Right… well, they were now stuck waiting for a door, and it wasn't like her skillset could contribute much there. What was she going to do, go stab around at the air until she found a spot that felt a bit strange? Eh, that was probably what one mage or other would try, but if she did it and somehow had any luck, they'd be announcing their entrance by force of battering ram. You couldn't get much more embarrassing than accidentally declaring an invasion.

So she left them to it, poking around the remains of the snake instead. Mmm, this spot seemed pretty mossy and nicely curved.

…

It seemed the vampire had decided now was a good opportunity for a nap. Fiadh seemed the only person immediately interested, hher head swivelling between Fionn, Gertrude, and the former snake.

"Haaah?" Gertrude shot at Fionn as her scowl grew with the dumb bastard's smile. This guy just would not stop pissing her off, and when he mentioned hugging, her scowl grew into an expression of abject disgust.

"Has the mana melted your brain? Made you go completely daft? I'm not at all concerned with your wellbeing. I had seriously considered just glassing the whole place and being done with it."

Her gaze turned to Renar, who had rudely interjected like the smug bastard he was. Gertrude rolled her eyes, fuming further at the additional disrespect this scoundrel was showing her.

"Well, I do suppose I should thank you for doing your sodding job, m'lord. My praise knows no bounds, truly. But to the matter of finding other fey..."

She turned to Fanilly, with decidedly less venom.

"Yes, I should be able to assist with that. I'll need a few moments to attune here, and finding a different presence should be easier. That said, mistress, you know what they say about assuming. I was quite taken aback by your immodest grappling," Gertrude lied, her only real issue with Fanilly's action being her own insecurity regarding her weak body, "so of course, I think a proper apology is in order. Throw in a few compliments about my performance, and I think I shall forgive you!"

She hoped Fionn wouldn't ruin this for her, as he was wont to do.

Rolan could feel the mental tension slowly building in the back of his head, waiting moment by moment for the fae lady's response to their combined words, though the lion's share of the work was all Ser Gerard's doing. What broke the silence, tense as it was, was the woman's laughter, quite literally bent over from how much she was laughing. That was not the expected response, though he supposed it was not a bad one, given he had to suppress the recognition of her already impressive beauty being amplified by the charm that came with her laughing fit. It brought an otherwise aloof being's stature just a bit closer, however slight, and he could not afford to allow himself to be distracted by a beautiful fae lady and her enchanting laughter. Fortunately he was not the one doing the negotiation, and would continue doing what little he could to support in that endeavor.

Largesse was probably one of the more eloquent words Rolan had heard from any of the knights in recent memory, and Ser Gerard was putting in a good effort in keeping himself eloquent in the face of the laughter, though it seemed to be good news all around currently. From scouting for the border of Fae territory, to hunting down a wretched thing he did not keenly recall, to now currying favor from the sister of the likely culprit of the Duke's madness, it seemed that they had lucked into the right approach to solving the matter of the Duke's condition. At least that was how it appeared so far, it seemed to be going far too well, but he wasn't going to say that out loud and invite things get complicated. All that being considered, Ser Gerard seemed more capable than the rest of them combined in continuing to navigate the negotiations with the Fae lady seated before them, continuing onto what was likely inevitable.

Repayment for this act of seeming kindness. Part of Rolan would not have wanted to bring it up, and simply hoped that aiding the Aessyr carried enough weight to cover assistance and meeting, but coasting on hope alone wouldn't have gotten them this far, let alone further still. Ser Gerard did bring up a good point, however, is that none of them had authority to make agreements on behalf of the Order, but they could at least speak for themselves. Depending on the request they need not involve the entire Order and its resources, assuming one was to be made at all, and simply fulfill the terms of their own capabilities and volition. Also worth considering were the two Aessyr he still held, who had been silent after the initial confirmation of their efforts in saving Enfys, and how it would not exactly be fitting to bring them along as well.

"Something else to consider, as an aside, but given the condition of the Aessyr's home when we found it, these two will likely need some help with a new place to call home. I would not want to unwittingly carry them into more trouble than they already found, I suspect they have had enough for one day."

@HereComesTheSnow@VitaVitaAR

"You would be correct, child of man," the smirking fae lady replied as she steepled her fingers, "While interfering with my elder sister's affairs is amusing in and of itself, I would like her to suffer a little more than that."

A thoughtful expression crossed her face for a few moments, as she crossed her long, shapely, pale legs once again, bare foot swaying gently back and forth.

"Hmmm..."

