Arcade’s Journal -- The Faerie Circles, Part 1

...started off early, much to Tom-Tom and Nolin’s disapproval. The group consisted of Tom-Tom, Nolin, Glimmer, Cadrienne, Velendo, and myself. We had not gone far before we encountered Frolic. He had been looking for us.

Although I have not mentioned it previously in this journal, I should write a word or two concerning Frolic’s friend Michael. It has been clear for some time that he is a very unusual boy. He seems to attract all sorts of magical attention, and his understanding of magical concepts is uncanny for such a young lad. If given proper guidance, he might become one of the most powerful mages of this age. Without training, he might well become a serious threat to those around him. I must remember to ask Ortigal to give Michael a reference for a scholarship at the Oursk Academy, if the boy’s parents are not too opposed.

Michael had asked that Frolic give us a short wooden stick, as he thought we might need it. Frolic also told us that the faerie circles are being destroyed, becoming "lightless", about twice per month. He agreed to take us to the nearest intact circle....

...traveled along through the forest. We heard female voices singing in the trees, a strange wordless tune that was both beautiful and enchanting. Literally enchanting, as several party party members, including Nolin and myself, fell under a spell and began stumbling towards a tall tree. There a pair of disgusting harpies perched, but we charmed ones saw only beautiful women. The other party members tried desperately to break the charm, and just in time Nolin was shaken to awareness. His song countered the spell, freeing the rest of us. Frolic appeared to flee.

Glimmer launched a magical arrow at the harpies, and it burst into a huge fireball. Badly wounded, the creatures took to the air, still singing. Sadly, Nolin was charmed once more! I struck the pair with a forked Darkening Bolt, but it was not enough to finish them. One of them stooped to grab Nolin, while the other attacked Tom-Tom.

Tom-Tom gestured, and the smoldering flames on his harpy flared into fiery snakes which struck at her. I blew the other harpy across the clearing and away from Nolin with Gust of Wind. Velendo launched an arrow which finally brought one of them down. The party closed in and killed the other.

Just then Frolic arrived with "reinforcements", which turned out to be a ten-foot tall, enraged bear! We all rapidly climbed nearby trees to avoid being mauled. Once safely aloft, I Reduced it to five feet, and Frolic used his breath weapon on it. It happily wandered away, banging into trees as it went....

...not much treasure. Rested in one of Glimmer’s pavilions, feeding hot pies to Frolic and healing. Tom-Tom saved a few fruit pies for later....

...the next day we arrived at the faerie circle: a clearing surrounded by ancient elms, with a refreshing, six-foot diameter pool of water in its center. We were debating what to do next, when disaster struck.

We heard what sounded like a high-pitched, buzzing whine. Looking up, we saw a giant mosquito, apparently with something invisible mounted upon its back (we saw a tiny saddle and reins). It struck at Velendo, and began draining his blood with extraordinary speed. Tom-Tom smashed the mosquito, but was then struck hard in the leg by something he couldn’t see. The buzzing noise then became audible everywhere at once.

Suddenly, tiny cuts began appearing all over Tom-Tom’s lower half. Within seconds, his boots, breeches, legs, and feet were cut to shreds! I tried casting Mirror Image followed by Sleep, but with no effect. Nolin cast Comprehend Languages, and was able to tell that several creatures were speaking too quickly to be understood.

As more party members were now being slashed by the invisible beings, we dove for the pool. I was afraid that Nyquil would not follow me into the water, but he did without hesitation.

As we entered the pool, we found ourselves in a vortex. We were whirled about and finally emerged feet-first from a large pool of blood into Faerie, a strange, twilit land. The blood quickly dried, leaving no stains. Instead of elms, we found ourselves surrounded by a ring of thirty-foot-tall mushrooms with eyes. A quick inventory revealed that, sadly, our flatbox of holding had been destroyed in transit.

We did not know if Frolic had accompanied us, and Nolin began singing songs promising fruit pies to attract him. Foolishly, he did not have any pies on him when he began singing! In moments he was surrounded by several unknown faerie dragons, and hoisted dozens of feet in the air.

Before they could harm Nolin, Tom-Tom threw two pies into the air, which were promptly devoured. This left Nolin plummeting towards the ground, but Nyquil saved him with a rapid burst of Feather Fall dust. Seeing an urgent need, Glimmer created another pavilion tent filled with pies for the dragons, which Tom-Tom distributed. For these deeds, the dragons gave Glimmer a glowing platinum circlet, and Tom-Tom a golden one. The dragons then let us be. No sign of Frolic....

...talked for a bit to the giant mushrooms, and were directed down a path to a gate. We were advised not to eat or drink anything during our stay, which seemed to fit with the legends we had heard of the place.

On the way we encountered a group of small, red-capped mushrooms with windows, doors, and chimneys. Glimmer, always judgmental about appearances, called them "uglier than a pig’s ass." Promptly, his head was transformed to that of a donkey, with a pig’s snout. A small yellow caterpillar who lived in the mushroom had cast the spell. He was otherwise quite helpful, and directed us to continue down the path until we reached a river, and then to follow the bank. I marveled at the clever use of Alteration magic, and resolved to have a tiny spinning wheel made for the caterpillar in exchange for its spell. I suspect that it would work wonders on Alix!

We approached the river, and were passed by two magnificent, elfin beings on horseback, pursuing a gigantic hart. On the river itself we saw tiny white sprites who left trails of ice as they skated over the river’s smooth surface. Sadly, they fled at our approach....

...finally arrived at the gate. It seemed to be made from a titan-sized ribcage, and was guarded by an unhappy gnome. His name was Lumkin, and he introduced himself as the jester of the Queen of Faerie. An important conference was being held, and he had not been permitted to attend, as he had run out of riddles to tell.

We expressed our great interest in attending the conference, but Lumkin required us to answer his latest riddle before we could pass. It was long, drawn-out, boring, and really quite obvious. Tom-Tom (of all people) answered it without breaking a mental sweat. We gave him some helpful riddle-composing advice, and in return he agreed to return Glimmer’s head to normal.

Unfortunately, no one told Lumkin what Glimmer’s head was supposed to look like, and Glimmer wound up with a normal donkey’s head! Lumkin listened to our description of the buzzing creatures, and suggested that they might have been dark faerie elves, or "Doxelfar"....