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Gawain Sir Gawain's quest went out to Paladins, as well as people he was close with, such as Mordred, and one other individual. The knight has said, simply, that he is 'searching for his horse, Gringolet', an ageless fairy that may still live.

For this purpose, he has gotten a large RV, and is travelling towards the English-Scottish border, as that is near where Camlann happened, and he doesn't think his horse would have strayed to the deeper parts of either country. Having consulted with a member of the Mage's Association in return for a favor, he has found a contact - an elderly faeologist named Janet who lives on the Scottish side of the border.

The group is to meet with Janet, have a peaceful conversation, ask her for advice on what to do and how to interact with the fae, and then head into the deeper Scottish woods.

JANET:
The meeting with Janet was long, and the group could ask her many questions. Her cottage was quintessential Scotland: grey stone with wooden interior and furnishing, a chimney puffing smoke, and an old rocking chair, with a woman in in her early sixties sitting in it. She has a fair complexion, with her blonde hair having gone grey, and her clothes relatively simple for a knowledgable scholar.

"Ah, welcome, welcome." She told the group, offering a cup of tea should they want it. "I have been informed of what you seek, and so, allow me to tell you what I know about your destination. It is a forest we locals refer to in English as 'the Woods of Camlann', due to relativity to the famous battle, as well as old rumors that the roots of the trees drank in the blood of that battlefield."

"While to most, this is a simple forest on the side of the long road, it is much deeper than any could expect, and we locals avoid it, for those who enter usually do not return. This is because it has been claimed and enchanted by two polar opposites of fae courts. The Court of the Moon, and the Court of the Sun. Vicious, noble, dark, light, chaotic, lawful. Opposite extremes."

"If you are seeking the lost horse Gringolet, I recommend gaining allies from the Court of the Sun. The Solar Prince is the more noble of the two courts' rulers. However, you will have tasks to complete before you can reach the court."

Janet takes a sip of her tea. "You will need to solve a riddle to find a specific flower within. You will need to avoid getting lost in the forests' maze. And should she appear deep within, you will need to answer the sacred question of the court's guardian."

"The riddle is as such: 'To reach the land where the sun shines bright, bring a rose the color of noble's blood."

From there, people could ask their questions, should they have any.
Gawain THE WOODS:
The white RV is packed with snacks, boardgames, and music, which Gawain controls and therefore is rock and roll. The drive from the warpgate to the forest is rather long, but only 'in the span of an afternoon'. The forest is vast, dark, and clearly mystical to some extent if you check.

There's the sounds of birds singing, creatures frolicking, and practically no humans this far out of the way. Well, that's not true. There's one, who the majority of the group can ignore if they wish. An old woman in her eighties, in a half-tent with a bunch of cans, a cane, and her long white hair braided up, probably by someone else. She's clearly been travelling, moving through the road step by step, probably very slowly.

As the group approaches, she cackles, pointing her cane. "I wouldn't go this way, if I were you." Her accent is thick Scottish. "This forest isn't safe for anyone but the brave and foolish. The fae haunt these woods! The fae!" She cackles again, waving her cane.

"But you're driven, aren't you? No one vacations here, so clearly you have your own motivations. Tell me, are you brave, nehahahaha?"

Gawain steps out of the driver's seat and presents himself to the random old lady. She might need some aid, seeing as she's basically hitchhiking.

"I am Sir Gawain, Knight of the Sun, Warden of the Paladins. While you are correct that we are on a mission, if there is any way I can aid you, please allow me to know, before or after our business here concludes."

The elderly woman cackles again. "Ah, how sweet! No, no, I'll be fine here alone for a bit longer. You seem brave enough, 'sir knight'!" If she actually believes he's a knight, it's unclear.

You can either engage with the woman, or enter the forest directly.
Tamamo     JANET:

    Tamamo no Mae arrives humbly enough, or at least, less formally than her last outing. The winter coat is of English make, and thus seemingly highly appropriate to Scotland weather, despite the present lack of winter. She is, perhaps, just a bit sensitive to the cold, whereas nothing in this land could instead suggest an overabundance of the Sun's warmth.

    In other senses, Tamamo herself is quite warm. She'll accept tea, if offered, and serve tea, if not, having brought some along, still hot. She listens along to the explanation, nodding at the mention of the Solar knight needing to seek the Sun's court. Her question is an obvious one, "And of the noble fae, do they bleed?" She looks to Lilian for this, as her closest expert to the subject of driving sharp implements through sidhe, and unaware whether the Scottish varieties should differ.

    THE WOODS:

    There are board games, and there is time to spend, and Tamamo has never played any of these. The experience of the RV soon has her saying, "What a remarkable form of carriage," as she learns to keep her balance with Gawain's driving, and she looks through the offerings. "Lilian, tell me, what do you know of the lands of Catan?"

    Eventually, they are interrupted by a stop, and Tamamo goes to find it caused by an old woman. "Oh, why, good afternoon." Gawain already offered help, so it seems unnecessary to press the matter. She does seem to be well aware of where she is, if she's even warning others of the place. "I should think myself somewhat brave, and somewhat foolish, yet both are useful to a quester, no?"
Mordred JANET: Rather than arriving in her usual armor, Mordred meets with the faeologist in a far more casual t-shirt and shorts getup with a mismatched vest to complete the... Whatever look she's going for today. She's agreed to join Gawain on this quest with little more than the initial question being asked, and she's actually making a token effort to not look like a slob!

