Episode 5: Part 1

Laura Gremory gave a deep sigh as she trudged out of the local forest preserves with Quinton Wallace that afternoon. It was a typical chilly late autumn day and the skies were gray and overcast. Dead leaves crunched underfoot as Laura took a moment to hand off the large basket she was carrying to her companion. While Quinton held the container, Laura huddled into her warm wool coat and paused to brush away some dirt and burrs that had stuck to her boots.

"Honestly Quinton, I can't believe we got roped into this messy duty by Kristen today. The last thing I want to do is spend my Thursday afternoon tramping through the muddy forests looking for some weird moldy fungus."

Quinton stopped to examine the basket full of mushrooms and other odd fungi they had collected for their mentor. "Well, Connor and Noelle are both stuck in Biology class and we were the ones with light afternoon schedules today. I don't see why we can't pitch in a little to help Kristen too."

"I suppose," Laura admitted grudgingly, "What do you figure Kristen is going to do with all that stuff anyway?"

Quinton shrugged as they continued on their way, "Beats me. You don't think the Druids are like hippies and are just going to smoke it all, do you?"

Laura chuckled, "She doesn't strike me as the type. More likely she'd probably use it to brew some crazy potion that can turn you into a frog or something."

The two knights' bantering was suddenly cut short as they heard the sounds of someone calling for help. The two exchanged a quick look and rushed through a nearby thicket toward the sounds of trouble. Soon enough, they found themselves atop a small hill leading down into a wooded clearing. At the base of the hill, they saw a diminutive young woman being chased by a larger dark fey. The monster chasing her appeared to be made of old dead vegetation and it caught the end of her skirt, tripping her to the ground.

"Help! Somebody please help me!" the small hobbit-like female cried in alarm.

Before Laura could react, Quinton dropped the basket of fungus and charged down the hill, sliding along some of the leaves. "Watch the basket Laura. I'll take care of this!"

The Winter Knight sighed and sat down on the hilltop with an amused smile as she watched Quinton summon his armor and rush into combat with the beast.

"Don't worry miss, I'll help you!" he said gallantly as the small fey woman cowered nearby.

He immediately regretted those words as the monster turned on him and tackled him to the dirt. While the two wrestled about, Laura gave a yawn and then began to laugh as the monster pitched him over its shoulder, "Very impressive Quinton. Well done."

Quinton shot her a dirty look before the lesser monster grappled him again and the Spring Knight found himself being shaken about like a rag doll.

"That's it Quinton! You've almost got em!" Laura laughed again in amusement as she prepared to jump in and help if things got too out of hand.

Fortunately, Quinton broke free of the monster's grip and called upon his sickle to strike a critical point-blank slash across the monster's torso. As the monster staggered, Quinton summoned his other short sword and focused the power of the Spring thunderstorms into a killing blow. Using both weapons in a scissor strike, he decapitated the monster and incinerated the dead vegetation with one charged blow.

As Quinton sighed in relief and dispelled his armor, he turned back toward Laura who now made her way down the hill to join him.

"Nicely done Quinton. Minus some points for style, but you still pulled it off," Laura said as she brushed some dirt off his green jacket.

The two turned toward the small fey woman who got up and approached them carefully, "Oh my… Tuathan Knights! Thank you for saving me from that horrible monster!"

Quinton shrugged, "Oh, it was nothing… but who are you? I've never seen such a… um, little person."

The diminutive woman gave a bow, "My lord, I am just a humble gnome of the Spring Court, gathering some last bits of food before winter sets in. Again, I'm in your debt for saving my life."

The Spring Knight smiled and waved it off, "Oh, well... like I said, it's no trouble. If you're with the Spring Court, then I'm happy I could help."

The young gnome woman shook her head, "No my lord, we fey always try to settle our debts and repay them in good faith. Please let me give you a reward."

From her dress pocket, she produced a gold coin and handed it to him, "This Sir Knight, is a wish coin. With it is the power to grant you a single limited wish. Just state your desire and flip the coin over your head to make it so… just don't go wishing for the moon and stars though."

Quinton held the beautiful engraved coin up to examine it with Laura when they heard the gnome speak, "I really must be off so use your gift wisely Sir Knight. Farewell!"

