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[Dwarmin]

Alfrieda took her seat, allowing herself to relax. She let the tension roll out of her shoulders and decided to extend some trust toward their host. She knew that was when they got you, when you let your guard down...but, if there was never a first person to extend trust, no one would get along at all. Alfrieda was not fearful of magic, no more than she might fear a river just because you could drown in it. The river could be beautiful and amazing-and it could kill you stone dead-but, if you knew it for what it was and respected that, you didn't have to be afraid of it. You might even be able to enjoy it. She had long come to terms with that.

And, the Fae was very beautiful. Looking upon her was like basking in the cool of night after a long day working the fields, or maybe feeling a chilled rain on your forehead wash away the battle fever. It bought peace and a feeling of contentment, like you might only feel as a child. Such poetic terms were rusty and unused in Alfrieda mind...

"Oh, it's simple, really." the fae woman says with a smile. "Reginald and I were simply pining for the land which we once walked upon. Having noticed that the barrier to the Otherworld was weakened we decided to see how things changed in our absence. I must admit that this fog is less beautiful than the fields of flowers and rolling hills which I once knew, but it is good to feel the sun upon my face again. You will not find fault in an old lady wanting a touch of sunshine and some fresh air, will you?"

Alfrieda had removed her helmet and gauntlets, and even her shoulder-pads placing them on Viridian.

"No, I wouldn't fault you, good Lady. This land is free now. We won't drive strangers away without good reason. And, we thank you for hospitality. Forgive us our caution, but one does not dive into a river unless they know how deep it is. And if there are rocks just underneath the surface." She had said, wondering if Fey could parse her meaning.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all likewise," Enid says with a polite smile. "Please do not stand there so stiffly. Come and share my table. I understand your hesitancy but please. You do me a disservice as a host if you refuse my hospitality like this. Sit. Please." As if on cue, the six chairs at the table as pulled back in unison. Not showing the slightest bit of surprise, Enid sits at the head of the table and patiently waits as the unseen servants pour her something in an ornate cup. Taking a sip she says, "As you can see it is perfectly safe to drink. I am not so poor of a host as to poison my guests." The smile she offers is as warm and inviting as an unattended fire. After a few moments she covers her mouth in polite shock.

Alfrieda held up her own cup to be filled, and gestured towards the Fey politely.

"I would not be so rude as to refuse your offer, for I am thirsty after a long ride. Yet, I am a representative of the Queen, so I must ask-will accepting the food and drink placed on this table come with any obligations set upon us for doing so?" She had said, remembering. It was a calculated risk, but an easy one to take. The Fey had not likely put any binding contract on taking the drink or the food-that was an old trick, even by Fey standards, where they laid a table with tasty comestibles then charged the humans who guilelessly partook with thievery, binding them in coils of powerful obligation. And yet refusing outright could enrage a Fey, which was also...very bad.

Alfrieda had volunteered herself, both as questioner and taste tester-hopefully the former questioning of motives would be forgiven for the latter implication of trust-Alfrieda would be the first to drink, and so decorum would be observed....She suspected she was already under an obligation of a sort, anyway, so it didn't matter much. She supposed the drink could still do plenty of bad things..but a woman with four years left in her life has everything to live for, and almost nothing to fear. Alfrieda had to admit there was a thrill in trying something that few humans ever could.

[Powder Miner]

"Hmm... No, I'm afraid I hadn't heard anything..."
Antonio, stops, listens, and looks around.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"....my horse.....it tread on something. It might have just been something on the ground....if there was anything on the ground within these fogs."

[Chevaleresse]

"Well then, why are we standing around and chatting about it instead of investigating?" Arvaine asks irritably, before swinging down off of his horse and trying to find whatever it was that was stepped upon.

[Sudurandom]

Equally evident to all are the bones and bodies embedded in the mud of the pool, barely made out from this distance. What they came from is difficult to tell but obviously some are from deer or other larger animals.

"Well that's ominous." Owen tries to figure out what he can from the remains (eg. if they're in one piece as if the animals just died and rotted or if they were fed upon, or whether there is any pattern to where the remains are or aren't.) If necessary he sneaks closer but stays well away from the mud and water. 

