Puzzle Pieces

Maiwen stood in shocked silence, seeing her father before her. Tiberius stepped towards him and tried to introduce himself, failing due to how he couldn't open his mouth for the next eight hours. Yuan ignored his outstretched hand and once again told Maiwen it was time for her to come home. She said that she wasn't ready and hadn't found the answer yet. She switched to Druidic and showed him all the research she'd done. He told her she didn't need to saddle herself with undertaking this quest alone. She complained that her brother was allowed to leave and he retorted that he wasn't losing another family member. Distressed, she argued that Fenris was on her side as they had sent Anagis Alba to her. Yuan said that he knew, he had been watching her. She said she didn't understand why she wasn't allowed to go on this journey and he replied that it was because he had lost a wife, a son, and he didn't want to lose a daughter as well. She started to cry and he pulled her into an embrace. She agreed to come home for the time being and Yuan agreed to wait for Valentine to return before taking her back.

Around noon, Valentine and the monkey arrived at Eugene's, having run almost the whole way there. Valentine tried to introduce his new friend only to find that she didn't remember her name. Inside, Yuan introduced himself with his full title to Valentine's dismay. Valentine then ended the spell he cast on Tiberius so he could speak again. Tiberius immediately began grilling Yuan on what Maiwen was like as a child.

Yuan said that he could arrange for someone to take Kelree back to her parents if she would join them in going to the Eagle's Valley. Castell said that she, Tristan, and Nemo would continue their search for Jun. Maiwen gave their to-do list to her father; they had to take Kelree to her parents, find somewhere for Worgar to go, help the homunculi find Jun, find Mog, Lucas, and Chus, and Valentine and the monkey needed to find Manaia. He said that they could return to their quest at some point or other.

Valentine spoke to Maiwen and Tiberius privately and explained that he now did believe that he used to be the dragonborn Valentine, however that he was also still the same person, despite his lack of memories. Maiwen still seemed unconvinced.
Having brought back the remains of an automaton from Coalsunder's workshop, Tiberius asked Eugene if he could repair it for them. He asked Maiwen and Valentine for some money to cover it, and the subject of Valentine's possessions came up. Maiwen finally decided to give them all back to him, including Wayfinder, telling him it was what saved his life before. While giving some money to Tiberius, Valentine suggested the name Penny, for the monkey and she agreed. During their goodbyes to everyone, Valentine gave Nemo his Ring of Warmth and told her that she was with people she could trust.

Yuan then took Maiwen, Valentine, Tiberius, Penny, Worgar, Kelree, and their new automaton to a large tree and created a portal in its trunk that led to the Eagle's Valley. Upon exiting the portal, Maiwen found herself surrounded by friends, people she had grown up with, all clamouring to welcome her back and give her hugs. The newcomers found themselves surrounded by people all trying to introduce themselves with extremely long names all at the same time. Valentine and Tiberius suddenly found their own names to be so unimpressive in comparisson, and so started embellishing their own. Tiberius became "Tiberius, the Whisperer and Lamb Luter of the Moonlit Sky of the Far Eastern Lands of Thaalond," and Valentine became "Valentine, of many faces, of many lands, of many places."

Valentine and Tiberius asked Maiwen about her clan's names and she explained that they are given titles as they move through life. Eager to talk to her grandma, she lead the others to her medicine hut, where they met Gwawr. She introduced herself with her full title, which took a whole minute to recite. She revealed that she had also been watching Maiwen in her travels. She told her that her father had changed since she left and reminded her that, aside from herself, Maiwen was the only family Yuan had left. Maiwen mentioned her visions of Mog and asked if she knew how to find him. Gwawr suggested that Maiwen might be able to do it herself. After hearing what exactly she experienced in the visions, Gwawr led them to the Great Tree in the middle of the village and explained that she had likely found Mog through the ley lines of the earth. As they Great Tree was directly connected to the ley lines, meditating underneath it might help her.

As her friends watched Maiwen meditate, she went into a trance-like state, eyes rolling back into her head. Maiwen awoke to find herself in a similar landscape to before. In front of her was Mog. He told her she really had to stop petrifying herself. Delighted she was able to contact him, she told him about finding Torgan and giving them his message. She went on to enthuse about how they were going to meet up again to find him, to Mog's dismay. He reminded her that he had told her not to trust them and that he didn't want to be found because bad things would happen if he was free. Ignoring the gravity of his last statement, she she was going to come set him free and then everything would be great again. He forced her to listen to him and told her to forget about him; there was nobody on this earth who would protect him, Maiwen said she would become strong enough do it.

Choosing to drop the circular conversation, Mog changed the subject to Torgan and Rohiri. She explained that they had some things to do before they started looking for Mog, and he said that he could guess what they were doing. They want the Seven together, and as far as he knew, they didn't have him, Lucas, or Ketifa, so they would likely be looking for one of the latter two. He implored her to stop this and she promised to try.

After exiting the vision, Maiwen asked Gwawr if she could help Valentine in any way. Valentine explained the basic situation and introduced Penny. Penny said that she believed she used to be human as her daughter was one. After establishing that Valentine and Penny had lost all or most of their memories, Gwawr revealed that she could potentially recover some of their memories, and that she could even teach Maiwen how to do it too. Gwawr then started to perform a ritual, Valentine felt something tug on his gut, then suddenly he wasn't in the Eagle's Valley anymore. He found himself outside in a field, tall grass surrounding him. A book lay in his lap, one written in a language he had never seen before and yet could somehow understand. A young girl sat not far away from him, head buried in another book. Valentine forgot that he sat in a druid's hut in a giant forest, he forgot that he was a tiefling with no past, he forgot Maiwen and Tiberius and everyone else he knew. In that moment, he was just Valentine; the young human boy, looking at his sister, Rosabella.

He and Rosabella spoke in the same language that was in the book; unbeknownst to Valentine, this was the same language he had heard Renata and Sorian speak in Herroda. After the memory was over, Gwawr revealed that she had also been watching the memory, although she had been unable to understand the language. After some experimentation, Valentine realised he was perfectly fluent in this language and could both write and speak it. He told his companions that he had a sister, to which Maiwen reacted with delight. She began wondering if she should send a message to Torgan and Normal to tell them to stop what they were doing, however Valentine put forward it might be a bad idea. Gwawr then suggested she should contact her brother instead. Valentine and Tiberius were surprised to find out she even had a brother.

