Wormholed Away I

"Hm, another new face. There sure are a lot of new arrivals in this forest these past few days," the man with the staff commented.

Kies looked at Ammine and asked, "Who are they?"

"I'm as clueless as you. Why don't you ask him?" Ammine said while pointing at Haro. Haro was bound to know more about them than her since he was a resident of this forest. She didn't understand why Kies was asking her instead of him.

Kies looked at Haro and he shook his head as well. He didn't recognize any of them either. "Heh heh heh," the man chuckled. "If you don't know someone, why not ask the person you don't know to introduce themselves directly rather than someone else."

"Well then, who are you two... or you people." Kies just noticed that there were more of them, but they were all lying on the ground. He was guessing that this was Ammine's doing because while Haro is definitely capable of doing something like this, Kies didn't think that he would, would he?

"I am Fae, a servant of the witch," the man introduced himself. "And he is called Bloodmane. You can probably imagine how he got his name," the man presented the red werewolf.

"Does he also serve the witch?" Kies asked.

"Grrrrr!" The red werewolf looked murderously at Kies. "Watch what you say unless you want your head to roll off your neck. I serve no one but my pack." The werewolf muttered something under his breath and went to check on his comrades, leaving the man named Fae to deal with the questions and other things.

"Sorry, did I say something wrong?"

"Oh, you don't need to apologize," Fae told Kies. "It is as he says, he doesn't serve the witch, but because of circumstances... well he is temporarily working for her, let's just say that. Now then, with introductions out of the way, please come with me." Fae lifted his staff off the ground, spun it around in a full circle, and then tapped the ground with the butt of the staff. The ground beneath him began to shimmer. "Please come into the circle." Fae beckoned for them to step into the circle.

"Hoot, spatial magic, and in the form of an array at that. How fascinating," Haro commented.

"Thank you." The man took a small bow. "Now if you will." Fae once again beckoned for them to get in the circle.

Ammine crossed her arms and looked at the man suspiciously. "Do you really expect us to follow you when we don't even know where that teleportation array takes us?" Only a fool would blindly listen to someone they've just met and an even bigger fool to do what they say.

"Oh, my apologies. This wormhole teleportation circle will take you to meet the witch. We've been observing you two the moment that you entered this forest," Fae told Ammine and Kies. "After seeing what you're capable of, Crimson and I were sent to fetch you," he explained.

"Really? Why did those werewolves attack us then?" Ammine countered.

Fae scratched his head awkwardly. "In all fairness, you attacked first. But... we were also tasked with testing your strength, so I guess either way we would've fought anyway. I have to apologize for this as well. In any case, we mustn't keep the witch waiting any longer, and we're pretty sure that it's in your intentions to speak with her, no?"

"Well, the reason why we have come to this forest is to meet with the leaders..." Ammine agreed. It was their mission. The Bone Whistler had already turned down their offer. The only logical thing to do is to ask another greater undead.

"Now that that is settled, if you please," Fae pointed beckoned for them to enter the circle a third time. This time, Ammine and Kies walked into the circle. Haro along with the banshee hiding in his feathers landed on top of Kies's shoulder. "Alright, are you all prepared to meet the White Witch?"

"But what about them?" Kies pointed at Bloodmane and the other werewolves.

"Don't worry about them. They're tougher than you think. It will only be a matter of time before they recover," Fae told Kies. "Now then, are you all ready?" Fae asked again.

"Yes," the group answered one after another.

"Then we'll be off." Fae turned his staff horizontally and held out his other hand in front of it. He then chanted something and the magic array shone brighter as he chanted. "The stars align. Show us our path." The ground beneath them disappeared and the entire group fell through it.

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