Untari looks very unsure at first, but with goading from Tar'kanas , she slowly lowers herself to allow Douena to climb on. A slight growl escapes her throat as she adjusts to Douena's weight, but a stern look from Tar'kanas silences her. She is again reluctant to move at first, but slowly does so at Tar'kanas's bidding.
After a minute or two, the cheetah relaxes a little, adjusting to the unusual circumstances. It'll take awhile for her to be completely at ease with carrying a rider, but for the moment, she is at least accepting it.
The next several days pass by relatively uneventfully. The monkeys continue to chattering annoyingly all day and night, except for that brief moment of silence in the early hours of the morning. Monkey meat becomes a staple of your diet over the passing days. The hunters in your group never have any difficulty finding enough of them to provide food for everyone.
On the 8th of Rova, you pass through an area of the jungle that seems to be teeming with even more monkeys, something you wouldn't have thought possible. The rest of the time, the landscape and sights stay pretty much the same: large tropical trees, numerous corpse flowers, and the rushing water of the river.
On this day, as you push your way through the vines and underbrush, the sun beating hot above and the humidity just approaching unbearable, you come across an area of torn brush and snapped bark and branches, as if something big had passed through this area. A quick examination reveals a trail of a barefoot humanoid and a a larger set of clawed humanoid prints with a stride twice as long as that of a human leading off into the jungle.
Makoa's sensitive nose picks up the scent of decay nearby (separate from the usual decaying stench of the corpse flowers). He spots just a short distance along this trail the carcass of a board splayed open on a boab tree, its entrails laid out before it.
-- no encounter
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"Poor boar," Douena remarks sadly. "Your future wasn't in there anywhere. Everyone out here has a pet. The druid with his lion and the painted elf with his Untari and that lady back at the mine with the dinosaur. What kind of pet did this one have?"
"So a barefoot humanoid and a... tiger maybe? But can you tell from the tracks if the humanoid was chased by the... tiger... or whether he was following him? Or she."
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."
Douena brightens. "Maybe the human or elf or whatever was the bigger one's pet, for a change. That would be different. Makoa, how would you feel about that, about something else taking a person as a pet? Would that be wrong?"
"It certainly sounds strange, Douena."
"I think it would depend on the creature and the human, elf, half-elf, or, even, gnome."
"I'm unsure. I'm not particularly curious about what went down that way; but on the other hand, perhaps we'll learn something valuable. That way, or keep going with our mission?"
Douena frowns at Mahjik suspiciously. "You wanted us to stay in Kalabuto for a couple of days, too; then those government agents could have gotten even farther ahead of us. Did someone offer you something to make sure they got to the city first?"
"If time is our enemy, then continuing on with the mission seems the most wise," Tar'kanas states impassively.
"That was not fair, Douena. Mahjik is one of us and we are all allowed to be wrong from time to time. In any case, time is of the essence and some random tracks are no cause for us to take a detour. Let's keep going."
Pezock perks up as he hears Douena's suggestion. He turns to look at Mahjik, his eyes narrow and accusatory. "Shut up, wizard and painted elf," he says. "I want to hear the coward's response." He draws his sabre and points it towards Mahjik. "And it better be a good one."
Urza pulls a wand and points it at Pezock. "Stand down you rabid clump of feathers." That last 's' is drawn out into a near hiss. "His answer is that he did not betray us. Accept that and lets move on."
"Then why doesn't he say it? I want to hear it from him!" The feathers on Pezock's face twitch, but after a second, he does lower his sabre. He turns away grumbling, patting the flat of the blade lovingly.
"Let's get going," he says and starts walking north, parallel to the river. "But if I hear anything else about betrayals..." His voice trails off into more grumbles.
Watching the tengu move off, Mahjik mutters to Douena, "Do you think he's molting or something?" He grins, then adds "Primarily I cared about me spending time in Kalabuto, not the group as a whole. My personal mission, happily, does not interfere with the task we have before us - other than that I occasionally need to investigate something independently. I don't expect there to be another such opportunity any time soon."
Ishirou clasps Mahjik on the shoulder. "Do not worry. I don't think anyone here seriously believes that you would betray us."
"Except Pezock," Douena adds matter-of-factly. "And, well, probably the Painted Elf because he doesn't really know you. Or any of us. Does he even know where we're going and why, or is he just tagging along because he has nothing better to do?"
