She has to listen carefully and think for a while, building a mental image... "Is this, like, a tube town where 'down' is to the outside the whole way 'round? With some great big vines running down the middle?"

I'm distracted from my prurient intentions by the sight of vines carrying a Flower up and away; I let Dapple dance away from me, only half-intent on catching her other hand. For now.

"Are those stages just for getting around a bit more quickly?" I wonder aloud, more interested in the logistics of this crowded little place than lewdness, at least for one brief moment. "And now that I think about it - is there anything to eat around here? Not in the 'eating someone out' sense. I get the feeling I don't need it anymore, but also the feeling that it can be nice."

Dapple doesn't go out of arm's reach, or let go of your hand. "Ohh, snacks, that's a good question. Where can we get some snacks?"

Even though the question was not at all directed at her, the leonine blonde Butterfly with a Flower's lavender head buried in her crotch overhears and waves. "Did I hear 'snacks'?"

"The town is- Down is toward the outside the whole way around but the town isn't a tube, the town is a ring around a tube. Actually no, there is no tube. There is an artificial ring around a solid cylinder of 'natural' wood. You are walking on the natural wood, on the same terrain as the meadow. The platforms are there with you. There's nothing physically connecting the ring to the branch."

"...I'm not sure I get it but okay."

"You did hear 'snacks'! I'm... New around here."

I feel a sudden attack of shyness, or competitiveness, or something a little like it, contemplating the first other Butterfly I've really looked at.

"Eh..."

Your view of the other Butterfly is somewhat obscured by the sexy naked Flower butt wiggling in your direction, the Butterfly's feet resting on her back. But as you look at her, you see firm abs and perky tits. You see a coldly-beautiful fey face framed by that wild blonde hair. You see... the same firm abs, the same perky tits. Your body and her body... are almost the same body. Built the same. Shaped the same. Equal, less the minor details.

"Welcome, then! I'm Siren, this is Petalsong. We're actually waiting on a delivery of baked goods from a friend of ours. No big deal or anything, but she's... a bit late. Like, very, very late, actually. We promised we'd wait for her here so we can't go looking ourselves, but... if someone found her for us, we'd be willing to split the goods with them."

"But do you want me to try to describe the ring town again? Like, what am I doing wrong here, 'cause it's obviously something."

"...I think I am a very visually oriented person? Adding directions to things might help. But making a 3D map sounds terrible. We're at the edge of a long meadow, where it transitions to a long branch, and there's a circle of houses or something like it all with their tops facing the branch? Because of the 3D gravity thing. I mean, I think I get it. And wow the fey sameness is a little something. I guess it'd mostly obviate body jealousy."

I look at Dapple, and then remember that she keeps reminding me she's here 'for me', for now.

...I would like a snack.

"I make no promises I'll actually be able to find her, but I'm certainly willing to go look. Everything's exploration for me right now."

"I'm assuming you're trying to start hinting at plot here? If that's wrong I might as well skip the sidequest."

Vanessa starts to talk, then stops herself just in time as she has a better idea. Nothing in the books say she can't do what she just thought of.

"Where would you say we should go looking for your friend, if we wanted to?" Dapple chimes in to ask.

"Her name's Startail," Siren says, smiling fondly. "She was supposed to come through the portal in Pillowshade and surf the lower Gleamglade up to meet me here at Glengate."

"Oh!" Dapple turns to you. "We have to go through the lower Gleamglade to get to the Radiant Hollow anyway, Lisara. If she's there we might run across Siren's friend even if we don't go looking on purpose."

Siren looks like that is genuinely good news to her. "Well, if you do find her, you can tell her what I promised. Offer's open. But I won't hold it against you if you don't. Have fun, you two."

"Mm!" Dapple agrees, squeezing your hand.

"And don't forget," Vanessa says, laughing a little. "Siren had her cock buried deep in Petalsong's throat during that entire conversation. Gotta maintain that pornographic ambience~"

"Oh, you can bet I'm looking, in character. 'M maybe a teensy bit shy out of it though. And want Dapple somewhere more private maybe. But uh... Uh. Okay, clear communication time again, can E have a temp character or something? It's actually really bothering me that she's just- Not able to participate right now. I feel like I'm being selfish, even if you say I'm not."

"Above table, you're totally setting Lisara up to be my character's Dapple, right?" Eelesia asks Vanessa.

"Yeah... I guess I shouldn't try to save that for a fun reveal if Lenora's going to be stressing about it."

