Disclaimer: The Forgotten Realms are not mine but Whizban and everything related to it is mine. Go snag someone else's idea.
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Hours after leaving Whizban and hiking through the cold rocky peaks of the Stormhorns, Mirandaline brought Ricardt and Teilla to the first portal they needed to jump through. The half drow unslung her pack and pulled out something carefully wrapped in soft cloth as long as Ricardt's forearm. She looked critically over the bard and paladin and their gear and said, "You need to muffle everything that might make noise. This particular portal leads to a path in the Underdark to our next portal. There isn't usually anything lurking in the passage but it's far better to avoid attracting attention." She pulled a steel rod with a faceted crystal at one end out of the cloth and handed the sunrod to Teilla. "You'll need this too."
The bard took the proffered sunrod and unslung her knapsack to double loop the straps. Ricardt shucked out of his chainmail shirt and took a roll of string and started weaving it through the edges of his armor. Mirandaline cut a length of string off the main roll and started work on a sleeve. A few minutes later, The elven ranger pronounced them ready to go.
The portal's arch, strangely enough, consisted of two trees intricately and delicately woven together to form the gateway. "A little odd for a gate into the Underdark," Teilla commented.
Mirandaline shrugged, "As far as I can tell, these portals were built connected places of the fey together. This one is fairly close to a dryad's grove and the tunnel on the other side is patrolled by the deep fey."
"Deep fey?" Ricardt asked, skeptical.
"Gloruas," the small elf answered. "Guardians and helpers of travelers through parts of the Underdark."
"You've seen them before," the paladin stated.
Mirandaline nodded, "Only when I'm in deep trouble and then only when I'm alone."
"Well that's comforting," Teilla rolled her eyes. "Are we going?"
The elf tugged on the branches of the arch in a seemingly random pattern and a shower of blue sparkles appeared within the confines of the tree arch. "Strike that sunrod and step this way," Mirandaline said as she strung her longbow and walked through the cascade of blue pinpricks of light and disappeared. Ricardt unslung his shield to a more ready position and Teilla lit the sunrod before they followed the ranger into the portal.
They found themselves in a fairly close passageway. Ricardt, the tallest of the trio, could easily reach up and touch the top of the tunnel. The sunrod illuminated only irregular grey stone tunnel as far as the light would go. Mirandaline stood a little ahead of the paladin and bard and waved them towards her position. She put a finger to her lips to signal them to silence and started padding softly down the tunnel. Teilla carried the sunrod after the ranger and Ricardt brought up the rear, listening intently for any signs of trouble behind them.
After what seemed like hours, Mirandaline had gotten ahead of the light to scout the tunnel ahead. Teilla whispered to Ricardt, "How long did she say we had to go through here?" The bard's hushed voice echoed eerily down the tunnel.
"Ask our guide," Ricardt nodded ahead of them. You could probably cast something rather than calling out to her."
Nervously, Teilla nodded and tried to cast a minor message spell as quietly as she could. Even so the words seemed to amplify and echo off the walls of the tunnel. When she finished the last gesture of the spell, The bard whispered to the empty, still air, "Mir, are we there yet?"
Rather than answering in words, the ranger gave a couple of short whistles and three glowing balls of pale light appeared in the tunnel above the slight elf. Ricardt and Teilla quickened their pace to catch up with the ranger. They found her looking down the tunnel with the balls of light at her back and her longbow in front of her with an arrow on the string. "What is it?" Ricardt asked, drawing his sword as he did so.
"Something bigger than us," Mirandaline continued to focus on the tunnel. "Teilla, can you see the arch on the tunnel wall?"
"A vein of white stone against the grey? Looks a little like a vine with flowers on it?" Teilla asked as she looked at the pattern on the tunnel wall.
"Tap the top center flower, the second leaf from the bottom on the left side and the fifth leaf from the top on the right side, then say 'beloren quin sidhe.' The stone will ripple like water, then return to what it looks like now and stay open for a minute or so." Mirandaline kept her attention on the tunnel as Ricardt joined the elf's vigil. Teilla ran through the sequence to awaken the portal.
As the bard whispered the pass phrase, the stone shimmered and returned to looking like normal. "It's open," Teilla called to the ranger and paladin. "I'll be on the other side." She stepped through the stone. Ricardt heard something moving in the tunnel ahead and quickly hopped through the gate, Mirandaline right on his heels.
They stepped into a dense grove of black walnut, nearly slamming into Teilla, who stared off at one of the trees. Ricardt nudged the copper haired half elf. She did not seem to notice or respond. Ricardt felt the hair rising on the back of his neck and started to scan the trees for any signs of danger. Mirandaline quietly came up next to the paladin and laid a square palmed hand gently against the frozen bard's cheek. Ricardt felt all of the hair on his neck stand at attention and found the air charged with the scent of damp ferns. The ranger took her hand off Teilla, stowed her longbow and peered at the surrounding trees. "What just happened?" Ricardt asked, confused and slightly shaken.
