The Fairy Diary Day 631 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

Captain Goff was unrelenting in his drive to save his ship. Before we could seriously examine our surroundings all hands were called to save her. 

Most manned the pumps to expel the water weighing her down. Gibley remained atop Conjil and together could do nothing other than pull on the ship to keep it on the surface. In sympathy Nora swam by their side. 

As we kept at the pumps, Merlin seemed curiously unconcerned for our plight. When I went to his cabin to check on him, he turned to me and said, “Carry on. I have total faith in your abilities.” Then he resumed his study of his seers stone. Curiously I noticed that he had my scroll and my diary open on the table beside the object of his study. 

As we gained momentum on the flood, Dunfallon asked to be relieved to check on his “army.” He was fearful some may have been lost overboard. The Captain released him from his station at the pump, and the pixie called a muster roll for his troops. 

After Gibley secured Conjil back aboard, Merlin returned my items to me with the request to check the latest message on the scroll. Emminie had written that the Frost Fairies were in retreat and the two dragons that had appeared in their support had flown away to the west. 

So, the wizard’s guess had proven right. 

And off in the distance was an island like I had seen in the seers stone. With a tower atop a mountain. 

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The Fairy Diary Day 619 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

Dunfallon roused us early. He had been up to walk off his impatience, and ran into a band of traveling elves. They were headed down to Corbelin to attend the festival of moon flowers. And they invited him and his friends (us, that is) to be their guests. 

The elves had not waited, but headed down the road. If we wanted to attend, we could meet them at their rendezvous, which our pixie recognized as the inn in which we had stopped on our last trip to Corbelin. 

Dunfallon wanted to go in any event, if we chose not to. Before I could put it to everyone else, however, a reply came in from Merlin to my note of yesterday. 

The wizard informed us that he was awaiting our arrival at a different inn down near the harbor. And he requested that we collect moon flower blooms on our way in. 

We thought his request rather strange, but we did so. And piled what we could find along the way into the second wagon. (Dunfallon would not hear of placing anything near his “army”).

Conjil was somewhat adverse to the aroma coming from the blooms, so Gibley made certain to keep them at a distance from her. Noralei loved their scent so she gladly kept busy stowing them about the second wagon. 

When we passed the inn surrounded by celebratory elves our pixie begged leave to join them and promised to rejoin us later. 

I gave it not a second thought until we arrived at the harbor. The wizard was a little miffed that we were not all together. He wants to run through his explanations only once. So, we will have to wait for him. 

In the meantime we settled Conjil and the wagons into a special place that Merlin had secured for us. 

The Fairy Diary Day 615 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

Between Rumble and I, we have enliminated several passageways off of the huge reservoir as leads to the source of the blockage. Rumble has marked his map accordingly. How many more there are we still do not know. Gibley and Dunfallon joined the search today in the boat that Noralei and Rumble put together. They were able to mark off two more dead ends. 

Some strange things happened when the two were about to descend their next passageway. The ring that Willie gave to Dunfallon came to life. It threw off an illumination that filled the air all around, but the unsettling part was that it spoke to them as well, warning of imminent danger and telling them to turn around – which the goblin did despite Dunfallon’s protest.

Dunfallon thinks we should all band together and return there tomorrow. And even take his entire “army” with us. 

I’m not inclined to go that far – maybe the small unit that has been guarding Noralei on the landing would suffice. 

But I do think we shall all go down to search it out tomorrow.  Especially in light of a message I received from Merlin. He asks that we be ready soon to come to him. 

I wrote back to the wizard to say that we are close to resolving the problem for the Dromadilians. 

The Fairy Diary Day 613 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

Dunfallon pulled me aside to talk before we left for the treasury this morning. He was greatly upset. Noralei had shown him the small bag of coins she had selected for her payment yesterday. All of them had been minted by a former chieftain of the pixies from his territory, not by the Dromadilians. So, he is nagged by the suspicion that the great wealth of his friend is ill-gotten. 

To my mind the fact that the king tried to maneuver Dunfallon away from the treasury tended to lend a little more weight to our suspicions. And then there is that ancient history about the bad blood between the Dromadilians and the Laguayilians over that disputed treasure. 

Still, I advised my friend to await further developments. There just may be a completely innocent explanation. 

I believe he took my advice to heart for he turned his energy to the task at hand back in the treasury. Lining up his soldier-less weapons in an arc around us, we followed Gibley’s lead as he investigated the movement of air on the side of one of the stones in the center of the wall. After trying to pry it forward with one of Dunfallon’s spear soldiers, Rumble discovered that it yielded to a push instead. 

Our pixie piled through with his “army,” taking up defensive positions on the other side. And we came in right behind them. 

