“We’re going!” Marty said. He had gone over several
approaches and gambits on his way to the tower, but in the end he stuck with
tried and true – don’t given Euwyn a choice. “It’s got to be now,” he
continued. “I’ve got to be here for Banishment Night, the council meeting’s
already come and gone, and we’re not tied up in anything. Will never have
another window like this. As the Marshal, I’ve got to go, so you’ve got to come
with me.”
Euwyn’s mouth opened and closed several times. There were
counters to everything Marty had said, important reasons why none of them
should leave, but in the end he left them unspoken. He nodded begrudgingly –
let Marty think he had convinced him. What other choice did he have? Stay here?
Deal with General Justice and his new military agenda… See his father still
broken from a loss he might have prevented… Face Relania and see if she had
forgiven him… No! Getting out of town sounded better and better the more he
mulled it over, and besides, Giada had answers!
The party gathered and headed for the Fey Fort. It was
almost as if they had been pushed there. With the defeat of the goblins, each
had discovered new powers. Ilyana found she could spy on people from a distance
and even claimed she could bring back a soul in a new body. Marty could send a
message all the way to Lumi in the city. The spells in Euwyn latest tome
suddenly made sense. Ilyana had found Giada with her scrying, and Marty had
sent her a message offering rescue, but their efforts indicated she was under
the spell of the place and had lost her sense of time.
A quick stop off in the city was necessary. They had to
report the defeat of the goblins, and Shelby didn’t need to accompany them to
the fort. It would be awkward, at best! The city offered many distractions. Edgar
had discovered that the runes on the magic scabbard were of Drow origin, and
that such creatures would know how to complete them. The council had met in
their absence, raising taxes, expanding into the plains, farming and setting up
fisheries. There were rumors that Justice wanted to wipe out the Boggards next.
On the way to the fort, Ilyana secret admirer hounded the
party with his attention, resulting in a brief, nocturnal battle between
monkeys, wolverines, eagles and a tiger. She said his name was Brog, and that
he was nothing but an annoyance, which he proved himself to be until he leapt
out to warn the party of a danger ahead. Shena was camped in the forest!
The party opted for the direct approach and luckily caught
Shena unaware. She looked to be reading. Hedge was able to charge up to her
before she could even rise to her feet. A powerful blast of ice nearly killed
Marty who absorbed some of Hedge’s damage allowing the fighter to remain
standing. Shena seemed to intentionally miss the Prince. Ilyana attacked from
above with magic and Euwyn used one of his new powerful spells to ensnare the
half-elf in choking tentacles. Though the Prince called to leave her alive,
excess of firepower and zeal killed the former diplomat. No book was found
among her things.
Deciding to press on and leave the question of what to do
with Shena for after the fort encounter, the group found the patch of forest
where the wall of reality began to blur. One-by-one they fell – or allowed
themselves to fall – under the queen’s spell. Fighting back to consciousness, they
shook off the dream of the fort’s never-ending revel and bargained with the
Queen for Giada’s release. She agreed eventually to a trade, the party would
take Giada away and promised not to return unless they had business with her.
She implied that they had many more important things to do, listing the
encroachment on gnoll land, an attack on their new settlement, and the threat
of war posed by their new council.
