Alex Thundersmith and Grace Stormsong rested up for a few days and went back to meet Duncan Grimwater in the Haunted Cave. The Necromancer was sure Malastaire couldn’t be alive and wasn’t the one the Harvest Lord was called Master. He asked the two wizards to help him investigate. (Side Quest: Haunting Questions)

Grace mentioned to Alex that Haunted Cave was even a darker area than Triton Avenue! “Oh, there he is!” Alex points at the Necromancer. 

Duncan said, “You made it. Good. I was right, the Haunted Cave is open again! It’s been sealed for decades. This certainly explains all the Undead. Who could have done this? Malistaire helped cast the spells that sealed the cave so long ago. If only he were here, I’m sure he’d fix it.” 

Grace said, “Malistaire did this, I’m sure of it!”

The necromancer rebutted her statement telling Grace how that was just impossible. It had to be someone impersonating him and they needed to find out who that was. He added, “Those Field Guards: I can’t beat them, but if you fight them I can examine their auras. Maybe I can see who summoned them. Good Luck!” (Secret of the Cave)

Grace and Alex looked strangely at each other. Why can’t he beat them?  Alex surmised, “This is starting to sound familiar, kind of like Nolan Stormgate… Hmm… here we go again… we do all the fighting while they hang out and watch.” Grace interjected, “Shhh… He just has to save his energy to conjure the spells to see things. Wink…wink.”

The two diviners were wandering down the street and saw the Field Guards. They were very scary looking with pumpkin heads hanging on a beam that made them look like scarecrows. Looking further down the street they found another wizard in trouble fighting the same Field Guards they needed to battle. They went in to help and all set a different trap for each Guard. Out came Grace’s Lightning Bats and made one guard surrender. Now for the other two. The three wizards managed to wrestle with them and got them all down. After the scuffle, they went back to Duncan Grimwater to see if his spell worked.

The necromancer complimented them saying, “You did well fighting those Field Guards, they’re even stronger than I thought. I did see something dire in their auras… They’re minions of Lord Nightshade, one of the darkest tyrants in history!  He was sealed in this cave ages ago, but now he’s free!” 

Gasping for air, Grace got herself in control and calmed herself down. Alex patted her on the back and asked if she was ok. BREATHE…

Duncan looked at them and continued, “There’s a Tower deep in Haunted Cave, Someone must have broken its seals and freed the Harvest Lord, Rattlebones, and Lord Nightshade. If we can get closer I may be able to sense echoes of the ritual that opened the Tower. Let’s Go!”

The three of them ran for the Tower. Catching their breath, the necromancer, confused, said, “This… can’t be. I can sense the Portal and the spell that opened it. I’d recognize the magical resonance anywhere – Malistaire!”

Alex interjected, “We told you!!! I knew it was him!”

Duncan, in a panic, said, “I’ve got to go warn Malorn-er, Acting Professor Ashthornn. And then… I don’t know. What can we do? What can any of us do?”

Well, Grace and Alex helped Duncan find out who the Master was even though he found it hard to believe, he went to go get help and left the two Diviners in the Haunted Cave on their own. Grace mentioned to Alex, “We did what we could, now it is in the hands of the school. Why don’t we go out of this dreary place and go help the others on Triton Avenue? I seem to remember a few people by the river that needed help.

Sohomer Sunblade – Mill Foreman at Four Falls Mill

Sohomer Sunblade was the first person they came across. He called the two over to him, “Greetings, Wizards! Thank goodness you’re here! The Undead are making a mess of everything, but they’re only the beginning! Storm Magic Flows through Triton Avenue in a steady current. Or at least it did until all this craziness started. Now the flow has been diverted!

Grace and Alex looked at each other and shook their heads toward Sohomer. It must have been some side effects of what they just fixed earlier.

Sohomer Sunblade went on to explain, “The Storm Creatures that live in the river, angry Lightning Eels have swarmed up from the depths and are slithering amok!” He asked the two to drive them away because their electrical charge could unbalance things. (All the Eels)

“No problem,” said Alex Thundersmith, “We can take care of that for you!” 

Off the two went to take care of the eels. After what they have been battling, this was easy peasy. Charge with a Lightning Strike and conjure up those Lightning Bats! It didn’t take them long to get the Lightning Eels under control. They headed back to the Mill Foreman.

Once Grace and Alex arrived, Sohomer was grateful for them recovering his shipment. And sent it off to the people that were waiting for it. BUT asked, before they left, “We didn’t drive the Eels away fast enough. The Storm Magic surge lured a Kraken up out of the deep! It’ll wreck everything if you don’t stop it! You can use this Teleporter to reach the Kraken, but it’s broken. The Rotting Fodders stole its Keystone. Get it back for me double-quick!” (Better Get Kraken)

The two ran down the street to the Rotting Fodders. Alex’s Catersquall helped this time by laying out a Storm Assist to boost their Thunder Snake spell. It worked wonderfully! It took a while though to get the Keystone from them.

Running back to the Mill Foreman, he exclaimed, “You did it! Quickly, there’s no time to lose!”

The diviners ported down to fight the Kraken. It was a large purple beast with sharp claws and a tail. Grace decided to use the best spells she had and they didn’t work. The Kraken was in an uproar and attacked. She put another Lightning Strike on to boost her spell and tried again. This time it worked. Alex’s spells worked too! The second set of Lightning Bats took the Kraken down.

“Wow, that was a close call! Glad we got him down when we did,” said Alex

Grace sighed in relief, “We do work well as a team. I’m glad we are working on our skills together. Thanks for the backup!”

Porting up the hill to Sohomer, he ran to them and happily said, “I saw the whole battle, Wizards, masterfully done! We’ve got the beast at bay. Now I hope we can get the rest of our troubles sorted out…” In unison, they both said, “Agreed!”

Note:

Grace and Alex didn’t have time to do all the quests in story form so here is a list of all the Side Quests available on Triton Avenue:

• A Line-Storm Song
• A Scrap of Trouble
• All the Eels
• Better Get Kraken
• Decrease the Kraken!
• Haunting Questions
• Sniff ‘Em Out
• Tricks and Stick
• Trouble Underfoot
• Under Pressure
• Wayward Barrels

Where will Grace Stormsong and Alex Thundersmith meet up next time? I think they will take a bit of time to clean up loose ends and start Firecat Alley very soon. Come join them in Wizard101!

Humble Misty (aka @GmaFoley)