Chance Meetings

In the Runetrale Forest, in a sheltered canyon

Face sat down on a rock that was just the right shape to make a decent seat. He lit the fire and tended it until it grew warm enough to take the chill from his limbs, and began to prepare a little dinner. His supplies were starting to run a little low, but he estimated that he had enough to last another few days, at least. The next village wasn't supposed to be too far away.

By his reckoning, he had another three weeks before he reached Eresmol, and the men Tharalf had told him about. Hopefully, they'd be able to help him find other worlds where he could find the answers he needed.

As he was cutting off small pieces of salted pork, he heard something from the bushes nearby. "Hello?" he said, cautiously.

"Oh! Hi! Yeah, hold on. Just a moment. I'm a little bit...uh, you don't think you could give me a hand here, do you?" a voice asked from the bushes. "That wasn't exactly the smoothest transition I've ever had between planes. Perhaps her visualization was off, although I've never known it to be off before. Usually it's spot on. I'll have to tell her when I get back. In any case, I'm a bit stuck. My wings are caught. Are you in any position to help me?"

There was a rustling as something in the bushes rocked back and forth. It was unlikely to be all that large given the shape of the thicket, but then again Face hadn't seen anything enter the bushes either.

"I suppose so..." Face said cautiously. He tried to think of things that had wings. Angels had wings, right? Of course, so did demons. And star-spawned monstrosities from beyond time. Those often had wings, from what he'd read. Still though, it was polite. So... devil, maybe? Or angel. Or something else with wings. Like a winged horror from between the stars.

He moved forward cautiously, drawing his sword. If it was something benign, it would help him to cut the bushes away from its wings. Sure. That was it. "So, what brings you out to the woods?" he asked.

Woodin's eyes open. The sunlight pervades intrusively across his gaze, and he swats some small insects that had collected on his brow as he slept on the underbrush. Despite his vast frame, a canvas of his grey muscles and leather clothing as a crude but defined still life at times, lifts off the crushed leaves without a sound. He hears the murmurings of other life aside from the peaceful forest denizens that keep his company.

He lightly moves the leaves blocking his way to the makeshift encampment, and steps in to view.

"Greetings. I am Naragma. Are you travelers?"

He has an imposing but non-threatening composure about himself, truly a gentle giant.

Zilonis

Face saw a small golden-furred elephant with wasp-like wings entangled in a patch of thorns. It was slashing with its tusks in order to free itself. One vine was wound around its right wing; but slashing at that vine apparently caused constriction and pain. The creature looked up to see a young humanoid with bright red hair.

"Hello there, yes! Some assistance, if you please? Please be careful with the wing. It's stronger than it looks, but not by much." It fluttered the wing in question and winced.

"I was supposed to be set down outside the forest. About 20 miles from the nearest forest, actually. I suppose that it's another mishap. I've heard of them occurring, but never had the misfortune to experience one. I can't do it for myself yet, unfortunately, so I had to ask for help. My sister is well-meaning, but perhaps overreaches herself. She said that she could manage the scroll, and I believed her. It might be a defective belief-formation mechanism on my part--Bruin would know better about that--but I must take responsibility for my predicament." The amiable creature chattered away while Face considered how best to use his sword.

I'm not trying to cut you out, Xigbar. I just figured that Woodin would have made his appearance after Zilonis (my character--a hollyphant) responded to Face. Also, I'm not sure that Zilonis would be able to see Woodin from where he's trapped in the thicket.

JackMann, I tried not to put words in Face's mouth or commit him to any particular response. I apologize if I've taken any liberty I shouldn't have taken.

"Well, you're a funny-lookin' little bit, aren't ya?" He looked over the vine, and, very carefully, cut the vine. "There y'are, jimmy. Easy as, an' you're good off."

He stepped back to give the tiny creature a little more room. He was about to ask where it was it had come from (the mention of transitions, scroll, and planes seemed promising) when he suddenly noticed another approaching. He looked up at the newcomer. Then he looked up some more. For good measure, he looked up even more than that, and finally met the eyes of the man-shaped mountain that had wandered up. "I... am of a generally travelin' nature, yes," he said. He looked from the giant to the tiny winged furry thing and back. "Stones, it's feast or famine with the two of you, innit? Er, my call-by's Face. I don't rightly know the bit o' whatsit's, but it seems friendly. Was just fetchin' it from the bushes when you made in."

Naragma takes no notice of the first man ignoring him, and faces the fellow calling himself Face. He smiled at the young man's
amusing cadence, and lowered his hunched shoulders to make himself appear less intimidating. "It is good to meet you, friend. Maybe I can help you with that, if you plan to eat it? I have a little knowledge of most creatures, that may be of use in preparing it."

Zilonis

"Eep! Nononono! What sort of monster are you?" The hollyphant's wings buzzed and lifted it into the air at the height of the others' heads.

His head tilted to one side and the tip of his trunk scratched at his chin. "No, seriously. What sort of monster are you? You're humanoid, but not human I think. Fey, perhaps? No, their features tend to be elongated in one dimension or the other. Hmmm."

He shifted to face the human who had freed him, although his eyes still strayed to the other. In fact, he flew just a little higher to be more out of reach. "Thank you, sir. I'm Zilonis. I hope my intrusion into your forest hasn't disturbed you too much. You said that they call you by your face--and I suppose that another of your species would think it's quite a nice face despite the shortness of your nose--but I wonder how such a thing is done. Do they describe it every time? That strikes me as quite cumbersome. Still, it's not without precedent. Hehe. You ever learn Draconic? In any case, you have my thanks."

"And you sir," he said to the other, "have my indignation. Hmph."

A large sphere of electricity manifests itself a few feet away from the small group and then seems to crack like glass and fall to the ground, dissolving rapidly. A massive shape of stone and metal was left where the center would have been, shaped roughly like a humanoid. A deep bass rumbled forth from the large creature and a pair of metal canines dropped from its back and took up guarding positions next to him. "I was told this plane would hold what I seek, or a way to get there. Are the prisoners here?"

Naragma frowns slightly at his apparent misunderstanding of the small creature that was also an adventurer, though you wouldn't be able to tell from his stiff face, but for the movement of a few muscles on his brow. "My apologies, I did not realize you were companions. And, the name you might know my people by is "Goliath." " He places his belonging down, which would have toppled most people under their weight, though he swung them link stalks of grain. "May I join you? I may supplement our meal."