Nym shrugs, looking around.

"Well, if Blace is hiding here and waiting to be all mean again, then we can just maybe ask her to stop being mean..."

She glance at Celindara.

"But if anything bad had happened to your tree while we were gone, you'd have noticed, wouldn't you? I mean, you can feel things if your tree feels them, or something, I think? So your tree is okay? Let's go and see!"

Heh, "preparations"...since when does Nym "prepare" for anything? :D

The wolves let the group off their backs with some relief, but with no sign of resentment. The three wolves looked around to the group, perhaps not understanding quite any trepidation. The alpha took turns giving a respectful look up and down to Celindara, Mri, and Nym in turn. She even bobbed her head like a small bow to Nym - most likely for the aid to the alpha's back.

Celindara returned the respect in kind, singing a gentle, uplifting song full of hope. With that done, the three wolves then took off in to the depths of the forest, back the way they had come to rejoin their pack again.

Celindara looked to the group. "My tree is indeed not only safe, it seems at ease. Just... waiting. In a way that I felt before, but this seems an odd time to feel it."

Celindara looked to the area of her home. With Meri's reassurace that there is no visible ambush, the dryad ignores the obvious way in to her small glade, and instead gives a small few words and a gesture. Root and branches twist out of the way, to give a slim way through the thick folliage and approach her home from a different angle. She beckons the grouo to follow her, and moved forwards.

Many looks a little worried at this talk of trouble, but raises an eyestalk to his head as if saluting, and puts on a game face. Which looks more like he's straining to think, but is probably the most 'fearsome' face the little beholder can think to make. HE drifts forwards, slowly enough that the others manage to get in the way, sometimes with their legs which he 'accidentally' drifts behind.

"If Blace is inside, there are no more words to speak to her," mutters Celindara. "Though I have songs to sing her." The way the branches and roots twist as Celindara quietly hums show that Blace may not wish to hear those songs. At least, not when near anything sympathetic to Celindara's music.


The group are silent as they pass through the foliage, every twig and root appears to have perfectly moved out of the way, and only thick grass to muffle sound is underfoot. Branches part silently to allow an easy view of the who small area.

Celindara's tree perfectly in view. It seems that Alynn managed to get all the way inside, perhaps encouraged by the tree itself, before she was wrapped in roots and branches. She seems to have been hung like a hammock by the arms and legs, which may well be a little uncomfortable. This situation is not helped by a small fungus like pod sitting on her stomach, occasionally butting a nearby leaf towards her face so dew might gather and drip in to her mouth. This doesn't really help anything, as apparently the tree has wrapped a stout root around her mouth. Currently, Alynn seems to be unconscious - a small movement of the fungus shows the armoured figure is breathing and alive.

Across the way, sat on a thicker root, is Farren. He appears to be sat down, content enough. He's playing with a tiny rodent that dances around his hands, and that he occasionally feeds a morsel of food. He also sometimes throws some food towards another, slightly larger rodent camped on a root nearby. This one appears far less happy, with a sneaky air to its bobbing movements. The thrown food seems to have a careless air to it. As if Farren would be just as happy to hit the rodent and back it off further, rather than to feed it.

"Thah-teh's Ee-Ee! The real one!" says Many in a happy whisper regarding the first, smaller rodent in Farren's hands. A happy whisper that carries easily across Celindara's home. Farren stiffens, and looks up with a neutral expression towards the group.


Well, you've been seen. How do you react? :)

Nym waves goodbye to the wolves as they depart, and Ryn swoops in and beats her wings at then a couple of times in what might amount to her own gesture of farewell.

"Well, it's good that your tree's alright." says Nym happily as Celindara explains the feelings she is detecting.

She follows behind the hamadryad as the group makes its way through the song-conjured path toward the tree, apparently enjoying the slight bounce produced by treading on the soft, springy grass. She almost giggles, but manages to restrain herself and looks out into the clearing as it comes into view. When Many passes comment on the rat and Farren looks up, the changeling appears to decide that since they've been spotted, there's now no need to remain silent any longer.

"Hello, again!" she says cheerfully, waving with what fortunately turns out to be her free hand in the slightly confined space of the narrow path.

Meri glanced around the area, her gaze pausing briefly on Alynn with a ghost of a wry smirk dancing briefly on her lips before fading again.

