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Steel Dragon's "Tales of Orea"
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<blockquote data-quote="steeldragons" data-source="post: 6141286" data-attributes="member: 92511"><p>Pyrnion followed Fen as the two moved with some urgency to kep up with the pixies, flying and flitting from tree to tree, branch to stone to thicket.</p><p>“A little insight would be appreciated here, druid.” Pyrnion said.</p><p></p><p>He had kept his bow nocked as they trotted through ever closer trunks and underbrush. The snow was noticeably less beneath the thick overhead canopy of interlacing bare branches and umbrella-like boughs of firs. The deepening twilight did not help as the paths beneath the trees became increasingly dark as night. Fortunately, the pixies gave off an ephemeral glow, each their own color, and left a trail of sparkling dust in their wake, which twinkled out of sight before it touched the ground.</p><p></p><p>“If I’m not mistaken, there are redcaps in the woods. Fayekin goblins of decidedly nasty temperament and cruelty. They are thoroughly wicked.” the druid began. He wove with trained ease through the thickets and tree trunks. His druid’s cloak flowing from brown to grey to darkness as he passed, seemingly without disturbing anything he passed.</p><p></p><p>“They are a bit smaller than Orean goblins, but delight in cutting things up and their bites are particularly vicious. But they should not pose much of a problem for heroes, such as we...depending on their numbers, of course.” he added as the afterthought gave him mental pause.</p><p></p><p>“Don’t you have fayekin in your mountain peaks, Pyrnion?” Fen asked.</p><p></p><p>“My lord Cyr Tyr does receive visits from sylphs from time to time. Though they are lovely to behold, kind hearted, well-spoken and as large as you and I...well, as large as you.” Pyrnion smirked. The half-elf was a full head shorter than the towering muscled zephari.</p><p></p><p>“Yes, well, there are all kinds of fayekin. Some are nice. Some not so. Some fully evil. They come in all shapes and sizes and a variety of magical abilities. Redcaps are vicious and prone to outbursts of anger, not entirely dissimilar to our goblins. But they are not particularly powerful.”</p><p></p><p>“So that was a redcap that was chasing these pixies aroudn the glade? So they can turn invisible at least. That, in itself, gives them a distinct advantage.” Pyrnion noted.</p><p></p><p>“True. They can turn invisible, but unlike the pixies who are invisible always except by choice, redcaps can not stay invisible indefinitely. And if they do, my faeire fire incantation should make them plain enough.” the druid replied, rounding a large trunk and pausing until he caught the yellow pixie ahead, waving them on from a branch.</p><p></p><p>“And this door? The ‘darklings’? What’s that all about?” the zephari followed. His wings were already pressed against his shoulders, as a great feathery cloak. He looked above again, patches of sky were becoming barely visible and less frequent. Pyrnion felt a nervousness falling over him.</p><p></p><p>“The door, it sounds like, is an obvious doorway into the Land of Faerie. Such portals are not entirely rare, particularly in such close proximity to a faye-wood as this.” Fen continued. “This particular portal is, apparently, a ‘great white stone, outside the trees’ the pixies said.”</p><p></p><p>“And the darklings?” Pyrnion posed again.</p><p></p><p>“That, my friend, is something of a concern.” Fen had to admit. “There are any number of wicked faye and fayekin. Some are minor, such as these redcaps. Some, however, can be quite potent. I’ve heard tales of dark sidhe lords who are near godlings.</p><p></p><p>“I’ve never heard of a ‘darkling’ before, though. But then, the way the pixies call things, it could mean any number of creatures. “</p><p></p><p>Fen mused for a moment, speaking more to himself than for Pyrnion’s understanding. “They said they were coming on ‘longnight silverymoon’...”</p><p></p><p>“They also said the redcaps came ‘silverymoon ago’." Pyrnion pointed out.</p><p></p><p>“They did, didn’t they...If I had to guess, I would surmise that the ‘door’ to the faye realm opens on when the silver moon is full....which it is tomorrow night. And, tomorrow is Midwinter...the longest night of the year.”</p><p></p><p>“So these darklings will be coming through then...to kill all of the pixies.” Pyrnion concluded.