Deep down the city (Entry 98)

by Hayley Thomas

Dear Diary,

As the tree went up in flames and their mistress fled down the streets, the rest of the fey household fled Magnolia’s mansion, leaving us alone in the courtyard. We took the opportunity to rummage through the mansion in search for incriminating evidence and useful information. The books in the library turned out to be half romantic novels, and half books about botany in elven and sylvan. There was a book specifically about this type of tree, which I quickly stuffed in my pack.

There was not much more of use to be found, at least not in what little time we had. Before long the now charred tree cracked in two, and out of the crack stepped Lady Delaroost and a knight in green moss-covered armor. Green light emanated from the slit in his helmet. Sofie looked at the destroyed tree in disappointment for a moment before calling out to Alistan and Liliana to show themselves. The twins stepped forward to confront their mother.

As expected Sofia was disappointed at the destruction of the tree, saying it had cost a fortune, and that it would not be recreated, seeing as Lady Magnolia had fled the city, and would not be returning. I was glad to hear those words, it meant that our victory here would not be temporary. I left the talking to Alistan and Liliana, knowing that their mother’s condescending tone would only anger me. I’ve learned long ago there is no reasoning with the woman, so why bother? Instead I just listened.

Sofia explained that she had no other choice but to refuse us entry into Hillfield, knowing full well we would be accepted in Tarn. So noble of her, choosing personal power over her own family. The conversation then turned to the armored man next to her, who turned out to be her husband, Alistan and Liliana’s father. He had made a deal with the fey in order to gain the power to buy protection for Hillfield. And as such had turned into the Green Knight. I guess we have now met all of the contestants of the Tournament.

With this power and the deal they had struck with king Ulther, they would be able to become an independent kingdom on this side of the Lorewood. Once king Ulther had enacted his plan for Keralon that is. And as soon as Hillfield became independent, all the deals they had struck would end. I could do nothing else but sigh. They have no care for Keralon or its people, only for their own power and privilege. Blaming us for breaking our bonds to Keralon and its king helps her sleep at night I guess, knowing she has turned her back on her own children.

On the positive side, they have no interest in fighting us, seeing as they already have their hands full with the gnolls in the northeast. If, however, we decide to fight Keralon, they will have no choice but to fight us. That of course leaves us in a precarious situation, but we’ll find a way to deal with it. We said our goodbyes, promising we’d leave the city as fast as possible and not cause more destruction. We quickly headed back to the temple. Father Eton was happy to see us return safely and I could see approval in his eyes when we told him what had happened. I think he would love to stand at our side, but I know he can’t. Not from lack of trying from Alistan and Liliana however.
We didn’t waste much time and headed back down into the bowels of the temple to where the Kirin was waiting with Ileas’ unholy lyre. As the ritual to cleanse it was prepared, we talked to the Kirin, who informed us that the evil in the mines below is connected to the plane of Gehenna, the evil plane connected to the seven deadly sins. Which immediately explained the feeling of hunger we had struggled with. So while the Kirin performed the ritual together with Ileas, and the rest settled down to rest, I pushed my body into the ethereal plane and went looking for the gate. It took a while, descending down the chasm and searching the tunnels, but finally I found it. It would not be easy to reach it however, being buried deep in the rock. And I needed Luke there, needed his magic to glean more information about it, or close it. Sadly my magic won’t allow me to bring him there, so we would have to do it the hard way.

When I told the others about what I had discovered, they of course wanted to do something about it. So as soon as the ritual was finished and Ileas’ lyre had been cleansed, we descended into the crevice. For most of us it was not a problem, only Ileas struggled a bit.
Eventually we reached the right depth and there Alistan and Liliana used their strength to beat a path through the rock, aided by my brother’s magic. Even so it took the better part of a day before we reached the rift between the planes itself. I made myself as comfortable as possible on my broom and took the time to rest.

When we finally broke through, I asked Fiachna to act as a conduit for my magic in order to identify the rift and learn more about it. My loyal companion agreed and delivered the spell. She felt as if the magic wanted to suck her into the evil plane, but managed to resist. It was worth it however, as we learned two useful pieces of information. First and foremost that it had been put there by someone using very powerful magic, but also a very long time ago. And more importantly, it could be dispelled. Here my brother Luke stepped in, quickly weaving the magic that made the rift dissipate. As soon as it vanished, I felt like a weight had fallen off my shoulders. The evil that had held the mines in its grip had vanished.

That should have been it for our adventure into Hillfield and the mines, but we wouldn’t be us if we hadn’t decided to descend further into the crevice instead of heading home. After a bit more climbing, or in my case flying down, we reached the bottom. There, wedged and fused with the rock surrounding it, we found a house made of marble. It looked like it had fallen into the crevice a very long time ago. When we opened it, it became instantly clear that this was a tomb, inside an empty room save for the sarcophagus in the center.

Luke of course wanted to know what was inside, seeing as the sarcophagus is covered in magic. I reached out with my mind, feeling the presence of someone sleeping inside. So maybe not so much a tomb as it is a prison? I sat down and drew upon another ritual known to me, contacting the outer planes in search of answers. Learning that the one locked in the prison is named Esigius, a fiend trapped there by the lich Morrhim a very long time ago. Seeing as it is a fiend, we all agreed to leave it be.

