Fickle Faeries
Summary:
Patience is a virtue I just don't have. Right now, we need action! I don't see the point in waiting around, doing nothing.
Someone needs to do something, before everything gets out of hand.
Only weaklings and cowards stand by idly while their people and lands are being terrorized!
Never again will I trust a Faerie! Every single time, it's turned out bad.
Return with me to the Plume Hive, and let's show them we are not to be trifled with!!!
==*==
Ruler: So, now that we've protected ourselves from the dire boars...
What do we do about the Faeries? We know they're behind the attacks.
Kaz: Those scheming little sprites need to be taught a lesson!
Sabina: Kaz, no! We cannot just barge in and attack them!
Kaz: And why not? We've already tried using words-- it's time to use clubs!
Sabina: After all the effort we spent building good relations with the faeries?
There must be a reason they are being secretive.
Maybe they are being threatened, like in the tales?
Kaz: They *are* -- by ME!
Ruler: Kaz, wait!!!
Thurston: My Liege, 'tis nigh impossible to sway a bull-headed troll!
Ruler: We have to try. We can't risk him starting a war with the faeries!
Sabina>You all should take something with you, just in case Kaz has already upset the faeries.
I suggest fresh flower petals and some sweet treats!
1. Fickle Faeries - pack Purple petals(in case we need a peace offering),
some Candy Bonbons(sweets always put Faeries in a better mood),
Follow Kaz to the Plume Hive(stop him, before he makes matters worse)
Sabina>Everything's packed and ready to go. Good luck!
Kaz: Faeries! Stop hiding, ya treacherous runts!
Ruler: Kaz, *stop*. You're right--the faeries have proven themselves untrustworthy.
And Sabina's right, too. We can't risk making enemies of the faeries.
Especially not while we're *also* dealing with the Baron's antics!
Thurston: Aye! Now lay down your arms, troll--willingly, or by force!
Kaz: Foolish humans. Your little knight proves my point!
Thurston: 'Little'?! Take that back!!!
Ruler: Cut it out, Thurston! We're trying to *calm* the situation, remember?
Thurston: B-But, My Liege! You said it yourself--he courts war with the faeries!
Ruler: And *you* court war with the trolls. So, stop.
Thurston: As you wish, My Liege. I apologize for allowing myself to become so heated.
Kaz: It doesn't matter, anyway. The mischievous brats aren't here.
Ruler: Alright, Kaz. We'll help you find them... so we can *talk*. No fighting!
Kaz: ...
Kaz>I'm tired of playing soft with these troublemakers.
We'll do things your way one last time--then, I'm handling it MY way.
2b. Keep Calm And Search On - search the magic garden(are they enjoying the flowers),
check the faerie respite(maybe they're taking a nap), investigate ivy's house(just in case...)
Kaz>There! Behind that stump!!!
Ivy: We're not going with them, Lady Greselda?
Lady Greselda: We have more worthwhile endeavors than to mother an unruly troll
We've been presented with a perfect opportunity to continue your lessons.
Ivy: Really? What are you gonna teach me now?
Lady Greselda: Research and discovery plays a very important role in magic.
You're going to help me continue our studies of the Glimmerwood's magic.
That way, should our friends' efforts with the faeries prove futile...
Ivy: Maybe we'll be able to find a different trail to follow!
Lady Greselda: Precisely.
Ivy: Let's get started! The sooner we find something, the better.
Lady Greselda>We'll start by going through samples of our own local magic,
then crossing our findings against what traces we have of the faeries' magic.
2a. Magic R&D -study glimmerdust samples(check them for magical maladies),
dissect faerie essence(it may provide insight into faerie magic),
examine the goddess tree( does something look... off... ?)
Lady Greselda>There's something strange about that Goddess Tree. We'd best take a closer look!
Ivy: Look, Lady Greselda! The Amber Trinket is missing from the Goddess Tree!
Lady Greselda: So it is! And it seems something peculiar has come about as a result...
Ivy, do you sense something... off... about the tree?
Ivy: y'know, now that you mention it...
It's almost like there's a second life source within the tree!
Lady Greselda: Not only that, but I found this dust around the tree's base.
Ivy: It looks like Glimmer Dust, but the color is off. Is it tainted?
