Tar'kanas moves up next to Urza and fires off an arrow towards the giant snake.
As he lets it loose, a mighty roar is emitted from the ranger/lion, hoping it is loud enough to pierce the tough hide of the giant snake.
Untari gets low, then springs out of her stance instantly, charging toward the snake.
You can almost see the sound waves from Tar'kanas's roar rippling the air as they shoot towards the snake. The sound shakes the snake, knocking her back and forth.
Untari then springs into action, shooting across the ground and biting into the end of the snake's tail.
"What is with this stupid body?" Pezock squeaks as he moves forward. "Whose idea was it to make me a rat?"
The snake continues to shake in her stunned state.
Next Up: Urza, Makoa, Ishirou, Mahjik, Tar'kanas, Untari, Pezock, Ieana, Douena.
Urza moves forward (5' step to E7) and casts Enlarge Person on Makoa.
Urza begins barking and the air around him begins to swirl.
Next Up: Ishirou, Mahjik, Tar'kanas, Untari, Pezock, Ieana, Douena (subject to delayed action), Urza.
He keeps biting, twisting to get his claws in against the serpent's flesh after each *snap* of his mighty jaws.
Makoa's teeth snap down on the serpent's midsection, piercing deeply. Only one of his claws, however, manages to do similarly and pierce her tough scales. The snake looks barely alive at this point.
-- hit
Ishirou then gores her with his horn and she falls still. Then her body fades away as if it were never there.
Pezock sighs. "That was too easy," he grumbles. "And there's not even any treasure!" He pauses a moment and then adds, "Unless it's hidden in the grass." He begins to scurry about, sniffing through the grass, but he finds nothing.
Makoa hisses as he calms down, feeling tired. He lays down in the grass and closes his eyes, resting.
Urza lets out a howl.
As the serpent falls, Tar'kanas looks around. "Now what? Do we wake?"
"I think we're supposed to meet one of the dancers still. Right?"
"Ok, Douena, you're the expert here. Are we supposed to look for one of those damnable dancers or the holy grail or other mcguffin that will help tell our future?"
"They don't know anything about what's going on in here," she answers a little scornfully. "They certainly weren't expecting to be part of your dream. They just dance around until you wake up."
"Wise man say you should meet me," a voice says, and a monkey looking exactly like Mahjik bounds out of the grass right beside Mahjik. "Come. I will be your guide." The monkey begins walking through the grass, beckoning Mahjik to follow.
Suddenly, beside the rest of you, you each see another animal that looks exactly like your current animal form.
"The dancers just open the way for us to communicate," the owl says to Douena. "They don't actually need to keep dancing as long as they do."
"It's typical of the mortal world, though," the lion beside Tar'kanas says. "The rituals are always exaggerated."
Pezock peers closely at the rat beside him. "You're my spirit guide?" he says with distaste.
"Did you really expect anything better?" the rat replies. "You may look like a bird, but you're a rat through and through."
"I am not a bird!" Pezock protests.
"I said look like one, not that you are," the rat snaps. "Now shut up and follow me! I've got a trick or two to show you."
The rats scurries off, but Pezock stands there stubbornly. "Suit yourself!" the rat calls back. "Your loss!"
"The dancers just open the way for us to communicate," the owl says to Douena. "They don't actually need to keep dancing as long as they do."
"Hmph," Douena sniffs, quite a feat through a beak. "I didn't think they knew what they were doing. They didn't even know Ieana was in here. How did she get here anyway? We killed her back on the Shiv. Pezock!" she calls. "Come be an owl with me."
The owl looks over to where the serpent was. "She was an echo," she says. "Or an after-image you might call her. The person you call Ieana used to come to the spirit world frequently before her death. She was searching for something, but we don't know what. She killed her guide when she first arrived. The more she visited, the stronger her echo became. After her death, her echo was consumed with that moment. Enacting revenge was her only goal, but she had no way to reach that goal until you came here yourselves."
The owl turns her head back to Douena. "When you and your friends leave here, there will be echoes of you left behind as well, but I trust you will all be friendlier. We are certainly happy that serpent is now gone."
Pezock wanders slowly over and looks over his rat form. "How do I change to something else?"
"You can't, I'm afraid," the owl replies. "You cannot change your guide."
Pezock scowls.
"That's okay," Douena ruffles her feathers self-importantly. "Desna sent us here to get rid of her for you. So is she gone from everywhere now, or are there more echoes of her hiding in other realms? Why are there no people in the spirit world?"
"Because people are physical, and spirits are not." Makoa rumbles, eyes opening.
