Episode 2: Part 2

Later that day, after dressing and "cleaning up" the four gathered at the antique shop and met with their new Druid mentor outside. To everyone's amusement, they also saw that Noelle had traded in her scorched beret for a stylish orange knitted wool cap. After taking a short stroll to the park where the teens had battled the spriggan raiders the other day, they watched as Kristen laid out the leaves and dirt collected in her baggie. The Druid spoke a quiet incantation and waved her staff over it before the small emerald on the top of it began to glow. Kristen raised the staff and closed her eyes while focusing deeply. After a long silence, she opened her eyes and said, "Alright, I know exactly where to go. Come with me."

She led them to her car and the knights took a short drive across town to the other end of Somerset Valley. Eventually, they reached a shady forest preserve in a quieter area of the valley just outside of the urbanized areas. After piling out of the car, they began to take a stroll through a forested walking path with Kristen leading the way. As they ambled down the wooded trail, the four admired the changing autumn colors and the way that the golden light of the sun streamed through the leaves.

A cool breeze blew and Quinton sighed to himself, "Well... this isn't so bad, right? Just a nice scenic walk in the woods."

Kristen glanced over idly toward her younger charges, "Keep your eyes and ears open everyone. The fey are tricky creatures who have strong connections to nature. You never know when they could be hiding in the brush or listening to us talk."

After leading them to a small meadow, the knights fanned out to take a closer look around. While they searched the area for clues, Connor walked near Noelle and gave a hopeful look to the trees,

"Hey Noelle, if you've got the Autumn ring here, do you think you have any special powers that can help us out right now? Maybe like blowing away some of these piles of fallen leaves?"

She shrugged and gave an apologetic look, "I wish I could. I honestly don't even know how any of our rings are supposed to work yet, do you?"

The Summer Knight shook his head, "No... I guess you've got a point there."

"I will say this though," Noelle mused while admiring her ring and then the trees, "At least the ring is right for me. This is my favorite season after all."

Connor graced her with an encouraging smile, "That's the right attitude. I think we're all a little scared about this magic stuff, but we might as well try to be optimistic and find the silver lining where we can, right?"

The two friends' conversation was interrupted as Quinton gave an alarmed call from the opposite end of the meadow. The others all rushed over and saw him standing over a messy pile of fallen leaves and dirt. To their shock, they saw that amid the leaves looked to be a group of freshly charred bones... perhaps skeletal remains?

"Oh my..." Laura murmured in genuine shock while Connor and Noelle stood gaping in silent shock at the possible charred corpse in front of them. Kristen immediately pushed past and used the magic of her staff to brush aside more of the leaves. It was hard to make out, but the frame of the body looked smaller, possibly female. Everything else was scorched beyond recognition except for a charred silver medallion near the neck. It was an intricate pattern with rings, probably or Celtic origin.

"Deirdre... no..." Kristen moaned with growing pain and anguish in her voice while she pulled out her own Druid medallion that she wore around her neck. This had been one of her good friends and a fellow Druid of their order. She clutched her staff tightly and took several deep breaths to try and calm her emotions. "We're too late."

Connor glanced over and gave his new mentor a sympathetic look, "I'm really sorry Kristen..."

The young Druid wiped her eyes for a moment before everyone heard a voice from nearby.

"Yes... it is unfortunate that blood was spilled. You have my condolences Druid."

The knights all whirled around and saw a regal looking figure gracefully emerge from the golden yellow leaves of some nearby bushes. He was a tall male dressed in an impressive hauberk of golden armor with stylized leaves along the arms and the cuirass. A deep red cape hung from his shoulders and trailed along the leafy ground. The man had beautiful fair features and long pale gold hair which was worn loose. From the warrior's hair, the knights could see his ears were long and pointed.

Kristen glanced over and immediately bowed her head in respect, "Lord Gwydion ... thank you. I... didn't expect to see you here."

The fey warrior ambled over with an almost indifferent air and glanced at the remains of Deirdre Finn. "My soldiers know a band of spriggans had been through here recently. We guessed the Druid here was a victim of the Fomorians. There has also been talk that Balor has returned."

