Bo, back in her usual form, throws open a door. A dark stairwell greets her, spiraling up into blackness. Pearl is at her side, growling at the flying monkeys, whoa re edging away from them.
The air elementals are rushing across the room, tossing everything from knives to gravy aside in a hurtling mass. It looks like a small stormwall headed right for them.
Bo hesitated a moment, considering making a dash back through the kitchen. But she was outnumbered, and if these guys could command the flying monkeys, then she'd have no chance at all. Hoping she wasn't about to run up into the giant's bedroom, she dashed up the stairway.
Bo takes to the stairs pounding up them.
They seem to go on forward, endlessly winding up and up in sheer blackness. There are no windows, no other doors, no branching off passages. It just seems to be stairs upon stairs.
Bo wonders if she made the wrong choice, but it is too late now. She can hear the air elementals howling behind you, charging up the stairs. It is all she and Pearl can do to stay ahead of them. Muscles burning, breath coming in ragged gasps Bo wonders if she can keep this up. The thought of what the guards (not to mention the giant) might do to here if they catch her, spur the druid on to one last gasp of speed.
Then suddenly she reaches the top of the stairs and fairly vaults through a low vaulted stone doorway. Once through she pauses, for she has once again entered a room of wonder.
She is in a large round room , confronted with the sky. There is no roof here and only chest high walls ringing the place. Instead above her swirls the afternoon sky, blue dotted with ever higher clouds.
The platform she stands on is apparently at the top of a tower of the castle. Glancing out she can see the snowy cloud forest stretching out below, criss-crossed by simple paths. Farther in the distance she can even seen the green tops of rising beanstalks, peeking through the cloud ground.
The platform itself is covered with all sorts of complex and glittering machinery. Vast tubes of brass and bronze point toward the sky, attacked to huge gears and wheels. Metal tracks run all over the platform, guides for all sorts of tools and carts. Tables upon tables of hand tools, all larger then Bo, cover the site. Dozens of chests huddle in a corner, some open revealing being filled with books. Piles of ropes and chains lie everywhere, attacked to pulleys and block-tackle to move heavy pieces of equipment. Giant glass lenses, the size of a house, hang suspended over the floor, glaring in the sun.
The observatory.
Even as Bo marvels at the enormous wonders around her, she feels a moment of severe panic. She and Pearl are very very high up, being chased by beings made of air, for whom height is no danger or difficulty.
Bo glanced over the edge, wondering if the cloud castle were puffy enough that she could risk climbing down. Barring that, she looked for a place to hide.
Bo peers over the side, judging the cloud construction. She guesses she could climb down it, at least most of the way, but having some equipment would make it easier.
There are plenty of places to hide, but for how long, she isn't sure.
Bo grabbed one of the many long ropes lying around, made sure it was attached to a heavy duty piece of material, and threw it over the short wall. "We're climbing down, Pearl," she said to the cougar. "Gods, be careful." She then swung a leg over the edge, held her breath, and began to climb down.
As soon as she was below the level of the wall, she murmured an incantation, and a white obscuring mist appeared around her, veiling her from sight. "Come on, Pearl, keep going down, stay close." They moved down as quickly as they dared. She couldn't see, but Bo kept alert for any windows, doors, or balconies as they moved down.
Bo throws her rope over the side, making it fast to a giant brass gear system. With mist around her she shimmies down the side, Pearl clambering down next to her. As usual Shriek flies off, probably curious why they don't simply fly down.
The tower is tall and Bo is forced to use her own rope to make it to the ground.
Bo hits the ground running, heading toward the cloud forest dead ahead. As she just escapes under the eaves however, there is a roaring sound, like a mountain exploding. The trees shake like in a gale and the cloud-ground heaves underfoot, nearly knocking her off balance. Then Bo realizes it isn't simply roaring noise, there are words in that cacophony.
The sound sounds like a howling wind over a broken mountain. "Who steals from Alubbrog the Mighty and Wise? Who dares defies me?! I will grind their bones to make my bread."
The anger in this voice every leaf in the forest tremble in fear.
At the sound of the giant's fury, any thought of trying to defeat him fled. Her teeth rattled in their sockets, and her skin broke out in gooseflesh. Bo knew she had almost no chance of escaping that fury and might. Her only chance was to run, and pray he didn't catch her.
So Bo ran. She ran with all her might. Pearl loped along beside her, occasionally passing her, then stopping to let her catch up. It was clear the big cat wanted to run flat out away from the giant, and it was only their bond that kept her near.
