Magical Happenings at Astorius Academy [IC, Pathfinder]

[Nettlekid]

Anura exhales, making a peeping noise and relaxing concentration on the faint footprints. Ended up not really getting involved. Good, don't get involved, he told himself. Leave people to themselves and their own. Such weren't the morals impressed upon him by his elders of the communal jungle village, but he was coming here to learn what they didn't know.

Hopping back down off of the siding and shuffling along as little more than a lump of robe, Anura finally makes his own way down the non-conjured gangplank along with the last few students still on the ship. Like the others he stays well away from Sianna and more importantly the hovering masks. Something about them was making his skin crawl. He had been able to understand the words they spoke as much as the meaning of the sounds was in his mind, but he didn't remember having learned a language like that. He'd been taught traditional Elven, which felt not dissimilar? Maybe that was it.

Pushing it from his mind he hurried to catch the tail end of the throng heading to the end of the dock, eager to see the school properly for the first time.

[AmberVael]

Azalea lingered for a moment, watching the interaction between Sianna and the others, looked at Sianna for a moment, then nodded to her. "Alright. Meet you there." She took off after that, joining with Melwyn on the way to the castle.

"I'm Azalea. I really liked that bridge you made to get everyone else across. That's some cool stuff! She didn't linger on the subject of Sianna and her own part, but the attention she gave to Melwyn was sincere; her bright eyes danced with her interest for the magic Melwyn had displayed. "How does it work?"

[Grek]

"It's magically created wood and rope. I keep wanting to say conjured, but apparently that's only used for living things? Created wood and created hemp. Since they're both from plants, it was actually really easy. Just a wee bit tiring to make so much stuff all at once." Melwyn was pleased to have made a friend already. Or, she hoped she had made a friend. Azalea seemed friendly, at the very least. "It'll be good to sit down once we get to the school. Want to stick together till the sorting? I'm hoping for Estis, myself!"

[Steel Mirror]

As Melwyn and Azalea turned to walk down the pier and to the Academy, a the final gaggle of fellow new students kept pace with them. Including, as it happened, the small froglike boy Anura, safely wrapped in plenty of robes and having successfully avoided any notice by the moody Sianna girl as he passed by her.

They walked past a few more of those benches, as well as another seemingly random clay statue of a panda. Now that they had time to appreciate the view, it was a doozy. Far below, the lands stretched out in all directions, farms cutting it up into hundreds of irregular patches of variously colored green, yellow, and even blue hues. Below the pier they were standing on and to the sides, there were more piers built into the cliff-side that formed the bottom part of the floating island, as well as several hangars and aeries for more esoteric kinds of flying vehicles as well as flying creatures. A pair of griffons cavorted through the sky beneath them, watched lazily by the rest of their pack who were sunning themselves on an exposed spar of rock nearby.

It was a beautiful sight, but ahead of them there was the promise of an even more anticipated view: their first glimpse of the Academy itself. Most of it was still hidden behind a series of small hills and trees that started right where the pier stopped, but in the distance they could see the massive central spire of the Academy's main tower rising above everything to pierce the clouds themselves. Most of the class was already along the path through those hills and trees. Theirs was the last group to make it this far-well, the second last, if you counted the centaur and the others still behind them.

----------------

Speaking of the centaur, he finished checking over his belongings with a relieved sigh. "Thank all the gods and spirits, nothing got lost or broken. If anything had happened to this stuff, I'd be a goner. Seriously," and he turned to Izumi with a smile. "You saved my life! Thank you so much!"

Then, remembering Columbus and everything that had just happened, his smile became a little more forced, his body language a bit more uncertain. "Or, I guess, you both saved my life. Quite literally, as a matter of fact. Um, thanks. I'm really sorry I was in your way, mister...sir...boar man. My name is, uh, Cecil. I promise, I'll repay you! Both of you."

Seemingly no longer concerned with them now that they were all on solid ground, the floating fox glided through the air back to Sianna's side. As it did it disappeared, leaving once more only the floating mask to mark its location. She whispered sternly at it as Cecil made his halting apology/introduction/thanks.

