To Court the Fairies (Graded)

[Strange]

!

Message from: Strange

Hello my fair-weather party! I'll be giving the deadline for this round an extension for reasons. So ignore the dates before, this is the new one for the round: You have until 09:00 PM GST on September 4 to post a reply. Each player may post up to THREE posts of any length (min. 250 words each) for this round. Please, don't assume success of any major actions. Contact me if you have any questions or otherwise. If you do not post in this time, you will have left the event. If you wish to leave the event, please contact me to do so. Next Mod Post will be on September 7.

[Kisaik]

Kisaik felt like he was on a crazy amusement ride when the bell went out in all sorts of directions on the way down to the ground. Yet, held on he did, for dear life and love of all that was good in the world.

With dreadful finality, the bell hit the ground with a soul-rending ‘crack’, a fissure appearing on its face. Kisaik stared at his reflection in the bell, and it look back at him sadly.

They didn’t have long to wait for the consequences of their failure, as the King of Crimson fairies returned just in time with the bunnies filtering in again. Kisaik hid his face in shame as the court filtered in.

It was then, that Rabu stepped beside Kisaik, and told him he and Thysbae did a wonderful job. ”But we failed!” Kisaik cried, his voice cracking. ”We tried our best I suppose? What do we do now? How do we fix this?”

Kisaik still couldn’t see King Crimson appearing yet, but peered through the corridor to see if he could spot the great fairy monarch. His mind began doing turns trying to figure out what he looked like, who he was and what kind of armor he might be wearing.

Kisaik turned back to Rabu, and laid a wooden hand on the Tunawa’s shoulder (he could do that as they were the same size, if only temporarily.) ”Do you know what became of our gift for King Crimson?”

[Rabu]

Rabu noticed the break in the bell as he moved away to offer Thysbae a chance to ring it. It was then that he glanced back at his friends and his eyes went wide in shock and worry. Both Thysbae and Kisaik were frozen were frozen statues with not life left in them. Rabu fluttered about the two and did everything he could muster to get them awake but they showed no sign of life. He looked around to see if anyone could help but there was only the lone Lothorro talking to falling leaves.

“Cervantez! is you alive?!” Rabu cried out to him, hoping for a response to show that he wasn’t alone. “Dis bell need teh be rung or we doomed!”

Rabu’s eyes quickly began to well up with tears that pored out of his eyes but he quickly rubbed them from his eyes and went to work. He grasped the bell and fluttered his wings as hard as he could muster to lift it into the air and begin swinging it.

“Why dis so heavy!” Rabu cursed loudly as his efforts showed little improvement from before. He couldn’t fathom why on Idalos the tiny fairies made a bell so large and heavy especially when it was so important to ring but that didn’t matter. That bell needed to ring or things would only get worse and they were already looking very grim.

“Please Hurry!” Rabu cried again at the tall folk. “Stop talking to leaves and help me!”

[Cervantez]

☠ Cervantez ☠
☠ Mood: Confusion, Concern
☠ Company: Rabu
☠ Current Thought: What now?
☠ Current Theme: Bury Me Low
☠ Attire: Masterwork Armor

"Common Speech"

"Xantheon Speech"

☠ Something was off, and the lothar started to make sense of it all. The Fairies were acting odd themselves, just floating about, not so much responding to his words. Were they ignoring him? and if so why?

Then he heard it, the voice of a child in some way, and looked around till he saw the small tunawa he met during the Great Tree event. Blinking he finally saw through whatever illusion he was under, the fairies turning into leaves. Answering the cry for help the lothar moved over to where Rabu was and picked both him and the bell up.

"I'm not sure what came over me, but I'm here now. Are you alright?"

He asked looking to the crystal statues of the others from the Great Tree event. How funny that they all seemed to be involved in yet another adventure, or in this case nightmare together.

He went closer to examine the crystal statue that was of Thysbea. His hand ran over the surface as he observed the material and tried to ascertain the cause. Everything seemed to have been going so well up till now. It was baffling to think something went wrong somewhere.

He wasn't sure if they had run out of time or if they offended some unseen power, but he knew he couldnt leave these two like this. looking around he let out a sigh, not knowing exactly what to do at the moment. Looking to Rabu and the bell he raised a brow at the Tunawa.

"Any idea as to what we are suppose to do now little one?"

