the brink of war with the faeries

	Linus stood outside the front wall of the Castle Never and tried not to tear his dreadlocks out with frustration.  One wizard!  Was one wizard really so hard to find in a city of adventurers?  He just needed one damn wizard!

	“And it's a big, glowing hole in the air!  Wizards love that shit!” he growled aloud.  “What's-her-face, the elf girl, she would have been all over that!”  He rubbed his face and thought back to the campaign against the Cult of the Dragon, now so long ago.  “Eve, that was it,” he grumbled.

	“Huh?”

	Linus turned.  A page from the Castle was standing there.  “Did you say something to me, Knight Vorth?” he asked nervously.

	“No, lad, just the air around us,” Linus said tiredly.  “Do you need something?”

	“Sir, the Arcane Magi Guild has rejected your request to dispatch a wizard to the Feywild Rupture until the breach is more properly sealed,” the page said.

	Linus' jaw dropped.  The page flinched.  “Are you… what?!  Why?  They specifically…” Linus trailed off when he saw the pain in the boy's face.  “I… see.  Fine.  Fine.  When may I speak to Lord Neverember?”

	“Lord Neverember is not presently in the city,” the boy admitted.  “This message came from the Protector's Regency office.”

	Linus set his jaw and reined in his temper.  “Very well.  Are you alright?”

	“Me, sir?”

	“You look like I scared you,” Linus said.

	The page flushed.  “No, sir,” in a lie so obvious Linus could catch it even in his towering rage.  “I'm simply quite tired.”

	“Mmm.”  A mystery Linus would have to solve later.  An abusive relation, maybe?  “Very well, then.  What is your name?”

	“Anrytho, sir,” the page said.

	“Anrytho, then, please relay my acknowledgement to the Regency's office,” Linus said, “and my intent to wholly disregard their refusal.”

	Anrytho froze.  “Sir?”

	“My stated task is to ensure that there are no risks to the convoy route between Conyberry and Neverwinter,” Linus said flatly.  “If the Regency office is suddenly unaware of that, then that is entirely their problem.  I shall simply hire a wizard myself and send them the bill.”

	Anrytho looked unhappily back into the building.  “They will find that… displeasing, sir,” he said.

	“I am entirely unconcerned,” Linus said darkly.  He noted the tiny quake in the boy's hand and felt something ugly unspool in his heart.  “And in fact, shall inform them myself.”


	Linus stormed down the halls of Castle Never towards the Regency office, with Anrytho scuttling along in his wake.  The Paladin had shed his helm, but he had not bothered to remove either his cloak or his armor, and the sable fabric billowed out behind him.  The city Watch stationed outside the Regency's office moved to stop him as he approached unheralded, which he allowed, but one look of suppressed rage held them up short.

	“Gentlemen,” Linus said flatly.

	“Er… Knight Vorth, you do not have an appointment with the Regency Office,” one Watchman said.  “Can I deliver a message for you?”

	“You certainly can,” Linus growled.  “Inform the Regency Office that I will be sending them the bill for the wizard I am hiring their behalf.”

	The Watchman blinked, but ducked into the office regardless.  After a moment's awkward silence, the door swung open.

	A human man, whip-lean and clad in brown and gold fabric, shoved the door open at a half-run.  He scanned the hallway for Linus and found him inches away, and skidded to a halt.  “Knight!  Knight Vorth!”

	“Yes, I'm right here,” Linus said flatly.  “Did you have any questions about the billing?”

	“I will not simply pick up your bill.  What kind of criminal nonsense is this?” the Regency Officer snapped.

	“Oh, I assure you that I will not committing any crimes.  I am simply making sure that your city does not get wiped out by a massive hole in the Prime Material Plane, which I was contracted to do.  Your office seemed to be laboring under the entirely false impression that I would be paying the full costs of protecting your city from a threat I cannot possibly counter on my own.”

	The officer swelled up in outrage.  “Your contract ensures that you will protect the trade route between Conyberry and Neverwinter, but that route does not extend to the far north of the River!”

	“My contract stipulates that the entire colony be protected, and that the logistical costs will be subsidized by the City of Neverwinter,” Linus said.  “Take it up with the Lord Protector's office of it troubles you.”  The acid glare he sent at the officer silenced his reply.  “Do not push me around, sir.  One wizard won’t break the bank.”


