TDM #1 - Welcome to the Fae Wild, Winter Edition

[faewildmods]

'You find yourself wandering through a forest of strange colors. The last thing you remember is a strange ring of mushrooms in a riot of shades, singing to you in ethereal tones, tempting you and telling you to step in the midst them to discover riches beyond measure. As you do, a bright white light flashes before your eyes. When your sight returns, the forest of bizarre trees and plants looms before and around you.

As you step forward, laughter—deep and menacing and also light and tinkling—follows your footsteps. Yelling, questioning, gets you nowhere. Only a narrow path of stones allows you to avoid the foliage that seems to want to eat you alive. If you step off of the path, you find vines wrap around your legs, dragging you into the dark interior of the forest, until you wake up later, your body covered in strange symbols that will disappear after a few days. For those wise enough to not tempt fate and stay on the path, soft blue lights—fairies of indeterminate sex—appear, and beckon you to follow them down the path through the trees. A few hours of walking brings you to a village of stone and wooden thatched houses that appear as if they're both brand new and ancient at the same time.

A creature that at once appears to be monstrously beautiful and hideously decrepit steps forward to greet you, holding out a small silver hand mirror with a smile that makes your blood run cold (if you have any sense). "Welcome to the Fae Wild, child. This is the domain of the Handmaiden of the Sidhe Queens. Come with me. The others are waiting. All will be explained once we are gathered." It is then that you see the others spoken of, people that look almost.... normal and just as confused and angry as you are.

Dare you step forward to learn your fate?'

☙ Arrival ☙

So, you’ve survived the trip down the path and made it to the village that is the heart of the Fae Wild. The Handmaiden and her helpers, mostly pixies, brownies and some sylph and dryads, are handing out silver hand mirrors to all of the newcomers. Once you’re all gathered, the Handmaiden will explain that you’ve been brought here with the promise of riches and treasure through the magical fairy rings. While you’re here, you will be expected to assist the fae creatures in the activities the Handmaiden has picked for you to do.

If you agree to it, you will be richly rewarded. If you refuse? Well, how much do you enjoy the thought of being put under a cloche jar for a while? Don’t worry. You’ll be able to breathe in there. It wouldn’t be good to have someone die on their first day after all. After securing your agreement, your mirror will flash five times, and tapping the surface shows a letter-type of message in flowing script, telling you how to reach your new cottage during your stay.

Questions to the fae may or may not be answered, but never fear. They want you alive. For now.



☙ Winter Proofing The Realm ☙

As the first frost strikes the land of the Fae Wild, all the pixies and brownies are running around to make sure that the cottages, huts and communal buildings are ready for the blast of the Winter Queen’s Full Power. The sylphs and dryads are plucking flowers and bringing in as many fruit trees and bushes inside so that they can continue to provide food for the upcoming season.

Hunting parties are being arranged to stock up on meat. Other groups are being formed to fish in the lakes. (Beware of the kelpie. They bite.) You can also offer to chop wood, check all of the buildings for any repairs that need to be done, and preserve some of the more delicate foods. Just because this is a land of magic doesn’t mean that they’re immune to the change in the seasons.

Player characters are highly encouraged by all of the faeries to join in during this time. Anyone who does will find themselves given three times the berries during this particular activity.

☙ Glimpses of the Winter Court ☙

As the Winter Solstice approaches, glimpses of the Winter Sidhe (faeries of the highest order) can be caught as they travel around the whole of the Fae Realm. Frost Trolls that look like walking chunks of ice that only a mother (and maybe the Winter Queen) could love are currently pushing out the remnants of the dryads and sylphs to make room for themselves and their kind. If you look carefully, a tall horned man leading a pack of dogs and being followed by a lot of vicious looking creatures has begun to prowl and the nights are filled with the braying of His Hunting Party as they look for prey.

Asking the normal denizens of the Fae Wild will win you the name of Der Erlking and his Grand Hunting Party. Anyone caught out after dark alone will find themselves picked for the “special honor” of being prey or asked to spend the night as one of His hounds.

Occasionally, a beautiful, pale woman strolls around. She is never alone, as her entourage of grimalkin (large, black cat-like beasts) are always in attendance. Sometimes, she appears melancholic and at others, she is regal, cool and distant. Anyone foolish to try to approach her will find themselves face to face with the largest of the grimalkin who calls himself Cait Sith. And he suffers fools never.