Her staff was held in one hand, propped over her shoulder in a casual manner as if she wasn't expecting to have to use it any time soon, although it was clearly there and ready to be used if necessary.  Over her other shoulder, Timur's head appeared as he peeked out of Meri's backpack and looked around.

"Didn't expect to meet you again so soon" said Meri in a conversational tone, her gaze returning to Farren before moving to the larger rat near him, clearly studying it intently.


OOC: Looking over that bigger rat, trying to figure out if it's actually a rat or if it's something disguised as a rat like Farren himself seems to be able to do.
Not sure if that would be Perception, or Arcana (looking for traces of some kind of polymorphing magic) or Nature (trying to figure out if it's a natural creature) or something else...

So yeah, she's playing it relatively friendly for now.  Just a pleasant little chat.  Pity we don't have tea and scones here! :)

You can roll both Arcana to try and sense any spell, but Nature will be the better one to spot both Natural magic, or simply if the rodent is acting in a non-rattie way :)

Farren looks to Nym and Meri, nodding to the former and raising an eyebrow to the latter. "Again. Soon." He says the two words as if tasting them, or simply dwelling upon them like they hold great weight.

The conversation seems to disturb Alynn. Despite how tied up she is, she appears to realise who has come back. Anger of fear are hard to tekll apart, but she is clearly showing strong emotion. Her small 'friend' calls to the soft ground with a thump, and the roots react by tightening to ensure she cannot pull loose.

Farren looks across to Alynn's struggles for a moment, then back to the group. "Well, it seems our friend knows you, so that's exciting for us all. So... nothing about my appearance troubles you?"

He again looks with a neutral look to Nym and Meri. His gaze does flicker for a moment to Celindara, who silently moves sideways near to her tree, and regards Farren with a hooded look. Farren covers the eye movement by looking down briefly at the small rodent at play in his hand.


Tea and scones would have been the perfect thing to wish for from The Shadow :(

Anyway, this appears to be going well. Weirdly, but well. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 22:26, Tue 08 Nov 2016.

OOC: Nature: 8 (1 + 7) - Yeah, kind of fumbled that one.  Dice Karma seems to be collecting the payment for all the good rolls during that fight against the Teachers now...


Meri continued to eye the large rat, although she eventually shrugged slightly and turned to look back at Alynn as she returned to awareness.
For now, Meri seemed to ignore her though, looking back to Farren.

"Well, when I learned you were here, I imagined you'd either come to rescue her," she pointed sideways to Alynn to indicate her meaning, "and possibly destroy Celindara's tree, something Blace would have been prepared to do I'd guess.  Or else you wanted to talk to one of us."

She glanced back at Alynn for a moment then back at Farren.
"When you spoke with us before, I got the impression you had your own reasons for aiding Blace that might not necessarily coincide fully with her own.  And the longer you remained here without Celindara sensing any damage to the grove made me realise that you were looking to talk, not to attack us.  Which is more sense than some people we've met seem to have displayed so far..."
Her gaze flickered briefly back to Alynn as she said that, with another hint of a wry smirk.

Despite the brief amusement, her expression showed a noticeable concern as she looked back at Farren.
"Still, I'm guessing you or Blace may have learned the truth about the power I spoke of at the same time as we did?"


OOC: Lack of Blace in the area makes Meri wonder if she didn't fall foul of "The Other" when she went looking for "The Shadow"...  :)
This message was last edited by the player at 09:27, Wed 09 Nov 2016.

"Did you see the big tree?" asks Nym excitedly, pointing back the way the group has just come.

[Private to GM: Is it possible for Ryn to see the conversation from above the trees, or is there too much foliage in the way? Not that she'd necessarily be able to hear what was going on, but I was just wondering.]

Farren nodded slowly at the words, and took his time to reply. "You've said a lot of things to unpack, and I hope you will permit me the luxury of taking this slowly. If I can summarise your reply to my question and infer the fonal answer, it would be 'no'? In that, while you answered about my apparing in this place, you don't seem to have batted an eyelid about my physical looks. Interesting."

Farren tapped his free hand on the wood beside him. "So, this 'Blace', I presume of medium build, red haired, human, female, very good at pretending not to know a person and direct them back towards foes, if she finds that person coming to?"

