The most rewarding part of patience is when it pays off. Warren discovered this while he waited for the spade hood to return to the agate-like witch stone. He and his newly found mentor, Herne, still hadn't divined why the moon Seelie needed the relic. It floated back and forth in front of stone hands clasped behind its back. Every so often it would stop and touch the amorphous shadow wandering the surface.
"It has no idea the witch is trapped in there," Herne shook his head sadly. "The creature is on a one-way trip to an early grave."
"Lets try to capture it. I'm sure the crew can come up with a way to protect us from the shriek," Warren suggested. Archon agreed with him in his mind, "The eidolon likes the idea too."
"I don't have an issue with the idea, its how w
Hours passed as Warren and Theria tore through the pages of all the spellbooks. Well, Theria tore through them. Warren didn't know anything about the Seelie alphabet, and when translated it resembled Gaelic. He only knew this because he looked up a translated word on the internet. Warren found his hands tensed and ready to rip up freshly printed pages. He put back on the desk, "I've reached my limit. I don't know anything about this, and I can't tell you what's going on. The young Seelie began to flip through the pages like a mad evangelist. Warren watched her face slip from serious to grief. After being taken by the spade hood, and weakened to the point of death, it would be enough to rattle the most hardened veteran. Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes and came down in torrents. Gentle
Jack, Herne, and Warren didn't move a muscle, when faced with the spectral image of the woman. Traditional buckskin adorned the slender body. She raised her hands above her head, "Well are you going to help? You are members of the Scald Crow aren't you?" Jack and Herne took a step back from the phantom, and pushed Warren forward, "You go, whelp." "I am in awe of your bravery," The spirit mocked, "What could a child..." The spirit took a step back in the face of the eidolon, the long wings flapped, and Archon stomped the ground and shrieked victoriously before he vanished. "A guardian spirit? I need your help." "How did you know who we were?" Warren asked, as he turned to his companions, "I don't think she wants to fight guys. Can you pretend to be professional for a minute." Herne and Jack tentatively stepped forward, and stood just
It took some ingenuity and teamwork to get the spade hood to the witch stone. Their previous encounters did not engender trust between the crew and the moon child. Theria offered the first real idea, "We'll have to make a platform with the same protective circle. I don't think we can trust spade hood not to shriek," She hovered on the spot and glared at the red-eyed menace, "The platform will also require a levitation spell. The spade hood is a big girl?" Grace put her arm around Theria, "Feel free to get started, lass. I'll brief the men on the mission." Theria saluted and headed into the Scald Crow. She flew back out to kiss Warren, who tried to get another, but his lips tasted the cool morning air. She waved as she zipped into the armored transport. It killed him to know Theria hurt, and all he could do is wait for her to come to him. Grace sighed, "She'll be okay, Vandal, I promise. The spade hood did something
The sacrifice of the spade hood worried Warren. The red-eyed horror became a tree to help power the Witch stone. It spoke to the imprisoned witch's power and raised the importance of finding the remaining five chosen. "Vandal, are you there?" Grace's voice came over the radio with urgency. "Go for Vandal," Warren retorted. "We have an emergency call from Elphame. Put the witch mission on the back burner. We will be going to Vancouver. I can't tell you why. Elphame insisted we all be here for the briefing." "Roger that, we are coming back to base," He whistled, "Okay guys, we are heading back to the Scald Crow. Grace has a priority one call from Elphame." Hopes spectral eyes twinkled, "Excellent, you can continue your search for the remaining chosen..." the apparition put her hands on her hips, "Well, you aren't going to find them out in the middle of the woods." "Forgive us, Elder Hope. We will pass on the importanc
The Scald Crow rumbled through traffic. The armored troop carrier encouraged the smaller vehicles to move with a loud honk. Grace pulled out her ornate pocket watch and swore, "We are already late for the meeting with the police. Why can't magic fix traffic," She growled furiously. "Come on, Grace, the Scald Crow, can easily tear through gridlock. Why aren't we plowing through these toys?" Jack complained he shuffled a weathered deck of cards. Grace tossed the tricorn hat to the side and let her blazing red hair down. She calmly marched up to Jack, smiled, and then slammed his head against the conference table. "There are people in those cars, people who hate the Seelie. We are here to clean up the Bokken Riders mess, not leave one in our wake." Herne, Theria, and Warren all stared at her with shock and awe. As second in command, He took it upon himself to speak to her as privately as possible. Theria gave him a sweet peck on the lips before he
Grace led the way through the door to the bullpen. She lowered her cutlass and flintlock at the emptiness and silence of what should have been a busy area. "I heard human police stations were busy," Grace flipped through a few files and threw them back on the desk. "Do you think they're testing us?" Warren opened the door to the interrogation room, nothing. The air smelled of stale coffee and hand sanitizer, "Let's check the holding cells." "Hey Grace," Therias voice pierced the air and caused Warren and Grace to wince. "Please keep your voice down, Ms. Theria. We don't know who is listening or who is in the building," Grace opened a closet door, Warren stood behind her, ready to fire, "Any word from the second floor?" "Negative, the microphone keeps picking up an odd thumping noise. It's coming from the second floor, " Theria paused, "I'll record the noise and see if I can find any voices or clues as
Gastown is one of the oldest parts of Vancouver. Back in the old days, Gassy Deighton, A steamer captain, opened the first saloon. The area became known for rowdy off-work loggers and sailors. It became a refuge for those who wanted to cut loose. None of that mattered in the here and now. The Scald Crow rolled through the streets without opposition. If anything, people fought to get out of the troop carrier's way. Theria skillfully kept people from harm. Inside, the trio of sports cycles gently banged together. Theria skillfully placed enchantments on the cycle using a series of runes. "The bikes should be ready in the next few minutes, Captain." Warren couldn't put away his concern for his anchor. She still refused to leave the Scald Crow and take an active part in missions. He couldn't blame her after being taken by the Spade Hood. He had no idea what the moon child did to her, but it rattled Theria to her very core. "So
The leather jacket hung loosely on Warren's body as the assembled Laughing Skulls surrounded him and raised their beer mugs in his name. Warren didn't smile or cheer. He kept one hand on the Dream catcher, and his eagle eyes searched for the chosen. Zealot tapped him on the shoulder, "Hey man, it's okay to celebrate. You are with your people now and not with the Tinkerbells," Zealot's voice soothed him, and he relaxed. Archon flashed the wand picture across his mind again. Warren nodded his head in agreement. "I have to use the bathroom. We'll talk more when I get back." Zealot gripped his hand, "Don't worry, kid. The future belongs to the humans and not those interdimensional squatters. We will drive them back to where they came from." Irritation gripped Warren's body while he shook hands with the biker. He longed to let the eidolon loose on the unsuspecting racists. He walked toward the bathroom, and the necklace grew warmer. He held the pend