2023.04.08 PRP: Seriously? A Pooka?

2023.03.12 Seriously? A Pooka?
A merchant has lost one of his assistants and needs a group of 'Adventurers' to go find him!
IC Date	04.08.23
Players	Dasia, Wulfra, Kieran, Peri - ST Sark
Location	The Lost in Time Market, and into the Dreaming
Spheres	Changeling, Bygone

Peri comes around the fountain nimbly from the eastern part, making her way toward the north on a skateboard. The Knight needs no horse, it seems, just her well-loved plank. She calls out, "Make a hole!," laughing as she zooms from east toward north, veering toward the fountain's edge. Alas, she's forced to zoom a different way as a troll steps into her path; she bails off the board, tumbles in midair, and lands on her feet right in the fountain's water, grinning. "Oops," she says unrepentantly.

Wulfra is sitting close to Kee on the fountain, wearing her black and gold striped sweater with a more sensible pair of black pants this time. She's given herself *pointy ears* in order to be just a *bit* less conspicuous in this space, though she still wouldn't be seen as anything more than some unknown kind of Denizenj. She's mostly just looking around with sparkling wonder at everything, taking it all in, basking in the atmosphere.

Kieran twists to avoid the splash as the sk8rgrrrl lands in the fountain, but she's laughing as it happens. "Hey, careful... you never know when there'll be a kraken in there!"

Peri laughs and climbs out of the fountain with a flourish, and sketches a bow toward Kee (and Wulfra by connection), adding, "My apologies if I disturbed you ladies. The Market is safe from Krakens at the moment. At least, that I've seen!" She retrieves her skateboard and straps it across her back on a lightweight backpack for that purpose, seeming readily amused.

Wulfra, watching the strange skater approach from quite far away, had already scooched over enough to not be in the immediate splash zone. She tilts her head a bit. "Krakens? I do not think a body of water big enough for one could fit in this market... unless I am missing something quite big."

Dasia is here! Why? Eshu gonna esh, she was wandering through to do something, and oh look, there is a Kieran and some new people that the Princess has not yet had time to meet. Today she is in Prada, her heels luckily high, but sensible for the chaos that is likely to soon unfold. "Who said what about viscious tentacle monsters?" she asks, microbladed brow arched, the corners of her lips quirked up in bit of a smirk, but does not reach the eyes. It NEVER reaches her eyes. That way lies madness. And Grump-dom.

Kieran laughs, shrugging, "Maybe not out there, Wulfra..." she gestures vaguely in the direction(?) of Autumn... and no, nobody knows what direction that is, so it's kind of a vague 'thataway' wave... "But here? Maybe it's deeper once you're in the water..." She shifts the guitar's position a bit, and offers the somewhat damp sidhe her hand. "I'm Kieran."

The Market is fairly busy, as is probably usual, especially considering the recent change in leadership - visitors from elsewhere coming around to spread their resources and try to impress each other, sidhe to be fleeced...I mean, customers with more money than good sense! Yes. Thats it. Some merchants are fixtures here and can be seen at the same place all the time, and might even have a reputation for selling excellent items, while other are almost as transitory as some of the customers. Smiths offering weaponry, boggans and nockers with their latest creations in clothing and trinkets, and of course, the smell of wonderful, lovely edibles of more mundane, and supernatural varieties.

And then there's Cranky Pants. The nocker is maybe 4 feet tall and wiry enough he might actually blow away in a strong wind, and of course, he looks cranky. Well-maintained workshop overcoat with tight stitching and bright silver buttons and filigree work, down to the pantalons to match and typical pointed boots that have been polished to a bright shine complete his own look. Almost stomping his way through the crowds, he checks faces and gives people a once-over as if he was looking for something in particular. When his gaze lands on Kieran and Peri and Wulfra and Dasia at the fountain, he stops, considers for another moment, and starts towards the fountain.

Peri hrms. "Well, maybe a *mini* Kraken. A little bitty baby Kraken." She holds her fingers a few inches apart to demonstrate. "Just a wee little sprout." A pause. "They don't really become a threat when they're that small, though, so we'll have to make sure the little guy grows up big and strong. And maybe we could recruit him for freehold defense." The silver-blonde Sidhe turns toward Dasia and grins, heedless of wrinkles. Ah, the folly of youth. She takes the proferred hand and says, "Peri. The full name has footnotes, so I'll just say it once and get it over with. Dame Astraleigh Peregrine ni Fiona. So yeah, just Peri." She shakes with a comfortably firm grip, and regards the Clurichaun with an amused look that seems like her norm. "Good to meet you! And you, Miz..." She looks to Wulfra, having not yet spotted the Eshu. When she turns, she spots both Dasia and Cranky Pants, and huhs. "He doesn't look very happy," she says with a knowing air. She smiles to Dasia, though, since the approaching woman seems to know her new acquaintances.