The silence was once again complete, aside from the sound of the fae lady's musing, and of Aithne managing to cuddle up to the still-somewhat-dazed Enfys even more closely.

It would be easy to mistake the other fae for statues, at this point.

"I believe... ah, yes, that will do nicely," the fae lady nodded to herself, before leaning forward once again.

"My elder sister collects things, you see," she began, "Things of little true value, that she treasures as a symbol of her personal power."

The fae lady's smirk only managed to grow wider.

"Take one from her. It matters very little what it is, simply that you give it to me. How you do it is also unimportant. In fact, it's unlikely you would have to commit theft. For you see---"

The fae lady gave a flourish with her right hand.

"---My elder sister is quite fond of wagers. The higher the stakes, the better. Defeat her, obtain your duke's wits and my prize, and you will have accomplished your mission."

She paused for a moment, blue eyes drifting from the Knights to the aessyr currently in Sir Rolan's care.

"As for our little sisters, they will remain here for now, until a suitable tree is found for them."

@HereComesTheSnow@Eisenhorn

Renar took Gertie's words with all the praise they weren't intended with, mockingly preening for a moment just to be an ass to the annoying witch. Then cut it off as he returned right back to business.

It was true. Most of them were utterly lost in this situation, himself included. Horrifyingly enough, Fionn might be a better authority on the fae than the kingdom's Court Mage. Still, if the only avenue was to lean on their specialist advisory, then there was little more to it than to do so.

"Right, now that the fun's over, thoughts on this, Fionn? You, Fiadh, and the Lord Arken are arguably our only sources of information going forward."

Out of the corner of his eye, he both saw and heard the ongoing byplay between Gertrude and the captain. Oh for the love of...

Renar caught Fanilly's eye behind Gertrude's back, silently shaking his head and pantomiming "no" a few times to make sure the message sunk in before turning back to Fionn expectantly, as if he hadn't just done that.

---

Fionn's grin only grew wider as Gertrude's scowl deepened. He, of course, didn't believe her for a second—if she were truly so unconcerned, after all, she wouldn't have bothered trying to help him or yelling at him, after all. But if she needed it to feel a little better about everything, he was willing to let her tire herself out. Not that she stayed focused on him for long, between Renar and Fanilly jumping in.

Renar even started trying to warn Fanilly away from playing the witch-apprentice's game before him.

He pulled his gauntlets off, shaking them to make sure there was no dirt or bark stuck in them. "I don't rightly think there's too much else we can do right now, unless we want to go wandering off into the forest," he mused. He started to walk towards the overlarge tree that they'd just been fighting, though not without casually reaching out and ruffling Gertrude's hair as he walked past.

Just a small reminder that he was still there, and wasn't going to fall for her games or protestations.

"Gerard and the others left to try and find this realm we're looking for ahead of us, or at least as much of a general-Fae-territory as they could, and I don't have any way to call them in. They shouldn't have too much trouble seeing what we've found, and Arken and Fiadh are pretty well convinced this is the right spot. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll have found some help to get in, but no matter what we're probably better off setting a watch and taking the moment to relax while we can like Tyaethe is doing."

He suddenly faced the taller knight with another grin.

"Unless you fancy running off through the woods in search of them with Fleuri?"

There was what Rolan could say was expected from a fae, even one that had proven to be overtly amicable and willing to be helpful to the assembled knights currently present. Wanting to make the Moonlit Queen suffer a bit extra, minor as it might appear on the surface of things, for possible transgressions already made fit the stereotype of the dangers in dealing with Fae. The silence itself was practically deafening, no natural place should be completely and utterly devoid of noise, but devoid it was while Fae Lady mused and considered what she would ultimately ask of them. Rather than let instinct get the better of him and follow the only motion in his field of view, that being the swaying of the Lady as she shifted her posture once again, he made sure the two Aessyr were as comfortable as they could be given the circumstances. Finally, the Lady began to speak her terms, having finally decided on them.

Add a trinket of perceived personal power to the eventual wager to return the Duke's mind, and hand it over to her. Deceptively simple to say out loud, but from the sounds of this Moonlit Queen and her demeanor it would not be the most dangerous task to perform. Adding a trinket of personal power to what would be, if his suspicion was correct, an already dangerous gamble was not something that struck him as unreasonable. Even if, arguably speaking, it was petty to acquire something of little applicable power for the sake of chipping away at the Moonlit Queen's perceived power and, by extension, authority. Small steps on the road to overthrowing her, perhaps, or simple sibling bickering. He wouldn't speculate out loud either way, instead breaking the silence before it hung too long after the Lady spoke her terms.