</p><p></p><p>“Not just that. If the ‘Dragon One‘s house’ means the realm or keep of the Dragonmage, as I guess, then they would be formidable faye indeed.” Fen finished his thought as the two came up to where their five pixie friends had all landed among a briar patch. The green pixie held its finger up to its mouth.</p><p></p><p>Fen and Pyrnion also crouched down behind the briar. Looking cautiously through the thorny twines. the zephari let out an audible sigh of relief to see the burgeoning stars and rising moon above.</p><p></p><p>At the far side of another glade, much smaller than the one they’d arrived in, was a very large oak tree, angled and twisted. Unlike most of the other trees in the wood, its leaves were intact, even mostly still green, which Fen found fascinating. Its lower boughs as thick aroudn as a man and along the trunk and knots of the branches, more than a few hollows were apparent. Several small round hunching figures wandered along the branches. Their bright red caps catching the rising nearly full silver moon’s light from time to time.</p><p></p><p>At the base, a dark cauldron sat upon a roaring campfire. A redcap slwoly stirred whatever was in the pot with a ladle, just as the pixies had portrayed, nearly half-again as long as the redcap was himself. Set near the fire, dangling from the lowest oak bough, were three crudely constructed cages of sticks and thorny branches. The three of them appeared empty, but Fen guessed that none of them actually were.</p><p></p><p>Another redcap, with its jagged knife was sharpening it along a stone beneath the cages. Beside it a log cut to have a flat side sat on the snowless ground. The flat side was darkened and wet.</p><p></p><p>“I count twelve.” Pyrnion said over Fen’s shoulder. “That I can see. Is that too many? I can make myself unseen, but can you cross this open ground without notice?”</p><p></p><p>“You go. I should make my way around, closer, through the trees.” Fen said. “Remain unseen until I work a spell.”</p><p></p><p>“A spell?!” said the pink pixie, excitedly.</p><p></p><p>“No no! No singing now. We will have a party after we slay the cuttyhats. But now you must stay very quiet.” Fen said, fearing the faeries would break into one of their chanting dances.</p><p></p><p>All of the pixies turned, their solid eyes bulging with anticipation. “A party?” the icy blue one said breathlessly. They looked to each other with huge smiles and quivered and bounced in excitement.</p><p></p><p>“What spell, druid?” Pyrnion said, uninterested in the pixies apparent pleasure.</p><p></p><p>“You’ll know. Go. Let’s get this done.” Fen said. He pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head and dashed off. Within a moment, he faded from Pyrnion’s gaze among the nearby wood.</p><p></p><p>With a thought, Pyrnion made himself invisible.</p><p></p><p>“Ooooooo.” the pixies breathed and they winked, for a second, out of normal vision. Then Pyrnion could see them all again, holding tiny hands to their mouths, to contain tittering giggles. </p><p></p><p>The zephari raised a feathered eyebrow. Apparently, if he were invisible, he could see them invisible as well. “Stay here, little ones.” Pyrnion said andas quietly as he could, launched himself into the open air and up into a holding pattern above the glade.</p><p></p><p>The jostling of the brush caught the attention of several redcaps who snarled at each other and scanned the sky. Thankfully, it seemed, they could not see the zephari.</p><p></p><p>A chilling thought crossed Pyrnion’s mind...If he could see the pixies while they were invisible, then it was likely if one of the redcaps turned invisible, they would also be able to see him. He made a silent prayer to Arinane the druid would hurry.</p><p></p><p>His wait was not long as, all around the base of the tree, roots and vines torn up from the ground. The cauldron was knocked from the fire, its contents splashing all over the entangled redcap chef. The faye goblin shrieked as it scalded and quickly died.</p><p></p><p>Among the branches, the visible redcaps were scrambling and shouting incomprehensibly at each other. Hatchets and knives flashed out to swipe at the rising vines and grasses that sought to ensnare them. </p><p></p><p>Pyrnion drew his bow and was reloading ven as he shimmered into normal view. Two arrows struck down two redcaps who fell form the branches to be quickly scooped up and caccooned by the enchanted vegetation.