Tail Feathers: In a Tall Tower

Tail Feathers is the exciting new miniature skirmish game by Jerry Hawthorne set in the beloved world of Mice and Mystics. Soar across the table, send your troops on dangerous missions, and defend your nest! Players will recreate the famous battles for aerial supremacy that shaped the Mice and Mystics world. Check our first preview, then pre-order Tail Feathers today for $15 off the retail price and a free promo Mice and Mystics Lost Chapter compatible with Downwood Tales!

“Two thousand fifty one, two thousand fifty three, two thousand fifty five.” Taphi bounded up the stairs, her long elf legs taking them two at a time. There was a great boom, like an immense hammer pounding upon a mountain, and the tower shook. Dust that had known the great kings of old swirled down from above, dislodged from the crevices of the tower's ancient stones. The blow sent Taphi into the curve of the inner wall, but she kept her footing and resumed her long race. “Two thousand seventy nine, two thousand eighty, two thousand eighty one!”

She came to a halt and looked around nervously. She had reached her destination, had she not? Taphi shivered in fear at the thought she might have miscounted. It suddenly seemed so likely. High outside the tower she heard the roaring of the beast, and she pulled the delicate silver chain that she wore around her throat out from her white robes. At its end was a tiny vial. Inside the crystal, golden powder shimmered as if lit by an inner radiance, and her long, slender fingers pulled out the miniature stopper.

Again the tower was struck by a terrible blow, and this time Taphi lost her balance. She fell upon the stairs at an odd angle, the glass vial flying from her fingers, and she cried out in pain and alarm. The vial hit a wall and ricocheted off, rattling down the stairs.

“No, no, no!” she wailed in Elvish. “Taphi you fool!” She scrambled down the winding stone steps and found the vial unbroken, the golden powder miraculously still swirling around inside. But Taphi's relief quickly evaporated when she realized she had lost count of the stairs. She looked back up the spiral and wondered how far down she had come. High above her, the beast roared in fury once more, and Taphi sprinted back up the way she had come. A human would have missed it, but Taphi's keen eyes spotted the slight disturbance in the dust where she had stopped and fallen.

There was no time. She poured out a fraction of the powder into the palm of her hand, and facing the inner wall of the spiraling stairs, she blew, her breath sending the glittering particles into the air. At first it seemed like nothing had happened, but suddenly a golden light began to shine out from the mortared gaps between the stones. The light spread, outlining the shape of a door.

“Kiese ma vellani,” she whispered in thanks, and pushing lightly upon the wall, swung the secret door inward, revealing inky darkness. Taphi entered the void and reached out for the hidden lever that sat in the doorframe. She pulled it, and from high above, wooden panels carved in the semblance of the celestial bodies moved aside, allowing sunlight to fall into the chamber. It was a bedroom, its decorations opulent and ornately fashioned, and though Taphi had never entered this space prior, she knew it well for it was legendary. As were its occupants.

They lay there on the canopied bed, casually bound in a lover's embrace, their bodies motionless and pale from the century of dust that had settled upon them. She had always dreamed of this moment, yet now Taphi found it all unreal. She stepped up to the side of the bed and looked down at the male. He looked more like a wooden sculpture than a living elf, and his mouth bore a curious smile.

But a great tremor ran through the tower, and a piece of masonry dislodged from high above. It crashed down into the room, taking with it an heirloom table. Taphi poured the remaining powder into her hand, and she blew it over the elf.

The legends of old make everything sound pretty, but the elf did not awake gracefully. He jolted upright in bed, screaming in terror or anguish, or perhaps both, his hands clawing at the air. When he saw Taphi standing before him he cried out in sadness, and looking down at his bride he whispered, “Summer must wait, my love.” He ran a finger down her dusty cheek before turning an angry face to Taphi. “Explain yourself child,” he snarled. “Do it quickly and do it well.”

“You are Zure Dothrykt,” she said, “the last dragon rider.”

“I know who I am,” he barked. “Why have you cheated me of my reward?” From high above them came an immense roar, and the tower shook and groaned. Zure's eyes found the masonry that had claimed his table, and he arched an eyebrow.

“I am sorry my lord,” Taphi said, stepping back nervously. “But your people have need of you once more. It's... it's Aerijin. He is come again."

Pre-order Tail Feathers today for $15 off the retail price and a free promo Mice and Mystics Lost Chapter compatible with Downwood Tales!

Written by Mr. Bistro.
Mr. Bistro is a writer and game designer for Plaid Hat Games.