The trip to the Celidon forest was oddly relaxing. Their path took them along the river tributary that ran around the western bend of the city outskirts. It was a slow current on the steady blue waters with nary a whitecap or eddie in sight. The reeds were thick and the insects even thicker on the banks of the Mansgrave. There were a few stones that rose above the water cap and acted as makeshift walkways for those daring enough.
Alistair watched as a few pikes leaped out of the water and made a big splash. Birds were circling, waiting for the chance to snag one. As far as nature here was concerned, everything was normal. It was almost an idyllic day.
“Hold!” Sir Manus said, his hand up to signal the stop.
They must have been traveling for at least a half hour by now. He looked out and saw the forest still in the distance, though they had made some ground. The knights were all staring at something off to the east, opposite the river. Teles and the other squires practically piled on top of each other to get a better view.
Curious now, Alistair slid off the back of the cart and made his way up to the men on horseback. They were discussing something in hushed tones as he approached.
“Isn’t this too close to the city?”
“What’re they doing this far out?”
He was confused now. Had they spotted the killers already? The sun was beating down on him now and made it hard to see too far. Alistair used his hands to shield his eyes and squinted into the distance to see what all the hubbub was about. For a bit there he couldn’t make anything out in the grassy, undeveloped land that separated the city from the surrounding patches of forest.
It was only thanks to a bright shade of red amongst the sea of green that he managed to see it. Or, perhaps better to say them. A trio of figures were standing out there in the rolling hills. They had spears or some sort of tools in their hands, and it appeared as though they were stalking wild game. What he noticed right away was the red coloring on top of their heads which certainly made them stand out. It was as if their hair was dyed red, though they were still too far for him to see clearly.
“What are those?” he asked out loud.
“Redcaps,” said Griogair, his expression grim.
“Fae creatures,” Remon added, his grip on the reins tightening. “It’s said their hair is dyed red with human blood.”
“It’s unusual to see them this close to a settlement, especially at this time of day.” Sir Manus stared at the creatures, thinking. “They aren’t ones to stray too far from their homes when humans can be out in numbers.”
Tomas looked toward Adelgard, pointing as he did. “I think I see the farmhands even now. They’ve already started work for the day. You don’t think the redcaps would be so bold as to attack now, would you?”
“There’s only three?” Alistair said, confused about why they were all so worried.
“That’s where you’re wrong, lad,” Manus said. “These halfmen aren’t like hobs at all. They’re true fae, spawn right from nature. We only see three now but if they signal for help, the rest of their colony’ll be here fast.”
“He means fast, too,” Remon said. “I’ve seen them outrun a man on horseback.”
The road would take them closer to both the redcaps and the forest itself. It would be unlikely they could avoid detection. Besides, if the redcaps were really headed toward the farms then they couldn’t ignore the threat they posed to the villagers.
“What do we do, Sir Manus?”
Everyone looked to the veteran knight for a decision. If they fought then there was a decent chance the commotion would tip off anyone in the forest of their presence. Not to mention that if what Manus said was true then they would have a protracted battle on their hands if they engaged the redcaps.
All while they debated, the redcaps continued to stalk their way toward the village. Alistair’s initial guess that they were hunting game seemed as though it were still accurate, just that they were after those that walked on two legs instead of four.
“We can’t let them reach the village,” Manus said with certitude. He looked to his men and Alistair, and they were all in agreement. “Ready the lances. The little bastards wield iron polearms, so we’ll need to strike first and with distance.”
The squires set to work equipping the knights with their lances. Then they readied the knights’ helms and shields for the charge. The four-man lance looked spectacularly intimidating with brightly colored liveries and heavily armed riders. They would be a force to be reckoned with.
Sir Manus hefted the lance in one hand and then looked to the supplicant. “Alistair, I want you to head straight for the Celidon forest from here. Keep watch of the tree line, and take a horn with you. Blow it if you see anything coming our way.”
“Alright!”
He took a horn from the wagon and started to run ahead on the dirt path. If trouble emerged from the forest near Alistair, he could handle himself, but it would be tougher for the squires to survive an ambush. The squires would stay behind with the wagon and be ready to help the knights if they needed it.
As he ran on his own, words filled his vision again with word of a quest.
Quest of Elimination
Slay the Redcaps
Description
The fae creatures encroach on lands where they do not belong. Be their reminder as to why.
His rewards were much the same as last time, renown and milestone progress. He could do with some money or fancy treasure, but he supposed it would be hard for the Lady to teleport those into his pocket. Next time, he thought.
The beating of hooves made the ground beneath his feet shake. Even with his growing distance he could still hear and feel them as if they were right next to him. He risked a glance and saw the four had expertly formed into a tight lance formation with Sir Manus at the head.
