Three is Company

There is a storm that brews ever-present above the Felwood, and it darkens the world, sets the mood for the area really. Water leaks down the branches and drips on the world below it. Including anything that dares pass this way such as the paladin whom walks through the dense prickly bushes and pushes around the trees. He is much easier to tell apart from his brother today in his armor. The banded mail makes creaking, clanking noises as he moves, warning off any animals that might be in the vicinity of their presence. He's got a serious, studious expression no his face, his hand near the mace on his belt. "It's just ahead."

It's only a little bit further before suddenly Theo stops with a shudder. He seems to take hold of himself after a moment, and then steps into the clearing that suddenly appears before them. His eyes are tense as they take in the seemingly ordinary space between the trees. The clearing isn't even that sizable but the moment anyone steps foot into it there's a sense of... loss. An indescribable sensation of being cut off from something important. The loss of a vital limb where one was never even known to exist before.

"This better be good, brother." Lheo's positively miserable. His cloak is not adequately keeping out the rain, and the smell of wet wool clings to him in his dark green robes as he follows behind the Lancer. It's not until he, too, takes a step into the clearing, that he stops short.

"What-" he breathes, his heart suddenly constricting in his chest. "I -" A few more steps, slow ones. He looks around, and immediately pivots on his heel, exiting the clearing quickly. A moment out, and he re-enters, slowly. "Yes, definitely." Lines on the so-familiar features speak clearly to how much he doesn't like this, at all.

Zero is here, dressed in his adventuring garments and armed with a handheld crossbow. It's a far cry from the peacock on stage at the TarRaCe, but such is the way of things, and even a peacock knows when not to get his loveliest feathers dirty when he can help it. Really, he seems rather pleased to be getting wet in the rain with two handsome brothers...

And then, well, there's the clearing. That wipes off all of Zero's good mood in one fell swoop, the smile falling off his lips and eyes and replaced with a wide-eyed expression of quiet, quiet shock. "This is... _Dreadful_," he manages, finally.

Theo stands rather stiffly on the edge of the clearing, then not very subtly steps out of it. He shudders, one of his free hands scrubbing through his short hair and nodding to the others. "I was worried that it was more than just I... and I have no idea what such a place can mean if it does something so obviously unnatural." He looks almost hopefully at his twin. "I was hoping that you might have some idea Lheo; in your studies of magic surely there are spells? Or Zero... perhaps stories of such?"

GAME: Lheo rolls knowledge/arcana: (1)+9: 10 (EPIC FAIL)

"I -" Entirely too lost in the unsettling sensation of being _disconnected_ to think clearly, Lheo, for one of a very few times in his life, stammers. "I don't know, Theo," he tails off, helplessly and more than a little lamely. "Nothing's coming to mind. This is a pretty evil place, though, they say, and now I believe it." He shudders from shoulders to hips, down his spine, and tails off, staring around him, seeming somehow entirely lost.

GAME: Zerthos rolls Knowledge/Local: (14)+10: 24

Zero looks contemplative of the moment at Theo's inquiry, driving down his horror long enough to _think_. He is capable of that much in between fingering keys and placing silvered words into ears.

"That's the odd thing," he replies. "This is a cursed wood. But it's supposed to be a place of wild magic, a place of stories about evil taint and despair and the people who dare to brave the woods for all manner of reasons. And yet..."

He draws himself up, looking between the twins with a wary eye. "Yet we are here and there is _no_ magic here. I have heard rumors that the magic around the Felwood is weakening. But no magic whatsoever? This is strange."

The paladin, sensitive to his brother's distress grabs his twin by the hand and pulls him out of the magicless clearing. "It's okay Lheo. Your magic is still there. Just... covered up I think by whatever is doing this to the clearing." He doesn't admit out loud his own unease, or how it feels very much more like being cut off from his goddess rather than Her presence being covered up by something. His eyes lift to look at Zero and he lets his eyes trace over the clearing. "There must be some reason for it right? But... it just looks like an ordinary clearing to me."

