The giants did as they promised and assisted in the repair of the city they had so wantonly destroyed. Meanwhile, Gordian’s curative spells returned Firiona to her normal robust health. The surviving leaders of Chalons rewarded the party as best they could. They confirmed Edward’s possession of the hammer that he had used to such effect in the defense of the city.
After about a week of helping with the repair and reconstruction effort, and feasting in celebration of their victory, the adventurers begged to take their leave of the city. They had much to think about in the aftermath. One mystery: who was Hulagu, and why had he stirred up the giants against the city?
At last, the party returned to Darksea. For the next week, they all decompressed in their various estates, tending to things that needed tending, and generally resting and relaxing, before eventually going on their separate ways again.
"Well, that was a fight and no mistake," thought Firiona to herself as she sat in her quarters at the Magic Academy back in Darksea. It was the summer of CY 671. In the aftermath of the Battle of Chalons, the adventurers had decided to take a good long vacation, each pursuing his or her separate interests. "And all for a hunk of metal on a stick!" The wizard had come to the conclusion that the effort expended to recover Edward’s hammer of thunderbolts considerably outweighed the value of the weapon itself.
After a few weeks of routine academy work, however, Firiona found herself thinking that Edward shouldn’t be the only Enterprise agent she knew who had an exceptionally powerful weapon. "I can take down monsters with the best of the sword-swingers," she reflected. "Of course, I’m smart about it and do it from a distance!" But what kind of weapon?
It took a few days, but the answer suddenly burst upon her. "A solar’s bow!" she exclaimed. "I use solar form often enough. Why not get a real bow to go with it?" Solar bows, though, were not to be found in the weapon shops of Darksea. Or Greyhawk. Or anywhere else in the Flanaess, or all Oerth for that matter.
"Only one thing for it," the wizard realized. "Have to go straight to the source. Contact a solar myself and just ask for one."
Firiona took several days to prepare herself. She knew she would have to make her request very carefully. She also knew that the solar would in all probability demand some kind of service or other action first, rather than just handing his bow over to her. When she felt ready, she cast plane shift to the plane of Celestia.
Once Firiona arrived at the radiant upper plane of lawful good, she didn’t have long to wait. As if she had been under observation and her arrival had been expected, one of the majestic, silvery, angelic beings manifested before her.
"We know why you have come," the solar stated, before Firiona could say anything. "You desire one of our weapons for your own use."
"Yes, mighty one," responded Firiona, unfazed by the imposing figure. "Such a weapon would be of great assistance to me. I could do much good with it."
"Truly," said the solar. "But would you?" He looked down at the small elven woman. "We shall consider your request. Remain in this place until we return with our decision." The solar then vanished.
Firiona took the solar’s order literally, and didn’t move from the area for the next two days. Finally the solar returned.
"Before we may bestow the weapon you seek, you must perform a quest," the solar informed Firiona. She nodded. "An innocent and virtuous young prince is in deadly danger. He has become the target of a hunt by an evil creature from the Unseelie Court, who were directed to him by the advisor of his own father." "The Unseelie Court?" queried Firiona, unfamiliar with the name. "A plane home to evil fays," said the solar. "The prince is the target of a hoary hunter. A most evil, and most powerful, creature."
"A hoary hunter pursues its prey on nights when the moon is full and the air is icy cold," the solar continued. "The prey must slay the hunter, or evade it for an hour. Yet this is only the beginning of the hunt, for each time the prey slays or evades the hunter, it returns on the next freezing night of a full moon with another of its kind. The hunt only ends when the prey is carried off by the hunter to the Unseelie Court to be a slave forever, or when the prey evades or slays the hunter and all four of his allies on the last night of the hunt."
"Can’t the prey just flee?" inquired Firiona. "I mean, they’re cold-weather creatures, right? Why doesn’t their target just go somewhere warm?"
"It is not that simple," answered the solar. "They will simply wait until the prey is again in a freezing area at midnight during a full moon. They can wait for years if necessary. And they can track their prey."
"But the prince escaped?" continued Firiona. "He did," said the solar. "He managed to flee to a warmer land, as you suggested. But he is by no means a fighter, being rather a wizard of peaceful inclination and studious habit. He would not survive another encounter unaided."
