Song of the Fox (Arries Yuula)

It had been a troublesome time in the Sylvanna since the lads had gone off to war. There were those who wanted to live in harmony with the forest, and there were those who wanted to rail against that harmony.

Who was who depended on who you talked to.

The fey conservatives felt that man had no place in "their" woods, and many were badly mistreating the humans who tried.

For their part, the human druids were stalwart in keeping to the land they felt so close to, and neither logger nor beast nor faerie magic would drive them from their stead.

One morning, as the decidedly liberal Arries Yuula was on a walk about the forest, she saw a disgusting sight nearby; smoke rising from where a druidic circle had once gathered.

The next sound she heard was the splashing of a fey hunter in the stream, one of many such brutes who sought to cleanse the "human infection". Finally, she heard the sound of a child softly crying. Had the hunter heard? If so, the child's number would be up...

Stopping the moment that she seen the smoke, Arries was instantly alert. "And here this was supposed to be a quiet walk." She muttered to herself. It was only after hearing the splash of water and then the cry of the child that she knew she needed to step in.

Quickly she let her keen ears lead her toward the crying child, her steps not making a sound as she made her way through the forest. If she didn't reach the child first, who knew what would happen.


~~~~~~~
Arries Yuula rolls Silence
~ 9 + Magic 20 = 29 total

Arries Yuula rolls Stealth
~ 17 + Magic 20 = 37 total
~~~~~~~

The member 'Arries Yuula' has done the following action : Roll Dice:

#1 'd20' : 9

--------------------------------

#2 'd20' : 17

The haughty elf sneered as he looked around, "Smelly humans... come out come out..."

He was clueless. Perfect.

She safely reached the child, which had been hiding in a small group of bushes.



As Arries approached the child, a little girl, shook with the terror of death.

~~~~~~~
Elf Hunter resists Silence (must beat 29)
~ 18 + Resistance 3 + Awareness 4 = 25 total (failed)

Elf Hunter resists Stealth (must beat 37)
~ 16 + Resistance 3 + Awareness 4 = 23 total (failed)
~~~~~~~

The member 'Narrator' has done the following action : Roll Dice:

'd20' : 18, 16

The moment she found the girl, Arries quickly put a finger to her lips. "Shh, quietly... where's your parents?" Her voice was soft, the smile upon her face warm.

However that taunting voice of another nearby drew her attention away. Ooo! People like that annoyed the heck out of her! Pulling a sweet stick from the inside of her cloak, she would offer it to the little girl. Picking the little girl up, she would wrap her about in her cloak to keep her warm.

"Now, if you stay quiet, you'll get another one of those." Smiles more and turns, heading back the way she had come.

The little girl, afraid for her life, did exactly as she was told, keeping quiet even after they had escaped.

The logical place for her to have come from was the burned druid village. It seemed, as they neared its edge, that everyone had left.

Indeed, the place was almost ominously quiet, the dust of the burned buildings and half-cracked pottery barely stirring. Still, there might have been some clue therein as to the child's identity.

That smile that had been on her face had faded when she seen the distruction. "This... is not right..." her voice soft as she picked her way through the rubble, the child still in her arms. Looking at the little girl, she tried to show her that she was there only to help. "Do you live here? Can you show me where? I promise I won't put you down but can you point?"

She was still keeping an ear out for anything that could be of danger, expecially the one that had been mocking the humans that resided around here.

Shakily, the child pointed to one of the burnt-out buildings.



Whatever it had been, the home appeared damaged beyond repair from the outside. She would have to be careful venturing in. Places such as these could collapse from too much strain.

Looking at the little girl in her arms, Arries would frown. "I'm so sorry..." She needed to go in and see if there was any sign of her parents, or any sign of where they could have gone should they have escaped. Looking the little girl in the eyes, Arries would take off her cloak and reset the girl within and wrap her inside before tying it about her like a sling.

"There, now you'll be safe. I have to go in and make sure there's no one inside or something that can help me help you better, okay?" With that, Arries carefully moved to the door and pushed it inward. Taking a deep breath, she moved inside the charred remains and began the search.

The house was predictably dusty, and smelled strongly from the flames that had scorched it, but there was something more.

It smelled of fear. The final, terrifying moments of the house's inhabitants still suffused the very walls with a tangible odor.

As Arries looked about, she found little of help that hadn't been damaged beyond recognition. Finally, in one of the bedrooms, she came upon a broken old picture frame, the picture within miraculously having survived.

The picture was of a family, and this was definitely where the little girl had lived. Her parents were proud druids, from the looks of it.

