He wasn't entirely unscathed by this scuffle, but Ethelred had managed to do his part, and the Harzel soldiers had done theirs. The ballista bolt had struck true and broken the wyvern's neck- it wasn't going to get back up from a blow like that.

It was a costly battle, but they had won, and even Grainne seemed to be in a good mood with their victory. Ethelred, meanwhile, looked down to examine the damage to his armor. It had been scratched and smashed by the wyverns, but was still holding up. Now that the wyverns were defeated and Elnith was freed, he'd be able to look around for that elf in case he was injured, find Lonan, and discuss plans to deal with the big wyvern.

Or at least that was Ethelred's plan before Grainne alerted them to the black wyvern's approach. He wasn't too surprised that it had recovered and was ready for another fight. However, nothing could have prepared him for the sight that awaited him when Lonan rode into view.

What the...?

Riding along with Lonan was what looked like...Elias...naked. Ethelred took a split second to check if he was seeing what he thought he was seeing due to just how unexpected this sight was. In calmer, less strange circumstances, he would have initially assumed it to be an Unseelie illusion meant to offend his sensibilities. But in the current circumstances, with their formidable adversary approaching and the fact that Elias was with Lonan, the Frozen Knight was willing to entertain a much more optimistic possibility.

Could it really be him, somehow returned from having his physical form obliterated?

If he somehow returned from being disintegrated, it'd explain his lack of clothes. The fact that he hadn't grabbed any clothes suggested either that he didn't have the time or was too single-mindedly fixated on slaying this dragon to worry about armoring or clothing himself.

Ethelred didn't have time to muse on Elias' wardrobe choices, however. A beam fired right past the fort, completely destroying a hill. Their enemy had arrived, and its powers were as strong as ever. In fact, it was heading straight for the fort, and it wasn't slowing down.

"Watch out, that thing is coming right at us," Ethelred shouted. The Frozen Knight dashed up the stairs, not wanting to be in the dragon's direct path, and desiring to get a better point from which to strike at it once it got closer. He had many questions to ask (such as how Elias survived being disintegrated) and many updates to give (such as Elnith's escape and the elf's unfortunate wyvern-powered departure), but this was not the time for such matters.

@Guy0fV4lor

With physical bindings in place, Fio no longer had to maintain the magical ones, allowing them to dissipate into blue lights. Her entire body sagged with relief, small shoulders shuddering slightly as she gulped in air for a few moments. It was a freeing, refreshing feeling, given how difficult it had been to rapidly switch between and simultaneously maintain that many spells in such quick succession. Not that she couldn't have kept doing it, of course. Far from it. But instead that it was simply taxing.

Less relaxing were the words of her new captive, and the fact she felt that all too predatory gaze travel over her body and linger in certain places.

"I-I'm plenty tall," she shot back, eyes narrowed, "Besides, it's not as if anyone would expect you of being a monster who perversely twists living things into abominations for the sake of nothing but experimentation, so I don't think you have any room to criticize anyone else."

And yet, her hands did shoot up reflexively to cover her chest. She wasn't... she was a mature lady! No-one with a rational mind would mistake her for anything else!

But this was a Fomorian, so of course she'd say silly things like that.

Looking away sharply, the small witch rose on her somewhat wobbly, slender legs, taking a deep breath as she did.

"No," she responded flatly, to Luna's question, "But we should be able to learn something from her, even if she won't talk."

Indeed, there was more then one method to discovering information.

@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99@FrogRFlowR

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Crimson Paladin

Elias' eyes narrowed as the molten beam tore through the hillside. Had he delayed taking action even a moment longer it would've been himself and Lonan getting annihilated instead of that distant hillside. However now that he'd had a moment to catch his breath, and had ample reinforcement in the form of Ethelred and Grainne-- the chase was at it's end.

With a downward swing, Reinhardt anchored the head of a halberd into the earth; yanking himself off of Stelbas' back with feet skidding across dirt as his momentum shifted. A hateful glare was levied toward the pursuer as the knight secured his footing, the Dragon's rampaging chase showing no sign of slowing.

Good.

Let it come.

"Ethelred-- I'm counting on your support!" Elias bellowed as he rushed forward, weapons cleaving through the earth to create a smokescreen of dirt and debris.

"Flee? From the likes of you?" Reinhart taunted the monster as he rushed through the swirling clouds of dust,"You just don't get it do you? You've committed crimes against Albion and her people! Burned their homes and families! Scarred their hearts and lands for generations to come!"

One halberd sailed through the cloud, poised to strike the side of the beast's head-- as a shape darted to the Wyvern's side....

Location:
Southern Giants Rest
Bandit camp, early morning.
@Pyromania99@FrogRFlowR@VitaVitaAR

---

“Pfft,” The fomorian laughed, Fio’s words bringing her some apparent amount of humor. “I’m a fomorian, brat. Being a twisted, cursed, monster is all we’re good at.” She’d otherwise relax though, going so far as to yawn and make herself some manner of comfortable even though she was bound, intent on not seeming fazed by this at all. “Who said anything about not talking? I’ll talk as much as you want, witchy girl. Want me to start with my life when I was born? Maybe give you a sob story about how my human mother hated me? Maybe you wanna know about where I got this robe from? I made it myself. I also know some potions to help growth in certain areas.” She’d shoot Fio a sly look with her usual sharp toothed grin.

Seemed like Fio had her work cut out for her.

Now that the fort was silent, it was easy for the lightsword soldiers to pick through it, though it was likely going to take them a bit to by themselves.

Location:
Harzel Border Fort
@Crimson Paladin@Guy0fV4lor

---

The gargantuan black wyevern didn’t slow for a second. Its weight and bulk aimed right for the fort itself. If its breath had missed, then it would simply use its physical form to destroy this human construct and thus, the people within. And thus, this would put it in a direct path for Reinhardt as he’d leap from Steblas, cleaving the ground beneath him to create a cover of dust.