Lady Greselda: No, dear Ivy. It's not Glimmer Dust at all. It's *Blythe* Dust.
Ivy: Blythe Dust? We've never seen that in the Glimmerwood before...
Not even around the Goddess Tree! So, it's not coming from the tree itself, right?
Lady Greselda: Correct. I have an ill suspicion about where it *is* coming from, however...
To test it, we risk breaking our promise to the Glimmerwood Faeries.
Ivy: Our promise? What was that?
Lady Greselda: Do you not remember? To not craft a Blythe Gem for this tree's final blessing.
Ivy: Oh, right. Well, the Glimmerwood Faeries aren't acting like allies right now...
Lady Greselda: Indeed. Furthermore, this has become a matter of protecting ourselves.
Ivy: I guess we don't have a choice, then. I hope we don't upset the ruler... !
Lady Greselda>My hunch implies foul play between the two Faerie clans.
To test my theory, we'll need to make some Enchanted Sap, and gather more of that Blythe Dust.
3a. Something There That Wasn't There Before - craft a Blythe Gem (Why's there Blythe Dust by the Goddess Tree?)
Lady Greselda> It seems my suspicions were correct. We must alert the others immediately!
Meanwhile back at the stump -
Ruler: Azalea? Lila? You can stop hiding, we know you're there.
Lila: No way! That big ol' brute is trying to hurt us!
Kaz: Don't give me more reasons to, and I won't!
Ruler: Kaz, you're not helping. Lila, I promise I won't let him hurt you two.
Thurston: I am here as well, young maidens, to keep this foul troll at bay!
Kaz: Watch it, tin man...
Lila: (What do you think, Azalea? Can we trust them? )
Azalea: (After what happened with the dire boars? No way! )
Go away! We're busy discussing important Faerie matters!
Kaz: Yeah. 'Important.' I'm so sure.
Lila: It *is* important! Someone came through and stole the--
Azalea: SHHH!!!
Ruler: ...
Look, we want to try and work things out. We don't need to be enemies!
So we're going to go try and find whatever was stolen from you...
...even though you won't tell us what it is. When we return, let's talk.
Azalea: (This is bad. We have to alert the Plume Queen! )
Kaz>You want to go on a scavenger hunt for some stupid Faerie trinket,
just to try and *convince* the Faeries to cooperate? My way would be faster-- *and* more effective!
3b.Trinket Hunt! -tell Old Thomas(Seen any strange, magic trinkets lately?)
check in with Greselda(Maybe she and Ivy had better luck... )
Kaz>We've searched everywhere, and no one's seen this mysterious 'missing trinket.' Are you really surprised?
Ruler: This isn't good. No one found anything strange lying around?
Old Thomas: I found a few forgotten Strawberries in my robe pocket?
Ruler: ...That's gross. And also not what I meant.
Thurston: My Liege! I have failed you! As Rule 58 of the Knights Code *clearly* states:
"Should ever there be something lost, thou shalt be the first to find it!"
Ruler: It's okay, Thurston. I guess we'll just have to keep looking...
Kaz: How do we know they even really lost something in the first place?
They could be misleading us, *toying* with us-- again!
Ivy: They aren't! They aren't! The Faeries are telling the truth this time!
Ivy? Did you and Lady Greselda find something?
Lady Greselda: We did. It seems the Amber Trinket is missing from the Goddess Tree.
Ruler: The Amber Trinket? That's... odd... Shouldn't we be seeing more dire boars, then?
Lady Greselda: Dearie, you are too naive...
After all this, you still believe that trinket had anything to do with dire boars...
Ruler: And why shouldn't I? Yes, the Faeries are being elusive, but--
Ivy: The Faeries are *lying*! The trinket wasn't to suppress the dire boars...
It was to suppress a *second* life force within the Goddess Tree!
Ruler: WHAT?
Sabina: Wait, you do not mean... That cannot be true!
Faeries do not imprison people!
Lady Greselda: They do when it comes to, say, a rival Faerie clan.
Ruler: You mean Blythewood? The second being in the tree is from Blythewood?
Lady Greselda: More specifically, it is from a Blythewood Faerie.
Ruler: Lady Greselda, these are serious accusations to make.
On what grounds are you making them?
