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BSI: Bosum Strand Irregulars
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<blockquote data-quote="skotothalamos" data-source="post: 6378895" data-attributes="member: 83398"><p><strong>Into the Cloudwood</strong></p><p></p><p>Cazara, Summer, and a couple of junior constables (Pablo Duende the Bugbearian, and Magnus Magnusson the Pacifist Cleric) trekked into the Cloudwood in search of the Gallo School for Boys. Asrabey of the Unseen Court accompanied them. The orphanage was situated several hours’ hike into the woods but the constables were determined to find out if Ekossigan or his gremlins had taken the dead boy from the school.</p><p></p><p></p><p>The rain started about a half mile from the orphanage: first a light drizzle, then growing into a steady downpour as they got closer. The orphanage was situated up in the boughs of a centuries-old tree in the rainforest. Seeing no sign of anyone around, three of the constables headed up the spiral stairs which wrapped around the trunk of the tree. Pablo stayed below to guard their retreat.</p><p></p><p>As they neared the top of the stairs, tiny arrows whizzed past them, though one or two struck Cazara, and she felt a numbing poison go through her. The constables rushed up the stairs to the treehouse, but still could not see their assailants. Summer turned invisible. Cazara finally spotted a little green gremlin, no taller than a foot, wielding a tiny bow on a nearby branch. She leapt away from the tree trunk and confronted the minuscule archer, but he laughed at her effort and skittered out of reach. From the branch, Cazara could see that many of the branches of the great tree had empty nooses hanging from them.</p><p></p><p>Magnus opened the door to the school. Inside, he saw half a dozen more of the little green creatures. They had converted the school’s front office into a makeshift dormitory, setting up little beds inside desk drawers. Also, some of the gremlins had been decorating: school paperwork had been converted into papier-mâché sculptures of people. Magnus slowly closed the door.</p><p></p><p>Pablo caught up with the rest. He and Cazara kicked in the door that Magnus had closed, and engaged the gremlins in melee, but they found that their attacks were excessively unlucky today. The gremlins managed to knock Zara down and slip a noose over her neck before Asrabey finally deigned to help out by cutting the rope. The combat looked like it might devolve into comedy until Summer turned herself into a spark of electricity and shot through four gremlins at once.</p><p></p><p>The lone survivor of the office-bedroom dashed away with Pablo hot on his tail. The gremlin slipped between the loose boards of the wall dividing the classrooms from the cafeteria. Pablo tried to follow, but just smashed straight into the wooden wall at full speed.</p><p></p><p>The melee looked ready to spin out of control when Summer noticed that Gale was sitting atop one of the outer buildings of the school, itself perched on a separate branch. Cazara asked if there was going to be any trouble and Gale warned her to stay out of the building she was sitting on. </p><p></p><p>A wooden mask with antlers appeared in full sight of all the combatants, floating in the air. A black hood appeared behind the mask, suggesting the head of its wearer. Then leaves of the tree gathered below them to approximate the shape of a man. The susurrus of the rainfall against the forest canopy united as a single voice to speak to fey and constables alike.</p><p></p><p>“Enough!”</p><p></p><p>The gremlins stopped fighting, turning their attention to the masked figure.</p><p></p><p>“Greetings. I am Ekossigan of Spring, devoted servant of the Unseen Court and protector of the ever-turning seasons. It is with much remorse that I come to your dull and colorless world, but I shall rid this garden of the dark seeds you have planted.”</p><p></p><p>The fey’s mask looked over the constables and then stopped at Asrabey.</p><p></p><p>“Ah, the guard dog of the Court. I had hoped that you would lend me aid, but I see your masters want me put down. Yet you cannot harm me, so the guard dog brings pups of his own. Do you know what is inside Cauldron Hill, little pups? Step with me into the gate, and we’ll weed this dark garden together.”</p><p></p><p>Over the constant drone of the rain could be heard the movement of dozens of creatures down below, wings fluttering, wet hair slashing tree branches, hooves tramping the grass. From the dorms on the other branches came the nervous cries of children.</p><p></p><p>Ekossigan’s mask seemed to grow more solid. “Opening the gate requires death. The fresher the flower when cut, the more beautiful the wreath when woven. Spring must ever turn to Winter.”</p><p></p><p>More of his form began to appear and blue light beamed from every surface of his wooden skin. The temperature began to drop, and the fey lord cackled once. Ekossigan flared with near-blinding light, and then he stood before the constables, fully and physically in this world. “Greetings,” he said. “I am Ekossigan of Winter.”</p><p></p><p>Asrabey dashed back down the stairs to deal with Ekossigan’s army, shouting that he’d be back for answers. Summer, however, would not be intimidated by this fey lord. She drew the First Blade of Srasama and made the sword as large as she could hold.</p><p></p><p>“Your seasons are out of order, Ekossigan. Spring can’t turn to Winter without first going through Summer!”</p><p></p><p>Summer stared down the fey lord and invoked the power of the triple goddess to get his attention. She and Cazara argued back and forth with him, getting Ekossigan to reveal his plan to cross over into the Bleak Gate to take down the “child that sleeps under the mountain.” They asked him to spare the children of the orphanage, but he countered that the sickness at the heart of their city had already claimed innumerable souls; what difference would 31 more make?</p><p></p><p>Throughout the conversation, Ekossigan seemed to know more about Summer than she herself did. He knew who and what she was before she dropped her wood-elf disguise. He thanked her for “finally wanting to make amends.” He seemed to intuit her connection to Srasama, at one point addressing her as “Mother.” Eventually, the two of them came to an agreement: Ekossigan would give Summer two days to find another way to cross over into the Bleak Gate. If he was not presented with an alternative by midnight on the 12th (about 54 hours away), he would go ahead with his plan to sacrifice the thirty-one orphans and open up a gateway to the Bleak Gate to take the attack to the dark mirror of Cauldron Hill.