"Very well, ensuring your prize is won will be part of my mission." Rolan knew agreeing bound him to seeing it through, but he specifically made sure that his agreement was his alone. The others could speak up if they so desired, but he would not bind them through his own words, he was in no position to do so even if he wanted to. If they chose not to speak up, at the very least it would be on him and him alone that such failure would be punished. While theft was unlikely to be necessary, he didn't discount it as an option. Better a thief than an oath breaker, in this particular circumstance, though the mention of the 'little sisters' staying here until a suitable tree could be found focused him again.

"A relief to hear, may fortune find them a suitable tree in good time." Rolan had little else to add currently, though he made no moves to set the Aessyr aside or otherwise try to hand them off. When it was time to depart such would likely occur, but until then he would not unduly jostle them by simply passing them off at the earliest convenience. Losing one's home was bad enough, let alone to a wretched abomination that personified famine and dire hunger. It had been far too long a day for them, no need to make it any more uncomfortable than it already was.

@VitaVitaAR@HereComesTheSnow

Gerard Segremors

@Eisenhorn@VitaVitaAR

They really were nice legs.

Gerard, as previously, simply endured the long silence with an attentive eye and a stilled bearing, allowing her ample space and silence to ruminate— if nothing else, it was good practice to follow the lead of the whole rest of court. Her guards were all but carved of stone, to the point where he wasn't even sure whether or not they'd truly registered the Roses' presence.

Point was, he knew grinning and bearing it was the best option on the board. The last thing he needed to be doing was showing impatience, annoying her by saying to hurry the hell up, and scuttling the good work they had done thus far. It was a windfall already to have earned this much favor from any such fae as the Lady before them, let alone on his first outing doing anything but keeping his damned distance. It'd be poor form to let greed take him now.

So, he watched, he listened, and he even leaned in as she did from below in his kneeling posture, as though indulging in a conspiratorial whisper. Nodding along as she spoke, he allowed his mind to run through possibilities for a moment, weighing her words as they were due. Valueless symbols of power... perhaps some form of trophy taken from those would-be usurpers? Trinkets she declared signatures of her title, which she truly was guarding jealously?

Hard to say at the outset. Eventually, it would be made doubtlessly clear— The next question would be what he would offer in return as collateral. High stakes.

His first thought was his loyalty, that sudden and impossible being of an Iron Rose that he treasured deepest.

Next, his life. An easily understood gamble for man or myth. Hard to find more universal proof than that, though... he was still breaking bad habits with gambling it to begin with.

Still, that'd make it a simple matter of earning his way to the table. Keep the thought in his back pocket until more was clear.

Third... perhaps his sword, his helm? Far from valueless as she'd intimated, but in a way every bit as symbolic of his power. Maybe something more arcane, if that was the direction. Maybe his name.

...In any event, his posture rose again, as a daring expression crossed his face, and his golden gaze refused to doubt.

"A wager, you say? I should be happy, then— I've built this entire life on the back of long-odd gambles. I, at least, ought to have the home field advantage." he declared, placing a gauntlet over his cuirass, atop the heart beneath the steel. "I expect to return soon, with your prize well in hand, milady. All we would ask now is how we might enter her domain to make this challenge— in the admittedly unlikely event the rest of our Order hasn't already pieced it together themselves in our absence."

He inclined his head, after taking a moment to turn his eyes over to the two aessyr one more time.

"Beyond that, all I can say is I share my companion's wishes of good fortune to these two. I can hardly imagine safer hands to leave them in than yours."

A wave of the hand, indicating the unmoving ranks of spears around them.

"We should trouble you no further than this."

"---Ah."

Fanilly had done it just on instinct, primarily. She'd seen Lady Gertrude in potential danger and done the first thing that had come to mind in order to protect her. So, admittedly, she may have been somewhat rough. If that was the case then obviously she regretted that particular fact. But even so, it was difficult to see how she'd acted incorrectly.

Even if it was plenty clear Lady Gertrude was difficult to deal with, she didn't want her to get hurt either. She was working as an ally, after all.

"I apologize if I was too rough," began Fanilly, quietly bowing her head, "But I don't think I was wrong. I don't want you to be harmed."

Not only had she proven to be valuable in a fight, but she'd effectively been entrusted to their care by her mentor. For those reasons alone, without even thinking about anything else, wasn't it only right for her to do everything she could to keep her safe?

What kind of Knight-Captain wouldn't do such a thing?

She briefly glanced at the strange, beautiful tree that now stood in the clearing.

Their path forward was so close, now. They just had to find a way to break through.