[Hella Lugosi]

"That's alright, Cecil. Just remember next time, one foot in front of the other." Noticing how worried the kid still was, Columbus decides it would be best to leave him be, and sets off to follow where the crowd was going. It would be hard enough to blend into the crowd at his size, especially now that it was starting to grow thin, but he might as well try. Drawing any more attention to himself might be more trouble than it's worth. "Good luck with your bags, and life I guess."

He turns back to the girl with telekinesis as he heads off. "As much as it pains me to admit it, the loud one may be right about missing the ceremony, so I'm gonna try and catch up. See you around."

[AmberVael]

"But... how do you make it? Where does it come from?" Azalea's intensely curious tone revealed just how little the short explanation had satisfied her. Her gaze constantly shifted from the path ahead to Melwyn. distracted from the sight of the Academy in the distance. "Sure, lets stick together. So... why Estis? Is there something different about it?"

[Grek]

Melwyn paused for a moment, unsure of how to answer. "Well, they have the best delving team I'm told? Plus, their mascot's a bird! So there's that. As far as created objects, they're not from anywhere. They're a, what's it called..." The halfling begins to quote something from memory, taking on an airier tone: "non-endelecheic allopoiesis of a jointly specified form via teleorhetoric invocation." She rolls her eyes at this. "Which is a very complicated way of saying that I make certain wand motions, say certain words and think certain thoughts all at once in order to specify exactly what I want to make, and then it appears out of nothing and then vanishes once the universe notices that there's no logical way for it to have existed in the first place."

[jamieth]

Repay... that wasn't a word Izumi wanted to hear. She certainly didn't expect compensation for something that cost her nothing. That would only make things awkward... then she had an idea. An idea that had the potential to turn awkward itself, but that didn't appear to her. Picking her own bag, she turned to Cecil and, with visible effort, raised to to the level of his chest, staring unblinkingly into his eyes.

[AmberVael]

"You're faking out the universe?" Azalea looked still more baffled, but now with an element of apprehension. "I'm going to have to go look this up later, I can tell."

Azalea bit her lip and looked aside, then spoke with a bit of uncertainty. "So I thought the houses were just, um, houses. Like places for the students to sleep? My great grandmother mentioned them, but didn't say much about them, she mostly talked about the academy in general. They have mascots and teams?"

[Grek]

"Yep! There's Estis has a bird, Usok has a fire lizard, Adagni has a giant eyeball and Epanouir has a flower. Each has its own dormitory and alumni too! And there's a competition every year to see which house does the best. Best grades, least time spent in detention, that sort of thing." Melwyn gives Azalea an appraising look. "Any idea how we're sorted into houses? I couldn't get anyone to tell me."

[Steel Mirror]

Cecil looked at Izumi's bag blankly for a moment. Then realization dawned. "Oh! Right! Yes. No problem." He did a little half-shuffle around and then pointed over his shoulder to his back. "Just throw it on with the rest of the stuff, I'm already basically a pack mule anyway. I've got three brothers here already and our mom sent me with about a thousand pounds of goodies from home. I probably won't even notice your bag, haha!" He waited for Izumi to add her bag on to the pile. "By the way, I don't think I caught your name. Is it uh, okay to ask what it is?"

It was a short jog for Columbus to catch up with the small crowd of students, and as he did they were all finally walking off the last part of the pier and onto the pale cobblestones that lined the path to the Academy. As soon as they crossed over to this new ground, they were all assaulted with the scent of blooming flowers, wet grass, and fresh pine. Trees and bushes grew up in a riot of life on all sides of the winding path, as dense and full of life as a forest but with a sense of order and care that suggested that it was being tended by someone like a garden. Some of the other kids starting commenting on how beautiful the forest was. One of them started sneezing uncontrollably.

"I've heard that the sorting starts the moment you set foot on the island," said a female voice from behind Melwyn's shoulder. A voice coming from much closer than she thought anyone was to her. In fact, neither Melwyn nor Azalea had noticed anyone walking that close, though it seemed to be answering her question.

