Bob Communes With Sune

Siegfried took a long look at Queen Aelynn, recalling how she’d carried herself during the King’s feast. He was the sort of person who, when encountering someone in a wheelchair, would contrive to drop something on the floor to give him an opportunity to check on the soles of said wheelchair user’s shoes. The Queen had been carrying herself as one without sight, as far as Siegfried was concerned. Being very careful and deliberate in her movements. Even though her eyes were clouded milky-white, her eyes had been involuntarily darting about behind the veil. Her eye movements and body language did not match. Siegfried frowned thoughtfully. Interesting, he thought. The Queen deferred to the King, who was considering Siegfried and Bob’s proposal. A single, perfect tear ran down King Melendrach’s perfect cheekbone as the elf noble stared off into the middle distance. “My courtly mages and seers have inquired many a time into the fate of my son, and we have never been given reason to hope, though there is a part of me that continues to do so.” Queen Aelynn squeezed his hand sympathetically. “If, as you say, you have the ear of Hanali Celanil, then by all means, we have an appropriate shrine in my Court where you can commune with your deity in peace and privacy.” “Bob, shall we wash our hands?” Siegfried said to Bob. Bob nodded. “Excuse us, your highness,” Siegfried said. He and Bob made as if to get out of their chairs. At the far end of the table, Varien’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed the situation. King Melendrach got to his feet, helping Queen Aelynn, who kept. The rest of the dinner party got to their feet in due deference. We’re going to the King’s shrine to commune with Sune, Siegfried said by way of message to Varien. “My wife, son and I shall join you,” King Melendrach declared slowly, but decisively. Siegfried nodded respectfully. “You’ll have to excuse me,” Varien said to Lord Thalorin. “You do you, my friend,” Alec said around a mouthful of Feywild pheasant. As they stood away from the table and were ushered towards the shrine, Bob couldn’t help but notice that Queen Aelynn’s knuckles were white as she clutched her husband’s hand, and her sightless eyes seemed to be tracking both him and Siegfried as they moved. Varien, if you wouldn’t mind, could you engage your divine senses to see if there’s something nasty about? Siegfried cast a message with subtlety. The King, Queen, Prince Glorfyndin and the party members began to walk slowly along the pathway, which had been shaped by talented forest druids from root and branch networks. The path began to incline until the party was lost in the treetops of the Laughing Hollow. Varien activated his divine senses. While there was no detectable source of noxious evil odour, at the faintest edge of his senses, he could hear the sound of a child’s music box playing a quiet, discordant melody. Well, that’s unsettling, the paladin thought to himself. The royal party approached the shrine, which was nestled in the treetops, the forest canopy giving way to an opening that would allow clerics full view of the sun or moon as need be for their worship. Several tree stump altars were arrayed before an imposing dais, atop which was planted an impressive display of topiary, which, depending on the angle at which one viewed it, changed its shape into each of the deities of the elvish pantheon. A neat trick, Siegfried observed. Bob chose a spot in the shrine where the trimmed tree took on a Sune-like shape, and began to prepare himself for the ritual to commune with his goddess. Queen Aelynn still held on to King Melendrach’s arm, and to Siegfried it wasn’t clear who was supporting who, as the Queen stroked the King’s arm and whispered words of comfort as the monarch bent his crowned head to listen. Prince Glorfyndin seemed upset that there weren’t any scantily-clad oracles stationed at the shrine. Bob knelt at the altar, closed his eyes, and began to pray. He opened them to find himself standing not in a treetop, but on a mountaintop, one cloaked in roiling pink-hued clouds. The moon shone brightly overhead, and far below in the valley created by the mountain peaks, spread the romantic realm of Brightwater, Sune’s domain. A stone staircase led away from the summit out into the sky