“Uwoooh, Albion and the king are the same.” The beast hissed as it charged forwards, fire spewing from its maw. “Thusly, thee are traitoooors, now buuuurn-RRRARAAAGH-!”

A guttural, pained hiss as the halberd struck the side of its maw, the weapon being embedded into its flesh just above its eye, but that was not the source of its pain. So fixated on his singular target, the beast did not see Reinhardt move to the side, and lunge for the beasts injured wing. The blood had already started to cool and coagulate as Reinhardt dug his hands into the flesh, tips of his fingers quickly being burned from the things fiery blood as the wound would quickly reopen as he’d attempt to rip the rest of the wing from the beasts body.

“Ceaaase this fighting…!” It howled, moving its body towards Reinhardt, trying to move the slayer off of itself. The holes on its body ejected more flame, its body started to rise into the air as it’d make a jumping motion -

“Well said, Reinhardt!” A familiar voice of a certain black armored knight rang above the fort. Seconds later, everyone present would watch as Elnith leaped from the top of the fort, clad in her signature black armor as she’d land right on top of the Wyvern's back, quite close to one of the holes on its back. “Now stay...put! Ethelred! My blade!”

Elnith’s divebomb assault gave her both enough force and power to sink her gauntlets right into one of the molten holes, grabbing it by the edges and similarly to Reinhardt, began merely tearing into the beast’s flesh barehanded, not seeming to mind the severe burns on her already injured body.

“You cuuursed Wench…! Pathetic pathetiiiic!”

Elnith’s surprise attack had rendered the beast grounded again, giving Reinhardt ample opportunity to wrench the wing from the beast proper. Flames lit up in its maw again, as it began simply blasted everything in front of it with a rage fueled conflagration, not enough the inside of the fort safe from the heat. It’d buck and try to remove Elnith from its body while still aiming to try and pry Reinhardt from its body.

“Sir Ethelred!” Lonan called out, leaping off steblas and drawing his own blade. “We will defeat this beast here and now!” If he had anything to say about Elnith, he didn’t bring it up. “If I can have your assistance once more!”

Through most of this, Grainne was leaning weakly over the ramparts, holding her wounds. She had lost quite a bit of blood, and while she’d probably be fine with medical attention soon she was mostly out of the fight.

Once Niall was done locking the Formorian wrists and ankles away, he took a moment to lay on his Lance and rest. "I'll live." he simply answered to Luna's question, as he also took in the rest of what had happened and came to the same realization that the battle was over for now.

In front of him now stood the monster that created the monstrosities he saw earlier. She also attempted to kill a kinsman, surely something she had done plenty before. Even if said kinsman turned out to be a lot of problem, it didn't change the fact she was out for innocents. Furthermore, her constant yapping mixed with Niall's exhaustion caused him to grow agitated. When she disrespected Fio for the second time that he could tell and spewed her usual nonsense was when Niall lost patience with her.

He suddenly used the butt of his Lance to smack her across the face, probably breaking a tooth or two if the monster had any of those. If she did not already fall on her side, the knight would then stick his Lance in the ground and use his foot to push her to the ground, on her back, before stomping on her chest and leaning in. He bared his clawed gauntlet close to her eye and said;

"I have no qualms with removing your eyes from their sockets, monster. You can start answering questions, or you can keep talking in the dark." The holes of his helmet peering into her own eyes like two jet black emotionless eyes.

"Alright, well, I've healed myself up enough. After I've recovered my magic some, Niall, I'll come and get you patched up a small bit. Well, I'll do a little now I suppose." Luna said walking up to the man and grabbing his shoulders. He could feel an odd warmth as some of his body's aches disappeared. Not most of them or the worst, but some of the lesser ones were relieved. "Take a rest alright. I'm gonna catch up with the men and double check on this place. Make sure all the bandits are cleared out. And uhh, Fomorians, I suppose." The Knightess said, looking at the Fomorian woman that Fio had captured.

The Knightess shook her head as she headed inside the fort. It seemed pretty much cleared out, from a cursory glance at least. Still, there were plenty of nooks and crannies to look into so she took a peak in most places. Looking for some supplies as well. Not that they needed a lot but it was still good to find some. "Hey, where are you guys at?" She asked aloud, looking for her soldiers. It'd be good to see if they found anything in the meantime. Or, rather, it'd be good if they didn't find anything at all.

The irritation Fio felt towards the Fomorian's behavior was only mounting with every word out of her mouth. Continually mocking her appearance... she was a mature lady! And... and she definitely didn't need any potions like that, where did a prisoner get off making those kinds of offers?!

As she opened her mouth to speak, however, Niall intervened.

It wasn't as if she didn't understand what he was doing, but merely because she understood it did not mean Fio approved. Brutal treatment of prisoners, especially a prisoner that she had taken herself, was not what she sought after. Even if the prisoner was a Fomorian.

"... I should like if you stepped back and left her alone, thank you very much," Fio folded her arms across her chest, "The interrogation hasn't even begun, and won't until we have brought her to a far more secure location."

Adjusting her hat, the Sword Witch stepped closer. Her purple eyes were narrowed. A Fomorian was a being of curses and hatred, that much was true. But that didn't mean that behaving as a common barbarian was the correct way in which to deal with one that had been taken prisoner.

"Besides, torture and brutality are far from the ideal method of seeking information," she continued. Certainly, the Fomorian seemed to have little pain tolerance, but that was yet another reason not to utilize such methods. It poisoned the well. Hurting someone could make them say anything just to make it stop.

The Sword Witch had her own methods in mind.

"She is my prisoner, and I will handle her interrogation when we have returned," added the petite witch, "Not in the middle of a battlefield."