"When Teilla came through the portal, she surprised someone. I think it was the guardian of this gateway." Mirandaline looked back at Ricardt. "If I remember correctly, a very powerful dryad."
"How do you know..." he started, but the half drow's heavy sigh cut him off.
"I can use dorjes easily. In fact, I've got two on me right now. Shouldn't that tell you enough?" The elf started walking towards the nearest tree.
"You're a psionicsist," Ricardt told her back and shook his head. "I probably should have figured it out on my own." He looked back at Teilla and saw the frozen bard blinking as the spell wore off. "At least the idea was to drive away rather than kill us off and eat us," the paladin said innocently as Teilla came to.
"Yuck it up, clunky," Teilla groused as she shook the residual stiffness out of her arms and legs. "Aren't paladins supposed to stay between the lady and danger?"
"As I recall, I heard snuffling noises in the tunnel. Now, given that the Underdark is an extremely dangerous place, I figured that the woods would be safer for a delicate city blossom such as yourself," Ricardt smiled. "Feel better?"
"Yes, thanks," Teilla watched as Mirandaline knocked at the trees. "So she's a mindbender and a ranger. Wonder what other..." Teilla trailed off as a tall slender figure suddenly stepped out of one of the big trees to tower over the smaller half drow.
"... Surprises she's got squirreled away," The bard finished and watched another, smaller dryad join the tall dryad and ranger. The taller of the tree fey turned to the shorter dryad and seemed to start talking to her. Mirandaline took a step back from the fey and motioned to Teilla and Ricardt to stay where they were.
"I think the smaller dryad is getting chewed out," Teilla told Ricardt. "Her shoulders keep drooping."
"The tall one would be the gate guardian then," Ricardt watched the quiet conversation between the fey. The tall dryad turned and beckoned to the bard and paladin. Teilla glanced at Mirandaline, who also waved them over.
The tall regal dryad turned her charge towards Teilla and Ricardt as they approached. "Siache," she prompted in a deep resonating alto. The tall dryad had a wild cascade of hair that bore all the hues of autumn leaves and stood as regal as a queen in skin of smooth, dark walnut.
The smaller dryad covered her face with hair the vibrant green of new leaf buds and hands the golden color of sanded oak. Ricardt studiously kept his gaze above shoulder level, for neither dryad wore anything but hair and skin. "I'm sorry for freezing you," Siache looked at the twig scattered grove floor and seemed for all the world as abashed as a child who had just broken a neighbor's window.
Teilla waved the apology away, "No harm done. I must have scared you, suddenly popping up like that." The half elven bard turned to the half drow ranger, "Please tell me we're close to civilization."
"This is the best civilization you'll be seeing until around midday tomorrow," Mirandaline inclined her head to the taller of the two dryads. "We're headed towards Suzail, Lady Brissilee."
"Ah," Brissilee gave Siache a little turn and push towards one of the trees. The autumn haired dryad spoke after her in a soft, oddly rustling tongue as the white haired ranger moved to stand next to Teilla and Ricardt. Brissilee turned back to Mirandaline and said, "Use the beaver dam campsite, little eyas. Clearfall is occupied." Then the guardian dryad turned and followed the path Siache had taken towards the trees.
"Beaver dam campsite?" Ricardt asked the ranger as she led them into the woods.
Mirandaline shrugged, "Are naming conventions really that mystifying? This particular spot is bordered by an old beaver's pond."
"Why wouldn't we go to the Clearfalls site and join the group there?" the paladin pressed.
"Any number of reasons. You and me being the most likely," the brown skinned elf arched an eyebrow at him. "Since orcs have taken up residence here and there in Cormyr's forests, most of the fey here have recently taken pains to keep them away from human settlements, at least the groups that aren't interested in raiding. I'd be very surprised if they let any human get near the more sedate orcs."
Ricardt considered, "If there are no raids, then there is a smaller chance of someone getting the bright idea of clearing the forest of the orcs and causing all the collateral damage associated with moving an army through the forest. How do they deal with orcs that want to do mischief?"
"We ensure that they never get to where they are headed," the elf stated flatly and kept walking.
Teilla looked curiously at Mirandaline and asked, "Why did Brissilee call you 'eyas'? And why wouldn't you want to join a nice group of merchants or whatever for a round of jokes around the campfire?"
"What is this, an inquisition?" Mirandaline threw up her hands. "'Eyas' is what Mother called me and she's the one who introduced me to Brissilee. It refers to a baby hawk, feathered but not flying yet. As for your other question, I've gotten tired of getting shot at by strange people and prefer to do without crowds anyway. Are you now satisfied?"
Sensing a change in tack was needed, Ricardt said, "I take it that if it were rangers known to you, we would be staying at Clearfalls."
"Lannlia was right, you do think," the ranger observed.
Teilla sighed theatrically, "He'll spoil you off those paladins whose horses have more brains than they do."
"Fortunately," Mirandaline suddenly grinned, "I am good at negotiating with horses."