Maiwen sent a message to her brother Arywn, asking how his search was going and telling him she had embarked on the same journey. After waiting a while, she realised that she wouldn't be receiving a reply. Upset but trying not to show it, she asked Gwawr if you could turn cruelty into goodness. She mentioned how on their travels, they had come across people who would kill for fun, and asked if there was a way to make them good. Gwawr suggested offering them redemption, but said that people would not always want redemption. In these cases, if you truly cared and wanted them to become good people, the only thing to do is be there for them until they want your help. She also warned that some people are beyond help. Her last piece of advice was to tell Maiwen she should continue to be her wonderful self and inspire others to be like her.

Penny asked to speak to Valentine alone, and asked if Gwawr could help her recover a memory. He said he wanted to help her and that he felt obligated in some way. She revealed that she had a daughter and needed to find her. Together they agreed to look out for each other.

Once left to their own devices, Tiberius made it his mission to find out as much as possible about what Maiwen was like as a child by interviewing members of the clan. Valentine found the clan's woodworker, Taliesin, and commissioned a certain item from him. In this time, Maiwen spoke privately to her grandma and had a much needed rant about everything she had been through recently. She also handed over the body of the dragonborn Valentine for Gwawr to take care of.

Valentine spoke to Gwawr privately and confessed that he was terrified of going to sleep because he was worried he might forget everything again. He knew that she had been watching Maiwen in her travels, and asked if she had also seen him at all, eager to learn more about who he used to be. Gwawr told him that due to the nature of the spell she used, she hadn't been able to see much of him at all, and reminded him that he would learn more from his companions. He said that he had tried asking Maiwen, but her response had made him feel rejected. He believed that her perception of who he was was exaggerated by her grief. He revealed that he still couldn't truly believe that he used to be the dragonborn, because he knew that he wasn't confident and wouldn't be so outlandish. He even had difficulty believing that he travelled with Maiwen and Tiberius because of how childish and reckless they both were. He confessed that he had considered running away, however Gwawr helped talk him round into staying.

He then asked for details on Maiwen's past, specifically an event that might have helped shape her as a person, as he wanted to know if he could trust her. Gwawr told him that Maiwen had always been a cheerful girl, and that although she was going through a rough period, at her core, she was a good person. At this point, he showed her Wayfinder, to which Gwawr took a great interest. She told him that it was very powerful and said that if it hadn't chosen him by now then he needed to pass it on.

After speaking to Maiwen's aunt and uncle about her childhood, Tiberius decided he would also have a private conversation with Gwawr. Meanwhile, Maiwen told Valentine about everything her grandma had told her in private. She announced that they needed to find his soul. She reminded him of her theory that he had been put into a different body. There was Old Valentine and there was New Valentine, however she now believed that there were even older versions of Valentine and that what happened to him had happened several times. She theorized that someone had taken his soul from his original body and put it in a new body. The soul inside his body belonged to the original Valentine and wasn't in fact, Valentine's. He became confused and suggested she draw a diagram. She drew out a rather convoluted diagram for him and then explained that Gwawr had told her that souls didn't disappear when someone died, they would go to another plane of existence, which meant that Valentine's soul (or rather, the tiefling Valentine's soul) was out there somewhere. She suggested that whoever was taking the souls however might be putting them into jars or something instead. Valentine developed a large migraine.

Maiwen then went to find Adira, an elven clan member who had done much travelling in the past. She gave her the Manual of Bodily Health she found in Rogue City. As Adira was an elf, she would be able to use it in a hundred years when it became readable again. Maiwen then asked about the Eternal Storm, which Adira lived through. She explained briefly that someone was planning on bringing back to life the people who died during it. Adira explained that there were no casualties in the valley during the storm. Despite this, it was a terrible event. Even though they were so far away, it didn't seem to matter. The epicentre was supposedly the center of Auwela, and it left the entire continent barren, killing millions of people. Maiwen then asked why someone would want to bring people back from the dead. Adira gave the answer "to see a loved one again". Maiwen asked if Adira had killed people before and why. She said that if she hadn't, other people would have got hurt, although she did admit that perhaps she killed some people who didn't deserve that end. She said there was little point in thinking about it now though as it had happened hundreds of years ago, and no one could change the past.

Valentine asked if the Eternal Storm was magical in any way. She told him that it was absolutely magical, as it covered more than an entire continent and lasted a year. One day it just stopped and faded away. Maiwen asked if one person could have made that. Adira said maybe a god. Valentine asked if she knew anyone named Kindroth. She didn't, but remarked that it sounded like an elf name. He theorized that if this Kindroth had lived through the Eternal Storm, then perhaps there were some people they wanted to bring back. He believed that there must be something more sinister than just that going on, if Mog was afraid of what the Seven were doing. He asked Maiwen to try speaking to Mog again and ask some questions on his behalf; what Kindroth was planning, and to warn him that Normal and Torgan had a scrying eye and could find him. Realising that the Seven would be able to find Mog with this item, she announced they needed to go talk to her grandma again.

Bursting in through the door of Gwawr's hut, Maiwen announced that Mog was in danger. Valentine introduced himself as the voice of reason and explained how he knew about the scrying eye. He cautioned Maiwen against rushing to conclusions and suggested they try to get all sides of the story. As they left the hut, Gwawr held Maiwen back and told her to be wary of Tiberius. Something had a hold on him, something dark. Maiwen asked if he was possessed and said she knew it. Gwawr said that he had run out after having a conversation with her and had been gone a while. He had gone to her to ask her to look through her memories, but didn't give her anything specific to look for.

Maiwen and Valentine took Anagis Alba to go look for Tiberius. Eventually they found him wandering in the woods, unusually cheerful. Maiwen told Valentine that Tiberius was possessed. Valentine told Maiwen that he was out of spell slots. Maiwen nonchalantely asked how Tiberius's day had been, to which he replied in a suspiciously friendly manner. While walking back to the village to get some lunch, Maiwen casually mentioned that Gwawr mentioned that Tiberius had visited her. Tiberius seemed to have no recollection of the event.

Over lunch Valentine started decoding the logs he had stolen from the Mandragoda Labs. Penny spoke to him and said that Gwawr had helped her recover a memory and that she had seen her daughter. She asked if he had any ideas on how to find her. He asked her to describe her daughter: tanned skin, dark hair in a bob, dark eyes. Seeing how upset she was, he gave her a hug. She hugged him back. Tiberius also hugged them.

