Alyna looked for a a few moments puzzled and then laughed "The queen had to steal you instead of the fat miller!" Still laughing she accepted Shayne's hand. "Do you even know our dances? Bonfire Dance? A Jig, may be? I bet they don't teach you this in your cities! Oh, and who is going to play?"
"Oh my.. WEare the ones who teach others the dances!" Shayne says with a laugh. Shayne is, of course, quite a dancer. He hums an upbeat tune, nothing too quick but something fun and jaunty and exhilarating. With Alyna's hand in his he pulls her closer and leads her through the dance, slowly circling up the hill.
Fammy "Meows!" and circles about their feet, playing a game and just generally causing chaos. Still, Shayne expertly leads their steps without fall and without the cat's tail once being threatened.
Shayne and Alyna dance around, winding uphill, until they arrive near the top.
While she stands to catches her breath, Alyna spots a flash of red in the grass. It's a toadstool, but one big enough that Fammy could curl up atop its cap .Looking about, she and Shayne count over a dozen of the overgrown fungi, forming a ring around the hill's crown.
Fammy sniffs at the fungal ring's outer edge but doesn't cross into the circle. The cat prowls about, pausing now and then to stare at the hilltop. If anything is there except grass swaying in the wind, Alyna and Shayne cannot see it.
Shayne did prove to be a good dancer indeed and even if it was not exactly the Haymakers' Jig, it was close enough and as fun. There is nothing like dancing off your worries, which were many lately. Bright colored mushroom was quite festive too and fit the mood - right until Alyna realised what it was. Now there was no doubts. "A fairy ring!" She exclaimed it with a genuine fear, rather than curiosity and added: "It surely was here for a long time. Don't get inside! There are many stories about them, non ends well". She sighed "I mean, we probably have to go... But even if we return, we would not be safe." "May be one should go first? With all the protection we can think of and with the rope around, so the other could pull back the one from the circle?"
"Umm, were those here when we came up here?" Shayne asks, looking about.
Shayne sees no sign that the toadstools haven't been here all along. He might have missed them coming up hill, what with the high grass waving in the wind and him dancing with Alyna.
But it does seem as if he came upon the ring quite suddenly indeed...
"You mean to say you want to go in there!?" Xylys seems a bit incredulous. "I think we should find a spot nearby and watch for a bit, maybe overnight? Anybody know when the next full moon is? That might be a good time to find fairies around here. Or is that undead?" He looks around nervously, "The though of undead make me kinda queasy, if you know what I mean."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
Eric watches as Shayne and Alyna dance a jig through the tall grass. He smiles softly at the joyous mood that Shayne's humming brings. Singing and dancing let the stresses of their task fall away. It could be any hill on any spring day not a treacherous journey to find a kidnapped citizen. The caps of the mushrooms suddenly poke above the swaying grass. His mood sours just as quickly.
"Don't touch the mushrooms. And certainly don't walk within the the circle". He shouts to the others. His fear evident in his mannerisms. He had heard of fairy circles but had never seen one. And, given the choice, he would prefer not to have seen these ones.
"We are not waiting here for days. Not sure we must sit around until nightfall either - this is not even noon yet. We came for the miller - either we check everything or return and refuse the mission. You know what? I am going in". Alyna checked and adjusted her backpack, got out the rope from there and bound one side around her waste. "If I do disappear and not back in five minutes - pull me out of there, ok?"
"We are not waiting here for days. Not sure we must sit around until nightfall either - this is not even noon yet. We came for the miller - either we check everything or return and refuse the mission. You know what? I am going in". Alyna checked and adjusted her backpack, got out the rope from there and bound one side around her waste. "If I do disappear and not back in five minutes - pull me out of there, ok?"
She too a deep breath and stepped into the ring.,
Alyna steps through.
The rest of you see the empty loop of rope falling to the grassy hilltop. Alyna has vanished.
Her companions vanish. And the rope, too. Just gone, no fading, no transition for her eyes or mind to catch.
And it's suddenly much darker. Night has fallen in an instant, darkness lit by stars and the thin waxing crescent of a new moon. But what a moon! Thin as it is, the curve seems impossibly huge and close, bigger than the moon has ever appeared in the sky, and so bright Alyna can see as well as at twilight.
The ring of toadstools appears unchanged, as does Fairy Hill.
Alyna allowed herself a moment of thoughtless admiration of surrounding - pure emotions, just to take in the beauty of the place. But then reality crashed back, as it always does. She just came in and it was morning outside the circle! It could not take that long!
First thing she tried to do is to step back over the circle.
Stepping out of the circle simply carries her a step downhill in the ordinary fashion, still in this strange moonlit night. But stepping back into the ring...
all
While the three men are still gawking at Alyna's vanishing, the young woman suddenly reappears several feet away from where she vanished, now standing just outside the mushroom circle on the hilltop.