---

As it turned out, it was closer than Fanilly could ever have expected.

After fighting a Gannek, Sir Gerard, Sir Rolan, Dame Yael, and Sir Caulder had met with a powerful fae(apparently, the Moonlit Queen's sister?!) due to their intervention for the sake of a pair of Aessyr. Through this chain of events, they'd been granted a method to penetrate the fae realm and treat directly with the Moonlit Queen.

She'd described it as a key, but it appeared more like a swirling green-yellow-blue light that was now floating along beside Sir Gerard. Fanilly thought she could smell the scent of rain when she came near to it, and the closer it came the warmer the air had felt, like a pleasant spring day.

Lord Arken was rather irritated they were not going to prepare any further, but he'd cast some layer of defenses against fae manipulations over them regardless. Ultimately, they still had no real choice but to negotiate within the Fae Realm, but the defenses he'd implemented would ideally shield them from anything more severe long enough to at least withdraw and regroup.

As Knight-Captain, Fanilly would have to take partial lead of the negotiations with the Moonlit Queen, something that made her heart pound especially fiercely. But it was only correct simply due to her position of authority.

Aside from herself, Sir Fionn would also take a direct and prominent role in negotiations due to his experiences with the fae. This was their best chance as of now.

They had to regain the Duke's wits.

The sphere of light that was the 'key' simply had to be presented to the right location. It was found with relative ease, a ring of conspicuous mushrooms standing just beyond the new tree that had formed from the body of the wooden serpent.

The air twisted before her eyes, warping and collapsing in on itself. Then it spread, revealing a white void and---

Snow crunched beneath her feet.

It was the first thing Fanilly became aware of on arrival. When her gaze drifted downwards, there was no questioning it. That was indeed snow, covering the ground.

And yet there wasn't even a hint of chill in the air. If anything, it was pleasantly, mildly, warm.

And yet there was snow.

There wasn't a single star in the sky above. It was dominated, entirely, by the enormous moon.

But this wasn't Mayon's domain. The sight of the moon was normally familiar, and conforting, but the white sphere above had an alien quality. It was perfectly smooth, unlike the surface of the moon that normally showed clear shapes, and the light it emitted seemed far colder despite the warmth of the air.

The place that had emerged into was largely clear, but a few pitch black trees stood nearby. Further away, they grew denser, a forest of black trees with white leaves.

The air itself felt strange against her skin, tingling ever-so-slightly.

This was the Moonlit Queen's Fae Realm. This world was already an impossibility. A contradictory place of warmth, yet coldness. Fanilly hadn't exactly known what she should be prepared for, and yet somehow she hadn't imagined this realm of Monochrome contradictions. She almost felt off-balance, disoriented, as she attempted to take in her strange new surroundings.

Had she had a dream like this, once?

This place felt like some sort of strange, surreal place that could only be envisioned when one was sound asleep. The snow and black trees seemed to stretch on infinitely, and the Mayonless moon was far too large.

Did she feel anxious? Or comforted?

Cold? Or Warm?

Was it all of these sensations at once?

Her mind almost seemed to swim---

"So these are the intruders."

From behind them was a deep, male voice, and Fanilly couldn't help but instinctively place her hand to the hilt of her blade as she turned.

It was an exceptionally tall figure, human-shaped and wrapped in a black cloak. From what could be discerned of his shape, his height of at least three meters was the only thing that marked him as inhuman---

Until one looked at his face. For the figure had the head of a raven, black feathers and black beak, dark eyes regarding them with a lack of emotion.

The beak parted.

"What shall we do, milady?"

Fanilly's fingers clenched at her blade. Even in this Fae realm, where the laws of the world were dictated by the unseen Moonlit Queen, it was hard to shake the idea of fighting this surreal, dreamlike figure.

"Hmmm...~"

The next voice was far more playful, the voice of a girl.

She stepped out from behind the raven-headed man, cocking her head.

She was the size and shape of a young girl. Her skin was not merely pale, but white as the snow that surrounded them, though it faded into black on her lower arms and legs. Her sleepwear-like clothing was white, with black fringes and a black ribbon, and she wore no footwear. The snow was undisturbed by each step of her bare feet. The antler-like horns extending from her forehead stood out against the pitch black, spiked crown. Her large, shining eyes, too, were black, almost like those of some species of moth. But perhaps most striking was the girl's hair. Her exceptionally long tresses trailed upon the ground, pristine despite this and at least twice as long as she was tall.

"My my, what shall I do, indeed~?"

