As the Ember Enclave begins crossing Eirik’s Bridge, the rising hum resolves into a direct threat. A fully grown Flickerfly descends on the party mid-crossing. What follows is a chaotic battle across a narrow tree spanning raging rapids, where preparation, coordination, and resilience turn a deadly ambush into a hard-won victory. In the aftermath, the group returns to Whitecap and begins taking the first steps toward official contact with the giant clans.

The Approach

The party has only moments to react as the hum grows louder. At the center of the bridge, Bram quickly adapts a plan, fixing a grappling hook to a length of chain and anchoring the far end to a Suspended Rod. He drinks two potions in rapid succession, one ensuring a perfect strike and the other granting him the ability to leap great distances.

Raz cloaks Bram in invisibility, then steps forward and deliberately draws attention, waving and shouting to lure the creature in. Fhino slips into the foliage along the fallen tree, while the others spread out along the trunk to avoid clustering and give themselves room to act.

First Strike

The Flickerfly commits immediately, locking onto Raz and diving. As it passes overhead, its wings shimmer with unnatural brilliance and Shepherd falters, caught in the display. The creature follows through with a lethal strike, a razor-wing slash that would have taken Raz’s head if not for a prepared arcane deflection that turns the blow aside at the last instant.

The Trap Springs

Invisible Bram moves. With perfect timing, he launches the grappling hook and lands the strike cleanly, embedding it in the creature’s chitin. In the same motion, he leaps from the bridge toward the river below, chain in hand and the Suspended Rod beneath his feet. At the last moment, he triggers it.

The rod locks in place midair and the chain snaps taut, yanking the Flickerfly short and tethering it above the rapids. Bram balances atop the rod as the invisibility fades.

Pressing the Advantage

The party moves fast to capitalize. Shepherd calls the tree itself to life, branches twisting and wrapping around the creature to hold it in place. Fhino and Raz unleash arcs of magic while Eirik charges forward along the trunk and brings his hammer down.

Blows land, though not all cleanly. The Flickerfly reacts instantly, shredding the constricting branches and lashing out in all directions. Its wings and body become a storm of cutting force, striking several members of the party in rapid succession. It exhales a cloud of hallucinatory gas toward Eirik as it strains against the chain, trying to break free.

Holding the Line

The chain holds for a time. The Flickerfly pulls, twists, and surges upward again and again, failing to break its tether. Frustrated, it vents its aggression on anyone within reach, especially Bram, who narrowly escapes by leaping back toward the tree.

Fhino attempts to reinforce the restraint, throwing a length of rope around the creature to bind it further. The effort lasts only a moment. The Flickerfly’s wings slice through the rope as it thrashes, cutting it to ribbons almost instantly.

The fight becomes a war of attrition. Spells, bolts, arrows, and hammer blows continue to strike the creature as it retaliates with dazzling displays, sweeping attacks, and precise slashes. Many in the party are badly hurt, but no one breaks.

Breaking Point

At last, the tether fails. The chain snaps free from the rod and the Flickerfly surges upward. Eirik reacts instantly, seizing the remaining length of chain still embedded in the creature. He is lifted from the ground as it flies, dragging him out over the river.

As the party continues its assault, the creature has had enough. It turns north, trying to escape with Eirik dangling below. It attempts to slam him into the cliffs, but he takes the impact and holds on, catching the rock face and becoming a new anchor.

The River Claims Its Due

Shepherd rushes to assist, but the tree shifts beneath him. He slips and strikes the trunk hard, knocking both Bram and Raz from their footing and into the river below. The rapids take them immediately.

Both are prepared. Bram applies a salve that allows him to breathe and walks along the riverbed toward shore. Raz is pulled under, vanishing for a moment before reappearing in a flash of magic on the bank near the still-tethered creature.

The End of the Hunt

As the Flickerfly strains to break free once more, Raz unleashes another blast of arcane power. The creature falters, then falls, crashing into the river.

Eirik holds fast to the chain, preventing the current from sweeping it away, while Shepherd raises stone from beneath the water to force the body onto the shore. Nearby, Bram fends off a crystalline river snake before climbing out of the water.

The party takes time to secure what they can from the fallen creature. The Flickerfly’s wings, vast and razor-edged, are carefully removed, with panels of chitin used to shield the rope as they bind them for transport.

Bram harvests key glands and organs with practiced precision, preserving what may prove valuable later.

The journey east takes several days. At Whitecap, Bram confronts the settlement’s leadership in turn, including Mayor Oslin Crest, Constable Garlo Zant, and most directly Mira Dell, demanding to know whether any of them have been funding the Pale Offering.

Each denies any involvement or knowledge. No answers are found, but the question is now plainly asked.

The group turns to preparation, asking Quartermaster Hobb Rusk to quietly spread word of the newly discovered giant kaer and the planned meeting so that Dawnspire and the Aegis Archive are not caught unaware.

They then split to address lingering responsibilities. Shepherd returns to the mesa to report on the source of the smoke, while others recover and regroup.

A few days later, the Ember Enclave reunites in Dawnspire. There, Lysa Morren delivers a message. Benefactor Halver wishes to see them. He has already received word of the planned meeting with the giant elders and wants the party present.

They agree.

Before that meeting, the group settles other matters. Bram trades the harvested glands and organs to Brezug, who eagerly takes them in exchange for a selection of potions, clearly recognizing their rarity and potential.

The Flickerfly’s wings draw even greater attention. Word spreads quickly among local crafters, and before long a small consortium forms, pooling their resources for the prize. They make a substantial offer: two full chests of gold, or three chests’ worth of crafted goods and services in return for the wings.

The river is behind them. The hunt is over.

For the first time in months, the path ahead feels clear. Not another fight, but a meeting. A chance to speak, to share what has been learned, and to build something new.

Whatever comes next, it begins with that.