The plan was to set out at dawn, and yet Misha and her companions departed even earlier than that. There was little sleep to be had that night after everything that had happened, so there were few objections to leaving the darkened halls of the mansion behind.

“She will likely not show herself to us at any rate,” Veldin had said. Misha was certain she’d heard pain in his voice when he’d said those words. Misha could hardly blame him. She only hoped the change of this night would be for the better in the end.

“I still have some of that cold iron left,” Aliana said at one point while the group traveled north to the village she and Misha had once been to. “That should be helpful. At least a little bit, right?”

“Difficult to say,” Veldin answered. "If we need it, my magic will be rendered ineffective, as will Remerick's hand."

"Your hand?" Misha asked with a look at Remerick who walked just behind her and Grey. The newest to join their group at least had a sword on his person now, one that had been kept in a storeroom in Elcevier's mansion. It had not been his sword, according to Remerick. Simply a leftover, perhaps once owned by members of the Fontaine family years ago or by travelers. Misha did not with to consider the implications of that last possibility given the news that Elcevier had abducted any number of people...

"Oh..." Remerick moved his left hand behind his back as if hiding it from view. "I have a prosthetic, actually."

Misha tilted her head, not fully understanding the word. "A pros… I’m sorry?"

"It's a replacement for part of my hand. I need magic to make it move at all."

Aliana’s eyes widened, and she blurted out, "You have a magic hand?!" The statement earned her a disciplinary look from Veldin and she cringed. "S-sorry, uh... That was rude. I just didn't know that sort of thing existed."

Remerick shrugged and offered an understanding smile to Aliana. "It's fine, I don't mind, really."

"At any rate," Veldin's words were firm as he steered the conversation back on track, "given that the fey have other capabilities aside from their own magic due to the shard's corruption, the cold iron may not necessarily be of help. However, it may be best to have it on hand anyway, should an opportunity arise to use it. I only ask that you be careful with it."

"Sure, sure." Aliana shifted her supply pack over her shoulder to make herself more comfortable as she walked.

It was noon on the day the group neared the village’s location. Misha had attempted to keep her focus on her surroundings. But, with tense silence taking up the air between her companions for most of their time, she found herself paying more attention to them. Suddenly, however, Aliana spoke up, “What is that?”

Aliana pointed out into the distance and the others followed where she was referring to. A light was coming up over the hills and mountainous rises up ahead. It was a soft blue color, and from this distance was faint enough for Misha not to have noticed at first. It spread across in a wall, stretching out far to each side on the landscape ahead. Misha turned her head, trying to see where exactly the light ended. In the bright sunlight, however, it was difficult to say.

“That’s near the village, isn’t it?” Misha said. She shared a look with Aliana when the both of them recalled the events of that night in the village.

“The fey have been renovating, then,” Veldin said. “Be on guard as we approach. There’s no telling what they’ve been doing with this place since the last time you were here.”

It quickly became apparent that the light, in fact, was the village. It encircled the land that had once been home to those small quaint buildings. The light grew brighter up close, a shining blue wall that rose up taller than the trees around here. Misha craned her neck up trying to see if there was some ledge that came up high enough to try climbing over.

“I don’t understand,” Misha said. Grey let out a single bark at the wall.

Remerick and Aliana both surveyed the surrounding land. Veldin approached the wall of light, raising one hand to it to cast a spell. After a few moments, Remerick asked, “Do you know what it is?”

Veldin took a step back. “A barrier and nothing more. They likely wished for no intrusions into their territory.”

“But,” Misha shook her head, “But the village—“

“I understand your concern, Misha. For the moment, however, it may be best not to dwell on that too much.”

Misha looked down at Grey, still sat on his shoulders, and Grey tried to lift his head back to make a sympathetic whimpering noise.

Aliana stood with arms crossed and apprehension on her face. “How do we get in? Can we climb that?”

“I do not believe we’ll need to,” Veldin answered. “I’ve located an entrance.”

“You did? Well, then, open it!”

Veldin looked back at Aliana, one eyebrow raised. “You have no concerns over what threats may lie beyond?”