@Rune_Alchemist@FrogRFlowR@Pyromania99

The wyvern did not manage to reach the fort, but it appeared that Ethelred was right where he needed to be. Elnith, now fully armored (as much as her rather revealing combat attire could be called "fully armored"), leapt from a tower onto the dragon's back and called out to him for her sword. In front of the wyvern, both Elias and Lonan called to him to lend them his aid.

Their foe was clearly quite injured, and Elias was in the process of attempting to rip its wing off. It would not be able to escape this time, now was the time to finish it off once and for all. It looked like Grainne was too badly injured to join the fight, but it was possible that her ballista team might be able to ready another shot.

"It's coming your way, Elnith!"

Ethelred put his lance down just long enough to take the sword in his right hand and toss it in her direction, trusting in her ability to catch it without injuring herself. With that taken care of, he retrieved his weapon and jumped down the stairs, making his way to where Sir Lonan was. His guess was that the Harzel knight once again wanted them to combine their respective powers of water and cold against the dragon's fire. Or perhaps Lonan just wanted another warrior backing him up in order to strike at the beats with his sword. In either case, he trusted in whatever this Harzelslack knight had in mind.

"I'm ready to give you whatever assistance you need, Sir Lonan," Ethelred spoke, channeling his freezing powers and causing a thin layer of frost to form on the ground beneath him. He wasn't sure if the unclothed Elias would be close enough to feel the effects, but if he could handle being burned to nothing but cinders, the dragon slayer's heir could surely handle a bit of cold air.

Ethelred raised his lance and shield, readying for an attack. He would follow Lonan's lead- whatever the Harzel knight wanted them to strike at the dragon's head with their weapons or blast him with their combined powers, Ethelred was ready to lend his support.

@Rune_Alchemist@Guy0fV4lor

Location:
Southern Giants Rest
Bandit camp, early morning.
@Pyromania99@FrogRFlowR@VitaVitaAR

---

“Gah-!” A shout of pain as the fomorian was knocked right over, blackened blood spilling from her nose from the rough treatment, Nialls boot placing itself roughly against her chest and holding her down. She’d merely glare upwards, a low snarl from her throat. “She hasn’t even asked me anything yet, you flightless brick!” She was, seemingly just ever so surprised that Fio came to her defense just slightly, the hostile scorn turning towards a smug chuckle.

“See? The lady doesn’t want your smelly feet all over me.” She’d chuckle. “Now why don’t you let me up before you lose the only prisoner you have that can maybe help you?” Whatever she meant by that she didn’t say, merely offering Niall a challenging smirk, almost daring him to get rougher. Perhaps it was referring to her little trick she had used to appear rather suddenly where Fio had been.

Luna headed inside the fort. The three men that had started clearing out the place had combed a good portion of the buildings that had been there. Most were seemingly fairly simple, barely up to being habitable save for the main one, with numerous hunting trophies, fur carpets and a particularly large mammoth skeleton.

“Lady Luna, we’ve not found much.” One would say, saluting and waving her over to the main building. “Most of the bandits seemed to have holed up in a few of the buildings near the firepit.” In the remains of said firepit was some sort of…creature. It looked like some sort of fey, or fomorian itself. Chunks of flesh had been carved off and it had been tied up as though it had been roasted. “I don’t even want to know whatever it was they were eating…looks like it was almost pulled right out of the Laughing Wood…”

He’d shake his head, the second running up and saluting.

“We’ve cleared the main building, but the only thing else of note we’ve really found is this.” He’d hand Luna what seemed to be a metal emblem of some sort, depicting a pair of radiant swords of light crossed and turned upwards, seemingly breaking a shield. “There were a few burned scraps of paper too, but we couldn’t recover anything else…”

“...I don’t think we need to see any more of the basement.” The third quietly shook his head.

A few bits of information, though what it all meant for now was completely unknown. The Emblem would be somewhat familiar to Luna, in fact it looked uncannily similar to her own houses coat of arms - a pair of swords crossed downwards over a shield, but that was likely just a coincidence.

Location:
Harzel Border Fort
@Crimson Paladin@Guy0fV4lor

---

“Useless! I Refuse! Impossible!” The beast screeched as the blood red blade hurtled through the air, intent on seemingly intercepting it before it reached its target. It lunged upwards, trying once more to take off from the ground as its entire body managed to jump just a few feet from the ground, its uninjured wing reaching for the blade.

Elnith released her grip on the ventilation hole on the dragons back, having completely ripped the thing open, a long, nasty gash ripped from one side right down to his leg. She bolted, running along the dragons back, along its arm and leaping right off its head to grab her blade, the firey maws of the beast just behind her, a gout of fire ready to leave its throat.

In the same instance, Ethelred had made it to Lonan, the Harzel knight having not moved an inch from in front of the dragon, the scorching heat seemingly not reaching his own icy, cool demeanor.

“Much obliged. On my mark - as soon as sir Reinhardt pulls that wing off, I want you to pierce that creature's chest, right on that glowing mark! Steblas power is that of purification and warding, if my assumption is correct then that should fell this beast quickly combined with its other wounds! You’ll have to get close but the other two should be able to draw its attention!”

Lonan pulled his sword, breathing outward as the land beneath their feet turned to ice from Ethelred’s lance.

“Steblas, your blessing! Let not this evil stain this land and protect those noble people of this land!” Ethelred would feel a similar sensation as he had in their last encounter. The ice on his armor began growing, hardening as his own powers seemed to strengthen from the fey steeds blessings, he’d only once again have mere seconds to contemplate this as a horrible sound of flesh and bone ripping filled the air, the dragon screeching as those present watched as the Dragonslayer rent the dragon's wing from its body, tossing it aside as though it was little more than trash.

Its legs began failing its body, as it started to topple to the now unbalanced heavy side of its body, the mark on its chest making a now easy target.