[jamieth]

"...Thank you", Izumi nods, suddenly feeling a little bad about forcing her bag on Cecil. "I helped you with your luggage, you helped me with mine. Even. Nothing to repay. And... Kuroda Izumi. Just 'izumi' is fine. Eh, that's a first name. We say family names first back home. Eh, lets' go?" The last words - as well as an introduction, for that matter - are addressed to Sianna as much as they are to Cecil. "I don't think they'll start without us, but being late would be rude."

[Steel Mirror]

Sianna finished her whispered conversation with the two floating masks, then reached up to grab the wicker mask delicately between two fingers. There was another rush of power and blast of wind, just like when she originally summoned them, and the mask fell into her hand, no longer magically floating. She did the same with the porcelain mask. "That's what I've been saying this whole time," she said with a hint of annoyance. "I'm going to the castle, but I'm not going with you." Her last comment was given more to Cecil than to Izumi. Then, she turned and began walking away quickly.

Cecil shrugged. "Wow she really doesn't like me. I hope we don't end up in the same house...but then I somehow don't think she's destined for Epanouir." He began to walk as well, maintaining the distance behind Sianna as he did, even as the rest of the group in front of them vanished into the trees and hills in front of the Academy.

[Grek]

Melwyn jumps straight up into the air with a strangled shriek and whirls around with her wand drawn to see what had been sneaking up on her.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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(1d20+3)[23]Perception, if needed.
(1d20+7)[23]Spellcraft, if needed.

[Steel Mirror]

Melwyn spun to find a sinister figure cloaked in a full-body robe standing only a foot behind her. The hood was up, and something about the shadows it cast over the face was unnatural. Rather, the shadows were so deep she couldn't even tell if there was a face underneath. There were only two points of glowing light where the eyes would be.

"Eeek! Sorry! I naturally sneak up on people sometimes!" The figure held up its hands in a motion of surrender. It was then that Melwyn realized that, despite its appearance, the figure was almost as short as she was. Also, it sounded like a little girl. "I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation, but I heard you talking about the sorting! I've heard things about it from my parents, they both kind of teach here." The voice sounded apologetic, and she kept her hands up as she spoke.

With the flood of adrenaline coursing through her body, Melwyn's senses felt heightened. It was because of that that she noticed something odd about their surroundings. Shapes were flitting back and forth beneath the foliage all around them, shapes moving too quickly and cunningly to clearly see-but they looked an awful lot like tiny little people with dragonfly wings. Now that she had caught a few glimpses of them, she fancied she could hear them snickering and chattering to each other from the bushes, like hyperactive chipmunks. She barely had time to adjust to that when she noticed that something felt off about her footing. Looking down, she could only see the worn, reliable cobbles that they'd been on since they first walked into the woods. But under her foot, she could swear she felt like she was standing on something uneven and loose, like a branch or a rock on the path. But all she could see was smooth, paved path.

What was up with that?

[Grek]

"Half scared me to death there! Only half way, though, so no lasting harm. I suppose I should introduce myself properly. I'm Melwyn and this is Azalea!" Melwyn gestured with her wand to the taller girl next to her as she pattered on. "Are you in our year as well? And your parents really do teach here?"

Despite her talkativity, Melwyn did not yet mention the oddness of the path, nor the sprites in the distance. Having been tutored by a fey spirit had a few advantages, chief of which was that she knew how troublesome sprites could be. While she suspected they were in for a prank, pointing it out now would only earn the ire of the sprites for having spoiled the joke. Best to dodge it herself (and maybe nudge Azalea out of the way?) and let the little fey beasties have their fun on this spooky child who scared her. Fair's fair, right? A scare for a scare?

With a cheery grin, she offered her place on the 'cobbles' to her new companion and made a point to continue walking off to the side and in the grass.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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(1d20+5)[20] Bluff check, if needed.