The redcaps to their credit reacted quickly. Maybe they had noticed the horses before the charge even. The three gathered upon the nearest hill they could find and readied their rusty iron pikes to receive the charge. Alistair noticed that they were all actively stomping their feet on the muddy dirt beneath them. It almost looked like an odd dance, but then he started to hear a strange ringing in his ear. The ringing was in sync with their foot movements and the effect was strangely hypnotizing.
He turned away and focused on reaching the treeline. The mighty deciduous wood in front of him had trees taller and wider than anything he had ever seen in his life. The forest itself had mystical energy to it that seemed to resonate inside of him. There was a permanent, thin layer of mist that hugged the moss-covered ground. He found it hard to imagine any normal person would use a place like that as their hideout.
The rhythmic vibrations of the redcaps seemed to travel and echo through those woods. There were hills in his way now so the fight was obscured, but he could still hear it. Humans and creatures shouted and screamed, their voices carrying on the wind. The sounds of weapons clashing, horses whinnied as they were forced to move at a breakneck pace.
Alistair was so focused on the battle that he almost forgot what he was doing there at the forest edge. It was only when the vibrations from the redcaps ceased did he notice something. First, it was the spongy crunch of twigs and moss being crushed under the foot of someone. They were close. Birds screeched and flew out of the woods as their rest was rudely disturbed by something deeper in.
Then he saw red again. They were darting between tree trunks, leaping over fallen logs. The redcaps were much too fast for what their own legs should have been capable of. He could see these ones better than those in the field. The creatures wore green smocks and had red caps on their heads. Their feet and hands were covered in iron armor, the same material made to fashion the pike weapons they held one-handed.
Sir Manus described them as ‘halfmen’ but apart from their height, the similarities ended there. The creatures had sharp teeth and talon fingers, blood red eyes, and stringy stained hair. Their ears were even pointed. They looked mad with blood craze as they charged ahead to help their comrades.
Alistair brought the horn to his lips and blew into it with all the air in his lungs. There was no finesse to the device nor a tune he had to remember. The signal would be heard loud and clear from a reasonable distance away. What he forgot at that moment was that the redcaps would surely hear it too.
It was when he pulled the horn from his lips that he noticed some of the reinforcements had split off toward him. They were closing fast, maybe fifty feet away. He could see the saliva dripping from their maws as they made their way at him.
Well, no getting around this fight.
Alistair transformed and assumed the form of Aegis. His relic mantle body grew him several heads taller than the little men charging in his direction. Despite the height advantage, he knew that their iron weaponry could harm him. They were much better equipped than the hobs. He could only hope that his improved damage resistance would help him. This would be his first fight since he gained his new level.
When they got within twenty feet they started to fan out around him. They were going to flank him and hit him from every side with their pikes. These creatures seemed suited for fighting with a numbers advantage.
Alistair wasn’t going to wait around and let them have their way. He ran forward with his heavy gauntlets at the ready. The first one in his way leveled its weapon right toward Alistair’s chest. With the back of his hand, he slapped the extended weapon aside and bowled the creature over with his weight. Unlike a hob, however, the redcap was only dazed from such a hit. It took another solid blow from one of his fists for the creature to slump to the ground, its face pulverized.
The others in its group gave up on the idea of surrounding him and instead attacked him all at once. He felt the sensation of hot needles prick him in the back and side as their pikestaffs pierced his armor. One of them even tried to climb on top of him, but he threw himself against a nearby tree trunk as it struggled to find a handhold. His back smashed against the hardwood, crushing the redcap between two heavy slabs of weight.
Alistair had his back still pressed to the tree as the redcaps encircled him again. He took a moment to check his vitality and he was already down to three-quarters of the bar. The iron weaponry was a sure step up from the crude orc ax, even if they were wielded by such small creatures.
Speaking of, he noticed one of the pikes had fallen near him. From his days as a man-at-arms, he was used to wielding a polearm like that. Even better, this one was made of a material that wouldn’t snap under his grip. He was forced to bend rather low to pick it up, and the enemies took that opportunity to strike at him again.
He managed to get his hands on the pike weapon even as he felt his armor suffer again under their relentless attack. With his draining vitality, Alistair bellowed in pain and did the first thing that came to mind. He used the pike’s wide blade and swept it in front of him like a scythe on wheat. With the strength of the Aegis flowing through his arms, he bisected one and cut deeply into a second before his swing lost its momentum.
Something appeared above the head of the one he managed to only wound, not kill. It was stunned thanks to his Knockout passive ability. The creature would be unable to move for a few seconds, and even after, it would still have to deal with the weapon stuck to the side of its crushed rib cage.