Wulfra mumbles the Sidhe's name to herself after she says it, her face betraying a slightly dumbfounded look, evidence of her being out of her element. She lets out a sigh to right herself before looking to the Sidhe again with a slight smile. "I am Wulfra. Just Wulfra." Her eyes focus on the fanciful garb, trying to take in the many symbols, before her gaze is stolen by the approaching others. She tilts her head a bit at Dasia, face going a bit sour, but pulls herself into a neutral position before they arrive.

The Eshu puts a hang on her chest, fingers splayed out kind of wide and lightly touching the voile dreamspun in the designer fashion. Kind of, sort of, pointing at herself. "Damawiy Nasrin, niece of the Sultana Talitha al-Hajr and heir to Al-Ahlam Alealiqa." A pause. "But ICE is full of a bunch of asshats, so unless it's a particularly formal occasion, just 'Dasia' is fine."

Kieran turns to follow Peri's gaze, and nods, "Yeah, that's just Dasia. Don't worry, she /never/ looks happy. I think she's worried it'll make her look old or something... oh you meant the /other/ guy..." She smiles brightly up at Cranky Pants as he arrives, and nods. "Hi there! How t'fuck you doin?"

Peri wells and extends a hand toward Wulfra as well. "It's good to meet you, Wulfra," she asserts, with a level of certainty, not quite sure what the Bygone *is*, really, but open and friendly enough to be welcoming anyway. "And you, Dasia," she adds as the Eshu introduces herself. The cheerful sidhe is armed with a skateboard across her back and a sword at her side, and at Kee's greeting to the man, turns and awaits the input of the Cranky Panted One.

As Cranky approaches, he slows down and sized up the four that seem to be interacting, pausing a moment before speaking (Hey at leas he has enough etiquette to not interrupt, right?) He scowls a bit and looks at Dasia and Kieran, "Hey. I know you two, you're summa those 'go out and find trouble and fuck with it' types. I seen you before. I got trouble I need dealt with. Im not fuckin' rich, but I can offer you some trade if you c'n help me out." Eyeing Wulfra and Peri for a moment longer, he rolls a shoulder, "Offer's open to alla ya if yer intrested. Four'll be better'n 2. Least I fuckin hope so."

Wulfra shakes the Sidhe's hand firmly, pulling back and turning to look at the Cranky man. She side-eyes Kee and Dasia a bit, as if connecting that they know each other and seem to have an... interesting... relationship, but turns back to stare at the man once he mentions the offer being open. "...I will do whatever Kieran does. Could certainly be... interesting."

LUCKILY, payment for services rendered does not qualify as a 'gift', as far as the Wyrd is concerned, so Dasia has no hang-ups with the idea of getting paid to go on a quest. To Peri, the Bluenette just purses her lips, eyes... not *narrowing*, but. Maybe a little. "Charmed, I'm sure." And then her attention is back on Cranky and his sales pitch. "While you are not wrong, our services aren't exactly 'cheap', either," she says. Maybe Kee will play along. "So it's going to depend on both what it is you want, and what you're offering." Shouldn't a Princess show some noblesse oblige or whatever? She certainly isn't.

Kieran nods amiably toward Cranky Pants. And to the Nocker, as well. "What's the deal, Taskmaster? We gotta go off on some mission of derring-do? Save a princess from a dragon? Save a dragon from a princess? Maybe kick the snot outta Shrek cuz he owes you money?"

Peri ahas! "Trouble! Well, good fellow, I'm here to help!" She seems to mean this literally. Oh, lawd, she paladin-in'. One has to wonder if she's always this... shiny. She doesn't even seem offended by Dasia's demi-cut-direct. Maybe that's how this Sidhe deals with it. Or maybe she's just too convinced of the world's wonder to take it as intended. The bargaining, though... that makes *Peri* narrow her eyes. "Is it a matter of urgency, sir?" Oh no, she's about to volunteer, isn't she...

The nocker grunts at the answers and points back down the east end of the Plaza to a blue and purple and red canopy tent with a couple of tables set up underneath it, "I'm Noogle. I work on creating tonics and shots that'll cure yer problems, but in order to make em, I need the materials, and its gotta be the right materials. So I hire wilders that wanna go out and Be Someone to collect em for me, and they keep everything else the find." He pauses and scowls, "So I fucked up, and I hired on a damned pooka. Knew I shouldta'd, floppy ears was gonna get distracted and forget what the hell I sent him out for. But now its been an entire day and the scrufbutt hasnt come back. Im no softie, but Im not gonna let someone say I sent one of us off to something that killed em. So...if I give you the directions I gave him to a couple of the harvesting spots I need, you mind going to check all three and see if mushbrain is out there playin tiddlywinks with bunnies? If so, kick his butt and tell him to get back here. If you dont find him, well, aint nuthin can do about that, but I'll still be cranky."

He pauses, "If ya can do this for me, I'll grant ya either a couple things of yer choice from my shop, or I got a little dross I'll throw in for it. Your choice. You intrested?" He pauses, then adds, "Like ah said, I aint rich. And I dont feel bad enough about this to pay through m'fuckin nose for a Pooka, either."