Maiwen went to speak with her father. After an awkward exchange, she asked what he would do if he found out someone in the clan was possessed. He suggested getting a cleric involved.

That night there was a party to celebrate Maiwen's return. Tiberius and Valentine ended up drinking quite an amount and both made their way away from the party alone. Valentine spoke to Wayfinder before retiring. He said that he knew there was something living inside it and promised that if he couldn't prove his worth to it, he would find someone to pass it on to. He put it away and laid down, saying, "I'm not afraid of sleep anymore."

Somewhat drunk, Tiberius made his way to the Great Tree in the middle of the village, tankard in hand, and cast Speak With Plants. After some brief flirtation with the tree, he asked about Maiwen when she was a child.

The next day, Worgar and Kelree said their goodbyes to our heroes. They were taken to Kelree's family in Woungard, where Worgar was invited to live. Maiwen later spoke to a childhood friend, Ivar, and told him about some of the awful things she'd seen on her travels.

Ready to recover another memory, Valentine returned to Gwawr. She suggested that Maiwen tried doing it. Maiwen was unable to do so however, so Gwawr did it again. She helped Valentine recall a memory of his older sister, Elektra, performing a beautiful song from a carousel in front of a large audience.

Valentine gave Maiwen some instructions on what to say to Mog: "We want to help you. We can't unless you tell us why you don't want to be found. We are not affiliated with the Seven, but we want to trust you, so trust us. Lots of love and kisses, Valentine." However, when Maiwen tried to contact Mog again, she found she could not. The connection that was there before was blocked somehow.

Tiberius sent a letter to his parents, letting them know that he was safe:

Hey Mum and Dad, it’s Tibbs here. I’ve visited many places, including labs, a magician’s house, and a druid forest. Lots of love, Tibbs.
Not five minutes after sending it, he received a letter from them.

Tiberius,
Your mother and I find your sudden drop out from college to be unacceptable. Return to Thaalond quickly so we can talk about your future.
Regards,
Erevan Avernus Paelias
Valentine finished decoding the logs that evening, and he quickly called Maiwen and Tiberius to their tent to talk about what he had discovered. He started with the first and most pressing matter: Primus. There was a "subject" in the logs mentioned several times. He read out a sample extract:

280826
Taurus made his annual visit with Primus.
Vessel: Halfling (male)
Anima: Breath of Primus
Dwarf vessel was recycled.
Entries like these were repeated every now and again, the only differences being in the vessels, which were a different race each time. He kept reading until the vessel was entered as an red dragonborn. The next entry that mentioned Primus gave the vessel as a tiefling. It was noted that the dragonborn vessel was not recycled as it was stolen. It seemed that Valentine had had several different bodies, even before the dragonborn one. Maiwen realised that "Taurus" must be Horgarth.

Valentine also pointed out the existence of "Secundus", someone who appeared to be in the same predicament as himself; a second version of the experiment. In another log, "Calin's Magnum Opus" was mentioned several times. It was said later in the log that the Magnum Opus could potentially be a rumoured elf in Senedrok who can't die. The Magnum Opus had gone missing recently and was being pursued by the Blood Red Dogs.

Valentine brought up the entries on the homunculi *α* and γ, who were created in the likeness of the "First" and the "Third", and with transmutation circles on each palm, used to heal. Maiwen immediately made the connection between them and Vidya and Rohiri. α was created using the "breath of the First" as an "anima" and γ was created using the "breath of the Third". The logs also mentioned the breath of the Fourth, which was used to make a clockwork spy, δ, in cooperation with Coalsunder. Valentine figured that an "anima" may be a soul. It was said that the First was a shapeshifter, which led Maiwen to mention their last encounter with Erui to Valentine. Mentions of a "False Primus" was scattered over the logs. Valentine theorised that this could refer to his original body.

Valentine went to find Penny, to show her an entry that involved a snow monkey. It simply said that a suitable anima had been found for the vessel. Maiwen and Tiberius then spent quite some time catching Valentine up on everything that he couldn't remember anymore.

They decided to show these logs to Gwawr, however Tiberius elected to stay behind with Penny. On the way there, Maiwen flipped through one of the logs, then stopped dead in her tracks when she read a certain passage. Looking stricken, she dropped the log, turned, and ran into the forest. Valentine followed her and eventually caught up. She wouldn't answer any of his questions, and so they continued deeper into the forest, Maiwen crying. She urged him to go back, telling him it wasn't any of his business. He told her that if his problems were hers, then hers were his. She reluctantly let him follow, but told him not to say anything or get involved.

After a time, they came to Puzzle Wood, where Maiwen told Valentine to stay put, however as soon as she was a few feet away, he turned invisible. Maiwen had soon found a brown bear, which she approached carefully. After a short while, the bear moved off and she lost track of it. Valentine's invisibility worn off, and noticing him Maiwen slapped him across the cheek. She still refused to tell him why she was there, but enlisted his help in finding the bear again. He managed to do so, and Maiwen cast Speak With Animals. They spoke a while and Maiwen, through tears, told it that she loved it very much.

After she said goodbye to the bear, Maiwen told Valentine the truth. She took one of the logs, and pointed to the passage she had been reading:

300714
Vessel: Ursa arctos
Anima: Breath of a Gemini Stella
Breath of the Gemini Stella was transferred to the bear. The False Gemini Stella was set free. Ursa Gemini will later be taken to the edge of the Great Western Forest to observe it in its natural habitat.

300726
Ursa Gemini was left with the Anima of the bear. Despite the addition of the Breath of the Gemini, Ursa Gemini acts more like a bear than anything else.
Further observation is not possible as Ursa Gemini was lost to another Gemini Stella.
Maiwen asked desperately if this meant that the body of this person was lying somewhere and broke down crying. The bear was her mother. Valentine sent her to sleep with a spell.

Valentine went to find Tiberius and commented on how odd his behaviour had been the past few days; overly friendly and quirky, not at all like his usual self. Tiberius denied there being anything that had changed his behaviour. Valentine said that they should all stick together and Tiberius commented that he sounded like Old Valentine, quite sensible.

The next morning, they decided to go see Gwawr again. Tiberius once again decided to stay behind. Valentine decided that he would in fact be joining them, and tried to drag him there. Tiberius called out for the automaton to help him, however Valentine managed to evade it. Tiberius, suddenly serious, reinstated that he would not be coming.

