Episode 6: Part 1

It was a cold gray early November afternoon as the four Hibernian Knights sat together in one of the university's local cafés near the sports stadium. As they sat with cups of coffee or hot chocolate in hand, the four students continued to chat while warming up after having watched a football game outside in the chilly air.

"What a great way to end the afternoon," Connor Walsh grinned as he took a sip of coffee and enjoyed the warming feeling to his red cheeks, "We scored some great seats this year and the Somerset Strikers are now a ranked team after the win today."

"As long as we don't catch colds, then I guess it'll be worth it," Noelle shrugged as she reached over and took Connor's red and gold Somerset Strikers scarf from his chair and threw it around her own neck and shoulders with a little shiver.

Quinton couldn't help but chuckle a little, "We told you it was going to be cold before we left the dorm Noelle. I don't think your magic ring makes you immune to the winter chill."

The Autumn Knight sighed and curled up around her cup of hot chocolate, "I couldn't wear orange today. People would've thought I was cheering for the other team. Uh, you don't mind if I borrow this for now do you Connor?"

The Summer Knight gave a kind hearted laugh and shook his head before turning to their other comrade, "So Laura, how did you enjoy your first American college football game?"

Not surprisingly, the Winter Knight sat seemingly unperturbed by the cold air outside and she brushed aside some of her gold hair thoughtfully, "I suppose it was amusing enough, even if your version of football is a lot more barbaric than the matches we have back home. Ours takes patience and skill instead of having armored gladiators bashing their heads together in every scrum."

"Hey Connor, I think she just insulted you," Quinton grinned playfully, "Didn't you play a little football in high school?

Connor smiled and chuckled good natuerdly, "If you count being a small second string tight end, then yeah. Besides, you Brits play the same kind of game too. It's called rugby and they don't wear helmets either so who's the barbarian now?"

"Rugy is not football Connor," Laura replied while tossing a sugar packet at him, "What I meant was…"

She was interrupted as another young woman approached the table. She was also blonde with similar facial features and she was dressed in school colors while hurrying over to give Laura a little squeeze, "Laura! There you are! I thought I spotted you across the room."

The Winter Knight squirmed in momentary discomfort before returning the girl's hug and casting a sheepish look to her fellow knights. "Um… everyone? This is my older sister Abigail."

Abigail gave a bubbly laugh and patted her younger sister affectionately on the head, "Oh come now. Just call me Abi everyone. It's nice to meet you!"

Everyone made surprised introductions and Noelle shook the girl's hand, "Hi. I didn't know Laura had an older sister."

"She's a senior here at the college Noelle," Laura supplied, "That fact… well, it never came up in casual conversation."

The two boys exchanged an amused look while Abi put an arm around Laura's shoulder, "Somebody's got to make sure their baby sister is doing okay, right? You should have told me you were going to go to the game today. I promise I wouldn't have embarrassed you in front of your friends… though I'm just glad you made some here. You didn't tell me about them."

Laura grimaced and shifted in her seat, "Well… sorry?"

Abi waved it off and looked to the other Knights, "Mum and Dad are across the state and they were worried she'd be lonely here, what with the recent move to America and all."

"You're serious? Mum and Dad are actually interested in what I'm doing or how I'm feeling?"

"Laura… come on now. Don't be like that," Abi sighed gently as she tried to give her sister a cajoling squeeze. Laura shrugged herself off and brusquely rose from the table before heading out the door.

"Sorry everyone. I think I've had enough American football today. I'll see you guys back at the dorm."

The knights watched as Laura headed out the door with her older sister following close behind trying to calm her down. After the door closed, the three friends looked to each other.

"God… that was really weird," Connor mused while taking a drink of coffee.

Quinton nodded in agreement, "I know… it's like we just met the anti-Laura, or maybe whatever the opposite of an evil twin is?"

Noelle frowned slightly and sat up from the table, "Come on, don't be mean you guys. Something really upset Laura today. We should try to talk to her and help her out."

"You think you can get through to her?" Quinton asked with uncertainty.

The Autumn Knight gave a confident wink and headed out the door, "I think in a case like this, it's best to let a fellow girl handle it."

As she walked out the door, Connor abruptly sat up and tried calling out after her to no avail, "Wait… Noelle! Hold up! You still have my scarf! Hey!"

Unbeknownst to the knights, none of them paid any attention to the large black crow that was sitting on a nearby powerline. It had watched Laura walk out of the café followed by her sister and then by the rest of the knights. As it waited patiently, it heard some interesting things from their bantering before the bird flapped its wings and began to make its way toward the underground caverns... the place where its dark Fomorian overlord waited.

Deep in the woods at the outskirts of Somerset Valley, a cold wind blew as a demonic stag with jagged antlers and furs as white as snow dragged the limp body of a dead man by a small pond. As the bare trees swayed again in the chilly air, the monstrous creature extended its horrible teeth and began to make a meal of its latest victim. Amid the steam of the fresh kill and the messy crunching sounds, the monster stopped and raised its head as one of Lord Balor's black messenger crows flew into the clearing and landed on a nearby tree branch overhead.

