A pair of grey eyes stared through the thicket at a group of fae talking among themselves. The group consisted of nine men and eight women, all having a weapon of some sort. They also had a variety of nets, crates and cages around their camp. The tents were decently sized and it seemed the group was just waking up. It was early morning and they hadn't seen a single sign of their target. She always seemed to be one step ahead of them.

When they tracked her down at the Virens forest, she had left days before. They had been to the Wildfest party but she always vanished after her performances there. There was a fae party but they were too late to even catch a glimpse of her. It was incredibly easy to find her, since she left a path of chaos and drunken mobs. The problem was keeping up with her. All of her actions and behaviors seemed random despite her party loving nature. The pair of eyes staring at the group disappeared in the bush the second one of the hunters came near. The hunter noticed this and poked the bush, causing a black rabbit to leap out of its hiding position. 

A black rabbit wouldn't be anything to notice if it wasn't for the strong magical aura surrounding the animal. Realizing this might be their target, the hunter called out to the rest of the group and the hunt began. Ciara, disguised as the black rabbit, raced through the forest with the hunters following closely behind with their nets and weapons. She spotted a hole in the ground and hopped right in. The hole was a tunnel made by some other animal that led to another part of the forest. After squeezing through the tunnel, she popped out on the other side and continued running. 

"Next time I get drunk, I'll have to make sure I pass out in an inn." She said to herself. 

The whole reason she was in this mess was because she got drunk while at a festival and had neglected to find a non-drunk buddy to help her out. Now the hunters had almost caught up to her. She had to admit, her family was extremely persistent. She had been hoping that after a few months, they would have given up but then she remembered that her mother was sending these hunters. Stubbornness was that woman's specialty. Ciara realized that the path was starting to go downwards and she began picking up speed. Then she saw a figure on the path and smashed into the stranger's leg. Seeing as she was a rabbit and couldn't warn the stranger, she sent out a telepathic message instead. 

"There are about seventeen angry hunter fae who are really keen on the murder thing. I'd suggest we RUN!" She mentally shouted to the stranger. 

She kicked off the stranger's leg with her rabbit feet to launch her into a run. Whether or not the message got through was not Ciara's main concern. It was a small message that could easily be blocked by magic or a strong mind. The hunters burst through the bushes and came bolting down the hill with their spears and many other pointy weapons that would make mince meat out of Ciara if they caught her. 

Deep in the jungle a man of incredibly short stature was running through the trees. His silk verdant coat was soaked with sweat and he had a hand gripping a wrinkled top hat. A mess of ruddy curly hair spilled out from underneath the brim. Throwing a nervous glance over his shoulder, he huffed as he nimbly jumped over a fallen log and scampered away. Not far behind was a wrathful shade, tearing its way through the vines and foliage. Masses of seething shadow trailed like fumes as an irate masked figure was in hot pursuit. "DON'T YOU RUN AWAY, YOU BLOODY FRAUDSTER!" Shiloh screeched as she hacked a branch off with her switchaxe. The leprechaun shrieked as a very sharp boomerang embedded itself into the trunk of a tree next to him, and tried to run in a different direction. She was on the warpath today thanks to an anonymous report of a certain tricksy little gremlin cheating people out of their gold while pretending to promise them his. At first she had thought it was a troublesome halfling, but soon discovered it was none other than the work of a fey. And so here they were, the hound and the hare in a great chase in the middle of one of the most dangerous places on Revaliir.

When she charged through a thicket to close the gap between her and the red-headed fraudster, something hit her and made her lose her focus. Before she could see what, a voice spoke into her mind warning of an incoming angry mob of the fey variety. It was enough to distract her long enough for the leprechaun to get out of her sight. Believing she had fallen for another of the little green man's petty tricks, right on cue the fey hunters came crawling out of the woodwork, right into a very angry deity. With an already foul mood and boiling temper, she force-slapped the first one that came at her with a spear and sent him flying over the trees into the great beyond. The rest of them were slammed with a powerful blast of wind that quickly twisted its way into a tornado. Like a big vacuum, the hunters were sucked in and then spat out miles away from their previous location. With her target already out of sight, Shiloh was hopping mad as she'd have to track him down again. She needed to catch him before he used a portal to get off the island, or else she'd have to start from square one.

