Part III
(Reader’s note: Unlike most entries, this is not an entry in Kayleigh’s journal, since she was not present and has no knowledge of these events. Indeed few outside the druidic faith ever will.)
Bolo puttered quietly about the grove, enjoying the tranquil moments that the last weeks had brought. To the outside observer, he was doing nothing different from any other druid – tending plants and animals, and seeing to the welfare of the grove and all its inhabitants.
But the truth is he was doing something entirely different. He was waiting.
Waiting for the time of the testing. Waiting for the moment when the few remaining druids of the world would chose who would lead the shattered remnants of their faith. Waiting for the time when he would have to chose – did he want to be the one?
In time, a small animal arrived with a message telling him when and where he would be collected. Only the new council knew the location where the testing would be conducted, and so one of them would come for him. The message said to give careful consideration to your spell preparation for the tests would be to determine who has mastered all the talents of the druids.
At the appointed hour, Windfall arrived. He was genuinely glad to see Bolo, although propriety forced him to at least attempt to appear impartial. The two exchanged their greetings, and in a moment, stepped into a tree and were flung across Oerth.
The pair emerged on a snow-capped hillside. To the southeast was a vast mountain range, and to the north a frozen ocean. The air was bitter cold, and there was no doubt that this was as far north as mankind walked. In a small gulley below, the air was artificially warmer and the icy cold wind was reduced to a crisp breeze. Dozens of druids loitered below. Some discussed, some argued, some of them just waited, and others helped to build several large stacks of wood to be used as bonfires. In total, perhaps four score druids were in attendance personally, while in the brush small animals waited and observed on behalf of some other party.
Bolo nearly jumped a foot when Certimo appeared from his hiding place and greeted him warmly. The three made their way down to the center of the gully, and hushed whispers accompanied his passing. Before any other drew near, Windfall whispered to Bolo “Great things will be decided today. As a member of the new council, I am impartial and will show you no favoritism in these proceedings. But know this – I hope that you win.”
Bolo felt a little warmer with that vote of confidence, but in moments other druids were clustered around to greet him, or in some cases argue with him.
It was clear to all that the time to begin was nearly at hand when the Guardian of the First Ash entered the clearing along with Ashbury, guardian of the World Tree. As they reached the center of the clearing, there was a low rumbling from the skies above as if several waves of thunder were cascading over one another. Suddenly breaking the clouds came four ancient wyrms. The dragons banked and swooped across each other and descended on the clearing, their metallic hues reflecting the low sunlight.
The four wyrms – Gold, Copper, Silver, and Bronze – each powerful, wise, and respected among their kind, landed at the four compass points. To most of the druids these wyrms were strangers. To the elders, they were the Judges; wise, good, and impartial. But to Bolo it was something else, for he knew each by name, and he nodded to each as they landed – The Gilden, The Platinar, The Brazen and (while he had never met him, he had no doubt) The Cupric.
The Gilden (for it would have been inappropriate to think of him as Lord Gelban here) lowered his head and allowed the Guardian of the Ash to step up. As he raised her above the gulley, the assembled druids fell into silence.
It was time. And in the way of the druids, there was no time or words wasted saying what they all knew.
She called out “Who comes forth to contest for the role of Grand Druid this day?”
Bolo was the first. “I, Bolo Brandybuck, will challenge.”
The Guardian inclined her head in acknowledgement. There was a small murmur but this was hardly unexpected. But the murmur then took on a different tone, and was gradually replaced by the beating of low drums. The cadence built mixing drum and beast and then a mammoth broke through the trees. It’s size would have been enormous were it not so sadly dwarfed by the assembled dragons. Standing atop the mammoth was a massive specimen of a half orc. The mammoth trumpteted loudly, and the half-orc called “Thorn does!”
The Guardian betrayed no emotion and inclined her head again.
From the other side of the clearing, a stone tower three stories high erupted from the earth. A creature of bizarre construction stepped onto the balcony and with a flourish declared “I, Septinov, challenge.”
Again, the Guardian nodded.
Near the center, the ground rippled and flowed like water. From the puddle, a dwarf rose up and then stood before all, gruffly calling “Nader the Burrower will challenge.”
It seemed most of the challengers were intent on making a grand entrance. At least one felt it was a pointless display. A human with a bald head but a flaming red beard leaned upon a staff and called out. “I would challenge. I think you all know me.”
The Guardian said “We accept your challenge, Marcus.”
The wind picked up in the clearing and snow was blown off the ground. The wind reached a shrill creshendo and the snow swirled to reveal a very tall female elf with icy blue skin. A voice like winter frost said “Song of Storms will challenge.”
The competition was becoming more than Bolo had expected. He knew of few so powerful but these beings were clearly on the fringes of the druidic faith. Of course that was likely part of why they had survived. And the challenger that the druids feared most had yet to appear.
But that changed. Any hope that he would decline were shattered. The thumping was low at first but built to an unmistakeable sound. A tree broke through a nearby group, but it was unlike any tree in this part of the world. It looked dead but for the blood-red leaves. Dozens of bodies hung from vines dangling from the tree’s knarled limbs. The tree stopped, and for a moment there was silence.
Then one of the bodies began to twitch. There were loud snaps as bones cracked into place. The tree lowered it to the ground and as it hit, the head wrenched into place. It took the vine and tied it around its waist, and with a crack of its arms said “I would have a say.”
The Barrow King had arrived.
The Guardian waited but no other called out. Windfall looked puzzled. “There are seven. There should be eight. One is missing.”
A small squeaking noise followed and a field mouse was scampering into the clearing. As it ran it shifted to the shape of a small halfling. “Oh, sorry. Red Mouse. That would be me.”