Bo ran for the forest, back to where the beanstalks grew, and prayed that one would come up before the giant caught her. It was a long shot, but she just might be able to get down before it crumbled away.
Bo dashes to the beanstalk area, jumping over piles of swirling cloud, dodging around tree trunks. She seems to have lost her pursuers and for a few moments she thinks she is home free.
Then the druid glances back.
The castle is gone, covered by a heaving, tumbling storm-cloud. The towering black mass is swirling like a tornado, throwing bolts of ragged white lighting in all directions. It churns up the cloud landscape around it, shredding trees, ground and creatures alike. A great roaring tear sounds, like the scream of damned souls. It is wrath made manifest.
"I will find you." A voice booms, enough to make Bo's ears hurt even at this distance. "Run as fast as you thief."
Then the tornado begins to move, with terrifying speed.
Right toward her.
At her feet a bright green beanstalk punches through the ground, leaves brushing her feet.
Bo felt her insides turn to water. "This was a really terrible idea," she said to Pearl, her words shaking.
When she noticed the beanstalk at her feet, she said, "Down, Pearl! Climb down!" She had little hope of making it to the bottom before the beanstalk crumbled, but at least falling to her death was preferable to whatever that....force of nature was going to do to her.
She felt a moment's regret for the egg she carried - it was unlikely to survive, no matter what her fate.
With that, Bo started climbing down the beanstalk, as fast as she dared.
Egg in hand, Bo begins to clamber down the beanstalk, Pearl at her side. Shriek, as usual, floats downward next to them.
Going down was not nearly as fun as riding up had been. Not only did Bo have to do all the work, clambering with sweaty hands and slick boots down a rough beanstalk, but she was facing down. Toward the oh so distant ground.
Her insides went through loop after sickening loop as she saw the tiny jungle below, looking like a sea of green leaves, far, far below.
Still, there was nothing for it. With a rush she sprinted down, moving as quick as the egg allowed. Pearl was much faster but held back, obviously unwilling to leave her friend alone.
Behind her, Bo could hear a rising wind, like a hurricane. Glancing back she saw the white clouds above her being whipped into a torrent, as the blue sky turned black. A storm was coming.
"Run, my little thief. You think the jungle will hide you? I will smash it to the ground to find you. I will pick my teeth with your bones and make my sausage from your blood." The termodunous voice shakes the beanstalk.
However, the druid notes it isn't withering, although surely it is past the time to do so? Maybe there is hope?
The journey down is a torment. Bo expects the beanstalk to wither and die at any moment, and it is only sheer instinct that keeps her moving at all. She expects her hands to slip, her feet to miss a looping foothold, and to plunge to her death.
But, it doesn't happen. She keeps climbing, almost sliding down the beanstalk at times. She wants to convince Pearl to go further, not to wait. But she doesn't have the breath or the concentration to waste. One wrong move, one slip, and it's challenge over.
Down. Down down down. Breathe. Don't slip. Her climb becomes almost trancelike. If she doesn't think about all the ways she could die, then she won't die. She'll just keep climbing. Down, forever down.
Bo clambers downward at a breakneck pace. Her hands are bloody, slashed and cut from grabbing the rough beanstalk, her feet aching from wedging into footholds against the hard green leaves, eyes stinging from holding back tears from the cold air. It feels as if she has been climbing down forever.
But she is making progress.
What was a sea of variegated green jungle, becomes to resolve into shapes. A tall tree, a winding river, a small clearing. Finally, event he rocky field below here coming into view, piles of gray stone against green grass, circled by the waiting jungle.
Hurtling downward, Bo can see the imposing caterpillar like creature from her earlier visit. It stands next to her plant, stock still as stone. It seems to be her influence that is keeping Bo's escape route safe and alive, instead of crumbling to dust and throwing her onto the wind.
Heartened, Bo pushes herself with her last reserve to reach the bottom. Soon she is level with the treetops, sliding down. Even her clothes are torn and ragged at this point, but the half-orc is beyond caring. Then she is mere feet above the ground and she can see the gardener of the field is singing softly, crooning to the massive beanstalk,as if encouraging it.
Then,a fter seemingly forever, Bo jumps off the beanstalk and hits the hard, stony ground, rolling as she does so. pearl jumps to her side, light and agile as ever,
Then the world is torn asunder.
Above, the base of white clouds explodes with fire and fury, as if someone had dropped a thunderstorm through it. A whirling maelstrom of black and blue clouds thrusts downward, scattering the normal clouds like chaff. Violent lightning arcs between the roiling clouds, sizzling with burning heat. A rising roar of wind buffets Bo and throws her to the ground, as the trees around her wave and creak in the wind.