[Steel Mirror]

"Very nice to meet you! My name is Jennifer." As she spoke, Melwyn, Azalea, and Anura noticed that she tended to gesture with her hands a lot. It made for an interesting sort of experience, almost like watching a very large puppet show with exaggerated motions to make up for the fact that it was impossible to read any emotion on her face...or indeed, to see her face at all. She moved forward to take up the place that Melwyn had just been occupying, and as she did so she seemed to glide forward instead of walking normally. Her cloak concealed her legs as well, so it was hard to tell what exactly was going on. It did explain why nobody had noticed her before she spoke, though. She was completely silent.

"Yeah, I'm a first year too, and yeah, my parents work here. They met here, actually. And they told me that nobody was allowed to spoil what the sorting is, but I gathered that it's meant to be this big surprise and that they're actually watching you from the moment you arrive on the ship. Actually," and now her voice got a little sheepish and her body language and hand gestures reinforced that impression, "I am sort of worried that the whole thing with that centaur kid and that angry girl was part of the test. If it was, I bet you two passed with much better marks than I did. I couldn't think of anything in time, and I ended up just going with the flow."

[AmberVael]

Azalea had been about to reply when Jennifer spoke up beside them, causing her to jerk away in surprise, her head snapping in Jennifer's direction far too quickly to be comfortable. As Melwyn began the conversation she watched the new girl curiously, giving herself time to calm down and let her pulse settle. "Do you think they were in on it, or did the teachers set it up?" She asked, finally speaking up.

While Melwyn examined their surroundings, Azalea paid attention to Jennifer and her peculiarities, how she hovered and gestured, the darkness of her hood and the brightness of her eyes. It all seemed rather curious, and she wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

Spoiler

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Knowledge (Arcane), mostly to figure out what might be pulling off this floaty business. (1d20+11)[14]
Knowledge (Local) What kind of race around here would fit her description? (1d20+9)[20]

[jamieth]

Izumi

"You're so sure you'll get sorted in Epanouir?" Izumi asked, walking besides Cecil - hopefully he won't run forward; he was certainly more than capable of that physically... but he wasn't that kind of person, as far as Izumi could tell. "I heard sorting method is a carefully guarded mystery."

[Hella Lugosi]

Columbus decides to slow down as he reachs the path to the academy. The whole place was fresh. Too fresh. Columbus has spent most of his life among carefully tended gardens and untamed wild life, so was used to a little greenery. This was something else.

Sticking as best as he could to the path, his attention was drawn by one of his fellow student's sneezing fits. Wishing not to traumatise anyone else today, he decided to take a gentler approach. "Allergies?"

[Nettlekid]

Anura keeps close to the nondescript group of students ahead of him, more than a few paces ahead of the more lively group of Centaurs and mask ghosts but keeping aware of them in case anyone started another disruption. Though he mostly just wanted a heads up to stay out of the way. He's unable to resist glancing around wide-eyed, the peaks of the castle's crenelations breaking over the farther hills. The unfamiliarity of the area is getting to him, since this is so thoroughly unlike the swamps he's called home all his life. He's less worried about what he can see is visibly different and more worried about what he's sure he's missing.

He takes a few steps off the path, preferring the grassy earth to the cobblestone path, though he doesn't stray far. Something has him on edge, but he can't place exactly what he's feeling. What he does know is that the anxiety and his little frog metabolism is making him hungry. His red eyes pick out the flitting movement of gossamer wings, and without a thought he lashes out with a whip-quick pink tongue.

Spoiler: Attack Roll?

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(1d20+2)[10]
Not sure what "tongue" counts as for a weapon. So -2 if it counts as a melee weapon (like a whip would technically), or +3 if it's Dex-based (which in my mind makes more sense for a tongue).

[Steel Mirror]

Cecil answered Izumi's question glumly as they both walked along the path at a sedate pace. Every once in a while they lost sight of the kids ahead of them around a bend in the path or a patch of undergrowth, but mostly they stayed within sight. "Yeah, all three of my brothers are Epanouir. I don't really know what the deal with the sorting is, they told me all sorts of stories but I don't believe them. But one way or the other, my path is pretty much set. 'A centaur is his community, and his community makes him a centaur,'" he said, voice inflected like he was quoting someone else. "Centaurs are always Epanouir."

