"Okay then... so just... be like a normal person who can't talk, and has to rely on magic to communicate concepts... and hope we don't scare them at first. Get them relaxed, then explain what's going on, once we have a translator, maybe? I can cast my unity of languages several times today should I not need it for anything else." she looks to the others, formulating her plan as best she can.
Tavros gives Teniel a wide-eyed, confused look. This was the second time in a pretty short period that someone had suggested he might be scary. He looks over what he was wearing. Yup, just as he thought, there were no bones of his enemies or blood stains anywhere to be seen. What could possibly be scary about him then? It was most puzzling.
His thoughts are interrupted by Maks talking. Quickly losing that train of thought, he nods enthusiastically. "Let us go meet these new people and see if they know anything of Father."
"Do you think we could just scare them? Maybe if we find the big groups and get creative we could make them think the turtles home is cursed."
"Well... let's go meet them, anyway. We could worry about arguments in a few days, when we're communicating better. Shall we? Makoto will take a local form, and I'll... cast an illusory pantomiming double or something, when the time comes."
Darula stretches again and yawns. "I think I better get back to Akluzzar. It will take me a while to get back, plane shift is so inaccurate. Best of luck. Maybe we will come visit soon."
"Alrighty, stay safe, Darula!" Maks calls after her, in a differnt-though-not-unpleasant voice. She coughs a few times, and then familiarizes herself with how the vocal cords work now, moving through octaves, as she heads towards the smoke in question. Once she's a suitable distance away, she's start to play music with her spear, dancing with it, and making certain that it doesn't grow too loud, hoping to draw as few people from town as possible, by steadily increasing in volume.
Tavros looks crestfallen as Darula announces she's leaving; apparently, his leading was not impressive enough to lure her in to being his dance partner. This is why he doesn't dance to Maks music as they head towards the smoke and instead drags his feet along.
Luckily, he quickly bounces back as he notices the tracks he's making in the wetter wand. Soon he's making very pronounced steps in order to leave clear hoof prints. Then things devolve into making large jumps and jumping around in circles to see the patterns he creates.
Lucina gives a small bow as Darula leaves then follows after maks, careful to leave enough space that if someone approaches them Maks will be the first one they see.
The group treks into the tropical forest, through the lush plantlife as the warm sun beats overhead. After the chilly wind swept hills of the alpine region you were in, the warm sun is welcome, unless you are fur bearing, then it may get a little warm.
You make your way through and eventually pick up paths that seem to lead in many directions, but continue to follow in the direction of the smoke. Before long two children come screaming out of the bushes chasing each other running pell mell through the woods in some sort of game. They don't even see you and one of them runs smack into Makoto. Bamf. the child falls back and the other one stops short behind him. "Oooof, Owaaah." He gets up dusts himself off and looks at you "Bala homari tui sharl." They seem apologetic for having run into an adult.
Makoto looks down to the child and pats him on the head, then shakes her head, tapping her windpipe, then taps her ear and shakes her head again, before offering him a smile. 'I can't speak or hear you' is the connotation she's going for. It was close enough to the truth to get the gist across.
"It's a child. Probably won't freak as much as its parents would if you just cast a translation spell on it?"
Makoto looks back in his direction and shakes her head. She would explain why, but she was feigning inability to speak... as she literally couldn't speak and have them understand. It was better than speaking in tongues to them.
So much for waiting until everything was explained before revealing themselves.
Teniel will approach as well, leaving Pamburu behind, as children might be frightened of a tiger (even a small one).
Tavros' antics have him moving slowly enough to be closer to Lucina than Makoto. Currently he appears to be attempting to do a handstand in order to poke his horns into the sand.
Lucina would stay out of sight and try to keep Tavros from falling to avoid any loud noises that could give them away.
Makoto, the children look at you curiously you as motion to your mouth and ears and then they look at Teniel, with some wide eyes and mouths slightly open. As children often do when they don't know how to react they just sort of walk off or run away. These children are no different. They look at each other and shrug, happy they aren't being scolded, and run off down the trail again, playing whatever game they were playing, yelling and shrieking.