The living beanstalk is snapped instantly, and the hundreds of feet of plant are thrown as if by a child. The caterpillar hunches down, grasping the rocks underfoot with dozens of small squat legs.
Above the looming storm flies closer, layers and layers of dark clouds tearing away, like the petals of a enormous and toxic flowers. Dozens of air elementals, like birds, ride the outlying winds, pushed by the throes of this magical turbulence.
Like a tornado, the dark clouds reach toward the ground, like the finger of some dark god. It is chaos there as winds rip and tear the jungle to shreds as it heads toward the ground. Bo can only watch in horror as it seems the avatar of Gozreh's rage is unleashed in front of her.
Then there is a tremendous crash as the funnel hits the ground, throwing up a ring of shattered trees and scattering rocks the size of houses like toys. Lighting smites the ground, catching trees alight, and then throwing the burning embers hundreds of feet in the air. The rushing air is like that of freezing ice, and cuts through Bo like a knife.
Then the black clouds fly apart, like an explosion, knocking acres of jungle trees to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust. It is whisked away by the wind and, standing in the middle of utter desolation stands the giant.
He is nearly thirty feet tall, a massive and powerfully built humanoid. Pale skin shimmers as if carved from marble, overlaying bulging muscles. In massive hands the size of carts he grips a huge war hammer, carved of sheer onyx, black as midnight. Deep green eyes sparkle as he looks around him, taking in the destruction.
"Where is the thief? Who is the one that dares steal from Alubbrog the Mighty and Wise, ruler of the Skies, student of the stars, builder of cathedrals, master of the weather itself? reveal yourself, so I can destroy your insignificance. Who thinks they can withstand my storm?" There is no running, there is no hiding from that booming voice. Bo's inside turns to ice, but she will answer. her only regret is that Pearl, Shriek (and the egg) will be destroyed along with her. Just as she begins to stand however, a figure moves into the clearing.
It is the bear, the one that met her on the road. While it was a powerfully build animal, it looks like a speck compared to the towering, enraged giant. However, it stands up on hind legs and says, "I stand!"
The giant spins the mighty hammer in his callused hands and laughs, "And who are you, lowly animal? Do you not have bee hives to smash and honey to eat? You are my thief's protector?" His laughter booms like thunder, shaking the trees.
Then the stags steps out of the broken trees, antlers glittering gold in the sun. The giant quiets, and a flicker of doubt crosses his face. Others arrive, silently appearing out of the gloom of the jungle. A mighty tortoise, a slithering snake, a bristling boar, and even a tiny mouse. Together they encircle the war-like giant.
Then, out of the sky, comes the swan. Her feathers are white as snow, her beak shining yellow, dark eyes flashing. She lands between the giant and Bo, and holds up two sets of huge wings.
"Your reign is at an end, Alubbrog. Leave now and bothers us no more. Turn to your studies and leave us." her voice, before worried and high-pitched is now assured and confident, crackling with arcane power.
For a moment Alubbrog hesitates, as if weighing this new foe. Fear flashes across his face, but then he tightens his grip on his hammer. "Then die all of you, wretched fools. I should have done this long ago." Then he strides forward, raising his hammer.
The circle of animals then sings a single word, a word of power and might beyond Bo's ken, something higher then her feeble magics. It is like a note struck on a golden bell. The air itself seems to glow around them, penning the giant in a circle of golden light. It grows, reaching for the sky.
Alubbrog pauses, staring at the rising sheet of gold with a mixture of fear and doubt. It rises above his mighty frame and then seals itself, a perfect dome of gold. His huge maw opens and lets out a scream but there is no sound. Whatever magic binds him, it silences him. Wordlessly he heaves the hammer high and smashes at the dome. There is the faintest of bass notes, like a drum larger then the earth sounding. Again and again the giant strikes at the magic holding him, howling with what must be ear-splitting rage. But the magic holds.
Then the animals speak another word, tapping into some reserve. The circle begins to shrink, tightening around the giant. Alubbrog's blows become more frantic as he batters at the impervious golden dome. Around him dark clouds form, lending him strength and power, a roiling storm trapped under a fragile lid of light. But it holds him and his storm, as it slowly shrinks. His hammering grows fainter and fainter, the storm darker and darker. Finally his form is lost among the flashes of lightning and billowing purple clouds, enveloped by his own storm. The dome shrinks and shrinks, as tall as a tree, then a tower, then a house. Alubbrog must be crouched down as it lowers and lowers, squeezing him, relentlessly until it is no bigger then a horse...until....There is a slight pop, like a plug being pulled out of a sink. Then nothing. The dome is gone and the giant with it.