Interestingly, Lheo doesn't resist his brother's pull, and only seems to re-gather his equilibrium when he is pulled clear of the magic-free space. "I couldn't feel Tarna." He looks up and around, into the trees for the place where the hawk had settled. It takes him a minute, but he pulls a leather glove out of his belt, puts it on, and holds up his hand. The gray-feathered hawk immediately flits down from a tree nearby to his hand, and he strokes her feathers with the other hand, a gesture that seems to help a good deal. "Hello, beautiful."

She bates on his hand, wings flapping, then settles down. "Yes, I know. That was -" A long sigh.

"I'd have to do some more research, brother," he admits, still watching the bird. "I am sure it's possible, but I certainly do not know how such a thing would be done. I can look into it for you, if you like."

Zero admires the bird, too, but as he steps back to join the brothers, the expression of admiration falls away back to concern. "Something had to be _done_ here," he says, eyeing the clearing again. "Something that broke magic, for one reason or another--because I don't think this could have happened for lack of a reason. Nothing ever happens in a well-constructed story 'just because' unless the bard telling it cannot be pushed hard enough to give it the proper weight."

He sighs softly. But then he eyes Lheo. "I'd be happy to join you on the research," he says. "It seems like a thing that cannot be ignored. It is a thing that I am bound to document in art."

For a very long moment Theo is silent in thought. His eyes on his brother and Tarna. The lack of connection between the two clearly worries him more than a momentary disconnect has a right to. Lheo offers to do research into this location and Theo frowns. "No..." It's a hesitant reply, then more firmly. "No Lheo. Whatever it is... it's just a place."

A glance to Zero. "I shouldn't have bothered either of you with it really. It's not like this is moving around or something. It's just a place." He might be trying to reassure himself.

"Not on your life or mine, brother," Lheo says immediately, looking up from the bird on his hand. "What if that goes somewhere else? What if it doesn't stay there? That kind of wrongness can't just be ignored." He strokes the bird a few more times, but outside of the clearing, he seems to be gathering his usual composure fairly readily. "No, I want to know more. If I can, I want to fix it."

"I'm with your brother on this one, Theo," Zero replies, the red-pink eyes fixing onto the more muscular of the twins. "This is a place of ill repute, yes, but even in places of ill repute, things happen that concern the rest of the world with the ramifications of their actions."

His eyes turn back to the clearing as he murmurs, "I know far too much about that from the heart."

Then louder, he adds, "Lheo has the right of it. Study it. Figure out what went wrong and what we can do with the place."

If they'd been alone, Theo might have argued more, but he can tell when his brother's mind is set on something and all he'll do in this instance is drive Lheo to study in secret. "Alright, I'll look into it too. Ask around the temple. Surely someone has seen something; heard of something like this before. Maybe it'll be in the historical texts." He does not seem enthused about the idea of combing through the records. He's not the twin that's good with books.

Zero's softer mutter is what gets Lheo's attention, and he narrows his eyes at the bard, studying him for a moment. The hawk bates on his hand again, and he chortles quietly and fishes in a belt pouch for a strip of jerky. This he offers to the bird, who takes it from him with an appreciative squawk, and flaps from his hand into the trees to enjoy its meal.

"I'll see what I can find out. Let's not ignore it. I - wonder if there are others like it."

GAME: Lheo rolls spellcraft: (2)+9: 11

The mul'niessa bard turns his attention back to Lheo with the wizard's last remark. "It may be worth investigating further into the Felwood to see if we find more spots such as these," he says. "One is a unique thing, celebrated in song as great or terrible. Two is a pair of soulmates and all the provenance that brings. Three... Is one of my favorite numbers, but the implication of three or more of clearings such as these? That would not only be troubling, but a suggestion that there is more at stake here than one part of the woods."

He looks between the two. "I am more than happy to aid in the matter of flipping through books and easing the pain that can come with them," he says, offering Theo in particular an easy smile. "But I think practicality--not that I am to be accused lightly of practicality on any given day--has its virtues, such as finding the evidence in the flesh for ourselves. Whatever decision you make, I will support."

