Session 20: Splitting Up, Teenagers, Giant Mysterious Footprints, Political Crap, Grubs, Biting My Tongue, People Ignoring My Good Advice, Weird Jungle Shit, Cliffhangers

General Summary

You know what is not very good idea?
Splitting up group.
You know what we have decided to do?
Well, give yourself cookie. Your mother must be very proud of how smart you are. Me, I am not so impressed.
Anyhow, it is very important that Skreek goes to talk to his mama, but there is no way rest of us can go into Feather’s Rest without making big commotion – it is hard to blend in there when you are wingless “freak”. So we decide rest of us will continue on toward forbidden area where is ruins, and he will fly to city to meet with Mama Bird, then catch up with us before we go in. Baermek will send with him perverted bird, Edgar, to keep us in touch. I am afraid to even be thinking what it is those two birdbrains will talk about while they are gone, but I guess Skreek must grow up sometime and learn about birds and, uh, other birds. Just please, dear god and all saints, do not let him ask me to explain anything afterwards. There are worse things than death.
So off they fly, and we make slow way south, moving along cliffs overlooking coastline. Things are mostly quiet except for when group of teenage birds spot us, and one of them comes down to investigate. His name is Pa’a’o of Misty Ferns and he has never before seen anyone who looks like us. He has many questions, and Baermek is doing his best to answer them without saying any real answers (which is specialty of his as you are knowing). I do not think they are satisfied with his not-answers, but even patient person like me, at some point must give up on trying to get true facts out of hobgoblin. What chance do teenagers have who are not so patient?
Baermek tells Skreek of this visit through Edgar, and Skreek says that many times teenagers will try to go into forbidden area on dares to prove themselves. This is interesting anthropological fact. Rites of passage are little bit different where I am coming from; it is not ourselves we try to kill.
We decide after this to start with camping during daytime and moving at night so we do not have to deal with teenagers anymore. Next day we see four more birds up in sky looking for someone, probably us, but it is very easy thing to stay hidden. Other than that, is is pretty quiet trip, and not too long before Skreek comes flapping his way back to us full of news.
He confirms that Sylvan ambassador is in town, and is pushing very much for Sylvans to be allowed into forbidden area. Ambassador has told bird queen that it was actually dwarves who were attacking Sylvan fishing boats, and only making it look like it was bird people, so that people of Yehlan would be mad at them. This made queen very happy to hear that Sylvans had killed bunch of dwarves, and now she is probably going to let them go in forbidden area.
We continue with traveling at night, and Skreek flies over us to keep watch. When we stop to make camp for day we notice spot we are standing in is actually enormous footprint! And it is not being very old one either! Skreek does not know what sort of creature it is who could be making such footprint, and we do not stay to find out. Instead, we move into trees at edge of forbidden area to make camp and wait for Skreek’s mother to arrive. She wants to know more of things we have learned, but could not come right away with Skreek because she had to cover up fact that she was going away.
So now it is boring waiting around time. Biggest excitement is when Skreek loses fish cake his mama made for him and then accuses all of us of stealing it. Then later, Ingoria feels someone is messing with her bag, and when she looks inside there is banana leaf in which was wrapped fish cake. Skreek believes her that she was not one who took it, and says he has heard stories about fey creatures who play the tricks on people traveling through forests, but I think cat ate fish cake. You be judge: mysterious fey creature or hungry cat who loves fish so very much? Hmmmm.
(It was Cat. Be real.)
Finally Mama Bird shows up. Her name is Rubii and with her is another bird called Ka’hu’i of Cloud Aerie, who she says is one of few people she can trust. Skreek’s mother is very… nice. This is all I can say. She is nice Mama Bird lady who asks many questions and calls everyone “Dear” and keeps trying to get us to eat grubs. She knows too much about each of us, and from this, I am thinking she has read letters Skreek was keeping so “hidden” in his bag, but even with this, she does not give me too much of stinkeye. Or maybe she does, and I am just not so great at reading bird facial expressions. You would think I get much practice with Skreek all this time, but he has very limited emotional range to be very honest. Reading him is not exactly challenge.
