Fantasy ~ FableWood ~

[Lioness075]

Luness shrugged when the idea of splitting up was shut down. That was fine for her anyhow.


Listening to Kallin and Ward, Luness could already tell that this was going to be a challenge in the end and most likely throughout. Then agaim, so was every adventure and battle this group went through.


Following Ward's lead, Luness soon found herself in the room with a mirror before her. When Ward pushed through it, Luness was surprised to see the mirror ripple and then allow him passage.


Hating how water-like the portal seemed, Luness hesitated, not entirely sure if she wanted to go first. Still...Luness knew she had no other alternative.


Taking a deep breath, Luness pushed through the mirror after Ward and blinked to find herself standing in a mushroom-filled forest.


Despite how peaceful it appeared, Luness could already sense an unease rippling through the forest. Something was definitely wrong in this world.


Listening to Ward, Luness nodded and then wondered why riddles were such a big deal. It wasn't like Luness knew any good ones or any at all.


Hearing eccentric mentioned, Luness snickered to herself, most of the group was eccentric in their own ways. Some more so than others.


@SilverFlight

 

[SkywardSocks]

Achyls' eyes widened as she witnessed Ward disappearing into the mirror. It seemed impossible to see something disappear into such a small object. But this was Wonderland...strange Wonderland. She looked to Kallin, a curious look on her face merged with an awkward fear. She looked to him for some kind of reassurance, but found nothing. In silence, she too appeared in the forest, a few paces from Ward. She listened intently, having some kind of guidance here was much appreciated. Mitchell's words were comforting nonetheless, providing relief from the fear she felt. It was unfounded fear though, she had been told it was generally peaceful here. So why was she so afraid? She let her wings unfold again, stretching out her back, trying to appear ready for the journey.

 

[andujarprime]

Malachai watched as the first few went through the mirror. Hw shrugged and made his way over, not wanting to be last. He looked back at the others then made his way into the mirror. A strange sensationovertook him. He felt very disoriented for a second, which was odd for him. He had always had a sense of direction, and a sense of balance that came with flying. But for just a second he wasn't sure if he was coming or going, or if he was even upright anymore. He frowned as he stumbled through the other side just in time to catch Ward's speech. "And we couldn't just fly here?" He said mostly to himself with a shrug.

 

[Sleipnir]

Ethan hesitated, first putting a hand against the strange mirror, then finally walking through. When he opened his eyes again, he was - yes - in wonderland. He broke into a grin. Oz was okay, but this was going to be great. Well - so long as they didn't run into a bandersnach or jabberwock. He turned to Anya. "I feel faint. Bring me a ham sandwich!" He quoted the version of the play his school had performed, aware this likely didn't actually happen. Then he looked at the others. "Suppose we'll see the chess queens?"

 

[andujarprime]

Malachai got wide eyed after the boy spoke. "You brought ham!!???" He asked excitedly "Care to share kid?"


@Sleipnir

 

[Sleipnir]

Ethan turned to Malachai and hesitated, looking mildly confused for a moment before laughing, realizing what he mean. "Oh -- no, no. Sorry to disappoint. A year or two back my school did Alice In Wonderland as a play, and that was one of the King of Hearts' lines. I don't actually have any ham," he admitted, smiling sheepishly. He hadn't thought to mention before that he had been a drama nerd at home. If there was a play, he was in it. Ethan thought he was at least decent at it, anyway.

 

[andujarprime]

With a look of disappointment Malachai nodded. He had been around the humans of Fablwood long enough to understand what a play was. "Okay, guess I should've grabbed some extra bacon then." He muttered to himself. "Sure had me about to second guess my sense of smell.


@Sleipnir

 

[Flutterby]

Quincy hesitated, looking at the mirror uncertainly. But the group began to go through one by one and each time the mirror rippled peacefully after them. With a quick smile at Alexander, she stepped forward and touched the mirrors surface with her finger. It didnt move for a moment, then yielded to her hand. With a deep breath, she stepped through and came out on the other side. A forest, go figure. It looked much like mainland Fablewood did, but she knew that there were hidden peculiarities. The kelpie readied herself to move, mentally preparing for their mission.


