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  The general sighed but turned back and waved a shaking Kraznik forward. The imp approached the throne, obviously uncomfortable rehashing such terrible memories.

  “Queen Tibura, I can only relay what I overheard while held captive. Many of the imps would boast of the gargantuan monster and the magical door he was sent through to protect. The portal was said to span the length of a massive pit, set several stories below the cavern floor, so that only winged creatures would be able to enter the keep.

  I can also add that there was a steady flow of new imps to the camp. They were easy enough to spot, seeing as how they were always getting themselves lost and whining about ‘when the rest would show up‘. There was an air of excitement throughout the camp, and you could almost feel the anticipation building. I am certain that many more imps will enter these woods. And soon,” he finished ominously. He stepped back to join the rest of the group while the queen considered his words.

  “Judging by Kraznik’s description, it does appear to be at least a rank 5 portal. Large enough for entire squadrons, flocks, or even hordes to pass through. Every day, hundreds of imps could be flooding into this forest.” Safiri tried hard to keep any inflection out of his voice, but his fear was evident.

  Gitch finally understood the situation for what it was. Sure, the fairies were accustomed to fighting larger forces, but they were always able to rely on their magic and greater mobility to win the day. If what Kraznik and Safiri alluded to came to pass, the imps would flood these woods, and even the magical stealth bubble that kept the village hidden would not be enough to stop the horde from eradicating them all. There would be no place of refuge for NPC and player alike.

  The queen saw the look of dismay on his face and addressed him directly. “You now see the problem we face. We are all that stands in the way of the total destruction of everything that is good and true in these woods. Soon, not even the fairies will be able to stop this evil. WE. MUST. NOT. LET. THAT. HAPPEN! Do I make myself clear?!” she said as her hair began to stand on end like she was touching one of those electric balls at a science museum.

  The responses varied, but all amounted to some form of, “Yes, your majesty.”

  “Good. We cannot ignore even the threat of a rank 5 portal in the hands of the enemy. It must be either captured or destroyed, immediately. Given its guardian, I fear the latter is our best option, and even that will be immensely difficult. We will need every resource, every ally, every advantage we can muster if we hope to have any chance.” She looked into each of their eyes before finally settling on the wolf.

  “I hear you are called Goldie. We fairies have always cherished our animal friends, and I welcome you in this place. Would you please step forward?”

  Goldie, whose tongue had been hanging out, stood up a bit straighter as she trotted before the queen. She would have looked quite dignified, had her tail not been wagging fast enough to create a miniature hurricane behind her. Dwik‘s long beard flew over his shoulder as he was hit with a heavy blast of lupine air.

  “QUEEN FAIRY! I AM HAPPY TO MEET YOU! YES! YES! WOLVES AND FAIRIES BE FRIENDS LONG TIME!” Goldie yipped excitedly.

  “Yes, indeed. That is why I call upon you now. The imp threat puts the whole forest in jeopardy. There is a host of good-natured beasts on and around this island, but I believe there are many more within the Dufflin Forest that would even now still help us in our time of deepest need. I have found wolves to be quite capable of garnering both the attention and hearts of many. Will you take up the mantle of pack leader and gather whatever allies you can find to send north along with our forces?”

  Goldie lowered her head and dropped her now-still tail between her legs. She whimpered slightly but would not speak. Dwik waddled over to her rather awkwardly and rubbed her back as he whispered something softly in her ear. She looked at him and nodded her head. Dwik gave her a pat and turned to address the queen.

  “Yer queenship, I have grown very fond of Goldie in just a wee bit of time, and I see it be up to me to explain her not answerin’ ya so. Ya see, even with the loss of most of her pack, the alpha remains. Goldie says Alpha is the true leader, but doesn’t want to sadden ya by sayin‘ no to yer offer. Please do not be too hard on her, yer Grace.”

  The queen nodded her head. “Have no fear, Goldie, there is no punishment among the Fae for being truthful. You have already proven yourself as a staunch ally in fighting off a flock of imps. I was truly sorry to learn the fate of your pack, but I am asking that you not let their sacrifice be made in vain. Would you speak to this Alpha on my behalf? Beseech her to take command, even for just one night. I believe our forest friends will truly listen to her, which may just mean the difference between victory and defeat in the coming battle. You may even accompany her if you so wish. Will you do this?”