All that remains is a circle ravaged and ruined forest, blasted by storm and arcane magic. And a circle of suddenly sad looking animals.
Bo became aware of the ragged sound of her breathing in the sudden silence. She found that she was on her knees, though she didn't remember dropping to them. Leaning on Pearl, she slowly stood, wincing as every cut, scrape and scratch screamed at her.
Limping forward, she held out the miraculously undamaged egg to the swan. She bowed her head towards the mighty bird, in acknowledgement and thanks. The half-orc then did the same towards the caterpillar. "I am indebted to you," she admitted. "Many thanks."
Turning back to the Wardens, she said, "I suspect that was more about ridding the jungle of a child-stealing murderer, and not about saving my life, but still, you have my thanks."
She turned slowly, surveying the damaged jungle, and realized how close she'd come to utter annihilation. Her knees turned to water again, and she sat heavily on the ground. She buried her face in Pearl's fur, and was content to just sit there a moment, hearing the comforting sound of the big cat's rumbling purr, and be grateful to be alive.
Bo moment of silence and bonding with Pearl passes without interruption. The scent of the big cat is a comfort, triggering some deep held memory that is beyond what she has forgotten. Their bond is in her blood, on some deep level. Her warmth, her purr, all of his settles the emotional half-orc. Above, Shriek gently circles, crying lightly, as if to ward off any intruders but unwilling to be silent himself.
Finally, after a long moment Bo looks up.
The clearing is empty, save for the hulking bear, which sits near her. All the other animals, including the great swan have gone, leaving nothing but piles of ruined trees and upturned earth.
The bear squints his eyes and says, "Are you well, Bo of no memory?" The question hangs in the air for a long moment.
Bo was a bit surprised to see that the other Wardens had all left without a word. But then again, what could you say after such an event?
Leaning back against the trunk of a shattered tree, she considered the question. "I am not...unwell." She turned up her palms, surveying the damage. She took a moment to call upon the power of nature, and used it to heal the worst of the damage. She watched the cuts and abrasions heal before her eyes. Her body ached less, but it didn't really help.
"I feel...lost. Adrift. I look forward to finishing these quests, and finding out more about my true self. I keep discovering new talents, new abilities," she remembered soaring through the air as an eagle, and felt a pang for the inhabitants of that glorious castle. What would happen to them now? She continued, "But without my memories, without context, they just add to the mystery."
She sighed, then picked herself up. "Can we leave this place? I would rather not stare at this reminder of such destruction. I know it was necessary, but it is still very sad." She wished she had some cloud-flower seeds with her. She would plant them in the middle of the destruction, and let them spread as a monument to the Alubbrog, who despite his terrible appetites, had studied the stars and made something beautiful.
The bear's voice is tender when he says, 'Spoken like a true druid. My old master, despite his many faults, often said the same thing. A cleared forest could pain him as much as a bloody battlefield. We at least, inherited that from them."
'We have decided to make this place a garden, a shrine of Gozreh and the Green Faith. It will be tended by us and open to all, a safe place of refuge and rest in a jungle that needs more of it."
But the bear does walk alongside and they soon leave the blasted clearing. His huge ursine shoulder comes nearly to her head as they walk together, passing under massive trees, clinging with vines.
"Your tasks are at an end, at least for us, Bo. When we decided to help you defeat Alubbrog, we also decided to release you from your labors. You obligation to us is fulfilled and you go with our blessing."
He stops and turns to her, amber eyes nearly hidden under his black fur. "As I promised, I can only tell you little, but the time has come. You are in the First World, the plane of the fey. Perhaps you have already guessed this? This is the Lenehau Jungle, one of the more stable parts of the plane."
Seeing Bo's look of surprise at this the bear growls in amusement and says, "It is true. It tends to be a jungle almost everyday, something of a rarity here."
'I can tell you little of the world beyond this jungle but I do know Godsarm, a town of some size, lies int hat direction." he waves a massive paw east. "At least on most days. I am told travel is very strange here. " he shrugs massive shoulders.
"I wish I could tell you more about who you are or why you are here, but we do not know." At her side Pearl nuzzles her hand, licking her sweaty skin.
Bo found herself relaxing as the mighty bear told her that her tasks with them were over. She hadn't realized how anxious and tense she had been, anticipating what they would ask of her next. Finally, she was free to explore her own cause, without worrying about passing their tests or risking their wrath. And after witnessing how easily they dealt with Alubbrog, there was no doubt in her mind that any of them, the Mouse included, could take her down with little trouble.
