Episode 2: Part 1

The sounds of clinking glasses and the smell of food wafted through the air as the knights entered the warm Irish restaurant-pub. Although the place was located in a modern campus town, it still had a bit of a traditional Old World feel to it. The booths and paneling of the pub were made of dark wood and the walls lining the interior of the building were made of brick. Several lamps hung from above casting a warm inviting light around the pub and several fellow students were already busy enjoying their free time there. Several people were eating dinner while a few upperclassmen were off in a corner throwing darts or laughing over some beers. Over near the entrance, hung a chalkboard listing "O'Doyle's Rules" to not to be an obnoxious bar patron.

When they entered, a pretty young female student with dark hair hurried up and greeted Connor with a relieved look. She was a shorter girl in dark skinny jeans and a casual green sweater, "Hey Walsh! Are you okay? I just heard there was a crazy monster attack not too far from here."

The Summer Knight smiled and exchanged a fist bump with the girl, "Don't worry Eliza, I'm okay. I'm just glad to see you're safe too."

Turning to his friends, Connor gestured over, "Everyone, this is a good friend of mine, Eliza McConnel. She's a Performing Arts major here and she sometimes plays a few gigs at this pub on the weekends. Mostly Irish folk stuff on her guitar. She's great!"

She gave him a friendly nudge in the arm and winked to the others, "Aw, come on. I've got a good accompanist. Every once in a while, Connor here will play along with me on his fiddle during the performances too."

Noelle couldn't help but give him an impressed smile, "Really? I had no idea you played the violin."

He gave a sheepish shrug, "Eliza here makes sure I stay sharp so I'll get strong-armed into playing backup for her every once in a while."

He turned to his friend and tilted his head toward the knights, "Hey Eliza, think we can catch up later? I've gotta take care of something kinda important with some of my other friends here."

As Eliza nodded and said her goodbyes, a portly late middle aged man in a green plaid shirt walked over to the doorway and everyone except Laura recognized him as the unusually reticent and reserved pub owner, Sean O'Doyle. He gave a sympathetic nod and shook Kristen's hand, "Kristen… everything okay? Just heard about your shop."

Kristen gave a tired nod, giving her older friend and fellow business owner a smile, "Thanks Sean. I'm okay. Seems like there's been some random monster attack on campus and the police are looking after my store."

The restaurant owner seemed to give a knowing look before frowning to himself, "Hmm. Seems to happen in other parts of the country… just didn't think here would be one of em. Glad no one else got hurt."

"Do you think you can find a quiet place for me and these students to talk tonight? It's kinda important," Kristen said.

Mr. O'Doyle, ever a man of few words, nodded and gestured them toward a quiet secluded round table at the other side of the restaurant. "I'll get some food on."

The party of five took their seats but not before Laura gave a dismayed look and wiped her chair down with a handkerchief first, "Of all the dreadful bars on campus… it had to be an Irish one."

Connor rolled his eyes and turned back to his boss, "Okay Kristen, you had asked me before if I believed in all the old legends and fairy tales. Well, I sure as hell do now so just what is going on here?"

The young Druid glanced around the room and lowered her voice as she addressed the four teens, "If what that messenger pixie said is true, then our world is in great danger again."

"From who?" Noelle asked hesitantly.

Kristen narrowed her eyes, "Balor... an ancient evil. He is a monstrous warlord and king of the Fomorian Host."

Quinton chewed his lip, "Fomorian… that kinda sounds familiar."

Connor nodded, "According to Celtic legend, they were a monstrous race of evil creatures. Some say they came from underground while others say they came from the sea."

"And just how do you know all this stuff?" Laura cut in with a raised eyebrow.

Connor shrugged with a smile, "I'm going to school to become an English teacher. We have to read a boatload of classic literature as part of the curriculum."

Kristen cleared her throat, "The Fomorians are very real, but so are the forces that opposed them… the Four Elven Courts of the Faerie Realm."

Laura eyed her ring thoughtfully while a server came and brought some soft drinks and appetizers to the table, "I suppose this is where our rings come into play?"

