Legends of the Fae

Well, well, well. If it isn't the new transfer!

Yes, yes. Given I actually know you, I'm not going to try the "ask your name" trick. I'm sure you're sick of it in the forest's heart. It's been awhile, hasn't it? Some 50, 60 years at the least. You seem like you've barely aged a decade in that time. Still insistent upon the shorter hair, huh? 

{smugly} Well I'm not here to dictate style. If that's what we're calling it. I take it your move to the outer village camp was smooth?

Good. Welcome to Forest's Edge East. I did not name it, I do not get to change its name, and yes, I know it sounds boring. We can do the tour of the grounds later. Since we are already on the edge of the village, I thought we can just start with your tasks and some things to look out for.

The good news is that most of your orientation is already complete. Working as a guard in the capital means you should already have a pretty clear idea as to what you're doing or need to look out for, be it ne'er-do-wells or threats to the forest. Or our people. Maybe clean up any debris or trash. Put out the fires. Gather supplies. Shocking, I know. 

Obviously, moving out here means there's a pretty major change of clientele from what you are used to. We typically don't have too many friendly faces cutting through here. Mostly just those pesky humans trying to take a shortcut, or worse...set up camp.

{Pause for listener inquiry; "Has it been a problem?"}

It hasn't been as much of a problem in recent years, but they never really last long to tell others not to come here. Or they're just stupid. Probably both. Either way, per the orders of the Queen we are not supposed to lure them into the forest anymore. Something about liability and justice and..."operational logistics". She's wickedly smart, but she seems to forget that us outer Fae are not. A-aside from you, of course.

I'll be real newbie, I don't have the faintest clue why you'd come all the way out here. A cushy job in the inner sanctum of the forest with zero threats to safety? That's like the dream.

{Listener gets very upset by this criticism}

Okay okay! I get it. I won't press the matter further. Sorry to crimp your wings. Whatever your reasons, you're here now. As I was saying, no being nefarious to humans. Either scare 'em out of here, lure them away with a wisp conjuration, or convince them the way out has treasure. Whatever it takes to get them out of here. I think Mizzne {Miz-knee} says he does some ploy to freak them out...something about "carin surance" {intentionally mispronounce} and making them pay for it, or maybe not pay for it? It's certainly out there, but so is Mizzne. I don't really pay much attention to what he says. If it works it works...

Human traditions are strange, the least of which their obsession with money.

{Jest from the listener}

Heh, uglier goblins. You're so right. Now, we only need to really patrol the actual end of the forest line or the trails themselves. You'll be with me for training and positioning for the first week, but generally our team is unlike the inner forest. We typically have scouters on their lonesome, instead of in pairs or teams. You can go through the woods if you want, or if something requires your attention, but its generally better to let the animals and plants there do their own thing.

[sigh] Obviously help the plants if they need it and it's not too major at changing anything. I don't want any trees put back upright, but a few berry bushes getting some better leaves with a spell isn't gonna hurt anything.

{Mild protest to the use of magic}

...We literally have a mana pool. It's fine. It sounds like those heartlanders need to get some better magical endurance.

[Pause, as nobody is really sure what to say at this point]

I, uh, guess if you see any werewolves this far west, make sure you turn them away really quickly. One isn't that bad, but once several gang up on you it can really become a problem.

Well, no, they haven't been a issue most of the time. They should know to keep to their own turf...especially given that's like, their entire thing. But you never know. Maybe a deer crossed the border line and they still wanted a shot at it. At the end of the day, werewolves are just big dogs: Try conjuring a light orb and see if that keeps their attention. Throw it back the way they came and it shouldn't be an issue. Or bribe them with meat.

{Listener inquiry}

Nah, the elves come from the north-west. They shouldn't ever really be out here, given that they are escorted by Do-Toley's {Doe-toll-e} team. Even then, they're only here for trade anyway—it wouldn't kill us to have them stay at camp for a night until they can go back the next morning. 

In a similar vein, Natcinthe {Nat-sin-th} handles the dwarves on their visits every decade. Apparently they're led in part by a Selkie now too...how strange, right?

{Listener inquiry}

Yeah! Little Natcinthe grew up strong after all, and she's in charge of the south and west camps. Constantly on the move...I guess some things never change, huh. School did wonders for her, but I think it would have been better if classes were given while walking laps every day...

She's still a sweetheart though. Her teams seem to really respect her leadership. I'm sure you'll see her again here soon, with our next team exchange meeting in a few months. No promises you'll go on the journey, but given that I'm the one in charge and you don't drive me as crazy as some of the others...your odds remain high.

