2: Valley of Dead Unicorns

Eric nodded in agreement with the others. Yes, let's go get Kosar.

Presto sinks into a chair, mentally exhausted by the back-and-forth dialogue and translation from mental energies to physical speech and back again. "I'm inclined to agree, it's time to go. There is much we don't know, but it doesn't sound like Kosar knows much other than that he needs help. I really don't like going into a situation this blindly, but I won't let him die just because I'm nervous. If you have any preparations to make, do them. Otherwise, join me in the lab and we'll depart."

"Presto, do you have a spell to take us there? Or as close as possible?"

Presto hesitates for a moment before nodding slowly. "Yyyyesss.....probably. I would use the same way to get there that we used to come back to the tower after rescuing Lorne and Varla. But I'm quite familiar with my own tower, and I've got a circle outside as well. You'd have to be a fool to miss that. But I've never been to any Valley of Unicorns, living OR dead. All I've got to go on is a description and mental contact with Kosar. There could be complications. We could miss, or if the foci aren't blended fully our spirits could be damaged. But I don't know any other way to get there. It's not like it's a quick walk up a trail, obviously."

A knock at the door signaled Uni and Warm Blood's arrival.

"Are you ready to depart, friends?"

"Maybe Uni and Warm Blood can take us there, or as close to there as possible." Hank responded to Presto's evaluation of the limitations of his teleportation spell.

"The fort you described last night is relatively near the Valley. If we return there, we can easily reach it."

Presto nods to Uni. "I suspect Uni is correct. If the orcs were expecting reinforcements, they would have come from the Valley. This is good, I've got a much better chance of getting us there in one piece. Not perfect, of course, but when are we ever perfect?"

He leads the others up to the lab and directs everyone to grasp hands once more. "Lorne, Varla...We'll be back soon. We're not sure what the jerks are doing, but it's enough to know they're trying something. They have to be stopped. You'll be safe here. I...will see you soon." Clearly words left unsaid and face reddening, Presto turns to clasp hands with those next to him and they all disappear in a flash.

Warm Blood and Uni completed your circle and everyone was carried by mystic manipulation to just outside the now ruined fort where you rescued Varla and Lorne. The similarly ruined remains of forest stretch before you into the distance where tall hills rise from the plains. There were sure to be spies about, right?

"It should take half an hour to get there through what's left of the woods. Stay close. The wild spirits will hide us."

The air around everyone shimmered green for a few seconds.

"We'll be harder to spot now. Let's go."

Sheila follows quietly through the ruined woods.

"I have something for you," Bobby whispers to Uni, showing her the horshoes he got for her. "I hope you like them. I'm looking forward to riding you into battle again!"

"So beautiful."

Once placed, the shoes floated an inch from the soles of Uni's hooves. In turn, the unicorn now floated four inches above the ground.

"I walk on air! Thank you, Bobby!"

Diana is quiet unless spoken to, letting the others do what they need to do.

"Alright everyone. This is what we came here to do. We have to defeat them completely in order to gain access to get through to the cave and beyond, or at least beat them back enough for them to abandon their positions.

The most dangerous ones are the two League members, Warduke and Zargash. We should also take down the mage in the tower so that he can't pick us off from there. If anyone knows how to block the entrance to delay the foes inside from reinforcing the fight too quickly, then that should be a good starting move as well. Presto can start with his biggest spell, I can pick them off at range. The two people who need to close in quickly, Eric and either Sheila or Bobby, can ride Uni and Warm Blood to get closer. Diana's fast enough to get there by herself. Don't let Zargash or the mage fire off their biggest spell. Hank defaulted straightaway into his leader mode, but with the wisdom of years he paused at the end to give everyone a chance to add their input.

Presto walks in the center of the other, his nerves causing him to unconsciously hide behind his friends. He gulps when he hears the strange wails caused by Warm Blood's disappearances and he tries his best not to think about what they are. Or how many other creatures AREN'T screaming in the shadows.

He nods listening to Hank. It had been a long couple days and he's glad to let Hank take the lead. Presto has power in spades and intelligence enough to analyze situations, but making decisions always made him nervous. He questioned his choices every single time. "A big spell? Yeah...yeah, I think I can do that. I hope you're ready, this might get a little...messy."

He closes his eyes and chants under his breath as the subtle runes and symbols on his Hat begin to glow with an orange light. Presto raises his hands to the heavens and the skies go dark. The party, and doubtless the creatures and people in the fortress ahead of them, can feel the ground vibrate with slowly increasing intensity. Those who care to look skyward see 4 pinpricks of red-orange light that grow quickly larger before they take shape. Huge fiery boulders leaving black, choking smoke in their wake become visible before slamming into the ground with an ear-splitting roar. Dirt, stones, and any variety of unidentifiable detritus scatter in every direction, stinging the skin and forcing everyone to look away. The heat alone forces Presto to dive for the ground as soon as his spell is complete. Nothing can be seen for a few moments due to the explosive light, heat, and an enormous dust cloud the shape of a mushroom.

Sheila goes invisible and runs as fast as she can away from the center of the group, west. If any of those mages survive Presto's attack, she certainly won't survive their retaliation if she stands ground zero of their counter-attack.