The Tree

Gathering / Conference

Fenneck goes to his first meeting with the rebellion in the tree. He meets a bunch of new faces and the baby, Kapelya Petrov. They start planning the revolution.

"Motherfucker!" Alexei exclaimed in surprise, spilling the bottle of beer he was taking a sip out of as Fenneck and Erikur appeared before him, Vyndius and Gwynsickle in the tree. Erikur started laughing at him. "You'd think you'd be used to it by now," he teased him. Alexei rolled his eyes and collected himself. Fenneck looked around at the rather adorable little space. It was small but had enough room for a table in the center surrounded by stools. Everything seemed to be made of the wood and tree itself. In the center of the table was a bowl of beautiful fruit and Fenneck noticed that the four corners of the room each housed a large clay pot with beautiful trees growing inside them, their branches full of ripe fruit. On the ceiling above them a magical orb of what felt like warm sunlight illuminated the room. Fenneck walked over to the apple tree in awe and admired it. Erikur walked up behind him and wrapped an arm around his waist. "This is the key to everything," he said as he plucked one of the apples and took out his dagger, slicing a piece for Fenneck and handing it to him. Fenneck excitedly bit into the fruit and smiled as he remembered the sweet taste of apples. They were always his favorite and Erikur smiled as he watched Fenneck's reaction. "Some of the farmers in the Vallee have been experimenting with magic to help us grow food and crops during the winter. We could feed everyone in the entire city and the Vallee twice over if we were able to use this resource. Unfortunately, using magic is illegal, so people starve," he said, becoming passionate. "Our first goal once we take the palace is to implement farms using this magic. The first three things we want to focus on are making sure everyone can eat, everyone has somewhere safe and comfortable to live and everyone has access to medicine and healing resources." Fenneck smiled at Erikur. "You'll make a great king one day," he teased him. Erikur scoffed. "I won't be leading," he said, walking over to the table and leaning against it. "Has he met Baegla?" Alexei asked Erikur. Erikur nodded. "A long time ago, the night Catherine and Vyndius disappeared," he said. Suddenly, the two wood-elves Fenneck had seen Erikur with the night before walked into the room. The woman was holding her baby and the man gave Erikur a friendly smile. Erikur smiled and walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. "Pyotr!" he said excitedly. "I want you to meet Fenneck." Fenneck walked over and held a hand out to the wood-elf. "Ah! So you're the infamous Fenneck Frostears I've heard so much about!" Pyotr greeted him. Fenneck chuckled. "Indeed," he said. "It's nice to meet you." "This is my wife, Alina, and our daughter, Kapelya," Pyotr said, motioning to his companions. "It's so nice to meet you," Fenneck told her. She reached out a hand and shook Fenneck's quickly before pulling it back to coo the baby who started crying and squabbling about in her arms. Fenneck smiled at the pretty newborn baby girl who already had a fuzzy head of red hair like her father. "She's beautiful," Fenneck said, unable to help himself from looking longingly at the child. "You want to hold her?!" Alina asked a little too excitedly, clearly having not gotten much rest in a while. Fenneck hesitantly nodded and carefully took the small elf into his arms where she almost instantly stopped crying and studied Fenneck's face curiously. He felt overwhelmed with joy and emotions as he looked into her pretty green eyes. He bounced her a little and her tiny hand reached up and grabbed his braid and squeezed it playfully. "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he told her sweetly, imagining what his life could have been like if he hadn't lost his own family. Alina was stretching her arms gratefully. "She likes you, she doesn't like most people," she said, a bit exasperated. Fenneck smiled and rocked her a bit before he felt a single tear slip from his face and fall onto the child's nose. Kapelya made a curious sound and her tiny hand grabbed her nose where his tear had fallen. Fenneck giggled and the little girl giggled back to him excitedly. "You can hold her for a while if you'd like!" Alina offered excitedly. Fenneck nodded gratefully and turned back to the child, ignoring the fact that he saw Erikur lean over to whisper into Alina's ear, most likely telling her about his unfortunate situation. Fenneck was lost to the baby as people filtered in and he absentmindedly greeted old and new friends. Kapelya had all but