Entry 35: A dish best served cold

by Hayley Thomas

Dear diary,

A week passed since the brutal night that had shaken the keep and stolen two of our own. Our first mission after the attack was clear: we pooled every coin we had and took Gael and Dadroz’s bodies to the temple, determined to see them resurrected. Barely scraping together enough for the rites, we handed over all we had and prepared ourselves to do whatever it took.

The ceremony demanded something from each of us. I took charge of preparing the bodies, selecting the necessary herbs and carefully burning them to draw their spirits back. Alistan’s mournful music echoed through the temple, somber and haunting. Luke called on his fire magic to burn effigies, the smoke curling toward the heavens, and Liliana’s voice, usually bright and commanding, trembled with grief as she sang to coax our friends’ spirits back. But as her voice cracked, I stepped in, my voice fierce and insistent, promising to haunt their souls forever if they didn’t return. Somehow, it worked. Slowly, with gasping breaths and weak smiles, our fallen friends stirred back to life.

The rest of the week, we all took time to recover, each of us scarred by the ordeal. I poured my energy into studying the dagger Terrin had given me, uncovering more of its potent secrets. I learned that to unlock its power, I must complete a task it had failed in a previous life—to hunt and kill a predator. A thrill of understanding rippled through me. I am not cruel, but I know the price of justice, the raw balance of life and death. This dagger’s demanding nature resonates with mine; it understands the ruthlessness sometimes needed to be fair.

The rest of my days that week were spent in steady work with my two new hirelings, Khiria and Lucas, as we got my study and herb garden in order. Khiria, a sharp and meticulous tiefling scribe, had been shunned in the city—a mistake on their part, as I quickly saw her worth here. Meanwhile, Lucas, a young farmer’s son fresh out of Keralon, had an effortless way with plants; I could already tell he’d turn the herb garden into a small paradise.

Khiria’s first task was critical: to research Auntie Patty and uncover any weaknesses. She found something that could tilt the scales in our favor. Auntie Patty, it seems, is a dusk hag who has never taken a daughter—that is, she’s never stolen a young girl to transform into another hag. It explains her fixation on Tommel and Leen’s unborn child, and even more intriguingly, Auntie is the omega of her coven. That information could be powerful if we play it right.

Meanwhile, Luke’s research had turned up a promising lead of his own. He’d discovered that one of the hags always resides in a small, ominous cottage at the edge of the Lorewood. It’s across town, nestled in the wilds, but it might just be our best way of establishing contact—on our terms.

Breakfast brought its own kind of battle that morning, as Gael, still pale and guarded, argued passionately against visiting the hag’s cottage in the Lorewood. As I chewed my bread and cheese, a mix of amusement and frustration simmered in me—Gael’s objections were loud and unyielding, insisting that we bide our time and gather more information before rushing in. I got it; he'd just been dragged back from the brink after our last hag encounter. But caution wasn’t an option anymore. We couldn’t just sit around, letting the threads of this dark game tangle around us.

In the end, despite his reluctance, we voted to go. We’d make contact with the hag, get answers, maybe even negotiate a solution. So, we set out, traveling north past Keralon and skirting the outskirts of the Lorewood. Nestled among the trees stood a cabin, looming and unmistakable, like Auntie Patty’s but larger, with a strange air of silence around it. No one answered our calls, so we cautiously ventured inside. The cabin’s interior was eerily still, with an extravagant feast laid out on the table and a polished staff leaning against the far wall. Yet even in that strange quiet, a biting cold seeped into our bones—our uninvited host was Mother Alma Marblehook herself, the icy leader of the coven.

Luke and I exchanged a glance before approaching the staff, knowing a hag’s lair is no place to wander blindly. Luke cast his spell, murmuring that the whole place was steeped in magic when, suddenly, the chill in the air intensified. The cabin transformed around us, inside and out, and with a snap, we found ourselves in the heart of a winter wonderland.

From the edge of the forest, two hulking ice trolls emerged, their eyes gleaming with a primal hostility. Gael, still hopeful to avoid bloodshed, raised his hands in a gesture of peace. But the trolls had no interest in diplomacy. With a growl, they charged.
Gael shouted for us to fall back, but there was no time to retreat. We braced ourselves and met the trolls head-on, dispatching them with more ease than anticipated. Their bodies lay motionless, but I knew trolls were rarely down for long. Reluctantly, we made sure they wouldn’t rise again, the icy air filled with the crackling magic needed to keep them from regenerating. A pang of worry stirred in me as I glanced at Gael, who was visibly shaken—his close brush with death had clearly left a mark. It might be time for a heart-to-heart once we’re back.

As the second troll breathed its last, the enchanted winter landscape around us melted away, revealing Mother Alma Marblehook, who strode toward us with a disinterested glance at her fallen minions. She offered us a seat inside the cabin and invited us to eat, her words smooth as silk but laced with something more dangerous.