Firiona thought for only a moment. "When do I start?"
"Soon," said the solar. "Soon. But your quest is yours alone, and must be carried out by you alone."
"Alone?!" Firiona was shocked by the solar’s condition. "Me against five hunters? Why alone?"
"We are aware of how you have conducted yourself in times past," the solar said sternly. "We know that you have assumed evil forms on numerous occasions. This does not please us, whatever your rationalizations may be." Firiona tried to maintain eye contact with the solar, but felt shamed by the mighty being’s criticism. "Therefore our condition: you must carry out our quest alone, to prove your true worth. If you succeed in defeating the hunter and his allies, and then restore the prince to his rightful place, then we will provide you with the bow you seek."
Firiona bowed her head. "I accept your conditions," she said. "Can you provide me with any additional information? Who is this prince I’m supposed to save? Where’s he from? Where is he now?"
"His name is Gelf," the solar answered. "He is the elder son of Alain V, Archbaron of Ratik. His current whereabouts are unknown, but we have no doubt a wizard of your stature has means of locating him."
"OK," said Firiona. "The next time you see me, Prince Gelf will be safely back home." She bowed respectfully to the solar. "And I’ll be ready to put that bow to use!" She spoke words of magical power, and the plane shift spell she had readied returned her to the Magic Academy in Darksea.
Quest Day 1 The solar was right: Firiona did have means of locating Gelf, namely a discern location spell. The spell revealed Gelf’s presence in the city of Gryrax, far to the south in the Principality of Ulek on the shore of the Azure Sea. A warm location indeed.
The Darksea Magic Academy library provided Firiona with the necessary maps and geographies of the Principality of Ulek to locate Gryrax. She also found bits of information on hoary hunters and the Unseelie Court. The little she found confirmed the solar’s descriptions. She suppressed a shudder. This would require considerable preparation.
Quest Day 2 Next day, Firiona returned to the Academy library to locate any information available on the Archbarony of Ratik, the home of Prince Gelf. A chilly land in the far northeast of the Flanaess, Ratik was an appropriate venue for appearances by hoary hunters.
"Well, no time like the present," Firiona said to herself. With that, a greater teleport spell brought her without further incident to the city of Gryrax, where her search for the fugitive prince began. She first sought out the best inn in the city, an establishment called The King’s Head Inn. Expensive at 5 gp per night, at least to ordinary travelers; Firiona, however, added a further 5 gp tip to ensure the best quality accommodations and service.
After checking into her lavish suite, Firiona made for the inn’s common room, and began to inquire as to areas where fellow wizards were known to congregate. A waitress in the room overheard her. "Oh, sorry to butt in, but there’s a wizard school right here in town!" The girl directed a grateful Firiona to the Gryrax Institute of Wizardry, and was amply rewarded for her information.
The Institute was about a half hour walk away. Entering the front door, Firiona approached the front desk. "Good day, lady!" said the receptionist, a young human woman. "How may we help you?"
"I’m Firiona Vie, from Darksea, far to the north. I run the Darksea Magic Academy. Have you heard of us?"
"I’m sorry, no," the receptionist replied. "But maybe our staff has."
"Would it be possible to arrange a tour of your facility?" Firiona inquired. "Maybe an exchange of knowledge? Perhaps meet with one of your deans?"
The receptionist pointed to her right. "Public relations is down the hall, second door on the right." Thanking the girl, Firiona proceeded in the direction indicated.
The lobby of the public relations department included a number of comfortable chairs, some small tables, and several scrolls of the "Wizard’s Life" publication. Firiona introduced herself to the department’s receptionist, this one a young adult half-elf woman, and repeated her request to tour the facility and meet with its staff. "Wait a minute while I check," the staffer said. She left her desk and entered a door marked, "Public Relations Director". A few minutes later, she returned with a distinguished-looking, grey-haired human woman.
"Hello," said the woman. "I’m Michelle, Public Relations Director for the Institute. I understand you’d like a tour, and possibly arrange a relationship between our two academies?"
"Yes, indeed I would," answered Firiona.