The girl's playful voice betrayed not the slightest hint of malice as she leaned forward, her eyes scanning over the knights.

There wasn't the slightest doubt in Fanilly's mind. Despite her childish appearance, this had to be the Moonlit Queen.

"You destroyed my guardian, didn't you?" she commented, cocking her head curiously as she did, "That's the only way you could get in, so don't be silly and try to lie about it~ Which one of you struck the final blow?"

She didn't sound angry. At least, insofar as Fanilly could tell.

But she didn't want to take the chance of her singling someone out.

"Y... you must be the Moonlit Queen," Fanilly began, stepping forward and removing her helmet "As for your guardian, it was our collective effort that---"

The fae girl frowned.

"I wasn't asking about that, you know," she cut the Knight-Captain off, "... Hmm... you have lovely hair, don't you? But you have it all tied up, you're hiding it..."

She snapped her fingers.

Fanilly wasn't entirely sure what happened. A tingle ran up her spine, and her scalp suddenly felt exceptionally warm. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, but at the same time----

"A-augh?!"

Her hair.

It had burst free from its braid, and was now rapidly growing, pouring down her back. Her blonde locks swiftly reached her hips and then grew further, shimmering in the Mayonless moonlight as they plunged towards the ground.

In a matter of seconds, Fanilly's hair was now just as long as the Moonlit Queen's, a playful smirk crossing the fae girl's lips.

"Wh-wh... wha... I..."

For a few moments, Fanilly couldn't articulate herself, grasping weakly at her newly-grown hair. What? How did she do anything like this? Why... so long...?!

"Now, I just want to know~" the Moonlit Queen continued, "Which one struck the final blow~?"

Oh. That was… hmm, interesting, and not just because her pillow falling out from under her was strangely disconcerting. Good on those guys to have found a way in while the rest of them went to deal with the gate guard. But this was also bad news, as now they were entirely within a fae realm. That meant… right, she did have seniority and experience, she couldn't just wait for someone else to get to the point. Even if that meant dealing with a fairy queen…

And, as the captain had already found out, there was very little that the realm's ruler couldn't do if she wanted it. The restrictions of normal magic meant so little in a place like this, and it wasn't like any of them had special protection. Well, maybe she had a little, as one of Reon's devoted and her own mana, but that wouldn't be enough to pick an aggressive stance without preparation.

"It was just a big snake," Tyaethe said with a shrug, pushing past the other knights so that the Moonlit Queen would actually see her, eyes closed. "Doesn't matter if it regenerates, without any sort of support, it's not that special. I've killed a dozen things like it and it doesn't hold a candle to a dragon."

She opened one eye. "Besides, your guardian wasn't the one that let us in, was it? Isn't that more important than some replaceable construct?"

The trek and 'key' granted by the Lady had gone, compared to what had transpired so far, much more smoothly. Rolan had considered the rather large, now bested, Guardian the rest of the Order had slain and it made him wonder where he would have been more useful. The Gannek had been vitally necessary to slay, for both their own personal goals and the overall good of the woods themselves, but he had a feeling that he merely made the kill slightly faster while he had to consider whether or not alchemist fire would have rendered the guardian ash and bits of kindling. Then again, given its current condition in defeat, that might be frowned far more heavily upon than simply slaying it as it was currently. Still, between their efforts they fortunately had both the door and key in hand, so all that left was, unfortunately, to go wandering a fae realm, parlay with a being powerful enough to maintain her own domain quite thoroughly, and win back not only the Duke's wits but a trophy for the Lady as well. How hard could that be, he considered with full sarcasm as the gate was opened and they were cast into the fae realm proper.

---

"Should have known better, really..."

Rolan's thoughts on the current scenery and warm, snow covered ground were not complimentary, to say the least. He never liked cold weather to begin with, snow being a byproduct of that typically, but the fact it lacked any of the normal signs of a cold winter night didn't help matters at all either. Every little detail he noticed about this place put him on edge, and it left him hoping that fortune didn't abandon them now. The moon was wrong, unmarred and alone in the looming sky, not to mention far too close for his liking. Close enough he had to almost wonder if he could place a bolt on its surface, and how it might even react if he could. Assuming the distance between them matched how it looked, which he couldn't assume or take for granted unlike the not so fae realm he found himself preferring more and more with each passing moment. Not a surprise but there was a large gap between the thought of going into a fae realm, and actually doing so and having to acknowledge everything only working the way the Queen wanted.

