Avlis Campaign 2: Chapter 10 (B)

[Orleron]

By Myk'Dvor
DM'ed by Ceardan

The fairy wizard Shalkes, having run into more resistance than she hoped in her initial tests of her experimental wand, went back to the Titanian Court, and was granted help. This help took the form of Lord Barun, Centaur Hero of Titania, Robelard, a quickling of the Seely Court, and Mishlek, a Redcap. In addition she hired several non-fey mercenaries, Tiwanda, a male Titanian druid, Sylvestra, a female elven wizard, Morgan, a male human fighter, and Jack, a male human pirate who seemed to wield a whip like it was alive. Noone would ever have known their names if not for what came later.

Shalkes impressed upon her minions the importance that no witnesses were left behind, and that she be allowed to perfect the wand, using living dryads as test subjects. Coming upon the first grove, the group took a moment to plan, and then ruthlessly carried out their mission, annihilating every creature in the grove that was not a dryad, and capturing the dryads. First, Sylvestra cast an unusual spell in the air above the dryads to destroy the fairies and pixies flitting about, while Shalkes and the warriors concentrated on the 2 Brownies below, using the advantage of surprise and the quickling's speed to silence them before they could call for help. Tiwanda was charged with capturing the dryads using his power over the plants, and it worked well enough. Shalkes moved in and experimented with her wand, and the dryads died in gruesome ways, but so did the trees, so the wand was a failure. Determined to continue trying to adjust the wand, she called for the group to move on to the next grove.

The next grove was a bit larger, but the story was the same. The dryads and fairy-kin were no match for the brutal assault. The assassins even had to take special measures to save the lives of the dryads, protecting them with a magical wall of force, while every other living thing in the grove was destroyed. One of the four dryads perished in the assault, but the three that remained were enough for three more tests, each stranger than the last. Shalkes seemed eager to move on, and there was another small grove nearby, which was taken even more easily than the last. Here she had her first true success, and was able to test her wand twice, slaying the dryads with its touch, but leaving the trees alive, and unharmed, for Titanian dryads to occupy.

Elated, she chose a more militarily significant target for her final test, hoping for one last confirmation, but also to cause as much devastation as possible before returning to the Council. This proved to be her undoing, as a group of adventurers riding atop a silver dragon swooped in just as her group's attack was about to commence, disrupting the surprise. Her wand was perfect though, and the quickling managed to retreat with it to safety while the warriors battled it out over the corpses of the slain adventurers from both sides. The O'Ma dryads intervention brought the combat to a premature halt, but it cost them their lives, as Lord Barun chopped and burned their trees before bringing the corpses of his comrades back to the Council.