Episode 109 - Toil and Trouble

## Synopsis

After saying goodbye to Aira Allaro, SWIM debated what to do. Following Artis Artesian's advice, they headed towards the tree where the 2nd Elder Golapedra lives to get their blessing. When they arrived, however, Serinepth Sinderman spent a long time talking to her shoes, not realizing that the 2nd Elder was not present. Hoping they'd have better luck with the speaker to the 1st Elder, they knocked on the door, but only heard a low rumbling. When they opened the door to the speaker's chamber, they found the large goose like creature in some kind of religious trance, communing with some entity. SWIM decided to wait for half an hour, hoping the speaker will finish in the meantime, and Integrity Idleberry took the opportunity to suspiciously bring up the subject of warlocks once again. After some time had passed, Serinepth tried communicating with the speaker, who responded telepathically in loud HONKs and Celestial, which Serinepth does not speak. After an initially warm welcome, Serinepth enraged the speaker by asking to be spoken to in Common or another language she understood. After apologizing profusely, SWIM were promptly told out loud, in Common, to leave them alone to continue their conversation.

After failing to attain an explicit blessing, the students used the washbasin to journey across the lake, before entering Seltie's hut. Inside they found the woods witch stirring an enormous cauldron with an oversize wooden spoon. She warmly welcomed the students, offering them pretzels and cannolis, and offered to trade them magical items in return for their finger nails, while admiringly pinching their arms. While Mira Marchand, Serinepth and Integrity looked around, Seltie sat down on a small blue couch with Winsler Wallaby to elaborate on her request fo him to capture the witch Ferdinand. "You're here to find that frog of a woman." "Where is she?" "I've made arrangements- heard she's returning. God, she's so disgusting. I've arranged for her to get hung up some places. There's just you kids, right? No adults here? Good!" After Winsler asked for more information about Ferdinand's whereabouts, Seltie, enraged, flew into a frenzy, berating SWIM for not having prepared or referenced any maps before they came to the Plane of Isathil. She demanded they capture Ferdinand, "this bat woman!", who had eluded Seltie 70 times over as many years. Seltie explained that the two were in a coven, before Ferdinand betrayed her. She swore to throw Ferdinand in her cauldron, yelling that the latter was "slippery like an eel," dropping her kindlier grandmotherly facade to show a bloodshot, frightening hag face. "We'll be square, Winsler! We'll be straight!" Seltie then forcefully asked Winsler to make his friends give her their nails, especially "the tall one", although it was unclear whether this referred to Serinepth or Artis. Integrity interrupted to ask for the price of a popcorn machine. Seltie said it was 20 fingernails, or free if SWIM could produce Ferdinand the next day, "kicking and screaming." She berated SWIM, yelling "They're leaving me dry! I gotta have nails!", after which they promised to bring Ferdinand, and then leaving to meet Artis' spellcaster contact in the Moistest Marsh beyond the moles.