After much bickering (and looting by some of the group), the intrepid team of unusual people (aka weirdos), finally make their way out of the fortress. The bad news is they can't go back the way they came, thanks to the little flesh devouring demons they ran away from. The good news is that Hannah managed to kill most of the wyverns and the rest fled with their ruler died. So, the way down the mountain, though cold, isn't extraordinarily dangerous.
As the group enters, the curious eyes of the lounging felines greet them. That curiosity is short lived, though, for when they spot the elder cat with the group, all apparent laziness is gone. The group finds itself nearly buried in a practical horde of large white felines, all rumbling and mewing at Eis and Lyne. The fae (and their goblin charges), suddenly quite feel like a mouse that snuck into the large catbed ...
Rosy seeks escape from the feline tide by climbing onto Sam's shoulders. "Play something to make them shoo, Sam," she pleads.
Hannah gahs and takes Feezle gingerly by the wrist, finding a short-lived opening in between two cat bodies so they can stand outside the group. She pulls the goblin through it as best she can, due to her bandaged hands. "That was close! I'd hate to survive a dragon just to be buried alive in a catpile."
The old fae looks up at Rosy. "Isn't this usually the other way around?" he says with a chuckle. "Take your welcoming like a hero, we did bring back their prodigal cat after all." He nods to Hannah. "You'll want to start working on your speech. There's usually a feast and then people want a few words from the hero of the hour."
Peaches works her way over to Hannah, working to shield the others as best she can.
Hannah smiles at the Knightsteed for her care and ruffles her mane gently with her fingertips.
The Princess nickers in appreciation.
"Hey Sam," Rosy whispers (loudly) to the minstrel, "if Lyne is Thomas' cat, and I'm the dog of Thomas' arch-nemesis, does that make me and Lyne cousins?"
The minstrel looks skyward. "Hmm. I wouldn't bring it up at the feast if I were you."
"Funny, but I don't really feel like a hero," Hannah notes to Sam in an undertone. "More like someone who succeeded due to the great help of her friends."
Sam responds, "That's how it works a lot of the time, but someone has to be there to strike the final blow." He looks down at her hand. "No matter what it costs."
The doglin puffs up her chest at Hannah's words, all the same, while Peaches looks dejected that she had to stay with the dragon.
Hannah flexes her hands gently. "Well, I didn't want the friends who had helped me to die, either," she says, smiling. "Anyway, perhaps we should allow the cats some time to catch up with one another while we discuss what to do about Feezle's situation?"
"Sure, but after that I have some suggestions for your speech," Sam says cheerily. "I've got a lot of experience in this, don't worry, you're in good hands."
"Is there someplace less filled with cats we could talk about it?" Rosy asks.
"Don't I get a say in this?" Feezle asks from where he stands near Elysia. Both are watching the group with amused interest. "And it's not like I didn't weaken the dragon a lot before you had to fight her," he claims. "She was practically beaten already!"
Hannah turns and gives Feezle a look. She gestures pointedly to Eis' great wounds and says, "Of course you get a say in your own fate. But please do not presume that the dragon was taken down so easily."
"Sorry, Feezle," the minstrel says. "Hannah's more lyric-o-genic and I've never managed to make a good ballad yet about the guy who weakened the monster so someone else could get the final hit."
And speaking of cats, a near deafening roar comes from the large gathering nearby. The feline group slinks back from the source ... who was none other than Lyne. He stands on two legs and is actually glaring at the others of his kind. "That is enough. There is time enough for questions later. Right now there are injuries to tend to and I will see to that. Allow a night of rest, I will answer your questions," he says the the fae's language (likely for their benefit and understanding). "But for now we are retiring in peace." With a gesture towards the group of fae, he adds, "Come."
"I hope he likes what his grandson's done with the old apartment," Rosy whispers to the others.
Hannah grins now at the doglin. "So do I! Otherwise, Eis is in for a long night..."
The group find themselves left alone as they move through the decaying city. Soon enough they are walking through the door to Eis' lair, such as it is. A fire is started in the hearth and the pillows fluffed. Eis himself removes the remains of his old and now torn armor, placing the few pieces worth preserving back on the stand. "I am sorry that your armor was ruined," he tells Lyne as the older cat is heading towards the room exit.
"/Don't be. It is a relic from a past that is gone,/" Lyne says as he waves his forepaw in a rather human-like gesture. "/As much as he would deny it, Father was the heart of the Hawks. When he left, they began to die out. For him to have returned ... it must be a sign to begin anew." The elder cat then leaves the room for another part of he house.
Hannah hmms after the older cat. "I think he needs some time alone, to rest and think about what is to come," she says gently.
The minstrel flops on a pillow, jingling. "Ah, nice to get that weight off my feet," he says.
