Paper smiles thinly
"Noble one, we will find the time to honor you as you should be when we have cleansed your realm of foulness. For now ..
"
Paper unsheathes his gladius and waves it in the air
"A fight it is!"
"Now where's the mead?!"
"Plans?"
Isat raises a quizzical eyebrow.
"Plans?"
Isat raises a quizzical eyebrow.
Paper resheathes his gladius
"Well, we need to assemble whatever forces will swear fealty to me, and the realm. Crassus' folk would be a good place to start. Crassus? Can you bring us to your people?"
The caryatid placed the body on the floating bier
"I cannot leave the tower."
The fae court are closest. We can be there in a few hours. They make fine messengers, and can rally the other peoples to meet us. As we go, we can try to meet with the giants. They are fine fighters. The centaurs will be last, as their wood is farthest.
It will only take an hour to bury our old maker. Formal funeral arrangements can wait till after the crisis.
The caryatid placed the body on the floating bier
"I cannot leave the tower."
Paper nods to the statue
"Then we shall see him interred by his tree. Gentlefolk, if you will assist?"
Paper helps bring the aged wizard to his final resting place. Once he has been interred, he looks again at Crassus.
"Shall we?"
I like the idea of going to the weather wheel and changing conditions so that the attackers are blinded by night, and buried in mist. We should close the gate before they can get more forces through. We are already a day away from the front lines. I hope Thereus is not doing anything foolish.
After burying the great wizard, Crassus leads you into thick woods. As the branches and undergrowth get more gnarled and impassable, he calls out in sweet Greek.
"We seek audience with the court. One here bears the ivory staff. He is heir to the maker. Do not bar our way."
Somehow, the way is easier now. The strange disorientation you all felt the last time you were in these enchanted woods passes, and you see them now as nothing more than vibrant, healthy woodland.
"Don't stand in any circles. Not all of the fae will obey the compact."
Are we still not allowed to light fires or spill blood?
Ask the imperator.
Imperator Paper, do you mind if we spill blood?
Paper frowns
"I would prefer that blood wasn't spilled, especially if the folk we fight could be our allies. However, blood will be spilled ere we finish cleansing the realm."
Paper:
Paper ponders as they walk to their first encounter. He finally speaks:
"I will declare that until such time as the interlopers are vanquished, spilling of blood in fair combat and lighting fires will be allowed. If there are negative effects of this, let them fall upon my shoulders alone."
Before leaving.
"Imperator. Stratos can turn invisible. If he's willing, send him to the gate to change the weather. Crassus's plan sounds good to me. It may buy us time."
Before leaving.
"Imperator. Stratos can turn invisible. If he's willing, send him to the gate to change the weather. Crassus's plan sounds good to me. It may buy us time."
Paper nods
"That is a wise course. Stratos! Make it so. Come, we must see what can be done.."
The wizards disembodied voice trails away.Dont get your hopes up.
The wizards disembodied voice trails away.Dont get your hopes up.
Paper shouts into the nothingness
"Be of good heart wizard! You can do it!"
"Who are you talking to?"
"Stratos. My fellow Persian. Another talkative fellow. You remember him from Constantinople, Red. He can become invisible." answers Isat absently.
"Crassus, what can we do to help the Imperator persuade the fey they need to work with us?"
The fey are old and powerful. I think they have a court and a queen simply as a convenience for visitors, and their true ways are kept secret. I have dealt with them twice before, and each time was so different, that I could not learn a thing about them. There are few things that bind or hold them, they are chaos and freedom incarnate. They have oaths, or bans that guide them. One might never leave a particular tree, and another may be forced to eat its own eggs. Each seems a kind unto itself. Sometimes they appear woodsy and made of twigs and cobwebs, and the next they are dressed in strange gowns of priceless cloth. I cannot give you any help or advice, because the fey I met will not be recognisable in the fey we meet.
That said, they listen to their queen, or they did when last I met them. The staff is the symbol that the imperator has her oath of fealty. We will get a chance to see if it was fear of the maker, or respect for the oath that held them in check.
Paper should show the staff, and say 'by the ancient compact, I demand passage to the court' if we encounter any.
When we get to the court, he should say 'by the ancient compact, I call you to your oath' and specify a service. Be very specific. They will twist the wording, and violate the intent if there are any loopholes in the wording. Set clear conditions to release the service too, or the request will be void.
Leave any iron on the road here. It is a grave offense to carry iron into the court. We are far from the road.
No names. Don't make the same mistake again. If one of the unseelie hear you, we may never see you again. Look out for any circles of toadstools or mushrooms, as that will be an entrance to their court. Now turn your clothes inside out. I will watch over you all as you change.
The wood is a seeming impenetrable thicket of white elms and hawthorne trees, but your passage is not slowed. The trees seem to lean in toward each other, and here and there, a visual artefact pops into your awareness. What looks like a string of lights is only a spiderweb. A face is only a mossy knot. Once you see a moth the size of a shield, with a copper covered atomie rider. It circles you twice, then flies upward and vanishes into the branches.
Ahead is a ring of small blue pepples. Crassus nudges Paper.
"That is a circle of stones. Last time, it was mushrooms. Today it is stones. Say the words, and let us finish quickly."
I like these woods. Pity about the magic.
Isat waits patiently, guarding his tongue with unusual care.
*