Journey to Palace of Petals

After completing Cleansing LeLun, the party will be able to complete the next step to complete A Bargain in Shadow. They'll need to make their way through one of the bleeds into the Feywild and find their way to Melora's seat of power, the Palace of Petals.

## Reward

If the party successfully escorts Rowan to the Palace, he'll give them a magical flower crown that he weaves with his panpipe magic.

## Details

### To the Satyr Village

* After cleansing LeLun, Heliwynd will tell them of a nearby city in the Feywild that they can begin their journey at. She'll also give them a quick rundown on how the Feywild works.
	+ "The Feywild is a mirror of the prime material plane. The land is theoretically identical and many key locations will have analogs on the other side. However, that's where the similarities end. Time and distance work differently there. A trip that would take 2 days in the material plane might take an hour, a year, or might never be completed in the Feywild, depending on if it's done correctly. In order to travel to a specific location (if a specific location is what you seek), you must engage in an emotional truth connected to that location in the Feywild. The strength of your truth will influence your speed of travel. Another important thing to note is that you'll find yourself unable to sleep in most places. There are certain places of power where you can overcome the hum of the Feywild and take a rest, but don't rely on that. Be prepared to complete your journey without resting. To that end, however, you won't feel fatigued in the slightest. You could travel for centuries in the Feywild and never notice the difference, but you will begin to take on elements of the Feywild the longer you're there. It's also hard to know exactly how much time will pass in the material plane while you're in the Feywild. The longer you're in the Feywild, the more time will pass here, but it's variable. For example, if you were to spend what feels like an hour in the Feywild, you may return to find that 10 minutes have passed or that a day has passed, but not much more than that. But if you were there for months, you may return to find that years have passed. So be quick, or time in the material plane may pass you by."
	+ "To reach the satyr city on this island, you'll need to embody the savage joy of the satyr. We traditionally achieve this with loud, passionate music with a strong beat and lots of yelling"
* She'll guide them to a nearby bleed the village uses often to traverse between the planes. She'll also tell them that it's not as easy as walking through a portal, they'll have to prove to the Feywild that they should be welcomed in order to receive an invitation. Anyone that's been to the Feywild already may pass through without issue.
	+ To receive an invitation, they'll have to display an element of carefree behavior or chaos. They could tell a joke to make yourself laugh, strip nude, say the alphabet out of order, etc. Let the players come up with their own method and have some fun with it.
	+ Heliwynd won't be able to give too much advice on what to do as eladrin intrinsically are from the Feywild and have an open invitation.
* Once they receive an invitation and pass through the bleed, they'll see a completely different landscape. Instead of the thick forests of LeLun, it'll be mostly open plain with knee deep swaying grasses. There are occasional massive trees that appear to be moving slowly if watched closely. The sky is also completely different, closer to a teal color than blue and the clouds are a soft pink. There also isn't a sun that can be seen and an observant individual will notice that none of them have shadows at all.
* As they make their way across the island, if they stray too close to the coast, they'll see a deep forest instead of an ocean. The ground slowly slopes away and the trees get taller causing a level canopy around ground level. Looking deep into the forest, it just gets darker and darker, the only place where they notice shadows. If they get within 50 feet of the treeline, they'll risk a random encounter. Also, every 24 hours the party is in the Feywild, each character will need to attempt a DC 10 Charisma Saving Throw or they must roll on the Fey Mark table.
	+ Fey Marks can be removed by a Greater Restoration spell (but the party likely won't know that unless they learn it from someone). Also, if someone gets 6 Fey Marks, they'll find themselves completely unwilling to leave when it's time.