Inside Gwawr's hut, they found Maiwen's cousin, Morwen, who was crying and being comforted by her father and Gwawr. Gwawr explained that she'd been plauged by terrible nightmares for a while now.

Once Morwen and her father had left, Gwawr helped Valentine recover another memory, this one of the time he came home to find his drunken grandfather telling him that Rosabella had been kidnapped by Elektra. Afterwards, Valentine and Maiwen showed Gwawr the logs. They said that the books explained everything that had happened to Valentine then showed her the entries on the bear. They spoke of the possibilities of finding Valentine and Onora's original bodies and putting their souls back. Gwawr pointed out that it said the "False Gemini Stella" (which they assumed was Onora body) was set free. They wondered how a soulless body could be set free. Valentine suggested that there was another soul in Onora's body.

Valentine suggested their next course of action: finding Manaia. He reminded Maiwen that he'd been instructed to find her by Lesandra. Seeing that they were making plans to leave the valley, Gwawr asked a favour of them: to watch over Morwen that night. Our heroes went to find Morwen at her home where they discovered she had been having dreams of a pair of dark blue hands.

Valentine, having found and read the letter Tiberius received from his parents, pointed out that they would be very upset once they found him and suggested it might be best if they spoke to his parents. Tibbs was less than enthusiastic about the prospect. After an uncomfortable conversation about being a teenager, Valentine pointed out that Tiberius had a tendency to avoid places of religious persuasion. Tiberius passed it off as a coincidence. Valentine also suggested he try to be more civil with Maiwen, but Tiberius adamantly denied any problem he might have with her. After Maiwen had returned from checking on Morwen in her room, Valentine continued his therapist act and tried to sort out the issues between his two companions. It didn't go well.

Tiberius spoke about how Maiwen didn't seem to like him all that much because of his views on religion. She was confused by the concept of someone not believing in a higher power. When she asked Valentine what he believed in, he said he believed in her and Tiberius. He said that he had more trust in her than in any deity. Valentine said he wanted to put more faith in her, and the way to do that was for her to help him recover a memory. Maiwen said that she didn't trust him. Tiberius asked if she didn't mean him. She said it was hard to trust him as he's unreliable. He pointed out that he'd been there the entire time, he could have gone anywhere he wanted but he stayed because they seemed like alright people in the beginning, but then Maiwen started to hate him. She said she didn't understand his behaviour.

While they spoke, Valentine snuck off to see Morwen, who had been awoken by Maiwen's voice. He introduced himself and asked her to describe the dreams she's been having. She described dark blue hands reaching for her, but couldn't remember much else. He assured her that they would be watching over her that night.

After leaving Morwen's home, Valentine suggested they contacted Manaia, as Lesandra had urged him to find her. Maiwen sent Manaia a message that told her this and requested she meet them at the bog in the Eagle's Valley. She agreed and she appeared not too long afterwards. She immediately asked where Lesandra was and Valentine told her she was at the Mandragoda Labs. He refused to tell her where exactly that was until she had answered some of his questions. Manaia, very calmly, said no, and asked again where Lesandra was. Somewhat intimidated by her, he revealed that she was with Hirlo. Manaia was in disbelief that a mere alchemist could keep Lesandra chained. Valentine explained that Lesandra had told him to find her, that she would be able to help him. She still refused to believe him however, so, growing angry, he suggested she go with him to the Mandragoda Labs to see for herself. She agreed to do so and took out her Planar Scissors to create a portal. Maiwen chose to stay behind in order to look after Morwen. Tiberius thought about how he nearly died the last time he was at the Labs and also decided to stay behind. Valentine suggested they take the opportunity for some bonding time. He then walked through the portal with Manaia and it closed behind them.

Valentine and Manaia found themselves on a windy moor. He explained to her that Lesandra appeared to be working for Hirlo, whether willingly or not, and that after she helped him, he felt the need to help her. He then suggested they take a more covert approach than the frontal approach Manaia proposed. He gave them both magical disguises, making Manaia look like Torgan, and himself look like Normal. After hearing his impression of Normal's voice, she looked skeptical.

With their disguises, entry to the Labs was fairly easy. They made their way to Hirlo's laboratory to find her sitting at her desk. Pretending to be Normal, Valentine claimed there was something wrong with the scrying eye. Hirlo offered to look at it. Unsure whether or not she had seen through their disguises, he attempted to cast Sleep on her, but failed. Unpreturbed by this turn of events, Hirlo asked who it was that had come to visit her and he dropped the disguises. Seeing Valentine didn't seem to surprise her, and although her smile never faded, seeing Manaia sparked a brief moment of fear in Hirlo's eyes. Manaia stepped forward, summoned her scythe, introduced herself as a reaper of the Raven Queen who was there for Lesandra, and asked, very menacingly, where she was. Hirlo quite calmly called out for Lesandra, who entered the lab, shoulder-checking Valentine as she went, and summoned her own scythe. She attacked Manaia, who refused to retaliate and tried to get through to her by pleading. Meanwhile, Hirlo called for security who arrived in the form of several large homunculi who Valentine trapped outside the lab using a Wall of Fire. He then cast Sleep on Hirlo again, this time successful in sending her to sleep and managed to pull her through a portal Manaia created. They managed to escape the labs, leaving Lesandra behind.

While waiting for Valentine to return, Maiwen and Tiberius decided to go make themselves something to drink. They went to the nearby river and Maiwen decided to create a new detox drink.

Meanwhile, Valentine ripped the sleeves off his shirt and managed to tie an unconscious Hirlo up surprisingly securely. She awoke a minute later and he told her she was going to answer all his questions. She told him that it was quite unnecessary to kidnap her as that she would never lie to him. He and Manaia then led Hirlo into the village, finding Maiwen and Tiberius along the way. They put Hirlo in Gwawr's hut, attracting some attention along the way. Valentine told Manaia to keep an eye on her, which she did despite not seeming to like the way he was giving her orders. He left the hut to confer with his companions. He asked Tiberius if he was able to cast Zone of Truth on Hirlo and Maiwen if she could send a message to Eugene as a way of manipulating Hirlo. He then told Maiwen that Hirlo was the person he suspected turned her mother into a bear and promised her that they were going to get answers. Yuan and Gwawr approached and Maiwen ran into her father's arms, crying. He asked what was wrong and Valentine explained the situation to him and asked for some time to get answers out of Hirlo. Yuan allowed this, but said that he wished to speak to her himself as well.