☠

[Thysbae]

He was sweaty and distraught but the emotional turn had been much like Kisaik’s wild ride on the bell. Thysbae’s tears went from miserable to joyous at the sound of the bell ringing. A singular ring, that made his current state worth it. The price, though, was a crack in the bell. Another turn; his tears halted, but any trace of a smile was gone. Replaced instead with a deepening frown and red face.

There were only three fairies, of different colors. “But...didn’t we ring it? Wasn’t that what we were supposed to do?” He sat up, taking in Rabu’s congratulations with some doubt. Something felt...wrong. But he couldn’t think of what it was. Or didn’t want to think of what it was. Instead, he focused on the sound of marching...wings coming forward. The bunnies hopped away into a uniformed arrangement as dozens of red fairies came forward.

Bae had not an inkling as to who these fairies were but they seemed important. He scrambled to his feet, brushing himself off of any dust and dirt that might be on him. He caught Kisaik’s words. Gift? “We needed a gift? I don’t have one.” His brows furrowed, and his fidgeting began. His gaze trained on Lady Snugglehop — though he still did not know that to be her name. A vacancy seemed to replace the emotion within his gaze. It was no more than a few trills, but what felt like an eternity later, he blinked.

The mortal born inclined his head to the tunawa beside him — both crystal and otherwise. “What have we gotten ourselves into?” Exasperated, Thys glanced around the hall. From the decorations, the bunnies, to the cracked bell. “What a mess we’ve come into.”

Speech | Thought

[Strange]

The Great Hall of The Fairy Court

Kisaik and Thysbae

From the left and to the right, the red-shaded fairies lined up in rigid military formation. Behind helms of scarlet, shadows hid their eyes from sight and their crimson wings fluttered then folded with a wave of well-timed snaps that followed down the rows. Small swords to their belts, spears in their hands, but the royalty was nowhere to be seen. Not yet, anyhow.

While Kisaik lamented failure, though the bell had rung during its fall, ~Rabu~ smiled at him, exhaled in a relieved sigh, and said, ““ᵢ 𝒹ᵢₙₖ 𝒹ₑₕ 𝒻ₐᵢᵣᵢₑₛ ₐᵣₑ ₕₑᵣₑ ₙₒ𝓌, ₒᵣ ₙₒ?”

The tunawa looked at Kisaik's hand on his shoulder. Rabu reached out and hugged Kisaik. He said in a saddened voice, “ₒᵤᵣ 𝓰ᵢ𝒻ₜ? ₙₒ, ₙₒ, ᵢ 𝒹ₒ ₙₒₜ ₖₙₒ𝓌 𝒹ᵢₛ. Dₒ ᵧₒᵤ ₙₒₜ ₕₐᵥₑ ᵢₜ?”

Rabu looked at Thysbae and said, “Dᵣᵧ 𝒹ₑₛₑ ₗₑₐₖᵢₙ𝓰 ₑᵧₑₛ, ₜₕᵧₛᵦₐₑ 𝒹ᵢ𝒹 ᵥₑᵣᵧ ᵥₑᵣᵧ 𝓌ₑₗₗ.”

The bunnies filed in their own formation, no longer concerned with the fauna to eat - well except for the very large orange Ambassador Fluffster who still had a leaf or two firmly between his teeth. He was just about ready to be done with this whole thing, political events were such a bore. He'd much rather be back in the gardens, eating at the lettuces of his family estate. Lady Snugglehop noticed the strange human child looking at her. She blinked in return and wondered what it was that Thysbae might’ve been thinking… bunnies didn’t make good gifts…

Scarlet knights raised trumpets made from brass, then blared them loud. Through the gate, on cardinal birds of red feather, a pair of dark red fairies entered the hall. They flew directly past Thysbae and Kisaik, then came back around and looked at them with vivid maroon eyes.

One said in a deep brusque voice behind his armored helmet, "This is all? Where are the others?"

The second commander sharply inquired, "What is the meaning of this?"

From the decorations to the bunnies to the cracked bell, Kisaik and Thysbae seemed amiss. They seemed to consider themselves failures. This odd pair, one small and one not-as-small, these two little mortalborns seemed to think all was lost.

And Rabu moved slightly behind Kisaik, as if to hide from the aggressive fairies.

Rabu and Cervantez

Meanwhile, on the other side of the bell’s splintered dimension, Rabu realized that his friends were not themselves. No matter what he did, the statues remained in motionless fragility.