</p><p></p><p>That’s three, thought Pyrnion as he drew again. The darkfaye were in utter chaos and shouted and pointed to the hideous gleaming winged one that had appeared in the air.</p><p></p><p>Another redcap stuck its head out of one of the hollows, obviously surprised by the attack. It raised a small cone of dull grey metal to its mouth and sounded what must have been their alarm. It was a harsh grating and entirely unpleasant sound but caused no lasting damage to the zephari or druid who now was racing around the base of the tree, his leaf tip spear blazing green fire as he stabbed and swiped at the redcaps not entangled.</p><p></p><p>With another cryptic syllable, Fen bathed the area in violet-blue flames. As expected, there were multiple flickers in two of the three cages. Two redcaps, who had turned invisible in hopes of sneaking up on the druid, also became outlined in flickering harmless light.</p><p></p><p>Two of the redcaps still in the trees branches, loosed arrows up at the winged man. Both missed, though one only nearly.</p><p></p><p>Pyrnion let fly with another volley and two more redcaps hit the ground dead.</p><p></p><p>Fen held back the cry of pain when one of his would-be backstabbers did land a slice with a jagged edged sickle [turning fully visible with the attack though he was still ensconced with faerie fire].</p><p></p><p>The goblin that had blasted the alarm shouted commands from his mostly covered place in the tree’s central and largest hollow. </p><p></p><p>Another arrow flew passed Pyrnion. Then a fourth struck him in the wing. It was far from a mortal wound, though it caused a great deal of pain to keep beating his wings and the zephari was forced to circle up and out of view for a moment.</p><p></p><p>Fen felled the creature who had struck him with a swipe of his green-lit spear blade. He then turned his attention to three of the redcaps who were entangled. With a thought and a clench of his fist, he constricted the creatures to their death. </p><p></p><p>Pyrnion returned from above the trees and surveyed the battlefield again. As far as he could tell, there were still two archers, the “commander” in the hollow, and another invisible though faerie fired who seemed to be taken “the better part of valor” and breaking for the woods.</p><p></p><p>One arrow ended that well enough and the creature came into normal vision as it fell, face first, tot he ground in a bloody thud.</p><p></p><p>Pyrnion’s second arrow missed his intended archer target. It thunked into the branch between the archer’s red booted feet and the creature sumarily turned and scrambled out of view to a different part of the tree.</p><p></p><p>The commanding redcap had disappeared into the hollow and reemerged with a short spear in hand. He took aim on Fen who was not far below him.</p><p></p><p>Only Fen’s elf-blooded reflexes saved him from a spear in the chest, but the spear bit through his druid’s cloak and pinned to the ground. The redcap leader ducked back into the tree as Fen looked up in fury at the creature.</p><p></p><p>Fen laid his hands upon the trunk of the tree and spoke the unknown tongue of his order. Energy pulsed through him to the tree...or was it the tree’s own energies pulsing through the half-elf and back again? With a roar of anger and determination, the trunk of the tree rippled and lurched beneath Fen’s mental commands. It, literally, seemed to spit the redcap out of the hidey hole into the flailing vines and roots below before Fen removed his hands and the tree returned to its normal shape.</p><p></p><p>Pyrnion landed. He withdrew his axe and chopped open the small cages. A half dozen pixies in a myriad of colors became visible and sparkling with their colors as they all cheered in a chorus of tiny shrill voices all at once.</p><p></p><p>“There’s still one more.” Pyrnion warned Fen as he neared the leader with his spear level.</p><p></p><p>“Here it is! Nasty bad Cutty hat!” came the small voice of the yellow pixie as the five they had originally encountered came hovering around the tree trunk, twittling their fingers to release their dusty sparkles. Contained in their midst, floating off the ground and struggling against their magic, was the final redcap. It clawed and snapped toothy jaws at the surrounding pixies who were all easily flitting outside its reach. They levitated the creature over to the writhing vines and tossed it in beside their leader.