The Fairy Diary Day 610 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

Dibla declined to accompany us to Dromadil. (Most likely he did not relish the thought of riding a dragon). But he did offer an ancient map dating back to the time of their excavations up there. Though not as good as those Rumble has, it should suffice. 

On the map the dwarf called my attention to the stream with a village in the crook of its elbow and I recognized it as the village of the Sprites. He cautioned us that there are more than likely many differences since then. Though he added that up in the area of Dromadil there should not be as many. And he took the time to note a couple passages that the pixies would have most likely sealed off. Gibley’s eyes lit up at this and he stated that he thinks he knows where one of them might be. 

So, as soon as Dunfallon said goodbye to Gabhe, his mountain goat, having just finished a friendly game of nine pins, we bid farewell to Gilgorgon, thanking him for his hospitality and willingness to help. 

We were back in Dromadil by the afternoon. And met Rumble at the inn where Conjil was welcomed back into its stable. 

Rumble had not been idle. While Noralei did wonders with the dungeon cells (so comfortable that she spent the nights there herself), he had familiarized himself with the area and its trouble spots. He eagerly accepted Dibla’s map and went off to study it. 

Dunfallon, Gibley and I discussed how to go about broaching to the Dromadil king the need to ask the Sprites for their help. Then Gibley went off to visit Noralei and to look into a possible entry point into the dwarfish excavation. 

When we were alone I took Dunfallon into the stable and there discussed with him what we could do to forestall the summoning of Conjil away from us. 

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The Fairy Diary Day 609 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

Before we parted Willie gifted  Dunfallon with a striking ring. It glows with the same color as the Wisp. My pixie friend was quite taken with it, and kept looking at it as we flew along. 

When Gilgorgon’s mountain came in view, I had the urge to visit our dwarf friends – a notion that my pendants confirmed with the sensation of spreading warmth. So, I asked Gibley to take us over there. Dunfallon was all for the move, but Gibley wondered if we should at this time. When I told him that it may just prove to be crucial to our current quest, he urged Conjil on to that destination. 

We had some trouble at the main entrance with some guards who were unfamiliar with us, but once Herblas was sent for, he had us in and settled in short order. 

Gilgorgon received us gladly and called for a sumptuous meal. While it was prepared he invited us into his private chamber and listened intently to my account of our recent doings. When I revealed the problem faced by the Dromadil pixies, Gilgorgon became very animated and sent for his chief miner whom he introduced as Dibla. 

From Dibla we learned that Dromadil had been built over an abandoned work excavated by the dwarves long ago – back during the time of the building of the Low-way of the Dwarves. The more he talked the more connections I made between these underground areas and the activities of the Frost Fairies and their manipulation of water in that sphere. 

I asked Dibla if he were free to accompany us to Dromadil. He hesitated and put us off with the plea for time to consider – which we were more than willing to do. 

The Fairy Diary Day 527 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

The High Fairy’s reply, at first sight, burst into flames before the words settled into their normal shape that was readable. His excellency knew very well the name of Tinadell. And though long ago, his perfidy is still fresh in his mind – for he had been a witness to his actions and present at his banishment. And though we claim he has changed he thinks that highly unlikely. 

Hearing this, Tinadell hung his head, rose from the table and departed. 

I gathered my team around the table and asked each one for their thoughts on this situation. Herblas and Gibley were the only ones to have reservations about our new acquaintance. The dwarf  could not give details for his aversion – for it was only a feeling. Gibley, however, had knowledge, at least from the goblin perspective, about what it had meant to their clan to be kept from the Land of Plenty, and freely admits that it colors everything. 

At the last, I excused myself and went out to talk to Tinadell. 

The Fairy Diary Day 509 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

When I arrived at the repository Gibley and Dunfallon were waiting there for me with Conjil. No one said a word – for the bag with the beacon stone preceded me – pulling me along. They followed me in past the fairy guards who parted to allow us entry. 

The Caretaker met us and ushered us to Cluyjil. I felt rather awkward to reel the bag in and to fuss with it to free the necklace from its interior. But once the stone was out of the bag it flew from my grasp and lodged itself on the bony breastplate of the dragon. It was a bit of a struggle after that to get the chain of the necklace over Cluyjil’s head. But when that was accomplished, the questioning began. 

The chief question being – where was Rayjil? 

I told the tale of our encounter with the black bird and asked the Caretaker’s permission to strike the Crack of Doom. 

Lacking a dwarf on the team to wield the striker with us, we were uncertain of our success. Instead we doubled up on fairies by asking the Caretaker to help. 

There was a long wait after we rammed the the bell with the striker – longer than the first time we rang it. Then, out of the rising mist that threatened to block the moon from view, our dragon Rayjil came straight for us. And she appeared injured. 

We gathered around the shivering dragon. Her right wing bore a puncture that was ragged and bleeding. Gibley and Dunfallon dressed the wound and the Caretaker ordered some new bedding laid down for her. 

Cluyjil and Conjil laid down one on each side of their fellow dragon and kept her warm throughout the night. 

The Fairy Diary Day 506 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

So, the debate raged as to what to do next. Merlin and the High Fairy wanted to appeal to Glossom and his clan of dragon handlers for the right to test other similarly talented dragons to bear the beacon stone. 

Dunfallon convinced Gibley that they needed to make more trials with Rayjil and Conjil. And to that end they enlisted Herblas to search out ceremonies or spells to employ in those attempts. 

Noralei joined the dwarf in the library to research any changes she should make to the setting for the gem in the necklace. 

Rumble stayed in his room – too upset to come out, and fed his despair in silence. 