Makoto looks over to Teniel, "We have to be careful of who we interact with first. Children would be more receptive of the magic, I'm sure... but how would you feel if a stranger came and ensorceled your child? Certainly, we mean no harm, and what we do is harmless, but it is a scary prospect to have a mage casting unknown magic on the children as they leave to play. We must work to make them comfortable, not simply taking the simplest route."
"Where I come from, children do not go outside to play—they stay in the center of the village, where they are safe, while bravery and experience are both required to scout the jungle. I would defer to your expertise in this."
"And where I come from, children who are not outside are dying of boredom." she shrugs a little. "Yours is a different culture from the majority; people will be quite willing to contradict themselves when it comes to how much they trust their children... and how much they trust the outside world with them. I feel that if several monsters walked into town with my child speaking tongues to them... I would be hardpressed to trust the situation. That is the probable outcome if we take that route."
She moves towards the town, still, hoping to draw out an adult this time with her spear's song.
As you approach the village, your spear song tune whistles through the air. You can hear the voices and also hear the sounds of industry, people going about their daily chores, working and as the village is on the shore there is fishing and splashing of people in the water.
Several people close to the trail look up at you as you step into the initial clearing. The village appears to be a mix of tropical (think Gilligan's Island) style huts, that are slowly being transformed into better structures, caught in a revolution of building styles, as they incorporate brick, wood, stone, and even glass window panes. The people have olive skin, long dark hair, and are thin and lanky in stature. Wood and coral jewelry seem popular as you look at the different faces as they look up at you. You see the two children from earlier standing with some adults and they point at you, not so much at Makoto who looks like they do, but more at Teniel, who while not terrifying is certainly abnormal. The village seems abustle with people working on things a myriad of trades. beyond the village in the harbor you see fishing and several large boats and a dock. Clearly trade is strong in this village and they ship whatever their goods to far away lands.
The people do not seem to panic at your arrival, and no one comes rushing with spears or weapons. Everyone at the initial clearing seems to patiently wait as you walk forward. While you cannot see the entire village, nor all of them you, the place is not exceptionally large.
Makoto looks to the others, "So... do we just walk in? How do we tell them our intentions? Do you have any ideas, Teniel?"
"Well, I'll try the plan you suggested before," Teniel volunteers, taking off his sword holster and leaving the weapon on the ground. "Cast Share Language, and hold the charge."
He briefly casts a spell, and a sort of billboard-sized picture frame appears over the newcomer, on which two strangers (who look like Makoto's current form and Teniel) stand on the left, and several generic olive-skinned villagers stand on the right, near a group of huts. One of the villagers walks forward, shakes Makoto's hand, and then the two cartoons begin engaging in a pantomime of conversation.
Maks shrugs, "I'll try." she then concentrates on the spell, focusing on unity; it'd be easier if she could touch their chakra... but maybe the hand would work.
If possible to stay out of sight of the villagers while keeping Maks and Teniel in her sight she would but if she had no where to hide and keep watch on her friends she would approach slowly making sure to stay behind them but getting close enough to help if things went wrong.
The villagers watch the image generated by Teniel. In time someone who appears to be a leader type comes into view with several others. Their group moves to you and walks to Makoto after seeing the image.
The leader ponders the situation briefly and steps forward to extend his hand to Makoto after a head nod type bow.
Makoto bows her head as well, before shaking his hand.
"Hello. My name is Makoto, but my friends call me Maks. We are... New to the area from very distant lands." She explains quickly. "I
have cast two spells, one that allows you to speak our language and understand it, the other helps to set people's minds at ease by altering my appearance. If you would like for either effect to end, I will end them."
"With that out of the way... we were told that you and your people were having difficulty with those from the outside world. We seek to trade our services and for anything you are willing to trade. We are each capable in our own right, and have much to offer. What we seek more than anything, however, is knowledge of our adopted father. Thank you for coming to meet with us, and hopefully it is a pleasure to meet you." She says as she provides the man with a smile.
