"You're welcome to have the screwdriver!" Titaani replies to Pud. "I'd like to keep this mirror, if everyone is ok with that."

>(Horatio: Make a Persuasion check!)
(( That would be an inspiring 11! Charisma is not his forte ))

Elidon and Lamorna look at each other and shake their heads. "I'm afraid not. No one from Prismeer can enter the Palace of Heart’s Desire without an invitation. But you are not from Prismeer," explains Elidon. "I can bring you as far as the gates, and keep you hidden for awhile. Beware the Jabberwock who lives in the palace. Once it sets its fiery eyes on prey, it rarely gives up the hunt. It tries to reach this Pool but is always turned away by the our protective magic. And beware the League of Malevolence, whom I fear have taken residence in the palace. Find Zybilna and end this curse."

(Unless anyone objects, Titaani takes the mirror and Pud the tool. Anyone want the slippers?)

Elidon and Lamorna examine the strange orb. Arcana check: 18

"It is not a fey device," explains Lamorna, shaking her head sadly. "And I see that it is a prison. I don't know how to release him. If Zybilna were here, she would know."

(( If no one wants them, Horatio will throw the fancy footwear into the bag of holding ))

Ben:

”With as much resistance as we expect to meet, perhaps a rest would be wise so we are at full potency when we meet them,” suggests Ben.

Pud takes the screwdriver, investigates it briefly and then tucks it away for safe keeping. He anxiously listens to what Lamorna has to say about Matilda's little brother and he slumps his shoulders in disappointment.

"Honestly, I was kinda hoping to not have to go to that scary sounding place. I never signed up to be some hero of the realm or whatever. Heck, I was just trying to save my own neck. But if this Zyblina person can help Matilda's little bro, then that's enough reason for me." Pud pauses as he attempts to fight off a yawn. "But, I like Ben's idea. I sure could use a rest." 

(Does everyone want a Long Rest? Wayward Pool seems to be a peaceful, restful, and safe place for it! If so, are there any other activities you want to undertake while you are doing so?)

Matilda smiled at Pud before slipping the slippers on curiously.

" Nap time!", she tucked her brother under her arm and went to sleep on the grass to dream about unicorns going on romantic picnics.

Pud finds a nice peaceful spot to sit down and relax. He realizes he hasn't let Rizzo out for quite some time, so he wakes up his little friend and sends her off to explore. She buzzes around, doing all sorts of flips and barrel rolls and loops. She seems quite happy to stretch her wings.

While his little friend buzzes around, Pud sits down and tends to a laundry list of chores he's been meaning to tend to.

1. He digs out the helm of telepathy that he plucked off the mannequin back at Bavlorna's. He puts it on and spends some time attuning to the item.
2. Then he takes out the broken wishbone he found in the porcelain  at Bavlorna's. He recalls sensing some sorta magical signature on the item. He aligns the two bits of bone together and casts mending on it and tries to fuse it together. He'll put this aside for later.
3. Next he gets out his alchemist tools and cooks up a couple of new elixirs and adds them to his potions pouch.
4. Lastly, he digs up the odd screwdriver with runes etched into it. He traces his fingers over the runes and then holds the item tight while he sits cross legged and focuses his mind on the item (cast identify as a ritual). After 10 minutes or so, he opens his eyes and the thinks he has a grasp on what this item is.

After his chores are complete, Pud piles up his artificer smock into a makeshift pillow and snuggles up. As he falls asleep, Rizzo flies down and perches on his shoulder.

Titaani sits down as well and begins to draw arcane circles in the air, until Tiny materialises with a puff of purple smoke. Titaani gives him a big hug, and they appear to speak telepathically for a moment before simultaneously curling up in a ball together and falling asleep. 

Ben:

After doing a circuit of their camping site, Ben gets himself settled.  Taking off his armor and servicing it, he strips down to his small clothes and spends some time swimming in the pool and reveling in the cool waters.

Setting out the rest of his clothes to dry afterwards, Ben makes himself comfortable in the cool grass and prepares to sleep peacefully for the first time in a while.

Wayward Pool is an extremely peaceful, relaxing glade. Wild fruits and greens are abundant, the bugs don't bite, and wildlife is colorful and plentiful.

Matilda finds the slippers a little roomy. One had a child's tooth inside it; she had to shake it out. But the slippers are quite pretty, and extremely well-made.