"First World..." Bo tried out the words, rolling them in her mouth as if tasting them, wondering if they would provoke a memory. Finally she shook her head. "That means nothing to me. As you were all alarmed by my presence, I assume it is not usual for my people to come here. Do you know how it is that one can arrive on this plane?"
"Yes, Godsarm. A strange bard told me of it. He's interested in you Wardens, by the way. I suppose that's the next place I must go. Little use wandering around the jungle more, hoping to find clues."
Eyeing the big bear, who perhaps was freer to talk, now that the tests were over, Bo asked, "What of you? May I ask how you came to be here? Or were you and your druid from this First World? If we were to stay here, would Pearl eventually come to be like you?"
She tried to imagine her companion growing to enormous size, and knowing speech and magic. She smiled, tusks glinting in the sun, as she tried.
The large animal pauses to scratch his back against a tree, obviously enjoying the pause. As he rubs he says, "There are many travelers to the First World, some on purpose, many by accident. The space between planes is very thin here and more then a few arrive here without meaning to. But there are diplomats, merchants, explorers that brave the space between spaces for their own ends. Perhaps you are one of those instead of a hapless mistake?"
When she tells him on the bard the bear grows more serious, staring at her directly, "I hope you did not say too much. Information is great power in this place and there are many who would use it for evil."
The bear then considers Pearl, looking down at the cat. The cougar looks up, seemingly unafraid of the hulking towering mass of hair and teeth looming above her.
"Many strange things happen in the First World. It is a plane forgotten and left by the Gods to its own devices. No one can predict what happens to anyone who treds foot here."
Then he snorts, "But no, I am from the Material Plane, which I assume is the same for you. Golarion, as my master called it. he enjoyed the names of places." A moment of wistfulness passes then he goes on, "I was given speech and full thought my magic in that place. All of us where, we only came here to escape the greedy hands of those who wishes to keep us in bondage, of various types. This plane,t his jungle has been our hideaway and refuge. I would ask you speak little of us those past our domain."
Bo nodded in understanding. "I have no intention of speaking of you, or any of the Wardens, to anybody." She looked at the woods around her and sighed. "Part of me wishes I could just stay here, learning from you, and exploring this strange and wonderful place. But there is a hole in my soul, and I must seek out a way to fill it. I suppose Godsarm is where I must travel next."
She turned to the bear and said, "Thank you, my friend, for your kindness and guidance. If there is every anything I can do for you, you have but to ask."
The bear rumbles in appreciation of her words but adds, "Staying would not be an option anyway. Despite your help for us, there are still many of my brothers who would not enjoy living with a druid. They would still see you as a symbol of tyranny and a reminder of a life left behind."
After a pause he adds, pointing to a rotting tree stump, "I left something for you on that stump." Bo glances at it and sees coils of rope lying on the soft wood.
"I wish you speed and good fortune in your travels, Bo of the Material Plane. May you fill the holes..." And with that the bear, with surprising grace and skill, vanishes into the gloomy undergrowth of the jungle.
Bo feels surprisingly melancholy as the bear vanished into the jungle. He was the closest thing she had to a friend here - not including her companions - and it seemed unlikely that they'd cross paths again.
Moving to the stump, she examined the rope that he'd left behind. Noticing its magical quality, she was surprised. "What an odd thing to find in a place like this. No doubt it will come in handy one day."
Bo was exhausted, and though she had decided to move on towards Godsarm, she had no will to travel further today. She and Pearl found a clearing large enough to make camp, and took their time about it. A nice-sized river gurgled nearby, and she lugged some clean water, made a fire, and boiled water for tea.
She and the big cat then went hunting, and were rewarded with a pair of enormous hares of some kind. Bo didn't recognize many of the plants around her, but made some educated guesses about edible leaves and tubers, and after an hour or so had a very passable stew.
As the afternoon wore down, the druid took stock of her situation. Her clothes were badly shredded from her flight down the beanstalk. They were also stiff with filth and blood. Stripping down, she washed in the river, and cleaned her clothes and armour as best she could. She dug the needle and thread out of the seam of her pack, and repaired the worst of the damage. Next, she rebraided the damp hair straggling across her face. In the late-afternoon heat, she and her clothes were soon dry, and she felt much better for being dressed and clean again.
