As we kept moving through the streets of the magical district, Gwyn ap Nudd dwelling finally came in to view. In the end Lady Creiddylad did let us pass. There was a tense moment after my ultimatum, with Nudd’s enforcers hands going for weapons and all. But I knew that it was mostly bravado. While I could have been more polite about it, we were within our rights and hell would freeze over before Lady Creiddylad would break her husband word, she was Sidhe after all.

As I explained, all she did was to give us the impressions that there would be blood if we continue. It was all your not welcomed here not your forbidden to be here, a show of strength but no direct threat of attack if we don’t leave.

Still, I won’t lie I wasn’t a little nervous. It’s like a somewhat narrow overtaking on the road. You did it lots of times, your experience tells you there is plenty of time to finish and return to your lane before the incoming truck reaches you, but ur adrenaline still spikes and and you still let go of the breath you were holding when your back in to your lane.

The sidhe lord home was right against the wall, as was the home of all the powerful Wyld fae. It occupied at least 4 blocks, two of them being wooded area the rest there was a small keep with gardens.

As we approached the gates we were met by two sentinels, one was an old looking man, clearly a mage of some kind as he was wearing a robe and carrying a staff. The other was a sidhe woman wearing tight leather armor and carrying a longbow. The opened the gates for us and our escort without a word as if we were expected.

As we crossed the gates I could feel the fae magic pervading the air. Both the detectives stopped cold as the enchantment on their cloaks let them know of the magic. “It’s ok”. I let them know. “It’s only ambient magic, any powerful fae dewling is full with it.”

Our escorts motion for us to keep moving, still without a word, they weren’t really pleased with the way I treated their lady. Well, not that I care. And it’s her fault for trying to play me like any other mortal.

It takes us about 5 minutes walking to pass through the wooded area, the woods being much bigger then when looking from the outside. Probably extended by magic. Halfway through the wooded area our escort started to get bigger. Forest Nymphs, dryads and pixies joined us following us from outside the trail. A pack of great fae hounds left the woods behind us and started following our trail. As we reach the small plaza in front of the keep doors we were greeted by what I suppose was the entire host of the Tylwyth Teg.

A few hundred of Fae were gathered there. Nymphs, dryads, pixies, goblins, hounds, even a couple of troll hiding on the shadows. But mostly the Sidhe, the fair folk.No beautiful dresses for the woman or dazzling outfits for the man today. Leather armor and mithril chains were the norm together with longbows, spears and swords. War horses standing by the side. The Tylwyth Teg were dressed for battle.

And on a throne placed in front of the keep doors with his wife standing by his side sat Gwyn ap Nudd. Even sitting you could see he was tall, he had raven black long hair, his face painted black accentuated the silver of his eyes. Wearing a black coat over a set of mithril chain with a longsword resting on his lap and the air around him thrumming with magic, he was a sight to behold.

“Tell me, what brings the lap dog of the Queen of Air and Darkness, the one blessed by the spirits of fire and two mortals to my dwelling.” He asked us without lifting his head from the longsword on his lap. His voice melodic but cold.

“Greetings Gwyn ap Nudd, lord of the Tylwyth Teg, master of the Wild Hunt and guide of fallen warriors.” I answer him. “I thank you for receiving us, and pledge to act as a guest invited in to your home.” The Laws of Hospitality are a big thing on the magical world, especially among the Sidhe and the Fae in general. It’s basically a code of conduct that most magical beings follow to avoid conflict when meeting. When you leave for as long as most of those beings live, it’s good to be polite.

The the most base principles of the law are that during your stay you won’t cause any problems for your host and will not discuss anything you hear here outside if asked not to. And in return the host will keep you safe and be polite while you are his guest. There are thousand of small nuances that can change how this works, but that is the gist of it. Like oaths, breaking the laws is bad for any mage.

I hoped that by offering to act as a guest without being offered an invitation, basically binding myself to follow the laws without Gwyn to be obligated to act as host, I could demonstrate good faith with the Sidhe lord and cut the chase.

Murmurs from the gathered fae was the only sound while Gwyn judged my words and their meaning. The silence extended for half a minute until Gwyn spoke again. “Very well wizard, I accept your pledge, tell me what brings you here?” From lap dog to wizard, that's an improvement.

“My lord, I’m here on business of the guard, who is searching for someone whos kidnapping people from the enclave. It’s our understanding that you search for them as well, and it seems that both of efforts are hindering each other. I wish for us to discuss the problem and maybe pool our efforts to unravel the identity of the perpetrator and punish him.”

“What you mean Wizard, is that your Guard can’t find the murderer of my daughter and hopes to use me and mine to help, and them deny me my revenge when the time to deal with this creature.” His voice never loses it’s melodic tone, but I can feel the magic warping in response to the cold rage hidden on his tone. Still, we already learned that his daughter is dead not missing and discarded a mortal as the perpetrator.

“Now my lord, I hear your pain. But don’t lay blame on me and mine when it’s your to bear. Have you and yours not worked to keep the Guard away? Just today on my way here, your wife made clear the guard isn’t welcome here.” There is a collective inbreath of most of the present.

“You speak true Wizard, on my grief I wanted justice faster than your mortal institution delivers. Still, my daughter is dead, she was the only thing I had left of her mother and I will have my revenge”. You might be thinking, hey guy, your mourning the loss of your mistress with your wife standing by your side? Well, that is because your making the mistake of thinking the Sidhe human. They look humanoid, and we can relate to them in many things, but they aren’t human, assuming they will always act as we do is a mistake that many people lost their lives to. From all the Fae care about oaths, debts, honor and etc, infidelity is the only sin they don’t mind, true is that are many stories of mortals marrying the Sidhe until their deaths when then the spouse returns to his immortal mate.

“My lord, if the missing persons are dead as you imply, promise you that after the guard gets anything they want from him, you can have him, if you help us catch him.” Gwyn nods, and the crowd murmurs approval, but detective West pull my shoulders and I turnt o her. “What the fuck Dagworth, you can’t promise that, citizens cannot deal justice, it’s pure vigilantism”. She angrily whispers to me. “Look detective, whoever is doing this is already likely to dance in the gallows for the abductions, and if the victims are really dead, the penalty is a given. But I don’t think we will find him without Gwyn help. We surely won’t with him interfering. Sometimes it’s not about the justice you want, but about the one you can get.” I wait a few seconds for her to nod and continue. “And to make sure you really understand, the thing with the lady on the way was a show of strength, this here" I point to the crowd" is a statement, Gwyn is calling a hunt to find whoever is guilty. He might not be strong enough to summon the Wild Hunt, but if all the Tylwyth Teg ride out, they will find and kill their prey, together with a lot of innocent bystanders. And we don’t..” Fuck! I stop mid sentence, because as I explained how the fae roll to the detective I realized I’ve been played.