Vanessa shrugs sheepishly.

"So yeah. On your way to Eelesia's character right now. First stop, I promise. That said..."

As you pass... under... over... through Glengate, the mossy world wood continues to narrow and split, until several different long cords of mossy white wood fork off in several different directions. Looking up at the rooftops facing down at you, it strikes you that the way Glengate's buildings are constructed kind of makes it look like the architecture is wearing bondage. Strands of black rubber hold the structures of white wood together from the outside, wrapped around them like they're tied up; an impression that is only enhanced by how the buildings all seem to be fashioned out of round shapes rather than boxy ones.

Dapple leads you left until you're at the start of one of those corded moss-covered branches. There's a black rubber placard on the ground with a symbol on it. A bee. "So....... Wanna get the full explanation about how to tree-surf now?"

"Oh, absolutely. Do tell me how not to wipe out embarrassingly again..." I gesture to the little bee symbol. "Is that basically a road sign?"

Dapple sees where you're pointing and turns around to explain, her nude body framed against a void backdrop of vastly distant huge pink leaves.

"Oh, that? That's the Lightbreeder guildmark. Someone probably put it there to remind anyone going this way not to damage the Shine Jelly Hives."

Dapple puts her hands on her hips.

"So! There are three main principles of tree-surfing."

"Number one! The greater your speed, the more stable your footing. Stay on the moss, and go fast. The moss likes to grow on concave curves, so it'll be thickest on the most efficient line, but that's a bit advanced so don't worry about it. Also, the moss will take all of the heat from friction into itself, so if it feels hot, that's because someone else was there before you. That can help you navigate sometimes if you get lost."

"Number two! Lead with your left foot, and Always. Dodge. Right. On well-traveled courses, you might run into someone surfing in the opposite direction! If you both dodge to the right, nobody collides. That's the easy one."

"Number three! Most of your momentum will come from gravity-shifting, but, gravity-shifting has several very important limitations you have to keep in mind. First, you can't adjust a gravity-shift after it's created. Second, they're always static relative to the frame of reference you use to create one, and can't be moved. Third, you need a strong frame of reference to create one. You must convince your brain that your environment is oriented in a given direction, that a given landmark is above or below you, before you can create a gravity-shift. Fourth, you have to snap your Numinosity back to yourself while you're still inside or you'll lose the Numinosity permanently; that's easier than it sounds, you'll do it instinctively when you cross the threshold unless you're trying not to. Fifth, you can't gravity-shift where there is already consensus gravity."

Dapple pauses.

"I think that covers the basics? Oh wait. The size of a gravity shift is determined by the distance between you and the landmark you orient on, it will fill the space between you and that landmark in a sphere. You can control the shape a little bit with intent, but not the size. Also, the bigger you make a gravity shift, the more time it takes to pull your Numinosity all the way back to where you can use it again. Fractions of a second for dozens of feet, minutes for miles."

Dapple gives you an apologetic, slightly sheepish smile. "You're not Numinous enough to gravity-shift yet, so you'll have to ride my wake. And don't worry about falling. Natural gravity is quite weak out here this time of year so you should mostly stay on course even if you do fall. And if you do, I promise I'll catch you."

"Oh, so - ohhhhh, you're creating your own gravity as you go the whole time. I completely missed that before! What happens if two people disagree on the gravity?"

"Stay on the moss and go fast! Left foot leading! Dodge right! Orient on landmarks to gravity shift... And make sure to pull it back. Not that I can, yet."

I bounce on the balls of my feet, grinning and excited to try this properly, this time. And I impulsively try to give Dapple a quick hug out of sheer excitement.

"You've got it."

Dapple is giggly at your enthusiasm. She's as soft and huggable as ever.

"And if multiple gravity-shifts intersect, they all disappear and nobody recovers their Numinosity, so remember to be careful about that."

"Once you're done hugging Dapple, continuing forward does bring you to a point where gravity almost seems to let go of you. Your weight is down to about a tenth of what it was, with Glengate behind you, and in a slightly different direction. So the way this works is, a tree-surfing course has a series of DCs. You roll a Sanity Check against the first DC, and if you pass then you have advantage on your Grace Check, and if you fail, you have disadvantage on your Grace Check. Because you're riding Dapple's wake, your Grace Checks depend on her Sanity Checks. Now, if you pass the Grace Check, you move on to the next DC. If you fail the Grace Check, you crash, which means you gain a point of Fatigue and roll to see if you're Injured. Except, if you fail your Grace Check here, Dapple will catch you instead."