stolen his heart and attention as he played with the giggling baby girl. "You're so perfect and beautiful!" he said, cooing sweetly to the baby who squealed happily and reached her tiny hand up toward Fenneck's face. He leaned down and let her grab his nose playfully. He closed his eyes and tried not to let his emotions overwhelm him. He didn't want to get sad, not now. Not in this perfect moment. He opened his eyes and smiled at the baby girl. He felt Erikur come up behind him and look down at the baby in his arms. Erikur kissed Fenneck on the cheek affectionately. "You would have been a wonderful father," he told Fenneck thoughtfully. Fenneck leaned into Erikur's arms and Erikur looked down at the baby and cooed to her as he created a puff of magical purple sparks to appear over the baby who excitedly reached up to grab them. Fenneck and Erikur giggled together and Kapelya squealed and kicked her little legs joyfully. "Who's this?" Naertho asked, walking up to look over their shoulder at the baby girl. "It's Pyotr and Alina's daughter," Erikur explained. Naertho smiled at the baby but seemed to keep his distance. "Sorry, babies terrify me," he said, a bit apprehensive. Fenneck giggled and looked up as another couple of farmers walked into the tree that was starting to feel very full. Naertho looked up and suddenly straightened himself out and looked very flustered as he and one of the wood elf farmers made eye contact. The wood elf had beautiful, dark olive skin and silky black hair. His eyes were a stunning golden color and he looked flustered as he started to blush and cast Naertho nervous looks. Naertho turned to Erikur, looking a bit scared. "Who is that?" he asked Erikur who shrugged and watched as the elf nervously walked over to Alexei and Vyndius. "Maybe he's related to Alexei. They do look similar," Fenneck observed before turning back to Kapelya who was tugging on his braid. "You're a mess!" he told the baby as he teasingly nuzzled his nose against her tiny one. "Yes you are!" he softly cooed to her as she giggled excitedly in his arms. Alexei walked over with the wood-elf and walked up to Naertho. "Hey," he said as he approached them with his shy companion. "This is Ayred," he introduced them. "He's an animal farmer on the southern side of the Vallee," he explained. "Ayred, this is Erikur, Fenneck, baby Kapelya and Naertho," he said, gesturing to them in order. Naertho seemed flustered but forced his hand out toward the wood-elf. "It's... so nice to meet you," he said as he awkwardly bowed toward the farmer. Ayred nervously shook his head and smiled shyly up at Naertho. "The pleasure is all mine," he said, looking deep into Naertho's eyes. Erikur squeezed Fenneck excitedly and gave Fenneck a smile as he looked at Naertho and Ayred. Erikur leaned into Fenneck's ear to whisper. "They're thiramin!" he said excitedly. Fenneck looked over at his uncle who was blushing profusely as Alexei tried to help the two elves get to know each other. Fenneck smiled sweetly at their nervousness. "I wonder what it will be like when I meet my thiramin," Fenneck mused quietly so only Erikur could hear. Erikur rubbed his back affectionately and Kapelya yanked on Fenneck's braid, prompting him to look down at the little red-headed wood elf and smile. "Have you heard of thiramin?!" he asked her playfully. She just giggled at him and Erikur chuckled. "Pyotr and Alina are a thiramin couple," Erikur told him. Fenneck glanced up at the couple who was on the other side of the room, chatting with Jasna and Catherine. "Were your parents?" he asked Erikur. Erikur shook his head. "No," he said. "They liked each other well enough, though," he mused. Fenneck looked over at his uncle whom he had never seen so flustered and embarrassed before and giggled. Kapelya squealed excitedly as she put Fenneck's braid in her mouth and started chewing on it. "Alina is gonna have you take her home with us if you're not careful," Erikur warned him teasingly. "I just might," Fenneck chuckled. "I want one," he said sadly. Erikur scoffed at him. "We're too young for babies, Fenneck," he laughed. "She is pretty cute, though." Kapelya smiled at Erikur as she continued to chomp on Fenneck's hair. "It's a good thing you bathed today," Erikur giggled. Baegla suddenly levitated over the table and greeted the crowded room. "Let's get started, shall we?" she said, gesturing to the table for everyone to sit. Fenneck sat down between Erikur and Naertho, glancing over at Alina to make sure it was still okay if he held Kapelya. She nodded excitedly and giggled seeing Kapelya chewing on his hair. Everyone settled in and turned to look up at Baegla. "Welcome," she greeted them formally. "I'm