[[1493-04-20|<< 20 Tarsakh 1493]] | [[1493-04-22|22 Tarsakh 1493 >>]] ## 21 Tarsakh 1493 On the bright side, we made it back to Uluvin, and Yesper was waiting for us with all the kids and animals. As for the not-so-bright side: I may have crushed Ireena's spirit today. Also, I think that the fucked up annihilation-threatening entity might be in every mirror on Toril. You win some, you lose some. I fucking guess. After we noticed that the thing from Elysium was reflected in Ewyn (as well as every other reflective surface that we collectively own), we discussed how to best protect the nexus. I was thinking some hostile architecture – a dome, spikes, the like. After I brought up my previous idea of making someone else deal with it, Rictavio said that he can get in touch with Mordenkainen via Volo (eugh). Judging by the fact that he said as much, I don't think Rictavio likes Volo, either – but he told us that he'd rather talk to Volo than go through an official channel. Probably not a bad idea; I'm not sure how the Blackstaff would react to learning that we're responsible for introducing the fucking bogeyman to the planet. I had plenty of time to think about it as we trekked to the volcano; it was a long few hours of walking. At one point along the way, Ezmerelda announced that she was going to have a conversation with Nia. She's been trying to get closer to her, from what I can tell, which I think is very sweet; she even paid her a compliment this morning over breakfast. Being called competent and a friend by Ezmerelda is not to be taken lightly – I would know. Nia seemed receptive; she also seemed receptive to Ezmerelda's conversation, even with how nervous Ezmerelda seemed. As the two were talking, Isabella tugged on my cloak; she wanted to know about Waterdeep. I reassured her that it's safe there (or at least safer than Elysium). I also told her about some of mine and Ezmerelda's friends in the area. I even told her about Ivana's…abilities, with regard to making plant-people, but I made sure not to make any promises. Still, I'm hoping that Ivana can help Isabella out – I think she'd feel a little better about the future and life on the whole if her girlfriend's soul wasn't confined to a potted plant. Anyway, we were halfway up the mountainside when a fuck huge red dragon soared overhead. It left us alone, but I imagine that the sight prompted _someone_ – I'm not sure who – to tell Ireena that I've never actually slayed a dragon. I came clean and explained why the lie became what it did. But it didn't make me feel any better, because it certainly didn't make Ireena feel any better – the disappointment on her face was clear as day. Ewyn – always an expert at reading the room – suggested that we should call ourselves the "godslayers of Elysium" instead of "dragonslayers," as if "dragonslayer" is a word that I have used in reference to myself ever. Another hour saw us close to the crater of the volcano. It was getting to be unbearably hot by then; Amelia, Skoll, and Nia fixed the issue by casting their protective bubbles. Skoll summoned Hati as we reached the summit. Hati gave us instructions on how to hit the lava just right so that we didn't die horrifically, which is a fate that would've been spectacularly stupid, given how much we had surmounted to get to that point. But we were all fine. We jumped in; as we hit the lava, it rippled like water, and we shot out of a lake on the other side. We didn't stay in the Feywild for long. For one, it was the Feywild. For two, Hati had brought us to Evermeet. So when Hati told us that we would need to run as fast as possible into a nearby tree, I listened without hesitation. The bastard failed to warn me that it wouldn't be like our experience with the lava. When I hit the tree, I really did hit the fucking tree. I fell backward, sunk into the ground, and ended up lying in a patch of grass back on Toril. The others appeared soon after. Hati pointed us toward the road due south, and then we were off. It took another hour or so of travel before we made it to the road. It was at that point that Rupert split off from us, toward Waterdeep – Amelia had given him the name of a contact that could get him back to Oerth, and he didn't want to waste any time. He did ask for our address, though; he said that he's going to send a fruit arrangement. So I guess I have that to look forward to? I'm just hoping that we don't find