Episode 29: Far Away, For a Wake

**Episode 29: Far Away, For a Wake** (1x29) - Reaching the storied home of the Applejack family, lumberjacks, carpenters and owners of one of Faritall’s finest apple orchards. Patriarch Otax Applejack long ago remarried after his first wife, an enchanted tree in human form, left her husband to return to the Sacred Grove deep in the Grimmwood. The man’s heart never mended and he was often long away, leaving his daughters at the mercy of Stepmother Elidda Peregrine-Applejack, a cruel hearted woman, as is tradition of stepmothers in certain regions of the Lands of Un. Many of their former mentors old associates have gathered to pay their final respects… unfortunately most of them are not her beloved allies, but her bitter enemies. Painful history, family secrets and dangerous people… welcome to the wake.

## Cast

### Nearlies

Josh | Xenator Brisbane
Kathy | Lavaleen Crest
Andy | Martin Sirque
Amanda | Gwendylyn Cloot
 Robbie | The Speaker
 Aaron |  Production & Sound

### NPCs

APPEARING
 Dodderfell
 Von Dark
 Nighgod

## Synopsis

### Prologue

Opens on the Gentleman Hunter, who had very much enjoyed his recent skirmish with the Nearlies.  It wasn’t difficult of course, but in the current drought of heroes, it was enough of a distraction, and they seemed different from traditional heroes. He did not enjoy, however, the stomach ache that Martin’s head had given him when he’d bitten it off.  He didn’t remember the last time he felt pain.  He felt sensations, signals, but not pain as mortals do, but now he did feel that agony.  This distraction allowed the Nearlies to get away, and he felt too sick to follow.

The Hunter was trying to figure out what was so different about Martin’s skull that it was causing him such stomach pain when Sirque’s voice appears, saying that the boy was Martin, and he was Sirque.  The Hunter knew that it wasn’t his own voice in his head and attempted to expel the skull from his stomach, but it lodged inside.  In desperation, he plunged his own fingers into his chest to remove the red lump of sharp knives that the skull had turned into after it’s consumption.

This was quite new.  He tried to analyze the new feeling that the pain and the Nearlies’ encounter had given him.  As he was considering he saw a clearing up ahead with apple trees and, further on, an imposing manor.  He decides that it is no coincidence and heads to the manor to inquire.

### Episode

The Nearlies are approaching the Selobithia manor.  The manor is gorgeous, well-constructed, and made of a variety of woods.