Windfall nodded. “There will be a series of challenges. In these challenges you will be expected to prove your skills as a druid and your worthiness as a leader. For some of these challenges there will be restrictions on your use of spells or direct action. The points will be tallied. In the event of a tie, the Judges will decide.”
“Your first task begins now. There are eight bonfires built. Find one, and light it.”
Without any delay, Thorn turned around and brought a flame strike down on the nearest pile of wood. He smiled smugly.
Both Bolo and Nader used a smaller spell to achieve the same basic effect. Septimov, the urban druid, used lightning rather than fire directly but the end result was the same.
Red Mouse returned to mouse form, and darted into one of the piles. Nobody was sure what he did, but the pile did catch fire and he skittered back out.
Song of Storms went about things in a more unconvential manner. She used her powers to compel another creature to light the fire for her.
The Barrow King gestured, and two zombies dropped from the tree. The shambled their broken bodies to an unlit pile and used flint and tinder in an almost comical attempt to light the fire. They did succeed, but one of the zombies also managed to set himself on fire in the process.
Marcus just shook his head at the waste. He walked over to one of the fires, pulled a flaming brand from the pile, and with it lit the last pile of wood.
The new council conversed quietly with the dragons. Even the sharpest ears could not make out what they were saying. There was nodding, and points made, and White Rose (a comely female druid on the council) must have made some amusing but off-color comment.
Windfall came forth. “The Equinox has begun and the songs will begin soon. The first contest has been won. Marcus the Hunter stands with the finer solution – neither wasteful nor extravagant. Some were conservative, some were excessive, and others were just… disturbing but Marcus stands alone. There will be more trials ahead. This was but one.”
With that, the rituals began.
Some hours later, when the ceremonies of the Equinox were complete, the next trial began. The candidates were paired off – one was the hunter and the other was the prey. The prey would have a thirty minute head start and could use no spells. The hunters would have three hours to find them and touch them, using no items and no spells greater than the third level.
Septimov was hunted by Nader. His skills were not well suited to this task, but he was clever. He turned into a bat and flew for a distance and then took the shape of a small pebble. Nader did his best to track him and by conversing with the trees came to where he ended as a bat but was baffled. Septimov evaded his hunter and won.
Bolo was hunted by Song of Storms. He went a distance then became a plant. Song of Storms tracked him by scent into the general area. Bolo was shocked when the surrounding plants betrayed his location when Song of Storms asked, and Bolo was caught.
Red Mouse was being hunted by Marcus the Hunter. He pulled out several bags and dropped over a dozen red mice on the ground. The mice scattered in every direction, then he too became a mouse and ran into the brush. Marcus was ready for an honest hunt and hoped that Red Mouse had no other tricks he would attempt to try. Marcus took to the air as a hawk and caught mouse after mouse from the bag of tricks, and eventually caught Red Mouse shortly before time ran out.
The Barrow King was hunted by Thorn. At the start, all the zombies were lowered from the tree and they all put on cloaks and ran into the woods. The Barrow King also put on a cloak and with a twisted smile vanished into the trees. Thorn pursued, and soon recruited some thoqqua to help locate him. The creatures reported that it was difficult to sense much with the other thoqqua down there. Thorn moved quickly and they soon forced the Barrow King to the surface and Thorn was victorious.
This ended the second trial. The third began immediately. While the hunt had been going on, a wicker gate was constructed in the center of the gulley. The gate bore some passing resemblances to the mechanical gates employed by the dragons. While this gate had a more natural focus the purpose was much the same. Each druid was taken to a different place and forced to deal with the situation there.
Septimov was taken to a desert where a giant ant lion was agitated and preying on passers by. Septimov was told to calm it, but he failed and the ant lion took several bites at him. The toxins had no effect on the druid, who was not a life form like any other, but he failed all the same.
Bolo was brought to an underwater scene. He was told that a naga was living in the shipwreck ahead, and was fiercly attacking anything she felt was an intruder, including passing shipping. He was to fix the problem.
Bolo took the form of a merman and approached the naga. He was able to get her to parley, and offered to guarantee her protection if she would cease attacking the passing shipping. She reluctantly agreed, and Bolo bestowed intelligence upon some eels and bade them act as her guardians. His effort was a success, but not a stunning one. The druids took a dim view of so casually awakening creatures to intelligence, and he never identified himself as a druid hence showing that the druids will not stand for such behavior.
Song of Storms was taken up the mountain and confronted with a lone wolf who was half enraged and killing more than his share out of grief and lonliness. Song of Storms matched his form and made an… interesting proposition to him. The thought of leading a new pack was enough to calm him somewhat. Song of Storms had succeeded in her challenge.
Marcus the Hunter was simply pointed at a druid sitting up the hill watching the challenges. He was told “He is angry. Solve the problem.” There was an implication there was something more going on but only the implication. Marcus sat with the druid and talked with him at length. As they spoke, it became clear this man was no druid but an imposter. When confronted, he admitted to being a doppelganger and to working for someone whom he feared more than anything a druid would do to him. Marcus shrugged, unable to counter that argument, and his lion companion destroyed the imposter.
The Barrow king was taken through the portal to a dark alley beyond. After a few minutes, he came back through with a vine-wrapped body shambling after him. The body went to the tree where it was taken up into the branches with the others. What happened was unclear, but the Barrow King had passed.
Thorn is taken to a village where a Jann is setting rooftops on fire. Thorn took the situation firmly in hand, and also passed his challenge.
But it was Nader who had the most sound triumph. He was taken to a clearing where two satyrs were arguing and on the verge of fighting. Nader’s answer was to simply start talking to them, and knowing how short the attention span of the fey is, he simply kept talking until they forgot what they were fighting about. Where the others merely succeeded, he triumphed.
(to be continued…)