Ricardt rolled his eyes, "Unfortunately, I get to deal with their riders."
"On a completely different note," the red haired bard commented plaintively, "My feet hurt and are we there yet?"
"No, not yet," Mirandaline glanced at the setting sun. "Soon though. No inns until tomorrow at the earliest." Teilla groaned.
Ricardt smothered a smile and enjoyed the last few miles of walking through the woods of ash, oak and the occasional willow bathed in golden light. Leaves of all colors crunched underfoot when they finally emerged at a calm pool bordered by granite cliff and blocked off a the end by an old abandoned beaver dam. Mirandaline led them to a small cleared out area sheltered by the cliff face and bordered by the water with a flat hearthstone in the middle of it. Ricardt and Teilla laid their bedrolls out in the shadow of the cliff, while the ranger shook out her own bedroll. Ricardt noted the ropes trailing off either end of it and asked, "What are those for?"
Rather than answering, the elf instead climbed up an overhanging oak with her bedroll. Once well perched, she tied the ropes to a pair of sturdy branches and strung the bedroll out between them. She swung into the resulting hammock to test the hold of her knots. "I'll take the first watch," She volunteered. "Someone else can cook though."
Teilla got some of their barley soup soaking while Ricardt built up a fire and Mirandaline wandered off into the woods. As the bard set the pot over the fire to heat, the elf came up behind her and added some freshly washed wild mushrooms. Startled, Teilla asked, "Are you sure those aren't poisonous?"
Mirandaline graced the half elf with a dirty look, "Are you sure you can play that recorder?"
Ricardt studiously busied himself with locating the travel bread.
After the food was cooked and eaten, Teilla and Ricardt turned into their bedrolls, leaving Mirandaline on watch in the tree above them.
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"Are we there yet?" Teilla asked for the second time that morning since breakfast. Ricardt stifled a heavy sigh. The bard clearly wanted to try bantering with their guide, but Mirandaline had not risen to the bait and had since stopped answering such questions.
Hoping for a change in topic and to satisfy some idle curiosity, the paladin asked, "So, which de-..."
"Corellon Larethian," the ranger cut him off and kept walking through the forest.
"You read that off..." Teilla started, but the ranger again interrupted.
"No," she said patiently. "Everyone asks at some point."
"Not Ellistraee?" Ricardt asked.
The bard smiled behind the elf's back at her partner's memory for obscure facts and watched Mirandaline's reaction to this line of questioning. The cloudy haired elf glanced back at the paladin, then turned her attention back to the forest ahead before answering, "They did try. It just didn't interest me really. They left with a standing invitation to visit the Ladystone and the Promenade near Waterdeep. A somewhat similar invitation has been extended by the Underdark mercenaries to visit their base. One of them anyway."
"Sounds like you don't plan on going either way," Ricardt observed.
"True enough," Mirandaline agreed and kept picking a path through the woods.
They continued on for a little while longer with only the sound of their feet on leaves as they walked to wherever the ranger led them. Suddenly the forest opened up on either side of the trio as they found themselves inn the middle of a road. "So, which way?" Teilla asked, looking both ways up and down the road.
The half drow pointed to the left, "That way for a day and a half and you'll reach Suzail. The road leads right to it."
"Let's get going then," Ricardt motioned the ladies forwards.
A few hours later, Teilla thought she heard something rumbling up the road behind them. "Do you hear something?" the bard asked.
"It's just a wagon," Mirandaline assured her.
"Ricardt turned and looked down the road behind them. "It seems more likely to be a wagon train than a single cart." he commented.
Teilla turned and looked in time to see the first of five merchant wagons rounding a bend in the road. The portly driver in the lead wagon waved at them, "Hello! Where are you two headed?"
"Two?" Ricardt muttered under his breath and looked around. The half drow was nowhere to be seen.
Teilla answered the wagoner, "We're headed for Suzail, sir. Where are you going?"
"Waymoot for restocking," the rotund man replied. "Then on to Suzail ourselves. If you want to save yourselves the walk to Waymoot, we could use another couple sets of eyes on watch, particularly if your friend actually is what he looks like. We''l probably take too long in the next town to suit you, but we can save you the walk there."
Teilla beamed, "Ricardt is very much a devotee of Tyr and I'd love to get off my feet for a spell."
"Hop up then, miss, sir!" the man gestured to the wagon's bench.
Ricardt clambered up the bench and offered a hand up to Teilla. She took it and soon sat between the paladin and the teamster. Before long they were trading tall tales. Ricardt glanced about the tree tops and thought he caught a glimpse of pale white hair among the red and amber leaves. He gave a small wave in that general direction before turning his attention back to the road at hand, watching for trouble.
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Well I hope those that have read this far like it. Please tell me so. In fact please tell me if you hate it, just be sure to tell me why. And yes there is more to come. Also before I forget, here is a list of the characters who were actually played: Josie, Sandra, Marco, Zorac, Mirandaline and to a certain extent Teilla too.