4. Silvershield Estate

Could she revert and hide behind this bush? Maybe, though stealth wasn't her strong suit...She just needed a few moments without crossbows trained on her...

Stella tries to crawl her way up the manor, trying to find an empty room. Was she near Entar's study? That secret passage behind the bookcase could be just what she needed....

Relieved, she climbs up and through the window, then into a corner, ideally behind some furniture, then her spider body bursts into stardust that then reforms into her humanoid self.

Huddled with her arms wrapped around her legs, Stella's eyes wide with panic, stars icy blue. She forces herself to breath slowly. "Come on, girl...We have to save them." she whispers to herself. She grits her teeth and squeezes her eyes shut.

"Watching Woman, show me to my friend..."
(Locate Object, targeting Dieter's armor.)

One she knows where he is, she continues hurriedly. She couldn't be sure he'd be there for long.

"Lady of Mystery, mask our path..."
(Pass Without Trace.)

She takes two potions of invisibility from her belt, next to where the antitoxin had been. She drinks one, her body seeming to bleed away, like ink, into nothingness. She places the other beside her, then, invisibly, transforms into a cat.

She opens her mouth wide and shoves the other vial into her mouth. Then—trying not to choke on it—scampers to the window and makes her way, bounding quietly towards Dieter.

Quiet and invisible, Stella leaps out the window and slinks to the tree, trying to avoid getting too close to any guards, then climbs up it to where Dieter is hiding.

How was she going to let him know she was here without him just...freaking out? How would she give him the potion without it just falling out of the tree? She hadn't thought this far...She wasn't confident she could climb back down very well if she were humanoid, and didn't want to lose the mobility.

She climbs around, positioning herself near his hands. She tries hissing quietly to get his attention, though it ends a bit gargled with the vial in her mouth. She then bats his hand gently a few times with one paw then leaves the paw there, hoping to let him know there was an invisible cat there, as opposed to a danger.

She then tries to nuzzle her face into his hand and spits out the potion of invisibility vial into it, trying not to hack like it was some hairball.

Dieter grabs the invisible cat by its scruff. Then holds it up to his face while he examines the damp bottle.

He puts the bottle in his pocket and tries to cuddle the cat

"so soft for special kitten" Dieter coos

If Stella wasn't invisible, Dieter would be looking at the very unamused face of a cat.

I knew I should have been a panther...

She slaps Dieter. Then she pauses, tries and fails to wriggle free to go after where he put the vial. She instead tries to scratch on the bark: D R I N K

Dieter play fights with the kitten which proves suprisingly easy for an invisible apex predator…….

Dieter is a fool.

"Stella!" he exclaims.

He quickly drinks the potion while Stella scratches at the tree illegibly.

Dieter sees his hands and the rest of himself vanish.

When he exclaims, he can also feel the sounds he makes become muffled—the effects of Stella's Pass Without Trace spell, which he's experienced before.

Stella starts to climb down the tree, but seeing how high up they are, she panics, tiny feline instincts kick in. She scrambles up onto Dieter's shoulder and hangs on with her claws. You had better get moving... she thinks to herself.

She could shapechange now, but she had no idea how the tree would respond to sudden extra weight. Best to wait until she had some solid ground beneath her paws.

Dieter climbs his way down the tree. He pulls his book from his chest plate and begins writing

Where

Stella hadn’t found him immediately. She must have done some spying.

Stella groans internally.

How was it that this boy immediately tackled her through a window and charged off at the first sign of danger, but now when given an invisibility potion, he didn't realize he had the perfect opportunity to just get away from here?

Stella assesses the tree to determine whether she could safely turn back into her humanoid form without causing it to shift and draw attention.

Stella shifts back into her humanoid form.

"They're taking the Entar and Aldous to Wyrm's Rock...I don't know why," she whispers. "These Fists called the doppelganger 'the boss', so they're probably in on the ruse. The Fists could be compromised, or these could all just be impersonators..."

"Dieter I think that 'Aiwë' is Koveras. Or 'Sarevok', rather. He wasn't even phased by Aiwë's paralysis spell—I think he's not humanoid. It's not the only explanation—they could have been disguised as one of the groundskeepers, but with everything we've learned today, I think it makes sense," She huffs. "I just...don't think it's him him. He looked so genuinely confused and afraid...Perhaps he's got some...secondary, dormant personality? Like he gets possessed? A tool for Rieltar. Caliope told me about her father having different personalities sometimes, like some kind of coping mechanism? Though never took over his life or anything, so I'm not sure...but this entire thing feels planned."

"I say we talk to Duke Jannath. She's nearby and might know what to do. Unless maybe they'd expect that and use us being there as grounds to arrest her too?" She invisibly covers her face with her hands and exhales in a quiet moan as tears start to come to her eyes. She was proud of herself for deciding to stay, but that didn't make this any less overwhelming. "I don't—I don't know!"

Dieter puts a hand on her shoulder "look at me Stella, this isn’t over. We’re going to get our friends back and we are going to make them pay" Dieter says firmly

"I’m done talking to the dukes and playing their games. Besides it’s what they’d expect us to do. We’re going to get Aiwë back and I’m going to kill anyone that tries to stop us"

Dieter Looks at where he thinks Stella’s face is. It was difficult to see her eyes hidden away like this, at times it seemed like they were the last source of goodness and wonder in this cursed realm. He wanted to see them now but all he could feel was hatred. He takes his hand away from Stella as they start to shake his calm outer shell beginning to crack.

"Let’s go to the rock"

Stella sniffs, wipes her face with the back of her hand and grimaces, but nods. "...I don't—" She starts. Pay? How would that help? "...Okay."
She blinks a few times. This...was still Dieter alright. Wanting to do the right thing, but still driven by blood. While his tackling them out the window got them some information and now several options, it nearly got them killed, and his gut had caused them troubles before, specifically with the Flaming Fists.

And so, Dieter's choice gave a clear path forward.
"...Games? Dieter, save a few tests, the Dukes have done nothing but offer unfailing support. They're trying to save their city and its people. And your home and its people, Dieter." She sets her jaw. "And who better to help us find Aiwë than her actual cousin? We're going to Xan and Jannath. And then to Wyrm's Rock. And if you're right about them expecting it, then we better hurry..." she says, her whispering voice starting to descend the tree trunk.

Dieter let’s out a frustrated huff. "I’ll follow you"

She wasn't sure this was the right decision, but time might be essential, and she was learning how much more she could accomplish with others. If she was wrong, well...she'd apologize to Dieter and they'd get through this.

After climbing down the tree, Stella gently grabs Dieter's arm and leads him off the premises so they can make their way as quickly as possible to Duke Jannath's manor.

.