"Welcome to our home. Is your normal appearance frightening?" He ponders for a bit, scrutinizing you. "Our islands, the people here we have begun trade with other parts of the world. It has brought about many changes, one of the unfortunate side effects is the attention it has brought. There are many who would have our wealth and hard work all to themselves. They prey on the ships sent to take our trade to other lands or to bring goods here that improve our lives. Many raiders land on the islands and take resources that are not theirs and damage the lands. There are some villages that have been attacked and people captured and enslaved. We have been fortunate here, but we have lost ships."
"My name is Ben Kowan. Our village is run by an elected council of the wisest villages." He laughs, "Somehow people thought I fit that description. I am really no one."
"I do not know whether my appearance would be frightening to you or not. I have been called beautiful by some, and terrible by others," She mentally squished her absent tails, and reminded herself to smile. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I normally appear as a Fox-like person, we have a bull-like person as well. And you can already see my little blue friend. I have a large wolf-like companion, and my blue friend, Teniel has a tiger. Finally, there is a pale-skinned girl nearby as well. I would ask for your wisdom as to whether or not we should reveal some or all of ourselves. No one, or not, you know your people far better than I." She says, providing him with a real smile.
"How did you arrive at our small island?"
"A friend of ours teleported us here from quite far away. A... newer friend. She'd like to see to it that your lands aren't despoiled, alongside our other mutual friend. It seemed like the right thing to do, and it seemed like a good idea at the time; we had too many cooks in the kitchen where we were." she says with a small shrug. "We needed to find distant solutions, rather than focusing all of our efforts on looking in one place. So why not go somewhere where we can do good and hopefully find alternative ways of finding our father in the process?"
"What happened to your adopted father?" He looks at you both. "I am being rude with so man questions. Come and have some water and sit in the shade." He motions you to follow him and leads you to the village. "You said there are others? Let them come out."
Makoto waves to Lucina and Tavros, and *insert hopefully not too monstrous other person here*.
"We don't know. I was... asleep when he left our home, and when I awoke I was no longer in my home." She shrugs a little. "No one really knows much, but that we need to find what we can."
The remaining group steps from the foliage and shadows. The purses his lips and has an 'oh boy' sort of moment at Tavros, but remains more or less composed.
"Welcome to Kavil, our paradise, travellers."
He leads you to the village, where it seems by now everyone has assembled and is watching you. The man waves them off, and they shuffle to return to their work, although many children remain to hide behind barrels or crates watching.
Ben takes you into a large hut, inside it is almost empty and very spartan, but you see several youths sparring and rolling around wrestling or practicing with weapons. They all stop and bow as he enters. He nods to them and they continue about their drills.
He sits cross legged on the floor and leans over to pull a kettle of tea already simmering to him and hands each of you a cup. He fills each one in turn.
"Now, what to do. You are welcome to stay here and grab some floor space and we have some mats although they are not the softest. We may be able to come up with some extra bedding easily enough. You say a friend sent you here to see that our lands are not despoiled. That is a challenge. The islands spread far and wide. Without a boat it will be a short lived quest. Piracy is strong in the seas near here. Some of the nations that we do trade with have been slow in getting organized to protect our mutual investments. Ourselves we are not capable of the type of ships needed to thwart some of the raiders. We are learning, but you can't build a ship overnight. You may be able to protect some of the more precious resources, if that is your wish. How long will you stay? Your mission seems...forgive me, but rather vague. Were I a less trusting person I might be suspicious, but I know there is something special about you."
"We're... trained as storytellers and actors, mostly, but with a great diversity of backgrounds and a deal of skill at self-defense. We're those 'questing heroes' you hear about in stories, and we've been told that fighting bandits and pirates in these islands might be the perfect way to train our skills."
Lucina approaches the man slowly still worried about attacks but not wanting to look like a threat, she bows to him as a greeting before following into the town. Having so many eyes watch them made her visibly uncomfortable but she kept her head down and mouth shut until they entered the tent. Once inside she'd sit and accept the tea with a nod of thanks but avoid drinking it until the host had done so first.
"We wish we could be more clear telling about our father but in all honesty we don't really know much about what happened to him and don't understand much of what is happening here short of we were asked to help stop pirates. If you think they are too powerful for us to face maybe we could help in some other way that could lead to their downfall?"
