Alice, Dodo, and Outer God

Expedition

It was just after their meeting with the exalted Cats of Ulthar, and Alice of Diamonds scooped up Matsumoto Ooawagaeri and set off to return to The Enchanted Wood. Ooawagaeri, who now bore a valued Letter of Reconyandation, was still in the form of a cat. He managed to keep up with the taller Alice by expedient motion of his four little legs. His companion, however, seemed a little miffed that her sword had decided not to remain a sword. Likely she did not feel entirely comfortable without her trusted weapon.   The odd, grinning man who had welcomed them to Ulthar was no longer at the bridge leading out of town. Other than that, their return trip was uneventful.

Their plan henceforth was simple: somehow find the Cheshire Cat and convince it to lead the two deeper into the Enchanted Wood to where they might find and meet with The Dodo. When they arrived at the forest's edge, Alice wasn't sure how to proceed. Ooawagaeri, perhaps using some feline sixth sense, simply bade her to wait. It was possible that the Forbidden Feline would find them rather than the other way around.   Indeed, his prediction proved to be correct. It was not long before a jagged smile distinguished itself from the rest of the forest around it. Following soon after was the cat itself, and Cheshire floated down to the ground, its white fur and black ribbon bouncing jollily as it did so. Alice attempted to speak with the beast, but once again she was rudely shut down as a "Mere Figment." This caused a huff, but she made no complaint when Ooawagaeri led the discussion instead.   They made their destination clear. Both Alice and Ooawagaeri had been tasked by the Queen of Diamonds to find the lost King of Hearts, who was purported to be in the company of The Dodo somewhere in the wood. The Cheshire Cat knew the bird in question. Indeed, it referred to the Dodo as "my father" on more than one occasion. As the cat was more bored than a walrus in a hedge maze, it agreed to lead them to "The Lord of the Wood."   Following the trouncing cat's tail through the thick wood turned out to be a fairly easy thing. The trees and monumental flowers all bowed and shied from the Cheshire Cat, only moving back to their original positions once it and its guests had fully passed. Rather than keeping to the twisting roads and paths, Alice and Ooawagaeri were able to cut directly toward their destination, courtesy of their guide. Once again, Alice made a passive-aggressive remark about not having a sword, and so Ooawagaeri finally transformed him back into what passed for his original form here in the Dreamlands. Secure on Alice's back, and with his companion now moving more confidently, they continued through the brush.   It was not long, hardly twenty minutes, before the Cheshire Cat assured them that they were drawing near to their destination. It asked if they had brought an offering. A virgin, perhaps? That seemed like an odd question, but Ooawagaeri had nothing of the sort and Alice refused to comment. The Cat's jagged grin grew wider as they suddenly left the cloistered wood and entered into a wide, open clearing dotted with charred husks and patches of hard dirt. A cloying mist clung to everything in sight, limiting their view considerably. And, while they were both certain it had been Dream Daytime when they entered the wood, the sky was now pitch black. A gravid red moon hung in the sky overhead, far larger than it should have been, exerting its subtle pressure upon everything in sight.   With a cryptic comment about something being "hungry," the Cheshire Cat floated away on the mists, leaving its smile for only a moment before that too was gone. Alice and her sword were left with only the sound of rapidly approaching hooves in the fog to keep them company. With a bit of encouragement from his partner, Ooawagaeri managed to salvage the situation by casting Fly on Alice, along with a gust of wind to launch her into the air. This was fortuitous, as a nightmarish creature with hooves and tentacles surrounding a cluster of gnashing mouths, barreled violently through the place they had just been.   Getting the hang of flying, Alice flitted up higher to be out of reach and view of the clustering creatures on the ground. The Cheshire Cat returned then, expressing its surprise that they had managed to survive. Appropriately chastened about its previous actions, it promised that it would now lead them to the Lord of the Wood. That, apparently, involved heading toward a mighty tree they could just see, towering over the rest of the canopy with a labyrinth of questing branches.   Understandably wary, but not having many other leads, Alice and Ooawagaeri began the short flight toward that landmark. On the way, Ooawagaeri mentioned how taken he was with the red moon. The Cat chastened him, claiming that it was no moon hanging in the sky above this place. Get too close, it said, and you might reach out and touch it. Or the other way around. With a wistful thought about handsome Jericho Petalwing, Oowagaeri sat back while Alice flew them closer to their destination. Whereas it had been one or two pairs of hoofbeats before, now it seemed as though an entire herd of the stygian creatures were now thundering along beneath them, keeping pace with the flying trio. The Cat appeared unconcerned, however, lounging on a thick piece of fog like a pillow.   This situation called to mind another that Ooawagaeri had been in not long ago. Drawing the image of The Jabberwock to mind, he mimicked its cry as best he could. A monstrous, draconic roar echoed out across the blasted wasteland, but to apparently little effect. The creatures below them didn't seem to notice at all. Did they even have ears? Meanwhile, the tree ahead had turned toward them and was now approaching at speed, branches whipping around like tendrils in the mist. That wasn't good.   