[ We find Our Heroes wandering amidst the tugley wood. Overhead, the song of the jubjub bird can be heard, telling Our Heroes to beware. But they press bravely on in search of a witch! Which they will not burn, nor use to construct a bridge. ] [ Their encounter with a Jabberwock a few minutes past ended mysteriously, which is odds since these fights typically end in a straight- forward manner; generally, the enemy dies and that's it. But this forest seems to be increasingly mysterious, which is trully an enigma. Or possibly a conundrum. ] [ Anyway. Session start! ] You sure you're both okay? The Jabberwock didn't catch either of ya with a stray swipe or anythin'? I'm fine. Worried about what's going to happen now, though. * Ada looks around as she walks. "We're fine, Ethan." Good, good. s'nice ta see one of my plans actually work for a change. *grins* ... though, admittedly, the whole 'getting mauled' thing wasn't part of the original plan. * Sei nods. "Rarely is." You handled it well enough. It... left. * Ada frowns. * Ethan smirks, an... odd, and somewhat disconcerting gleam in his eye. "And if any of us're gonna get mauled, best it be me, ne?" * Ada blinks and looks back and up at Ethan. "What a question to ask." Well, think about it. Sei's our healer. If he got chewed up and spit out by that thing, he'd be in trouble. And... *shrugs* (Ethan: . o O (I'll never get laid if Ada dies. Or if she's psychic.) ) And? (*snerk*) * Sei peers at Ethan. * Ethan pauses for a moment before answering with something that was, quite obviously, not his first thought. "And... well... you getting mauled would be a bad thing, right?" *grins* * Ada chuckles faintly. "Painful, at least. But no less for you." m'used to it. I'm a soldier; part of the job is learning how to take a beating and keep going, even when you're leaking heavily through several new openings in your body. * Sei nods. ( Pain doesn't bother me. I'm MANLY. ) Right. * Ethan rubs the back of his neck. "I mean, sure, it hurt like all hell, but... this's gonna sound kinda odd, but I'd rather get the crap kicked outta me than see my friends get hurt at all." * Sei smiles slightly. "Thanks, Ethan." * Ada nods, turning her attention back to her surroundings. "That's a good thing." She pauses, then nods again. [ "How Noble," says a voice out of nowhere. ] * Sei blinks, and looks around. Thanks Sei, Ada, Mysterious Voi- hey! *looks around* * Ada sighs in mild annoyance. "Good day to you, too." [ Since you're observant little heroes, you all spot what may be the source of the voice; a big, toothy grin hanging in mid-air a few feet along the path. ] * Ethan drops into a ready stance, glaive upheld as he tries to move between the others and whatever... the mouth thing is. "Nice teeth. Very shiny." [ "Oh, why thank you," says the voice. "I really do spend an awful lot of bother keeping them this way. It's nice to have it all be for something." Two cat's eyes slide open atop the smile, which jauntily approaches you. "My my, this is something we don't see every day around here." ] ... * Ada folds her arms. She doesn't seem particularly impressed. "Really. And what's that?" [ The eyes glance at Ada in surprise. "You... you don't know? Heh. Heheh. HeHAHAHAHA!" The eyes close, and the disembodied mouth goes about laughing and rolling on the ground. ] * Ada rolls her eyes. She goes about walking past Ethan and the rolling mouth. * Ethan blinks at the rolling eyes (Ada's and the mouth's), then shrugs and follows Ada. * Sei does likewise. >_>; [ The mouth appears atop Ada's head, soon followed by a face; that of a purple cat. "You really are doomed, you know. Or do you? You seem to not have a care as to weather you're getting into, here." ] * Ada frowns deeply, then flicks her eyes upwards, though she probably doesn't see more than the cat's paws. "If you're going to tell us something, tell us." ( Wai! Neko-chan kawaii! *glomp*) [ "Tsk tsk. No reaction, no questions, no wonder; no fun at all. Clearly, spending your formative years in the lap of Faerie has warped your mind. It has made you, well... *inhuman*." This last is spoken quite coldly, as would be a dire curse. ] * Ethan blinks. "There's a cat on your head, Ada. And it's talking." * Ada winces, then snaps, "You say that like I've had a choice. And who are you to know what's human and what's not? You're - thank you, Ethan - a cat." * Ethan looks over at Sei. "Cats aren't supposed to talk. Do elven cats talk?" [ "Oh, is that what I am? How good to know. I am ever so amused that you've endeavored to give me a definition, but I'm afraid I must refuse." ] Nnnno, they don't. * Ada sighs. "Fine. Then what are you? And is it comfortable on my head, because I'm afraid I haven't had the opportunity to find out myself, nor do I desire one." * Ethan turns back to Ada and the cat. "So you're not a cat, then. Okay. That's a relief, I guess. Sorta. Talking cats would be a sign that I'm cra- er... so what are you?" [ The cat reappears in front of Ada, floating on air, its tail flipping idly. "You