Chronicle: The Tabaxi Special Episode

A roving Tabaxi clan has settled its colourful collective of caravans just outside the town of Einhorn. It's time to resupply, and here seems as good a place as any to make a pitstop! Five Tabaxi nominate themselves for the job:

Battle-seasoned clan matriarch, Eager Stripe. But of course! Who better but the head of the family to supervise and ensure that they keep themselves out of trouble?

Then there's the unconventional sorcerer Sedrik Reatez (with his many many hipflasks) alongside his once-soldier-now-a-rogue wife, Hidden Depths: a close friend and frequent drinking partner of Stripe.

Last of all there's the bickering teenage siblings, Storm at Sea and Crescent Moon, the former a ranger who moonlights as a gladiator, the latter a bard. Neither really approves of the other's artform...

The group get off to a quintessentially Tabaxi start, as their very first action in (well, not yet in!) Einhorn is to cluster around the guard at the main gates, absolutely full of questions. Depth leads the quizzing: Has anything unusual happened here recently?

The guard is perplexed, not least because Tabaxi are very uncommon and now he's got five of them standing maybe a little too close, tails twitching and ears alert with interest.

"...Why're you asking?"

Depth smiles, hands clasped earnestly in front of her. "Oh, I just like to help make sure things are safe."

"Well, there's been stories..."

STORIES! He's got stories! The word echoes around the group in a delighted murmur. Oh, this poor guard. The five Tabaxi all but plonk themselves on the ground in front of him, pupils giiiiiigantic, waiting with bated breath. He says there's been rumours of folks disappearing and such, but not to set much store by them - folks wander off into the woods sometimes, it's whatever, it's likely exaggeration. Although perhaps a little disappointed in the lack of meat to the story, the party's curiosity is definitely piqued. That's something to ask folks about in town for sure!

Now, on to the important things. What's what, where's where? The market? And even more vitally...what's Einhorn got to offer in terms of taverns?

He gives rough directions to the market, and starts listing off tavern names. There's The Drunken Dancer, which is pretty alright....then there's The Bended Bough - more for the locals, that one -...The Gravel Pit's a bit rougher if that's your style, and then there's The Haunted Orchestra.

Ooooh. The Haunted Orchestra. That one sounds interesting, what's it like? The guard reckons it's worth finding out for ourselves!

And so we do! It's unanimously agreed that The Haunted Orchestra is easily the most intriguing destination, and also a tavern. Interesting thing AND a tavern. Couldn't be better!

The Haunted Orchestra is one hell of a striking building. The frontwards face is carved to resemble a huge, ornate violin. Sea elbows Moon in the ribs with a snicker, "Oi, reckon you could play that one?"

The inside is no less striking - and indeed, as 'haunting' as its name. A very well-played but slightly eerie orchestral melody weaves its way through the air. It's clearly an upmarket joint, the decor muted but elegant. Also, it's pretty much totally empty, because it's mid-morning and a pub.

Only 'pretty much' empty, though, because there is still someone tending the bar. A translucent someone - a tall man, the shelves of bottles visible through the soft blue glow of his form. Now this IS interesting! The party clear the distance from door to bar in moments, full of questions for (and about) the barkeep!

The grown-ups ask about the drinks selection, of course. There does seem to be an incredible range on offer! In a low whispery voice, the glowing man welcomes them to The Haunted Orchestra...then Sea plonks her arms down on the bar, leans up real close to the ghostly bartender, and blurts out the first question that comes to mind, "How'd you die?"

He seems faintly amused. "A common misconception....I am not a ghost, but a commissioned spectral summon..." Sea's a little put out, but hey, she's never met a spectral summon before either, so it's still pretty damn cool!

Everyone orders drinks. Depth goes first, and watches with fascination as the barkeep picks up the bottle. "Oh, so ye can pick things up then!"

"Yes...if I could not, then I could not do my job..."

More excitement as everyone can visibly see the chill from his touch travel up the glass as he pours Depth's drink: frosty and refreshing! He reaches up *through* her hand to take her coin (Depth exclaims, "Well fuck me shitless!") and then for his next trick passes his hand down through the bar...the coins go with it...and his hand comes back up with the change.

Well, that's neat. How does he even do that? Depth's ale tastes as good and is as frosty-fresh as it looks.

Sedrick gets his hipflask filled up with a pretty nice cider. Moon spots an attractive bottle of rich violet liquid that catches his eye - it's a touch pricey, but goes down smooth as anything and fills him with a warm fuzzy feeling that might be a little bit magic.

Sea's got an eye for glitter. She points up at one of the bottles that glows and sparkles - "How much is that one?" It's a pretty hefty price, several silver pieces, but she'll take it! The ghostly - sorry, *spectral* - bartender pours out a shotglass of sparkling liquid, glowing and flecked with beautiful spots of gold. That's a fancy-ass party drink right there. She lifts the glass to her nose and takes a curious sniff, and is rewarded with a nose full of fizz that makes her sneeze and sputter.

Stripe, last to order, takes a look at Sea's purchase. "*I'd* like some of that glitter juice!" Her drink is poured, and this one is different, shot through with silver specks instead. It seems this one's different on every pour. There's a moment's anticipation, then the pair gulp down their shots and slam the glasses on the counter. The 'glitter juice' definitely tastes great, and it burns in just the right way as it goes down....something cool's gotta happen next for sure, right?

"Can ye feel anything yet?" ventures Depth, and as she does the pair both unleash a mighty belch, twin plumes of flame streaming magnificent from their mouths, one golden, one silver. Everyone is, of course, delighted.

