@Phantasm.Angel; @Lunar Latias;

Episode 10: A Key in the Fey

The group materialized in the grove where they had first met Lori. "The battle is over...the greenskins are gone, and your garden is as it should be." Ash reported to the earth fairy.

Tears--this time tears of joy--formed in Lori's eyes. "Thank the Legendaries! I thought all those months of work I spent growing those crystals were for naught." she smiled. "In return for your brave and thoughtful deed, I will give you a clue as to where the Leaf is hidden.

She went on to say "Earth, fire, water, and wind; these their blessings on a princess did send. But before the fifth blessing, there came the night, which was driven away by holy light."

"Thanks?" Ash wasn't sure what to make of the cryptic poem Lori had recited.

"Contemplate this, and the way towards the holy sanctuary of earth will appear before you." Lori assured the group. "If you ever need the aid of the fey, we stand ready to help."

"Thanks, Lori--even if your poem doesn't make sense, we will think on it anyway." Serena assured Lori. She waved goodbye as the green fairy flitted off through the forest underbrush.

Ash, meanwhile, mulled Lori's clue in his mind. "Earth, fire, water, and wind; these their blessings on a princess did send. But before the fifth blessing, there came the night, which was driven away by holy light."

Then something occurred to him. "Say...you don't suppose Lori was referring to the tale of Princess Ayaka?"

"What does a wonder tale have to do with finding the Leaf?" Serena asked, confused.

"Ash may be onto something..." Brock agreed before quoting the relevant part of the tale in question. "The great fairies of the elements bestowed special gifts on Princess Ayaka-- the great fairy of earth blessed her with bravery and courage that would not waver, like a rock. The great fairy of fire blessed her with the beauty of a dancing flame, the great fairy of water blessed her with the wisdom of a flowing river, and the great fairy of wind blessed her with a voice rivaling even Meloetta."

"Then before the great fairy of light could give her blessing, the evil darkness fairy Duin came, and cursed the princess..." Serena mused.

"...which the great light fairy in turn broke." Ash's face brightened, pleased with himself for solving a fey riddle. "But now the question is, if Lori is earth, then what are fire, water, wind, darkness, and light? More fey we must help, or something else entirely?"

"I wish I could answer your question, but this is something beyond the knowledge of a human minstrel." Brock sighed. "We can, however, ask the aid of the elves..."

"Come on! To Thaveluna!" Ash lead the charge into the brush, with Serena and Brock not far behind.

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"A riddle from the fey..." Fira mused as she paced the floor of Thaveluna's library. "Earth, fire, water, and wind; these their blessings on a princess did send. But before the fifth blessing, there came the night, which was driven away by holy light."

She smiled. "I will commend you for figuring out that there is a connection to the Princess Ayaka story--that tale is somewhat obscure, so not many minstrels know it. I was lucky enough to learn it from Sir Brock once."

"But what are the remaining elements, if the fey we helped is earth?" Ash asked, desperately hoping the beautiful elf could answer the question burning in his mind.

"You must remember that when dealing with fey riddles, there may be more than one way to interpret it." Fira cautioned. "So allow me to propose a different theory--the elements mentioned in the riddle actually refer to elemental spirits."

"Huh?" Ash was intrigued.

Memories of his magical training then came back to him. "Gnome is earth, Salamander is fire, Sylph is wind, Undine is water, Shade is darkness, and Wisp is light."

He thought some more as Fira nodded in approval. "Earth, wind, and water are easy to find in a forest, but where would we find fire?"

"Ever hear of will-o-wisps?" Brock suggested.

The lightbulb went off in Ash's head. "Oh, that makes sense!"

Fira then unrolled an ancient map, which depicted five points on the map with elemental symbols, all leading to the Leaf. "Based on what we have discussed, I believe that in order to find the Leaf, you must find the crests of the elemental spirits.

Tintri peeked from a pocket in Ash's tunic. [Remind me again what the crests of the spirits look like?]

"Sure..." Ash paused to grab a blank piece of parchment and drew each symbol in turn. "The leaf inside a crystal represents Gnome...the stylized flame is Salamander...the three wind gusts is Sylph...the stylized wave is Undine...the moon represents Shade, and the star represents Wisp."

"The spirits' crests are somewhere in the forest--finding one will lead you to the next one, in the order mentioned in the fey riddle." Fira explained. "Once you find Wisp's crest, the Leaf will appear to the worthy seeker."

"It's decided--we embark on our search for the elemental crests in the morning!" Ash declared as he rolled up the map Fira had unearthed...