Zorg's Lost Souls III

In the time that it takes for Rowan to turn around and check if Barria is coming, the children have darted up the ropes holding the swings, and into the boughs of the tree. The treant itself stops moving and stands as still as any normal tree, its boughs held in the air, like a child playing at statues... however, one of its eyes keeps peeking open to watch.

Three of the four children glare down at Rowan as he speaks, and it's apparent from this proximity that one is a ginger-haired she-elf, one a young male dwarf growing his first whiskers, and one a young female orc. All three appear to be about eight years old.

The fourth child, a human boy of about 11 years with chocolate skin and frizzy black hair, watches Rowan with a completely different attitude... a smirk and a swagger... as he hangs sideways out from one branch. The cat seen earlier remains skulking behind the base of the tree, and Rowan can see that it is not actually a cat... with the black fur, the six legs, and the two tentacles issuing from its back, it is clearly a very young displacer beast.

Rowan finishes speaking, and the four children remain for a few moments, glaring or in the case of the older boy, smirking down at Rowan. Finally the human boy leaps off the branch into the air, grabs the rope of a swing, and slides down it to land with two feet on the ground. He saunters over to Rowan, coming right up within a hands-breadth, and looks up at him... shorter by a foot or so, but still acting like the one in control. The other children move around a little... two produce slings and stones, and the third crouches beside what appears to be a small cannon and a basket of fruit.

So, says the boy to Rowan, loud enough for his 'crewmates' and therefore for everyone else to hear. You're lookin' fer Will are ya? Wanna talk to 'im do ya? Well ya found 'im. So talk!

Barria turns red as what the mushrooms are saying is translated for her and she is happy to move on from them.  If there are tiny ones near where they scuffle on by, she might  try to step on them to see if that will teach the rotten mushrooms a lesson!

She also stares at the enormous track on their way into the decaying forest.  Nature: 17 as she tries to figure out what it is.

Barria is happy to partner with Rowan as they approach the children.  Children always liked Barria back home, she always had something sweet for them to eat.  First... she is surprised by all that spews from Rowan, she knows she shouldn't be, but she is.  And as Rowan tells the others the identity of the two creatures may very well be one and the same, she retorts, "What proof do you have?  How can you be so certain?"  When she sees G'Reg take it for gospel, she calls back to him, "Don't believe everything you hear, gnome!" but... is it true?  

She watches the children, their countenaces confusing her, but then again - so much has confused her ever since she stepped through those looking glasses.  She attempts a smile at the dwarf child and a little wave, but then the human child takes her attention as he struts over.

"Why hello there.  We have seen so many reward posters for you, what have you done to warrant such ire from Granny?  Not that we have any love for her, quite the opposite in fact.  I'm just curious as to what happened?"

Rowan is a little taken aback by the boy claiming to be Will demanding that he start talking.

"Did something happen to your hearing?" Rowan asks. "I've been talking. Do you understand what I'm saying right now?"

Rowan is about to say more when Barria begins talking and he decides to see how Will responds to her before pursuing the matter further. Maybe Mulligan will have to think speak to him.

Ah! This guy! Will exclaims even more loudly as he claps Rowan on both shoulders. Done lots of talkin' about Will, and talkin' to everyone but Will... sayin' he wants to talk to Will... now he's got nothing' to say to Will.

The children in the tree giggle at this, and it's clear to Rowan and Barria that this precocious child is performing for his gang. The boy turns away from Rowan and faces Barria, though with a little more of a respectful attitude.

What've I done ya say? He runs his fingers through his frizzy black hair. Well I escaped from 'er slavery fer starters, didn't I? And then I was quick enough and smart enough to go back and free these three fine upstanding warriors from under her long crooked nose, wasn't I? Oh, and you too, Midnight (he adds as the displacer beast kitten approaches and rubs up to his leg). A right thorn in her heel, innit? So yeah, I reckon she's got it out for me. She can't catch us though, right lads?

There is a cheer from the treehouse, and Will beams a huge smile at them before turning back to the newcomers.

So if you're int'rested in givin' merry hell to the old granny, savin' the unicorns, and maybe even the Queen... then you've come to the right place... 'cos there's no army like the Getaway Gang fer causin' mischief. Why don't ya bring whoever else ya got with ya and come 'ave some grub. We ain't got much, but what we got, we share.

And with that, he turns and sprints back to the base of the treant (who has dropped all pretense of pretending to be only a tree) and scampers up a rope ladder that the children drop down to him.

Tidy up, lads! he calls on his way up. We got visitors!

