Deep in the Sweetwine Woods, something rumbled.
It was a deep and as they stood there (or floated there) it reverberated through the very ground they were on.
And should they
be inclined to notice You need competent detection and a reason to be paying attention to it then they would recognise the sound which resonated beneath them.
It was a chuckle.
Cage looked on in surprise as
Areia clumsily attempted to grab Merl novice / unskilled in unarmed combat . Merl saw it happening and didn't flutter away, didn't stop Areia. In fact, none of the fairies did.
Yet, there were others in the group, others gathered there who did attempt to stop her.
One fluffy paw lifted to one fluffy mouth, preparing to devour. Marl waved to her as she lifted him to her and Marl's face wore an expression of sadness - of compassion ..... even of forgiveness. Just then,
Kisaik leapt forward and Areia felt her bite sink into her own flesh (and it felt like it was her normal, usual flesh). Her attack, her anger, reflected back on herself. Kisaik jumped into the fray and defended the fairy.
And then, as it all happened
Winston opened his locket. Dozens of sprites and spirits, strange looking creatures and fairy-folk poured out of it, they poured out and the fluttered around - and they each one of them landed on the shoulder of one of the Guests of Ol'Tuck. They sat on shoulders, and as things unfolded, they took stock and watched, just for a moment. The one that was next to Kisaik, though, that was the one who made the decision, took the action. Winston would know that fact somehow - instinctively, maybe - that it was Kisaik's tiny tiny (fairy sized for him) sudden companion who made the locket do what it did this trial.
That creature appeared next to
Kisaik and he saw a tiny creature of light as he heard it's tinkling voice.
"We'll defend together! Kisaik's fairy companions, his forged diri too - they welcomed this creature and saw it as a good force, he knew that, and between them, they reflected back the attacks.
Elisabeth, in her
very pretty dress was a small force to be reckoned with. She told Areia to sleep and Areia felt nothing of it. Elisabeth, however, felt a wave of exhaustion crash over her and it was only her
high levels of stamina Endurance: Master which stopped her from sleeping where she stood. Her voice lifted in a song, perhaps even in defiance and determination
not to fall asleep, and the fairies giggled and fluttered around her. The sprite from Winston's locket, a tiny will'o'wisp puff of pink fluffyness, didn't know that song but hummed along best they could.
"Don't fall asleep!" the tinkling voice laughed.
For
Nir'wei, the sprite from Winston's locket was a floating, flying wood-sprite and it was as old as him. He called for the creatures of the wood - including those who had been transformed - to
attack and they felt it. They were doing it. Nir'wei knew that they were - he knew it had worked. And then, the tiny wood-sprite chuckled and Kisaik's magic gifted to him by Saoire worked in conjunction with that, which led to the clearing suddenly being filled with creatures of all shapes and sizes. Foxes and owls and mice and squirrels, birds of every kind, even kitten bees and grizzly bees, all of them flew or ran into the clearing - specifically to Nir'wei. They weren't attacking him, though, they were just
really very keen on showing him affection ooc: I see it like this, except with a really old guy..... 
. Perhaps Nir'wei noticed as that happened that quite a few of the wolfberries of the type given to Balthazar were dropped into his pockets. A couple of particularly mischievous squirrels dropped them on him from a tree above and he felt the berries land on his head.
It was all happening simultaneously, so when
Oram called on people to take the knee and stop this nonsense, he would know - absolutely - that his ability had worked. He knew it in the same way Elisabeth did. Yet, like Elisabeth he found that his ability reflected back on him, taking on a slightly different shape. The animals which Nir'wei had inadvertently called - and many fairies, too - all started crowding around him in a manner so respectful that it was almost worship. They wanted to touch his arm, his leg, to hear his words.
Of course - because such is the way of fairy magic - it only worked on anything that could reach no further than his knee when standing. Balthazar and the wolves had no urge to worship, but anything that was both an animal and shorter than knee-high, adored him.
Now, if
Balthazar was paying attention to what was happening around him, he might have a moment's pause here. Because left and right, attacks were being reflected back and he cast a snazzy-looking bolt of lightning at Areia. True enough, and true to the moment, it reflected on to Balthazar, not to Areia at all. It could have hurt him, of course, but it didn't. What it did do, however, was cause the Balth- wolf to turn into fluffy puffed-out bundle of fur and static electricity. Sparks flew off him and he felt all the
hair on him
rise up, the weight of it even lifted his ears. Sparks flew off him and, should anyone touch him, they'd get a shock.
It wasn't
Yina's intention to harm, instead she intended to try and restrain Areia as much as she could. She called to her mäsällã'kọ'pọnọ, Adler, and the creature looked at her with wide and earnest eyes. But, at the end of the day, it was an animal and not an intelligent creature - and since
Yina was not training Adler to beyond his scope Novice in Animal Training , the tiny creature just looked a little confused. However, what that meant was that Yina was in a unique position. While almost everyone else had some additional
something either slowing them down or interfering with their concentration, Yina was able to see exactly what was going on and all around them.
This might well be a major advantage, going forward.
