Trophy hunt

A bit up north, Jarlath and Andrea have managed to get well enough away from the giants to be safe.......

And in that sense, they both are extremely lucky for that is about the time the rather disruptive nature of the Champions' nature is in action (it's the Agent's turn for what the Champions exude for this mission.....next time it will be the Rule's turn) and.......well.....

Jarlath screams in terror as the Vision dances and distorts within his mind's eye and......winks out!

"I'm blind!," he sobs, worrying the bandages that cover his eyes.

This wasn't supposed to happen for another few days at the rate he Envisioned that he'd travel to the Grove! Fate doesn't just change! He'd known that ever since he'd set upon the Trail of Tears that night when the Tower burned to the ground. The boy/man shuddered at the remembrance of the flames that burned him..... the source of the flame he still wasn't sure of even to this day. And to imagine he once had an odd.......fixation on that bright lumination. Lucky that now he could even manage to light the hearths and candles needed for various mundane and magical rituals......instead of screaming at the very act.

If nothing else, that night had given him a deep.....respect.....for fire.

"Andrea?" he calls out pitifully, reaching out blindly to the young woman/wolf who'd he'd aided.

He'd known that she'd excused herself to relieve herself and.....funny that it was taking longer than what he'd think it would take.

The young blind mage pauses, tears coursing down his face from the ruins of his eyes when he hears a familiar

"Son?!" a chillingly familiar gasps. It was the sound of a voice of a beloved man who'd died before he could settle differences with.

It was his father's voice!

"Charles.....what happened to your eyes?" another voice, female, gentle and loving as a two set of feet rush over and embrace the befuddled young mage.

The name of her departed son come's unbidden and to Lady Chaplaine's lips

But mother died not long after my birth! he protested weakly to himself before giving in to the moment. And....why did she call me by Father's name?!

Mayhaps the uncaring gods.....or God really did smile upon the unfortunate. Maybe prayers are answered?

Questions are swept aside as the D'Honaire cry and hug each other.

A snide laugh interrupts this scene.

"Ah, just like my Host said it would be," the Horned Man laughs cruelly, giving no indication of the discomfort he felt upon walking about in the light of Day. "Another fine addition to the Pack of the Wild Hunt you will......."

That's all he gets out when the old Mortal man (though his Queen had said the Host of Hell had said that they weren't actually Mortals any more.......ridiculous as it sounded) when the human man jumps back quickly with an odd looking object in hand and......

The dragonbane bullet tears painfully into the body of the fell fairy's body......and he has an almost comical look of disbelieve on his face as his body disintegrates about the bullet wound.

Unable to truly die, the fairy from the Unseelie Court instead fades from view.....his body to regenerate as the silver light of the Moon shines on his ashes a week and a day from today.

Drederick nods in satisfaction at dispatching the Unseelie running dog, and then mutters a curse when he finds the dropped message that the Horned Man SHOULD have delivered instead of unilaterally deciding to enscroll what he thought had been an easy mark into his Hunting Pack for the Wild Hunt.

It outlined a challenge to the Champions to a Contest for the very life of the wolf/lady known as Andrea. At this moment the Horned Man had caste a special and powerful spell (which she was vulnerable because of the sway the beast within her had upon her heart) as the young woman had been concentrating on her business instead of the environment around her. Now she thought herself a fellow member of the Pack.....and thus she'd remain until the Queen was giving permission by the Host to make the Offer to join the Unseelie Court.....shuffle off her mortal coils and become of the Fair Folk. Once done, she'd truly become one of the Pack ....and with the beast within her being so seductive the outcome was almost assured, according to the Host.

Basically, the contest revolved around the actual dragon of the Southern Cavern (not the pretender called Minestus). Would the foul beast awaken, as the Unseelie Court wishes.....or will the Champions be able to make the Dragon sleep? The outcome would determine whether or not chaos and death would come from this contest and sweep this world....

This was their first Misssion. Their Difficulty would be the fact that the TARDIS would be sealed until the Mission was over. The other Difficulty would be enough in the fact that it was the formidable Unseelie Court was what was being faced by the Champions. The Rule knew that the Seelie Court.....well, they were staying out of this one (though leader of the sub-department of Good said that he had no problem with all the new Champions. In fact, at only a mere pitence compared to the manpower of the Others....... the Rules and Agents were seriously short handed with what little they had with the few Champions they had .

Thanks the Heavens for small favors. Alas, the Department of Evil just couldn't see reason, so came up with this silly contest.....and forced it upon the Others.

Rule 1 seriously considered on......"leaking" the discovery on how the Devils had caused a Unenlightened Rule to wipe out an entire species...... The plot he'd uncovered was fascinating indeed and was a REAL good, but dangerous, last card to play.....

Anyway, Duke Drederick was well aware of that danger because of his discussions with the mages.

This is the same message that Rule 1 delivers as well just before bringing his two Champions (and one young blind mage) back to the gathering down where the others are gathered (Jarlath blinks with newly restored eyes.....shock evident on his young (healed) face as he recognizes just what the Rule and Agent are.

"I think you have another one coming your way," Rule 1 sighs, pointing in a general direction, "call me when you get that Astra under control and cured......then I'll ask both her and Fred 8 the Champion question."

1. The Rule puts a vial down and looks at it meaningfully before fading from view.....