The barkeep enquires if anyone is interested in any more drinks.

"I don't need another fuckin' drink, I'm a *dragon*!" crows Stripe. Sea could go for a cider.

As Sea goes for a cider, the rest of the group go for a snoop around to go check out the orchestra. (It's music, so she's not super interested.) They head up the stairs and discover the source of the haunting music: instruments that appear to be playing themselves, floating in mid-air. A stand of sheet music sits at the fore of the orchestra, pages turning themselves every so often.

Curious, Depth goes over to the sheet music and flips a page upside down. The instruments play a truly awful little backwards cacophony in response. From downstairs, Sea looks up from her cider at the balcony and yells, "MOON, IS THAT FUCKIN' YOU?"

Once the upside-down (and essentially backwards) sheet of score is done with, the music carries on to the next page and goes back to normal. Curiosity sated, everyone filters back down to the bar to carry on poking at the only interesting thing left in the room: the bartender.

Moon leans up on the bar, "Do ye have a name?" He responds in the negative: his commissioner has not, as yet, given him one. "Can we name you?"

Perhaps.

Moon proposes the name Caspar. He had a friend called Caspar a while back, he reckons Caspar is a pretty friendly name. The barkeep stands for a moment, looking thoughtful...

"....Hmm. I like it!"

Everyone is, naturally, delighted.

Caspar recieves a further volley of questions. Where are good places to go in town, for example?

"The Haunted Orchestra is a nice place for a drink..." That response crops up multiple times, word for word, the intonation identical. The party gradually realises that Caspar is not strictly sapient - he's just a really smart and slightly snarky fantasy chatbot who is also a bartender. This, too, delights the party, who prompt him to say it over and over ("Caspar, where's a nice place for a drink?"), mimicking along with his predetermined line - "The Haunted Orchestra is a nice place for a drink..." in between hoots of laughter.

But as Tabaxi are wont to do, once the novelty of Caspar's arcane AI wears off, it's time to find something else new and shiny! Hey...weren't we meant to be getting supplies?

To the market!

The smell of fresh fish catches everyone's attention, and the party follow their noses to a fishmonger's stand. Depth queries prices and types of fish - he's got mackerel, a rare thing in these parts. Ooooooh. Fancy fish. (The fishmonger is, like most folk in Einhorn, a little taken aback by these catfolk all chattering at him...but he sees a chance for a good deal when he sees one, it seems.) Depth, ever the shrewd dealmaker, wants to ensure the fish is truly fresh, yes? Yes, yes. He's got a secret way of keeping it fresh, he says...

SECRETS! What can we do to get his fish secrets? Well, he says, if we buy however much makerel, he'll throw in the fish secrets.

Deal.

Depth loads up on fresh fancy fish, and everyone gathers about to learn the secret. He lowers his voice to a conspiratorial stage-whisper...he's got a chest enchanted to keep 'em cold. Arcane refrigeration, right?

Depth laughs. "Let's stick it in Caspar, let's go!"

The party splits off to go get odds and ends around town. Sedrick and Sea head out to a blacksmith's - Sea wants to know where folks around Einhorn go to spar. They find the place, Sea ruffling the feathers of the halfling blacksmiths by...kind of launching straight into her question without a greeting. Sedrick peruses the stock as she enquires.

"Are you a real fighter, or are you one of those posers?" asks one of the halflings, and Sea sputters.

"Of course I'm a real fighter!"

He wants a demonstration. How about she and that other Tabaxi show some moves? Sea shrugs in a sort of 'you wanna?' query to Sedrick, who assents. But when Sea offers a sword, he turns it down, given that he's already got daggers. Sea....isn't sure how to proceed, and stands around awkwardly until the blacksmiths scoff that this is boring.

"Yeah, well, you're boring."

She slopes off, shame-faced, and buys a hammer before going off to loiter in the doorway while Sedrick makes a purchase of his own. What was with those guys?

(Meanwhile, Moon finds a stall where he can buy some new bowstrings.)

Stripe and Depth fancy another drink, and meander around Einhorn until they sight a tavern with a doorframe carved in the shape of a curving branch - The Bended Bough. This'll do nicely! On entering, they notice the room is...pretty much all halflings, perhaps the occasional human, mainly working folk. They're all very much staring. Do the catmoms care? Of course they don't bloody care. They barely notice, sauntering immediately up to the bar.

They give one another an impish look.

"...Let's get *wine*."

The barmaid serves them rather brusquely, but again, any hint that they're not welcome is absolutely lost on them - that, or simply ignored. Glasses or bottles? Oh, a bottle please.

They settle at a table and scooch their chairs as close to some of the halflings as possible, eager to eavesdrop on interesting conversation. The halflings scooch their chairs a little further away. The tabaxi women swirl their wine in their glasses and do their best to sound fancy...and shuffle a little closer again.

When Sedrick and Sea find their way to The Bended Bough, they enter to discover a tavern much less full than when the matriarch and her friend entered it. Those unfortunate few remaining are either as far away from the pair as possible...and a couple, more unfortunate still, have found themselves somewhat cornered as they shifted tables to get away from the would-be eavesdroppers. Stripe and Depth are, at this point, pissed as newts, giggling and continuing to swirl their umpteenth glasses of wine as they wave the newcomers over.

Sedrick goes over to see what on earth his wife and the clan leader are up to now. (His path to them involves shimmying quite ungracefully between tables, some of which he shunts aside with the grating screech of table-legs on the tiles.)