The best way he could consider putting it was the place had an empty, comfortless warmth. Yes, it was warm despite the snow, the unnatural moon that hung low and large, dominating the sky like an arrogant fixture, that was what it was, arrogant. Blot out the stars, wipe away all the perceived imperfections, and it was an arrogant approximation of the moon. Fit the way the Lady described her sister, broadly speaking, to have such a realm that stretched out as far as the eye could see, snow and woodlands that grew denser the further one moved from the gateway to this place. The trees were wrong too, mind, but at this point he would be more surprised if something wasn't subtly or flagrantly wrong in some shape or another. Never mind the crow headed fae who had opened his massive beak to comment on their...

Rolan felt every nerve go on edge as he tensed, noting the captain rest a hand on her blade, as he pulled his cloak tighter, concealing his arms from view in case he had to act as he turned to face the fae who had found their arrival. Warden on this side of the gateway, perhaps, fitting for a bird to be ready to squawk the moment it saw something unwelcome or uninvited. Speaking again, the goal of their little adventure made herself known. Small, child like, hair that would drag if the realm was allowed to do so, and a temperament that reminded him of some traits he disliked in people. Her sister was by and far the more preferential one to deal with, and that was not even taking into account anything besides demeanor and behavior, in appearance it was no real contest. None of that was relevant currently, however, as the Captain was....cursed? However it was done, her hair sprung free and grew wild, practically matching that of the Moonlit Queen herself, reinforcing that they were within her power's domain.

She seemed more interested in who landed the killing blow on her guardian, something that Dame Tyaethe rightly pointed out made little difference, though the mention of a guardian not letting them in, he suspected, was a somewhat pointless redirection. If he was to guess at how things worked, the Moonlit Queen probably could tell exactly who's key was used, it was not exactly like they had simply borrowed or stole a literal keyring and tried them until one fit. Considering their presence was also known immediately, a gambler might safely wager that the question on the slayer of the guardian was of more interest since she likely had no eyes on it when it was felled. He had not been present for its defeat, and could not truthfully state who had laid it low, so it was not his place to speak on the matter. Still, he was wary and on watch, deferring to those with experience in dealing with the more dangerous fae to act as diplomats unless he had to interject otherwise.

Gertrude didn't think anyone could approach the annoyance she felt towards Fionn, but here Renar was making the world's most shite-eating expression. Smug bastard. An annoyance, every last one.

Still, she took Fanilly's apology as a balm. Her grin widened as the woman offered contrition, though it was perhaps a little too sincere to fully enjoy. The Captain had bowed her head and everything. Though Fanilly justified herself, saying she didn't want Gertrude to be harmed, it wasn't something Gertrude could honestly pick at. It wasn't a trivial thing. She'd potentially put herself in harm's way in order to help.

Could she actually be nice?

Gertrude would have reached out to pat her bowed head, but she was certain that Fionn would ruin it as long as he was around. If the others had something, it was best just to sit and wait.

---

It certainly was something, traversing a fey realm. Gertrude had read about them, but she'd never been in one personally. Merely reading about it didn't do the bizarre thing justice. An entire little world constructed to the aesthetics of an individual... she'd like to be able to do something like that. Perhaps a room full of pillows and stuffed toys and books and endless sweets.

But now wasn't the time to think of such things. She had to be on guard. Literally anything could happen here, if the Moonlit Queen willed it. Even three meter tall crow men, one of which apparently served as her majordomo. Given all of the things she'd seen lately... he came as less of a surprise than he otherwise might have.

Then, she lay her eyes on the Moonlit Queen herself. Gertrude had to swallow down her need to immediately pat the girl on the head. She only felt like she could get away with Merilia because the woman was something like her aunt. This one... would probably seriously change her body somehow. Like she'd just done to the Captain's.

Her own situation here was less dire than the others. She wasn't particularly in love with her body as it was anyways, and if things went wrong, at the very least portions of her soul were elsewhere. She could even take Gretchen's body if she needed to. Still... didn't want to risk it.

...Did she actually just enjoy patting short women? When it came to Aleksiya-

Anyways.

Gertrude leaned towards Fionn and whispered into his ear. Aside from Fanilly, he was probably the most qualified to be speaking now, and the Captain was still sputtering. She also figured Fionn for a better gambler. Fanilly seemed too honest to be any good.

"Information is valuable. Think you and your blackguard friends could leverage what she wants to know in some sort of wager?"

---

Warm snow crunching beneath his feet and a featureless moon dominating the sky over an alien forest. Had Fionn been the sort to marvel at such things, he would have; however, after years of knowing Fiadh, and everything else he'd run into during his time as a mercenary and then as a knight, he'd long since stopped being surprised at such things. Compared to Merilia's world, after all, this one was positively empty.