his corpse on the way to Waterdeep. The sun was setting by the time we finally made it to Uluvin. We went straight to the inn, where Yesper was waiting for us outside with a sign: > WELCOME DRAGONSLAYERS > I AM SO GLAD YOU ARE ALIVE It was sweet, even if his sign definitely reminded Ireena that I'm a liar and a coward. Yesper led us to his room – he had been keeping track of the kids there. The first one I saw was Jord, who was eating out of a laundry basket full of apples; he's doubled in size since we saw him last, which is a fact that I'm trying not to be too freaked out by. Ireena scooped up Pidlwick; I would've done the same to Rudolph if he wasn't so tall, but he gave me and Ezmerelda a hug in any case. It was a relief to see him. It was also nice to see Ajax, who was certainly happy to see me – he wasn't so happy to see Mr. Nibblets, unfortunately, but we managed to avoid bloodshed. I'm hoping it just takes some time for them to get used to each other. Yesper looked like he was going to fall asleep on his feet, so I told him to take a nap. He was worried about all the people he's contacted about our absence – Urwin, Sorina, Madryck, Mordenkainen, and two of Ezmerelda's friends, Laurie and Gennifer Weathermay-Foxgrove – so I told him that I would send out some letters and call off the manhunt. He finally seemed to relax, then. After I took care of that, I bit the bullet and asked the innkeep to check a mirror. He could see the thing in it – he called it the "hat man," which I suppose is pretty apt. The innkeep seemed to think it was _my_ fault that the hat man was in his mirror – Rictavio was nearby, but the bastard was too busy fussing over Jord to bail me out, so I kind of just left the innkeep with his (admittedly true) assumptions. I was tired, but the day still had a couple of surprises in store for me. For one, the sentient piano somehow ended up in the inn – she's in Nia, Selise, and Ireena's room now. For two: Skoll has apparently been hanging out with the ghost of Rictavio's son, who decided he wanted to meet me and Nia today. Erasmus – or Razi, as he insisted – initially communicated with us by rearranging cobwebs, but he was eventually able to speak through notes that Nia played on the piano. He's a pretty pleasant guy. He told me that he's been following us since Barovia and that he's a big fan of my work, which is a sentiment I don't entirely understand but appreciate all the same. Razi also told me that I wasn't allowed to tell Ezmerelda about him; apparently, she – like his dad – stopped being able to perceive him a long time ago. (Also, that reminds me: I found out yesterday that Rictavio has ghosts of dozens of his dead friends stuck in his home, and that a lot of him hate him now. Between that and the Erasmus thing, I'm starting to wonder if maybe Rictavio actually _was_ cursed at one point. So that's my bad. But he's clearly not cursed anymore, which is the important thing.) I asked Razi if he wants me to play messenger for him and Ezmerelda; I didn't like the idea of them never being able to talk again. Razi said he'd think about it, which is good, considering I'm not about to keep secrets from Ezmerelda. Speaking of Ezmerelda, she actually agreed to let me drive the wagon back to Waterdeep – all it took was the promise that no one else would know. Regardless, I'm glad she said yes, because I'm not sure how we would've made it back otherwise with her being down an arm. I was also able to talk her into completely dismantling her makeshift alchemist-fire-powered bombs, which wasn't as difficult to do. I get the impression that I could've asked her about the alchemist fire much sooner; it seemed like all she needed was someone to point out the danger of her setup. Anyway, that was my day – pretty good, despite the dragonslaying thing, and despite the hat man thing. I'm half expecting to wake up in Elysium again tomorrow, but that's probably just me being paranoid. We made it out. Everyone's okay, and we're all back together now. We're likely going to be staying in Uluvin for another day – Skoll wants to take care of Hati's divorce business as soon as possible – and then it's finally off to Waterdeep. --- ## Page Tags/Properties **Tags:** #Journal **Category:** [[Journals and Writings.base|Journals and Writings]] **Character:** [[Krue d'Avenir|Krue]] **Campaign:** [[City of Eyes]] **Date ([[Calendar of Harptos|Harptos]]):** 04/21/1493