You smell woodsmoke as your group approaches the circle in the forest glade. The trees part to reveal a welcoming fire with logs and stones arranged around it. This circle had been used for stories long enough that even the stones are comfortably worn by the countless listeners.
“Welcome friends, make yourselves comfortable.” The voice issues from a shadowy figure on the other side of the fire. A loose cloak and low hat obscure the figure, firelight offering no more than glimpses beyond the shadows. The voice itself is gentle, but utterly indefinable.
“Thank you for joining me this evening. Tonight, I’d like to tell you a story—one that has been told before, in many ways and in many places, but never quite like this. It’s the story of a friend of mine, Pan. A clever youth with a curious mind, who learned some curious things.”