Valentine and Tiberius reentered the hut, while Maiwen stayed outside with Yuan. Valentine started the interrogation by telling Hirlo of the many people who had been hurt by her actions. He got out her logs and started flipping through them. He started with "Ursa Gemini" and asked what the purpose of choosing that particular druid for the experiment was. Hirlo, cool as a cucumber, said that there was no real reason, they had just come across her by luck. Maiwen yelled a question from outside, asking where her body was. Hirlo said she didn't know as she hadn't kept it. Valentine asked if it had been recycled. It had not been, Hirlo had merely left it outside the factory. He then asked if she could change her back. She supposed she could.

Manaia then interrupted and asked Valentine to speak privately. She asked him what exactly happened to this woman. He told her that her soul had been removed and placed in the body of a bear. Manaia revealed that she knew exactly how this had happened, because she was capable of doing the same thing. It was how she would "reap" people, however it wasn't supposed to be used for the likes of this. She then said that if they could recover Onora's body, she could probably restore her soul.

Moving on, Valentine then asked about Lesandra. Hirlo revealed that she had no choice in what she was doing, but wasn't forthcoming on how she had control over her. He then asked Maiwen to send the message to Eugene. Valentine tried to manipulate Hirlo by threatening her by telling her son about everything she had been doing. She seemed unconcerned by this. Meanwhile, Maiwen sent a message to Eugene telling him they were having a chat with Hirlo and asking if he wanted to say hi.

Valentine then left the hut to find Penny. By this point, there were several druids placed around the hut, some in trees, keeping guard. Penny dropped down from a nearby tree and came over. He told her that they were about to find the answers to their problems. Reentering the hut with Penny, Valentine read from the passage about Penny. He said that she deserved to know everything. Hirlo wouldn't give any outright answers, but guided Valentine into realising that Penny was someone's sister. He asked Manaia if she had a sister, which she did not, or if she knew anyone with a missing sister, to which she replied that Lesandra did. He realised that this was potentially the reason why Lesandra sent him to find Penny. Penny then asked Hirlo why she had been experimented on. Hirlo replied that she had been getting annoying, so she had been removed from the equation.

Valentine then moved onto the subject "Primus" and asked how she acquired him. Hirlo told him that Elektra had given him to her as payment for safe travel. He asked where Elektra had been going. Hirlo explained that they had all been travelling to Eyera and arrived thirteen years ago. Horrified by this, he asked what the purpose of the Primus experiment was. Hirlo was very cryptic in her answer, but revealed that someone wanted her to do it to see if it could be done. He then asked about the purpose of the Secundus experiment, which was to see if results would be the same or if Valentine was an anomaly. Backtracking, he asked if Elektra had anyone else with her, which she did not. He asked if she had said anything about what happened and Hirlo told him that she hadn't seemed to particularly care, but probably thought she was doing him a favour as it was the only reason he was still alive.

He then asked about Horgarth and whether he was another experiment. Hirlo revealed that he wasn't an experiment, but was like Lesandra in having no choice. He asked what the endgame for these experiments was, but she said that there was no endgame. She did these things to see if it could be done, to push the limits of what can be done by human hands. When asked who she worked for, she reiterated that the Primus experiment was asked for by someone named Kindroth. This turned the conversation to the Seven, who Hirlo did know of. Valentine asked why Normal and Torgan wanted a scrying eye, she said it was to find the missing members of their group. Kindroth asked Hirlo to conduct the Primus experiment for the sake of the Seven, though she wouldn't reveal why and only said that they were special and needed to be even more so. She commended him on the part he'd played in everything, as nothing could have happened without him. He asked how old he was and she told him he was somewhere in his late thirties, possibly older than she was. He asked what his surname was, but she couldn't remember what it was, only that it was Cortolan. She revealed that Cortolan was his native language, which came from the region of Cortola in Auwela, which was also where he was from. She then revealed the reason why Elektra needed safe travel; they left Auwela one hundred and sixty one years ago to escape the Eternal Storm. They escaped via the Feywild, where they stayed a little too long, leading to almost a hundred and fifty years passing while they were there. She pointed out again that if Elektra hadn't given him to her then he would be dead. Valentine asked if the rest of his family had gone with them, but she told him they were all dead. She then reassured him that it was alright because the Seven were going to bring everyone back to life. He begged to know how and she told him that Kindroth would be the one to actually perform the deed. She said that if he wanted to see his family again, he should help the Seven.

Having had enough, he said as much, at which point Maiwen called something into the hut about Mog. She told Valentine to come speak to her outside. She reminded him that Mog didn't want to be found and that he said the Seven were doing something bad. She told him to ask Hirlo who and where the Seven were. Hirlo listed the members as; Normal, Torgan, Mog, Chus, and Erui, whom she specified was a changeling. Hearing this, Maiwen stormed in and demanded to know where Erui was. When Hirlo couldn't answer, she demanded to know who the remaining two members were. Hirlo said that the "Seventh" was currently being retrieved. She revealed that this Seventh was going to be Ketifa. When questioned on who the final member was she was purposefully obtuse about it. Maiwen asked where Lucas was, but Hirlo didn't answer.

Valentine told Hirlo that they were going to let her go - to a loud protest from Maiwen - but only if she freed Horgarth and Lesandra and stopped her other experiments. If she could promise that, he would let her go. She accepted his offer and told him to look inside the pouch at her belt, in which was a black, polyhedral object. She said that once it was activated, it would release Lesandra and Horgarth. He activated it and it erupted into a brilliant column of light which shot straight up into the air. Hearing a commotion from outside, they ran out to see the column extend through the roof of the hut and shining hundreds of feet into the air. Realising it could be seen for dozens of miles around, they began to panic and decided they had to leave with Hirlo immediately. Yuan objected to Maiwen leaving, so Valentine tried casting Suggest on him to let her go. His resisted its effects however, and urged Maiwen to stay in the valley. She did so and watched Valentine, Tiberius, Manaia, Penny, and Hirlo all disappear through a portal.

