The peach pits bounced off branches and fell directly back onto Phaelan's head. They didn't wake their targets, but at least he felt more alert! The mild pain of the bumps on his head seemed to counteract the bird-woman's enchanting song. A successful roll of IQ-5 now will allow Phaelan to learn the song well enough to cast Fascinate in the future.

Neither of the women Zebulon tried to wake stirred a muscle, unless Draza's grunting snores counted as stirring. Panic seemed to sharpen Zebulon's memory, as he remembered a crumbling parchment he'd run across in a library years ago. It hadn't been what he was looking for, but the beautifuly illuminated script had caught his eye and he'd read it out of idle curiosity. It was a translation of a Northman story that was very similar to the song the bard had been singing earlier. Beyond the song, the manuscript had mentioned the Firebird's hypnotic song, that put any listener into a timeless daze. It had also mentioned that seeing her without her permission brought terrible luck.

Peering at the net, Zebulon saw the disarranged area where the firebird would enter. It wasn't hard to spot, as she moved straight toward it and lifted the net gently, obviously confident that her song would keep the guards occupied. Once inside the net, she took on her birdlike aspect and floated toward the nearest ripe peach still singing... at least until she crossed the Alarm border. The shrieking wail covered the unmusical squawk as she broke off her music and stared around her.

Aneja and Alexis are awake now, Draza and Rave may roll to wake up-- as long as they don't roll 20s they're also awake.