----------

Jennifer answered Azalea's question as Azalea pondered this new student's strange appearance. "Could be either one, I guess? I don't know. I guess we could have asked him, but he seemed sort of...distracted. And that other girl," Jennifer glanced around to make sure that Sianna wasn't around. Sianna was far enough behind them that she wasn't visible from their location at the moment. "That other girl seemed kind of volatile. I know that the mythal would have saved him from falling over the side of the island, but it still seemed like kind of a mean thing to do. I thought both of you were really amazing, though. I've studied some spells to create stuff, but nothing like that! And teleportation is waaaay too tough for me. I feel like I'm behind already."

As they walked (or glided as the case might be), Melwyn continued to walk off to the side, just off the path itself. She still couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong with the picture of things around her, but she swore that, every once in a while, out of the corner of her eye, the path seemed to waver and blur like an illusion in the distance on a hot day.

Spoiler: Azalea's checks

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The source of whatever magic is allowing her to glide around isn't clear, though Azalea has heard of a few things it could be. There are lots of spells that give flight of course, but she doesn't seem like she is casting that kind of magic. Or, if you trust her evaluation of her own abilities, that she is necessarily capable of it. Despite a lot of starting mage's fondest desires and many hours spent trying to make it happen, Azalea knows it isn't a floating disc, at least. Those don't let you fly no matter how many times apprentices set their hearts on making it work.

Could be something like whatever was letting Autumn and Summer fly; some kind of inherent magical ability. Without knowing what Jennifer is exactly that one is a possibility but Azalea can't really narrow it down any better. A detect magic type ability would probably give a lot more information about this and narrow it down considerably.

As for what Jennifer is, Azalea doesn't know of any race that matches her description. For some reason, the apparently magical darkness, full cloak exposing no skin, and floating puts Azalea in mind of a wraith or other spirit. The darkness could protect from daylight, and of course they don't need to walk anywhere. But wraiths are malevolent and surrounded by a terrible aura, so it doesn't quite fit.

She can't quite shake the thought completely, though.

Only a few paces away, the sneezing kid answered Columbus through a runny nose, pushing his glasses up as he squinted up at Columbus' face. "Yeah, really baaaaaCHOO!" He sniffed again. "If I had known we would be walking near this many magical plants, I would have mixed up a remedy befoaaaaCHOO!" Then, even as he continued sneezing, one of the boys in this little gaggle pushed him aside and grinned at Columbus.

"Never mind him, man, he's just gonna keep sneezing like that," he said. This new kid was a tall, athletic looking young elf with facial features much more youthful than his frame and height would suggest. To anyone with experience of how elves aged, he looked about 17 years old, but tall for his age. "Lanky" was the word that suggested itself. He also, unusually, had a bow strapped to his bag and a quiver of arrows hanging at his side. "Not worth the effort. I, on the other hand, am well worth the time it will take to introduce ourselves to each other! My name is Walfaril Lethunelas, though my friends call me Riley. Now was I suffering from altitude sickness, or did you really turn into a boar and throw a tennis ball at the back of that kid's head?!" He was smiling widely the whole time.

Anura, meanwhile, reflexively snapped out his tongue at one of the darting presences that he couldn't quite see. It was hard, though, and despite aiming pretty well all he got was a mouthful of leaves and the sight of multiple lines of shaking leaves and trembling branches radiating out from the spot where he had aimed his tongue. A few of the kids noticed him, but they only looked curious.

Whatever was hiding in the bushes also seemed to notice him. After fleeing him initially, the plants starting rustling even more vigorously than before, and the murmurs of half-heard words and chitters increased until even a few of the other students looked around in curiosity. Whatever the things were, insects or spirits of the forest or something else, were on the move.

And they seemed to moving towards Anura...

Spoiler: Mechanics

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If you want to roll a perception check to notice this going on, you may, though Anura and Melwyn are already aware of the movement. Izumi is too far away to see what is going on, but not so far that you won't catch a glimpse of things in the next round or so if stuff starts happening. Those two can also roll knowledge checks or anything else if you want to try and gather some clues about what's going on in the forest around you.