The druids began preparing for an assault, though they didn't know what kind. Maiwen herself climbed a tree and waited with her family for something to happen. After a while, she heard a cry go up. Someone had spotted something. As it came closer to the village, Maiwen realised it was Lesandra, scythe out. Lesandra made her way through the druids, taking no damage, but dealing a heavy blow to Maiwen, then disappeared. After a moment she had knocked Maiwen off Anagis Alba and demanded to know where Hirlo was. She said she was teleported away, after which Lesandra left through a portal, disappearing as soon as she had arrived.

After rushing through the portal, Valentine and Tiberius found themselves in a foreign country. Manaia introduced it as Daguo, a large country on a different continent entirely. They entered a nearby town to find somewhere to rest for the night, as due to the time difference, it was already dark there. After finding a room at an inn, Valentine asked Hirlo who this almighty Kindroth was. She replied that he was an elf who happened to be very interested in bringing back Auwela. He commented that the cause didn't sound too bad, but she couldn't just go round ruining people's lives. To prove his point, he mentioned Penny. Hirlo found the fact that he'd named her Penny hilarious and revealed that he used to known someone named Penny around five years ago. Having had enough of her, he left her in the room with Manaia and Penny and went downstairs to the bar to find Tiberius.

Tiberius, meanwhile, had been trying to indicate to the bartender that he would play music in exchange for drinks. Despite the language barrier, they came to an accord and Tiberius started strumming away. When Valentine came down, he joined in with his violin. After an hour or so, Penny came barrelling down the stairs in a panic and told them to come upstairs with her. Tiberius paid little attention to her, but Valentine ran upstairs with her to find Manaia bending over Hirlo who was slumped on the floor against the wall, dead. Eyes open, staring at the ceiling, mouth slack. Her left hand was missing, her wrist ended in a bloody stump.

In a panic, Valentine told Manaia to do something. She cast a spell on Hirlo's body, but to no avail. She explained that she had been strangled by an invisible hand and that her own hand had been taken by a circle of light. She tried casting another spell on Hirlo, but it failed too. Valentine searched the room to look for any sign of someone having been there, but there was nothing. Manaia was certain that there had been no one else in the room, not even anyone invisible. She communed with the Raven Queen and asked for help, however she was unable to do anything. Something very powerful was stopping Hirlo from being resurrected. Valentine suspected that Kindroth may have something to do with her death, however Manaia told him that no mere mortal would be capable of this; they would have to be incredibly powerful to pull it off.

Valentine told Penny that he believed she was Lesandra's sister. Manaia scryed on Neriss to see if it was her, however she said that Neriss was fine. She said that Lesandra had many other sisters, although she'd never met any of them. Valentine said that if Penny really was Lesandra's sister, then perhaps she could be influential in breaking whatever spell she was under. Manaia pointed out that Lesandra had seemed to be under Hirlo's control, and now that she was dead she might have been freed. She tried scrying on Lesandra, saying that this hadn't worked for the past thirteen years. She saw her very briefly before something caused the spell to fail. Something was different, but something also wasn't right. Valentine suggested there might have been a change in how she was being controlled. They decided it would be best to return to the Eagle's Valley after resting for the night.

Valentine went downstairs to talk to Tiberius who was still playing music. He finished the song, collected the tips thrown his way, and joined Valentine at the bar. Valentine started by apologising for being condescending towards him and Maiwen. Tiberius brushed it off and they bonded over drinks for a while. Valentine casually mentioned the scientist upstairs with a hand missing. Tiberius kept up the conversation for a few more seconds before realising what he'd said. Valentine explained what had happened and rebuked the assumption that they had killed her. After recounting some of their adventures, Valentine then asked about Tiberius's behaviour whenever he was in proximity of a place of worship. The atmosphere grew tense and Tiberius claimed there was no correlation. They later decided to go on a pub crawl.

In the morning, they were all invited to have lunch with a local family who were very excited to host the foreigners. Manaia hid Hirlo's body in an abandoned vampire's liar so they could collect it later.

When night fell in the Eagle's Valley, Maiwen sat in Morwen's room and kept watch over her while she slept. During the small hours she spotted a figure at the window. She chased it outside and discovered it to be a night hag before it disappeared.

The boys, Manaia, and Penny returned to the valley in the morning. They told Gwawr what had happened, and she went to collect Maiwen. As soon as Maiwen saw Hirlo's body, she ran in, produced Ketifa's prosthetic arm from her bag, and tried to attach it to Hirlo's wrist. She asked why no one was trying to do anything and Valentine said he thought it best if they just let things be. She asked how they could return everyone to how they used to be without Hirlo and Manaia explained that she could try to transfer everyone back into their original bodies. She then asked Valentine if he wanted to be returned to his dragonborn body. He said that it wasn't his body and suggested it was time to put "Old Valentine" to rest. Maiwen loudly protested and asked Manaia if there were any free souls floating around somewhere that they could put into the dragonborn body. Manaia explained that this sort of thing was exactly what Hirlo was doing. Maiwen asked what they would do with Valentine's old body, then suddenly had an idea of her own. She whispered it to Gwawr and they spoke quietly. Maiwen then said that Old Valentine could have a druid funeral. Valentine said that the Old Valentine may be gone and asked her if she wouldn't like to get to know the real him. He suggested she try recovering a memory from him. He said he wanted her to see his memories, not anyone else.

Maiwen was successful and recovered the memory of her and Valentine fighting Ornia and her cohorts in Fletcher's basement. Valentine told her that the old him wasn't really dead, he was just locked in his own mind.

Valentine said that they should probably tell Eugene about his mother. Maiwen pointed out that she'd told him the day before that they were talking to his mother and they all agreed to keep this information to themselves for the time being. Maiwen then wondered what she was going to tell Yuan. Valentine pointed out that they could restore Onora so long as they had a body. He suggested finding another body for her, which Maiwen didn't like.

Yuan arrived and seeing Hirlo's body, asked what had happened. Valentine started to explain and Yuan pointed out all the mistakes Valentine had made since entering the valley and cautioned him to not use magic on him again. Valentine said he wouldn't, if only Yuan would see reason. Valentine admonished him for not believing in his daughter. Yuan argued that he did believe Maiwen capable and said he was immensely proud of her, but that he would not let her go into danger alone. He refused to listen to more of what Valentine was saying and left.

They tried to decide what to do now that Hirlo was dead. Valentine suggested that Kindroth may know something about what happened to him and Onora. Maiwen asked if he really wanted to be experimented on again and he replied that he would risk going through what he had many more times if it meant finding a way to bring her mother back for her. Maiwen couldn't understand why he would do that and suddenly had an idea. Valentine realised what she'd thought of and offered to go through with it for her. She said she needed some time to think about it.

