With no means of communicating with the bird (or a means of defending himself), Dereje can only stand to the side and watch as Lawdrak attempts to make contact with the bird.
Lawdrak will slowly - painfully slowly - approach , hands wide and open. If he is allowed close enough he will, again with exaggerated slowness, place a palm on the creature's feathers.
"I do not know if you can understand us," he says in a low, calm voice, "But we mean you no harm, and what we would ask of you comes at no cost,"
With no language or animal skills, Savras remains still.
Very slowly and very deliberately, Hana sinks to her knees, then leans forward in a dogeza.
Does Chirok allow Lawdrak to place his palm on him?
Savras grins at Lawdrak's accomplishment but remains silent and still. This creature is still unpredictable and dangerous.
Lawdrak will, slowly, firmly, and gently move his hand along the creature's side, looking for a loose feather. If he is so luck as to find one completely clear, he will take it in hand, and slowly raise it into the bird's view.
If THAT goes well, he will adopt an exaggerated questioning expression, and slowly move the hand with the feather to his breast, covering it with his other hand.
If things are still going well at that point he will pause for a few seconds, then bow his head and retreat a step.
If needed:
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Lawdrak continues his gentle, unspoken negotiation with Chirok, ultimately find a loose feather. After Lawdrak pulls the feather to his chest, Chirok chirps in a friendly manner and nuzzles the druid with her head, seemingly approving of Lawdrak taking a feather.
With the feather freely given, the Ijo tribesmen back away and begin descending back to the ground below. Before leaving, the assumed leader nods and says, "Well done. From this day forward, you will be honored guests of our tribe."
Savras claps Lawdrak on the back, "That was amazing, never seen anything like it".
Lawdrak hold contact with one of Chirok's eyes, again bowing his gratitude to her before turning to the tribesmen.
"Thank you. We are...honored." he says, fumbling for words.
He gives Savras a tight grin and a muttered thanks. "She's quite a creatures. Maybe someday I'll be able to speak with her like directly."
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Following the trial with Chirok and gaining the trust and respect of the Ijo tribesmen, the party makes their way back toward Nkechi's cave.
Just before sunset you arrive back at the cliffside. Noticing your approach, Nkechi floats down to meet you.
"Didn't want you falling to your death trying to climb up again." the Tempest says gruffly. "Do you have the feather?" he asks.
You present Chirok's feather to him and he retreats back to his cave for about half and hour after which the old man comes back down on a knotted rope.
"You've done well." he says with a smile, sounding kind for the first time in your memory. "Please come with me back up to the cave. You can sleep here tonight, but first we have a bit of business to conduct. Please have a seat." he says, directing you to sit in a circle around a clay brazier, filled with herbs, in the middle of room. Nkechi picks up a wooden mortar filled with a reddish paste. Assuming you do not resist, he proceeds to draw mystic symbols on your faces while chanting. If anyone dares interrupt him, Nkechi firmly snaps, "Do not interrupt!" When he is finished drawing and chanting, he pulls out a pouch filled with small roots, eats a piece, and requests that you do the same.
Estietre is completely enthralled, and couldn't be more pleased than to be part of a primitive ritual such as this. She picks a piece from the pouch, and chews it without hesitation.
Dereje feels a great swell of relief when they manage to secure the feather without a fight. All things considered, the Ijo tribesmen had been very generous with their attitude. Likewise, they were able to avoid getting assaulted by a giant bird. Now, it was just a matter of seeing whether all of their hard work was worth it.
The paladin seems pleased by Nkechi's change of demeanor, while at once a little concerned when he begins his ritual. A part of him cannot help but wonder whether he is conjuring a demon, but he quickly dismisses the thought. Beyond being irate and a somewhat harsh taskmaster, Nkechi had done nothing to suggest that he meant them any harm. So not wanting to offend their new friend (and prospective guide), Dereje partakes of the root.
The habit of obedience to his elders in matters of ritual and mysticism has been literally beaten into Lawdrak.
Between that, and the familiarity of such a setting, Lawdrak does not hesitate the slightest bit to comply.
Hana seems a bit hesitant, but she's at least used to tea. Hypnagogic tea, not so much. Then again, as a samurai-ko, she has been in awkward social positions before in which she's pressured into accepting a "gift" that she might... not really want.
*sip*
Savras offers what is accepted and ingests it though he has a skeptical look on his face as he does so.
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After partaking of the root offered by Nkechi, you each fall into a dreamlike trance. Soon after you feel yourselves exiting your bodies, and drift as smoke through the night sky. Each of you sense,but do not see, your companions and Nkechi.
As you travel, you see all of the Mwangi Expanse below you. Slowly, the sky turns red and each of you reform as strange spirit animals in pale
translucent colors. Lawdrak naturally takes a form not so dissimilar to Sharpmaw, Savras's form is that of a great ram, Mum finds herself in the form of a wild dog, Dereje's spirit body is that of a lion, and Hana's form is that of a great bird of prey. For his part, the Tempest looks as if he is the form of a giant crab - whether or not this is a statement of his previous demeanor or just merely a coincidence is up for debate.