* They'll need to engage in the correct emotional truth in order to reach the Satyr city. Assuming they choose the suggested route of music, they'll need to describe how they play (and with what) and then roll a Performance check. Each person participating can roll and only the highest will be considered. They get a bonus dependent on how good their description is:
	+ -10: A weak description without much detail or something that doesn't feel like a Satyr's savage joy at all (for example, a slow, brooding song).
	+ -5: An ok description or something that could be kind of "savage joy" but doesn't fit great (for example, a happy tune but simple and easy going)
	+ +5: A good description of an appropriate song
	+ +10: An amazingly detailed description that really makes you feel the savage joy.
* How long the trip takes depends on the final highest roll plus their bonus above:
	+ 25+: The trip takes less than an hour, they're amazing at how quickly they arrive
	+ 20-24: The trip takes 8 hours. It seems much quicker than it should've been
	+ 15-19: The trip takes 36 hours. While they aren't fatigued by their journey at all, the oddness begins to get to them.
	+ 10-14: The trip takes a week. The party begins to worry about how much time will pass back home by the time they return.
	+ Less than 10: They travel for a month before realizing they aren't successfully embodying the truth. Some of them may begin to forget why they're here in the first place.
* Assuming they eventually make it to the satyr city, they'll hear it before they see it. Describe the scene using the below:
	+ "You hear a faint throbbing that grows louder and louder the further you go. You hear a primal drumbeat and fierce, harsh yelling and singing. As a town comes into view, you see writhing dancing and staccato stepping. You've been listening to this music since the day you were born. These goat-legged men and women are no musicians. They are prospectors. They have dug deep, and they have revealed what was always there. This is the music that spun the world's threads. These satyrs in their humble huts on a placid plain have grown closer to the fabric of the universe than a thousand wizards studying for a thousand years could ever hope for."
* As they enter the city, most of the satyrs will completely ignore the new comers. Some will glance fleetingly before returning to their dancing and music. But one will notice them, do a double-take, and then stop playing music on his panpipes and run over to them, to the annoyance of the satyrs that were dancing to his music.
* The satyr will quickly introduce himself as Rowan and tell them he needs to go with them. He'll explain that when playing on his panpipes he can always tell exactly what he's supposed to do next and while playing just now and looking at the party, he was able to tell he needed to go with them wherever they are going. If they explain they're trying to make it to Melora's castle, he'll explain it's called the Palace of Petals and that currently it's empty since Melora isn't present, but if that's where they need to go, that's where he needs to go as well and he can help them get there. He'll offer a reward if they bring him to where his panpipes say he needs to go.
* Rowan will guide them to the edge of the village, which is fairly close to the treeline of the ocean (which Rowan will refer to as the Canopy Sea). If asked, he'll explain that the forest floor of the Canopy Sea is known as the Feydark and the worst of the worst dwell there. They occasionally will wait near the treeline and attack passersby which is why it's best to avoid the shore. He'll explain that the Palace of Petals is on a separate island and they'll have to cross through the Feydark to get there, which will be quite dangerous.
* As they approach the edge of the village, they'll come to what looks like an older hut. An older female satyr will emerge from the hut and begin talking to Rowan in Sylvan. If someone can understand Sylvan, they'll hear Rowan telling the other satyr about how he saw them and knew he had to go with them so they need to get to the Palace of Petals. The other satyr will say she can guide them through the Feydark to the island but they'll have to pay the same as everyone else. Rowan will tell the party they need to pay to get a guide to the correct island. If the party talks about gold or something like that, Rowan will be confused and not understand why that would be sufficient payment. Instead he'll say they need to pay an original joke that will become the property of Birch (the other satyr) forever.
	+ Once they tell the joke, the character will completely forget the joke and never be able to tell it.
	+ An observant individual might notice that Birch is blind but doesn't appear to be at all impeded.