Alistair used this moment to take hold of the last redcap’s spike as it was still embedded in his armor. The creature struggled to maintain a hold on its weapon as the red giant forcefully yanked the spear tip from the chest plate. It yelled and shouted in a deep, guttural tone with sounds Alistair couldn’t make hide nor hair of.
The angry little thing started to look frightened when its feet left the ground. Alistair used his grip on the iron polearm to lift the creature as it held on for dear life. He planted his feet and adjusted his grip on the weapon as if to swing it like a bat. Then he rammed the redcap as hard as he could into a nearby tree.
It crumpled against the bark, and yet amazingly it refused to die just yet. On its hands and knees, the fae creature struggled to right itself. Alistair fiddled with the weapon in his hands to hold it as if he was a militiaman in formation again. He couched the spear up close between his armpit and breast. Both hands steadied the pike as he took a few burgeoning steps forward to reach his wounded foe. With all of his weight, he thrust the pointy end forward.
Were he still just a human, Alistair might have struggled to do more than passing damage to this hardy creature. In his Aegis form, however, his strength was enough that the entire pike, blade and all, pierced through the creature’s back. The redcap expired on the pikestaff, fully impaled. The light left its rage red eyes. Alistair heard a strange whistling sound that he later realized was the creature’s pierced lungs expelling the little air they had left.
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The adrenaline made Alistair’s heartbeat ring in his ears. His pain subsided to that of an ache so he felt he could still move. He wheeled around to check on the stunned enemy that he had left behind. It was where he had left it, still kneeling on the ground, an iron pike blade embedded in its side. Curious, the stun should have worn off.
He kept a safe distance as he made to move along its side to get a look at it from the front. It was quickly apparent that the creature had died shortly after Alistair dispatched the other one. Maybe even before the stun wore off. The wound must have done more than just slashing damage to the skin; the force of the impact would have bludgeoned its insides with a serious degree of force.
Alistair took a moment to look around and assure himself that, at least for now, he was safe. In the heat of combat, it was hard to focus on anything except your immediate surroundings, and he wanted to make sure nothing else had come after him. He was still very much alone, save for the bodies surrounding his feet.
The pumping in his ears subsided a bit. It was then that he heard the commotion of battle still on the hills behind him. Sir Manus and the others must have been struggling to deal with their numbers. The lances they had were their one advantage over the pikes, and even still, it was a narrow one at that. Their horses would be at a severe disadvantage if they were to face more than one per rider.
He knew he had to go and help them but then thought better of abandoning the weapons at his feet. While his fists were certainly potent, he was unused to using them as a weapon even still. Wielding the pike felt like meeting an old friend. He scooped up two, one in each hand, and some words appeared to describe the weapon. It might have happened earlier too and he’d been too distracted to notice, but he read it as he made his way back.
Redcap Pikestaff
Cold Iron Weapon
A weapon spawned from magic, wielded by the redcaps. The fae creatures spawn fully grown from their red toadstools, the pikestaff held tightly to their breast.
It is as lethal to fae as it is to humans.
It was good to know that the weapons gave him an advantage over the red caps and whatever measure of damage reduction they had. At the same time, the implication that a normal sword or spear would struggle to do the same kind of damage was frightening. No wonder humans struggled to fight these creatures. The amount of strength he put behind his blows, combined with the effectiveness of the cold iron, was the only reason he managed to dispatch them as quickly as he did.
That could also have something to do with why Alistair himself sustained so much damage to the cold iron. If the relic mantle was a manifestation of the Lady’s fey-fueled magic, then he too was vulnerable to some extent. Without the Aegis’s Universal Damage Reduction, would he have been able to withstand as many strikes as he did?
No matter, he thought to himself. The time for introspection could come after he helped rescue his friends.
Alistair sprinted out of the forest and back into the sunshine and grass of the slopes. It didn’t take him long to crest the nearest mound and get a better look at the chaos on the field. Sir Manus and the others were scattered in the face of the enemy reinforcements. Each one of them was fighting their own battle, outnumbered two to one. They were all dismounted and at least one horse was on the ground, unmoving.
He spotted the clearly wounded Sir Tomas and made to run toward him first. It was Tomas’s horse that was dead and it looked like he had fallen at a poor angle from his saddle. The knight favored his right leg as he fought to defend himself against a pair of redcaps. His shield was half shattered from how much they had battered on it. They wouldn’t let him get a swing in, completely outranging him.
