2026.03.11: Into The Woods Pt.1

Into the Woods (Pt 1/2)
Sark is in need of items for saddle bags to be crafted, so Baroness Mereid put out a proclamation calling on all willing to help him go on a quest to find the Iron Bull hide that he requires for their creation.
IC Date	March 11th, 2026
Players	Damon, Dasia, Rowan, Sark, Sky, Miranda (ST Only)
Location	The Greater Eastern Woods - County of Lion's Reach - The Dreaming
Prp/Tp	Into the Woods --> Conclusion
Spheres	Changeling, Bygone

It's been a few weeks since the proclamation went out, and after the rounds had been made, a group has been gathered tonight to go on the hunt for the items that Sarkesian the Gilded is in search of. The group will have gathered in the Great Eastern Woods, knowing that what they seek will be in a darker area within.

Together they shall journey, in search of whatever the iron bull is, seeking the hide of the beast. Will they find it? Will they leave in one piece? Can they do this as a team? Better question, if they find it, can they even retrieve it in a shape that will be useful?

Sark for the moment, has kept his human shape, barefoot in a t-shirt and jeans, while the group assembled up and made their way out to the woods, though as others make their appearance, he admits, "I mean, I've never SEEN an iron bull before - I went exploring in the Dreaming a while back and I got lost for like 6 months, so I was in no rush to recreate that disaster all on my lonesome again. I'm hoping the rest of you have better insight than I did..."

Rowan is decked out in full battle gear. Black head to toe with bright red buttons and of course, his blood red cap. The eyeliner he usually wears has been smeared. He has a huge duffel that's meant to carry items with a nice, sturdy handle so that maybe even a dragon can carry it. There are things in it currently as well. The chains that usually hang from belt loop to pocket have switched positions to just being attached to the loop -- to better be used as weapons if need be. "Well, I guess that depends on what KIND of iron, right?"

Sky arrives dressed and ready for adventure... kind of. He has arms, but they look more like Autumn world sporting good. Because that's what they are. A fencing saber and a long bow, although at least he brought actual hunting arrows. And a knife is a knife. And armor! Also, again, kind of. It's thick and tough fencing protective gear, probably not really up to turning aside the horns of an iron bull. But we'll find out together, won't we? "Does anyone know how big these things even are? I was guessing regular bull sized, which isn't a small thing to begin with."

Damon is not armed, perhaps uniquely among his companions. He's here as a gatherer, not a warrior, as he's always been squeamish about taking life, though not about processing it. His only concession to defense is that he's tightened his scaled smock. "Let's just hope it's JUST fucking iron, and not the god-awful nasty shit."

Dasia arrives with her usual flare, dressed somewhere between an approximation and a parody of a safari outfit - sleeves rolled up, the tails of the button-up shirt tied together cutely and giving it a crop-top kind of feel, with short shorts and boots to trudge through the dreams of the wilderness. Starlight blue hair is pulled back into a loose ponytail, with yes, a safari hat 'top her head, sunglasses 'pon her face, and a scarf tied 'round her neck.

She's also got a bit of yarn in her hands, clawed fingers (as in mannicured nails, not beasty talons) twisting it in various cats cradle patterns as a way to pass the time. "The size I'm less worried about than the hide, yes," she says, just the mix of blase and on the verge of excitement you'd expect from the Elegbara (that's Eshu for you westerners)... the excitement of the new tale being spun, but the casual boredom from their widely-known recklessness. She twists a finger, hooks the yarn, and pulls it to a new pattern, before sliding out another and the whole thing vanishes into it's original loop. "Cold-Iron, I imagine, would make it easier to find than not." Just follow the path of dead dreams.

Rowan hears something and he lifts his head a little bit, inhaling .. something. He squints and moves a little closer to the noise, holding a hand against the chains through his belt so they don't make as much noise. He's STILL a goddamn redcap, but he moves carefully, lightly.

