The Great Druid Hunt (Jaela)

[Nephrite]

Augh, does he need to repeat the whole thing for a third time? There has to be an easier way than this... Oh, wait, doesn't Tepen somehow make a copy of his speeches? Oh well.

"I'm going to leave out everything that happened before, because I don't think it matters. Anyway: I was told that there is a rot -- a poison within me and of a funeral veil that drapes over me to block out life. It's starting to make sense now -- Crystal has fallen ill, Afina mentioned feeling ill herself, and I myself felt ill at one point.

She -- ah, the seer, I mean, said 'the harmony of order speaks of malice, that a song of hatred ripples through it all. A captive world where the poison of one suffering soul flows'. This is why I think that it's Lief that's being used -- poisoning Yggdrasil somehow."

"They couldn't defeat Medicant last time, so they resorted to discord, strife and betrayal." He quotes.

"Save he who is lost or drown in poison. Evil never learns, never changes. It always degenerates. The devils repeat themselves. Do you understand? Save him or drown in poison. End his suffering, give him the rest a hero deserves." Moore says. "I was told then to 'pierce the veil' and go with Her Majesty and anyone she trusted with her life for this mission."

He takes another breath. "We are to go to the place above all to our kind, and apparently someone already suspects we need to go there. We must to the Yggdrasil. Now that Crystal is back, I think she has to be the one who knows."

[Corwin]

"Corny as that sounds, you've got my help," Jaela asserts. "Unless it's some pixie only thing?"

[Nephrite]

"There was no indication to me that it just had to be us." Moore says. "I think it's more of a Lifasan thing than a pixie thing, really, despite what's going on."

[Anastasia]

Balyss looks up from their work, "She's stable and not getting worse."

Hanna then says, "It seems like the progression stopped once she entered Aurora. It's somewhat akin to the spiritual damage Abigor inflicted on yourself and Adrian, but slower and escalating."

"Yes, though Aurora seems to stop the progression, if not reverse the damage." Priest agrees. "I have not heard reports of any fey suffering while in Aurora, though I cannot be certain that will continue indefinitely."

"The thing is that this is absurd. Using one soul to poison all of our fey? It must be an adaptation or a leftover from the last time, like Moore suggested. Selune help me, this has the fingerprints of the Duke of Destiny on it. Some sort of obscure plan that somehow works far better than it should? He's behind this."

[Corwin]

"Where's Afina? Do we have any fey outside Aurora right now?" Jaela asks. If none present could answer, Elena is always listening. "Do we have Tepen, Vul'lath or Sylvie working on Moore's Yggdrassil angle?"

[Anastasia]

Elena promptly appears. "She's off on a mission in Smoke, though she requested that she be contacted immediately if events move forward here. I already have a sending being sent her way. Tepen and Vul'lath are looking into matters, as well as a recent flare up from The Father."

[Corwin]

Jaela's head dips into a nod. "Let me know when they have something, or if they require any aid or resources. And in case it hadn't happened already, keep a watch on the gates to prevent fey from leaving without being aware of the dangers of travel. If the fey hadn't been told, Ilsenine's aides can fill them in."

[Nephrite]

Meanwhile, Moore stays next to Crystal, quiet and frowning.

[Anastasia]

"I'll get it done," Elena says, as another Elena appears next to her. This one's dressed up like Jaela, eyepatch and all. "We'll get it done together. Let's go!" Then they're both gone.

Meanwhile, "I would think my funeral would be more somber, or at least have more black." Crystal says, voice raspy. "What calamity befell me?"

[Nephrite]

"We think someone is poisoning Yggdrasil." Moore explains quietly. "You probably got the brunt of it because of that fruit you ate." He adds, then takes a breath. "This is going to sound ridiculous, I realize, but after you ate it, did you have any kind of sensations about Yggdrasil? Some sort of... I don't know, feeling or inclination that you suddenly knew where to find it?"

[Anastasia]

"Yes," Crystal says, "I had the strangest sensation of time passing. A great deal of time, and something else I can't remember."

[Nephrite]

"What does your gut instinct tell you?" Moore asks. "If you had to just spit out an answer as to where you think you'd find Yggdrasil, where would that be?"

[Anastasia]

"I confess that I'm not sure," Crystal says, "In time, maybe I can find the answer."

[Anastasia]

"Oh, Afina's back," Elena pops in, "Are you going to want to get everyone together?"

[Nephrite]

Time... Time! That's it!

"Do any of you know any kind of realm that deals with time, by any chance? I think that's it -- that's what I was told by the divination Balyss did -- time would solve this. That has to be it... that has to be where Yggdrasil is." Moore says.

I'm not sure if he could do any kind of relevant check to put any strings together on that himself, but there it is.