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The Woodcutter lore – Among those in the forest, the woodcutter is known as a hero.  He takes down trees that became haunted or cursed trees and remove them to keep them from endangering townsfolk.  Xenator knows that he is a storyfolk; someone who is built out of a series of old stories. One of his greatest accomplishments is the slaying of the Great Wolf, and he is known to use a great blue ox as his mount.

```

On a more personal note, Lavaleen knows of his love story.  When he was in the woods he found the most exquisite heart tree.  When he raised his axe against it, a woman was suddenly there, asking him not to chop it down.  It was a magical, enchanted tree that took the form of a woman, and the Woodcutter fell in love with her.  She returned with him to the manor to live together, but over the long years, she felt the pull to return to the woods, her home.  She eventually succumbed to that homesickness, returning to the Grimmwood, leaving behind her husband and her twin daughters, one who was human like her father and one who was a tree like her mother. The Woodcutter, even though he remarried per the tradition, he still wanders the woods trying to find his way back to the clearing where his original love had been rooted.

The Nearlies approach the manor, seeing a large garland with black ribbons of morning on the front door.  They are surprised that word of Sarah’s death got ahead of them, but knock on the door.  The door is answered by Elida Peragren, Sarah’s stepmother.  Elida is older but retains an incredible beauty, and is dressed in an exquisite, though worn and outdated, gown.

Elida sees the urn and takes it has confirmation of Sarah’s demise.  She then invites them in, telling them to put their name on some placards and that they would be added to the seating arraignments.  Dinner will be in 2 hours and after she ensures that there will be no violence in the manor, she encourages them to mingle with the other guests who have already arrived.

The Nearlies decide to split up.  Lavaleen, and Gwen decide to go upstairs where Otax, Sarah’s father is, and Martin and Xenator decide to go mingle with the guests. Surprising no one, Val decides to skulk solo.  As the ladies go to grab wine to bring upstairs, they run into Dellinda, one of Sarah’s stepsisters.  She, and the pastries she carries, seem just a little bit off, and seems to be of a lower than average intelligence.  She is however, very pleasant, asking if they were there for the ‘dead person’.  It becomes quickly obvious that she was not close with her stepsister, and her vapidness makes it difficult for the Nearlies to get any information.  Eventually they are able to find out that Sarah spent a lot of time by the chicken coop, before sending Dellinda back to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Xenator and Martin are scoping out the guests that are in the parlor for Sarah’s funeral.  The first person they encounter is Saddeth Spurn, envoy from the Thorn Kingdoms, specifically the Queen of Spite.  He is a fey folk and welcomes Martin back from the land of the dead, which he seems to already know about.  Sarah was a ‘friend’ of the Queen.  She had defeated the Queen’s plan at one point in time and the queen considered her an admirable foe, so Saddeth is there to pass on her respects. Xenator and Martin say that they fought along side Sarah.  Saddeth motions to the rest of the guests and says that mostly its enemies that show up to funerals.

Back upstairs the ladies are wondering the halls. The upstairs is dusty and unkempt. There is only a single path through the dust leading down the hall.  Valeriana slinks off to the undisturbed parts of the house while the other two try to find Otax. Gwen uses the crystalline curiosity to analyze the blue fur they found in the halls.  The result simply says Man/Beast.  They continue on ahead towards some footfalls.

Meanwhile Val is exploring the empty halls on the third floor.  The door she tries is locked, but she her cape is easily able to pick it, and inside there is a plain little girl’s room.  Some toys, and dolls, and drawings.  The only thing that seemed to have ever been touched are the drawings.  The drawings seems to be very obviously of Sarah, always outside.  Valeriana realizes that there are bars on the door to Sarah’s room and there is no window. Valeriana can’t help but draw parallels to her own childhood, and feels a growing kinship with Sarah.  She silently applauds Sarah for her escape, and then examines the room to try to figure out where Sarah’s special place would be.  It quickly becomes obvious that the majority of her drawings depict her sitting outside under a specific tree.  In the chest at the end of the bed there is a hidden compartment, concealing a key that says ‘Clubhouse’.  Val hears someone outside humming.  So she grabs a marble for remembrance and then goes to follow whomever is humming.

Back downstairs, Saddeth is completing his thought, stating that instead of friends at one’s funeral, “it’s really more of the opposite.”  He gestures to the room of people revealing, amongst others, the Gentleman Heroes. When Xenator asks why enemies would show up, it is said that she was an excellent enemy to have, and it was a local tradition to show up.  Everyone though, expresses surprise that there aren’t more of Sarah’s friends, but Xenator chooses not to mention the death of all the heroes to the Glorious.

There is also an incredibly gorgeous literal devil chatting with the Gentleman Hunter.  A man in white, in obviously traditionally wizard garb of mourning. Xenator recognizes him as Gamoletahgg an elder, demented, wizard that’s on the circle of wizards.  He declares that the pigeons killed Applejack, and then asks Xenator if he knows where he lives, before promptly denying that he needs help.  Xenator very kindly tells everyone else and not Gamoletahgg, that he lives in the Wizard’s Tower of Ivory and Wind.

