fairyland fun! (your levels of fun may vary)

[fair_trouble]

[New day, new town, and hopefully new opportunities. Specifically opportunities to make some money because Zel and Emery’s funds have been running kind of low after their most recent misadventure. This has meant a temporary separation while Zelgadis goes to look for merc-type work and potential cure leads and Emery goes around chatting up the locals without terrifying them.

Or at least that was the plan, until Calanthe showed up.

By the time Zel gets back to the inn, Emery’s still busy talking to Calanthe in their inn room, although the conversation’s just about wrapping up. If he’s perceptive he might even catch a bit of Emery’s words.

“...some funds this time? ...Seriously, is that it? He’s always such a cheapskate. …Okay I got it. I’ll see you later.”

A few moments later a woman wearing a green cloak exits their inn room. Her hood is up, partly obscuring a pale face and hair, and she barely spares anyone a passing glance as she drifts down the hallway.

Emery is still standing inside the inn room looking pensive, but when Zel enters he’ll give him a bright smile.]

Oh! Hey, Zel. Did you manage to find anything?

Comments

[fair_trouble]

[Zel, needless to say, barely has to bend his elbow before Emery's glommed onto him. Emery's always been a physically affectionate person and it's very kind of Zel to adapt like this.

The road they need to take out of town is a fairly standard dirt road with light wagon ruts and stones lining either side of it. The greenery and foliage gradually gets thicker the further they get from town, although sunlight ripples through the leaves overhead and dapples the scenery with plenty of warm light. Grasses, flowers, ferns, and moss carpet the ground wherever the road doesn't break through.

Basically, it looks like a goddamn Ghibli movie out here. Emery takes a soft breath, breathing in the rich air of the woods.]

...It's so peaceful. I've heard that the fae realm also has trouble with bandits, but it's hard to imagine in a place like this.

[chimerad]

If fae run their lives the way regular people do, then that's not surprising. Opportunists are everywhere.

[he looks about.]

Though I guess I expected things to be a bit...weirder. Considering the fairy tales.

[fair_trouble]

Oh? What were you expecting? Giant beanstalks, perhaps?

[...Actually Emery can't really rule out the possibility of fuckoff huge giant beanstalks being somewhere out there.]

[chimerad]

[don't tease!!!] Well...I guess. [:T] Or just...a different kind of "common" sense. Different rules for a different people, like how the mazoku or dragons prefer to operate.

[fair_trouble]

[Stop being teasable!]

I don't know much about mazoku, but they feed off negative feelings, right? Fairies draw strength from the earth instead. [Or whatever element is relevant.] I guess that's not too different from humans, if you think about it.

[chimerad]

Guess that's why there's so many stories about vindictive fairies taking revenge on people for cutting down forests for towns and farms... [makes sense when it's put that way. they're all vying for the same land, even if the perception of that land is skewed by planes...

that's actually...kind of cool, he thinks.]

[fair_trouble]

[Emery nods.] Exactly. And whatever's done in the mundane realm will make itself known in the fairy realm one way or another. That's why the High Courts don't look favorably upon the ones who secretly meddle with the mundane realm for their own gain. [As Merry Morgan may be intending to do.]

Not that it's forbidden to take vengeance or do other things, but it's strictly regulated so things don't get set off-balance.

[chimerad]

[that does make him wonder...]

I wonder...how many world events actually had fey involvement, then... Intentional or not. If things are so interconnected, I have to assume that it's more likely than anyone would think.

[fair_trouble]

[Cheerily:] You're probably right about that, but I haven't learned that much history yet.

[Emery then goes a bit quiet, tilting his head away from Zel to gaze at the greenery of their surroundings.]

...Some fairies do make themselves known to humans. The Field Lord is actually worshipped as a god in a few villages in Zephilia and the northern Elmekia Empire.

[chimerad]

[Zel looks at him in profile. you made yourself known, too, he thinks.]

...For good luck with the crops, right?

[fair_trouble]

Right. Those who please him are rewarded with bountiful harvests, but those who get on his bad side...

[Emery shrugs.]

Well, he's allowed to make his own judgments when it comes to his villages.

[chimerad]

Does it work the other way sometimes? Like how mazoku suffer during festival seasons or special occasions. Do fey have to...manipulate people for their benefits? [it's not precisely the same as mazoku, right? if the fey feed off the land, humans need not exist at all. so maybe not...]

[fair_trouble]

[Emery turns back to Zel, looking puzzled.]