Valentine decided to go for a walk to take some time to process things. Tiberius also left the hut and went to the river to play his mandolin, where he spotted Manaia and Penny, who had both disappeared sometime before Yuan had arrived.

Our heroes met up again during lunch, where Maiwen despondantly told the other two they were going hag hunting. She explained that she'd seen one the night before and that it had been after Morwen. They agreed to go after it at night. Valentine knew a fair amount about night hags; how they liked to make bargains, corrupt mortals, and would often give their victims nightmares. He had also heard a myth about them turning young girls into hags. He came up with the idea of trying to make a bargain with the hag and lure her into a trap. They decided to keep the hag situation from Yuan, when Maiwen came up with the idea that he may be scrying on her constantly and already know about the hag. She decided to go ahead with the plan anyway, regardless of if he knew or not.

Maiwen and Valentine went to Gwawr to tell her about their plan and ask that she keep Yuan distracted while it was happening. Valentine proposed his idea to lure the hag into a trap by making a bargain with her. When asked what would happen to him if the plan went sideways and he was stuck alone with the hag, he said that his own life didn't particularly matter at that point and that he would much rather atone for everything he'd done over the past few days, to which Maiwen protested.

Maiwen then sent a message to her brother, Arwyn, telling him that she was going hag hunting and that she had a cure for their mother. Unlike before, Arwyn answered and asked about the cure. Suddenly faced with the realisation that she didn't actually know what the cure was, Maiwen had a slight mental break and started shouting with mild hysterics. Valentine calmed her down and she sent another message to Arwyn telling him that Valentine was going to bring their mother back. Arwyn replied saying that he was in the mountains on the Steina border and couldn't return to the Eagle's Valley quickly. Gwawr said that if she could speak to Arwyn herself, she could go and collect him.

Maiwen went to her home to find Yuan having a meeting with several other members of the clan. He told her they were talking about what was to be done about Onora and the hag, which he did indeed know about. Maiwen started ranting about everything with delirious mirth and despair, telling him that everything was fine and that they had this. She told him that they knew were Arwyn was, leading him to find Gwawr to learn more.

Maiwen then took a nap and woke up a few hours later to Gwawr telling her that she had brought Arwyn back home. He acted cold to her and frantically asked what the cure was. Shocked by his cold attitude, she gave him a brief overview, which prompted him to leave and find Valentine to find more information. He found Valentine, introduced himself, and asked to see Hirlo's logs. Valentine showed him how to decode them and helped him read the passage about Onora. Arwyn then flipped to a page near the back of the log and spent some time reading what was written there.

That evening, several druids set up watch around Morwen's home in order to guard against the hag all night. Valentine, Tiberius, and Arwyn also found a spot in a tree to wait for any hag activity. Night fell and nothing happened, until the small hours, when Tiberius felt what seemed like a cold hand gripping his neck from behind. He then heard a terrible voice say, "Something's got a hold on you." He turned around to find the night hag inches away from his face. He asked what she wanted and replied that she wanted him. Some of the druids below noticed that the hag was in the tree and everyone was alerted of this. Seeing all this, the hag disappeared.

Valentine came up with a plan to catch the hag: have Tiberius attempt to seduce it. He played his mandolin for the rest of the night, but the hag didn't show up again. In the morning, the boys told Maiwen what had happened. She declared that they needed to go hag hunting again that night, to Tiberius's dismay.

Maiwen tried to find Arwyn, but was unsuccessful. Valentine then asked her if they could try recovering another memory.

Valentine remembered being fifteen and waiting outside the family wagon with Rosabella. They had just discovered that Elektra had been stealing from audience members by charming them. Inside the wagon, Grandpa Prideaux was admonishing her. Elektra emerged from the wagon with a suitcase and annouced that she was leaving. Valentine tried to persuade her to stay, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, Tiberius went to get breakfast. While doing so, he noticed some discolouration on the edge of his palm. Part of his skin had turned a deep midnight blue.

Penny found Valentine in his tent, at which point he realised he hadn't seen her in twenty four hours. She explained that she had needed some time to process things. She had spoken to Manaia, before she left the valley, about who she might have been. Valentine assured her that he would keep his promise to her to find out who she used to be. He admitted that for the past day he had been trying to "recapture" Old Valentine in a way and it hadn't been making him happy. He thought it might help being as reckless as he'd heard he used to be, but it hadn't worked out and he realised that he wasn't that at all. He apologised for being careless and uncaring, however Penny told him she thought he had been very kind to her.

Before going to sleep, Valentine took out Wayfinder. He told it that he really wanted to try and help someone and asked that if it could at all help any of his friends then could it give him a sign.

Maiwen went to Gwawr to ask her where her brother was, which she did not. Gwawr suggested that they bury Hirlo's body sometime soon, but remove her of all items she had before then. Maiwen then searched her body, finding several hypodermic injections, a bag full of powdered poison, a ring, an encoded notebook, and twenty bullets.

Maiwen spoke to Arwyn in the evening and questioned him on what he'd been up to in the past four years. He told her that he spent a lot of it training with other druid clans before he found the Mandragoda Labs and met Hirlo. She told him about some of what she'd seen on her own travels, overwhelming him with information about the Seven.

Valentine apologised to Yuan and was forgiven. He then spoke to Arwyn, who said that he'd been to the Mandragoda Labs and had realised that there were a lot of seemingly intelligent animals in the neighbouring towns. He suspected that Hirlo had something to do with it all. Valentine asked if he'd spoken to her and he said he hadn't, which contradicted what he'd told Maiwen. Valentine spoke about Maiwen, telling Arwyn that she'd been working so hard to bring their mother back and said that he wouldn't rest until Onora was restored.

Tiberius went to Gwawr's hut while she wasn't there to try and find something to help with the discolouration on his hand. Afterwards he tried to go find her, but blacked out and suddenly found himself in his tent, several hours later. The mark on his palm had spread and now covered his whole hand. Deciding that he definitely needed help, he went to Valentine, showed him his hand, and asked for his help. Valentine suggested that the hag might be possessing Tiberius. He offered to watch over him that night to see if the hag would come to him. He asked if he could think of any reason why the hag might target him, but Tiberius said there wasn't anything really unusual about him. Valentine didn't believe him however. That night, Valentine watched over Tiberius to see if the night hag would go to him, however there was no unusual activity in the valley.