Farren looked between Nym, Meri, Celindara and Alynn. "No, I did not come here to talk directly, although I am happy to. I certainly did not come here to destroy anything, that would seem...unwise. And I have not seen any tree bigger than this one, and it seems large enough for the moment."

Farren shifted, again highlighting that while his movements were not restricted, there was a coil to the roots than hinted this was a state of affairs that could change.

Farren pointed to the barely struggling Alynn again. "Out mutual 'friend' here, when the tree let her talk, seemed to indicate that I knew her and had somehow betrayed her. But that because the 'witch' of these woods, and her two murderous allies, would be back soon then she would forgive and forget if I would free her. Meanwhile, it seems my actual 'friend', or at least ally, is someone who would abandon me without a second though to enemies. Now, I could be wrong, but I would have to imagine given our friend's reaction, you are the 'woodswitch' and friends. Still, you seem happy to speak, and one way or another I don't believe I could refuse. Still, forgive me I find it difficult to imagine myself the villain in this situation. Perhaps you could prove your good intentions and... stop your tree from, well, from looming quite so much?"

Farren did not adopt anything more than a neutral tone as he spoke, but he was clearly analysing all that was being said, by whom, and how.

Celindara crossed her arms, and stood tall. "I know why you are here," she said to Farren.

"Really?"

"You were lost in the forest," she said.

"Well, yes, I did say that. Or impli-"

"You were lost. And those who wander the forest, their intention is ill, will not wander long. Those whose hearts are pure, the forest will welcome, and show grat sights." Celindara nodded to her friends.

"There is a third type. Ones who the forest cannot easily gauge. A woodsman walking, do they search for someone, do they have some secret ill they are bringing? Will they act rashy to fear? The forest will channel those to me."

Celindara paused for a moment, then said, softly and with a deadly tone. "For judgment."

"Well," said Farren calmly, "I have done nothing wr-"

"It doesn't have to be a huntsman or lost soul. It can be a wild beast. The forest does not care of killing from killer, it is the way of nature. But sometimes that wild beast does not act naturally. Predators who have gone strange too near the humans. Ones who begin to kill for the fact of it, not the effect."

Celindara stalked cloe, and the roots actually tighted around Farren's ankles. The dryad looked through the strange man. "Nothing you are saying makes sense, and your way is strange. This feels like some elaborate trap, and I am not some small rabbit to be snared."


So, unsurprisingly Celindara doens't trust him. And she has been alone for many years, so, you know, there may be times when she's used to following her own judgement on things.

So, now's probably the time to figure out what's up with Farren and carry on the good diplomatic work. Meri's whole 'let's be nice' is so unusual it might just work :p


[Private to Nym: Yes, this area is open now, so Ryn can look down on to it.]

Hmm, sorry, did I miss something? Why is Farren acting like we should be questioning his appearance? No description has been given so far in this scene, as far as I can see, beyond the fact that he's there (and accompanied by a pair of fuzzles :D). I mean, I can't remember specifically what he looked like, other than that he was (or appeared to be) a were-rat or something similar. And he seems to be takling a bit more "posh" than I remember, and acting as though he doesn't know who we are, when I'm sure we'd had conversations before when we met him back at that mill place where he had his "nest".
I think I may need to go back a couple of threads and dig out the posts that had our previous interactions with both him and Blace, since I can't really remember what was going on with either of them...the down side of a forum-based game, I suppose - a "recent" scene in-game can have taken place months ago and it's easy to forget wtf was going on :D.

Last post of chapter 2: link to a message in this game

He's marked appearance wise as a revenant of the Raven Queen. It's quite striking, but it's nothing you haven't seen before.

Everything else should be confusing, as he is acting very strangely. As if you haven't talked, when you have. Still, the more important question is, why was Blace able to act like she didn't know him, and send him back this way.

You haven't talked to him too much - he was the one that pointed out Mr Fox was far older than any of you (even him) and he also asked a question or two of Meri. Otherwise he's sort of sat on the sidelines scowling, or observant :)

Nym steps a little to the side so that she can see past Celindara and peers at Farren with a kind of fascinated confusion.

"So...you don't know who we are?" she says. "Are there two of you as well, or did you just forget us all? And Blace. I thought you were friends with her. Hmm...maybe there are two of you. Unless...hmm, well, you could be someone who isn't actually Farren but who accidentally exploded magic at yourself, or something, to make yourself look like Farren..."