Elnith twisted herself in the air, a swing of her blade followed. The space in front of the dragons head rippling and distorting as her blade would find its own mark, nearly cleaving the beasts jaw right off of its mouth as the blast of fire lost all steam within its maw, sputtering out as it could only glare at her with hatred as it fell to the ground.

The same blank, emotionless metal stare went from the Formorian to Fio. For a second, there was no friendship nor kinship in Niall as this would-be knight stepped in to protect the monster. Still, her remained silent as ever and listened to her little rant. Still, the Knight's boot remained in place on the Formorian's chest despite everything that Fio said.

"She is the Queen's prisoner." Niall corrected Fio, rather bluntly. "Perhaps I have let a bit of anger slip through, but I assure you... it was not unwarranted. You have not seen this monster's lair as I did. This was hardly an interrogation - just a reminder.", he looked upon the Formorian again, "You are not in charge anymore and your survival depend on how you act and, of course, on the Queen's mood."

Well. Fio was probably right, though, and she or the Queen might have better ways of getting information from such a foe. His own action now had not been so knightly themselves, but the things Niall seen in that wretched woman's underground room. Those tools, the prisoners and aberations she created - even Annagan's fate!

Terrible, indeed.

Niall took the formorian by the collar and the bonded hands behind her and raised up to her feet nonetheless.

"We should regroup and head back then."

This was it. Ethelred had been empowered by Lonan's magic, and at the same time the wyvern was left vulnerable and distracted by Elias' and Elnith's attacks. He had a narrow window to strike at the evil creature's chest and inflict a blow that will finish the fight.

It's now or never. Ethelred could not afford to let his allies down. He could not allow himself to fail. He could not allow the deaths of the innocent villagers do unpunished. Whomever this monster's lord was, be it an Unseelie, a Fomorian, or a true dragon, the knights would make it clear that Harzelslack and Airedale would not allow for these atrocities.

The Frozen Knight spoke no war cry, boisterous proclamation or clever one-liner as he charged in, just a nod to Sir Lonan in acknowledgement of the Harzelslack knight's plan. A trail of mist followed behind the knight, a telltale sign of the frigid temperature around him. Gripping his lance with both hands, he thrust the polearm into the mark on the wyvern's chest with every ounce of strength that he had, all the while evoking his freezing powers with every iota of willpower within him. He had to end this fight before the wyvern could recover or pull any other tricks.

Let the chill of death snuff out your fire forever, you wicked fiend!

@Rune_Alchemist@Guy0fV4lor

Luna frowned at all the information she was given. Whatever the bandits objective here was... Well, it was disgusting. She respected Fio's capture of the fomorian but it didn't stop the Knightess from forcing an answer out. And then, there was the emblem she held in her hands. It was too similar to the one her house used. Well, perhaps, too opposite? If it was a coincidence, than it was one of poor taste for sure. She pocketed it for the moment. She'd have to ask Leo when she got back if he knew anything. She'd have to inform Niall and Fio as well, hell, perhaps one of them have seen it before. With that, however, Luna followed the last of her men back to where her fellow knights were.

"Well. I'm thoroughly disgusted with this place. Odd fey or fomorians on the fire. Messy basements..." She almost mentioned the horrific loss of life on their side of the conflict but felt that might bring morale down. However related, the next part must be said and done. "Alright, boys. You guys look well enough. Help me load our fellows on the cart we found. I want their families to get one last goodbye at the least. After that, we need to start back. I want to let my Brother and my Queen about the oddities here. It makes me somewhat worried." With that, she nodded and started with gathering the bodies of who she could. And then? Back to the fort of course.

Location:
Southern Giants Rest -> Airedale
Bandit camp, early morning.
@Pyromania99@FrogRFlowR@VitaVitaAR

---

“That’s right, tin can, back off.” The fomorian cackled. “I’m more valuable alive and uninjured so just go back to being a weakling.” Might be a good idea to gag the fomorian or the trip back is gonna be absolutely grating on the nerves of everyone involved.

For the most part, however, the rest of the cleanup went smoothly. Annagan’s body would need to be disposed of, and before they left they would need to take care of this wasteland area before it grew worse - ravaging the plants and animals until it was nothing more than a field of desolation where nothing could leave.

But the queen would probably take care of that before they left.

Heading back to the fort would be uneventful, save for the chatty fomorian that seemed intent on trying to kill everyone with being as annoying as possible. Back at the fort, Sorcha would not linger long. Giving everyone just the rest of the evening to rest up and brief her on the situation. A small contingent of bandits had attacked the fort while they were gone, but the men Luna left behind saw to it they were dealt with quickly and swiftly.

As soon as the Queen saw the Fomorian they brought back though, it was a miracle that she didn’t simply kill it on sight, immediately ordering Fio to lock it up in the cells…and to completely bind its body, blindfold it, put it in a jacket so that it couldn’t move in any capacity and gag it, effectively making sure that she could do nothing but barely even breathe. After the debriefing, she would retreat to her room, seemingly somewhat perturbed or lost in thought, and accepted no visitors. Not from Fio or anyone else, passing even on drink and food.

Leo made a small mention of her being in a bit of a bad mood all day, on top of the cloudy and rainy looking weather. When Luna showed him the Emblem, he simply fell quiet, briefly frowning but quickly shook his head, saying he didn’t know too much about it, except it was just old and he only vaguely recalled it from stories father had been telling him recently about some tribe of warriors in the past that committed great atrocities.

Thankfully, the weather turned for the better in the morning when they set off back towards Airedale. The queen, seemed in much a better mood as well, though she elected to completely ignore the prisoner who Fio had been ordered to look after during the return trip. Along with Sucaria who insisted she come with Luna this time, ended up adding two to the return party.