(Working today, so wont be posting, just take Quincy along ^^)

 

[Happy Red Mage]

Excalibur shuffled slowly behind the group. She was conflicted on whether or not she should be glad that there had not been any situation that had forced her to turn into a sword. She was even sure that she had only said her name to a few people. Slowly she looked around with caution. From what she had gathered, there have been bad things going on. She suddenly froze on her tracks as she finally realized something that was long overdue. 'What if...there is something in this involved with Arthur?' She thought as she balled her fist tightly. Dim light seeped from in between her fingers, making her unravel her fist and continue walking.


(Tag me if I'm needed)

 

[zCrookedz]

After only a short time in the library Leo was summoned by one of the servant that the group was heading out. Leo looked over the books he had skimmed through and pushed himself from the table. He hadn't been able to read everything he had pulled out but it was a pleased with how much he had learned. He mad his way back to the others as Kallin was explaining something about splitting up. He followed ward and the others as they made their way back to the mirror. Watching as the glass rippled around the group as they went through the portal, Leo shouldered his way through the smooth surface of the glass and closed his eye. When he came out the others side he marveled at forest they had stepped into. Hearing Wards warning about the plant life here, Leo began to wondering what they effects of the plants life would have. "A wondrous place indeed, I can only imagine what this forest life would have to say should we have the time to listen."

 

[Hel]

Anya had stepped through with Ethan, she smiled at his request, then almost laughed at the dragon-man's response. "Jam yesterday and jam tomorrow, but never jam today," Anya said, quoting her favourite character. "I hope we'll meet the chess queens. Of course, if they're as strange as the plays and whatnot I doubt they'll be half as charming."





Alexander watched Quincy step through then entered right after her. He said noting and stuck close to his kelpie. He didn't know what lay on the other side of the portal, and when he got there was mildly surprised to find that it was so similar to his home. Huh.


"Well, then, Ward. Where do we start?"

 

[Sleipnir]

"It's the effect of living backwards," Ethan responded in kind. "Anyway, you're probably right, though that would kind of suck. Maybe not, though. It's hard to say what we'll think of them." He looked around, watching the forest around them. "Man, this is just so weird," he added, mostly to himself. Wonderland of all the places in the universe. Mock turtles, Lorries, card soldiers - living chess pieces! "I wonder what we'll run into that wasn't mentioned in the book."

 

[DawnAntalios]

Nyr stepped through the mirror without hesitation. She knew that what will await them on the other side was not pleasant but she did enter regardless - she wanted to help her family in any way she could. She felt the powers of the mirror taking her and she soon found herself in the strange and a little bit insane world she knew all too good - Wonderland.


This realm seemed to be much different than the other worlds they have been in. The plants and the wildlife seemed to be... twisted to say the least. Not because of the darkness however... this was how the true habitat looked like.


" I do not trust the sky and the winds of this place. " she murmured " I would recommend approaching our destination by foot. "

 

[SkywardSocks]

Achyls nodded at Nyr's remark


"I could not agree more, sister. But we must wait for Ward's decision. After all, he is leading us," she said, trying to be calm in this strange world. Her heart was beating incredibly fast, and her breathing was rasped. She took a deep breath, squashing her fears down in order to help. Ashley needed them, and she wanted to be there to save her. Around her, everyone seemed to be marvelling at Wonderland...in all it's 'glory'. She momentarily lost herself in her own head, hoping Mother Moon would help her.


"Mother Moon, please, give me the will to do this task" She thought to herself, before turning back to the group, convincing herself she would have strength.

 

[andujarprime]

Jam, ham, you guys keep talking of food when there's none, it's so sad" Malachai replied to them. He turned to watch Alexander step through and regarded him curiously. The boy seemed familiar, his scent, or presence. But he just couldn't place it. He thought about reaching out to him telepathically, but decided against it. Mental contact in a place like this, from a stranger no less is likely to do more harm than good. Another time he thought to himself as he waited for everyone to gather and a decision to be made.


@Hel @Sleipnir

 

[Bea Delaine]

Elena was pulled aside by Alice, and was deeply curious as to what anyone would have to say to her. She's never been to Wonderland before.. Evidently as a human. When Alive explained, she nodded her head in understanding. Ward truly had a way devotion. In a case where said devotion might be misplaced, it could put him in danger.


"I understand.. Right now I'm trusting in the idea that anything can be true until one option is proven false for me, but I'll stay cautious and help Ward understand even if he hates the truth.. Or me for revealing it." She said quietly, smiling at the sight of the group leave.


"It was lovely meeting you Alice. I hope I do again, but for now I have to go.. Ward will be safe, as will Wonderland."