Meri seemed to be peering intently at him as if studying something unusual, like a strange magical object she had become determined to figure out.

[Private to The Altweaver: (OOC: Trying Insight check to see if she can figure out if he's lying about not remembering them 14 (5 + 9).
And an Arcana check to see if she can detect any magic that might be affecting him and messing with his memories, particularly if it's emanating from that large rat 17 (3 + 14).
The Gods of Dice are still displeased with me it seems...)]

"So you don't remember anything that happened before?" she asked quietly.  "You called yourself Farren Wyde.  You were aiding someone named Blace, who claimed to have been killed by creatures she referred to as the Teachers, but had returned and was manipulating events in the area for reasons I'm still not fully aware of yet.  When we last spoke, you and Blace exchanged information on the Teachers and the Blight for information I had learned about the power that led me here, something I referred to as the Shadow, then you and Blace left to seek that power, while we sneaked away from your angry friend here to go and destroy the source of the Blight that was causing all the troubles around here."

She glanced around, fixing a suspicious gaze on the larger rat for a moment before looking back at Farren.
"Do you remember where Blace is now?  If she's still looking for that power, then she's probably about to make the same foolish mistake someone else did."


OOC: Meri is actually not too sure whether the foolish mistake in question was made by Krunluc or herself yet.  So keeping it just "someone" for now :)
Anyways, looking to see if she can jog his memory with a quick recap.

[Private to Meri: Yeah, I mean the insight roll is hopeless, so go ahead and either totally trust him or totally think he's being deceitful at your leisure :) Actually, I will point out one thing that's neither helpful nor unhelpful. Doesn't he seem unstressed for someone who has completely lost their memory. Even if he's telling the truth about the memory loss and not knowing what you are telling him, is there something he does remember? And why would he hide it if he does. See, totally not helpful yet not unhelpful questions :D

The arcana roll meets a moderate check, not a hard check. So up to you if you think the rodent has some sneaky and hidden power upon it, or if it's just an ordinary rodent :D]

Farren shook his head to the dual questions regarding remembering the group. "I recall nothing," he said, ""though I doubt there are two of me. I am not sure how these things work, of course..." He again looked at the group, as if there was soemthing they were not saying that was confounding him. He moved on with a shrug, looking to the dryad. "So if anyone should feel like a rabbit in a snare, it should be me. Of the five people I have met since coming to, four have said they know me, and the only one who does not know me apparently knew me best. So forgive me if I am the one who might harbour the feeling this is an elaborate ruse."

He did not look to the dryad again, nor to his feet. For Celindara's part, she backed away to allow her friends to speak to Farren, but did not indicate she was going to stop her tree from exercising any action if Farren made any further actions.

For his part Farren listened politely to Meri's words. "Farren Wyde?" he said, mulling the name over. "It does not sound like my name, but it's as good as any other. It seems you chose your timing well, for I now have no idea who the Teachers nor who the Blight are."

He slowly mulled over the rest of the information, as if catagorising a myriad questions in to useful and less useful questions, and a correct sequential order. "So, this Blace looked healthy and normal, if that was who was with me when I awoke," he said. "Unfortunately this forest of yours has turned me around, or else I would have no issue with telling you where we were. On the outskirts of the forest, at least, On a road. She was going away from it, with her right hand side still to the forest, if that helps. However, that was more than a day ago, and besides she sent me to you, it seems. So do you really wish to believe what I tell you of her actions? It may have been a ruse on her part. Have me killed and giving you false information in the process. Certainly it sounds as if she did something to me, the moment we went looking for this Shadow-power of yours. Anyway, you say she died and came back? So what powers does she have, this normal looking human? The power to suppress minds? Or twist them? I must say, I do not like the person you paint me as."

Meri frowned slightly as if thinking something over before speaking up.
"Well, you seemed the one most likely to listen to us and explain the situation, unlike Blace who seemed to have a grudge against the entire world, and your angry friend here who seems to prefer attacking first and asking questions later."

A hint of a smirk flickered across her face again, though this one didn't seem to be at Alynn's expense.
"I know little of your kind, only what I've learned reading books during idle moments in far off places.  A goddess known as the Raven Queen sometimes sends you here for her own reasons, and usually you never remember why until you happen to find your own reasoning for doing whatever you were supposed to do.  Maybe that's not a common way of it, but it happens.  It could be your memories were... 'reset' for some reason.  Most likely your purpose has been changed in response to...  Recent events."

