Healing the Fox

Aerea : move slowly as the fox was very heavy. “Queen Acacia, I found you at last. Can you help this fox, he fell onto some sharp rocks, his roots are not as good a climbing as mine.”

Acacia: leans over and reaches out her hand to take the tiny fox kit from the dryad , biting her lip to keep from smiling as the fox kit was very close in size to the tiny dryad. “Here, let me see him” As she had been meditating on her element of water from the bee garden, seeing if distance from the element made a difference, she was open to her element.

Aerea: lifted the kit onto Acacia’s out stretched hands, stepping back to let the Queen do her stuff.

Acacia: Lifting the tiny kit, she could see some tiny cuts on the tender pads of the kit.She spoke in fae *homer hufl hogat* and a gentle stream of water came from her hand to cleanse the cuts. They were not serious, but would be very painful for the tiny fox to walk on. releasing her conection with the element of water with a whispered thank you,  She reached out for the element of fire,  finding it, feel her pulse quicken, speaking in fae once more *rwulqude ruci, bacurv olg miow* focusing on purifying and curing the tiny cuts.  The kit wriggled on her palm, yipping that it tickled.

Aerea gasped surprised by the flames that has surrounded the foxes feet. “are they going to burn him?” stepping back with an instinctive fear of all fire.

Acacia Thanking the lord of Fire, she broke the connection when the flame shifted from healing to tickling. “There you go little one” as the fox tried to lick her face and tumbled to land at her feet, bouncing right back up to look at Aerea with bright eyes.  “No, the elements know what they are doing far more than I. But he is all better, go run and play. ”

A matter of priorities.

As night began to fall, Acacia spirals down to land on the icy mountain side. It was a good place to study the undead and learn their patterns. The fae guard had been patrolling and watching on the shore of Anar as they protected their home. The pattern thus far had been that a small group headed each night for Anar, walking into the water and heading under it making their slow way across the river bottom, As the dawn broke each morning they had turned back. Each day they had made progress, finding faster routes over the stones and deep trenches. The guard had reported to her the movements that they had noted and they seemed mainly focused on heading into Sylvhara.

Standing in the chill waters that welled up from deep with in the mountain, she watched, studying them closely. Malada had warned that the obelisk had started to throw lightening a well. Undead skeletons, Could this be Eccho up to some new trick? People kept suggesting Dinnin, but he employed demons for his tasks, as well as offering to help with them for a price. Whoever it was, there was a reason, and there had to be a solution. She knew that the rangers and others had held the line, and at great cost.

The icy water rushed past her ankles, as she studied them looking for a pattern. Her stomach turned as she studied these animated bits of death. It was the signs of their life that made them so repugnant to her. She stilled her winds as she felt them fluttering with the the urge to be gone from here, These skeletons were different than the ones she had fought in Anurum. It was the bits of clothing and flesh that clung to their bones, it was clear that they had once been living and were now dead. The other difference she noted was the eyes. They glowed green, something about the color tugged at her thoughts but she just could not place it.

Serendipityes trilled as a skeletal hand grasped the edge of the rock face. Acacia intent on studies of the ruins and the monolith, did not look up but merely responded “hmmm?” Serendipityes flew into her line of sight, “Undead, here now!”  Acacia looked to where she pointed, pulling on the weave a purple glow surrounding her as she pulled strongly, focusing on the skeletal warrior who hand pulled himself over the cliff face and was headed her way.  The sword caught the last light of the setting sun, causing it to flash a dull red, broken by the patched of rust and nicks that  covered the blade. The blade had areas of blackness as if it had been burned. What she had heard flashed through her mind in a split second, they had burned them, yet they just kept coming. The chilly water she stood in, swirled around her legs, The current seeming stronger, as if the water itself wishes to fight this undead being.  Before it could bring its sword to a ready stance, Acacia comanded in a clear voice, “Eilimint na Cruinne, ordaímse duit, Tabhair amach as an cloch sin a mhian liom.” (Element of water, I command you, freeze and dance your tiny flowers about us). It was one of the first spells she had learned, and the water lept to do her bidding,  a squall of snow and ice rising from the water and rushing to surround the warrior in a binding wall of snow, as ice slowly formed over the bones and rotting flesh that made his creature. She heard Sere’s shout of “Another comes, there are several  of them”  She had not brought her bow or staff, and the crystal dagger she wore seemed useless. Acacia lifted from the ground and took flight, moving out from the cliff face and she continued to pour mana from the weave into the ice storm. As she flew, one of the skeletons swung his sword and managed to strike a glancing blow on her leg.  The undead warriors turned and moved to the edge of the cliff, all of their green eyes turned to her. The ice of the storm grew thick on them, freezing them into place.

From her airborn vantage, she kept pouring power into the spell until the ice was thick and growing opaque. They had never scaled the cliffs before, but yet they had come after her.  Looking down, she looked where the others far below were headed, Along each path was a place of Magic, nodding to herself as she lifted further, This was something they would have to deal with at the root of the problem. Fighting them by herself would be a waste of effort for the best she could hope would be to slow the tide, not stop it. The monolith had to be removed, and that would require all working together.

It was a matter of priorities, First the Illithid and then this. With a nod to Sere to follow, she headed home to Anar.