  “YES! YES! OH, I WANT TO SPEAK WITH ALPHA NOW! NOW! NOW! SO MUCH TO TELL OF MY TRIP TOO! SHE BE PROUD! YES! YES!”

  “Alpha is currently resting in the healers hut, but I do hear she is close to a full recovery. I think she would be pleased to see you after we are dismissed here,” Sergeant Pinaki suggested.

  “WAIT! WAIT? NO, NO, NO! PLEASE NO WAIT! QUEEN FAIRY MAY I GO? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE! I NEED SEE ALPHA!” Goldie said as she excitedly leapt into the air in excitement.

  Queen Tibura let out a beautiful laugh. “Yes, of course. I see how much you love your Alpha, and I respect you all the more for it. Be gone, but do try to convince her to take command.”

  “OOOH THANK YOU QUEEN FAIRY! YES! YES! I WILL DO SO! BYE-BYE!” she yipped, already running back down the central passage.

  The queen smiled for the first time through the course of their meeting as she watched the excitable wolf run after her sister. With a light shake of the head, she addressed Safiri. “General, do we have time to send an emissary to the southern village?” she asked hopefully.

  “My lady, the denizens of Hogmorrow are just as likely to fight for the imps as for us, maybe more so. Even if we had the time, which is unlikely, I don’t think it wise to involve them unless we could be sure of their loyalty, which we can’t. I am afraid our only allies are the forest beasts that answer your call.”

  The queen let out a sigh and closed her eyes but nodded again. “So be it. In any case, we need to strengthen what forces we do have as best we can. There is much preparation to be done in a short amount of time. At least we have a contingent of warrior fairies summoned in preparation to rescue Captain Selah and his team… but something tells me the rescue operation may no longer be needed. Brother Faik, I am very curious to hear your tale, including how you acquired these physical alterations.”

  Everyone stared at Faik, just as curious as the queen to hear his story. Well, all but Dwik. Gitch saw the gnome massaging both thighs and grumbling to himself. He was trying to be inconspicuous, but it was hard to hide when you were five times taller than everyone else in the room. He couldn’t blame him. Dwik had witnessed what happened in the glade first hand, and was now more concerned with the chapped legs he received from riding atop Goldie for so many miles.

  Faik cleared his throat and told his tale, trying to ignore Dwik as best he could. “As many of you know, the majority of our party traveled north to find the magical disturbance you yourself sensed just two days ago. We met-”

  “BLEATING LARD OF A GOAT MISTRESS!” Dwik abruptly shouted. He shoved both hands into his pants and started rubbing his legs for all he was worth.

  “Gnomes...” Faik breathed out in exasperation. He walked over to the now hunched Dwik and laid a hand on each leg. Dwik reflexively slapped him back, to which Faik responded by flying up and delivering an uppercut to his bearded chin. The tiny fairy sent the gnome sprawling on his back, unconscious. Faik shook his head, and again laid a hand on each leg as he spoke a short incantation. His hands glowed yellow, as did Dwik‘s legs and face.

  Dwik shot up and looked down at the fairy between his legs. He appeared confused and slapped himself across the face before looking down ag
ain. Dwik swiftly stood up and backed away before the true realization of what just happened struck him.

  “Eh... thanks,” Dwik said with eyes lowered. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

  “Don’t mention it. Please. Can I get back to my story now?”

  The queen laughed, and Dwik mumbled a short, “yes.”

  “Thank you. So, we followed Dwik‘s directions north through parts of the Dead Wood. We passed through many miles of mist and monsters, not knowing when and where we might be attacked by a waiting imp horde. Some of us were beginning to despair, when suddenly we found ourselves flying through the Bright Wood once more. We felt invigorated and knew we must be closing in.

  We soon came to a grassy glade with countless mana floating about the largest toadstool any of us had ever seen. It was a Fae paradise! Most stood in awe, but the captain sent myself and Mawea to guard the parameter. I flew to the edge of the Bright Wood and waited. It was maybe an hour later that I discovered something strange. I had been right at the edge of the border when I first perched in the tree, but after some time, I found myself a good three feet away!

