Stepping Through the Mists (story) (Patreon)

I got a little delayed on getting this done and then last week happened. Anyway, the December Patreon story is done! This is more lore from the gnoll druid I'm playing, Ingot. I'm planning to have the character take the feat Fey Touched soon, and I wanted to write a story about someone with an ability like this.

Beyond the veil of this world lies others, and one of those is where the fey dwell. They rarely visit our world, but when they do, we must be careful. They are known to play tricks on the unwary, and some of the gifts they offer can be dangerous for those that accept them. One never knows what they might do, and because of this, gnolls have long been wary when fey are encountered. Sometimes though, one has to accept their help, even when they don’t want to.

It is said the fey favor full moons to make the journey to our world, but they might choose to come anytime they wish. On the plains, where the grass is highest, gnolls sometimes can become turned around and find themselves in places very different than where they just were. It was there, where the grass reached over his head, that a gnoll wandered into a stream that wasn’t supposed to be there on a hot summer day. Favzu had gone to collect baobab fruit from a grove of trees that grew in a valley near his village, taking with him only his spear, his kukri, a waterskin, and a basket for the fruit, which he slung over his back. The journey was not long, and he had made the trip many times before, but this time he had somehow become lost when strange mists had overtaken the valley.

Confused by the stream, he stopped to get his bearings, and that’s when he noticed the small elf-like creature the size of a young gnoll pup sitting on a rock near the water. It had wings like a butterfly’s and spoke to him in a voice that sounded sweet like fresh honey.

“You look lost,” said the fairy to the gnoll, “and you look hot.”

It was indeed a hot day and his tongue had been rolling from his muzzle, but the gnoll was not foolish enough to let that catch him off guard. “I do not remember this stream being here,” said Favzu.

The fairy smiled. “You may not, but it is here now,” she said.

“Indeed it is,” Favzu said, looking back the way he had come, suddenly suspicious of the high grass. The mist had come suddenly, but it was strange to see mist on a day so hot. The sun should have burned it away by now.

“Perhaps you are confused. A cool drink from the stream might refresh you.” She waved her hands and a glass chalice appeared filled with water.

The sun was hot on his face, but he had heard never to eat or drink anything the fairies offered.

“Thank you, but I brought a waterskin with me filled from the well in my village.”

The fairy dipped her wings. “Is our water not good enough for you?”

The gnoll knew that to refuse the gift a second time was dangerous, but it was also dangerous to accept it. In the stories he’d heard as a pup, eating or drinking in the realm of the fey gave them power over you, and could trap you in their world. What might seem like a day in the fey realm for him could be years in the real world.

“I imagine it is too good for me,” offered the gnoll. “I am but a creature of rock and dirt, while you are a creature of air and light. I have never seen glasswork so finely done either. My paws are quite big as you can see.”

“You may be a creature of rock and dirt, but neither of us are creatures of the water, and yet we both drink from the waters of the world just the same.” The glass floated over to him. “Drink, and I will show you.”

A third refusal was too much to make. With reservation he reached for the chalice and plucked it from the air. One moment it had been floating before him, and the next he could feel the weight of it as his digits closed around it. He knew if he let go of the glass, it would fall then, and the fairy would be angry with him. He lifted the goblet up and poured a little of the water into his muzzle.

It was light and sweet on his wide tongue, and he made sure not to let it run out of his mouth. It was like no water he had tasted before.

“The whole glass,” said the fairy. “It will refresh you.”

Favzu tilted the contents of the chalice into his muzzle. He made sure not to spill a drop. In his stomach, he swore he could feel the water tickling at him as he lowered his broad head.

“There, that’s better isn’t it? You feel refreshed don’t you, and not so hot anymore I imagine?”

Indeed, he did not feel hot anymore. “You are right, I don’t. Thank you. Where should I put your goblet?”

She made a flick of her hand and it was gently tugged out of his paw, and floated free of him. Then it disappeared. “Are you hungry?” she asked him.

He had eaten only some dried meat earlier, but he was hesitant to accept anything else from the fairy. “I would not wish to trouble you for food. I am off to collect baobab fruit.”