very pleased to see so many wonderful faces here." She lowered herself down till she was standing on one of the stools, making her level with the elves and humans sitting in the room. "With recent events and people who we thought were lost coming home once again, I want to propose that we move forward with the revolution. We cannot wait any longer for the Malenthots to continue to starve and hurt our fellow citizens. We need reform and we need to implement new resources to the land. Most of you are aware of the general plans we have for the systems we will implement once we take control of the city, but there are many new faces here tonight, so I would like to establish some key points," she said eloquently. For a halfling she really knew how to command the attention of the room. "Our first course of action will be to implement farms and to use magic to invigorate the existing ones. Pyotr and Alex," she said gesturing to the farmers, "have already mapped out a system and plan for this. Once the farms are complete we plan on building housing in the Vallee and expanding certain homes into the outside of the mountains to make them larger. The halfling families in certain parts of the mountain simply do not have enough room with their large families and there is a very dire shortage of homes in general throughout Flottenheim and the Vallee. My brother Lox has been planning out the logistics of that initiative. The next goal will be to provide spaces for healers and clerics throughout the city and villages that will be available to anyone who needs care. Jasna and Erikur have been headlining this project. I will be acting as the premier, in charge of organizing and delegating the operation and execution of these projects and being the spokesperson who will address the people," she explained. "Now, if anyone has any more specific questions about what will happen after we take Flottenheim we can talk afterward. Right now I want to discuss the obstacles we face and the logistics of taking the palace." She turned to Jasna. "Jasna," she addressed her candidly, ignoring her title in front of the large group of people. "Why don't you give everyone some context and insight into your family's situation?" Baegla suggested. Jasna nodded and stood up to address the room. "Hello, everyone. For those of you I haven't met yet, I'm Princess Jasna, the only surviving child of the Grand Duke and Duchess, Georgi and Milena Malenthot," she explained. There was a hushed murmur through the room among the farmers as she revealed her identity. Fenneck felt Erikur's hand on his back, clearly understanding that the next words Jasna spoke would obviously make him upset. "My mother, as most of you probably know, is emperor Anessen Staladin's sister," she glanced at Baegla and Erikur nervously before continuing. "My grandfather, Ruslan Staladin, did something that cursed my family's bloodline. From my understanding, he made a deal with the devil Mephistopheles, giving him the ability to corrupt us and try to turn us over to his evil ways." Kapelya squirmed in Fenneck's lap and he clutched her close to him, trying not get upset as he thought about Evelyn. He was grateful for the baby's comfort and distraction. "My brother, Nikolai, was practicing dark magic in the mines nearly ten years ago now. Faina and Leonid Frostears, Erikur, Vyndius and Catherine came upon him as they were trying to clear out the evil creatures he had summoned into the mines," she said, turning and gesturing for Erikur to speak briefly. He nodded solemnly before standing and saying "Myself, Faina and Leonid were about to escape after Nikolai was killed, but Vyndius and Catherine disappeared. We've now established since their return that they were somehow sent into the plane of Hades by Milena Malenthot," he explained before sitting and giving the floor back to Jasna. Jasna nodded. "My mother is a very powerful warlock who has been practicing this dark magic for years now alongside my uncle, the emperor," she explained. "My father is, frankly, a pushover and a coward who sits on his throne happily sucking the life from the poor and hungry, but my mother is the real threat and danger when it comes to storming the palace." Baegla nodded solemnly. "She is the gravest threat to our plan," Baegla said as Jasna sat back down. "If we can defeat her and capture Flottenheim the next problem will be Staladin himself who will inevitably send an army down the Great Skyway. He'll have no other option. The mountains that surround us are too dangerous and difficult to successfully send an army through. If we can hold him off on the Skyway, Flottenheim will be ours," she said confidently. "With magic on our side - one