The Whispering Wood earned its name quite easily in Scott's opinion. Whenever a gentle breeze passed through the branches of those venerable ancient forest giants a sound akin to dry unintelligible whispers would echo softly.

"So, as I have said before." The fish man looked to Scott. "My delightful hero prince, if we follow this gently flowing brook in this direction, we will happen upon the fairy pond."

"Yah?" asked Scott curiously. Was it true? Would it be so simple to find fairies fluttering around in the ancient forest?

"Does the good prince recall the agreement?" asked Etragar.

Scott nodded to him. He would remain silent while he did his best to give off the appearance of a properly heroic foreign prince. Etragar would handle the rest. The plan was fairly basic, all things considered. There was little else to do in the meantime as well. He owed the fish man a small favor due to the fact that he pointed him toward town, and his mission could not advance until that night regardless of what he did during the day.

The calm and gently flowing brook was almost too large for the distinction of that title, but still too small for anyone to confuse it with an actual river. Scott watched the crystal clear water as he walked along. Small fish of various types and sizes swam about happily and in plain view. One would think that living life so openly would be dangerous for them, but they seemed quite content to go about the daily tasks of life regardless of their lack of security.

Beautiful scales glittered in the light as the creatures swam about. One fish in particular seemed to glow with a rainbow fire due to the angle of the sun's rays.

So far, every part of Ha' Ruul offered similar visual splendors. The town that they visited briefly was a quaint and cozy little place that seemed more like a re-enactment in a fantasy world play than an actually living space.

Perhaps it was the people who lived there? Elves in all but name, the people of Ha' Ruul seemed quite at home with natural wonders and themes in their architecture.

The whispers of the wood reached his ears once more. Torn from his reverie, Scott looked around. Something about the quality of those ambient sounds had shifted.

He stopped short when he heard the whispers once more. Etragar started to ask him what was wrong, but Scott raised his hand. "Yah...?" he whispered softly.

Softly, the sound of sobbing reached him. It was no ambient noise of the forest. Someone was crying nearby. He immediately set off in the direction of the sound.

"Prince Skhyaht?" asked Etragar. "What is it?"

Scott merely gestured for him to follow. Quietly, they stalked through the woods. Soon, Etragar noticed the sound that his foreign hero prince had heard previously. His eyes widened considerably and took on a comical appearance.

It was not long before they happened upon a small glade in the woods. At the center of the clearing there stood a large tree stump surrounded by vividly colored wildflowers. A tiny winged figure knelt atop the stump, iridescent tears fell to the stump as she sobbed gently.

Not realizing what he would sound like, Scott's first instinct was to call out to the crying fairy. "Hyaht!"

"Wah!" screamed the fairy excitedly. She threw up her arms and fell sideways due to her shocked surprise.

"My prince! Do not frighten the poor creature." Etragar chided him then rushed forward to attend to the lightly flailing fairy.

Scott followed suit, and reached the stump before the fairy girl could recover. She rolled over then scooted backwards atop the stump. Too frightened to try to escape from them, her little chest rose and fell rapidly. She clutched her hands to her swiftly moving chest and stared up at them in terror-stricken panic.

"Yah...yah," said Scott in a soothing manner. Hands out, he lowered his palms gently in a calming motion. "Yah. Yah..."

The fairy girl's eyes seemed to truly see him for the first time in that moment. Her cheeks soon took on a crimson color and she lowered her eyelids demurely.

Etragar looked at him then back to the fairy girl. "Yah-yah... that was what he called a butterfly..." he mumbled softly. Secure in his belief that he had discovered a clue to truly understanding the wandering prince's obscure language, he nodded his head.

The fairy looked down toward the stump then sighed. "You're not here to hurt me, are you? Catch me in a bottle maybe?"

Scott shook his head gently. "Feyah..."

Her expression shifted suddenly to one of joyful mirth. Eyes formerly stained by tears became clear and bright. "Did the goddess send you? I've prayed here for days in the hopes of a champion coming to help us... The townspeople are useless."