Dragging her switchaxe behind her, she was fuming behind her blank clay mask. If she came across a hari right now, she'd punch it in the face. "I'm going to catch that little crook and hang him out to dry if it's the last thing I do…" 

Ciara, seeing how all of her enemies were easily blasted away, decided to help the stranger. She searched around the jungle, having an easier time since she wasn't angry and had a rabbit's nose. Hurting other fae was usually against her principles but if it was to repay a debt, she had no issues with it. Or at least that was how she justified it. She quickly hide some of her magical aura and pretended to be a regular rabbit. Ciara could smell the leprechaun. It was hiding only a few inches away from her own spot. She hopped past the area, and on cue the leprechaun leapt out of its hiding place and jumped onto her back. The little man's legs were exhausted from running and he was going to use the rabbit as an easy mount. The rabbit started growing and changing, in a flash the leprechaun realized he was in a woman's hand. His eyes widened as he recognized who it was. Her blue green hair was unmistakable, as it belonged to a well-known woman in a noble family of the fae. Vines grew from the ground and began wrapping around the little man tying his legs and arms together. The leprechaun's mouth was filled with leaves and his eyes widened when the vines began digging underneath his skin. 

"Not too much my dear vines. We need him alive after all." Ciara said in a sickly sweet voice. 

The vines separated from the ground and finished wrapping around the leprechaun but was careful not to kill him. Holding the little man in her hand, she walked towards Shiloh. Despite being on a dangerous island, Ciara was dressed in a berry red dress that ended just before her ankles. She had no shoes despite being in a jungle. A smile appeared on her lips when she spotted her potential friend. 

"Is this what you were looking for?" She asked sweetly. 

Ciara lifted the leprechaun up towards Shiloh. The little man's eyes were wide with terror and there were even a few tears beginning to form in his eyes. Whether the fear was from what Shiloh might do or what Ciara would do is anybody's guess. Ciara let loose her magical aura, since there was no point in hiding it anymore. Her mother's hunters wouldn't return until they had healed their wounds. 

"It's not a gift, to clarify." She said, "It's a payment for getting rid of those hunters for me. I could have gotten rid of them myself, but I'd rather not test my family's patience any further." 

Her mother would have been upset if the fae hunters had been killed, as they were some of the best from her mother's little court. Every fae noble had a court, though the king and queens were the largest. But even a lowerclass noble had their own personal court at home. Ciara was also careful to state it wasn't a gift, as anybody who understood anything about the fae, knew not to take a gift from the fae. 

A fey woman came out from the dense jungle, but what was more surprising was who she had brought along with her. Her seething anger cooled a bit as she assessed the current situation. From what this stranger was saying, those armed individuals who had tried to jump her earlier had been chasing the woman, and through complete coincidence she was now indebted to Shiloh. Naturally the fair folk preferred to not leave any outstanding charges unpaid, so in turn, she was now offering the red-headed swindler as payment. Before reaching out to grab hold of the captured leprechaun, Shiloh replied: "I accept your payment; now we're even." Both debts and favors were cleared, and with this being said upfront, the little gold-grubber was now in her custody. Holding the leprechaun closer to her masked visage, the ruddy-haired man broke out into a cold sweat as two lights glared back from behind the sculpted clay. "You know as well as I do what'll happen to you next. It's time to pay the piper–you half-wit con artist. You'll be fined for at least seven reported criminal offenses of fraud and theft, starting from the largest sum downwards."

The leprechaun desperately started blubbering, to which she responded by shaking him violently before bringing him eye level. "Don't even try to lie about the money–I know you have more than enough to cover a human lifetime's worth of fees for petty criminal charges." Slapping a pair of magic-nullifying manacles onto the leprechaun's hands, the deity slung him over her shoulder like a dried leg of ham. The boiling rage she had earlier had dissipated, and she was much calmer than when she had forcefully 'return to sender-ed' the bounty hunters. With a salute, she began to trudge back towards Fort Dinclaire, where she would then secure the leprechaun in her airship to be transported back to Antikythera. She'd wring every last coin from him until she was satisfied.

Debts and favors were now cleared and she could see Shiloh's anger slowly fading away after she had threatened the leprechaun. While she was doing that, Ciara was taking the time to observe the woman's appearance for information. The woman was obviously powerful, far stronger than anything Ciara had seen in a long while. And judging by her clothes, she wasn't poor either. Her clothes were built for practicality. A practical person might know the kind of people she needed. It was a bit of a guess and there was no guarantee that she'd be right about this.

"Before you go, I have one more thing I'd like ask." Ciara said sweetly, "In exchange for silver, would you tell me if you know anyone who can fix puzzles?"

Lifting up her left hand, she used magic to summon a music box. It was medium sized and looked a little worn around the edges. The lid was closed and wouldn't open unless the box was wound up. The outside of the box was made of wood while the inside was filled with gears and metal. The backside of the box had words etched that read, -To my dearest Daisy, love Ciara.- The fae woman lifted a key to the music box and inserted it into the slot.

"If I turn it left two times then right once, a secret compartment is supposed to open at the front." She explained, "Recently it's hasn't opened up. In fact it won't even play music anymore. I'm not good with things like this. Would you know of anyone who could fix it?"