Sea looks over the scene and nopes all the way out. She's gonna go find the Gravel Pit.

Sedrick, once he makes it over, pulls up a chair and asks what the Wine Moms are doing. They were trying to hear some good stories, of course!

A scruffy halfling man from a table across the way hears this (it's hard not to hear Depth and Stripe right now), and pipes up, "Looking for stories, are you now? I've got a doozy."

FUCK YES. STORIES.

...But he wants a gallon of ale first.

The ladies reckon that's fair. What's he after? He ponders a moment..."How about a Dickens?"

Depth wobbles up to the bar - that nice man over there wants a gallon o' Dickens. The guy at the bar calls to the back room - "Jerry! A gallon of Dickens!"

"Eh?"

"This lady here wants a Dickens Cider!"

Promptly enough, a barrel of cider is brought over and plonked by the scruffy halfling's table. He seems chuffed to bits to have made such a lucrative deal!

"So," Depth says, elbows up on the table, "here's your cider, let's hear your story."

The halfling claims there's been all sorts of rumous flying around town. Folks going missing. Strange things in the woods. They say people have been sighted being dragged away by wild dogs...

Stripe interjects - "Now, that can't be true... Dogs don't have hands."

Ah, says the halfling, but the people speak of *shapeshifters*. Dogs one minute, men the next.

Depth asks his name, and gets it: he's one Bree Greenbottle. Enough about his stories, Bree digresses, he'd rather like to know theirs! "You don't see many tabaxi around here. Where are you staying?"

Something puts the tabaxi group on edge about that, so they keep their answers evasive. He hazards a guess - there's a nice camping spot up by the river, are they there? Of course, they are, but they're not telling him that! They deny it.

Sketchier by the second, Bree offers to sweeten the deal - he's got here a set of special cards, and you know what's funny about them? Nobody knows what they do.

He's said the magic words (although the party still lie about where they're situated) - Bree pops the mysterious cards in a bag and hands it over to a very eager Eager Stripe. Everyone quickly bids him farewell and make their exit, muttering about how suspicious that was and how they definitely have to move the camp.

But first....those cards...

Stripe sticks her arm into the bag to find the box of cards. It feels...odd, and when she removes her arm there's a black obsidian bracelet in place around her wrist. Her curiosity about the contents of the cards becomes abruptly unshakeable, obsessional even. These are her cards now. She hears a whisper inside her head - "...Pick one..."

She opens the card tin and draws a card, which abruptly bursts into flame in her fingers and vanishes. Stripe raises her eyebrows. "Pretty fuckin' cool..."

She looks around at Depth and Sedrik, before adding, "...Pretty fuckin' mine." However, as she returns the cards to their bag, the bangle is gone when she retrieves her arm and the fixation fades. Sedrick, intrigued by by this curious magic, asks if he can have a look.

The same process repeats itself for Sedrick, although there's no bangle on his wrist when he pulls out the box of cards. The same curious sensation overtakes him, and the same voice sounds, but when he draws his card a ring appears on his finger alongside his wedding band as the card burns away. It's a varnished wooden ring, textured along its surface to resemble bark. Huh.

(Thanks to the fact I'm writing this HIDEOUSLY late, I forget when it's determined that this ring renders Sedrick unable to lie. Depth tests it out by asking if he's ever slept with someone who isn't her - Sedrick replies with a smile and a 'No', much to her satisfaction. Does he like his mother-in-law? "...No." Sedrick's hands fly to his mouth as though to pull the word back in, but Depth just laughs. Her mother is an overbearing old bird.)

Sea and Moon meander about the market, attempting to figure out where the Gravel Pit might be. Eventually, Sea leans up on the counter of a nearby stall to ask the shopkeeper if he knows where it is. The man smirks as he asks what she's looking for at the Gravel Pit, and cracks a dry grin at the tabaxi's reply that she's looking for somewhere you can have a good spar. He seems quite deeply amused by the concept.

"Now this I have to see," he says, nasal and kind of wheedly-drawling, as he steps out from behind the counter and instructs a sullen young man to mind the store in his absence.

It transpires that this guy is also the manager of the Gravel Pit. He leads the siblings to a building that looks as stony and rough as its name, opening the huge doors to usher them inside. It's not a seedy-looking place, per se, but it's certainly not as refined and upmarket as The Haunted Orchestra or as tidy as The Bended Bough. The clientele look more rough-and-tumble, though the atmosphere is upbeat enough!

The manager informs them that the fight isn't scheduled until this evening, though they're welcome to stay and drink and enjoy a musical performance in the bar. Is Sea still interested in taking to the Pit? Of course she is - she'll stick around, this place seems like where she wants to be! Who's she fighting?

The man gives her a knowing smirk, but doesn't disclose the name or any details. That's for her to find out later, hmm?

Moon, however, is much more taken with the idea of the musical performance! Who's their headline act? He fancies a fight of his own, albiet one more musically inclined. The manager (whose name I never ever caught! Did we literally never ask this guy his name?) gives another reedy little laugh - well, it is nearly time for the act, and this does sound like it would make good entertainment...sure...

He takes the stage to announce an imminent battle of the bards! This tabaxi newcomer versus their star act! The crowd at their tables below watches on with their intrigue piqued.

The headline act, it transpires, is a hulking half-orc who swaggers onto the stage with a blare of his bagpipes. Moon scoffs, grabs his ukelele, and proceeds to outplay him at every turn: this dude's their star act? On bagpipes? He didn't stand a chance.