[Nettlekid]

Anura chews the mouthful of leaves halfheartedly, then lets them fall from his mouth. He can hear skittering, and starts to worry about the implications of trying to establish a trophic level in so unknown an environment. Hearing something in the bushes approaching he sidles back onto the cobblestone path and picks up his pace to merge a bit deeper into the group of students directly ahead of him. As he does so he slips out his magic twig from his robe sleeve and grips it halfway down, prepared to whip out one of his Barriers if need be. But he didn't want to do that until he actually got a proper look at what he had just foolishly antagonized.

Spoiler

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Perception check to hear and hopefully understand what's being said in the bushes: (1d20+6)[22]
Perception check to see anything that comes out of the bushes, if anything does. I'm not really trying to see into the bushes, but knowing that they're fast I want to get an eye on them if they emerge. (1d20+6)[20]
And readying a standard action to cast Barrier, either on myself (and the surrounding group of the students that I've just pushed into) or around whatever emerges to encase it.

[jamieth]

Izumi

"I see", Izumi nods, and continues on silently, because, well, what else is there to say? Sorting will do as sorting does... apparently.

[Hella Lugosi]

Columbus raises his hands in mock surrender."Yeah, that was me. That last part was unintentional, I was aiming at some fox mask thing and his noggin got in the way." Catching sight of the bow, his curiosity was piqued. "I'm Columbus, by the way. Planning on getting much archery done here?"

[Steel Mirror]

"Nice to meet you, Columbus!" Riley reached out and shook Columbus' hand vigorously. He smiled even wider at the question about his archery. "Aha, I see you've seen my humble little bow." He unhooked it with a deft movement, twirled it around his back and tossed it in the air, then caught it in front of him, balanced, on the tips of two extended fingers with his other hand. "I might make some time to get some practice in with the ol' branch and string. Frankly whichever House gets me is about to have their lucky day. I'm basically a lock for every archery tournament the school will have for the next five years!"

The sneezy student sniffed again. "Oh, so basically you're a scholarship student?"

"Hey! I'll have you know that arcane archery is a respected magical tradition which stretches back in elven society for like, a million years. I'm a wizard. I'm just also fantastically talented at archery, as well."

While they were talking, Anura was slowly catching up and angling himself to walk right among Columbus and Riley and the other couple of boys in their group. They didn't give him too much notice. Anura's senses were trained on whatever was happening in the trees around them, and he started overhearing snatches of what the little things were saying. They were speaking common, oddly enough, in voices as high pitched and as hard to focus on as the whining buzz of a mosquito's wings.

Spoiler: Anura

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"Tried to eat me!"

"Grab more Pikli fruit! This child shall learn its folly before the day is out!"

"No, you two can't come along, someone has to keep the seemings tended or the ice cream lady will be angry. Doy!

"That is. The biggest. Frog. EVER."

[Grek]

Melwyn shrugged. Was creation really that impressive? Just because it was big and flashy didn't make it difficult. But it'd be rude to refuse the compliment, so... "The island has a mythal to prevent people from falling off? I should have known, but some how I never put two and two together. Really, it's us that are behind. You know so much about the school already. Speaking of, do you know what's with those sprites? Do they, ah, work here by any chance?" Melwyn gestured furtively to the increasingly obvious movements in the trees.

[Steel Mirror]

Jennifer put both palms up in an exaggerated 'who knows?' sort of gesture. "Sorry, I actually don't know much about anything outside the castle. Uh, I mean, my parents work in the castle, so they never really told me anything about the forest." She looked around the trees nearby, interested. "Where are the sprites? I always wanted to see some wild fey!"

The trails of rustling leaves had converged on a place just above the boys, about a dozen feet behind Azalea, Melwyn, and Jennifer. Melwyn could just overhear one of the little voices fake whispering from the branches there. "Ready!....Set!...."