You gather the boar carcass and then depart, leaving whatever made the trail behind. The next morning (the 14th of Rova), Jask prepares purify food and drink and uses it on the boar. That evening, you feast on it. Over the course of this day, you notice the jungle on this side of the river getting noticeably thinner, while on the other side, it remains just as thick. According to Shokambe, you will soon exit the jungle (although it continues on the other side of the river.
Sure enough, on the 15th, you finally leave the confines of the Screaming Jungle and its ever screaming monkeys--well, mostly. Since the jungle is still quite present on the other side of the river, you can still hear the monkeys, but they are softer due to the distance and the roar of the river drowning some of them out. There is still that eerie moment of silence in the early hours of the following morning.
The river has turned west here. Shokambe says that it will start to wind a little at this point and it will be possible to take a couple of shortcuts in the coming days where you can cut across open plains for a little bit before rejoining the river.
By the end of the day on the 15th, the river has already turned north again, and on the 16th, it turns to the east. At this point Shokambe suggests heading straight north across the plains until you meet the river again. To the west, the mountains tower along the skyline. You camp that evening in the open plains, well away from the jungle finally and the ever-screaming monkeys. Although there are the typical sounds of insects and occasional birds and other animals, this night is the first truly quiet night you've experienced in quite some time.
The morning of the 17th dawns with the sun shining brightly.
-- no encounter
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"Except Pezock," Douena adds matter-of-factly. "And, well, probably the Painted Elf because he doesn't really know you. Or any of us. Does he even know where we're going and why, or is he just tagging along because he has nothing better to do?"
"Surely we told him," Sasha says. "Tar'kanas, you know where we're going, don't you?"
"I don't know where we're going and why," Douena grumbles.
"It matters little. You mentioned the Consortium being an enemy of yours. They are also an enemy of my people. They are the ones who took my tribesman. And they are apparently in this 'race' you speak of which means our paths will cross. That is all I need to know."
Looking over at Douena before turning his attention to the others, "But I believe the gnome is unaware of your destination. I do not know the length of this acquaintance among yourselves, but if it has been of any significant amount of time, I would highly recommend informing her of your objective. A tribe in discord is one that will not stand," he concludes, completely expressionless in all that he said.
"Every morning the monkeys have a moment of silence in honor of their monkey god."
"For many of us, this journey started a long time ago when we were shipwrecked, that we are together now still is a testament to the hardships we've overcome together. I suspect, somewhere down below, inside us, many of us sense that together we can achieve more than if we part ways. Perhaps that is why we are here now: following an uncertain ambition in the hopes to become more than what we are."
Looking over at Douena before turning his attention to the others, "But I believe the gnome is unaware of your destination. I do not know the length of this acquaintance among yourselves, but if it has been of any significant amount of time, I would highly recommend informing her of your objective. A tribe in discord is one that will not stand," he concludes, completely expressionless in all that he said.
"Oh, Douena knows where we're going," Lorenz says. "She just likes to remind everybody that she doesn't want to go there."
"Yeah. It was her visions that caused us to be on this road."
"But it was Gelik's blabbering that caused all the other people to be on this road trying to kill us," she points out darkly, with a glare at Lorenz. "This would be a lot more fun if we didn't have to hurry and we could have looked for treasure at the lake or gone to see which one was whose pet and what the boar told them or if people hadn't killed Jask."
"Every morning the monkeys have a moment of silence in honor of their monkey god."
"But we killed the giant vampire monkey," Douena protests. "Shouldn't that have stopped them?"
Tar'kanas looks to Lorenz and responds with a look of understanding. Turning to the fiery little gnome as she goes on her rant, Tar'kanas sports a confused look. "You are disturbed because you are not having... 'fun'? I do not understand."
"Every morning the monkeys have a moment of silence in honor of their monkey god."
"Monkey's do not worship any god. They are creatures incapable of such."
"But we killed the giant vampire monkey," Douena protests. "Shouldn't that have stopped them?"
"You keep referring to this 'giant vampire monkey'. I do not think it is what you think it is."
"But we killed the giant vampire monkey," Douena protests. "Shouldn't that have stopped them?"
"That probably wasn't their god. Just some monster that wanted to take over. I'm sure that their god is much nicer. I mean monkeys are too good not to have a nice god. Right?"