"What weight? Yourself or all that gold you stuffed in your pockets? I'm surprised your pants stayed up," Feezle comments as he flops down into one of the pillows.
Elysia stands as she looks over the odd group. "Excuse me for a moment," she says, then slips out of the room as well.
Sam responds, "I learned a long time ago as an adventurer, strong belts are a necessity! That and a little weight, 'cause if you're too thin, belts slide right off you."
"So, are they going out to talk about old times, or do you think there's gonna be a fight?" Rosy asks.
Hannah also takes a pillow for herself and lowers herself onto it more slowly. "Well, now we come to the part where we come up with a brilliant plan to send Feezle on his merry way, since he'd rather set himself on fire than marry Princess Grizzelda," she comments with a mischievious twinkle.
Peaches rests her head in Hannah's lap after lying down next to her.
The minstrel hmms, "Fire might not be a bad idea. 'While we were escorting Feezle out past the cats, there was a tragic accident...'"
"Well, I don't know about fire." Feezle says, "I don't particularly like screaming in pain. It's more like being married to her would be akin to being perpetually on fire."
"I don't see why Feezle doesn't want to be king," Rosy notes. "Unless it's the whole 'King Prince Feezle' thing.."
"Y'know what you get when you're king? Or in charge of anything, really? A lot of whining is what you get. Taxes are too high, our roads suck, taxes are too low, the pigs are too clean, my feet don't have enough fungus," Feezle says, "It gets tiring when everyone depends on you to solve their problems."
Sam explains to Rosy, "He's got very un-goblin tastes. It's in his blood, you might say. It's marrying Grizzelda that gets his feet itchy." He asides to Prince Feezle, "You might want to start on a reputation for being ruthless. People consider their words much more carefully when they think you're measuring their neck for the headman's benefit."
"Are you kidding? That'll just make him more of a 'traditional' goblin king then," Rosy notes. "If you didn't want to run everything, Feezle, then why'd you tell everyone how to.. well.. live? In a town I mean. With all that fancy stuff? I mean, it can't just be because you wanted all of that, right?"
Hannah blinks at this while she pats the Princess' head resting in her lap. Then she smiles hugely and says, "If my feet ever have any fungus, please give me some sort of medicine! But I think I understand what you mean, Feezle. So I would rather you not go back to the goblins at all. It would be easier for them to keep you if you set foot in the city again. So some sort of explanation that we can give to Grizzelda may be in order."
Feezle rubs his forehead. "What exactly did Grizelda say to you that got you to track me down?" he asks Hannah.
Hannah shrugs at this. "She sent a letter to Lord Thomas, asking for the Hawks' help. As far as he's concerned, that's usually all it takes."
"The supposition was that you'd gotten kidnapped and she was worried about your well-being and all that?" Sam tries to recall. Of course he's taken a few knocks on the head since.
"Yes, yes, but it is still odd that she would contact Fae over me, unless she had other goals too," Feezle comments, "Most goblins are trying to look out for themselves. Now, if we take the fact I'm the best strategist they have, as well as engineer ... well, if I'm gone, that theoretically left them at the mercy of the Fae. So ... if I had to guess the letter probably served two purposes. One, that maybe I could be found if the best tracker alive was put on the trail. Or failing that, a start of an alliance between the Fae and the goblinkin. We do lack any really powerful allies now that Lord Eoin has gone."
Envoy says, "And probably because the wedding feast had to be postponed," Rosy adds. "You know how Greezy likes her feasts!""
"And probably because the wedding feast had to be postponed," Rosy adds. "You know how Greezy likes her feasts!"
"Oh, so, if we got a Fae to take your place at the altar, that would work too right?" Rosy asks, eyeing Sam.
Now Rosy gets a warning look of her own from Hannah. "Don't even consider it, please."
Sam looks relieved.
"How about one of the snow cats then?" Rosy offers. "That's an alliance too!"
"I would rather marry a hairball," Eis rumbles.
"Maybe we need to look at this from a different angle," Rosy suggests. "What could we do to make Grizzelda into Feezle's dream girl?"
Sam immediately responds, "Massive weight loss plan, personality transplant, and oh, more intelligent would be nice." He eyes Rosy thoughtfully.
"Lose a few hundred pounds and quit smelling like feet," Feezle dead pans.
"Maybe wet dog smell would be an improvement?" the bard muses.
Next, Hannah considers Feezle's point. "Well now, that's very interesting. Even though there were some decidedly...odd...things about the goblin city, it looked as if they were doing pretty well on their own. Hmm. An alliance could be formed but I certainly don't think it would come all at once. Perhaps we could start with the Hawks and work from there. Not all of our number are adventurers by trade, you know. They might find it fascinating to bring the goblins up to speed on new inventions and ideas."
"I've been trying that," Rosy says proudly. "
I taught some of them how to chase their tails."