We politely declined her food, focusing on the reason we’d come. At the mention of Auntie Patty and her disturbing deal with Tommel, I watched the flicker of irritation cross Mother Alma’s otherwise impassive face. It was subtle, but unmistakable. She clearly didn’t relish the idea of her fellow hag bringing forth offspring, and her discontent gave us the opening we needed. Just as I’d hoped, the news seemed to ruffle the hag’s feathers—or what passed for them.

Mother Alma eyed us with a cool disinterest, brushing aside any inclination to interfere with Auntie’s affairs. She wouldn’t lift a finger to help, but neither would she stop us from handling it ourselves. Just as we turned to go, her voice halted us in our tracks. “Of course,” she murmured with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “I might be persuaded to talk with Auntie on your behalf... if you’d stay for dinner.”

An easy offer, seemingly harmless. But Luke, sitting across from me, gave a wary glance. I could see the alarm bells ringing in his mind. Still, a simple dinner for some aid? We accepted. As dusk settled, we ate in a heavy silence, each of us picking at our food while trying not to overthink her strange generosity. Then, halfway through the meal, her smile grew sly. She revealed the “catch” with all the delight of a cat watching cornered mice.

She’d kept us warm, she informed us sweetly, for the first half of the dinner. For the rest? Well, we’d dine at a temperature more suited to her taste.

The air turned frigid in a heartbeat, the warmth leaching from the room as if sucked out by invisible claws. Our breaths misted in the icy air, and soon Liliana and Alistan’s faces went as pale as the frost creeping up the cabin’s walls. Their fingers trembled, turning blue from the cold, but we gritted our teeth and endured, forcing down every last morsel of the meal until, finally, it was over.

The saying, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” had never felt more true—or more brutal. By the time we were released, we could barely hold back sighs of relief, and every one of us shivered in the cold as we trudged home, visions of crackling fires filling our thoughts. We’d made some progress, yes, but the warmth of the keep had never felt more welcome.

Continue reading...

Entry one: The trials

Entry two: The bramble

Entry 3: Rosebloom

Entry 4: Hearts and Dreams

Entry 5: of ghosts and wolves

Entry 6: Hillfield and Deals with Fae

Entry 7: mysteries and pastries

Entry 8: The scarecrow ruse
6th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

Entry 9: A betrayal of satyrs
7th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 10: The fate of twins
8th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 11: Cursed twins
10th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 12: Loss and despair
11th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Hayley's rules to being a Witch

Entry 13: the price of safety
12th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 14: A golden cage and fiery tower
13th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 15: A trial by fire
14th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 16: Keralon
15th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Letter to Luke 1

Letter to Luke 2

Letter to Luke 3

Letter to Luke 4

Letter to Luke 5

Letter to Luke 6

Entry 17: I shall wear midnight
1st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 18: peace in our time
2nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 19: Caern Fussil falls
3rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 20: I see fire
4th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 21: Cultists twarted
10th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 22: Ravensfield
14th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 23: The Hollow Hill Horror
15th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 24: Burn your village
16th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 25: Ravensfield burns
17th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 26: There will be blood!
21st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 27: A happy reunion
22nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 28: The embassy ball
23rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 29: The fate of Robert Talespinner
24th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 30: A royal summons
28th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 31: of Dogville and Geese
29th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 32: A boggle named Pim
30th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 33: A deal broken
1st of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 34: The cost of doing what is right
2nd of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 35: A dish best served cold
9th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

entry 36: Cornu returns?
10th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 37: A letter from Amarra
11th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 38: The case of the (not) missing villagers
14th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 39: A curse broken
15th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 40: Into the Lorewood
18th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 41: Cabin in the Woods
19th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 42: Myrdin and Anaya
20th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 43: Into the Immerglade
21st of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 44: A tale as old as time
22nd of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 45: The truth
23rd of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 46: Luke's Ordeal
24th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 47: The festival
26th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 48: Trouble at the Cathedral
2nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 49: Quinn's court
4th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 50: onwards to Latebra Velora
5th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 51: Where is my cow?
6th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 52: Here be dragons
7th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 53: Dragon hoard with a side of scarabs
8th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 54: Leave the basilisks alone
9th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 55: Return to Ravensfield
10th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 56: The needs of the many...
11th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 57: Dreams of Sister Willow
12th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 58: wetlands be wet
13th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 59: Baron Perenolde
14th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 60: Talebra Velora and the lady Morenthene
15th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 61: Cypria
16th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 62: Dragon takes Knight
17th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 63: Return to Talebra Velora
18th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 64: Your presence is “requested”
19th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 65: I stand alone
20th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 66: A day of normalcy
21th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 67: Into the Neverhold
22nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 68: The Warg King

Entry 69: Chased by birds

Entry 35: A dish best served cold

Continue reading...

Find your way!

Resources

WHO WE ARE

LEGAL

Get the news

Listen to our Podcast

Our Allies