Her gaze hardened for a moment, remembering the words the Shadow had said to her, but she continued quickly.
"I suppose it could also be that Blace was the one who removed your memories, perhaps she found the power she was looking for and didn't want to share it.  Who knows?  It sounds like the impression I got of her."

She sighed and glanced towards the direction they had entered the grove from on their first visit.
"Either way, I think I need to find her as soon as possible and see how much of a mess she's made and if it's still possible to fix things, assuming it even matters now."

She sighed again, looking suddenly wearied and saddened.
"So, what name would you like to be called by now?" she asked quietly.


[Private to The Altweaver: OOC: Well one other possibility she's keeping in mind is that the large rat is actually Farren in disguise, and this one is either another Revenant or an illusion or a polymorphed creature (probably another rat) that the real Farren is speaking through.
Exactly why he'd do that, I've no idea, perhaps in the hope that Meri might let more slip if she thinks she's talking to someone different than she met before.
She doesn't trust people easily, hehe.
Though she considers that possibility less likely than the idea that Farren actually has had his memories reset by the Raven Queen and his purpose altered in reaction to what the Shadow said about the gods now being aware of him and Meri.
Though the idea that Blace would have betrayed him is another possibility she's keeping in mind until she finds out what happened to Blace.]

While Meri and Farren converse, Nym wanders around the clearing a little, looking idly at plants, and eventually sits on an exposed tree root that doesn't belong to Celindara's tree and starts making little coloured sparks jump across her fingertips, hopping from one to the other and changing colour with each hop.

"Boink, boink, boink..." she mutters happily to herself as the sparks jump.

Please continue conversing to gather whatever info you can...just because Nym got a bit bored with the conversation doesn't mean I am :D. And anyway, she's still listening. Well, probably.

Celindara looks from Meri to Farren, as if the talk is making her head hurt, and actually joins Nym silently, moving quietly so as to not disturb the mage. The dryad seems content to watch the sparks dance, though occasionally a suspicious eye is cast towards Farren.

Farren actually seem to be relieved. "There, now you've said it. Now I can actually start to believe you. Yes, I do seem to have the cast of one sent back by the Raven Queen, don't I?" He seemed to look to Celindara, Meri and Nym for a good long time before speaking again, having arrived at a decision. "Well, you are correct. A reset, then. I do have one memory, one shining, clear memory. Well, two, but one is not my own."

He looked around as if, compared to what he could recall, everything else was just so much interesting fog. He finally looked back to the others. "I have no idea who you are, who Blace is, and what I was doing before. All I recall is waking up. But not here. Not anywhere this mundane. Knowing, knowing, that I was dead, Knowing that my dead mind's sluggish and unemotional thoughts were all that was separating me from going mad. For the Raven Queen is beautiful, in some terrible way I cannot truly convey. And I was before her. All I recall is her face dominating my vision, and some distaste filling what passed for my senses. And a feeling of words, an impression of them. Its hard to convey, it felt as if she said I owed her one of my lives, and she was owed many deaths." Farren stopped, looking through the others, seeing the scene in his mind, quite clearly. His tone was strange, and he seemed to almost be speaking to himself. He snapped out of it with a sigh. "And... then I woke up. Here. Alive. In a body. The shapes and sounds of the world trying to push their mundane attention on my mundane senses once more, while mundane emotions tried to pull at my mind. Blace looking down at me. I thought the concern of a stranger, but it could have been the fear of a murderer, finding their foe returning form the grave."

Farren stood up, apparently heedless of the threat of the tree, though he did not move, perhaps showing it was still a consideration. "So here is a hypothesis. I owed the Raven Queen one of my lives. That part confused me, but now i understand. I lived, out of service to her, in my first life, and I died She pulled me to her service. I failed, either by actually going to help this Blace, or simply failed in the ruse to be friendly to Blace. I was killed, and now I return again. 'Reset' as it were. Of course, I do not like the Raven Queen feeling She is owed a thousand deaths. Are they mine, for betraying Her? Or am I an assassin for Her? Neither sound pleasant. Or does She mean something else. This Blace you said was dead and came back. Maybe Blace is not alone. Maybe a thousand like her escaped the Raven Queen's clutches, and I was supposed to pull them all back."