"Oh, are you offering to come stay with us, then?" Feezle asks Hannah as he sits up.
"I must be honest, Feezle - I can't stay, although I may be able to make visits," Hannah tells the goblin. "I have someone very important to me who needs saving after you."
Unexpectedly, Lyne comes back through the door, a jar and cloth cupped in his hands. The great cat heads over towards Hannah. Once there he asks, "May I join you?"
Hannah is startled for a moment by Lyne's re-appearance, but she quickly smiles and says, "Of course! We were just discussing ways to keep Feezle from a fate worse than death."
Peaches releases Hannah's lap and makes some room for the big cat.
The cat settles down next to Hannah and he sets the items in his hands down nearby. Lyne then reaches over and takes one of Hannah's bandaged hands. His touch is surprisingly gentle and his fingers move with a grace that seems out of place for such large hands and fingers as he undoes the bandage. "Your kind insists on playing with iron," he remarks, "I have never quite understood the fascination."
"Hm. If he is that important to you," Feezle says as he looks at Hannah with an appraising, and disturbingly shrewd twitch of his eyes and lips, "Then he must be a treasure. Would you be willing to sell him to Grizelda?"
Hannah simply watches as the great cat takes off the first bandage. "It wasn't fascination," she remarks quietly. "I hate iron just as much as any other fae. It was need."
"Sooo, are you.. half-fae?" Rosy asks Lyne, sort of sidling up to him.
Hannah looks at Feezle now in shock. "Absolutely not! Nor would he want to stay in the goblin city. He is a Knight of April, after all, and has his duty to his House."
"No," Lyne answers Rosy. He undoes the lid on the jar he brought and dips a claw tip in it. The contents that come out are pale green and slightly slimy in appearance. This odd goo is then spread lightly on Hannah's blistered palm.
"Do you know any other fae who would want to be a king, Hannah?" Rosy asks the Hawk.
Hannah bites her lower lip for a moment to keep from grimacing in pain. Then she takes a deep breath and says to Feezle, "I can try proposing some sort of alliance with the Hawks first, if you think that would help to calm Grizzelda. But we still need to figure out a story to tell her about why you aren't coming back. I had proposed the 'love-of-another' angle, but my friends didn't think that would go over too well."
"That would be even better, a real knight," Feezle points out as he slumps a bit, dejected. "Ah well."
"Well ... you could claim I have to go work directly with the Hawks as part of the alliance. I can't readily be a king and directly help the Hawks," Feezle suggests.
"We could say he had a.. umm.. accident.. and can't consummate the marriage," Rosy suggests next, and then looks around. "What happened to Elysia?"
The green goo burns at first, but quickly begins to feel cooler and less painful. Once Lyne has the blistered well-covered, he applies a fresh bandage to Hannah's hand. "She is resting. She is also not comfortable around us. Such is understandable," Lyne explains.
Hannah thinks a little more as the green gel is doing its work. "Hmm, if Grizzelda is more concerned with improvements to her city, she may not care that Feezle can't, er, become intimate with her. Well, we could say that you're needed to travel a lot back and forth between our lands, Prince, to keep up the alliance, and to bring back new goods and ideas for improvement. But that would mean you'd have to face her with that plan." She looks into the goblin's eyes. "Are you comfortable with that, knowing that your fiance' may disagree? Violently, even?"
"What about his being the Bandit Queen's grandson?" Rosy asks. "Would that hurt relations with the fae if he were king?"
"Not if it doesn't come up," Hannah replies. "Or else, he comes up with a really good story to explain away his fae features."
"I wonder who his grandfather was?" the doglin muses.
"Well, I've faced worse," Feezle admits after a bit of thinking on the suggestion. "I can always run faster than she can roll."
Lyne starts in on Hannah's other hand. "Does it matter? Family is who raises you. not from whom gave birth to you," he points out to Rosy.
Hannah laughs a little at this. "If that plan really doesn't appeal to you - and I admit that there are a few things in it I'm not sure about, either - I do have one last suggestion. But we'd need Elysia's help with it."
"So I guess we aren't cousins then," the doglin says, shaking her head and giving Lyne a pat on his haunch.
"What are you talking about?" Lyne asks the doglin in addition to giving her an odd look.
"Mm, and that would be?" Feezle asks Hannah.
"Oh.. uh.. nothing!" Rosy says, wagging her tail and grinning. "I don't have any family now that Lord Eoin has passed into Historie is all."
"And you were hoping we were related?" Lyne asks next.
"Oh, no, I mean.. it's just.. you're Thomas's cat, and I'm Lord Eoin's dog.." Rosy babbles.
"Well, Sam and I put our heads together for a while on the walk back," Hannah explains, "and he suggested something I could add to the 'love-of-another' angle that might make that plan more workable. What if we claimed that you'd run off after the Bandit Queen because you fell in love with her? And when you found her, she loved you in return? Then when she discovered you were engaged to Grizzelda, she said she would challenge her to a duel for your hand? As I've said, Elysia would have to agree to this first. But the plan has certain advantages."