We show her all of letters and maps we got at Triskian’s house. She tells us Triskian’s ships were seen off of south shore of island, and there was much communication back and forth about “fishing rights.” She sent Skreek off to investigate right around time that letter we found telling Sylvans to fuck off was written. I would like to yell at her for little bit that she would send off Skreek, who is practically just child, into world like that, but she is too nice for me to tell her how stupid she is.
And others think I do not understand the diplomacy!
We try very hard to make Mama Rubii understand what danger it is if Sylvans can find cryptoporter in ruins – that they will bring big army to island without birds even knowing until it is being far too late. This definitely worries her, but still she says she cannot give us permission to go into forbidden lands. That would have to come from queen, who has been very Team Sylvan lately. In fact, she has just been giving them access to island right as Rubuii left to come talk to us! This is so different attitude from letters we found, that we ask Rubii if there has been anything strange or different about queen lately. Mama Rubii does not think this is so, but does say that she has seen some changes in some of queen’s advisers. She does not know if this is because of bribery, or magic, or just stupidity.
Once we have told her all things we know about Sylvans, she and her friend fly back to city and we move further into forbidden area. She has given us some kind of signet ring to show patrols if we are seen, but does not know if it will be any help. I guess it would be smart for us to not be seen then — I am not in mood to die again so soon.
After traveling for some hours, we hear terrible screaming noise. Baermek sends in Edgar to investigate and Edgar comes back to tell us that there is bird person all wrapped up in vines that are attacking them. Skreek wants to run in to save bird, but Grandfather and I say this is stupid plan. What is bird person doing out here in forbidden area? Surely, this is trap. But we are not listened to. As usual. (Goddamn it people, if there is one thing Belovs know, it is sneaky underhanded business. You should believe us when we say that something is suspicious!)
So, against better judgment, we send Skreek in to talk to bird and see if we can help. But, as soon as he shows up, bird shoots him with lightning, because it is not bird at all, but instead, scary old woman.
Hey, look. It was trap. Wow. I am almost as shocked as Skreek is by lightning.
So in we run, and very soon we are fighting not just one, but three scary looking old women who cast many painful spells on us. We manage to kill two of them and third runs off into jungle. On bodies is nothing but rat heads, trinkets and snake jerky, so it was super worthwhile.
That fun being over with, we continue march into jungle area. Not long after we hear some large sounds and crashing noises from behind us. Edgar takes look and sees giant feathered lizard thing. In its mouth is body of giant ape who has rope tied around its ankle like maybe it was tied to something before becoming lizard chow. We do not stay to find out if giant lizard is friendly.
Next day, we still have not found any sign of ruins, but again we hear terrible crashing noise behind us. Edgar finds body of big jaguar, tied to tree, with throat slit. Nobody has any idea what is going on. So, that is awesome.
We keep moving until we come to very large river. Skreek flies across with rope and Ingoria and I cross rope no problem. Baermek and Grandfather fall in river, as you would expect, and it takes us little while to fish them back out. In meantime, Edgar has spied even more animals who have throats that are slit and are tied to trees back on river bank from where we crossed. Animals have not been dead more than six hours. How did we miss fucking dead animals as we passed by there to cross?
I am not going to lie. This shit is getting freaky. I am simple girl — just give me small company of Sylvans to murder and I am happy. I did not sign up for weird jungle shit.
But that is not even as freaky as thing that happens this night when we make camp. I am on watch as usual, entertaining myself by hopping through shadows from one side of campsite to other, when I hear Edgar make sound of alarm. I roll my eyes. Last time he did this, I went over to him worried, and he tried to convince me that he was desperately ill and only thing that would make him better was to go skinny dipping with naked drow girl. Was this stupid lie? Of course. But what do I care if stupid bird sees my ass? It sounded like fun time. So we did naked swimming and he was “cured” and it pissed Grandfather and Baermek off, so it was win-win really.
But this time it was not mysterious Naked Drow Fever that Edgar has. Instead, he is looking down at camp where others were sleeping, and he is hopping around all upset. Moonlight is coming down through holes in canopy and I can see Baermek, Skreek and Ingoria are thrashing around and looking kinda... well… rat-ish.
Huh. Didn’t they all get bitten by those stupid rat guys in sewer under…
Well, fuck.

Report Date

16 Dec 2022