To go through the Shoikan Grove safely one need to receive Raistlin's kiss, and a lot of people say that Dalamar got this "admission"

But how did it happen? Did Raistlin even bother to explain what he is about to do? Or did he just kiss his own hand and than slap Dalamar in the face with it? Because I totally can see the last variant

Dragonlance 1987 Legends Calendar - Hands of Doom by Clyde Caldwell

OC Association for Yurielle

I was tagged by @mogwaei​ and though I know you are not very far with Part 1, I hope this isn't too spoilery for both you and new readers of my Dragonlance fic series: Time of the Hourglass. Thank you for tagging me!

This also kind of turned into a list of things, not only associated with Yurielle, but her favorites too. The portrait above is by me. I also did a companion piece of Raistlin Majere to match.

Animal: Fistandantilus frequently calls her 'little bird' and though I have yet to reveal what this means, there is a reason behind the symbolism!

Color: Indigo and silver but if I were to pick her favorite it'd probably be gold and black for her Hourglass Mage

Month: I don't think there is a particular month that would be associated her and since she was orphaned at a young age, Yurielle doesn't know her exact birthday. (but since Raistlin is technically a Gemini, I head canon that Yurielle is a Libra because I'm weird like that xD)

Song: This one is hard because most songs I have in mind are ones that represent both her and Raistlin and their relationship together. However, I did post a song in chapter 23 of Part 1 – 'The Humming' by Enya - that I still think represents Yurielle's mystery, magic, and purpose. And because I'm a huge Final Fantasy fan, the 'Prelude' song could be associated with Yurielle because of its pure, yet haunting melody - especially FFXIV's Prelude, because I created my character in that game to be her lol.

Day or Night: Nighttime because as Raistlin has said that she is the star that no darkness can cover

Plant: Dandelion, nettle, thistles, ivy – the sort of plants that most find to be weeds (at least in our world) Yurielle finds value and beauty in and will probably sit for hours doodling in her sketchbook while studying them.

Scent: Books and incense such as patchouli. But she is known to smell like peppermint, roses, orange blossoms and other various scents depending on her current favorite soap at the time.

Gemstone: Rainbow obsidian, labradorite -any dark stone that reveals an array of color and beauty upon closer inspection and light (because that is what she does for others)

Season: Autumn? While not particularly associated with her, I'd say that she probably enjoys fall the most. The chilled hush before winter and the way leaves crunch in her hands is probably some of Yurielle's favorite things! Plus, Raistlin often thinks of the Vallenwoods in Solace when looking at her hair, especially when sunlight highlights the red in it.

Place(s): Again, I can't think of any particular place associated with her but Yurielle loves the Shoikan Grove and the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthas! She embraces the Grove's sadness and sings to soothe its ache while she can spend hours getting lost in and uncovering all the secrets within the tower itself. However, it's not the typical secrets one would expect a wizard would search for inside, but rather the forgotten, ordinary items – be it a button rolled under a dresser, a hairpin forgotten under a rug – she likes to find them and discover their secrets.

Element: Light. For reasons.

Food & drink: Dandelion tea and ginger snap cookies. She also has a sweet tooth and enjoys a good sticky bun or sweet roll! ~~~ I think that about covers her for now. I don’t really know anyone else on tumblr who has an OC to talk about... so I sadly can’t really tag anyone further. But check out @mogwaei​‘s original post here! Thank you for reading!

Dalamar and the Shoikan Grove | Даламар и Шойканова Роща

eng

rus

i don’t know English, that’s why English text seems unnatural! maybe... i think so... but i’m not sure because how can i know)))

The Last Trial Retrospective

Solace and Tika's Warning

#1

Tika asks,"Who ordered potatoes? Who ordered soup?"

Originally we rewrote this line as "Who ordered hot soup and spiced potatoes?"

Turns out, окрошка is actually a refeshing COLD Russian soup. What? Cold soup? Yeah, that doesn't sound right in English (even though I'm sure it is delicious.) So we just ditched "soup" altogether and focused on the most important part of the Inn of the Last Home:

"Who had a plate of the spiced potatoes?"

