In order to take the kingdoms over properly, Neal instructs Jake and Alex that they must speak to the last vestiges of the Queen through Hildegarde. During the ceremony the Queen destroys the spell book and commands Jake and Alex to take good care of the kingdoms. As soon as the spell book is destroyed Neal goes to see if he is truly free of Hildegarde. When he realizes he is, Neal decides that living in the castle isn't for him, and moves into a small cottage in the town, finishing his painting there.Eventually it comes time for Tory and Jeremy to leave... with the promise to return as soon as possible.If you enjoyed these podcasts and wish to see more of the Kingdom Tree Universe and other stories Bryna Chalmer is writing, please visit her at: http://worldtree.brasscannonstudio.com/brynablog/

With King Delphic stuck in the picture, Tory becomes worried about

returning home. While Alex is reluctant to admit that she has to go,

he, Neal, Jake and Seth start speaking seriously about how to take over

the Kingdoms. Though neither Alex nor Jake wish to rule the Kingdoms,

they both know they'll have to do something in order to keep them from

falling apart.

In an attempt to figure out a solution, Tory proposes they look to the spell book.

With everything in the two kingdoms starting to become more

normal, Neal focuses on creating the picture to get Tory and Jeremy

home.Tory, worried that Neal hasn't stepped foot out of Hildegard,

despite being human again, figures out a way for him to feel more

comfortable about the prospect. Taking the spell book, she convinces

Seth and Neal to reverse the spell Norlis did in order to free Alex

from the bracelets which Garten put on him.With the

bracelets off, Neal sees that it might be possible to leave Hildegard

without dying, but an unfortunate side effect of reversing the spell

unlocks all the doors in the castle, allowing the King to escape into

the the picture Neal is working on.

Tory starts to worry about how Jake and Alex are going to take over the

kingdoms, and how she's going to return home. In an effort to get Jake

to stop stonewalling, Seth tells Tory that it might behoove her to see

if the bracelets Alex still has on his wrists work in Hildegarde.

Once they establish that the bracelets don't have any effect in

Hildegarde,  Jake is willing to sit down and consider the idea of

taking the mantle of power over the Delphic Kingdom.

Neal wakes up to find that the spell has been broken. Tory tells him

they defeated King Delphic when she threw the signed piece of parchment

the Queen had taken from Neal into the fire. Norlis ran away after

he killed Garten, and everything is now going to be different.

Surprised to learn all this, Neal tries and finds he can no longer

speak with Hildegard. In an effort to understand what is going on he

starts towards the Kitchens, Tory following close behind.

As Norlis continues to speak the spell, Tory notices the difference in

the room they're standing in. Looking to Seth, she disrupts the spell

by following his directions. During the interruption the spell is

changed.

Norlis goes slightly nuts.

Neal and Jake are taken by Garten, who gloats over them by explaining the King's plans with the spellbook.

Tory, unhappy with everyone else's inaction, and feeling hungry,

convinces Alex to go with her and explore. Unfortunately they're found

by Garten before they get too far, and the switch between the binding

spells begins.

Neal, Tory and Seth recover from their run-in with the Talpids. Seth

mourns the loss of his familiar and his mandolin, but gives Neal some

important information about why he was trapped in Hildegard for so

long.

Once they've gathered what there is, Neal leads the other two through

the picture to the Delphic Castle, intent on making sure the spellbook

isn't used for King Delphic's purpose.

Tory and Neal land in Hildegard. While looking for the picture to take

them to the Delphic Castle, they find Talpids in the library, torturing

Seth.

Conflicted about the information he got during the dinner, Alex

tries not to panic, and tells Bryna and Jake about his run in with

Garten.

During a dinner with King Delphic, Alex learns that the Talpids have

captured Seth and are torturing him for information. Delphic threatens

to bring Seth to the castle. Alex goes back and tells this to Bryna and

Jake, who are at a loss, not sure if they should go back.

Tory and Neal figure out how to use the spellbook and quilt in

tandem, which gets them closer to the Delphic Kingdom, but not quite

where they intended.