2. Beregost

Dieter sticks his finger in one of his visor slots to scratch his nose. He makes a few attempts but cannot breach the masterwork and doffs his helmet in defeat.

Stella is transfixed in awe during her moment of transcendence, eye-stars bright swirls of white.

"Ahh!" She gasps as the moment ends and grimaces in pain at the ensuing headache, gritting her teeth and putting a hand to the front of her head.

That was not what she had expected.

But how wonderful that had been!

But what was that? The experience felt like trying to pick out a constellation as the sky gives way to dawn. She could see it just moments ago, but the stars hide sneak back behind the veil of the sky, twinkling faintly into her mind's eye if she focused.

It was her handwriting. Had she written those words? When? At Candlekeep? She had no memory of doing so. Had her memories been altered? The words seemed far too poetic for her. Had her body been controlled? Maybe she wrote in her sleep. Like sleepwalking, but far more elaborate. Perhaps some celestial or fey spirit possessed her. She was the daughter of an avatar of Ilmater and of an archdruid after all...

She didn't like any of those possibilities, for they meant she didn't have control over her own body or mind...But the experience was undeniably breathtaking!

Perhaps if she could find out what language it was...Celestial or Sylvan, perhaps?

Stella finally stands from beside the pillar. "Excuse me, Mayor. Do you recognize this language?" She approaches Kelddath and points out the text. If he didn't know, she would approach the sirens and ask them.

"Wow, sister-girl." Aiwë finally speaks up from where she has been watching Stella for the last few minutes. "You seem to have had a whole moment over there. Are you alright?"

"A whole moment and a half," she agrees with a giggle and a nod, eyes distant with yellow and violet.

"I finally read Papa's letter to me last night...and it helped me see things more clearly," She meets Awie's eyes and smiles. "About what he thinks of me, and how I can see myself. And apparently..." She shows Aiwë the strange text around Lily's flower. "I wrote this? It's my handwriting, but I don't know that language. I was able to magically translate it, and I wrote down a translation, but Common doesn't seem to fully encompass what it means.

When I first read it, I...I think I glimpsed the multiverse?" she says quietly, rising her eyebrows with almost a concerned look. "Or something. Like a vision. Papa said he had those sometimes. But it was incredible!" She rolls her head slightly in emphasis, her eyes twinkling with specs of white. "We simply must write a song about it. If I can remember any of it..." she trails off.

"Oh! Oh! And this!" she points excitedly to the flower. "I'm pretty sure Lily drew this—unless I did too? Stargazer Lily. Isn't that sweet? She must have found a horticulture book in Dok's libraries or something...The flower grows all around the Candlekeep gardens."

She heaves her pack onto her shoulders, eye-stars swirling green as her mind spins.

"I have a few things to take care of before we all decide where we head next. Care to join me?"

Ida just generally lurks and follows the group waiting to know where or what is happening

Under Stella's direction the party sees to the proposed errands, and all goes smoothly.

Taerom Fuiruim is especially grateful for the party's assistance. "You rescue one of my apprentices from the fire, and bring the slain one to life again. Now you gift us this small fortune? May all the goodly gods bless you! Thunderhammer Smithy will be rebuilt better than ever, and all who come will know not only your heroism, but also your generosity."

He also reiterates his promise to use the vial of ore poison to try to find a cure for the contaminated iron.

"We led assassins to your door, and you protected us, but at great cost. It's the least we can do," Stella says with a bow. She still needed to talk to Dieter about his reckless assumptions, but since no one was permanently dead, her anger at him had subsided.