"Don't you know anything?," a musical baritone startled her to attention as she looked up to find a most peculiar character sitting on a nearby dresser.



"They don't leave a trail," the fox-like minstrel explained with a shrug, "Part of that whole cleanse-the-humans mentality, I guess."

Arries slowly shiffted through the rubble. Nothing, nada as was to be expected. This time it was her turn to be surprised. All the time she'd been looking, she'd missed the fact that they were not alone. Eyes turned to look at the Fox before them, instinctivly holding the child close.

"Doesn't hurt to try now does it?" Her tone a bit sharp but in a sarcastic way. "One could find something in the smallest of places." Looking at the picture closely, she would hand it to the little girl. "Here, you keep."

Looking again to the Fox, she would give him a good once over. "So why are you here?"

"Madra Rua!," the child chirped excitedly at the sight of the fox, her mood instantly elevated.



"I used to come here to dance and sing with the children," the fox, Madra Rua, explained, "Thanks to those insensitive elves, the children won't dance anymore... and why are you here?"

Seeing that the girl knew the Fox, she would relax but only slightly. "I was out walking and seen smoke. Then I heard her crying. When I got to her I heard one of those 'insensitive elves', as you call them, calling out to the other humans to come out from hidding. I thought it would be better to bring her here than stay there, don't you?"

Taking her cloak off, she unwrapped the child and let her go over to the Fox before putting her cloak back on. "I didn't know it was the town that had become ash and smoke."

"Oh, there will be others," the fox noted sadly as he began to strum a soft lullaby for the girl, who curled up next to him, "Just as there have been. It's war, and you a child of man, your village may be attacked as well at the rate they're going."

Looking at the Minstral, she could only shake her head. "I am no child of Man, just as you are not." The smile on her face showed it was neither truth nor lie. Than again, she looked human and many mistook her for such.

"I've been watching the fighting, but never have I seen it get this bad before. I don't know what pushed them..."

"Do you know little one?," Madra Rua opened his lupine mouth in a smile to the young girl curled up beside him.



"The bees and the ants can't get along cuz wing or no wing is different and wrong," the child muttered sleepily, "Just like in your song..."

"Smart girl," the fox looked up to Arries.

"The bees and ant's may not get along, but they still have their own borders and do leave each other alone. It's not till one bothers the other that the fight begins." She said as she looked between them.

Sighing softly, she would run her hand through her hair, revealing those slight tips upon the tops. "I do what I can to stay and keep that peace... but there is nothing I can do here so what would you have me do? I am no mage, I am no fighter and I am certainly no bard."

"You got here without being found," the fox noted, "Right now, the best attack is the one they can't see."

With that, he disappeared, then reappeared on her shoulder following her feeling his little body land, "You and me they cannot see. We could make things very difficult for them."

Watching him vanish and then feeling the bit of weight upon her shoulder, she would turn to smile at him. "I like the sound of that. So what should we do first and where... should we take her? This is no place for a child."

"I know a place where she'll be safe," the fox hopped off, dropping a map at Yuula's feet before heading for the door, "Take her to the village of Slán. When the firefly appears, follow it, where'er it goes. I'll be waiting for you when we find each other again."

With that, he vanished.

Looking at the map, she again turned to him and nodded. "I'll see she gets there safe." Picking up the map, Arries tucked it safely away as she nodded at his every word. "I'll follow the firefly." Moving over to the little girl, she again tucked her inside her robe and tied it safely about her.

Moving toward the door, she would carefully look out about the village before starting to run. She had a long way to travel and too many to hide from. As long as the girl remained quiet... they should make it there safely... right?

Those pointy-eared bullies were none the wiser as she deftly snuck around them, and as luck would have it, the village of Slán was much closer than she originally estimated.

It wasn't much to look at, but that was exactly what made it so safe. Once inside, Arries found that the population was a mix of human and fey, all working and living together.

Arries looked about the small community, carefully taking the picture that she had given the young girl so that she could find her parents. She was happy that they had been able to make it safely here and hoped that this place would continue to remain safe.

Scanning the faces of the crowed, Arries would stop a few people here and there, showing them the picture of the small family and getting pointed in the direction they were in. Reaching the location that she had been directed to, she would knock on the door and call out. "Hello?"

Nobody really seemed to know the child or her parents, but just as Arries was about to give up hope, a short old gnome woman approached, looking up at her for a long moment, then the child, then smiling up at her.



"You're needed elsewhere," she said cryptically, but knowingly, stretching out her arms, "I'll care for the child. You've fireflies to chase, lass."