above Brightwater like a phallic promontory, and at the tip floated Lady Firehair, the Princess of Passion – Sune in all her crimson-tressed glory. She was wrapped in a clingy silken sash, the ends of which twirled about her slowly, and Bob couldn’t be sure whether or not Sune was undressing or getting dressed as he approached. Bob steadied himself as he approached, as there were no safety railing affixed to the stone archway. He knew in his heart that Sune was the type to let people down easily, so there was little chance of him falling to his death. But little chance was chance enough. Sune’s full red lips parted in a welcoming smile. “Robert, my Beloved, it has been too long. What a pleasure to see you. How may the Lady Firehair soothe your spirit today?” Bob bowed reverently. “Milady, I come today to inquire about the whereabouts of a young Prince of the Misty Forest.” Sune stared off into the distance, her lips twisting into a frown of puzzlement. “While traveling in the Misty Forest seeking amusement, Prince Alagarthas met a Bitter End.” “A Bitter End,” Bob repeated, cognizant of the seeming weight that the goddess had placed on those two words in particular. “Was the prince murdered?” Sune took a moment to think, and then nodded to herself as if confirming a suspicion. She leaned forward and said, “No.” “Huh,” Bob said, thinking things through. “Was it an accident?” Sune shook her red tresses. “No,” she breathed. “Not an accident.” Then she leaned down and placed a kiss upon Bob’s lips.   Bob’s eyes snapped open and he found himself back in the elvish shrine. “Bob blushes!” Siegfried said. “What news from Brightwater?” “I’ve communed with Sune,” Bob said, his heart still pounding. “She has revealed to me that the prince met a Bitter End in the forest.” Bob detected the slightest flinch from Queen Aelynn at the mention of a Bitter End, but she covered it by hugging King Melendrach, saying, “you see my love, it is the same as all the other divinations.” “I also regret to inform you that it was not an accident,” Bob continued. “It was no accident,” the king repeated, as if testing how the words sounded in his mouth. “It was the Emerald Assassin, after all.” “Was it murder?” Siegfried asked Bob. “It was not murder,” Bob confirmed. The king’s eyes narrowed. “Not murder?” “It implies a sacrifice, perhaps,” Bob said. “A sacrifice?” King Melendrach replied. “I do not understand.” “A ritual sacrifice would still be classed as murder under a number of laws in the Realms,” Siegfried said. “Sune told me that the prince met a bitter end while seeking amusement in the forest,” Bob summarized. “And that he was not murdered, but it was no accident.” “That leaves two possibilities in my mind,” Siegfried mused aloud. “Please, illuminate us,” The King said. “This is no sacrifice,” Varien said. “There is the possibility of suicide, that is, a killing that was no accident but was not murder, either,” Siegfried said. “However, Sune told Bob that the prince was seeking amusement in the forest, which leads me to believe that he was not intending to kill himself. So he was seeking amusement, met a bitter end, not murdered, not an accident, then perhaps a fey bargain. Perhaps he partook of fey food and was not able to return. Have your seers contacted the archfey regarding this disappearance?” King Melandrach nodded. “Of course, would he have crossed the fey boundaries of our forest, into the Feywild, we would have used our eladrin contacts to seek him out on that plane. There was nothing to suggest that he has slipped between the planes in this manner, though there are many fey crossings in the Misty Forest. My son would have been taught from an early age about these things, tutored in the ways of the fey. It is our way.” The king thought for a moment. “But my son, Prince Alagarthas, was a curious spirit, an adventurer at heart, always keen to uncover new understandings. He was…so full of life,” King Melendrach said, his voice catching sorrowfully. Another tear spilled down his cheek. “He would not have accidentally fallen afoul of some trick, not my son. Not my son.” Siegfried thought for a moment, then pulled out a notepad to sketch some probabilities. “Bob asked Sune if Prince Alagarthas was alive, and she replied that the prince had met a bitter end. That’s not a no.” His eyes