Wulfra's eyes narrow a bit at Kee as she makes her silly comments, but she doesn't add to the negotiations. "Pooka..." she mumbles under her breath, crossing her arms and letting out a huff from her nose, piecing together what she can while letting the others do the deciding.

It sounds like a lot of work, and while stories and journies and adventures all call and are amazingly fun and all... Dasia is also a lazy-butt at heart. So she gives a little huff and a shrug as if being put upon is some kind of sisyfean feat. And crossfitting a boulder up a hill over and over again would be HORRIBLE for her manicure.

But also... there is SWAG on the table. And SWAG... well. Is SWAG. It changes everything. "Some pooka are fine, but you said it's a rabbit pooka?" she asks. "They probably passed out after just... jumping the first pretty little thing that fluttered some eyelashes at 'em."

Kieran says, "You're in luck! We happen to have with us one of the finest trackers in the Nine Realms!" The what now? "So you give us those directions, tell us as much as you can about 'floppy ears'... like what /kind/ of pooka he is, maybe?" After all, he just said 'long ears'. Could be a donkey! "And we'll have him back here just in time for you to totally give up, write us all off for dead, and start panicking about how you're going to explain losing two Knights and a close, personal Person-of-Interest to several powerful Duchesses and their underwear drawers... and, you know, me, too."

Wait, was that supposed to be about Wulfra?"

Peri hears Kee's fast-talk and bites back a giggle at that comment about the panties -- then looks speculatively at Wulfra. Interesting! She smiles at the Nocker and says, "My word as a Knight of Fiona that I will do my best to find your wayward Pooka! Can you tell us more about him, and the locations?" Was that... *shade*...? Nah, couldn't be. Too nice. Right?

Wulfra gives a very unamused stare. "Errrh... yes... I think we are good on the talking. Let us go find this... Pooka." Wulfra says, getting up and ready to shove off to wherever.

Noogle nods and fishes out a little scroll from his coat pocket and hands it over, "He's a rabbit, names Fuzzy, but, you know, Pooka, so maybe his real name's Rumple-fuckin-stiltskin, who knows. He at least ANSWERS to Fuzzy." He pauses and sighs, "There's three spots I have my helpers check for me. All of them are a little off the path, but each has a landmark nearby that, if you keep that in sight, you dont get lost in the Dreaming over it. So, yanno, just dont lose track of it. The first is a purple mushroom patch that grows slumbershrooms. The second is a waterfall that the bloodmoss I use grows around. And the third is a bog that rotworms live in. If you check all three and don't find him? Just...come back and swear to me ya found nothin, and Im good to my word, I'll pay ya anyway. And if all of ya go out and dont come back, Im going to the guard, cause shit aint right if a buncha competent fae go missin." Oh hey, he called everyone COMPETENT. Thats pretty high praise from a nocker.

Dasia kind of just... points at Noggle, and gives Keiran a satisfied smirk at that. "See? Bunny." Such wisdom from the Eshu! She purses her lips in thought, though, at the rest of everything. "Do you happen to have a little packet of seeds?" she asks. "Maybe... Roses? If not, no big deal, but better to be prepared, and everything."

Kieran nods, "Ok, so... where do we find these locations?"

Peri shows Kieran the scroll that Noogle handed over, and unrolls it to let everyone see, especially the Eshu, who's the most likely guide in this. She smiles at the query, as if she has any idea why Dasia is asking. She doesn't.

Wulfra takes a look over the scroll-map, tilting her head a bit. "Oooh... I like maps. And... should not need to worry about getting lost. I can scout out where we are from anywhere if need be..." she says, obviously quite curious about these fae locales.

Noogle leans over the scroll and taps, a wiry, clawed fingernail on it, to show its a hand-drawn map of the surrounding area, with three spots marked in detail, "Got references for each one sos ya dont get lost. Each one's about a half hour or so. Aint that far, but I cant go leavin my shop unattended to do it m'self." When Dasia mentions rose seeds, he looks confused for a moment then nods, "Sure, yeah, I probably got some. Welcome to em if it'll help?"

"I can't tell you if the seeds will help or not, until we do or don't run into trouble," Dasia says. Ominous. Vague. SUITABLY Eshu. "I'll count them towards my bid of the payment, seems fair enough." And then she turns to glance over the map, already ticking off mentally where each of the reference points are. And she frowns. ALMOST deep enough for wrinkles. Must be a real problem. "This can't possibly be to scale," she grumbles. Shakes her head, even! "No wonder Fuzzy got lost." She gives a not entirely untheatrical sigh, and squints at the map. "Yeah. Yeah, I can work with this. The Bloodmoss should be quickest to get first... if it's the waterfall I think it is, we'll have less doubling back to do if we go there first, instead of second." A pause. "Or last, I guess. We could go there last."

Kieran nods, "Well... ok, then." She sighs and gets herself packed up, making sure her rapier is hitched at her belt. "Let's go save the world... or... a bunny, I guess?"