The half-orc's puffed-up posture starts to deflate in tandem with his bagpipes when round by round Moon just rocks the stage. Even his more tuneful bagpipe melodies look a little bit sad in contrast to the young tabaxi's art on the strings - Moon's just jamming out here, and even when he falters a little the audience is still eating it up. Round by round, The Gravel Pit's headliner comes to terms with just how much this weird cat boy is wiping the floor with him - as Moon bows to pass to the half-orc's turn, he puts his pipes to his mouth to play and...

...just...

kind of...

...*pffffnaaaart.* With the bagpipe equivalent of something beween a sigh and a sad slide-whistle, he turns and slopes off of the stage in shame. N'aww.

The crowd goes wild! Moon is announced officially the top bard in the Pit, drinks all around! Woo!

The siblings decide to hang out here all afternoon. The energy's good, Moon's getting free drinks, and who knows where the others are at anyway?

The others, at this point, are back at camp, exceedingly anxious about Bree's intentions. Depth, Sedrick and Stripe meet up with Depth's mother, and goddamn it I wish I'd taken notes for this scene, I'm sorry ;A;

But once the explanations are given (and when Depth's mum has given Sedrick no small amount of an ear-bashing both figurative and literal), the camp is packed up and shifted. There's a human encampment nearby to their new location, and before the three set back off to find the kids they suggest making friends with the temporary neighbors. They seem like nice folks!

When Stripe, Depth and Sedrick track down The Gravel Pit, it's coming up for half seven, and the fight is nearly on! The manager greets them at the door after catching sight of yet more catfolk - "Oh, wonderful, there's more of you...come this way, the fight will be starting shortly..."

His eyes linger on Sedrick in particular, with keen interest. Sedrick looks back, a little confused at first at the staring until he realises that this guy just...kind of...might be into him a little bit.

(Not in a furry way, though. We rolled to check for that and it was not in a furry way. Just a regular standard ol' gay way.)

While above the adults are being ushered to the stands, below, Sea is in a training room, psyching herself up for the big fight. She's been down here for the last half-hour or so practicing with her swords, doing drills, while Moon sat by in likely utter boredom. While she was up in the bar, she'd been scanning the crowd for anyone who looked like they might be her opponent, but nobody stood out...From the corridor off this room, she hears everything winding up, the patter of the announcer.

Moon walks up to clap a hand on her shoulder. "Look," he says, earnestly, "I believe in you, and you're going to be amazing out there. Go get 'em!" Sea grins back at him, touched (dare I say, inspired?) by the rare show of support for her art.

From the Pit, her introduction is made...

"Our bold challenger, travelled here from distant lands, the FERAL FELINE...." (from the stands, an exclamation of "Well that's a bit racist!" from Stripe) "...STORM! AT! SEAAAAAA!"

What Sea intended to do, at this point: Run out into the ring and kickflip off the wall in a badass parkour move into a fighting stance that would provide a teaser of her agility in battle... and also look like, soooo sick.

What Sea did, courtesy of the worst and most cringeworthily timed Natural 1 in any of our games before or since: Ran towards the ring, caught and twisted her foot on an uneven bit of floor, tripped, and went sprawling facefirst into the dirt and stone of the Gravel Pit's aptly named floor. Her ankle feels like it might be sprained. Ow, ow, ow.

There's a few giggles from the stands. The rest of the family wince, and murmur about the sheer amount of second-hand embarrassment they're suffering after witnessing that.

Sea scrambles up into a crouch, tail lashing, trying to save face, as the announcer coughs and launches into his next introduction.

"And her opponent...our reigning champion...the BONE-CRUSHING ORC OF THE NORTH...UUUURUK!!!"

From the corridor on the opposite sound of the ring comes the distinctive wail of bagpipes. The crowd hoots and whistles and cheers their approval as who else strides into the fighting pit, greatsword strapped over one shoulder, pipes under one arm, than the half-orc bard. His swagger is firmly back in place as he regards the shamefaced tabaxi dusting herself off across the ring. He throws the pipes back into the hallway behind him and unsheaths his sword.

Depth cups her hands round her mouth and yells down, "YOUR BAGPIPES MAY BE BIG, BUT I BET YOUR COCK ISN'T!"

The heckling is joined in with by Moon, who's found his way to the stands - "I hope you fight better than you play, because your music sucks!" Uruk glances up into the crowd at that, confused and maybe a little hurt in the feelings, just a tiny bit. His pride hasn't quite recovered after the earlier bruising it took, it seems.

The rest of the family take it upon themselves to try to save Sea from what looks to be an impending crushing defeat. As Uruk rears up to take a swing at Sea with his greatsword, Moon shouts down another jibe from the stands, this one laced with much more magic than a simple Vicious Mockery. The half-orc finds himself afflicted with uncontrollable laughter despite himself, collapsing to the floor as he cackles.

Sedrick, too, lends aid. As subtly and surreptitiously as he can, he reaches for one of his hipflasks and drops it into the ring...and with the help of a little magic, sends it shooting across the scree to impact sharply with Uruk's ribs.

The moment Uruk starts laughing, Sea suspects her brother of chipping in. When the hipflask hits, there's no doubt about what's going on. There's a moment of conflict - this is not a fair fight...but also, like, this guy is HUGE and her ankle alone is really giving her hell, and he's got a *bigass sword*, and also she wants out of this fight now. She takes her sword and swings at the incapacitated Uruk.