As evening approached, she relaxed by the fire as best she could. The half-orc took stock of what she knew. Pulling out the locket again, she examined the man's face. She wanted to be sure that she'd recognize him, should she find him again. She looked at Hippacus's letter again, hoping to see if she could decipher any further clues, but came up blank. Again, just omens, study, special circumstances, and marriage. The worn paper was wearing through, and she tucked it carefully away.
The night passes without event and when Bo wakes the next morning, she feels better. She is clean, rested and with a full belly. Her clothes are at least functional again, and her gear tended to. Most important of all, she had a goal. Godsarm.
She knew practically nothing beyond a general direction and the name, both told her little. What would a city in the plane of the Fey be like? The crazy jungle, full of changing weather, beanstalks, giants and talking animals was at least what you expected from such a place. But a city? Full of fey? Hard to imagine.
Using the sun, Bo sets off into the green twilight, pearl at her side and Shriek floating overhead. They scramble over rotten logs, cross sluggish jungle streams and cut through small clearings. The day is hot and muggy and soon the half-orc has sweated through her clean clothes.
Then, without warning, the jungle ends. There is none of the usual transition of smaller and smaller trees, with brush and bushes. No, it simply went from old growth massive rainforest canopy to...rolling hills of greenery.
The landscape was covered with small, gentle hills covered with thick, low grass. The sky above was robin egg blue, dotted with billowing clouds. A freshening breeze filled the air with a clean scent, that blew away the fetid stink of the jungle and ruffled Bo's braid. Shriek played in the wide open skies, tumbling and diving.
Bo breathed deeply. She hadn't realized how cloying the jungle had become until she was free of it. "This should make the travelling easier," she said. Hoping she still had her directions correct, she continued her journey through the pleasant grasslands.
Bo wanders through the grasslands, trying her best to keep her bearings. It is difficult because everything seems...off. Such as, if she didn't know better, she'd say the Sun was moving around at random or that the breeze shifted direction without warning. once or twice she even caught her shadow facing toward the Sun, not away from it.
Still, she makes good time (At least it seems so), until she reaches a gurgling stream. While the crystal clear water is too wide to jump and seems too deep to wade, that isn't what draws Bo's attention. It is the fact it is flowing uphill, splashing and swirling against the rocks. Crossing it is an old strong bridge which is constantly assembling and dissembling itself in a matter of moments, unceasingly moving in a rumble of grinding stone.
At the edge of the water, there is a crude sign planted there. Written in several languages, one of them being Druidic it says "Do Not Touch The Water
Below, scrawled by some vandal it says, It Never Bothered Me
Bo stared at the water, the sign, and the bridge for a good long time. "I begin to understand what they meant about the Jungle being relatively stable," she said to Pearl. "It occassionally grew paths, or changed seasons. But this....this is just..." she trailed off, not having a word to encompass the complete strangeness of everything.
Bo wondered at the chances of her walking cross country, with barely a hint of a path before it shifted away underfoot, and coming to the only bridge in sight. Knowing this place, the bridge would end up at whatever place I arrived.
Remembering the warning on the path her first day in the jungle, and how that had nearly turned out, Bo was reluctant to touch the water. She eyed the bridge, wondering if she had the strength to shape it. [i]Only one way to find out.
She moved towards the strangely shifting and rearranging stone bridge. It looked substantial - she wasn't sure if she was strong enough to shape it all. Hesitantly putting a hand onto the fluid stone, she called upon her understanding of the nature of rock, and tried to soothe it into stillness, into a simple bridge that she dared tread on.
"Be ready to run, Pearl," she said, hoping it would work.
Bo casts her spell, drawing on the well of magic that dwells within her. It expands out of her into t e stone. The sliding, grinding stones pause for a moment, quivering in midair. Slowly they warp and shift, as if being worked by a clumsy potter, to create a simple bridge over the sparkling, dancing water.
Pearl, always ready, darts over the bridge. her feet seems to find good footing and in a moment she has crossed the water and is waiting on the other side.
Bo swallows and follows suit, perhaps a bit slower. As she steps the bridge seems to hold her weight and she begins to move forward. Glancing down, Bo can see right to the bed of the stream, the water is so clear. She can see fish, darting around the foaming ripples and swirls. Then one breaks the surface, and she can see it is a massive salmon.
As it jumps, it grows smaller and smaller, aging in reverse. The huge head shrinks, the red coloring shifting to gray and overall becoming a small minnow, to dart away in the shadow of a rock. Others are doing the same thing, shifting back to childhood as they jump among the rippling water. Above, Shriek stoops on one and catches it out of the air, screaming in triumph.
Bo makes her way across the ramshackle bridge as quickly as she dares. The half-orc is about 3/4ths of the way across when, of course, it starts to crumble. Bo is forced to jump the rest of the way to the shore.