“It is no trouble,” she said, taking flight. “Wait just a moment,” said the fairy, flying over to an orange tree nearby that Favzu wasn’t sure had been there a moment ago. The gnoll shifted uncertainly, as the fairy flew up into the tree and plucked an orange from it.

It was obviously quite heavy for her for she struggled with it, but the fairy brought it over to him and dropped it into his open paw.

“Take this. When you get tired on your journey or thirsty, eat it.”

The gnoll looked at the orange carefully. It was perfectly round and the rind was unblemished. “And if I’m not hungry?” he asked, looking up at the fairy.

“Oh, you will be.”

Favzu tilted his head, confused. “I will be?”

“Oh yes,” said the fairy. “Travelers like you always are. Consider it a parting gift for your journey.” Then she lifted into the wind and flew away, leaving the gnoll alone by the stream that was not supposed to be there with an orange clutched in one paw and his spear in the other.

#

On the other side of the stream Favzu found a path he’d never seen before. It made sense since he had never seen the stream, but this one felt different. The trail looked both abandoned and yet well maintained, almost as if the grass had been sculpted to grow away from it. No strands bent over the path, which considering how tall this grass was, felt unsettling to him.

He debated for a few minutes before setting out on it. He did not know where it went, but he did not know where he was anymore either. In a situation like this, a path—any path—is better than just wandering around, and this trail had to go somewhere. Plus, the grass was much too tall for him to get his bearings. He could have climbed the orange tree, but he did not think that would lead him where he needed to be, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to even attempt that.

He walked for an hour, the path weaved over gentle rises, but the scenery never changed. The grass was always taller than he was. Even if he jumped, he could not see over it. He thought the grass might go on forever when it suddenly it ended at a line of thorny shrubs that reached well over his head and covered the path. The transition was so sudden he stopped to consider it carefully. He stood in the light of the sun filtering through the tall grass, but the path now continued into a dark and twisting maze of vines and branches that made the trail look like it dove into a great forest, yet no trees seemed to grow there.

“This makes no sense,” said the gnoll out loud.

“That’s because you are no longer in your world, my friend,” said a voice all around him.

Favzu jumped and had his spear gripped in both hands, ready to stab whoever or whatever might try to attack him.

In front of him sat a mouse, in the middle of the path through the woods. It tilted its head and looked at him before it scurried off into the dense underbrush.

“You can’t fight me, gnoll,” said the voice. “I am everywhere.”

“If you’re everywhere, why are you here talking to me?” he snapped.

The voice laughed. “That’s because you have something I want.”

“Which is?’

“The orange. Leave the orange on the trail and proceed.”

He’d put the fruit in the small pouch he had at his waist, unsure of what to do with it. “The orange?”

“Yes, the orange she gave you. Leave it in the path and proceed without it.”

Favzu looked back the way he came through the tall grass. “If you are everywhere, why not get one yourself?”

The voice grumbled. “Because that’s the one she gave you. That’s the one I want.”

He hadn’t wanted the orange, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to give it up either to a voice that came from everywhere. “She said I would get hungry on my journey. What do you offer in trade?”

The voice was silent for few moments. “Give me the orange.”

“No,” said Favzu. “How do you know I even have the orange anyway?”

“You dare question my request? Fine, do not use my path then.”

The tall bushes suddenly shifted and vines grew before his very eyes. The gnoll stepped back as the way before him vanished leaving him on a path that led nowhere. Where once there was a passage, thorny shrubs now blocked his way.

The gnoll stood in shock, unsure of what to do. The path led under the bushes, but there was no way he could cut through this. It would take hours to make a way with his small kukri, and if the voice could make the vines grow, it could likely do that again. He was stuck in the tall grasses that reached over his head. Confused, he turned around and followed the path back to the stream.

#

By the time he reached the stream again, he was hot and getting tired. His hunger had increased, and he was thirsty. He sat for a minute by the water on the rock the fairy had sat on, watching it before he finally decided to dip his paws in and let it cool him. The water was refreshing, and it made him feel relaxed.

Thirsty, but unsure whether to drink from the stream, he uncorked his waterskin, and went to tilt it back into his muzzle, but the skin, which this morning had been full of water, poured out only sand.