Touching the two pieces of the wishbone together, Pud hears Bavlorna’s unsettling voice in his head. She says, “Skabatha forgets the first creature she sees when she wakes up, although her memory of it returns each night when she sleeps. A creature forgotten by Skabatha in this manner is invisible to her.” And then the charm dissipates, and the wishbone crumbles to dust.

Pud then attunes to his new helmet. Examining the screwdriver, he discovers it is a Rare (+2) All-Purpose Tool.

The pool is particularly refreshing, and seems to absorb your fatigue when you bathe in it.

Time passes, but time is strange in the Fey, coupled with the permanent, unchanging twilight, it is difficult to judge how long you rest. When you are ready, everyone may receive the benefits of a Long Rest.

What next?

Ben:

Well-rested and fed, Ben puts on his armor and straps his kit down.  He addresses the group, saying, “We have come farther than I ever thought possible together, made friends along the way, and I daresay helped a person or two.  The time has come for us to go and put an end to the collapse of these realms by freeing the queen.”

”I am ready to go.  Who will go with me?” he asks simply.

Matilda sprang up swapping her slippers back to her well worn...still slightly soggy...boots.  She tucked the childs tooth under a small stone for the tooth fairy to find.

" Lets go rescue a princess......queen.....fancy lady."

Also rested, Horatio gathers his things for the journey. "Ready." He replies. 

"Of course we'll go with you!" Titaani says excitedly, jumping onto Tiny's back. "Lead the way!"

Pud stands at attention and salutes.

"Ready, Sir!"

He dons his fancy new helmet, clicks the heels of his boots and falls in line with the group.

"I'll stay with the balloon, see if'n I can't get it filled," apologies Morgort. "Besides, I'd need an invitation..."

"I don't" adds Elkhorn, brandishing his sword impatiently.

"When you're ready, gather close to me," instructs Elidon. 

And unless you have further business at Wayward Pool, you do. 

⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫⛫

The transition is abrupt, and gentle. One minute you are standing beside the shimmering, misty lake; the next, you are here – outside a fairytale castle.

A twilit palace emerges dreamlike from the clouds. A great marble tower ringed by delicate spires casts its shadow over the rooftops below. Another tower teeters nearby, torn from its foundations and held aloft by a coiled beanstalk. Monstrous vines cling to the palace walls and choke the promontory of rock on which it perches.

You stand in front of a set of silvery gates embedded in the palace’s outer wall. A luxuriant garden can be seen beyond the bars of the gates.

Pud stands in silience, gawking at the surroundings. Without looking at anyone in particular, Pud whispers "So...what now?"

Before anyone could reply, he wakes up Rizzo and gives her tells her to scout. He tells her to fly straight up, hover about and scan the area for any threats, and then fly back to report her findings. 1 Chirp means bad guys, no chirps mean coast is clear.

Perception check: 22 (18+4)

Looking behind you, you find yourselves high on a majestic mountaintop. You can see all of Prismeer spread out below you - Hither, Thither, and Yon. 

But then you see something else. Rizzo chirps in alarm.

Hundreds of birds burst from the canopy of the ancient forest below you and scatter in all directions. Moments later, a much more fearsome creature erupts from the woods: a sinewy, pale-green dragon that takes to the sky and flies toward the palace. Its mighty wings carry it to great heights. Once above the palace, it drops like a stone and vanishes from sight behind the palace’s high walls.

"That was the Jabberwock. Please be careful. I cannot enter those gates with you, but I can keep you hidden for awhile," explains Elidon, quietly. He shakes his mane, and for a moment you feel an invisible arcane blanket surround you. He has cast Pass without Trace upon Pud. "Stay close to the boy," he instructs.

He looks at Titaani. "I left something in your pocket. I don't need it anymore. Keep it very safe, keep it hidden. The League of Malevolence stole it for a reason, and went to great lengths to do so, as it holds potent magic, still. But you have it now, and they do not." 

"I will stay here and rest for a bit, but then I must return to Wayward Pool," explains Elidon. "Look, you can see it from here!" He indicates behind you, a silvery dot on the horizon, shimmering in the twilight, beyond a misty mountain range separating Hither from Thither.

You turn back to the set of silvery gates embedded in the palace’s outer wall, covered in ivy. The double gate is twenty feet tall, with widely-spaced silvery bars. On either side, the wall encircling the luxuriant garden beyond is about forty feet high and covered with vines.