"We can arrange a tour," said Michelle. She instructed the receptionist to summon a guide for Firiona. Quickly, a young male human answered the summons. "Max will guide you," Michelle told Firiona. "Max, give your guest the introductory tour." Max bowed to Michelle, then introduced himself to the visiting wizard.
The two proceeded to explore the grounds of the Academy. Firiona was duly impressed with the size and scope of the operations carried out in Gryrax. As they strolled about the facility, Firiona inquired of Max, "Did you ever know a wizard named Gelf?" "Can’t say I have," Max answered. "What about him?" "He’s from the Archbarony of Ratik, far off to the northeast of here. An icy, snowy land, and a rather frail fellow. I’ve been trying to find him. I heard he might be in town."
"Don’t get many northerners this far south," observed Max. "Know of any places where wizards congregate? Maybe I can find him there."
"Try The Magic Hand," Max recommended. "It’s our very own inn."
"Anywhere else?" Firiona continued.
"Who knows?" Max replied. "Could be in our own library. That gets plenty of visitors."
"Would it be possible for me to access the library?" Firiona inquired. "Sure. Library membership is available," answered Max. "For a suitable contribution, of course."
The two continued their tour of the Academy, continuing to chit-chat about matters of interest to wizards, including Darksea Academy. They finally returned to the PR Office, where Michelle greeted them and dismissed Max. Firiona asked Michelle if she’d heard of Gelf, but like Max, she had no information about him. The two wizards then proceeded to discuss arranging a relationship with Darksea Academy. When they completed their initial discussions, Firiona promised to follow up upon her return to Darksea, then asked for directions to the Institute library.
Once at the library, Firiona immediately asked the desk librarian if he had seen or heard of Gelf. "Can’t say I do," replied the elderly human man, "but I’m only on the day shift. Would you like a library membership?" Firiona asked how much one would cost, and the librarian provided her with a list of membership levels and benefits. "And then there’s our diamond-level membership. Full library rights, full access to librarian researchers! And all for a mere contribution of 1000 gp, plus 500 gp per year."
Firiona hid her surprise at the expense, and quickly agreed to purchase the proffered membership. The librarian was impressed with her affluence. "Michelle has all my information," Firiona informed the librarian, who began to prepare her membership paperwork. "Very good, lady," he said. "I will complete the proper forms, and you can sign them as you leave. For now, our library is open to you!"
Later that afternoon, after an initial survey of the library’s resources, Firiona sought out the Magic Hand Tavern. A short search led her to the establishment, which, strangely enough, had a sign on which was depicted a hand, palm up, from which rays of light emerged. Inside, the tavern was cozy and dark, like a lounge. A hallway led further inside to other rooms for private meetings. Firiona noted several groups of people engaged in conversations.
As was her wont when seeking information, she first went to the bar and began to chat up the bartender. He had no information concerning Gelf. But when Firiona announced, "Drinks all around, on me!" she found her popularity with the patrons suddenly increasing. A few guests began to loosen their tongues as she asked one of them for any news of Gelf. "No, never heard of him," a middle-aged human man said. "But I would be interested to hear more about Darksea. Sounds like a fascinating place!" This went on for some time, before one female half-elf wizard, responding to Firiona’s renewed inquiry, chimed in. "Oh yes!" the wizard said. "I remember him. He was here a few days ago. He seemed weary, as if he had many things on his mind. And he did have a northern look about him." Firiona nodded attentively, and the woman continued, "Maybe he was doing research at the library."
Firiona thanked the tavern guests profusely, and asked them to let Gelf know that she was looking for him should he happen to re-appear at the Magic Hand. "Most important," she emphasized. Some of the patrons looked at each other, one whispering to the others, "And a female elf wizard at that!"
Having obtained her first real lead, Firiona returned to the library late that evening. She found no sign that Gelf had visited. Before she returned to her accommodations, she left the same message with the librarian on duty.
Quest Day 3
Library membership paid off almost immediately, as Firiona was able to learn the sending spell. "Need a reliable way to contact the Enterprise," she said to herself after she added the spell to her spellbook. She put the spell to work. The sending advised the Enterprise that she was in Gryrax on "personal business," and asked if the Enterprise had an outpost in the city. After lunch, the reply came back: there were no Enterprise offices in Gryrax, the nearest one being in the town of Niole Dra. "Oh well," muttered Firiona, "I’m supposed to take care of this myself anyway."