The Druid waited for the server to leave and gave a guarded look, "The Four Faerie Courts are ruled by the race of the High Elves, or the Sidhe. Each of the courts govern one of the four seasons. The two strongest courts are Summer and Winter. Spring and Autumn were once their vassals, but they still maintain those ancient ties."

Now it made some sense why the rings of Summer and Spring were gold while the rings of Winter and Autumn were silver. Kristen leaned forward and continued.

"Long ago, the Fomorian Host invaded our world and wanted to use it as a staging ground to invade the Faerie Realm. The Four Courts united together to fight them, except they did so in an unusual way… they had the humans fight the war for them."

Everyone gave confused looks as she went on, "The Sidhe are proud and fickle beings who didn't want to fight and die over this world, and they didn't want to commit more than the others were willing either."

"Sounds like a really crappy alliance to me," Quinton muttered while Kristen smiled ruefully.

"In order to keep from losing face, each of the Four Courts poured some of their powers into your rings and gave them to great human warriors to fight on their behalf. Those heroes belonged to a great Irish tribe called the Tuatha De Dannan… or literally, the Tribe of the goddess Danu."

Noelle mulled it over in her head, "Okay… so you're saying these magic rings have the power to turn us into warriors with Elven armor and weapons. I'm hoping this Balor guy doesn't have some kind of evil One Ring to rule them all… does he?"

Kristen laughed gently as she took a few french fries from the platter, "No. There's no Tolkien here, so fortunately that part is pure fiction."

From where she sat at the table, Laura crossed her arms, "That still doesn't explain what you were doing with the rings Miss Bloom… or your magic stick… or this Druid business."

Kristen nodded and passed the food to the others, "After Balor and his Host were thrown back into the Underworld by the Tuathan heroes, the Knights entrusted the rings to the wise druids of their tribe. That same order of Druids lives on to this day as the Order of the Juniper Circle. It's a secret organization and those of us who belong to it make it our mission to protect the rings and help guard against the Fomorian threat. Part of that task fell to my family, and now it falls to me."

Noelle looked curiously around the room, "Um… are there any other Druids around here, besides you?"

At that moment, Mr. O'Doyle ambled over and put out some plates of grilled sandwiches causing Kristen to pat his shoulder and give a smile toward Noelle, "You're looking at another one right here."

The four teens stared in shock at the unlikely hidden identity of the older restaurant owner. He raised an eyebrow as Kristen gestured to the table, "Sean, it seems we have some new allies. I'd like to introduce you to the new Tuathan Knights."

Mr. O'Doyle studied the young people for a long moment. A brief look of bemused surprise crossed the normally stoic face of the pub owner.

"I know… I wasn't exactly counting on this to happen either, but we'll have to make do," Kristen said with a placating tone. O'Doyle gave a sigh, nodded and turned back toward the bar, returning to work.

Connor sat staring at his sandwich for a moment before turning back to his employer, "I can't say I really blame Mr. O'Doyle for being skeptical. Hell, the four of us aren't warriors and we don't know anything about magic or medieval combat either."

Kristen folded her hands, "Then you'll have to learn, and I'll teach you what I can. Until then, the magic of the rings will have to get you through."

"Maybe I don't want to be some kind of mystic warrior," Laura answered as she tried to remove the ring… except she couldn't. She gasped in mild panic as she found that it was stuck tight on her finger. "What? What kind of bloody witchcraft is this?"

Kristen patiently crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, "Faerie witchcraft actually. I didn't have a chance to mention that with those rings comes a geas… or an enchantment which compels you to fulfill a certain duty. In this case, you must all commit to fighting off the Fomorian threat and sealing Balor in the Underworld again. Do this and the rings will give you strength."

Quinton blanched slightly, "And if we don't?"

Kristen fixed a serious glare at him, "Then you'll likely be cursed to waste away and die so that the ring can be used by a more worthy hero. That's how these geas spells tend to work anyway."

The four knights exchanged uneasy looks before Connor cleared his throat. "All right… if that's what it's going to take to free ourselves, then I'll do it."