</p><p></p><p>Fen calmed the larger area of his spell, the three slain redcaps fell to the ground and proceeded to...melt, for lack of a better term, into the ground, leaving only their red caps and boots and their poorly wrought weapons.</p><p></p><p>Fen kept the spell in effect, holding the two remaining redcaps. Several pixies were wagging fingers and berating the faye goblins as “Not nice.”</p><p></p><p>“Now then,” Fen began, leaning in toward the leader redcap and pressing his green flaming spear tip against its rotund round body, “what are you doing here and what are the darklings the pixies told us about.”</p><p></p><p>“Guh guh gunna tell you, warrior-green,</p><p>None o’ darklings have I seen.”</p><p></p><p>“Great. It rhymes.” Pyrnion said drily.</p><p></p><p>“Rhyming is wut redcaps do.</p><p>Not so matters much to you.” the leader replied with a sneer. He stuck his tongue out at the winged man.</p><p></p><p>Fen pressed his spear more firmly against the redcap. “Rhymes or no, you will tell us what we want to know.” Fen smiled to himself at the unintended rhyme of his own. ”What happens tomorrow night at the big white stone.”</p><p></p><p>“Hehehehehe. Doesn’t know. Doesn’t know.</p><p>Stupid elfling in the snow.” the leader replied with a throaty chuckle.</p><p></p><p>“heheheh.” the archer chimed in with a laugh of its own until Pyrnion levels his axe blade beneath the archer’s throat.</p><p></p><p>“Maybe you now. Or maybe I kill you first so your boss, here, will speak plainly.” the zephari glowered.</p><p></p><p>“Nuh nuh no. Not me you kill.</p><p>Tell them. Tell them. Tell them still!” the archer wriggled in his plant bindings and sounded like he was imploring his boss to talk.</p><p></p><p>“Squirmy squirm,</p><p>worthless worm.</p><p>Not one word I have to tell.</p><p>We’re not knowing darklings well.” the leader confessed.</p><p></p><p>“Well what do you know?” Fen pressed.</p><p></p><p>“Party now?” the pink pixie flitted up into Pyrnion’s face.</p><p></p><p>“Not now!” the zephari scowled and waved the pixie away.</p><p></p><p>“Nuh Nuh Know you stop them, not a chance.</p><p>Not with spell songs or spears’ dance.</p><p>From the shadows they appear</p><p>Move like midnight. Sounds no hear.</p><p>Through the thicket dark ones roam.</p><p>Chased us from our nasty home.</p><p>Through the door they wish to come.</p><p>You can not stop them. Not a one.” the leader told ending with a sly smirk of obvious enjoyment of his last statement.</p><p></p><p>“And?” Fen pressed some more.</p><p></p><p>“Nuh nuh no! No more to tell!</p><p>Knows no more and knows it well!” the redcap pleaded.</p><p></p><p>“If we let you go you leave these woods. Right now. Tonight!” Fen said with a menacing tone.</p><p></p><p>“Or we will hunt you down and slay you into the ground as these were.” he kicked at the nearest red boot laying upon the black splotch on the ground.</p><p></p><p>“Cuh cuh can not leave tonight.</p><p>Moon is not at fullest light.” the redcap implored.</p><p></p><p>“The door is closed. Do you not see?</p><p>Opens not for you or me.” the archer piped in to explain.</p><p></p><p>“Or the darklings, apparently. Sounds like you were correct, druid.” Pyrnion said. “Can we slay them now?”</p><p></p><p>“Suh suh SLAY?! No not, no please!</p><p>We will stay quiet, nice, at ease.</p><p>Told you all we has to know.</p><p>Lets us loose so we may go.” the leader snarled his acknowledgement of their defeat.</p><p></p><p>“If we let you go, you promise to leaves, erm, leave the pixie wood and harass them, or anyone else in these woods, until you can go through the door tomorrow night. Swear it on the Lady Green!” Fen insisted.</p><p></p><p>“Suh suh swear? Yes, yes and yes!</p><p>Won’t hurts nuthin’...more or less.” the leader tried to slip in at the end.</p><p></p><p>“No. Won’t hurts <em>nothing</em>. Period!” Fen placed the spear tip at the reccap’s throat. “Hurt nothing at all until you are back in the Faerie Land...or I will gut you, like a fish, where you stand.” Fen tilted his head in a most maniacal way.</p><p></p><p>Pyrnion looked at him with some discomfort.</p><p></p><p>“Nuh nuh nothing. None and no one.</p><p>Swears I do. It is done! </p><p>Lets us go and goes in peace.</p><p>Not guttings to us, uh puh pleese.”</p><p></p><p>Fen stood tall and with a wave of his hand, the vines and roots released the redcaps. They immediately raced for the woods in a scrambled hopping and somersaulting frenzy. THe pixies follwoed them to the edge of the glade, cheering and jeering and throwing acorns and pinecones at their backs.