In order to pass through the Fae Woods and return home before the attacking army, Alissa must make an appeal to the Fae, what will be asked of her in return and what will she be willing to sacrifice?
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Alissa grunted as she nearly tripped on a root, the 'trail' she was being led down seemed little more than a small game trail rather than something intended to be used by humans. Solid footing was hard to come by and her bulky armor didn't help matter either.
Not that her guide seemed to mind, the little satyr Fae creature bounded along, almost constantly calling out "Follow the path, follow the path!" If a rather grating sing-song tone. Alissa had nearly tried to get him to stop it, but just as she opened her mouth to speak she found that she was no longer on the trail, fortunately Alissa was able to catch up thanks to the little fae's sing-song repetition so she held her tongue, and made sure to pay more attention and avoid further distraction.
The Fae Woods might seem innocuous from the outside, but all manner of strange, powerful and frightening creatures called it home so people with any sense avoided it at all costs. Even those foolish enough to tempt fate never delved deep before turning back or winding up lost or
worse.
Unfortunately Alissa and her group had no choice, they had just barely managed to rescue Prince Amarus from the Tyrant's kidnappers, the prince was wounded but not severely, so he wasn't at risk of dying thankfully. Unfortunately he also wasn't in any shape to travel long distances.
Normally that wouldn't be a problem, the outer edges of the Amarus Kingdom were perhaps a little rough and tumble but they'd have had no problem getting to the capitol. Unfortunately the Tyrant had started to march his army towards the Amarus Kingdom as soon as he'd gotten word that his kidnappers had succeeded, and if Alissa was to return the Prince to the capitol in time to rally the defenders, they would need safe passage through the Fae Woods.
They had made camp a little way within the forest, they fashioned a makeshift flag of parley in the hopes of seeking an audience with someone who would grant them passage through the woods. Dusk had barely fallen when a Doe-headed Fae stepped out from behind a tree as if suddenly appearing. Alissa had explained their need to the creature as it cooked its head to the side eerily.
"I cannot grant you passage." It declared, turning its gaze upon each of Alissa's group before returning to Alissa before continuing, "You alone will be guided to the Fae Council and they will decide your group's fate."
The others started to object but Alissa waved them back. "I am this group's main warrior and the rest must tend to the Prince, can you guarantee their safety while I am gone?" Alissa returned the Doe-faced Faes steely gaze, her face hard with determination to see this through.
It nodded after a few seconds, "We will see to your group's safety." It announced as six more doe-faced fae stepped out from behind assorted trees, these fae were armed with bows and other assorted weaponry. The Prince's temporary safety secured Alissa left to delve deeper into the Fae Woods guided by the small satyr.
That was over an
hour
ago and Alissa's optimism had started to wane when suddenly she nearly stepped on the satyr as it stopped moving. Looking around Alissa noted this area of the forest seemed to be home to some very large redwoods and they had stopped right in front of a small gap between two large trunks.
Looking down at the satyr it held its hand up, opening and closing its hand as if it were a child wishing to hold its parent's hand. Alissa saw no reason not to do so and squatted down in order to reach. As she grasped its hand Alissa was suddenly overcome with a wave of vertigo, as if she had suddenly moved without moving. A headache threatened to form but Alissa closed her eyes and mentally centred herself to overcome her body's reaction.
When she opened them again she found herself in a grand hall, the little satyr now gone. It seemed as though the room had been
grown
, many types of plants and trees that Alissa could never hope to name grew and intertwined across the room, giving it colour and texture unlike anything she had ever seen before.
Along an arc of the hall were a dozen chairs of varying sizes that nonetheless let all the occupants sit at the same height. Each one seemed to have been grown and shaped from a different type of tree and each was decorated with a specific type of blooming flower.
Most curiously though was that most of the chairs were empty, in fact of the twelve before Alissa only
two
were occupied, one on the right near the centre and one on the left about halfway to the edge. The chairs were all of equal height, but given how the chairs closer to the centre were decorated with more flowers than those closer to the edge signalled some form of seniority?
Alissa mentally chided herself for not paying more attention during assorted meetings regarding the Fae, she was a warrior and there were many in the kingdom that were better suited to such fraught negotiations but Alissa was here now and had to do the best she could.
