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

'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.

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Dorian isn't entirely sure that he believes what he's seeing either. But hearing the familiar voice calling his name, seeing the halfling running towards him, he decides that he's going to take his chances.

With a bright smile of his own, he hurries to close the distance between them, and when he's close enough he holds his arms out with every intention of scooping up the halfling. "Orym! Am I glad to see you!"

Oyrm does a graceful leap when he thinks he's close enough and wraps his arms tight around the air genasi. "You're here too," he cries joyfully, "I've been so worried about you...are you okay....is anyone else with you?"

The normally calm and gathered fighter is talking about as much as Laudna as he looks over the bard taking in anything that is different or worrying. "When did you get here...are you okay?"

He wasn't expecting the halfling to practically leap into his arms, but even more surprising is the tight hold Orym greets him with. A little puzzled, he nonetheless secures his arms around Orym, making sure he doesn't fall as he holds him close.

"Yes, I'm all right," he response after a moment, still trying to keep up with the other man's rapid questions - something else that's a bit strange coming from Orym, though he can't quite place why yet. "I think I just arrived moments ago, but it's difficult to tell how much time has passed already." Honestly, he hadn't been paying too much attention. "I haven't seen any of the other Crownkeepers, though. What about you? Are you all right? Have you seen the rest of Bells Hells yet?"

Oyrm is clearly looking rough, bloodied, tired and worn out. "I haven't seen any of them no," he says slowing his words down a little. "We got separated and the last people I saw before coming back here were Laudna and Ashton...we weren't sure where we ended up yet."

The halfling lets go and drops to the ground blushing a little. "Sorry....I got excited seeing you again..."

Now that he's able to get a better look at Orym, he can't help the worried frown on his face. "You were separated?"

He wants to ask more about what happened, but it would take him a while to get all his thoughts together. Besides, he doesn't want to put too much of a damper on their reunion, especially as Orym blushes a little. That's...adorable? Is that the right word?

"No need to apologize. I'm glad to see you again as well."

Orym nods. "Things have gotten complicated since you left us Dorian," he says, unsure of where to explain everything that has been going on back at home. "We were fighting someone so much stronger than us...and they won...and now everything is upside down and backwards and the group was forcibly split up at the end of the fight."

His worried frown only grows as Orym continues to explain, and guilt starts nipping at the back of his mind. Logically he knows that there might not have been much he could have done to help, but...

"Oh, Orym...I'm so sorry. I wish I'd been there."

"Don't blame yourself Dorian," Orym says quietly, "family comes first and your brother needed your help." The halfling smiles. "I'm glad to know you are okay now and that we are together again."

"He did," Dorian agrees with a sigh. "But it sounds like you all did as well."

He knows that there was likely no way to be there for everyone, but knowing that didn't make it hurt any less.

Still, he manages a faint smile of his own as he nods. "I'm glad we are too." Even if he wonders just how long they'll be able to be together.

Orym looks around the smile fading a little. "This doesn't feel like the last time the Bell's Hells were in the Faewild...it feels....off."

With a frown of his own, Dorian glances around a bit. "Maybe this is a different part of the Feywild than where you'd been? I imagine it must be an expansive place."

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

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