It's neither graceful nor honorable but it definitely hurt, so. Uruk shakes off his laughing fit and clambers to his feet, but Sea manages to duck beneath his arm as he misses his next swing and her next stab sends him to the ground.

There's a beat, he doesn't get up, she's announced the winner as some healers come in to get Uruk back into a better state. The crowds murmur in disappointment at both the speed and lack of flair to the fight, and Sea slinks away to mull on how she really ought to have offered Uruk a hand up and got the battle back into a good proper place. Oh well. She can make it up to him later.

The rest of the family mill around in the bar, happy to ride on the coattails of Moon's stardom and grab a couple of drinks.

There's a familiar face here, though, and one that the adults are less than happy to see: the scruffy halfling, Bree Greenbottle, is among the patrons. He sidles up to the tabaxi family.

"Well, you certainly moved fast." His tone is breezy. "I'm offended that you don't trust me."

Because that's not creepy at all... Depth and Sea in particular are very much discomfited. Moon doesn't take long to read the situation as Bree continues on.

"You wanna know where we are?" he asks, "I'll tell you where we're not: not telling you!"

And that's that, really.

Meanwhile, Sea's on a mission: to find her competitor and apologise. After being declared (in an understandably lackluster fashion) the night's winner by the nasally-voiced manager, she scans the tables in search of Uruk and finds him, sitting alone with a tankard of ale. Sea takes a quick trip to the bar and orders the best they've got, and brings the drink with her and sets it down beside him.

He looks her way and then turns away with a scoff. "Wasn't drinking that."

"Sorry." Sea retraces her steps and orders another tankard of whatever Uruk's having, then brings that to him instead. She places the new drink down, and takes a seat next to him.

"Your lot cheat." Uruk says, voice low and belying no small amount of irritation. Sea sighs.

"They're nothing to do with me. It's...my family, they're just...they're so overprotective. I really am sorry, I didn't know they were going to do that. It wasn't a fair fight and I should have done it differently. You fought well, and I didn't."

He huffs.

"Perhaps someday I could come back. By myself. Without them. Do it properly."

His response is noncommittal, but hey, at least that's a weight off of Sea's conscience. She leaves the fancy cider for him as well, cos you don't take back an apology drink for yourself. When she finds the rest of the family, she hisses "I would have been *fine*!" under her breath at Sedrick and gives Moon a very sharp glare. (Nevermind that they were definitely the reason she didn't get beaten to a bloody pulp after humiliating herself in the Pit!)

The others catch Sea up on the fact Bree was here, and everyone beats a hasty retreat to camp, unsettled by his sinister interest in their whereabouts and all too conscious that if he knew where they were, he might have found out where they are. It's time to make sure everyone's okay.

When they arrive at camp, it's already clear something's wrong. There's all the signs of struggle - things knocked over, tabaxi laying still on the ground... Depth rushes in, searching for her daughter, for someone anyone knows. She manages to find Sedrick's mother, but she's panicked and shaken and a little incoherent.

Depth's anxiety starts to rise ever further - where's Zanti, where's her daughter? Where is she? Panic really starting to grip her, she screams for Zanti and...something shatters in her pocket. When she reaches inside, the pads of her fingers come out coated in sparkling dust.

Her mother-in-law slows down enough to start explaining what happened.

"Dogs, there were fucken dogs - upright dogs. Those folk from the other camp, they turned into dogs..." she shudders, "People fallin' asleep. And we were...overwhelmed. Then..." she shakes her head, as though it might bring things back into any clearer focus, "Then...nothing."

Depth breaks down sobbing.

It's not just her kid that's missing, it turns out. They're all gone - each and every tabaxi child from the camp has been taken.

Sedrick, though, has found tracks in the grass and mud leading out into the woodland. If we follow them, perhaps...

Depth isn't the only one who discovers something strange in her pockets. Someone (probably Stripe) feels the shattering in her pocket as most of the group call out for the missing children, and exclaims upon it, prompting everyone to search their own pockets in case they too hide the source of the gem dust.

Someone (possibly Sea) pulls out an intact glassy bead. Stripe, savvy enough to guess these things are something to do with how they've been found, smashes it. Is Sedrick carrying one too? Depth pats him down and searches his pockets, but finds no tiny gemstone orb...just flasks and flasks and flasks. It's hipflasks all the way down with Sedrick!

Reassured that they're no longer being tracked, into the woods they go.

At first, the tracks are easy enough to follow, the soft ground holding footprints and dragmarks well. But as the party draws deeper into the forest, and the trees close in, and the light darkens, they find themselves to have strayed somehow from the path despite having paid close attention.

That's strange.

In the distance, there's a soft glowing - a gentle pale-green light. As the group of tabaxi creep nearer, its source becomes visible. It's a beautiful woman, in a simple flowing dress, leaves cascading down her shoulders where hair ought to be. The glow emanates off of her entire body.

Moon is, young lad he is, absolutely smitten. He's first to speak as the party approaches, throwing a little swagger into his walk and putting on his most winning smile.

"Hi! You look lovely tonight...how's your day been?" Smooth.

It's not just Moon who's taken an interest in the gorgeous tree-lady! Stripe takes her chance too - "Hey, babe!" *Smooth.*

When the mystery glowy plant gal looks over, though, she seems genuinely a little flattered (perhaps a touch amused) by the catfolks' greetings. She inclines her head with a smile.

"Greetings...it is nice to have such pleasant guests. The last that passed through here were...not so civilised."