    She even takes up their faeologist's offer of tea without making any comments about her age. Listening closely, she tries to retain the information as best she can for the coming mission! The riddle, naturally, is going to be the most difficult part for her. "Blood's blood, isn't it? So a red rose! So we just throw this at the guardian or... Are we supposed to make something out of it for 'em?"

    Tamamo's question about the fae's blood has her pausing to think, though, furrowing her brow after a few moments. "... Good point. Uh. Do these roses grow near where the guardian's going to be? Because it might be harder finding a weirder color of rose nearby."

THE WOODS:
    "Chicka... Ronies? When'd they start calling this stuff such a weird name?" Mordred mutters as she opens up a bag of pork rinds, munching on one misshappen chunk of fried skin before promptly shoving four more into her face in quick succession. Little attention is paid to how much she might be bumping around into everyone else in the RV, although the Knight of Treachery is thankfully not wearing her armor whilst inside the vehicle.

     It'd be a tight fit if she did.

     When they arrive at the old woman's tent, she stands beside Gawain and offers her own introduction in turn. "Mordred, Knight of Treachery and Future King, Member of the Concord. We've got bravery and foolishness covered, so we'll be fine out here." Chuckling, she lets the tip of her blade balance on the dirt while she looks the old woman over to try and get a better idea of what she might even be. A laborer? An explorer? A hobo?

    "What about you? Brave, foolish, or... Are you from around here?"
Maya Maya had heard Sir Gawain's call for aid and she was more than happy to help him in this quest. He'd done a lot of good for his own world and the multiverse at large. So she'd been happy to come along on this, she appreciated the RV that Gawain had acquired she was used to loving n the road and this was honestly pretty nice all things considered. They also had a fairly reliable contact in Janet.

JANET.

"What do you know of the Fae's laws? While magic is the lifeblood of my homeworld we do not have anything akin to the Fae and I would be foolish to presume here they act like any I have encountered in the past."

THE WOODS:

Seeing this much plant life put Maya in a good mood, being from a desert. Greenery was a rare sight growing up for her.

"I am Maya I am also an operative of the Paladins, you know of the local Fae? What might you be willing to share with us about them Miss?"

Maya's being pretty polite here
Ben d'Tarkanan JANET:

     The other individual invited is none other than Lord Ben d'Tarkanan. How many people can say that they're friends with a knight of legend? Some days ago, Ben rushed to Gawain's 'rescue' and only mildly wounded the Sun Knight in the process. It was fairly easy to ingratiate himself after that--Gawain seems a very trusting person. He didn't even seem to mind being accidentally frozen. As he emerges from the RV, Ben smiles. That was one eventful get-together, wasn't it?

     He listens earnestly to Janet's explanation, peering thoughtfully at her and nodding along over his cup of tea. Yes, he accepted. That these woods are the site of a battle could prove useful, if they find themselves under ambush. "A rose, you say?" The riddle, in particular, interests him. It's probably not going to be red--that's too obvious. Blue would seem to be too obvious, too... "Do they grow in the forest, or must we bring one from elsewhere?"

THE WOODS:

     The first thing to do is summon a mount... but the old lady there in her tent might die of shock, what with how she's joking about the fae. Ben fastens his sword to his hip. With his most charming smile, he approaches the old lady. "Lord Ben d'Tarkanan, of the Concord. I daresay we are none of us as brave as you, Goodlady," jokes the necromancer. "You know about the fae, but stay here anyway. Perhaps we're even foolish, hearing your warnings and going further still." He grins, and looks into the forest.

     "My, but a haunting does make for a great story at dinner, though..."
Rean Schwarzer Janet:

Rean shows up wearing more casual clothes than his uniform today, a red vest over a white shirt and some jeans. He was just fine coming along to help Gawain find an old friend, and he knew how tight the bond between a horse and their rider could be, even disregarding the fae part. He listens to Janet's explanation pretty intently, and compares the two from what little he'd read about fae and that one encounter he had with fae on Lilian's world.

Apparently, just like the scattered and varied depictions of Erebonian fae, the thing in common seemed to be a tendency towards tricks and riddles.

Rean shakes his head when the discussion of blood comes up. "Nobles are often called 'blue bloods,' so maybe a blue rose? Or since it's the court of the sun, a yellow one might work too." He shrugs. "Might be best to just bring a whole bunch of different colored roses."

Woods:
Rean joins in on learning some probably new to him board games, plus playing the multiversal constant of chess if that's there. He also at some point or another pulls out a deck of numbered cards with illustrations of weapons on them. It's a card duel game, about trying to get a higher number than your opponent, while trying to force them to swap or discard advantageous numbers. He hadn't had the chance to play Blade with anyone but his classmates, so maybe now would be a good time to teach other people.  

