Episode 17: Part 2

Eliza walked down the street being supported by Connor and Noelle while the knights explained the whole situation to her, "I can't believe this. The five of you are..."

"Medieval themed superheroes? Yeah. It's true," Stephen answered sympathetically, "Believe me... it took me a while to wrap my head around too."

"But to keep a secret like that... for all this time?"

Laura cleared her throat, "It's for the safety of all of you civilians. The people know who we are, the better."

Soon enough, they had made their way back into town and walked inside Kristen's shop to call an emergency meeting. It was usually closed on the weekends, but Kristen had hurried back to meet them when they called. When they entered, they found their mentor still looking a bit disheveled from her morning gardening but they were even more shocked to see a small delegation of faeries waiting with her. Three Elven soldiers stood at attention wearing the green livery of the Spring Court while a small familiar female paced nearby them. Quinton immediately recognized her as the gnome he had helped several months ago and who had granted him his wish coin. The diminutive woman wore a fine green dress denoting some sort of rank with her fellow Spring fey and she gave a welcoming look toward the knight.

"Kristen... what's going on here?" Connor asked as Eliza balked at the sight of more supernatural beings in her midst.

The Druid gave an uneasy grimace and gestured for her young charges to sit down, "Everyone... this situation suddenly became a lot more important than I thought. I'd like to introduce you to Aelwen, a handmaiden of the ruling Lord and Lady of Spring."

The gnomish woman stepped forward as the knights and Eliza sat, "I apologize for the sudden intrusion, but it is good to see you again Sir Quinton and Lady Laura."

The Spring and Winter Knights exchanged a look and bowed their heads respectfully. Quinton looked up a moment and frowned slightly, "Miss Aelwen... I had no idea you were attached to the royal court. I... I'm sorry I didn't know when I had saved you before."

Aelwen shook her head kindly, "There is no need to apologize Sir Quinton. I've come today because the Spring Court would like to ask for your help... for the help of all of you knights. It's of the utmost importance and my Court feels you may finally be trustworthy and competent enough to aid us."

"That's a backhanded compliment if I've ever heard one," Stephen muttered quietly before Noelle gave him a little shove, urging him to be respectful.

Aelwen went on, unaware of the Silver Knight's comment, "A powerful artifact has been stolen from the Spring Court, the mythical Harp of Daghda."

Connor's eyes immediately went wide as he recognized a little bit of the old Celtic lore himself, "Whoah... hold on a minute. Daghda, as in the greatest of all the Celtic gods? His harp actually exists? That creep Seamus was serious?"

Aelwen nodded solemnly as Eliza looked about in confusion, "I don't understand."

The Summer Knight glanced to Kristen then back to the others, "The Harp of Daghda was a legendary artifact and stories say that it had all sorts of crazy powers. It could heal wounds, bend time and space, or instantly alter the emotions of people who hear the music."

"Makes sense," Laura mused, "That harp we came across stopped us dead in our tracks."

After relating their battle with the mysterious Fomorian warrior Seamus, Aelwen grew even more serious, "Yes... we know of this Seamus Killarny. He's a redcap, a type of monstrous fey that has great power and a penchant for savage cruelty. Many of them earn the name by dying their hats red with the blood of their victims. We suspect he was the one who raided the treasure vault in Spring and stole the harp. He left scores of dead and wounded people in his wake."

"So what exactly does that have to do with us?" Stephen asked nervously.

Aelwen narrowed her eyes, "We cannot allow the Fomorian Host to use the powers of the harp for evil. We'd like you knights to help us track Seamus down and recover the harp. If you have to kill him in the process, then so much the better."

At that, Eliza nervously chimed in, "Uh... guys? I think I can help with that. I saw where this Seamus guy went to in the woods, and where he escaped through some magic portal."

The knights spent several minutes recounting their own battle that morning and how Eliza came to be there before Noelle jumped to her feet, "All right, so once Eliza shows us the way, Kristen can help us portal over into Spring and then we can go after Seamus."

"And I'm coming with you guys," Eliza said quickly causing everyone to stare.

Connor shook his head to his fellow musician and friend, "No Eliza. It's going to be too dangerous. We don't know what to expect in the Faerie Realm and you don't have the benefit of our weapons and armor."