Of the two Fae sat before her, the rightmost one was the most...imposing, Alissa assumed it was at least 7ft tall, given it seemed to be some form of dyrad it was hardly surprising. Though it was difficult to discern whether it was a tree-shaped humanoid or a Humanoid-shaped tree. Its hair was little more than a series of vines grouped in a series of bundles and loosely braided and wearing only a simple beige tunic.
The Fae to the left was smaller, possibly slightly shorter than Alissa herself but her rabbit features made it hard to tell her exact height. Her tall rabbit ears were covered in short light brown fur, though her face looked very human. As Alissa's gaze moved lower the fae's her rabbit features became more prominent, her wide hips and thighs ending in powerful looking rabbit legs. She only wore a small embroidered vest, her short fur growing in about halfway down her stomach provided some form of modesty at least.
Adjusting from her awkward squat to bowing down on one knee Alissa hung her head as she addressed the two fae. "Greetings, I am Alissa, Royal Guard of the Amarus Kingdom, and..."Alissa began but was interrupted by the centermost fae.
"You need not be so formal Alissa, as you can see only the two of us out of the entire Fae Council were able to attend this summons given the short notice." The dryad waved their arm towards the only other council member, "Fortunately for you and your group your request is not one that requires
full
Council approval." the dryad informed her as she rose to a standing position.
"You may address me as Stonebark, I tend to the forest's largest trees and ensure their health and growth." Stonebark informed her before motioning towards the other fae, "And this is Maple Surefoot, she oversees our livestock and farms." Maple nodded, concluding the introductions.
"Now our scouts already told us who you are and your goals within these woods, it is unusual for anyone to even think of asking for passage, let alone directly seeking full parley." Stonebark's tone seemed more inquisitive than suspicious, as though they had been presented with a puzzle to be solved.
Alissa took a deep breath and mentally centred herself quickly, she truly wished to avoid causing an issue here. "It is as the scouts said Stonebark, we managed to rescue the Prince from his kidnappers, but with his injuries and the Tyrant's forces' head start the only way for us to return to our kingdom prior to it being destroyed is to pass through your forest." Alissa did her best to pay respect and lay out as many details as possible as she re-explained the situation.
Stonebark's gaze was stiff, Alissa found it difficult to discern any emotion from their face as they contemplated her words.
"If your Kingdom is incapable of defending itself without its prince, should it not be destroyed then? Is your Kingdom so dependent on a single individual?" Stonebark's tone was not accusatory but less inquisitive now. Alissa had to answer carefully, she pondered her options for a moment before answering.
"Our Kingdom
is
more than capable of functioning without the Prince in it's regular day to day activities, but preparing for war and countering an assault is something difficult to practise for, requiring the direct oversight of leadership." Alissa countered. Stonebark leaning back into their chair as she spoke, were they enjoying this?
"So what have we to gain from allowing your group passage, we have no allegiance to uphold with your kingdom." Stonebark back stated flatly, Maple nodding her own head. Alissa sighed mentally, she recalled an old...companion, he was the very talkative type, bombastic and grand in all he did. Ultimately they were a poor match and she hadn't seen him in close to a decade, but he said something that had stuck with her ever since.
"Ali, stop trying to explain yourself, you'll get nowhere like that." he admonished her, "When someone expects you to make
them
care for some cause, they care little for what
you
care for, they are only interested in why
they
should care." He'd explain, and Alissa's assorted dealings in the years since had always proved him right.
Alissa stepped forward, adopting an aggressive stance, "Because the Tyrant will not settle for the Amarus Kingdom, he means to conquer all peoples." Alissa dipped into her anger, thinking of all those the Tyrant and his people have killed, maimed, or worse. "And those he cannot conquer? Those who resist? He decimates them, first the people, and then the land, both for his own enjoyment, and to set an example for any other who don't submit to him." Alissa glowered at Stonebark as she laid out the dark truth of Tyrant.
Alissa relaxed her posture, "You are of course correct in that we do not have a proper allegiance, but you need not an allegiance to protect yourselves from future turmoil." Alissa exhaled deeply, letting the tension flow from her body.