Finally, of course, there was
Zoro. He was trying to save the fairy and that was a noble thing to do. What it meant though, was that when his attempt reflected back, the fairies tried to save him. The main problem Zoro seemed to be having, at least as far as the fairies could see, was that he was floating and so, he grabbed Marl out of Areia's hand as he flew past. That was done. But then, the biqaj was bombarded with fairies, all of whom were jumping up and down on his back in order to try and get him to land.
They were entirely unsuccessful. But they must get props for trying.
"Stop this AT ONCE!"
Cage commanded.
Many of the people here gathered had stood in the Forging. They had heard the voice of the Induks and to them, there was no doubt that an Induk spoke through Cage now. His voice rang out and while everyone present was able to do what they chose, they stood
in Sweetwine and the Induk Sweetwine had just instructed them to stop. The power and force of that instruction was
very difficult to resist. Even coming from a small fruit dragon.
For a moment, everything froze in a split second of time. It was like Cage / Ol'Tuck / Sweetwine breathed in and then, Cage turned to Areia.
"No violence here!"
, His voice was deep, the Induk still within him.
"You are not welcome here, violent one"
And then, in a blink, Areia was simply no longer there.
She disappeared. Areia finds herself outside Sweetwine Woods. Just outside. She also finds that she is physically unable to re-enter. She remains a fluffy teddy bear for maybe another hour or two, then it wears off.
Meanwhile, there was
Winston. The handy-ferret who had opened the locket which had coincided with
Kisaik's action of reflecting aggression away. These two things had merged and this was the outcome. The spirits and sprites, the fairies and creatures of whimsy danced around and they all heard their song ~ it was breathtakingly beautiful.
And Cage turned to look at the two of them. Just for a moment Winston and Kisaik both saw
something that looked nothing like Cage at all
but instead an ancient being of power. That being looked at Kisaik and Winston and bowed its head, just slightly.
"Singers of my song. You have my thanks,"
he said to the two of them, yet his voice shook them all - all of those still present - to their soul. Only Kisaik and Winston saw the true form of Cage in that moment, the rest continued to see Cage.
But all of them heard the voice. Some of them might even remember and recognise it.
He turned then and looked at Elisabeth and Oram,
"The peacekeepers"
, he spoke like it was a title, not an accolade. To Nir'wei and Balthazar he looked next,
"The attackers."
Finally, he turned his gaze to Zoro and Yina,
"The defenders."
The voice continued, deep and resonant.
"My fairies mean no harm with their games. Be at peace, with my thanks"
And Cage blinked and was once again who they knew him as.
And, just like that, they were back to the moment they should have been. They knew everything that had happened, none of the strange effects had worn off. Yet, they were back to being able to do what they were here to do.
"So!" Cage declared and the fairies (including their guides) cheered. Those who had fairy diris from the Forging would feel no sense of concern. Indeed, far from it - and from most it was deeply amusing.
"We can reconvene! As I said, you have eaten our food and, briefly, you will walk in your world and ours. So come now, and let me show you!" he said.
The small dragonfruit fey gestured and all the fairy guides fluttered around him. They sang and danced in the air, laughter tinkled and they seemed inordinately happy. More claps and cheers and whistles.
"Now we have eaten together, you must pick the Blackberry. That person will forever be who they are now - their fairy form. They will spend their trials liaising between Ol'Tuck, the fae and the creatures of Sweetwine," Cage beamed.
"You will waken to the song of Ol'Tuck, you will dance all night beneath the stars and you wings will never fly outside Sweetwine, for that is the only place where we can exist. "
Suddenly, as though it was rehearsed, every fairy fell silent.
Cage spoke amid the stillness.
"Now you must face three trials. The Trials of the Blackberry - the trials of the Flapdoodle, Flopsy and Pinch!! Those who survive these trials will be eligible to become Blackberry. Those who survive, but do not become Blackberry will return to their mortal form," Cage certainly had a flair for theatrics.....
"Far across the misty seas and in the dark recesses of Faldrass, there exists a legend of the Smooglenuff. But here, in Sweetwine, we hear the song of all the legends. We know where that story began. It began in fear and fog and terror. It began with a creature held back by Smooglenuff. We call it the ..." Cage leaned forward, as though speaking the name might indeed summon the creature itself.
"It is the .... Flapdoodle. A creature of fearful visage. Tall as a bear, with claws like razors, poison in its blood and the bane of fairies everywhere." He looked around them and he gestured. In front of him was suddenly an opening - an opening in the ground which led down into a place which seemed to have a waterfall and was rather... purple. It was all that they could make out.
"On this trial every ten arcs, the Flapdoodle must be defeated. He can only be defeated by someone who is both Fae and Mortal - and such you are and so we ask you to descend and fight the Flapdoodle. Save us all!!!!"
"Save us all!....." "Save us all! ....." "Save us all!!!! ....." "SAVE US!! ....."
Should any of them go in (there was a lot of expectation that they would - no fairy would join them, even the Forged dirirs) then, indeed, they would find themselves in a purple-hued place. It was like a cavern, but the roof of the cavern was painted to be such a perfect rendition of the sky that they weren't sure whether they were above or below ground.
In the distance, there was a waterfall and what seemed to be a small golden-haired winged woman who was sitting by the waterfall and singing a mournful song.
If they went through (and of course, they could not do) then, when the last of them had entered, they heard a single bell chime and, behind them, the opening was no more.
I'll be posting Friday 12th August (we're back, baby!)
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