u/TheBoogBear

Zybilna is frozen, Prismeer has been taken by the Hourglass Coven, but should Endelyn really have to share it with her dreadful sisters? Then along came the party with the goal of taking down the hags. Perfect. Endelyn has been guiding them from the shadows all along, with them now having taken down both Bavlorna and Skabatha. However, where does that leave Endelyn when the sights are set on her?

First, some context. After my wife's character death (RIP, Ew the Plasmoid Fighter), she created a new character, Muu'ra U'dara, a Minotaur Monk. Muu'ra hails from a small Minotaur village that was in the valley between the mountains and swamps of what is now Yon and Hither (the area now engulfed in the mist barrier). However, when Muu'ra was younger, the Jabberwock laid waste to her village, with Muu'ra narrowly escaping up to the mountains. Having found no survivors, she wandered the mountains for a time, hovering between life and death. This was until one day, she felt Zybilna's presence and found clarity. Muu'ra pledged herself to serving Zybilna through worship and training, hence taking on the monk role, which also suppressed her aggressive Minotaur nature. Searching for the missing Zybilna after the Coven took over, Muu'ra joined the party in Downfall in their quest to save her (on behalf of Madryck Roslof). Muu'ra has not actively sought out the Jabberwock, as revenge is a fool's game, but her feelings on this have progressively changed as the party had multiple close run-ins with the Jabberwock ever since they first headed to Thither. She knows it is still in Prismeer and causing havoc. It must die.

Back to Endelyn! The party is now entering the mist separating Hither and Yon, with Muu'ra herself attempting to act as the guide (they kinda just left Squirt back in Thither). Why let the party wander around and mess with things in Yon? Endelyn is gonna roll out the red carpet and welcome them herself (especially since she is protected by the eclipse requirement). The mist barrier will suddenly lift, reuniting Yon with Hither, just as it did between Hither and Thither after the other two hags were defeated. Hurray, Prismeer is connected once more (less the Palace for Zybilna-safekeeping). Endelyn will congratulate the party for their accomplishment and let them know their quest is finally over, that Prismeer has her as a single ruler and that she will take good care of it (she will not).

Obviously, the party isn't gonna go for this. Endelyn will be frank and admit that while she isn't a good person, at least she "doesn't pretend to be one" like Zybilna (hinting at the Iggwilv connection). She'll let Muu'ra visit her destroyed village and work through those raw feelings before revealing that Zybilna was the one that kept the Jabberwock in check. She'll then lie to Muu'ra in an attempt to convince her that Zybilna purposely sent the Jabberwock to destroy the village, that she wouldn't let a Minotaur settlement grow too big and become a problem. And with insult to injury, Zybilna then made the surviving Muu'ra into a servant (really pushing the ironic "you've been lied to" narrative). However, in reality, it was Endelyn's doing that set the Jabberwock upon the village, because Endelyn is the one who didn't want those savage Minotaurs roaming what would become her region.

Endelyn will paint Zybilna as an evil figure more and more (Iggwilv wasn't exactly innocent) and attempt to dissuade the party from continuing their quest, to just leave the "true villain" frozen. Endelyn claims she will take care of Prismeer just fine. No more worries of Haregon brigands, Bullywug uprisings, child sweatshops, Fomorian invasions, etc. Better yet, here's a deal, she'll offer up the Jabberwock, giving Muu'ra whatever information or assistance she needs in order to take revenge (also hoping that the party will simply get killed). Muu'ra can then rest knowing that the Jabberwock and Zybilna can never hurt anyone ever again. As for the two other party members, Toadibias (Bullywug Rogue/Wizard) and Bubbles (Elf Bard), Endelyn will give them some sort of proof that Zybilna is alive so that they may return to Madryck and claim the reward (I'm pretty sure they are not beyond this). Everyone wins! All that she asks is that the party leave Prismeer forever after they have what is promised. The party already got burned by a fey deal with Bavlorna (Again, RIP, Ew), so none of that. Just a handshake and your word (Endelyn trying to gain their trust).

Lastly, Muu'ra has been progressively growing more and more discontent with her two party members ever since joining back in Downfall. She is disciplined, level-headed, looking at the big picture, and always suppressing her Minotaur rage (especially with the party), but these two and their chaotic nature tend to leave disaster in their wake, even when they mean well. They dick around and don't care who they hurt along the way, only ever focusing on what is immediately in front of them. Worse yet, they shamelessly rely on Muu'ra's raw strength in situations they put themselves in, which is exactly what got their previous party member killed, and Muu'ra has been noting all of this. Muu'ra will likely already be distraught when revisiting her destroyed home and "learning" that she was lied to and used by the only figure she had left, now only having an offer for somber revenge and be forced to walk away from everything again. The other two will absolutely be sassing Endelyn (which is probably the right thing to do, ironically) and making a mess of an already volatile situation. My wife has already expressed to me that Muu'ra has been on the verge of breaking and letting her minotaur side out to put those two in their place with a player-initiated "roll for initiative". Everything is coming to a head, and Endelyn is pulling the strings with a smile.

Edited for grammar.