Once they stop at the woods, Rean gets out and stretches. He then looks around and takes in the scenery. The forest is indeed quite mystical, not unlike that one nature park north of Celdic. Soon, everyone starts to engage the old lady by the roadside. "Wouldn't be the first time I've been called either." Rean jokes. "Rean Schwarzer, also of the Paladins. Since everyone else seems to have asking about the fae covered, is there anything else we should be worried about?"
Lilian Rook     THE WOODS:

    Lilian *apparently* has to take an RV somewhere. It is awful. If it were just Gawain and Tamamo, it'd be a tolerable drive between a goodboy and a good woman. She has at least arranged to sit next to the latter, aggressively if need be. She is also apparently intent on making use of the time wastefully spent by road vehicles, occupied with a small stack of books written in ciphers of old Briton and Saxon dialects, shuffling around her own sheafs of papers to write and draw as she goes, with immaculately perfect geometry.

    "It's a sort of dream land thought up by the Germans." she answers Tamamo off-handedly. "A place that's supposed to embody the spirit of exploration and development. Of the colonial sort, racing to claim a newly discovered frontier, and all its inherent struggles. If you want to lay down the map, here are some computer simulated layouts meant to be fair."

    She says 'fair', but in reality she will only viciously cheat against every single other player except Tamamo, because Lilian does not lose, ever. She occasionally scoffs at the odd, especially overdone bump in the road, muttering 'Scotland'.

    JANET:

    "Well, this is cozy." Lilian says first upon entering, looking around the picturesque countryside furnishings. "If perhaps playing a little to trope. I suppose that'd fit someone fixated on old stories and traditions." There is no possible mistaking that she knows the country well enough to have an idea of the border and the woods, even if only academically; it's very obvious due to saying everything in the notoriously British dialect of received pronunciation.

    She sits around pleasantly enough, hair done up in a celtic knot, wearing a classic black dress, taking her tea with one leg over the other. Equally pleasantly, she decides to say "I'd caution against drawing those distinctions. Noble. Light. Lawful. Those are lovely little adjectives, but none of them mean anything. Good. Wholesome. Compassionate. Understanding. Trustworthy. Those would matter. But lawful nobles are no less capable of degeneracy and violence as chaotic and vicious types."

    The answer to the first question is as flat and barely punctuated as can be. "All kinds of them bleed."

    She then extends and turns over her arm, tapping the faintly visible vein on the inside, visible through archetypically pale skin. "It's an old phrase that originated here. In the days when everyone worked outside or else they starved, only the most privileged could stay away from the sun enough for their skin to show 'blue blood'. You'd even be able to assert you pedigree by showing it, or else you'd need to hide it if escaping a coup. It needn't be terribly complicated; it's a device of poetry by very old creatures, speaking to their preference, not an alchemical formula. The blue rose symbolizes obscurity and mystery, and attaining the impossible or intangible. In fact, the people most likely to be weeded out are the unromantic and logically-minded thinkers. After all, they don't exist in nature."
Lilian Rook     THE WOODS:

    Lilian has her rose -- several, of different shades -- wrapped up in hermetic plastic just in case, not trusting faerie forest trial nonsense at all, having been gently tucked into the side a petite trailblazer bag, looking to be the most rugged thing on her person, only having worn a thicker and more abbreviated form of wear, not taking long sleeves or skirts to a forest that is not her own, and not wearing potentially sweaty multiple layers. At first sight of the woman, she mutters aloud once more. "Scotland."

    Taking a breath and smoothing her fingers through her hair, she engages without anything like aggression or scorn. "How often have you met someone who calls themself a coward? I'd think that a useless question, unless you plan to gaze into people's eyes for a look of character. But please don't. More importantly, if you live here, or are at all familiar with it, I'd like to know the most direct route you know of to reach the opposite side from the road."
Gawain JANET:
Gawain is here, and partakes in the tea as well, but allows the others to ask the questions instead. THe tea is not poisoned or enchanted or anything such as that, as one might suspect from a fae-related person, or a mage in general. As Janet speaks, she answers Tamamo first. "Ah, yes, they do. Their blood isn't quite the same as ours, being more magical ephemera, but it exists." Her eyes meet Ben's, briefly.

Mordred gets a chuckle. "Ah, no, the guardian does not want the rose. Think of it as a key, and the guardian a gatekeeper."

Maya asks about the fae's law. "It depends on the court. The Sun Prince's laws are regimented and change based on decree, and I have not stepped into the court since I was much younger and much more foolish. What I can say is that you should follow their laws at all costs. Otherwise, it may be dangerous for you."

Ben and Rean's reply is simple. "They grow in the forest. An imported flower won't open the passage."

Finally, Lilian gets a reply. There's a tap of the nose. "Of course. It's a question whether their kind is even capable of genuine compassion, besides just playing a role. "You must always remember."

"The fae are not human."

THE WOODS:
As the group talks to the elderly hobo (at least, Mordred is pretty sure she's either a hobo or wants to appear as a hobo for some insane reason), the lady cackles at Mordred and Tamamo. "Of course, of course! Ah, whether or not I am brave or foolish truly depends on the perspective of the beholder. You could say I am from around here, yes!" Another cackle.