And who were they, those terribly rude folk who passed by before us?

"Your canine compatriots-"

The group collectively rebuts that - no, no, they're no friends of ours. We're trying to find them, they've taken our children. Can she help?

The dryad seems amenable to this. She motions for the group to follow, and wends her way through the trees. Quite literally *through* the trees - she disappears into the trunk of one nearby only to reappear a little way away as she steps out from another tree. In this fashion, she guides the tabaxi onwards. But as she does, she explains that there's only so far she can go.

She says that beyond a point she cannot follow. Beyond, it will be...dangerous. She can only show us where the dogs went, but after that, she cannot be of much more help. It's help that everyone appreciates, though. (Or, in Moon's case, it's company that he appreciates!)

The party sets off in the direction she's pointed them in.

The party proceeds to get horribly, irrevocably lost. The trail has gone missing again. Nobody knows where they are - save Sedrick, who feels a growing suspicion that these dark dense woods have been *different* since we passed the threshold the dryad claimed to be unable to traverse. Gently glowing lights dance among the trees in the distance, seemingly ever more of them. It's beautiful, but it's eerie.

As everyone proceeds ever deeper into the woods, hoping the trail will reappear, feeling ever more lost, some of the lights drift nearer. There's a distant echo of....a child's laughter? The cluster of lights resolve into a figure - a little tabaxi girl. Not one of our clan's, but a little tabaxi girl nonetheless, looking up at the party inscrutibly.

Moon takes a step towards her. He reaches out to her. He ruffles her hair and gives her a scratch behind the ear, and she smiles up at him before dissolving into lights again, the light at this close distance clearly containing a tiny little winged being. The light flits into the treeline and all the other lights move in formation with it, creating almost a runway of sorts, a pair of lines leading away into the trees.

Many of the party, particularly Sea, are wary - uncertain of what to trust in this strange place. But Sedrick's suspicions are all but confirmed: this place, this forest, must cross over into the Feywilds. And the lights-that-were-a-child-and-then-lights-again were a pixie. And pixies, should you treat them well and they take a shine to you, are helpful little things. He explains this - this pixie is probably helping to guide us.

And so it is! Following these guiding lights, the party find the distinct marks of the trail they were looking for! This is very good! A chorus of thanks are directed back into the trees, and the party continue gratefully on their way.

It's not much more walking before they happen upon a strange sight - one that is all at once disturbing and gratifying: lanky humanoid canine bodies, wrapped and crushed in vines, as though the vegetation simply reached out and constricted them or pulled them apart. These must be the 'dogs'...and there are blessedly no catfolk among them.

But what *happened* here?

Without warning, Stripe finds herself seeing what happened here, playing out in strange shades of unearthly blue overlaid on the real world before her. She sees as vines strike out at these creatures as they shepherd the children through this forest, snatching the dog-things from the path and winding around their limbs, their torsos, their necks... Those that escape rush onwards...

...and then all is still again, and the jackalweres are still and silent and very dead, strung up against the trees.

Stripe shares her vision with the family, nobody sure what to make of it. But the vines remain still as they all pass through, glancing anxiously here and there in fear of the trees lashing out to attack them.

Onwards, inwards. It's trees as far as anyone can see, but the trail remains clear before them.

A little further, and the path opens onto a glade. With a chill wave of abject horror, the party's eyes fall on what occupies the glade - a huge, floating, spherical creature, one huge eye staring down from that central head and oh-so-many more from the stalks growing from it all over...

...no.

No, actually. That's not it. That's not what it is at all.

It's Sea who sees it first, the moment's panic quickly replaced by sweet relief as the beholder's form becomes clearer - or, to be more correct, fuzzier. It's not a solid creature. It's not real. There's a swirling like that of dust motes within its form, she can see right through to the other side of it. The whole creature is formed of yellowish particles pouring out from a hole in the the trunk of a curious tree. Spores. Nature truly does display some impressive defence mechanisms.

This sinks in around the group, there's a lot of relieved muttering as everyone skirts around the incorporeal spore-beholder! That was a hell of a fuckin' fright.

It's not long before they discover more dead jackalweres - these ones ensnared and punctured in myriad places by thin, wickedly barbed vines. These vines all but clog the path, and nobody is feeling very inclined to try to navigate them.

Given the party's experience in this strange forest so far, Sea decides to try to be polite in case these plants are conscious or something.

"Hello? Is it alright if we pass through here?"

A sluggish, low voice sounds from just beyond.

"They're not alive...you can come past...."

The group very gingerly pick their way around the spiny obstruction, and discover...another glade! The source of the voice reveals itself.

Positioned in front of four forks in the trail are four strange, implike creatures. The forks in the trail aren't simple branching paths - the party can see the tracks they're following continue, impossibly, in a quartet of split direcions.

Huh.

The first creature greets them in the same slow, sullen tone - this one held aloft on two dripping, muddy wings that flap far too slowly to be keeping it in the air.

To its right, another flying *thing*, identical in build but seemingly composed out of molten rock, dark in some places and glowing in others. It moves even more sluggishly than the one made of mud, lava rolling in slow globs down its body and falling in thick droplets that vanish before they strike the ground.

The next seems to have forgone flight, perched in a tree by its path. Unlike its companions to the left, this one's form is solid and sharp. It's seemingly comprised of crisp white ice, the air misting up around it from the cold. It looks down at the interlopers in the glade with a fitting chilliness.