Peri smiles at them all, and shifts her tabard, arranging the scabbard on her belt to make the blade easier to draw. She does *not* unstrap the skateboard from her back for the moment, apparently deciding it's best to walk. "Ready whenever," she says brightly.

Wulfra glances over Dasia's shoulder, ready to follow. "Well, if you think it is that simple... you lead the way. It does not particularly matter what it first or last to me."

Noogle nods and offers to go back and get the seeds for Dasia, before grunting at the group, "Like I said, you find him, kick him in the butt and tell him he's not gonna get paid if I gotta hire folks to go find him. Damnit." The nocker sighs, shakes his head and stomps his way back to his tent, leaving the four to head off on their own.

Indeed, from the looks of the map, each of the locations is about a half hour treck, so that simply leaves the choice: Mushrooms, Waterfall, or Bog?

"Yeah, yeah, ninja-kick the damn bunny, we got it," Dasia says. Half an hour to each, but the triangle is not equilateral. The Waterfall is a the long end of an almost isosceles triangle... maybe scalene. This is why you don't drop out of school right after your chrysalis, kids! You learn about geometry! So it's definitely higher up on her list of 'what go to first'... and in fact, she's already started to lead the way off towards it, the little packet of seeds slipped into one of her pockets.

Peri is game to follow for the moment, asking, as they move on, "Why're you so annoyed? It's not like he asked us to go slay a wyvern or something." Good thing she didn't say 'dragon,' huh? She shrugs and offers a game smile to the group, keeping pace easily.

Wulfra, as she walks with the gorup towards the first locale, keeps her eyes peeled and focused on the surroundings like a good scout. She does, however, pop up a line inbetween some of her watchering, quite quiet in tone. "...Why is it always big scaled draconic things used as examples..." she mumbles, capped off with a small huff.

Triangle or no, the path is mostly clear and the map seems to be pretty accurate, as the landmark it says to look for is a giant pink rock that stands out like a sore thumb. Fortunately, the sound of the waterfall can be heard from the rock itself, so it doesnt take long to find the falls and the little lake they feed into. The water is crystal clear, and just like Noogle mentioned, the cliff face that the water spills down is covered in bright red moss, making it appear like the stone itself is bleeding. (Do please give me a Perc + Alert at 7?

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Kieran rolls Perception + Alertness vs 7 for 0 successes. 3 3 4 5 5 6 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============-------------> <---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Dasia rolls Perception + Alertness vs 7 for 1 successes. 2 4 4 4 +10 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============-------------> <---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Peri rolls Perception vs 7 for 2 successes. +7 +7 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============-------------> <---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Wulfra rolls Perception + Alertness vs 7 for 1 successes. 1 4 5 +8 10 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Kieran shrugs. "Memorable example." She takes a look around the area, blatantly not noticing a damned thing, before she asks Wulfra, in a kind of comically-loud stage-whisper, "Hey, uhm.... you eat rabbit, right? So you can maybe track this guy's scent or something, tell us if he's been here? I mean... you know... cuz you guys basically eat... well... everything."

You paged Peri with 'Okie, since you got the 2, when you take a closer look, you can tell that some parts of the moss on the closer (your) side of the waterfall have been torn down. Someone WAS harvesting here.'

Peri hrms at Wulfra's question, and then says, "Good point. We could always use... say... a swamp monster. Or a preternaturally huge otter with huge teeth and claws. Or the world's most enormous kitten batting down buildings as toys." She's amenable. "Though, unfair as it may be, so many people fear creatures with scales like lizards and snakes. Though some cultures consider dragons magical and lucky. So..." A pause. "There was a point I was getting to in there but--" And she stops, looking over at Kee and her question, but before she can continue, she points. "Look at that cliff," she says, "Is that the moss he was talking about?"

Peri adds, "Because it looks like someone's been gathering here, which means our Pooka made it this far, at least."

Dasia purses her lips in thought. "I know that he only asked us to find Fuzzy, but..." Dasia just... thinking out loud, here. "You think he might give a bonus if we don't find the Pooka, but bring the goods, anyway?"

Wulfra gives a sideways glance at Kee, looking almost offended, but not quite. "...eat rabbit? No, earthly animals aren't exactly what my diet--rrrhgh, it doesn't matter. Smell isn't exactly how I'm used to hunting, so I can't help from that front... though I can look at things from a... higher perspective." She takes a breath, stepping a bit away from the others and looking upwards to the sky above the falls.

Indeed, there doesn't seem to be any SIGNS of travel here, but, yanno, the Dreaming. What Peri points to was hard to catch at first, because the wet spot that USED to house moss is as bloody red as the moss itself, but there is indeed about a two foot square patch that has been torn off of the wall. Anyone that TOUCHES the stuff will quickly discover they have a bloody mess on their hands that takes some effort to scrub off. Or just walk around looking like a murderer. Either way!

