Arcade’s Journal -- The Faerie Circles, Part 4

...Nolin, ransacking his memory for legends regarding demons, believes that the monster we faced was Alix’s blade’s namesake, a true cambion....

...entered the crumbling tower. A search located several large vats of brackish and foul-smelling black water, similar to that found when the central pool of a faerie circle becomes corrupted. A staircase led to a trapdoor in the ceiling. In the upper chamber we discovered a magic circle of summoning. Upon it were runes inscribed in Mabrahoring, the language of demons.

I recalled the words of Sistamula, and suggested that we search the vats. Within one we found a sealed bottle. It seemed to smoke, even in the warm spring air. We brought the milkweed pod, vat and bottle upstairs and cracked opened the pod.

With a tremendous flash, silvery light began to pour out of the pod. At the same moment, the bottle exploded in a shower of blinding sparks. The light and sparks swirled together, and shot out of the tower window into the sky. The vortex split into numerous beams, which arced away into the forest to heal the faerie circles. The shadowy darkness which surrounded the wood began slowly to lift. I congratulated the party on a job well done....

...as I was thinking over the encounter with the demon, I remembered his references to Nostradis Ghend and an individual named Bearsfroth. I now realize that I have heard the name Bearsfroth before!

He was the official court mage for Duke Garith Helmsford about 4-5 years ago, and had been dismissed after some wrongdoing with which I am not familiar. This very Duke had gifted land to Nostradis Ghend to build his tower. Perhaps this gift was given at the urging of Bearsfroth.

It occurs to me that this mage has now been connected with two attempts to darken the land, and that perhaps he is a leader of the Illdar, the Brotherhood of Night. I am writing a letter to Lord Arion Helmsford, the Duke’s son. Lord Arion sent me a kind letter after the Ghend incident, thanking us for our deeds. He now resides in Ghend’s tower in Siryth, and should be willing to give us any information on Bearsfroth that he might know....

...searched the vats and the rest of the tower. We found some treasure, and a vat of acid that dissolved Tao’s axe. We realized that we needed some way to leave the spit of land, and decided to assemble a raft.

Velendo was gathering wood when he was jumped by a group of bullywugs. Their spears bit deeply, and he fell senseless. We came to his assistance, but more bullywugs joined the fray. A brief but nasty struggle ensued, and we managed to rescue Velendo while finishing the bullywugs.

Just as we were preparing to swim for it, I heard the high-pitched buzzing of the Doxelfar, and I resolved that they would not escape this time. I grabbed a rope and shouted a warning. Tom-Tom resolutely ignored me, until his leg began to unravel in bloody shreds. I asked TMOSAT to take me to the place of frozen time, but it only stared at me.

Meanwhile, the Doxelfar began to cut more party members to ribbons, including myself. In frustration I hurled the staff against the tower, and put my back to the wall, hunching low and preparing a Color Spray.

Before it could strike the wall, the staff disappeared with a "whoosh" and reappeared in my hand. I was in the act of yelling "Maneuver 2!", when the scene vanished, and the wall of white flame appeared before me.

As I stepped through I saw that, in the interim, Tom-Tom had been viciously stabbed in the groin. One Doxelfar was frozen in place, backpedaling full-speed away from Tom-Tom. The other had been suspended while streaking towards Nolin. The tiny daggers of the dark faerie elves were stained with blood, and red drops hung in the air in a motionless spray.

Quickly and firmly, I wrapped the rope three times around the retreating Doxelfar’s feet. I then drew my enchanted dagger and, bracing myself, placed its pointed tip against one of the stone-hard eyeballs of the advancing Doxelfar.

We snapped into real time. On the ground, a small form struggled in the rope. The other impaled itself upon my dagger, and shrieked, thrashing about. The end came soon afterwards.

It appeared that the staff had required a few moments to prepare for the Time Shift (not that it mentioned this to me while I was being dissected by inches!)

I tried to apologize to the staff for my lack of patience, and thanked it most graciously on behalf of the party. However, its ego had been sorely wounded, and would not be so easily soothed. In a huge gout of green flame it seemed to force my hands high over my head, and appeared there. I anticipated its desire, and called upon the party to "look upon the magnificience of this staff that has saved us!" This seemed to appease it, and we quickly healed ourselves as best as we could....

...short time later we heard the sound of Agatha singing, and Nolin and I shouted to attract her attention. She poled over, and we set about convincing her to transport us. Foolishly, Glimmer lost patience with this "ugly orc" and Held her. She was infuriated with him when she recovered, but Tom-Tom dosed her with Badgerbite until she passed out. We loaded her helpless form and piled aboard the raft. In moments we were underway....