"Ah, the fae don't come outside the boundary very often." The woman tells Ben, and Maya. "They say that they steal and replace your kids, and do all sorts of foul things to those they capture. Turn them into soup! Fee fi fo fum..." She starts humming.

Rean gets one quick reply. "Ah! Wolves. If you're out too late, the wolves might come out. But, you're brave and foolish! It'll be fine."

Lilian gets a quirk of an eyebrow. "Well, that's true! But, I wonder, why do you want to go to the opposite side? I can give you the directions into that part of the forest, but, I can't imagine them being useful." She then explains the directions in a long-winded, rambling way, that is still entirely accurate.

And then, "Just leave me be and go on your adventure! Don't mind me." She'll stay there, and still be there if they leave and then come back to grab anything from the RV, or decide to drive the RV away to the other side.

The question is now: what is their plan to enter the forest, and how aware do they keep their senses? Do they spend the time chattering, or do they focus and hone in on certain sounds, smells, or sights?
Ben d'Tarkanan JANET:

     Maybe blue *isn't* too obvious. Dame Rook does raise a good point about the fae and their disdain for cold logic.

     "I suppose it's against the laws of the Court to simply tell us the correct color of rose?" It would certainly make sense, but it never hurts to ask. He grins in an easygoing, mischievous kind of way at Janet as their eyes meet. It probably is. But... there is something else he could ask. "Are there any forms of magic the Sun Court forbids?" It would be good to know that now, so that he can carefully choose when, how and where to use such magics. Or rather, how far he can push the envelope.

THE WOODS:

     His plan to enter the forest is the same regardless of the answer to that question, and differs only in its subtlety. Knowing that parts of this forest saw battle, and that there are still dead interred here from those ancient battles, Ben will make use of them to scout out the forest around him, while he himself sticks close to the group. He'll only summon them once they're out of sight of the old lady.

     Always one to test his limits until he's caught, Ben uses ghosts, hidden between worlds and invisible to the naked eye, if necessary. If not, and there's no risk of being 'caught' or reprimanded by watchers the Court may have waiting in the woods, he calls forth skeletons, still clad for war--including a skeletal horse for his own conveyance.
Mordred JANET:
    "Magical blood and... Ah. Local plants, got it. Makes the key thing easier, at least, if we don't gotta grab it from somewhere else. The blood, though..." Mordred lets out a quiet noise of vague discontent, then shrugs after a few moments. "Maybe we'll just find an old fae to grab some from, then. Might not need that much, if it's a magical..." She pauses, then shakes her head. "Wait. We don't need to pull it out at all, if they just tell us what color their blood is."

    It's sounding a bit too easy so far, but she'll have to keep her eyes open later.

THE WOODS:
    "Could always be both. Better than being some blowhard that thinks they're just brave and ends up looking like a dumbass." Laughing again, Mordred rests the sword on her shoulder while glancing around the campsite once more. It's less to look for anything in particular and more to just get a better idea of where she is in the event they need to come back to this site later.

     Once the group starts to move again, though, Mordred lowers her voice and only speaks once the old hobo seems to be out of earshot. "I think she might be one of 'em. Sure talks funny enough to be one. Remember where the tent is." She comments while keeping her eyes peeled on the ground. Janet /did/ mention that the roses they would need grew in that very forest, so she's on the lookout for roses to grab!

    And probably get stabbed in the hands several times in the process. Not that she winces or recoils, of course, because Mordred is STRONG and TOUGH. She won't let something as minor as rose thorns visibly discomfort her. She's not particularly familiar with flowers, though, so she winds up just grabbing a one of every colored flower she manages to spot.
Tamamo JANET:

    'Playing a role.' That phrase gets a thoughtful look from Tamamo, a 'hmm,' gaze sliding to the side. Well, they're probably not /quite/ like those other fae, even if this much is said of them.

THE RV:

    Tamamo is perfectly happy to try out Rean's card game as well as set out whichever board game will remain on the table long enough to be playable, even with Scottish roads. "Oh, is the game not usually fair? I might like to experience such a thing, considering such." If she notices any cheating, she doesn't mention it.

THE WOODS:

    Tamamo, without having introduced herself to the old woman, just pleasantly smiles and nods. Following this, and hearing that Lilian has some sort of plan, she trusts wholly in whatever that might be, sticking close by her side as if planning a perfectly innocent stroll through a not at all forboding forest. She is, in fact, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and in possession of a soft coat. She is not, on the other hand, being particularly attentive of her surroundings.
Lilian Rook     JANET:

    Lilian laughs. It is long and slow and utterly humourless, only amused by some dark dramatic irony of a tragic farce that only she knows of. "If it suits me." she says at the end of her teacup. It lacks a hint of bravado or contrarian independence. "After all, I needn't be reminded."

    "Thirteenth Code. Thou shalt never heed the words of that which begs thy reply."

    THE WOODS:

    "As they properly shouldn't." she asserts to the vagrant woman, hands on her hips. "If they strayed too far outside, they could get hurt, after all. It'd be what they deserve for all those foul things now, wouldn't it?" She's staring.