From behind, Alistair managed to take the distracted creatures by surprise. One he ran clean through with a pikestaff, helped by the momentum of his charge. The other one turned to face him and it hastily stabbed at him with its weapon. Alistair used the length of his second remaining staff to block the spikey end before it could hit him. Their battle of strength was quite one-sided, and Alistair easily pushed the attack aside.
Sir Tomas used that opportunity to get closer, and he ran his steel sword up the redcap’s vulnerable back. The thing screeched in pain but still did not die. There was its damage resistance revealing itself again. It turned on its heel to fight the human that sliced up its back. From there, it was a trivial matter for Alistair to take a few steps forward and spear it through. Already wounded, the redcap quickly succumbed to the cold iron.
The two warriors exchanged a short nod of respect before the Aegis giant was off toward the next battle. There was no need for an exchange of words. They both knew the fights took priority. Tomas began to limp off the field toward the waiting squires. He would only get in the way with his current condition.
Alistair had a change of plans midstride when he noticed the rough layout of each fight. None of them were too far from the other as the knights had tried to maintain some semblance of a formation before they were overrun. He ran to roughly where he believed the middle of combat was and activated his ability Living Shield.
The magical wave rushed out from around him and managed to catch the remaining redcaps in its grasp. As one, the six creatures made to face the eight-foot-tall giant in the field. They all ran at him with fire in their eyes, screaming at the top of their lungs in a magically-induced rage. The three knights, each having been in a desperate fight for their lives a moment ago, stood there in shock as they watched their ravenous opponents run away.
Alistair readied his remaining polearm as they came at him. Their speed was still impressive and he was given no time to come up with a greater plan. He only hoped the creatures would be prone to mistakes while under the effect of his ability.
He pushed away the first pike that aimed for his heart, its owner stumbling past him. The next he managed to brush aside and stab them through with the business end of his weapon. Alas, just like the last time this left him vulnerable for a moment, and the creatures capitalized on it. Alistair felt four of the pikes pierce the armor and he almost doubled over from the pain.
This forced him to leave his weapon still inside the redcap’s chest. The only thing he could think to do was grab the nearest two pikes and pull them out with his meaty fists. He used these two as improvised flails and launched their thrashing bodies into the other two. It wasn’t enough to kill, but he knew that at least one was stunned thanks to his Knockout passive.
Alistair’s elation didn’t last long, however, as he felt another sharp hit across his back. The first one he had turned aside must have recovered. He looked over his shoulder and saw it holding the pike like it was trying to cut down a tree. His vitality dropped now to less than a quarter. The energy he once had was fading from his body as he was forced to bend his knee, rather than let them buckle.
His efforts were not in vain. The three knights had crossed the field and were there with him. Sir Griogair, Sir Remon, and Sir Manus all set upon the distracted enemies with their swords. They caught three while they were still down from Alistair’s throw. Their damage resistance couldn’t save them from a sword thrust into their unprotected necks and chests.
With the enemies in front of him being handled, Alistair forced himself to turn and face the last. The redcap was so enraged that at this point it had given up any pretense of strategy. It was swinging at him wildly, chipping bits of his armor away. The world around him slowed as his stamina and vitality disappeared. Alistair managed to catch the weapon as it was brought down again, but his grip was weak. The pain that wracked his body was too great.
This creature was easily able to pull its pikestaff back out of the Aegis’s hand. It readied to swing again at the giant that had sunk to its knees. The redcap never got the chance, however, as a brilliant flourish from Sir Manus’s sword hand made the thing’s head fly from its neck. The body sank to its knees, its head rolling downhill.
One spared glance and it was clear the battle was over. Griogair and Remon both were checking each corpse to make sure they were dead. Sir Manus was saying something but Alistair couldn’t make it out. He felt faint. The Aegis armor disappeared and then it was only his human body left behind.
Just as he was before in the armor, Alistair was on his knees. He knew immediately that to move even an inch would invite certain pain. The nerve endings were on fire even with him sitting like a stone. His senses were overwhelmed with the stimuli of the battle and the adrenaline that had once kept him focused was now ebbing away. It hurt to even breathe as the motion made his sore chest rise and fall.
Shallow breaths, he told himself, shallow. It wasn’t pleasant, but in a way, the pain reminded him that he survived.
Quest of Elimination
Complete!
A good confirmation that the battle was over. He wanted to smile when the rewards arrived, but it hurt too much to move.
Aegis Mantle
Level 3 Unlocked
Universal Damage Resistance
17.50% -> 20% total resistance.
Living Shield | Ability
60ft -> 90ft range | 2-> 3 minutes
Knockout | Passive
10% -> 11% Stun chance
New!
Inspire | Ability
The Aegis can inspire allies around it with morale bonuses.
Requires line-of-sight to the Aegis.