And we replicate that nice internal rhyme that we see in картошки/окрошки.

#2

Tika warns about the Grove of the Dead, which is like all of the scary things you have heard about the Shoikan Grove plus the geographical location and behavior of the Wayreth forest rolled into one.

Despite the "Grove" title, its attributes led us to rename it to "the Wayreth Forest" a bit last minute.

   The party stood in the chamber with Sir Dalton before the now weeping stature of Mishakal, and immersed the Tear in the crystal basin held by the statue. It glowed brightly, appearing fully charged and bright as when it first fell. In cleansing it, Korg recognized the artifact and explained the powers to the rest of the group, before giving it to Fortis to carry on their return to the mining camp. They wished Dalton well, as he explained the ruins would be destroyed upon their departure to ensure it never again fell into evil hands, and left for the mine, taking back Cor’s belongings.    Upon returning to the base camp for the mine, they broke the news to the mine foreman of Cor’s demise. He cautioned them to show discretion in who they told the news to prevent a panic during the return shipment of pig iron ingots to Palanthas.    After the cargo ship moored in Palanthas’ public docks, the party quickly set out for the Ironvein Mining Company offices. Rawsel Half-Kender, who had been uncharacteristically quiet on the return journey, left on his own without a word. The adventuring party halted at the door when they heard the furious shrieks of a woman and the desperate replies of a man within. With some trepidation, the group entered the offices to see their payment, they saw a livid dwarven woman at the desk yelling at an acetic wearing the robes of the Library of Palanthas. She wheeled to look at them, demanding to know who they were and why they barged in. They attempted to explain, but at the mention that they were hired by “Rusty Ironvein,” the woman simply lost it, exclaiming she didn’t know who the hell Rusty was, but he absolutely was not a member of their family or allowed to make decisions on behalf of the company.    Seeing the situation about to get much worse (and seemingly without any payment for the week of work done at Rusty’s behest), Fortis used the Tear to calm emotions in the room. Iname stepped into business-mode and laid out the circumstance of their hiring, the essential work done on behalf of the Ironvein Mining Company and handed over the gear they had recovered from Cor’s camp at the entrance to Crown Hollow (but not surrendering the medallion with the Ironvein crest they had purified in the crypt basement.) Cinnabar Ironvein, now at ease enough to discuss the party’s news, asked what had been done with her cousin’s body. When told his body was taken to Reorx by some divine messenger, she made a gesture with her fists, stating Reorx worked in mysterious ways.    Nevertheless, Cinnabar stated she was unwilling to pay the wages for the mercenary work, as it was illegitimately commissioned. At this point, the Library acetic, no longer at the verge of tears, stepped in and said the Library would be covering the job’s expenses and could explain further if the group would follow him. Before they could leave, Cinnabar asked if they knew where she could find Rawsel, as she had some questions about the company books. The party let her know Rawsel returned with them on the ship, and they would let him know she was looking for him if they saw him. In the meantime, she could always check in at Zeboim’s Purse, where he was apparently a regular.    While walking back to the Library, the acetic asked if the group had recovered the geological survey Cor had checked out, seeming very relieved it was safe. At the front desk, the acetic checked the tome back in with the desk clerk, and directed the group to follow him deeper into the Library, through the locked door the group had seen a ghost pass through previously. Excited to indulge her curiosity, Fortis asked about the ghosts in the library, which seemed to fluster the man terribly. Upon finding out the ghosts were former attendants, the little gnome wanted to ask further questions, but the man finally said, “Look, I really don’t like talking about it. I don’t even know if I want to be ghost yet. I mean, look over there, I know that guy. He was my friend until a couple months ago, and now he doesn’t even talk to me.”    The robed man opened another locked door and sat down behind a desk with a placard that read “Stan.” A nearby door into the adjoining room read, “Bertrem, Head Librarian.” Stan was clearly still rattled from being confronted at the mining offices, and rambled a lot in trying to explain what had been going on to the group. He somewhat unhelpfully explained that Rusty worked for them, sort of, not really. Sometimes he would just take off and do whatever he wanted, leaving them to deal with the fallout. When asked about their organization, he again flailed saying they had agents working and organized at the Library, but that there was no name for the organization. But they would definitely pay for the group’s commission, as well as an ongoing offer.    Stan explained the organization was attempting to research and track powerful artifacts, and if necessary, prevent forces of evil from obtaining them and upsetting the world’s balance. Like the sword in the Crown Hollow crypt that bore the blood of a scion of the Queen of Darkness, other items existed in the world that could cause great harm. He said that in addition to the pay owed for their recent job, the Library would like to put the entire party under commission to take priority jobs for them. In exchange, they would be able to have comfortable lodgings and meals in an ongoing basis at the Notched Axe, as well as a per diem. Stan handed over the ten steel each for the Ironvein job, and added that agreeing to work for the Library also came with a signing bonus for each person. The group deliberated briefly, and agreed.    Stan opened a chest behind his desk and pulled out gifts for each person for their bonus. To Taney Greytail, he pulled out a patched green pouch which had been cut off a handy haversack by a kender named Kiz Wizzlethorpe, which should have destroyed the holding magic, but somehow the kender had been able to patch it. In addition, he told her they were investigating reports of kender going missing from the area around Kendermore, and would share any new news they received. To Korg, Stan gave a Cloak of Concealment, which had once belonged to a ranger of Zivilyn, as well as an enchanted collar for Mittens which would increase her stealth and awareness. Stan handed Iname a letter from her father, which agents working for the Library had been able to recover, as well as a round black stone with an iridescent sheen bearing a raven that would summon a magical messenger to bear letters. Blackfeet was given a sword that once belonged to a kapak from the Green Dragon Army in the War of the Lance that would enhance his natural ability to imbue his weapons with poison. Stan handed Fortis a book on the lost groves of high sorcery to aid in her study of the Shoikan Grove’s flora, in addition to a pair of artificer’s glasses to allow her to study magical items or effects. With a look of utter disgust, Stan ended by saying, “And I guess this is for the owl.” as he pulled a dead mouse from the chest and passed it to Mouse, who happily devoured it.    Stan added the party was free to take commissions from the guild, but that they would need to prioritize any jobs from the Library. With that, the group returned back to the Notched Axe, to find the Library had already cleared the new arrangement with the guild and inn. The party was free to move into fine rooms, if they had not already done so. In addition, they made arrangements to sell any recovered equipment through the Barsal’s adventurer’s supply on consignment.

