The Dauntless

"Ah, orc," Dorrak laughs. "Half orc, half human."

"Yes, yes, that was the word." Jahsi nods. "I have fought beside your kind more times than I can say. I have much respect for your people."

Dorrak blinks a moment, pleasantly surprised by that reaction. "I'm proud to hear that."

The trip to Jahsi's village is long and rough, traveling through the hot, muggy air of the jungle at a slow pace as you need to cut through vines and push through dense foliage to follow Jahsi, whose own movements seem effortless even as he slows his pace for you to keep up. As you travel, the sounds of the jungle birds echo through the trees, although Jahsi's own birdcalls every so often give doubt to which ones are genuine or not. It's nearly a six hour journey, and by the time Jahsi motions for you to stop, everyone is coated in sweat (except for Antoinette, who is a crocodile). "We're here," he says. You do not see anything resembling a village. Looking up, however, you can see that the branches of the trees are not forming a canopy here, like the rest of the jungle, but have instead been woven together to form the base of a massive structure.

"Intéressant," Antoinette remarks upon looking into the canopy. "How do we get up there?"

Jahsi just grins and lets out a series of bird whistles. Several ropes, each with a small loop large enough to fit a foot through at the end, fall from the side of the structure and settle next to you, just long enough to hang an inch above the ground. A pair of harnesses attached to ropes follow, roughly sized for the dogs. "Does that answer your question, Ummelwane?" He gives a cheeky wink before leaping into the trees, making it the full hundred feet in only a few bounds by jumping from tree to tree.

The ride up on the rope elevators is surprisingly smooth, although the dogs complain a little at being strapped in. Woven tree branches form the foundations and buildings of what can only be called a treetop city. Bridges made of sturdy vines spread out through the rainforest canopy, allowing rapid travel through the jungle for miles around. Dozens, if not hundreds, of trunks of massive trees, each over ten feet wide, support a wide weaving of branches that in turn supports the city above, and each is decorated with twisted roots and shoots that have been painstakingly arranged to form images of elephants and leopards. Further up the trunks, amid beautiful meshes of branches that have grown together to form wide platforms overhead, a staggering array of grafted fruit trees and earth-filled terrace gardens creates a spectacular display.

An Ekujae half-eld stands at the base of one of the trees, balancing lightly on a mass of protruding roots. In one hand she holds a brass staff topped with a sculpture of a leopard grasping a sword in its jaws and pinning a prone human. Her other arm seems to be made not of flesh, but of twisted wooden branches and bone that have extended up into the tree above her with a machete, carefully cutting away at a branch. She glances over her shoulder when your feet hit the wooden floor, and she retracts her arm, leaning the machete against the trunk of the tree, before turning and giving a small bow.

"I am Nketiah, of the Leopard Clan," she greets. "My mother was of the Stargazer Clan. You are guests of the Ekujae tonight. Welcome to our lands."

Antoinette gives a small bow in return. "Antoinette of house Valois. We graciously accept your hospitality and thank you for it as well."

Jahsi drops in from a tree branch above, and Nketiah smiles at him before nodding to the rest of the group. "My father sent word you were coming, and had need of a linguist."

"Nketiah," Jahsi interrupts, pressing a hand to his chest dramatically. "I did not tell them you were my daughter. I am too young to have a child in her hundreds."

"I'm 23, Ba," Nketiah sighs with an exasperated roll of her eyes.

Dorrak chuckles at the exchange and nods respectfully to Nketiah. "It's an honour to be here. Unfortunately, while we have quite a few languages covered between us, yours is not one of them."

Nketiah smiles. "Well, I can help with that too, but a linguist is not just a translator," she explains. "I keep the clan's stories, cultivate the record trees, and advise our leaders on matters outside of the clan. Basically, I'm a big deal." She throws in a wink at that.

"As storykeeper you would understand, then, the threat of bad legends returning," Antoinette replies. "As I piece recent events together, I become increasingly concerned by the circumstances that have led us here. I think it fortuitous that we have met, because we share the same enemy. We know him as Dahak or the Cinderclaw, but Jahsi had another name for him."

Jahsi visibly winces, and Nketiah frowns. "I would suggest you not use those names," she says. "It is taboo, lest we draw it's attention. We call it Ubumnyama, the Darkness. I'll be happy to tell you all about it, but now is not the time for stories."

"What is it time for now?" Dorrak asks. "If we can, I think we'd like to take some time to treat our wounds," he gestures at his own severe burns, which only stung more as sweat dripped onto them on the walk, "Our travel through the gate did not go smoothly."

"Now? Preparations for a feast." Nketia gives a toothy grin. "We don't have guests often, but when we do, we like to go all out." At Dorrak's mention of wounds, she takes a more critical look at the group. "... Ba, you didn't let them walk all this way injured, did you?" Jahsi raises his hands defensively.

"They didn't say anything. I thought they might be the type to want scars."

"Not really. I can't speak to the others, but I have enough of those to last me a lifetime," Suki replies, one hand unconsciously rubbing her other arm.

"Ah, sorry," Jahsi says sheepishly, placing a hand on Suki's shoulder. It glows at the touch. "I should have asked."

While he's preoccupied, Nketiah steps up next to Antoinette. "By the way," she says in a low voice. "You may want to, um, change into something more comfortable? I don't think the Ekujae you've met so far have realized, but it likely will not be pretty if it comes out that you carry such a dangerous curse."

"Ah, right. Sorry. I was originally expecting a fight, but then I noticed how much the others were sweating and figured being a reptile would be advantageous on a long jungle trek. I will change when given some privacy," Antoinette replies.

Nketiah nods. "Of course. Just a word of caution. Oh, and avoid getting too close to people. Some Ekujae can smell curses. We're not fans."

Antoinette frowns. "I see. I shall practice caution. Is there somewhere we can go for some rest and privacy?"

Nketiah nods and speaks up so everyone can hear. "If you all want a place to rest a bit and take care of your wounds, my home is close. You can relax there, and when your ready I can show you around." Jahsi nods himself as he claps Dorrak on the back, healing him as well.

"That sounds ideal, thank you," Dorrak nods gratefully to Jahsi. "And if there's anything we can do to help you please tell us."

"The hunters will be going out later for food for the feast," Nketiah says thoughtfully as she leads you to her home, a small dwelling carved into the side of a tree with a loose door of beads and cloth. "If any of you are skilled hunters, Akosa might not be opposed to the help."

"Fleur here would be unhappy with me if I didn't accept that offer," Antoinette replies, glancing at her warg companion.

"Nova, if you want to go with Antoinette and Fleur, you can," Dorrak adds. "I tend to be a little too slow and loud for hunting."

Nova grins as best as a canine can. "Oh, that'll be so much fun!" Nketiah stumbles back a bit at Fleur's outburst.

"Your... your hounds can talk!?"