The Spider Wasp Chronicles Chapter 6: Following the Pixie Trail
The dust after the bloody battle is starting to settle. The ground around our adventurers is strewn with bodies of zombies, humans, elves, and trolls. Lady Marya’s scorched corpse lies smoking not too far from them. Or Helel, the old elven loremaster whom the Spider Wasp’s troops had tried to kill, is shaken but otherwise unharmed. The adventurers hand him the tome that the late Captain Oki had been searching for. Haltingly, Or Helel deciphers it. He speaks of Tutha, a powerful Moon Elven wizard of old who, maddened by his thirst for power, had started experimenting with new types of magic. He discovered that through the ripping apart of a sprite the magic released during the process created a massive explosion capable of destroying an entire city. Tutha was brought down by the other Moon Elves and locked up in a place never to be found again. As penance for the sprite who was so brutally murdered, the Moon Elves shut themselves off from the rest of world. In addition, the Moon Elves patrol the surrounding forest of Sumaeden, which is the natural habitat of those sprites, defending them from bandits and marauders who might want to snag a sprite for a good chunk of cash (remember that the magic of sprites in this world is very powerful, and far from being understood).
The adventurers recall the sprite from their first adventure, back in the Steam Mountains spa, the one that had actually been missing for years after the spa owner gambled it away in the southern continent of Muras. Realizing that the Shallowshore incident could have been a result of an explosion caused by a sprite that was ripped apart, the adventurers note the danger of having a sprite in the wrong hands. Together with Or Helel, Sul and Oshanda set off to the city of Thamasa, in Muras, to find the sprite from the Steam Mountains.
Upon arrival at the star-shaped city, Or Helel immediately takes them to see Mayor Winston, who charges them with the task of finding the sprite. Additionally, Mayor Winston introduces them to young Kai, a monk who is performing his initiation pilgrimage away from his temple. The three adventurers start investigating at once. Oshanda explores the magic university of Thamasa, but is forced to take an entrance examination the following day before she is allowed access to the library. Meanwhile, Kai and Sul explore the slums outside the city, where the non-casters live. There they hear of a troll that has been stealing children in the middle of the night. Sul and Kai agree to help out, thinking that the troll may be linked to the Spider Wasp. That same night, despite Sul’s fuckups with his tracking rolls and Oshanda’s whining about not getting enough sleep before her test, they eventually find the troll cave. The troll, who had fallen asleep halfway through feasting on a young boy, wakes up and tries to defend his turf, but is unable to land a single blow on the agile Kai while Sul and Oshanda pepper the beast with arrows and magic missiles. In the din of battle, Oshanda does not hear the troll’s spouse coming back to the cave and narrowly escapes being mauled to death. The trolless is defeated and the boy’s body is brought back to the slums. Sul is hailed a hero by all the slum-folk, much to Oshanda’s chagrin. Unfortunately the peasants are unable to help much regarding information about sprites, but they do tell of rumors they have heard about a traveling party being interested in a box that is able to repress the magic inside. The adventurers deduce that if they can find the box they can probably find the sprite, or at least whoever else is looking for it.
The following day the adventurers split up again and continue their investigations. Oshanda is quite literally given a test she does not expect, having to answer over thirty algebra questions in as many minutes, followed by a practical test in which she has to hit the real mages from a multitude of illusions. Meanwhile, Sul explores the divinity district, and is engaged by a sect of the Church of Pelor. The sect claims that all life is sacred and that they are out to sabotage a clinic that allows pregnant mothers to dispose of their fetuses. In exchange for a magical silver helm, Sul agrees to cooperate. Meanwhile, Kai meets the Lady of the Order of Gaga, who will tell him information regarding the sprites in exchange for a few Pegasus feathers which she just simply *must* have to complete her costume for that night’s ball. A few hours later Sul arrives at a prairie full of pegasi and finds the young monk face down clutching only a couple of the coveted feathers, while a few winged horses lie unconscious around him, and a limping but defiant horse grazes in silently victory in the distance. The elven ranger revives the boy and together they off a few more mythical creatures to satisfy that stupid bitch’s wardrobe requirements. As a reward, the Lady of Gaga tells them that the box they are looking for may be found in the shifty Night Market, at the edges of the more legal market.
It is the middle of the night now. Kai and Oshanda roam through the night market and exchange Oshanda’s magic missile pistol for information regarding the identity of the buyers who bought the sprite-box. They learn that the ones in possession of the box are in a cave not far from the city. This cave, however, is covered by an anti-magic field. Meanwhile, Sul and the Church of Pelor sect approach the clinic. In a predictable plot twist, Sul calls the cops on them, and the saboteurs are brought down and incarcerated for the terrorists they are. Sul solidifies his reputation as *the* hero of Thamasa. The adventurers regroup just as Mayor Winston and Or Helel appear, urging them to attack the Spider Wasp’s men in the cave and recover the sprite they are suspected to have. Mayor Winston puts one of his spellcasters, Franklin, at the disposal of the adventurers.
After much strategizing and nearly losing Oshanda’s familiar, Kai enters the dark anti-magic cave while the black half-elven sorceress follows a cautious 100 meters behind. Kai sneaks up on three guards who are shooting blindly in the direction of Oshanda’s loud footsteps (with surprising accuracy), but the young monk lets one of them escape. Sul and Franklin catch up and together they enter a large chamber, where half a dozen soldiers in full armor await them. Behind them, a large man in armor who calls himself Mikal waves the box in front of the adventurers in taunt and runs through the back door with his two personal guards. Kai engages all six soldiers at once, dodging swords and deflecting arrows with the level-headedness of a veteran. Meanwhile, Sul’s attempts at making the soldiers dance, or whatever the hell he was doing, prove useless, as do Franklin’s puny attempts at using a crossbow. Oshanda, who is wearing and anti-anti-magic necklace (yes you read that right), grows weary of the battle and casts a fireball in the middle of the melee. Cos I mean, fuck the monk, right? Still, Kai, sensing this and using his elevated evasive skills, avoids the flames of the fireball unscathed. However, the guards eventually manage to bring the monk down, and it takes all the begging in the world to convince the sorceress not to throw another fireball in there while the monk is lying there prone.
The adventurers defeat the soldiers, revive the monk, and set off in pursuit of Mikal and the sprite. They do not have to chase for long, as the big man and his guards are waiting for them outside. Now that they are out of the anti-magic cave, Mikal presses a button in the box and the adventurers start hearing the high-pitched screams of a pixie being pulled apart inside. Kai dips to the side, giving the spellcasters a clear line of fire to attack the guards. Sul fires at Mikal, and though the arrows hit, they do not manage to bring the big man down. As the sprite screams grow louder a blast of raw energy shoots out from the box, heavily damaging all but Kai. In a desperate last ditch, the slender monk child runs at Mikal, *disarms* him of the box, and deactivates the sprite (reportedly moments before it was due to explode), giving Oshanda, Franklin, and Sul enough time to pelt the sumbitch with mana and lead. The city of Thamasa, unbeknownst to its citizens, had just been saved.