After another afternoon at the library, Firiona returned to the Magic Hand. It was about 10pm when one of the barmaids whispered to her, "I think the fellow you’re looking for is here. Private room, down the hall." Firiona tipped the girl well for the information, then approached the private room and knocked on the door. The door opened.
A young man, slightly built, with a harried look, motioned Firiona inside. "I hear you’ve been looking for me," Gelf said. "How can I help you?"
"Actually, I’m here to help you," the elven wizard replied. "My name is Firiona Vie. I’m on a quest, given to me by a solar. The angelic being told me of your situation. I know what you’re up against, and I’m willing to help you."
Gelf quickly sized up his visitor and decided that she was trustworthy. He motioned for her to have a seat.
The two wizards told their respective stories. Gelf spoke of his life at the court of his father Alain V. He was a sickly child and of little use in battle, much to the dismay of the court, although his father wanted him to develop his potential as best he could. Especially since his younger brother Cail was a good ten years younger than he was.
He knew that he was too weak to fight in melee unless absolutely necessary, so he focused on ray spells, and also touch spells in case he absolutely had to melee. He specialized in divination because he figured his best chance to rule effectively (eventually) was to learn what his enemies didn’t want him to know, and use that information against them.
His father’s most important advisor, the wizard Syagrius, had at first helped him with magical studies. But as time passed, he seemed to become distant and unsympathetic. Most recently, he had begun to express doubts that Gelf would ever be able to succeed his father as ruler of Ratik. Nevertheless, Gelf tried to remain friendly to Syagrius, since he seemed to serve his father faithfully and well.
Then, about two weeks ago, Syagrius had summoned Gelf to carry out an important mission for him. The mission required him to travel north to the Timberline Forest, where he was to meet with another powerful wizard who lived in a remote area of the woods. He readily agreed, hoping that successfully completing the mission would lead to improved relations between the two.
It was on a freezing cold night, during a full moon, when Gelf saw a cloud of fog moving toward him and realized that something was wrong. He immediately cast foresight on himself, then quickened fly. Just in time. For out of the cloud came a strange and frightening attack: a white humanoid creature on a white horse, charging at him without touching the ground. His foresight told him what course of action to take. He rose off the ground himself and flew toward the pale aggressor, then cast Otto’s irresistible dance and successfully touched the humanoid. Skill or luck guided his hand, and the power of the spell was fully manifested: the creature was compelled to dance for a full half minute. During that time, Gelf blasted the creature five times with the enervation power of the staff of necromancy he bore. The creature was unable to successfully land a blow with the terrifying sword it bore. Gelf’s good fortune continued, as he struck the creature with a disintegration spell, followed by a huge energy drain. His magic prevailed: the creature seemed to disappear, destroyed.
But Gelf also realized that he had been supremely lucky in his spellcasting! Immediately, he teleported himself far to the south, in the hope that he would escape retaliation from the creature, should it be revived somehow, or from any allies it might have. So, he sought a land that supported a library or other institution of learning where he could find more information on the strange attacker.
His search led him here, to the city of Gryrax, whose library contained the knowledge he sought. His foe was a hoary hunter, and its attack was only the first of as many as five, any one of which could result in his enslavement forever, and each succeeding one of which would be more deadly than the previous. "If you defeat one," Gelf explained, "it doesn’t die. It’s transported back to its home in a place called the "Unseelie Court," where it’s resurrected and readied for another attack. But the next one isn’t just with the creature, but with it and another of its kind. And if the two are somehow defeated, they return with three, then four, then finally five. Any time there’s a freezing, moonlit night, they could appear–they can track me down no matter where I am. And they can wait for years before they make another attack, waiting for the perfect time to strike me down."
"Then we’d better find some way to defeat them, regardless of number," said Firiona, amazed that the slight, apparently weak young man before her had managed to survive the onslaught of such a powerful enemy. "And when they are defeated once and for all, I’ll help you regain your rightful place beside your father." Gelf gladly accepted the unexpected help Firiona offered. "Let’s begin tomorrow. Meet me at the library in the morning."