### Trek to the Palace

* As they head toward the treeline, Rowan will explain that Birch will handle the emotional truth to navigate the dark woods, but she isn't much of a fighter so they'll need to protect her. If she dies or is lost, there's good chance they'll be lost in the Feydark forever. The trip should take 3 days with Birch leading but they still won't be able to sleep (or feel fatigued). As they get closer, they'll notice that while there are no shadows at all outside the treeline, beyond the treeline is only shadow.
	+ While in the Feydark, the DC to avoid a Fey Mark becomes 15
* As they enter the trees, they'll immediately be in near darkness. The only light is faint glowing mushrooms spaced about 100 feet apart on the path they're following. Within 10 feet of these mushrooms is dim light but everything else is complete darkness.
	+ If they ask, Birch will explain that she added the mushrooms to make her travelers more comfortable.
* As they travel, they'll see various types of trees come and go, but all have an ominous, gaunt look to them. Occasionally, trees will shift in a way that doesn't seem to be the wind, possibly even following them as they pass.
* At some point in their journey, Birch will stop and say something isn't right. A Perception check of 15 will reveal an ambush about to happen. At that point, the spriggan's will jump out and attack.
	+ During the fight, Birch will try to avoid any combat. If Birch is ever the closest to any of the enemies, they'll attack her. She only has 20 HP so she'll go down pretty fast if the party doesn't draw the enemies away. She may try to run off into the woods if things get too bad. If she gets more than 30 feet into the woods, the party will lose her and have to find their own way through the forest.
* After the battle, Birch will be a little shaken but will continue the journey.
* The rest of the journey will be uneventful and they'll eventually make it to the edge of the forest. Here, Birch will thank them for the journey, walk to the nearest tree, knock "shave and a haircut" and then open a door that appears in the tree, step through, and shut the door.
* On this island, they'll notice the landscape is a little different than the last. Instead of the flowing grasses, the landscape is covered in short, pink flowers with the occasional mushroom tree. Nearby, they'll notice a giant snail with what seems to be a house built into the shell munching on the canopy of a mushroom tree.
* Rowan will play some music and say that that's where they need to go. If they ask if he knows who it is, he'll say he has an idea but he's not sure. If they convince him to talk about it, he'll say he thinks it's Dearest Gran. He'll seem obviously scared but say that as long as they don't ask for too much, they don't have anything to worry about, he's heard she's usually pretty nice. He only knows rumors though. He's also heard that her laugh can drive you insane and that she may pluck your soul out of your body, eat it and then turn your corpse into a zombie in her service.
	+ If they try to avoid meeting Dearest Gran, they'll quickly get lost and not be able to find out where they're going until they beg Dearest Gran for help, which will cause her house to appear and then they'll have to enter a real bargain with her to get her help. She'll request a new born once they're back in the prime material plane
* Assuming they go straight to Dearest Gran, she'll greet them while whisking a bowl of dough. She'll act very much like a stereotypical grandma, including that she'll insist they have some of her cookies. There's nothing magical about the cookies other than they're very tasty.
	+ The house will seem larger than it should be but not huge. It's decorated like a grandma's house and has various pets walking and flying about. She'll occasionally ask them to get something for her and they'll help immediately.
* Once they ask for a ride to the Palace of Petals, she'll agree if they tell her a story from their childhood. Whoever does so will have to describe what the story is and how they tell it. Then they'll roll Performance (and possibly Deception if they embellish or outright lie). The DC will depend on how they describe it. If they're unsuccessful, Dearest Gran will tell them that's nice but not quite what they're looking for and give someone else a chance. If they get caught in a lie. she'll say she doesn't appreciate fibs and tell them to give it to her straight
* Once they start going, Gran will shut the curtains and sit in her chair with a cup of tea (after offering some for others obviously). They'll feel a faint rumble as if they're very slowly moving along (you know, at a snail's pace). If they ask about the speed, Gran will say she can't hurry her old bones too much. However, the trip will feel much shorter than it should.
	+ During the trip, Gran will ask them about their quest. If they lie, she'll have a knowing look in her eye but won't press. If they tell her everything, she'll grow thoughtful and somber and say "Those of great power often have motivations beyond our understanding". Then she'll return to her cheery persona and act like she said nothing of importance. If they try to look past the curtains, Gran will twirl her finger and they'll suddenly be just out of reach of the windows.
	+ If they include that they need to speak to the Raven Queen (or Melora), she'll remind them that she's not here this time of year, but the steward should be able to help. If they ask about the steward, she'll say he's an Archfey that is allowed to make decisions for the Feywild while Melora is away, although he isn't allowed to make major decisions, those just have to wait for Melora to return.
* During the trip, suddenly a din of crows cawing will be heard. Gran will remark that there are many of the Feywild that don't like outsiders and will hunt them down to take them out. She calmly asks you to go outside and handle it while she continues sipping her tea. She'll indicate to go out a backdoor which leads to a series of platforms on the back of the snail
	+ The party will notice that although they haven't been traveling long, the landscape has changed dramatically. There are now small pools and swamps as far as they can see, filled with very unnatural looking teal liquid that seems more viscous than water. They'll also notice three beings that have recently jumped onto the middle platform. One is larger and wields a large mallet and has a quiver full of large nails at it's side. There's also a swarm of crows and another being riding them holding a staff with a birds skull attached to the top.
	+ Once the three on the snail are killed, the one on the crows will fly away, attempting to escape
* When the party returns inside the snail, Gran will thank them for their help and recommend they finish their business here quickly as they'll keep being attacked.
* At the end of the trip, Gran will thank them for their company and ask for a hug as they leave. Anyone that hugs her will gain a Feymark and roll on the table.
* As they exit the snail, they'll see a large white palace in the near distance, covered in ivy and vines and flowers. The walls are so white they seem to glow behind the vines. The landscape will have changed once again to a field of wildflowers of all colors and shapes