We found that we could only walk so far. Rumble, Noralei and I took to flight and by the light from my pendants we surveyed the vast area ahead. It was clear that we needed to bring a boat down so that we could all search for a blockage that was holding this body of water in place. It needed to be drained to remove the threat to the surrounding structures below the burrow city of Dromadil. 

Dunfallon and I went up to report our findings to the king. 

The Fairy Diary Day 612 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

Noralei fashioned two devices to place over Conjil’s ears to shield them from the sound of the Crack of Doom. The dragon did not fuss as expected but submitted to Dunfallon as he put them in place.  

Then we appeared before the Dromadil king with our decision this morning. He was overjoyed at our willingness to attempt to find our way down beneath the city to seek out the source of the problem. He handed us over to the captain of his treasury guard to escort us down. 

The king had one request – that Dunfallon remain with him to act as a liaison between him and us. But I told him that it would be impossible as he would be commanding a small unit of his “army” as a precaution if we uncovered any Frost Fairies lurking in the depths. 

The pixie king reluctantly agreed. And as a consolation I promised to keep him informed. As an afterthought the king instructed his captain to allow Noralei the selection of one item from the treasury in payment for a job well done on his dungeons. 

Once inside the treasury Rumble and Gibley led us to a corner behind which they suspected the former opening to the dwarf excavation lay. There were a lot of things to move out of the way. So under the watchful eye of the captain of the guard and his second in command we – plus the remainder of the guards – began to move the treasure stored there back away from that wall. (We were not allowed to use any spells, lest we make any of it “disappear “).

The task consumed the rest of our day. And we were able to give it a good look over before calling an end to the day’s exertions. 

I could see why the Sprites would be a good fit for this job. But I think among the five of us we should be able to get beyond that wall. 

The Fairy Diary Day 244 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

We passed the summit of the pass we are traveling on and are now on the descent. Straight ahead we saw the ocean spread out before us and suddenly I felt the longing that Nililitil described in his talks with me about the elves’ desire to migrate to the west one day. 

To the north our view was blocked by the higher mountains, but to the south we saw the canyonlands away from which we were warned. Their vastness caused Rumble to remark that an army could be hidden easily in their depths and we would never know it. 

The thought put me ill at ease. 

Only to be dispelled when Dunfallon in the advance let out a cry and came racing back to us. He hurried us forward for our first view of the city nestled in a bay along the coast. 

Its walls and buildings twinkled in the sunlight, but all I could see were the ships in its harbor.

Day One Thousand Two Hundred Thirteen #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

During each of our turns on watch through the night, we observed the army passing by in the plain. And they ceased to throw out units to their flanks.

In the light of day we finally could ascertain that these troops belonged to the world government. Most looked fresh and ready for action, but there were a few that appeared wasted, just limping along. And those were prodded forward mercilessly. Prisoners.

The units left behind in ambush waited unmoving all day. We could see them for we knew where to look, but invisible, we were sure, to anyone below.

Their trap looks to be a failure. The end of the retreating army came in view with no one in pursuit.

Day One Thousand Two Hundred Twelve #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Tomas called everyone to his lookout point at midday. The sounds of conflict had reignited and movement could be seen on the horizon in the direction of Babylon.

It was soon apparent that we were observing a retreat. But a retreat of which army? The coalition of the armies of the North and East? Or that of the world government?

Whichever the case, the Captain estimated that this movement was not a rout, but rather a strategic repositioning. Units were breaking off and taking up positions on the high ground to each side.

I had a moment of consternation when I realized that our position might be desirable for their purposes.

But by evening they were well short of us.

Day One Thousand One Hundred Seventy Two #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

From the safety of a dense thicket Quasimo sent the drone aloft to join the stream passing near the Temple. The surroundings thereabouts were too exclusive and affluent for us to wander around.

The pictures sent back were inconclusive. The cages on the grounds all held animals – no sign of Mawuli.

Ordering the others to remain, Elijah and I, walked up to the Temple.

Ignored at first, that all changed when a passerby recognized Elijah and ran from us raising a hue and cry.

Stan’s image materialized at the gate and announced that the one we sought was now with his army and would do a good service for him.

Guards tried to seize us but we were whisked away.

Day One Thousand One Hundred Seventeen #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

A fine powder coated everything out of doors in the city. No one could identify it. So the unease of yesterday returned.

Elijah and I were kept quartered close to the Supreme Commander’s command center. Tomas stopped in and out throughout the day and gave us updates. He had been tasked to analyze the powder. Was it by design from the enemy?

He had a breakthrough come afternoon. The material in combination with another compound is highly combustible when water is present.

It made little sense until someone else realized the attack may be directed at the river coming into the city or the tanks fed by the desalination plants.

Thus the army must decide whether to evacuate or not.