</p><p></p><p>The icy blue pixie flew up to Fen’s face. “Party nowwwww?”</p><p></p><p>Fen’s serious face couldn’t help but break into a smile. </p><p></p><p>“Yes, party now." He dug a hand into his pouch of berries and nuts and tossed a large handful into the air.</p><p></p><p>The pixies went wild flitting about catching and diving for the tasty treats. Rings of glowing rainbows of light became visible all around the glade and the chanting repetitive songs of the pixie rings filled the air.</p><p></p><p>Fen smiled at the zephari. Pyrnion rolled his eagle eyes.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="steeldragons, post: 6141286, member: 92511"] Pyrnion followed Fen as the two moved with some urgency to kep up with the pixies, flying and flitting from tree to tree, branch to stone to thicket. “A little insight would be appreciated here, druid.” Pyrnion said. He had kept his bow nocked as they trotted through ever closer trunks and underbrush. The snow was noticeably less beneath the thick overhead canopy of interlacing bare branches and umbrella-like boughs of firs. The deepening twilight did not help as the paths beneath the trees became increasingly dark as night. Fortunately, the pixies gave off an ephemeral glow, each their own color, and left a trail of sparkling dust in their wake, which twinkled out of sight before it touched the ground. “If I’m not mistaken, there are redcaps in the woods. Fayekin goblins of decidedly nasty temperament and cruelty. They are thoroughly wicked.” the druid began. He wove with trained ease through the thickets and tree trunks. His druid’s cloak flowing from brown to grey to darkness as he passed, seemingly without disturbing anything he passed. “They are a bit smaller than Orean goblins, but delight in cutting things up and their bites are particularly vicious. But they should not pose much of a problem for heroes, such as we...depending on their numbers, of course.” he added as the afterthought gave him mental pause. “Don’t you have fayekin in your mountain peaks, Pyrnion?” Fen asked. “My lord Cyr Tyr does receive visits from sylphs from time to time. Though they are lovely to behold, kind hearted, well-spoken and as large as you and I...well, as large as you.” Pyrnion smirked. The half-elf was a full head shorter than the towering muscled zephari. “Yes, well, there are all kinds of fayekin. Some are nice. Some not so. Some fully evil. They come in all shapes and sizes and a variety of magical abilities. Redcaps are vicious and prone to outbursts of anger, not entirely dissimilar to our goblins. But they are not particularly powerful.” “So that was a redcap that was chasing these pixies aroudn the glade? So they can turn invisible at least. That, in itself, gives them a distinct advantage.” Pyrnion noted. “True. They can turn invisible, but unlike the pixies who are invisible always except by choice, redcaps can not stay invisible indefinitely. And if they do, my faeire fire incantation should make them plain enough.” the druid replied, rounding a large trunk and pausing until he caught the yellow pixie ahead, waving them on from a branch. “And this door? The ‘darklings’? What’s that all about?” the zephari followed. His wings were already pressed against his shoulders, as a great feathery cloak. He looked above again, patches of sky were becoming barely visible and less frequent. Pyrnion felt a nervousness falling over him. “The door, it sounds like, is an obvious doorway into the Land of Faerie. Such portals are not entirely rare, particularly in such close proximity to a faye-wood as this.” Fen continued. “This particular portal is, apparently, a ‘great white stone, outside the trees’ the pixies said.” “And the darklings?” Pyrnion posed again. “That, my friend, is something of a concern.” Fen had to admit. “There are any number of wicked faye and fayekin. Some are minor, such as these redcaps. Some, however, can be quite potent. I’ve heard tales of dark sidhe lords who are near godlings. “I’ve never heard of a ‘darkling’ before, though. But then, the way the pixies call things, it could mean any number of creatures. “ Fen mused for a moment, speaking more to himself than for Pyrnion’s understanding. “They said they were coming on ‘longnight silverymoon’...” “They also said the redcaps came ‘silverymoon ago’." Pyrnion pointed out. “They did, didn’t they...If I had to guess, I would surmise that the ‘door’ to the faye realm opens on when the silver moon is full....which it is tomorrow night. And, tomorrow is Midwinter...the longest night of the year.” “So these darklings will be coming through then...to kill all of the pixies.” Pyrnion concluded. “Not just that. If the ‘Dragon One‘s house’ means the realm or keep of the Dragonmage, as I guess, then they would be formidable faye indeed.” Fen finished his thought as the two came up to where their five pixie friends had all landed among a briar patch. The green pixie held its finger up to its mouth. Fen and Pyrnion also crouched down behind the briar. Looking cautiously through the thorny twines. the zephari let out an audible sigh of relief to see the burgeoning stars and rising moon above. At the far side of another glade, much smaller than the one they’d arrived in, was a very large oak tree, angled and twisted. Unlike most of the other trees in the wood, its leaves were intact, even mostly still green, which Fen found fascinating. Its lower boughs as thick aroudn as a man and along the trunk and knots of the branches, more than a few hollows were apparent. Several small round hunching figures wandered along the branches. Their bright red caps catching the rising nearly full silver moon’s light from time to time. At the base, a dark cauldron sat upon a roaring campfire. A redcap slwoly stirred whatever was in the pot with a ladle, just as the pixies had portrayed, nearly half-again as long as the redcap was himself. Set near the fire, dangling from the lowest oak bough, were three crudely constructed cages of sticks and thorny branches. The three of them appeared empty, but Fen guessed that none of them actually were. Another redcap, with its jagged knife was sharpening it along a stone beneath the cages. Beside it a log cut to have a flat side sat on the snowless ground. The flat side was darkened and wet. “I count twelve.” Pyrnion said over Fen’s shoulder. “That I can see. Is that too many? I can make myself unseen, but can you cross this open ground without notice?” “You go. I should make my way around, closer, through the trees.” Fen said. “Remain unseen until I work a spell.” “A spell?!” said the pink pixie, excitedly. “No no! No singing now. We will have a party after we slay the cuttyhats. But now you must stay very quiet.” Fen said, fearing the faeries would break into one of their chanting dances. All of the pixies turned, their solid eyes bulging with anticipation. “A party?” the icy blue one said breathlessly. They looked to each other with huge smiles and quivered and bounced in excitement. “What spell, druid?” Pyrnion said, uninterested in the pixies apparent pleasure. “You’ll know. Go. Let’s get this done.” Fen said. He pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head and dashed off. Within a moment, he faded from Pyrnion’s gaze among the nearby wood. With a thought, Pyrnion made himself invisible. “Ooooooo.” the pixies breathed and they winked, for a second, out of normal vision. Then Pyrnion could see them all again, holding tiny hands to their mouths, to contain tittering giggles. The zephari raised a feathered eyebrow. Apparently, if he were invisible, he could see them invisible as well. “Stay here, little ones.” Pyrnion said andas quietly as he could, launched himself into the open air and up into a holding pattern above the glade. The jostling of the brush caught the attention of several redcaps who snarled at each other and scanned the sky. Thankfully, it seemed, they could not see the zephari. A chilling thought crossed Pyrnion’s mind...If he could see the pixies while they were invisible, then it was likely if one of the redcaps turned invisible, they would also be able to see him. He made a silent prayer to Arinane the druid would hurry. His wait was not long as, all around the base of the tree, roots and vines torn up from the ground. The cauldron was knocked from the fire, its contents splashing all over the entangled redcap chef. The faye goblin shrieked as it scalded and quickly died. Among the branches, the visible redcaps were scrambling and shouting incomprehensibly at each other. Hatchets and knives flashed out to swipe at the rising vines and grasses that sought to ensnare them. Pyrnion drew his bow and was reloading ven as he shimmered into normal view. Two arrows struck down two