want me to be informative, and so I will, just this once. You *were* born under the care of this place, although you doubtless do not know, and so I owe you, at least, that much. The rest of what resides here may not think the same, however, and certainly the Jabberwock does not." ] * Sei blinks. * Ada stops so she doesn't bump into the not-cat. She blinks. "What?" [ The grin widens. "Have a care for your safety here, Ada, for there are always things you will not understand in any concrete sense, and most of them live in these woods. You're on the right path to find what you seek, for now, and it is a dangerous road yet ahead." ] * Ethan starts to say something, but shuts up when Ada's past comes up, and just listens for once. * Ada opens her mouth, then closes it. She tries again. "How... what? I was born here?" [ "Ah, now I've got you curious. Good. Curiosity will save you, here where such strange things happen." The cat begins to vanish, slowly, body first. "I think I shall leave you to wonder, now, and that will be more of a gift than you realize." ] * Ada 's eyes widen, and she rushes forward, grabbing at the cat. "Wait! You can't do this to me!" [ "Oh, but yes I can," the cat says as Ada's hands pass through him. "And I must, too. Just remember, there are things here that are beyond your... 'ken', uhahah." And then he's gone. ] * Sei groans. * Ethan is still quiet. He's eyeing Ada concernedly. * Ada tries to grab at it again anyway, even though it's pointless. "Damnit! You can't... just..." She trails off, then snaps her head up and looks back at Ethan and Sei. "What?" * Sei sighs. "I'm sure we'll find out more, but...are you okay?" (Ada kill!) * Ethan doesn't say anything, just giving Ada his best 'Chill, I Just Concerned For Ya' look. * Ada eyes him for a moment. "I'm fine." She goes back to walking into the wood. "We'd better keep going." * Sei nods. * Ethan frowns doubtfully as Ada walks past, but decides discretion is the better part of valor in this case, and follows along. He is, however, more noticeably cautious in terms of keeping an eye/ear out for anything non- friendly. * Ethan twirls his glaive nervously as he goes, switching it from hand-to-hand in ever more intricate patterns while almost unconsciously making sure not to disembowel Sei or Ada with it. * Sei is just looking around, and brooding somewhat. This is a good forest for brooding, at least until the purple cats with unusually expensive dental work show up. (Next time, the cat'll have braces. Just wait.) [ Our Heroes continue along, not encountering anything frumious enough to attack them. After a few minuts, however, they hear faint giggling. ] (Giggling like the cat giggling?) ( Nah. The cat uses invisalign. And no, more like small children. Only higher-pitched. ) * Ada looks around, trying to locate where it's coming from. * Sei does likewise. ... for a forest of doom, everyone sure seems cheery. *mutter* * Ada scowls. She doesn't seem particularly cheery. [ Ada finds it, although it takes a while; there's a small fountain nearby, consisting of mossy rocks forming a pile with a spring giving water up through the top. Around the fountain are a trio of half-foot-tall, human- proportioned women with butterfly wings. They are giggling, and they seem to be giggling at you. ] * Ada tries not to let her annoyance show. She really does. "Hello?" * Sei bows. "Good day." * Ethan salutes casually. ( Hello, ladies. *pimpmusic* ) [ "Oh dear!" says one of them, whose hair is green. "She's noticed us." She looks worriedly to one of the others, whose hair is long and silver. "Mi'mi min'fa?" She asks in a tone of voice that sounds concerned. ] [ The silver-haired little... uh... butterfly-girl-thing, shakes her head. "No, I don't think she'll 'do something mean'." She flies over to Ada and looks her over briefly. "Greetings, Ada. I'd say that it's good to see you doing so well, but that would be two lies from me, and you wouldn't appreciate it besides, I think." She gestures to the last one, whose hair is red, and she stops giggling. ] * Ada tilts her head, studying the butterfly-girls. "Unlikely. I'd ask why everything here seems to know my name, but I doubt I'd get an answer." [ "I assure you there's a good reason, although I cannot say what it is, and I really am sorry." The other two nod emphatically at 'good reason' and 'cannot say'. ] * Ada smiles faintly. "And that you're sorry? Is that a lie?" [ Silverhair frowns. "It isn't. I hate to see someone made unhappy, even if there's reason to it." ] * Ada sighs. "Fine. Is there anything you *can* tell me?" [The other two butterflygirls come and look at Ada, too, fascinated. Green then flies over and looks at Ethan before tugging playfully at his goatee.] (We on the sidelines cheer for Green.) (Woot!) (Whee!) * Sei grins. [ Yes, there is, but you've probably already heard most of it. There are things in here that will not like you, and that which you now are; I admit I am one of them, and I'll note that these others are quite frightened of you." ] * Ada