He spun at the same moment as Fanilly hearing the voice behind them, gazing up at the giant bird-headed man that had addressed them—and dropped instantly towards his feet, spying the trailing hair before the queen of the realm stepped out into view. Shorter than Fiadh—who, thankfully, had since gotten off his back and was contently standing to his side—but far more distinctive in appearance. Among the colorblind, Fiadh could at least pass for normal so long as they didn't look to her feet. This 'Moonlit Queen' of theirs, however...

The captain's rapidly-grown hair didn't garner much reaction from him other than his moving his feet to keep from treading upon it. Tyaethe stepped forward next, before he had the chance to speak, as Gertrude came and whispered in his ear. "I don't think the game has started yet," he whispered back. "And I don't think this is one she's going to play over."

Nor did it make much sense to waste time when they were in a place where they were at many disadvantages compared to its creator. He stepped forward, over Fanilly's trailing locks, one hand placed on Tyaethe's shoulder and pulling her back a bit as he passed to the front. "Do you mean the one that disabled it at the very last, or the one that took out its heart?" he asked, facing the short, antlered girl with a friendly smile.

Dissembling would only waste time, and outright lying would make their job likely far harder than needed; better to get to the heart of things as quickly as possible.

The fae girl had turned her frown from the captain to Tyaethe, but now turned to look up at him with a curious glance, lip half-curled into a fresh grin. "Of course I mean its heart," she replied, cocking her head again. "Are you all going to be so silly about this~?"

"Aye, well, that was me, then!" he replied without missing a beat, pulling his sword partway out of its scabbard at his belt to show the burnt-out runework, alongside the ruined hilt furniture on the otherwise-pristine blade. "Led to this, too, so I'm sure our smith won't be too happy with me. Good work on your guardian."

Gerard Segremors

The shift in atmosphere when traversing between each realm was as palpable as it had ever been. On one hand, there was a comforting return to normalcy after they had been farewell by the fair lady of the woods and lead back out of her grove to Brennan, the full breath of sun upon his skin once the four had returned to the clearing a welcome reprieve from the cage of old oak.

They had made swift tracks to the rest of the Order with key in hand, a quick rundown on their present goal hot on its heels. For his money, Gerard had to agree that Fionn and the Captain were the two primary choices to lead negotiation— as much as he had overperformed even his own expectations of the meeting with the moonlit queen's aforementioned younger sister, that was luck a wise man didn't push. Doubly so, when they were about to run into a mind much less inclined to be immediately sympathetic to a mission or grateful for any incidental services rendered.

Best to at the very least cede the opening to she who held rank and he who held experience and poise. Admittedly, he had almost trapped himself into contributing to their key gambit somehow once the ball really got rolling— having personally made that promise, his sense of responsibility was likely to flare before he sat idly by the whole time and rode upon their coattails.

He couldn't help it. Even if part of him didn't think the powerful fae he had somehow won over would be able to simply pierce through him with those sapphire eyes and read the sloth upon his soul if he returned having done nothing, he would know that he'd talked a big game, and not tried to back it up.

So as they strode through the snow and came upon a paradoxically tiny elder sister, his resolute intent served to buffer him against the mental unsettlement that came from traversing the Moonlit Queen's realm. He could still feel the quiet discord at the end of his perception, his senses grappling with each obscured stimulus in the background as they marched— but when the tall beaked figure appeared behind, his mind was as alert as ever. While the Moonlit Queen dominated the spotlight, fitting with the way her sister described her personality, the wolf-pelted knight eyed the other actor on the stage as he listened in.

Raven head. About the same height as Faolan and the other knights in the Lady's court. Height concealed beneath a deep black cloak... no telling what was exactly beneath. Not moving much, letting her talk, loyal enough that he wouldn't be a problem before she was.

A moot point by then, being totally honest.

"A shame we missed that," he noted conversationally, turning his eyes to take a gander at the newly inlaid and newly marred runes upon the blade in Fionn's grasp. "All I got was a Gannek."

At this point, he didn't have a lot more substance to bring to the table. He'd reinforce Fionn's "good work" bit with that and then let him work.

Somehow, Gerard and Rolan had blundered their way into making more progress than the rest of them in the same span of time. It would have been galling, if Renar had any cause to dislike either of them. As it stood, he was just relieved that they were finally getting somewhere with this entire sordid mess.

