Shokambe aka Navior's page

"From what we saw in Tazion," Shokambe says, "it looked like the city took up most of the valley, so if I had to guess, I'd say both ways go to the city. They just probably go to different parts."

"Hard to say," Shokambe says with a shrug. "People can often be very reluctant to leave their homes, even when there's great danger. We might be able to convince them though, or perhaps just to leave temporarily, until the others have come and gone."

"His tribe are watching us," Shokambe says. "They'll know our intentions whether he tells them or not. Once we move towards their temple, they will probably get the courage to attack."

Shokambe nods. "It sounds simple enough. Assuming they're accurate directions, there shouldn't be any problem."

"Not being negative," Shokambe says. "I agree, this is very promising. I'm just being practical. Just because we've found a wall doesn't mean we don't need to keep our eyes open anymore."

He climbs carefully through one of the gaps in the wall.

"Yes, well, we need to find it first," Shokambe says. "Our best bet is to head a few miles into the jungle and then start a spiral pattern. Depending just how old this place is, there may not be much left beyond bits of crumbling wall and that could be covered in vines and other plants. Keep your eyes open."

"We're a very long way away from the beetle," Shokambe says. "It would take us another couple months to get there probably."

"He's actually pretty close this time," Shokambe says with a nod. "Maybe he's learning."

"You're worried we might be interrupting something private?" Shokambe responds. He shakes his head. "Not likely. The heat of the jungles and plains means that we do not have the same feelings of modesty you northerners do. However, our large numbers might be intimidating to them. For that reason, approaching with a smaller group might make more sense so as not to frighten them. I doubt we have anything to fear from them."

Shokambe shakes his head. "Barefoot humanoid and a bigger, clawed humanoid. The smaller humanoid could have been human, elf, or half-elf, or any other race close in appearance to those. The bigger one, I have no idea. There's no indication of a chase and the tracks were made around the same time, so they would seem to have been travelling together."

"Shokambe, please explain again where we heading to now. It's been a month, I imagine we should be just about where we need to be now."

Shokambe shakes his head. "We have made good time, even with the loss of a day or so reincarnating Jask. However, we still have quite a ways to go. We need to follow the river through the jungle and to the north end of the mountains. Once we are past the mountains, we'll turn west and cross the hills. In all, I'd guess we have about three weeks to go yet."

Shokambe thinks for a moment and nods. "It's possible. There are certainly giant apes in this jungle. More than a few, I'd say. Probably quite a few big monkeys, too."

Shokambe speaks up.

Shokambe Diplomacy to aid: 1d20 ⇒ 6
Good thing Douena's so likeable. :)

Shokambe gives Douena a sympathetic smile and shakes his head. "None that I've ever heard of. However, there are all sorts of strange and unusual creatures in the jungle. I suppose a bear might be possible."

28 ARODUS, 4710

"The Screaming Jungle sounds interesting," Douena says chipperly. "Except the Lake of Vanished Armies sounded interesting too, and I didn't see any armies." She reflects a moment. "I guess because they vanished."

"It gets its name from the monkeys," Shokambe replies. "There are a lot of them, and they are very noisy. Tonight may be the last night of peace and quiet we have for some time. Enjoy it. Once we're in the jungle, we'll also have to be very diligent with watches. The sound of the monkeys makes it difficult to hear other things moving through the jungle near you. It makes it much easier for beasts to take you by surprise. And there are many very nasty beasts in the Screaming Jungle."

Shokambe nods. "We already are," he says. "This is the nearest we will get to the city, which is east of here. We're heading north from here."

"That depends," Shokambe replies as carefully puts his latest carving away in his pack. "He's currently heading back towards the lake. If you wish to search for site of that treasure map, then he's going the right way. If you wish to continue directly towards your final destination, going east from here would be the better choice."

"Time shouldn't be a problem," Shokambe says. "We can easily make it to the village and back again by tomorrow morning."

"But the lion's already awake so it can't get cranky if we wake it up," Douena reasons. "Do you think it stays awake all night while he sleeps to keep watch? But then when does the lion sleep?"

"Yes, but waking the man could make the lion cranky," Shokambe says with a smile. "The lion probably sleeps whenever it wants to. It may have been asleep before we saw it. It probably heard and saw us coming before we saw it."

He points a short distance to the side. "We can camp over there. Hopefully, it is far enough away that we do not seem threatening, but still close enough that he will see us upon waking."

That's correct. It's still night right now, about 10:30 pm.

"Lions can be quite savage creatures," Shokambe replies quietly to Douena, keeping his eyes on the lion the whole time. "Even ones that are pets. However, I suppose you will have to talk to Entelu about that. That's the druid's name, by the way. Entelu. You are right that we shouldn't wake him, though I am less worried about him being cranky than I am the lion."

"I didn't know him as well as the rest of you," Shokambe says after the funeral is over, "but what I saw I liked. I hope I can help you find a way to bring him back."