    Still, she listen through the roundabout way of desscribing the path deep and narrow into the forest, not writing it down, but committing it all to memory. "Thank you for your compliance. Trust me that I'll find a use for them all the same. I'll leave you to--" She glances at the cans. "--your business."

    And yet, the moment she enters the shadows of the first tree, Lilian seems to lose her focus; rather, she seems to become gravely distracted by something, uncharacteristically wandering in a thousand yard haze. She diverges from the most conveniently packed trail, picking through branches and fingering her way through flowering underbrush, weaving around slowly, surely, hand to her ear, head tilted towards the scattered rays of the sun that break through the boughs, and, simultaneous with the piercing three note call of a songbird, she stops. Looking up, the seemingly random spot in the woods is sheltered under the conspicuous arch of two trees bent together at the top, colonized around the edge by toadstools.

    "This way." she says. "Listen for the birds." Of course, doing so is essentially optional for those willing to follow her. Incredibly empty as her patience may be for people who think themselves too good to do so, tracing her footsteps is simultaneously mysterious and winding, and wholly productive. She knows where she's going. She's never been here before, but she does. There is a burning certainty about it. The sort of the absolute confidence people once had in the visions in their dreams. She cuts down the old woman's trail only as far as it takes her to where she intends to be as quickly as possible, and then branches away into the shadowed sea of green. Every few seconds, she gouges a little mark on a tree in passing, each oriented so that facing one puts the next directly in view, following some invisible trail along with the sounds of birds.
Maya Janet:

Maya nods listening to an seem to be making some notes about this.

"It may be the only thing to hold them in check and I will do that thank you for this information Janet and no they are not. They don't think like humans or things like them."

That's also something worth recalling for later.

The Woods:

She keeps moving and would look to the old woman for a moment longer as she moves to engage with them.

"Ah so they ten to keep their turf most of the time?"

She looks over to Lilian and she thinks for a moment.

"Are you sure you will be all right on your own out here miss?"

Maya looks to be very concerned at this point but will trust the women if she keeps rebuffing any concerns about her well being.

"IS there anything else we should know about local Fae?"
Rean Schwarzer RV:
"Well, it's less that it's unfair, and more that if you draw wrong, there's a good chance it kills your momentum. " Rean says. Then again, given who made the game, the fact that it could get messed up by a poor stroke of luck seemed just like that guy...

The woods:
"Wolves. Got it." He then nods to Mordred once they're away from the old lady. "I wouldn't be surprised."

Anyway, they get to walking, and Rean keeps his eyes out for any roses, and aura sense open in case that's of any help with navigation while he follows along after Lilian.
Gawain JANET:
"Anything related to the moon or the night, of course. Beyond that...I believe nothing is 'forbidden', though it may be discouraged." Ben is replied to, by Janet, as she refills her tea cup. Mordred just gets stared at, but Janet just chuckles again, and expects the others to straighten the knight out. It's not the old lady's place to tell her that she's misunderstanding.

Janet just smiles at Lilian's words, as well as Maya's. They've got good sense.

THE WOODS:
"I'll be fine, go, go!" If Maya persists, the old lady shakes her cane at her. She doesn't appear to have more fae info, it'd seem.

Lilian is able to follow the bird song, shifting through the trees and the arches, following her own path. Every step she takes is Correct. She comes across a small grotto of flowers: red, blue, yellow, pink, and purple. She should probably try and grab them all before Mordred does, and if she manages to grab a color, they notice something instantly:

Every other color of flower closes up, and retreats into the dirt. It'd be unfair if you could just pick them all, wouldn't it?

Rean's aura senses scan hidden watchers, but can't find their exact location - only that they're there, as Ben brings out his undead troop and rides on his horse. The wind is chilling, but nothing attacks. This isn't that type of situation. You're an armed, competent posse, not a group of frat boys on a dare who get kidnapped and taken into a fairy circle.

After they scoop up their choice of flower, they feel the sun grow brighter and brighter as they pass further forward, following Lilian's leed and Lilian following her heart's desire.

The path is finally blocked by a thicket of trees, through which stands a doe, chewing at the grass. As the group approaches, whether to scare it off, try and go around it, or even attack it, it looks up at them, locks eyes with Gawain, and then Lilian, as she's taking a 'leadership' position, and then opens its mouth.

"Who is the one that holds law within their hands, whose every proclamation should be honored, the most noble, respectable being in all the land?"

The mouth doesn't move like a person's, instead entirely like a deer who is manifesting sound that it shouldn't be able to.

This must be the guardian. And this is absolutely some sort of test.
Ben d'Tarkanan JANET:

     Ben smiles. That's exactly the answer he had hoped to hear. It's the last bit of conversation he makes, at least as far as deciphering the riddle and finding Gringolet.

THE WOODS:

     Ben's skeletal horse is fit with a decaying saddle, from which clumps of damp earth still occasionally roll off. All of his effort is put into deciphering the reports of his undead, which are, in a word, useless. They constructs don't have the force of will to find their way without direct guidance from him, and so all that he does is micromanage them. The enchantment on the forest is powerful, indeed.

     He doesn't notice the flowers until Lilian has already picked one. Hm. Well... the sky is blue during the day, and there is of course the 'blue blood' connection. If it's wrong, it's not like he's the one that picked that color.