  I reported my findings with Captain Selah, and we both came to the same conclusion. The toadstool, which stood at the epicenter of that living patch of forest, was expanding its reach. It was reclaiming the Dead Wood! We didn’t have much time to contemplate what this might mean, however, as Wasi, Dwik, and Goldie came barreling into the glade. They quickly recounted their battle and warned us that no less than three flocks of imps were heading our way. Dwik again reminded Captain Selah of Gitch‘s words, and he immediately sent a scout into the pool to investigate. Teik was down there for nearly a half an hour. Many of us feared she had drowned. To make matters worse, we began to hear chattering in the trees. The imps, at least one flock, had arrived.

  Captain Selah ordered us into battle formation, and we began to prepare for the attack. Not one second after the first imp appeared did a geyser of water shoot out of the pool carrying one shocked Teik. She flew right passed us and straight to the stalk of the large toadstool. When she touched it, she… changed.” Faik paused to look up at the queen.

  Pinaki was unable to hold back any longer. He had visibly shook when he heard of his daughter possibly drowning, but to find out she had survived only to become some mutant creature sent him over the edge.

  “WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE CHANGED?” he shouted at the fairy, completely losing his composure.

  Faik shrunk back, dreading what he knew came next. “Well… she kind of exploded, a little bit,” Faik said, not meeting Pinaki‘s gaze.

  “WHAT?!?” Pinaki screamed. His green hands sprouted little seedlings in his rage. Gitch sensed a spell casting was imminent.

  Faik put up his hands, palms out. “Wait! She exploded, but in a good way! She is still alive, sir!”

  Pinaki was clearly confused and opened his mouth to argue, but the queen spoke first.

  “Sergeant! Let Faik finish his tale or I will be forced to have you removed from this chamber!”

  Pinaki remained silent but stepped back and gestured for Faik to continue, though Gitch noticed the little plants on his hands continued to grow. The queen then motioned with her hand for Faik to proceed.

  Faik looked flustered, but continued. “Um, like I said, Teik exploded into a ball of green and yellow sparks. We were all so transfixed on your daughter-” Pinaki gave a great huff at hearing his daughter mentioned yet again. “That only Captain Selah saw the first salvo of rocks released by the invading imps. He shouted a warning, but it was too late for Mawea. A rock struck her in the chest, and she fell to the ground, unmoving.

  That loss hurt, as we were already out numbered, but more and more imps continued to pour out from the trees. The captain had us fire all of our spells, but Teik dove straight through Mawea! Within seconds, Mawea was fully healed and back in the fight! The strength of that healing magic is like nothing I have seen, except by maybe one of the master trainers. Teik wasn’t done though.

  She continued to hover around the battlefield, healing each of us as needed, until one of the imps became impatient and dove straight for Captain Selah. Teik used her own body to shield him, and the most beautiful thing happened. That imp flew straight into that ball of sparks and just popped. Gone.

  Once Teik realized she could use her own body as a weapon, there was no holding her back. She zipped around the battlefield, healing and destroying alike. It was beautiful…” Faik said as he closed his eyes so he could bring back the memory. Pinaki cleared his throat loudly, though careful not to say a word.

  “Sorry, where was I? Oh, yes. Once the captain saw the outcome of Teik‘s transformation, he began sending each of us into the magical pool, one at a time. The beginning was rough going. We just didn’t have the fairy-power to combat their massive numbers. The tide shifted, however, as more and more of us emerged from the waters and touched the stalk of the mighty toadstool.

  We were each gifted different abilities. Some appeared random, while others seemed tailored to our preferred school of magic. I was the fourth to submerge and was mightily surprised to meet Todd, but he seemed pretty nice, if not a bit lonely. He wanted to chat, but I kept having to remind him of the battle above. In the end, he said I would be a tank. He bulked me up and thickened my skin and muscles to protect our people.

