All eyes turned to the little kobold. Looking back at us, he said, “The goal is to pin the queen in place, while the army goes about purging the city, right? Then the obvious solution is to get a small group to sneak into the palace, and make sure she can’t leave. They’ll need to be small enough in number that they don’t draw unneeded attention before they get into place, but large enough to contend with the fact that there will be guards everywhere, and the Queen herself is likely well protected.”

General Daephyra nodded. “That is a good start to a plan. While the army and rangers can complete the encirclement of the capitol without issue, the odds of us doing so unmarked are slim. Someone in the city will raise an alarm, and that should distract some of the defenders from the approaches to the palace, if not the palace itself.”

The Princess sighed. “There is a secret way into the castle from the outside, known only to the royal family and the Royal Guards. It was made in the belief that, should an enemy attack the capitol, then, even if worst came to worst, the royal family might be able to escape, and carry on the nation’s fight.”

The General frowned. “This is information that would have been good to know before now, Princess.”

The Princess looked to the General, and said, “You swore the Oath of the Wood while touching the Orb of Oaths when you first joined the army, did you not? To stand against the enemies of Silverwood, and to never take up arms against the royal family? As did all who take up arms in Silverwood’s name?”

When the General nodded, she said, “Each Orb of Oaths is enchanted so that, when a person willingly swears upon it, the orb lays a geas upon them, and a curse. Should they willingly break that oath, they shall be sickened, and take some small measure of damage each day, while the curse activates, making it so that they cannot receive magical healing until they have atoned.”

That bombshell caused all the soldiers and rangers to come up short. The idea that they were basically implanted with command that would cause them to weaken and eventually die if they broke their oaths was troubling for them, no doubt. But the princess was not done.

She took a deep breath, and said, “You know the history of the Oath of the Wood, yes? A general, corrupted by greed and lust for power, attempted to overthrow the young king, who he saw as weak, and take the throne for himself. He killed the king, plunging the Silverwood into civil war, before the king’s sister won back the throne, and had the general executed. In those days, the first Orb of Oaths was fashioned, to ensure that never again could an upstart general attempt to wipe out the royal line.

“But there is another item. The Stone of Vows, that is older still. It resides in the vaults of the palace, and is only brought out when new initiates join the Royal Guard, or when a member of the Royal Family reaches their fifteenth summer. They are then sworn into the secrets of the palace, and take oaths to keep them hidden. These secrets may not be shared, save by three people: the reigning monarch, their declared heir, or the Lord Captain of the Royal Guard.”

I nodded slowly. “So, what is the penalty for spreading this information?”

“Death, if you are lucky. If you are not? Well, it is said that the first Banshees were oathbreakers who had their souls ripped from their bodies, and they were twisted and tormented until all they could do was continue on in unending agony, screaming their baleful screams. Whether it is true or not, I cannot say.”

The General grimaced at that. “Well, I cannot say that I agree with all of this, but I also cannot fault you for keeping your silence until now. However, this causes a bit of a problem. Our forces will be unable to fight against the Queen, or the rest of the royal family.”

Princess Findelye nodded, and said, “Which is one of the reasons why I engaged the services of Miss Rymedancer and her companions. The moment I was freed, I knew that a confrontation with my sister would be inevitable. However, I also knew that, while I was certainly no stranger to combat, I had not aggressively pursued it, either, meaning that there was every chance that I would be weaker than my sister in a direct conflict, especially as she had already overcome me once before. So, I needed those who were not bound by the Oath of the Wood to stand beside me.”

I cleared my throat. “If we are going to take a secret passage into the palace, then we can send a larger force. One that can, with a clear conscience, take down anyone they face, without worrying about brothers fighting brothers or the like. And I did promise Captain Dawson that there would be plunder and spoil for his crew, ere we were through.”

The Princess and the General looked at each other. Neither were particularly happy with that idea, that much was obvious. But it was also obvious that they did not have much choice in the matter, as old oaths had come back to bind their hands, keeping them from doing what they knew needed to be done.

Finally, the Princess turned to me, and nodded. “Only as much as they can carry with them, and no more.”

I bowed my head, and flew up to the deck of the Black Wraith, where Captain Dawson and his crew were all standing there, watching. “Well, Lass, there be far too many unfriendly eyes in the woods for my liking. What be the news?”

I nodded grimly. “They were even less friendly not long ago. But that is neither here nor there. Seems that the tainted food that spread through Ander’s Town is being served up at stalls all throughout the city, here, free for all as the crown throws a party. And you know how folk are when free food and drink are on the table. The Princess has ordered the city purged, before it can become a problem.”

Dawson whistled softly. “Well, that’s some right brass ones on her, and no mistake. Knew the lassie didn’t have a stick up her bum like a lot of folks around here, but to be able to go so far? Color me impressed. But what does this have to do with us?”

I grinned. “Well, the Princess is not wanting her sister to go and run off somewhere without giving her a piece of her mind, yes? But it turns out that the royal family has been making people take magically binding oaths for a long time, and those include not attacking the royal family. That means the army can’t go in and give her the treatment she deserves.