The last barely seems to have solid form at all - its angular outline and sharp nose can be easily picked out to identify it as the same kind of being as the others, but its body seems to be made wholly of thick black smoke.

Sedrick thinks back to see if he can recall reading or hearing of creatures like these, and remembers that yes, he's heard of them. They're mephits - elemental beings, not too uncommon to find in places like this. What they're made of usually determines their disposition, but...damn it, he can't remember what kinds of mephit are like what. Looks like that'll be for us to find out.

Depth asks the mephits if they've seen anyone pass through here, dog-people with children in tow?

"Yes..." answers the mud mephit, "But they didn't want to talk to me... *Nobody* ever wants to talk to *me*..." He sounds and looks so utterly morose that it's hard not to take pity on him, really.

Which way did they go?

Each mephit replies in turn.

"They went *my* way," mumbles the mud mephit.

"No......they...passed...by me..." croaks the lava mephit, as though every word needs thought and effort to produce.

"Oh, now, don't go listening to those fools." The ice mephit cocks its head, its voice sharp and clear and sibilant, "They passed through this way, by *me.*"

"I tell you...they came my way..." rasps the smoke mephit.

It's one of those puzzles, huh.

The party starts debating among themselves - how can we prove which one tells the truth? Nobody wants to take the wrong path and end up lost again, or worse. A bright idea strikes Moon - he casts Detect Magic!

A few expected accessories like Sedrick's ring and Stripe's box of cards illuminate...as do three of the paths. The one beneath the lava mephit is the one that's failed to glow.

Sorted! Moon forges ahead down the unglowing path.

Everyone sets off behind him, feeling good about how easy that turned out to be. They follow the trail on for a couple of minutes until they reach a glade occupied by four mephits.

Well, shit.

The magma mephit seems as confused as anyone else as the tabaxi voice their disbelief. He's sure they went his way...

There's more chatter as everyone tries to figure out why that wasn't right, or what to do next. Lots of chatting with the mephits in hope that they'll say something that reveals the truth of the situation, but mainly it only reveals that the mud mephit has some serious self-esteem issues. Depth takes a real shine to "Mud Boy", he seems sweet even if he is so very sad. (Nobody wants to talk to *him*, he says, which seems a shame because of all the mephits he's the most amicable.)

The ice mephit occasionally makes little jabs about the mud mephit during the conversation, prompting Depth to tell him, to use not so many words, to butt out. Sea suggests that perhaps that's why poor Mud Boy's self-esteem is so bad!

Depth suddenly remembers: they've got a ring that makes people tell the truth! She asks Sedrick if she can borrow it a moment, and coaxes Mud Boy to come down and land for her - she only wants him to put this nice ring on. He obliges and shambles forwards as she crouches down to his level.

"Can you hold out your hand for me?" she asks, and he extends a muddy arm, palm-up.

He hangs his head. "Nobody ever wants to give anything to *me*..."

Depth slides the bark-like ring onto one of Mud Boy's elongated, grainy fingers, and asks, "Which path did they go down really?"

Before he can answer, though, the ring sinks through the mephit's finger, sliding into its muddy form and falling out the other side onto the ground. Mud Boy looks as saddened by this as he does by just about everything else, but Depth tries not to sound too disappointed. He did his best, after all. He can't help being made of mud.

There's only one mephit who isn't either incorporeal or like, probably super super hot to the touch...and Depth isn't sure she can trust him with the ring. But maybe it's worth a shot? She turns to the ice mephit and repeats the process, but she's much more tentative in giving the ring over, ready to pull it back the instant the icy imp makes a wrong move.

As she suspected, as she moves in to ease the ring onto its finger, the ice mephit makes a grab at it and Depth snatches her hand (and the ring!) away with a sound of frustration. The mephit flashes her a cruel grin. That's that plan out of the window, then!

There's not much left for it. It's a one-in-three shot. Which path should we try?

"I reckon I trust mudboy," says Sea, eyeing the first path. Depth agrees. The smoke one seems sinister, the ice one is openly untrustworthy, but the mud mephit has been a chill little dude whose only sin has been being really glum, and with that frosty dickhead around who can blame him! She takes a step his way, and checks back to see if anyone's following. There's a couple of shrugs of the 'eh, can't hurt to try it' variety, and on they all go.

The path doesn't loop back around. The trail winds a new track. Looks like this was the right way! Before too long, there's a new opening in the trees, into a dimly lit meadow.

(The shadows segment gets a little fuzzy because my dumb ass decided I didn't need to take notes or something towards the session end. Possibly because it was Late O' Clock and I was distracted by the game itself!)

(My notes read "colourful fire meadow", which I think was meant to remind me about some piece of evocative DM description that I, at the time, clearly thought I'd remember with utmost clarity and thus needed no extra description of. As it is, I don't even know what was on fire!)

There's a point at which folks start to notice there's something off here. 'Off' as in 'hey, Sedrick and Stripe have an extra shadow'. Because that's not super unnerving or anything. Nobody's feeling good about these extra shadows...being...there.

And rightly so.

Again, my notes went to hell here, so I'm not sure exactly what triggered combat with these shadows, when Depth noticed that they were light-averse (as one might expect a shadow to be), or when Sedrick's high-ass Arcana check enlightened him only to the fact that these things are likely something called...well, Shadows. They're so rare and unstudied as to literally only be known as that, and also yeah, they're spooky. Great.