Farren shrugged. "I do not know. My only other memory is of a city, that is not a city. It feels grand yet small, as if so far away. And familiar, even though I do not recognise it at all. It is an imperative form the Raven Queen, and yet useless to me." He looked to Meri. "It seems we arrived at a bargain once. Let us try another. Guide me out of this forest, and point me to the nearest city. Knowledge divine and geographic is what I seek, and a city would appear to be the easiest way to find them. In return, though I cannot tell you where this Blace went, we can skirt the forest until we come to the place where she left me. I have so few memories, recognising that place should be no problem."

His gaze blipped to Celindara, then back to Meri. "Do we have a deal? And you can call me what you wish. One name is as good as another when you do not know your own," said Farren "I'm guessing I'll be Farren Wyde until I find my own name." He doesn't even bother to look to see if Meri got the joke, and instead plays with the tiny mouse for a moment while the group decide. He tried to feed another piece of food to the skittish rat, but that one still seems in a foul mood.

Nym giggles slightly as Celindara comes over to watch her, and holds her hand out a little further so that the hamadryad can see it more clearly. She causes the sparks to collect above her palm and coalesce into a little fluffy cloud of every colour which then rains similarly-multicoloured sparks onto her hand, where the bounce a few times before apparently being "absorbed" into her furry palm.

Yet it does appear that she has been listening, for when Farren has finished explaining what has happened to him, she glances up.

"Oh, you're really from somewhere else and you died and went back there and got sent back here again?"

She pauses for a few moments, looking back at her hand above which the miniature cloud shoots out a few tiny bolts of lightning then adds casually,

"I don't think I really like Blace very much. She hasn't really been a very nice person."

She brightens a little looking back at Farren.

"But you remember that you can turn into a big rat-thingy, right?" she asks. "That was how we met you before. You had a sort of nest thingy up at the top of a mill near the village we were visiting. Well, we saw you a bit before that, but I mean, that was where we properly met you. So you're really not-actually-alive and got sent from some other place to do stuff here before you go back home again? Well...at least it gives you something to do, I suppose...and umm, well, maybe you can explore the world and make friends while you're here, right?"

She grins at him and the little cloud turns into a tiny sun. A tiny green sun, but stil...

Meri seemed to think a moment, looking back at Celindara and Nym, then to Alynn and finally back at Farren.
"Well, as ominous as the part about many deaths sounds, I suppose we can help for now.  Though I can tell you now that I'm not prepared to help kill anyone who hasn't done me or a friend of mine any wrong.  Also..."
Her voice trailed off there as if she had suddenly had second thoughts about saying what she had been about to add, she also glanced briefly over her shoulder at Nym and Many before looking back at Farren.

"Then we can leave the forest and you can tell me anything you remember about where Blace went.  Beyond that, I'm not too sure about geographical knowledge.  There are some towns around here that I know of."

She looked back at Celindara.
"As for what to do with her," she gestured towards Alynn here, "Do you have any preference?"


OOC: So yep, happy to lead Farren out of the forest, though Meri isn't really one to help someone kill anyone who hasn't already tried to kill her or someone she considers a friend (I wonder who they could be?) ;)
Also, what do we do with Alynn now?  Happy to leave her fate up to Celindara's judgement unless Nym has any different feelings on the matter...
This message was last edited by the player at 22:14, Sat 12 Nov 2016.

Considering Nym hasn't even acknowledged Alynn's presence throughout this whole scene, I think that might at least hint that there is a certain lack of friendliness and maybe even indifference to the matter ;).

Yeah,you already got XP from Alynn and beat her twice, don't worry, she doesn't have to be your problem unless you had an idea for her :)

Celindara takes the opportunity to move over to Meri. "Alynn presents an opportunity. This tension with Blackwood village was fostered by Blace, but perhaps I have been lax. I have not spoken to these elders in...hmm, how long do humans and their kin live? Perhaps I last spoke to the parents of the elders. Or their grandparents..."

She looks slightly embarrassed, even though it is clear she cannot actually recall. "Still, it should be me who takes Alynn to the village. Her insults were to both sides of the forest, but she escapes their custody first with Blace's help. They have first right of justice."

Celindara nods to herself, and there is some other emotion. Perhaps not fear, perhaps... excitement?