Kieran looks mildly alarmed when Wulfra starts talking about a higher perspective. "Uhm... maybe hold off on that? Just... getting separated out here could be... bad..."

Peri notes, reasonably, "If we find the Pooka, we'll find at least some of the materials he wanted as well. Overgathering may make it harder to get more later, so..." Peri shrugs and says, "I mean, I wouldn't, but if you think it might help you get *more*, be my guest." Okay, that was *definitely* shade. She looks to Wulfra and says, "Oh, well, if you'd like to get a look from overhead, that would be really helpful," offering a smile to the as-yet-unknown Entity. Then she uhms at Kee. "Uh, what's wrong with her working a cantrip?"

Dasia narrows her eyes at Peri. Damn shadey Sidhe. See, this is why nobody likes them. "Maybe some... maybe none," Dasia counters. The deciding factor, though... "We don't have any gloves or a container to carry it in." She makes a face. "Too... messy. Maybe some of the other patches will be easier to harvest from." So she looks at the map again. "Hmm... slumbershrooms? I got a feeling he might have decided to have a snack and just passed the fuck out."

Wulfra gives a confused look to Kee. "We will not be separated, I can see what is below me, believe it or not. I am used to navigating the skie of less than pleasant and sense-making places... but if it is like that, I will just stay a short height above." With that, Wulfra, bearing a slightly annoyed look, soon goes up in a swirling cloak of ember-filled smoke, it clearing to reveal a large-vulture like bird in her place. She flaps up above them, but keeps them in sight, just high enough to get a bird's eye view of the area.

For the time being at least, the group seems to have this little scene to themselves. Could even make for a nice little romantic lakeside picnic spot. If it wasnt for the wall of blood moss, that is. The grass underfoot that leads down to the water seems rather undisturbed, but then it could have been a while since Fuzzy was here as well.

Kieran pinches at the bridge of her node for a moment, but then just lets it go. "Ok... so.. once she comes back down... sure, slumbershrooms. That sounds good for the next one..."

Peri ohhhs as Wulfra shifts and flies above. She's some kind of... Dream?... that Peri hasn't encountered before. Somehow, she was expecting a winged wolf. Silly Sidhe. She does, however, make note of the parts of this place that don't immediately overlook the bloody moss, for future reference. "Do you see anything?" she calls out to the bird-woman.

Of COURSE the grass looks undisturbed. The pooka probably flew in, or flicker-flashed, because LAZY. And who could blame him? Dasia is lazy, too, and sure would do the same, if she knew some suitable cantrips.

"Wait, can she turn into something big enough for us all to ride on? That's going to save a whole bunch of walk time." The question is asked more to Kee than to Wulfra, which... RUDE of her to not ask the bird-thing itself. But then again, who knows if she can talk. She seems to realize the error of her ways, and glances at Wulfra-Birb. "Er. I mean. Well. Can you?"

The bird's black feathers trail equally black smoke as it begins to speak in a garbled, squawk-y voice down to the ground, cirkcing in the air over them. "I can HEAR YOU you know KEE, SCRAAAH, see... MUSHROOM... no RABBIT." After that, it flaps back down, landing next to them. "...MAYBE... but I want extra goodies for THAT... you look HEAVY. Scraarh."

Kieran says, "I know /you/ can hear me." She sighs, "I was answering Dasia's question..."

Peri looks over to Wulfra and says, "All clear?" She turns to the others and says, "Then we should probably move on. The shrooms work, if that's the next closest." She smiles, then, attempting to smooth over the tension.

From the waterfall, the bog is further down the river while the shrooms are across a plain area, both about the same distance away, and at least Wulfra didnt see any huge chimerical beasties waiting to eat someone on the way, either way!

"You hear that, Kieran? She said you have a fat ass," Dasia teases. "Incredibly rude of her. Maybe we'll have to bribe her with those goodies that she's after, after all." And lo, it DOES appear to be isoscelese. Much smrat. "Uh... quick follow-up. What kind of goodies?"

Wulfra the birb steps up more, looking over the group. "FAE things... much interesting... already getting SOME from shop but... SHINIES would be nice."

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Peri rolls Perception vs 7 for 0 successes. 2 4 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============-------------> <---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Kieran rolls Perception + Alertness vs 7 for 0 successes. 1 3 4 5 5 8 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============-------------> <---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Wulfra rolls Perception + Alertness vs 7 for 1 successes. 2 4 5 6 +9 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

The excursion over to the shrooms is rather uneventful as well, though the patch they grow in is not QUITE as open and airy as the waterfall. Trees grow taller and the shrooms themselves seem to thrive in a cozy little clearing next to a cave...a field of bright purple enticing colored toadstools with scattered little bushes woven throughout. However, something seems off. Like...way too quiet. Even for the Dreaming.

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Dasia rolls Perception + Alertness vs 7 for 1 successes. 1 4 4 +7 9 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Kieran clearly has not seen the Wizard of Oz, and goes traipsing right across the clearing toward the purple mushrooms. "Oy! Bunnybooooy! You here?"

