The group awakens to the thunderous pounding on their hexroom door, hearts immediately racing as sleep abandons them completely. The sound echoes through their sanctuary like a battering ram.
“Hey!” comes the muffled but unmistakable voice of Quintillius through the thick door. “I need to speak with you! Open up! I want an interview!”
Eyes dart between the companions in the dim light filtering through their hex’s common room. They freeze, barely daring to breathe as they lock gazes with one another. The unspoken understanding passes between them—stay perfectly still, make no sound. Everyone manages this delicate silence except for Alister, who shifts his weight at precisely the wrong moment. The floorboard beneath him creaks like a gunshot in the quiet, and he mutters a curse under his breath as he stumbles slightly.
“I hear you, Alister…or is it Titania?” Quintillius calls out with obvious satisfaction at catching them. “Come on, let me in. I need to talk.”
Alister’s face contorts with frustration before he finally responds through the door. “I am not allowed to see you, Quintillius, remember? You filed a restraining order against me. I’m NOT allowed to see you.”
The silence that follows feels heavy and expectant. Then, Quintillius’s voice returns, tinged with hope and desperation: “I can interview you through the door….we won’t see one another that way and I can still get a great story!”
Alister turns inward, clearly consulting with Titania in that mysterious way of his. When they speaks again, their voice is barely above a whisper as they leans close to the keyhole, their tone taking on a sly, almost conspiratorial quality: “Will you trust us enough to tell us a secret?”
Another pregnant pause stretches between them before Quintillius finally agrees, leaving the group wondering what they’re getting themselves into.
⚔
Later, as they plan their well-deserved break from the chaos of their recent adventures, the group unanimously decides to celebrate their few weeks of freedom with a proper vacation. The Moonshae Islands call to them, specifically the charming beach town of Fairview on Moray. In a burst of academic ambition mixed with wanderlust, they tackle the extra credit assignment of enchanting their trusty bus with flight capabilities.
After packing their belongings and supplies, they depart with Reyna confidently taking the wheel—or rather, the controls of their newly airborne vehicle. The sensation of flying in an enchanted bus is both exhilarating and slightly terrifying as they soar through clouds and open sky.
Eight hours of steady flight brings them to the northernmost point of the Nelanther, a scattered archipelago of verdant islands surrounded by crystalline waters. They make camp on a pristine stretch of beach, sharing a hearty meal as the sun begins its descent toward the horizon. The bonfire they build crackles merrily, casting dancing shadows on the sand as they laugh and share stories, finally able to relax.
⚔
But as the sun disappears completely and darkness settles over their little paradise, their peaceful evening takes an ominous turn. Three of them spot a vessel—roughly the size of a ketch—slipping into the bay on the far side of the island like a shadow on the water. Voices drift across the calm night air, speaking in a harsh, unfamiliar tongue that sets nerves on edge.
Debbie, ever resourceful, quickly casts her newly acquired Comprehend Languages spell. The fragments she manages to catch make blood run cold: “loot,” “bury,” “murder.” These are not the words of peaceful travelers.
Then comes the shout that changes everything. Debbie translates: “There’s a light on the beach!” The concern and alarm in the voice is unmistakable.
Without hesitation, they scramble to kick sand over their cheerful fire, plunging their camp into darkness. They hastily arrange for Alister and Hester to keep watch while the rest retreat to the relative safety of the bus for what they hope will be an uneventful night.
⚔
But their hopes are dashed when, later in the darkness, one of the brigands manages to approach with the stealth of a predator. He materializes from the shadows and presses a gleaming knife to Hester’s throat. His voice is low and rough, menacing her as he demands answers: what are they doing on this island, and how many are hiding in the bus? He snarls his questions about what valuables they might be carrying, his blade never wavering from Hester’s feathered ruff.
“We’re college students,” Hester’s whispered response has an admirable defiance despite her precarious situation. Her voice, though low, is sharp with indignation. “We have no money!!”
A second figure emerges from the darkness, gesturing silently to several other pirates who begin to fan out around the bus in a coordinated attack. One particularly bold brigand scrambles up the side of their vehicle, balancing precariously atop one of the large tires. He attempts to secure his grappling hook to one of the windows, clearly intending to tear it out, but his ambition exceeds his skill. He tumbles backward, landing hard and prone in the soft sand with a muffled thud.
Alister springs into action, casting his Flame Blade spell to engulf one of their weapons in magical fire. He charges forward to strike one of the pirates, but in his eagerness, he stumbles over his own feet. The magical flame is extinguished as he hits the sand face-first, landing prone and vulnerable beside his intended target.
From inside the bus, Debbie attempts to turn the tide with a Sleep spell, but in the stress and confusion of the moment, the magic goes awry. Instead of affecting their attackers, the spell rebounds on one of their own—a deck mage—leaving them unconscious at the worst possible moment.
Hester, displaying the quick reflexes that have saved them before, manages to twist away from both the captain and another pirate who had been closing in on her. She launches herself high into the night sky, her form silhouetted against the stars. From her aerial vantage point, she sends a Chromatic Orb streaking toward the captain below, but the spell goes wide, burying itself harmlessly in the sand where it creates a small, glowing crater.
As the chaotic battle unfolds on the moonlit beach, their peaceful vacation has clearly taken a decidedly violent turn.