     His undead converge on his position, taking up defensive positions around the necromancer and his skeletal horse. The guardian doesn't seem to take offense to the choice in rose, so the answer to her question should be similarly obvious. The king, right? It's got to be the king.

     Only... Ben doesn't want to be the guy who speaks up and is wrong. He settles instead for allowing his left hand to rest upon the grinning beholder which forms the pommel of his sword, peering down at the grazing guardian.
Tamamo THE WOODS:

    The way is not direct, though it is as certain as it can be. Tamamo keeps by Lilian's side, just as she said she would, caring for little but that fact. This is the Correct way to reach their destination, even if it is not the way through the woods. Her ears hear, and she focuses only on the birdsong, and only when prompted.

    Flowers. These, Tamamo understands. There had already been the discussion, back then, of blood and signs and riddles. Tamamo performs her own particular reading, eyes focused on some far-distant point, as her fingers reach out. "Each one..." Pink, red, yellow... "Of its own symbolism, and its particular importance, but of /these/, there is only one connected so strongly to those within."

    The blue rose is plucked. Tamamo smiles. "You were right, to no surprise." She takes it with her.

    There is a deer. There is another riddle. "There could only be one such," she says, but does not say who it is. Of course there could be only one. There can't be a tie for 'most noble.' "The highest ruler." That's still not an answer.
Mordred THE WOODS:

     Following the song is easy enough once Mordred starts to get a better feel for where it is the sound is coming from. She's largely following Lilian, to be fair, but the knight doesn't trail too far behind. "Only one? But there's plenty around here." Tamamo gets a confused look, then a shrug after a few moments. "But if we just grab a bunch of 'em, then we cover any other weird logic they might have. Right?" Of course, following rather than leading means that Mordred doesn't quite get a chance to get her hands on a flower, instead grasping at one just as it retreats into the ground.

     "... The hell. Get back here, you stupid little...!" Mordred's temper gets the better of her for that moment as she punches into the dirt to try and grab one of those flowers by force, the notion of yelling at flowers not seeming strange to her in the least. They're dealing with fae, after all, so some degree of weirdness is alraedy expected!

    Still, it's annoying. "Why'd Gringolet have to come out here of all places, anyway? Nn... Would've been easier if he had just gone to mom's old place." Mordred mutters under her breath, stopping once the group encounters THE DOE. Narrowing her eyes, Mordred glances around slowly to see if she can spot any telltale signs of the fae lurking around it, but her attention snaps right back to the animal when it speaks up.

     Somehow, she doesn't look surprised. Startled for a moment, yes, but not surprised. "The king, of course. The greatest king represents all those things, so... Yeah." There's not much elaboration past that.
Tamamo JANET:

    "Of the court," Tamamo asks, "did you know of others besides the Sun Prince? Surely, there were advisors, courtiers, and lesser nobles." She doesn't even mention servants. "And did this same prince always rule, or had there been others, before?"
Maya Janet:

Maya takes heed of that not to mention the moon or night. She'll have to watch some of the sayings she grew up with there and it was good to know. It could prove to be life-saving when it came down to it and she would enjoy her tea.

The Woods:

Maya will accept the woman's word. She's lived here long enough, right? Or she could be a fae but since they are here to play nice to find Gawain's long-missing steed? She won't press the matter at all and she'll now turn her attentions to the matter at hand and will pull a fate card out, for a moment channelling a spell trying to take a look at the forest through the spell trying to decern where the entry point might be or any other thing that might be of use to her comrades.
Lilian Rook     THE WOODS:

    Blue is of course the colour Lilian had insisted upon, and the fact that it doesn't cause them to all take a trip through a magical realm means that her own blue roses will have to go in a vase at home, later. Having brought it to the deer now, thankfully without anyone heinously disrupting her grip on the situation, she glances sidelong to Gawain, then to the deer with some faraway displeasure buried somewhere deep in the grass green of her eyes.

    "If, perhaps, you'd hope to hear the flattery of naming some fairie prince to appeal to his vanity, I'll politely refuse. For one, 'all the land' doesn't apply, but for two, even Oberon deceived with his tricks and potions. I'll name exactly who it should be, and exactly who you should acknowledge, if you acknowledge at all the wisdom of your old kind."

    "Obviously, that would be the one whom even the fair folk singled out for his impeccable virtue. The one they ordained by divine right to give law and order unto the bloody isles at war. Whose proclamations defended the country. The one whose name is synonymous with honour itself, for returning the sword to the lake at the cost of his own life, to give back what was entrusted to him by the old fae."

    "I refer to, of course, the King of Knights. If a man suited to become the divine spirit of chivalry itself isn't good enough, then I rebuke such a question down to its bones."
Rean Schwarzer Rean humms, looking up at the crowns of the trees. Well, something was watching them, it seemed, but he couldn't place from where. When the flowers appear, Rean goes for one of the blue ones too...and the others vanish. Whoops.

