I slept on the Pollexfen couch last night. I don't exactly have a lot of experience with changeling quests, so I wasn't sure what I might need to do to make sure I was with Brennen. As it turns out, that wasn't an issue. At the end of my meeting with Dr. Wundenhex he asked me to sign a contract. I should have known that the agreement was binding in more than one sense. Or at least, I think that's how I got stuck to Brennen as if by mystical superglue. I actually have no good reason to think the contract had anything to do with the connection, but it fits and it sounds more dramatic if I pretend I'm certain.
Anyway, I had a dream last night. It wasn't a normal dream, but it also wasn't like one of the visions I've had after getting to involved with spirits. Actually, it was quite like that other one but not exactly like it, more like I was seeing a vision from a distance. I when I woke up I couldn't remember the whole of the narrative, but bits and pieces kept flashing by in my first few minutes of waking, and there was one word that stayed with me: Glimmerfoot. Which is interesting because there were glowing blue and green footprints on the floor starting at the door to Brennen's bedroom and leading out onto the street. I had just barely enough time to absorb all of that nonsense before Brennen burst blearily out of his bedroom struggling to get the pack I'd help him make the night before onto his back and mumbling about how apparently it was time to go. Oh, and I he hadn't changed out of his night clothes, which happened to include a bath robe. It was a very Arthur Dent kind of look.
We followed the footprints (because apparently following glowing footprints to wherever is a thing you do during fey quests) outside and down a manhole (because apparently all that common sense that would normally tell us to not following the glowing footprints down a dark, dank hole doesn't apply during fey quests) to a tunnel that looked less and less like a sewer the farther on we went. Usually I would be happy about sewers being less like sewers, but in this case I would have preferred it stay stinky and normal. Especially when I first heard the canine growling coming from behind me.
After about fifteen minutes of travel we became aware of two pursuers. I only heard the wolf at first, but we quickly glimpsed the more humanoid stalker. He reminded me of an actor I'd seen at a gothic rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He had all the usual faerie characteristics of pointed ears, youthful (one might even say childish) beauty, and lithe, subtle strength. He also had a uniquely manic air to him. We didn't see much of either pursuer aside from a few glimpses, but we could hear the snarling, the howling, and the cackling getting louder and more distinct. We started to run, but soon we got to a fork in the tunnel. The footprints lead to the left, which was covered entirely in rocks of varying sizes. We both stopped for a moment and stared at the difficult terrain. Then we heard the howling and the cackling and we ran the other way.
As we ran, there were other noises. Rustling sounds, low murmurs, jittery laughs. The roots that grew down the cavernous walls were getting thicker and more numerous. A few bristled with thorns. But we could still hear our pursuers getting closer, and we kept running. Then Brennen tripped and it took me a second for my brain to get through to my legs. I had taken to the job to guide him. The changeling was my responsibility. When I got back to him I dared to look back at our pursuers.
They had stopped.
I looked around. I saw glittering eyes gleaming out of the darkness. I saw the thorny roots. I heard the sinister whispers. I looked again at the wolf and the mad faerie. They hadn't moved. Then I had an intuition.
I took one step back toward the fork, and as I did the wolf retreated. Brennen shouted at me, but I took another few steps. The wolf did the same. And then I was sure that we were being chased by our own shadows. It took a bit longer to convince Brennen, but soon we were headed back to the glimmering path as our shadows danced before us. I saw a few imps, goblins, and other things leering out from behind rocks and roots, but we hadn't yet ventured far enough into the underground wilderness. We were still in the safe zone.
In the end, the glimmering path led us to a strange cabin. It was a long journey there and we had to make a few difficult climbs, but none of it was too dangerous. In the middle of the living room of the cottage is a door, and the footprints stop there. I believe through that door lies the next leg of our journey, but for now it is time to rest.
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