Hello, Everyone!
Last time, after being ambushed by Nurvureem and almost being defeated, our heroes were transported (with the help of the magical dagger Mundus) to a whole new Plane of existence. Bytopia, as their inanimate companion called it, was so surreal that it almost made Mary forget what had just happened.
Almost.
Meanwhile, a local gnome found the group and invited them to stay the night in his home.
Bosygus Palatypus led them to a small village built into the side of a hill. All sorts of gnomes wandered the streets, chatting in the late afternoon and greeting the newcommers with a smile. Mary slumped her shoulders, as she usually did in the company of the small folks. However, for the first time, it felt unnecessary. Nobody was looking at her with judgement or hostility.
"Are only gnomes allowed into this place?" Bruno asked.
"Oh, no, ‘course not!" Mr. Palatypus said. "All sorts of traders and artisans can come ‘ere when they die, all shapes ‘n' sizes. It's the Plane that turns them into gnomes."
Mary thought about the implications of what he'd just said.
"Wait, do you mean that if we stayed, we'd turn into gnomes, too?" she said, suddenly alert.
"O’ course! It usually takes ‘bout a week or so but nobody complains."
Mary felt weird. Up until a few months ago, turning into a gnome would have been her most precious desire. It would have meant not being ‘the other’ in her town, in her community, in her family. But so much had changed in such a short time! She had changed! She looked around at her companions. A human, a dwarf and a tabaxi, all different but all unique in their own right.
She pressed her hands together in front of her stomach. No, she wouldn’t want to be different. She wouldn’t want to be just a gnome. That desire seemed so childish to her now.
“Mary?” It was Aurum again. The bard was looking at her with concern.
“Mm?”
“You know, I can make it go away.” He patted the belt with his bells and continued. “I can make you forget what you went through with Nurvureem. Exchange your memories with ones that won’t give you such a hard time.”
Mary shuddered at the mention of the dragon’s name, and even more at the thought of her mind being tampered with.
Her hand touched her abdomen and met the not-too-well mended cut in her clothes. Bruno had healed her body but her garbs still bore the consequences of meeting Nurvureem’s sword.
She was sure she was going to have new nightmares now… but she didn’t want to forget it all. She felt stronger, having survived all that. The impossibility of wearing a bathing suit ever again was a small price to pay for that.
“Thank you, but no,” she replied. “I’m fine like this.”
The bard furrowed his brows but didn’t say anything.
“Where do people who aren’t artisans and traders go when they die?” Agatha was just asking. “Up there?” She pointed to the stormy city above their heads.
“Nah, they’re traders and artisans in Shurrock, too,” the shepherd said. “Only, they’re looking for more excitement and challenge in their afterlife. But you're probably asking about other people. If they honoured a God or a Goddess, they go to that God or Goddess' Heaven.”
“Ord resides in Mount Celestia,” Bruno chimed in, “and many dwarves and lawful individuals go there when they die.”
“So, is that where you’ll go?” Mary asked.
“I don’t know, probably?” He shrugged. “I haven’t really been thinking about that.”
Mary hadn’t either, but now she was suddenly very interested. She knew that people had beliefs about what happened after they died, but she’d never been faced with the reality of it all. Even dying had been an alien notion, before she’d started adventuring! Never had it occurred to her that it could not be the end.
It put things in an entirely different perspective.
Their host served them a simple dinner (for a fair price) and left them to enjoy each other’s company. Agatha took out Mundus and put him in the center of their small circle.
“Thanks for getting us out of that pickle,” she said. “I think you pretty much saved our lives back there.”
“Oh, no problem,” he said. “I just really like you, guys. I've been stuck in the hands of the Cult of Yeenoghu for a looong time! They didn't once take me out for a fun trip – all they did was talk about their Master and keep me for their dumb purposes. I'm so happy to be travelling with y'all now!"
“How did you do it, though? How did you get us to Bytopia?”
"I can move between the Planes," Mundus said. "Once a day, that is. It's a skill I have, as I was made out of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. See, Mordenkainen himself created me."
“That ability sounds useful,” Bruno said. “If we ever need to get out of another dangerous situation.”
“Oh, that’s not all I can do!” the dagger continued, sounding proud of itself. “I can send a foe--or part of one if they’re too strong--out into another Plane of existence, too. Like what I did to you but with people who… hm, let’s say don’t want to be transported.”
“Hell yeah!” Agatha said cheerfully. “We can send Nuri out, part by part.”
“Not really,” Mundus said. “I can only do it once a day, and it’s either this, OR the teleportation I did with you guys.”
“So, either you hurt our enemy, or we save ourselves,” Aurum summarised.
“Still, if we manage to send Nurvureem’s--let’s say--eyes, or, perhaps, the part of her neck that spits acid, that wouldn’t be bad,” Agatha said.
“In any case, we must be prepared this time. We can’t afford having another ambush.”
“Acid resistance potions,” Mary mumbled. Everybody turned to her. “I’ve read about acid resistant potions in my alchemy book. If we manage to find someone to sell them to us out here, we can drink them the moment we get near Nurvureem and it'll protect us.”
“Healing potions, too,” Aurum said. “We can’t risk being out of those.”
They found Bosygus Palatypus and asked him for an alchemy shop they could visit. He nodded cheerfully and told them there was still some time before it closed for the night.
"Great!" Aurum said. "Let me just change and I'll be there. Mary, could you stay back with the Bag of Holding so I can find my clothes?"
"Yes, of course."
The others went out in the peaceful evening. Mary stood at the window, with her back to the changing bard, and thought about the books Francesca Findabair had given her. She had to consult the ‘Draconomicon’ before anything else. Reading up on Black dragons would surely give them some advantage.
She heard the faint sound of a bell--probably from one of Mr. Palatypus's sheep--and she stopped to listen, absentmindedly gripping her books tighter. Then, she shook her head and smiled. She'd just remembered the fight with Nurvureem. It was so cool how her Mirror Images jumped out and distracted the dragon, so that her friends could get to Mundus on time. She felt like a hero figuring out they could do that!
Her own final words sounded in her head now, so brave that she couldn't believe she'd said them. "Next time will be your last!" she'd screamed at Nurvureem's face.
Mary didn't know if it was stupid or brave to do that, but the fear she'd seen in the monster's eyes had made it worth a while.
This was a fun episode. We had some theological talk, found out what happened to some people after they died and… hmmm… did you catch the little secret thing that Mary didn't notice? I don't know if it came through in the narrative, let me know in the comments if you noticed it.
See you next time!
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide, the Glossaries (Part 1 and Part 2)
and the Map for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: Mary Windfiddle's story is my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum, Bruno and Agatha) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.