Siege of the Woods Saturday (13 Sep 2001) The Mirari gang encounters ... yet more strangeness.

Forest Clearing
This is an irregularly shaped area, with three curved lobes bordered by trees and hedges, and along the northern side, a line of rocks. It slopes downward from north to south, and the mostly-grassy earth drops perhaps six inches or more along curving lines, that look familiar somehow. A triangularly shaped pond is attached by the point to the intersection of two lobes, pointing askew from a boulder near the center of the third lobe.

This would be a lovely place for a picnic, as the boulder's large, nearly flat surface would make a handy table, but casting an almost horrific image over the setting is a dark colored humanoid figure ...

It perches partly atop the boulder, crouched over as if ready to pounce. From this point of view, it seems to have an elongated nose, or perhaps a beak, but the way the light pours down makes it more a shadowy figure, oddly prickly around its outline as if it were covered with thorns. A hand is held out on a long stick-like arm with four shadowy claws.

A thick bush with tiny green leaves provides momentary cover from its gaze.

The black-haired girl starts as her eyes fall on the sinister thing perched on the boulder, and she takes a step back. "'Ware," she whispers to the others. "Stay back."

Agatha draws her sword and hunkers down, trying to watch the thing through the bush.

"Holy crud," whispers Thomas, "What the heck is that thing?" He keeps low behind the bush, eyes fixed on the thing perched on the boulder.

Simon is only too happy to oblige, staying crouched down behind Tom and Agatha.

Alice slips to hide behind Agatha, clutching the larger girl with shaky hands as she peers over the knight's head at the creature. "It's scary," she whispers, frightened.

"It -- " Elinor starts to say, then hesitates. "I think ... we had best leave it be, m'lords, ladies."

Tom looks back at the others. "So, who wants to go say hello?" he inquires.

The figure remains motionless ... perhaps standing guard, perhaps waiting for something.

"It could be a golem or a minion," Agatha whispers. "It looks like something belonging to House October, but I thought April would control this Siege ... err ... I'll explain about them later."

"You get weirder all the time, Agatha," whispers Thomas. He then looks at Elinor and asks quietly, "If you have any information about that thing, please tell us ... "

"Would it hurt us? Is it a bad thing? It looks very bad ... " The little girl squints, trying to get a better look. "But ... maybe it just looks scary. Mr. Williams the janitor looks scary, but he's nice."

"It could be just guarding, but it could also be waiting specifically for us too," Agatha warns. "Maybe we should throw a rock into another bush and see how it reacts?"

The pale-skinned girl turns to look at the redhead, then she turns to Thomas. "Indeed," Lady Raven answers him. "Redmane speaks true.... It does look like a creature of October. I do not think we should risk attracting its attention, not at this time. We are not prepared."

Tom nods to Agatha. "If we want to go that route, I suggest I sneak off separately and throw the rock. You guys pull back and stay low and out of cover. I can move out here easiest, the forest is my world, after all." He then looks at Elinor and asks again, quietly, "What is it?"

Simon shoots a look at Agatha.

The little blonde looks between the two older girls with a confused expression, nose wrinkled slightly. "I wonder if he saw Lord Mel come by," she considers vocally. She then takes another look at the creature, and draws herself lower to the ground as if just looking at it holds enough weight to force her further from its presence.

"I ... cannot say, for sure, Lord Explorer," Raven answers. "I do not think October is our enemy -- yet this thing is here with a purpose, 'tis clear, and I fear that we are not, at the moment, a part of it. I do not wish to interfere with the ways of House October, if we can help it." She looks to Redmane, as if for support.

Agatha finally looks away from the creature to the others. "I think we need to share some information before going further. Besides, if you sneak off, Shadow could get loose, and who knows how that thing will react to a cat?"

"I wouldn't take Shadow," Thomas comments, then shrugs. "We have a chance to possibly find out what is going on. We're making assumptions that this thing is dangerous and it may not be. We could just stay and observe for awhile," he whispers.

At the moment, the cat seems far less worried about the distant figure than anyone else. He kneads at Simon's shoulder absently, rubbing his head against the boy's neck.

"Alice, Simon, what do you want to do?" Agatha asks quietly.

The brunette gathers her skirt, crouching with the others behind the bush. She frowns but waits for the others to respond before adding any further comments.

"Maybe it doesn't mind kitties. Kitty prints are what took us here, maybe it sees kitties all the time?" offers the little blonde. To the question of what to do, Alice speaks hesitantly, "W-well ... it's very scary, but ... we shouldn't ... " she thinks for a moment and then seems to quote something, "we 'shouldn't judge by what's on the outside, because buds hide flowers'."

"And then again, some things are as they look," Simon says, reaching up to pet Shadow distractedly, looking at Agatha. "We should be careful."

"Okay," Agatha whispers, "How's this then: we take a walkover to the Danzwycks. I think Elinor and I have tales to tell along the way, and once there I can pick up ... a horse ... that's sort of ... reserved for me. We can come back and see what more we can find out about this creature from the safety of horseback then."

A light breeze rustles the branches of the concealing bush. Through it, they can see the figure shift, its head seeming to turn, just a little. Has it heard the whispering of mice in the undergrowth?

Tom peers at the creature through the bushes. "That's reasonable. Plus, anyone who wants to remain behind at the stables can," he says softly.

"Okay," agrees Alice. When the creature's head turns, she shrinks away more.

Tom looks intently, trying to see if the creature has eyes and what they look like.

Elinor shivers at the breeze, then looks to Agatha, biting her upper lip. "I am not certain it is wise to return this day," se says, quietly. "But we can ... talk, along the way."

Simon edges away carefully, staying low, trying to use the natural slope of the ground for cover. "I think we should move away very slowly.... It might have heard us."

"Y-yes. Let's go. Go now." The youngest of the girl stands a little and begins edging back, peering over her shoulder to make sure she doesn't trip over anything.

Agatha nods to Simon and Alice, and taps Tom on the shoulder. "Let's go," she whispers.

Elinor moves away as silently as a shadow, disappearing back the way they came.

Tom doesn't move immediately, eyes locked on the creature. Finally, he glances over his shoulder and edges backwards, careful to avoid the brush on the ground, stepping on cleared earth.

Keeping close to Alice and Simon, Agatha retreats as quietly as she can.