[USEC_OFFICER]

Tale of the Fae Maiden

"No, I wouldn't fault you, good Lady. This land is free now. We won't drive strangers away without good reason. And, we thank you for hospitality. Forgive us our caution, but one does not dive into a river unless they know how deep it is. And if there are rocks just underneath the surface." She had said, wondering if Fey could parse her meaning.

"Oh, I completely understand," she says with a smile that suggests the river is hiding more than rocks in it. Obviously she parses her guests's meaning for her expression immediately lightens up as she adds, "Your caution is more than warranted in such troubling times. Please. If there is anything I can do to soothe your nerves do not hesitate to ask."

Alfrieda held up her own cup to be filled, and gestured towards the Fey politely.

The unseen servant fills Alfrieda's cup with a hot, dark-brown liquid. Afterwards she gets the impression that she's being bowed at for a few moments.

"Feel free to ask for some honey or cream if its taste is not to your liking," Enid helpfully suggests. Proper tea has not yet made its way to Europe from places with names that Alfrieda can only dream of. As such she can be forgiven if the taste of the liquid in her cup is not to her liking.

"I would not be so rude as to refuse your offer, for I am thirsty after a long ride. Yet, I am a representative of the Queen, so I must ask-will accepting the food and drink placed on this table come with any obligations set upon us for doing so?"

"On my honour and word as an Aes Sidhe, I do swear that accepting the drink and food placed on the table places no obligations upon you. Beyond those as expected as guests and hosts. Once you leave you will have no duties to render unto me beyond those which you willingly wish for." Enid looks quite serious as she declares such things to the assembled party, her cheerful demeanour dropping like leaves in the first frost of winter. Not for very long of course, but long enough to show how much she means her words. With a polite nod towards her guests she says, "Please. Try something to eat. I'm sure that you will find something to your fancy."

"Thank you." He said as he took his spot. "Although I think we should not tarry long. Our mission, and the mission of the White Branch as a whole, is to restore this land to what it once was. I am not sure how much one such as you would be aware of the most recent history of this area. But the short of it is that a Tyrant usurper took power, and although has since been disposed, grievously wounded the lands as his final act, thus the cataclysmic sundering and fog. The order of the white branch was established hastily to rectify these wounds, and bring the kingdom back together. It's a matter of some urgency, given that until we do the inhabitants of the kingdom seem likely to be trapped and helpless within this maze of foggy realms. In order to accomplish our task, we seek the Wybyd, to be replanted in the Kingdom’s Garden. I do not suppose you have heard any thing of them?" He finished hopefully.

"The Wybyd? I have heard something of them, yes," she replies. "Many things, in fact, some of which are relevant to your task at hand. But I must ask. Can such a discussion wait until after we have sated our bellies and enjoyed each other's company? Or is your task so important that you must ride off as the slightest hint of such a Wybyd?"

"Well then, why are we standing around and chatting about it instead of investigating?" Arvaine asks irritably, before swinging down off of his horse and trying to find whatever it was that was stepped upon.

After a few moments of searching, Arvaine stumbles upon the source of this delay. It's a piece of half-rotted fish, obviously dropped due to its rankness. The question is who dropped this unappetising meal and how close they were, for no beast could have done it.

Arvaine senses that, due to the nature of the fog, he is likely to stumble upon the source of his waste should he wish to search for them. This connection with them, however meagre, enables him to do so.

"Well that's ominous." Owen tries to figure out what he can from the remains (eg. if they're in one piece as if the animals just died and rotted or if they were fed upon, or whether there is any pattern to where the remains are or aren't.) If necessary he sneaks closer but stays well away from the mud and water. 

[1 4 5 6] = 15

The branches sway ominously above Owen despite the lack of a breeze, but otherwise nothing stirs in the small clearing. Closer to the pool he can see that only a few of them were fed upon but most simply rotted away to nothing. Many bones seem to be broken or skulls smashed in, as if something pummelled these animals to death and then left them once they stopped moving.

[Twinwolf]

The Fey's assurance is enough for Lillian, who bows politely (she assumes) and begins to take a seat. "Thank ya' for your hospitality." she says as she does so. She's still rather obviously nervous, but also takes a cup.