G'Reg sets aside his worries for the time being, his expression changing completely as he turns away from Mul and addresses the invitation. Exiting the long grass he had been hiding within he shouts over "Food is certainly something we'd be grateful for! And I speak for all of us when I say congratulations on escaping the hag not once but twice, an impressive feat no doubt!" The gnome grins wide, and acts odd, an air of warmth to him instead of his usual gruff outlook, though he could just be playing up to the children's bravado and need to perform, what do children seek out and latch onto if not validation eh? He approaches, not just humouring their ego but encouraging it.

     Mulligan tags along.  He's bemused by everything, more or less, but stays silent for now as he has nothing much worth adding.  

     Assuming there is some rustling about to gather up the meal stuffs, Mulligan finds a place out of the way to sit and relax and maybe play a bit of banjo.  He does so in order to perhaps entertain the kids but he also does it to test out if it allows him to speak to the Treant or not.  

     If communication cannot be established, then he just plays to play.  If he can communicate with the Treant that way he makes introductions, of a sort, and thanks the Treant for their hospitality. Mulligan also thanks them for watching over the kids so well.

     Truthfully we don't know much of what they have been through or up to but we know the hags are bad news.  We kind of stumbled into opposition of the hags accidentally but now that we are there we intend to do what we can to put a stop to them.  I want to assure you were mean no harm to any but the hag and those that willfully aid her.

Four times! Will calls back down to Greginald, then adds: Come on up then, slowpokes, or Bobi will eat your share.

Realising that Will intends to entertain his guests within the treehouse, the group take turns ascending the rope ladders, which terminate in a open trapdoor built into the floor of the treehouse. Impulsive Rowan is the first one up, followed by the gnome-with-a-plan Greginald, and then kindly Barria. Mulligan lingers behind, taking his time and strumming some notes on the banjo to see what response he gets from the treant.

On the ground

The treant is clearly delighted by the novel communication method that Mulligan provides, and the rogue feels the heavy, ponderous thoughts enter his mind, quite distinct from those of the beings he normally mind-speaks to, and even different from speaking with smaller plants... thoughts that feel more moist and loamy.

Ah, so you're the one! The one Meadowleaf spoke of, that sings to her children without voice. News of you has travelled fast through the forest, and also of the earth-child whose words aroused her so. Well met!

Then, as Mulligan gives his assurances, the treant responds:

Yes, your coming is as a fresh, cool breeze. Too long has the forest languished under Granny Nightshade's oppression. Meadowleaf's tree was not the only one felled by the hag... many of my friends... some very close to awakening... but the season is changing. Will has been brave to oppose her, yet something holds him back, and he can be little more than an irritation to her. Perhaps with the aid of outsiders... Now, you should join the others.

In the treehouse

The floor of the treehouse is covered with blankets, cushions, and piles of straw. Hanging from the six-foot-high ceiling by a rope is a basket that holds apples, berries, sugarcane, and a few other pickings from the forest. In one corner, lying on a cushion, is a rusty oilcan that looks out of place. Heaped in another corner is a crude unicorn costume made of polka-dot quilts and a wooden horse’s head that has a wooden horn attached to it. The walls are plastered with crumpled and torn copies of the Wanted posters that have been so prevalently displayed throughout the forest.

As Will stands giving orders like a ship's captain, the other three children scurry around making preparations. The dwarf-boy, who Will calls Bobi, lowers the basket from the ceiling and spreads the meager food out on a blanket in the centre. The elf-girl, whose name is Sloane, dusts off and puffs up the cushions, placing them carefully around the meal. Meanwhile, Zennor, the orc-girl, appears to be arguing with the oilcan (who she calls 'Squirt') about getting off the cushion or it won't be invited to the party. A few dents appear in the oilcan in the vague shape of a face, and it grumbles about 'running on fumes' and eventually floats off the cushion and into a corner of the room.

While all is being prepared, Will struts around excitedly, expounding further, for Barria's entertainment, on the clever tricks and tactics he used to escape from Granny Nightshade's clutches, and then to return not once but four times, freeing a captive child each time, and thwarting her and her servants. He then chatters away about all the wonderful adventures he and the Getaway Gang will have once the horrible hag is kicked out. Midnight, the displacer beast kitten, who must have climbed the treant's trunk rather than the rope ladder, leaps in through one window and curls up on a cushion next to Barria.

Finally, turning his fickle attention back to the newcomers, Will asks:

So, we gonna make a plan to free all the rest of the kids? Bring 'em back here to Little Oak? You're kinda old, but I reckon we can make you temporary honorary octagenary members of the Getaway Gang, how 'bout that? What special skills do you bring to my army?