Episode 24: Part 1

The chatter of students filled the air as a new school year began for the students of Somerset Valley University. The intense heat of the summer season had finally begun to give way to the cooler gentler season of autumn. It had been a week since classes had started up again and the five knights gathered together to take a stroll down the parkway of the central quad. It was a bright mild afternoon and everyone on campus wanted to be out to enjoy the weather.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm already swamped with homework," Quinton sighed while hefting his backpack. "I'm going to pray that the faeries don't give us any problems right now. I've already got to start working on my first term paper for that European History class."

Laura gave him a light nudge in the arm, "Oh Quinton, there's no need to be so dramatic. I'll help you."

"I suppose you would be a bit of a resident expert in that field," Stephen chuckled, "I was thinking of taking that course too, but I heard the professor was a bit of a hardcase."

Noelle smiled and gave a small sigh while she walked along holding Connor's hand, "Well, don't worry Quinton. You're not the only one suffering a problem in class scheduling this semester. I'm not going to have my preferred Bio lab partner this year."

Connor rolled his eyes gently, "Oh come on now. I fulfilled my Science course requirements. It's not my fault that we didn't decide to get together until after the school year."

The other three turned and fixed the Summer Knight with looks of playful scrutiny before Laura smirked, "Well… that's debatable."

The other two boys laughed while Connor gave a mild huff and Noelle patted his arm reassuringly. They continued on their walk along the grassy parkways until they came across Eliza McConnel sitting on a bench tuning her guitar while chatting with Quinton's girlfriend Kayla. The young musician smiled brightly and plucked a few strings on her instrument, "Hey guys! Just my luck. I was hoping I'd catch you passing by at some point."

Quinton walked over to greet his girlfriend with a quick kiss as Kayla gave his hand a squeeze, "Quinton, Eliza was just telling me that Mr. O'Doyle in town was looking for you and your friends. He said it was something important."

The others exchanged a quick look before Eliza lowered her voice slightly. Everyone present knew the knights' secret, but they didn't want to take any chances either, "You don't think it has to do with the umm... faeries do you?"

"Well, it has been a good month or two since they've caused any mayhem around here. I suppose it is a little overdue," Laura sighed, "But don't you think Kristen would have said something to us?"

"Let's just stop by the pub and see what it is first," Connor suggested as he gave a grateful wave to Eliza, "We might as well see for ourselves before we make Kristen freak out about something else. You guys coming?"

The five friends took a short walk from the main grounds of the school into campus town nearby. With the new school year starting, the streets were busy with students buying textbooks or school supplies while gangs of new freshmen students wandered about looking lost and trying to find their way around.

Laura smirked as she saw the younger students before looking to Stephen, her now fellow sophomore, "Please tell me we didn't look that clueless last year... did we?"

"Me? No," Stephen chuckled playfully, "You? I think you were just hiding it well."

The three older friends laughed as the Winter Knight gave a mild huff and slapped Stephen's arm as they approached the front doors to the pub. Because classwork at the college had not quite gotten into full swing yet, there was still a lot of activity going on that week with students enjoying some warm pub food or blowing off some steam over a few beers.

As they walked in the doors of the pub, the knights froze in shock as they witnessed a surreal sight before them. The usual sounds of music, chatter, and bustling students in the pub were absent as everyone remained frozen in place like statues. Stephen immediately recognized the spell as he spotted Mr. O'Doyle quietly wiping down beer glasses at the counter while a familiar Elven nobleman sat at a nearby table waiting for them. He had the same long blond hair and fair features that they remembered seeing again several months prior.

Gwydion, one of the high lords of the Summer Court reclined casually while sipping a glass of red wine that O'Doyle had given him. The regal elf in red and gold robes looked up in amusement when he saw them and smiled, "Ah, if it isn't the human knights of the valley… please, sit down."

He gestured to the open spots at the round wooden table in front of him causing the five students to exchange hesitant looks. Noelle turned back to their visitor and bowed her head slightly, "Lord Gwydion… this is a little bit of a surprise."

The Lord of Summer maintained his inscrutable smile and waited for the others to sit down. He gave an idle glance toward the other frozen bar patrons before turning back to them nonchalantly, "I admit, this visit is a bit... unexpected, but I assure you I'm not here to cause any harm."

Laura's features tightened, "If I remember right, you and some other faerie soldiers were helping a bunch of demons kidnap some of our locals back then."

"Ah yes... the demon Tithe. A regrettable business to be sure," Gwydion sighed, "Personally, I've never really been fond of the terms of that ancient treaty, but it's not my place to question it either."