Peri is cheerfully oblivious to the quiet, right now. She does notice the toadstools, but as Kieran tramps forward, she shrugs and moves along behind the Clirichaun, figuring that it must be safe. Right? Right?

"Shinies I can probably do," Dasia notes to Wulfra-Birb. "But maybe another time, seems like everyone else feels like walking." The NERVE OF THEM ALL. The slumbershrooms, and maybe other shrooms, up ahead? Well... she doesn't try to stop the pair from tromping on into it. Instead, she just points. "Hey, I think I see an... ear?" She holds up her hands, to make them look like floopy bunny ears, as if explaining what she means. "Over there. Maybe... avoid the spores, though. I dunno."

Wulfra birb is flappy flapping just above them, watching carefully, but goes into a yelling frenzy upon seeing something. "YES. EAR! NOT MOVING! NOT SAFE! BACK BACK!"

With Kieran and Peri a bit closer, when Wulfra and Dasia talk about an ear, its much easier to pick out that bit of brown against all the purple. But then at the same time, they are close enough to see a blob a little further past that, what might be a boggan? Or a goblin? Something short and roundish, flat on its face. And...eew...some of the shrooms are actually growing ON that one.

Kieran stops right where she is, and looks around in growing alarm. Or maybe alarm at growing things. "Ah, shit... I know I wanna be on HBO eventually, but not /that/ show..." Reaching down, she hitches up her collar to cover her face, and draws her sword. "Wmll fvck mph."

Peri mutters the age-old incantation of displeasure: "Well, shit." Now that she sees the body with the mushroom covered ear, she takes a step back, reaching to try and grab Kee before she moves too much further in. The other hand moves to her sword. In that, the two are very much alike.

<OOC> Sark says, "Just for me...keep posing, but Kieran and Peri need a Stamina vs 6 test." <---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Peri rolls Stamina vs 6 for 1 successes. 4 +10 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============-------------> <---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Kieran rolls Stamina vs 6 for 1 successes. 5 5 +7 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============-------------> <OOC> Sark grins. You escape my clutches for the moment.

Dasia spots the other sleepy little... not pooka. "That... looks like it's been a while," she murmurs. "Hey, you two... do you think I could borrow your swords?" she asks. "Maybe... you know. A few steps further away from the nyquil mushrooms, or whatever?"

The bird woman flies down, body going up in another fiery torent of smoke and embers as they land majestically in their previous human form. They take a look at the mushrooms, and the others, thinking for a few moments. "...let me go in. I will retrieve them." Then, without another word, Wulfra pushes past the others and goes right over to where the bunny's ear pokes out of the shrubbery, looking for his whole body.

FOR THE MOMENT< Kieran and Peri seem fine. But then maybe Fuzzy felt fine until he was face down in the fungi? Hard to tell. Since they ARE closer, it is easier to tell that ear does belong to a very young looking rabbit pooka. Ah, yes, asleep so hard he might be drooling. Or maybe he's dead and decomposing? Hard to tell. <---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Peri rolls Dexterity + Athletics vs 4 for 5 successes. 2 +6 +7 +7 +8 +9 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Kieran is already starting to back up, turning briefly to look at Peri to make sure she is, too. As they get back toward the others, she comments, "Well... someone maybe should'a warned him about those." Then, "That's not in the scroll, is it?"

Since Kee was moving out under her own power, Peri chose to just leap back on her own -- backward, with a flip, landing on her feet with sword still in hand. See, THAT's where I spent all those points in CG!

"... they're called SLUMBERshrooms," Dasia replies. "The warning is kind of in the name."

Wulfra examines the bunny boy as she kneels over where he lies. She pushes any loose brush out of the way before grabbing him up in her arms as best she can. She's not the strongest, but she's capable of pulling him unceremoniously along the ground until he's (hopefully) away from the mushrooms for the others.

Fuzzy is limp. Under Wulfra's grip, it might even be difficult to tell if he's still breathing. FORTUNATELY pookas are not known for being very heavy, so there's likely no heavy grunting from Wulfra's end as she tows the fae out. For the detail oriented, there are little bits of fungi clinging to his shorts and shirt, like he had to be torn away and they didnt wanna give him up. Was that a whispered wailing? Nah, surely not.

Fuzzy DOES still have an intact pouch on his hip, but any other possessions he had do not seem to be visible, either on him or around the area.

"Well I don't know!" Kieran snaps a bit, "Maybe you have to /eat/ them to get sleepy! Or well... I know /now/!" She shakes her head and moves more in the direction of where Wulfra's bringing the bunny. "Is he still alive?"

Peri exhales and says, "Yeah, okay, rushing ahead, maybe not the best idea. Got it." She resheaths her sword and offers a rueful expression. Wulfra brings the pooka out, and Peri goes over to look him over, crouching down to try to ascertain the condition of the poor guy.

