Unexpected Planar Travel

I really did think we were done for. Those guards were strong, and we had climbed into a proverbial hornets’ nest of them. I never should have talked the party into investigating⁠—I know what we’re like. We were working on making an ill-fated boat-based escape when a bit of the universe simply swallowed us up. I think there was a portal already, down below in the water, but this was more than just stumbling into a portal.
 
Here’s what I know: Though the skin shows no mark, I felt like a searing executioner’s blade had been driven into my chest, trying to cleave me in two. At that same time, a whirlpool appeared before us, and our boat was lost to its churn, as was the boat the cultists piloted. Between the spinning, the approaching darkness, and the blinding witness of the pain in my chest, I only faintly remember feeling the urgency of maintaining a physical connection with everyone.
 
We almost lost Blackthorne from the boat because of the force of our travel. (We definitely had traveled, because the water’s somber, sanguine red turned to crystalline blue.) And initially I thought “lost” would just entail leaving him behind on the Prime, but shortly thereafter we saw the portal… peel back the flesh from the cultists’ frames, leaving them sundered. It sounded particularly horrible⁠—the screams and the flesh ripping.
 
Arriving at Arborea
 
It wasn’t initially clear, but in retrospect and with some conversation, we have arrived on Arborea. I came here once before, to the forested part of the plane, as a child. Being here is strange, because more so than the Feywild for me, this place feels otherworldly. I also cannot reach Oghma here. The last I felt was some smugness from him when we were ripped across planes, but now… nothing. When we arrived, there was a distant sphere of light that grew as we approached, the water around us forming into a waterfall and eventually leading us among three islands: one of water, one of forest, and one of light. It wasn’t even a conscious decision to go to the forested one⁠—Doravan⁠—as more of a base desire for something that felt familiar.
 
So, I guess welcome all of the idiots of CYA to Lepota’s domain.
 
It is breathtakingly stunning here. What else would one expect from Lepota’s environs, though? I wasn’t expecting to feel so dwarfed by everything, though. I vaguely remember this vibe as a child, but everything was taller to me then. Everyone seems a little more… glam than normal. Seksgar was mostly covered in ice at first, but he is ESPECIALLY changed. Poor Keenor and Theodora had a rough trip here, too. I’ve never seen the pair of them so pathetic.
 
The water in particular seems to affect the appearances of things. After seeing it affect a few people, I experimentally put my foot in it and it restored my foot to its pre-burn condition. The overwhelming relief of that pain being gone is almost disorienting. I think I’ll have to fix my gait now. I got used to the cripple stick. I ended up going in after Roscoe when I thought something had happened to him, but I specifically willed the water not to change me. No one seemed to react like I’m suddenly unnaturally attractive, so I think it went as I willed. Tajna’s scars on me have changed, though. They’re much more like ethereal adornment on my skin instead of dark marks. I think this is Lepota insulting Tajna, and if so, I’m pleased to be that canvas.
 
We have a trek ahead of us⁠—two of the celestial denizens here indicated we need to look for a rock that looks like a nose and a tree that looks like a house, turn right at the nose, left at the house, and then find a garden. In that garden, some gnomes, if we ask nicely, will let us stay in their hostel. All of my being is delighted by the idea that we have to look for a nose. The condition I agreed to before we got this information, though, was Duraz, as the only one who hadn’t touched the water, had to go in. So I folded the boat out from under him after everyone else had disembarked.
 
Getting home
 
I can tell there’s a portal about 25 miles away, which is weird, because usually I can’t sense things that far off. It’s toward the center of this part of the plane, but we won’t make it there easily, because there’s clearly a storm brewing here. (Note: The storm is really lovely. It’s kind of like clouds of scented, colorful mist with occasional gossamer lightning tearing through it. Also, Blackthorne, Tara, and Fern didn’t handle the impromptu travel as well as the rest of us, so they will certainly need rest, storm or not.
 
Observations about cultists

• The agile, more martially adept one had a lot of tattoos; skulls with black lines under her cheekbones all the way to the bridge of her nose, lines over her eyelids and eyebrows… lines intersecting everywhere. She also had what seemed to be some kind of glyphs along her arms and hands.


• They seemed to have marching orders of non lethality, though I am not sure that applied to everyone. At least one seemed very impressed with Seksgar, and they might have wanted him specifically.


• The stronger reinforcements and guards all seemed deferential to the martial woman.

• I wish you were here to see this place.


• My foot has been restored! I’m almost certain it is because Lepota didn’t find it pleasant, aesthetically speaking.


• Being in the water made Seksgar 10/10 sexy, and it honestly makes me really uncomfortable. I mean, it made basically everyone look objectively hotter, but Seksgar and Tara were the most prominent.


• I guess I owe you an apology, because I think my appearance changed the least⁠—I really, really didn’t want to be changed, if that makes sense. But… maybe I should have let Lepota make me more beautiful for you? I don’t know. It’s not even clear if this is permanent or an effect of being this close to her power.


• Ask me about “titty sharks.”


• I feel like I have a weird clarity into myself that I didn’t before. Maybe you’ll pick up on that before I even tell you. I’m not sure how to describe what happened.