"We have reason to believe that is true," Kristen replied while gesturing over to the four students, "These four brave men and women have just taken up the Tuathan rings to challenge them."

The Elven warrior glanced over and regarded the four college students coolly while Kristen made an introduction, "Everyone, this is Gwydion, a Sidhe lord of the Summer Court. He is a Warden of the Golden Woods around Somerset Valley and a longtime ally to our druidic order.

The Elven lord waited expectantly until the four awestruck students made small bowing gestures of respect. "If these are to be the successors of the Tuathan Knights, they still have much to learn."

Kristen bowed her head, "Please forgive them Lord Gwydion. They are young, but I promise they will learn quickly."

Gwydion nodded toward Kristen, "If Balor has truly returned, then your order must move quickly to prepare a defense for the mortal world. I will bring word to the rulers of Summer and Spring so that we can secure our realm."

"Excuse me my lord, but what about the Courts of Winter or Autumn?" Laura asked stepping forward with her head bowed, "Won't you warn them too?"

Gwydion wrinkled his features, "Make no mistake child, even if the threat of Balor is upon us, we Elves of Summer do not place our trust in the Sidhe of Winter or her vassals. They have always been our ancient rivals and enemies."

"I don't understand," Noelle said speaking up, "I thought the Four Courts had come together once to fight Balor."

Kristen cleared her throat, "There's a delicate balance of power in the Faerie Realm. The Four Courts maintain a very tense peace and alliances between the various monarchs and lords can be a bit... volatile."

"Does this mean that we're going to be on our own again in fighting off these Fomorians?" Connor asked incredulously, "Isn't there any way to ask the Sidhe Courts for help?"

Gwydion walked over toward Connor and stopped in front of the young man. The Elf warrior studied him for a long moment before a small smile crossed his lips. "Your ring… you wield the power of the Summer Court?"

"I uh… I think so," Connor replied timidly.

Gwydion maintained his amused expression, "Tell me Sir Knight, what is your name?"

Connor glanced hesitantly toward Kristen and saw her nod. He knew that in the legends of old, it could be dangerous business to give true names to supernatural beings. "Connor… Connor Walsh."

Gwydion nodded and tilted his head, "To suggest treating with the Sidhe nobles yourselves? Your words are bold Sir Connor… foolhardy, but bold."

The Summer Knight frowned slightly but Gwydion smiled, "I meant no insult Sir Knight. You simply share the forceful spirit of the Summer Court and I can respect that. Perhaps there may be a way to petition an audience with its rulers, King Oberon and Queen Titania."

The others remained silent while Gwydion began to pace around them, "You four knights know that many of my kind are very proud... but if you were to prove yourselves worthy of the Faerie Courts' attention, perhaps they may be willing to listen and heed your words."

"All right," Laura said as she crossed her arms, "How are we supposed to do that? Slay a vile dragon, or rescue a sleeping princess or something?"

The Elven warrior smirked and shook his head, "That I cannot tell you my lady. You will have to do that for yourselves. All I can do, is show you is how to blaze your own path forward."

He took Connor's hand and raised up the ring, "These are the four Destiny Rings forged by my people. They each contain unique powers in their own right, but together, they are complete, just as four separate seasons become one in a year. If you wish to fight the Fomorians and prove yourselves worthy, then you need to know how to call upon your weapons and armor. Speak the Gaelic word of change. Speak the word, Athru."

Noelle studied her ring and smiled, "So that's how we become like Power Rangers?"

Gwydion sighed and shrugged, "I suppose if that's what you people call your heroes nowadays. When we originally crafted the equipment, we didn't totally account for your human lack of Elven grace and agility."

As the four knights listened to the Elf's words, Kristen felt her phone vibrate and she saw that it was a message from Damon. She answered it and turned to the knights, "Everyone, we have to get back into town. The Fomorians have returned and that satyr is wreaking havoc."

She glanced at Gwydion and the Sidhe noble gave a level nod, "I will watch over your friend's remains for now. Do not worry."

"Thank you," Kristen said as she grabbed her car keys.

Gwydion gave one more look toward the young heroes and wore a very neutral expression, "I wish you luck young ones. You're going to need it… but for your sake, I will be hoping you succeed."