To the Tower

@hourglassmajere Dalamar worried his lip as he triple checked his pack, making sure he had everything. His trips back to Waywreth would be few and far between and he needed to know he hadn't forgotten anything important. He didn't know what strings had been pulled by the higher ups of the order to land him with this task, but he was excited all the same. He, a dark elf with no home, fresh from his Test, to study under the greatest Black Robe, no, the greatest wizard of the age. He couldn't believe his luck. Instructions on how to get to the Palanthas Tower has been sent to him only a few days prior, stating he should head down Wizard's Row toward the Shoikan Grove and the recently errected Temple of Paladine where he would be given a means to pass freely through the grove of fear. Eager to begin his greatest journey, Dalamar took up his pack and spoke the words of magic to take him to Palanthas.

Haul Progress

I was doing pretty well for a while, until I pushed my threshold for an “expensive” bottle.

I broke and bought it. 

That particular bottle was the one I posted about earlier--Stekkjarstaur by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. Initially regretting the purchase at the time for the sheer luxury of it ($55 for a damn 3/4 bottle of perfume oil? Ridiculous), my guilt actually began to erode as I wore the scent quite often after getting it. It’s lovely.

Since then, I’ve shamelessly hauled quite a few things. They include (just the full sizes/significant ones, for my sanity):

BPAL

Diligent Instruction for the Bridal Night

De Vos’ Unicorn

Blood Kiss

Kitsune-Tsuki

Antique Lace

Decants of all of the current American Gods scents (yes, all of them).

Solstice Scents

Gin Flower

Mountain Vanilla

After the Rain

Devil’s Millhopper

Chiffon (glace)

Shoikan Grove

Blooddrop

Lantern

Arcana

Ghost Pumpkin

Love Her, Love Her, Love Her

Strawberries Crave Waterfalls

NAVA

Ghost Velvet

Honestly, there are probably more, but these are the ones that come to mind immediately. There are quite a large number of samples there as well, especially from Solstice Scents. 