The next morning, Penny told Valentine that Gwawr had managed to successfully scry on her daughter, which gave him the idea to ask Gwawr to scry on Elektra for him. She did so and described a scene of Elektra sitting in an armchair reading a book, only to be interrupted by a young girl who bore a remarkable resemblance to her. He learnt that there was now a large scar covering half of Elektra's face, apparently left by a lightning bolt. Valentine then went to Maiwen and hugged her tightly.

Maiwen told Valentine about an idea she had had for what could be done with Old Valentine's body. They could potentially put Onora's soul inside it; she needed a body, and they had one lying around. Valentine gave full permission for her to use his old body in this way. Maiwen suddenly realised that she might be able to restore her mothers memories to her in her bear form. She ran through the clan in ecstacy trying to find Arwyn, Valentine helping her. WIth the aide of Anagis Alba they managed to find Arwyn deep in the woods, surrounded by birds tied to several trees. When asked who he was communicating with, he said he was asking the birds if they saw what happened originally to Onora. Maiwen could tell he was lying, which devastated her. She left and told Valentine to continue watching him. Arwyn, under the impression he wasn't being watched, continued to speak to birds, letting some go and tying others up.

Meanwhile, Maiwen spoke to the bear. She discovered that Yuan had visited it in the past few days, but Arwyn had not. She tried recovering a memory but was unsuccessful.

When Valentine returned to the village, he spoke to Tiberius, who was apparently convinced he was in the middle of a concert that Lucas was trying to ruin. Valentine told him about his plan to invite Arwyn to their tent and question him on his suspicious behaviour. He got Tiberius to cast Zone of Truth, then told him it was time he started telling the truth. Tiberius started rambling about how Lucas was the night hag. Valentine tried to ask why he couldn't go into places of worship, however he couldn't get anything sensible out of him. Tiberius left the tent and Valentine told him he wasn't going anywhere. Almost to illustrate his point, several druids revealed themselves to have the tent surrounded. The druids suggested he be taken to see Gwawr, who Tiberius called an "agent of Lucas". He tried to escape, resulting in a made scramble to restrain him, during which time Valentine managed to set fire to several trees. Gwawr was fetched and Tiberius was finally restrained by her. She saw his hand and realised there was something very wrong with him.

Gwawr polymorphed Tiberius into a tortoise. Valentine ineffectually tried to put out the fire he had set, while Gwawr and the other druids did a much more competent job at it. Having returned to the village after seeing the smoke, he gave the tortoise Tiberius to Maiwen, without telling her what it was. She went to look for Gwawr, talking cheerfully to the tortoise all the while, blissfully unaware of who it really was.

Alone, Valentine cast Legend Lore on Wayfinder and learnt perhaps a bit more than he was expecting.
Before the gods were titans; colossal aberrations; giant, ancient beings; completely unfathomable. They wandered the space between planes, devouring everything they came across. These unknowable, eternal beings eventually fell into a deep sleep, and the first gods came into existence.

Over eighteen centuries ago, two of these titans awoke and descended upon the Material Plane to wreak havoc. Their mere presence destroyed the land and hundreds of thousands died. Eventually they turned on each other and one was felled. The gods then found that the titans essence could not be destroyed itself; even with the body gone, the essence would persist. They decided to split this essence into several pieces and house each of them in an artifact to be hidden away.

Thus, Wayfinder was created and given to a young demigod to guard. Over time, the essence inside Wayfinder bonded itself to its protector, eventually causing them to rise to full godhood. And so, the young demigod became Kiiflo, god of performance and travel, patron saint of adventurers and bards, the Wayfinder.

Since then, Wayfinder passed hands many times. Whoever it chooses is considered Kiiflo’s champion and is bound to His will.

Valentine also caught a glimpse at the last holder of Wayfinder; a young human woman, felled in battle. He then sat alone and comtemplated how he could possibly face everyone again.

Still looking for Gwawr, Maiwen came across her friend from another clan, Dewy, who was helping the efforts to put the fire out. He told her that he had come to the Eagle's Valley to ask for help. Someone had stolen two roc eggs to sell in an auction in Thaalond. Yuan had told him that no one from the Twin Star Clan could help him because they were busy with the hags. To her distress, he asked for her help.

Maiwen and Dewy found Valentine and went to find Gwawr. By this point the fire had been put out, however two houses had been damaged beyond repair.

They returned to Gwawr's hut and Gwawr released Tiberius's tortoise form. He immediately tried to attack her. Everyone managed to subdue him long enough for a conversation. It became clear that Tiberius wasn't in his right mind and he tried to escape. After subduing him again, Gwawr examined his hand and said that she wasn't convinced the discolouration was caused by a hag.

In order to prevent him from running off, Gwawr turned Tiberius into a tortoise again. Maiwen then announced to the tortoise that she didn't have time for him and stormed off, Dewy in tow. Gwawr advised Valentine to get Tiberius to a cleric. She revealed that Tiberius had come to her several days ago and she had realised that there was likely something other than a hag that had a claim on him. She suggested that he travel to Thaalond, as that was where the nearest temple was.

Meanwhile, Maiwen and Dewy had mounted Anagis Alba and were galloping towards Thaalond. Yuan caught up with them and tried to persuade Maiwen not to leave. She only agreed to stay on the condition that he would send someone to Thaalond to help find the eggs.

Valentine mused out loud to Adira that he'd like to be a champion, but at the moment he just felt like a clog in the machine. He asked if she ever felt like she wasn't in control. Adira told him that she had felt like that when she was younger, but took control when she was older. Valentine mused that he still had a lot of growing up to do. Taking some time to himself, he prayed to Kiiflo and asked for Him to show him the way. Yuan and Maiwen showed up and Yuan told Adira she would be going to Thaalond to help Dewy. Maiwen stoically gave her approval and walked off.

Alone, Maiwen and Yuan spoke of their concerns about Arwyn and whether it really was him. In a last ditch attempt to get Maiwen to come to Thaalond, Valentine went to speak to Yuan. Maiwen told him she was staying in the valley for her brothers sake. She said that there was something severely wrong with him and she needed to stay so she could save him. Valentine asked if that was her taking control and she said it was her caring for her family. She told him she would be waiting for him and made him pinky promise to come back.