The sourcebook doesn't give DCs for any specific paths, just generic examples, but...

10 -> 4 -> 8 -> 12 -> 6

That one feels right.

Vanessa rolls Sanity for Dapple. 16.

Dapple stares ahead, still holding tight to you hand as the mildly rising slope of mossy wood becoming a steep dive in her mind.

You feel the tug, powerful against your reduced weight, as her own weight shifts. She smiles at you over her shoulder.

"When you're ready, let go and chase me. Don't let me get too far ahead of you, alright?"

"I guess that's sanity for spotting landmarks to make ideal zones, and then grace for skating properly? So... I should roll a Grace check now?"

I take a deep breath, almost-frowning in concentration, not wanting to fall flat a second time. Then I let go of her hand and get ready to follow right after.

"Yep! Well, more like the entire mental task of doing a series of gravity-shifts, not just spotting landmarks, 'cause if we break this down to step by step you'd be rolling like a hundred dice and that would get bleh fast. Alright. First leg of the journey. Roll Grace with advantage. You need ten total or better."

Dapple automatically succeeds with her base Grace score.

"...One, five." Add her actual Grace of 5, and that's 6 and 10, pick better. "Thanks for the advantage, Dapple!"

I repeat her advice on tree surfing in my head like a mantra. Left foot lead. Let the moss absorb the heat. Dodge right if you have to dodge. My heart is pounding in excitement and anxiety as I look out on the branches ahead, trying to make sense of the path we might take... And then push it out of my head and focus on the bit right in front of me. And Dapple, and her ass, also right in front of me.

As you release Dapple's hand, she yeets forward, and her feet hit the moss sideways as she crouches and begins to slide.

For you, the sudden transition into different gravity; your animal brain wasn't expecting it. The direction you're suddenly accelerating in does not, at first feel like down to you, but you are Equal to the Task of keeping your balance. Just barely, you manage to correct without over-correcting, plant your feet, and, by seeing the angle of Dapple's body, leaned back in a way that would make no sense if she was actually sliding up a slope, your mind re-orients.

The wind in your hair. The smooth, predictable friction under your feet. The path you follow slithers like a serpent (metaphorically), crossing into and braiding itself together with other branches before splitting off again, truly unlike the anatomy of the mortal trees you only vaguely remember. It is always the thickest branch that Dapple follows, though, never straying onto smaller branches.

There is enough empty space here that you'd probably have to get unlucky to hit something even if you did slip off. The larger branches are distant, as you leave Glengate behind. The huge branch upon which the meadow sat is behind you. The city, though, you catch glimpses of it in the distance, though never in the same subjective direction twice.

Each time, you get a little better at adjusting. The low natural gravity is startling the first time you hurtle out of Dapple's gravity-shift, but the falling sensation just barely manages to be helpful rather than a hindrance, giving you 'air-time' to brace for the next reorientation. Which isn't always forward. Sometimes Dapple has you sliding at a shallower angle. Sometimes it's a twist sideways, setting you up for where you end up instead of where you are right at that moment. But every time, Dapple telegraphs the shift clearly enough that you succeed at following in her wake.

It takes ten minutes to reach the next crossroads, covering a distance of at least ten miles, probably more.

You come upon another small town, built around the ring formed by the end of what looks to be a very large hollow log that glows golden from within and below. As you orient to the consensus gravity of this place and begin losing speed as you slide gently down to meet it, Dapple slips onto one of several smaller branches that are narrow enough that the curvature under your feet gets a little precarious. Those thinner branches carry you both over the rooftops of the rim-town and out over the massive glowing pit.

"The next DC is only four. I think even Lisara auto-succeeds on that?"

She wants to stand and do surfing motions in time with her imagination about this! So she does.

"Yep! Five Grace. I'm a little bit reconsidering my stats but also, oh well just roll with it."

I whoop in glee, grinning and laughing at the exhilarating speed and the motions of the sport, wind in my hair and constant shifts like a roller coaster but, if anything, better.

Vanessa grins and giggles at the surfing motions.

The branch you're on gets thinner and thinner until it starts to sag under your weight, but Dapple rides it all the way to the end.

You both sail out into open air and begin to fall into the light-filled void below. You accelerate to near terminal velocity! But. You leave the consensus gravity zone as soon as you pass inside the giant hollow log.

