The Kingdom had fallen into the hands of the most unlikely bunch. A fairy Queen and her dark fae protector, and a pirate lord of the seas. As the muted glow of dawn began to peek over the hills in the distance, Gillie began to prepare for the day. She was exhausted after the struggle the night before. Although she had banished that warlock the night before, she could still feel the evil that he possessed pressing against her mind. He was not gone. She thought back to the visions that she had had. The ones that led her to this land. This warlock looked nothing like the evil from her premonitions. Perhaps he is just a vessel. She had heard him mumbling about full moons and pure hearts. She would look into that later.
She could hear movement coming down the hall. Etrigon knocked on the door announcing his arrival.
“My queen, you are needed in the grand hall at once.” Gillie finished getting ready and met him in the hallway. As they neared the great hall, a familiar voice could be heard yelling. Etrigon opened the door for Gillie to enter. In the hall was Rhoane and the guards kneeling before Oberon, who appeared to be in a foul mood.
“Father, I understand your anger, but my visions were true” she said before Oberon interrupted her.
“Who gave you permission to take the royal guards on your wild goose chase” Gillie pleaded with her father explaining the event that occurred the night before, but Oberon did not want to hear it.
“The troubles of this world are not ours to fix. We must look after our own.” He said as he turned away from his daughter.
“I’m taking my guards, Etrigon shall remain with you. He has spent some time among the humans, he will keep you safe.” Oberon waved his hand and opened a portal. The guards swiftly marched through. Oberon looked back to his children.
“Rhoane, protect your sister” he said as he stepped through the portal.
The three of them stood in silence for a moment, before it was broken by the sound of an empty bottle being placed on a table.
“You're out of wine!" the voice rang from a dark table full of empty bottles and a half-devoured banquet. Rhoane turned to see Gaius sitting at the back of the hall.
“Well that won’t do” he said, as he yelled for the kitchen staff. More bottles we brought out promptly.
Gillie observed the pirate as he continued to drink his weight in wine. He was an interesting fellow. She couldn’t figure out his motives just yet, but he had helped her banish the warlock, so he couldn’t be that bad.
“Have we learned anything about the warlock that I sent away? He was very powerful. Much more powerful then he should have been” Gillie said.
Etrigon answered, “After asking around the keep, we believe his name is Mortis. He is a warlock who has been imprisoned in the dungeons here for years. They found him in the middle of a destroyed village, clutching that book we saw last night many years ago. They believed him to be the one that was causing havoc in the kingdom, so they imprisoned him.”
“He will be back soon, I could only banish him temporarily” Gillie replied. “But I believe that he is only borrowing his power. I heard him muttering about full moons and pure hearts. This sounds like a ritual of some kind, much like the one in my dream.”
“That be some dark soundin' magic says I," Gaius chimed in. “Might be that I 'ave an acquaintance that be familiar with such as this.”
“I would be very grateful if you could find out as much as you are able.”
Gaius adjusted his tiara and muttered, "This blasted thing is haunted, gonna go find another one..." He took a huge drink of wine and remembered what they were talking about and said, “I’ll gladly get right atop that your Queenliness!"
Two weeks passed and the kingdom was on high alert, as all manner of foul creatures crept from the shadows. The days were growing shorter and the sun had yet to break through the dense smog that coated the sky. Every keep had taken special precautions to protect their people. Gaius had spoken to his contacts and found information about a great evil that would lend its power out, but at a price. If what the Pyrate Prince had found out was true, Mortis would need to sacrifice six princesses in six moons time in order to retain the dark lord power that he had been granted. The more that he sacrifices, the more power he will retain. If he were to capture all six, he would be almost unstoppable.
“Now that we know what he is after, we must find out where he is heading” Gillie stated. As if on cue the door of the hall flung open and a messenger ran to them.
“My queen! My queen! We received word on the warlock Mortis. He was spotted near the Northern River” the young lad said, trying to catch his breath.
“He is after the lady of the Tree’s, we must go at once!” said Gillie.
I doubt that be who he's after,” Gaius chimed in. “I’ve heard talk of a princess what fell from the sky. She were seen venturin' north to visit the mages near the Northern River to learn about her past. I’d wager that, that be what he has set his eye on.”
“Either way, we should make haste so that we can keep Mortis away from her. We can’t afford for him to gain more power.”
They quickly gathered the supplies they needed, along with an excess amount of wine, and began the trip towards the Northern River.