Quest Day 13
Ten days of research, study, spell acquisition and preparation later, Firiona and Gelf were prepared – they hoped– to confront the hoary hunters who were doubtless still in pursuit of the young prince. After dark, both readied themselves with shapechange spells, while Gelf further fortified himself with stone skin, true seeing and foresight.
"Let’s go!" said Firiona. The two then teleported far to the north, back to the scene of the first attack.
The moon was full again, and the air was frigid. Almost as soon as they arrived, Gelf’s foresight warned him. "They’re coming!" he cried. He further protected himself with shield and iron guard spells, the latter making him invulnerable to attacks against him with metal weapons. The two wizards then waited for their enemies to arrive.
They suddenly burst into the clearing in the woods where the two wizards awaited them, advancing in a rolling fog bank, just above the ground: two hoary hunters, both mounted on air-walking steeds. The first hunter rushed directly at Firiona, wielding its terrifying sword. It struck once, twice, thrice, four times, and Firiona was brought low before she had time to so much as cry out!
The second hunter charged at Gelf, swinging to cut him down. But the iron guard spell protected Gelf, to the dismay of the hoary hunter. The hunter was even more surprised when Gelf, putting the knowledge he had acquired from Firiona to use, assayed the creature’s spell resistance, then quickly assumed the form of a pit fiend. Gelf then cast Otto’s irresistible dance, as he had during his first battle with the evil fey creature, charged the second hunter, and set the creature to dancing! "Hah!" cried Gelf triumphantly. "You didn’t learn the first time, did you?!"
But Gelf’s triumph was short-lived. The first hoary hunter uttered words of power, and suddenly the second hunter’s dancing ended, dispelled. Gelf’s retaliatory strike at the hunter as it cast the spell failed to connect. Even worse, the now-still second hunter likewise cast greater dispelling, this time at Gelf himself! The young prince felt his protective spells dissipate about him, along with his foresight, with only his shapechanging and true seeing abilities remaining.
The situation had become desperate. There was only one possibility left. Gelf flew swiftly to Firiona, picked up the fallen wizard, and teleported back to Gryrax. Their first encounter with the hoary hunters had ended in failure, and they had barely escaped with their lives.
Back in Gryrax, Gelf administered healing potions to Firiona. She returned to health at length. "Well, that went well," she said to the young wizard, then added, "Thanks for getting me out of there." "Don’t mention it," Gelf replied. "But it looks like we need a new strategy."
Quest Day 41
In the weeks before the next full moon, Firiona and Gelf came up with a new and, they hoped, an effective strategy for dealing with the hoary hunters. Firiona obtained two scrolls of project image. "Maybe this will confuse them," Gelf said, hopefully. When the night came, the two wizards spelled up as before. "Well, let’s go," said Firiona. They then teleported back to the attack site, prepared to try again.
This time, Firiona and Gelf hid themselves among the trees surrounding the clearing, rather than standing out in the open. Two minutes later, Gelf’s foresight alerted him. "Here they come," he whispered to Firiona. The elven caster immediately pulled out one of her project image scrolls and read the incantation, then gave the other to Gelf to do the same.
The fog bank suddenly appeared in the clearing. Out of the mist charged the two hoary hunters. The first one thundered toward Firiona and struck her four times. Or what appeared to be Firiona. One blow inflicted critical damage, but "Firiona" resisted the sword’s soulbinding power. One projected image disappeared. Likewise with the second hunter, who inflicted four slashing blows on "Gelf," but failed to terminate the prince.
Now, where Firiona and Gelf had stood, a nightstalker and a pit fiend appeared, as both casters shapechanged. Firiona cast time stop, and used two extra rounds to buff herself with iron guard and mind blank, then repositioned herself to continue the confrontation. Gelf cast iron guard on himself, the better to prevent damage from the hunters’ swords.