"So like I was saying, can I borrow the swords real quick? Yes? No? Maybe so?" Dasia looks back and forth between the two and then tosses her hands up. "Alright, fine, we'll do this the hard way." And then she starts CLAPPING. Just seven times. A pause. Then eight times. It's like... a really weird pattern, pack to back. And she starts repeating it. The claps are the same speed, just... first there are seven... then there are eight. Over and over again. "Goooooood morning, little rabbit!" she shouts out. "Goooooood morning! The time is I-don't-know-o'clock, but it's way past when you should have gotten up, and way before it'stime you should have gone to sleep, so wake the fuck up!"

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Dasia rolls Spring + Fae vs 6 for 2 successes. 2 4 +8 +10 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============-------------> Dasia gains one Magical Essence

Wulfra sets the bunny down for the Fae to deal with, stepping back behind them. "...I think he is alive, but I am no medical thing." As Dasia starts to do her... thing... Wulfra watches questioningly. Is this proper magic? The results should be interesting either way.

With Fuzzy safely OUT of the shroom patch and perhaps set down? Flat on his back, he seems like little is going to wake him up. But then Dasia steps in and somehow summons the magic hands from hell and claps LOUDLY right in front of his face. Bands would pay her money to be a guest audience...

The results are rather dramatic. Fuzzy jolts as if someone had tazered one of his ears, and sits up like a rocket with a loud, "NO MOMMY I DIDNT OVER..." and then stops, and blinks, and looks up in bewilderment at the cluster of people around him.

"Yer boss is looking for you." Kieran delivers that explanation totally deadpan, even as she returns her rapier to its place on her hip. "He said if we find you, we could eat you."

Peri opens her mouth to contradict Kieran, and then laughs softly. "We're here to help you, your boss sent us. Did you do all your gathering? Or should we help finish up?" She is just too damned helpful. She even offers him a hand up.

Dasia just peers down at the bun-man. "Look, we get it, you've spent a lot of time stealing candy from one set of kids... hiding it in eggs that they will eventually find tomorrow... whatever. But that's no excuse to take a nap in the middle of, well... all that," she says. She stands up a little taller, to try to get a look at the other sleeping dude covered in slumbershrooms and whatnot. "I don't suppose you know anything about that guy, or if you have a long stick to poke him with... maybe try to wake him up some other way?"

Wulfra sighs. "...I can go pull him out, but he is covered in the mushrooms. It does not bother me, but it might expose you all to the spores." With that, she walks over to the fully mushroom covered... thing... examining him closer and waiting for what the rest seem to think is appropriate to do.

Fuzzy looks like he desperately needs a triple mocha. At the questions, he pats himself down until he finds the pouch on his hip, unlacing it to look inside, then sounds terribly disappointed, "Did you catch the guys that did this to me? I was bundling some shrooms for Nooglebutt and *bonk* naptime for Fuzzy and all my shinies are gone. Robbed! Thats what happened! You'll tell Noogle, right? He should be paying me hazard pay!" From what most can tell, in that pouch, he seems to have at least some of what he was supposed to collect...if that bloody baggie is a hint, and the one next to it that wont stop squirming.

When Dasia asks about 'the other guy', he again looks confused and looks over as if he's finally notcing the body, "Oh, that's Rip. He's sleepin. Don't wake him up, he will get crankier than Nooglebutt."

Kieran looks... skeptical. "You sure it was 'some other guys' and not the mushrooms?"

Peri says, "Um... are you sure he's *sleeping* and not... um... something more permanent?" Maybe not the most tactful way to put it, but she's wincing in apology already. "Is he *supposed* to have the mushrooms growing on him like that?""

"... look, I'm not sure I can even wake him up in the first place, I figured he'd at least be woken up a little by the cantrip," Dasia explains. "Best to maybe drag him back to the river and rinse him off a bit, or something. I dunno." A pause, as Fuzzy goes on and talks about getting attacked and whatnot. She purses her lips at that and frowns a little. "That seems..." What it seems, she does not elaborate on. A mystery!

Wulfra shrugs, standing back up and walking to the group. "I could carry him back, but I very much do not want to if it is not needed." She glances around suspiciously. "I do not know what the bunny speaks of. Perhaps we should just get back...."

Fuzzy takes a moment to bounce to his feet, shaking himself like a dog to throw off grass and bits of mushroom. He waves dismissively at the body, "He LOVES the mushrooms. Said he never wants to leave em. He did look kinda funny, like dont think he came from around here. Maybe he said his name was Mario. Dunno, he got kinda boring. You know, blah blah blah, like the Charlie Brown cartoons?" He shrugs and beams a bright smile at everyone, "But hey, thanks for coming after me!" He takes a few moments to study each of the faces around him, looking a little more curiously at Wulfra, "I dont know what YOU are, but you're neat!" And then without even taking a breath, "We goin home now? I got all the icky crap Nooglebutt wanted." No, the dead body is NOT fazing him in the slightest.

Kieran glances askance toward the guy that's 'just sleeping'. "I dunno, maybe we /should/ get him out of there... just in case?"

