A Crown of Fears

The party debated their next move before Emelyne suggested traveling through Rubaelon, as Contras warned it might be attacked; they agreed to pass through without stopping. Leaving the sanctum, they helped a man fix his broken wagon wheel before continuing. Soon after, lightning struck a nearby tree, blocking their path. Emelyne lost her temper at Kale Oakhaven, but Sanasha accepted his invitation to take shelter from the worsening storm while Naoki rotted the fallen tree into sludge with Blight. The group followed Kale to his cabin, setting watches due to suspicion. They met his pregnant partner Lara, who cooled Emelyne’s tea with magic, and two children, Fennick and Ren. Diablo shared a story of fighting a three-headed bear with Fennick, and Naoki summoned a spectral bee for him. After staying the night and receiving breakfast from Lara, the party left, with Sanasha accepting Percy’s blessing of Nexus while Diablo refused. Traveling through Rubaelon, they observed minor unrest before spending two to three weeks journeying to Alyrmin, a land of silvery bark and pale blue leaves. Resting at Percy's request, Percy scried on the dragon, discovering it was heavily injured and flying toward Pyremoa.

The party debated stopping or pushing on to the Hidden Grove. Sanasha urged them to head straight there, and though Naoki considered continuing alone through exhaustion, the group stopped him, realizing Contras was manipulating them into paranoia. After another day of travel, dragon wings flapped overhead, prompting the party to hide in a private sanctum before sprinting for the grove. Naoki called on the trees for protection as the green and black dragon spewed toxic breath and insect clouds. Percy used Feather Fall to slow its dives, and Sanasha trapped the beast using tree roots from the Tree of Aeons, allowing them to enter the grove safely. Zulkifli met them and ordered the grove to fortify. Aspen and Astra arrived, with Aspen noting the party posed as much danger to them as the dragons did to the party. Astra foretold the dragons' defeat and escape, while Aspen gave Diablo an unattuned anti-scrying amulet and opened a mycelium portal. The party rushed through, with Naoki acknowledging his father before entering.

They tumbled onto cold leaves outside Myradorne, an elven coastal city of turquoise and white crystal. Sanasha recovered from a brief panic, and Diablo staged a fake conversation to trick pursuers into thinking they went north. After two hours, Diablo attuned to his amulet to block Contras’s scrying. Looking for a way to defeat Contras, they sought Percy's family, though Percy feared rejection. At the city gates, Percy presented his Purebirch signet ring depicting an alabaster tree layered in pearls to gain entry without a guard escort. They found the Azure Glass inn, where Diablo used deception to negotiate a two-night stay for 2,100 gold. When Sanasha almost revealed Percy’s details, Emelyne dragged her away, cast Deafen on her, and walked out in anger. While the rest of the party gained temporary hit points at the luxury inn, Sanasha drank Kraken's Ink, gambled, and arm-wrestled sailors at a rough tavern called the Coral Anchor.

The next morning, Percy gave Emelyne his signet ring to access the Choral Athenaeum—an underwater library with coral and crystal records—while he and Diablo retrieved a hungover Sanasha. At the library, Emelyne researched demonic royalty weaknesses and the "resting star." She was approached by Percy's father, Lucien Purebirch, who forcefully invited them to his home, the Atrium of the Tides. Meanwhile, Percy and Diablo roused Sanasha, picked up Naoki from the Glass Garden Terraces, and reunited with Emelyne. Despite Emelyne lying about the invitation, Percy saw through it. The party proceeded to the "resting star"—the Vaelora family home—theorizing it was Contras's mortal home and link to godhood. Emelyne, Diablo, and Sanasha forced their way inside past a hesitant elf. They found Lady Vaelora, a 1,000-year-old elven woman staring blankly at the sea, who mistook them for cleaners. As she panicked, Contras stepped out, greeted her with malice, and kissed her cheek, revealing her to be his mother.