I was the only one that advocated making the trial with Cluyjil. The others all denigrated the idea since they judged him unsuitable as he lacked the ability to turn transparent by himself. And we did not even know for sure if he could follow the lead of another bearing the beacon stone. 

To all their naysaying I reminded them that it was the stone itself that chose its dragon. 

And when still none listened, there was only one thing I could think to do. I stole the necklace and Rayjil and fled for the repository. 

The Fairy Diary Day 504 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

Much to our relief, Merlin returned this morning. After checking a multitude of black bird sightings in and around Dromadil the trail had run cold. However, that fact was not what brought him back but rather the alarm sent out when Rumble opened the hidden cupboard. 

As it turns out it did contain the metals he had put aside with which to fashion a necklace for the beacon stone. And after examining the design Noralei had drawn for it, he gave a most hearty approval. 

That done, the wizard turned his attention to the swallowed gems. He questioned Dunfallon and Gibley about their charges – had there been any noticeable changes since the incident – in behavior or abilities – good or ill effects. 

All they could report was an increased appetite for fire plants. So Merlin advised them to keep an eye out for any changes in their fire breathing. 

The High Fairy spoke up at that point and said that Herblas might have learned something to illuminate the matter – and he prodded the shy dwarf forward. 

Herblas asked to look down the throats of the dragons. Dunfallon protested that he had done so already and found nothing in Rayjil. Still the pixie coaxed her to open her gullet, and there at the back of her throat – for all to see – the gem was lodged in a space in front of the igniter. A check with Conjil revealed the same. 

Merlin invited the dwarf and the dragon handlers to convene with him in his study. 

I joined Noralei and Rumble in the workshop to watch them as they got back to work- but found my thoughts wandering as to what else unlooked for would happen next. 

The Fairy Diary Day 487 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

It was decided in our meeting that we will be sending a team over to the other side in order to protect our world. It was further decided that this team will consist of members from all its kingdoms and races. The only question left open for now – is it to be one dwarf to represent the whole – or one from each kingdom. Gilgorgon has wisely opted to make this a decision to be shared with Fliget- in the interest of future cooperation. 

So, we assembled our party to travel down to meet with Fliget. Gilgorgon is sending Herblas with us as his representative. 

Gabhe and the other friends of Dunfallon gathered to see the pixie off. They mutually promised to meet again in the not too distant future. Watching Gibley at that moment I could not help but notice a hint of loneliness in his demeanor. 

I kept him company as we descended down the main passageway. It was brilliantly lit and even more dazzling than I remember. And I understood better all the improvements that Herblas ordered on our way up.  He stopped us on one of the grand staircases to point out a new bas relief on the nearby wall. It depicted Merlin, Dunfallon, Rumble, Noralei and myself- all to commemorate the great victory at the former city of the dark elves. 

I admit I was a little embarrassed. 

The Fairy Diary Day 485 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

When I saw Dunfallon this morning he was ascending the stairs from the dungeon. Before I could say a word, he headed off my rebuke by assuring me he was all prepared to depart and now even more so as he had grilled Willie as to why he was here. The pixie is confident that the Wisp is powerless to effect any trouble for us – despite his screeching nonstop that our world will soon be his master’s. 

Gibley turned Rayjil over to Rumble’s care after tearfully bidding her goodbye. In the midst of this a message came in on my scroll from the High Fairy. He reports all well back at the repository but does put in a request for some fire plants to keep there for Cluyjil. 

I took his request to Merlin. And he decided that we would see to it after our return from the dwarf kingdoms – unless a critical situation developed in which case we appointed Rumble to take care of it. 

I informed Rumble of this arrangement, telling him if we had not returned in three days, to see to it that the fire plants were transported to the High Fairy. Before I left him my friend pressed a present into my hand – for Dunfallon. It was a cloak of invisibility – pixie size. With the help of the owl he had fashioned one from part of his old cloak. I could only guess why he gave it to me and not to the pixie himself.

At long last feeling all was in order the wizard transported Dunfallon, Gibley, and myself to Gilgorgon’s mountain. 

The Fairy Diary Day 434 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

Our advance was brought to a halt not much further up the Low-way of the dwarves. Rumble heard moaning off on one of the side passages. We would have passed by otherwise. 

The sound of pain came from a mound of rags shivering in the dark of that passageway. It was our friend Gnoston. I had to fight back tears at the sight of him. 

Merlin knelt by him, taking a vial from his voluminous robes and giving him a drink of elixir. The transformation in the dwarf was instantaneous. 

He thanked the wizard for the draft and recounted his tale of how he came here. 

Word that Gilgorgon’s army was on the march alarmed his village and soon most fled. Gnoston stayed but was forced out by the arrival of Artoxon’s troops. He made his way up to the capital only to be refused entrance. They told him he was too late. And with the sound of battle behind he fled up the Low-way of the dwarves to where we found him.  

What he shared next caused us to return back to where we last saw Artoxon’s capital. 

The Fairy Diary Day 433 #TFDbyRWOz2

Meribabell writes:

We came upon an even greater mystery today. Artoxon’s capital was not where it should have been. It was not anywhere at all. Neither the gates to the city nor Bifitz’s palace were evident from its junction with the Low-way of the dwarves. 

Merlin covered the area testing for any hint of enchantment. And found none. 

Rumble walked about with his hands stretched out in front of his face, expecting to bump into buildings turned invisible. But met with nothing. 

At the last we regrouped to discuss what to do next. Not knowing what had happened made any decisions blind ones. In the end we opted to continue on to the goblin outpost. It was closer than the other dwarf stronghold city, and I was looking forward to seeing any living being, even a goblin.