Something Celindara says seems to spark a look to the dryad from Farren. Still, Farren looks to Nym then her sun then Nym again, clearly prioritising the sorcerer's words. And as if trying to work out all her words. "I'd happily be friends with the world, I just have no idea how much it is friends with me." He looks to the group. "So we have a deal. I assure you, I have no desire to murder anyone, which is perhaps why I am in this situation. A god's command is a powerful thing, but I don't trust the god of death on matters of live. Especially when she forms ones such as me despite her hatred of such creations when made by others."

He looks to the resentful rat and the happy rat, then puts the smaller, friendlier one down on a root. "A rat myself? It answers one questions and raises far more. I wonder how one would go about doing that? Even without a memory, it should be as easy as breathing. Perhaps-"

Farren doesn't tell the group his theory, but it is clearly correct. His thin body squashes down and fattens out,his strange features twist to rodent features, and his black pointed fingernails extend to claws. It is the same transformation, but in reverse, as the group saw at the mill.

The tiny rodent looks scared and backs off, and the resentful rat looks more gloating and advances on its fellow.

"Noh! Ee-Ee!" says Many with worry, darting forwards but stopping when the giant Farren rat stomps forwards first.

However, Farren snarls at the gloating rat not the tiny rat, and when he advances on the tiny at to Many's terror, all that Farren does is 'bop' his giant nose to the tiny one's nose. They seem to make small noises to one another, and the tiny rodent seems less afraid. Farren then turns to the larger rat, and exchanges far less pleasant sounding squeaks and snarls with that one. Still, by the end of that the larger rat seems cowed rather than resentful, and backs away.

Farren twisted back in to his more humanoid shape, and then looked to the group. "Well that was less than pleasant. Yet unless you are all masterfully playing me, it appears I have another reason to believe you."

Lol, the man seems to have Meri levels of paranoia under his apparent dispassion!

Farren pointed to Many. "So why do you have a small beholder as a familiar? That is no gauth, yet like no beholder I have seen before." He looks to the group. "And yes. I know many things. I just have no memory of them. Just as I know if Blackwood village is close, then this is The Blackwood. And so Fivespears and... Threegates? ... is close to the south. I have no memory of being there or not, but I have so much knowledge. And yet it seems to be failing at your friend here."


I'll leave it there for now, but it seems you have a guide? You know, if the new picture, etc is to be believed? :)

Nym giggles and claps (forgetting her tiny sun and causing it to instantly poof out of existence the moment her hands meet) as Farren rediscovers his shapeshifting abilities. She giggles again when he speaks of Many.

"No, Many's not a familiar." she says. "He's our friend. He just sort of...well, he started off as this little metal ball thing in Meri's workshop, but then the ball came to life and then when all the weird magic happened later it turned out the ball was an egg and it hatched out into him! And he's very clever and he's learning how to be nice to people and do all sorts of different magic with all his eyes."

She gives Many a huge smile. Meanwhile there is the faintest of whooshing noises and the psychadelic-looking falcon alights softly on Nym's head. The changeling poings in roughly the right direction to indicate the bird-like creature.

"Oh, this is Ryn." she says. "She sort of...grew out of me a while back, except she looked a bit more sort of...doggy, then. She's my friend forever! And Meri has one too, called Timur. He's like a tiny little man, but he's made out of metal. He helps her make stuff. She likes making stuff."

I know technically it was the "weird magic" that caused the Ball to exist in the first place rather than hatch into Many, but Nym is paraphrasing here ;).

Meri glanced back at Nym as she talked about Many's origins then looked back at Farren.
"Indeed, he's still finding his place in the world.  Like me and you both perhaps.  I thought I knew mine already, but it seems I still have new crafts to learn."

She briefly eyed the larger rat again as she continued.
"I used to think gods actually cared about us once, a long time ago.  Once I even actively prayed to a couple, though I can't recall their names.  Then I came to the realisation that we have to count on our own strengths to survive in a hostile world."

At the mention of his name, Timur had clambered back out of Meri's pack, looking around at Nym, then he turned and peered over Meri's shoulder at Farren and the two rats.
Rather than drop back down into the pack, he remained in place this time, watching the scene with an almost interested look.