Startled, Favzu coughed and spit out grit as he dropped the waterskin. With apprehension, he picked it up and tilted it over the ground. Sand ran out of it until it was empty. He had no water, and had brought no food with him for what was supposed to be a quick journey. He had drunk the waters of the fey realm, and he was now trapped in their world. The only thing he had to nourish himself was the orange and the fruit still on the tree. He could drink from the stream, but the land he was in seemed featureless and vast. While the path had climbed small hills and descended them, it never gave him any vantage to gain his bearings.

With nothing else to do, he walked over to the tree and looked it over. The trunk was smooth and healthy. The branches were low enough he could reach them. He put down his spear and was about to start climbing when he heard the voice of the fairy from behind.

“I already gave you something to eat.”

The gnoll froze and slowly turned around. “I’m lost,” he said.

“Lost? You were just here.”

“Yes, but where is here?”

She laughed. “By the stream of course.”

“Yes, but where is my home? Where are the baobab trees?”

She flew over to him. “That is a much harder question to answer, and only you can answer it.”

“I don’t know where home is anymore. I followed the path and it took me to the thickets.”

“No, no. That leads to the dark forest. You don’t want to go there. Mortals who go there never return. Go the way you came on the other bank. It will take you home, but if you want to reach the baobab trees, you will need to continue through the grass on this bank.”

He considered. He wasn’t sure, but he thought the sun was already shifting to the west. “I will go home,” he replied to the fairy.

“Very well, then cross the stream and you will reach home.”

He picked up the spear and his empty water skin. He crossed the stream and glanced back at the fairy. She seemed amused, hovering there, but she made a shooing motion. “Go on.”

With that Favzu plunged into the tall grass with no earthly idea where he was going. Behind him, he heard one last piece of advice from the fairy.

“Don’t forget to eat.”

#

The gnoll walked for hours, pushing his way through the grass, but he saw no features in the endless blades. It never thinned and it never got low enough for him to catch his bearings. The only reason he knew night was falling was the light turned golden and begun to fade. He was thirsty and hungry, but still he pressed on. When he had walked far longer than it had taken him to reach the stream originally, he stopped and tiredly sat down.

He was stuck in the fey realm. The village shaman had told a story a moon or two ago about the dangers of accepting gifts from fairies, but what choice did he have? The fairy has been insistent. Now he was trapped. He sat there in the fading light trying to figure out what to do when his stomach growled, reminding him he had not eaten anything in hours.

Tiredly he pulled out the orange from his pouch and considered it. The fruit was still the most perfect orange he had ever seen. With nothing else to do, he began to peel the fruit, digging his claws under the skin and removing the rind. When he was done, he carefully sniffed at it.

It smelled sweet, much sweeter than the bitter oranges they grew back in his village. He split it in half and pulled off a slice and popped it into his muzzle. The juice was flavorful on his tongue and the taste refreshing in his dry, parched muzzle. He was so hungry then he quickly devoured the orange, leaving him only with the peel.

With the fruit now eaten, he looked at the peel, fingering it with his thick furred digits before dropping it onto the ground. He felt better at least, but he was still hopelessly lost in the grass.

The gnoll stood up, picked up his spear, and took stock of his situation. The sun was down now and soon it would be dark. Already the night insects were out singing in the tall grass. He sighed and closed his eyes and walked forward, feeling the grass and the gentle wind that ruffled the tops of the stalks.

He had only gone half a dozen steps when he felt cool mist on his face and ran smack into a thatched wall.

Startled, the gnoll fell back on his haunches, his eyes flying open. Before him was his hut. He was home! But how? Why?

He stared at the hut confused. One of the other gnolls in his village, his friend Gnezoc, was walking past him and stopped.

“Are you okay, Favzu?”

“I’m… fine,” he sputtered out.

Gnezoc gave him a curious expression, ears focused on his friend sitting on the ground. “Why are you just sitting here in the dark?”

“It has been a long day.”

“Oh right, you went out to the baobab trees.”

“Yes, but I uh… didn’t make it. I got a bit lost for some reason.”

“Lost? You?”