In particular, I’m excited about Antique Lace, which is a scent that many other diehard BPAL fans go absolutely bonkers over. This scent, while not going as high as I’ve seen some others, is currently on Ebay for $69. The notes are Nostalgia encapsulated. A soft, wistful blend of dry flowers, aged linens, and the faint breath of long-faded perfumes. Most all of the reviews on bpal.org are positive, citing this as a vanilla floral. Well, we’ll see! Because I snagged one of the 500 re-releases of this from yesterday.

After this, it’ll be back to the grindstone. My wallet is crying. It really is. Luckily, I’m not really the biggest fan of summer releases. So I’ll hopefully quietly bide my time until the fall releases, and in the mean time, smell amazing.

❝ She was in a grove of oak trees. White hands clutched at her feet, gaping mouths sought to drink her blood. The darkness was endless, the trees mocked her, their creaking branches laughing horribly. ❞

Review: Shoikan Grove (Solstice Scents)

Dark Woods, A Warning Distant Fire On The Winds, Fresh Evergreens & A Soft Deceptive Sweetness

Shoikan Grove is the eerily dark and maddeningly still wood that protects the Black Wizard's tower from unwanted visitors. Wandering in the cold, damp copse of trees will cause an adventurer to lose control of his sanity, while the remains of those who've ventured before emerge from the Earth, encircle his limbs with unwavering strength and drag him down to where he will never tread anywhere again, in life.

WOOD NOTES YES.

I attribute my love of beautiful-smelling wood to being a carpenter's daughter: my dad started his construction career out as a mere carpenter, but while he's climbed the ranks to become a supervisor or general manager or general contractor (whatever the title, Dad runs the jobsite), he frequently did projects around the house on weekends when I was little, and still does. Cedar, oak, pine, maple, and fir (and tons of sawdust) were very familiar scents to me as a kid.

The only time Dad isn't working with wood is in winter.

Shoikan Grove is a gorgeous dark forest, with heavy, curling wood notes galore. The little bit of sweetness gives it an interesting edge, but I adore the wood notes in this best.

The sweetness comes out more as time goes on, which makes me a little sad because seriously, those wood notes! Ugh, so good. The lack of staying power of the wood notes makes me hesitant to invest in a full bottle of Shoikan Grove, so I'm hoping aging will address the issue.

