A Storm in Stone's Hollow

From the Field Notes of the Traveler’s Guide to Stone’s Hollow,

a destination from the Wayfarer’s League.

Remmy looked up from his conversation with the newest travelers dining at the bar to see Gunter bluster in the door along with a spatter of rain.

“It’s coming. Almost at the edge of Miller’s Field and heading this way. Tell Breez and your lot to buckle up. It’s moving fast this time. Maybe from the storm.”

To punctuate his words, a deep roll of thunder rumbled in the distance.

A few guests seated at tables by the hearth looked worried and confused. Tess, the local baker grabbed her hat, finished the last bite of her hand-pie, and quickly tucked the end of a roll in her pocket. She nodded to Remmy and headed out the door calling over her shoulder,

"I’ll go bank the ovens and let you know if anything goes a-rye."

She flashed a grin at her own pun. He nodded soberly, and she was gone.

“What…what’s happening?” asked the newcomer Remmy had been chatting with, anxiously touching the

buttons on his vest.  “It’s just a bit of rain...right?"

“Just a ….. well it’s a natural  phenomenon that happens here every so often. Nothing to be alarmed about, but, ...it rarely happens with rain as well. This could heighten the effect. Nothing dangerous, really…just annoying and …”

“Colorful!” Breez added, as she efficiently gathered up empty mugs, tankards, plates and loose objects, securing them behind the bar or carrying them into the kitchen.

“That’s the word for it.” Remmy said. “Now, no need to be alarmed, but it is an amazing sight the first time you see it. Magic can get a bit….colorful around here, as Breez said. When you mix ley lines with a bit of Feywild planar shifts, you get some unpredictable results. So, when the storm passes over us and you get a few gifts you didn’t expect, I promise you, Sonder or Breez can help set you right. An extra round’s on me… For now let’s find you a seat by the window to watch the sky do its thing.”

The guests looked wary, but followed Remmy to a built-in cushioned window seat. Another soft roll of thunder joined the patter of rain drumming against the glass.

Then, across the town green, high under the clouds, came a wash of iridescent color. A Feywild aurora of blues, greens and purples, undulating and changing hues as it traveled across the sky, heading towards town. Where the falling rain touched the aurora, each droplet caught its light and carried it earthward, until the whole storm glittered with Feywild energy.

More guests settled near the windows to watch. Slowly, green and violet light filled the tavern with an eerie arcane glow as waves of Fey-line magic passed overhead. Thunder crashed as heavier rain battered the roof and windows.

Guests and travelers gasped, giggled or talked in hushed tones. Their nervous titters and whispers became delighted as their hair, tankards, and other small objects began to float gently above the tables, all eyes then fixed on the otherworldly display overhead.

A few last flashes of lightning, the clatter of tankards, and a final grumble of thunder marked its passing as the storm and Fey-line aurora moved west, toward the mountains. The tavern lost its arcane glow and returned to normal. Guests broke their stunned silence and a low popcorn of conversation started, remarking on what they’d just seen.

The newcomer from the bar broke the hushed tones with a short laugh.

“Well! Never in all my days! Sir, I’ve seen plenty in my travels but nothing as weird, I tell ye, nothing as wild and wonderful as that! A toast to the wonders o nature! Don’t know what you were all so scared about!"

He raised his tankard in a toast, then to his lips, taking a long pull of ale.

No one joined his toast. They only stared at him in silence.

“Wh….what? What’s wrong? Nothing but a harmless natural display…. Why are you all looking at me that way?"

His smile began to falter.

He looked to Remmy, who’s expression held equal measures of concern and

resignation at once.

The newcomer’s face had turned a Feywild green, and small, mossy antlers

had sprouted atop his head.

He turned back to the still aghast crowd.

"Ye all look like ye’ve seen a spirit….”

“Just a little wild magic, friend.” Remmy assured him, “Nothing we can’t fix, or will set itself right….in time. I promise ye.” Breez gently guided him to the window to show him his reflection, and his new Feywild gift. Instead of consternation or fear, the newcomer burst into surprised laughter. He good-naturedly posed for the crowd to raised glasses and merry cheers.

Remmy and Breez exchanged a look. Under his breath, Remmy said what he always did,

“Let’s take stock and start settin right what we can. The storm might’ve made things…a bit more interesting…”

Guest’s chatter erupted to small shrieks of alarm, or guffaws of amusement as the remaining effects became visible. Mustaches became huge and ornate, or glittered in the firelight. Hair changed to otherworldly hues. Clothing transformed to exaggerated Fey finery. Another guest’s laughter emerges as bird song. The cat sleeping by the hearth has grown three sizes, and now sports long lavender fur.

A muffled voice shouts from somewhere beyond the tavern door.

“Remmy! Cows’re floatin’ again, an this time they won’t come down!”

Remmy closed his eyes.

“Sonder knows where we keep the halters ’n ropes.”

The rain softened to a steady, fat drizzle pattering against the roof and making the downspouts chime intermittently beneath the eves.

With a quiet nod to Remmy, a local settled into a hearth bench and started to play gentle folk music on his fiddle. The hearth cat went back to her nap, entirely unconcerned with her new, festive hue.