Aliana began to say something, but then faltered, her hand falling to Moonlight’s hilt. “Well… Well, we have to get the shard, right?”

Remerick drew the sword he carried with him, meanwhile. “It’s fine. If we’re going in, we should stand a better chance in a group like this.”

Misha nodded in agreement, and Veldin replied, “Very well, then. Allow me a moment.” He placed a hand into the light of the wall, closing his eyes and speaking more words in Feyish to focus on whatever it was he was doing with this spell. After a short few moments of waiting, a part of the wall opened up. It formed a tall, oval hole similar to the portal Misha recalled from Sie’s home, and even opened into a tunnel of more light much like that one had.

“Come on, Grey,” Misha said, and Grey made another bark before continuing forward.

Misha recalled this sensation, it was much the same as the last time. The blue light that enveloped her as she and her companions stepped through the 'doorway' the wall provided. The light blinded her, but she trusted Grey to walk forward, his shoulders and back shifting beneath her with his confident gait. Then, the light faded, and Misha blinked a few times to clear away the spots in her eyes. "I think I should close my eyes next time we go through one of these, shouldn't I?" she muttered to herself. As her vision cleared, she began to take in her surroundings.

She had expected to see the village, the buildings that were present before and the animal pens and gardens of the people that lived there. But that was not what she saw here now. At a glance, Misha thought she was looking at gigantic vegetables and fruit risen up from the ground. In fact, when she looked closer, she realized that's exactly what she was seeing. Gigantic pumpkins and squashes, apples, oranges, and others all spread out on the ground, grown to the size of houses. Judging by the rounded doors and windows that were built into them—frames of wood merged into giant pumpkin and apple skins, and covered in vines and ivies that grew over them—that's exactly what these were. Houses.

Around Misha and her companions, a path of dirt led the way from fruit house to house, looking like any other village or settlement in a way. And, walking to and fro from one place to another, were the residents of this place. Some looked like humanoids with insect features similar to Sie and their kind, others were more animal-like akin to mousefolk but of different animal species and holding colors, patterns, and even proportions that set them rather apart. For a moment, Misha almost could not take her eyes off of one such bipedal fox creature who walked down one of the paths, who wore a flowing dress and was coated in orange fur that shone brilliantly in the sunlight above.

Misha's eyes darted from one spectacle of this place to the next, to the strange people to the plant buildings, some decorated with signs that indicated they were shops, and large gardens or flower bushes accompanying some buildings. "What... What is this place?"

Aliana stared in equal awe as Misha, but Remerick seemed far more concerned over the sight, eyebrows furrowed and mouth drawn taut as he took in the surroundings. "This is a fey settlement?" he asked after a moment.

Veldin nodded. "Yes, it would seem so."

"But," Misha began, "but how? This place was a normal village only a few weeks ago, how did this..." She sighed and shook her head, knowing exactly the answer she would get with that line of questioning. "It's magic. This is fey magic that did this?"

Veldin's attention drifted to a "structure" further into this village of fey. A tree grew from further into the settlement, one that was larger than any single tree Misha had ever seen before. Its trunk was wider than even the houses here and its height reached up so high into the sky that Misha had to crane her neck to see the top branches.

"This is not out of a fey's realm of abilities, exactly," Veldin said. "But it would take considerable power. I think it is safe to assume this is something that this 'fey queen' has been hard at work at."

Aliana watched a few of the Sie-like fey walk by, their gazes falling on the group of mortals. Grey let out a grumble of a noise, not openly aggressive, but wary. Misha brushed a hand over the back of his head.

“Well, it’s better than what I was expecting, at least,” Aliana said. “Then again, we’re getting looks.”

"They're probably not used to mortals just wandering in," Remerick said. "We, uh... we probably stand out a bit, don't we?"

Aliana tossed some of her pink locks to the side and grinned. "Hey, maybe I’m colorful enough to pass as a very human-looking fey.”

Misha watched the fey that walked by, then focused on Grey's posture, stiff and tense. "We were attacked the last time we were here. Is... Is it safe for us to be here?"