If the figure in the clearing hears them sneaking away, or the snap of a small twig under Simon's foot, it shows no sign of it. The children make it safely out of sight -- and hopefully earshot -- of the clearing and its intimidating inhabitant.

Simon looks chagrined as he falls in alongside Tom, once they are able to safely walk down the path without so much caution. "I thought we were goners when I stepped on that twig," he says.

Agatha lets out her breath and starts walking normally. "I nearly jumped out of my skin when you did that, Simon."

"Well, please fill us in on what you know, Elinor, Agatha," Thomas says as he trudges back through the woods, "After all, you've apparently been holding out some information. What the heck were you two talking about back there?"

"You want to go first, or should I, Elinor?" the redhead asks the brunette.

Alice's magic book is now put away, replaced with the unicorn she hugs tightly at the moment. She remains quiet for now, watching her feet as she walks with the others.

"If you would be so kind, Agatha," Elinor replies politely, gesturing for the other girl to continue.

"Okay then. The day after our trip to the island, I ran across the Siege of Wind near the creek that runs south of the stables," Agatha says, eyes squinting in memory. "It was like a bunch of dust devils that drew the pattern in the grass. Anyway ... it showed up, and this armored warrior on horseback appears in the middle and calls to me as Redmane, saying he needs my help."

As the redhead begins, Elinor's eyes widen, and she stumbles over a root. Tom reaches out to steady her, but she has already recovered quickly, concentrating on where she's going, still alert to what the other girl is saying. Tom looks back to Agatha, his expression steady and unresponsive to the tale being told.

The dark-haired girl offers a quick smile to Thomas, that fades as he withdraws his hand.

"I know I've told you all never to trust elves ... but I went with him anyway," Agatha says, sounding a little embarrassed. "He was Sir Tristan of House April, and he took me through the Siege to ... Mirari."

Alice seems stirred out of her quiet walk by the story, and further by Elinor's stumbling. In an effort to assist the older girl, Alice reaches over to offer her a hand, tucking Lord Mel under the crook of her other arm as she does so.

Elinor slips her fingers around Alice's smaller hand, holding on while they listen.

Simon shifts Shadow a bit on his shoulders, as they walk down the path, and listens intently.

"He was going to take me to see the Queen, but we ran into these ... golems. They were just big hulks made out of dead leaves, and Tristan said they were products of House October. It's like there's a House for every month, but months aren't the same over there. We fought past the golems, and he took me to another place instead, figuring the way to the Queen would be blocked now."

"The horse, Souhait, was hurt in the fight, so we went to this suburb sort of, called Elysia, and into House April," Agatha goes on. "I can't describe the people there; they gave me the creeps. But Tristan tells me about how the King vanished, and so now eternal winter was settling over the world since only the King could pass on the throne to the next King, and that would start the new year ... only it's not really a year like our years, where we have four seasons every year. In Mirari, it's like each season lasts for years and years itself, and different Houses are dominant depending on the time ... at least that's what I thought."

Tom does move a bit closer to Elinor, still looking straight ahead. Occasionally, he glances at Agatha, his expression breaking into one of concern. Finally, he leans in and whispers an apology to Elinor quickly.

"All of the Houses are looking for the King, and there's some sort of bad feelings between the winter Houses and the summer ones. House April figured October had abducted the King at first, so that they'd be dominant forever, but he told me that they figured out eventually that he left on his own, because he wants to end this weird season cycle," Agatha says.

"You really went to another world, then?" Tom asks. "How?" His tone isn't one of disbelief, but of genuine curiosity.

Looking to Tom, Agatha grins and says, "On horseback, that's how. I asked Tristan about Ryland, and the Jruuh. He said that crows can be used as minions by October, while April uses ... heh ... cats!"

Elinor smiles again to Tom, but her free hand clutches into a fist as Agatha talks about Tristan, before she deliberately relaxes her fingers, staring forward at the ground.

"I wonder if the other sieges lead to different places, like, different doors to different ... um ... " The little blonde thinks for a moment. " ... different ... duchies of the seasons."

Agatha nods to Alice. "The Siege of Stone and Water is in October's territory in Mirari. The Siege of Wind ... moves around!"

Alice nods approvingly to the explanation of the Siege of Wind. "That's very windy-like!"

"Oh," adds Alice, "what does everyone else use?"

"He also talked about the Lord Protector disappearing when he went searching for the King, and that he was a unicorn," Agatha adds. "But he said the Jruuh and the story of The Year's End were just fairy-tales ... or whatever you'd call them in Fairyland ... told to frighten children. He thinks the Jruuh must be more October shape-shifters just trying to look like Jruuh, which doesn't make any sense to me. He also says that since the Queen is from House April, the next King was going to be chosen from his House as well. He said that the Siege of Angels is closed to them. When I saw all those cat-prints, I figured this one we just found had to be one that April was using."

The younger boy blinks, taking a while to digest all of this. "He wants to end the Year?" Simon looks, disbelieving, up at Agatha. "Wouldn't that be the end of everything?"

Agatha thinks, and says to Simon, "No, not end the year, break the cycle. That's where we come in. We're supposed to be able to stop The Year's End from taking the throne of Mirari, and that breaks the cycle. I guess that means they'd have regular years and seasons. See, they know about us over there," she adds, ominously.

"Did he explain how we got involved in this?" asks Thomas, "We're just kids. For goodness' sake, Elinor and I are the oldest and we're just fourteen."

"Wow!" exclaims the little girl. "Elves, and queens, and ... and ... unicorns!" She gives Lord Mel another hug.

"You got involved..," Elinor says, quietly, "because ... well. You are involved. You ... know things about Mirari. You're special, in a way I can't explain. All of you."

"Anyway, Tristan asked me to find the King, and try to convince him to return, so things will go on as usual, or failing that to let him know where the King is. No idea how we got involved. It seems more like the King got involved with us, because we're all together at the right time," Agatha says. "Tristan sent me back through the Siege of Wind, and left his horse with me. The horse can do the magic to get back through to Mirari, I think. There are a few reasons why I don't fully trust Tristan."

"Darn right you shouldn't trust him!" Tom blurts out.

Simon moves a hand up to scratch behind an ear, then finds it blocked by Shadow, and scratches behind Shadow's ear instead. He looks sidelong at Elinor, then surprised at Tom's sudden outburst. "Why not?"

Elinor looks a little surprised, too, but she offers a supportive smile to Tom.