tool Staladin's army will not use - we will have an advantage. But make no mistake - we still need to build up quite the armed force," she said, turning to her brother to take the floor. Lox was a blonde-haired halfling with a large beard who had been drinking from a large bear stein the entire night. He excitedly hopped up on his stool to address the room. "Me sister's right! We need to build up a strong presence and numbers. Not just soldiers, either. We need to plunge the entire city into chaos when this goes down. Luckily, we have most of the halflings and half-elves in the mountain already on board with our movement. Alexei has been spreading the whispers and word throughout the upper layers of the mountain too and we've got quite a few of the farmers in the Vallee signed on to fight as soon as we see a window. What we don't have is effective training or brute force once we get onto the Skyway. We'll have to rely heavily on magic to keep the army at bay." Fenneck suddenly realized he might have an idea. "Um..." He carefully raised his hand to not disturb the baby in his arms who was cooing peacefully and looked over at Lox who nodded to him to speak. "I might know of some people who could help with the 'brute force' part," he said. Lox's eyes lit up excitedly. "And who'd that be, laddie?" the halfling asked him. "The Frost Giants to the west," he said, causing a stir of excited whispers to erupt from the room. Baegla raised her brow at him in surprise. "The Frost Giants?" she asked him doubtfully. Fenneck nodded. "I've been living in the mountains for the last two years," he explained. "I've had quite a few run-ins with them and while, yes, they are dangerous, it seems we share a common enemy. They made it very clear that they were distrustful of high elves when they saw me and I gathered that they get attacked quite frequently and are captured by Staladin's soldiers to be used as slaves for their strength," he explained. "I could venture out there and see if they'd be willing to come to our aid when the battle breaks out on the Skyway," he offered. Lox looked excited at this prospect. "Yes, laddie!" he exclaimed excitedly before turning to his sister. "Can ya imagine?! We get a couple'a those Frost Giants on our side, we'll be sending Staladin's wee little soldiers back to Leniscow wettin' their breeches!" he said passionately. Erikur looked over at Fenneck and gave him an impressed nod. "You've met Frost Giants?" he asked curiously under his breath. Fenneck chuckled and nodded before turning back to Lox. "Wonderful idea, lad. We should also try to train some of the farmers and miners in some basic battle techniques," he suggested. Erikur nodded. "Perhaps Fenneck, Vyndius and I can go to some of the farms and practice with some of them? Just some basic sword and bow techniques," he suggested, looking to the farmers. Ayred nodded and spoke up. "I have quite a few able-bodied young men, mostly wood-elves, half-elves and humans on my farm who would be more than willing to fight. We definitely need the help, though," he said, giving Erikur a friendly smile. "I can come too!" Naertho suddenly blurted out a little too excitedly. "Clearly the soldiers will need some form of armor," he added quickly to hide his embarrassment. "I can measure them while I'm there and do my best with the resources I have available to me. It will be mostly leather, I'm afraid," he offered. Fenneck nodded. "I can help build some as well," he said, prompting his uncle to smile at him for still having a desire to continue his tailoring skills. Kapelya squealed excitedly and Fenneck giggled and cooed at the girl to quiet her. "Shhh!" he told her playfully. She squealed again before grabbing Fenneck's hair to chew on it some more, prompting the table to laugh at the little girl. "Wonderful," Baegla said excitedly, getting everyone's attention back to the planning at hand. "For those of you who use magic," she said, "I'd like us to take some time to practice together and experiment with some different techniques," she said, her eyes lighting up mischievously. Alexei spoke up. "I also want to remind everyone that there are currently three KAV soldiers staying in the palace. One is a marshal and he's been keeping things pretty tight in the palace while he's been here. All of the other guards and soldiers tend to be a bit scared of him and they behave a bit more professionally when he's here than they would otherwise," he warned them. Baegla nodded. "On that note, we still need to be extremely careful. Fenneck, Vyndius and Catherine," she said, addressing them. "You three need to lay low as much as possible. Do not let yourselves be seen by anyone. Teleport or be invisible