The seneschal pours and provides Perin with his brandy, Harlan with the same that Coel was drinking (which proves to be a fine whisky), as he ponders Bregan and Edvik’s questions. While waiting, Perin glances about the room but finds that it seems to be an interior room of the keep – there are no windows.
He nods to Edvik. “We only have some small idea – we do not believe that it is a plant, but rather an artifact carved into the shape of a rose – small enough, we believe, to be carried and hidden easily, perhaps the size of a real rose.”
Inclining his head to Bregan, he smiles slightly. “Right to the heart of the matter. We do have some idea, due to one passage in a recently-discovered grimore.”
He returns to his chair and lifts the paper he had been looking at before. “…And thus, its’ purpose fulfilled, the Rose that granted us our victory was taken from the world and beyond the temptation of mortals, to that place from which it had originally come. And the Sidhe retreated with it, to hide it from those who would use it for their own ends, and not for the good of the whole.” Coel lays the paper back on the stack in front of him.
“Indeed, the Sidhe did began their retreat right after the last war ended – nearly the very day. And there has been no recorded mention of the artifact after the war – at all. It seems to point to the fact that the Sidhe have it. However…” He sighs heavily. “We have been totally unable to make contact with the Sidhe at all. The few fey who remain are shy of mortals; it takes a special personality to treat with them, and we need to in order to gain the keys to the portals into the Sidhe’s realm. We had sent a man who had ties to a certain enclave of fey to try to gain such; he was sent alone, by his request, as the dryads would not speak to him if others were near. He hoped to gain both passage key and the location of a sealed portal. He was killed on his return, and his message with him.” Coel took another sip of his drink, thoughtfully.
“My mages tell me that there is a portal to the realm of the Sidhe north of here that is not yet fully sealed – however, it lies at the foot of the mountains, behind enemy lines. Also, though our man was killed, he had told us where he was traveling which was south of here, and that he was to speak with a dryad named Nicevena. I can provide you with maps detailing both locations, if you wish.”