Tom looks at Simon. "Why not? Someone poofs in from nowhere, tells this story, and we're just supposed to trust him? What if this person wants to find the King to force his way to the throne, for one? For two, he brought Agatha into direct danger."

Alice jumps a bit at Thomas's outburst, the sudden sound giving her a start. She gives him a "don't do that" look, then turns to look at Elinor with wide and curious eyes. "Elinor, did you know? I mean, did you always know?" she asks.

The raven-haired girl nods to Alice, still holding her hand, but doesn't say anything else, waiting for Agatha to finish.

"What if that was because October wanted to stop him from getting help?" Simon says. "Maybe it wasn't his fault."

"And what if House October is working with him and it was a ruse?" Tom counters.

"The bit about the Jruuh and The Year's End being just stories struck me as fishy, in particular, along with pointing out that the next King is supposed to come from House April," Agatha says. "Mostly it was the implication that they'd come after the King if he doesn't return, and they find out where he is."

"House October," Elinor says firmly, "is not working with Sir Tristan." She gives a faint emphasis to the final words. "Nor was Agatha in any danger from the leaf-golems. If they menaced Sir Tristan at all, it was only to protect her from him, I am certain."

Tom looks at Elinor and asks softly, "Are you from House October?"

Elinor nods in response. "I am Rachel Antoine, of the Golden Hawks," she says, her voice steady and sober, "and I am of the House of October."

Alice just stares at Elinor, wide eyes as if she might well be Santa. "Should ... should we call you Rachel?" she asks uncertainly.

Tom moves away from Elinor some and asks, "Are you here to watch over us? If not, then why are you here?" His brow furrows. "Are perhaps all of us members of a house, long removed now?"

"No, call her Elinor," Agatha says to Alice. "Especially in front of cats."

Alice nods a little, and says, "Okay."

Simon eyes Elinor warily, though it's hard to look properly suspicious with a cat wrapped around one's shoulders. "Why should we believe you over Sir Tristan? What if House October really is behind it all? " He looks over to Agatha. "What did you think of Sir Tristan, L- ... Agatha?"

"You ... don't belong to a house, that I know of, Explorer," Rachel nee' Elinor answers. "I am here to find out about you, because Mirari does need you, very badly, I am afraid. About that much, Sir Tristan was right."

"He was an elf," Agatha says, as if that summed it up. "He's the only one I talked to there that seemed ... normal. The servants in House April could have been golems too."

"So, you are here to spy on us," Tom says flatly, moving away even more. "Can we trust you? Was that suggestion you made to me to quit looking for the king a truthful one, or one to serve the House October?" asks Tom, voice cracking slightly, hurt.

The forest thins out around here, making it possible to see down the rest of the hill and the countryside. The Danzwyck ranch house, a comfortable wooden structure of rustic appearance, is visible some distance away, and the horses appear as tiny figures from this distance.

The girl drops her chin, looking at the ground. "Both, I hope," she says, her words low. "House October believes that the King had good reason to leave. We have no wish to see House April haul him back to his death."

Agatha slows her pace. "I don't want Souhait to know about Elinor, okay? He's pretty smart though, and if we talk about it he'll figure it out. Also ... umm ..." She looks at Elinor, as if trying to see anything out of the ordinary, then just asks, "Are you using a glamor at all, Elinor?"

"I want to help, I don't want the year to end or the king to be lonely or any of it. Fairytales shouldn't be bad like this." The little girl nods with resolve, or as much resolve as a little girl hugging her little unicorn can appear to have any way. Her expression melts a bit as she sees Thomas step away, and she tilts her head to frown at him. The expression, the way she watches him, carries a certain sad cast to it.

Simon looks about to say something, then closes his mouth and adjusts Shadow until the cat is properly balanced again, instead of needing claws to hang on.

The fey girl shakes her head. "No, I am truly as you see me. I was chosen from among October's people in part because I could easily fit in amongst mortals. As you noticed ... many of our kind cannot." She squeezes Alice's hand gratefully.

"Alright. I can't say that I trust you fully either, Elinor," Agatha says. "But until we can talk to Lord Mel, don't expect me to answer any questions about the King, okay?"

Tom inhales slowly, hands clenched in fists. He looks back at Simon, straining to keep from saying something. Instead, he just lets out his breath and continues to walk.

Simon catches the look and moves closer to Tom to whisper.

"That is all I desire, Lady Redmane," the brunette says with sincerity. To Tom, she says, "I am truly sorry to have deceived you -- all of you. I had hoped that I might learn something that could help us without ... disturbing your lives. If I knew then what I do now, I would have asked for your help plainly. But I feared you would refuse, or not believe me, and then we would be worse off than before."

Alice looks back from Thomas to Elinor, to the others, and then back to Elinor. She looks about to say something until the others finish, and the girl's mouth hangs open for a moment before turns back to Agatha and asks in surprise, "Lord Mel?"

"That's who we came out here to find in the first place, Alice," Agatha reminds the girl. "I think I can trust a unicorn, and frankly I find it interesting that he's on his own instead of working for either House."

"Lord Protector Melchizedek is the Defender of the Realm," the faerie tells them. "He works for the King and Mirari, and no one else."

Tom mutters something to Simon.

"Oh," says the little girl. "I can't wait to meet him!"

Tom glances at Elinor, then Agatha and says, "I'm glad you didn't tell me anything, Agatha. I might've caused problems without even knowing it." He then looks at Alice. "Alice, this could be really dangerous. More so than climbing in that cave and I remember how scared you were. Perhaps we shouldn't pursue it, being someone's pawn in a game."

As the younger boy picks up the whisper, he stops short and looks at Tom aghast. "But ... We can't, it's not ... " He thinks a moment and then says in a low tone of voice to him, "What about Rebecca?"

"So, do we still need to go talk to that golem, or can you tell us all about it now, Elinor?" Agatha asks, then, more firmly, she says, "The Year's End has to be stopped. If we're the ones that can stop it, then I think we're obligated to try at least. I don't want Jruuh running all over the place."

Alice frowns again and lowers her head as Thomas speaks to her. She studies the ground at her feet a moment, then looks to the stuffed animal in her arms. "Lord Mel wouldn't give up," she protests meekly. Then a bit stronger, she adds, "I don't want to give up either. I play lots of games, and ... maybe we can make up our own rules too."

Tom shrugs and says softly to Simon, somewhat distracted by the ongoing conversation between the girls, "What about her? She'll be home at the end of the summer, right?"