widened. “No, that’s not a no!” He turned his eyes heavenward. “Petrification! Transmogrification! Abduction!” He shouted. “Sune! Bob really wants to talk to you again! Oh, she’s sneaky.” He turned to Bob. “I’m not speaking ill of your goddess, but I am saying she really wants you to call her back.” “That could get complicated,” Bob said. “Every time I attempt to contact her in this way, the likelihood of making such a connection decreases.” “I’m aware,” Siegfried said. “But I’m willing to let you take that risk.” He shook his head ruefully. “Oh, she’s clever.” Bob nodded. “Let’s see if we can uncover Sune’s secrets,” he said. He prepared to cast commune again, as a ritual. Siegfried made some notes and handed a scrap of parchment to Bob. “Are we doing this?” He asked with a glint of insanity in his eyes. “Are we crazy enough to do this?” Bob closed his eyes and began to chant, again. He opened his eyes, and was back in the mountains above Brightwater. Sune floated before him, a knowing expression on her beautiful face. “Robert,” she chided gently with an amused smile. “Twice in one day?” “I just cannot stay away, milady,” Bob replied. “Well,” Sune blushed. “I was hoping I would see you again, my beloved.”   In the shrine, Queen Aelynn continued to speak to the king. “This is causing you too much distress and distraction, my king,” she said softly but insistently. “We’ve been over this painful ground so many times before. Why put yourself through this again?” Varien noticed that while she was speaking, her face and body oriented towards King Melendrach, her sightless eyes were darting about as if to keep Bob, Varien, and Siegfried in view. Varien approached and put a hand on the queen’s shoulder. “Calm yourself and be still,” he said firmly, using his healing powers to attempt to heal the queen’s blindness. Prince Glorfyndin’s eyes widened as he suddenly began to pay attention to his surroundings. “You dare? You dare lay a hand upon my mother?” “I do,” Varien said sharply. “Sir, you forget yourself, you are in the presence of royalty!” Glorfyndin snarled. He motioned to the guards stationed nearby, who lunged forward protectively. “And you are in the presence of divinity!” Varien said. “Guards!” Prince Glorfyndin shouted. “Belay that!” Siegfried said loudly. “Madmen are changing fate!” “Would you deny your blood be healed?” Varien asked the prince. “You should be thanking Sune.” He looked at the queen, expecting a miracle. Queen Aelynn’s sightless eyes stared back at Varien, even as her face remained oriented towards King Melendrach. “Huh, that should have worked,” Varien said, puzzled. The King frowned, and grasped his wife protectively. “We have tried to cure my wife’s affliction through magic many times. Your heart is in the right place, but-” “That’s because your queen is not blind,” Siegfried interrupted. “Why would the queen lie to her people?” Varien asked, looking at the queen. “That’s none of my business,” Siegfried said. Queen Aelynn turned until her body was oriented in the same direction as her eyes, staring sightlessly at Varien. “I tell you the truth; I cannot see.” “But why can’t you see?” Varien asked. “I believe the Queen,” Siegfried said. “Her eyes work, but she cannot see. We’ll deal with that later. Right now, we’re following up on your son. One miracle at a time.” He turned back to Bob, who was on his knees praying intently, oblivious to the goings-on around him.

“So, milady,” Bob began, his heart fluttering anew. “You said that Prince Alagarthas met a Bitter End. Can that be reversed by us?” Sune nodded. “It may be within your power,” she said with a smile. “Are his remains still in the Misty Forest?” Bob asked. “No,” Sune replied. “Huh,” Bob said. “Were they taken by the Fey?” Sune slowly shook her head, “No, not by the Fey.” Bob felt himself slipping back to reality. “Should I just stay here?” Sune said coyly. Bob nodded. “I shall return presently,” he said. “I would love to spend more time with you, milady.” Sune blew him a kiss, and its impact knocked him back into the shrine.   