Sark frowns a little as he glances around at the other faces, looking for inspiration or to see if someone has a wild idea. Something moving in the distance catches his attention after a moment and he steps away from the group towards one of the many wildly overgrown bushes around one of the trees, "Hey, you two...Nonono, don't you dare run off, you know I can catch you. C'mere. We need your help, and if you wandered this far...."

Dasia glances towards one of the bushes a bit away from the Great Tree, taking a moment to wrap and twist the yarn around one wrist to make an impromptu bracelet before she steps closer to investigate... something. "Hello there," she says, before puckering up and giving a quick little musical whistle. Not quite mimicking birdsong, but an attempt is made.

Sky pushes up on his toes to look into and over the bushes, which with his height gives him a pretty decent angle. He relaxes quickly though, rocking back down on his heels and putting his hands on his hips rather than reaching for a weapon. Sark's advancement towards the spot and his words have him tilting his head curiously.

Oh no! The fuzz! The chimera realize they are caught, and pop up - flying with their cute little wings - out of the bushes. Speaking together in melodic voices, "Don't tell on us!" They know they were caught. "We can help you, just don't get us in trouble!" They seem nervous that they have been found. The chimera are obviously cupids, clutching onto each other as if small children that got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"By whom?" Yes, the Redcap says 'whom'. Even with his very Northern British accent, Rowan manages to sound posh when he says it. Just for that word though.. then he's back to his usual Redcappery. "Who you scared of? What did you DO?" He motions in their general direction. "C'mon, 'fess up."

Sark arches a brow at the incriminating statements from the Chimera and chooses for the moment to not absolve or accuse them of anything juuust yet, knowing others in the group might be better at extracting, or say scaring information out of the two little miscreants, than he is. He glances back at Dasia and Sky and Damon and Rowan, biding his time for just a second longer.

Dasia kneels down, leaning closer and taking a conspiratorial tone. "Who you are scared of is important, but also with what you might help us with," she points out. "We might be inclined to overlook and ignore more, depending on what sort of help you have to offer." A pause, as she glances back to the others. "What have you to bargain with?"

Sky looks at the cupids, his gaze softening a bit more. Harmless enough looking as they are, he's in no rush to threaten them.

The cupids hold onto each other, as if even talking about it will be their end. "The Baroness. We are not supposed to leave the Glade without letting the Unicorn know. But .. but..." the one on the right begins. The one on the left continues "But we went out to search for some special fruits we heard about and got lost. We were found by the.. the... " this one sounds scared to say it. They look each other in the eyes and say, "The Iron Bulls." That makes them shudder. But the one on the left looks around at them and asks, "You can help us?"

"Well, shit. Let's go find 'em," Rowan says, offering a gesture outward. "We're looking for the Iron Bulls, so you take us there, because I'm a big, scary redcap and I MADE you show us.." He winks because that totally means that he's not threatening, right? ".. and we'll get you some fruit too. Sound like a good trade?"

Sark keeps his brow lofted as the little cupids explain, doing his damndest to NOT chuckle once they reveal the source of their 'problem'. Again he glances at the others and considers for a long moment, waiting for Roan to offer before offering as well to them, "If you're very careful and help us out, I don't HAVE to tell the Baroness we caught you out here."

Sky just smiles at the cupids and shrugs. "I won't say anything either. I'm just here to help him, and if that's good enough for him, it's good enough for me."

"You could even tell us where you found the Iron Bulls and not risk running into them again," Dasia points out. Tracking them ought to be easy enough one way or another.

The cupids look at each other and then whisper in each other's ears - at the same time - and then look at each other and nod. "Follow the dead bodies in the trees. They are over in that grove. Their leader... be careful! He threatened to bite our wings off!" They shudder again. A wingless cupid is no longer a cupid! "It's a dark place there. They do not like intruders. But they also do not have thumbs. That is why they needed us!" Dexterity is a thing. "Be careful! You do not want to be trapped there too!" They ask, "If you can get some fruit to bring back to the glade? And not say anything? We were trying to get the dragonfruit from the trees there. Even just a few and we can brew special mead for everyone."