The return trip to Airedale was otherwise uneventful, Sorcha remaining a mix of her aloof queenly persona when traveling through towns, while being much more lax out in the countryside away from people, and after a few days travel they would find themselves back in the village, ready for a proper debriefing, and just in time for Reinhardt’s and Ethelred’s party to return.

Location:
Harzel Border Fort -> Airedale
@Crimson Paladin@Guy0fV4lor

---

Steblas’ blessing of water and fortification mixing with the icy curse that ran rampant in Ethelred’s body. Perhaps, it worked so well because they were both fey in origin, perhaps not. It was not something either currently questioned as Ethelred lunged forwards as he’d watch, Reinhardt finally achieving his goal of ripping the beasts wing completely off.

Lance met burning scales.

The weapon plunged deep into the orange colored emblem on the creatures chest. The creature ceased movements near instantly, its entire body freezing, choking, strangled hisses coming from the dragons maw as its fires speed from its body less and less, until finally they began to dissipate entirely.

“Foolish…traitors…aaaah….my kiiing…my kiiiing….” It croaked out, as its body started jerking, its frozen body soon collapsing to the ground next to Ethelred as crystals of ice began growing from the dragons exhaust vents, the orange crest slowly dimming, losing its light. “I’ve failed theeee…twiiiice…aaaah…but the next…Herald….shall return…upon mine death…aaah, traitors…you will meet your fate….”

And silence followed.

A cheer rang out around the Harzel knights.

The beast had been slain, and spoils had been gained.

Of course, Harzel wasn’t about to let the corpse of a Wyvern go to waste, nor let someone else have it so easily, especially when such scales could be refined into high quality weapons and armor. Lonan would give them a letter to send with them, urging Queen Sorcha to send an envoy to discuss how they would handle this and to thank her personally for her knights assistance in the matter. He said nothing about Elnith, and as far as he was concerned, she simply fled during the dragon attack.

Unfortunately their elvish helper was nowhere to be found, as Ethelred made his rounds to seek out him and deliver condolences towards the fallen Harzel Knights. Apparently, the one he had interacted with earlier had a kid back home and a wife that had been killed in a fomorian attack some years ago.

Otherwise though, after Lonan let the group rest for the rest of the day they would set off back towards Airedale at first light the following morning. A rather uneventful trip, with Elnith being her usual friendly self now that she had some proper rest and food, chatting happily with Ethelred and Reinhardt both…who Lonan, had at least, thankfully given a set of armor to compensate for his complete lack of it.

Elnith had to resist laughing at Reinhardt upon seeing him.

A brief stop in redwater for the night would find Ethelred visiting the ruins of his old home during the night…but to seemingly no avail. No ghosts, nor fey, nor fomorians seemed present at his family now ruined estate, little more than a few rooms left to rot here on the ground, barely kept upright by ancient stones.

Yet, even so nothing happened…he could not shake the feeling the entire time that he was being watched by something but whatever it was would not show itself no matter how long he waited or if he called out.

Soon, though, the party would set out again. The only odd thing of note, was that one night Elnith had apparently fallen asleep sitting next to Ethelred, her head resting on his shoulder but for the most part, nothing else of note happened…

Location: Airedale
@Crimson Paladin@Guy0fV4lor@Pyromania99@FrogRFlowR@VitaVitaAR

---

“The Queen’s back!” As Sorcha’s, Luna’s, and Fio’s group passed through the gates of Airedale, they were greeted by a small crowd of onlookers. Children, women, Men had come to greet them excitedly, eager to have the queen return from her trip. As they’d traverse the path back towards the Castle, Sorcha remained her aloof public self as she’d merely wave coolly towards the onlookers and offering friendly smiles towards everyone in a practiced manner.

Some women would end up crowding around Luna, but a quick greeting from Sucaria and her rather…unique features would send them squealing and running away while the Maid nodded in seeming satisfaction at her attempts to protect lady Luna from the riffraff. Niall drew some attention, too, being a new face here and an unknown to the residents who had only heard tales of some bandit and fomorian slaying hero who took the form of an owl. Fio was welcome warmly too while the prisoner still chained behind her was greeted with understandable wariness.

As soon as they reached the keep, they were greeted by the familiar face of Vyrell and Lugh, who was more than happy to greet Sorcha with a hug and run over, bounce in front of Luna until she gave him a headpat, and then back to Sorcha to inform them that Reinhardt’s group had made it and arrived just a bit before they had.

“Good. Everyone, we can rest after we catch up with the others.” Sorcha said with a nod, motioning everyone to join her in the strategy room. “Vyrell, take that…thing to the cells. I want it locked in the deepest pit we have.”

“...understood. I shall join you in the meeting room momentarily.” So he’d drag the still gagged and blindfolded fomorian off to the dungeons as Sorcha made the others follow her into the meeting room where the others would already be waiting.

“Reinhardt, Ethelred, Elnith! Good to see you all made it back in one piece…” Her eyes briefly scanned the room for Od as she’d walk towards the front of the table. “...it seems many things happened. Elnith, how are you holding up?”

“Well enough, your Majesty…I am eager to get some proper rest and healing.” Much of Elnith’s body was still severely burned.

“Mhm, good. I am sorry, I should have sent Ethelred or Reinhardt with you to start with.”

“Nonsense your majesty, there was no way you could have known…”

“...Ethelred, Reinhardt. Tell me what happened. And why is one of my knights no longer with us? Fio, Luna, as well, feel free to fill in the others once they are done on what transpired with the bandits.”

"There's a lot to tell," Ethelred begun. "First, the most pressing matter. While we were in Redwater Point, the town was attacked by Fomorians and Od vanished in the chaos. We believe those fiends must have abducted her while we were busy fighting." I wanted us to go after her but...we had a mission." With those last few words, a light, visible mist emanated from his helmet as he exhaled. He sought to remain stoic and professional to Sorcha, but it still upset him.