Scott looked into her eyes briefly then slowly nodded his head. He certainly was a champion, and there was bound to be at least one goddess involved in his mission selections.

Tiny hands clapped together briefly as the last of her tears dried upon her cheek. "I'm fairy happy to hear that!"

Tiny motes of light sparkled in the air around her briefly then she buzzed upwards into the air on her gossamer dragonfly wings. "We nearly gave up hope. Those stupid skeletons spend all night drinking and practicing their dance moves."

She pouted at him in a cutesy manner. "We can keep them out of our home with our magic, but there are too many of them for us to drive them from the woods and protect our pond."

"Excuse me, lass. Do you happen to know my daughter Luau' Ra?" Etragar stepped forward and tilted his head curiously.

"Lulu? You're her father?" asked the fairy in a curious town. She then acquired a mischievous and calculated expression. "Nope. Never heard of her."

"You just mentioned her name," replied Etragar with a derisive snort.

"Nuh. Uh. I so did not..." She fairy stuck her tongue out at him then turned back to Scott and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hyaht?" asked Scott curiously.

Her face reddened slightly and she bit her lip for a moment. "Well, if you're going to ask me so sweetly, kind hero..."

She canted her hips from side to side then grinned up at him. "I might know something... but you have to let me give you a kiss!"

Etragar rolled his eyes, hard. "Blergh. Fairies..."

Scott nodded to her. What was the harm? Etragar did not seem unsettled by the idea beyond a vaguely racist sentiment, and despite the interest of the ladies in his company there was no definite romantic relationship among them. It could easily turn into that, but nothing concrete had occurred among them. The closest he had come to such a thing is whatever the hell one might call what had happened between him and Samantha recently. Kitty and Saelil spoke about stuff on occasion but outside of playful banter they had made no serious moves toward securing him for their own.

Briefly, he considered Vita's antics but she seemed more interested in merely flirting. There was also the matter of Chaine. He liked the guy, and it was nice to have an actual male companion.

It was hard to say what the relationship between Chaine and Vita happened to be. They were fine with the idea of being naked together, but they acted more like siblings who were also an old married couple. It was an odd dynamic.

The fairy giggled lightly then tousled her hair and made kissy faces at the air. Soon, she buzzed upwards then flew forward and kissed him softly on the lips. A wave of warmth washed over him. While he had rested earlier, the effects of her innocent kiss completely revitalized him. It was as though he had rested comfortably for days on end.

She flew backwards then lightly touched her fingers to her lips. "Goodness... I should be careful, or I'll become pregnant."

"In what world would Prince Skhyaht impregnate the first fairy whom he meets on his quest?" asked Etragar in a surly manner.

Her hands balled into tiny fists, She spun quickly then thrust her arms and legs forward at parallel angles. "You're just jealous that no fairy want's to kiss your catfish face!"

"This is true," agreed Etragar shamelessly.

The fairy blinked at him then placed her hands to her mouth and giggled lightly. "Well, I suppose you're an honest sort of fish..."

"Honesty is important in a merchant," agreed Etragar in a lighter tone.

"Right. Merchant," agreed the fairy. She offer him an exaggerated wink then laughed cheerfully.

She looked to Scott again, her mirth disappearing quickly. "Anyway, I should bring you to that dirty old underworld cavern entrance so you can do your heroing stuff."

"We need to speak with my daughter," said Etragar.

"Perhaps for another kiss..." She wiggled her eyebrows then giggled lightly.

"You've already received compensation," replied Etragar lightly.

She leveled a devastating pout in the fish man's direction. "Lulu was right. You're just no fun at all."

Etragar merely offered her an impassive gaze. She sighed loudly then threw up her hands. "Very well... You big old fish meanie."

The fairy girl flew up then sat on Scott's shoulder. She threw one hand forward and a wisp of light appeared. Though it was somewhat hard to see due to the brightness of the day, Scott was able to follow it well enough. She assured the duo that it would lead them to the fairy pond where Lulu should be.

Scott and Etragar followed the light, while the fairy girl playfully teased her mount by blowing in his ear or toying with his hair. She had quite the merry time of teasing him, by all accounts.