A Faerie Affair - IC IV: Dragon with Butterfly Wings

[Ninja_Prawn]

Turning to the other Special Department Faeries, she asks, "Do you wall want to do this?"

The Special Department faeries look at each other and take stock of the situation. None of them seems opposed to the suggestion. "Yes, let's make sure we all make it back home in one piece, eh?" Says Archibald.

[WindStruck]

Astra smiles. "Okay then!" Waving to the other soldiers, she says, And good luck everyone! Be careful!"

So then they'll have to begin this long process of slowly pushing and guiding some unconscious, levitating drow.

[Archmage1]

Violet nods happily in agreement, before she sets about making sure the sleeping drow are nice and comfortable, quickly pulling out a couple of pillows for their heads, and starting to make them flower blankets.

[Ninja_Prawn]

So, Astra and Violet set off, their path winding between the ancient trees of the Starwoods. For the time being, you are fairly safe - the faeries have swept any hostile presence from this area already - so Tuck strikes up a conversation with Violet. "Those flowers you're weaving, is that going to be a blanket for the prisoners? I bet they'll be surprised to find themselves covered in petals when they wake!"

What is Kor doing now?

[Archmage1]

Violet nods cheerfully at Tuck's question, before she answers excitedly. "It is! They'll be really happy, and it'll give them a chance to sleep better, and maybe feel a bit nicer when they wake up!" Even while she speaks, her fingers never pause in their weaving, although where she gets the flowers from is... odd. They just sort of seem to be there. As she reaches the end of one row, and starts back across to weave in another one, she momentarily looks up at Tuck. "Does this sort of thing happen often?"

[WindStruck]

From Astra's own limited knowledge, she didn't think this happened often. Neither Drow coming up to the surface, nor war and destruction. She shook her head sadly. "I don't think so, Violet.."

"They'll probably be surprised to be surrounded by a lot more of us," Astra says.

She looks at Violet and says, "Please, just keep in mind, as lovely as your blanket it, I don't think it will cheer them up very much..."

[Archmage1]

As Astra joins the conversation, Violet looks up from her flower-weaving again, with a smile. "Good. Exploring should be fun, and interesting, and not running into confused meanies!" She manages(Somehow) to not drop her proto-blanket with her gesticulations, but only just, and her recovery distracts her for a moment, before she responds to Astra's second comment with another cheerful smile. "It might, so it's worth trying! And it's a really nice blanket, and it'll let everyone know that they're trying to be nice!"

[Ninja_Prawn]

The faeries make no comment on Violet's flower-conjuring trick. It's well known amongst the fey that petals have all sorts of strange flower magic that no one else can cast, after all. Possibly the drow would be more impressed, if they were awake to see it.

Tuck can fill in some of the local history though. "Astra's right, it's been a long time since drow of the Underdark roamed the forest like this. The only war I've ever known is the one between our court and the other one... and that's not really the same as... this." He gestures at the prisoners; soldiers in heavy wargear and bent on conquest, at Archibald's bruises; spreading already and looking painful, at the whole forest; quiet and dark.

"It was over a hundred years ago, the last great war between humanoids here," says Archibald, through clenched teeth. "Most of these kids are too young to remember it, but I saw some of the fighting. Of course, we stayed well clear, that time. There was an army of surface-dwelling elves that wanted to fight with the drow, so we left them to it."

[Archmage1]

Violet looks to be saddened by Archibald and Tuck's messages, revealing the long, horrible history of warfare in the area. Despite that, she continues weaving her bright, colourful blankets for the captured drow, hoping that something nice might encourage them to be nice too.

[WindStruck]

"It makes sense, the different elves fighting each other. I wonder why they weren't here this time," Astra says.

"It's okay, Violet. Nothing wrong with you sending them some good gestures.."

Astra just hoped it all wasn't really in vain, but it probably was.

[Majin]

"Are there any elf villages or something nearby? You know, in case the drow get lucky and we might need help... I mean, we're kicking their butts so far" Kor said, doing his best to sound like he was brave enough to take all the drow by himself.

Kor gave Violet a small smile, more or less sharing Astra's sentiments. "Just be careful if you go see them. I think they might try manipulating you, they seem to be mean like that..."

[Ninja_Prawn]

Keit answers Kor's question (and, implicitly, Astra's wondering): "there aren't a lot of elves in the woods any more. There used to be a villiage near Lake Sember, in Reena's domain, but I think it's been abandoned now."

"Yes, it was a haven where sick elves came to get healed," Mimsie adds, "they could bathe in the waters of the lake or take shelter in treetop salons. But when the elves retreated from Myth Drannor, there wasn't anyone left to come to Semberholme, so the ones who lived there adopted a nomadic lifestyle. I think Reena's court meets with them sometimes, to trade?"