Have to? Not necessarily, I guess. But it's like that part about taking vengeance for forests that get cut down. I think... if you wanted to weaken the fairies in this area, what you'd want to do is burn all of this to the ground. [He gestures at their surroundings.] Then you'd salt the earth and uproot anything that might still be under the ash, and block off the springs and rivers. Make it so that nothing can live here.

[It'd be difficult, but under such a circumstances it would create a battlefield that a fairy would struggle with, and harm those deeply tied to the region.]

Most humans don't go around doing anything that extreme, though.

[chimerad]

[not outside of wartime, anyway, he figures.]

No, I meant...what do the fey get out of interacting with people? Outside of retaliation, I mean.

[fair_trouble]

What they get...? Well, the Field Lord's people follow his orders to take care of the land and keep it healthy. That benefits everyone, because the more fertile his land is the stronger the Field Lord becomes. And they give him gifts and offerings. Wine, gold, fabric...

[Women.]

Basically, the fairies try to keep humans in line and will trade with them for material goods or entertainment.

[chimerad]

[Zel looks ahead, ruminating on that for a bit.

a lot of this seems...balanced more in favor of this Field Lord. makes sense - people in power do that. it just makes him concerned about Emery's role in it all...how disposable he's perceived by this ruler.

eventually:] If they think about as similarly as people...then I guess I have less to worry about.

[fair_trouble]

[Emery watches Zel sidelong during that quiet pause, but relaxes once Zel finally speaks up.]

Right. Fairies aren't that different from humans, really, just with some extra quirks.

[Like cow tails, or eating sulfur, or being tiny. Or being able to change their forms with a simple thought.

Emery gives Zel's arm a pat with his free hand.]



And you worry too much anyway~

[chimerad]

Or you don't worry enough. [he makes a face at him.] You're used to this place, not me.

[fair_trouble]

[Emery considers this.]

...Are you worried about another soup situation coming up? You don't need to, I'll keep an eye out for you from now on.

[chimerad]

[ear twitch. he looks ahead.] If that's something I should keep expecting, then I'll adapt.

[fair_trouble]

[Aw, look at that cute twitchy ear.]

Of course. We're great at adapting! [And thus, no need to worry!]

[chimerad]

[yeah but if Zel isn't grumpy about it is he REALLY contributing in the ways he knows best???

even so, he lets that go with a soft grunt, keeping sharp eye out ahead of them for possible trouble. bandits here probably blow up as easily as they do on the other side, right? that part should be no problem. though he can't shake the curious itch in the back of his head to play around with his shamanism spells to see what kind of variances there would be in a land filled with creatures imbued with power from that land directly.

heck - what would a golem come out looking like in those circumstances? much to consider - perhaps too much to the point he could let his imagination get a bit too rich about it, given past experiences being rather outside regular thresholds.

like it's okay Zel: sometimes a bird can just be a bird and not need six eyes to be fey. you and six-year olds everywhere are disappointed, sure.]

[fair_trouble]

[As they travel along, Emery has a distinct sense that they're not alone. Not in a menacing way, like they're being watched, but in a similar sense to knowing there are other people on the street with you even if you're not directly interacting with them. Perhaps that's just the animals though. There is the occasional rustling that indicates some bird or small mammalian creature is going about its usual business, as well as various bird songs. And sometimes those high avian trills and croaks almost sound like words- Emery thinks he catches one singing "Where are youuuu, Frederick-Frederick-Frederick?" at one point.

But since neither he nor Zel are Frederick, he figures it's safe to ignore.

All in all it's fairly peaceful and their first obstacle proves not to be bandits nor beasts, but a fork in the road. There's no sign indicating which direction they should go in, and both roads look like they see the same amount of traffic.

Emery glances at Zel, he who carries a sextant even inland.]

Got any ideas?

[chimerad]

[Zel frowns, hand itchy for a map.] At a glance, they're angling in similar ways. [but that may not be the case further down. but if it is...why? is there a significance to the space separating them? inquiring minds want to know!!!

but standing there doesn't solve puzzles.

he steps out of Emery's grasp a pace.] I'll have a look up top and see.

[he quietly casts levitation and floats himself up over the tree line, shading his eyes with a hand to peer out and try sketch out where the roads are winding toward.]

[fair_trouble]

[Up top?]

A-?

[Ah, right, the rock boy can fly.

Emery watches Zel float up for a moment, then takes his own look at their surroundings. It's not a very educational look- he vaguely notices that the foliage is thicker around the path to the left but that could mean nothing.

Oh look, a butterfly.

After another moment he tilts his head up and calls out:]

How's it look?