Nobody Rescues Giselle

Raj was still camping with his new best friend1 Searlas. They roasted some marshmallows, compared biceps, and watched a friendly wrestling match where the loser got his head ripped off in a male-bonding-gone-too-far sort of way.

Back at Ygg, Magni asked nicely if he could have a branch and the big tree allowed it. Aedan asked and received a shiny new firetruck, while Gabriel just asked for a father who wasn’t evil2. Ygg couldn’t give Gabriel what he wanted, so the three rode off to find the source of the henges.

They noticed that the Shadows were getting thicker as they traveled in the direction of Chaos. Henge-like structures became more standard stuff and sorcery became less normal. It also got colder and they began to notice geography for the first time.

Gregory visited various members of Julian’s Arden guard, now all retired3 and living in one big treehouse in a nearby woodsy shadow4. He convinced them all to come back and work for Fulke for half their previous pay and no dental benefits. Then he had a hot bath, some spiced wine, and a good massage.

Giselle spoke with Martin somehow, but he was too busy to help her escape. I mean, he’s got the carpet-layers here tomorrow, the plumber installing his special toilet, and a whole team of specially trained left-handed carpenters descending on the place first thing in the morning. Can’t somebody else rescue her?!?

Somebody Rescues Giselle

Aedan, Magni, Gabriel, and Gregory stormed Osric’s walled compound in the desert. Wait, first Gregory trumped in and couldn’t trump out, so he rode back to the shadow veil, didn’t go through it, got trumped out, and pouted. Then Gabriel vanished, leaving Magni and Aedan to attack by themselves. They saw Searlas show off his very own “Great Sword of Gerard” and charged the gate5. Yaaaahhhhh!!!! They washed, toweled off, and spoke with Osric. Aedan’s angry manner and refusal to swear an oath of frat-boy buddy-hood with Osric inexplicably failed to charm the old coot. However, Magni’s few, carefully chosen words convinced Osric to let him play Badminton with Searlas.

Gregory, Raj, Gabriel, and an inebriated orangutan rescued Giselle and Flora from these strange blue crystal caves which no one had ever heard of because Merlin’s books never happened, dammit! Apparently Brand had sequestered the ladies there while he secretly sewed wondrous ballgowns for them out of cobwebs and whispers. Also in the cave was Brand’s personal collection of faerie-like statuary, all of whom resembled Finnvarr’s court, and some innocent boxes of dynamite.

They hauled the statues out, took them to a nearby Shadow, and began trying to make them into people. Giselle managed to chip off Finnvarra’s crown so she could wear it as it absolutely went perfect with the gown Brand had made6.

Raj told them about the gathering of the Unseelie army via the shadow veils in the henges. He also mentioned that Osric’s men had managed to wrest control of the army away from the Unseelie lord Nuirre by ripping his bushy orange-haired head off his body.

Giselle revealed that Nuirre didn’t have bushy orange hair. In fact, he didn’t resemble the losing wrestler at all, but was instead a satyr with goat legs, horns and a cute fuzzy tail. So it was decided that the dead guy must be Bleys since we haven’t heard a peep from him since this game began.7

Aedan wanted to leave Osric’s realm, so he wasn’t allowed to. Magni was happy to stick around, so he could leave anytime he wanted. It was really unfair, so Aedan left anyway. Nyah8. He and Gabriel hopped a few shadows away from where Flora was studying the statues. Then Aedan went to Chaos just in time to be crowned King of that land as well.

Magni got bored at Osric’s, so he went to the Fount of Power. He trumped Gabriel in, and the two of them thought of several likely ways to avoid upsetting Brand while still managing to foil his nefarious plans, if he actually had any. In the meantime, we should start thinking of something nice to write on their gravestones:

Gabriel             “He loved the trees, in a way unknown to most people.”

Magni               “He loved other people’s stuff.”

At the end of the session, our intrepid heroes declared what they were planning on doing:

Giselle intended to visit the Fae court and show off her new crown.

Raj was riding through Arden back to Amber.

Gregory planned to hang back and rescue Giselle from the Fae court.

Gabriel and Magni were working on their suntans.

Kingly Aedan planned to issue his first official decree, declaring possession of lime-flavored popsicles punishable by death.