"I know little of this area" continued Meri.  "Only of Stonebridge, and Blackwood, and of what lies in the direction we came from days ago.  Beyond that, I hadn't planned on exploring far.  Though plans seem to matter little these days."
She grinned at that then indicated the larger rat.
"So who is your friend there?  He doesn't seem to like you very much."


OOC: Meri seems unimpressed by gods.  Particularly evil chained ones who seem to like messing with her life... ;)

Farren greets all the friends in turn, seemingly accepting their number, strange appearance and stories with no further comment. Many is nodding enthusiastically, grinning as broadly as Nym. "Beh-ter! Be-etter! Yeah, yeah, be-tter!"

Farren looks to the two rodents around him. "Well, my two friends-"

"Noh!" says Many, then looks a little guilty. "Ah mean, heh mah friend! He Ee-Ee!"

Farren gave a small nod and corrected himself without much of a disruption. "-our two friends here don't usually given themselves names." He then looked to Many. "But I am sure ... Ee-Ee... will be fine, as he seems to like you. I think he was looking for you." To Meri's comment, he nodded to the other one. "A little bit more of a mixed bag. Cruely treated I think, seems to know me. Seems he's not happy with me being nice to you. I'm not sure I appreciate all these friends I have that aren't mine or seem unpleasant. Still, perhaps they are all broken things, in need of support."

Faren shrugged. Whether his last comment was just regarding Blace and the rodent, or extended to everyone was not something he expounded on.


Many for his part hesitantly moved forwards, trying not to spook Ee-Ee, and also unsure of Farren. He kept looking back at Meri and Nym as if to make sure it was ok.

When he got closer, he seemed to realise he hadn't grabbed any food to offer to his possible friend. Farren either recognised the concern, or simply was offering the beholder the chance to do what he was doing earlier.

Farren tossed a small morsel of something, and Many caught it in his mouth and gobbled it. *burp* "Thank you!" he said, then his eyes widened. "Oh noooo, thah-t wah-s Ee-Ee food!"

The little pout was removed quickly when Farren rolled his eyes and threw another morsel. Many caught this one with his magic, though it wobbles as he tried to gently direct it towards Ee-Ee. The small rodent nervously came forward and accepted the food, and Many gave a little relived giggle. The small rodent then squeaked at Many.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh," he said happily, nodding and smiling. He then looked behind himself to Meri and Nym and shook his head with a more worried look. He clearly didn't understand what the little rat was saying, if anything.

Farren seemed amused, and spoke words in a harsh, gutteral language as he had once spoke to Blace. Many replied in something that seemed to be the same language, although somehow his pronunciations seemed to remove the harsh edges from it.

Farren turned to Meri and Nym and kept speaking, changing back ot the Common tongue without apparently noticing what he had done. "So, I do not recognise Stonebridge. Presumeably north or east of here? Since I somehow know the elf and fey lands are west, where this forest becomes another, older forest. It seems to me Blace would not go back to the village where Allyn has told tales of, so I suppose I won't get to see my old 'home'. To be fair, nothing is jogging my memory, so I doubt seeing it would help. So let's rule out going to the east if we can help it. I want to travel to a city, so I will go south. But I leave it up to you if we go north or go south to the edge of this place. It seems either is a gamble that I will recognise where Blace left me."


So, feel ree to react to all the reactable things. Since you know to get to Stonebridge you probably want to go east anyway, then your actual choices are go with Celindara towards Blackwood village (then decide who to go with / leave behind) or leave Celindara's company now and go south to further down the Fivespears road. Your call!
This message was last edited by the player at 18:53, Wed 01 Mar 2017.

Nym scoots closer to Many and Ee-Ee, giggling as the tiny beholder interacts with his little rattish friend.

"Ooh, what did you just say?" she asks him when he responds to Farren's use of the strange language by speaking it himself. "I don't know that language. What was that?"

Meri looked back at Celindara and Alynn before speaking up.
"Well, if you're headed to Blackwood with Alynn, maybe we could stick with you for a while, just in case the villagers don't react well to having you show up there.  Assuming they'd been hearing stories about this 'Blackwoods Witch' babble.  Maybe we can calm things down if they start getting out of control."

She looked back at Farren then.
"Also, while we're there, we may be able to find out more about this city you mentioned, get some directions to it at least."


OOC: So yeah, putting the OOC suggestion into IC-speak :)