A plea for the Lotharro to come to, and stop talking to the leaves he had been so certain were fairies, and Cervantez found himself back among the others… well, one of the others.

Cervantez picked up the crying Tunawa, who flew in wild flutters of his wings to help with the crystal bell. It was obvious that Rabu was attempting to ring the bell, as he tried to swing it with all his little treefolk might.

Rabu and Cervantez seemed amiss. They seemed to consider themselves in a nightmare. This odd pair, one small and one big, seemed to almost realize just how much danger they were in.

However, as Rabu continued to try and get the bell to ring, as the little Tunawa told the Lothar what it was that need to be done… It would be a simple thing, for Cervantez to pick up the bell - what was heavy for Rabu would be extremely light for the large man, if only he managed to do such a thing without being distracted.

There was the buzzing noise of wings. Through the yellow door, fairies started to enter the place. They danced and twirled, spun about in energetic flips along with each other. Some rode mounts of flying dragonflies and other such insects. In their hands, they clung to the bows and arrows, on their belts were ropes and slingshots.

In a swarm, the yellow fairies gathered around Cervantez and Rabu. They called out in high-pitched rhymes and waved and admired the various leaves that continued to fall from the ceiling.

One of the fairies adorned in sunflower yellows with long blond hair that cascaded around her slight form looked between the two of them and said, "We are the first to arrive? For once! Finally! Outstanding, the both of you! We must get rid of all this red and blue! Quickly now! Tear it down!"

Cervantez and Rabu both would recognize her voice as the one who'd spoken through the yellow door before.

The yellow fairies started to go for some berries that had been settled along the frames, tossed the red decorations down and stamped at it under their feet. They loudly cheered each other on.

!

Message from: Strange

Hello everyone, The parties remain split from each other. The first party is: Kisaik and Thysbae. The red fairies have taken military formation around the hall, a pair of commanders are questioning them, and "Rabu" is hiding behind Kisaik. The bell has been rung once and has a crack in it. The second party is: Rabu and Cervantez. The yellow fairies have arrived, are currently destroying any red and blue decorations they can find. The bell has not been rung yet and has a crack in it. You have until 09:00 PM GST on September 18 to post a reply. Each player may post up to TWO posts of any length (min. 250 words each) for this round. Contact me if you have any questions or otherwise. If you do not post in this time, you will have left the event. If you wish to leave the event, please contact me to do so. Next Mod Post will be on September 20.

[Rabu]

Rabu’s brow strained and his eyes narrowed into a fiery glare at Cervantez, when asked what they had to do. The frustrated tunawa took a deep breath in to calm his nerves so he didn’t shout at the poor man. He had to remember that the tall folk was distracted and maybe a little out of it, so he may have missed the obvious.
“See dis bell dat I try to ring.” Rabu presented the bell he’d been straining to budge in front of him. “It needs to be rung, you big and strong so it not hard for you like it be for me.”

Then the yellow fairies came, with their twirling and dancing and Rabu put his head in his hands for he knew he was doomed. The gathered around the pair and soon declared that they had arrived first and that the red and blue decorations must go. They soon began tearing at the display and stomping on what ever they could get their impish hands on.
“Stop Dat!” Rabu protested at the brightly coloured pixies. “You are not deh first, you deh last. The bell made them disappear. We need to ring dis bell to get dem back or we all in trouble.” Rabu shook his finger at them like they were disorient children in need of a good talking to.

Rabu’s imaginary friend Yah poofed into existence, sensing that her services were needed. The moment Cervantez wasn’t looking she grasped the handle of the bell with one of her disembodied hands and gave it a solid ring.
“There I rang it, how hard was that.” Yah rolled all three of her eyes and once again poofed out of sight.

► Show Spoiler

Okay so Yah was used so now Rabu has to be cursed. Normally I would roll but thats not as fun so I'm gonna allow Strange to choose for me. if he's cool with that, otherwise I'll just use what I rolled.

[Cervantez]

☠ Cervantez ☠
☠ Mood: Confusion, Concern
☠ Company: Rabu
☠ Current Thought: What now?
☠ Current Theme: Bury Me Low
☠ Attire: Masterwork Armor

"Common Speech"

"Xantheon Speech"

☠ This wasnt what he was expecting to say the least. Whatever dream he was in shielded him from the truth that, like his intuition had told him, things where very dire indeed. With the crying Tunawa in his hands he looked on as a new group came into play.