"But I do have enough musical talent to play the harp," Eliza countered while giving a pleading look to the others, "Listen, if we recover the harp it might be a benefit to have someone who's able to play it and use it's magic back on those Fomorian monsters. You guys have done so much to help protect our town and I want to try and return the favor."

Kristen crossed her arms in protest, "Eliza, it's a noble gesture. I know you want to help but..."

"But she'll just have to be extra careful. Her skills might be really useful here," Noelle cut in with a supportive smile.

Connor narrowed his eyes skeptically but Noelle continued to plead, "Everyone, we may need as much help as we can get right now. If Eliza is willing and able, I'm willing to believe in her."

The Summer and Winter Knights exchanged a pensive look before Connor slowly nodded. Laura stepped forward and kept her eyes leveled on Eliza, "All right. You can come along, but you need to stay out of danger. That means listen to us and get ready to run away if you have to."

Eliza took a big gulp and nodded silently. Aelwen watched the exchange before turning to Kristen. "Excellent. If that's all settled, then perhaps we should go after the redcap. If it's all right with you, my men and I will be happy to stay here and guard your shop while you are away."

Kristen warily eyed the Elvish soldiers before giving a helpless shrug, "I suppose I can't really object."

She walked over to the corner of the room and took up her wooden Druid staff before gesturing to the door, "Okay everyone. What are we waiting for?"

A short while later, Eliza led the knights back to the place where she had seen Seamus disappear in the forest preserve just outside of campus. After examining the site, Kristen opened the portal and led the group of students into the realm of Spring. After crossing over, everyone took a look around and found themselves in a bright sunny meadowland with colorful flowers dotting the vibrant grasses. The air was mild and a cool gentle breeze touched their cheeks. In the near distance, the party could see some hills and highlands dotting the countryside while tiny colorful sprites glowed and flitted about the fields around them.

"Oh wow... it's so beautiful," Eliza exclaimed in awe as she took in part of breathtaking majesty of the Faerie Realm for the first time.

"Stay sharp everyone. We won't know what to expect," Stephen called as he scanned their surroundings once more for danger. Once they were convinced the coast was clear, Kristen stood by their portal entry point and planted her staff in the ground.

"Okay. I'm going to stay here and stand guard over our escape route. Wherever that Seamus character went, he couldn't have gone far from here."

The knights all used their rings and bracer to armor up before following some tracks that their mentor pointed out in the ground. They followed the tracks until they reached the base of one of the large steep hills sloping upward and found a small cave dug into the earth leading downward. The group stopped and looked to one another for a moment before Laura drew her rapier with a grim chuckle, "It looks like our enemies have saved us some trouble and dug their own graves for themselves."

Connor nodded and drew his own sword, igniting it for some extra light while he gestured Stephen to join him at the head of the formation, "Eliza stay back and let us take point okay? Noelle, keep a close eye on her."

With that, the group made their way into the dark tunnel and pressed onward into the caverns below. After a short walk, the six stumbled into a wider underground lair lit by a few torches lining the rocky walls. At the other end of the cavern, several spriggan warriors whirled around furiously while the familiar form of Seamus sat on a stone bench holding the magic golden harp. The redcap rose slowly with a look of annoyance before suppressing it into a mocking grin, "Oh... what a surprise. I didn't expect you humans to find me before Balor's forces arrived. I so wanted to give him this lovely harp as a tribute to his greatness."

"I'm afraid you'll have to find something else for Balor. We're here for that harp Seamus!" Laura called out in a challenge.

The fey man smirked and gestured for his spriggan guards to quickly sidle around the walls of the cavern and maneuver by the knights until the enemy troops gathered at the rear of the chamber to block the way out. Seamus shrugged and raised the harp, "I'm afraid that won't be possible. But if you'd like to meet your early deaths here, I'd be more than happy to accommodate you."

As he reached for the strings, Noelle hurled her sword and filled the room with a swirling burst of orange Autumn Wind. The miniature vortex swept by Seamus and plucked the harp from his hand, circling back around and dropping it in front of Eliza. He girl caught the instrument as Noelle recovered her sword and gave a proud smile.

"All right! Nice job Noelle!" Quinton cheered giving her a wrist bump.

Before they could celebrate any further, Seamus dropped his charming act and his face distorted into an ugly look of rage. He stepped closer and began to breathe heavily, "That's it! I'm tired of playing games with you humans. Now I'm going to end this right now!"

