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Runtime	Break start
3h 24m	1h 54m

Episode 35: Lead the Way

Last we left our heroes, they were resciing all they could from Hawthorn’s Glade, beset by soldiers of the House of Halovar and the Candescent Creed and a group of horrifying faerie poachers (those who make their livelihood hunting the fair folk now separated from Faerie these long eight years (the source of their magic) and aging slowly in the world of Aramán).
You are accompanied by Ulbid Morn and the fairies that you have just saved.
On your quest to venture north, many pieces of business compel you to go further north:

• of the eventual rendezvous you have with Mara the Wing and her Professor in the Golden Orchard (along with returning Alba’s soul gem to your sister) and reunining with Aranessa Royce, perhaps.
• also your business takes you north to perhaps rendezvous with King Gus and to, if you can, use the couple of days that you have bought to rescue Ulbid Morn’s daughters from the caravan of Tachonis headed north to Houndsport and whatever their plans are with the Sea Door.

You were able successfully earlier today (setting out wth Ulbid Morn) to find a massive shelf of rock that Thimble was able to heave over the mountainside with her enormous strength and send careening down to cause a quite massive landslide that will block the King’s Highway for several days.
However, there by the Caller’s Perch, you also discovered several wagons of those hunting for fair folk because of the collapse of the undead that walk Dahapshanee. You see the ramifications of those actions (having destroyed the Wraith Tree).
Rushing along the Miller’s Road, you were able to save the dryad Hawthorn, but not before her tree had been burnt and destroyed. Separated as you are from the Miller’s Road, you swim out into the lake. You are accompanied by various fair folk around you. There’s a spit of rock that several gather on. There are several dozen fairies that call Hawthorn’s Glade home (but only a few of them are size small or larger). Most of them are quite small. Sprites and pixies and things of that nature.
Surrounding you coming up out of the water as the fire burns behind you, all of the members of the Creed, all of the horrifying fairy and undead hunters (these snarling monster hunters), you see only one remains alive captured under Bolaire’s mask. Stepping up from the water, you see a massive myconid. This is Rainbloom, who steps up out of the water holding Soobri’s body (the old satyr woman with the bandana where her horns had been cut off her head in an earlier encounter with poachers). You see that Rainbloom steps up saying,
“I could not. I could not save. I could not save her.”
You look and see that Skinner is standing right behind Honeysuckle. Honeysuckls is kneeling over Bix, Mak, and Flit (the three sprites) as she weeps, and for the first time, you see SKinner put a hand on Honeysuckle’s shoulder and take his little red cap off and put it against his chest, and you see Shuffa (the massive plant creature) holding Rustblossom (this tiny little tuft of grass spirit) and there on top of the spit of rock (as you guys swim out, the fire raging) you see Sallow (this slime-covered, a body at once both pallid and corpse-like, but also green and algae-like; long algae-filled hair coming down her head) holds Hawthorn’s body, still living but unconscious. And you can see that Hawthorn is already aging, diminishing quite rapidly. She’s going from an adult state (and in the way that bark naturally peels off of a tree over time), you watch as slowly (but still visible to your eyes) as sheaves of bark are beginning to come off of her skin as she is diminishing in size (almost as though she is peeling away outer layers of bark as she grows smaller and smaller).
Sallow looks down, takes a long claw, and gently caresses Hawthorn’s face, moving some flowering hair. As she moves it tenderly, she suddenly stops as she sees just the light pressure of brushing her hair aside. It starts to fall out in a clump.

“You saved her life.”

Map of Dol-Makjar