Rose's Thorn, Part II Report

General Summary

The changelings, having fought their way through the rats, approach the inner library door, staring up at it. There are a series of ten diamond-shaped indentations in the wall, with matching diamond-shaped stones scattered around the floor. Each has a number etched into it, with some of the stones already slotted into the wall, making the following pattern:

8 _ _ 9 1 _ _ _ 2 _

Lucky gathers up all the stones on the ground and dumps them impatiently into Skulde's lap, waiting for her to figure out the puzzle. Each one has a unique number on it, ranging from zero to nine, and excluding the numbered tiles already in the door. Frank stares at the sequence, chewing his lip. He runs through all the mathematical combinations that could possibly be the ordering of these numbers. When he comes up with nothing, he declares thoughtfully that this puzzle probably has nothing to do with the numerical values of these numbers. Perhaps it has to do with each letter equaling a letter instead? Like 1 = A or something? The motley puts their heads together for a moment, trying to translate the word, but to no success. Skulde suggests that perhaps the names of the numbers is the clue, and that it needs to be ordered by the number of letters in the name of the number. So eight has five letters in it, so it would be near the front of the line. Though this soon falls apart as well. Frank begins to wander the shelves, looking for any clues amongst the books. He absentmindedly picks two books off the shelf: "Two Knights Alike" and "The Four Year's War." As he glances at them, he suddenly realizes that all the books are in alphabetical order, much like a modern library. When he mentions it to Skulde offhandedly, she is struck with inspiration, rearranging the tiles until the numbers read:

8549176320

In other words, the numbers are arranged by their alphabetical order. The door unlocks, and heavy mechanisms open it, allowing the changelings entrance into the inner sanctum. It's another large library, stacked with books, with a large ethereal map of the cosmos in the center of it. Lucky immediately goes for the astrolabe, and begins to studiously dismantle it. While she does so, the other changelings wander the sanctum. George looks around for any books on redcaps, but is too distract by Lucky's machinations (botch). Skulde looks, of course, for a book on herself, and finds a nice thick tome. She takes it down to bring with her back to the freehold. Meanwhile, Frank and George both notice that the water in the fountain around the astrolabe shudders - rippling as if the ground itself was shaking. Then they realize it is shaking. They both stand up, looking at each other with alarm. Frank yells to Lucky that it's time for them to go - and that's when the HYDRA breaks through the wall on the far side, hissing and howling as it sees its prey. Was it awoken by the disturbance to the sanctum? Or has it always been here, hunting on rats and drinking the fountain's draft? In any case it no longer matters - they must fight or flee! George cracks his knuckles, casting Confounding Coils on himself, while Frank runs for Lucky. The hydra hisses, and two heads strike out at the closest pair: Frank and Lucky. Lucky parries the head, swinging out her greatsword deftly, while Frank is bitten in the shoulder for his troubles. George tries frantically to remember what to do when faced with such a beast, but he is panicked and not thinking clearly, and botches. Frank, clutching his shoulder, begins to sing in a rich baritone unbefitting his thirteen-year-old body. He belts out a Mexican birthday song, preparing to cast a Skycraft cantrip to get everyone to safety. Skulde, furthest from the creature, stalks towards it as she unsheathes her blade. Pointing it right at the monster, she yells "on your knees!" The magic fills the air - Sovereign answering the sidhe's call. Lucky swings out her sword at the hydra, but misses, and the hydra takes the opportunity. One head after another strikes at the children - and each hits. George and Frank only take glancing blows, thankfully. Lucky takes a slight bite on it, but nothing that a bit of antiseptic won't heal up. Skulde, unfortunately, gets hit bad: the hydra's head rips into her side, tearing out skin and muscle as she screams and collapses. A cold feeling rolls across George as he realizes this fight is beyond them. He turns and runs for the exit, as Frank releases Howling Gale - unfortunately, however, it doesn't go very well, barely tugging at their clothing. Skulde takes the moment to run, however, and releases Dictum, commanding the hydra to remain where it is. The magic takes hold, and the hydra thrashes in fury, but cannot move after them. Frank yells for everyone to get out now, and Lucky disappointedly grabs the astrolabe before following them out. The motley runs for Hilda's Freehold , thankfully making it without any more trouble. Skulde collapses, breathing hard as she presses a hand to her wound. Lucky, meanwhile, cheerfully thanks them all for their help and gets up to leave, but Frank and George stop her. They demand that she compensate them better - one dross each is not nearly enough for the danger of the mission, but Lucky scoffs. She paid them, fair and square. It isn't her fault they were unprepared. Skulde stands, and stares at Lucky with piercing ice blue eyes. It takes a moment, but then Lucky relents. She digs into her pocket and hands Skulde six more dross, then takes her leave. The motley all agree that Lucky is not welcome back in the freehold, and Frank begins to help bandage up Skulde. As he does, George hands Skulde his GameBoy and Pokémon Ruby game, saying that it's for her while she's recovering (but he does want it back). As she gingerly accepts, the motley share a moment of grim camaraderie. Their first fight. They made it out alive... somehow. Who knows what the future holds?