Quote from cbaer8 >>

Meanwhile, somewhere behind them, Horatio finally pulls himself out of the comfortable waters of the lake.

The aged centaur continues his sad talk with Horatio. "Loomlurch is just over the river and past the fairy ring. Where the forest becomes dark. Over one of the bridges of tree roots that crosses a dried-up riverbed – Granny's garden is on one side, the goblin market is on the other. Nightshade lives there. But it may be too late, anyway. I expect this pool will be the last place of peace to be corrupted, but it's only a matter of time..."

-----

"Our concentration is wavering," says Amaryllis to Gerrard. "I'm not sure what to do with these redcaps. They will return any moment..."

The goats' forms begin to waver...

 
Concerned for his friends, but unsure what to say, Horatio asks, "I have to rush after the others, I can't let them get hurt again. Please, if you won't come with me would you at least wait here for me to return? It sounds like you know the lay of this land, and we could at least use that knowledge." With that, he nods his thanks as he dashes through the woods the direction he believes his friends to have gone (basically just a straight line into the woods while calling out, "Where are you guys?!" His tone is stressed, worried, on edge.). 

Matilda grimaced, flashes of her near death at the hands of another Hag still fresh in her mind.

" I would like to go to the castle first..."

Quote from VosBeyond >> 

Concerned for his friends, but unsure what to say, Horatio asks, "I have to rush after the others, I can't let them get hurt again. Please, if you won't come with me would you at least wait here for me to return? It sounds like you know the lay of this land, and we could at least use that knowledge." With that, he nods his thanks as he dashes through the woods the direction he believes his friends to have gone (basically just a straight line into the woods while calling out, "Where are you guys?!" His tone is stressed, worried, on edge.). 

 "I'm here!" Making her way down, Titaani spots Horatio and Tiny makes large hops to close the distance between them. "Horatio, are you ok? Sorry we left you on that island alone. Did anything else attack you while we were gone?"

Titaani, perched high on Tiny's back, begins to ride him back toward Wayward Pool. She finds herself turned around, and stumbles back into the Pixie's clearing again. Horatio stumbles into the clearing immediately after them. 

Ben tries to persuade the pixies to join their cause, but they reluctantly decline. "I'm sorry, friends. We must all stay here to take care of Grandfather Tree. I wish we could give you something to thank you. We can give you the power to fly from here, to give you a head start, but it only lasts for ten minutes. And you should be sure to be on the ground when the spell ends." The pixies stifle giggles at this.

"We don't know how to get to the Palace anymore," responds Amaryllis to Matilda. "Squirt might be able to get you there. He lives with Little Oak, I think. Have you met him?"

"You guys okay?" Horatio surveys everyone's apparent health - and then the strange community in front of him. He gives an awkward wave. "Hey." He looks back at his companions, "I met a minotaur by the water. He was nice."

"A minotaur?" Titaani gasps. "The scary bull people momma Dianae told me about?"

Ben:

"Yes, Will and his gang know the way, and we met Little Oak already.  I would love to stay and chat, but my companions are leaving and we do have important work to do...However, I recall not so long ago flying from Pixie dust at the Witchlight Carnival.  Is that how you are offering to let us fly?" responds Ben.

(If it is a spell or something, Ben would love to be able to fly for 10 minutes.  If it is pixie dust, it would probably be much wiser to ask to have some for later when they take on Granny Nightshade).

" Squirt?"

" Yes, I believe so."

" You met a minotaur?"

"Well, we could certainly spare you a little pixie dust." Amaryllis looks at Calluna, who nods and gives Ben a folded leaf. (It holds enough pixie dust for one use.) "But if you use it for flying, it will only work for a minute. If we use it upon you, it will last for ten."

"Yes, Squirt. He's a little flying oilcan. He has a pretty good sense of direction."

Ben:

"Ah, no, then I guess we haven't met Squirt yet, but I'll know to ask when we return to Little Oak's glade.  As for the Pixie dust, I thank you kindly.  Sometimes in a battle, mobility can be at a premium and I'm sure this will help against Granny Nightshade," responds Ben.  "Thanks again for your help--hopefully we are successful and Grandfather Oak starts to recover," he adds before heading out after the others.

(Does everyone intend on going back to Little Oak/the Getaway Gang next? Or off to Loomlurch? Or somewhere else?)

Titaani will start to head back to Little oak, if the others intend to as well. 

Matilda makes sure Owlbear is feeling alright then follows Titaani.

Horatio shrugs, "He was nice enough. I had wanted to ask him more questions but... I didn't know if you guys were okay. He's probably gone by now." He looks around, feeling more confused and lost than ever. He will follow the others.

Unless the party has further business with the pixies, you begin to retrace your steps through the forest, past the owlbear's chariot, through the berry bushes, and back to Little Oak's glade. You meet nothing along the way other than a few darting black birds and a passing cloud of blood-red butterflies. The light and weather remain unchanged - an unending twilight. You finally arrive at the leafy oak tree. Zennor, the young orc, swings from one of the painted rope swings dangling from the tree’s branches. You spot Will in the treehouse, watching your approach through a small spyglass.

"Hi again!" Titaani calls out cheerfully. "We came back, with information and gifts from fairies! Oh and we fought this really annoying person, but that probably doesn't interest you, does it?"

(I'm back!)

The party returns to the lush glade where they last left Will of the Feywild (a spindly human boy who looks to be about 11 years old), his tentacled oversized kitten pet, and friends Bobi, Sloane, and Zennor (a dwarf, elf, and orc, respectively, who all appear to be the equivalent of about 8 years old.) Rope ladders climb from the ground to a pair of trapdoors in the floor of their large treehouse.          

"Did you find her? Did you find Lamorna?" asks Zennor, brightly, from the swing.

"Can we have our unicorn costume back?" asks Bobi, gruffly, poking his head out of the treehouse behind Will.

"You guys ready to try my plan now?" asks Will, putting down his spyglass. "We gotta free the kids still bein' held prisoner in Loomlurch. We need you guys to do this."

Ben carries the chicken in his ornate birdcage. He's not sure how many minutes of chickenhood Zarak has left, but it can't be many.

 
(Will, with a costume horn.)

Ben:

"Indeed, and this chicken tried to steal her horn," says Ben, "though he wasn't a chicken at the time.  Lamorna's mate has been captured and is a prisoner of Nightshade as well."

Titaani ignores the kids and Ben, seemingly distracted by something else. She runs over to the tree on which the tree house is built on. 

"Hello..." She whispers, placing her hand on the tree trunk. "I'm Titaani, what's your name?"

Matilda watches the chicken with murderous intent and her hand on her dagger...