He nods to Teniel, "Those stories are always interesting. If you wish to train, you may use the area here that I have. Just go easy on my students."
"There are many pirates in the area as well as land raider. Few have come to this small island yet, but some of our goods have been lost as ships were attacked. We can speak to the captains of some of the vessels and they may take you aboard. However the ships journey back to the mainland and you would be taken away if it is your intent to stay here. We can safely take you to some of the more dangerous islands where the raiding activity is more prevalent."
"Some of the pirates are members of larger more powerful networks, or may be funded clandestinely by rival nations or mercantile groups. Some of them are just out for themselves and are just bloodthirsty killers."
"I don't know how to assist in finding your father. But if we can, we will try to help as we are able."
"I can help to teach your students some of my style of fighting... but it's firmly bound in religion. That is not to say that they must worship as I worship, but rather, that they must worship at all." Maks said with a small smile. "As for where to go... I'll leave it to you to know where we are most needed. I am... a diplomat of sorts, more a speaker than anyone with power, though. The tradition I studied will aid in keeping your warriors alive, should they be attacked, if I had time to teach it properly, our friends sought for us to protect the turtles, most prevalently. If you need someone to speak for you, I can do that as well." Maks said, as Miyu slipped out of the woods to follow her at a distance.
"Maybe we should start with the local bandits, then? Practice fighting the ruffians of these isles before adding the complication of sea legs."
Ben replies, "Ah the turtles? You know of the sacred hatching ground?"
"We... don't know where it is, but." she pauses for a moment, realizing it would sound crazy, and that being the reason it was left out. "A turtle was specifically the one who requested we come here to aid you. A rather large turtle who could speak to our minds." Maks says, a little uncomfortably.
Tavros walks out with Lucina, seemingly oblivious to the stares. He grins widely at everyone. He seems to ignore the tea though, continuing to smile peacefully as he hopes it isn't taken as some kind of insult. When the topic of their father comes up he pipes up, "We're supposed to find someone called Master Kao Lor. I don't suppose you've heard of him? His last known location was probably far from here. I don't know how far Mr. Turtle brought us."
"I have not heard of him. What was he a master of?"
Maks takes a sip of the tea, relieved that a giant talking turtle didn't seem to upset this man's world view. Apparently it was more common than she had thought.
"I... never thought to ask." Maks looks to Tavros, before licking her lips, "I only know that he presided over a monastery. Do any of you know more than that?"
Ben replies, "I wonder if he was a practitioner of the art."
"Your friend, the turtle, we are...aware of him. He can be mischievous, but we know that he is fiercely protective of the hatching grounds, both for others of his kind, and for the lesser turtles of the sea. Many stories abound on the islands about Akluzzar the sea terror. It is rare that he harasses those of us who are native to these lands however."
"Do you think they know about the goatmen?" Lucina spoke to her group, she wasn't entirely sure how far they'd travel and knew it was a long shot but she was willing to try if it ment getting the goats aid.
Tavros shrugs. "It could have just been a term of respect." He was a little surprised to hear that Mr. Turtle was 'mischievous.' Perhaps that was more their blue friend? He sighs wistfully.
He shakes his head, returning to the present. "Are there turtle eggs on this island? It sounds like you don't have too many pirates bothering you, but perhaps there are still some we can help deal with."
"So far we have not been the focus, since we are a smaller island, and the main hatching grounds are on a larger island east of here. Sure we get some of the smaller sea turtles here and on most of the islands, but they mostly go to the larger one. It is a sight to behold when they hatch and all make for the sea."
"We would certainly be willing to take you by boat to the island if that is your wish. Some of the various towns have taken it upon themselves lately to send people to guard and patrol the islands, but some of the pirates are heavily armed or aided by magic even. Maybe a group of your skills would be more of a match, or at least make them think twice if they see you." He nods at Tavros, who unaware as usual of his intimidating size.
Lucina nodded in agreement."If the people that patrol the island would accept our help I think we could be a great aid but we don't have much to be able to pay for fair." she said apologetically.