"As for the mission itself," Ethelred continued after taking a deep breath, "We encountered a group of Harzelslack soldiers led by a knight named Sir Lonan, who revealed to us that Elnith had been captured by them after she had battled the beast. It was at this point that our foe made itself known."

Ethelred glanced over each of the knights before returning his attention to Sorcha, briefly pausing before continuing his narration.

"It wasn't a Fomorian. It was a wyvern- a massive black wyvern, spouting fire from its mouth and holes all over its body. Intelligent, and capable of speaking. We fought it with Sir Lonan's help, and during the battle, Elias managed to temporarily incapacitate it, but he received a full blast of its power. All that remained of him was his sword. Clearly, it wasn't enough to keep him down, although at the time I believed him to be dead."

Ethelred wondered if Sorcha knew about this power that Elias possessed, to come back from being reduced to nothing.

"At this point Elias and I were separated, so I believe he can describe his side of what happened better than I could. For my part, Lonan directed me to the border fort where Elnith was being held. The man was too loyal to Harzelslack law to actually release her, but he was an honorable man who clearly wanted to help me in his own way. I managed to get Elnith out without raising a fuss, and during this, the fort was attacked by a group of ordinary wyverns. Suffice to say, they weren't in any position to object to her escape. Just as we managed to kill the smaller wyverns, Lonan shows up with Elias, naked as the day he was born, with the black wyvern in pursuit." Ethelred paused to let Sorcha take this part of the story in.

"The four of us attacked it, and finally managed to slay the creature. The Harzelslack forces kept the carcass, and Sir Lonan dropped the matter of Elnith."

Ethelred did not mention the elf that had aided them. Perhaps it was just because the detail didn't seem important, or perhaps it was his frustration with the elf's attitude towards him and his curse.

"As for the creature's motivation, it claimed to be the herald of a returned king, if I am remembering its words correctly. Elias may have heard more of it, he battled it longer than I did," he stated, glancing towards Reinhardt, expecting him to fill in the gaps.

@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99@FrogRFlowR@Guy0fV4lor

... Had she done something wrong?

Her intention was to further their cause. By taking this Fomorian, physically unimposing as she was, as a prisoner. Surely, the information they could learn from her would be valuable, wouldn't it?

And yet the Queen's reaction...

Not that Fio cared if the Queen was angry at her or anything like that! Far from it! Besides, her nature still wasn't completely confirmed! And...

Fio clutched her fists at her sides, taking a deep breath.

What's done was done. She had already come this far and taken this prisoner back, there was no backtracking simply because of Sorcha's reaction.

Besides, she had preparations to make.

The most concise manner of reaching her goal involved water. While the stars could also be of assistance, and would have been her preferred method, given the prisoner's position in a tightly-sealed dungeon it was far easier to get water down there then starlight. Then she had to spend some time purifying it, ensuring its quality was high enough for what she intended.

Then it was a matter of getting some assistance to bring a huge, shallow container of purified water down into the dungeon. She obviously had no way of doing it on her own, after all.

This wasn't even halfway through.

Next came the chalk. First, the circles around the prisoner. Carefully, carefully drawing them out, taking advantage of the fact the Fomorian was so restrained she couldn't move to construct her elaborate ritual symbol. Then, the same process once again, this time surrounding the water. Needless to say, she was thankful this type of chalk was resistant to liquids.

This process was dangerous. But it also meant that lying was virtually impossible. Their prisoner would have no ability to hide the truth from her.

Navigating to find said truth, on the other hand, would be somewhat more difficult.

Next was what she had to do to prepare herself. The cursed nature of a fomorian made this process dangerous. But counteracting that curse before it even had an opportunity to potentially affect her would be the ideal countermeasure.

As such, Fio's next path was to remove all her clothing but her undergarments(demanding no-one enter the room once she had) and painting purification sigils directly onto her skin. Using a mirror, she painted them everywhere she could manage. Her arms, her legs, her belly... the only place she couldn't reach effectively was her back. Her belly especially tickled, but she managed to keep herself under control.

Then she had to let it dry, as to ensure the water wouldn't wash it away.

Now for the final step.

The petite witch stood beside the water. She glanced at the heavily-restrained prisoner, then took a deep breath.

"Sura."

The blade materialized in the air above her head, floating and glowing with blue light.

"Oh deep pool, may I sink into the memories of another. May I be immersed in past thoughts, past feelings. May I see the truth that lies in what I have never seen. But she has."

The light from the blade began to shed, falling into the water below, imbuing it with a similar glow...

"... Submerge."

With that, she stepped into the water, lowering herself until she lay down, feeling its coolness against her skin...

She had taken every measure she possibly could, but she still had to be careful.

Fio would see everything she possibly could within the Fomorian's memories.

@Rune_Alchemist

Luna was concerned with what her brother had mentioned and, perhaps, she'd ask Her Majesty when they have some time if she knew anything about the emblem. Well, for now, they had started to leave before Sucaria intruded and invited herself along. Not that Luna was sad or upset about that. Having a childhood friend nearby would be reassuring for some point.

When they got back to Airedale, however, they had a small get together between their group and Ethelred's and Reinhardt. Queen Sorcha had asked both groups to share what they had and, truthfully, she wondered if Ethelred and Reinhardt didn't pull the short straw in this situation. And Od disappering.... Was odd. What's done is done. What woefully could have been only Ethelred surviving was both him and Reinhardt so, that much was good.

It was her turn now, "Well, let me tell a small bit of what happened on our end. As you know, we headed towards my family's territory and we met Niall on our way to what's effectively a patrol center of operations." Luna said, trying to remember every little detail as she could be neglecting to mention some of the more scandalous things such as her chasing the Queen to eat her veggies or her drunken flirting. "As we arrived, there was open conflict between the forces my elder brothers led and many bandits. We contended with a strong fomorian before he decided he just didn't want to fight and left."