Archibald is on the same page as Kor, though. "Hah, but who needs elves? We can kick drow butts just fine without them!" He pinches Jhulae on the nose... and she wakes up! She struggles instinctively against her bonds and tries to speak, but is muffled by your gag. She glares angrily.

[Archmage1]

Violet brightens at Kor and Astra's wonderings, and Keit's response. "Maybe we can find Faenyarus, and ask him! I'm sure he'd know, and he was really nice when he visited my garden!" As always, her good cheer seems to brighten the world around her as she beams happily at the discussing trio.

However, before she can really get to excitedly planning the next adventure, the struggles of the nice drow woman draws her attention back to her, and Violet flits back down, and resumes weaving her blanket, even as she looks up at the captured drow. "I'm really sorry about the gag, and the bindings, and things! You were trying to be nice, but then people got scared, and thought you were going to be mean, and they attacked! But maybe if we can convince them that you're really nice, and don't want to hurt anyone, or be mean to poor spiders?" Violet's violet eyes meet the captured drow's, full of hope

[WindStruck]

Astra jumps a bit as one of the Drow suddenly comes to life.

After a moment she composes herself and says, "Please be calm. We don't plan to hurt you.. or at least, well.. for now... I suppose it depends on you, and if the King and Queen are feeling charitable."

[Majin]

Kor hissed at the stirring drow, and jumps into the air. A bit embarrassed, Kor tried to quickly cover his startlement by giving the captured elf a stern look and flapping his colorful butterfly wings menacingly.

"Well I'm gonna bite her if she tries something..." he muttered, huffing. "Umm, should we try to interrogate her or something? She might try casting spells though..."

[Ninja_Prawn]

The drow mage is so bewildered by Violet's optimistic attitude that she can't muster any kind of reaction, though she soon settles back down into a more relaxed posture. She nods in acknowledgement when Astra says that her safety depends on her actions and, though you detect pride and defiance in her still, there isn't much opportunity for her to try anything right now, so Kor probably won't need to bite her.

Bruno observes that "there probably isn't much strategic value in interrogating her..."

But Archibald thinks that "it could be useful to know more about her, so we have some details to work into our victory songs. I'm no expert on drow internal politics, but if we can describe her as a scion of an important house, that'd be a nice feather in our caps."

[WindStruck]

Astra suggests, "Our plan was just to bring her back, and while the information she knows is probably valuable.. well, one, there's no telling if she talks, and two, just among our small group, I don't think there is much we can do with any information. It's probably best to wait to get back before we start asking her things."

[Archmage1]

With peace resounding(Ok, at least whispering), Violet continues her important work of making a wonderful blanket for the drow, not getting involved with the conversation.

[Majin]

"Yeah... I'm not really sure how all that 'interrogation' stuff works..." Kor said, glancing at the drow.

"Or what do you say? Are you important?" Kor asked the gagged mage, wondering if she'd even bother answering.

[Archmage1]

Violet looks at the imprisoned woman with interest, the start of a hopeful story flowing through her head. "Maybe she's really important, but decided to come here, so she could be nice, instead of being somewhere really mean? But then that'd be really sad, because it would mean that she couldn't be nice at home, which would be really, really sad!"

[Ninja_Prawn]

The drow mage can't help but chuckle at your speculations. Based on your interactions so far, it's a good bet that she would describe herself as 'important' when asked, though whether that's actually true in a more absolute sense is harder to say.

Mimsie thinks Violet could be onto something. "They do say that it's perfectly awful in the Underdark. If there were any good-natured drow, I'm sure they'd want to escape... perhaps joining in with an invasion like this could be the only option for them. It is a little sad, when you think about it."

Eventually, your group rolls back into the faerie base camp, with no more drama along the way. The prisoners make no attempt to escape, and nothing jumps out at you from the shadowy undergrowth. Violet's flower blanket is complete: large enough for an adult elf, it's quite a burden for the tiny petal.

Kor is welcomed by some of Lord Bumblegrove's retainers, who are already watching over a number of other drow (and their various warbeasts) that your comrades have captured. "Two more for the tally, eh? Good hunting, sir." They say. "We'll look after these, if you like."

[Archmage1]

Violet smiles excitedly at Mimsie's hopeful response. "Maybe! But now we can give them the chance to be nice! And hopefully, they'll take it, instead of being sad and mean all the time!"

Back in the faerie camp, as the other faeries offer to take care of the drow, Violet flies down, and, with some effort, drapes the wonderful flower blanket over the imprisoned elf woman, before smiling cheerily at the faeries who are watching the drow. "Hopefully, they're not all mean!"

[WindStruck]

Astra asks, "Oh, you already found some too? Wow, that was quick!"

She takes a look at the other prisoners, trying to determine what sort of job or role they had, and if they may look important. "Did you already try to ask them any questions?"