Lady Greselda: In the trinket's absence, we found Blythe Dust by the Goddess Tree, which we tested.
Only with Faerie presence can dust be compressed into a gem, you see.
Ruler: You two made a Blythe Gem?! But we promised Queen Ivinea--
Lady Greselda: Queen Ivinea tricked us into turning the Goddess Tree into a prison.
That makes us complicit in their slights against the Blythe Faeries.
Be angry if you wish, but we must make amends for our part in this.
Ruler: ...Fine, you're right. We'll worry about the Glimmer Faeries later.
Let's find a way to free the Blythe Faerie from the Goddess Tree.
Kaz: You lot do what you want, I'm done with this wild faerie chase.
I'm off to tell those troublemakers to leave us trolls OUT of it. Don't try to stop me!
Sabina>How did everything get so complicated?
I wish everyone would just get along with each other.
For now, we'll start by trying to free that Faerie!
4.Faerie Findings - read with Sabina(Okay, okay... What do the tales say?)
Test the Goddess Tree's Bark(Maybe a spell will work?),
contain Thurston(Stop slashing at the Goddess Tree!!!), scour Old Thomas' Scrolls.
Sabina>We can't find anything, but I think I know exactly who to ask...
*BOOM*
Ruler: What was *that*?!
Ivy: *cough cough* That... *cough* was a... *cough cough*
Lady Greselda: A failed spell, meaning a new 'home improvement' project for my castle.
Ivy: Sorry...
Ruler: Did anyone else have better luck?
Thurston: Nay, My Liege. My sword laid nary a scratch upon the Goddess Tree's bark!
Lady Greselda: Do you intend to solve everything with that silly sword?
Ruler: Don't answer that, Thurston.
Old Thomas is working on something else. Sabina, what about you?
Sabina: None of my books said anything about imprisoned Faeries.
However, I think I have an idea!
Ruler: Great! Let's hear it!
Sabina: While *we* may not know how to free the Faerie, I'd bet a *Faerie* would!
Ruler: Sabina, I doubt the Faeries are going to help us free their prisoner.
Sabina: Maybe not the Glimmer Faeries... but I bet the *Blythe* Faeries would!
Ruler: ...Okay, That may be, but how are we going to ask them? We've never met!
Sabina: We will just have to reach out to them, like we did with the Glimmer Faeries!
Ivy: I'll go get my jars!
Ruler: NO.
Sabina: We will prepare a nice, *peaceful* offering for the Blythe Faeries.
We will present it to them to show we mean no ill will, and want to help!
Ruler: Sounds like a plan. Let's get started!
Sabina>We have plenty of experience with our local Glimmerwood Faeries.
Pleasing the Blythewood Faeries will be easy!
5a. The Usual Way! prepare a Bunch of Flowers(Fresh, sweet-smelling flowers, just like last time!),
Go North to Blythewood(Let's go find the Blythe Faeries!)
Sabina: I cannot find their hive, just all this animal stuff.
We should go home for now--they will come out eventually!
Old Thomas: Hmm? How intriguing...
Ruler: What is it, Old Thomas? Did you find a solution to free the Faerie?
Old Thomas: Erm... Ah, not quite...
I *did* however find something very interesting concerning the Goddess Tree!
Ruler: You did? Can I see it?
Old Thomas: Not exactly... It is never *explicitly* said, but I have a very strong feeling!
Ruler: You're starting to confuse me. What do you mean?
Old Thomas: Look across all of these scrolls--J13, J237, and J459.
They all mention both the Goddess Tree *and* the Tabernum!
Ruler: The Tabernum? Those are those ancient advisors, right?
The ones who outlined what was considered the 'right way' to rule.
Old Thomas: Yes, exactly! You have an excellent memory, Young Ruler!
Never before have I seen the Goddess Tree implicated with the Tabernum.
Ruler: This is getting very strange... Time to write to Agnes?
Old Thomas: Time to write to Agnes!
Old Thomas>Dear Agnes, I hesitate to put everything to paper.
I have compiled some notes I would like you to 'review'. I hope you will understand...
5b.The Tabernum Connection - Send Notes to Agnes from the Royal Exchange(Do you think she'll 'get it'?)
Old Thomas>Ah, that witty woman never fails to impress! Time to comb through *her* findings... !