  We fought and fought. There must have been at least two flocks, maybe three. Even augmented, we wouldn’t have stood a chance if not for Todd‘s additional gifts. Not only did he grant us access to the thousands of mana particles that filled the glade, but he also applied a buff to our squad. All spell cooldowns were halved, so we were able to fire twice as quickly with what amounted to an unlimited supply of mana. Oh, and I think the imps were suffering from a debuff. Though I can’t confirm it, they seemed slower and easier to hit than usual.

  The imps didn’t stand a chance. We slaughtered them all and chased the ones that tried to escape. We believe we were able to locate every last one, so the glade should be relatively secure, for the time being.

  Once we knew how truly important that magical glade was, Captain Selah ordered me back to Fae-thil to report. Dwik and Goldie volunteered to return as well, and so here we are, my queen. I can confidently say the fairies of the glade are safe, and we suffered not one casualty.”

  The queen looked at him for several long seconds before speaking. “You mean to tell me there is a magic toadstool named Todd in the forest that gives special powers to fairies? Why are we just now hearing about this?!?”

  Gitch stepped forward hesitantly. He was happy he was finally able to contribute something, but he was not exactly proud of the story. “I believe I can answer that,” he said slowly.

  Gitch proceeded to share his tale. About how he initially hid from Dwik and how he had stopped the outflow of mana from his body. All the fairies winced at hearing that. Takaar actually dropped his head at hearing such stupidity. Gitch ignored them all and continued on about his attempts at flying and the sudden expulsion of all that stored mana which happened to concentrate in a nearby toadstool. He also told them of the underwater reservoir that fed into the magic pool, which now also sustained Todd, the toadstool.

  “And now he thinks I am his father, which sounds crazy, but he kinda has a point,” Gitch finished and looked around. Every single one of them was staring at him like he was the village idiot.

  “I assume this toadstool is pink as well, then? A sentient toadstool, steeped in pink-magic, would certainly explain Faik‘s physical conversion.”

  “What? Yeah, Todd is mostly pink. What‘s love got to do with it?” Gitch asked. Kraznik let out a snort that drew Gitch‘s attention. The imp began to giggle, which was not a pretty sound. It took Gitch another second to realize what he had said. Once he did, he couldn’t get Tina Turner out of his head. He began to tap his newly shoed right foot to the beat as the others looked on in confusion.

  General Safiri blinked several times before speaking. “You are perhaps the unluckiest fool I
have ever met… But you may have just saved us all.” Gitch cocked his head to the side. Was that a… thank you? Gitch thought Safiri was being a bit harsh. He might be a tad unlucky, but he was no dummy. He preferred to think of himself as a Fez, not a Kelso.

  “I agree,” the queen chimed in, completely ignoring the general’s comment. Actually, she could have been agreeing to the fool comment, but Gitch chose to think the best of her. “This certainly changes things. Can we not just send all our troops to become empowered by this Toddshroom and then march on to fight the imps?” Tibura asked to the room at large, though it was Faik that answered her.

  “Unfortunately, I do not think that will work, your highness. The buffs, and possible debuffs to the imps, only apply within Todd‘s circle of influence. While that is continuing to expand outward as he himself grows, there is no way it will encompass Gurthaz Keep camp in time. Also, the abilities gained were temporary. Almost all lasted between 1 to 3 hours before we returned to our normal selves. Todd agreed to extend mine only so you yourselves could see proof, and also to enhance the likelihood of my returning here safely, but this took a heavy toll on him to do so. So even if our troops were augmented by Todd, the time would easily expire prior to reaching Gurthaz Keep.”

  “What about bringing the imps to Todd‘s circle? We could attack the stronghold to draw them out, but then retreat back to Todd where the rest of the fighters are ready and empowered?” Gitch suggested.

  “Yes! Can we do that general?” the queen asked excitedly.

  General Safari pondered the suggestion, but ultimately shook his head. “I do not see that plan working for a number of reasons. First, our casualties would be too great when attacking their stronghold. Second, we do not have the numbers to split into two effective war parties. Third, I don’t see how we draw out a large enough host and lead them into an ambush that many miles away. Finally, even if we kill a large portion of the imps stationed at their fortress, there is still the portal and rakatu to deal with. Shutting down that portal must be our main goal,” he said confidently.