Fae Bargains are Always Tricky

Pangur Ban's eyes narrow and a hissing chuckle oozes from his throat as you accept the pages. He flips open a disintegrating book and purrs.

A cold wave creeps along your back while thoughts of classic Fae betrayal surface. With a glance at the pages your suspicions are confirmed. Elegant script and old typeface frame sketches of Fae, but all the text is in a language you don't recognize.

The cait sith purrs with a self-satisfied grin wavering in his smoky form. "Why the scowl? I gave you exactly what I promised."

Just as you were about to make a grave mistake and curse out the tricky feline, you feel the outline of the glasses you found in the little purple box. With what you've seen in your short time in the magical world, knowledge is the only power you have and the more you have the safer you'll be. You decide to press for more. Strategically.

"Pangur Ban, my wispy friend, you have not disappointed." With a grin that would make the smiling cat proud you slide on the glasses and examine the first page. It's perfectly readable in English.

The grin slides from Pangur Ban's face as he solidifies into a completely solid black cat. you notice the unfortunate, mildly phallic white patch and suppress a laugh. The cat saunters across the desk and peers up at the glasses perched your nose. "Well-played. Find those in the bar, did you?"

"Yes, and these pages will prove most helpful. Perhaps our bargain can continue for more pages?"

A soft pop and Pangur Ban became pure smoke that drifted up and formed a feline face hovering inches from your nose. No hint of smug merriment remained. The Fae cat studies you with narrowed eyes.

That knowing smile returns. "Well, I did suggest Selina speak to an old acquaintance of mine, a shapeshifter. In general phooka are untrustworthy, but this one in particular has a long and bizarre past. He's definitely up to something. Something big. Four more pages await you if you follow Selina to meet him and report back to me with what you observe."

If this phooka is as dangerous as Pangur Ban suggests, it would be best to learn as much as you can about that species of Fae. "I will agree to this bargain if you share the pages concerning phooka and any other Fae species that could be of immediate threat to me."

"I knew I liked you, mortal. I will give you the pages about phooka and one other species of Fae of growing influence in Portland. Do we have a deal?" The cat extended a misty paw.

You clasp his paw in your hand. "Deal."

The cait sith disappears in a foggy swirl and you are left to peruse your reward.

At the end of this adventure you'll get a link to download a PDF of all the pages you found!

 

 

P.S. Hello again!

My love of mythology and Fae lore stretches back to my earliest days with family stories from Ireland, England, and Scotland, and lots of doodles in my school notebooks.

For several years I made my living as an artist... until damage to my hands (carpal tunnel and injury-related arthritis) made that impossible to continue. By far my favorite festival to sell my work at was the Spoutwood Farm Mayday Faerie Festival.  

I'm the tall hair-monster in the middle...

Here are some of the Fae sculpture I used to create back in the day.  The dolls would be about 6 inches tall if they were standing.

Elven Elysium was the name of my art business.  You'll see that name seep into the Last Battle of Moytura series.

See you at the next stage of this adventure!