And it would have been so easy if not for the blasted creature waking up and reaching out with its mind to us. It begged us to release it, having been locked in there for over a thousand years. I argued against releasing it. Even though this is a cruel punishment, it is still a fiend. Liliana, bless her naïve heart, argued fiercely for releasing him, and was joined by Gael. In the end we offered him a deal. Do one good, altruïstic deal every day for a thousand years, and we would release him. Desperate to be released from his prison, he eagerly agreed, so Alistan smashed the sarcophagus. Esigius appeared before us, a tall and gaunt creature, grey of skin with huge dark eyes. He smiled down at us, happy to be finally free. And seeing as we would want to control his side of the deal, he agreed to come with us for a while.

With that being done, we headed back up to inform the Kirin that the right to Gehenna had been dealt with. He seemed to be pleased about this, and went to inform Father Eton. Then Esigius teleported us back to Tarn.

Continue reading...

Entry one: The trials

Entry two: The bramble

Entry 3: Rosebloom

Entry 4: Hearts and Dreams

Entry 5: of ghosts and wolves

Entry 6: Hillfield and Deals with Fae

Entry 7: mysteries and pastries

Entry 8: The scarecrow ruse
6th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

Entry 9: A betrayal of satyrs
7th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 10: The fate of twins
8th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 11: Cursed twins
10th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 12: Loss and despair
11th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Hayley's rules to being a Witch

Entry 13: the price of safety
12th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 14: A golden cage and fiery tower
13th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 15: A trial by fire
14th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 16: Keralon
15th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Letter to Luke 1

Letter to Luke 2

Letter to Luke 3

Letter to Luke 4

Letter to Luke 5

Letter to Luke 6

Entry 17: I shall wear midnight
1st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 18: peace in our time
2nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 19: Caern Fussil falls
3rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 20: I see fire
4th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 21: Cultists twarted
10th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 22: Ravensfield
14th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 23: The Hollow Hill Horror
15th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 24: Burn your village
16th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 25: Ravensfield burns
17th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 26: There will be blood!
21st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 27: A happy reunion
22nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 28: The embassy ball
23rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 29: The fate of Robert Talespinner
24th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 30: A royal summons
28th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 31: of Dogville and Geese
29th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 32: A boggle named Pim
30th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 33: A deal broken
1st of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 34: The cost of doing what is right
2nd of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 35: A dish best served cold
9th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

entry 36: Cornu returns?
10th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 37: A letter from Amarra
11th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 38: The case of the (not) missing villagers
14th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 39: A curse broken
15th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 40: Into the Lorewood
18th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 41: Cabin in the Woods
19th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 42: Myrdin and Anaya
20th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 43: Into the Immerglade
21st of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 44: A tale as old as time
22nd of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 45: The truth
23rd of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 46: Luke's Ordeal
24th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 47: The festival
26th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 48: Trouble at the Cathedral
2nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 49: Quinn's court
4th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 50: onwards to Latebra Velora
5th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 51: Where is my cow?
6th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 52: Here be dragons
7th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 53: Dragon hoard with a side of scarabs
8th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 54: Leave the basilisks alone
9th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 55: Return to Ravensfield
10th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 56: The needs of the many...
11th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 57: Dreams of Sister Willow
12th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 58: wetlands be wet
13th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 59: Baron Perenolde
14th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 60: Talebra Velora and the lady Morenthene
15th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 61: Cypria
16th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 62: Dragon takes Knight
17th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 63: Return to Talebra Velora
18th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 64: Your presence is “requested”
19th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 65: I stand alone
20th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 66: A day of normalcy
21th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 67: Into the Neverhold
22nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 68: The Warg King

Entry 69: Chased by birds

Entry 70: Whitewail

Entry 71: Nimmerhold

Entry 72: The menagerie
29th of Gobu, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 73: To the library!
30th of Gobu, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 74: The people's tournament
First of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 75: Nimmerhold party
First of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 76, The return home
Second of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 77: A week of peace
10th of Mannan

Entry 78: The tomb of the First King
11th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 79: I had a dream
12th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 80: The ritual for Sister Willow
14th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 81: Trouble at the Briar Ring
15th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 82: My day as a crocodile
21st of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

The return of the twins (Entry 83)
22nd of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Earth and Sky (Entry 84)
26th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Wolf's Rest betrayed (entry 85)
30th of Mannon

The end of a chapter (entry 86)
first of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

On the road (Entry 87)
second of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

The Red Knight (Entry 88)
7th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Dear uncle… (Entry 89)
8th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Cut the bridge (Entry 90)
10th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Home (Entry 91)
13th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

A tale of two shadows (Entry 92)
16th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Eileen Inkheart and the cursed village (Entry 93)
17th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Nidhog at the end of the world (Entry 94)
18th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Into Hillfield (Entry 95)
24th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Did it have to be spiders? (Entry 96)
12th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

The burning tree (Entry 97)
13th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Deep down the city (Entry 98)
14th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Heavy is the crown (Entry 99)
21st of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Genie in a bottle (Entry 100)
24th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Bad blood (Entry 101)
27th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Think about it (Entry 102)
2nd of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Arca Valon (Entry 103)
6th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Myrddin's grand plan (Entry 104)
10th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Nearly lost you (Entry 105)
11th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Who let the dogs out? (Entry 106)
18th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Land of confusion (Entry 107)
19th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Running up that hill (Entry 108)
20th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

I know what I am (Entry 109)
24th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Welcome to paradise (Entry 110)
1st of solstice, 129 Era of the Tree

Come out and play (Entry 111)
1sh of Solstice, 129 Era of the Tree

This is war (Entry 112)
2nd of Solstice, 129 Era of the Tree

Good things go (Entry 113)
3rd of Solstice, 127 Era of the Tree

Deep down the city (Entry 98)

Continue reading...

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