"Animals are just as physical as people," Douena points out stubbornly. "So why does everyone here look like animals instead of people or vegetables or butterflies or ham sandwiches? If Aycenia came here, would she be an animal, or would she be a tree? How come Untari's spirit form is the same as her physical form? And why aren't you a wolf?" She pauses, looking at the crocodiles' long toothy snouts, then admits, "Although it's hard to get a bigger bite than that."
"Maybe people's spirits are too complex or too diluted. Instead, at birth we are given or are chosen by an animal spirit who will be our guide when the time comes. Like this."
Mahjik looks at Urza thoughtfully, "I think you may be right. The only people spirits I can think of are ghosts."
"Animals are just as physical as people," Douena points out stubbornly. "So why does everyone here look like animals instead of people or vegetables or butterflies or ham sandwiches? If Aycenia came here, would she be an animal, or would she be a tree? How come Untari's spirit form is the same as her physical form? And why aren't you a wolf?" She pauses, looking at the crocodiles' long toothy snouts, then admits, "Although it's hard to get a bigger bite than that."
"Oh, but there are butterflies," the owl says. "Many of them. Just not in this specific location. No ham sandwiches, though, because they're not alive. Untari does not have a spirit form because she does not have a spirit guide." The owl turns her head a full 180 degrees to look at Mahjik. "We are very different from ghosts. Not the same thing at all. However, your guide has beckoned you to follow. Better do so quickly before he gets out of sight and then the opportunity will be lost."
She turns her head back to Douena. "Follow me." Then she flies up into the air.
The other spirits present beckon the rest of you to follow your associated spirit. Pezock grumbles and stubbornly stays put, refusing to follow the rat.
Those of you who follow your guide recall that the guide begins speaking to you, but you can't remember the exact words, as it all starts to feel like a dream. Then you awaken, with Alala, Masozi, and Osumare still dancing around your group. You feel invigorated, and you realize that you can now call upon your spirit guide for help without the need for the dancers.
If any of you don't follow, you simply wake up.
Mahjik follows his spiritual mentor and learns the ways of the monkey.
"That was... different. Let's take a bit to regroup, then get back on the trail."
Makoa follows his spirit guide as well, somewhat eager to see more of the world his wolves came from.
When he awakens, he stands up and stretches, enjoying the feeling of having hands again.
"It was good to see the spirit world. I thank you three."
Tar'kanas finding this curious, continues to follow the mighty cat until he awakens. Rising from the ground, he gathers his equipment and prepares to leave. "We are ready to move," he says once finished.
Alala, Masozi, and Osumare look exhausted, but relieved when you all wake up. "We're so glad you made it back out again," Masozi says. [b]"And we're sorry that all this happened in the first place."
"You should be," Pezock growls. He stands up and points his sword to the north. "Let's go and be rid of this place!"
"You don't have to dance so long, you know," Douena tells the tired dancers. "The spirit animals said. Shokambe, is Pezock pointing the right way?"
"He's actually pretty close this time," Shokambe says with a nod. "Maybe he's learning."
The young women look confused. "We don't?" Alala says. "How long should we dance?"
"The dancing is the part I enjoyed the most, actually. Please, Douena, it is time for us to move on."
The three dancers help you pack your belongings and prepare to head out. When you're ready to depart, Masozi says, "We apologize again for the troubles you've experienced during your time with us, and we thank you for freeing us from Zakiyya's control. We wish you the best of luck on your continued journey. If we ever meet again, I hope it will go more smoothly and be under better circumstances."
The young women look confused. "We don't?" Alala says. "How long should we dance?"
"You only have to dance until we're there," Douena informs her. "And then maybe to get us out again. I don't know. The owl didn't say. But she did say you don't have to dance so long. Haven't you been there? Maybe you should ask them."
The young women look confused. "We don't?" Alala says. "How long should we dance?""You only have to dance until we're there," Douena informs her. "And then maybe to get us out again. I don't know. The owl didn't say. But she did say you don't have to dance so long. Haven't you been there? Maybe you should ask them."
"We've been in many times," Alala replies, "but we never thought to talk about the dance. Instead, we talk about other life concerns. We'll ask next time." She looks embarrassed.
"Not to worry, it's just that some of our spirit animals are apparently a bit more sassy than others. I don't hold the troubles against you, in fact this has been a very fruitful learning experience for me - thank you."
"Not to worry, it's just that some of our spirit animals are apparently a bit more sassy than others. I don't hold the troubles against you, in fact this has been a very fruitful learning experience for me - thank you."