watches Red fly around and peer. "Which is why they're taking such a close look, I imagine." * Ethan blinks, and is tugged at. "Hey!" he half heartedly protests [ Red eeps and makes 'please don't hurt me' gestures. "I'msorryI'msorry!" Silver shrugs. "Their curiosity is stronger than almost any fear. But nevermind; I'll do you one favor. I owe it to someone, and I don't like being in debt. Drink from the spring here. It will... come in handy." ] [ Green gives Ethan a kiss on the forehead before fluttering off and looking over Sei instead. Red joins her in this pursuit. ] * Sei peers at them. * Ada shakes her head. "I won't hurt you. I like your hair too much," she says, completely straight-faced. * Ada focuses on Silver again. "Come in handy? How?" [ Red giggles. Silver shakes her head. "That's something I could tell you, but then it wouldn't do you any good." ] [ "I would rather that my gift mean something, you see." ] * Ethan blushes. * Ada puzzles over that, then sighs again. "No, I don't." She takes a closer look at the spring, and hesitantly dips her fingers in it. [The finger she dips feels tingly in a good way. That's something new.] * Ada jerks her hand away, more from surprise than anything. [ Red and Green gasp and begin talking to each other in that weird language of theirs. Silver sounds concerned when she asks, "It did'nt hurt, did it?" ] No. It just felt... different. [ Silver nods. "I'm glad." ] * Ada looks at Silver oddly. "Why?" Then she shakes her head. "No, you can't tell me. Might as well get this over with." She gives Ethan and Sei a glance before cupping some water in her hands and having a sip. * Ada blinks a few times and stands, shaking the water from her hands. She looks down at herself. "Not dead. That's a good sign." [ Red and Green giggle at that. Silver just nods. "Oh, and one other thing; be careful at the bridge. There's another thing that won't like you, but it's generally disagreeable anyway." ] * Ada nods. "We will. Thank you." * Sei nods, and bows. "Thank you." [ Red and Green wave and say something in their language. Silver nods. "Your welcome." The three little things go back to frolicking and giggling, then. ] * Ada watches them for a bit longer before continuing on her merry way. However merry that is. * Sei continues on, brooding. * Ethan follows. "At the bridge? Mmm... guess I better get a'planning again... I got it. How about I hit whatever it is that doesn't like you until it likes you?" *grins* That might or might not work out... * Ada snickers. Well, if it doesn't like Ada, it's gotta be pretty disagreeable. I mean, she's so cheerful, and friendly, and about to fry me if I keep this up! [ You go a little further, and then you see what Silver was talking about. The bridge runs over a fast-running river that's gouged a bit of a ravine over the years. In the center of the bridge stands what looks like an oversized, overmuscled human with green skin and a very long, warty nose. It looks angry about something. ] * Ethan winks at Ada, then notices the big ol' thing, and slows before he reaches the bridge, eyeing it warily. * Ada shakes her head in mild amusement, then slows as she reaches the bridge, too. [ The big thing leans waaay over to glare at Ada. He sniffs the air in front of her and makes a face. Ada can tell he smells awful, and yet the thing has the audacity to declare; "Youse stink! Stink bad!" ] * Ethan blinks, then sniffs at Ada. "Well, we've been traveling for a while, but it's not really that bad at all..." * Sei nods. * Ada wrinkles her nose, coughing before she can stop herself. "Wonderful." [ "No no no!" says the big ugly thing. "She no stink of mansweat. Youse stink of mansweat," he says gesturing at Ethan. "She smell worse. Smell you no smell." ] ( I should hope Ada doesn't stink of mansweat. Otherwise we'd get an appearance by JealousChibiEthan. =P ) (...) (...) (You go Ada.) * Ada eyes him. "So I smell. What does that have to do with anything?" (Is it too late to kill them all?) ( The fourth wall falls on Jesse, doing 14d10 damage. ) 14d10 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (14d10) and gets 82. (He survives either way!) ( Barely, but yes. =P ) ( A second wall needs to fall then. ) ( A cieling tile falls on Jesse, doing 1d12 damage. ) [ The big ugly thing snarls. "No like smell! Smell bad. It hurt nose, it hurt little people. Youse bad! So youse go. Go!" He makes shooing gestures towards the way you came from. ] * Ethan looks a bit confused. "A smell I can't smell? Whaddya mean?" [ "Feh. 