With a procesional of yellows and golds, a group of fairies entered the meeting hall. They were all primed and dressed for....battle!? The sight struck the necromancer as odd to say the least. He wasnt sure what he had gotten himself involved in, but the pieces seemed to come together rather quickly.

The group began tearing down the decorations all excpect the yellow ones that had been put up. The words they shouted gave Cervantez the impression they didnt like the other color fairies as much. Then it hit him, the words he heard when he was examining the strange doors. It seemed that the fairies were at odds with each other.

Stepping forward, he heard a ring of a bell, as the little one had noted just trills before. Afterwards Cervantez spoke to the gaggle of yellow fairies.

"I'd appreciate it if you didnt tear down the hard work of the other fairies and I had done to the meeting hall. Where is the golden fairy I met when I first came here, bring her to me at once."

☠

[Thysbae]

There wasn't enough information, and that was what truly irritated the mortal born. The fairies were as odd as anything he had seen, but there lingered the impending sense of doom that made it so much worse. If Thys could count on his fingers how often he felt he found himself in this position, he might need several more hands. Wetting his lips, he stepped forward when it appeared that no one else would. He donned something of a smile, blinking back tears hastily and wiping what had already begun to streak down his face. His sleeves would have to do in place of a handkerchief.

"Hello! Welcome! I fear you may be early." He couldn't begin to come up with an answer to any of those questions - he wanted to speak those same words himself. But he had to. For the sake of whatever operation this was and to make sure that the armor would only end up being for show. He kept his voice cheerful, light. That was how Bae sounded, wasn't it? "It appears we're running into a bit of a problem." Not a lie; they were. At least, as far as he could gather from what he was seeing.

If need be, though, he could certainly lie. How they took it...would be up to whatever fate had brought him here in the first place, and how well his acting would carry. "It is my understanding that there has been a bit of a mishap on one end of this whole arrangement." He glanced between the decorations, the bunnies, and to the others accompanying him. "As it is, I was...in charge of the bunnies." Big eyes; imploring and innocent. One of the few things he liked about Bae's features: they could be useful when the time came. That, and his initial harmlessness. It was likely why he might have been put in charge of the bunnies. One of the large ones had stared at him. Perhaps Bae had made himself new friends. They'd come in handy in this situation. "I'm not certain of the whereabouts of the others. Perhaps they've been held up? A delay in their preparations, maybe?" He shrugged, continuing his smile. His cheeks hurt. He hated this. He hoped that the words would work to appeal to the red armored fairies. He wasn't above tears, either. Maybe that would work.

"But - please - in the meantime, why don't you settle in? I'm sure it won't take too long for things to get sorted out." He wasn't where it was they would get settled; most everything had been ruined when he awoke. Likely a result of Bae doing one thing or another. "You must forgive me, but I'm terribly new to all of this. What exactly was to happen next if everyone was present?" Maybe the answer to how he got here, to begin with, would be mentioned. If not, it would be a good way to kill time - and avoid getting himself killed. Possibly.

"Thys"
"Other"

[Kisaik]

Rabu was acting very strangely, not at all himself, yet Kisaik could understand given the circumstances. They were being harried and surrounded by a group of aggressive fairies bearing weapons. And everyone knew you did not trifle with fairies. "It's okay Rabu. I meant the cloak that we made for King Crimson, the one that Queen Cerulean helped us to make?" Kisaik shrugged when Rabu's eyes vacantly stared.

He turned back toward the crimson fairies. "My friends, we were all brought here at the invitation of Purple. Rabu and I were guided through the forest to this castle by Queen Cerulean. There on the way we made ready for the preparations of holding court with King Crimson. But then something went wrong, and we were bid to go forth and see what was happening. I feared that the court might be under siege by some hostile party."

Kisaik took a breath, and then continued, "All was chaos when me and my betrothed appeared here. Yet every fairy in the hall seemed to want us to ring that crystal bell, and save it from the pedestal that was rapidly rising to the top of the ceiling. So I flew up immediately of course, and gave it a shot. Unfortunately, I'm far too feeble to lift such a heavy bell, so my betrothed, Rabu, came up to help me, but even we were unable to affect much of anything. Finally, the bell fell, and Thysbae saved it from being destroyed entirely, but a crack formed..." Kisaik's tone lowered at the last, and he pointed at the bell, which had a fissure on it.

"I'm so sorry, my friends, I failed, but I'm more than willing to make it up if you had a quest in mind for me?"