Mr. O'Doyle approached the table and set out some glasses of water for the knights along with a wine bottle for Gwydion if he wanted to refill his glass. "Remember everyone, Lord Gwydion is our guest here. He's come to my pub in peace so we'll respect the fey customs of hospitality while he's visiting."

Connor cleared his throat after the elder Druid's gentle reminder, "We're sorry about that Lord Gwydion. We've been dealing with a lot of bargains and mind games from less than friendly faeries recently. You wanted to speak to us about something?"

The Elf took a graceful sip of wine and savored the taste before looking back to the assembled knights, "Yes. I've come on behalf of the Summer Court to deliver a message… or rather, an invitation."

The humans blinked in surprise before Quinton raised an eyebrow, "What kind of invitation?"

Gwydion set his wine glass down and folded his hands, "A formal invitation to visit the royals of the Summer Court. Your actions over this past year have not gone unnoticed. Many prominent members in the Faerie Courts have been taking note of all your heroic deeds and victories against Balor's war host. It would seem that King Oberon and Queen Titania wish to speak with you five about forging a more… advantageous relationship."

Stephen grinned and exchanged a little fist bump with Noelle, "This is great! If we can form a stronger alliance with any of the Courts, we'll be sure to beat Balor."

Connor remained neutral as he eyed the Elven noble in front of him, "With respect, but I feel like there's something more going on here. We know that the Court of Stars had been making efforts to unify your efforts, but why is the Summer Court taking the initiative now?"

Gwydion regarded him calmly before reaching for his wine glass, "I'm afraid I'm not privy to all the inner workings of the King and Queen's plans. That may be something you'll have to ask them for yourself Summer Knight."

"All right then, so where and when does this meeting take place?" Noelle asked curiously.

"The Summer Court will be expecting to meet with you in two weeks time when the rays of the sun begin to grow long and weak. We will wait for your arrival in our capital of Solas, the city of sunlight."

Quinton nodded, "All right, is there anything we'll have to know before meeting the Royal Court?"

Gwydion glanced slowly toward him, "I will help guide you and instruct you in proper etiquette when we arrive. Until then, I suggest you prepare a suitable gift to offer as tribute."

"I suppose that's fitting," Laura mused thoughtfully, "But from what we learned about the fey up to now, they're a bit more abstract in the kinds of gifts they want, right?"

Gwydion smiled, "Ah, you've learned well Lady Laura. You are correct that a gift worthy of the Royal Court must be special and unique."

"Would it be too much to ask for some of your guidance now?" Connor asked the Summer lord, "That is… what to give?"

The Elf rose from the table slowly and began to pace the room while thoughtfully admiring some of the pub's Celtic décor, "I may be able to point you in the right direction. I've recently heard rumor of a wondrous treasure that lies deep in the realm of Autumn… a treacherous region known as Blackmoor Marsh."

"What sort of treasure?" Stephen asked curiously as he took a sip of water.

Gwydion continued pacing, "It's said that deep in those swamps lies an enchanted tree which can produce wondrous fruit. Some say it holds the secrets to long life while others believe the fruit is made of solid gold."

"And no one has recovered any of the said fruit?" Laura asked.

Gwydion shook his head, "To my knowledge, no. A few stragglers are said to have survived a run in with the tree's guardian… some foul creature by the name of Hexus. They say the way to the treasure is to follow the whims of the witchlights."

Connor frowned, "I don't like this. Isn't there something else we can do? Like raid an old tomb or bottle our own tears for the fey?"

The Summer lord folded his hands and gave a smile, "Invitations to an audience with fey nobility can be considered a test of true worth. If you are able to succeed on a quest to give the royals something valuable, then the time and attention they give you in return is truly earned and not wasted in their eyes."

"Of course… nothing is ever straightforward or easy with the fey, is it?" Quinton grumbled under his breath to Connor.

Gwydion headed toward the door and gave a serene smile, "I've helped you five as much as I could right now. I wish you luck in your journey and I hope to see you in two weeks time."

With that, the Elven lord snapped his fingers and ended the time freeze spell. In the blink of an eye, Lord Gwydion was gone and the pub was again filled with the sounds of music, raucous laughter and clinking beer glasses.

"Well, that was... interesting," Noelle muttered, "I'm not sure if I should be feeling flattered, or full of dread right now."

Laura stepped forward and put a hand on her friend's shoulder, "Whatever the case, I think this is the perfect time for us to talk to Kristen and make her freak out now, don't you think?"

Meanwhile, in the deep dark caverns of the Underworld, the warlord Balor walked down a row of his most formidable Fomorian warriors. The leader of the war host cast his baleful gaze upon them, inspecting them to make sure they were going to be ready for combat against their ancient enemies soon. At the end of the formation, the redcap general Seamus stood at the ready in his Elven disguise.