'Course you no know. It magic smell! Stink of Faerie. Faerie no like us, we no like Faerie. We no let Faerie into forest." ] ... what about humans who use magic? Witches, I think they're called? [ "It's a different magic," says a new voice from behind the big thing, which starts, turns, and steps to the side. "The magic of Faerie is quite different. It is subdued and beaten into the shape desired." The speaker steps forward; she is a woman, perhaps in her late thirties, dressed in layers of colorful and patterned robe. She has deep red hair that falls in curls down to her ankles. ] * Sei just stands back, watches, and listens. [ The woman looks at Ada. "Isn't that right, Ada?" ] * Ada watches the woman walk up, and her hand flies to her own hair. "Making order out of chaos, and forming it into the shape you wish." She pauses. "Then what magic do you practice?" ( Ethan Swordbreaker: Wild Mage! =P ) ( "Warriors Gone Wild! Hosted by Sei!" ) [ "I accept the chaos for what it is, and I play games with it. Sometimes it asks me to do something, and sometimes I ask it to do something, and either way we work together." She holds her arms out to her sides, and small, multicolored lights come and dance about her outstretched hands. ] ... does everything around here talk? The cats, the magic... oy. *rubs temples* [ The woman smirks. "Perhaps everything in the forest has something it wishes to say, hm?" She lets the colors go and approaches you three. ] Not complaining, mind. I'm just hoping my donuts aren't gonna start screaming for mercy. *downs a couple of donuts* * Ada takes a step back before she stops herself, and removes her hand from her hair, as though she just noticed it was there. * Ethan follows up the donuts with a stalk of celery. "... cookie?" *holds out cookies to the woman and the big smelly thingee* [ She chuckles. "Not likely. It wasn't made to speak." She looks Ada over, and then embraces her. "It warms my heart to see you again, Ada. I hadn't thought I would." ] [The big smelly thingy accepts a cookie with a pleasant 'Tank youse'.] * Ada freezes, eyes wide and not hugging back. "Again?" * Ethan blinks at Ada and the lady. His eyes bug out a bit as he notices the similar hair colors. * Sei looks on, in considerable surprise. [ The woman disengages and looks Ada in the eyes. She seems sad. "Yes, again." ] * Ada looks horribly confused, and almost... upset? "I don't remember." [ The woman nods solemnly. "I know. Bolcsaeseg said you wouldn't." She sighs. "You must... you must hate me, for not being there for you?" ] * Ethan has the good sense to SHUT THE HELL UP. =P ( Good boy. ^^ ) * Ada tries to compose herself, and for once, doesn't do a particularly good job. "I might. You're related to me somehow." [ "Well, yes," says the woman. "I'm your mother." ] (Dun dun dun. There. Someone said it.) * Ada stares at her for a long moment, and tears begin to form. "You..." Lighting starts dance across her left fingertips, but she slaps the woman with her right hand instead. (>_>) (Yeah, and unlike Luke Skywalker, I don't yell, "Nooooooooo!") (No, that would be if someone like Nebrinel had said it.) (Or Sei.) ( Ada, I AM your father! ... EEEEEEEEEEEW! ) (Ethan would die to repair her honor, by her hand.) (That and it's great stress relief.) [ The woman allows herself to be slapped. She seems hurt, but not surprised. "I suppose this answers my question, then. I'm sorry." ] * Ada is crying now, and screams, "I'm sure you are!" * Ethan subtlety interjects himself between Ada and the woman, trying not to get in the way while... well, getting in the way if any more violence is forthcoming. (That is the second dumbest thing you've ever done.) * Sei edges closer, though not as close as Ethan is. (What's first?) [ The woman gently pushes Ethan aside. "I am. I didn't want to loose you, Ada, I really didn't. But, well... as I said, sometimes magic asks me to do something for it. I didn't have a choice." She, too, is beginning to cry, although she's trying hard not to. ] * Ada doesn't move her gaze from the woman. She points west, the lightning covering her hand, now. "You sent me there to appease your *magic*?" * Ethan is asided. Not by much, though. His eyes are shifting quickly between Ada, the woman, Sei, and his feet, as he tries to figure out what the hell to do here. * Sei decides that the most prudent thing to do here is grab Ethan's arm, and back them both off by six or ten feet. [ The woman continues crying. She sounds angry, now, as well as hurt. "No. I didn't send you anywhere. I didn't just give you away. You were *taken* from me, Ada. Do you think I would simply ...*discard* you? Perhaps there are people who would do that in the East, but I *never* would. *Never*." ] * Ada stares at her, slowly letting her arm drop, and the lightning crackles away. "Taken," she repeats, her voice gone from furious to guarded in an instant. "How." * Ethan lets himself be pulled back, for lack of a better idea. [ "Bolcsaeseg simply came to my home and took you. He said it was important, and that you'd not remember me. I tried to stop him. I tried to convince him not to. But he had other ideas, and I cannot stop a god, Ada." ] * Ada wipes at her cheeks with her right hand. "What were these ideas." [ "He said you would save us from Faerie. He didn't go into how you would do it, or why we needed saving now after all this time of surviving despite it, or why it had to be you. And he didn't ask for my approval, only my forgiveness, and that I have yet to give him." ] Good. [ Session End. ;_; ]