“However, I’ve taken no oaths, and I dare expect you and yours haven’t, either. Certainly not after being brought back from the dead. Also turns out that there is a secret passage into the Palace itself.”

“And ye be offering us up to go and help you and yours on a bit of queen-killing, hmm? But what about us? What do me and the crew get from slitting an elf-queen’s throat?”

“Besides glory, and a tale that you’d be able to tell across the continent? Each man, as much as he can carry. And you can bet that their royal guard will be having some impressive gear which would sell quite well, once you’re out of the Silverwood.”

If the pirates weren’t all skeletons, I didn’t doubt that their eyes would be widening at the thought. But the glow where their eyes were supposed to be grew a bit brighter, and every last one of them straightened up a bit. After all, what pirate worth their salt would turn down the prospect of glory and plunder?

The captain laughed. “Well, lass, you’ve certainly got a way of getting an old pirate’s attention, I’ll give ye that. It be true that we haven’t seen much in the way of fighting or booty, since ye called on us, but that beats being treated as disposable tools. But some of the lads were gettin’ a mite restless, so this’ll be a good thing for ‘em, I reckon. Tell your Princess that Captain Jack Dawson and the crew of the Black Wraith will help in making sure the naughty queen doesn’t go anywhere.”

Turning to his men, the captain held his rapier up in the air. “Hear me now, you sorry sacks of bones! We have a castle to be taking, and a queen to bring down. You heard the lass. We been offered whatever we can carry off in payment. Never let it be said that ol’ Cap’n Jack turned down such a heady deal, yeah? So, you worthless wretches! We’re going to go hunting! Everyone ashore as is going ashore, then!”

With a roar, the pirates followed me down the gangplank, and back to where the Princess and the others were waiting. As I walked up to Findelye, I couldn’t help but grin. “Well, Princess, I talked it over with the crew, and they seem suitably motivated to ensuring that your sister doesn’t get the chance to run from what’s coming to her.”

The Crown Princess nodded with a sigh. “And, as much as I would like to accompany you, and see it done, I have just been rather pointedly reminded that, if my brothers are corrupted as my sister is, then they, too will need to pay for their crimes. If that is the case, then I will be the last of the royal line. As such, I have the duty to survive this, so that the country can recover.”

She shook her head. “That means I cannot go with you, as I had planned. So, the best that I can do is to guide you to the entrance of the secret passage. It is sealed, so that only one of the royal line can open it from the outside.”

“Considering the austere vows you’ve taken, I presume that the method for opening the passage isn’t something simple like using a royal signet ring or the like?”

Findelye shook her head. “No, the ones who made the passage did not think things like that would not be secure enough. After all, rings can be lost, or stolen. Only the blood of the royal line could be trusted to be secure enough.”

I nodded slowly. “All right. Then, I take it that you and a few guards will be accompanying us to where the passage opens? How far would that be?”

The Princess shook her head. “Not far from here. That’s actually why I asked the General to direct you here, when the late Coronal Guard who was with you informed us of the situation in the capitol. The hidden entrance to the escape tunnel is just this way.”

With that said, the Princess led the way into the woods. By my reckoning, we were barely more than three hundred feet from the river’s edge, but with the way that the trees grew close overhead, there was no way that anyone would have seen us from either the river or the city. Indeed, it would not be possible to view us from more than a stone’s throw away, so dense was the forest.

In the midst of this forest was a large stone, the size of a horse. Large and sturdy, it was too heavy for people to consider moving through normal means. Even with magic, people would think twice before trying to move it, especially with how out of the way it was.

“Here we are,” the Princess said, as she stepped towards the stone. “This stone marks the entrance to the hidden passage. If you’ll give me a moment.” She pulled out a simple, nonmagical dagger, and then looked down at it.

Findelye’s attack (Findelye): 1d4+8 = 12 (Piercing) (DR 10/Evil)

With a vicious motion, she stabbed down, piercing her hand. Not that it did a terrible amount of damage, given the way her skin resisted the nonmagical blade. But it still managed to draw blood, and that, apparently, was all she needed.

She placed her bloody hand upon the stone, and it glowed with a silver light. The ground rumbled softly, and then began to slide to the side, revealing a small passage underneath, just wide enough for a person to walk down. The light of a candle in soft blue tones offered just enough light to see by.

Looking back at us, she said, “The way is open. I pray you good fortune on your quest.”

I nodded to her. “We’ll do what we do best, no worries.” Turning to look back at Ebonheart, I said, “Unfortunately, this space looks too small for you to fit, my friend. Instead, I would ask you to stay back and guard the ship. Since all of Captain Dawson’s crew are coming with us, it wouldn’t do to allow someone to try and steal their ship while they were gone.”

Ebonheart snorted, and just turned, to trot up into the air, and back towards where the airship was resting. He knew better than to argue the point, thankfully. Turning to the others, I grinned. “So, like I said, it is time to do what we do best. Let’s go kill a queen!” And, as everyone cheered, I stepped down into the half-lit passage.