Favzu shrugged and got up. “Yes, I ended up somewhere else.”

“Have you been drinking too much tej?” his friend asked. Gnezoc smiled amused.

“No! I just…” the gnoll paused, considering. “I was here and then I wasn’t here. I was in a different place. I met a fairy there.”

His friend stopped smiling. “You were in the fey realm?”

“Somehow, and then I was back here.” He pinched the bridge of his muzzle. “I was lost, but she had given me this orange, and I was tired. So tired, so I closed my eyes for a moment,” he said, mimicking for his friend, “and then I was here,” he added, stepping forward and splashing into a stream. Startled again, his eyes flew open.

“You really need to focus on where you want to be when you do that,” said the fairy. “Also don’t do that too much in one day. It will wear you out.”

His heart was racing, pounding in his ears. He was back by the stream. “How am I… here?”

“You’re still learning to control the power.”

He turned around. His village was gone. “But I was just home.”

“And now you’re here,” said the fairy, flying over to him. “Did you not know you could summon the mists between worlds before today?”

He starred at the fairy blankly.

“I assumed not earlier, but you do it so easily, I thought I should ask to be certain.”

“Did you do this to me?” he asked.

“No. A few in your world are born with this power. A small piece of the fey world attaches to them for some reason. All I did was help you unlock it by giving you a bit of this world so you could fix it in yourself. I understand the ability is mostly seem among the elves, but others sometimes manifest it too.”

Favzu just stood there with his mouth hanging open, unsure of what to do.

“Might I suggest you first summon the mists with your eyes open, then step into them? Also, focus on where you want to be.”

“I can do that?”

“Of course!” she laughed.

Favzu tilted his broad head, even more confused.

“Fine, a little instruction,” she said. “You mortals don’t understand these things without that it seems. Think of where you want to go, and see the border between the worlds. Then enter it and decide if you want to be here or in the other world.”

He thought for a minute of his home, his village, and where that was. Slowly a mist formed, and he could see it in his mind. He took a deep breath and stepped in. The world suddenly changed and he ran smack into Gnezoc, who was frantically searching for him. Together they both fell onto the ground.

“Favzu, are you okay?” someone asked, pulling him off of Gnezoc, who was giving him a panicked look. “What is happening?”

“I am fine,” the gnoll yawned, suddenly very tired. He shook himself to get his bearings. “Oh, that does take a lot out of you.”

A crowd had formed outside of his hut. Everyone was shifting from foot to foot nervously, ears low as the village shaman came up, carrying her staff. Rya looked at the crowd and frowned.

“Everyone give him some room.” She knelt down next to Favzu and tilted her head. Carefully she examined him with an eye that saw more than just the normal world. They said she could see magic itself. He had not thought much of that, but now as she studied him, he could tell. She reached out and ran her digits over his body, tracing lines that were not there.

“What happened to you, Favzu?” Rya asked. She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes to mutter a few words. “You are different now.”

“I somehow was in the fey realm.”

“Ah, is that what I’m seeing? You’ve been changed. You are now more than you were.”

“The fairy said I was born with this, but she helped me focus it. That I can summon the mist between worlds.”

The shaman considered, crouching next to him deep in thought. It was Rya’s job to protect the tribe from forces that could threaten it beyond the ordinary, and others would have turned against Favzu. Some might have banished him from the tribe or had him killed right then, but she was not a foolish woman. She saw the chance to learn more and to pass that knowledge on. She took Favzu to her hut and had him repeat everything he had seen and wrote it down. Then after he rested, Rya took him out of the village and had him demonstrate his powers.

It is from these two that we learned to understand the border between worlds and the magic that the lands contain. The gift to walk between realms is still far more common among elves than gnolls, but we learned much from it.

It was from the teachings of Rya and Favzu that the first druid circle formed among the gnolls, and we came to understand more of the forces of magic. Even the wizards among our kind trace their earliest bits of arcane knowledge to this tradition.

As for Favzu himself, they say he never did grow old, but that one day he walked into the mist and never returned. It’s possible he’s still in the fey realm, still learning, unaware of how much time has passed in our world. Perhaps someday he will return.