Small bonus to Morale, Melee Accuracy, Missile Accuracy, and Weapon Damage.
Duration of 2 minutes.
Well, good to know he earned something for his trouble. Any excitement he might have had was lost to the extreme discomfort he felt.
Sir Manus had knelt beside Alistair to give him a closer look. There was no doubt the older man was concerned about him after the beating he took. Every single one of the knights was wounded in some form or fashion. The squires ran to them from across the field, carrying bandages and supplies. For certain, the redcaps had certainly made them earn that victory.
At some point, Alistair wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed, Sir Manus noticed the bandolier strapped to his chest. He recognized the vials right away and slipped one out from its slot. The wooden cork was popped off and the liquid roughly poured down Alistair’s throat.
Alistair admitted to himself that he was disappointed by the lacking after-effects. Perhaps considering the level of discomfort he was in, the boy had hoped for a bit more kick to it. He guessed that was what the herbalist meant when he described them as the diluted kind.
Over the course of the next few minutes or so, the potion did have some effect. He could breathe without suffering now. A little later, he felt a sense of numbness. It dulled the pain his body was wracked with. The damage was enough, however, that he was still too sore to move even after the knights had each popped their own vials of the drink and gotten their wounds dressed.
“Alistair!” He could hear Sir Manus again. The man hadn’t moved from his spot by the supplicant’s side. “Talk to me, lad. Did the potion do its job?”
Alistair cleared his throat. “Well, I don’t quite feel like I’m dying now.”
Sir Manus managed to crack a smile from that. After that absolute mess of a battle, they all needed a bit of cheering up. The older knight gently placed his hand on Alistair’s shoulder.
“Can you stand? If not, we can carry you.” He nodded his head in the direction of the wagon. “We ought to head back. In our condition, we won’t be much use against whoever is in that forest. If there ever was anyone there.”
“I think I can-” Alistair made to stand but found that his legs gave out from under him before he could even blink. Sir Manus managed to grab him before he could fall over completely. He wasn’t going anywhere on his own.
“Remon, help me.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Remon went to one side of Alistair, Manus the other. Together, they managed to lift him to his feet. In seconds, Griogair and Teles joined them and held the supplicant’s legs so that his feet wouldn’t drag on the ground. The five of them awkwardly marched back over to the wagon where they could lay him flat on his back.
Sir Manus looked at those present. “Griogair, Remon. You stay here with your squires and round up the horses. I’ll return with Tomas and the others to the gate. With luck, we can get some help for Alistair and then come back for the rest of you.”
They quickly agreed and the two groups split off. Sir Manus took the reins of the horse-drawn wagon and began the process of turning the back around to the city. Alistair’s pride stung perhaps just as bad as the rest of his body. He was so confident that they would succeed in their quest today that he had never considered what the feeling of failure might taste like.
Was it a failure though, he thought to himself? Alistair shook as the cart jostled about. He stared up at the beautiful blue sky and felt the rest of the world disappear around him. Despite the vicious battle that had just occurred, the rest of the world acted as if everything was still fine. The birds still chirped, the fish still swam, and the people kept farming. All of them oblivious to how close it all came to ending.
The five of them had saved lives today. And they were all still breathing. It wasn’t a completed quest, but Alistair felt it had to count for something. He hoped the Lady was watching. That he had done something worthwhile in that mess.
Alistair’s struggle with his self-worth was the last thing on his mind before he faded into a deep sleep.
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In the distance, a figure watched the daoine retreat from the forest’s edge. They had watched the battle from a vantage point high up in one of the grand oak trees. All this excitement over a few dead humans, she thought to herself. Well, she should have expected as much. The ones that called themselves ‘nobility’ always made such an event when one of their own died.
The redcaps and their little toadstool village spawning in the forest was an accident. She got careless about staying in one place for too long. Lesser fae always had a tendency for gathering around wherever her kind stayed. They were drawn to the magical scent all fae creatures shared.
Hers must have stood out to them when it was this close to a human settlement, a place that was normally devoid of such a sensation.
Given what she knew about the events in Adelgard, it was clear what the humans originally had set out to do on their way to Celidon. She smelled them coming leagues away. The knights were of little consequence; she had seen plenty of those types before. One-tracked minds devoted to their strange sense of honor and the system of human ‘chivalry’. So predictable and droll.
The red one, though. Well, he was at least a touch more interesting. She could sense the same fey magic around him. There was something else, too. Like he’d been imprinted by something. A much bigger presence rested inside of him. It had been a long while since she felt the sensation of curiosity.
She’d wait until nightfall. Then she would try and get a closer look at this ‘Alistair’.