"The figure back by the Siege of the Forest ... it's not a golem. I cannot be sure, but I believe it was a Scare Crow. I do not know why one was placed there, but it was most likely done by House October," Elinor tells Agatha. "Perhaps to deny the Siege to House April. I am impressed that Sir Tristan was able to call the Siege of Wind," she adds, almost as an afterthought.

Simon leans closer and whispers to Tom. "What if she's being held ... " He glances over to Elinor and trails off.

Tom twitches, saying nothing.

"So, they put it on our end of the Siege because April controls the Mirari side?" Agatha asks Elinor.

"Lady Nym -- Rebecca is safe and well," Elinor says, catching the exchange between the two boys. "She agreed to help House October as soon as we asked." Then, she nods slightly to Agatha. "Exactly."

"Is that where Rebecca learned to use magic? Oh, I bet Rebecca is so happy. We always used to play together and talk about castles and knights and magic," asks the blonde girl, frown fading.

"And we're supposed to accept and believe that, Elinor?" Tom asks, voice still cracking.

Elinor turns from him, to look at Alice instead. "Yes. I am sure she is delighted. It's what she's always wanted, to be a great sorceress. And she is a great sorceress." She glances back to Tom.

Agatha hmms, and looks at Simon suspiciously. "You weren't in Rebecca's vision about us facing The Year's End, Simon. Are you something other than you seem as well?"

The fey girl follows Agatha's glance to Simon, and she furrows her brow, looking at the boy.

"It's still questionable if I was as well, Agatha," Tom points out.

"I already know you're from another planet, Tom!" Agatha laughs.

Simon erks as Shadow starts to get edgy, perhaps picking up his owner's feelings, and tries to pet the cat's fur down. "I hope that doesn't mean I'm doomed to die or something! I hate being the comic sidekick who has to die so we know what a nasty guy the villain is."

"That's not what I mean," says Thomas, "The prophecy had two warriors. One would be you; the other could have been Tristan."

At that Alice giggles suddenly, the tension that had tainted her face and caused her to frown melting away like snow in the summer sun. She looks between the two boys as she talks aside to Elinor, leaning over and standing on her toes to whisper in to the dark-haired girl's ear.

Shadow calms again under the small boy's attentions, soothed into a quiet purring.

Alice lowers on her toes, then pauses, then quickly whispers something else.

A smile flits across Elinor's face briefly, only to vanish, replaced by a wan, sad expression. She nods in response to the blonde, squeezing her hand again, then releasing it. She's still looking at Simon, her eyes narrowed.

"I think I should take Shadow home," Tom says quietly.

"Does that mean you don't want to go check out the Scare Crow again, Tom?" Agatha asks.

"And do what?" Thomas asks softly, "Fight it off? Talk to it? Stare at it? We know what it is now. We know why it's there." He offers a weak smile. "Maybe ask it home for dinner?"

"Thomas ... " Elinor speaks his name with the same odd accent she's always had, but after that she just trails off, unsure what else to say.

Simon looks up at Tom. "I'll go with you," he offers.

"The woods are scary, Tommy," warns Alice quietly. She looks down at her little unicorn, then takes Lord Mel from under her arm and offers him reverently to Thomas. "Do ... do you want to take Lord Mel with you?"

Thomas then looks down at Alice, surprised, and smiles a little. "No, he should stay with his best friend, Alice. You need a protector, after all." Lastly, he looks at Simon, then over to Elinor, his brow arching up slightly in question.

Alice lowers Lord Mel and hugs him to her chest as best she is able with one hand. "Okay, Tommy," she says, nodding a little as if in understanding.

"I guess we don't need to pick up the horse then," Agatha says, looking to the ranch ahead.

"Seriously, I'm not sure there's much to gain in going back, unless you want to go into Mirari, I guess," Tom replies.

"I don't know that I can, actually," Agatha says. "It's true that you have to know the correct magic to work the Sieges, right, Elinor? It's not something that could be hit on by accident."

"The prophecy -- I did not make it up, Thomas. I was not lying to you when I said I could not recall my own words. It is something in you -- all of you -- that enabled me -- that enabled that to happen. And I believe the words spoken are true. You have the power to change the rules in Mirari, to change our ways to something better. Please, Thomas. I need your help, however shabbily I may have gone about asking for it," Elinor says at length, her words heartfelt. "Please do not turn your back on me, or my people, for the mistakes I have made."

The younger boy hunkers down a bit so that Tom can pick Shadow up comfortably. "That doesn't sound like the Tom I know, who couldn't leave the other side of a tree he'd seen in the distance unseen," he jests weakly. "Besides ... I don't want to walk home by myself."

"The Scare Crow will be there if we need to look at it," Agatha says, and shrugs. "I don't think it's dangerous to us; it's just there to keep the Siege from being used. I think the Angel in the Siege des Anges is sort of the same -- it keeps them from coming through there."

Alice's face screws up as she considers what Agatha says, then she asks, "I wonder if the statue is alive too? The that would mean it was listening to me!"

"The Sieges may only be worked by magic," Elinor says, choosing her words thoughtfully. "The rituals for bringing a mundane to Mirari are powerful indeed. But for ones such as you ... I do not know. Old tales speak of those who came to Mirari of their own power. There may be a way. As for the Scare Crow -- I think it will keep us -- even me -- out of the Siege of the Forest -- or try to. It is an indiscriminate ward."

Tom reaches down and pets Shadow softly. "Well, Simon," Tom says, "That's also when I didn't think there'd be a creature waiting to rip my head off on the other side." He pets over the cat slowly, then lifts Shadow from Simon's neck and hugs him. The cat mews in protest. He inhales softly, then looks over at Elinor. "I want to believe you. I really, really want to believe you. But what can we do? I mean, I'm just known for being the crazy one who would go into an abandoned house and face the 'boogey' men. That was back when I didn't believe in them. I don't want to see any of you hurt, either."

"And ... what do the minions want with the Jruuh?" Agatha asks. "We ran into Ryland at the Siege of Stone and Water, who sort of warned us about them. And April's cats left prints all over the place in the Jruuh's lair."

"Maybe there is a spell in Rebecca's spell book? Rebecca is a great sorceress," suggests the little blond hopefully.

"One for summoning unicorns, Alice?" asks Agatha.

Alice looks confused at the question, blinking. "Why wouldyou want to un-summon unicorns?"