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="skotothalamos, post: 6378895, member: 83398"] [B]Into the Cloudwood[/B] Cazara, Summer, and a couple of junior constables (Pablo Duende the Bugbearian, and Magnus Magnusson the Pacifist Cleric) trekked into the Cloudwood in search of the Gallo School for Boys. Asrabey of the Unseen Court accompanied them. The orphanage was situated several hours’ hike into the woods but the constables were determined to find out if Ekossigan or his gremlins had taken the dead boy from the school. The rain started about a half mile from the orphanage: first a light drizzle, then growing into a steady downpour as they got closer. The orphanage was situated up in the boughs of a centuries-old tree in the rainforest. Seeing no sign of anyone around, three of the constables headed up the spiral stairs which wrapped around the trunk of the tree. Pablo stayed below to guard their retreat. As they neared the top of the stairs, tiny arrows whizzed past them, though one or two struck Cazara, and she felt a numbing poison go through her. The constables rushed up the stairs to the treehouse, but still could not see their assailants. Summer turned invisible. Cazara finally spotted a little green gremlin, no taller than a foot, wielding a tiny bow on a nearby branch. She leapt away from the tree trunk and confronted the minuscule archer, but he laughed at her effort and skittered out of reach. From the branch, Cazara could see that many of the branches of the great tree had empty nooses hanging from them. Magnus opened the door to the school. Inside, he saw half a dozen more of the little green creatures. They had converted the school’s front office into a makeshift dormitory, setting up little beds inside desk drawers. Also, some of the gremlins had been decorating: school paperwork had been converted into papier-mâché sculptures of people. Magnus slowly closed the door. Pablo caught up with the rest. He and Cazara kicked in the door that Magnus had closed, and engaged the gremlins in melee, but they found that their attacks were excessively unlucky today. The gremlins managed to knock Zara down and slip a noose over her neck before Asrabey finally deigned to help out by cutting the rope. The combat looked like it might devolve into comedy until Summer turned herself into a spark of electricity and shot through four gremlins at once. The lone survivor of the office-bedroom dashed away with Pablo hot on his tail. The gremlin slipped between the loose boards of the wall dividing the classrooms from the cafeteria. Pablo tried to follow, but just smashed straight into the wooden wall at full speed. The melee looked ready to spin out of control when Summer noticed that Gale was sitting atop one of the outer buildings of the school, itself perched on a separate branch. Cazara asked if there was going to be any trouble and Gale warned her to stay out of the building she was sitting on. A wooden mask with antlers appeared in full sight of all the combatants, floating in the air. A black hood appeared behind the mask, suggesting the head of its wearer. Then leaves of the tree gathered below them to approximate the shape of a man. The susurrus of the rainfall against the forest canopy united as a single voice to speak to fey and constables alike. “Enough!” The gremlins stopped fighting, turning their attention to the masked figure. “Greetings. I am Ekossigan of Spring, devoted servant of the Unseen Court and protector of the ever-turning seasons. It is with much remorse that I come to your dull and colorless world, but I shall rid this garden of the dark seeds you have planted.” The fey’s mask looked over the constables and then stopped at Asrabey. “Ah, the guard dog of the Court. I had hoped that you would lend me aid, but I see your masters want me put down. Yet you cannot harm me, so the guard dog brings pups of his own. Do you know what is inside Cauldron Hill, little pups? Step with me into the gate, and we’ll weed this dark garden together.” Over the constant drone of the rain could be heard the movement of dozens of creatures down below, wings fluttering, wet hair slashing tree branches, hooves tramping the grass. From the dorms on the other branches came the nervous cries of children. Ekossigan’s mask seemed to grow more solid. “Opening the gate requires death. The fresher the flower when cut, the more beautiful the wreath when woven. Spring must ever turn to Winter.” More of his form began to appear and blue light beamed from every surface of his wooden skin. The temperature began to drop, and the fey lord cackled once. Ekossigan flared with near-blinding light, and then he stood before the constables, fully and physically in this world. “Greetings,” he said. “I am Ekossigan of Winter.” Asrabey dashed back down the stairs to deal with Ekossigan’s army, shouting that he’d be back for answers. Summer, however, would not be intimidated by this fey lord. She drew the First Blade of Srasama and made the sword as large as she could hold. “Your seasons are out of order, Ekossigan. Spring can’t turn to Winter without first going through Summer!” Summer stared down the fey lord and invoked the power of the triple goddess to get his attention. She and Cazara argued back and forth with him, getting Ekossigan to reveal his plan to cross over into the Bleak Gate to take down the “child that sleeps under the mountain.” They asked him to spare the children of the orphanage, but he countered that the sickness at the heart of their city had already claimed innumerable souls; what difference would 31 more make? Throughout the conversation, Ekossigan seemed to know more about Summer than she herself did. He knew who and what she was before she dropped her wood-elf disguise. He thanked her for “finally wanting to make amends.” He seemed to intuit her connection to Srasama, at one point addressing her as “Mother.” Eventually, the two of them came to an agreement: Ekossigan would give Summer two days to find another way to cross over into the Bleak Gate. If he was not presented with an alternative by midnight on the 12th (about 54 hours away), he would go ahead with his plan to sacrifice the thirty-one orphans and open up a gateway to the Bleak Gate to take the attack to the dark mirror of Cauldron Hill. [/QUOTE]
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