The Roots (Pt. 3)

The Roots (Pt. 3)
The Roots (Pt. 2c)	The Roots (Pt. 4)
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The Roots (Pt. 3) is the 40th chapter of Volume 10.

tl;dr[edit | edit source]

After closing the door on herself, Mrsha retraces her steps and find notecards on the doors describing what they portray
Mrsha decides to dig upwards from the roots but failing that she calls for every reality where imminent danger to the Wandering Inn and friends is going to happen
Mrsha opens a door the depicts the 2nd Army of Pallass besieging Goblinhome
Opening another door Mrsha sees the 2nd Army of Pallass enter an empty Goblinhome only to encounter an Old One
Mrsha continues to open more doors and figures out that Rags is the person in the most immediate danger
In another failed attempt to escape Mrsha finds out that the [Palace of Fates] can also show futures where those who had died survived instead
Having an epiphany Mrsha remembers that the [Palace of Fates] is a part of the [Garden of Sanctuary] and makes a doorway on the ceiling by the roots
Mrsha convinces Lyonette that she is alright and requests Asgra to pass on a letter to Rags immediately and waits for any sign of the two at the inn

After closing the door on herself, Mrsha writes down her own existential dread of the whole ordeal she is in. After that Mrsha starts to dot down a list of oddities that she has observed and things that she needs to do before things start to blow over. Leaving a shoe in-between the door Mrsha previously opened, Mrsha starts to retrace her steps picking up things she dropped on the way, while doing that she sees notes left on the doors describing what alternative reality they convey.

Mrsha looks upon the roots contemplating what actions she should take in order to find a way out, but knowing the fates of her other possibilities the only plan she has on her mind is digging upwards. With rocks nearly hitting her and the roots starting to fail carrying her weight, Mrsha then knew that digging up was not the answer. With the rising tension of apprehension about the ever decreasing amount of time she has Mrsha calls for every reality where something grave happens in the immediate future to the The Wandering Inn and friends.

In a scorched Goblinhome riddle with the corpses of goblins and drakes, [General] Shirka walks towards Rags while admonishing the order to do such an act that just took place and fears the repercussions due to the amount of losses the 2nd Army of Pallas took to achieve said order.

In shock of what she just seen Mrsha is in disbelief that Goblinhome is going to be attacked by Pallass, but then remember the conversation she had with Rags in one of the door's realities. In fear Mrsha opens another door.

With a great sense of trepidation [General] Shirka and the 2nd Army of Pallas draws near to Goblinhome to see the gates to the fortress are wide open. Thinking it a poorly thought out trap they advance onwards only to be met with no opposing counter force waiting to be besieged, as the 2nd Army walks through the gates they see the place riddle with arrows and black insects. As they walk along they glimpse at all the defenses the goblins had prepared and deliberate on what can cause such an empty battlefield with such preparations. The scouting force then discovers what appears to be a mess hall of sorts that alerts their [Dangersense], with that in mind Shirka adjusts the her army around for a different threat than goblins. As the army goes through the halls of Goblinhome they find a sole survivor, Gothica, who tells them to evacuate from the thing that killed everything. Knowing that they are being watched Shirka and her forces group around the sealed doors to get ready for an assault, they blow the doors open and charge into the room. They discover that is has been an Old One that has assailed Goblinhome, once knowing what it is Skirka calls for an Armageddon spell on her location from Pallas but the speaking stones fail to pass the message along since magic has died around the titan. As they look at the decrepit form of an ancient horror, it speaks back.

Mrsha continued to watch the fight for half a minute before she closes the door, desperate to find out more she opens another door to see Rags with a bunch of Trolls. After opening a couple of more doors Mrsha comes to the conclusion that Rags is the one who is in the most immediate danger and becomes even more desperate to escape the [Palace of Fates] before it becomes too late. Mrsha yanked one of the roots by accident which causes her to go in a small panic, reassessing her focus she leads her thoughts to how and why the faerie flowers work. Mrsha deduces that the flowers gained something from the events that happened at the Winter Solstice and that the roots probably feed off of fate and that's why they burrowed into [Palace of Fates] as it is a source of fate. Even with that knowledge in hand there was still no way to escape, with an ever-growing feeling of hopelessness Mrsha cried in her heart to save those in danger, and the Palace answered. She opened one of the many doors that appeared around her only to quickly shut it, with that one door she now knew how utterly ruinous this place truly is. Mrsha left a note on the door with the words "If Brunkr lived.'' before she went back to focus on the roots again.

Mrsha tried using the doors to see if another Mrsha found a way out only for them to not recognize nor remember the significance of the roots. Mrsha then thought about angering PavErin but discarded that idea and was ready to start digging again until a stray thought passed through her mind, the [Palace of Fates] is but a part of the [Garden of Sanctuary]. With all her effort Mrsha climbed up the roots and touches the ceiling only for her paws to wrap around the handle to the door for the [Garden of Sanctuary].

Lyonette calls for Mrsha since dinner is ready but can't find her as she looks around the inn only to find Mrsha in her room completely wet. Mrsha then explains that she got dirty gardening and she just finished a bath, and that her head injury came from hitting herself with a shovel by accident. Mrsha goes to help Asgra clean the mess Mrsha made while Lyonette eavesdrop on their conversation up until she felt Nanette attempting to steal the wand. With Lyonette and Ushar gone Mrsha requests Asgra to give a letter to Rags immediately to which Asgra agrees to for a price. Lyonette and Nanette continue to argue about the wand while setting up the tables for dinner while Mrsha waits for any sign of Asgra or Rags hoping that she wasn't too late.