A slight gust of wind blew, kicking up the autumn leaves and the knights blinked in surprise as Gwydion completely disappeared from sight. Quinton wrinkled his features and sighed, "Well… that was one of the nicest backhanded compliments I've ever gotten."

"Let's just be glad he's sorta on our side," Connor said clapping his friend's shoulder, "Come on, Goraak is calling us out for a rematch."

Noelle grimaced slightly, "Do we really have to do this again?"

"We might as well follow the laws of nature now," Laura answered grimly, "Kill or be killed. Survival of the fittest and all that, yes?"

"Cut the chatter everyone," Kristen called as she led them back towards her car, "Let's just hope Charles Darwin will be on our side today."

Back in the small city of Somerset Valley, the satyr warrior Goraak began to make his way through one of the public parks along with a small band of spriggan troops. As they advanced, they smashed public property and ruined the gardens, all while terrorizing civilians who were unable to get away. One such civilian was a young man in a tracksuit who cowered as the satyr grabbed him and violently lifted him off his feet.

"Please! Please don't hurt me!" the captive sobbed, "I'll do whatever you want!"

"Oh, don't worry. I won't hurt you," Goraak snorted as he tossed the man aside and into some bushes, "Much."

The Fomorian scout stopped in his tracks as he looked up and spotted four familiar figures rush into the park and bar his path. The satyr drew his hatchet and gave another sniff, "Well… if it isn't the imposters."

"No," Connor shouted back as he stepped forward into the lead, "You said it yourself goat-breath. We're the Hibernian Knights!"

He stopped to glance at his ring a moment before looking to his comrades, "Everyone, we might not exactly be Power Rangers, but we're going to act just like them now and do what's right. We've got a duty to do that now."

Laura stepped up beside him to help lead the charge while giving a grim smile, "Leave it to a Yank to make tall boasts and charge headfirst into a fight… but for once, I'll have to agree. I'm with you."

The Spring and Autumn Knights each gave a nod and stepped up beside their respective ally.

"And you can count us in too," Quinton added as he mustered his own courage.

The Knights' rings began to radiate light as Connor smiled and gestured forward, "All right everyone, this is it. Let's do this!"

"Athru!" the four called as they were swiftly endowed with their enchanted armament once more.

Goraak stamped his hooves and gripped his hatchet with a growl as he saw the four knights draw their swords in unison and give a flourish. They crossed their blades together before raising them all skyward like Musketeers in a rally, "Four Swords, One Heart! Hibernian Knights... To Arms!"

Goraak roared and urged his troops forward, "End them!"

The knights immediately broke formation and rushed forward, scything into the spriggans. Unable to withstand the force of the sudden unified attack, the spriggan platoon broke ranks and retreated as the four heroes shattered the front line with a storm of punishing blows. From the rear line, the satyr warrior stared in shock as the four knights continued surging toward him without breaking stride, all with their weapons aimed directly at him.

The satyr growled and raised his hatchet just in time to block Connor as he made the first attack. Goraak snorted in surprise as his hooves slid back from the force of the Summer Knight's charge and as they locked weapons, Connor turned the tip of his blade inward to nick the monster's face with its red hot tip. The satyr stumbled back giving a furious growl of pain while Quinton swept in low from the side and hooked his sickle on the leg of the monster, tripping him up even more.

Goraak spun sideways, having been completely caught off balance, but he made a thrashing motion with his head to try and swipe at the Spring Knight with his horns. His effort was stopped as Noelle darted in and deflected the horns with her curved blade. As the satyr's head was roughly jerked sideways again, the Autumn Knight made a nimble maneuver and twisted her blade around to strike the hatchet out of the monster's hands.

Now disarmed and vulnerable, Goraak looked up in surprise as Laura charged from the other flank and unleashed a blinding flurry of stinging thrusts with her rapier. A cloud of snow and ice erupted and threw the monster back on his heels, leaving him momentarily stunned and blinded from all the piercing wounds. As the icy cloud began to subside, Goraak watched in horror as a glowing red blade pierced the fog and caught the light of the sun as it was raised high. The Summer Knight charged through the steam and brought his blade down on the monster for a killing blow, bisecting the satyr clean down the center.

