Friday 17 January 2020

Ylva Talks to the Fairies, part 11: A Second Chance

Hello, little ones.  It's good to be back in the forest.

We went back to the enchantress's home once we'd recovered a little from the encounter at the bothy.  Vared and Aunold made magic cloaks for us.  We got a lot of messages over the next few days, and all of them were terrible.  Sea devils coming to shore at the iron docks.  Hobgoblins marching on Gallia.  An army of the undead approaching the Greenwood from one side, and a horde of giants and dragons attacking from the other.  And of course, the wendigo.

Taint left for the north, muttering about mountains and bear hearts, with Tonk following to keep an eye on him.  We discussed where the rest of us were going to go, but there was only one place I wanted to be and that's home.

So we left Gallia for the Greenwood, avoiding the hobgoblin army, and went back to the Winter Bears where we belong.  The Elthani are with us, and the Blood Druids are to the north, taking on the giants and dragons with support from Tonk and Taint.  We went to take on the undead.

Aunold and me can both fly now, and the new cloaks let us turn invisible, so we went to scout ahead.  Most of the army were mindless undead, but they did have a commander.  One we'd seen before.  One I knew all too intimately.

We came up with a plan and it wasn't a very good one, as we soon realised.  Aunold's bird drew away the mindless undead for us, and we were able to get to his two zombie guards and the helmet that he was currently possessing.  We sent in the usual fireballs to cut down the guards, but before we could smash the helmet and bring him out into the sunlight, he possessed Vared again.

Another awful fight followed, as I tried to give Vared the strength to drive the thing out and the others did what they could to restrain him.  I didn't dare come close for fear that he'd possess me again and turn my power against my friends.

But at last Vared was unconscious, and the ghost jumped from him into Turgut's sword.  We smashed into fragments and the ghost emerged, paralysed in the sunlight.  I summoned a unicorn, and the blessed creature was able to not only destroy the ghost but to heal mine and Vared's wounds.  Since his transformation, there was nothing it could do for Turgut, but Aunold has the magic to repair him now.

We have lost a powerful item in Turgut's sword, but we all agreed it was worth it to destroy that monster once and for all.

His destruction brought the attention of his master, who came to visit us.  She calls herself Eloise Vexil, but we are calling her the White Witch.  Yes, I am a witch, but I see myself more as a green witch, especially with this new cloak.  And she wears white.  Very impractical for forests.  But that's not my point.

She wants to rule Gallia.  I have no doubt that she can do it, even against the wishes of the Enchantress.  She seems inclined to leave the Greenwood alone, providing we don't interfere.  A tempting offer, aside from the fact that we would have to break an agreement with the Gallians.  I talked to her about the wendigo.  If I could persuade her to take it on then perhaps we would be rid of at least one problem.  But I don't think that is going to save us.

She also turned Aunold into a squirrel, but I think it's wearing off.

I don't know what to do, little ones.  Everything is too big.  It would be easy to take the White Witch's offer but I don't think it would do us any favours in the long run.  Somehow we have to do the right thing.  I wish I knew what that was.

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