Alice wheeled and flew backward as she realized the monstrosity bearing down on them was no tree. Meanwhile, Ooawagaeri mused about ways to replenish his magic within the Dreamlands. Mushrooms, Alice explained. The forest mushrooms held magic in them. This exchange was cut short as a hideous, slimy tentacle slithered from the fog and just barely missed the twirling pair. With another burst of wind, Ooawagaeri managed to put some more distance between them and their cyclopean pursuer. It kept coming, but not at the same speed. Meanwhile, the Lesser Young on the ground had gathered around them in a creepy, circular formation; as though waiting for something.   Alice managed to get her bearings as another figure, this one lithe and human in form, flew up from the ground. She was clad in black, with a pair of wicked horns jutting from her head and a gnarled staff of the same wood that dotted the rest of the heath. A glaring yellow eye sat in the knot of the staff's head, but other than those curiosities, this newcomer appeared for all the world to be a human girl. She introduced herself as Yeb of the Whispering Mists and promptly apologized for her siblings' behavior. They were very hungry, she explained, and not quite so intelligent as her. Alice asked about the Lord of the Wood, but Yeb claimed that was her mother, gesturing at that heavy red moon.   So, it became clear; the Cheshire Cat had been leading them on a wild chase this entire time. It had most likely taken them to the most dangerous place in the Enchanted Wood just for its amusement, taking advantage of the fact that its guests would not know that the Dodo and the Lord of the Wood weren't the same entity. Fortunately, Yeb was accommodating. Alice had no substance (dismissed again) and Ooawagaeri was far too hard and sharp to be a healthy meal. So, they were free to leave.   With sudden presence of mind, Ooawagaeri finally showed the Letter of Reconyandation to the Cheshire Cat, who had rejoined them in the interim. With a marvel at the pawprint of the Cats of Ulthar, Cheshire agreed that this superseded his loyalty to his father. He would take them to the Dodo then, with no more tricks. Alice still seemed doubtful, but, once again, the Forbidden Feline was the only real lead they had.   It didn't take long then to leave the mists of the Blasted Heath and get back into the relatively welcoming brush of the Enchanted Wood proper. Ooawagaeri called a short stop and Alice descended obligingly. By the time she had stabbed his bladed form into four glowing mushrooms, taking care to avoid the ones with little doors and windows, his magical reserves were completely replenished. This would be quite a wonder on Earth, so Ooawagaeri took the time to examine the inside of each fungi he was thrust into. Though he managed to memorize their structure to a reasonable degree, he could not pinpoint what quality allowed them to contain such a large amount of prana.   With that done, they were free to continue their journey. It was, as the Cheshire Cat had promised, not long at all. After swinging around a large tree and into a wide clearing, they spotted it. A clear stream ran through this place. Over the stream, a bridge extended toward a quaint cobblestone road. Following that led their eyes to a small, rustic-looking cottage with a waterwheel attached slapdash to its side. There was nobody about outside, but a single light burned in one of the building's windows. This, then, must be where the Dodo made his residence.   Its job done, the Cheshire Cat excused itself while Ooawagaeri used a bit of magic to take on his old human form. Together with Alice, they approached the door of the cottage and knocked. A sound like a burst of feathers and something expensive shattering came from just inside. Then the door opened, and the Dodo was there, standing in all his underwhelming glory. He laughed a strange, halting laugh, then bade them come inside.   Alice was, once again, ignored in favor of a Dreamer. Being a Figment with no "substance" was obviously starting to get to her, and she leaned against the cottage wall with an annoyed expression while Ooawagaeri explained the reason for their visit. Ooawagaeri (or Waggy Gary, as the bird called him) had come to the right place. With a sound like plucking feathers, the Dodo reached with his beak into the space beneath one wing and produced the King of Hearts, hale and healthy except for a dead expression about the eyes. He seemed delighted about this, and showed off the catatonic king, even going so far as to poke him in the belly to elicit a hearty laugh.   This was not quite what Ooawagaeri had expected, and he guessed correctly that it was not the same King they had met in the White Rabbit Bowl. That had also been a Figment, albeit a Figment with a bit more memory and personality than this one. So, the Dodo reasoned, what was the difference? Ooawagaeri seemed to accept this. He had only been tasked by the Queen of Diamonds to bring back the King of Hearts. Like the Dodo said, what did it matter if this was a different one?   Their discussion went from there to touch on the Rabbit Bowl itself, and Ooawagaeri happened to mention his encounter with Kuranes, that King of Dreamers who had brought him across the veil of sleep. The mention of this name, however, quite agitated the Dodo. He seemed to resent Kuranes strongly, although he would not say why, and repeated many times that the "King of Dreamers" was no king of his.   They made ready to leave then, but before Alice could even get out of the door, the Dodo assaulted them once again with a demand for tea. The Cheshire Cat had mentioned something about this, giving Ooawagaeri time to plan his response. Remembering the best tea he'd ever tasted, he conjured up a platter with fine earthenware and a heady brew within the pitcher. The Dodo sniffed appreciatively, then buried his beak violently into the nearest cup, cracking it and sending tea flying everywhere as he drank his fill. That, it seemed, was sufficient. Ooawagaeri noted Alice's annoyance and they agreed to speak about it later, then they were off. They had survived an encounter with the Dodo, although it was hard to see why he was considered so dangerous, and were free to return to the Queen of Diamonds with a catatonic King of Hearts in hand.