redcaps who fell form the branches to be quickly scooped up and caccooned by the enchanted vegetation. That’s three, thought Pyrnion as he drew again. The darkfaye were in utter chaos and shouted and pointed to the hideous gleaming winged one that had appeared in the air. Another redcap stuck its head out of one of the hollows, obviously surprised by the attack. It raised a small cone of dull grey metal to its mouth and sounded what must have been their alarm. It was a harsh grating and entirely unpleasant sound but caused no lasting damage to the zephari or druid who now was racing around the base of the tree, his leaf tip spear blazing green fire as he stabbed and swiped at the redcaps not entangled. With another cryptic syllable, Fen bathed the area in violet-blue flames. As expected, there were multiple flickers in two of the three cages. Two redcaps, who had turned invisible in hopes of sneaking up on the druid, also became outlined in flickering harmless light. Two of the redcaps still in the trees branches, loosed arrows up at the winged man. Both missed, though one only nearly. Pyrnion let fly with another volley and two more redcaps hit the ground dead. Fen held back the cry of pain when one of his would-be backstabbers did land a slice with a jagged edged sickle [turning fully visible with the attack though he was still ensconced with faerie fire]. The goblin that had blasted the alarm shouted commands from his mostly covered place in the tree’s central and largest hollow. Another arrow flew passed Pyrnion. Then a fourth struck him in the wing. It was far from a mortal wound, though it caused a great deal of pain to keep beating his wings and the zephari was forced to circle up and out of view for a moment. Fen felled the creature who had struck him with a swipe of his green-lit spear blade. He then turned his attention to three of the redcaps who were entangled. With a thought and a clench of his fist, he constricted the creatures to their death. Pyrnion returned from above the trees and surveyed the battlefield again. As far as he could tell, there were still two archers, the “commander” in the hollow, and another invisible though faerie fired who seemed to be taken “the better part of valor” and breaking for the woods. One arrow ended that well enough and the creature came into normal vision as it fell, face first, tot he ground in a bloody thud. Pyrnion’s second arrow missed his intended archer target. It thunked into the branch between the archer’s red booted feet and the creature sumarily turned and scrambled out of view to a different part of the tree. The commanding redcap had disappeared into the hollow and reemerged with a short spear in hand. He took aim on Fen who was not far below him. Only Fen’s elf-blooded reflexes saved him from a spear in the chest, but the spear bit through his druid’s cloak and pinned to the ground. The redcap leader ducked back into the tree as Fen looked up in fury at the creature. Fen laid his hands upon the trunk of the tree and spoke the unknown tongue of his order. Energy pulsed through him to the tree...or was it the tree’s own energies pulsing through the half-elf and back again? With a roar of anger and determination, the trunk of the tree rippled and lurched beneath Fen’s mental commands. It, literally, seemed to spit the redcap out of the hidey hole into the flailing vines and roots below before Fen removed his hands and the tree returned to its normal shape. Pyrnion landed. He withdrew his axe and chopped open the small cages. A half dozen pixies in a myriad of colors became visible and sparkling with their colors as they all cheered in a chorus of tiny shrill voices all at once. “There’s still one more.” Pyrnion warned Fen as he neared the leader with his spear level. “Here it is! Nasty bad Cutty hat!” came the small voice of the yellow pixie as the five they had originally encountered came hovering around the tree trunk, twittling their fingers to release their dusty sparkles. Contained in their midst, floating off the ground and struggling against their magic, was the final redcap. It clawed and snapped toothy jaws at the surrounding pixies who were all easily flitting outside its reach. They levitated the creature over to the writhing vines and tossed it in beside their leader. Fen calmed the larger area of his spell, the three slain redcaps fell to the ground and proceeded to...melt, for lack of a better term, into the