Chapter 5: Palace of Heart’s Desire

Chapter 5: Palace of Heart’s Desire

Zybilna’s fairytale palace sits at the heart of Prismeer. On some worlds, the archfey is seen as a fairy godmother of sorts, casting wish spells for the benefit of the lost, the forsaken, or the betrayed. Sometimes her wishes would bring happiness, other times despair. Her palace was a destination for anyone seeking their heart’s desire.

Zybilna no longer grants wishes, for she is trapped in temporal stasis—frozen in time by the magic of her cauldron, which the hags of the Hourglass Coven have turned against her. Freeing Zybilna is the only way to repair the damage the hags have done to Prismeer, but doing so carries certain risks, for Zybilna has a dark side that she has hidden away for many years.

Running This Chapter

In this chapter, the characters explore the halls of Lavoglia, better known as the Palace of Heart’s Desire. Most likely, they’ve learned of Zybilna’s betrayal at the hands of the Hourglass Coven and are searching for a way to free her. The characters can undo the spell that froze Zybilna in time and learn that she is, in fact, Iggwilv the Witch Queen. If all goes well, they can free Zybilna and count on her help in return—perhaps even gaining a wish spell for their trouble.

Before your first game session in this chapter, follow these steps to help make the players’ experience as entertaining as possible:

Read the description of Iggwilv’s Cauldron.

Read this chapter in its entirety, and reacquaint yourself with the “Rules of Conduct” and “Death in Prismeer” sections of Prismeer Overview.

Check the Story Tracker for any achievements that could help the characters inside the palace.

Fall of the Witch Queen

Iggwilv the Witch Queen created the persona of Zybilna to hide from her most hated enemies. In the Feywild, she raised a magnificent palace and set about establishing herself as the benevolent archfey Zybilna of Prismeer, avatar of mercy for destitute mortals. Her closest allies saw the cracks in her facade, flashes of arrogance and cruelty that conflicted with her kindly persona, but they ascribed this behavior to the mercurial nature of archfey.

Over time, Iggwilv made the mistake of placing too much trust in the hags of the Hourglass Coven, who served in her court as advisors. The hags waited patiently for the opportunity to overthrow Iggwilv. That day came when the League of Malevolence arrived at the palace.

For years, the evil sorcerer Kelek had coveted the staff of power wielded by his archenemy, a good-aligned wizard named Ringlerun. When Kelek uncovered clues to Zybilna’s true identity, he hatched a foolish plan to blackmail her into bringing him the staff. Kelek was betrayed at the eleventh hour by his own companion, the warlock Skylla, who secretly swore loyalty to Baba Yaga, Iggwilv’s adoptive mother. When the League of Malevolence arrived at the palace, the Hourglass Coven ensured that Kelek’s rivals from Valor’s Call were close behind. The two factions clashed inside the palace. While Zybilna was distracted, the hags used Iggwilv’s Cauldron to freeze everyone but themselves in temporal stasis.

Unable to agree on who should keep the cauldron, the three hags freed the members of the League of Malevolence from temporal stasis by touching each of them with a unicorn horn, then hired them to watch over the cauldron. Not long afterward, the unicorn horn was lost.

Iggwilv the Witch Queen

Iggwilv has a long and storied history throughout the multiverse. This adventure presents the legendary figure in her current form. Her stat block appears at the end of the chapter.

Baba Yaga’s Daughter. Iggwilv’s path to greatness began when she was adopted by the mother of all witches, Baba Yaga, who named her Natasha. On the worlds of the Material Plane, she was better known as Tasha, the inventor of Tasha’s hideous laughter. Tasha’s magic-fueled ambitions brought her into contact with demons and demon lords, which she subjugated and used against her enemies. Tasha became known on the world of Oerth as Iggwilv the Witch Queen, a peerless wizard and conqueror. It was she who wrote the Demonomicon of Iggwilv—the greatest of all treatises on the Abyss and its demonic inhabitants. (The book, which plays no part in this adventure, is described in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.)

Iggwilv’s Transformation. Iggwilv learned several dark secrets while studying the Abyss, including the ability to summon demons and demonic spirits. But in her quest for absolute power, she made too many enemies and underestimated their determination to destroy her, so she fled to other worlds and across planes to escape the worst of them. She eventually took a page from her mother’s book and sequestered herself in the Feywild, where she assumed the guise of an archfey and carved out a spectacular domain for herself. Gradually, Iggwilv transformed into a Fey creature, though she outwardly appears human. Her disposition changed over time as well, as she became less interested in personal power and more interested in exploring her fey existence.

The League of Malevolence

The League of Malevolence is led by a human sorcerer named Kelek, who intends to free Ringlerun from temporal stasis and claim the wizard’s staff of power. To this end, he and the other members of the league are searching Prismeer for a unicorn horn to break the spell on Ringlerun. See appendix B for more information on these villains.

When the characters arrive at the palace, the following members of the League of Malevolence are present:

Kelek holds court in the throne room (area P31), where he is protected by a helmed swordsman named Warduke.

Zargash, a human priest of Orcus who hopes to supplant Kelek as leader of the league, is usually encountered in area P30.

Two other members of the League of Malevolence can be found elsewhere in Prismeer:

Zarak, an assassin, was sent to Thither to slay a unicorn named Lamorna and acquire her horn (see “Wayward Pool” in chapter 3).

Skylla, the warlock who forged a secret pact with Baba Yaga, has sequestered herself in Motherhorn, where she has adopted the stage name of Charmay (see area M12 in chapter 4).

Valor’s Call

Led by the human paladin Strongheart, the heroes of Valor's Call tracked the League of Malevolence to Prismeer. Determined to bring the league’s members to justice for crimes committed on many worlds, Valor’s Call met with Zybilna and tried to forge an alliance with the archfey. When the hags of the Hourglass Coven used Iggwilv’s Cauldron to freeze Zybilna in time, several members of Valor’s Call were frozen in time as well:

Mercion, a human cleric, was frozen in the ballroom (area P22) alongside Zybilna. Mercion was in sight of the cauldron, so she witnessed the Hourglass Coven’s betrayal.

Ringlerun, a human wizard, was frozen in area P23 while casting a cone of cold spell.

Strongheart was frozen just as Warduke blasted him through the wall of Zybilna’s study (area P47). He now hovers in the air above the Court of Storms (area P13).

Two more members of Valor’s Call are found elsewhere in Prismeer:

Elkhorn, a dwarf fighter, was released from temporal stasis so that Skabatha Nightshade could interrogate him. The characters encounter Elkhorn in Thither (see area L13 in chapter 3).

Molliver, a human rogue, was not in the palace when the time-freezing effect took hold. The characters encounter Molliver in Yon (see “Brigganock Mine” in chapter 4).

Where Shall We Three Meet Again?

If the characters forced the hags of the Hourglass Coven to flee their lairs in chapters 2, 3, and 4, the hags retreat to area P47. When the hags are in the palace, members of the League of Malevolence act as their underlings while steering clear of the hags whenever possible.