	Twenty hours later, accompanied by mercenary wizard Alonysius Primp, Linus found his objective.   Primp and Linus stared down at the hole in the surface and watched the currents of color fall over the surface of the orb.  “That… is some magic, alright,” Primp said in his huffy voice.

	“Mmm.  The other side empties out over the River of Fancies in the Feywild,” Linus said.  “There's a battalion of Wildercourt troops there, securing the site, but there's no way to get into it from their site without flight.”

	“Indeed!”  Primp picked up a rock and threw it into the orb.  Linus looked at him sidelong.  “What?  Science involves throwing things when I'm around!”  The wizard walked right up to the edge and crouched down, hiking up his robes over his knees.  “Hmph!  The orb did not react.”

	Linus looked around the massive clearing.  The green and brown mess on the ground from leveled and splintered trees made for terribly uneven footing.  A stream ran down from the hill to the north and ran into the hole, turning the bottom into a muddy mess.

	“This place looks like a dragon strafed it,” Linus remarked.

	“Hmph!  Yes, the damage is… immense…” Primp said distractedly.  He pulled a wand from his robes and cast a spell into the orb.  “Immense, yes, hmm.”  He rose and dusted his hands.  “I shall use the spell of Identify on this.”

	“Very well.”  Linus turned to face the orb below.  “Any idea where it's coming from?”

	“I haven't the faintest.”  If Primp meant to say more, he had no chance, because both men suddenly turned to see a soldier in armor appear above and behind them.

	The soldier shouted in surprise and landed on the ground, but bounced back up again with a flurry of shimmering air.  Linus watched as he bounced again, lower, and managed to get his feet under him.

	The soldier landed and rolled away from the spot, shaking his head.  He saw the two humans and went for his swords, but paused when he saw Linus' face.  He slowly stood.  “Er… Paladin Vorth?” he asked in stilted Common.

	Linus recognized the soldier's armor as he approached.  “Ah.  You work for Commander Tumnal?”

	“I do,” the soldier said.  “Our forces are coming to secure this side of the Rupture.”

	Linus stared at him.  “Do you have a means of coming and going?  Because that Rupture is ninety feet down.”

	The soldier edged past them and looked down.  “…Oh.  I can get back with this,” he said, tapping his belt buckle.  “The Knight-Commander will bring another battalion to this site as soon as we can stabilize the landing.”

	“Wait, a battalion?” Linus demanded.  He moved between the Eladrin and the pit, while Primp looked at the Feywilder in shock.  “Tumnal is moving an entire battalion here?  Why does he need a thousand men in the Prime?”

	The soldier bristled.  “For security.  We need to make sure nothing comes through to our side.”

	“To YOUR side?  So far, an entire flock of fauns and satyrs have wound up HERE!” Linus said sharply.  “What is Tumnal going to do about that?”

	The Eladrin flinched under his helm.  “I do not know, Knight, now please stand aside.”

	Linus' hand shot out and grabbed the soldier's arm.  “Now you listen,” he grated out in Sylvan.  “A thousand men is not security, it is an invasion.  If Knight-Commander Tumnal wishes to drop a thousand men in our laps, he will have a war on his hands.”

	The soldier tried to wrench his arm away, and found it impossible.  “Do not try to detain me!” the soldier said, but Linus didn't budge.

	“Do not try to invade my plane,” Linus snapped.  “I have had a monumentally bad few days, and the last thing I need is some uppity officer thinking I will allow him to park an army in my home!”  He threw the soldier's arm back, and the Eladrin tumbled to the group.  The soldier stared up at him as Linus loomed over him on the muddy dirt.  “Now you go tell Tumnal to send somebody who can actually negotiate on his behalf, or Torm save you all when I have to come through and do it myself.”

	The soldier scrambled to his feet and tapped his belt.  He threw himself down the hole and floated slowly to the orb below.

	Primp stared at Linus aghast.  “Are you mad?” Primp demanded.  “What if Tumnal comes through with his army?”

	“Then I’ll speak to the man.  He’s reasonable.  And if he does want a fight, then by Torm I’ll defend this Plane with all my powers,” Linus said darkly.

	He did not have long to wait.  Barely had the words left his mouth that the air above their head parted.  Four quick blips of light in random spots beyond the crater flashed, and four Eladrin in armor landed on the ground below.  Their magic belts sparked as they scrambled to their feet.  Linus walked straight towards Tumnal as he recognized him among the Feywilders.