Rowan nods a little to the cupids. "Got it. SO.. one more quick question. What do the iron bulls LOOK like? We've only had a brief description. We need more." He glances around to the others. That's a logical question. Right?!

Damon groans. "Great, fucking great. Little twits sneaking out. At least we have a goddamned lead."

Sark chuckles softly under his breath and murmurs in amusement, "Well, maybe that means we have a celebratory drink if we pull this off, right?" For the time being, he remains on two feet, but a small shift to his appearance allows the scales out to cover most of the upper half of his body, elongating his fingers into much more dangerous claws. Glancing back at the others, he asks, "Anyone need a moment before we go follow their direction?"

Sky pulls his bow down off his shoulder and tests the string before nocking an arrow. "A drink sounds great! Too bad I won't be able to tell this story at college parties. But alright, I'm ready. Let's earn that celebration!"

Rowan grabs a couple of the chains that are dangling from his belt loops. He pulls them free and wraps them around his hands with a little whipping motion. It makes a horribly melodic clanging clinking sound. He upnods to the troll. "You want to lead the way, shorty?"

Damon snorts. "Well, I'm not about to fucking do so. Hey,

Damon continues, "'Shorty,' you know your birthright, yeah?"

Sark smiles a little to himself and nods at the consensus, "If things really go pear-shaped and you don't want to go toe to toe with a charging bull, just step behind me, I can take it. Then you can kick its ass while its wondering why it didn't knock me down."

Looking around, and nervous the cupids whisper again to each other back and forth a few times. They finally come to an agreement of what to say. "Iron Bulls are huge, fierce animals, with gigantic horns and sharp gruesome teeth." They look toward Rowan. Eyes wide when they see his teeth. "Like yours!" SHUDDER!! "Don't eat us!" Hugging each other they calm back down, and offer, "The leader is a centaur. He wears a cape made from one of the iron bulls hide, and a crown of horns. They know where we live and threatened the whole glade with trampling!" They are obviously worried. "We did the job they wanted. We are free for now. Please, don't make them mad at us!" They are really ready to leave.

"Well, shit. Alright. You guys are free to go. We'll pass right back through here with your fruits." Rowan smiles even bigger, because his smile IS kind of scary. And he's okay with that.

Sky nods at Rowan and takes a few steps forward. Before he heads off though, he pauses for some confirmation. "So, if I see a big metal looking bull, I should go ahead and try to shoot it, right? We're hunting? But what about this centaur, if we run into him? Are you going to buy a bull off him or something?"

Sark hrms softly and nods at their predicament, agreeing with the instruction they are free to go. "We will have words with them enslaving the Baroness' subjects. Whether they learn that lesson or not, we will see." To Sky's question, he nods once, "I would consider us hunting. I highly doubt this centaur will just GIVE us his cape or let us kill one of the bulls he leads, so..."

"I'm sure they're easy to handle," Dasia replies to the cupids, Elegbara Reckleness on full display now. She glances towards the grove that was indicated and starts to walk that-a-way, heedless of the others levels of preparation. She glances to the Troll. "The trick is lying just enough that it seems plausible," she instructs. "In the tale, you're not fighting actual bulls, but maybe another school's mascot, or maybe a paintball match or something."

A few more steps and she claps her hands. Loudly. She begins to gather in summer energies, little streamers of it here and there.

"Sarkesian," she singsongs, skipping over to the dragon, ending the jaunt by simply leaning against his half-scaled form. "We simply must stop waiting so long 'twixt our meetings," she says, arms thrown around his neck and going up on her tippy-toes so she can give him a kiss. All the more to build up the passion of summer's heat.

The cupid chimera don't waste a moment more and they ZOOM out of there. Bye!!

As the group prepares to go toward the grove, there is something going on in the direction of that grove. The group can hear the growing sounds of pounding and loud noises they cannot quite make out from the distance and trees and bushes in the way.

