As Isaya’s chant fades into silence, it is replaced by a low, almost imperceptible rumble that slowly shakes the earth. A deep, menacing voice emerges from the rumble, causing the group to feel the words more than they hear them.
“Foolish mortals, your Gods have no power here. I am Umberoth the Earth Shaker, Queen of the Unseelie, and this is my domain now”.
With that, a geyser of dirt explodes from the ground in the in front of Isaya and from it the head of a black dragon emerges, ready to breath death upon the party. Aaler fearlessly rushes forward to protect his friends, calling upon the blessing of Elune to preserve his life. Jerky and Isaya dive out of the way and take cover behind the wooden shrine of Gozreh. A torrent of black ichor explodes out of Umberoth’s maw, engulfing Aaler and nearly dissolving him on the spot, all that is left is an unrecognisable, blacked, boiled figure barely held together by the sheer will of his goddess. As his companions succumb to panic, a coolly confident Shed deftly avoids the dark torrent of acid, ending his maneuver in a deep bow. With much flattery, he offers the party’s services to the Dragon and manages to strike a deal with her. If they return with information about Mithrendain’s defenses, she will consider allowing Gozreh’s influence to penetrate her domain for the Urna Guldur to take place. No promises are made on either side, but Umberoth allows the group to leave the shrine with their lives.
Aaler uses strong magic to heal his melted body, and the group wastes no time in traversing the wall of thorns this time through, preferring to blast a flaming hole in it with Isaya’s staff of the elements. Back on the Seelie side of the Feywild, the adrenaline from their encounter with Umberoth fades quickly, leaving the entire group relieved, but exhausted. They travel a safe distance from the border and set up camp. Jerky and Shed instantly collapse into a deep sleep while Isaya and Aaler take watch. During Aaler’s watch, the pixie Galafey makes an appearance, and after he reassures her they he has no intention of helping Umberoth, she offers to guide them to Mithrandain, where they might regroup and seek help. On the way, she accidentally discovers a double lining in Arfurl’s bag, which happens to contain a sensitive document: a sonnet recounting The Tale of Boreas and Faerendale, two eladrin brothers.
Upon arriving in Mithrendain, the party is struck by both how beautiful and how alien the city is. Mithrendain is built in the middle of a great forest, seeming to spring up from the ground just like the trees throughout the city. in fact, many tall, broad trees are larger than several of the city’s eladrin-built towers, giving the impression that the towers are merely natural growths within the forest. Unlike the Citadel at its heart, the city of Mithrendain has no walls, meaning that entering the city is a matter of walking wherever a gap can be found between the buildings and great trees. Hundreds of streets flow outward from the city center, allowing visitors to enter wherever is convenient upon arrival.
Galafey recommends going in through the Old Battery district north-west of the Citadel to avoid attracting attention. Outsiders are rare in the Feywild and they are not always taken kindly to, or at least that’s what the Pixie says. As it turns out, she has her own agenda and the first place she takes the party is a wizard’s tower, covered in protective runes. She casts a spell of flight on the group using her Pixie dust, and proceeds to boldly attack the tower from a window with a high-pitch battlecry: “Screw you, Arfo. I’m here to rescue my sisters, and this time I brought backup!” The attack lasts about five seconds before the pixie is flung from the air, unconscious. In the ensuing confusion, spells are cast, words fly back and forth, and Galafey is tossed between party members as Shed tries to hand her over to this strange Eladrin Wizard, while Isaya tries to keep her safe. The scuffle ends when the city guard shows up: a group of eladrin who look more like scouts than guards with their nimble steps and leather armors. The party is escorted to the guard tower and held for questioning. After explaining their purpose in the city, they wait only a few minutes before the head guard unexpectedly releases them. Not sure what to do, they make their way to a tavern they had spotted while being escorted through the Old Battery district.