Aliana frowned. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then stopped. She and Misha likely both had just as little of an answer to offer, but if either of them had to guess, the answer wasn't pleasant.

"We're already here," Veldin said, walking forward. "We have business here, so we may as well attempt to learn what we can."

Buildings and leafy hedges lined the walkways of the village, one of which held a sign indicating it was a pub of some sort. Aliana was the first to point to it and say, "Well? If there's a place people like to talk, pubs are usually it. 'Sides, a drink might be nice after we've been walking all this way. Is, uh... Is fey alcohol safe?"

Veldin rolled his eyes. "Fey do not drink alcohol. Not so commonly, at least. But, I can't say I disagree with your first point."

Misha was not sure what she expected the interior of the fey pub to look like. Had she been expecting a simple wooden building like her home village or back in Indervel? Would that have been the stranger option, given the context? What she saw instead was a lusciously green interior inside of a gigantic pear. There was indeed wood in the walls, but it looked to be natural bark like that of a tree despite the fruit exterior, and the whole room was rounded. The floor consisted of dirt and grass, with a moist and earthy smell to it. The furniture looked closer to something man-made, as the chairs, tables, and the bar counter were made of smoothed wood, but flowers grew from even those along with drapes of ivy hanging down the walls. Motes of soft blue and pink light floated in the air to provide colorful illumination to the place.

Just as outside, the people here were strange varieties Misha had never seen. A person that resembled a large round fish with a vest stood behind the counter. When he moved, there was a distinct sound of water splashing about somewhere behind there as well.

Veldin proceeded to the bar counter run by the fish person. "Greetings. My companions and I are not native to this place, and had some questions as to whether this village has existed here long."

The fish man, with round eyes rotating about to look at Veldin and each of the others, commented something in Feyish. Misha noticed several of the pub's patrons watching their group now.

"Interesting," Veldin said to the Feyish statement. He returned another question in the language, and Misha looked to Remerick and Aliana for any thoughts.

"Do you understand them?" Aliana asked. “It’s the same language as magic, or something like that, right?”

Remerick shook his head. "I can understand bits and pieces, but that's all. I... Oh." Something behind Misha caught his attention.

Misha turned around and noticed Grey looking in that direction as well. Another fey, one resembling Sie in terms of their build and with their moth-like antennae and wings, had approached the group. As opposed to the simple clothing worn by the fey of Sie's village, however, this one wore cloth robes in garish colors, and plentiful flowers on vines wrapped over their arms and torso. Grey made a grumbling noise in response to the fey's approach, and they responded in Feyish as well in a conversational tone. Misha looked down at Grey, then back up to the fey and said, "I'm sorry, we, uh... Don't speak the language?"

The fey blinked their large eyes and smiled. "Ah, I apologize," they said. "I should have assumed, given how few fey you have in your group." They then looked down to Grey, "Still, a pleasure to meet you, sir. And the rest of you all as well."

"Hold on," Aliana said. "Are you talking to Grey?"

"Yes, of course." The fey nodded. As opposed to Sie, this one spoke with proper inflection and tone in their voice that made them far less odd to listen to. "I’d be surprised if you do not. Well, what is it that brings you all here?"

Misha looked down at Grey, head tilted in confusion, although she took this as an answer to one suspicion of hers. "We're looking for the queen," she said, hoping that wasn't the wrong thing to say.

The fey's expression faltered. Their smile returned quickly, however, and they said, "Oh, our queen is magnificent, of course. Just delightful." Though they said that, their tone hesitated just as their face had, slipping back into the flat monotone of their kind's traits as if the way they had been speaking before took conscious effort. They picked up with their mock emotion, however. "Well then. You all must be parched after spending your time traveling, right? Mortals have to come to places like this on foot, I take it. You should all have a drink, the fruit juice is lovely."

“Oh.” Misha blinked, taking a moment. Her statement had just been ignored. She tried again, hoping the purpose of her question would not be too obvious. “No, I, uh… We were just looking to learn more about this place, that’s all.”