Bob raised his head and took in the tense scene behind him. Prince Glorfynden was glaring at Varien, and there were guards standing at the ready, while Varien and Queen Aelynn seemed to be having a staring contest. “Did I miss something?” Bob asked. “What have you learned, Robert?” The king asked. “Whatever fate has befallen the prince can be reversed,” Bob said. “However, his remains are not in the Misty Forest, nor were his remains taken by the Fey, and if I am able to communicate with Sune further I can clarify a few more details.” Siegfried handed Bob another note. “Not the Fey?” Siegfried said. “That suggests it might be a fey.” Bob closed his eyes and began to pray.   Bob opened his eyes to see Sune before him, one hand on a curved hip while the other spun the belt of her negligee invitingly. “Beloved, we simply have to stop meeting like this,” she purred. “Must we, though?” Bob replied. Sune smiled. “Well, perhaps I can prepare a place for you here in Brightwater, but I think that there is still much more for you to do in My Name on Toril. So, your time has not yet come,” she said with a wink. “I look forward to both those things,” Bob said. Sune bit her lower lip and pulled on the tassel at the end of her silken sash.   Siegfried used his powers of persuasion to keep everyone in the shrine calm. Eyes still locked on Varien, Queen Aelynn turned back to face King Melendrach. “My King,” she said, “See how looking into the past brings nothing but sadness and grief. You should look to your kingdom’s future.” “Oh, but that’s what we’re doing,” Siegfried interrupted. Queen Aelynn’s sightless eyes moved in Siegfried’s direction. “We do not call upon the goddess merely for knowledge and confirmations of history, we bring a lasting change to the Court of the Laughing Hollow this night, one way or the other. History is happening as we write it.” Queen Aelynn nodded slowly. Siegfried launched into a distracting oratory. “There was once a tale I heard as a child of a dry wasteland, that was flooded by the rivers from the wasteland, and with the river an oasis sprang up, and with it came new life – foliage, insects, forests, amphibians and fish grew. A frog was resting on a patch of grass by this new river and was approached by a scorpion. The scorpion demanded compensation from the frog for the environmental change that had destroyed its way of life, that the frog owed the scorpion a way across the river so that it could continue on its travels. The frog agreed, but said “You must agree not to strike me, o scorpion, though I know it is your way.” The scorpion agreed not to strike the frog as it was ferried on the creature’s back across the river. But as the frog paddled to the middle of the waters, the scorpion did strike the frog, paralyzing it. “Why did you do this, scorpion?” the frog asked. “Now we both shall drown!” “You knew what I was when you agreed to carry me across the river,” the scorpion said as both creatures vanished beneath the surface of the waters to drown. “Now, Queen Aelynn, who would you say you were in this parable?” Siegfried asked. Queen Aeylnn shook her head. “It is your friend, the priest, who is answering riddles today, not I.” “Then I shall tell you who my friend the priest is,” said Siegfried. “He is not the frog, nor is he the scorpion, HE IS THE RIVER!” the half-orc shouted. “The river that brings irrevocable change to a place that is dry and dead. The river brings life in a dry land. The river from an irrevocable change, and drowns those that argue petty status int eh wake of that change. Now please, your highness, allow the goddess to speak her divine word and listen to her scripture. This is not a time to ensure your son’s future while we secure your stepson’s future.” The King looked at Siegfried, whose shadow seemed to stretch to the mountains of the north, where the statue of a conquering king stood in relief against the rising sun. “Tread carefully, Siegfried,” King Melendrach said. “I am not treading, I stand where I stand,” replied Siegfried. King Melendrach put a consoling arm around his Queen.   “Can we revive the prince by true resurrection?” Bob asked Sune. Sune shook her head. “No,” she said. “Does anyone in the King’s court know his location?” Bob asked. “Yes,” Sune said huskily, teasing her long hair into twisted braids that looked like fiery tornadoes in the cold mountain air. “Oho!” Bob exclaimed. “Is it the Queen who knows his location?” Sune fluttered her eyelids. “The Queen was not told where Alagarthas would go.” “So the Queen knows?” Bob asked. Sune shrugged expressively with a wink, her bosom bouncing freely. “I am picking up what you’re putting down, milady,” Bob said to Sune. Sune reached out to Bob and laid a finger under his chin, stroking him slowly with a perfectly-manicured fingernail. “Until next time, my beloved,” she whispered, giving him a kiss on the mouth.   