The Winter Lands of House Alton
Corwyn made his home in the Winter Lands, the ancient seat of power for the Unseelie bloodlines. His fortress was on a snowy plateau, built against he side of a dark forboding mountain. A forest of evergreens and dead trees surrounded it. The castle itself was not particularly frightening. It was the stone effigies that adorned it's walls that added the extra flavor of dread. That and the 'forest of bones'. Enemies of House Alton were hung from the limbs of trees and left to rot until only the skeletons remained. The ropes were enchanted to keep the skeletons intact, creating a horrific warning to all who approached.
High above the treetops, to the north, the air shimmered in a spectacular aurora. The border.
"That is where I crossed over." Eli said softly when they arrived. On the Faerie side of the border, he felt stronger than he had since his escape, but the instantaneous transport still left him winded. It would be some time before he could perform any further miracles.
He had told them of the guards at the gates and on the walls, and the servants' entrance. And he had also told them of the Sla-Mori ('Secret Way' in the old tongue) that would most likely be unguarded.
Blossom
Blossom nodded, glanced up, then shot up into the air; most people who stayed on land didn't think of attacks from the sky. She'd only hesitated, in fact, to make sure she didn't actually see any. Air support was ready.
Karla
Karla took a moment to look around. At first glance, Corwyn's home looked much like Glacia: the snow, the deep pine woods, the mountains clawing at the skies. The resemblance was close enough to make her gasp and take a slight step back. Upon closer inspection, she could see the differences. Glacia had never looked so forbidding, never seemed so desolate and dead.
Though after almost fifteen years under Hobart's rule, perhaps it was closer to Corwyn's realm than she knew...
"It looks like he stripped away most of his guards and defenses to fight with the army," she murmured. "That's handy. I'd prefer not to meet his minions on his own bloody doorstep." She shifted the rucksack Blossom had demanded she wear and looked at the others. "Still, best to assume it's defended by things we can't see and act accordingly. Sight shields for all?"
Leda
"Music to my ears right now." Leda answered, looking around carefully. It was a tossup as to who was more terrified right now, her or Eli. "Definitely not as pretty as the borderlands." she muttered.
Eli pointed the way that would take them around the forest of bones and to the secret entrance. "The wards are stronger amongst the bones."
Blossom
Blossom had finished her quick survey and rejoined the group, hovering close enough to be heard without yelling. "No one in the air," she reported. "We're not going through the trees, right? I don't like the way the sky looks over there."
Karla
"I'm not going through those trees," Karla said, very much Not Budging on the issue. She had also taken a step up, so she was standing on air, no part of her body touching the land. It had some things to tell her, things Karla was much happier not knowing. "That place is a walking trap, especially for someone with psychic senses."
She could already feel the pain and horror wafting towards her on the air. Going through that would be a nightmare.
"You're going to need people with strong stomachs and better mental blocks to go through there and take it down. Or just burn the forest to the ground." It would be hard with the living trees and the snow, but Leda had dragonfire. Karla was willing to bet that would work. Fire cleansed and any place like that needed cleansing.
"All right, just sight and aural shields? Or do you want physical shields as well? Those should keep us safe from at least the first volley of attacks, depending on how powerful whatever we run into tends to be."
Leda
Eli did a double take when Karla stepped into the air. Levitation was not a common trick around here. Leda however thought it was a good idea from a stealth standpoint though, so she did the same. After taking hold of Eli's hand to extend her minor spell to him.
"Takes some getting used to. Try not to look down." she advised. Then she turned to Karla. "I think if we need physical shields already we've messed up somehow right?"
Blossom
"I didn't see any movement towards us, so we didn't trip any alarms or anything. We should be good without physical shields for now." Blossom snickered lightly at Eli's reaction, then nodded to Karla. "Definitely a sight shield would be good. They're personal, right? You don't really have to hold them on us? I want to be able to move if I need to."
James
"Well, that beats trying to hide your tracks," James said dryly at the hovering others. Magic users. "Just be careful, can't tell what traps hide in the snow. Or if he has any in the air." He had a feeling that something was out there, from his bump of trouble.
Blossom
Blossom floated next to James. "We're not as good as you at being sneaky, remember? But if you need a lift, just give a signal and my yo-yo or I will be there. Promise." She nodded at the sky above. "And I'll kep watch for air traps. If I can't see them, I can at least trigger them for you before you get there."
And she was serious, too.
Eli
Eli had a sudden thought, and then suddenly the half Elf beside Leda was a half Elf no more, but a large wolf. Leda started, then swore in Elvish.
"Sorry," he said, the canine mouth somehow forming humanoid speech, "But I have an idea. Don't waste your magical energy on me, in this form no one will look twice at me."
"Jimmy, maybe you and Eli should take point. You know, the stealth guy and uh, the guy with a really good nose just now."
James
James had enough experience at Fandom that things such as someone turning into a wolf was barely worth a second look. "Sure, as long as he," James indicated Wolf!Eli with a head nod, "does not wander off after a rabbit."