ground, leaving only their red caps and boots and their poorly wrought weapons. Fen kept the spell in effect, holding the two remaining redcaps. Several pixies were wagging fingers and berating the faye goblins as “Not nice.” “Now then,” Fen began, leaning in toward the leader redcap and pressing his green flaming spear tip against its rotund round body, “what are you doing here and what are the darklings the pixies told us about.” “Guh guh gunna tell you, warrior-green, None o’ darklings have I seen.” “Great. It rhymes.” Pyrnion said drily. “Rhyming is wut redcaps do. Not so matters much to you.” the leader replied with a sneer. He stuck his tongue out at the winged man. Fen pressed his spear more firmly against the redcap. “Rhymes or no, you will tell us what we want to know.” Fen smiled to himself at the unintended rhyme of his own. ”What happens tomorrow night at the big white stone.” “Hehehehehe. Doesn’t know. Doesn’t know. Stupid elfling in the snow.” the leader replied with a throaty chuckle. “heheheh.” the archer chimed in with a laugh of its own until Pyrnion levels his axe blade beneath the archer’s throat. “Maybe you now. Or maybe I kill you first so your boss, here, will speak plainly.” the zephari glowered. “Nuh nuh no. Not me you kill. Tell them. Tell them. Tell them still!” the archer wriggled in his plant bindings and sounded like he was imploring his boss to talk. “Squirmy squirm, worthless worm. Not one word I have to tell. We’re not knowing darklings well.” the leader confessed. “Well what do you know?” Fen pressed. “Party now?” the pink pixie flitted up into Pyrnion’s face. “Not now!” the zephari scowled and waved the pixie away. “Nuh Nuh Know you stop them, not a chance. Not with spell songs or spears’ dance. From the shadows they appear Move like midnight. Sounds no hear. Through the thicket dark ones roam. Chased us from our nasty home. Through the door they wish to come. You can not stop them. Not a one.” the leader told ending with a sly smirk of obvious enjoyment of his last statement. “And?” Fen pressed some more. “Nuh nuh no! No more to tell! Knows no more and knows it well!” the redcap pleaded. “If we let you go you leave these woods. Right now. Tonight!” Fen said with a menacing tone. “Or we will hunt you down and slay you into the ground as these were.” he kicked at the nearest red boot laying upon the black splotch on the ground. “Cuh cuh can not leave tonight. Moon is not at fullest light.” the redcap implored. “The door is closed. Do you not see? Opens not for you or me.” the archer piped in to explain. “Or the darklings, apparently. Sounds like you were correct, druid.” Pyrnion said. “Can we slay them now?” “Suh suh SLAY?! No not, no please! We will stay quiet, nice, at ease. Told you all we has to know. Lets us loose so we may go.” the leader snarled his acknowledgement of their defeat. “If we let you go, you promise to leaves, erm, leave the pixie wood and harass them, or anyone else in these woods, until you can go through the door tomorrow night. Swear it on the Lady Green!” Fen insisted. “Suh suh swear? Yes, yes and yes! Won’t hurts nuthin’...more or less.” the leader tried to slip in at the end. “No. Won’t hurts [I]nothing[/I]. Period!” Fen placed the spear tip at the reccap’s throat. “Hurt nothing at all until you are back in the Faerie Land...or I will gut you, like a fish, where you stand.” Fen tilted his head in a most maniacal way. Pyrnion looked at him with some discomfort. “Nuh nuh nothing. None and no one. Swears I do. It is done! Lets us go and goes in peace. Not guttings to us, uh puh pleese.” Fen stood tall and with a wave of his hand, the vines and roots released the redcaps. They immediately raced for the woods in a scrambled hopping and somersaulting frenzy. THe pixies follwoed them to the edge of the glade, cheering and jeering and throwing acorns and pinecones at their backs. The icy blue pixie flew up to Fen’s face. “Party nowwwww?” Fen’s serious face couldn’t help but break into a smile. “Yes, party now." He dug a hand into his pouch of berries and nuts and tossed a large handful into the air. The pixies went wild flitting about catching and diving for the tasty treats. Rings of glowing rainbows of light became visible all around the glade and the chanting repetitive songs of the pixie rings filled the air. Fen smiled at the zephari. Pyrnion rolled his eagle eyes. [/QUOTE]
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