During the strange trance, Nkechi foreshadows the unveiling of the ruins of a forgotten city from ancient folklore. But he warns that many rivals seek the city, and it is unclear who shall be first to claim the location. He also sees a darkness within the city, and ominous storm clouds gathering on the horizon.
About halfway through Nkechi’s divinations, a serpent of tremendous size manifests and attempts to slay you all. The battle between your spirit forms and the great serpent seems to go on forever as you bite, claw, and tear at the massive snake and it in turn slaps at you with its tail and sink long, venomous fangs into your spiritual bodies. Finally, Hana's razor sharp beak tears into the serpent, severing the creature's head from its body. The decapitated serpentine body thrashes and writhes violently before gradually fading away. After the serpent's body fades, you awaken to find yourselves laying prone in Nkechi's cave. Though many of you suffered nearly fatal wounds against the serpent in the dreamland, you find that those wounds are superficial and mostly fatigue here in the real world.
When the trance ends, Nkechi insists on accompanying you as your guide. He believes now that whatever it is you will face is also a threat to Gozreh, or at least to what Gozreh holds sacred, and that Gozreh desires him to make the journey.
With the services of the Tempest secured, you head out for Eleder at first light. Nightfall is upon you when you reach The Sagava Club, Amivor Glaur, and rest of the Pathfinder Society's contingent.
Seeing you enter The Sagava Club, Amivor grins. "Welcome back! I see you were successful in procuring the services of the Tempest. Fantastic news! Get a good night's rest for tomorrow morning we begin our journey to Saventh-Yhi!"
Hana awakens from the dream-stupor bolt upright, sweat glistening on her forehead, hand reflexively leaping for a weapon before she relaxes a moment later.
"How strange," she says at last. "It was like I was swimming... in the sky."
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"I presume we're fully stocked and supplied with provisions for a lengthy journey," says Hana.
Savras stretches and groans, "That was an odd dream. What was in that drink Tempest?"
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Savras shakes his head, "We should at least replace the items that we bartered away while procuring the services of our Guide".
Savras turns to Tempest, "Any specific gear we should consider picking up to bring along?"
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The old man laughs, Yes, young undine, you have experienced the spirit realm."
Turning his attention to Savras's question, the Tempest answers, "Dromotu. A powerful agent to allow one to enter the spirit realm."
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"We have all the supplies that we will need for making camps, cutting our way through the jungle, and sufficient food for a long journey - no doubt we will supplement that with foraging and hunting along the way." Amivor says.
At Savras's comment he adds. "We intend to leave early, but given the size of the caravan, number of supplies, and the double checking that must be done, I imagine you will have a bit of time to pick up a few more needed supplies before we leave."
Hana nods and plans to pick up a few more minor essentials, but otherwise seems rather excited at the prospect of being on the road again soon.
"The spirit realm. Right," Dereje remarks as he rubs the bridge of his nose. But even his skeptical tone cannot mask his uncertainty about the vision, the inescapable sense that it really meant something.
Back at the Sargava Club, Dereje sorts through his belongings, transferring some of them to his newly acquired bag of holding, which was certain to come in handy during their journey. "I believe we have everything we need, so I believe we should move on, unless anyone is feeling particularly laden by gold."
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In the morning, after everyone has collect what remaining provisions and supplies they deemed necessary, Amivor Glaur gathers up the party and says, "You five and the old man will be out in front of the rest of the caravan, keeping us apprised of any geographical features or dangers that might prove problematic for us. More importantly, you'll be charged with keeping us at pace - and hopefully ahead of the other expeditions that are leaving today."
He continues, "Asuming we don't run into too many delays or problems, we should have more than enough supplies to get to Kalabuto. We'll re-provision once we reach there."
"If thing break right for us, we should be in Kalabuto in 15 days. Any questions?"
The first leg of your journey takes you through the foothills that span between Eleder and the Bandu Hills. After five days of relatively uneventful and, thus far, unmolested travel the main trail snakes northeast around a tall section of hills, and then detours north connecting with several of regions more profitable and still operable mines. The map you were given by Amivor marks the location of one mine in particular, the Fzumi Salt Mine. It appears to lead up to the edge of the M'neri Plains, suggesting that passage through the mines could provide a short cut that would take at least half a day, maybe even as much as a full day off of the journey that the more traditional southerly route would take.
"Nkechi, what do you know about these mines here?" Dereje asks, pointing out the spot on the map. "It seems that passing through them would save us a considerable amount of time."
Hana spends much of the trailblazing time hacking away at vines with a machete. The undine wipes away sweat in the tropical humidity with aplomb and keeps hacking away from dawn to dusk, presumably rather used to this kind of tropical heat thanks to her place of origin.