[AmberVael]

"If there was protection magic, that explains why no one else really reacted... and um, I know Sianna was mean, but I think she was trying to help, kind of." Azalea looked to one side as she spoke, her arms folded behind her back and twisting a bit restlessly. The compliment to her magical skills only seemed to make her more restive, and she shook her head.

"I was always told that magic is only as good as the magician. Using it right matters more than how powerful it is. I think it would have gone better if I had just helped him rather than leaving him to everyone else." She glanced towards Melwyn as she spoke, then was somewhat distracted by the mention of sprites. She looked off into the trees with a start, trying to make out what Melwyn had obviously spotted already.

Spoiler

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Perception: (1d20)[14]

Also, how about some knowledge on sprites, just so she knows what she's looking for, and what is up with them.
Knowledge (nature): (1d20+9)[10]

Also, since she's thinking about wraiths, rolling the appropriate skill for undead might be helpful.
Knowledge (religion): (1d20+9)[18]

[Steel Mirror]

"Scrolls and Sigils save me from that kind of help," muttered Jennifer in response to Azalea's comments on Sianna. She was still looking for whatever Melwyn had seen in the trees. "Hey is that what you were talking about?" She pointed towards the tree above the boys, where the branches were bent as though under some kind of unseen weight. Atop those branches and among the leaves, the girls could make out some sort of distortion in the air, something that their eyes kept sliding across without focusing properly. They knew something was there, and yet it was so hard to describe exactly what it might be...

And then, there was a cry from the trees, a chorus of words shouted in tiny voices all in unison. "FOR THE THIRD BRICK BRIGADE!" A dozen tiny projectiles launched from the branches, and as they did so the distortions blurred and bobbed but remained in place, still making it impossible to determine what was underneath. Anura saw a glimpse of tiny arms and clothing made of leaves and spiderwebs. Melwyn saw dragonfly wings and something wearing a snail shell like a helmet. Following the initial cry there was a small scream clearly audible, "Take that frogface!"

And the projectiles rained down, a dozen strawberry sized fruits with mottled green and yellow surfaces that plummeted straight for the group of boys chatting around Anura and Columbus. The boys had no time to respond as the tiny meteors of fruity death descended toward them from the sky.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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(1d20+1)[17]
(1d20+1)[17]
(1d20+1)[8]
(1d20+1)[5]
(1d20+1)[15]
(1d20+1)[11][/roll]

And then they splattered in midair, a few feet above their heads, splattering in overripe neon pink juices all over a transparent barrier that shimmered into existence just in time to intercept them. Looking down, Riley spotted Anura holding his wand out and completing the last of the gestures needed to call the barrier into existence. "Woah," he said. "What the crap?"

The fruits and their splatterings didn't make it to the boys, but the smell certainly did. It smelled foul and septic but somehow fungal and musty at the same time, with an almost sour note so overwhelming it was like someone taking a spike made of lemon vinegar and putting it right up your nose. It stank, and trying to breathe through the mouth only made it so that you could taste it, too. It was fortunate that Anura had intercepted the first barrage with his barrier; it looked like that stuff probably stained.

There was a chorus of dismay from the invisible attackers, immediately followed by a voice ringing out with the clear tones of command. "Lose not your heart, troops! Spread out and accost their flanks! We have them on the defensive!"

Azalea and Melwyn had enough information to piece together that these were obviously fey of some kind, probably some variety of pixie, though there were so many varieties of those that they'd need more to know exactly how to deal with them. Pixies were known to be territorial, and mischievous, and to have extreme skill with illusions. Some subspecies could be placated with milk and honey, others with salt, and in still others with musical performances or physical comedy. They were said to hate and fear cats, or to hate high pitched loud noises, or to be so confused when you spoke sentences backwards that they're heads would hurt and they'd leave you alone.

Basically, there was a lot of variety. Getting a good look at one without its veil of illusion would go a long way to learning which subspecies they were dealing with.

Behind them, Izumi and Cecil turned the corner just in time to see the beginnings of the skirmish, about 100 feet down the path. Oddly, Sianna was nowhere to be seen. She had been just in front of them before they turned the corner.