The two hoary hunters looked around the clearing, seemingly taken aback by the casters’ transformations. Not for long. The first hunter rushed toward Gelf, then dismounted and cast dimensional anchor at the prince. Gelf managed to resist the spell. At the same time, the second hunter charged toward Firiona. She felt herself under a sudden magical assault as the hunter’s greater dispel magic hit her. Down went Firiona’s mind blank and true seeing. Fortunately for her, her shapechange and iron guard remained in place! In response, she cast her own Mordenkainen’s disjunction at the second hunter’s sword. The weapon was disjoined!
Gelf, focusing on the second hunter, set it hopping about with Otto’s irresistible dance. While the hunter danced, its steed flew at the prince, teeth bared. Apparently it had never fought a pit fiend, because Gelf swiftly wrapped his fiendish tail around the horse, grappling it and striking multiple blows with claw, wing and bite. The first hunter, still afoot, swung at Firiona but, to its surprise, inflicted no damage. It was even more surprised when a force cage suddenly manifested about it, as Firiona sought to confine the evil fey.
Still dancing, the first hunter suffered serious energy loss as Gelf’s staff of necromancy enervated the creature. Its steed, on instruction from the hunter, suddenly became ethereal to escape further damage from the two casters. The second hunter, still mounted, just as suddenly disappeared, plane shifting out of the force cage. Now only the first hunter remained on the battlefield, and Firiona rushed at the creature. Her blows against the hunter’s sword struck their target, and the hunter was disarmed!
An opportune attack by Gelf did moderate damage to the dancing fey, as did Firiona’s admixed acid/fire blast of flame. Gelf’s staff of necromancy drained another two energy levels from the creature.
Again the two wizards struck at the dancing fey. But this time, neither inflicted any damage. Even Gelf’s shapechange to balor form was ineffective.
A blast of cold air struck Firiona: the second hoary hunter had returned! Firiona felt her will under assault as the fierce fey attempted to dominate her. With a supreme effort, the elven caster resisted the magic attack. She moved away from the hoary hunter, then followed up a swiftly cast assay of the creature’s spell resistance with a magical attack of her own. Her spell was powerful enough to punch through the fey’s spell resistance. But the creature nevertheless was able to resist the spell in its turn.
"Dancing over?" said Gelf in the direction of the first hoary hunter. "I think not!" The wizard ran up to the dancing creature. His touch sent the hunter back to shuffling about, although he failed to inflict any damage while the creature continued to dance.
Gelf mentally congratulated himself for keeping the first hunter out of the action, until he was shaken out of his reverie by a piercing shriek of rage from Firiona. The second hoary hunter had successfully disjoined many of Firiona’s most valuable magic items and taken down her magical defenses. "Time to get out of here!" she screamed toward Gelf. She fled from the hunter, taking serious damage as she did so, then teleported away from the battle. Gelf immediately did likewise. Both of the wizards reappeared at their predetermined rally point in Gryrax. The battle had ended, temporarily, in failure.
Quest Day 70
Days of recuperation, spell recovery and study followed.
"There has to be a better way," thought Firiona. "We can’t keep fighting these things by ourselves. But the solar said I had to do it myself," she mused. "Hmmm. "By myself" means what?"
It took her a while, but Firiona at last came to a realization. "As long as I don’t have other adventurers joining the fight, I should be OK," she declared aloud. "So if I use my own spells, I can bring in all the allies I want!"
Returning to Darksea, Firiona retrieved sufficient funds to replace her disjoined magic items, as well as Gelf’s. At length, the two wizards looked up at the sky, saw that the moon was once again full, prepared themselves for battle, and returned to the battle glade. "Let’s see how they like what I’ve got prepared for them this time!" said Firiona, as she took solar form.
The roll of fog announced the arrival of the hoary hunters, as was their wont. The two evil fey charged toward Firiona and Gelf, both casting dimensional anchor to prevent the casters from fleeing the battle. But Firiona was ready. Mystic syllables opened a gate, and from the gate emerged the immense form of a great wurm gold dragon!
"Riikano-alinaris, at your service!" said the dragon to Firiona. "Mighty happy you’re here!" she answered. "See that hunter coming my way? He needs a lesson!"
The gold dragon nodded his mighty head, and promptly battered the hunter with wing, claw, tail and jaw, doing severe damage to the evil fey. Gelf took the opportunity to cast fly on himself while the dragon positioned himself between the hunters and the wizards.
