Ritual Sacrifice

The Tooth Fairy

> A Little Blood, a Little Life, a Little Thought...
>
> The Tooth Fairy, **Ritual Sacrifice**

The Dreamers scramble to satisfy The Tooth Fairy's vengeance before she brings her wrath down on the entire town. Saoirse makes a terrible sacrifice. Sarah reveals her true colors.

## Plot:

The Dreamers emerge from the forest and briefly consider their current situation now that Saoirse has made a deal with the Tooth Fairy.  They regroup with Lucius and begin discussing their options while The Entity forcibly takes away Helena’s Fey Token.  Helena, pissed off, kicks the Entity out of her hut and states that it will not be getting any of her potions.

The party debates the morals of how to fulfill the Tooth Fairy’s wishes.  The Entity suggests killing Villagers by nailing them to the walls the way that the Pixies were, and then nailing the Baronet to the tree that Kalea was pinned to.  Saoirse, horrified, suggests that the party evacuate the town and then burn it down.  Emelya counters that the Dreamers should simply abduct the Baronet and bring her to the Hag.

A passing guard yells for the party to light a torch or go inside, because it is dark, and the party makes their way back to the tavern to have a meal.  The party is shocked to realize that their meager meals are far more lavish than what anyone else in the tavern is eating.

The Dreamers finish their meals, and spot Sarah in the corner of the tavern.  They invite her up to their room to discuss what is going on and Sarah does accompany them, but once up above reminds them that she will not be able to help them as ‘this is their trial’ to complete.  The party does run their ideas by her and she seems disgusted by the more violent ideas offered by the Entity and Emelya.  She also points out flaws with Saoirse’s plan of burning down the village.

Dejected, the party elects to rest for the night, aware that this very well could be their last rest in the village of Huld’r.  As the party wakes up in the morning, they slowly trickle into Gwendolyn’s room to once again discuss their options.

After some time, the Entity suggests that since the violence seems to have all started because of racist inclinations, perhaps a fitting punishment would be to make all of the Villagers grow pointed ears.  After some deliberation and a vain attempt to find out more about the exact circumstances of Kalea’s death, this plan is decided upon and the party heads out into the woods to meet with the Tooth Fairy.

The Tooth Fairy, when approached about the idea, accepts the punishment the party has decided upon, but states that she will need help to complete the Ritual.  She specifically asks for Emelya and Saoirse to help her—and warns that she will need a piece of Saoirse’s soul as a price for the magic.

While the Tooth Fairy and Saoirse discuss what will be involved, Emelya sets up the ritual circle, the herbs, and the candles that will be required.  The Ritual is bloody, with Saorise nearly dying from blood loss after a very vigorous cut to the wrist and then with further pain caused when the Tooth Fairy plucks out one of Saoirse’s wisdom teeth in order to act as a representation for a piece of her soul.  Powerful magic is channeled through the trio, and Emelya holds up to the torrent of Arcane energies incredibly well, helping to direct the process far more powerfully than the Tooth Fairy was expecting.

After the ritual, the Tooth Fairy says that the party did well, and that she fully expects the changes to take a few days to start manifesting and that they will likely not manifest in everyone wearing a Fey Token.  She tells Saoirse that her bond is fulfilled and then offers to return Saoirse’s tooth, which has been transmuted into cold iron just like the rest of the Fey Tokens.  Saoirse is at first grossed out, but upon realizing that the tooth is now a magic item of some kind accepts it.

The Dreamers then take their leave from the Tooth Fairy and return to town, fully intending to leave before the consequences of their actions are revealed.  However, upon arriving in town they discover that there is pandemonium in the streets.  The changes have already begun.

Notably, those with Hexblood ears and those without them seem to be supporting each other, though there is violence in the streets.

The Catchpole and the other guards are trying to keep order in the city.  He now has pointed ears.  The Entity asks if there is any way they could help and he says to try to calm people down and keep them from hurting one another.  The Entity asks for his name, in case anyone questions it.  He tells it that his name is Gilbert O’leign, but the Entity mishears this as “Cubert.”