"Oh, don't worry about me, you know what a coward I am," Simon says with a faint grin. "If any trouble comes up, I'll show it the back of my heels."

"We still need to find Lord Mel, Alice," Agatha says. "Are there any spells in that book that could do that?"

"No one of my house would harm you, Explorer," Elinor says, fervent. "And, little as I think of House April ... I do not think they would hurt you, either, much less kill you. Mirari may seem terrible and wondrous land, but violent as we may be, we do not value life so cheaply as that. We are not vyglari or jruuh." She breaks off at the last word, as if regretting the choice of comparisons.

"Bigwhatsits?" Agatha asks.

"I could look. But maybe we should just ask him?" Alicereleases Elinor's hand and pulls out Rebecca's spell book, opening it against her arm and placing Lord Mel to rest on her shoulder so she has both hands free. She begins turning pages. "Lord Mel came when I was in trouble. Aren't we in trouble now?"

"He came when jruuh were around you, Alice," Agatha says. "He wasn't on the island though."

"Vyglari," Elinor repeats, a trifle weakly. "They're ... ah ... bogeymen. Monsters that the Lord of Year's end uses in stories."

Alice says, "Oh, well that's true." She turns another page part way, leaving it in the air as she traces her eyes over a few words, then turns the page fully. "I always thought Lord Mel was with me ... I don't ... I don't know where he would be if he wasn't."

Tom pets shadow slowly. He looks over to Elinor and smiles weakly. "I guess we continue on, then," he says slowly, "After all, someone's gotta hang around and protect all of you anyway. Agatha can't do it alone." He then grins a bit more and shrugs. "Sorry, couldn't resist."

"Even worse than jruuh? Even worse than ... Tommy's jokes??" Agatha asks with feigned horror.

"Ha ha," replies Tom.

Elinor struggles with a smile. "Yes," she says. "But no one believes in them. Almost no one, I should say." She looks at the ground.

Simon looks relieved at Tom's declaration, then feigns mock-horror. "What? Tom's been joking? Now now, you know only the court jester is licensed to jest! You'll have to walk a straight line for that!"

"So you didn't believe in the jruuh either, until you came to this side?" Agatha asks Elinor.

Tom promptly sticks Shadow's side in Simon's face and mutters, "Oh, hush." Shadow glares up at Tom, tail swishing.

"Oof!" comes the younger boy's muffled response.

"If faeries have faerie tales, then is there a Siege beyond Sieges where ... double-faeries live?" muses Alice. Her eyes almost cross at the idea, or maybe it's at the complex diagram she is currently looking at.

The fey girl shakes her head. "No. I don't know that I believe now. But I am, now, much less confident about many things of which I once was sure."

"Those are both scary thoughts," Agatha says to Alice and Elinor.

Tom realizes. "Wait, I actually rescued a fey? From a bogeyman? Well, I sorta did, I guess." He scratches his head. "Now that's really hard to believe." He shrugs, "Ah well."

Elinor does giggle this time, and she nods to Tom. "You did!" she confirms. "As nearly as this faerie can tell, at any rate."

"Hey Tom, are you still cleaning out Mr. Kuning's basement?" Agatha suddenly asks, snapping her fingers as if remembering something.

"Just started on it, why?" asks Tom.

A few more pages flip, and Alice pauses. "I hope Rebeccaisn't mad I borrowed her spell book." She stops at a small illustration and leans closer to peer at the small words describing the scene.

"He's gonna be out of town for a bit, so I have the keys," Agatha tells Tom. "I'll be there in the mornings to feed the animals and let my brother's crew in, so if you show up, just come straight to the back door into the kitchen."

"Wanna call a dragon?" offers Alice. She points at the picture of what looks like a dragon battling a knight, then shoots Simon a look and sticks her tongue out. "And no jokes about what to call a dragon."

Simon peeks over Alice's shoulder at the scene with interest. "Of course not, everyone knows what you call a dragon!"

Tom hands Shadow back over to Simon, then looks directly at Elinor, then walks toward her and says, "I'd better keep an eye on her; she might be dangerous, or something. Or just accident prone." He glances over to Agatha briefly, "Why? What's up?"

Alice sticks her tongue out at Simon again, but shifts to show him the page anyway. "I don't think we need to call a dragon. Last time we called a dragon, he was Tommy, and every time a dragon comes someone has to rescue me," Alice says.

"Dragons?! Maybe later," Agatha says, somewhat shocked. "Oh, he just has some emergency to tend to, Tom."

The younger boy looks put-upon as he collects the cat again, and tries to re-drape him around his shoulders. He mutters something that sounds like "scratching post".

Elinor looks like she's definitely not going to ask about dragons. She smiles wanly at Tom, brushing a lock of loose hair away from her face. Reflexively, she unties the hair ribbon holding back her tresses, then gathers her hair together again to re-secure it.

Tom leans in and whispers something in Elinor's ear, then shrugs softly. He then quickly looks away and ahems, "No, why did you want me to stop by? Or would you rather I discuss it later?"

"Hey Elinor, are you really our age, or one of those ... uhh ... low court type elves that stay teenagers forever?" Agatha asks curiously.

Having book marked the dragon page, Alice returns to flipping pages. "Flip." Another page turns. "Skip." And another. "Flip." "Skip."

"In seasons passed, I am far younger than any of you," Elinor answers, her skin flushing slightly at Tom's whisper. She nods to him, telling Agatha, "But as you noted, time in Mirari passes differently. It is hard to draw comparisons."

Elinor turns back to the older boy, and brushes his arm with her finger tips, murmuring, "I would that I had managed it better, nonetheless, and I truly regret the deception."

"Rebecca always had nice handwriting," comments Alice idly as she turns pages. "I bet that's part of why she got to go to ... " She blinks in recollection. "... Fairyland."

Simon mutters something about "girls" to Shadow and looks dour.

Tom grins slightly and pats the hand as it brushes. "Well, it's not like I'm easy to tell such things to. Look how I dealt with the whole 'Lord Mel' issue," Tom says, "Don't worry over it. Just be honest from now on, okay?"

More pages turn in lazy arcs as Alice searches the book. "I had to stay after school," she grumps. "The Jruuh distracted me, so I got extra homework."