### The Steward's Challenge

* As they approach the palace, they'll see a small city surrounding it. There aren't any walls and the buildings aren't anything impressive. The city seems to be occupied by all manner of fey creatures, including some that look similar to the ones that have been attacking them. They'll get the occasional side eye but they're left alone for the most part.
	+ When the reach the city Rowan will play his panflute again and find his path now parts from theirs. He'll thank them profusely for helping him on his way. He'll play a light, cheery tune and some of the wildflowers will float up and assemble themselves into a flower crown, which he will give to the party before skipping off.
* If the party doesn't already know to talk to the steward, they'll have to ask around. If they just ask around town, they'll need to pass a DC 20 Charisma check. If they do something the fey would consider entertaining, the DC falls to 10 (probably some Performance checks or something in there for fun)
* Once they make their way to side palace the steward rules from, they'll have to request access. As soon as they start talking to the guard, they'll shimmer and change into a tall lanky creature with sharp features and lavender hair. As they talk, they'll notice she also has lavender fingernails, eyes, and teeth. Anyone with high passive perception will also notice fangs and a slightly forked tongue.
	+ She'll reveal she's the steward and she always likes to greet outsiders in person as they always provide entertainment to the monotonous duties of the steward. Once they ask for a way to see the Raven Queen, she'll think about it for a second and then have a great idea. She'll allow them to use her passageway to the Slate Citadel, but first they must complete a challenge she's designed.
* She'll say she needs some time to prepare, then snap her fingers and say it's done. Then she'll give them the following instruction:
	+ "Just go inside, take a left, 3 rights, a U-turn and then step up the flight of stairs"
* Once inside, they'll see a small, featureless room with a doorway on the other side and a short set of steps leading to a blank wall.
* If they attempt to walk straight toward the stairs, they'll move further away, never getting any closer. They need to follow the steward's directions on the open floor in order to get closer.
* Once all of them are on the stairs, the wall behind them will close and the other three will fall away, revealing a vast midnight blue expanse with a chill in the air. The stairs will take flight, taking a wide spiral upward until they dock at another room where the walls will once again come up. As the player's enter each room, have them all roll a d6. Any players that roll the same number switch bodies for the duration of the room.
* Room 1: The door is a jar
	+ As they walk off the stairs into the room, they'll hear the steward speak seemingly from nowhere "We'll start off with an easy one..."
	+ "The room you enter appears completely ordinary and the door is a jar"
	+ The door will actually be a large glass jar. If they ask what the door looks like, try to keep it relatively vague, only offering clearer hints as they ask more questions
		- "It appears sturdily built", "It appears to be made of metal and glass", "It's transparent but the distortion from the curve makes it hard to see what's on the other side"
	+ At some point, they'll figure it out and they'll need to break the jar. The jar/door has an AC of 15 and 30hp with resistance to piercing and slashing and vulnerability to bludgeoning and force.
* Room 2: A bird in the hand
	+ Once they step through into the next room, the steward will chime in again and say "The wise will have little trouble with this, but I can understand the urge for more" and they'll see the walls are covered in drawings of various animals in foliage. Lining the walls are small statuettes of various animals: elephants, cats, birds, fish, dogs, lizards, bears, etc. The statuettes appear to be carved from stone and all seem to weigh about the same. If they ask exactly what statuettes are in there, hand them a printed list of animals. There should be enough that the birds don't stick out. And there has to be at least 3 birds.
	+ On the other end of the room is an ornate scale covered in various designs. Upon closer inspection, they'll see one side of the scale is decorated in leaves and the other looks more like cupped hands.
