Hugh nods. "We may not be able to rest if we're in Drottning's front yard, but I won't need to expend too much energy, I think." Then he casts again.
[CrIg 10 (fire doing +10 damage in the shape of a doorway) Touch +1, Ind, Conc +1]
Roll on discord for fatiguing spont with LLSM
Success, Sionnacliste at 8/20 might]
It takes nearly 2 minutes of this hotter fire pushing through, an archway freezing directly behind it as you push through, but you manage to get through the wall of ice and into...
to call it a garden isn't quite right, for nothing grows here. The land is covered with snow and decorated with patterns of frost, while sculptures in ice, vague enough to be products of the elements yet with a crystal beauty that demonstrates an intent and artistry. This open space sits under the night sky where the aurora borealis dances above. The beauty of this space is both sterile and heartbreaking at the same time. The cold is intense, though your magic holds, and a castle lies not 30 yards away, past a maze of ice walls, some opaque, some so transparent they look like they are not there, and others reflective, like some form of natural mirrors.
Hugh walks through first, looking around at the scenery. "It's beautiful!" He says aloud, before his breath is stolen by the cold. He looks around for a little while, to commit the beauty to memory, then inspects the ice walls, trying to work out a path through them.
As Hugh inspects the walls the piece of mirror the rabbit gave him at the base of the mountain falls from his pocket, and he notices that it does not reflect the Aurora Borealis, but only a darkened sky, as if all the beauty had been drained from the night and its fearfulness and ugly attributes had been magnified.
Hugh picks up the mirror, and looks at its reflection of the castle and the maze.
Deprived of its beauty the maze is greatly simplified- the clear ice is no longer pristine and the reflective ice more tarnished. It will still take some time to navigate, and your familiar is nagging you to rest first.
Hugh speaks to his familiar, "Sorry, buddy, it's not safe for us to rest here. I don't think the Drottning would appreciate us making a camp in her front yard, I'll be ok for now, I can't feel my weariness yet. You can rest if you want to, though. Here." Hugh adjusts his clothing to make a spot for his friend to curl up inside the magically warmed garment and go to sleep, then he will show his companions the view in the mirror and start navigating through the maze.
Even with the mirror's aid it takes the better part of an hour to navigate the maze and arrive at the front of a palace made entirely of ice. The doors barely resist as you push them open, to find a beautiful young woman with black hair and ivory pale skin rocking a cradle on a pedestal of ice in the middle of a pond. She turns and her piercing ice blue eyes settle upon you. "I see you have brought back the child I left, if the exchange is not acceptable to you then go ahead and drown the child I gave you." She gestures at the pond.
"The human child would have died had I not taken it. Are you sure you wouldn't prefer some other exchange? Silver perhaps? Or Vis?"
"We have traveled here because this child deserves a life filled with emotional warmth, it is true you saved them from death and for that we are thankful. But we did not come for vain wealth whether vis or Silver. We ask that if the exchange will allow us to take this child home, and give them love their parent did not. I believe we can give them a great future." the image of the witch rocking the child almost set her at ease, and she smiled softly
"Very well, you have my word."
Hugh seems unmoved by the situation. Seeing her hesitation, he nods slightly.
"This completes, the poor things story, if you do not wish to do it yourself, i will do so for you." the idea of drowning a baby even a fae one was unsettling, but a life cold without love was a slower death for the infant they came to save
The child wails as it is placed in the cold water, and struggles, but as its head submerges beneath the surface and it draws in water as breath it's legs fuse together into a fishes tail, and a merbaby swims away from your hands. The water then rises and begins to freeze into an ice bridge between yourself and the center island. The ice queen has vanished, leaving a warmly wrapped baby sleeping in the cradle.
As you exit the palace there is a horse drawn sleigh made of ice waiting. One of the horses turns his head and says "Her majesty has commanded that I take you wherever you desire."
she put her hand on alvas shoulder, trying to comfort her from the hard choices that needed to be made, as she smiled at the little child and then to Alva "let's take them home, to a better life, one we can fill with warmth. If nothing else they will always have the story that others risked their life, to give them their best. "
"Of course" You all climb in and the sleigh takes off at a dizzying speed. It never leaves the ground but you are suddenly back on your ship- which is in the air- in a matter of seconds.
6xp to all. I will modify this post later to award confidence.