[USEC_OFFICER]

Lillian's cup is also filled by Enid's unseen servant.

"Thank you for your kind words," the Fae maiden says, acknowledging her with a nod of her head. "Do not worry. I understand that this is not a time to be formal. Your words, however crudely said, mean more to me than a thousand vapid compliments delivered perfectly.

[DragonRage]

Magnus and Magda move to cover the group's blind spots, peering cautiously out into the mist.  Magda attempts to summon a beam of light from her staff to aid their search for anything suspicious.

[Sudurandom]

Owen returns and reports what he saw. "...so whatever did this is probably highly territorial or killing for pleasure. Either way it's not good. And there's something about that tree that's making me nervous."

[Chevaleresse]

http://i.imgur.com/SnMWRQg.png[/img]. . .

It's a goddamn fish. A rotten one. Doubt an animal would have left it half-eaten long enough to get this rank, which means there's someone around here." He looks about at his companions. "We should search for them. Finding anything at all is good news."

[Powder Miner]

"Right... well I do suppose I can provide some aid there."
Using the clue of the rotten fish, Antonio will do his best to utilize his quick wit and intelligence to find something or someone further.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"I....know little about this mist, but I will try...."
As will Deidre.

[Dwarmin]

Alfrieda nods, appeased as much one can be.

A taste of the drink is...quite appealing to her. Underlying the essential bitterness of the unsweetened liquid, she feels a stimulating tang. She feels that this bitterness is an essential part of enjoying it. If Alfrieda had been born in a later generation, she would have been the sort who only took coffee black as death out of personal conviction. As it is, she spurns the offer of honey and cream as a Fey would an iron sword. She wonders what mystical plants grew in the Fey lands to make such a drink...

"...This is quite good. I have no need of sweets." She says, lifting her cup for a bit more. Alfrieda pays few compliments frivolously, as a rule, and she means this one.

That's all assuming something horrible doesn't happen after a few moments.

"The Wybyd? I have heard something of them, yes," she replies. "Many things, in fact, some of which are relevant to your task at hand. But I must ask. Can such a discussion wait until after we have sated our bellies and enjoyed each other's company? Or is your task so important that you must ride off as the slightest hint of such a Wybyd?"

Over tea, Alfrieda feels at ease and unusually chatty. The woman of steel and stone cracks a smile, if a small and lopsided one.

"Our task is quite important, my Lady. It is our solemn Oath to save this land that moves us forward, but as of yet, we have no trail to follow-the mists perplex and unbalance us. While we would pursue the Wybyd without fear or delay if a hint of one were presented, haste made without proper direction is the height of folly. If you can aid us in any way, we will be grateful.

So thus I believe we could linger for a short while, at least in a mortal reckoning, to enjoy our repast with you...call us hostages to your fine hospitality." She says, her tone deliberately witty. She reached for a Fey-biscuit, probably because they were delicious.

Alfrieda then launches into something that had been on her mind often before. Guests were expected to provide topics for conversation, no? Granted, her topic of discussion was quite cerebral.

"And, as for the reference to mortal reckoning, I will explain-the question of time has always been interesting to me, I suppose. To give an example, I have heard tales of the Great Enchanter dwelling across the narrow sea, who supposedly lived..or is living...his life in reverse-being born at the end of things, and dying at it's beginning. And yet to the men around him, he grows younger every season, knowing all that was to come-yet forgetting everything that happened just the day before. It is a sad and tragic tale, in truth, and it has always fascinated me.

I have thus wondered if the Aes Sidhe feel the same seasons and years as men and women do. If you live quicker or slower than we do, or if such questions could be fairly applied. Would a 'short while' for one of your kind be an hour of ours, or perhaps until the Kingdom of Galwalas rose and fell after a thousand lifetimes of men? Or does time pass the same, but in different ways depending on the world you stand upon?

Are the Sidhe familiar with such things?" She questioned.

[Kansa]

After hesitating for a moment Alice took her seat at the table, she spent a while just looking at Enid before taking a cup for herself.
"Thank you"