[NOTICE] ATTN: Beldaran (Shicala)[FIN]

[FA Mysteries]

The water fairies huddle and discuss the angel. Once every few seconds, a little head pops up and gives a glare to Beldaran. Nodding in unison they are ready to negotiate.

Two of the water fairies push their locked trunk up on the sand, but keep it in the water barely and slither around it so the angel can't touch it yet. Unable to speak out of water, the best they can do is gesture. So they point to the trunk, and then to the sleeping baby. And then to Beldaran.

First offer: Trunk for the wolfgirl.

Shicala

 

[FA Mysteries]

The water fairies huddle again. One obviously disagrees with the discussion because she waves her hand and furiously shakes her head. Twice she points to the toddler.

After much deliberation, one of the fairies points to the rock on Beldarans hand.

Second offer: The trunk for the rock.

Shicala

 

[FA Mysteries]

Water fairies don't exactly leave the water, so when Beldaran offers the rock but stays up on the beach, they feel insulted. One of the water fairies that slithered around in the shallows found a rock. She pointed to Beldaran, then to the water, and then threw the rock at the angel.

Shicala

 

[FA Mysteries]

Just outside of the Fae Clearing is a small round stall tent. A very familiar round stall tent. The aroma of candy fills the air. Inside the tent is the same old splintered table with a cloaked stranger sitting very calmly with his hands folded on the table. A candle burns dimly on the table just o the stranger's right, casting strange shadows that appear to dance as the flame moves with the breeze. To the left, a small bowl of unwrapped candies.

Hanging off the table, secured with a single piece of tape, is a sign that reads, "Lockpicking"

Shicala

 

[FA Mysteries]

The silky voice of the cloaked stranger whispers in Beldaran's ear. "My dear, allow me in to your treasure box. After all, it was I who first sought your help to which you agreed. Would you not be out here, if not for me? Do you not seek reward for your efforts? Perhaps the contents of the treasure box are yours to take. Is this the end of your quest? It can be..." A gentle touch brushes against Beldaran's arm, but there will be no one behind her.

Bobbing out from the tall grass of the Fae Clearing is a familiar face. The annoying fairy. And he brings his partner, the squirrel-rider.

"Hey lady, I found my pack-squirrel so yer off the hook. Ignore the bill waiting for you at yer house."

The annoying fairy poked the squirrel-rider's sided and made a hurry up motion with his hands.

"Okay, okay. Lady, this here is Travis. He wants me to tell you he thinks you are an idiot." the annoying fairy -- Travis -- smacks the fairy on the squirrel and shakes his head. "No, I was apparently not suppose to say that directly to your face. Travis says ... wait," the squirrel rider looks to Travis and speaks with him, but it's quiet and in the language of the fairies anyway, so Beldaran wouldn't understand what they are saying.

"Travis here says he was definitely not following you. Oh, and we'll take what's in the box."

Shicala

 

[FA Mysteries]

"Lady, you are dim." the squirrel-rider says and only backs up a few feet to watch. "Me n' Travis will stick 'round for the show, though."

A sizzling noise grows louder the closer it gets to Beldaran. As soon as it's right up behind her, it goes quiet. Just off to the west, there is a small explosion followed by a burst of smoke and sparks, followed by another, and another, each one coming closer to where Beldaran sits.

If she's distracted or chooses to run before they get to her, the trunk will be stolen.
If she decides to continue sitting, the smoke and sparks will surround her and distract her, and Skylie will be stolen.
If she tries to get up and run with both the trunk and Skylie, she will find her feet magically bound and trip, losing sight of both Skylie and the trunk.

Both little fairies clap once the smoke clears.

The mysterious stranger stands calm, with his arms crossed.

Kalandandra hovers, with another fairy by her side. An obviously older looking fairy (maybe the oldest looking one) wearing a comfortable, thick little dress with an apron, and bonnet.

(You decide which is missing)

Shicala

 

[FA Mysteries]

"Who got da box?" The squirrel-rider asks.

The fairies and Mysteries look at each other and shrug.

"You came this far and LOST IT!?" Kalandandra shrieks. Her companion offers her a little flask retrieved from her apron and then pats her on the back.

Travis is merely laughing his a** off at this point.

Mysteries stands there and sighs. "We should have picked someone else," he says quietly. He and his tent slowly fade until they disappear.

Kalandandra's companion, Millie, tries to calm her friend down. "We can look for it again. All's not lost."

"I need a drink," Kalandandra says, defeated. "I'll have to find someone else now to look for it. We were so close."

---

As the spectators slowly filter away, Travis and his squirrel-rider friend are still standing there. Travis is wiping away tears from laughing so hard. The squirrel-rider only stares at Beldaran and shakes his head.

Unnoticed by most, there are tracks in the dirt. Something dragged the chest away. Why did no one else notice that? Will Beldaran notice it? Or will she just go home?

If she chooses to follow the tracks, they will lead her on a long and windy path through dangerous parts of Loka Nei Jungle.
If she chooses to go home, she will have a parchment tacked to her door, which is a bill for one pack-squirrel signed by Todd, the squirrel-rider fairy. Apparently pack-squirrels are worth a month's worth of nuts. There will also be a little red envelope leaning against the bottom of the door. It looks suspiciously like the same envelope Beldaran didn't choose when she lost the first letter.

Shicala

 

[FA Mysteries]

The tracks would not have gone into the Clearing at all. In fact, they led away. Something small was dragging the trunk, because there are no signs of broken leaves or branches. There are also no footprints or signs of campsites as the sun rises each day.

On the seventh day, after three weeks of this wild goose chase, if Beldaran hasn't succumbed to the elements, starvation or dehydration by now, she will trip over the trunk, which was hidden under large palm leaves. She will land in a small clearing (very small) surrounded by dense foliage. The trees allow only a sliver of a sunbeam through to touch the ground.

The sunbeam shines bright, illuminating a very strange and twisted small tree. Upon further examination, the limbs will start to turn and bend into familiar shapes. There is a fount in the center of this tree filled with crystal clear water. Another shape appears on one side that bears an uncanny resemblance to the female Pae'il form.

The twisted limbs protect the water from outsiders.

"Do you have the stones?"

A soft, honeyed voice reverberates in the tiny clearing. The source of the voice is hard to pinpoint because it sounds like it is coming from all around.

Shicala