if you leave Erikur's house," she warned them. They all nodded obediently. "Everyone else needs to be aware of the danger it poses not only to yourselves but everyone at this table if any word of this plan gets into the wrong hands," she said gravely. "We've lost too many lives for this cause already." She briefly gave Fenneck a comforting look before straightening herself out. "When you leave tonight, filter out slowly and stagger as much as possible. Do not draw attention to yourselves. I can turn some of you invisible if that will help," she suggested. "Erikur and Jasna can help similarly as well." She gestured to Erikur and Jasna as she said this before putting her hands on her hips and smiling at the curious crew before her. "I know to some this may seem like a futile task; that it's impossible to change the course of a society that has existed a certain way for centuries, but we have to choose hope. We have to fight for good. We have to fight for the weak, hungry and downtrodden. To fight for equality among races and ways of life. To fight to love freely, without consequence. To fight for our children and for the ones who will come after us and carry the torch in our place. To fight for good lives and happy homes. We can do this," she said passionately. "We just have to fight for it." She gave them all a warm smile before lowering herself back down to the table. "Now buzz off and get home. We all need some rest. Tomorrow, we begin," she said, waving her hands playfully to the door. The room erupted in talking as people stood and turned to their friends. Some looked inspired and bright with hope, while others seemed uncertain and mired in skepticism. Fenneck smiled over at Erikur who looked so at peace and was happily rubbing Fenneck's back. Kapelya started yanking on Fenneck's braid again, causing him to yelp and giggle at the strong baby girl. She smiled at him and reached her other hand up toward Fenneck's face. He held her up and she tried to grab at his mouth and nose, unable to really latch onto him as she giggled happily. Fenneck kissed her little hand and she squealed happily. "She's so expressive," Erikur observed, sweetly watching Fenneck play with the baby. "She is, isn't she?" Alina said as she walked up to them. Fenneck's heart dropped as he realized he'd have to give the little girl back to her mother. He carefully stood up and gave Kapelya a loving look and nuzzled their noses together, causing her to giggle excitedly. "You'll make a wonderful father one day," Alina said, watching him. "It's a wonderful experience, but boy, it's a lot of work," she warned him. Fenneck smiled and reluctantly handed Kapelya back to her mother. As she left Fenneck's arms she started fussing again and she cried out and reached for Fenneck, breaking his heart to see her upset. Alina chuckled. "Feel free to come babysit anytime!" she offered as she pulled out her breast to nurse the child who quickly stopped crying as she hungrily nursed from her mother. "Actually Erik, why don't you both come over for dinner tomorrow? We can show Fenneck the farm!" she said excitedly. Erikur smiled at the idea. "That sounds wonderful," he said. "Fenneck just got back today so he still has a lot to learn. He's pretty good with magic, though, so maybe you and Pyotr could show him a few things," he suggested. "Oh yes!" she said happily and turned to Fenneck. "It will be lovely to get to know you, Fenneck. Your mother and father were good friends of ours," she told him with a sweet smile. Pyotr walked up behind her and kissed his wife lovingly on the cheek. "Pyotr dear," she addressed him. "Erik and Fenneck are going to come over for dinner tomorrow!" she informed him. He smiled brightly at the idea. "Oh, wonderful!" he exclaimed. "You can see the farm!" he said excitedly. Fenneck smiled. "Is it like this sort of thing?" He motioned to one of the potted trees and Alina nodded. "Yes, actually! We have a whole secret garden underneath our house," she explained. "It's amazing, Fen," Erikur told him before turning back to Alina. "Would you like me to turn you three invisible to get you back into the Vallee?" he asked them. Alina nodded. "Yes, thank you, Erik," she told him. "I just hate how jumpy it makes Kapelya," she said. Erikur chuckled. "Well, let us walk you out, then," he suggested. They walked their new friends outside and Fenneck wrapped his cloak around his shoulders as the cold wind blew around them. Kapelya started crying in the cold and her mother put her breast away and tried to calm Kapelya. "Shhhh! It's okay!" she said in a worried whisper. Fenneck realized how dangerous it was to try and sneak around with the little girl. Erikur and Pyotr looked