	+ The correct combination is 1 bird statuette on the hand side and 2 on the bush side. Any other combination results in the scale not being even. Once they solve it, the scales will line up and the wall will open behind it revealing the next room.
* Room 3: Don't Fall
	+ In this room, the steward will just say "Don't fall". They'll see pit 30 feet across with a tightrope spanning the distance. On the near side, next to the rope will be a sign that says "Watch out for the 10 story drop!"
	+ If they investigate for traps, they'll discover a pressure plate right in front of the rope (Investigation DC 15). Stepping on the plate will drop 10 books. Whoever activated it can attempt a DC 15 Dex save. On a failure, they take 1d10 damage. The trap will repeat for each person that steps on it.
		- If they ask, here are some of the book titles they see: Falling For You, Things Fall Apart, 40 Fall Getaways, Go Before the Fall.
	+ They'll need to carefully walk across the rope to reach the other side. Doing so will require passing a DC 15 Acrobatics check. If they try to jump over the pressure plate onto the rope, the DC becomes 20. If they fail, they fall into the pit and fall for what feels like a while and then land back on the original side of the room and take 5d6 bludgeoning damage
	+ Once on the other side, they'll see another sign that says "What comes next? Winter, Spring, Summer...". The correct answer is "Autumn". If they answer with "Fall", the room will turn sideways and they'll all fall back towards the entrance. Just before hitting the wall, the room will turn back and they'll land safely by the door. If they do this twice, the steward will chime in again and exasperatedly say "I said *don't* fall"
* Room 4: Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
	+ They'll enter what appears to be an art gallery with paints covering the walls. They depict many different sceneries, creatures, people, and even monsters. The steward will say as they enter "Something ugly can be different on the inside...". If asked, provide a list of paintings. One must be a menacing looking beholder.
	+ On the other side of the room is pedestal with a plaque that reads "A thing some are born with and can start a brawl. It's won kingdoms and made some fall. It's held by few yet treasured by all." This combined with the steward's hint should be enough to figure out it's beauty, but the real trick will be that they have to find the painting of the beholder and reach through the portable hole in it's eye and grab the plate that says "Beauty" on it and place it on the pedestal.
* Room 5: Here there be dragons
	+ When they enter this room, the steward will say "Here, there be dragons...". The room will be a lush greenhouse full of all different types of plants. They'll be able to find pretty much any type of plant they can think of. They'll also notice what appear to be bees flying around the different plants. If they look closer, they'll see they are actually small, bee-colored dragons.
	+ On the other side of the room will be another pedestal with an empty jar and a plaque that reads "What heals all wounds". Hopefully they get that it's "time" and then that they need to find thyme and place it in the jar.
	+ If they try to pick any plants other than thyme, the bee dragons will attack. They'll be 3 Swarm of Insects but they can also cast Burning Hands at will. Once they're defeated, describe it as the bee dragons, going back to their business.
* Room 6: What has four letters
	+ As they enter this room, the steward will appear again in between two large trapdoors. The trapdoors say "Truth" and "Fiction" on them.
	+ She'll congratulate them on making it through her challenge (if they struggled, she'll have a coy comment about that). Then she'll say "I have one final trial for you. I will ask a riddle and you must stand on the trapdoor with the correct answer. Once all have chosen an answer, the trapdoors will activate. If you choose correctly, you'll fall through a portal that brings you to the Slate Citadel. If you choose incorrectly, you'll fall into my personal dungeon and owe me a year and a day of servitude. Are you ready? What has four letters, sometimes has nine letters, always has six letters, but never has five letters."
	+ The correct answer is "Truth" (since all the statements are true). Hopefully they figure it out, otherwise I'll have to come up with a way for them to escape from this Archfey.
	+ Once they're all on a trapdoor, they'll fall through and immediately find themselves in the Slate Citadel, completing this part of the quest.