"We spent the night in the fort while Niall and the younger of my brothers scouted out the enemy base. From what he described at the time it seemed horrific and it was in a Wasteland. I didn't want to believe it until the three of us and some of my men assaulted the base. The majority of the men I took died and the bandits... Did not seem normal. They were stronger than they should have been." Luna seemed remorseful of the men that died once again before she cleared it from her system. "This was only mad worse when their leader turned into a monster, a Fomorian? In front of our very eyes. It took me and mostly Niall become a battered mess, by we dispatched him once Fio had subdued her own enemy. After investigating the camp, it looked like they were eating a Fomorian or... Fey. I think, if we didn't assault the base when we did, all those bandits were going to turn into Fomorians." Luna mentioned, making a guess based on the leader turning into one and their unnatural strength.

She seemed done with her part at least. "If you have anything to add Niall, feel free." With that, she walked over to Elnith to inspect her burns a small bit. "And Lady Elnith, if you wouldn't mind, I can assist your in healing in some small ways. While not as powerful as what Od could do... I can at least hasten the healing process a small bit."

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin@FrogRFlowR

Reinhardt's nose twitched.

There it was again.

That same sweet; vaguely familiar smell... The Knight's brow furrowed in thought-- it was something almost instinctively familiar; something he should know.

Ethelred's mention of his name shook him from his thoughts.

"I take full responsibility for our loss of Od." Elias stated bluntly; clearing his throat as he stepped forward, "When the Fomorians made their assault on Redwater point-- I had allowed both Ethelred and Od out of my sight... Believing the village safe enough to drop my guard and gather what information I could on the enemy we were to face."

The Knight let out a heaving sigh as his eyes trailed to the ground, "They were inside the Village in the blink of an eye. An entire group of fifteen springing out from the village alleyways completely undetected. Somehow-- getting into the heart of the town undetected; in broad daylight no less... By the time we'd killed their leader; a large one-eyed variant supplied with fitted armor, who burst into a pile of limbs after a sphere fell from it's corpse, Od was nowhere to be seen."

Reinhardt shifted uncomfortably under the ill-fitted armor he'd borrowed from Lonan, "Rashly, I assumed our Midnight-Skinned Fomorian to instead be an intelligent colony... And thus assessed Od's kidnapping as an attempt to distract us from our initial objective. It was my decision to not pursue retrieval."

Elias paused, stone-faced as he seemed to mull over what he'd said.

"As for the Dragon-- it found us before we found it. An obscenely large Wyvern; far bigger than any I've ever heard stories of, with several vents dripping magma scattered about it's body. Though it could speak, and certainly spoke of a King it served-- it seemed... Deranged. Unstable. And that's before taking into account the fact that a portion of my family crest was over it's heart... It sought us out, named us traitors, and claimed the King it served to be one with the lands of Albion itself."

"As for how it found us-" Reinhardt paused a moment as his weight shifted once more; the knight slowly considering his words, "I can't say I know for certain... But as for the fight-- Ethelred covered it well enough. Though I was briefly incapacitated by the beast; losing my armor as a result, we were ultimately successful... However-- much as I wish to doubt the words of a mad and dying monster... It said that it would not be the last of the coming heralds-- and I'm inclined to suggest we make preparations for whatever is to come."

Location: Airedale keep
@Crimson Paladin@Guy0fV4lor@Pyromania99@FrogRFlowR

---

Sorcha listened first to Ethelred. As he spun his tale of the Wyvern, the attack on redwater, Od’s disappearance and the run in with the Harzel Knights, her visage remained as an unreadable stone. The only slip, was the subtle widening of her own eyes as the frozen knight mentioned the black Wyvern - even more so at Reinhardts description of the beast.

_{“...too soon…”} A quiet mumble, immediately drowned out by the queens normal booming voice. “A dragon?! Are you certain? They haven’t been seen in Albion in centuries! And you actually managed to slay it? Well, that is certainly good news! Though its troubling that Harzel also has claim to the beast…”

“Speaking of, your majesty.” Elnith handed the queen the letter sir Lonan had given them. “That harzel knight set you this message. I believe he wishes to split the spoils from the beast.”

“Hm…I see. Well, a wyvern would make fine armor and weapons for the soldiers and men…” A hand went to her chin as she seemingly mulled over a few things for a moment before shaking her head. “...No, that’s not important for now. What is important…is that you all, at least, came back alive and mostly in one piece.” Sorcha offered a bright grin towards all the gathered knights. “Welcome back, and good job all of you. I’ll handle things with Harzel and our spoils from that beast. I’ll look into some things about this wyvern as well and whoever this king might be. For now, all of you deserve a rest.”

“Though, if you’re still energetic there are a few things around Airedale that we could use some assistance with.” Vyrell walked into the room, giving the gathered knights his usual affable if somewhat aloof smile. “We’ve got reports of some Unseelie causing trouble around Hrjelskin’s fall, as well as something about some elves being seen over in Nids End. Probably nothing that one, but actual elves being spotted are a rarity.”

“Vyrell. Vyrell!” Lugh excitedly bounced where he stood. “Hjrelskins fall. Can I?”

“Hmm…I suppose if another of the knights accompany you.” The young Tuatha looked over the gathered knights, eyes wide and pleading.

“Vyrell, I take it our…guest is being seen too?” Sorcha had trouble getting the word out amicably. The malice for their ‘guest’ was palpable by all the knights gathered.

“Fio is currently in the middle of her interrogation. I expect we’ll hear something in a few days.”