Alyna was probably more surprised than the guys - it was still morning! She immediately said it: "Wow! The sun is up still!"And then explained the confuzion. "It is a door! Not sure where, I did not explore much. But it is night on the other side with a new moon - amazing moon! Like from a fairytale. I thing that is a fairytale - a fairy land! Come, if the miller is anywhere - he is there. See, the stories were wrong, I just came back and nobody stopped me. Come on, let's go!"She picked up her rope and was waiting for others but was the very personification of impatience the whole time.
“Well ain’t this just a kick in the head?” Shayne asks in amazement and wonder. “One hears stories, hell one makes up stories! But I never thought to stumble across such my own self...”
“Not in truth, anyway...”
Shayne walks about this way and that, peering into the circle from different angles but keeping his distance. Finally he turns to Fammy and shrugs. The cat does not deign to respond.
“Well if you did discover faery then certainly you must be it’s queen? Cone now, show me your lands!” Shayne’s eyes sparkle with mirth and mischief as he once more holds a hand out to Alyna. “Show us all this new realm and we shall be your guards and escorts! Now what more could one want for on an adventure?”
As excited as Alyna was, Shayne's words did sink well enough for her to react. She looked him in the eye and very seriously said "Do not joke like this, fairy can take offense."She kept pointed look for a few more moments to make sure the words were heed, but then laughed, took Shayne's hand (squeezing it a bit nervously - for all her happy excitement it was an "unbelievable dream came true" and something more strange and unfamiliar than even the woods around) and pulled the bard into the circle, unhesitatingly crossing the border and hoping that others will follow.
"What the...."His words cut short by the disappearance of Alyna. His heart jumped to his throat. Swallowing hard he turns to Xylys. "Now we have to find two missing villagers."
He jumps slightly when the young woman reappears. "Ok. No-one else go near that thing". But his words go unheaded. Before you can think of another warning, Shayne and Alyna disappear into the circle. "Son of a warthog!"He walks over to the ring of mushrooms and circles it. Very gingerly he takes a step into the portal...
Eric vanishes, leaving Xylys alone on the windy hilltop....
ON THE FAR SIDE
Eric's eyes take a moment to adjust to the instant nightfall. He sees Shayne and Alyna standing nearby on the hilltop, gazing out over the dim forest. Myriad stars and the razor thin yet remarkably long and close-seeming crescent of the new moon illumine the night so that Eric can see as well as by twilight, familiar conditions for a hunter. Fairy Hill and its crown of toadstools look unchanged, but something seems subtly off about the woods all around...
Alyna looked for a a few moments puzzled and then laughed "The queen had to steal you instead of the fat miller!" Still laughing she accepted Shayne's hand. "Do you even know our dances? Bonfire Dance? A Jig, may be? I bet they don't teach you this in your cities! Oh, and who is going to play?"
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
"Oh my.. WE are the ones who teach others the dances!" Shayne says with a laugh. Shayne is, of course, quite a dancer. He hums an upbeat tune, nothing too quick but something fun and jaunty and exhilarating. With Alyna's hand in his he pulls her closer and leads her through the dance, slowly circling up the hill.
Fammy "Meows!" and circles about their feet, playing a game and just generally causing chaos. Still, Shayne expertly leads their steps without fall and without the cat's tail once being threatened.
Shayne and Alyna dance around, winding uphill, until they arrive near the top.
While she stands to catches her breath, Alyna spots a flash of red in the grass. It's a toadstool, but one big enough that Fammy could curl up atop its cap .Looking about, she and Shayne count over a dozen of the overgrown fungi, forming a ring around the hill's crown.
Fammy sniffs at the fungal ring's outer edge but doesn't cross into the circle. The cat prowls about, pausing now and then to stare at the hilltop. If anything is there except grass swaying in the wind, Alyna and Shayne cannot see it.
"Umm, were those here when we came up here?" Shayne asks, looking about.
Shayne did prove to be a good dancer indeed and even if it was not exactly the Haymakers' Jig, it was close enough and as fun. There is nothing like dancing off your worries, which were many lately. Bright colored mushroom was quite festive too and fit the mood - right until Alyna realised what it was. Now there was no doubts. "A fairy ring!" She exclaimed it with a genuine fear, rather than curiosity and added: "It surely was here for a long time. Don't get inside! There are many stories about them, non ends well". She sighed "I mean, we probably have to go... But even if we return, we would not be safe." "May be one should go first? With all the protection we can think of and with the rope around, so the other could pull back the one from the circle?"
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Shayne sees no sign that the toadstools haven't been here all along. He might have missed them coming up hill, what with the high grass waving in the wind and him dancing with Alyna.
But it does seem as if he came upon the ring quite suddenly indeed...
"You mean to say you want to go in there!?" Xylys seems a bit incredulous. "I think we should find a spot nearby and watch for a bit, maybe overnight? Anybody know when the next full moon is? That might be a good time to find fairies around here. Or is that undead?" He looks around nervously, "The though of undead make me kinda queasy, if you know what I mean."
