Silvanost and Kurinost - Part 2

07 Newkolt 349 AC

Kysek turns to Shadow and Raz, “Apparently; the bees are listening on behalf of the enemy? And if I heard correctly Ornforithalas is imprisoned and not dead?” He turns to Shadow, “It also appears the ‘fey cat’ I just spoke to wants a word with you, Shadow.” Turning to Raz, “You’re the only one that has a mindlink to the only one I’d believe he’d refer to as ‘the Sugar Plum’, he wants to speak with him as well.” Kysek continues, “I dare not say his name yet; as I believe it’ll bring him here straight away. He claims to have some useful information for us; for a price. What do you guys think? Considering the fey can travel almost anywhere, the cat may prove a useful mercenary."

“Fey Cat that wants to talk to me? That’s a new one. Let’s go back to where it was and see if we can have a word with the feline.” Shadow is eager to see if the cat is still there.

Cedron works with Shadow to help prepare the troops. He evaluates his spells, and proposes using his ability disguise himself and his Wand of Charm Monster to sew confusion of amongst the troops. Perhaps setting them up for a “friendly fire” situation.

Ra’ziir relays the message that someone from the Fey Realm is wishing to speak to him.. “Apparently it’s a cat…”

The Elfemental hears Raven's groan and the muttering of "$&@% fairies. If it's not one %&#%@ thing, it's something else." Raven pauses. "Fine, I will return as soon as I can."

With Raz and Shadow present Kysek calls Hamish’s name aloud. “He said to call his name; not sure how long he’ll take to show up.”

"Nae lang at a', it turns oot. Sae, ye hae reconsidered?" And there, as if it had been present the whole time, Lord Hamish is sitting on the table where the three elves were making plans. "An' a', tis Laird Hamish, ye hae tae say th' hail thing, ilka time."

“Well, there ya go? Quicker than I thought for sure.” Kysek states to his elven companions. He turns to Lord Hamish, “What can you give information about? And at what cost?”

The black and white cat's mouth opens, speaking words it was never meant to shape. "Fur jiro, a' ah ask is a song celebrating mah greatness - yin that truly shows yer appreciation - tae be spread far 'n' wide. In exchange, ah wull tell ye aboot yer missing mukkers."

After buckling the last strap of his armor Arthur looks to Grotto, "I say we start our search in what was and is still their most holy of locations," he ponders for just a moment, "Maybe Lady Lorraine and Lady Agnes may know where we could begin our search." Arthur makes his way to the two ladies and knocks on the door. "It is Arthur, may I enter?" He stands there waiting for a response.

Agnes opens the door. Despite her obvious worries, she smiles when her eyes fall upon Arthur, "Of course, my knight. My door is always open to you."

Arthur steps in and closes the door "I believe its time we had that talk my lady" His eyes soften as he sees the necklace.

"Where would you like to begin, My Knight?" Agnes gives Lorraine a look. The old elf woman suddenly remembers that she needs to be somewhere doing something and beats a hasty retreat, pausing only long enough on her way out the door to give Arthur a reassuring pat on the arm.

Grotto joins Lorraine, "Let us do our rounds of the wounded together. There are many to check on." Grotto walks past Arthur and Agnes, giving a reassuring smile to both before closing the door behind him.

Arthur thinks for a bit before taking his place at her side "Let's start with your real story, then what you know about the other dragons, where the clutch of eggs are. What you know about this god they worship...." Arthur takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, "and us if you'd allow me to," he slowly opens his eyes "I have so many questions its hard to figure out what to ask first but for now let's start with this"

Agnes pours some tea for herself and Arthur. "Everything I told you is true. I was born on an island, I have many brothers, and we went out into the world despite our elders' objections. I just left out the part where I am a dragon. The chromatic dragons serve Takhisis. We have found no trace of our missing eggs although the appearance of these Draconians lead me to fear the worst. And, lastly, I wish to be with you."

Arthur pulls her into a long embrace "i fear you may be right but let's not give up hope. I will do all I can to locate them for you whilst I search for the gods as well." Arthur removes his gauntlet, "I wish to be with you, too." He places a soft kiss to her lips "Now, let's do this together," he takes her hand and goes to find Grotto.

Agnes arches one delicate eyebrow, "Together is correct. Where you go, I go. I am not some maiden who needs to be sheltered."

Arthur and Agnes soon catch up to Grotto and Lorraine. As they are walking, Grotto tells Arthur that he has questioned Lorraine about the temple but she knows of nothing out of the ordinary there. A better search may be needed he tells the knight. The four also talk about the kidnapping the enemy has done with the eggs. "The enemy forces their hand towards neutrality. I fear the eggs are destroyed knowing these fiends."

Arthur thinks for a moment "What if the gods didnt leave.... what if one god killed and or tricked the others so that they are the only divine power and followers had the capability of using it?"

Grotto shakes his head, "But we and our gods are new to the land. I know Hanseath lives. He blessed me with spells when Raven and I were in the fey lands. Surely with the amount of gods out there not every one of them would have been so easily fooled. I agree, we should start our search at the temple. Something has blinded or hidden this place from most gods. We must lift the veil!"

AND ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF KURINOST...

The hobgoblins begin to hoot as Raven appears. As they reach for their blades, Raven presses the Tiger Eye gem set into the back of his bracers.

Time stops.

He takes a deep breath and draws Thorgrim while walking over to the Dragonarmy soldiers. He invokes the cursed giant-slayer's strength enchantment and presses the amethyst gem, doubling his speed. He takes his position at the center of the hobgoblins and readies himself, both swords raised in an attack position.

And then time resumes its normal flow.

Raven explodes into action. Faster than the eye can follow, Nightwatcher cuts a silvery arc through the air and strikes the head from the worg before it can howl an alarm. As it falls, its rider tumbles forward. Raven spins, his momentum carrying his nigh-unbreakable blade around to slice across the mail-clad hobgoblin's belly, spilling viscera onto the ground. He reverses his swing with a second blow taking the leader's arm off at the shoulder. A crouching spin with his sword extended at arm's length slices through the legs of each of the remaining warriors, cutting them literally off at the knees.

In less time two seconds, all five members of the Dragonarmy lie dead at his feet. He wipes his blade in the snow to clean it before returning it to its sheath. He begins stripping the armor off of the worg rider and then grabs a shield to shovel a shallow depression in the snow. He shoves the bodies in then covers them. The process takes close to two hours. The hasty burial won't fool anyone looking for signs of a battle but it should be enough to pass the scrutiny of a casual passerby.

After donning the armor, Raven puts on the helmet and closes the visor before making his way to the city gate.