As the bird settled, it gave a few noisy squawks which echoed in the woods. The demonic stag listened to the bird speak and nodded its head before it headed toward the waters of the pond. After a few moments, the creature began to shape shift into a human form. In this form, he was a tall well built male with fair features and cold hard eyes. While he knelt by the pond, he saw a large smear of blood still covering his mouth and hands and he calmly washed them away in the waters.

Once he rose to his feet, the monstrous man looked up to the bird and spoke, "I understand little one. You can go tell Lord Balor that I, Finnebar will answer his call. I won't hesitate to make a meal of the humans and if I can help to get rid of a knight, then all the better."

The bird screeched again and flapped its wings before taking off. Finnebar watched it go before he bent down to retrieve some of his victim's clothes and use them for himself. "It would seem that a way to the Winter Knight has presented itself. Who am I to waste a good opportunity?"

The next morning, after her morning classes, Noelle strolled across campus and caught sight of Laura leaving the library. The Autumn Knight hurried over and gave a friendly wave, "Hey Laura! Are you headed back to the dorm for lunch?"

Laura glanced over and gave a nod of her head in acknowledgement, "Actually, I was headed to the Union. I was going to eat at the food court there."

"Oh... well, mind if I join you?" Noelle asked brightly as they began to walk, "I haven't eaten either."

The Winter Knight simply shrugged as they passed through the crowds, "If you wish."

Once they reached the Union and found a spot to sit in the bustling food court, the two knights began to eat quietly until Noelle cleared her throat, "So... it was nice to meet your big sister yesterday. She seemed really nice."

Laura glanced up a moment before continuing to eat, "Abigail? Sure... she's great. She's always fussing over me and trying to make sure I'm okay."

"I take it you aren't on as great terms with your folks, huh?" Noelle prodded gently.

The Winter Knight gave an icy glare before continuing to eat, "That is none of your business Noelle. I'd ask that you kindly drop it."

Noelle bit her lip and stood her ground, "Listen Laura, something upset you yesterday and I want to try and help... so do the boys. You probably don't believe me, but that's the truth."

"And why would you, Connor, and Quinton care so much?" Laura challenged.

Noelle put down her sandwich, "Why? Because we're knights and you're one of us. When I heard your sister expressing concern about you making friends the other day... well, it made me feel kinda bad."

"I don't need your pity," Laura sighed while she began to fold up her napkin evasively.

"Maybe not, but maybe you could use a friend instead?" Noelle countered as she reached out and put a hand on her comrade's wrist. "You can trust me you know."

Laura stopped and stared at Noelle's hand and an unreadable expression crossed her face. For a moment, it almost seemed like the Winter Knight's normally stoic facade wavered for a moment before she took a deep breath and nodded. Noelle waited patiently as Laura sat back and frowned to herself in thought, "I... I've never really gotten the impression that my parents cared about me."

"Really? Your family seems pretty well off to me," Noelle said, "You guys are like descended from some noble family in Britain, right?"

Laura shook her head, "You misunderstand... my parents have always provided in the materiel sense, but they've never really cared about how I feel... about what I think, or what I believe."

The Autumn Knight scratched her head, "Sorry... you're right. You kinda lost me."

Laura sighed again, "I grew up the youngest of three sisters Noelle. As far as my parents are concerned, I've always just been a child. To them, they don't really expect anything of me but to just get married off and not be a nuisance. I think they're still stuck in the mentality of Georgian England."

Noelle knitted her brows for a moment, "So... you don't want to fall in love and get married one day?"

Laura flushed slightly and looked away, "I'm not saying that... I just... I just want it to be on my own terms... eventually. My parents have tried making some suggestions but I've rejected every potential suitor."

"Gee... must be nice to at least have options," Noelle muttered to herself in mild gloominess.

Laura gave her companion a rueful grin, "Believe me, it's not all fun and games. The people of nobility are always calculating and scheming. If I'm going to fight for myself, I suppose I have to be just as cunning and ruthless."

Noelle nodded slowly before looking to Laura, "So what do you want to do... if not become a housewife?"

Laura gave a sheepish smile and reached into her bookbag to pull out a history book. "To be honest... I want to study History and become an archeologist. Ever since I started reading the works of the American historian Gabriel Bishop, I want to be just like him."

Noelle paused for a long moment and gave her friend a soft smile, "You will Laura... and thank you for telling me all that."

The Winter Knight shrugged in mild embarrassment before waving it off, "Well... it would have been a little tougher being serious around the boys with all this."

"Give them some time," Noelle laughed gently, "They have good hearts too... you know that."

After the two female knights exchanged a smile, Laura turned in surprise to see her sister Abigail approach with a young well dressed fair featured man.

