Snow landed on the lawn as the talons of the eagles touched down, next to the delegations of men, wizards, fairies and other creatures.
A tinny voice called out, "Welcome, friends of old. Today, we are gathered here to discuss a worrying issue. It has come to my attention that Queen Aurora, queen of the Realm of Fantasy, is missing, and we need to find her. Also, there has been a recent influx of smog coming from the West, the cause of this heavy snowfall. It's blocking out the sunlight!"
Cidarian stepped out.
"What now ?"
"How do we save the queen?"
"Silence! The answer is obvious. We need to send out a team of adventurers to search for her." Cidarian said.
One of the wizards coughed.
"Pardon, sorry to interrupt you. No offence, but how do we find the queen if we don't know where she is in the first place?"
Cidarian sighed. "We don't know."
--------------
"What now?" Elliot asked Cidarian.
The gnomish king replied, " If there only was a way to find out…"
Headaches suddenly wracked Helena's head. Visions.
Through white flashes of light, Helena saw, strangely, a volcano with snow on its peak and a stone floor with a circular, web-like gate over it. Blue light emitted out of the opening in the floor, and snatches of a song were heard.
A hand landed on her shoulder, shaking her out of the visions. Helena saw Elliot looking at her worriedly. She then stood up, raising her hand. " If I may, King Cidarian. I just had a vision. The queen is in the Land of Nightmares, and we must make haste."
The present assembly gasped. Cidarian nodded. "If what the Lady claims to be true, then we must leave to search for her immediately! Who will volunteer?"
-------------
After some silence, two wizards stepped up. One had a head of white curls, and was wearing an acorn circlet, while the other was the brown-haired wizard from earlier, who looked strangely elfin, and had striking green eyes. His long locks resembled that of a male elf. "We are from the Bright Province, and we will volunteer. I am Melvin the Wise, and this is my friend, Xavier the Enchanter" the white-haired wizard motioned to his brunette friend. The brown-haired wizard nodded silently in greeting. Helena sensed that he was not one to talk.
A confident voice spoke up, " I am Princess Lupa, of the Kingdom of the Wolves. I will volunteer to join this quest." A large grey wolf strode into the clearing. Following was a girl with golden braided hair so long it nearly swept the snow. Her eyes were sky-blue, and she was dressed in ranger-like clothes made of silver fabric. Slung on her back were a long curved bow and a quiver of arrows. The crowd bowed in assent.
Helena decided to volunteer too. Despite Elliot's warning look, she stepped out, speaking clearly, " I am the Lady of the Eagles, and I volunteer myself for this quest."
People turned their heads to look. Elsewhere, Elliot facepalmed. Meanwhile, the wizard Xavier started towards her.
----------------
Shortly after that, the smell of pine needles filled the air as a deep voice announced. "I will also be joining the company."
A snow-white deer with gleaming gold antlers stepped into view. It had icy blue eyes, and around its neck hung a gold pendant with an acorn and oak leaves. Its robust body stood in the sunlight.
"I am Thunderhorn, King of the Elves!" it intoned, looking deeply into everyone's eyes.
Thunderhorn. Helena resisted the urge to run out to him.
To tell the truth, since that fateful day, Helena hadn't seen much of Thunderhorn, only knowing that he chose to wander the woods and fields, never staying in a place for long. Only through the reports of her eagles was Helena able to keep track of the places Thunderhorn had been to.
The ground shook, snapping her out of her stupor. Everyone looked skyward toward the source of the movement.
A redheaded giant was headed towards them. He wore a grey hat and brown boots and was cloaked in green. "I, Shade the giant will join the company as well!"
The members of the newly-formed company nodded their assent as they welcomed the giant into their ranks.
Just then, a musical voice rang out in the air. "I would like to join the company too!" It sounded almost like song.
"Over here! I'm Starlight, a talking ship made from wood that came from the Land of Talking Trees!"
Everyone looked towards the ship. It had silky white sails and a dark mahogany body. The mast holding up the sail was shaped like a tree trunk, pieces of wood spreading out like branches.
"Welcome to the company!"