Martin notices the Green lady and Mourning lady’s handmaidens, after bumping into them because they look like trees and their movements caught him by surprise.  The Handmaidens are there to deliver their respects on Sarah and offers their condolences to the Nearlies for their loss. Sarah had saved their Ladies from imprisonment during the 18th Midnight.  She then cautions the Nearlies to very closely follow the rules, as nobody there would dare break their promise to commit violence.  Interrupting their conversation is a small explosion in the fireplace, and a small man tumbling out.  He curses up a storm and introduces himself as Naddagaster.

Meanwhile, upstairs the humming girl is approaching Lavaleen and Gwendylyn.  Gwen successfully hides from the voice but Lavaleen does not. It is Callintha, the elder stepsister.  She’s even worse than her sister, referring to Sarah as Sandi, and stating only that she lived a super weird life.  With no other option, Lavaleen tries to befriend her and is invited into Otax’s bedroom.  Valeriana slips in after them, and Gwendylyn, agile as ever, pulls Callintha out the room and shuts the door before she even knows what happens.  This leaves the three Nearlies in the room alone with Otax.

Otax, unconcerned about who was bringing it, says, “ I heard there was wine.”  It was presented to him, and he gulps it down in an unhealthy fashion.  He is angry at heroes and angry at the loss of his daughter.  He denies knowledge about her room being a prison.

With a negative reaction, he then blames the Nearlies for getting her killed and asks if her death was worth it.  He continues to be useless, blaming any death on negative experiences, but tells them that Sarah could only mean her sister the tree or the mother the tree.  Then tells them to leave and head to dinner.  They open the door and find Callintha, and she is confused, but happy that Otax drank his wine.

Downstairs, Xenator approaches the Cambion and Gentleman Hunter.  The Gentleman Hunter apologizes for getting “carried away.”  Xenator introduces himself officially.  There is some conversation about the new hero situation and the Gentleman Hunter then leaves the room, right when the three ladies show back up in the room.  The Cambion then approaches the Nearlies and states that he was sorry to hear of the loss of Applejack, calling her one of his greatest creations.  He clarifies that he helped to cultivate her powers, her ability to seal evil, through torture.  He seems saddened at having to had torture her, but also satisfaction at the end product, and seems genuinely sad at her loss.

After the Cambien leaves (although remaining fascinated by Martin), the Nearlies share the various information that they had gathered, and they decide to go find the chicken coop. They find the aforementioned chicken coop out back, with some chickens speaking Bell Breeze.  Near the chicken coop is a tree stump covered in a blood red resin.  Lavaleen, also a speaker of that language approaches the chickens to talk.  When she inquires about what tree Sarah might have wanted her ashes rubbed on, they say that the tree stump was very important to her, but it could also be referring to her mother.

It then comes out that the tree stump covered in the red resin was Sarah’s sister. Elida forced Sarah to chop down her own tree sister.  Before the Nearlies can get more information on this, Elida comes out to the group, stating that dinner would be soon; they were having roast chicken.

### Epilogue

Nighgod is frantically packing back at the Sad Swan Inn.  He knows he has to leave, but is not sure where to.  He feels that he must go home to tell the Fairy King that his daughter was alive.  Despite feeling that it was his duty, he hesitated because they fey would do terrible things to him for abandoning the Grimmwood for mortal lands. Despite naming his inn after how sad the king was when the Swan Princess was lost, he couldn’t make himself return to the Ravenwood, despising the constant touching and sex.  He then tried to figure out how he could still get the message through without having to go himself.

While he was still trying to figure it out, Nozie called for him outside.  She is talking about the night she had drinking with Gwendylyn and Sarah, and brings up how they visited Molly Marrow’s house.  Nighgod gets an idea at the mention of the town’s witch and bursts outside.  He is talking about how Molly would be a perfect way to send a message when he notices Nozie’s shocked face.  He realizes that he’s not wearing his wig, revealing himself to be a faun, and screamed.

There is some screaming, but Nozie eventually reassures Nighgod that she is not afraid of him, and does not consider fey folk to be automatically evil.  He explains why he is so frazzled, who Lavaleen is, and how he had to help her either escape or stay hidden from her kidnapper.  Nozie agrees to help him, and they head to Molly Marrow’s house.

When they arrive, they hear voices.  A disturbing voice is telling Molly that it was time to choose a side.  There had been a declaration.  Witches who ally with the mortals are to be shown no mercy. Molly, unafraid states that the town was under her protection.  “So be it.” Then Nighgod turns and sees innumerable jagged, wings shapes filling the air.

## Notables

Episode 29

 Objects Acquired

 Spells Used

 Metamorph Attempts

## Quotables

Gwen: “The Chimerites think that the ox is a total Babe”

Gwen:  “I’m going to need two chairs. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Von Dark: “And there goes a rogue. Wearing the world’s most visible color.”

Gamoletahgg: “No, pigeon killed her, pretty sure!”

## External Links

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