He stays quiet for now, since Lillian seemed to have this. If there was one thing he didn't doubt with her, it was her competence. The answer she gave seemed to make sense, anyway.
Gawain JANET: "If there have been any before the Sun Prince, they're not very relevant." Is what Janet replies to Tamamo. "The Sun Prince has ruled for at minimum, millennia, and it is said that when he is crowned king, his enemies will quake in fear."

"Besides that...there is a quartermaster, a steward, and a stablemaster. I will not promise the names of the bearers of those titles, but they would likely be the most important."

THE WOODS: Maya's magic finds that their entrance is dead ahead. They're not far, having cut through the maze. The only problem is the deer.

The doe's eyes reject every answer, up until Lilian speaks. Her answer causes her to pause. She stares at Lilian, literally like a deer in headlights.

And then after a /very/ long moment, she looks to Gawain for his answer. Gawain wants to say the vanity answer, but Lilian has made it so he absolutely can't. To do so would be to counter his king, who he believes.

"The King of Knights, of course."

The deer stares for a bit longer, and then walks into the trees. The copse opens up - an acceptance of the answer - and reveals a large space through it.

A pond, full of blue rose petal floating among the water. They picked the right color, and they've found their way in. Gawain moves to take one of the blue roses from the group, and proceeds towards the lake.

"Everyone ready?" Once they affirm...

He throws in the rose.
Gawain THE COURT OF THE SUN:

Bright light surrounds the group as soon as the rose makes contact. It's blinding, but not painful. When it clears, it's still bright, but they can see. They're standing on a silver bridge, over a clear white river of water. As they clear their eyes and look ahead, they'll see a golden-white castle, absolutely massive, sitting in the sky. It's like they're on a 'heavenly plane', even though those magical could figure they've just stepped sideways into a pocket of space.

The castle has large steps leading up to it. Each step appears to be a massive ray of sunlight into an impossibly large castle, with gates made of polished metal bars, and the sound of harps playing and laughter and feasting. Before the group can move forward however, towards the slender and tall humanoid approaching them, they'll feel something in their mind. It's distracting, but Lilian can entirely block it out and prevent it from happening, should she wish. It is not harmful in any way, nor an attack.

--

THE LAWS OF THE COURT OF THE SUN

THE COURT OF THE SUN POSSESSES THREE LAWS, TO WHICH ALL ARE BOUND, WHETHER FAIR, MAN, OR OTHER. THESE LAWS MAY CHANGE AT ANY TIME, BUT NO MORE THAN THREE SHALL EVER EXIST. WHEN A LAW CHANGES, ALL SHALL BE NOTIFIED.

THOSE WHO BREAK THE LAWS WILL BE PUNISHED. AN EYE FOR AN EYE, A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH

ONE - YOU SHALL NOT LIE
TWO - YOU SHALL NOT BREAK HOSPITALITY
THREE - YOU SHALL NOT ASK OF ANOTHER THEIR NAME

--

As the laws are revealed to the group, the guard approaches. He has short blonde hair, very fair skin, and bright white eyes. "Hail, travelers. We have been informed of your arrival. Well-met. I mean you no harm. I am here to provide hospitality and guide you further into the Court of the Sun, where rest and sustenance can be provided, and questions can be answered."

The guard waits for their answer. He's hoping they answer yet.
Tamamo THE WOODS:

    "All is well," Tamamo says to Mordred, regarding the retreating flowers. "Those others were of no importance." She doesn't say how she knows this, but it's obvious in the tone that she Knows this.

    Answers are given and answers are accepted. The court, or its guardian, cannot reject the name of the King of Knights. They move on.

THE COURT:

    "Hmm," Tamamo says. "It is not unexpected. Now, I might like to introduce myself, but I am hardly tonight's central figure, no? Fortunate symbolism aside, this particular journey concerns another's quest." Evasive wording, even by her own standards, but it keeps with each one of the laws, as well as her present inclinations.

    A guard approaches. "My, of course. Neither rest nor sustenance will be needed, for myself, so long as the Sun is in the sky, but as for questions and answers, I expect we shall find great interest in these."
Mordred JANET:
    "So this Sun Prince will end up being a King someday, right? That's only natural." Mordred seems rather satisfied with Janet's explanation, although it'd be hard to tell if this knight's going to even remember it.

THE WOODS:
    "Bah... If you say so. These riddles ain't really my bag, anyway..." That takes some of the irritation out, at least, even though it's clear that Mordred's not feeling particularly great about Tamamo figuring it out before she does.

    She also isn't expecting someone else to speak well of her father, and Lilian gets a long stare as she answers the riddle by naming the King of Knights explicitly. There's an initial grimace and near-scowl, then an actual clenching of her fists as the mention of what could only be the father she knew starts to get Mordred's blood boiling.

    But... Lilian also spoke well of the one person she had strove so long to be like. She doesn't expect Gawain to contradict her, of course, but the vaguely approving rage continues to brew within the Knight of Treachery even as the deer seems to accept their answer when it leaves and reveals the opening of the copse. Gawain's question barey even gets a grunt of affirmation from Mordred with as conflicted as she is, although...

    Well, Mordred still jumps in. That's something.