“Mhm, good. Now, then, if there is nothing else. For now, I shall declare Od missing until we know for certain otherwise. I will take time to consider this information you have provided as well as figure out our next steps with Vyrell. If dragons have returned and this…’herald’ is as strong as you say, then we have our work cut out for us. If anyone has need of me, I shall be in my chambers thinking of how to get as much of that beast from Harzel as I can…” Unless she was stopped, Sorcha would proceed to leave the meeting hall and head up towards her private quarters.

“Oh, don’t mind me Luna.” Elnith offered Luna a soft smile. “I’ve had much worse, you know. Nothing a little rest won’t heal, dear.”

“Lady Luna, if I may have a moment - I would like to hear more about these bandits if you don’t mind.” Vyrell asked, joining the two knights. Sucaria was quietly awaiting either an order or having to fend off more undesirables.

Location:
Airedale Prison -> L̴̻̔ð̵̡͠§̵̞̌†̶̳̽ ̴͎̍Ð̸̺́ŗ̸̏ê̸̛̲å̵͎̿m̵̭̈́
@VitaVitaAR

---

The queen had not been kind to the prisoner.

She remained tightly bound, gagged, blindfolded and tied to a vertical table. She was not allowed to move a single inch, and the bindings on her arms and legs pressed roughly against her chest making even breathing hard. And the cell! It could hardly be called something humane - barely a room bigger than a closet. It looked more like she had been prepped for torture by Vyrell more than anything.

Her preparations would take a while. A large container of pure water wasn’t the most difficult thing. Servants could easily be asked to do it, and in the end she had a large basin filled with clean, pure water. The fomorian could still hear, and she certainly seemed to be somewhat aware of what Fio was doing, her head tilting slightly to the side, seemingly following the chalk as though she was trying to glean some information from the sounds of Fio’s drawing.

The protection sigils were next. Complex runes, engravings, patterns evoking the warding properties of water and hourglasses and serpents for protection against evil. Even from here, they were lightly tickling from activation simply from being so close to a fomorian.

She then, would step into the cold water.

The water within the basin began to shimmer as she entered, sinking into the water…and sinking, sinking…and sinking…

Perhaps, Fio may have panicked slightly when she felt the water never end. In fact, she felt as though she was being pulled down, quickly, roughly, by some otherworldly presence as she was pulled deep into the abyss.

But just as quickly as it’d start, she’d find herself being ejected from the infinite sea that once surrounded her as she’d pull herself out of the liquid and…onto some sort of hard, white, smooth floor that shone impossibly bright. Above, an endless expanse of stars, planets.

The spirit she had invoked, according to the dwarves was one of Heroes, oceans, and associated with the moon. The Giants believed her to be one of lakes, dreams, and travel. The spirit too, was incredibly reluctant to show itself to people, and often never did - only a handful of accounts and even less would be reputable or verifiable.

But those were likely not thoughts or information immediately relevant.

She’d find the scenery changing almost instantly. A flurry of motion as it was like she’d find herself being fast-forwarded to what was the bandit camp that she had just finished decimating not too long ago. The men were raucously chatting away, hoisting something up onto the bonfire. Some sort of unseelie from the Laughing wood, it seemed like.

In the distance she could see the fomorian and Annagan arguing about something. The faceless bandits were also speaking, though unless she focused they were unintelligible words. Her body was light and airy. She could move freely here, and she could likely exert some sort of influence over this realm as long as she kept her wits about her. That just left the question of where to start her investigation. Maybe the basement they had mention may have some answers. Perhaps she could also try moving deeper, but that may pose its own challenges.

Above the same alien stars and planets hung, and outside the walls of the camp, if she so cared to look, a field of smooth, impenetrable black and a slight uneasy feeling filled the air.

A stark contrast to the white earlier.

Luna grabbed Elnith's hand and offered a smile back at her. "No, no. Please, I insist." The knightess said as she started to apply her healing magics to the woman. "Are we not comrades serving the queen together? I feel a kinship with all those with a similar cause, so feel no need to shy from assistance." Luna slowly moved her hand over the worst regions, barely touching them where she could to not cause much pain to Elnith. "Of course, healing isn't my strong suit so I can do what I can."

As she was working on Elnith's burns, Vyrell came over and asked her about the bandits. "Hear more about the bandits? Hmm, I don't know how much more there is to say. They were stronger than the usual rabble you find holed up in abandoned places. Oh, yes, they did seem to be eating something like it was a fey or perhaps a fomorian. I had considered that as a connection of course, but... A soldier found a symbol while we were there." Luna reached into her pocket and pulled it out for Vyrell while still giving Elnith a bit of treatment. "Perhaps you recognize this for more than an abominable parody of my house's sigil."

She was sinking.

Her first instinct, above all logic, was to panic. The fact that the water never seemed to end, like she was descending further and further, deeper and deeper down, clutched at her heart. She didn't want to drown. She didn't want to die. She didn't-

Fio clenched her fists. This wasn't simply sinking into a deep pool. This was sinking back. Into her target's memories. Panicking like that was something only an idiot would do. This was exactly what she wanted, the outcome she was looking for in the first place!

Her fears for now defeated, the petite witch felt her entire body relax as she drifted deeper.

Now her bare feet were on a hard, white, smooth service. It felt almost like extremely polished stone. Above her wheeled celestial bodies she couldn't name.

And then the world around her moved, when she stayed still. Suddenly she found herself in the campsite again. The indistinguishable chatting of the bandits filled the air, as they hoisted a figure over the fire. With no small amount of disgust, she noted it was a fae of the Laughing Wood. No matter how twisted such creatures were, eating them was barbaric.

It was with more interest that she noticed the Fomorian, seemingly arguing with Annagan.

To begin with, Fio was curious about that. She wanted to know just what their conversation entailed before she moved on. Thus, she focused, attempting to make out their words...

Next, she'd proceed into the basement, regardless of if her efforts to hear the argument were successful or not.

@Rune_Alchemist