Our chunk of the woods doesn't have anything too out of the ordinary. There's the natural border with the river on the north end of the forest, which keeps most frustrations out. We also don't have nearly as many predators as other regions seem to, so that's nice.

[Awkward pause]

Eeeeyup. {Get distracted noticing something} Should be pretty...smooth...sailing.

Oh yeah. That.

There is one thing you need to avoid. This is the one time you cannot be brave, and need to flee the area as fast as possible if you see it. 

No, I'm not trying to scare you because you're new, this is important. I probably should've opened with it. If you ever see a thick trail of flowers, particularly growing in places that don't seem like they normally would, you need to flee. Any direction. Just don't stick around the area.

{The listener, curious, asks more}

[Sigh] We don't know what his deal is, but he is a danger to us.

{Further questioning}

Well, we call him the Green Man. At first, we thought it was human. Looked like one, dressed like one, moved like one. Sure looked human enough, minus those...eyes...

{Mild anxiety begins to set in the speaker/tone of voice. What they're about to tell, they do NOT feel comfortable with}

They've got a particularly interesting gold hue to them. [Shudder] They're just so lifeless. Creepy as all get-out. So is the Green Man in general. It walks at a slow, consistent speed...almost more of a lurch. Like a zombie from those human shows. He makes no sound, and no expression whatsoever.

It's before my time, so I wasn't there at the start, but the stories say that the team tried following him, taunting him, or luring away his spirit to no avail. In fact, he was completely unresponsive to anything our kind did. If someone got in his way, he would simply plow right through them as though he was made of stone. He's also completely immune to magic, almost like a thunder rod. We can throw pretty much everything in the book at him and I don't even think the spells land before they disappear.

Apparently he looked more human then, with a short gray beard and well-kept hair. Business-like. Belonged in a human city, more than anything. Over the centuries though, while he doesn't really look that much older, his beard has turned green and his hair has never grown longer than where it is today. Crooked and unkempt. Unnatural. His skin looks a little like tree bark, too. That's...the other way we know that's he's not human, actually. He's been doing this for at least eight hundred years. No mere human should be outliving our kind naturally like that.

{Speaker is starting to get somewhat stressed out}

A-anyway, I think they thought he was just deaf, but that wouldn't explain not shifting his gaze or moving out the way. Soon after the Green Man appeared, and once all the normal tricks or attempts to communicate with him failed, one of our guard named Coshoc {Co-shock} noticed he had thick balls of cotton in his ears. They decided to try and be brave and pluck the cotton balls out, so that they could better speak to the Green Man as he walked his path. F-figure out his whole deal, y'know? The moment his hand brushed the skin of the Green Man, he swiveled around in a rage and broke Coshoc's entire arm with just one hand gripping his wrist...bones and tendons and all. It never could heal again.

Other guard members said his eyes started to glow green when he moved off his path and attacked Coshoc. Without much celebration, he would turn back on his way and continue walking. Since this day, only two more of our kind have ever tried to do anything close to it. One of them is dead, and the other could no longer walk...

[Deep exhale, coming down from anxiety]

Two weeks after he broke Coshoc, the guard noticed he started wearing a large bag on his back that would spill a few of these small golden seeds. Within moments they would bloom into all sorts beautiful flowers nobody had ever recognized before...and by the end of the night, they'd be dead. The flowers seem to be different each day, despite the seeds always looking the same. It's uncanny.

So now you know. Find the flowers, the Green Man is near. And that is NOT something you want to be near. I don't want you ending up like Coschoc in the past...

{Listener asks where the Green Man goes}

Where does he go? No idea. He sort of just...appears. Walks a different path every day, sure, but generally in the same direction. Then after awhile...poof. He's gone. Just disappears like a ghost. There's no consistent time or place where the Green Man appears. Just that he does. We're really quite fortunate he's never appeared near the village campsite.

{Banter implied}

Well, I'm not one to make interpretations, but the going theory is that the Green Man is the lover of a witch nearby. We know she's out there—we even converse sometimes if there's danger present, or to point out specific patches of plants she needs. But just like the Green Man, she also seems to just vanish into thin air. We have no clue where they go, even when following close behind with stealth magic. I wouldn't dare ask about the Green Man to her though—she's incredibly powerful, and I don't want to risk upsetting someone that could probably incinerate half the forest in a handclap.

Not sure what she would see in an ancient old thing like the Green Man, but again: not going to criticize an all-powerful witch. Probably best to just avoid them both. 

[Awkward pause]

You want to head back to camp and eat something? I think I should probably show you around before it fully goes dark. Let's go, chop chop. Time waits for no one, and certainly not us. Full day of work tomorrow.

END.