Our predecessors certainly had their hands full. A cabal of Nidalese vampires, really?
Eager to get started on the day, Enara goes from room to room waking the others. "Come on, Jilvi, we've got work to do. You'll get to take out your frustrations on someone smaller than you for once."
Learning of the Silver Ravens defense of Kintargo, Lucius nodded appreciatively and apparently impressed "That is an excellent record if I say so myself. Obviously this group was skilled; I can only hope we live up to the name."
Placing his sheathed sword at his side and slinging his shield over his back, Lucius grinned "On that note, let's go put an end to these miserable tooth fairies."
"Right," Enara says in response, smiling. "We're a bunch of well-prepared, intelligent people, and we have the initiative. What could go wrong?"
"I swear Enara, you only say that because I tell you not to."
"Guilty!"
Hemdar smiles slightly. "Well, something probably will go wrong, especially since we're dealing with fey. We just have to be ready for when it happens."
After final preparations and walking across the city to the abandoned building identified the day before, the sun is still making its ascent in the sky. Thankfully the group didn't run into any trouble along the way and finds themselves outside of what appears to be a large hollow below the corner of a partially collapsed tavern, once part of the building's root cellar. The chamber is about 5 feet wide by 10 feet long, and squeezing into it looks as though it would prove difficult.
The area nearby is rather empty, those on the streets of the nursery having been taken in by Zea and others that are fortunate enough to have homes in the area. As the group approaches the chamber, they can see the slumbering forms of seven tooth faeries in the hollow. A stealthy approach may allow early action.
Enara gestures for the others to stop. "Careful. Let me handle this."
x 2 = 14
Enara makes a slow, silent approach. She is able to dispatch one of the tooth faeries rather handily before any of the others notice. The six that remain are still sleeping.
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Hemdar draws a simply made dagger and watches nervously watches the tooth faeries for movement.
Emarel, wary of the dangerously mischievous nature of fae, stands ready with bow drawn, in case the stealth approach works out poorly.
Drawing his blade and raising his shield, Lucius stood prepared to jump in by Enara's side at a moments notice. Gritting his teeth, he watched as the stealthy girl made her move on the first of the tooth fairies. Though he knew that his clunky armor and general overbearing manner would be a hindrance to Enara, he nevertheless felt uncomfortable hanging back.
Incredibly aware of the immediate and rather personal consequences of failure, Enara slowly and methodically works her particular brand of magic on the wicked fey.
x 2 = 32
Enara manages to silently take out another tooth faerie, but as she skulks to a third her boot crunches down on a half-intact glass bottle. The remaining faeries begin to stir, and as they do the party responds with their prepared reactions.
Hemdar throws a dagger that lodges into one of the faeries but doesn't quite kill it. Emarel targets that same one and another with an electric arrow, arcing swift death between the two. Lucius moves up between Enara and the rest of the enemies. The remaining three begin to grab pairs of pliers and rise from their repose.
Hemdar blasts the nearest faerie with cold as it rises into the air, freezing its wings and sending it back to the ground. He then speaks a word to Lucius, granting him a sliver of insight into the nature of the faeries.
Enara follows up Hemdar's magical attack with a thrust from her rapier. hoping to finish the horrible creature off. She follows that up by taking a step forward and stabbing at its companion with the dagger in her off hand.
"Two out of six? You're slipping, Enara." Stretching left and right to limber up, Jilvi whispers a few words of power and a green light lights at the tip of her pointer finger.
Whipping her finger through the air, she aims it at the middle fairy and fires it off, then raises her Shield.
"If we're not careful, we will be slipping, likely in blood and our own teeth." I really don't want to lose my teeth...
Shuddering at the thought, Emarel lets loose another arrow of electricity, and puts up his own magical shield - hopefully it was enough to stave off those pliers.
Hemdar shoots a beam of frost that completely freezes one of the faeries, and Enara takes that opportunity to step in and eviscerate another. Jilvi tosses a glob of acid that doesn't quite connect, and Emarel's electric arrow seems to damage the last faerie without quite killing it.