When the two looked down, they saw the small fey woman had vanished from sight. Quinton palmed the coin and tucked it away, "Wow… can you believe it? A free wish? How cool is that?"

Laura crossed her arms, "You don't think this is some kind of faerie trick, do you?"

"The gnome seemed like she was genuinely grateful," Quinton said, "Maybe we can take the coin to Kristen and ask her for help?"

Laura shoved the basket of fungus into his chest and gave a nod, "Splendid, what are we waiting for then?"

As the two friends departed the woods, they didn't notice the large black crow sitting on one of the bare tree branches watching the events unfold. Once out of sight, the crow spread its wings and took off quickly to report to its sinister master.

Meanwhile, back in the dark caverns of the Underworld, the lord of the Fomorian Host continued to wander through his dark domain. Today, his meandering had brought him to a wide underground garden that several of his monsters had been maintaining. He watched as several lesser Fomorians and spriggans carried bushels full of fungus and dead rotting vegetation to spread out as compost for the growing garden.

Among the attractions of the macabre farm were several sinister looking plants along with some dark gnarled trees. As Balor passed by observing the rows of monstrous trees, he saw that some of them had faces which yawned or contorted into looks of agony. Some moaned, while others writhed their branchy arms out, trying to claw at something to hurt. Those twisted treefolk were among the most impressive of the specimens Balor's servants had created… dark treants.

As Balor turned to leave the garden, he glanced over as the black messenger crow who had been spying around Somerset Valley flew toward him and perched on his shoulder. He stopped and listened intently as the crow squawked and quietly relayed his findings to his master. The warlord nodded with a smile as the crow took off and returned back to its patrol.

"So… it looks as if the Spring Knight has gotten himself a wish coin," Balor said aloud while turning to the treants, "That is a powerful thing in the hands of a stupid mortal, but still very useful to me. Who will retrieve the knight for me?"

Balor scanned the garden until his eyes fell upon a particularly large menacing treant which moaned and writhed about. The Fomorian warlord grinned and called upon a little bit of his powers to uproot the monster and force his will upon the creature. "Yes… you will do nicely."

The treant writhed in pain from Balor's spell for a moment before it straightened up and relaxed in submission. Balor nodded again with a smile and gestured toward the passageway out of the cavern, "That's much better. Now go. Fetch me the Spring Knight and do not fail me."

With another terrible moan, the dark tree creature gave a bow and began to lumber out toward the nearest cave mouth.

Later that evening after dinner, the four knights gathered together at the antique shop in town. A warm fire crackled from the fireplace while Laura lounged in a rocking chair reading a History book. In another corner of the room, Connor and Noel made themselves useful by sorting through Kristen's new basket of fungus and sorting them into glass jars. At the main counter, Quinton sat waiting as Kristen pulled out some tools to closely examine the coin he gave her. After several long moments of studying the coin under some lights and magnifying glasses, the Druid handed the coin back to him.

"Well Quinton… I can safely say that this is a genuine wish coin that was created in the Faerie Realm. I'll be honest that I haven't seen too many of those. The last time I appraised one was for a wealthy English gentleman by the name of Du Lac."

Noelle looked up from her work and gave a bright smile, "Cool! So does that mean that Quinton can wish for anything he wants now?"

"Well… not exactly," Kristen said as she left the counter and continued to tidy up her shop, "While all of them are powerful, most of those coins have limitations and the scope of the wish is often proportional to the giver of the coin. Bottom line, unless a king or a high lord of the Faerie Realm grants you one, you can't wish for anything too outrageous."

Quinton grinned and pocketed his treasure while heading for the door, "Awesome! Thanks Kristen! I think I'm going to go try and figure out what to do with it."

The Druid cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes slightly, as if she were a protective elder sister. "Quinton, don't rush and be sure to keep this secret. A wish coin can be a very powerful thing and I'm sure the Fomorians would love to use it to cause some major havoc."

Quinton nodded and left the shop to head back home to the dorm.

After a long silence hung over the room, Noelle turned to see a small frown form on Connor's brow. "Is something wrong Connor?"

