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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mathew_Freeman" data-source="post: 4654741" data-attributes="member: 1846">Journeys With A Cake Part 2The raptor on the ledge, having felt as though it was going to have time to devour the ox in peace, was somewhat startled as Iben climbed past it and then leapt down upon it, striking hard with his axe. A second later, Aldis followed suit, her newly made helm adding to the ferocity of her charge. Under attack from sword, axe and spell the raptor panicked and tried to launch itself off the ledge to escape. Reacting, both Aldis and Iben took advantage and struck again, and the dead body of the raptor tumbled off the ledge.Karl, riding the other raptor as it’s death-plunge took it towards the cliff wall, saw the second raptor fall of the ledge in front of him. He brought his feet up and pushed as hard as he could, springing clear at the last second as the two raptors collided and collapsed in a bloody heap. He hit the ground and rolled, coming up against the cart as he did so, breathing hard. The cool touch of Thunder’s hand helped him up, and as it did so Karl could feel renewed strength flow back into his limbs as the cuts on his head closed and healed.Between them, Yuppi, Yetta, Aldis, Iben and Sigurd’s magical hand were able to bring the ox back to ground level. Working hard as best he could with the limited materials available and his own faith, Thunder was able to staunch the bleeding and bandage up the poor beast of burden before it died. With only a short walk to go before resting for the day, the ox was put back in the repaired harness and the group followed the path to the bridge.Despite the narrowness of the bridge, the crossing was made safely. Moving into the woods, Aengus scouted around for a decent campsite. To Yetta and Yuppi’s surprise, he found an excellent site – a large, now-hollow tree that had been struck by lightning some years previously. With an open top and only one entrance, it made a great spot to wait out the night. Tinder was gathered by Iben and a fire lit, and the party settled down for the night. Aldis took time cleaning her armour, making sure each plate and piece gleamed as though new. Iben, who had taken the skull of the raptor he had slain, was working hard scraping it clean to add to his personal trophies.Karl, meanwhile, was engaged in working with the feathers he had taken from the first raptor. Abandoning his usual impeccable cleanliness, he had begun to weave them into his hair.Thunder took the first watch, needing less sleep than the humans, and at around midnight Aengus took over, his sharp eyes scanning the woods around him for any signs of movement. He knew wolves lived in these woods, and in harsh times they might be moved to attack.Off to his left, about thirty feet away, a twig snapped as though someone had stepped on it.Aengus’ sharp Eladrin ears had picked up the sound of a snapping twig in the vicinity. He had been staring up at the night sky, using the book recovered from Glorium to compare the skies now to those from years past, and becoming increasingly interested in the changes in the formations over time.He had been warned by Yuppi that wolves lived in these forests, hungry and lean. Quietly waking Karl, the two of them crept quietly into the forest, seeking to discover whether this was just a harmless animal or something more serious. After a few moments, what sounded distinctly like soft, booted footsteps could be heard, walking parallel to the camp. Exchanging glances, Karl and Aengus woke their companions and the group moved as silently as it could through the dark trees to investigate.Ahead, they could see dim light flickering in the night. Moving closer, Aengus saw small footprints as if made by booted feet leading towards the light. At the edge of the clearing, each member of the group could see an empty campsite, fire built, and food laden all around. A roast boar with an apple in it’s mouth sat mounted on a tripod, a rack held several dragonfish and two rabbits, and over the fire itself a deer was roasting on a spit.Aengus caught his breath as he realized what was going on. In areas such as this, far from civilization and the trappings of humanity, it was possible to cross from the World to the Feywild just by walking. They stood now at the far edges of the Beastlands, where it was said that a conjunction with the Feywild exists.Iben, too, being familiar with tales of spirits, could understand what had happened. We are being invited to talk with Lady Snowshoes, he thought to himself, and stepped into the clearing, gesturing the others forwards.On the very edge of hearing, but swiftly growing louder, quiet whispers could be heard.“They have come! They have come!”“Who has come? Who is here?”“They have answered the call!”“They are here!”Realising he was in the presence of Faerie, Karl introduced himself with his full family name and rank, the other following suit with similar words. As each person spoke, they noticed that the animals and foodstuffs that were laid out around them were animatedly moving and wriggling on their respective hooks and spits, and the voices that could be heard were coming from them. As Iben spoke and introduced himself, the boar spat out the apple in it’s mouth and joined the chorus. With a start, Aldis noticed that it was the fish asking “Who has come? Who has come?” as their eyes were sewn shut.Looking around on it’s spit, the deer nodded at Karl: “The Instrumentality1 has answered the call! So Far have his little feet carried him!” The fish wriggled as they hung and slapped their bodies together, creating the effect of a light smattering of applause. Looking across at Iben, the deer said “Kindraeder has answered the call, so pleased you have come! The herald they call him!” The fish applauded once more.Confused, Aldis asked of the camp “What call? We have heard no call, we are travelling to Thruthgelmir.”Looking back and meeting her gaze, the deer responded. “Wyrm has come, she comes to free her people. And the Eladrin, too! So cruel she was to summon him so, so cruel she was. Einherjar has answered the call! The Call That Does Not Sound!” With each announcement the fish slapped their bodies in applause.“The Call That Does Not Sound?” asked the boar in a grunt.“And yet he stands before us!” rejoiced the rabbits.“And a human woman has answered the call,” continued the deer, “but not ours, not ours!”“Not ours? Then whose?” grunted the boar.“Perhaps her own? Perhaps?” asked the rabbits.Trying to get a grasp on the situation, Aengus calls out “We have spoken with the Wailing Spirit of the Mountain, near Kindraed!”The boar responded loudly “You must save us!”The fish and rabbits chorused immediately, “Save us! Save us!”The deer spoke again, saying “The end will come, the land will die. Faerie, too. You must save us! The lands are joined by lines – these lines must be severed.”“You mean.. Leylines?” asked Aengus, calling on his knowledge of the natural world.“Well…” began the deer.“She will tell you, she who awaits at the end of the World!”2 interrupted the boar.The deer continued quickly. “Beware Siegmund!” At the mention of this name the rabbits trembled and squealed with fear“He tricks you! You have what he has not, and he wants it. He –“A sharp snap of a twig sounded in the forest, off to one side, and in an instant, every animal went limp, the boar picking up the apple with its mouth again before falling still.</blockquote>

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