Chapter 3: The Tellers of Tales
Celindara looked to the potions confused, or perhaps still dazed from the battle, before answering at large. "I can speak the language of the fey, just as they once could speak the language of the dryad," she sad with a small sigh. "Though always when the elders met, it was the customer for each to drink a draft of the others' language, so prove that every word said could be said without misunderstanding. Back when the fey lived here, and deigned to speak with the forest's guardians rather than lie and desecrate." She had a 'harumph noise. "The potion could only be used by the fey to make another talk to them - after all, you would bring your own if you wanted to talk to them. They must have captured some of your friends and taken their things. Made them talk, most likely about me. To make the villagers hate me."
She squished her foot angrily in the mud, then pulled it free, turning the foot left and right to ensure it was healed well enough. She then without much care to the dirt on her foot squelched her feet in to the dryad boots.
"Oh, the second potion, yes!" She gave a wicked little smile, as if a child confessing something naughty to an impartial adult while her parents were away. The matter of the fey and the insignificant matter of a whole villager hating her seemed to be dropped. "I did say I cheated and never used it." She turned to the river, and gave a small and complex little song, lilting and beckoning. A small section of the river started churning as if the needlefish had found prey, but the churning was too circular and rhythmic. A moment later, the whirlpool that formed then lifted itself from the water as a water spout, and danced for a moment on the surface of the water.
"There are many spirits of water and air, earth and bark in the forest," she said with a giggle. "Who needs to walk on water when one of the forest's children will take it upon themselves to help you fly over it!"
She gave a small theatrical bow to the water spout, and it slowly sank in to the river.
And that water dervish was to be your final opponent. Why would it attack you (or you want to attack it) if its under the dryad's control? Who knows? Oh yes, as always me. And I'm not telling until much later in this game :D But it seems happy and friendly now, so never mind!
Meanwhile, the doe walked across to Celindara and Meri as if to see what all the fuss was. Celindara raised her right hand as if to stroke the doe's head, but it shied away and detoured around her. Celindara looked hurt and confused, as the doe instead looked to the boat with an air of curiosity and disgust in equal measure. It backed away from the boat and walked in between Meri and Celindara.
It bobbed its head to Meri and them looked to Celindara's injured left arm. Awkwardly but at least with some range of motion Celindara lifted her hand again, this time the injured one, to the doe. The doe this time came forwards to sniff them lick the hand, then the injuries. Celindara gave a relived giggle and allowed the doe to tend her wounds in its own way. "I may be the guardian of the forest and its warden, but even I do not fully understand its ways at times," she said. She looked to the water, and her face faded to a neutral, dazed expression again, as if deep in thought, or within deep thoughts.
Meanwhile, over with Nym both Many and the fox wandered near the sorceress. Many bounced happy up to the trees, calling out "Heh-ello wuh-ffles!" as he danced around her tree. Whether his broken speech was caused by him still trying to sound the words or not, or whether it was broken by his happy bouncing was hard to tell. He had perhaps been practising non stop excitedly on the others during the battle.
The fox meanwhile walked over to Nym directly, looking to each gem in idle curiosity. It curled up on the grass near Nym, but its lazy gaze shifted between the opal and sapphire in turn as much as regarding the changeling.
Many finally floated down to Nym, buzzing even more excitedly around her head. He dutifully looked to her gems, nodding in excitement at how bright and shiny they were, and said so proudly to the fox. However, it was something almost invisible he was balancing on his own telekenesis eye that seemed to have him excited to show Nym.
"Loo-keh loo-keh loo-keh!" he said, holding out his eyestalk, bent slightly upwards so it was clear he was balancing something invisible on it. It took keen eyes to see it, but it seemed Many was managing to carry Celindara's third, almost invisible companion, a tiny ant. The ant seemed - as much as such things could be reckoned - happy enough to be carried like that.
Give you guys a chance to react to the wall of words. Oh, my memory is Meri had Goodwin on her back, is that correct? I can go check if no one remembers for sure.