He looked at the way ahead, thinking about likely traps and paths. "Anyone want to talk us out of doing this, now is your last chance."
Karla
"No way," Karla said, shaking her head. "This male is a mad dog. He needs to get put down before he has a chance to harm anyone else."
This had gotten surprisingly personal. Not just for what Corwyn had done to Leda, time and time again. But this whole thing just felt like a practice run for Glacia, almost. Karla wasn't about to back down. Not from either of them.
She tossed a necklace to Blossom. "If I make individual sight shields, we won't be able to see one another, either. Take that and wear it. If you need to go off on your own, a bit of blood on the Jewel will activate the sight shield in there."
Blossom
Blossom nodded, catching the necklace easily. "Let's hope I don't need it. I don't like the idea of bleeding for any reason, if I can help it." At least not her own bleeding.
"Right. Where do you want me? At the rear? And do you want me to stay in the sky or keep that as a surprise for anyone we come across?"
Leda
"James and Eli have point." Leda suggested. "So maybe watching our backs would be a good idea." This place gave her the creeps.
James
"If I were setting up defenses and traps, I would have them everywhere. On the ground, in the trees, in the air if possible. We'll take ground. You take air," he said, pointing at the magical ones. "Be safe." He turned to Eli and nodded at the wolf, already scanning the way ahead for paths and likely traps.
Karla
"Don't forget, Corwyn's one arrogant bastard. He might not be able to fathom anyone coming after him directly."
Karla wasn't sure if she was one of the 'magical ones' who was supposed to take to the air or not, but since she hadn't brought her wings, so she was going to compromise and walk at waist-height. She followed the path deemed safe by James and Eli, keeping careful watch. The feeling of malevolence did not lessen as they moved.
"On the other hand, those bodies didn't get into the trees themselves, so I'm not going to turn down a little extra caution."
Eli
After a short while, Eli stopped, sniffing the air.
"We're not the only ones out here." he growled.
Blossom
Blossom frowned and drifted a bit closer to the ground, catching up easily to the others from where she'd been watching the flank. "What's wrong? Why are we slowing down?"
Karla
Karla didn't bother asking friend or foe. Out here, the answer was obvious. Instead, she turned in a slow circle, searching for new psychic resonances. "There," she said, pointing to a section of woods. "Something's coming from that direction."
Eli
Who knew it was possible for a wolf to sound frustrated? He sighed, sniffing the air.
"Waifs. That's new."
Through the mist and the trees, small, pathetic, creepy shapes began to appear.
Blossom
Blossom had her yo-yo out but for some reason, she was starting to get... afraid and totally not hero-y. "What are waifs, and why do I want to run away so totally very much right now?"
Waifs
"We should." Eli said. "Waifs are evil spirits in physical form. They lure in victims...you know what it'd take too long to explain. They're very nasty and I don't want to waste energy on them. They want to eat us. But the entrance isn't far. I think we can get there before they catch us."
Karla
"Well, that sounds utterly horrifying," Karla said, backing up a pace or two. "I'm all for running, thanks!"
Blossom
Getting more and more terrified, Blossom struggled to hold herself in place in the air as one of the figures came into view. "But those're just kids! Hungry little kids. We can't leave them for the waifs!"
Waifs
"Momo, I think those are the Waifs." Leda had heard tales of these creatures.
Karla
"The only emotions I'm sensing from them are malicious amusement and hunger," Karla said. backing up another few steps. "I'm okay with not getting any closer to see for certain."
Blossom
Blossom stared a moment longer, moving closer slightly. "It's your world, so okay." Plus it was getting really creepy how the kids were just moving and not saying anything...
The closest of them looked up at her and suddenly Blossom knew her friends were right. His eyes were like glass, and the smile he gave Blossom was caked in blood. He raised a hand towards her, a hand with sharp claws and not a child's cute little fingers. The fear that Blossom had been trying to suppress totally swelled up and she almost stopped breathing.
Getawaygetawaygetaway!
Eli
"This way!" Eli called, leading them towards the secret entrance. "We're close!"
There didn't seem to be anything special about the rock face ahead of them. Not until they were right in front of it. Then the faint outlines of a door could be discerned.
Eli changed back to human form, casting a frightened look over his shoulder. "It can only be opened or closed by someone with the blood of House Alton. Which means," he gulped, "That I have to be the last one through."
Eli, however, did not know all the secrets of the secret door. The reason it stayed so secret is that it was never located in the same spot in the castle twice. Each time it was used by a different person, it opened somewhere else. This acted as a defense against intruders who might try to enter in force.
When Eli retreated inside, he found himself alone.
He swore in Chinese.
[Preplayed with the Wholly Trinity; James, Karla and Blossom. Coding credit goes to Karla (and to save time, all the rest of the coding for this plot is credited to her, with icon assistance from Blossom).]