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Message: <blockquote data-quote="peteyfrogboy" data-source="post: 462127" data-attributes="member: 5677">An Eventful AfternoonThis was the actual beginning of the adventure. I did a fair amount of strong-arming to get the party together, but I don't think it was too much of a railroad.Rafiki's tail twitched as he started another set of exercises. From what he had seen as he and Guru Kundugga had arrived in Kurutapo that morning, the city was a very interesting place. Strange people, new foods, exotic trinkets -- all of it was very exciting. Kundugga had told him to stay in the courtyard of the inn and practice his forms, though, so there was to be no exploring.It was hardly surprising that the guru didn't want his student wandering the streets of the city. Their whole purpose in coming to Kurutapo was for Kundugga to attend a council of village elders who were discussing the impact of the Kerajaani culture on the Hantu Capi. The growth of cities, excessive logging, and other perils of this so-called "civilization" were of great concern to Kundugga and his peers. They pointed to the expanses of cultivated land in Kerajaani lands that had once been pristine jungle. Shamen feared the wrath of the jungle spirits, while others like Kundugga simply wanted to defend the way of life that had been passed down from one generation to the next since time immemorial.The vanara paused in his exercises as he saw an interesting person come in from the street. It (she?) looked like a cross between a rat and a human. Certainly there were rat shapechangers -- as well as many other animals who could take human form -- but it was almost unheard of for one to be in the city, much less walking around in its half-man form. The rat-girl looked around the courtyard, then headed for one of the doors leading to the lodging halls.**It had been a long day for Sagwa. She *thought* she had learned to speak Aswadi, but she had been unprepared for the sheer variety of dialects that she had encountered. Dozens of regional variations mixed with a double handful of bastardized Kerajaani loan words had been enough to make her ears itch. She was diligent, however, and had finally managed to glean some information. It seemed that Krisvira had been asking around about sources of jade, and not too subtly. He had been guided toward a couple of legendary lost jade mines, and one could easily assume that he had set off in search of one of them.The question remained, however: which one? One was rumored to be somewhere on the eastern half of the island, which was far more dangerous than the more densely populated western half. The other supposedly was on the upper north slope of the mountain that gave the island its name. The higher one went on the mountain, of course, the more likely one was to be devoured by monsters.Krisvira's trail had gone cold before the ratling could determine which way he had gone, so Sagwa had started asking around about the six retainers he had brought with him. How he managed to get out of the city and into the jungles where his kind were forbidden was still a mystery, but a mystery for another time. Fortunately, the merchant's followers shared their master's high profile. One of them had spent some time at a particular inn, in the company of a particular winsome native girl.Sagwa made her way down the dimly lit corridor, at the end of which was a grim-faced man with several fighting knives thrust through his sash. She inquired about her quarry and was directed to a door immediately to her right. She swung the flimsy wooden door aside and stepped inside. "Etti?" she asked of the girl sitting cross-legged on the floor next to a ragged straw mat.The girl looked up at Sagwa. "Yes. What can I do for you?" It was clear from her expression that she hoped should wouldn't have to do what she was used to doing.Sagwa squatted down nearer to Etti, doing her best to put the girl at ease. "I'm looking for a friend of mine named Abadi. I was wondering if you might have seen him.""Oh, yes," said Etti with a smile, "I remember Abadi. He was very nice.""I'm sure he was," replied Sagwa. "I wonder, do you recall him saying where he might be going when he left the city?""I assume he's going to the haunted jade mine. I gave him my grandmother's map.""Gave it to him?""Well, not exactly. It was the only thing my granny left me, so I didn't want to part with it. But things are very expensive here in the city...""I see," said Sagwa. It didn't take keen dekandiri senses to smell the fishiness here, but it was the only concrete lead she had. Whether the map was real or not, she'd bet her whiskers those fools were following it. "I don't suppose you made a copy of it?""No, why would I do that?"Sagwa sighed. "Do you think you might be able to remember enough of it to make me a copy?""I don't know," said Etti, "I hadn't really looked at it in a while."Somehow it was comforting to Sagwa that so much could be the same in different cultures. "What might it take to improve your memory?""I could use ten rupees to help pay my rent."Ten rupees was, of course, highway robbery. Fortunately for Sagwa she had more than a passing acquaintance with robbery herself. She counted her last ten gold coins into a small pouch as Etti went to work drawing out a new map. Sagwa took the map and palmed the pouch of gold as he handed the girl an identical pouch full of clipped coppers. The ratling made some not-too-hurried goodbyes and hustled out the door with Etti seeming none the wiser.Sagwa froze as she heard a low growl from the end of the hall. The burly man with the knives was scowling her way. She noticed for the first time the rather large cracks in the wall of Etti's room through which her "friend" had been watching. He drew one of his knives and rushed the ratling.</blockquote>

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