"hmmm... I don't recall much, but in Vudra where I was born, I heard mention of a god called the Monkey King. He's rather popular in Tian Xia from what I gather. I don't know if he would apply for this."
Monkeys can be rather mean, Urza. If they are smart enough to worship a god, we may be in trouble if they decide they don't like us."
Monkeys can be rather mean, Urza. If they are smart enough to worship a god, we may be in trouble if they decide they don't like us."
"We have nothing to fear from the monkeys!" Pezock declares. "We will kill this Monkey King god if he bothers us."
He turns to Mahjik. "You will be our expert on the Monkey King. You will point him out to us if you see him."
Mahjik smartly salutes, "Jawohl mein Kapitän!"
As Tar'kanas continues to listen to the conversation at hand, he bends low to address Douena. "Does this group always have such discussions? I find such talk... odd."
Douena nods placidly. "Monkey Kings, vampire snake people, flappybites," she says matter-of-factly. "And Tiny bears. Did I ask you if you know where the Tiny bears live yet?"
Tar'kanas looks to Douena, a questioning look upon his face. "Tiny bears? Cubs I would gather to be your meaning?"
"No, not babies," she explains. "Grown-up ones about the size of a cat. Or, well, maybe Diminutive ones would be best so I could carry them in my pocket, like Sir Ralph." The lizard pops his head out at the sound of his name inquisitively.
He ponders it a moment trying to understand the idea of such a creature that isn't a bear cub. Noticing the lizard but paying it no mind, "Tiny bears that you wish to carry in your pocket. Fascinating."
"Eclectic, yes?" Mahjik grins at the new elven companion. "I understand that you have a grudge against the Aspis - and I'd be very surprised if we don't run into more of them sooner rather than later. But, that said, sometimes I feel the gods are toying with us, as we've encountered any number of strange creatures. Most tried to kill us. A couple were friendly. I guess you fall into that category. The point being, wise man would prepare for many eventualities."
Tar'kanas looks at the monk, listening intently. "Yes. It is always best to be prepared for any situation, I do not disagree." Tar'kanas turns his attention off into the distance. "And I am patient. Whether it is sooner or later, it matters not. I shall have my day," he deadpans.
"Well, I'm not patient," Pezock declares. "This land is too big. I could have crossed the Shiv back and forth a hundred times in the time it's taken us to get this far. I shall have my day, and it better be soon, not later!"
You make your way straight north across the grasslands this day, the sun beating down upon you for the morning and early afternoon. The usual afternoon rain comes later than usual today, making you all the more glad of its arrival.
During the late afternoon, as you travel through the refreshing light rain, Mahjik, near the back of the party begins to become aware of something following the group, hiding amongst the long grasses. At first, the occasional odd brustling of grasses or flicker of movement just seems to be an animal moving through the plains, but then it becomes clearer that each time, it's the same something as before and it's definitely trying to remain unobserved.
Mahjik tries not to be obvious, or startle the stalker, but he speeds up a bit to get closer to the center of the group to catch more of his allies' ears. "We're being tailed. Somebody - or somebodies - have been stalking us for a while now. It would be wise to be ready for anything."
"Well, I'm not patient," Pezock declares. "This land is too big. I could have crossed the Shiv back and forth a hundred times in the time it's taken us to get this far. I shall have my day, and it better be soon, not later!"
Tar'kanas stares at the bird man a moment, attempting to understand him. "You are full of fire, tengu. That will aid this group immeasurably." He pauses a moment as if processing something else within his mind before he continues. "But you are loud," he states plainly as he then returns to the task at hand.
As Mahjik warns the group about them being followed, Tar'kanas draws his bow. "Let us draw it out."
"Well, I'm not patient," Pezock declares. "This land is too big. I could have crossed the Shiv back and forth a hundred times in the time it's taken us to get this far. I shall have my day, and it better be soon, not later!"Tar'kanas stares at the bird man a moment, attempting to understand him. "You are full of fire, tengu. That will aid this group immeasurably." He pauses a moment as if processing something else within his mind before he continues. "But you are loud," he states plainly as he then returns to the task at hand.
Pezock looks as if he's about to argue the point, but then he pauses and tilts his head slightly. "Yes," he says. "Yes, that too."
As Mahjik warns the group about them being followed, Tar'kanas draws his bow. "Let us draw it out."
Pezock spins around at the mention of drawing it out. "With pleasure! " he yells.