THE COURT:
    "Huh. It really was the blue one." The majestic sky castle helps to calm Mordred somewhat, at least. Not enough to ease that tension surrounding her, but it's at least enough to get her to stop staring at Lilian like someone that had just eaten Mordred's lunch. Even the humanoid being approaching the group doesn't escape at least a few moments of tense staring, although the t-shirted knight does calm down somewhat more by the time the laws are given.

    "No lying, no breaking hospitality, no asking anyone anything about names. Easy to remember, at least." Nodding once, Mordred commits what she's said to memory, then turns to the guard and offers a quick salute in return. "Appreciated, soldier. Rest would be pretty good right about now, but later. We're here on a job, so..." Even as she speaks, Mordred is still looking around for signs of FOOD and DRINK. "Can we meet with the Court soon?"
Ben d'Tarkanan THE WOODS

     As Lilian and Gawain give their answers, Ben's hand retreats from the pommel of his sword. Force won't be necessary. That's good... and it's also good that he let those two speak up. Somehow, he doesn't think just 'the king' would have cut it. He knows Gawain is some sort of storied knight, but who's this 'king of knights?'

THE COURT OF THE SUN:

     Asking another their name should be easy to avoid. So, too, should breaking hospitality, once he's had a chance to ask just what that entails. But lying... that will be difficult. Ben dismounts the skeletal horse with practised ease. His skeleton soldiers creak and rattle as they step aside, making room for him. Ben steps forward to meet the guard.

     He extends his right hand, offering a firm shake at the wrist. "Hail and well-met!" He smiles brightly at the guard, seemingly quite pleased to have made his acquaintance. "I shall be quite happy to come along," Ben adds with a gracious nod. There is no immediate freak-out about him having undead here, which is good. But, vague though it might be, he's reasonably sure that '5-6 armed soldiers' among a party already several people strong wouldn't quite be honoring his hosts' hospitality. The necromancer turns to face his troops.

     "Leave us," he says simply. They do as commanded.

     With the soldiers gone, that just leaves the skeletal horse. He's hoping he can keep it. Those are a little harder to find intact. "Now then," he says amiably, turning back to face the guard. "Where can I hitch this fine fellow while we're about our courtly business?"
Maya The Woods:

Maya is pleased she's found the way forward she will let those better able to handle the more verbose issue for the moment she will relay her finding and put the spell card away. She will fall in as the answer is given.

"I am ready Sir Gawain."

With that they go in.

The Court:

Maya's seen a great many things but this is indeed a new one to her she's never really been ina Fae court of any sort before. She will look round taking in the sun an everything else but then they are topped and given the laws she listens to them without a thing being said. The rules make sense, the last one she takes kneel notes on and do not ask a name, names have power after all.

"Thank you for the greeting and telling us the laws of this place."

She is thankful to know rather than playing legal landmind. She will have to watch her words however.
Rean Schwarzer And then in a burst of light, they are pulled into the kingdom of faeries.

"Whoa." Rean says, gazing up at the castle and their surroundings. He takes note of the laws of the land, but also the 'may change at any point' thing. Though, was 'breaking hospitality' also /refusing/ hospitality?

In any case-  "THank you for the hospitality." Rean says. "We're looking for someone, and it's possible your lord may be able to help us."
Lilian Rook     THE WOODS:

    Lilian allows herself a slow and trailing, yet eventually broad and self-satisfied smile when the deer wordlessly accepts the answer she has to give. "Thus is how it goes when you write a riddle to get the answer you want to hear. It's just as well though. Perhaps even a wise choice; it'd be between allowing the name of Arthur Pendragon to be invoked and entering as guests of the Prince, or I'd be carrying out the name of Aodhan Rook and entering as a Knight of the Scarlet Cross Unseen." The fact that she'd allowed Gawain absolutely no opportunity to second guess by doing so feels intentional, given the slightly smug glance to the side she gives him.

    Lilian Rook always wins.

    THE COURT:

    Lilian smoothly raises her arm high enough to occlude the midday sun with her fingers, allowing her eyes to quickly adjust under the shadow of her hand. Even though they're shaded, for some reason, now they have their own little traces of luminosity. Whether or not she knows better than, or is practised in avoiding, gawking like an awed tourist here is utterly irrelevant. Though she's bid entry in any young girl's wonderland of fantasy, the cool and meticulous way she looks from side to side to bridge to castle is already that of a wary and experienced slayer of monsters -- or, perhaps it would always have been just a little bit cold here, no matter what.

    She extends her arm a little in Tamamo's direction, borderline without thought. If they're gonna strut up a bridge and into a golden castle of sunshine, it's going to be by way of tradition for sure. The fact that hazy black marks have faintly drawn the semblance of a floral triskelion-alike pattern on the back of her hand goes without acknowledgement.

    She lazily rolls her head against her shoulder just enough to glimpse Mordred from the very corner of her eyes. "What a 'select' choice of promises to make." Then she allows her gaze to travel back with gravity and fall on the faerie guardsman. "Well, if there's to be no lying as a common agreement, then I expect you mean that 'well-met'. That's good. There is at least one question of special significance to be worth coming all the way out to see the Prince and his court."

    "So I'll expect to hear it answered without misdirection. Lead on."