Elena gave a short nod and started walking to the mirror. When she reached it, people were already passing through. She waited a moment and did the same. On the other side, it was beautiful. In a strange way but still beautiful all the same. Then her mission came to mind.. To find Ashley and keep ward from allowing his loyalty to get him hurt or jeopardize the mission.

 

[Hel]

Alexander nodded in agreement with Malachai. "It is very dangerous to make a dragon hungry if you have no food to offer." He added to the older dragon's response with almost a smile. His playful mood from the night before lingered over, it seemed, despite the fact he was in this strange world and may be faced with just walking rather than having the freedom to fly. He glanced once more at Malachai, then turned to Ward, awaiting the plan.


Anya laughed at the dragons' responses. Since the arrival of the new dragon, Alexander's mood seemed greatly improved for some reason. She wondered if dragons maybe weren't the loners that they pretended to be. Fighting back the urge to run around yelling 'bread and butter! bread and butter!', Anya looked around the world. It seemed somehow darker than the books had described, and definitely different than the movies, though she wasn't quite certain what it was that seemed so different.

 

[Sleipnir]

Ethan, however, couldn't resist another reference. "Hay, then! Nothing is as good as a mouthful of hay when you're feeling faint." He then looked around. "Well— when do we move on? I'm really very excited to see more of Wonderland," he said, looking at the others.

 

[SilverFlight]

"I am not entirely sure the flora will make much sense. A good chunk of it can speak quite plainly, just as you or I." Ward responded to Leo as he began to lead the way.


Tulgy was a curious forest, even for Wonderland's standards. At one point a flock of rocking horse flies decided to investigate the group more closely. One landed on Leia's shoulder and she grinned broadly.


"Flying won't get us there unfortunately. You could fly for leagues and never see the place you wanted to get to. But if you follow the signs on the forest trails, you'll find it in half a day. That is one of the most irritating thing about Wonderland, nothing ever works the way you would expect it to...even common sense."


There were curious types of birds; a spoon bill, that actually had a teaspoon structure on the end of its beak, a bird with brilliant red feathers that was writing on parchment. When Leia asked the gryphon what it was doing he replied simply: "Its a cardinal, its writing cardinal rules."


Leia decided t give up after that.


"The white Queen is slightly out of the way, I am not sure we will meet her."


Kallin saw Achyls discomfort, already feeling badly from the night before he spoke up. "How bad could this place be, you're with pretty powerful company." Of course he omitted that what they were facing was probably stronger then all of them combined...why worry her more?


The path continued for a ways, leading them up and down and sometimes back. The trail was relatively uneventful. At one point they came to an intersection with eight different directions and not one sign. Ward stopped, considering the sun and at one point the wind and then continued down his chosen way. The mushrooms littering the forest floor began to get larger...actually everything did. the trees disappeared but the grass soon replaced them, towering above their heads and shading them from the warm sun.

 

[SkywardSocks]

Achyls looked at Kallin, appreciating his kindness. She let a smile come to her face but it was one that was much too short-lived.


"You are right, Kallin. It's just the-" she forced herself to stop, not wanting to seem stubborn, "I should not put my burdens upon you. We have our mission here and we ought to think only of that," she said with a stony expression, still feeling awkward in the inside. She closed her eyes for a time, as if trying to tell herself she wasn't there, but upon opening them, she only felt worse. The growing size of everything around her made her heart pick up rapidly. She felt small, vulnerable. She moved closer to Kallin as if it helped her in some way.

 

[zCrookedz]

Leo followed the gryphon, a hand placed on his ax hilt most of the trip. After the events that had befallen the group so far, Leo began to feel a bit paranoid of such strange places now. As they meandered along the path chosen before them. Leo's eye darted from place to place as he took in the strange creatures and plant life that they met along their way. He could have spent hours lost in thought about the wondrous forest around them, but based on what he had learned from Ward and the books that would not be a very well thought out plan. As the approached the mushroom ridden path, Leos ears perked up and he began to remember of a mushroom that could alter ones size. "I wonder if the forest would have any objections to me aquireing a few samples of some of the fauna." He spoke to no one in-particular as he began to look over the mushrooms along the path. As if the forest could read his mind, the path began to reflect his thoughts on the mushroom and everything began to get bigger and bigger the deeper they went. Leo watched as the ginormous grass blades shaded them from the sun "Amazing!", he said as he reached out and felt one of the grass blades with his own hands.