The hunters continued their magic attacks against the now-augmented party. The first hunter was unable to dominate the gold dragon, but the second successfully held Gelf. The wizard, in response, protected himself with a prismatic sphere. Firiona thoughtfully provided the dragon with true seeing, which the creature put to good use in a fly-by breath attack against the first hunter and its steed.
Firiona managed to cast time stop, and fortified herself and the dragon with powerful spells. The dragon tied down the first hunter with a dimensional anchor, so it too was unable to flee the battle.
The hunters were now beginning to realize this battle would proceed differently than the previous encounters. The first hunter was unable to dispel any of the spells Firiona had cast on the dragon, and suffered serious damage from the dragon, which then grappled the evil fey! The second hunter landed heavy blows, but did no damage due to Firiona’s iron guard spell on the dragon. Firiona again uttered mystic syllables, and protective spheres appeared around the dragon’s head: an effulgent epuration. Up soared the dragon, five hundred feet into the air. Still grappling the first fey, the dragon bit the creature, wounding it seriously.
Desperately, the grappled fey cast true strike on itself. The spell enabled the hunter to finally break the dragon’s grapple, although at great cost as the dragon severely wounded it in the process. Meanwhile, the second hunter saw through the prismatic sphere around Gelf, but failed to wound the wizard. Gelf withdrew from the sphere, leaving the fey creature alone within, and rushed toward Firiona. The second hunter burst through the prismatic sphere, which failed to seriously damage it, and landed a heavy blow on Firiona. Again, the blow did no damage due to Firiona’s spell protection.
The dragon swooped toward the first hunter and breathed. The hunter was now obviously severely wounded. Again, the dragon grappled the fey.
Gelf fled back into the prismatic sphere. The second fey pursued him. But suddenly the creature disappeared–sent to another plane by the sphere! Gelf again emerged from the sphere to launch magic missiles at the remaining hunter, but could not penetrate the creature’s spell resistance.
Firiona, Gelf and the dragon now focused their attacks on the remaining hoary hunter. The creature was again able to break free of the dragon’s grapple, but too late. The gold dragon attacked the fey and tore it to pieces.
"We won?" asked Gelf in amazement. "Battle over," replied Firiona, who turned to the dragon. "Our most heartfelt thanks for your aid!" said the wizard. She offered the dragon five thousand gold pieces for his services. "So much fun!" the dragon cried as he accepted his fee. "If you need me again, you know where to reach me!" His duty discharged, the mighty dragon disappeared, returning to his lair. And after about twenty minutes, when the hunters’ dimensional anchors had expired, Firiona and Gelf returned to their temporary base of operations in Gryrax as well.
Quest Day 99
Four weeks later: a full moon and cold weather. Firiona and Gelf buffed up with mind blank and true seeing. Firiona added shapechange as well.
Once more the two casters returned to the frigid clearing. Soon thereafter the hunters approached: three pale figures on pale horses, floating above the ground, obscured by fog. The first hunter rushed toward Gelf, who had taken cover behind a tree. The evil fey took down Gelf’s true seeing with his greater dispel, but failed to affect Gelf’s mind blank. The second hunter did the same with Firiona, and her true seeing went down as well.
"We’ll see about that!" thought Firiona to herself, as she cast time stop. Three subjective rounds of stopped time enabled her to cast effulgent epuration on herself, then gate in Riikano-alinaris, her friend the great wyrm gold dragon, and protect the dragon with mind blank. The gold dragon immediately cast dimensional anchor on the second hoary hunter, to prevent it fleeing from the battle. But the third hoary hunter rushed at the dragon, and did huge damage to the creature in a ride-by attack that left the dragon bloodied and severely injured.
Gelf, still behind his tree, cast true strike on himself, hoping for an opportunity to land a blow on one of the hunters. And soon enough, the first hunter came after him again, and struck a serious blow on the young wizard. But Gelf turned the tables on the fey, reaching out and touching the creature to inflict Otto’s irresistible dance on the hunter! The dancing fey was neutralized for the time being.