The six young people watched in horror as the once gentlemanly Elf grew and mutated into an ugly hulking troll-like monster with sharp jagged teeth, red eyes and fearsome claw hands. The red hat stayed on the monster's head and grew with him as he summoned two weapons to his hands, a spiked chain and a heavy jagged halberd.

Seamus gave a roar that echoed in the cavern before calling to his spriggans, "Stop them!"

The knights repositioned themselves and drew their weapons to meet the attack. Connor gestured to the Silver and Autumn Knights, "Cover our rear and make a break for it with Eliza. We'll try to hold off the Incredible Hulk here."

Eliza gripped the harp close to her chest as she fearfully watched the monstrous brute Seamus tear the large stone chamber apart in his battle with the knights. He snarled in fury as he gripped his large halberd in one hand while whipping around a thick spiked chain in the other. As Quinton rushed forward, he called upon a bolt of Spring Thunder from his sickle to blind the hulking monster and cover his charge. As the electric bolt crackled in the air, Seamus blocked the thunder and whipped his chain around, snaring Quinton by the ankle as the knight leapt high to attack.

Quinton gasped as he was tossed aside hard into the wall while Connor and Laura charged in underneath and struck together.

The Winter Knight parried aside the halberd and swept her rapier up the arm of Seamus raking his skin. The redcap howled in pain, but the damage was superficial and the majority of Laura's icy power simply cascaded off the monster's hide. In a follow up to Laura's thrust, Connor brought his heavier blade around and slashed across the redcap's midsection, landing a telling blow. Seamus staggered back a few paces as a cloud of searing fire erupted over his chest, then dissipated leaving a minor burn wound. Both knights stared in momentary shock, unable to comprehend how the monster could shrug off such powerful blows. The moment cost them as Seamus recovered and lashed out, knocking them both backwards with a brutal backhanded swipe.

Eliza trembled again as she watched the redcap advance past the three downed knights before Stephen stepped up to try and form a second line of defense. He bravely fired several arrows at the advancing brute, changing his aim and charging a few of the other projectiles to mix up the attack. Seamus kept marching forward, deflecting a few arrows while taking others to the chest and pulling them out without flinching. The Silver Knight gasped in shock and dodged and chain whip attack from the redcap as they came into melee range. Just as Stephen could draw his short sword, he felt Seamus's clawed hand around his throat. The redcap tightened his grip and lifted Stephen up in the air for a moment watching the choking knight struggle helplessly.

The redcap gave a disgusted snort and tossed Stephen aside causing him to smash into a nearby wooden table and collapse it. While Stephen lay stunned on the ground, the redcap approached Eliza menacingly. "Give me the harp girl. If you do, I promise I will spare you. I'll kill you quickly so you won't suffer."

From the doorway, Noelle continued to fight the horde of spriggan guards until the sheer numbers of them forced her back and overwhelmed her in a gang tackle. The Autumn Knight struggled in vain as her arms were restrained and her sword clattered to the floor. Despite her best efforts to struggle, she couldn't break free. "Get off! Let go of me!"

Amid the scuffle, Noelle glanced over and saw Eliza cower away in a corner of the chamber while Seamus approached and leveled his weapon on the girl. The redcap sneered over Eliza, "Last chance girlie. Hand it over to me. Now!"

"Eliza! The harp! Play the harp!" Noelle shouted before she was pinned down.

Eliza snapped out of her stupor when she heard Noelle's voice and readied the instrument in her hand. Seamus froze and gave a perplexed look, "Wait... what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going to rock out," Eliza replied as she strummed the harp and threw back the hulking monster with a burst of sonic energy.

As Seamus toppled over backwards, the other spriggans let go of Noelle and turned in surprise to help their leader. Before they could, they stared in confusion as Eliza brought her hand back and began to strum the instrument's strings. As she channeled her will into the instrument, a beautiful lively melody sprung forth from the strings causing all the monsters to tremble then break into wild uncontrollable dancing.

"No! What are you doing? Stop this at once!" Seamus bellowed as he and his soldiers lost control of their bodies and continued their dance around the chamber room.

Noelle sprung to her feet and helped her other four friends recover their senses and rise to their feet while Eliza edged around to the exit of the room. Quinton shook his head and glanced about the room in confusion, "Noelle? What the hell is going on here?"

"No time to explain. Let's get out of here guys," she said as she pulled Laura up and directed them toward the exit.