Theo's expression brightens significantly at Lheo's last thought, and when Zero extrapolates upon it, his eyes veritably glow with intent. "I'll take care of _that_ then." He announces eagerly, quickly forgetting the idea of combing through books in the favor of actually doing. "I can give the woods a quick combing-through and locate any other spots like this one. Mark them down on a map to see if their locations are relevant in any way."

"Not alone, you're not, Theo." Lheo, who had been looking in the direction that Tarna flew off while Zerthos was talking, lowers his hand and looks over at the paladin, removing the glove and tucking it back into his belt. "This forest is way too dangerous for anyone to be alone in it."

"I agree considerably with Lheo once more," Zero says, eyeing Theo again with the red-pink gaze that suggests that he's heavily, heavily considering a chaperone for Theo for Lheo's wellbeing. And then a smirk crosses his face, as he happens to be quite available for that position. "A walk in the woods is best suited for two or more, anyway."

It's the typical sally of the bard, so different from the murmured remark a moment ago, but there it is.

The paladin deflates just as quickly as he had brightened, eyeing his brother. "I was just fine in it before." He says with a grumble, then flashes a friendly grin at Zero. "Alright, but don't think that this will be a lovely picnic opportunity Zero. You're volunteering for a _lot_ of mud." If Zero can't see the mischievous glint in Theo's eyes then Lheo certainly can. The paladin waves to the general aura of misting rain. "This is pretty common for this place."

Lheo's smirk as he looks back and forth between the pair is a commentary that he doesn't bother to hide. "Oh, I think Zero's fine with getting a little dirty," he snorts, turning to look back the way they came. "Seems like a longer trip, though.”

The remarks from both brothers put a veritable grin on Zero's face, and he relaxes considerably. "I assure you both, my handsome fellows, it is as Lheo says--despite my appearance, I am most certainly not above getting dirty. For the right people, that is." He offers them both a wink as he turns back in the direction they came as well.

"Do we want to return for that longer expedition at a later time? Or press our luck with it now? Dear Theo here seems to be allergic at the idea of even opening a book, even with good company around to make the medicine go down." The phrase 'good company' is purred, because of course it is when it's referring to himself.

"We'll see." Theo says in response to his brother's comment, his eyes twinkling, and only growing in mirth as Zero proves to be... well, Zero. The disturbance of the place without magic is left behind, but not entirely forgotten. "Normally I'm all for pressing my luck, but it would be wise of us to leave some kind of... notation with the guild perhaps; in case we get lost in the Felwood or in trouble that the three of us can not easily get out of."

"Good," Lheo replies at once, clearly quite relieved. "We should also come back armed with whatever information we can get, and with dry clothing. Coming back in better weather might be a swell idea, too." He looks down, mournfully, at his damp clothing. "Don't think I'm going to forget about this, brother." A smirk is directed at the paladin. "Whether he's up for it depends on what kind of dirty you mean, after all. You could be right."

With that, he puts his fingers to his lips and lets out a short, sharp whistle. What happens is hard to tell, but wings can be heard, and a shadow seen, in the trees above.

"I don't mind getting wet for the right men, either," Zero says in a rather sing-song fashion. "But I'm inclined to agree with Theo on this one. Return and leave word with the right people, so that people know to look for us should we end up in peril."

He turns his red-pink gaze up to the shadow in the trees. "Impressive," he mentions to Lheo. "I've thought about acquiring a familiar myself, you know, but the stage only has room for one peacock at a time, typically."

A broad grin spreads across Theo's face at the lively banter, and it's clear he's about to add his own two-cents in when Zero turns his attention to Lheo's familiar and... Something about what Zero says makes the paladin break out into a riot of laughter. He laughs so hard in fact that little tears form on the edge of his eyes and he can't speak for several long moments; not even to explain what it is that he found so funny. Eventually, when they're out of the woods, he manages a single half-muttered word. "Peacock!"

Some days are like this.

-End