Nostalgia filled her mind and her eyes filled with sadness, despite her smile. Whenever she touched the music box, she was gentle with it, as though she is afraid of hurting it. The music box was a reminder of pleasant days long gone and a love that she would never see again. Ciara couldn't bare to part with it and seeing it starting to break caused more pain than any knife.

The fairy woman called out to her, which made Shiloh turn her head to look over her shoulder. With her silvered tongue, the lady had one last request. Holding out a music box that had seen better days, the request was simple: the keepsake had a minor malfunction as of late, and for a small fee–she wanted it fixed. With the leprechaun unable to use magic to get away, Shiloh shoved him into her Reynash's endless bag and went to have a look. "I can look it over for you. If I can't fix what's wrong with it, you'll get a referral from me to someone who can." From what she could sense, the music box wasn't magical. That alone was a relief, since it meant she'd be able to do the repairs without a hitch. Listening to the fairy's instructions on how the mechanisms were supposed to operate, it was likely that something had worn down or gotten jammed with time. Since the moving parts were inside, it was likely they had never been maintained after being assembled. 

Taking the box with steady hands, Shiloh went to work. Slowly, she moved her hand around the music box's edges as she worked her magic. In a low whisper she said, "Despite your age, you've managed to hold up well. Your owner cherishes you deeply, and so I will turn back the sands in your hourglass." The sound of parts creaking and clicking were heard as the wear and tear of the keepsake was reversed. The music box was now fully restored, as if it were brand new. Now, it was the moment of truth. With the key already in the slot, Shiloh turned it left twice, and then once to the right. There was a click before the front opened up, revealing the hidden compartment. The lid unlocked, and a melody began to play as two delicately painted figurines began to move. They both were women, dressed in gowns and slowly dancing together around the track that they were set on. One had brown hair, likely the Daisy the box had originally been addressed to. The other was a well-crafted miniature of the fairy standing beside her now.

"Congratulations, the repairs were a success. I'm sure it'll continue to work smoothly for many years to come. Fortunately it was made with superb craftsmanship, which worked in its favor." Satisfied with her work, she didn't mind if she didn't receive the promised payment just this once. Mementos were different from ordinary tools, they were precious objects that contained memories of their owners. You couldn't put a price on that.

There was always the chance that this woman could do more harm than good. There were people out there who either wanted to harm things of the fae, wanted to be a jerk, or who overestimated their skills and ended up breaking things. But Ciara had a hunch that this stranger would be able to handle the job. Either because of her powers or because of her confidence. Or perhaps Ciara was just taking a risk.

Ciara let Shiloh take the music box but never took her eyes off of it. The item was a keepsake and a reminder of a love long gone. It as an unfortunate truth that a human could spend all their days with a fae but a fae could never do the same. Human lives were wild and quick, ending just as soon as things started to seem eternal. Ciara watched as Shiloh went to work, using some sort of magic. The fae woman could sense the magical use but didn't know enough about that type of magic to name it. The music box was restored and looked exactly like it did when Ciara first had it made for Daisy. Shiloh turned the key left twice and once to the right. The front opened up, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside the compartment were small letters in open envelopes and a dried flower. Ciara quickly reached for the music box to take it back, now that everything was fixed.

"Thank you." She quietly said.

Admitting to gratitude was a dangerous thing for the fae. Others could easily use those words against the fairy later, so most never said it. The fact Ciara was saying it at all showed how much this meant to her. As promised, she handed Shiloh a large bag of silver, with a good amount of coin. She knew that it wasn't enough for the true value of the box but she didn't want to leave the woman empty handed. Ciara listened to the music of the box. It was an old song that they shared, a long long time ago. Looking back to Shiloh, she gave her a quick smile before beginning to leave. The fae woman felt uncomfortable with being this vulnerable in front of a stranger.

Giving a nod of acknowledgement to the fairy, Shiloh took her payment and turned to walk off into the dense jungles of Bakulaw. Despite her negative history with the fair folk, perhaps she had been too harsh in treating them all the same. They were flighty, fickle, and even chaotic–but they were also people. They experienced sorrows and joy just like anyone else. So when the woman risked to voice those heartfelt words of pure honesty, she didn't say a word and let her be. This was the unspoken agreement between them; a short-lived promise of goodwill. 'I will be honest and show goodness to you, and you will return with the same.' It was an agreement that rarely was upheld by both parties, human or otherwise. Opening a portal back to Fort Dinclaire, she threw a glance at her Reynash's endless bag. It was time to arrange reparations for the victims of leprechaun fraud…starting with a dwarf businessman in Baltil.