"There are many druids in these parts," Shokambe says. "However, while I know a few of them, I do not know if any of them are powerful enough to do what you want. My suspicion is that few, if any, of them are. Nonetheless, I do know a man near the Lake of Vanishing Armies who would not be too far out of our way. I cannot promise he can help, but even if he can't, perhaps he knows someone who can."

"Wise man would seek council from the earth and the trees but not expect them to answer. I've got a pretty good idea where you'll be headed; and one of me is a lot faster than the collected group. Also, even without leaving obvious signs we've not actually been making effort to hide where we're going. I think it'll be easy enough to catch-up," Mahjik replies. "Kalabuto is kind of big and my friend can be hard to find. Cheiton here knows the place well, so I'm hoping he'll be able to direct me to where I need to be. Don't worry your colorful head about it - I'll have caught up with you lot within a few days."

"We'll be following the river from here east to the Lake of Vanishing Armies," Shokambe says. "From there, we'll be going north along the main branch of the river, but hopefully you'll catch up to us by then. Be careful. The wilderness can be dangerous for someone travelling alone. The size of our group helps keep many threats from even coming near us, but on your own you may be considered easy pickings."

I do hope Wander's okay. He's been absent quite awhile. However, I appreciate that we have to get things moving again.

Shokambe looks over to Mahjik. "Stay behind? How do you intend to catch up?"

Shokambe shrugs. "Similar ideals maybe, but probably operating independently."

"That's not an omen," Douena scoffs, frowning at the gore. "An omen is a dream or a butterfly or a broken bootlace. That's just being a bully." She looks up at Shokambe. "Who are their enemies? Are we?"

"Chelaxians, mainly," Shokambe says with a frown. "But they will view anyone going into Kalabuto as either being Chelaxians or being collaborators. Still, it is doubtful that they are watching us right at this moment. This display is just intended to create fear, to show that they overcame and killed a bunch of their enemies. They know that if they were to keep killing too many, they know that the Chelaxians would come in greater numbers and hunt them all down. We should still be careful though."

Shokambe smirks. "I have never thought of it that way before," he confesses. "It is a very interesting idea." He pulls out another chunk of wood from his pack. "This is the last of my wood until we reach Kalabuto, where I can acquire more. I wonder what it wishes to be." He tosses the wood up and catches it with his other hand, then wanders off, a thoughtful look on his face.

Shokambe gazes in the direction Douena is pointing. "Rougly," he says with a nod. "Although not immediately. We have to circle around because of the mountains."

"They certainly tried to make us carrion," Shokambe replies. "Somewhat unusual behaviour, but not unheard of in the bigger ones. Now that they are carrion themselves, their bodies should satisfy the smaller ones for a little while. It seems the small ones were wise to follow us. We provided them with their meal as they'd hoped." He smiles and goes back to whittling at his latest work, very carefully chipping away at a thin, delicate part of the wood that seems to be emerging as a wing of some sort.

"Intelligent creatures, perhaps," Shokambe says, his eyes wandering back to check on the vultures in the sky. "Some other creatures might see it as an invitation that there's food nearby." He goes back to whittling on his latest carving.

Shokambe chuckles. "No, these are quite different from the one you're thinking of in Sothis. That one is indeed a lot bigger."

Shokambe chuckles. "Perhaps she will come out of her hut before we leave."

"Well..." Shokambe starts, but pauses. He takes another bite of fruit while he thinks, and chews slowly. "That's a good point," he says eventually. "It's generally tradition among nomadic Zenj that the eldest shaman, almost always a woman, leads the clan. But these are not nomads. Village Zenj usually follow a male leader. This village could be made up of a mixture of Zenj descended from nomads and village folk, and of course, every clan has its own traditions..." He pauses again. "I will talk some more with them."

He turns to a nearby young man and begins conversing with him in Polyglot. Although the conversation starts out well enough, the young man soon seems uncomfortable with it and extracts himself. Shokambe tries speaking to another man, with whom he seems to have more success. A couple minutes later, he returns to Douena. "The old woman is their spiritual leader. They listen to her when she speaks to them with the voice of their ancestors. However, when she is not speaking for their ancestors, they do not follow her. They respect and honour her, but feel that she has gone senile in her old age. It is a believable explanation, but they seemed strangely reluctant to tell me it."

"They say she is old and suspicious of outsiders," Shokambe says. He grabs a piece of fruit and bites into it. "It is not that surprising really. In fact, it's a little surprising that there aren't more in the village who think like she does. Remember the situation in Eleder. Outsiders have often give us locals reason to distrust them."

He smiles at Douena. "But do not worry yourself too much about her. Enjoy the hospitality of the rest of the villagers. We are not likely to pass another such village before Kalabuto."

Douena pulls out one of the red pearls she brought from the Shiv but doesn't know who's in charge to offer it to in exchange for the meal and the welcome. "Ask who's the leader of their village," she whispers to Shokambe.