Goraak gave a stifled snarl as the red hot Elven scimitar came down and reduced him to a cloud of dark smokey magic. The red knight stood watching as the last flaming remains of the monster fell and burned away before he slowly sheathed his own sword. While the others gathered round, they stood in stunned silence at the realization that they had just won a true first victory against a Fomorian monsters.

"Connor... you did it," Quinton said with a faint laugh of giddy relief.

"No... we did it," the Summer Knight said as he turned to his allies and relaxed his stance.

Noelle took a moment to look around the battlefield and tilted her head, "So... where do we go from here?"

Laura turned and sheathed her rapier while walking slowly back toward the campus, "I say we go to celebrate a well earned victory. Don't you?"

Later that day, the Hibernian Knights gathered together at O'Doyle's Pub with Kristen to celebrate their first spectacular victory as a unified team. Late evening sunlight streamed through the windows of the pub casting a warm glow into the room while an unusually large Sunday crowd of students milled about. While they ate and drank, they were all talking about the four mysterious heroes who had stepped up and fought off the goat monster who threatened Somerset Valley.

While they sat at the table, Quinton gave a thoughtful smile as he listened to the nearby chatter, "You know… I think I could get used to this. People around here think we're pretty awesome."

Across the table, Laura idly wiped down her utensils while half paying attention, "Best not to let it go to your head Quinton. No one likes an uppity braggart."

Beside her, Noelle gently rolled her eyes at the irony of the statement before she gave a bright smile to the others, "I kinda know what Quinton was getting at… Gwydion gave us a lot to think about, and I understand we all have a long way to go, but what we did today… well, it felt really good to help protect others around here, don't you think?"

Kristin smiled as she idly stirred a cocktail drink she had ordered. "Cheers to that Noelle. From now on, you four should know that I'm going to try and help you every step of the way. But for tonight, it's probably best to just enjoy the moment and be happy with the win."

At that moment, Mr. O'Doyle came by with a tray of pub burgers and laid them out. The older taciturn Druid gave the young knights a sidelong look and nodded with the smallest hint of a smile, "Heard about the battle earlier. You kids did good, so burgers on the house."

"Free dinner? Aw, that's the best kind of burger! Thanks Mr. O'Doyle!" Connor grinned as he put one on his plate and prepared to dig in.

Before the hungry Summer Knight could take a bite of his food, he was pulled to his feet by a familiar dark haired female.

"Eliza? What the heck?" he protested. "What are you doing here?"

His musician friend Eliza McConnel grinned and handed him a bow and fiddle while gesturing over toward the fireplace of the pub. He saw a small band of fellow student musicians getting ready to play and provide some live entertainment for the patrons of the pub. "You wanna join us tonight? You and I have already played together and I figured my new little band could use a good fiddler. What do you say?"

"I say I haven't even practiced with you guys yet," Connor pointed out.

Eliza patted his arm with a reassuring laugh, "Relax Walsh, you already know the reels and jigs we're going to play tonight. Come on, it'll be fun."

The Summer Knight cast a look toward his comrades at the table and they all gave smiles and nods of encouragement.

"Oh… all right. Why not?"

Eliza pulled her friend over toward the rest of the band and turned to address the whole pub while holding her own guitar. "Everyone, can I have your attention for a minute?"

The room began to settle down as the patrons turned around to listen in. Eliza cleared her throat, "I uh... know things have been getting a little strange in town recently. I think everyone here's a little scared of these weird monsters that have just started appearing and hurting people. That's why my little band and I want to do something about it tonight. There's a new group of heroes in town to fight those things... so if they're not scared, then neither should we. Tonight, let's just play some music and be glad to be here... together. This one is for those knights."

She nodded toward the band and counted off before they all launched into an upbeat spirited tune. As they played, several people in the pub began to clap in time while Connor also joined in with his own fiddle. From where they sat at the table the other knights and their mentor listened to the reels and shared a few smiles. Even if they were going to keep their identities secret, it was still nice to have their actions recognized by their classmates. There was sure to be a hard struggle ahead, fierce battles to fight, and terrible dangers yet to overcome. But at that moment, they all seemed to sense that with the power of the great fey courts behind them, they'd find a way to make it through... together.