The fey girl looks relieved. "Okay," she answers, smiling again. "I ... I'm really not sure what we should do next," she continues, brushing absently at her hair again. "Ryland is to meet me in two days' time, to bring me a message from Mirari and relay my own back. If you like, I will ask for the Scare Crow to be moved from the Siege of the Forest, then."

Agatha snaps her fingers again. "Oh! There was something else Tristan told me about, a device that lets you see the true form of disguised creatures from Mirari! An Octokon or Optipus or something. It sounded like a camera. We should try to get a photograph of a jruuh, to see if they really aren't a trick by some other House."

Alice giggles a little at something Elinor says, covering her mouth and stopping her page turning for a moment.

As the children talk on the outskirts of the woods, some of Danzwyck's horses meander in the adjacent upper pasture. A bay mare snuffles at the ground, nosing through the tallgrasses, while her filly trots along the fence line. A pale grey gelding rubs his neck against a post not far from where the kids talk, ears flicking around.

Simon looks up at this with interest. "Have you got one, then?"

"Well, wouldn't that then allow the House April access? Would that be wise at this time?" asks Tom. He looks over to Agatha. "Well, there is that nest down in the cave. I could go back down and try to photograph."

"Does anyone have a camera?" Agatha asks, sounding hopeful. "Or know anyone who has one? There must a camera club at the High School."

Elinor nods to Tom. "I fear that, too. Even if I asked, the House might not be able to comply. T'would be safer to try the Siege of Stone and Water. I came through it without incident."

"Oh!" says Alice suddenly, having since stopped giggling. "That's Rebecca's camera! She called it an Opti- ... Opti-something."

Tom looks uncertain. "Uh ... all I have is a sextant."

"Sorry, not me," Simon avers, holding up his hands to show they're empty.

Elinor blinks a few times. "She had an Optikon?"

Agatha nods. "Yeah, that's it! An Optikon. She took it with her, though."

Tom looks at Elinor. "That cave isn't exactly safe. It's a steep climb."

The little girl nods a few times. "Yah, she asked her father for it and he let her take it with her to ... Fairyland. Maybe someone could bring it back? Maybe we should go get it."

"Maybe we should try a regular camera first," Agatha suggests.

"It looked like a regular camera," offers the little blonde. "Maybe we could borrow or buy one."

The filly wanders off, but the grey gelding rests his head against the top of the fence, eyes half-closed. Elinor nods slowly to Agatha and Alice. "If Rebecca's looked like this ... camera, and there are others available, than they may all serve the same function. Amazing!"

"I could ask my parents if they have one?" Thomas offers.

"Tom, can you talk to Ginny?" Agatha asks, trying to sound innocent. "She's in High School. Ask her if she knows anyone with a camera that also knows how to develop film ... or better yet, has a Land camera." She starts patting down her pockets automatically as the horse approaches, but doesn't remember if she gave all of her sugar cubes to Destre earlier or not.

Tom makes a choking noise at Agatha's comment. "You want me to talk to Ginny? You know she hates me!"

"Well, ask your parents then," Agatha says, digging into a front pocket of her jeans. "You could always make Ginny part of your fan club by inviting her to the Manor when Genji is working, you know."

"Girls," Simon offers by way of explanation.

Having offered the information she seemed to want to offer,Alice returns to the spell book. Her fingers wiggle over the edge of a page, then she turns it with a bit of a flourish. "It's maaaaagic."

"I suppose I could blackmail her, maybe. I could threaten to make sure Genji sees how she treats those younger than her or something," Tom mutters.

Agatha hmms at Alice, and retrieves a single, slightly smooshed lump of sugar to offer to the gelding. "More flies with honey, and so on, Tom. We should find a place for Alice to practice magic too."

"Or a bug-zapper," retorts Thomas, grinning.

Alice looks almost about to turn the page, the stops and appears to re-read it. She looks up from the book between Elinor and Thomas. "Elinor?"

Tom nods. "But yeah, I could ask her. I'll ask my parents first, though."

The grey horse leans over to lip at the cube, whuffling against Agatha's palm with his warm breath.

"Yes?" Elinor turns to the blonde.

Simon eyes the horse and sticks with petting Shadow, lest the horse decide to nibble on the cat. Or on his hair.

Agatha finally pays a bit more attention to the horse, trying to remember its name.

"Can ... can you come here and look at this?" requests the blonde girl. She holds the book out so the older girl can see, though tilts it so as to hide the pages from the others.

"Can I look too, Alice?" Tom asks.

The gelding doesn't look familiar, now that Agatha thinks about it. Maybe the Danzwycks got a new one, or are boarding the animal for someone else. He noses at her arm for more treats.

Alice looks up a bit. "Just a second, okay, Tommy? I want to see what Elinor thinks," the girl replies.

Agatha pats down her pockets again, and frowns ... then looks the horse in the eye. "That's not you, is it, Souhait?" she asks the gelding.Sighing, Agatha pats the horse on the nose. "Tricky, aren't you? I don't know how much you overheard, even."

The dark-haired girl looks from the book to Alice and back again. Without raising her eyes to meet Tom's, she turns the book in the blonde child's hands, so that the boy can see the spell. It is titled, in dense black script, To Compel the Truth from a Person..

The light grey animal bows his head to accept the pats, rubbing the top of his muzzle against her hand. Then he tries to reach his head down to her pockets to check for more sugar cubes.

Tom's brow goes up. He does a slight nod and walks over to them. He leans in and whispers, "Who did you have in mind?"

Checking her pockets again, Agatha searches for more treats -- mostly in an attempt to keep the horse distracted.

Elinor starts to answer, then looks over to Agatha and the horse by the fence as she's talking to it. Her eyes go wide and she takes a step backwards, only to stumble over a rock. "Waaaaaaagh!" she says, the startled sound beginning even before she trips.

Tom moves, trying to catch Elinor before she falls completely.

"YEOWP!" Simon looks surprised as Shadow digs his claws into the younger boy's flannel shirt, and whirls about to see the fall, while trying to get a good grip on the feline in order to extricate the claws with a minimum of bloodshed.

Alice, having been next to Elinor though having her handsfull, fumbles the spell book in her hand in a poor attempt at trying to reach for Elinor while being encumbered. It's all she can do to slam the book closed and catch it before it falls completely to the ground as she watches Elinor fall and Thomas go after her.

Agatha can only watch events unfold, as she's caught with both hands jammed deep into pockets.