Bob awoke and relayed this information to the assembly. “A true resurrection spell could not raise him, which means he was not killed within the last two hundred years. My King, your son is alive.” “What?” King Melendrach gasped. “Someone in the Court of the Laughing Hollow knows his location,” Bob continued. “The Queen was not told where the prince would go.” “So, there is a conspiracy within your court,” Siegfried said. “Someone in your court knows the location of your son. The queen was not told.” “Interesting,” King Melendrach said. “We of course suspected a conspiracy and investigated, but to no avail.” “Who investigated?” Siegfried asked. “Which members of the court?” “The court wizard and our Chief at Arms,” King Melendrach said. “And who investigated the investigators?” Siegfried asked. King Melendrach straightened up. “I, of course, conducted that investigation to ensure that a conspiracy in my court would be uncovered, should it be existed.” “My King, we must speak plainly if we are to uncover the truth,” Siegfried replied. “Were the Captain of the Guard and the Court Wizard investigated as suspects?” “Of course the Queen and I kept a close eye on both of them,” King Melendrach said. “Were they not interrogated?” Siegfried asked. “Yes, they were,” the king replied. “And they proved their loyalty to myself and the Queen to our satisfaction.” “Yes, but not to the satisfaction of Hanali Celanil,” Siegfried replied. He handed Bob another set of questions. Bob closed his eyes and began to pray.   This time Sune was reclining invitingly on a chaise lounge that floated in mid-air before the stone platform. “You are a most devoted servant, Robert my beloved,” she purred. “How could I refuse your repeated entreaties?” “How could I stay away?” Bob asked. Sune leaned back on the couch and got comfortable. “Go ahead, interrogate me,” she said playfully. “You have more questions for me?” “I do, milady,” Bob said. “Were the court wizard and master at arms involved in the prince’s disappearance?” “Not at all,” Sune said with her eyes closed. “Have I met the one responsible for the prince’s disappearance today?” Bob asked. Sune pursed her lips, then licked them suggestively. “The culprit has laid eyes on you, but you have not laid eyes on the culprit.” “Does the culprit see through the Queen’s eyes?” Bob asked. Sune’s full, red lips parted in a gleeful smile. “The Queen’s eyes are not her own,” the goddess said. She leaned forward and kissed Bob on the lips. “I’m tired now and have to go,” she purred. “But this has been so much fun.” Sune waved at Bob as her chaise lounge drifted towards Brightwater. “Parting is such sweet sorrow, my beloved. We do have to do this again sometime, Robert. Just, not tonight. I’ve got a headache.”   Bob opened his eyes and spoke Sune’s words aloud. “Oh, that’s juicy, I do love a puzzle,” Siegfried said. Queen Aelynn began to weep. “I need to ask,” Siegfried said. “Hags. Do they exist? What’s the situation with hags? Have any of you encountered hags? Have any of you made a bargain with a hag? This is far more than you’ve had so far. Your son is alive, but has met a Bitter End. The culprit has seen Bob, but Bob has not seen the culprit. The queen’s eyes are not her own. They take in information, but do not send them to the queen’s brain. And the queen was not told where Prince Alagarthas went. But he was not murdered and there was no accident. I believe a hag may have him.” The queen was sobbing. “It can’t be true. It cannot.” “My Queen, if you have recalled something that at the time you dismissed as an unimportant detail, now is the time to share,” Siegfried said. Queen Aelynn was tugging insistently on King Melendrach’s robes. “I betrayed no one, you must believe me!” she implored the King. “I did not betray your—our son, my beloved King. I did not. I could not.” “I mean, nobody was accusing her before,” Varien said. That said, he believed she was being genuine. “It is the nature of such beings to trick and deceive,” Siegfried said. “No