Coasting on momentum alone, natural gravity all but absent, near to the inner surface of the hollow, your eyes adjust to the brightness.

You see webs and beads of light stretching across the hollow. You see fields. Like a reverse honeycomb. Raised hexagons, with canals between them. You see areas that resemble mortal farms, with concentric circles of crops. But most of what you see are hundreds of nude female figures encased in what look like mounds of honey, arranged around nodules of light so bright you can't make out details.

Dapple nudges you only slightly with one quick gravity-shift, toward what looks light a definitely-artificial canal that just runs in a straight line the full length of the hollow. You slide on orange slime, almost weightless, feeling your speed bleed off into the air-resistance. Dapple uses a gravity-shift to speed you both up again at the mid-way point,  then just lets you both coast the rest of the way.

You're going slow enough, that when you enter the consensus gravity of the other rim-town about four minutes later, you only fly up about a dozen feet before coming to a stop in mid-air and then dropping back down to land on one of several black rubber landing platforms that jut out of the boardwalk that overlooks the hollow log. You see more white wood carved into rounded structures, but this architecture has traded wearing black rubber bondage for lush green shibari, all lit up with golden crystal eggs. (Actually, so did the rim town at the opposite end of the log but I forgot to say that.)

You get friendly looks from the locals, Butterflies and Flowers who witness your arrival. As always, everyone you see is nude and has what is starting to become eerily similar fey beauty, but some of these townsfolk are wearing decorations such as ankle lace or floral sashes or strings of golden beads, things like that.

Dapple grabs your hand with a grin and leads you down a catwalk that crosses directly across to the outer radius of the rim. "C'mon. This way. "

"Do you do anything before you get to the next tree-surfing DC? It's going to eight. Dapple auto-succeeds so for you it'll just be Grace with advantage."

I'm looking around curiously whenever the path ahead does not require my full attention. I appreciate the almost star-like glow lights everywhere around here; I glance at what passes for fashion on display, but most of my attention is taken up by the lights and the architecture.

"I should have guessed that a whole new world would be this amazing..."

Two dice roll. "Fourteen."

The third leg of your journey begins on the outer rim of the hollow log where said log is wedged up into the fork between two world-branches.

Like the first leg, this course is made up of winding braids of moss-covered corded wood, but as you slide out into the vast boughs once again, it just so happens that, as natural gravity creeps back in, it happens to be pulling you softly down and forward during most of this part. You also, for the first time, successfully manage to avoid a head-on collision with a blue-haired Flower who streaks by you in the opposite direction, her nude body adorned with a leather backpack.

The smooth ride continues until you arrive at a small constructed platform made of white planks with a circle of black rubber benches facing inward.

Hmm.

"The next DC is twelve, but first, give me a Sanity Check. Not for the tree-surfing. For something else."

Dapple will roll Sanity that is for the next leg of tree surfing. 13! Advantage is maintained.

Oh, that might have been the delivery Flower - Startail? Or it could be any other random Flower with a backpack, though I think it's the first backpack I've noticed. But- No time to turn back and ask now!

"Sanity- Eight. Grace... Oops. Ten, even with advantage."

"Remind me if you have any Euphoria yet? Actually, let that keep for a moment. First..."

You pause for a moment on the cozy little rest-stop platform.

Dapple points out a larger mossy branch curving off from the platform to your left. "That's the way we'd go if we wanted to head back to the city, but to get to the Radiant Hollow from here, we need to go this way..."

As you cross the rest-stop platform, something catches your eye. Under one of the benches, you see, sitting on the ground, a steel dinner fork.

And, in this moment, you are sharp enough to have the thought: You're in a fairy space tree. Where could a metal utensil have come from?

"I don't."

-That's weird, wouldn't they make it out of wood or something. "Hey, Dapple, does one of the other two realms have metal in it? You mentioned there's two more, but I don't remember anything else about them."

I'll go pick up the fork and show it to Dapple, waggling it a bit. Then maybe set it somewhere more prominent, so if whoever lost it comes looking it's easy to notice.

The fork, you notice, has something tangled in the tines. It's not cloth. Its not hair. It's not very food-like. It's not quite anything you recognize, but this fork was probably in use when it was dropped.

Dapple returns to your side to take a look. "Oh! That's definitely tableware from the Last Revel. Hey, didn't Siren say that her friend Startail came through the portals? Startail isn't a Doll name but actually no one bringing baked goods through a portal would be coming from the Dark Forest. Let's hang on to that! It might be a clue."