Call to Adventure

[Bob]

The strange pulling sensation grew stronger as Bob walked ever closer to the treeline. His pink hooves sunk into the fresh earth just a bit as he moved along, until they were in the forest.

“I think so…somethin’s tellin’ me to go this way.” Bob said, without missing a beat. His tail swished slowly from side to side as they passed numerous trunks of the oak trees surrounding them like motionless soldiers. Up ahead, a slight fog began to settle in, obscuring the trail up ahead. Despite this, the unicorn and his companion pressed on. As they passed through the fog, Bob couldn’t see much up ahead, but he had noticed that for whatever reason, he could no longer hear any birds chirping. A strange, otherworldly silence surrounded them as they walked, save for the muffled sounds of Bob’s own hooves.

Weird… he thought to himself.

He then mentally prepared himself for whatever was up ahead. He was a unicorn, that’s what his magic was for! He chided himself for feeling uneasy, and puffed his chest out in mock confidence. Whatever it was, his job was to protect Belle and himself…and find the thing Clopin sent them here for. The wide mouth of a cave seemed to materialize from thin air up ahead, causing Bob to come to an abrupt stop, as he raised his head high, ears pivoting as if he’d heard something in the cave. Something like…voices up ahead.

“Belle…I don’t know what your books have told you, but I think this is the pathway to Tír na nÓg. You’ll be okay ‘cause you’re with me, but you might want to hold on tight.” Bob whispered, as he stepped into the cave, horn lighting up with a bright white light to illuminate their path. He cast a protection spell over the two of them, as a precaution for the fog that began to roll in from deep within the cave.

By the time Bob finished blinking, they were in a land that was vastly different from where they had come, but just as beautiful. The sun shone on rolling green hills, with lavender tinged mountains rising in the distance. Before the unicorn could take a step further, a beautiful woman with hair that looked like spun gold approached them, her hand extended in greeting.

“I knew I felt something odd coming through the portal.” she said, with a musical tone to her laugh.

“Never did I think a mortal would come through the portal with a unicorn! I am Niamh, of Tír na nÓg. Let me guess, you're here to find the Silver Branch, no?” 

[Belle]

When in doubt, let the unicorn take the wheel. Reins. Whatever.

Belle's grip on the saddlehorn tightened a bit as they continued. The fog that swallowed them had muted the sounds of the world and blurred images until all that was left was hazy uncertainty, yet still the maiden couldn't help but feel that something lurked. Perhaps it was the magic in the air itself, or perhaps it was something that stalked the pair just outside of their comprehension. Whatever it was, Belle got the feeling that they -- or she, a mortal at least -- were unwelcome.

Suddenly before them stood the maw of a cave, looming and large as though it had stepped forth from the swirls of mist all around them. Maw seemed quite the appropriate term as Bob stepped through the threshold like a mouse into the maw of a tiger. Belle's gaze flicked to the back of his head as he spoke before being drawn immediately back up to the arch overhead. When she answered her voice was little above a whisper. Somehow the cave seemed to demand quiet. "Is time going to pass differently for us, doing this?"

Magic settling over them like a silken net they traveled forward, the landscape melting away once again. Belle couldn't have described the shift if she'd been asked, for one moment it had been simply fog.

The next, well... Was magic. Belle drew in a sharp breath as she was forced to raise a hand to her eyes and squint against the sudden onslaught of light, but after a moment of blinking she couldn't help her eyes widening. The Promised Land, the Land of Youth... A realm of beauty and splendor the likes of which the mortal world couldn't hold a candle to. The lushness of the grass below looked softer and more comfortable than any of the castle's finest down comforters. The air tasted so clean that, like the breath of midwinter, it almost burned in the lungs, and all around birdsong rang in unseen choirs.

Captivated by the scenery it took Belle a moment to realize that a denizen of the realm had arrived to greet them. Tearing her gaze away took little effort as the woman approached, for like magnetism she seemed to draw the attention of the world towards her. Belle's hands worked at the saddlehorn nervously as her heart skipped a beat. She'd made passing acquaintance with a handful of non-humans since joining the Rouges, but... None of them were fey. The cool voice of logic at the back of Belle's mind noted that the attraction and desire to please was likely a result of some natural magic that the woman exuded without thought -- like the light of an angler fish.

In every book, every story Belle had read, beauty meant danger.

Belle fisted one hand in her lap, letting her nails bite into her palm as she smiled. Mild a discomfort as it was it helped clear her head a bit. Her mind flashed. Niamh -- she knew the name, if only she could place it, but before manners would have had Belle introduce herself in turn she stuttered a soft, "Ah -- um,". Giving one's name in some stories offered the fey power over that person. Better to play this game safe as she could.

"Hello. Yes, we're... Questing. For the Silver Branch."