The tricky part, in the weird light of the meadow that may or may not also be on colourful fire, is identifying exactly which shadow is the problem one. Moon casts a spell (I think it was Dancing Lights?) to try to illuminate the afflicted party members from above, theoretically eliminating all but their false shadow, but...succeeds only in creating a quartet of shadows around them, making it all the harder. It's the thought that counts, though, right?

However it goes down, eventually Depth lights a torch and shoves it at Sedrick's extra shadow - and where Sea's arrows and Sedrick's magics weren't seeming to do a whole bunch, it shies away from the flame, swapping abruptly to the other side of Sedrick. It looks...fainter.

Fire! Fire is good! Anyone who can get hold of some kind of flame does so and jabs said fire at the shadows. There's a strange kind of scuffle where the shadows take their toll on the tabaxi they're attached to. Stripe in particular comes off roughly, the shadow sapping not only her health but the very strength from her limbs. It doesn't feel good at all. But eventually, thankfully, the flurry of waving torches and arrows cause the shadows to just fade away. Stripe still feels uncharacteristically frail, though. Whatever that shadow did, it was nasty stuff.

Now that everyone's back to the regular number of shadows (and hey, what was with the fact the shadows only attached to the guys who used the curse bag anyway?), the journey resumes, on into the forest...

The party's keen tabaxi ears catch wind of sounds of skirmish ahead of them, further along the trail. There's roars and snarls and the muffled cries of children. Children? Everyone rushes forth towards the commotion - the kids, is it them? - and the source of the sound reveals itself.

A handful of jackalweres are being set upon by a *dragon*. Its pearly scales gleam, all kinds of bright and shifting colours flashing off of its hide as it moves to bite at one of the dog-men, pulling back to rend him almost in half with a streak of dark blood arcing in the air. The clan's children are there, too, stumbling away best they can with their hands bound, screaming even through their gags. By the time the party reach the edge of the glade, not a single were-beast remains, each and every one cut down by this irridescent creature's teeth and claws.

It stills.

It turns, sighting the party, and lowers its body close to the ground, wings half-opened. It's positioned itself squarely between the children and the party, and it begins slowly pacing back and forth.

It's not attacking, though. Just pacing and watching with wary eyes. Sedrick and Sea watch it back, following its body language, trying to fathom whether it's safe to approach or what it's trying to do.

It's...guarding the children. There's a protectiveness to the way it's crouched in front of them, the part-opened wings a shield. It's probably watching to see if these newcomers mean any harm.

Of all the party, it's probably hardest for Depth to not just rush forwards past, but she stays back. Sea and Sedrick move in a little closer, slowly, Sea holding her palms open and face-up in an attempt to demonstrate a lack of harmful intent. The dragon eyes them uncertainly, still blocking their path as they come closer.

Sea attempts to follow the logic of this place so far - show goodwill...how can she show she's here in peace? She's got some rations in her pocket, right, she can offer it food...

Sea gingerly reaches into her pocket, and the dragon snaps to immediate attention, opening its mouth to release a wave of sparkling light. She and Sedrick duck out of the way, but the blast strikes Moon and Depth nearby.

Depth, all of a sudden, feels just *wonderful.* A wave of utter bliss washes over her and takes her under, and she's lost to the world, staring dreamily into space as she's overwhelmed with just this bizarre, lovely, lovely experience. Life is delightful for Depth right now. It's probably better than wine.

Moon, in contrast, finds himself full of more energy than he knows what to do with! He's gotta!! He's gotta run!! There's just this compulsion to *go, go, go!!!* racing through his entire being. His pupils widen SO BIG, and like an over-excited kitten he's just racing around the glade, hither and thither, back and forth, tail fluffed up like a bottle-brush. NYOOOM!!!

Sea gives up on the food offering, opting instead to just sit herself down on the ground very tentatively, hands back on display. Sedrick continues to edge closer to the fairy dragon, extending a hand. The dragon, in return, takes a step nearer and lowers its head like an animal waiting to be pet.

After a moment's hesitation, Sedrick places his hand on the dragon's head, and is wracked with an immediate flash of psychic pain. Like a headache, but like a sharp one. He experiences the singlarly unique sensation of having his mind pushed into, and sifted through: unbidden, the memories of this past day start playing backwards - the shadows, the quartet of mephits, jackalweres trapped in piercing vines, a beholder made of spores, the gravel pit - faster now, a blur through the day in Einhorn, back further, to the camp as the children play-

The memories pause. They reel back slower now. Kids chasing one another around the campfire. Depth tucking in Zanti to sleep. It stops there, taking in the memory, and then Sedrick's mind is his own again and he's back in the present day.

The dragon backs away, seemingly satisfied, its head lowered in a gesture of understanding as it steps aside. There's only a moment before Depth rushes forwards to the children, pulling Zanti into her arms with a breathless sob, and everyone runs forth to join her, cutting the little tabaxi children free of their restraints and ungagging them. There's a lot of hugs all around, lots of reassurances that it's okay now, lots of the kids talking over one another about the things that have happened...

...but it's time to go home now. The kids are as eager to get back as the adults are, and so with the missing children found safe, it is high time everyone get back to where they should be instead of in these strange, strange woods.

The path back is straighter and faster by far. Not in the way that return journeys always feel, but quite literally - where the path was winding, it's just...not. The dryad gives the group a smile as they pass by (and Moon moon-eyes back, of course), glad to see their safe reappearance.

The caravans pack up and leave Einhorn that night, their inhabitants glad for the return of their sons and daughters and also...well.

They're tabaxi, aren't they.

It may have been a terrifying ordeal, sure, but doesn't it just make for a great *story?*