"If I didn't know any better, it looked like some kind of freaky monster dance party," Connor muttered before shooting his other friend a thumbs up, "Whatever's happening here, rock on Eliza!"

As the other knights escaped, Eliza stopped playing the harp and began to sprint out of the passageway. When the music ended, the Fomorians all stopped dancing and slumped over in sheer exhaustion from the sustained effort. Noelle immediately charged her sword with orange elemental energy and turned to Stephen, "These guys look tired. I think they need to sit the next few dances out, don't you think?"

She slashed her sword out and unleashed and powerful burst of chilly swirling Autumn Wind that threw back the Formoians and knocked them all off their feet. As Noelle and Stephen turned to make their escape, Stephen energized his own bow and fired a powerful arrow into the ceiling above the exit. The blast caved in the ceiling and dropped mounds of rocks upon Seamus and his forces, burying the redcap and blocking his escape.

The Autumn and Silver Knights were the last ones who emerged from the cave amid a cloud of dirt and panted in relief when they rejoined their comrades. Laura hurried over and helped steady her fellow female knight giving a happy sigh, "Well done Noelle! Way to take charge in a pinch!"

The Autumn Knight laughed and gave a relieved shrug before turning to their other female ally, "Let's not forget Eliza here helped save the day with her crazy awesome music skills."

Eliza rubbed the back of her neck and gripped the magic harp before the other three boys surprised her and lifted her up on their shoulders to celebrate with three cheers.

"Oh, sheesh... it was nothing," she said once they finally let her down.

Once the jubilation ended, Connor dusted off his armored gauntlets and gestured to the harp, "If everything's in order, I think it's best we head back with the harp. The Spring Court is going to be anxious and Kristen is going to be worried about all of us."

That evening, the knight returned home to Kristen's shop in town so that they could rest and recover from the ordeal. When they arrived, they found the royal gnome attendant Aelwen milling about playing with Scratch and Yum Yum while a pair of Spring Court soldiers stood guard in the corner. Upon walking through the door, the two gargoyles happily scampered over to greet their human friends while Aelwen stood up and addressed them with a smile. "Welcome back. You were successful in your quest?"

Kristen grinned and glanced over to Eliza prompting her to hold up the harp she was carrying. "I'd say so The harp is safe again and the Fomorian raiders were defeated soundly."

Eliza handed the harp off to Quinton so that he could give it over to the representatives of his fey court. Aelwen took the harp and examined it for a minute before giving a satisfied nod, "Thank you Sir Quinton. It seems I'm in your debt again. Thanks to all of you for risking your lives to help the Spring Court. I can promise you that I will tell the whole court of your noble actions."

Noelle added a smile and nod of her own, "With any luck, we'll be one step closer toward helping unify the Four Courts in the fight against Balor."

"Yes... perhaps," Aelwen said thoughtfully before she gestured for her two bodyguards to follow her, "Now... it's time we return to Spring. We have a lot left to do."

The gnome gave a gracious bow of her head while the two soldiers saluted, and then the three fey marched out the door and seemingly vanished in broad daylight. Eliza watched in astonishment before turning to the others, "I was wondering... do you think we've heard the last of that Seamus monster? He was a pretty scary dude... and freakishly tough."

Kristen ambled over to the counter and tiredly set her Druid staff down, "As far as redcaps are involved, you can never quite count them out unless you kill them yourself. If he shows up again along with the rest of Balor's flunkies, we'll figure it out then."

"Good enough," Eliza sighed as she headed for the door, "I think I'm going to head over to O'Doyle's. After a day like today, I need to do something to unwind."

Connor chuckled and put a friendly arm over her shoulders as they all began to walk out with her, "Oh, I'm sure he'd love to hear all about your little outing today. We tell him about all the others."

"Wait... what?" Eliza gasped in shock, "Hold the phone... he's not like, some wizard or Druid too... is he?"

She was met by a chorus of laughter from the others and as they headed down the street that evening, she had a feeling she'd have a whole lot more to learn about the hidden side of Somerset Valley before the night was even over.

A/N:
I apologize for forgetting to answer a Guest review question a couple chapters ago. On the subject of inter-team relationships, I do have a plan. I've got one more filler and a final crossover plot to take care of, but you can bet that I'll properly address some of the romantic subplots then. Thanks for the question!

Another special little salute also goes to ChibiDawn23 for convincing me to go with the monster dance party idea in this chapter! Thank you! xD