She barely makes it, landing heavily on the fragrant, springy grass on the other side, next to Pearl. Nearby Shriek is busily eating his baby salmon. Despite being killed it is still shrinking towards youth, puzzling the poor hawk.
Bo watched in wonderment, and no small measure of relief, at the youth-ing fish. "Good thing we didn't try to swim," she said to Pearl, "we'd have ended up as a kitten and a kid."
She turned to watch Shriek consume his shrinking kill. "Better eat fast, before that's just an egg."
Since it was as good a time as any, Bo sat near the river (but not too close), pulled out some rations, and had lunch. She sent Pearl off to hunt, though she wasn't sure if there was much game about.
When they were done, turned around again, trying to get her bearings. Not sure if it would work in this strange place, she called upon her connection to the land to determine where north lay.
Pearl comes back, with a large fox like animal locked in her jaws. Bo wonders if the thing may have been a thinking being. Pearl would not know any better and who knows what the cat may eat by mistake. Was this a treasured tribal elder for some local clan?
In any case, Bo taps into magic to try and find her way. Instantly her vision swims and her head spins, as if she has vertigo. The druid nearly topples over as she loses her bearings, lost in the spell.
In a few moments, blessedly, her head clears and returns to normal (plus a nasty headache). On the downside, she has no more idea of which way is north then when she started.
Groaning, Bo finally lifted her head out of her hands. "Well, I suppose that wasn't a surprise."
Standing up, she decided there was little she could do but just keep walking. Putting the stream to her back (and hoping it would stay there), she kept on walking in what she hoped was the direction of Godsarm.
Stream and bridge behind her, Bo strides off into the grasslands. She soon leaves the waterway behind, moving through gentle hills. The landscape remains the same and the sun is still very...vague. Every time she glances away it seems to shift about, like a restless child.
She is soon distracted from this when, as she rounds a bend, she is confronted with the same stream. And not just a looping part of the same waterway but the exact same portion, complete with dissembling bridge. Looking hard, she can even see the gristly remains of the salmon on the far shore from Shriek's meal. She hadn't gone in a circle, she hadn't crossed the stream. It was...impossible.
Bo stared in disbelief at the stream. In the strange landscape, she could believe that she'd somehow come back to the stream again. But to be on the other side of it? Impossible.
Looking down at Pearl, she said, "Well. This place just gets stranger and stranger. And I can't cast that spell again today. And I do NOT want to go swimming. Not if we can help it."
Not wanting to risk contact with the stream again, she shrugged, turned her back on the stream, and started walking. This will either bring me back to the jungle, or back here, or....anywhere, really.
Bo resolutely puts her back to the gurgling stream and sets off again. Pearl doesn't seem to mind and happily crosses the rich, deep grass, tail twitching. Again, she moves in what she is sure is a straight line, but the lack of fixed points on the green plain makes it hard to be sure. Even the wind, which was blowing in her face before, is blowing in her face now, despite her change in direction.
Before too long, she is once again at the stream. Even more confusingly, she is on the same side again, with the vandalized sign and all. Glancing down she can even seen the faint imprints of her previous two visits, crushed into the grass.
Almost without warning, the sun starts to sink lower, throwing everything into a golden haze of late evening.
"Well, the good news is that we're not time travelling, or going to alternate versions of the same place. Those are definitely our prints. I just can't make heads or tails of how we're getting back to the same place." Pearl looked up and purred, which was reassuring, but not helpful.
Looking at the setting sun, Bo said, "Well, we might as well camp here for the night. If we try to get away from the river, we'll probably just wake up by it again." She looked around for anything with which to make a fire.
Bo finds precious little to burn, except some dried grass. There is not the usual stretch of woodland near the stream or flotsam caught in the current. Everything is...oddly, clear and clean. She could try to burn the wooden vandalized sign saying to not touch the water.
The sky overhead turns from gold to purple as the sun slips over the horizon. The long shadows are swallowed by the blackness of night and a million stars blaze into view overhead. It is a breathtaking sight and then something even more spectacular happens. Bo can see swirling masses of green and red overhead, dancing like sheets of colored fabric. Silently the shifting colors dance overhead, giving some weird, bizarre light to see by.
When the big cat wandered over to the stream for a drink, Bo sharply called her back. "Don't want you getting kittenized," she said. Glancing at the remains of Shriek's meal, she hesitated; after all, the hawk was fine. On the other hand, he'd caught the fish mid-leap, and hadn't actually gotten that wet.