Peri mmms. She pulls a handkerchief out of a pocket -- because of course she has one -- and knots it around her face. "Yeah. Let's do that," she agrees, moving carefully to try and get the other body out. It's a bad idea. She's doing it anyway. Damn Fiona.

Dasia's eyes, meanwhile, are locked on the Pooka. "So which is it... Rip, or Mario?" she asks. FULL OF DOUBT, since... Pooka's gonna pook. It COULD all be a clever ruse. She even takes a step back, to get some extra distance between herself and the sleepy spores. "We should definitely ask him if he knows anything about whoever it was that attacked you. I'm sure he can help shed some light onto things."

Wulfra looks quite tired with the whole situation. "I would rather not shift to a bigger form here. Let's just go get our reward...."

Fuzzy looks doubtful, "Wellllll, if YOU wanna wake him up, you go right ahead, but dont tell him I toldya to." He eyes the body warily and takes a step back, trying to but someone else between him and Mr. Body by easing behind...Dasia. She's a good thing to hide behind! "Look, uh, Im just gonna go give this stuff to Nooglebutt. Okay?"

Kieran wraps her face with her collar again and starts forward. "Ok, let's get him out of there... and get me out, too, if needed..." And with that, she goes straight for Ripario or whatever his name really is.

Peri moves with Kee, having already approached. She goes to take one side, leaving the other for Kieran to grab, and once both of them have a hold on the body-- guy -- whichever, she starts to move back with the fella in tow. Carefully.

"People come back from Chimerical death all the time," Dasia says. "Sure, it sucks, but... it happens. We just need to get him to someone who can provide better healing than I can." She turns around to look at Fuzzy. "Now, while they're dealing with that, why don't we start from the beginning with your story again." Much suspicion! Wow!

Wulfra lets out a long huff as they go on talking about their fancy fae terms and musings. While they're doing so, Wulfra walks back over to the man covered in mushrooms, turning him around and pulling him up over her back... before going up in a whirl of mystical smoke once more to reveal the form of a black-furred deer. The mushroom-covered man lays on her back as she slowly trots back over to the group, cervine mouth leaking smoke as she speaks. "Come then... we will bring him. No need for more... debate."

Rip is indeed rather cold, and at least fortunately, small. A wierd goblinoid figure, must either be something straight out of the Dreaming or someone waaaaaaaay outta their neighborhood. Considering the way he slumps when the two are dragging him, and how, up close, some of those shrooms seem to be very well latched into his skin, its a good guess he's well beyond sleeping at least into chimerical death. Well, at least he's not decomposing, right, so maybe there's something to be done for him. If anything, he's at least easy to get onto Wulfra's back.

Fuzzy winces a little and bounds back a few more steps, "Eew. He don't look so good." Yay for Captain Obvious. He turns his attention back up to Dasia, "M'story?" He holds up his pouch with a quizzical look, "Noodle pays me some dross to get him the ikly things he needs. He warned me I gotta be careful. And I was! Honest! I didnt even see the folks that jumped me. They musta been NINJAS..." He trails off when Wulfra changes herself into a black deer and he just gets wide eyed, "I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU WERE NEAT!"

Kieran winces as people pitch in to help with the... probably, yeah, dead guy, then looks over to Dasia, "People come back from chimerical death... in the Autumn. Here? Dead is really dead..." Then she gives Fuzzy a /look/. "Dude's dead and you're all dancy..." Shaking her head, she starts to head back toward the market. "Let's get done with this..."

Peri is, herself, still perplexed at exactly what Wulfra is, but given how helpful she's been, she's not inclined to be too inquisitive. She frowns, and says, "I agree, let's see if we can find out where this fellow belongs. If nothing else, someone may want to know his... situation."

Resting Bitch Face to the rescue, Dasia is the only one who doesn't SEEM perplexed and intrigued by Wulfra at the moment. Or maybe it's because she's laser-focused on the Pooka, who is probably lying, because... Pooka. Still. The story hasn't changed MUCH, so... "Fine," she says, waving him away. Or not AWAY away. Just. Dismissive. Of the story. She's still focused on their QUEST. "You do still have the supplies you were sent out to fetch, yes?" she asks. And once he answers in the affirmative, she will nod, satisfied. "Back to town, for sure."

• • Summary became necessary due to the hour. ST's wrap up as follows:** "Noogle will get angry with Fuzzy and is convinced the pooka fucked off and forgot about his responsibility, but when the gathered items are proffered, DOES begrudgingly pay Fuzzy for them and tells him to go away. He also does uphold his end of the bargain and will either give each of you dross or a couple of potions from his shop (each is your own choice, you can take one or the other, the whole group does not have to decide one or the other). The potions are kinda snake oil salesman fodder, in that they do actually WORK, but may not do PRECISELY what you thought they were going to do, so feel free to use that in RP if it comes up. 'Promises to provide brilliant hair color'? Be prepared for your hair to glow neon chimerical pink for a few days..."