"Laura! Noelle! What a coincidence!" Abi exclaimed cheerfully as she greeted them, "This is a great chance for you to meet a friend of mine. I'd like to introduce you to Wendall Hart."

The handsome young man gave a slight bow of his head and reached out to take Laura's hand and kiss it, "You must be Laura, the little sister. Abi's told me a lot about you."

As she retracted her hand, Laura couldn't help but get a bad vibe from Wendall. He was an attractive boy, yet she found the sharp hard lines around his eyes somewhat off putting. "Really? What did she say?"

Wendall seemed a bit caught off guard before waving it off, "Oh... just lots of odd funny things like how close you are and how you're always hanging out."

Noelle tilted her head curiously to chime in, "Are you a senior here too?"

"Oh... uh, yes... I am," Wendall grinned as he gave a charming look toward Abi. "Abi and I have known each other for a while here. Isn't that right?"

The older Gremory girl seemed to have an odd smitten look on her face but she giggled and nodded. "I guess since it's senior year, we kinda just figured we'd give this dating thing a go before it's too late. We were planning on going out to dinner tonight in campus town so maybe we'll see you around."

"Yeah... maybe," Laura said while Noelle gave a cheerful wave to see the upperclassmen off.

Once they were out of sight, Noelle turned to the Winter Knight, "Uh Laura... is everything okay? You look kinda bothered again."

The Winter Knight frowned and sat down with a concerned look crossing her features, "Something's not right. I never remembered my sister mentioning anything about a potential boyfriend before... and why didn't he go with her to the game yesterday?"

"You didn't tell her about the rest of us," Noelle argued, "And there could be any number of reasons for that. Are you sure you aren't being paranoid?"

Laura glanced to the Autumn Knight, "Something seemed off about Wendall and the way he talked. I think I might want to keep an eye on my sister today, and I'd like to ask for your help again."

Meanwhile across town, Quinton walked into Kristen's antique shop that afternoon and took a look around. He could see a few other older customers browsing around while Kristen was busy showing off some fine china to a young couple at the far end of the room. As he walked toward the front desk, he peered around and called out quietly, "Connor? Hey, where are you?"

To his surprise, the Summer Knight popped up from behind the counter wearing a gaudy green tweed sportcoat and a matching green derby hat with a shamrock sticking out of it. Giving his roommate a wink, he began to speak in a highly exaggerated Irish accent, "Top o tha mornin' to ya mister. Me name is Paddy O'Furniture and ye came to the right place for some o' the state's finest antiques. Are ye lookin to buy a gift fer yer fair lass, or perhaps could I interest ye in procurin' a big long shillelagh?"

Once he got over his shock, Quinton crossed his arms with a laugh, "Connor, what are you doing? You look totally ridiculous."

"Aye... that I do," Connor chuckled before he dropped the lilting accent, "I was just cleaning out the back rooms and found this getup so I thought I'd have a little fun."

Quinton put his backpack down and smiled, "Well, at least I can't accuse you of being hilariously racist... considering you're making fun of your own people and all. You almost done with your shift today?"

"Yeah. I'll be done soon," Connor said before the door opened and a new figure walked in from the cold. The boys looked in surprise to see Kristen's boyfriend, Detective Damon Pierce walk in and rub his hands. As he neared the counter, he gave a bemused glance to Connor and suppressed a small laugh, "Nice hat kid. Is Kristen around?"

The Summer Knight pointed over toward the corner but Kristen was already heading back to the corner with a puzzled look on her face. "Damon? What are doing here? Is everything okay?"

The detective looked around quickly but kept his voice low, "I was just headed back to the station from an investigation and I wanted to give you a heads up. A couple hikers found the remains of two human bodies up in the northeast edge of the valley."

"Are we talking like murder victims here?" Conner asked curiously.

The detective glanced at him but Kristen waved her hand, "It's okay Damon. You can trust these two. I know them well."

Damon looked back to her and sighed, "We're not going to rule it out just yet. Right now, it's looking like some really nasty animal got them and started chewing them up... thing is, something about it doesn't make sense. The park rangers there noted puncture wounds on the bodies as if some male deer got them, but they were also chewed on by something with sharp teeth too. I guess I just came by to tell you to be careful."

"I will," she said putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder and giving him a quick kiss, "I'll have the boys here pass along word to the students to look out for large animals in the mean time."

Damon nodded and said his goodbyes before leaving the shop. Once he was gone, Quinton glanced to Connor with an expectant look, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

The Summer Knight turned to Kristen and saw her nod, "Oh yeah. We'd better give the girls a call and get ready to mount up. We just might have to go hunt down a man eating Fomorian."

A/N:
There are a lot of shapeshifting monsters that eat people in Celtic lore, but this time the monster is sort of a combination of a kelpie and a wendigo. The monster's name is derived from Findhabair which roughly translates to "white phantom"