As the discussion comes up about the Fzumi salt mine, she chimes in, "Do we think we can safely get a whole caravan through the mines? I suppose they could wait outside while we try to traverse it and make sure that we can deal with any monsters and find a route that is wide enough?"
Lawdrak scratches at his chin as the discussion about the route goes on.
"I'll listen to our guide, of course, but I'm more comfortable under the open sky..."
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Nkechi clicks his tongue before saying, "The mine has been abandoned for years, no telling what may have taken up residence there. With that said, if we are in a race against others, any advantage is a good one."
Turning to Hana, he adds, "It was a salt mine, wagons the size of our caravan's were not uncommon in the tunnels. That part of the issue is not a problem."
"Ooh.. I think we should go through the mines. Can we? It would give us an edge.. and would be a nice change of scenery."
"Not that I've grown tired of this... there's always something new and fascinating out here."
"Hm. If that's the case, then I must say that I'm for going into the mine as well," Dereje says after some thought, giving Lawdrak an apologetic look. "I'm sure that we can fend off whatever happens to be crawling around in there."
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Having decided to take the route through the mines, or at the very least scout it out, the party along with their guide, Nkechi, head for the Fzumi mine.
As you reach the crest of a hill before arriving at the mine, you look down to see what appears to be an abandoned mining camp. Just as you are about to descend into the camp, a woman and and a creature not so dissimilar to Sharpmaw burst from the surrounding jungle.
The woman stands nearly 6 feet tall woman with a perfectly muscled figure and stunning features, her dark hair woven into clumped tangles. She dresses in scraps of animal hide and carries a glaive crafted from the toothed jaw of some fearsome jungle beast. The large lizard next to her stands on two larger legs with smaller front claws, again similar to Sharpmaw, but leaner.
The woman glares at you and brandishes her glaive and says in choppy Taldane, "You go! My hunting land!"
She does not approach any further, but seems to be watching what you do.
Savras responds in Polygot, "We pass through your hunting lands and mean no harm. We shall be here and gone like the wind".
" It's a Sicklefoot. A Deinonychus, the Elders call them," Lawdrak mutters to his friends, then slowly moves out so the woman and her saurian friend can clearly see him and Sharpmaw.
Laying a hand on Sharpmaw, he gives a slow bow.
"Your pardon, Lady," he calls out in Polyglot, "As my friend says, we are merely passing. We will take no game without your leave. "
He switches to another language - one that seems somehow raw and primal - for a few words, then bows again.
Seeing how Lawdraw has this matter well in hand, Hana takes a somewhat more relaxed pose - before, her hand was inching toward her katana almost imperceptibly.
Polygot, "Quite literally we pass through to reach a destination many seek. We believe that we would be the best suited to reach this destination to keep what is there out of the wrong hands. Know that others seek this item and you may encounter them as well.
What do you know of this salt mine nearby?"
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The savage woman moves her gaze from person to person, seemingly judging you before answering Savras's question , "Thank you for the warning of others to come. In exchange, I warn you about the mine. It is a tunnel to the underworld, inhabited by the spirits of the dead. Long ago, both my mother and father disappeared down that shaft and never returned. Not too long after their disappearance, angry dead things came out of the mine and killed everyone in the camp."
Savras blinks and responds in Polygot, "I am sorry to hear of this fate for your parents".
He turns to the others and speaks in common, "It seems that if we take the mine, we will lose some of our forces to the walking dead. Perhaps this short cut will turn out to be more of a dead end..."
Hana shifts from foot to foot. "Some of our forces?" she says. [b]"Not if we eliminate the undead."
She doesn't anything about how uncomfortable it makes her to fight the walking dead. She CERTAINLY doesn't say anything about how she has romanticized the idea of being so devoted to a cause that you exist beyond death to protect it to the point that she secretly hopes to become undead after she's killed in battle some day.
Estietre shakes her head and tsks.... "Those poor souls..."
She solemnly nods in accord with Hana's reply. "Yes... this confirms my vote. There are few causes greater than putting the living dead to rest."
"Wait, we want to voluntarily go fight the dead?
The living, I am fine with. The dead do not die so very easily cause ya' know, they're already dead..."
Lawdrak looks uncomfortable, darting a quick glance at their new acquaintance.
"I'd hate to stir something up then move on, and leave it to trouble those that live here.." he mumbles.
"Indeed. There will be others who tread these roads. Best that we eliminate any potential dangers," Dereje remarks finally, more or less understanding the woman. Though he is far from a master linguist, between some tutelage from Nkechi and a small phrasebook he picked up in Eleder, he was quickly starting to pick up on the language.
As though to demonstrate, he asks in fairly choppy Polyglot, "What is your name?"
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The woman pauses for a moment before getting the gist of what the Abadarian paladin was asking.
"Athyra." she says pointing to herself. Gesturing toward her companion, she says, "Jaji."
Somewhat confused as to why the party was still around, she asks in Polyglot, "Surely, you don't intend to go in the mine after my warning do you?"