"I'm afraid I do not either. We are willing to willing to help, if need be, but perhaps you could explain to us if it is not too much trouble?" Primose adds to Aurelian's commentary.
Narue returns Zay's stare levelly. They'll have to come up with something a lot scarier than death to threaten this cat. It's been there too many times.
It looks at you hesitantly for a few moments silence hanging in the air before eventually nodding and speaking in the ancient tongue.
"Originally we were created by the Azlanti using ioun stones to power our bodies. We were used as slaves but we won our freedom amid the chaos resulting from Earthfall. When the meteors started falling and the people of Azlant fled in panic, we rebelled, killing our masters and stealing the secrets to creating more of our kind. In the intervening millennia, many of our number were destroyed, but whenever the tribe found suitable ioun stones in the ruins of Azlant, we created new tribesmen to replace those who had fallen. Sadly, we haven’t been able to find more ioun stones in several decades."
"That's one hell of a family tree." Primrose remarks, whistling. "So you'd like our help in finding some more stone for you then, is that it?"
Aurelian's expression grows grim at the talk of slavery, and then of the rebellion and death of the masters.
He looks around warily, knowing how quickly such fervor can turn to insanity, and not willing to let the wyrwoods get a drop on them if they decide that they aren't that much different than the Azlanti. Still, he holds his peace, but wonders if this really is the best place for them to spend the night. Outside is certainly dangerous, but they need rest, and then to resume their search for their friends.
Locwudo tilts it head slightly as Primrose asks about helping them and replies in Azlanti "We were not seeking your aid, you came to us. Not the other way around. Though, we would not turn down the opportunity to trade for more stones if you were so inclined."
"That is horrible," Sarine says as she hears the wyrwood's story. "Our people also threw off the shackles of our oppressors, although it was much more recent. Such slavery is anathema to us." If the creature seems interested, she will go on to describe Andoran's liberation story.
"Yes, if we find more stones, we would be happy to trade," Aurelian agrees. "But now we just need a place to rest; then we will continue to find these body snatchers and make them pay for what they have done.
"Even if we find no more stones for you, you will not have to worry about them anymore!" he declares.
The wyrwood nods "You are welcome to rest here, I will have Xalin see you to a space where you can have some privacy if there is nothing else."
Primrose nods "Understood. Should we come across such stones, we will endeavor to return the kindness you have shown us for sanctuary and entertain a trade.
Tettia is keenly aware of the stone that circles her head increasing her historical knowledge, but can't bring herself to mention it.
Even the dinosaur looks a little haggard.
"I am not feeling especially well from that attack earlier. I would like to rest here for the night, if you will all allow us to take a brief respite."
Turning to Tettia she smiles "Tettia. Would you mind helping me setup my bedroll? I could use your expertise in selecting the most appropriate position."
"Oh, sure," Tettia pipes up. "I'll be happy to. I imagine everyone is different. Here, we'll check how much give the ground has. I like to move around from position to position as the night goes. I spend a lot of time on my back, but sometimes I like to be on my belly or even my side. Which position do you normally use?"
Ah, Tettia. Nothing quite like her answers to wash away the pain of a swarm of biting creatures.
Prim smiles with a wink "Oh, me? I'm all over the place. Tough to pin me down to one position, I think. Whatever is most comfortable at the time."
She searches around for a good spot and unfurls a different banner from her pack, digging a hole in the ground and firmly burying the standard to stand upright. She announces to her group "This will help keep us safe tonight while we rest. I went to great pains to secure this before I came down here to ensure that if I had to be out in the wild, I would be protected."
"Oh, that's neat," Tettia says, looking at the banner with a yawn. "You'll have to show me how that works tomorrow. Right now I'm just beat." She stretches her arms out and finishes arranging her bedroll. Oddly enough, it's right next to Prim's.
Sarine thanks the wyrwood for their hospitality and goes to find a place to set out her bedroll. I met some sentient ioun stones today, Mother. This is a very strange place.
She doesn't get very far in her thoughts before sleep takes her.
Aurelian tries not to smile at Tettia and Prim's banter. He wonders if they will need another person to help keep them warm, but now is not the time. Maybe later. Maybe after they have recovered Tobias and Marguerite, they could all spend some time together.
Aurelian, still mostly healthy, stays up for a time as the others drift off, wanting to keep an eye on their new allies.
Eventually, though, he lets sleep take him, ready to begin again the next day.
While the others drift off to sleep Aurelian lays there with one eye open, when it doesn't look like the wyrwood plan to do something horrible to his sleeping companions he eventually drifts off to sleep as well. It's a good thing Primrose had the banner as it rained off and on throughout the night, but luckily the magical banner helped to negate the worst of the dampness and cold and the group wakes up well rested the next morning.
Tettia is surprised to wake and find herself pressed up against Primrose's warm body. With a red face, she gathers her bedroll and gear and stows it away before pulling out her spellbook and sequestering herself for some time with it.
Zay takes pains to curl under a blanket or one of their companion's cloaks, all too aware their transformation will wear off during sleep. For some time, the dinosaurian head will peep out from under the blanket, keeping a slit-eyed watch with Aurelian Fache, but Zay dares little in the way of conversation, with the wyrwoods so close.
Come morning, Zay blinks humanoid eyes beneath the coarse blanket, hearing the sounds of the little group stirring. A moment of focus, some odd shifting of said blanket, and it is again the dinosaur that slither-crawls out and into view, slinking to a tree to scratch a scaled spine against the bark.