The last faerie flys up to Enara and tries to attack her with its pliers, though she nimbly dodges out of the way and just further frustrates the creature.
Lucius moved to confront the faeries, but by the time he reached them, most of the threat had been neutralized. With a shrug, Lucius lashed out at the remaining creature.
Stepping forward, Lucius performs a quick series of slashes with his newly emblazoned longsword. The new rune on the blade glows, light seeping down the length of it and illuminating the disgusting nest nearby. The two swings pass through the remaining creature with what feels like no resistance, cutting it into four pieces in moments.
In the den of the faeries, the group finds a lot of plucked teeth and a small corpse. Among the teeth, one immediately sticks out to the party. It is a golden replacement that Emarel values at around 40 gp. The small body, in awful condition, is that of a tiefling child. The body is wrapped in thick sinews and cold iron chains, both of which are inscribed in runes that Emarel can identify (but not read) as Aklo. Hemdar is fairly certain that what was done here may be what summoned the tooth faeries to begin with.
Pleased with their victory over the tooth fairies, Enara steps into their lair with a grin that, once her eyes adjust, instantly evaporates. "Oh..." is all Enara can say when she spots the body.
Enara kneels next to the child with a dagger drawn and begins cutting through the sinews binding them. She pulls the chains loose and tosses them to the side. Finally, she pulls her cloak from her shoulders and wraps the child in it, careful to tuck in the corners so it won't fall open. She pauses for a few moments before leaning forward and picking up the tiny bundle and turns back to the others.
Looking back at the rest of the group with reddened eyes, Enara just mumbles "We should get back to Zea," and begins walking back out to the street.
As Enara carefully wrapped the body, Lucius clenched his fist and fought back the rage boiling beneath the surface. Glancing over at Hemdar, Lucius asks in a low gruff voice "Wait, you mean to tell me somebody did this only to summon those bloody creatures? This damnable place..."
Nodding as clearly saddened Enara approached, Lucius offered the only form of comfort he knew how, which was to try and be helpful in times of crisis or tragedy "Wait Enara, I can carry the child if you like."
Holding the body closer to herself, Enara shakes her head. "I can do it. Thank you."
Jilvi stands off to the side in respectful silence as Enara works, stepping forward only to help tuck her friend's cloak around the body. When Enara picks him up and steps away, the gnome watches her go and then solemnly gathers up the chains and sinews.
"We need to know how they did this," she mumbles to anyone around.
Hemdar nods sadly to Lucius. "Which means that the true perpetrator of all this is still at large. I'll try to study the runes further, since they seem like they'd be nature magic, but I don't speak Aklo, so I'm not sure how much more I could figure out about it."
Hemdar stares at the ground.
"Right. Let's get back to Zea."
The party gathers up the child's body and their grisly shroud and begins the trek to see Zea. She isn't too far off from where you found the tooth faeries' nest, and you find her in her home—a home currently filled to bursting with people that have nowhere to go.
Zea opens the door, and after seeing the child in Enara's arms quickly steps out and shuts it behind her. "Another victim?" she asks quickly, rushing over and examining the corpse with wide-eyed horror. Zea seems to be at a loss for words, and she looks up to Enara pleadingly. "Please tell me this is over. Please tell me this poor soul is the last one."
"The tooth fairies are all dead. We don't know who did this, or why, but we're going to find them and make them answer for it." Enara looks down at the bundle and back to Zea, speaking quietly again. "I don't know what to do with them."
Hemdar nods at what Enara says. "Someone summoned the tooth fairies here, using this child as a sacrifice to bring them. We found some magical writings that we'll try to identify, to find who is responsible. We won't let them get away."
"I'm so sorry Zea, your community has already suffered so much. I think this--whatever 'this' is--is ended for now. But Hemdar has it right--we'll find out who did this and ensure they can never do it again."
There's a vengeful gleam in Jilvi's eyes as she says this. They killed a child to do this. By Calistria, I'll see them repaid in full!