnir’s role within its cosmological understanding.