The others agreed with apprehensive nods before Quinton scratched his chin, "You know… during the battle, Noelle mentioned that we were kinda like Power Rangers too. If we're going to be a team, don't you think we should decide who and what we are?"

Noelle pondered the question a moment and gave a hopeful smile, "Oh! I know! Maybe we could be the Faerie Rangers?"

Connor exchanged a dismayed look with Quinton before putting a hand on Noelle's shoulder, "Let's save it for later and give it some more thought… maybe something that doesn't sound so… er, girly?"

Noelle gave a small pout of mild disappointment while Laura simply rolled her eyes and muttered quietly to herself, "Criminy… I'm surrounded by idiots."

At that moment, Kristen cleared her throat and addressed the table again, "Right now, the important thing is for us to regroup and prepare a rescue effort for a fellow Druid… a good friend of mine named Deirdre Finn. That messenger pixie had said she was taken captive by the Fomorians, remember?"

Quinton thought it over while he took a bite of his meal, "Okay, I guess… except there's one big problem. Where do we even know where to start looking? Somerset Valley is a big place."

The Druid grinned and pulled a plastic baggie from her purse, "Not to worry. The spriggans who attacked my shop left us a clue."

Inside the little zip-lock bag was a couple of leaves and a loose clump of soil. Kristen gave a self satisfied smirk and tucked it away to continue her meal, "Those monsters tracked some specific kinds of leaves and dirt into the shop so we can use it to home in on their previous location. With any luck, Deirdre might be there too."

Laura took a sip of her soda and blinked in surprise, "Are you actually saying that you can find out the exact location where a clump of leaves and dirt originated from?"

Noelle nudged her younger classmate lightly in the shoulder, "She's a Druid, remember? I'd be more surprised if she didn't know anything about nature."

From where he sat at the table, Connor took a deep breath and addressed his fellow knights as well as their new mentor. "Alright. From here on out, we're going to have to work together whether we like it…"

He glanced to Laura pointedly before finishing, "Or not. It's the only way we're going to figure out what's going on around here and it's the only way we're going to survive too. We're no good to the people of Somerset Valley or each other if one of us gets killed."

The others gave reluctant nods and the five began to eat their meal, using the time to finish with introductions while getting familiar with the idea of their new "team."

Torchlights flickered along the dark cave walls of the Fomorians' underground prison. As the shadows continued to dance along the edges of the cavern walls, the monstrous warlord-king Balor sat alone in his throne room. While he sat, he focused his senses into the baleful demon eye which glowed from within his left eye socket. The Evil Eye pulsed with malevolent energy as the warlord tried to manipulate the chaotic magic to glimpse into the future. His Fomorian army was still imprisoned under the earth, chipping away at the Sidhe wards that kept them trapped there. If the Fates were kind, perhaps they would reveal a way for Balor to speed up the process and continue his war against the Faerie Realm without resorting to sending one monster at a time.

Long minutes passed and some blurry images of humanoid figures began to take shape in his mind's eye. Amid the swirling chaos magic in his eye, the image slowly began to focus when his concentration was broken by the sounds of his guards escorting someone inside.

The warlord snarled and opened his good eye to see one of his scouts, the dark satyr warrior Goraak. The elite spriggan guards nodded and left the throne room in silence while the beastman bowed in fearful reverence, "My Lord Balor… I have returned from the surface world."

"And what news to you bring satyr?" came the tense growl of Balor, "Did you find the pixie?"

"No… no my lord," Goraak mumbled in humiliation, "The pixie got away, but I'm afraid I ran into some resistance."

Balor fumed and silently fixed his good eye on the cowering subject while gripping the armrest of his throne.

"The Hibernian Knights have returned… young Tuathan warriors who wield the weapons of the Fey Courts."

Balor tightened his grip on the throne while Goraak trembled in fear of the terrible Fomorian king. After a long pause, Balor asked, "You are telling me that you let the pixie escape… and that you were scared off by some children in Elven armor?"

The satyr swallowed and decided that lying or passing blame would be useless at this point, "I… uh… yes, Lord Balor."