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
Eric watches as Shayne and Alyna dance a jig through the tall grass. He smiles softly at the joyous mood that Shayne's humming brings. Singing and dancing let the stresses of their task fall away. It could be any hill on any spring day not a treacherous journey to find a kidnapped citizen. The caps of the mushrooms suddenly poke above the swaying grass. His mood sours just as quickly.
"Don't touch the mushrooms. And certainly don't walk within the the circle". He shouts to the others. His fear evident in his mannerisms. He had heard of fairy circles but had never seen one. And, given the choice, he would prefer not to have seen these ones.
(Chronology and lunar notes:
Werthan departed Rillford thirteen days ago.
The moon was full about eleven days ago.
Your party is into its third day of searching for him.
If you mean to camp and wait for the full moon, you will have to wait for over two weeks.)
"We are not waiting here for days. Not sure we must sit around until nightfall either - this is not even noon yet. We came for the miller - either we check everything or return and refuse the mission. You know what? I am going in". Alyna checked and adjusted her backpack, got out the rope from there and bound one side around her waste. "If I do disappear and not back in five minutes - pull me out of there, ok?"
She too a deep breath and stepped into the ring.,
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Alyna steps through.
The rest of you see the empty loop of rope falling to the grassy hilltop. Alyna has vanished.
Alyna
Her companions vanish. And the rope, too. Just gone, no fading, no transition for her eyes or mind to catch.
And it's suddenly much darker. Night has fallen in an instant, darkness lit by stars and the thin waxing crescent of a new moon. But what a moon! Thin as it is, the curve seems impossibly huge and close, bigger than the moon has ever appeared in the sky, and so bright Alyna can see as well as at twilight.
The ring of toadstools appears unchanged, as does Fairy Hill.
Dark woods spread over the land all about.
Alyna allowed herself a moment of thoughtless admiration of surrounding - pure emotions, just to take in the beauty of the place. But then reality crashed back, as it always does. She just came in and it was morning outside the circle! It could not take that long!
First thing she tried to do is to step back over the circle.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Alyna
Stepping out of the circle simply carries her a step downhill in the ordinary fashion, still in this strange moonlit night. But stepping back into the ring...
all
While the three men are still gawking at Alyna's vanishing, the young woman suddenly reappears several feet away from where she vanished, now standing just outside the mushroom circle on the hilltop.
Alyna was probably more surprised than the guys - it was still morning! She immediately said it: "Wow! The sun is up still!" And then explained the confuzion. "It is a door! Not sure where, I did not explore much. But it is night on the other side with a new moon - amazing moon! Like from a fairytale. I thing that is a fairytale - a fairy land! Come, if the miller is anywhere - he is there. See, the stories were wrong, I just came back and nobody stopped me. Come on, let's go!" She picked up her rope and was waiting for others but was the very personification of impatience the whole time.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
“Well ain’t this just a kick in the head?” Shayne asks in amazement and wonder. “One hears stories, hell one makes up stories! But I never thought to stumble across such my own self...”
“Not in truth, anyway...”
Shayne walks about this way and that, peering into the circle from different angles but keeping his distance. Finally he turns to Fammy and shrugs. The cat does not deign to respond.
“Well if you did discover faery then certainly you must be it’s queen? Cone now, show me your lands!” Shayne’s eyes sparkle with mirth and mischief as he once more holds a hand out to Alyna. “Show us all this new realm and we shall be your guards and escorts! Now what more could one want for on an adventure?”
As excited as Alyna was, Shayne's words did sink well enough for her to react. She looked him in the eye and very seriously said "Do not joke like this, fairy can take offense." She kept pointed look for a few more moments to make sure the words were heed, but then laughed, took Shayne's hand (squeezing it a bit nervously - for all her happy excitement it was an "unbelievable dream came true" and something more strange and unfamiliar than even the woods around) and pulled the bard into the circle, unhesitatingly crossing the border and hoping that others will follow.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
"What the...." His words cut short by the disappearance of Alyna. His heart jumped to his throat. Swallowing hard he turns to Xylys. "Now we have to find two missing villagers."
He jumps slightly when the young woman reappears. "Ok. No-one else go near that thing". But his words go unheaded. Before you can think of another warning, Shayne and Alyna disappear into the circle. "Son of a warthog!" He walks over to the ring of mushrooms and circles it. Very gingerly he takes a step into the portal...
Eric vanishes, leaving Xylys alone on the windy hilltop....
ON THE FAR SIDE
Eric's eyes take a moment to adjust to the instant nightfall. He sees Shayne and Alyna standing nearby on the hilltop, gazing out over the dim forest. Myriad stars and the razor thin yet remarkably long and close-seeming crescent of the new moon illumine the night so that Eric can see as well as by twilight, familiar conditions for a hunter. Fairy Hill and its crown of toadstools look unchanged, but something seems subtly off about the woods all around...
(Dim light= you all have disadvantage on perception checks.
Darkness may prevail in heavily shaded or densely thicketed stretches of the forest, of course. I will note if you enter such an area. )