While exploring the area around the covenant, Petre comes across an odd looking individual, like a boy, but with the legs of a goat, and ears of a horse. It turns it's head to look at Petre, then in the language of the animals it says "Brother of the woodlands, have these people captured you? Let me set you free, to return to the woods and live without their pens and their clothing. Did you come to this place to seek a mate? I will find you one, and we may return to the woods together."
At a slightly different time and place, this same creature approaches Anastasia. "Come young child of magic, do you wish to be forever chained to books and studies? Before your new owner has a chance to bind you with an initiation flee, come with me, let us go now to the woodlands."
Petr looks at the person, and pauses trying to understand what was said. And then thinks about how to say what he means.
"Thank you brother for coming to talk to me. No one has captured me. I am here, now, because I choose to be. But I like them. They are like me. I know that the native folks of the wood are not like me, for all that I grew up here. I like seeing different things. Maybe some time I will tire of their farm, their strange words, and their odd tools. I do like their clothing and their food. Who knows?"
He stops and looks at the person who spoke to him.
Anastasia looks back at the creature with interest and curiosity. "You're a funny-looking man," she says. Then she considers the offer that the strange man has made. "But they tell me that I can learn magic here," she replies. "Can you imagine that? Me, doing magic." Then she shakes her head. "And Magus Orion isn't my master, he's going to be my teacher. I picked him out of all the magi who wanted to teach me. He seemed the nicest and the smartest of all of them."
As Pietre stops to look at the creature, the creature begins singing, softly. Pietre can't quite make out the words, but they seem melodic, sweet... entrancing...
When he comes to he finds himself in an unfamiliar glen, and the covenant is nowhere to be seen. He has vague recollections of dancing.
"Please, Anastasia, there is more magic in nature than in books. I can show you where the young man who disappeared from here has gone. You want to save him don't you?"
Petr explores the clearing, looking for edibles, safe places to sleep, and similar aspects. He notes what time it is, and tries to find landmarks. For now however, he does not (attempt to) leave the clearing.
After the initial search, he will look to see if there are any small animals, and if so whether they will speak with him.
Anastasia nods and watches the strange man leave. Then she heads back to a more central part of the covenant and tries to learn whether anyone has disappeared. [sup]1[/sup]
With the subtlety of a ten-year-old, Anastasia starts 'slyly' coming up to people and saying, "so I heard that a boy disappeared from the covenant. Is that true?"
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[sup]1[/sup] Anastasia will try an Int + Intrigue check to try and subtly check if people are talking about a lost boy. Since she doesn't have Intrigue, it comes with a 3 botch die penalty. Intrigue Roll: Stress Die + 3 (Int) + 0 (Intrigue) = 1d10=10+3; potential botch Botch Dice:1d10=1, 1d10=2, 1d10=9, 1d10=4; no botch (miraculously), but still an abysmal roll Result: 3
A few covenfolk are aware of the disappearance, and they seem largely unconcerned "Oh yeah, that feral kid disappeared, probably just wandered back into the wilderness."
The forest critters are a bit less callous- a nearby squirrel is quite chatty "Hello there, you came in with the faun, what was that like? You're a human, aren't you? I've seen humans before, but you're different. You don't eat nuts do you? Because they're my nuts. All of them. I need to collect them, so nobody will steal them. Are you after my nuts? Ah! Birds, they're trying to steal my nuts, help me chase them off!"
"Oh, was he a faun? I never saw anyone like him.
Have you been having good luck collecting your nuts? Don't worry, I won't take yours, even though I do like them."
Pietr looks around for some nuts that might have been hard for the squirrel to get to. If he can, he will pull them off and toss them to the squirrel.
"Are there others around like the faun who brought me here?"
"That was the first time I have seen a faun, others like him? Well, yes, there are, over towards the humans. They don't dance so much, and they are much more surly, always butting each other with those horns."
"I am, like he, a creature of the forest, a creature of freedom. So you will abandon him because none expected him to stay? You aren't even curious? Do you not want to at least see what alternatives there might be to this life of cramped spaces and endless reading?"
"How do I know I can trust you?" Anastasia asks. "You might take me anywhere. You might even try and eat me. I know I'm safe here at the covenant. But anything could happen if I follow you."
The faun tilts it's head "Eat you? I'm a faun, not a satyr." His head returns to it's normal pose and he grins "yes, anything could happen. You could discover wonders untold, find freedom in the forests, find your first love, discover something new..."
"I cannot guarantee what I cannot control. You could jump off a cliff into the sea and wish to back here halfway down, and my word would be broken, and what a poor faun would I be then?"
"You can control yourself," Anastasia replies. "You can at least promise that you won't hurt me and that you'll try your best to bring me back when I want."