Hm. This would be an excellent scent for a diffuser, though... *ponders*

Palanthas

   Palanthas. The Jewel of Solamnia. Named for the god Paladine by Vinas Solamnus himself, the city grew and thrived for over 1500 years. Even the Cataclysm barely shook the city’s foundations. It wasn’t until the Summer of Chaos, when the titanic god was released from the greygem and unleased his horrible minions upon Krynn did the city fall. Not to the legions of Chaos, but to the Knights of Takhisis. Some say the defenders of Palanthas were weakened and distracted by the war with Chaos and that’s why the dark knights were able to conquer the city with almost no effort. Others say the gods themselves made a deal with Takhisis so that her followers had full sway of the continent of Ansalon. Whatever the reason, the Knights of Takhisis occupied the city, deposed the ruling council and placed high ranking dark knights in positions of power. Although the city still acted as the largest trading hub in all of Ansalon, the presence of the dark knights definitely affected the populace. Non-human traders and citizens, especially elves, were seen less and less.    The Knights of Neraka (formerly the Knights of Takhisis) controlled the Lordcity of Palanthas for more than 40 years. During that time, they forged an alliance with Khellendros, the Dragon Overlord that declared the region of Solamnia his domain. Soon thereafter, the Tower of High Sorcery, which had stood in the same spot since before the founding of Palanthas, disappeared leaving only a perfect circle of black glass in the center of the Shoikan Grove. Jenna of Palanthas, formerly a red robed member of the Conclave of Wizards, despite the loss of her magic and the tower of High Sorcery, did what she could to resist the Dark Knight occupation, including teaching the newly discovered wild sorcery, which was outlawed by the knights.    Then came The Great Storm. The Knights of Neraka were united under a new general, Mina. In her wake, the ancestral homelands of the elves were either destroyed or occupied, and three of the Dragon Overlords, including Khellendros, lay dead. Mina’s victory over Ansalon was nearly complete, but it was revealed that the One God that she worshipped was actually Takhisis, who had stolen the world away from the other gods. When the gods returned and enacted their justice upon Takhisis, the Knights of Neraka had lost both their patron deity and their greatest general. The knights shattered into factions and immediately started losing cities and territories. The Knights of Solamnia, bolstered by the return of their gods, started a campaign to retake Solamnia. Starting with the Southlund city of Caergoth, the Knights of Solamnia started pushing out the now broken dark knights. After re-taking the High Clerist’s Tower, preventing the dark knights from getting reinforcements by land, the Solamnic Knights began working with the citizens of Palanthas and the wizard Coryn the White to remove the Dark Knights once and for all. The coup happened quickly, with the Solamnic Knights sweeping the guilds, docks, garrisons, and gates. The battle ended when the Lord Knight of Palanthas, Knight of the Lily Elstone Kinsaid, was slain.    Change happened quickly after the Dark Knights were routed. The ruling council was reinstated, with gaps filled by the Knights of Solamnia or their allies. The High Warrior of the Crown, whose knights recently started worshiping Shinare the god of commerce, became the master of coin and the head of the Bank of Palanthas. The position of Lord Knight, historically filled by a Knight of Solamnia, has remained vacant. The current citizen members of the ruling council, along with a vocal group of nobles, believe that the Solamnic Knights already have too much influence over Palanthas politics and they are keeping the seat vacant. To spur growth and trade, the one thing the citizen and knightly rulers of Palanthas were able to agree on was the creation of a civilian Chamber of Commerce. One of the many creations of the Chamber was the Adventurers Guild. The last 45 years were hard on Palanthas and the world, and there is much work for someone willing to sell their proficiency with the sword or spell book. By making the Adventures Guild an official and organized effort, the ruling council can insure a certain level of quality and professionalism in the mercenaries hired. They have even made deals with certain inns within Palanthas where adventurers can stay and where new jobs can be posted. One such inn is the Notched Axe, recently refurbished in Old Town and operated by two old adventuring companions, the dwarf Barsal Blackhorn and the human Gwendoline Willden.

The Notched Axe

   The Notched Axe is a newly restored inn and adventurer’s supply in the Old City along the Lord’s Way that was bought and renovated by three retired adventuring companions partially using a loan administered by the Palanthas Chamber of Commerce. The old inn had once been very grand, but had suffered and gone into disrepair beginning with the curse laid on the Tower of Palanthas right before the Cataclysm. Much of Old City around the Shoikan Grove had been abandoned, with people either moving into other sections of the original city, or into the growing New City. With the curse lifted, Barsal Blackhorn, Gwendoline Willden, and Teamin Thistlefoot saw the inexpensive property still had good bones, despite the long years of neglect, and decided they could make a difference in catering to new adventurers by building the inn they always wanted to stay in during their campaigning days.    It took more money than they expected, and they worked until exhausted for months on end, but finally the Notched Axe was a place they could all be proud of. But before they could open, their friend and adventuring companion, a kender from Hylo, made a startling announcement. Teamin Thistlefoot, former rogue and “handler,” had found god. Specifically, he had found Reorx, god of the forge and beloved of dwarves, and intended to use his newfound faith to help the poor downtrodden kender of Kendermore now that Malystryx the Red was dead. He left Gwen and Barsal to put the finishing touches on the Notched Axe and finally open it for business. They had counted on their sponsorship with the new Adventurer’s Guild to drive business early on, and yet it seemed for a while they had little traffic directed their way, although other sponsoring inns didn’t seem to suffer the same low occupancy. When several unusual characters recently joined the Guild, the Notched Axe saw more guests than they had seen in months, none of them human.    Barsal went out of his way to make sure the current adventurer guests got jobs, in the hopes that their success with the Guild would prove the inn’s value.