second trial: relic returned!

been travelin fer another week just about, n we’re almost to da next waystation already – golden horizons. musta been when we made a turn onto da last stretch of path, cuz luna received another memory! she was wifh hebe, setting out ta defend zendra cove from reports of monsters way back when. sounds liek da same things are happenin still, datsa long time..
we can see da settlement in da distance now, sitting atop a wide hill in das meer of grassland. as we’re walkin in or alongside da cart, we have a lil snack (pocket jerkyyy!) n try plannin ahead. brickyfruend asks v ta get him a replacement eye during hims trials, in return fer borrowing da eelfolk cloak. v tries ta show me all da diff’rent potions n powders he keeps in hims jacket, but he got all weird about it when bricky asks what we’re talkin about. i try ta snag one when he’s not lookin but v is too fast! hm, well drexla vouches dat da stuff is good, so maybe next tiem..
 
luna n drexla get to talkin about luna’s alchemy training, n if she’s seen any fae. luna dont remember much from before 50 years ago, so drexla pulls out her reason fer askin – da flower in a jar. she feeds it some dirt n it really seems ta liek dat.. it grows new roots n da colors are so strong its almost glowing! no one in da group is happy about dis, so drexla wraps it in a cloth fer now. bricky sees her lookin thoughtful still, n offers ta help. he says maybe he could find dat magic shes been lookin fer, if she allows him ta peek into her mind. she says yes, flutters over to hims shoulder n dey close eyes fer a bit.. i watch dem, small reactions in deir faces but nothin alarming. drexla starts quietly crying, n soon after wakes up asking what happened (woah, so no one is conscious of dis process but bwicky). dere is a memory of drexla dat bricky shares, n is new to drexla herself. dere was bubbles, bright light, n a voice declaring “it was a success”.. bricky mutters dat he n drexla must have moar in common than we thought.
 
we’ve officially arrived at golden horizons, making our way through da open markets to da central plaza. da city is busy, lots of bartering n pepol of all ages coming n goin. moar men in dis place, dey seem ta make n sell lotsa armor n weapons here. as we move through, its nice ta see da signs of water been returned. dere are active wells at vier points of da hill, n new plants sprouting all around da old trees n revived grasses.
once at da center, we take a moment ta settle n notice pepol are all lookin at us.. to our surprise, many of dem bow. we understand its fer da wouter, but still feels strange. i bow back. a robed n heavily scarred figure approaches, introducing themself as nalith, da loremaster of dis waystation. (she looks soooo cooool.. shes definitely seen plenty of history firsthand.) she gets right to it, n takes da trialtakers ta discuss dier task ahead.
in der meantime, tobias had noticed a dome-type structure on da edge of town, built very diff’rently than da rest of da settlement, so we wanna go check it out. its an armor n weapons shop, manned by a silvery lionfolk who greets tobias heartily n tells us hes called jorun ironfang. dey carry demselves away in conbersation, while bricky n me browse hims stuff. (very plain things, nothin we need. but whatevers on da ground must be free, so i grab all da stray nails i can n shove ‘em in ma pockets!)
 
da rest of our friends briefly meet up wifh us at jorun’s befoar setting out fer their mission. tobias, bricky, n me report fer our training. it was lotsa werd puzzles, but lastly i hadta play a strategy game against tobicat. somehow, i won! bricky said he never played dis game befoar either, but im sure either of us woulda lost if bricky had played instead.
 
we had some tiem to ourselves after our training was finished, tho i dunno if dat means i should worry fer our fruende under da city.. i wonder what kinda eye v might find fer bricky underground, or what tobicat will have jorun make if drexla finds good materials when dhey get back. i realized i had been chewing on a wooden piece from da game set, n carefully snuck it back in da box. i dont think anyone noticed.. maybe ede hehe but she wont tell on me.
at sunset, da land is washed with warm oranges n greens, n our friends finally return to camp looking worn out n beat. we can see da glowing solar relic carried in luna’s arms, so they was successful! but first thing she does, is take tobias by da shoulders real seriously. she declares she is reswearing an oath to protect him, da “heir”, fer hims great grandfodder. tobias of course acknowledges her wifh thanks but really wants ta get started on healing ev’ryone.
attention shifts to varanus who gots a steamy pile of fur from a freshly skinned frostfire yeti (IM JEALOUS I WANT ITTT). but hes got somethin folded inside too! its an eyeball, kept slimy n warm ‘specially fer brickyfruend. tobias helps him install da new eye, since its a little too big ta just pop in, but it werks and is even better than da old one~! it makes him a little less “normal” looking, even wifh hims upgrades. i sure never seen a person wifh a half red, half blue eye befoar, but it looks so cool!
 
once ev’ryone has stopped bleeding at least, we make our way to da decorated tent at da height of da hill ta return da stone relic. luna leads da way, allowing drexla to run tests to identify it as a source of healing energy, but refuses to let bricky even touch it. i try to pipe up: “‘member last tiem? bwicky touched da demon stone n hims eyes made a special color blink n maybe it was a log entry or even a message or what if - -” but no one could hear me in da commotion of bricky’s attempts ta swipe at it n luna effortlessly keeping it out of range. ah well, same outcome hehe. i touch da demon stone in ma bag, just cuz.
upon return to da altar, da stone goats above n begins ta glow. we can feel a protective presence wash over da entire city, n nalith turns to us wifh a beaming smile of relief. they did it!! she gifts luna a sunstone, n declares tonight a time of celebration.
at dis tiem da results of our training are also revealed. i got da power of iron skin fer da next challenge (eisen innen, just liek bricky says!), n all of us were rewarded wifh rare materials! tobias received a punishment fer hims loss, but didnt seemed bothered at all. we are quick to divide our spoils n collaborate: tobias trades drexla, so he can make a breastplate n she can make a katana. v trades me hims frostfire pelt fer my adamantine, so i can make luna a reinforced leather bodice, n v can have drexla make him some gauntlets.
one moar thing befoar heading to da party (i can already shmell da meats cookin!), luna takes me aside n pulls a light blue kaftan from her bag. she explains how its a magic item, n will grant me special abilities. befoar i say i couldnt possibly deserve dis special of a ting, she says it belonged to hebe.. its what she woar when dey were young n adventuring together. i bring it to my face n breath in a familiar scent.. it really was hers. luna smiles, n encourages me ta put it on. its sooo big at first, but suddenly it fits just right! i let out a little giggle, though tears are welling in my eyes n luna just scoops me up fer a hug. ill repay her kindness n efforts to retrieve dis, i swear.
all us travelers now proceed to da festivities, where music, food, n smiles surround us. luna tells us of how underground dey found da old home where she, hebe, n tarjan used ta all live together. wow! and she wants ta take anyone who wants ta see back down to it, cuz dere’s also a magick pool of wouter near da sanctuary also. i wanna go so bad!! i wanna carve ma name somewhere. luna laughs, promising we can go tomorrow. now i wanna jump n dance, burn off some energy so i can has second supper. i leave luna ta feast n rest, n run off ta rejoin da celebration~