"Whoa, Elinor, careful," Tom says, slipping in behind her in time to catch her weight as she falls backward. He eases her back up to her feet, then realizes he's holding Elinor. He decides to stay behind her a moment to let the redness in his face fade before the others see him. A few moments later, he pats her on the back and steps back to where he was. "Uh, nothing to see here, everything's fine?" he offers.

The faerie looks embarrassed, too, and not entirely sturdy. "That -- that's an April Knightsteed!" she exclaims, pointing to the rather ordinary-looking grey horse. He whuffles innocently, pivoting his ears.

"Uh ... are you okay Elinor?" Agatha asks, also looking a bit embarrassed. "Oh ... yeah ... this is Souhait. He sort of snuck up on us."

"A, huh, what?" asks Thomas.

The blonde straightens, brushing off a part of her dress that brushed the ground with a hand. She smiles brightly at both Thomas and Elinor, then her head turns to regard the horse.

Simon shakes his head. "You're just acting really strange, Tom," he says. He looks up at the horse, then at Agatha.

Agatha pats the apparent gelding on the side of the neck. "He's much bigger in real life."

Tom looks over at Agatha. He blinks, then rubs his eyes, then blinks again. "Uhhhh ... It's quite big already, Agatha," he stammers.

Alice looks over, and up, and up. "Wow!" she exclaims. She leaves the book closed for a moment, turning her interest instead to the gigantic horse. "Can I pet him too? Oh, can I, Agatha?"

"He's a Knightsteed!" Elinor repeats again, dumbfounded.

Tom looks over at Elinor and says, "Well, he looks nice, even if he is huge and white ... "

"Glowing white, even," Tom adds.

"Tristan's, to be exact," Agatha reminds Elinor. "So ... what can he do, besides cast a glamour?" To Tom, she arches her eyebrows. "You can see through his disguise now, too? Maybe he likes you."

Tom looks confused and asks, "He's disguised?"

Souhait whickers and rubs at Agatha's hand, then leans over the fence towards Alice. "But -- I didn't think you meant Tristan's Knightsteed!" The faerie girl still looks shocked. "I mean, I thought you meant, like, one of the horses from his stables or something."

"Up until now, you hadn't noticed him as anything unusual, Tom," Agatha points out. "Just another horse."

As the children look at the animal, they have an odd sense of double vision, as if seeing, for a moment, both the small grey gelding and the enormous white charger, in the same spot at the same time. In a way, it's a lot like playing make-believe with the inflatable sea monster.

Tom shrugs, "I don't pay that much attention to horses, uh." He looks at Elinor, then back at the horse. "I was concerned about something else."

Without hesitation, Alice reaches over to rub the knightsteed's muzzle and neck, the girl needing to stand on her toes and lean a great deal to even manage that. "He's a very pretty horse. But kind of blurry," she says.

Tom squints, then lightly smacks the side of his head. "You're right, Alice. Weird!" he comments.

Agatha grins. "Aren't you glad Elinor isn't using a disguise now? Imagine what she'd look like underneath!"

Simon looks up at the rather large horse. "Truly, it's a great honor, Agatha. Aren't knights supposed to be very attached to their steeds?" He grins mischievously and then nods his chin toward the stallion. "Unless Souhait did something like, um, decorating his floor at an inappropriate moment ... "

Tom grimaces at Agatha. "Not funny!"

Souhait neighs again, tossing his head, and then glares at Simon. He paws at the ground, meaningfully.

"I think that was a nay," Simon quips.

The blonde shifts, and lifts herself onto the fence, standing on one of the lower planks. "Oh, don't listen to Simon, he's always like that," she assures the horse.

"I think you made him mad, Simon. He'll probably turn you into a toad," Tom jokes.

Agatha pats the stallion again, "Oh, I'm sure they're very close, Simon. Souhait is here to spy on me, aren't you, boy?" This last she asks of the horse, of course.

Elinor giggles. "See, if I were using a glamour, it would look like that. Once you know what to look for in a glamour, they're not that hard to see through, unless the worker is very skilled. Only the shape-shifters are truly convincing."

"What would you see if you saw a shape-shifter through an Optikon though?" Agatha asks.

The white horse gives Agatha a hurt look, and reaches for her pockets in a motion that says distinctly, "No, I'm here to get more goodies."

"See," says Alice. "Faeries like treats."

"The truth," Elinor says promptly. "An Optikon can see through all fey disguises, no matter the kind or the skill."

Tom hmms and looks at Elinor, asking, "Could that girl I met be a shape-shifter? She didn't look blurry, nor did the cat."

Alice pauses, tilting her head. "I should ask my mom to bake Ryland some cookies for when he visits in a few days."

"Bragwaine?" asks Simon.

Agatha manages to find a few more crumbs for the insistent horse. "Well, Souhait is stuck here now I think, with the Siege of the Forest being blocked off."

Tom nods. "Bragwaine."

Elinor pauses. "Bragwaine? In truth, I am not sure. She might be. You said she had the look of Alice -- blond hair and blue eyes -- and the form of a cat. She made me wonder greatly if she were not some servant of April, for they have that look, and they love cats."

Souhait gives a snort that suggests he's not stuck any where, but he will stay put as long as he gets more treats. He inhales the remaining bits, then proves his loyalty by not leaving in search of clover or fallen apples.

Tom shrugs slightly. "Just an odd thought. What's weird is, she knew of the Golden Hawks. Then again, so did you. I thought I made that name up."

"Ms. Meow looks like me?" asks Alice. She turns away from the giant horse as she asks the question, though she continues petting.

Tom waggles his hand and replies, "Kinda."

"Many of the lords and ladies of House April have that look -- fair hair, pale skin, and blue eyes," Elinor adds.

"Hey Souhait, do you know Lord Mel?" Agatha asks, gesturing to Alice's stuffed unicorn. "Seen him around lately maybe?"

"Oh, okay." Alice nods. "It would be very strange having kitty-people looking like me." Her nose wrinkles at the idea.

"She's as silly as you can be, Alice," Tom says with a grin.

Souhait bows his head for a moment, pawing at the ground. He looks briefly agitated, shaking his head from side to side.

Simon scratches under Shadow's chin. "You're just making us curious about her, you know?" he says with a grin.

Helpfully, Alice removes her hand from the horse's neck and reaches to pick Lord Mel up from her shoulder and show him to the giant stallion. "I want to meet Ms. Meow some day."

Agatha hmms, and asks the stallion, "If you were a unicorn, where would you go around here? We need to find Lord Mel."

