3 satyrs approach dragging a young woman as a prisoner. She is pleading for her life but they pay her no mind.
She pleads to remember their prince, who would not want her dead.
The party intervenes from their vantage above a small cliff. Combat begins, entrapping the older satyr captain, while the 2 younger satyrs charge the cliff.
The party dispatches the older satyr and one of the younger satyrs, where there are touching moments as it appears that the satyrs are guards doing their job. The other satyr with normal pan pipes that put people to sleep escapes.
The party searches the captain and finds a royal writ of execution for the young woman. She explains that:
- She is the Princess of Diamonds, in love with her prince, the Ace of Spades
- The Queen of Hearts appears to have seized control
- She was in her small town when it was suddenly invaded by humans.
- The humans appeared 4 days ago, which is different than the party’s timeline where the jungle emerged in Lyric 2 days ago.
- There is no jungle in these lands that was transported out.
- In the confusion, the Queen of Hearts had her kidnapped and sent to be executed
- She has not been able to contact the Ace of Spades
The party cautiously believe some of her story. She wants to head back to her town and assess the situation, the party agrees.
The party approaches the small town which seems to have the remains of Lyric literally transposed in patches. They see a large military presence taking control, with the humans being corralled into dedicated areas and performing labour.
Helia attempts to sneak into the town but is stopped at the door, where they do not buy her story of being a Harengon looking for her kin.
Helia retcons a secret passage into the town and emerges right next to the messenger tent. She questions a messenger:
- The town has been seized under order of the Ace of Spades, with the Queen of Hearts as the acting emissary
- No one has actually seen the Ace of Spades since the humans arrived.
- The princess of diamonds is not well regarded, “that creature deserved what came to her”
Helia hops backwards and rejoins the party, sharing information in secret.
The princess hears that the military presence is strong and suggests that they retreat to her ancestral holdings that no one knows about.
The party approaches an old cave with minor furnishes and overgrown mold.
They then spend several hours arguing about goals and what they should be doing.
The princess lays out the realpolitik:
- The house of clubs is in disrepair after events a few centuries ago.
- The Queen of Hearts was consort to the King of Hearts and is clutching at lost power since her husbands death.
- The Ace of Spades has the most current power and loves the princess of diamonds, lifting her house above their current squalor
The party senses that the princess isn’t exactly being truthful, but cannot point to a specific lie.
Helia gets frustrated and confronts the princess, saying that she knows that the princess is lying about something but not sure what. The princess is dismayed, and reveals that she is a Green Hag in disguise.
Combat is initiated and the party dispatch the hag.