Regardless, as Fanilly's hair grew and spun out of control, Renar decided he hated the fae unequivocally. Their motives were inscrutable and insane. Anyone he didn't understand was someone he couldn't work around. To try to wrap his head around their mentality was the equivalent of putting up a barricade against a tidal wave: there was little point in standing in the path of nature and impulse. The rules weren't just arbitrary, they were nonsensical.

Truly, Fionn was a damned hero for somehow being capable of sorting even a portion of this out. Nonetheless, Renar stayed out of the conversation for the time being, leaving the matter to the aforementioned as he quietly observed, just waiting for yet another thing to go wrong.

Fleuri Jodeau

With the success of the scouting group in contacting the fae, the knights were able to progress to the fae realm and obtain an audience with the Moonlit Queen herself. Unfortunately, if there wasn't already clear enough just how precarious their situation in her realm was, it became very clear when the Moonlit Queen caused the captain's hair to rapidly grow. By the standards of the fae, it was a relatively harmless gesture, probably just a petty whim of the Moonlit Queen to make an aesthetic "improvement" to Fanilly, but it demonstrated just how powerful and impulsive she could be.

If she desired- or if an errant thought popped in her head- probably could kill most of the group without any effort.

Fleuri was not pleased to find himself in this situation- at the whims of a capricious fae in the heart of her power. He did not believe he could contribute anything here, nor would attempting to do so seem wise in light of what the fae queen did to Fanilly- best to allow Fionn, who was most familiar with fae, to do the talking.

Silence hung in the air for a few moments.

There wasn't a single sound. No birds. Not even the wind. The realm of the Moonlit Queen was dead silent as she acknowledged the confirmation of the manner in which her guardian had been destroyed.

While the growth of her hair had been distracting, there was no way that Fanilly would allow it to pull her attention away from the situation at hand. The next few moments dictated everything, and they were in a place of certain disadvantage. The Fae Realm was entirely under the Moonlit Queen's control, after all.

But there was no real choice if they wanted to negotiate with her.

The silence was practically deafening.

And then---

The Moonlit Queen clapped her hands together, a bright smile lighting up her childish face.

"Really? That's impressive! I thought I did a good job on that one, too," she declared cheerily. Internally, Fanilly found herself letting out a sigh of relief. They were hardly out of the woods yet, but at the same time they had made a step in the right direction, and the Fae did not seem angry.

"I thought it'd have chewed up aaaaaall your guts~" the Moonlit Queen added in a cheerful fashion. Her child-like looks and demeanor only made the situation all the more surreal, "But I guess not~"

She shrugged.

"... Why, though? Do you want to stay with me?"

That last question felt heavier. As if the edge of a knife had just been sharpened.

Fanilly tucked her hair back as best she could and stepped forward. Her heartbeat threatened to rip its way through her breastplate, but now was no time to hesitate.

They had to be clear.

The negotiations had to begin.

"We're here to bargain, Moonlit Queen," she began.

The fae tilted her head, curiously, large, black eyes shimmering.

"Bargain? For what?"

Fanilly took a deep breath. This was the moment that could determine the success or failure of their mission.

The way in which this unpredictable, supernatural being replied to their goal.

"For the return of Duke Thedric's wits."

The silence returned.

This time, however, a small frown had found its way to the Moonlit Queen's lips.

After a few moments, she crossed her arms, and much like a petulant child she looked away.

"No."

The Knight-Captain stared blankly for a few moments. Just an outright no? Immediately?

"Bu---"

Before she could continue speaking, the Moonlit Queen cut her off.

"No! That... big, stupid idiot---!"

A breeze started to rise, now. It rattled the branches of the distant, black trees.

"He doesn't deserve to have them back. Hmph. Acting like he doesn't have time anymore..."

'Acting like he doesn't have time anymore'?

Fanilly took a deep breath. She was hoping that the Moonlit Queen would have been more interesting in the idea of a bargain, but at the same time---

Maybe---

This wasn't unsalvageable?

It seemed as if the Moonlit Queen's reason for taking the Duke's wits had to do with some sort of perceived slight and past relationship, at the very least.

"Moonlit Queen," she began, sucking in a deep breath between words as she attempted to choose them wisely, "I won't waste any further time. What could we offer as a wager to make you consider returning his wits?"

The fae girl didn't reply immediately, letting out another huff, her arms folded over her chest.

When she finally spoke, however---

"There's nothing. After all, you'd have to offer me a wager just as entertaining as watching that big mean dummy prance around without his brains just to get me to think about it. Can any of you even do that?"

She turned to face the knights once more, leaning forward with her hands on her hips.

"What can all of you even do?"