"Welp... this sounds fun." Rowan motions to the big-ass troll to go right on ahead. He gives the chains in his hands a little whip around the other way and they clink together rather menacingly .. but not loudly

Sky takes the lead, and turns his path in the direction of the sound. It sounds more like a party than it does a herd of cattle, so the bow dangles low at his side for now as he approaches.

Sark got a kiss from Dasia! He knows it was a bunk, but that still gives him a moment to pause and actually blush a little, before moving to join the group when Sky leads the way.

AND DURING THE BIG OL' SMOOCH, there is a flickering of green as the flicker-flies gather, giving off light in the wavelength of the barvery/willpower portion of the electromagnetic emotion spectrum... the green of the LANTERN CORPS.

... or so it would be if this was a movie. It isn't. Oh, the flicker-flies are definitely green, though, so that's... something, at least!

Dasia withdraws, rocking back onto her stylish boots (of hiking). She turns to the others. "If you venture beyond the light, you simply have to glance back to be reminded of the bravery expected of you," she says. It's certainly not a Seelie sort of inspirational speech, but it's definitely not a 'some of you will die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make' sort, either. The bravery-inspiring little bugs brought forth, the Elegbara turns back towards the grove, and makes her way forward.

As the group approaches the grove, the sounds become louder. It's rthymical, the sounds of pounding and is that a moo? Nah. Maybe? As they approach they can see light. Not just light - fire! What is this?

In the middle of the grove is a bonfire, but what is on fire? Closer inspection may help. The pounding is a herd of large, carniverous-looking bulls, going in a circle, like a dance around the fire. There is something walking around, leading them in the inner circle around the fire, but it cannot be seen with these large bulls. Are these the iron bulls? Certainly seems so. Their hides look tough, thick, almost like leather armor come to life. Smoke comes out from their nostrils as they move around. Their horns look sharp and heavy.

Rowan halts as he sees what's going on. He isn't quite SURE what's going on, but he can see it. "Alright. How we tackling this? Are we going in showing our asses or we going to try and snipe something from the side? " He points upward. "Or you wanna swoop in and snag something, Sark?"

Sark frowns a little as he peeks around Sky and Rowan and purses his lips, "Well, I COULD swoop and grab one but they'll give chase. I COULD do that, throw one back to you all and then hold off the rest of them with fire and a show. I mean, I AM big enough to eat one of them. Anyone have any better ideas?"

Damon shrugs. "Do I look like a freaking warrior?!"

Sky looks over the mass of massive metallic mammals and shakes his head. "I did not bring nearly enough arrows for all that, even if there had been the time to use them. If you just need one, maybe the flying snatch is the way to go? Unless you want to try to make a deal with the leader guy instead?"

"I saw we embiggen the Troll, let him herd them like cats," Dasia suggests. It sounds simple enough. "I don't know if eating them will get you want you want, but it could also be funny." A pause as she looks back over the grove. "We can try slamming them with sorcery, or I *guess* we can try talking."

Rowan shrugs just a touch. "I think making a deal is a bigger gamble than Sark going in and tossing one our way and creating a diversion." He starts to say more, but Dasia has a suggestion. He cocks his head a little to the side, squinting, thinking, then shrugs. "Sark? Your call. Do you WANT to go in there as a diversion or do you want to try diplomacy?"

Sark sighs, "I don't think Diplomacy is going to work. But it's been a long time since I flexed my scary. I might be able to hold them all off, if you all think you can handle one by yourself." He pauses, "I can make it clear the chief loses one bull...or we open a BBQ restaurant in the Market. Up to him."

Sky gets his bow back into a proper grip, ready to draw and fire. "It's your show, big guy. I can handle one though, sure."

Damon says, “I will stay here."”

Dasia claps her hands and rubs them together. "Alright. Embiggened Troll? Tiny Sark? Are there any thorny flowers nearby to make things especially risque?" She looks around, seeing what kind of vibe everyone is thinking of.