one believes the Queen acted with malice. But Queen Aelynn, you must share with the Court what you have realized.” “I was in the forest, taking a constitutional,” the Queen sniffled. “I came across a traveling carnival, a circus of some kind. There was a fortune teller. It was a lark. I was amused by the antics of the performers, and the fortune teller in her wagon asked me “would you like me to see your future?” How could I refuse? The last thing I saw was the fortune teller gazing into her crystal ball. I remember her eyes…and she said, “I see your son on the throne.” Then everything went black – I could see no longer. Somehow I managed to wander back to the Court of the Laughing Hollow.” “Would you like me to see your future?” Siegfried repeated. “Yeah, she got you there.” Queen Aelynn shook her head ruefully. “I was foolish, naïve like a schoolgirl. But it was only a moment’s lapse in judgement. A moment’s indiscretion, my king. I took my punishment,” she wiped a hand across her unseeing eyes, “as payment for my foolishness. You remember when I was afflicted. It was a short time later that Alagarthas disappeared. I could not believe that these two incidents were connected. I refused to believe it. I believed it was the Emerald Assassin taking our son…because otherwise…” she began to sob anew. Varien could smell glacial ice from the Queen’s tears. Like the waters running from a northern mountain when the glaciers melted in springtime. There was no natural reason why a woman would cry tears of ice water. Siegfried maneuvered in front of the Queen. “Forgive me for what you are about to hear, Your Highness. These words are not for you, but for the one looking through your eyes.” He took the Queen’s chin in his hand and glowered at his reflection in the milky sheen over the Queen’s eyes. “I bet you think you’re real smart. How you must have laughed, having fooling the Court of the Laughing Hollow for a century before you were found out. If you wish to continue living, you will return the prince. If the prince returns alive and sound, that will be the end of it. Let me tell you why you’ll do that. I don’t yet know who you are. I don’t know what you want. I know you don’t want a ransom, and we don’t have the money to pay it. What we do have is a very particular set of skills. Skills that will make life a nightmare for people like you. And we intend to go north, where you are hiding. If Alagarthas returns home safely, we will not look for you. We will not pursue you, but if you don’t release him, we will look for you, we will find you, and we will kill you.” The Queen’s eyes were fixing Siegfried with the coldest of the cold stares. Siegfried released the Queen and regarded the King. “We have an alliance to make over a shared enemy. You now have reason to turn your blades north.” The King nodded slowly. “Rescue my son, and our alliance will never be broken.” “Bring your armies on the promised day when you once refused,” Siegfried replied. “Do that, and I can bring the Lords’ Alliance’s wrath behind us as we tear her down from her mountain home. Perform this action and I can perform steps that will bring the support the Lords’ Alliance, an alliance you never felt you needed because you never stepped out of your forest, but if you step out, aid me in a way you’ve never aided anyone, I will make sure the Lords’ Alliance will step up for you in a way you’ve never needed them to. She has nowhere to hide your son.” The King thought for a moment, and then nodded again as the Queen continued to weep at his feet. Prince Glorfyndin shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably. Siegfried put a hand on the prince’s shoulder. “Look after your mother. This wasn’t her fault.” Siegfried turned to the king. “But it is important that the Queen not take part in any further military plans until we know who sees with her eyes.” The King’s expression was grave and sad. “A river in a dry land,” Siegfried said. “Irrevocable change and new life. I’m going to bed.” He slapped Bob on the shoulder. Varien was lost in thought as he pondered the queen’s tears. “This doesn’t smell like the Feywild, but rather a demiplane, or even a Stygian Glacier, or an area corrupted by fiendish elements. It’s not purely from the Nine Hells.” “It had better not be Baba Yaga,” Siegfried said.