“Of course, of course.” The fey nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, our kingdom is still small, but it’s lovely. And the knights who patrol ensure everything remains in order.” There was an emphasis to those last words that was not lost on Misha.

“Knights?” Remerick asked. “Are they… your law enforcement, then?”

“Oh, well, something along those lines, yes. They do so much to keep us safe from troublemakers and the like.”

Misha wondered what it was the fey had meant by ‘troublemakers,’ but once again the tone in their voice faltered as they spoke. They quickly added, “Now then, you all should enjoy a drink. Or perhaps you’re looking for somewhere to stay?”

“No, I don’t think, uh…” Remerick glanced back to the bar uneasily, where Veldin stood now watching the group’s conversation, his own discussion seemingly concluded already.

Veldin took the opportunity to approach. “I do thank you for keeping my friends company. But I believe we should be departing now.”

"Ah..." The fey nodded. “I see, I see… Well. Please enjoy yourselves in our land. Have a wonderful day.”

"Actually," Misha spoke up, "There was something I was wondering about."

"Yes?"

"My friend and I may have lost some items here. Before this place was, uh... built? Do you think there's any chance someone may have found some armor or a book?"

The fey smiled, and then tapped a finger against the side of their face in thought. "A book and armor... Well, if you've lost them, there's only one place they'll turn up here. You'll want to check in with the Keeper."

"Oh... Alright. Where can we find this 'Keeper' then?"

The fey gestured to one of the windows that looked outside the pub. "Travel up that road,” they said, "And you'll find the Keeper's yard easily. The graveyard of the lost."

Misha hesitated to say more to that statement upon hearing the word 'graveyard.' She simply answered with a polite nod, then looked at her allies who seemed just as hesitant over that comment. "Um... Well, thank you," she said. “I think… we’ll be going, then?”

Back outside, Aliana stretched her arms up into the air as she walked. "Well, that was pointless."

"Not quite," Veldin said. "That fey was evasive about questions regarding the queen, as was the barkeep, but I think that on its own is noteworthy.”

“They said the knights around here keep order,” Remerick added, “but… Fey don’t normally do that, do they?”

“You mean worry about rules in any sense of the word? No, not unless something is forcing them. Such as the will of another creature.”

“So, for that matter… The shard we're looking for causes corruption, right? Would that have happened to the... 'servants' of the queen as well?"

Misha recalled Limalsa mentioning something of that sort. "I think so. She ‘empowered’ them, or something along those lines… Why?"

"Well... The fey here don't seem corrupted, do they?"

Misha wouldn't have known what constituted a normal fey if asked, but now that Remerick brought that up, she did notice a lack of any obvious signs of corruption. No strange dark coloration, and the fey they'd just spoken to was rather amicable and pleasant, completely opposed to how Limalsa had been. "Well, what does that mean, then?"

"Most likely," Veldin said, "only the ones turned by her are corrupted."

"These fey were all fey from the start, then?"

"Yes, that would seem to be the case."

"Then," Aliana said, her voice quiet and tentative, "What did she do with the villagers?"

"The ones that attacked us seemed to be the answer to that," Misha said. "Do you... think she's done that to all of them?"

Veldin thought, and then said, "It may be prudent for us to cover more ground as we look for information. We may do best to split into two groups."

"Hold on," Aliana cut in, "You want us to split up in this place?"

"Thus why I am suggesting groups. Yes, it is not exactly safe, but neither is the fact that we are here at all. We would do best to conclude our business here as quickly as possible."

Misha nodded. "Alright. Grey and I could go to the Keeper since we know what we're looking for. Aliana, do you want to come with us?"

Aliana looked at Veldin and Remerick, then nodded. "Sure, that sounds fine. What are you two doing in the meantime, then?"

"Looking for information," Veldin said. "Given I can communicate in Feyish, as apparently can Grey," he eyed the wolf as he said that, "It will be best for each of our parties to have that communication skill readily available. Should anything happen... Remerick, I take it you are skilled with that sword?"

"Yes, don't worry about me," Remerick said.

“Alright,” Misha answered with a nod. “We’ll meet up at the pub later. Aliana, Grey, let’s go.”