You look Lyrrica and Horton in the eye and receive confirmation from both that they are with you. Mal’s vizor seems to suggest some sort of agreement as well. It looks like it’s your call. You weigh the options of fight, flight, and agreement. It’s not possible to take on this many if the first two were known for losing their fights. Running would require breaking through, and then running back to town barefoot and mostly naked. Agreeing to take on their request will at least get you back in your clothes.
You tell Elam that you’ll take the job, but you want to know more as well. The collection of hair in his hand disappears in a flash of magic. You can see runes in the flash and understand that agreeing has now bound you in some way. As one, the Leprechauns breathe sighs of relief and begin to return to the forest. It appears they were not as eager to fight as you had initially thought. The small Fae leader is all smiles now as he claps his hands together.
“We have an accord! Ye are now bound te hear me out, an I’m bound to honor the incentives I laid before ye. Believe it or not, ye just took a big weight off me shoulders, an I intend te thank ye proper when it’s said and done. It’s just as I explained earlier, we wish givers need to meet certain obligations in regards to the giving oh’ wishes. The fish had agreed he wouldn’ grant any until e’ moved on, but ye went an spooked him somethin fierce. Now I happen to like the fishy lad. A right agreeable sahrt e’ is. Knows ow’ not to rock the boat. These blokes I’m sendin ye after, though. They be giving us all kinds oh’ trouble fer years. This problem be somethin more yer size. An I mean that in both the literal an figurative ways. We kin handle most things bigger’n us, as ye may well have guessed from the dust up ye had with me mates. This is a bit more of somethin fer professionals in the adversities trade, such as yerselves. These creatures destroy our crops, shite on our fields, and trample our houses on the regular. An whenever we kill one of the fowl beasts, they leave an ungranted wish behind, which cuts into our quota. I need ye te kill the beasties, an bring their wishbones back.” As you get a premonition that you know where this is heading, the small man shakes his pipe out and gazes at the sun.
“Land sakes, but I do run me mouth awhile! Yer two mutton headed guides can tell ye more on the way. I have to be getting everyone back to workin on the mundane afore the day gets too old.”
“Well come on then, these turkeys won’t kill themselves.” Seamus says from Mal’s hand.
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***
Once you are dressed, you follow the directions the Leprechauns give you through the woods a short ways. To hear the two Fae talk, you travel two days worth for them in a little over an hour. Eventually, you reach an ancient tree. The giant of an oak sprawls over a wide area, offering a wide clearing over the veins of the elder’s roots. The others grow silent, as nature’s beauty demands a sense of reverence from you. You can tell that even the less magically tuned members of your party can feel the prodigious flow around the peaceful branches. The ground below also seeps magic beneath your feet. You give in to temptation and remove your shoes, letting your magic blend with the good earth in this wonderful place.
“Perfect! We beat them to their roost. We gotta get out of sight. They have great eyesight.” Patty seems ready for another bout. Seamus is, likewise, looking ready for a scrap. You set up a wide area concealment spell with ease in the pliant magic, and the party hunkers down.
In a span of a few minutes, the two Leprechauns are dead asleep. The monotony of waiting for your prey and the absolute comfort a mana glut in an area brings wore them down in minutes. Horton is likewise nodding his head, but sticking it out so far. Mal looks like a statue as he waits. The only sign that he is not sleeping is that his head is facing a different direction every time you look. The Nekon’s vigilance puts you at ease. With sunset just a few minutes off, you feel Lyrrica poke at your shoulder.
“Are we sure we want to spend our evening doing this?” The alchemist asks you straight. “We were pretty much forced to come here under threat. Even if we are just killing a few turkeys, why should we? I don’t know that we can count on that leader guy to keep his end of the bargain at all.”
You explain the runes you saw when he was holding your hair. The Leprechaun himself didn’t use any magic when they disappeared. Meaning the magic was in the terms you discussed. Magic agreements are very straightforward, and even the most evil of creatures can’t lie to forge one. With all that in mind, you can see that Elam just wanted to make sure his people were okay, even if he had to play the bad guy for a bit. Still, you felt none of the effects hit you personally. The agreement must have some sort of penalty for breaking it, but you couldn’t even begin to guess at what that is. You suppose that it’s an option.
Your guides are asleep, you could ditch the turkey extermination and move on to whatever quest you like. Or you could stick it out. Sure a turkey is a big deal for someone three inches high, but you’ll basically be making dinner. Besides, spending some more time in such a pleasant space couldn’t possibly hurt. That thought makes you furrow your brow. You could swear there was something your elemental magics teacher had said about such places. Something really important too.