Meanwhile, the second and third hunters focused their attacks on the gold dragon. The second hunter landed three powerful blows on the dragon. But before the third hunter could strike, Firiona protected the dragon with iron guard. The spell rendered the third hunter’s blows useless! But Riikanno-alinaris’ attacks were far from useless. The dragon bit, clawed, winged and tail-slapped the second hunter, then snatched the fey up in its jaws.
Now the first hunter’s steed took up the slack for his dancing master, and kicked Gelf, drawing blood. He struck again as Gelf cast prismatic sphere around himself, landing another blow before the sphere went up. Overhead, the second hunter tried to dispel the dragon, but failed his concentration check due to the heavy damage inflicted by the dragon as he was casting. The hunter’s angry steed likewise failed to damage the dragon. That was the end of the second hunter and his steed: the dragon took a step back, shredded the hunter in its jaws, then breathed on the steed and the third hunter nearby (as well as the hapless second hunter). Both hunters’ steeds were destroyed by the dragon’s breath. The second and third hunters suffered severe damage as well.
Firiona was able to provide the dragon with additional protection in the form of another effulgent epuration.
The second hunter, desperately struggling to escape the dragon’s jaws, failed to produce Mordenkainen’s disjunction and took additional damage from the dragon. The dragon now tried to fly up and crush the third hunter, but the wily fey was able to escape the falling dragon. In turn, the hunter’s greater dispel eliminated the dragon’s iron guard protection.
A dark bolt from Firiona quickly destroyed the first hunter’s steed. Gelf remained within the sphere and quaffed a healing potion. The dragon continued to inflict damage on the hunter gripped in its jaws. The dragon also tried to cast imprisonment on the third hunter, but was unsuccessful. Unfortunately for the dragon, the third hunter successfully cast Mordenkainen’s disjunction on the dragon, destroying all its magical protections and also removing the dimensional anchor from the second hunter! The second hunter immediately dimension door’d out of the dragon’s jaws and back into the woods surrounding the glade. The third hunter now became the focus of the dragon’s attention, and took severe damage from the dragon’s breath.
Suddenly, the first hunter stopped dancing–Gelf’s spell had worn off. Immediately the hunter charged directly into the prismatic sphere surrounding Gelf! The fey survived the passage, taking constitution damage, and struck Gelf for serious damage. "Don’t you ever learn?" sneered Gelf, as he again touched the hunter. The hunter started dancing once again!
Firiona, meanwhile, flew atop the dragon and re-cast iron guard. The dragon quickly breathed again, burning the third hunter. But once again, the hunter greater dispelled the dragon’s protective spell. Now the second hunter attempted to dominate the dragon, but the dragon resisted the attempt. As Firiona transferred her effulgent epuration to the dragon, the dragon attacked the third hunter all-out. But the hunter suffered less damage than expected, proving resistant to much of the dragon’s natural weaponry. The third hunter immediately dimension door’d to reappear next to the second hunter.
Now the second hunter ran into Gelf’s sphere, but failed to land any attacks on the young wizard. Across the glade, Firiona cast haste on the dragon, and the dragon flew off toward the third hunter. Riikano-alinaris tried to imprison the third hunter, but failed, and the third hunter in turn slashed the dragon for serious damage.
Gelf, seeing that his sphere no longer offered effective protection, fled the sphere and ran behind the gold dragon. On came the second hunter, but the fey’s ride-by attack did no damage to the dragon. Firiona, now next to the dragon, cast Mordenkainen’s sword at the second hunter! The magical weapon struck the hunter for significant damage.
But then the third hunter took a step toward Gelf and cast dominate monster. The young wizard instantly ran toward the hunter and leaped on the back of the hunter’s steed–totally dominated!
The second hunter charged the dragon. Firiona, realizing Gelf was about to be dragged off forever to the Unseelie Court by the third hunter, called out to the dragon, "Riikano-alinaris! You are dismissed! We must all flee!" The dragon vanished. Firiona flew at the third hunter and reached out her hand, touching Gelf. Immediately she cast greater teleport, and, Gelf in hand, disappeared from the frigid glade, reappearing in Greyhawk. The three hunters had defeated them, for now.