Yawning and stretching when Tettia gathers her belongings, Primrose accidently releases a burst of air from her rear end. As the horn toots loudly, she sits up and looks at Tettia in shock. "Tettia! Say excuse yourself after passing gas in public dear."
She faces the woman, doing her best not to burst out in laughter at the response on the arcanist's face.
Sarine wakes up the next morning refreshed. She still feels out of sorts from all the blood she lost to the ticks yesterday, but otherwise feels ready to resume the chase of the shapeshifters.
"How could you have possibly heard me over that trumpet blast of yours," the arcanist counters in mock surprise. Her face does pink up slightly, however.
Aurelian smiles at his friends as they wake.
He does his morning stretches as Tettia does her usual studies, and is ready when Sarine and Zay are.
"Thank you," he says in Common to the wyrwoods. "Aurelian Fache will not forget this. He will return to let you know of our success!"
Zay waits until they are well away from the wyrwoods to clear their dinosaurine throat. "That was awkward. I've never had to stay in one shape so long. Hang on...."
Some muttering, and then a dinosaur head bomps into Sarine's arm.
Then, the deinonychus does the same to Prim.
"Do you feel any better? Tettia, I may have to wait til tomorrow for you. If that's alright."
***
At the scene of the crime their last-known lead, the green-and-gold mottled dinosaur sniffs around at the earth, and studies things with a yellow eye...
Tettia shrugs. "I feel fine. I'm sure I'll survive until then," she says. "At least I hope I do."
"Aurelian Fache will not let you die!" Aurelian Fache says to comfort her.
Between Zay and Sarine the group manages to find their way back to the caves and followed the path they had taken while following the tracks. Paying closer attention this time it would seem that the tracks end at a shallow river flowing from the southwest to the northeast and out to sea. In your hurried pursuit yesterday you just kept heading west in the directions the tracks had gone not stopping to notice them end here.
It is likely your quarry waded up or down the river to avoid being tracked further.
"Zay? Would it be possible to ask some of the animals in the area if they saw which way the things went?" Tettia asks. "If it would help, I can have Wallace ask any toads or frogs whether they've seen or heard anything."
Brruuppp, comes from the girl's pouch.
"Don't be silly, you should meet new people ... er ... frogs," Tettia responds back.
The dinosaur rubs its back against a tree again to scratch a stubborn spot. "I can ask the birds, anyway. But I don't think I should do it like this. For some reason birds tend to be leery of things that look like predators.... Excuse me."
Zay slinks off behind a tree, tail whipping through the brush, and a dozen seconds later a bipedal Zay emerges, brushing off their clothes and running thin fingers through their straw-colored tangle of hair.
"Oh. Ack. Feet. Okay. Hang on..."
Some stretching and grimacing, and then Zay puts their fingers to their mouth and whistles a long, high, piercing note.
The whistled note changes up and down a few registers, and Zay's head cocks to hear any potential answers, in their own right bird-like.
#TweetTweet #HelloBeautifulWarblers #HasAnyoneSeenWalkersLikeUsComeThroughHereAndGoSomewhere?
There is a bunch of distant chirping for several minutes and eventually Zay gets a general consensus from the avian populace that several two-leggers traveled up river the other day. When they reached the base of the hill they left the river and went south toward the old stone building of the giant, fallen, shinny man.
#ThankYou! #I'llLeaveSomeBreadHere!
Zay retrieves their pack from the companion who was kind enough to carry it, and pulls out some flat thin trailbread, which gets crumbled a little onto the rocks.
"That was productive; the birds say they've seen several two-leggers travel up the river, here. When they reached the hill, they went south, towards an 'an old stone building' that the birds say belongs to the 'fallen giant shiny man.' That seems interesting. Unfortunately I can really only ask the birds one thing at a time. Perhaps a... construct? A golem? I suppose we'll see. Miss Tettia, that was a good idea."
Zay shoulders their pack and seems ready to move on, other than squishing their bare toes pleasurably into the river mud for a few seconds first.
"Then let us go ask this man where our friends are!" Aurelian declares, heading up the river.
Primrose nods, following along. She listens to what the birds have relayed and frowns "I hope the big, shiny, fallen man doesn't decide to stand up and get aggressive."
The groups heads out on the word of birds, following the river for a ways before it reaches the hill. Looking up the hill they see a 20-foot-tall building has been built into the slope near the summit of the island’s tallest hill.
"I wonder what's in there," Tettia comments, pointing out the building. "Can we go see?"
We know too little about these islands, Sarine observes. "They could be using this place. And even if not it might tell us more about our foe or where we are going."
"Yes, that is a good plan," Aurelian agrees.
Pausing your search for the missing colonists, briefly, you climb the hill to check out the tower. It appears to be somewhat over grown and the door has rotted off, as you get close you can see inside and the interior of the building is a machine consisting of thousands upon thousands of gears. A giant tube similar to a spyglass rises from the center of the contraption pointed toward the sky. While the mechanisms inside seem to still be in working order there is a good deal of debris that would need to be cleared and some work to be done to even have a chance at getting it operational again, for whatever purpose it may serve.
"This will be something to fix when we have finished getting our friends back and making sure the colony is safe," Aurelian declares. "Perhaps when we have made friends with the wyrwoods, it can be something we do together."
"But ... " Tettia protests looking back and forth between the inner workings of the tower and Aurelian. For all the world looking like a child that's been told, 'No, you can't open your yule gifts until next month.'
"There are lives we might still be able to save, of the colonists. They shouldn't have to wait any longer. This can," Zay says in response to Tettia's sad protest. They are less fascinated by the gears and tubes and tools present, it would seem.