The ritual has begun, but Natty is frozen. The look on her face is stubborn anger and she is muttering to herself. The inky black from attacks!

Remy shoots, but is immediately paralyzed as the monster goes after Marybeth. Klyce wades in to put himself between them, and Gerhardt rushes forward to try to help keep him standing. It isn’t enough. I call lightning down, but it isn’t enough. The monster strike Klyce down. Then Remy as he ran it to help. Then Gerhardt, as Marybeth runs away to shoot from a distance. I’ve been staying by Natty, who is still mumbling angrily to herself. The creatures strides up and puts me down.

Into Darkness.

And Silence.

Then green.

I start awake, surrounded by grass and trees. We’re in a forest clearing. Teeming with life and gentle sunlight coming through the boughs above. We all sit up, we’re all there. Except for Remy, and Nat. They must be back there? But no, I saw Remy fall. Klyce says he was right.

We fall into a discussion of each of the six gods having a claim on each of us. Except there’s seven of us and only six gods. Unless the evil eye god has claimed him. But the rest, we each have one. Not based on our own chosing, but theirs somehow.

The Green Witch has clearly chosen me, by the evidence of my rising in the mines. Klyce has the red aura of the Wandering Vengeance. Marybeth, by her library pendant, must be the Eternal Mind. Nat’s been worshiping the Stilled Tempest, but does worship matter? I’ve been worshipping the Dawnmother. Maybe Gerhardt, with his healing, is the Dawnmother, and that leaves Dalish with the Stoneman. We’re not sure about these last few.

Klyce interrupts the conversation for a sound in the quiet wood. A flute being played some distance off. Gerhardt starts patching us up as we head off to investigate the sound. The forest is beautiful, untouched wilderness. There is no pulse, no heartbeat here, just beautiful life.

Ahead, there is music and splashing. We see a small goat of a man playing a flute for frollicking nymphs in a spring-fed brook. Klyce calls out to him, and he screams in terror and falls over. The nymphs dive out of sight. I step forward to try and calm him, but he scrambles up and runs. So, I levitate him and try again.

We just need to find people, I tell him. Where are there beings who all live together. He calls me Queen, and says there is a place fifteen minutes past noonwards. I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean, so I ask if he will lead us there. He seems even more terrified, but grovels more about me being a Qeen, and if it’s what I really want.

As I begin to let him down, keeping my spell, just in case he runs again, a burned humanoid creatures climbs out of a tree. This upsets him greatly, but we quickly figure out that it’s Nat, who had to leave her body behind, in her Great-Great-Aunt’s care. I go to introduce her to our new friend and realize I have yet to ask his name. He says it is Baraduk Tine. When we ask about the beings that live where he is taking us, he mentions pixies, dryads, and eladrin. None of which make sense, really, to us. Thought, it seems, Nat’s take the body of a dryad.

We approach a settlement of odd humanoids with pointy ears and flowing hair. They move so gracefully, as well. Then, they begin to see us, and the younger folk stare uncertainly, while the elders take flight, just like Baraduk. I call out to them, but it doesn’t help. Frustrated, I call out for them to Stop!

And they do. They all freeze in place and simply stop moving. I call out to one of the younger folk close by, who had just been staring at us the whole time. I ask where we are, but this seems a confusing question. They ask who we are and how we got here, but we have no idea. I ask if their people have magic, if anyone here has powerful magic that can maybe help us. So, they take us to see Alock.

Alock is an older eladrin who is inside a mushroom house. He looks askance at our young friend, and when we ask for help, invites us in. I pause to tell the people they can move again, and they do, as we head inside and introduce ourselves. He’s not terrily happy about Nat’s situation, but she didn’t know she was killing a dryad, she just needed somewhere to go.

We ask him about everyone being afraid of us and running away. He said it’s because we’re gods, and we destroyed their world and sealed away their Clever Prince. Eons ago, their world was larger, ruled by The Clever Prince. He was tempestuous and they were wild things. But then, the six banded together and bound him into the space between for all eternity. He was the son of Balor, and was to marry the Green Witch at the wedding where Balor was killed. This is all very confusing, but asking questions doesn’t get us any closer to answers.

He tells us that The Clever Prince has a temple near here, that may have answers for us. Or danger. Or nothing. But it seems to be our best bet. He wants us to leave his village, and even offered to take us to the temple. He is afraid we’re there to destroy them all again. He takes us Duskward and Springward, whatever that means. Warning us that intention is the key to this place, and we must control our thoughts.

Moments pass as we walk, but not time. It is a strange sensation, as I watch the flower, grass, and trees. Alock again warns us to be careful what we will to be in this place. I can feel something here. Something not quite remembered from my dream when I was dead in the mines. I hate that feeling! It itches on the back of my brain, but I can’t catch it. Then there is crashing in the bushes, someone was thinking to hard about our most recent death.

The dark shadow man appears ahead of us. Everyone panics and begins throwing spells, bullets, and knives. I drop to the ground, and curl up into a ball. Nonononono! Then there is darkness again.

I wake up, to them telling me it wasn’t real. They just had to remember that it wasn’t real. Alock suggests we rest. Dalish magics up our dome and sanctums and we sleep. I dream of an eight-armed, flying temple! This place is so strange.