The Entity then takes off at a rapid pace, zooming away from the group as the others decide what they will do.

Gwendolin and Saoirse head to the bar and have a nearly violent confrontation with the innkeeper, who is protecting a daughter with Hexblood ears.

Doc goes to meet up with Helena, who is protecting a group of children and women inside of her hut.  He and she converse for a bit, and he promises to do what he can to stop the violence in town.

The Entity calms down a panicked woman with Hexblood ears who was running away from her fiance and screaming for him not to look at her.  The Entity interposes itself in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.  She seems to think that her new ears make her a monster, but the Entity tells her to look at it.  “Look at me.  I look like this.  And I am having a conversation with you.” The tactic is not very successful, but after the Entity slows down the woman so the man can catch up, the man explains that he just wants to talk, and that this doesn’t change the fact that he loves her.  They tearfully speak about wanting to raise a family together.

Returning from their various attempts at calming the town down, the Dreamers decide that it is time they go to talk to the Baronet.  As they approach the building, however, they realize that something is horribly wrong.  Gilbert the catchpole is lying dead on the steps to the building, his head and spine torn free from the rest of his body.  Rushing in, the party find the rest of the village’s guard force in various states of dismemberment, and in the office they locate Baronet Anselma’s body with her own knife driven through her throat.  As they rush forward, it is revealed that somehow the woman is still breathing.

A healing potion and medical attention gives the woman an opportunity to speak for a few moments, but Doc realizes to his horror that they had arrived too late and her body was already shutting down.  No meager healing magics would be able to save her.  Anselma doesn’t manage to name her attacker and seems to be in a state of shock… but her last words are a request to the party for them to bury Kalea.

Lucius finds tracks leading away from the house and the Dreamers hustle to follow him as he leads them to whoever had caused such carnage.  The Trail leads them out of the town and into a nearby clearing where they find Sarah, standing in regal and bloodsoaked clothing.  She is staring up at the sky as if in a posture of prayer.  A brief shadow passes across the edge of Seh’ul and another a moment later dims the edge of Amarna.  The Dreamers realize that there had nearly been a double eclipse in that very moment.

Sarah turns towards the group and informs them that she is now the Baronet of Huld’r, and when questioned on her actions simply says that while the party had dealt with the Hag’s half of vengeance, they had not taken action to prevent future tragedies.  So she had taken it upon herself.  She implores them to leave, saying that they would not like the changes she will make to Huld’r in her service of Mordred, and that it would be a shame to have to harm them.  Especially Gwendolyn.

Realizing that they would have no chance against a creature like Sarah, the party reluctantly backs down and praising their good sense, Sarah tosses them a bag of 50 platinum coins in order to honor the arrangement they had made with Anselma.  Most of the party disgustedly turns down the money, but Emelya picks up the bag as the group trails away.

While the party each recovers in their own way, and several start packing up the bags the Entity spots a foppish looking man riding into town along with several mounted guards.  As his horse steps over a bit of debris the man slips and falls onto his ass in a puddle of mud.  The Entity helps him up and peering up at its tall stature and apparent suit of armor he asks if it is the lord of the town.  It replies in the negative.  John of Glostehn then introduces himself, and offers a thousand gold pieces for anyone able to escort him back to his home country of Synjalo.

The Entity finds this deal amenable, asks for its share of Sarah’s payment from Emelya, and then goes to round up as many villagers as would be willing to accompany it for money.  A couple, by the names of Brionne and Karroway, state that “I don’t even recognize this village anymore” and agree to accompany the Entity for a platinum piece each, with more money upon arrival.

The Dreamers insist that John and his men not enter the bar, fearing that the inkeep would shoot anyone who did so, and at the close of the episode the rag-tag group begins their hike out of town.

## Quotes:

“It would be… unfair if I were to act on your behalf” — Sarah to the Dreamers in the tavern

“A Little Blood, a Little Life, a Little Thought…” — The Tooth Fairy to Saoirse to explain the ritual.

“Look at me.  I look like this.  And I am having a conversation with you.” — The Entity, to a panicking Foltessa.