2: Valley of Dead Unicorns

Sheila steps forward to get a better look at the wall. "Warm Blood said the wall required the touch of a unicorn's horn to open it. Did anyone find an alicorn in the possessions of any of our fallen enemies?" She pauses and looks to each of her friends. "If not, I don't understand how they were traveling through this pass."

She reaches into her pouch, pulls out a unicorn horn, and holds it out in front of her in the direction of the glowing wall.

Wow, good work Shelia Eric announced as he squinted his eyes to let them adjust to the light.

Although Uni wasn't around, Sheila had the means to open the door. Hank took the initiative to lead the way, pulling out a pair of crystal lenses to survey the area and Kelek's tower.

Sheila puts away the alicorn and nods. "Thanks Eric. I do what I can."

Presto's eyes explore the valley. There was a time, long ago, when he would have felt awe, excitement, curiosity, or wonder at the impressive sight. Those days have passed, buried beneath a thousand vistas of mind rending beauty, and while they aren't unpleasant, they're no longer special.

"It's a good bet that the tower is where we need to head. If not, at least we'd get a good view. Unfortunately, I left my magic carpet behind, so it looks like we're hiking."

Presto waits for the others to take the lead and proceeds to follow them.

Diana opens her bag of holding and reaches into it, her arm disappearing up to the elbow even though the bag doesn't look big enough for that. When she brings her arm back out, she pulls a broom out of the bag as well. "We don't all have to hike," Diana says. "I'm gonna go scout this place out." She shrinks The Staff down to its smallest size and slips it into it's pocket on her belt, flipping over the cover and snapping it shut. "Wish this didn't look so ridiculous," she says as she climbs onto the broom. With a quick magic word, the broom - and Diana on it - begin levitating. "I'll swing wide before I approach - come at it from a different direction, do a quick scan, and then come back."

"Be careful, Diana."

Bobby rests the Thunder Club on his shoulder as he starts toward the tower. "Uni's out of the action so I guess I'm hiking."

Presto takes his Hat off and moves to Diana.

"They're definitely waiting for us over there, this should at least help to protect you a bit."

He uses the hat like a rag and swipes it near her. Like erasing a drawing from a chalkboard, each swipe removes a part of her from view until she's completely gone.

"Be safe, you've only got an hour, so hurry back!"

"We can advance as well in the meantime, and find some cover. I'll bet Kelek can scry, but let's not give him too obvious a location to find us."

"Well, that wasn't very informative," Diana says as she rejoins the group. "I didn't see anyone or anything - except for the tower. But obviously that doesn't mean it's unprotected. It just means we can't see whatever's protecting it." Diana goes on to tell everyone what she saw in detail.

Presto stands from the log he had found, dusting off his robe. His butt was wet, but there was no dusting that off.

"That would be too easy, wouldn't it?" He sighs, exasperated. He knew there wouldn't be any shortcuts to this, but he had hoped. "Did you see if there was an easy trail or road to get there, or is it just through the trees?"

"Well, let's start with whether Kelek has any other guardians in the forest itself. I'm going to assume we won't be able to catch him by surprise. So shall we sweep forward to see if we spot them first or whether they discover us first? I think through the trees is better than just marching up any main trail."

"Works for me. You have the sharpest eyes, Eric and Diana. Just tell me if you spot anything that needs smashing!"

Diana looks at Sheila. "Maybe us stealthy types should scout a little ahead as we go?"

"I was thinking the same thing." Sheila agrees with Diana. "When we get close enough, I can scan the area around us for invisible and hidden guardians."