"I don't know," the Summer Knight sighed, "I'm just a little concerned about Quinton. I mean… he's got a crazy powerful gift right there and he looked like he was in a rush to use it."

"And you're worried that he might waste his wish on something foolish?" Kristen said as she walked over and examined the fungus in the jars.

"Well… yeah, I guess."

The Druid shrugged, "Well… since he's your friend, maybe you three could help him and make some wise suggestions... to make sure his wish is put to good use."

At that, Laura closed her book and sat up with a sly smile, "That's an excellent idea Kristen, and I think I know just where to start!"

The next day at around noontime, Quinton walked down the main street of town carrying a small plastic bag. He had finished with his morning Sociology classes and decided to make a quick shopping run before heading back to his afternoon classes later that day. As he made his way down the main street of the town's commercial center, he stopped when he caught sight of his crush, his neighbor Kayla walking back towards campus as well. He hesitated and inwardly debated whether he should go join her on her walk when he heard a familiar voice calling his name.

He turned in surprise and saw Laura approach from the doors of a nearby restaurant. The place was an upscale Italian bistro that while a little on the pricier side was still a popular spot to eat for local students. He blinked in surprise as the Winter Knight approached him, "Laura? What are you doing here?"

The young blonde woman gave an unusually angelic smile and took him by the arm, leading him toward to the restaurant, "Quinton! What a coincidence! I was just about to go eat lunch here. Would you care to join me? It would be my treat."

The Spring Knight blinked again as she led him in through the doors of the restaurant, "Wow, really? Wait... you aren't like, asking me out on a date or anything are you? Because you suddenly being so nice is kinda weirding me out here."

Laura rolled her eyes and suppressed a groan of annoyance, "Really Quinton, don't go jumping to such absurd conclusions. I just thought I'd have a nice pleasant lunch with one of my comrades in arms. No harm in that, right?"

"Oh... well, okay I guess. That sounds fine with me," Quinton sighed in relief as they were seated.

Some time later as the meal wound down, Quinton pushed aside a plate of dessert and held his stomach, "Oh wow... I'm stuffed. Now I'm scared I might fall asleep during class this afternoon. Thanks for lunch today Laura."

The Winter Knight gave a gracious smile and graced him with a little laugh, "Oh Quinton, you're such a kidder... but you're welcome."

As he took a sip of water from a glass, Laura folded her hands gracefully, "Quinton, I meant to ask you earlier, but have you given any thought to what you might do with your wish?"

The Spring Knight smiled and raised the plastic bag he had been carrying, "Yup. I just wished for a set of new wheels for my skateboard."

Laura's eyes went wide in horror before Quinton started to laugh, "Relax Laura, I'm just messing with you. I went into town to buy these myself earlier. But about the wish... yeah, some things came to mind. Maybe I could wish for a million dollars, or maybe the numbers to a winning lottery ticket for starters."

"Pragmatic... I'll give you that," Laura shrugged, "But I was thinking of something a little more ambitious."

"Oh?"

The Winter Knight smiled, "Look around you Quinton. Wealth is one thing certainly, but it's quite another to have status and power... so that people could respect you and maybe even fear you. Wishing for something like that could open a lot of doors for you and you'd be dining in nice places like these all the time, rubbing elbows with society's high flyers."

Quinton grimaced, "Gee Laura... I don't know. That sounds cool and all, but I'm not exactly sure it's for me either."

The Winter Knight left some money on the table and rose from her chair. She gave a sweet smile and gently patted Quinton on the cheek, "Quinton my dear friend, just give it some thought. If you decide on that, I'd be more than happy to help you along."

"Uh, thanks..." Quinton said as he rose from his seat. "I should probably get going to class, so um... thanks again."

As he left the restaurant, he couldn't help but shake his head to himself and mutter quietly, "Weird."

Later that afternoon, Quinton made his way home from class when he ran into Noelle on the quad. She was wearing some sweats and it looked like she was out running when she greeted him with a cheerful smile, "Quinton! Hey! There's the big man on campus."

He raised an eyebrow and continued walking as she jogged alongside him, "Uh Noelle? What on earth are you talking about?"

She laughed and punched his arm lightly, "Oh I just figured you already used your you-know-what to become the most popular guy in school."

