The villagers exclaimed in awe at a particularly spectacular spread of shooting stars passing overhead.  Unhappily, he looked away from the heavens; even the stars couldn’t distract him from the message he held in his hand.  The scroll had been handed to him with an apologetic shrug in answer for his scowl.  He was wary of opening the parchment.  Hadn’t they had mysteries enough lately?

At least one mystery had been solved.  Her Majesty had been entirely correct, regardless of her source of information; he had needed the skills of every one of his traveling companions on the way to the Myrtle Holt.  At first, the warriors were unhappy about the inclusion of non-combatants.  In turn, those representing the Arts and Sciences had been initially wary of the warriors, calling them “stick jockeys,” gently poking fun at their habit of practicing their blows with sticks, rather than dull their blades.

During the journey, he could see respect growing between the three disciplines of service, martial skills, and arts & sciences, as they worked their way through each of the varied challenges they had faced to reach here.  How much longer would it have taken if they hadn’t figured out a balance between thinking their way creatively through a particularly nasty puzzle of a situation and simply bashing their way through it?  Or if they hadn’t decisively fought their way through when others would have stopped to debate the situation to death.  He’d have some incredible tales to tell the King when they returned.  “If we return,” he muttered morosely, absently turning the scroll in his hands.

They had found yet another mystery upon arrival.  The villagers had been almost comatose when they found them.  This would explain why no one was sending reports and tithes back to Their Majesties!  It had been an herbalist, who had admittedly been a bother on the journey, constantly wandering off on side trips looking for new herbs, who had uncovered the root of their problem.  He had found a grove of local weed growth nearby that he believed had caused this lackadaisical and lethargic condition of the villagers.  He explained that he had seen something similar in his travels south, but in that instance it had been a magical fungus.  Time, he explained, and removing the groves, would soon bring them to their senses.  That had been a week ago.

Remembering the King’s request to fill in the lost pieces of the history of the Myrtle Holt, he had questioned everyone he met.  A veteran of many battles, returning to the village after a long absence just this very day, had told him a tale of an immense “albino alligator” that had been discovered many ages ago in an immense cavern within their lands.  This sounded like the King’s tale!  In exchange for defending it from marauders and foreign knights intent on harvesting its pure white skin for use as their belts of knighthood, a white dragon with scarlet eyes would bestow gifts upon its defenders.  Thus had the position of Myrtle Holt Defender come into being.  While it was tempting to think that this fellow was crazy with his visions of large white reptiles, there were plenty of examples historically of white dragons. He couldn’t dismiss it as just a delusion, so with solving one mystery, he’d just been handed another.

Putting the mystery of how to locate a large reptile who didn’t want to be found out of his mind for the moment, he glanced at the scroll in his hands and sighed with resignation.  Unfurling it, he soon saw the sable lion and roses; another missive from Her Majesty! 

“All the challenges you’ve faced together so far will pale in comparison to those obstacles you will face next. I have foreseen that you will need all your skills to fight warriors, solve puzzles, and overcome obstacles to defend our mysterious ally with weapons and wits. Defend the Myrtle Holt! Save the Summits! Serve An Tir! These things that we hold dear are in your hands.  Remember, you are not alone.  Pull together your team and be the HEROES I know you are.” 

Yes, indeed.  Another mystery.  “Bring it on!,” he shouted defiantly at the stars and began to grin madly.  “Now it’s going get fun!”

Click here for Event Details -->