"I don't see the connection," Lyne admits to Rosy. "Did you want him to adopt you too?"
Feezle rubs his head. "Er, that is strange, given I'm related to her. I've heard it is common for nobility to intermarry, but. Well, I guess Grizelda wouldn't know that either. Were you then hoping Elysia would kill her in a duel?" he asks.
"Is he a good master?" Rosy asks.
Hannah grins at the goblin. "Nobody knew you were related to Elysia until she pointed it out, so I don't think you have to worry about other folks figuring it out easily, if at all," she points out. "Actually, I was hoping that Grizzelda would be so intimidated by a legend wanting to duel her that she'd just let you go without a fight. Plus, you wouldn't even have to set foot in the goblin city, unless you desired it. I think Elysia's act would be all that we'd need."
"He was a good friend," Lyne notes, "I have never known him to act as a 'master' of anyone. I remember him often saying he would rather that someone stand tall at his side than kneel before him. I have not known many fae, but I will always remember the kindness he showed others, and the occasional mischievousness in challenging people to look at the world differently."
"Oh," Rosy says, sounding disappointed. "So.. he didn't let you sleep at his feet then?"
"So you have your choice of ideas," Hannah concludes. "Which do you feel the most comfortable with?"
"Well ... the one with an alliance with the Hawks, or your last suggestion, seem the most likely to actually work," Feezle admits.
"He showed me a greater world than I could have imagined," Lyne says as he re-bandages Hannah's other hand now. "I wish that I had repaid him better. Life was often not fair to him."
"The plan involving Elysia has a better chance of getting you cleanly away, since you wouldn't have to be present for the 'duel' - which doesn't have to be to the death, you know," Hannah says. "But the alliance with the Hawks keeps the other goblins happier in the long run. You'd still have to talk with her, though. For the sake of your personal safety and sanity alone, I prefer the duel."
"Well ... perhaps if the duel works, we can then still discuss with her how I will still be able to help them improve," Feezle suggests. "Offer them a future anyway, just not the one they originally wanted."
Hannah nods to this. "I do forsee a situation where, at the end of our plan, Grizzelda asks how she's to improve her city now that she's lost you, so we could easily slip in the offer of an alliance at that point. So, do you wish to witness the action back in the city or no? And we need to speak with Elysia about all of this. It does rather hinge on her participation!"
"Oh, you couldn't keep me away. This is more my problem than yours anyway," Feezle claims.
Hannah flexes her hands again, experimentally, now that Lyne is finished treating them. "Thank you very much," she says. "They do feel a lot better. D'you think you could convince Elysia to come out and talk to us?"
"What you ask is a small thing," Elysia's voice answers. Apparently she has been listening at the entrance for a bit. "There are many wrongs in this world that I perpetrated that I can no longer fix due to the march of time. This is ... well, a chance to make more amends. Fate delivered me into your hands so who am I to argue?"
"Oh, hi there Elysia!" Rosy barks. She looks like she's about to ask the Bandit Queen a question, but then changes her mind.
Hannah looks startled but recovers quickly. "Heh, right on cue, you are! Well, I'm glad I didn't have to plead my case as I'm wretched at grovelling," she says lightly. "Thanks for your help. And I have to admit...I'm rather looking forward to the expression on Grizzelda's face when you challenge her!"
"Oh, she'll look like a mule that just discovered it has a really bad case of explosive diarrhea," Feezle offers.
"Ewww," Rosy says to Feezle.
"Thank you for that lovely mental image, Prince," Elysia says dryly. "So, that may resolve the issue of Feezle ... but what of your lost friend, Hannah? You are too much like your mentor, you do not often ask enough for yourself."
Hannah laughs and says, "That settles it, then! Elysia will throw down the gauntlet and we'll work things out from there. We can decide exactly what we want to say on the journey back." To the Bandit Queen's question, she replies, "Since we will come to the cave of traps before we return to the city, I hope I can free Sir Tristan with Valanice's dewclaw and bring him back with us." Her words sound confident but the other woman can see a slight line of worry form between her eyes.
"He's got really good hair," Rosy asides to Elysia.
"If her claw doesn't, well ... I'm sure I can manage a few tricks yet," Elysia says. "We can't have Knight Hair left in ice, now can we?" she adds after hearing Rosy's opinion of him.
"And he's really a guy," Rosy notes. "Despite looking girly."
The doglin taps her nose to indicate she knows the difference.
"With that settled, I suggest we all get some sleep," Hannah says, looking a bit more relieved. "We've a lot of curious cats to deal with in the morning, then another journey to make. And I could certainly do with a rest!"