Shokambe nods and speaks to one of the local women briefly before turning back to Douena. "There is an old woman who is their shaman. They look to her for leadership when important decisions are needed, but for most things, they do not have a specific leader. The old woman does not wish to join us, so we can offer our payments to anyone we wish, such as this one." He points to the woman he was just speaking to. She smiles broadly at Douena.

How tall is this grass? Over Douena's head?

It varies, but generally the grass is between 1-1/2 and 2 feet.

Shokambe smiles. "Actually, it means lots of grass. I think you will find it much different from your experience on the water. For one thing, there is more to see. It may not look like much at the moment, but wait until you see the herds of antelope. I suspect you've never seen so many animals in one spot at one time. Or the elephants. The wildlife on these plains is amazing. Trust me, it will not be boring." He starts forward into the grasses. "But watch out for ants!" he calls back.

Shokambe reaches into his bag and produces a piece of chalk. "Chalk," he says, handing it to Douena.

"It will need to be quite long," Shokambe says, "but it could do. And it would fit the description we had of the two mines connecting. Assuming this does lead to the other side, we will easily save nearly a day of travel time. I suggest we give it a try."

"Keep in mind that this is a mine dug into the foothill of a mountain," Shokambe says. "It may not go down deep, but rather just extend horizontally."

"It is odd to me that we spent over a month on that island and all I thought of was making it back to civilization. We were in civilization only week before I was willing to kill to get back to the jungle. Will I still feel the same after this journey?"

Shokambe, still whittling away at his piece of wood (which is now taking on a somewhat turtle-like shape), responds, "The land is like that. It grabs hold of you in ways you don't expect. Once you've lived off the land, civilization doesn't quite match up."

Shokambe laughs at the sudden downpour of water. "A flappybite?" he says, turning back to Douena. "How interesting. I guess I and many others I know have been using the wrong term all these years. Flappybite is certainly a descriptive name, and much closer to the literal translation of the Polyglot word. Dimorphodon is a Taldane word that really doesn't mean anything so far as I can tell. Then again, does the word monkey really mean anything? At any rate, I shall do my best to call them flappybites from now on. As it happens, we're not likely to see many on this journey. They're more coastal creatures."

He pauses for a brief moment to whittle at his wood a little more, then continues, "As for miniature flying elephants, well, I'm afraid I don't know anything about those, but I'll be sure to tell you if I ever see or hear of one."

I figured you were probably following the map, but I wanted to be absolutely certain first. I didn't want to send you 100 miles along the route only to have someone say, "Hey, weren't we going the other way?" ;)

"Along the road, not high," Shokambe answers, looking up from his whittling. "Once we're into the plains and then the jungle, who can say? There are some strange creatures out there. You never know what me might meet." He goes back to his whittling, and over the couple hours you are stopped, the block of wood in his hand slowly starts taking on a shape that is not very monkey-like. It's too rounded for that. Shokambe looks rather pleased.

Still drowsy, Douena is startled awake by the flying monkey. She juggles it between her hands for a moment before she is able to get a firm grip on it. "Look, Pezock," she holds it up for the tengu to see. "A monkey! What do you do with all your monkeys?" she asks Shokambe with interest. "Do you have a whole army of them somewhere?"

Shokambe gives a slight shrug. "Some I give away. Some I manage to sell for a tiny price. Most end up in a box in my home. Oh, and there's a whole box of them out there somewhere I don't know where. My home got robbed once while I was away and the thieves took my old box of carvings. Either they didn't open the box before taking it, or they liked wooden carvings of monkeys." He chuckles lightly. "Of course, they're not always monkeys, so maybe the one or two other things interested the thieves."

He looks to the group as a whole. "Are we all ready?"

Shokambe's eyes widen as Douena speaks and then wider at Pezock's reaction. He chuckles. "Well," he says as Pezock walks off, "your friend certainly has his priorities straight. This should be an interesting journey."

Shokambe pauses and holds up the piece of wood. At the moment, it doesn't look like much, but it does seem to be taking on a vague humanoid-like shape. "I'm not entirely sure," he says. "I just let the object become what it will become. I like to surprise myself." He sighs. "It will probably be a monkey though. They usually turn out to be monkeys." He looks at Douena's holy symbol. "Now, a butterfly. That would be a nice change."

I'll presume the others brought the map with them. However, you should decide who's generally going to be carrying it.

Shokambe looks over the map thoughtfully. "Hmmm... Quite a distance." He looks at Douena. "The Pathfinders have chosen a wise route. Your way is shorter in distance, but much longer in time. To go north, we would have to go along the bluffs at the edge of the bay. There would be a lot of climbing involved, and it would take weeks just to get to the north side of the mountains. No, if your time is short as you say it is, then you should go east to Kalabuto and then follow the river, just as the Pathfinders say."

He hands the map back to the party. "I will go to see the Pathfinders today and confirm with them who you are and negotiate my payment. Meet me at the east gate of the city tomorrow morning at dawn and we will depart. If I am not there at first light, then you will know that I have rejected your offer."

He returns to his chair, picks up the piece of wood and begins whittling away at it again.