The soft quaver of birdsong drifted through the boughs of the Cloakwood as the warm rays of the afternoon sun filtered through the canopy. It was a tranquil scene, serene even -- the type of setting one would expect to find in the greatest landscape paintings.
Yet this peace was soon shattered by a distressed shout coming from somewhere deep within the forest! Following the commotion was the unmistakable sound of impish laughter; high-pitched and mocking like the jingling of tiny bells.
Drawn by the ruckus, Andrea Averill cautiously made her way through the underbrush, her longbow at the ready. The plucky half-elf felt a surge of indignation upon reaching a small sun-dappled clearing and finding a lone human man being swarmed by over a dozen mischievous pixies!
"Look sisters, a lost manling has wandered right into our hiding spot! Why don't we play a game with it?" one of the tiny faeries cackled, baring needle-like teeth before doing a little midair twirl.
Just as they were about to descend towards their victim like a pack of airborne piranhas, an arrow sailed through the air, striking the trunk of a nearby oak mere inches from one of the sprites' fluttering wings. "Hey, piccolini dispetosi! Leave that poor soul alone, or I'll pin every last one of you to an oak!" A melodic but undeniably firm feminine voice called out.
Turning in the direction of the shout, the fey collectively gasped as they found themselves face-to-readied-arrow from a rather cross-looking half-elf. The ranger stood poised at the edge of the clearing, her chestnut locks fluttering slightly in the breeze. Knowing better than to pick a fight with someone who looked like they could, well, actually fight…the pixies wisely decided to scatter -- vanishing into the surrounding foliage with angry buzzing insults.
With the annoying pests dispatched for now, Andrea turned back to the confused-looking human, lowering her bow while offering a reassuring smile.
"Greetings and felicitations, good sir! I do hope those silly little truccetti didn't give you too much trouble?" She said in that same singsong accent of hers. "You look unhurt, which is always a blessing. Please, allow me to escort you back to the main path through these perilous woods…"