"You're...welcome," Alala says, looking surprised, but also happy to hear Mahjik's words.
With all your stuff gathered, you set off. Pezock takes the lead and Shokambe has to rush forward to make certain Pezock maintains the correct direction. Luckily, for the first half of the day, maintaining that direction is actually quite simple as you continue to follow the river.
However, over the last few days, the mountains to the west have slowly turned into foothills and even those foothills are now starting to flatten out. In the early afternoon, Shokambe announces that it's time to turn west for the final leg of the journey.
You take your midday break at this point and then set out over the grass-covered hills. In some ways, the journey is easier as the grasses are not as tangled and overgrown as they were along the riverbank. However, the frequent uphill journeying gets tiring (and the periods of downhill journeying don't quite make up for the uphill).
Shokambe says he expects about a week of travelling to reach the general area of your destination. He can't be sure how long it will take to find the exact spot, but he hopes no more than a day or two.
The next few days are rather monotonous, the view around you never seeming to change now matter how many hills you cross over. The mountains now loom, unchanging, to the south. To the north, you can see jungle at the limits of your sight from the tops of the hills. To the east and west, just more of the foothills. It's only on the fifth day of travel that the view ahead of you actually starts to change, when jungle becomes visible in the distance from the tops of the hills.
On this, the sixth day since leaving the spirit dancers, you finally leave the foothills and enter jungle again.
As the trees envelope you, Shokambe says, "We are now in the Mwangi, within about ten miles or so of the point marked on your map. This is where it gets a bit more difficult to be exact. Any idea of what this place looks like?"
"No," Douena responds. "I don't even remember what we're looking for. Is it a city? Or a map?"
"Or a beetle!" she adds hopefully, after a moment's thought. "It's not too late to go see the big beetle!"
"We're a very long way away from the beetle," Shokambe says. "It would take us another couple months to get there probably."
"We could be there by the end of Neth," Douena points out, counting on her fingers, "as long as it doesn't snow."
"It is a city. An ancient city with many fantastic lost things. Things greater than giant beetles and more wondrous than tiny bears. Just walking through the streets would be an adventure." Urza looks directly at Douena. "At least that is what they say. No one I have ever met or have heard of knows for sure. That is why everyone wants to find it and be the first to find it."
"I thought we were just finding a place to look for clues about finding the real city," Douena replies carelessly.
"You know, they say that many of our cities today are build on and from the ruins of prior cities. Perhaps people just forgot, but if we dig down at Taizon, maybe we find the mysterious missing city?"
During all the hacking at the altar, Douena has been attempting to read the writing on the walls of the alcoves. The noise is distracting, but she manages to follow what is said there.
She quickly determines that the southwest alcove is the start of the tale being told. It tells of the cult of Zura's genesis in the city of Saventh-Yhi in the jungle, but is frustratingly vague when it comes to exact details on the legendary city apart from confirming that it was built by Azlanti — this section ends with the cult’s exile from Saventh-Yhi and how they made a dangerous overland journey that ended on the shores of a remote island far from their homeland.
The northwestern alcove takes up the story at this point, detailing the cult’s exploration of this island (identifiable as Smuggler’s Shiv), their discovery and defeat of a large group of serpent folk who had gone into hiding after the defeat of their kind many years before at Saventh-Yhi, and the creation of this temple.
The northeastern alcove plots the cult’s future plans, focusing on how they had hoped to earn the gift of vampirism from Zura by undertaking extensive and vile rituals, and once this gift was theirs, how they planned on making the journey back to Saventh-Yhi to awaken (infect) that city with Zura’s blessing (vampirism). Unfortunately, Saventh-Yhi was hidden behind powerful magical wards, preventing the banished cultists from simply returning home. Instead, they planned to journey to a smaller Azlanti outpost called Tazion, wherein they could use something called “the pillars of light” to finally make their way into Saventh-Yhi. The writing does not reveal the location of Saventh-Yhi itself, but it does accurately describe the site of Tazion.
"Tazion's as old as ... the other place," Douena points out, still cautious enough even in the wilderness not to name their ultimate goal. "They can't be the same. I suppose it's a ruin, too, and no one still living there?"
Tar'kanas remains silent during the exchange, trying to discern what is being spoken about. "You are all searching for a city? For what purpose?" he asks, finding no knowledge of what's been mentioned within himself.
"Because it's old and probably has lots of ancient secrets and artifacts," Sasha replies. "That's pretty much it. And finding lost stuff is kind of fun, too."