☙ Here Comes Santa Claus ☙

Winter has definitely arrived with the first snow. Plenty of elves in striped stockings and funny shoes with bells on their toes are running around the village, demanding that all the buildings be covered in holly and evergreens. Others are hastily baking as many biscuits and cakes as they can. Player characters are not immune to the assumption of assistance. Anyone caught resisting them will find themselves suddenly about the size of a five year old, wearing the very familiar garb of ‘Santa’s Little Helpers’ and being pushed by one of the elves that calls themself The Taskmaster.

If one asks why the elves are doing this, they will find out that they’re making preparations to keep Santa Claus out of the Handmaiden’s domain. These particular elves are escapees from Santa’s sweatshop in the Winter Court, where he forces them to slave away making toys for human children with no pay, no insurance, and with only gruel to eat for every meal year round. The only way to keep him away from this area—since he’s such an important member of the Winter Queen’s Court—is to decorate it with plants of the season and to leave a gift outside the houses. It can be food, berries or shiny objects, but the Big Man must be appeased.

Of course, should you choose to not help, come the time of the 25th of December, Santa might just come and visit your house.

Welcome to our first Test Drive Meme! We encourage you to please play around and have fun. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask here. (Or elsewhere!)
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Ellia Corrin | Dungeons & Dragons OC

[wardingflare]

[ arrival ]

Ellia wasn't stupid. She's heard of the Feywild before - she's part elf, after all - of stories her father would tell her of his childhood. She'd never been there, sadly; the activities of the Cult took over so many things that her family had actually wanted to do. After she was out, she made a list of things she wanted to do, aside from stopping the crazy wine aunt of an evil dragon god. Visiting the Feywild was one of them.

She hadn't stopped to think that it might happen sooner than she realized. She pinched herself to make sure this was real and not a dream - it hurt enough to know she was fully awake. The Handmaiden's words partially comprehend in her mind. Richly rewarded? Money could come in handy when trying to track the cult.

She turned her mirror over in her hands, agreeing to what they were saying. Bahamut would understand, right?

An afterthought, as she blinked her eyes and turned around. Where in the hell were her friends? "Guys?" Shit. They're gone. "Please tell me you didn't wander off!"


[ winterproofing ]

She pulls her cloak around her tighter, trying to stay warm. The village was abuzz with activity, and she wasn't sure where to lend a hand. A few of the pixies that notice she's confused start pulling on her cloak, tugging her towards one of the nearest cottages. She's tasked with helping secure some of the buildings, tending to be a bit taller than her fae counterparts.

Sadly, however, Ellia's just a bit short herself at 5'4". The parts of the roof she's trying to help winterproof are just out of reach. She turns to look over her shoulder, looking for someone near her. "You, tall person! Care to help out?"


[ santa ]

With the tiny elves wandering around, Ellia couldn't help but wonder if they were children. Curious, she stops one.

"We have to stop him from coming!"

Further information gets her that they're talking about a fae named Santa Claus, a fiendish man who works his people to the bone. It hits Ellia deep within her heart - it was a feeling she knew all too well. She nods her head to the elf she was talking to, asking him to put her to work. She's tasked with helping hang garland, making sure the holly and evergreen are hung with care.

She's an hour into it when she leans to the person next to her. "Honestly, they should just unionize. A workers guild, maybe? Even thieves have a guild."


[ wildcard ]

[Hi friends! This is Ellia, a d&d oc who is a cleric of Bahamut. I will match writing styles, so don't worry! If you don't see anything you like feel free to come up with a prompt. If you want to plot I'm on plurk at earthkingdom.]

Santa

[teddybearpicnic]

Rainier cannot help but agree with Ellia, he was also watching the curious running-abouts of the elves, he had never seen elves even behave this way however he trusted that maybe this was familiar to Ellia. "My father has always paid people a fairish wage to work at his shop, then there is the many that he has given an apprenticeship to."

Because he had heard an elf mutter under their breath about making toys 23 hours out of the day.

"Perhaps they should, perhaps you should teach them how to do that?" Honestly, Rainier had no idea how to rally people and charisma was not his strong suit. "But I think they are sending a message here.. so what do?"

[wardingflare]

This was far, far too unfamiliar to Ellia, having grown up around mostly humans. Her father rarely spoke of his kin after joining the cult, so what she has learned has been through interaction and reading. "Your father was a much more fairer person than most people, honestly."