Pulling her pot out of her pack, Bo called upon her connection with the land to summon water from the air. Much of it splashed into the grass, but there was enough in the pot for all three of them to drink.
Not wanting to risk a grass fire, Bo opted for a cold meal and a dark night. However, the night was not so very dark, and she lay mesmerized for some time, watching the dance of colour above her. This place may be strange beyond measure, but it is not without its beauty and wonder. She thought of Alubbrog, and wondered what he called such a phenomenon.
Finally she allowed herself to sleep, wondering what side of the stream she would awake on.
Bo falls asleep quickly and soon finds herself in a dream....or a memory. She is falling through a great multi-colored void, no flying. The empty space around her is immense, vast beyond her brain to understand and she is rushing by at a great pace. And yet she is not affair..there is a strong prescience close to her, someone wise, someone she trusts. The druid focuses, trying to see something in the welter of emotions and colors but nothing resolves. She grits her teeth, trying to will an image to appear, ignoring the great current around her, the rushing wind, the blinding colors, the whistling song.
Whistling song?
Instantly Bo finds herself awake on the cool damp grass. By her side Pearl is sleeping, paws over her muzzle. The stream gurgles happily nearby, splashing joyfully. Over it, Bo can hear a whistling song. Then he breaks into words, which rises to join the stream in happy trills.
On the road again
I just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again
A figure emerges from the velvet blackness, outlined by he dancing colors in the distant sky. To her surprise, Bo knows the singer. It is Memisonme, the traveling bard faun she met in the jungle.
He spots Bo's still lying form and stops his song, adding, "Now, what are the odds of this?"
Rubbing sleep from her eyes, Bo sat up. What were the odds indeed? Though in this place, the rules of chance seemed to have a mind of their own. "Apparently, 100%," she said. "It seems that we are well met again. Would you sit with me?"
Looking up at the sky, at the strange colours, she asked, "Do you always travel at night?"
The faun lets out a low whistle and says, "I'd love to sit with you. It can be lonely wandering out there, alone. Not all have a menagerie accompanying them. "
He waves to the still sleeping Pearl and Shriek. odd, the cat is usually the first to awake in such a circumstance.
The faun sits cross legged, small goat legs quite nimble. 'So, how did you fare with the Wardens of the jungle?"
Bo kept an eye on Pearl for a moment, wondering if the faun had some magic at work.
Her tusks widening her grin, she said, "Well, I'm here, aren't I? Out of the jungle, and alive. I must have done okay. This place, though - it's even stranger. What do you know of this place? It won't let me pass."
Memisonme chuckles and says, "You are getting better at keeping secrets. This is wise although I am somewhat saddened you are no longer an easy mark and spendthrift."
The faun cracks a grin at Bo's other words and says, "For example, you change the subject quite skillfully now. " he leans forward and waves his hand dramatically. A small orb of blue flame leaps into being, crackling and leaping joyfully.
"Better?" The light throws half of his face into shadow, making him look rather sinister.
Startled by the faun's response, Bo took a moment to gather herself. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. I truly don't know what's going on here. I keep trying to get across, or away from this creek, from this bridge. But I cannot. Do you know why? Or the secret of crossing?"
The faun shrugs and leans back away from the fire. "I assume you know where you are by now?" he smiles, "I mean in the grandest sense? The First World is not a place to travel lightly. It is not pure chaos like some of the other plans but it requires...certain skills to traverse from one place to another."
He pulls out a set of pipes and tests them, the clear notes filling the night air. At this Pearl wakes up, eyes glittering in the blue firelight. She growls softly, then lays her head back down at Bo's feet.
"One must be able to...mold the setting, to tell the story that one must tell." He chuckles, "It's complicated. Most non-natives need guides to travel about."
Bo nodded slowly. It did make a certain degree of sense. It also seemed likely that the faun was not going to offer up anything, even information, perhaps especially information, for free.
"And you are a native, I assume. Perhaps willing to be my guide? For the right price."
"As native as anything can be in this place." Memisonme says, chuckling. When Bo mentions price he actually laughs again. "Actually, the price has already been paid, by someone else."
He leans back over the fire, rubbing his thin, delicate hands together. "There is a merchant in Godsarm who hired me to come and find you and bring you safely to the city." The faun watches Bo closely, looking for a reaction.
Bo could feel her eyes widening. "A merchant? Really?" Her mind ran through possibilities. "Who was it? And why? Were you talking about me?" Her hand moved to the locket around her throat of its own accord. "Did you find him?" she asked, meaning the human in her locket.