"Or maybe I should call her Lady Meow, since she is from a house," considers the blonde.

"Might be from a house," Tom corrects.

"Why call her anything if she's a cat?" Agatha asks. "It's not like they come if you call them."

"Mystery Meow!" The blonde giggles a little. "And, well ... I don't know. They don't mind what you call them either? And I like 'Ms. Meow'."

The stallion takes a step back from the fence, whickering. He looks southeastward, meaningfully, first in the direction of the town, and then turning in the direction of the clearing they just came from, as if indicating the two Sieges, one in the town and the other in the forest.

Tom leans over and whispers to Elinor, "The horse seems pleasant enough. You kinda make them sound evil."

"It's not that they're ... evil. It's just.... They're very intelligent and potent beings. And dangerous. And this one works for House April," Elinor replies. She speaks quietly, but makes no special effort to keep the others from hearing.

"He'd be at Siege des Anges or Siege of the Forest then?" Agatha asks the horse.

"Well," begins Alice as she looks off to the first direction. "The last time I saw Lord Mel he was at school, where I found his hair on the statue. Maybe ... Lord Mel is in town, and is hiding with a gl- ... glamour."

The horse whuffles and rests the tip of his muzzle on top of Agatha's head. No, he's gone back through a Siege, the animal somehow seems to mean.

"But he can pass through Siege des Anges when he wants to?" Agatha asks Souhait, and brushes down her floofed hair.

Tom whispers back very softly, "And I want to hear about your house sometime. But that's later ... " He looks up and says, "I suppose that's possible." He shrugs half-heartedly, looking totally lost. He's used to trees, not magic.

"But ... isn't the Siege de Anges sealed off?" asks Alice.

"No, glamours aren't that potent, generally, and Lord Melchizedek is not an expert with them. He couldn't be disguised as anything. Perhaps as a normal horse, or as a statue of one. But he could not make himself appear to be, say, a human, or a cat, or what-have-you," Elinor answers. "The Siege de Anges isn't blocked to all folk of Mirari -- it's the royal Siege. The King and his servants have traditionally had use of it."

"Um, what if that scarecrow was Mel, in disguise," Tom offers, then realizes what Elinor said and says, "Guess not."

"That's good to know," Agatha says. "We'll have to leave a message for him there."

Elinor adds, "For a while, the King allowed all of the Houses access to the Siege des Anges, but when he vanished, the Queen ordered the Siege closed to all traffic save her own people -- even to House April."

"So we need to look carefully at all the horses we see ... " Simon groans, and gestures to the number of horses roaming the Danzwyck ranch. "People will think we've gone nuts about horses. Or wonder why we're giving them fishy looks when they're out riding."

"The Scare Crow wouldn't try to stop Lord Mel, would it?" Agatha asks while scratching Souhait's chin. "And, it would be easier to let Souhait keep an eye out for odd horses I think."

"Maybe Lord Mel was that horse at Mr. Kuning's house. I was in the basement, and, ... " Alice wraps an arm around Lord Mel and hugs him again. "I thought I heard noises, ghosts, so I ran to the basement to hide and I really wished Lord Mel was there and then I heard a horse. And Mr. Kuning said it was his maybe, but maybe it was also a glamour."

"I don't think the Lord Protector is out wandering around in a field somewhere," Elinor says, and Souhait gives a whicker that appears to support her.

Tom rubs his neck and grins. "Agatha should be able to spot him. She's obsessed with horses." Tom then adopts a thoughtful look. "When was this, Alice?"

"Not long ago. I went with my brother Gabriel to help clean up Mr. Kuning's house, but Mr. Kuning said I was too little," answers the young blonde.

"Destre is a smart horse, but I don't think he's a unicorn," Agatha notes, but adds, "Although, he is black."

Tom wanders over to Simon and pets Shadow. "I'm completely lost, how about you?" he asks Simon.

"Lost," confirms Simon.

"My brother might be a monster," suggests Alice, though with a bit of a giggle that ruins any appearance of being serious about it. "Maybe we should take a picture. I bet there are monsters who go around messing up hair and calling people 'squirt'."

"Right," Tom says with a nod, then looks at Simon again. "Maybe it's a girl thing."

"Maybe I should bring Souhait to the manor stable for the time being," Agatha suggests. "I may be staying the night there every few days, and he can keep an eye on Destre for me, who tends to wander around."

Alice sticks her tongue out at Thomas, then asks, "Can I meet Ms. Meow when you see her again, Tommy?"

The younger boy nods again to Tom. "I've noticed you get awfully strange around ... " He lifts his chin toward Elinor, then grins. "Maybe we need to talk to this Lord Mel. He might have some horse sense about the whole thing!"

Souhait neighs in a way which appears to suggest he's in favor of the idea. The faerie girl looks at the Knightsteed in rather the same way Tom was looking at her an hour or two ago.

Agatha looks from Souhait to Elinor, and gestures to the faerie to come over. "He won't bite you. Will you, Souhait?"

"Sure. If I see her again, that is," replies Thomas, "I may not. Who knows anymore? Things are so weird! Maybe I need to be committed."

Simon grins. "What asylum would take you? I think you're stuck with us."

For his part, the Knightsteed shows no interest in biting Elinor. Apparently she doesn't look as tasty as a sugar cube. The faerie girl approaches cautiously, and the horse whuffles at her in a harmless fashion. "I guess he's not as bad as the cats," she admits.

The youngest of the girls places Lord Mel back on her shoulder to free a hand, then reaches over to ruffles up the Knightsteed's mane with a stretch. "See? He's a nice horsey." She smiles back at Elinor.

Tom covers his face with his hands. "Great, I'm doomed."

"Don't worry, Tom, if it gets too much to bear, Alice can find a spell to turn you into a pony!" Agatha jokes.

"I can turn him in to a mouse," offers Alice, who seems enthralled with the petting of the horse that utterly dwarfs her.

"I'd rather have my brain stuffed into a bird," Tom mutters, shaking his head. "Doomed."

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This site serves as a chronicle of sessions in an online roleplaying campaign moderated by Conrad "Lynx" Wong and May "Rowan" Wasserman. The contents of this site are (c) 2001, 2002 by Conrad Wong and May Wasserman except where stated otherwise. Despite the "children's fantasy" theme of this campaign, this site is not intended for young readership, due to mild language and violence.