Balor studied Goraak curiously for a moment, then sat back calmly in his seat. "Very well Goraak. If there is resistance, then go and eliminate it."

Goraak gulped, "Then you're not going to punish me?"

Balor gave a cruel smile before closing his eyes to meditate again, "If you do end up being destroyed at the hands of these new knights, then that will be punishment enough. No go!"

The next morning, Noelle Moreau sat in the dining hall of the dormitory eating an early Sunday breakfast. She gave a yawn and stirred some chopped up fruits into a bowl of yogurt before she stopped and glanced at the silver ring on her finger. Considering the unreal events of the prior day, Noelle hadn't gotten much sleep. She had replayed the events of the battle over and over again and she still couldn't believe it had really been her doing all that. She wasn't some courageous warrior who swung magic swords or battled legendary monsters. She was just Noelle, a shy average girl who dreamed of becoming a veterinarian one day. She didn't want to kill monsters. She wanted to treat sick and injured animals instead.

As she stirred her food, she couldn't help but think of the geas tied to the ring. It was a blessing and a curse. On one hand it would protect her and give her power, but it also had to power to take her life if she abandoned her mission to protect Somerset Valley. The idea frightened her and she wondered if the ring was right to choose her. Surely if it had already granted her the powers of the Autumn Knight, it must have thought she was capable enough. Still, a creeping feeling of dread hung over her as she wondered what lay ahead for her fellow knights today. After breakfast, they were to meet Kristen to try and track down the missing Druid.

When she looked up, she was surprised to see Connor and Quinton approach the table and sit down across from her with their own breakfast trays. They were both still wearing pajama pants and looked a bit bleary eyed. The Summer Knight clad in red rubbed his eyes and yawned, "Noelle? What are you doing here?"

"I live here now," she replied in amusement, "I was in a different dorm last year, but I switched residence halls. I'm in the women's wing on the floor just below you guys. Quinton didn't tell you yesterday?"

"Uh… oops?" the Spring Knight shrugged in slight embarrassment. "To be fair, there was a lot of other craziness going on yesterday, you know?"

Connor waved it off and began to dig into some scrambled eggs and bacon, "Forget it. If anything, it's good we're all in the same place. It'll make things easier for us to coordinate and stay together now."

As the Summer Knight finished his sentence, he glanced up and nearly choked on his food. He abruptly froze and the others turned to see Laura approach their table with her own tray of carefully selected breakfast items. The English girl stopped just short of the table and inspected it before sitting down beside Noelle, "Well, I have to say this is preferable to that pigsty of a bar from yesterday."

Quinton blinked again, "Wait… Laura, you live in this dorm too?"

The fair haired Winter Knight stirred some sugar into a cup of tea and primly took a sip, "Yes, of course."

"I don't remember you mentioning that yesterday at O'Doyle's either," Connor frowned.

Laura regarded him coolly and gave a slightly patronizing sigh, "Because I didn't. The topic never came up and I didn't feel the need to mention it."

Noelle cast an uncertain look to Quinton across the table and he shrugged.

The Summer Knight suppressed a grumble and poked at the food on his plate, "All right then Laura, are you still up for coming with us to meet Kristen today? The sooner we figure out what's going on, the sooner we can get these stupid rings off our fingers."

Laura took another sip of tea and shrugged, "I suppose I have no choice. Though, might I make a suggestion?"

The other three fell silent and looked expectantly toward Laura before she put down her tea and spoke again, "The rest of you may want to clean yourselves up and put on some presentable clothing. If we're going to be knights, we may as well start conducting ourselves like them… starting with proper decorum."

Her miniature lecture was punctuated as Connor took a large gulp of his orange juice and made on audible burp, just to stick it back to her. Laura simply shook her head with a disgusted frown as Quinton stifled a chuckle and Noelle looked on in quiet dismay, "Ugh… savages."

A/N:
Before I forget, I want to give a big shout-out and thank you to TVFanWriter for her OC, Eliza McConnel. She was a runner-up in the contest and I thought Eliza was so cool, I had to give her a guest role as an ally, so rock on Eliza!