 

[Bea Delaine]

Elena observed everything with interest, holding her book now and scribbling down notes and pictures. She figured any human reading it would see her as crazy, and she suddenly sympathized with Lewis Carroll.


She followed Ward closely, trusting his knowledge of Wonderland.


"So, may I ask how you know all of this? I mean, what's your background with Wonderland?" She asked, as she drew, golden eyes caught everything that moved. She was very appreciative to have a guide but was curious as to why said guide was Ward.


As she grass grew and the trees disappeared, Elena had this odd feeling of being tiny, though she knew it was the other way around or she at least figured so. She sketched out how she saw the group, and included a person on a leaf to accurately depict scale factor.

 

[SilverFlight]

Ward smiled at Elena, "That's right, I haven't told any of you. I was only sixteen when I was taken to Briar, the guards rightly wanted me to pay for what I had done with my life, but as you know, she spared me." For the benefit of the new members of the group he explained how he had killed a knight when he was younger, consumed with greed for a treasure found in a cave. He had been lost and without purpose before that. "She told me instead to learn to control the monster I was, and learn. It was hard finding a mentor to teach me more than basic reading and writing. Briar's tutors helped as much as they could. The one person who did not shy away from the request was her majesty Levinia, the queen of hearts. I remember first coming to the castle with Briar. I couldn't even transform then, I was just a scraggly young gryphon about the size of a pony. She took one look at me and said "There's a creature with a good heart." And that was it. I studied in the school by her castle, I met Monty there. Alice appeared during on of our lunch breaks and we three became fast friends. Levinia taught me the principles of magic..." he trailed off as his mind returned to the present situation.


"Levinia has a very special ability. She isn't called the queen of hearts because she commands a pack of cards...she is called that because she can actually see the hearts of others, gaze into them, and be able to tell the true nature of someone. She had faith in me and it turns out she was right. Someone with that type of power, someone so dedicated to helping others...I do not believe she has been corrupted. I cannot fathom it at all."


A low thundering sound brought Ward out of his story. He looked up as it grew louder. "Get into the grass!" He hissed, transforming to meet the unknown presence stampeding toward them. Suddenly the thundering stopped. An eerie silence fell on the giant grove. Without any warning at all Ward was bowled over and proceeded to be licked and drooled on by a puppy the size of a small cottage.


"Eck! Its all right! He's harmless!" Ward sputtered as he tried to heft the young gargantuan dog off him. The puppy lost interest in the gryphon as fast as he had gained it, instead going to sniff the other members of their party with much enthusiasm.


Kallin saw Achyls move closer, his first instinct was to move away, but he saw the look on her face and forced himself to stay where he was, walking quietly beside her. When he was warned to hide he did so, readying his staff just in case. The puppy was a great shock, but the image of something as regal as a gryphon being covered in dog drool made for a hilarious image. Despite himself Kallin laughed out loud.


@SkywardSocks

 

[BloodThunder27]

After quite some time, Ashley finally awakened. Sadly, she ended up awakening to a stomachache. And a headache. "Where...Am I?" she asked, holding her belly and her back as she sat up. When her vision cleared, she realized that she was not in her Bedroom! Well this wasn't good...Where was she? Obviously not in Branbern anymore. She was in a Cage! And she was shackled by her ankles and her wrists. Well, looks like she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Hopefully her companions would come for her...They wouldn't leave her like this! Considering how much love they have been showing her over the past two or so months. She felt frightened, and afraid. With nothing better to do, she just relaxed against the wall and began wondering about her companions.


(She has no idea where she's at. I figured that I'd post after a thousand years. @SilverFlight )

 

[DawnAntalios]

Nyr walked with the others, observing the various faces of Wonderland. Listening to Ward's tale she started to think what could hold dominion over the ruler of this land but she had nothing in her mind. That is until she remembered an old rhyme, one she had heard a very long time ago.


'When all the truth does is make your heart ache,


Sometimes a lie is easier to take.'


As she recalled this short line of words she started to think. Maybe it was not the queen herself that was the issue.


" Does the queen have an adviser? " she asked out of curiosity " Maybe you are right and it is not the queen who is the problem here - maybe she is influenced by one she thinks to be an ally when in reality her mind is being twisted with each second she is near that traitor. "


She then stopped abruptly as an another dread thought passed through her mind.


" But then it can also be... that Ashley was kidnapped... to lure Ward here... "