around the forest with worried glances as Alina calmed the child. "She'll be okay," she said as she bundled Kapelya in her fur cloak. Pyotr kissed his wife's forehead before turning to Erikur and nodding. Erikur reached out and touched them, turning them all invisible. "Hurry home. Be safe," he told them urgently. Fenneck heard them shuffle off through the snow and followed Erikur back inside the tree. Naertho and Ayred were speaking in the corner of the room in hushed voices, seeming a bit upset while Baegla and Vyndius were speaking with a group of halflings. Catherine and Jasna were talking and turned to Fenneck and Erikur as they entered. "You taking us home?" Catherine asked her brother. "Of course," he said, leaning in and kissing her forehead. "Are Vyndius and Gwynsickle ready?" he asked her, glancing over at the group of halflings. Catherine shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "Why would I know? That would be stupid. We aren't like best friends or anything," she said, blushing a little. Erikur squinted at her cheekily. "I just figured you two would have gotten close on your little adventure together," he teased her. She blushed and shrugged away from him, clearly embarrassed by what was now apparent to be her little crush. Jasna gave Erikur a stern look. "Leave her alone, Erik," she teased him. Fenneck glanced over at Ayred and Naertho and saw Naertho was crying as he spoke to the wood-elf. He pulled Erikur's sleeve and motioned to them. "Should I go check on him?" he asked Erikur, worried about his uncle. "I don't think they're thiramin, Erik," he said, wondering if the two elves might have had an upsetting history with each other. Erikur looked over at the couple before looking over at Baegla, making eye contact with her. She glanced over and back to Erikur. Erikur leaned into Fenneck's ear. "They're upset because they... they can't be together," he said, swallowing sadly. "What do you mean?" Fenneck asked him. Erikur gave him a hurtful look. "Fen, they're two men. Men from very different classes and two different races. They would be killed for such a thing," he said, clearly bothered that Fenneck hadn't put it together. Fenneck shook his head as the reality of the situation settled in to him. "It's not right," he said sadly. Erikur shook his head and wiped a few tears from his eyes and Jasna rubbed his arm affectionately. "No," he said, becoming more and more upset. "It's awful. It's cruel," he said as tears started to fall from his eyes. Jasna pulled Erikur into a tight hug and kissed his cheek. Erikur collected himself and turned to Catherine. "Will you go and get Vyndius?" he asked her. Catherine nodded and walked over to the halfling and his penguin, who were talking to the other halflings about their favorite dishes and attempting to plan dinner parties at various impractical stages during the revolution. Fenneck looked over at Naertho again and saw the two elves squeeze each other's hands before parting. Naertho walked over to Fenneck and smiled, trying to move past whatever had just happened. "Want to teleport with us?" Erikur asked him. Naertho nodded. "Yes, it's getting late," he said, clearly upset but trying not to draw attention to himself. Vyndius and Gwynsickle followed Catherine back over, turning around on the way at least four times to add something to their previous discussion. Jasna kissed Erikur on the cheek one more time. "I'll see you all around," she said, giving them a friendly smile before walking over to Baegla and the halflings. Ayred was speaking to his half-elf companion and Alexei who waved to them in a goodbye. Erikur took Fenneck and Catherine's hands and Naertho held Fenneck's as Vyndius held Catherine's and Gwynsickle's flipper and they teleported out of the tree and into Erikur and Catherine's living room. Catherine bashfully let go of Vyndius' hand and walked into the kitchen, her face growing red. "Does anyone want anything to eat?" she asked them. Vyndius nodded excitedly and he and Gwynsickle followed her into the kitchen. Erikur ignored his sister and went to hug Naertho. "I'm so sorry," he told him. Naertho suddenly collapsed into Erikur's arms and started sobbing. Fenneck was startled, never having seen Naertho in such a state before. "Let's go talk," Erikur told Naertho, leading him to his bedroom. "Will you help Catherine?" he asked Fenneck who nodded nervously. Fenneck felt helpless as he watched Naertho and Erikur disappear into the room and close the door behind them. Fenneck suddenly realized how tired he was and collapsed onto the couch, forgetting about Vyndius and Catherine who were happily making dinner together as he closed his eyes and started meditating.