You are being good sports. The stag looks pleased, he nods once in reply to the both of you, his body language looking lighter in the wake of your agreement. "I am grateful," he says, falling silent as they await the arrival of the small little fire bird that flits around you normally, Midas. Perhaps you are wondering how he knew about your companion. I think I have said before that he has sensitive eyes. The milky film of a cloth sits neatly, guarding his eyes but still allowing you the sight of his features.
As you arrive, Fina, the company might notice that his eyes squint if he glances in her direction, but he quickly strides forth, easing past your bodies back down the bank of the stream. The glint of fire dances on the webbed wings, making them shimmer in the darkness, and one of the limbs nearly glances your body, Apollo. It would be cool to the touch - almost like water.
You come to the edge of the field when the stag stops his advance, small hooves nearly stepping over the cliff and onto the clouds, but he stops. That is when you hear it. A strange guttural noise, which arises from the ancient throat without movement of his lips. The eyes from behind the silken cloth close, but the wings upon his back begin to shimmer little glimmers of gold. Forward the particles roll in the air, tumbling over themselves, a cloud of metallic dust, which forms past the edge of the cliff, a ledge formed by faintly shimmering gold. Green light surrounds it then, and the form seems to solidify.
Your eyes would widen in amazement if you had been paying attention because, behold, where there once was air, now a strange looking stairway, as if it were built of a massive root, has appeared. A pathway into the mountain. "Follow me, brothers."
Down and down and down you climb. The stairway winds and curves, torches along the walls which can be lit to guide you back once your task is done. You might feel like your journey is taking you too far, far far down in the mountain below. The light from the outside world disappears, leaving you alone with the phoenix and the faint silver green which appears to glow off of the stag in this dim light. It is then that you see a massive wooden door in your way, blocking the path, with strange designs carved inward, glowing faintly as the stag approaches. That same guttural song rises, twists and falls through the door, causing it to slowly dissipate as though it were air. The stag motions with his neck to follow, allowing you both enough time to walk through the door before following through as well.
The world inside is a forest of night. The trees, though, glow faint and silver, but your eyes cannot see the path at your feet. The light of the fire bird would have to suffice. The elder stag guides you toward a small copse, where in the middle, a peculiar looking figure lies.
You might have been expecting a fawn, since your ancient friend clearly stated daughter. However, the ailed child on the ground is little more than a rabbit with two long antlers protruding from her skull - a jackelope. She too appears to half filmed wings like the stag, but you may notice she is different. Instead of the faintly green silver glow of everything in this strange world, she is glowing red.
"A poison has reached her body," he says, looking down sadly. "If her illness continues, the land she guards will fall to the other spirits." Toward Apollo, his face turns, the shroud gone to reveal brilliantly green eyes. "Can you aid her, brother?"
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