After passing his warriors, Balor turned and gave a satisfied nod, "This is a good start. The war host is growing in numbers and you lot are in good shape. I'm glad to see that the leaders of my soldiers look like competent officers."

He paused a moment for effect before continuing on, "Soon we will be ready to make our great push. We will swarm into the mortal world and use its prime position as our staging ground to assault the Faerie Realm. We've been rotting down here for hundreds of years, but now will be our time to retake what is rightfully ours from those arrogant entitled Elves."

The Fomorian troops that were present all saluted and gave their warlord a cheer which echoed in the vast dark caverns. When the cheering died down, Seamus stepped forward, "Forgive me Lord Balor, but if we are to act, I'd suggest that we don't delay. I've received word from my spies that the strength of the Court of Stars grows. Just recently, a noble Sidhe from the Summer Court has visited the valley. I imagine he's making overtures to the human there... perhaps to strengthen ties."

Balor nodded and pondered over the situation for a few moments. Finally, he looked back up toward his chief general, "Our fields armies are still gathering their strength and being equipped. Until then, I want you or your agents to monitor those knights. Hamper their efforts and do whatever you can to drive wedges in between them and the other Faerie Courts. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly my lord," Seamus replied with a bowed head, "And what of Leanansidhe? She and the witch Morgana are still on the loose."

Balor turned away from his officers and headed back toward his throne room, "If she cannot be exorcised or reasoned with, then my orders remain standing. Eliminate her if she gets in the way."

Seamus nodded again and dismissed the others Fomorians. For now, he had a job to do. That was to find out what the knights were up to and to stop whatever countermeasure they were likely planning.

A few days passed and the knights gathered together at the far eastern edge of town where a bend in one of the local creeks spilled over into a grassy lowland plane. Because the banks of the little river were low here, water sometimes collected and made the ground muddy and soggy which was even more fitting on that particular Friday afternoon. The skies were a dark melancholy gray blotting out the sun while a light autumn rain shower continued to pitter patter over the region. For every other citizen and student in Somerset Valley, it was the perfect day to stay indoors, safe and dry from the wet cold rain.

Instead, the knights found themselves standing in a wet muddy field dressed in hiking clothes and rain gear along with their Druid mentor Kristen. She stood patiently waiting for the right conditions to open a gate to the Faerie Realm and kept her eyes fixed on the small puddles of muddy water around them. While the knights stood patiently, they couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. It wasn't the first time they had crossed over into the fantastical plane of reality, but every new location brought its own challenges and surprises, and if Gwydion's words were to be taken at face value, a treacherous fey swamp would probably be their most dangerous excursion yet.

"Do you think this enchanted tree thing is for real?" Stephen quietly muttered to Quinton but the Spring Knight hushed him as Kristen raised her Druid staff and planted it into a puddle while speaking a few words of a Celtic incantation. In an instant, the puddle began to shimmer and the six adventurers stepped through, falling into the wet hole in the ground before instantly finding themselves standing in a new place.

After crossing over into the Faerie Realm, the six saw that the rains had stopped and they now stood at the edges of a foreboding marshland. The sun hung low in the skies and cast a weak orange light through the forest of moss covered trees ahead. Beneath them, the ground was swampy and muddy and came up just over the ankles of the travelers' boots. Kristen planted her staff in the ground and cleared her throat with an uneasy tone in her voice, "Well everyone, welcome to Autumn. If my geography is right, this looks like the edge of the Blackmoor Marshes."

Noelle pinched her nose and wrinkled her features slightly, "Eww, what's that terrible smell? It smells like ass."

"Must be swamp gas," Quinton smirked, trying to make light of the situation while squishing some mud with his boot, "Or maybe we should just call it swamp ass."

Laura rolled her eyes and scanned the entrance of the marshes, "So, assuming this magic tree lies somewhere within this godforsaken land, how do we go about finding it?"

"Gwydion said to follow the witchlights... whatever that means," Connor chimed in while removing his wet raincoat and securing his backpack.

Kristen nodded and stepped forward to lead the way, "He must have been referring to the will o the wisps which are a naturally occurring phenomenon in the bogs."

Stephen crossed his arms skeptically, "If it's natural and random, do you really think they'll be reliable enough to lead us to this place?"

Kristen shrugged, "Remember that the Faerie Realm doesn't always follow normal rules. Things that shouldn't make sense to us, are perfectly normal here... including will o the wisps."

As she spoke, everyone turned to see a flickering mote of colored light wink in and out of existence in the near distance. Connor took a deep breath and began to slog forward, "Well everyone, I guess that's our cue? We've got to start somewhere and this looks like the place to do it."