Grey Folk

Chapter 5

Emory scowled and paced in another quick circle around the base of the Raven Queen's statue, the heels of his stealthy boots quiet even against the hard stone below his feet. On the west side of the courtyard there was a faint, glittering trace of pink and purple glyphs that kept fading in and out of view. That meant Rubius had drawn the teleportation circle, but had not yet spoken the final words to cast the spell and activate the circle.

Unfortunately, due to the magical defenses of Gloomhaven, whenever someone attempted to use the teleportation circle in the courtyard, Emory's skin sparked and itched all over with the warning of impending visitors. So it had been a solid ten minutes now of itching and sparking and cursing, and Emory was thoroughly enraged.

It didn't help that the midge in his bed had refused to tell him anything. He could see it in her eyes, she knew exactly where she came from. The only thing stopping him from shaking her and demanding answers was the genuinely lost look that filled her eyes when he told her she was on the Mundane plane.

She must be from elsewhere, then. The pool that had opened on his sand dune must have been a portal to or from somewhere. Emory hadn't met anyone like this creature Midge before, but the realistic options for where she came from were limited. There was the Shadowfell, of course, Emory's original home. It was a place for creatures who loved dwelling in darkness, embracing the inevitability of death with glee. Nightmarish horrors were never hard to find if one was looking for adventure, but Emory had fled that plane long ago. It was possible this Midge had originated there and was some sort of vampire variant, perhaps, but none like Emory had ever seen, and she had asked for water, not blood.

She could be from the Beastlands maybe, but Emory had met several humanoids from the Beastlands and all of them were animalistic shapeshifters of different varieties. Their animal forms were always close at hand for any situation in which they felt vulnerable or frightened. If Midge had been able to turn into anything but what she was, she'd have done so immediately, that much was clear to Emory.

That portal had not led to the Nine Hells, or to one of the gods' Elysium planes locked behind the Divine Gate. There was a vague possibility she had emerged from the Elemental Planes of Chaos, but she did not exude the fierce, blinding power of nature that such elemental creatures possessed. The Astral plane was only used for traveling.

That left the final and at this point most likely option...

Before Emory could complete his thought, the sparking on his skin culminated to an electric surge that was not painful, but was certainly unpleasant, and he stepped around the edge of the statue just in time to see the teleportation circle flash to life. With the sound of ancient machines attempting to start up, clicking and far off clunks from beneath the ground, the glyphs brightened and sent out a gleam of light that made Emory wince back and close his eyes.

When he opened them again, the ancient and wizened Rubius stood in a circle of drifting smoke, the glyphs fading back to solid stone once more. He was a human man, ninety years old if he was a day, with a white beard that trailed down to a wispy point at mid-chest, and a matching ponytail drawn back from his sallow, wrinkled features. Dressed in his customary purple robes, he was in the midst of polishing his golden spectacles and looked surprised that he had appeared where he was. Lots of that going around.

"Rubius. Finally. Why did you let the damned circle hover for so long?" Emory demanded, striding to the old fellow and crossing his arms.

"Oh, dear. Emory, so sorry." When Rubius spoke, his voice was strong for one as old and frail as he. "I was trying to complete the circle but  the market owner kept insisting I was not allowed to leave."

"I see." Emory peered at the glowing green necklace around Rubius' neck. "And it had nothing to do with that jade stone you bought with all the money you definitely have?"