Ellia opens her mouth to say something, then closes it right away. She was not at all that charismatic, not like Tryst was or anything like that. "I mean, I can tell them how to stand up for themselves, but teach them to unionize? I'm not sure." She leans closer. "Do they even have labor laws in the feywild?"

[teddybearpicnic]

"I don't even think they have labour laws in Faerûn, just really fair and kind people." he's seen some of the more unscrupulous businesses in Baldur's Gate and yes, Waterdeep, such as that Alchemist clearly had not followed labour laws, but someone who drugged up their companions as that probably did not follow much of anything, including rules and regulations.

By his way of thinking, there was no one kinder than Ellia and he looked up to largely for direction in the way that he didn't for others. Also, he would absolutely take orders from her, because he trusted her to look out for everyone's well being. "Maybe just empathy? I know you are really good at that."

Winterproofing

[makingmyway]

Standing at about 6'1", Dorian hears the exclamation and glances up from his own work. There isn't anyone else nearby either, so he assumes that he's the one being addressed.

So he gets to his feet and brushes the dirt off his clothes before making his way over to take over.

"Here, I've got it," he says. Not that he has much of a choice apparently, but he's helping at least?

[wardingflare]

"Thank you," comes her exasperated reply. She hates being short; if her personality were any indication of tallness she'd be several inches taller by now.

She takes a minute to help him secure what he was holding up, standing on her tiptoes to do so, then lets go cautiously. It holds. "Sorry to pull you away from what you were doing."

[makingmyway]

Once he's sure that it's holding, he secures it down to make sure it stays that way. "It's no problem," he replies with a shrug and a small smile. "It was just more of this, anyway."

It was all for the same purpose, after all, so it doesn't matter whether he finishes what he was doing or does this.

"Anything else you need assistance with?" He figures he should check now, instead of risking getting pulled away again.

arrival

[prettyrocks]

The only person standing nearby Ellia is a tall half-orc woman in a rough looking dress made of hide, with a thick fur cloak over her shoulders. She's inspecting her mirror, but looks up when Ellia calls out.

"Uh, no, I'm right here." But, wait. "I'm not a guy, though..."

Tsutha may not have realized she's not the person Ellia is looking for.

[wardingflare]

"Oh!" She laughs lightly, looking a bit sheepish. "Sorry, force of habit. My friends like to wander off sometimes."

She looks around Tsutha, making sure none of them were hiding in the trees. She really doesn't trust this place, especially with the stories she's heard about it. "You've gotten pulled into the Feywild, too? I could have sword we weren't even remotely close to a gate through the planes."

She's making an educated guess.

[prettyrocks]

Tsutha laughs too, loud and brash. It's loud enough to draw a few glances from others nearby, but she doesn't seem to notice or care.

"Hey, so do mine!" That's not entirely true. Her friends usually stay on task pretty well; it's Tsutha who's always wandering off.

"Sure looks like it. I'm definitely not here on purpose. I have this amulet that lets me go to other planes, but I've never been any good at using it. Every time I try I end up somewhere other than where I'm trying to go."

Arrival

[charmperson]

It's the familiar voice that caught his attention, even through the crowd. Tryst stops making faces at himself in his mirror and immediately turns around. That was definitely Ellia. Now where was she? He peered through the people gathered, briefly curses himself for having small friends (it's so much easier spotting Jheri) before he spies her.

Oh thank whatever gods might be listening.

"Ellia!" The cleric will find herself swept into a relieved hug. "I didn't wander off. ...there was that odd circle of mushrooms, but that wasn't realy wandering as it was... ah. Fuck. You'd think I could spot that obvious an enchantment a mile off. Yet here we are." Tryst has failed himself.

winterproofing

[umbar]

Meliara had her back turned and was working on another building when the call for help went out, almost ignoring it simply because certainly there were other tall people around who weren't preoccupied at the moment.

Of course that never seems to be the case, and Meliara patched up the wall as best she could before turning around to see what the commotion was. She almost laughed at the sight of a young woman on her tiptoes trying to reach the roofing.

"You would think that the pixies would enlist people who could actually reach the roofing." She said, walking over and reaching the problem area with ease. "Makes me wonder if they just want our help or just want entertainment in watching the shorter folk struggle."