"No," he sighed patiently, "If you have to know, I haven't even used it yet."

"Really? Because if you need help, I was doing some thinking and figured I could offer you some suggestions."

The Spring Knight raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Such as?"

Noelle scratched her chin, "Well, let's see... you could use it to increase the size of the local Soup Kitchen in Somerset Valley, or maybe start up another animal shelter?"

Quinton grimaced, "Those are all really nice things Noelle, but why would I wish for that exactly?"

"Because you're a good person Quinton. Isn't that part of what being a knight is about?" Noelle explained, "We might fight monsters and keep people safe, but shouldn't we also try to be charitable and serve others too?"

"Well sure... I guess," Quinton conceded suddenly feeling some guilt over some of his more selfish wish ideas, "Man... who knew this was going to be so tough?"

The Autumn Knight gave an encouraging smile and waved as she jogged off, "Don't worry Quinton. I'm sure you'll figure it out and do the right thing in the end."

He waved goodbye to her, but he couldn't help but frown and feel a little annoyed too. Both Laura and Noelle had made some good arguments about what to wish for, but part of him couldn't help but wonder if they also saw something in it for themselves in those suggestions. As he headed back to the dorm, he hoped maybe talking to his roommate would help sort out some confusion.

That evening after dinner, Quinton lay back in his dorm room bed, idly sketching some drawings of leaves and acorns while Connor sat at his desk typing up a term paper for class. While Connor worked, he listened to Quinton relate his problem of the wish along with his run-ins with the girls earlier that day.

"I don't know man," Quinton groaned, "At first I thought this was going to be cool and exciting, but the more and more I think about it, the more conflicted I get when I realize how tough a choice this is."

The Summer Knight nodded and typed a few lines of his paper before glancing over, "I think the girls were just trying to help by giving you ideas of how they would approach it. If you ask me, it's really pretty simple. What does Quinton Wallace want?"

Quinton put down his sketchbook, "Well, as nice as money and power and doing good things for others is… there is something else. I do wish there was a way I could get Kayla to like me. But wishing for something like that doesn't seem right or honest either, you know? It's like manipulating someone's feelings and I couldn't be sure it was genuine either."

Connor sighed and went to sit down beside his friend. He slung a brotherly arm around Quinton's shoulders and clapped his arm, "Quin… listen to me bro, I've told you before that you can already make that happen. She's your next door neighbor. You already know each other and have talked before. You're halfway there so just gather up some courage and discuss it with her. You don't need some stupid magic wish."

Quinton grimaced and gave a half hearted nod to his friend, "Yeah… I guess you kinda have a point there."

Connor did his best to put on a reassuring smile, "Don't worry about it… though you want to know what I would do if I had a wish?"

"No… I actually don't," Quinton frowned as he felt a sudden flare of annoyance again. Connor had given him some good relationship advice, but he wasn't trying to talk him out of that wish so that he could promote his own agenda to Quinton… was he?

The Spring Knight stood up and growled quietly, "In fact, I'm starting to get annoyed by all of you telling me what I should do with my wish. If you guys are really my friends, then I want you to respect my feelings on it and just butt out. It's my wish and not yours, okay?"

"Okay! Geez, that's not where I was going with it Quin," Connor backpedaled in shock, "I'm sorry man… but what's gotten into you?"

Quinton turned and headed for the door, "Maybe I'm just getting a little tired of people thinking they can just push me around and use me to do things for them. I dunno... maybe try to take advantage of gullible old Quinton."

"Come on Quin, no one actually thinks that... especially not me! For God's sake, you and I are friends! You know I'm on your side here!"

"Yeah, well you and the girls have a funny way of showing it sometimes," Quinton shot back as he left the room and slammed the door in a huff. Feeling a little hurt and bewildered, Connor could only sit back down and shake his head in quiet dismay.

A/N:
For anyone curious, Kristen's mention of a wealthy family by the name of Du Lac is an in-universe reference to the Mythos Rangers series written by Stormasius, a fellow PR author and a good friend of mine too. Like me, he incorporates a lot of mythology and heroic fantasy elements into his stories so if you're at all interested in the genre, feel free to check his work out too.