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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7567686" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 260Scattered rays of sunlight drifted down through the gaps in the forest canopy high above.  It was almost noon, so those stray beams actually made it all the way down to where the companions were gathered.  They sparkled on the rippling waters of a small pool fed by a tiny brook that any of them could have stepped over without straining.  They had all refilled their water bottles, after Quellan had purified the water with a minor spell.  Running water was usually safer than stagnant, but the half-orc had recited a long list of tropical diseases and parasites that made them all grateful for his intervention.There was only a bit of muted conversation as the companions ate a quick meal and rested.  They had gotten an early start that morning, setting out even before the sun had become visible over the rocky mass of the promontory that sheltered the narrow beach.  The dawning glow had revealed that the remains of the Gull had sunk even lower in the water, the outline of the ship permanently shattered by the pounding surf.  Sond had been organizing parties to row out to the ship to see if they could salvage larger timbers and other useful materials from the wreck.Kosk stepped up on a low rock next to the edge of the pool and looked up at the sky above.  It was the first time they’d seen the sky since they’d left the beach.  The jungle formed a dense web of life around them.  He wondered if they’d covered more than a handful of miles since they’d left the beach.  Heck, it was likely only Rodan’s skill and instincts that kept them from walking in circles.  Kosk had considered himself something of a woodsman in his past life, but his skills were not up to the challenges of this place.“Nice to see the sun,” Kalasien said.Kosk turned to look at the Arreshian agent.  With the dwarf standing on the rock they were almost eye-to-eye.  Kalasien had insisted on joining the rest of the original party on this first exploratory trek, though he’d ordered Elias to remain back at the camp as a salve to the fears of Sond’s crew.  Though Kosk doubted how much difference one warrior would make if one of the horrors the captain had warned them of emerged from the jungle.“It’s too bad that this place is so far from the beach,” Kalasien noted, gesturing to encapsulate the whole area around the pool.  “And indefensible.”“Too open to attack,” Kosk agreed.  “At least at the beach there are those rocks.”“A tactically sound position,” Kalasien said.  “The tiefling still out scouting?”“He said he was just going to check the next stretch of trail ahead.”“That’s a generous word for it.”Kosk snorted.“How long have you known him?” Kalasien asked.“Rodan?”“Yes.”Kosk looked along the shore of the pool where the others were resting.  Bredan and Xeeta were sitting on a fallen log, talking quietly.  Glori and Quellan were just a few feet away, the bard slumped against the mass of the cleric in exhaustion.  She had it better than the men, as both of them had to be sweating rivers under the bulk of their heavy armor.  But none of them had complained, which was to their credit as far as Kosk was concerned.“Not especially long,” he said to Kalasien.  He’d hardly shared ten words with the Arreshian spy since they’d set out from Severon, and he wondered why the man had decided to open up to him now.  “From what Xeeta told us, they don’t exactly stick around to raise their offspring.”The other nodded.  “I should hope not.  I’ve traveled a great deal, but I admit I haven’t encountered many tieflings.  Strange, to have a demon or other fiend as a parent.”“I suppose,” Kosk said.“I do find it odd, though.”“What?”“How he just happened to be plucked out of the air, transported halfway around the world, right to where we are.  And now he’s a part of this mission.”“He didn’t choose to be brought here,” Kosk said.  “Unless you’re suggesting otherwise?”“I don’t know enough to be sure either way.  I just wanted to gauge your thoughts on the man.  You strike me as a good judge of a man’s character, and you’ve known him longer than I.”Kosk snorted again.  “I say something funny?” Kalasien asked.“Never mind.  If you have evidence for why Rodan shouldn’t be trusted, then speak it clearly.  Otherwise, I’d not bring this up again, at least not where Bredan or Xeeta can hear you.  Both of them speak for Rodan, and that’s enough for me.”Kalasien held his hands out in a placating gesture.  “So noted.  Ah, here he comes now.”Kosk turned to see Rodan approaching out of the jungle.  From the look on his face and the speed with which he was moving, he’d found something on his scout.The two men came around the edge of the pool to meet him, but Bredan got to him first.  “What is it?” the warrior asked.“There’s a clearing up ahead, it’s not far,” Rodan reported.  “There’s something moving around there, it could be more of those cat-people.”“How many?” Glori asked, grimacing as she thrust herself to her feet.Rodan shook his head.  “I couldn’t get close enough to tell.  Figured I’d better come get you first, in case it’s an ambush.”“Wouldn’t be the first of those,” Quellan said.  “Shall we, then?”They quickly gathered up their gear and set out again, following Rodan back into the forest.  Within five steps of leaving the clearing the growth swallowed them up again.  Kosk thought back to Kalasien’s joke about the trail, or lack thereof.  He had the hardest time due to his height; in most places he could barely see beyond the next person in line, let alone further along their route of march.  He had dismissed the spy’s not-so-subtle innuendos, but now his mind could not help but whisper its own doubts.  Why had Rodan insisted on joining the expedition, instead of returning to Voralis?  Was his role in the cult only that of a victim, as he had insisted?The dwarf finally shook his head and focused on bullying his way through the tangles of undergrowth.  Letting his mind wander in this place was a good way to get killed.Fortunately, the clearing that Rodan had spoken of was only a few hundred yards from the pool.  They could see it as the jungle began to thin ahead, once again letting the full light of the day reach them.  The clearing wasn’t that big, maybe fifty or sixty feet across, but it created an actual gap in the forest canopy, and the sunlight that reached its center was bright and whole rather than the scattered rays that had penetrated to the space around the pool.The clearing was dominated by a single large tree on its far side.  The tree was unusual; it looked as though it had started to grow upwards and then changed its mind.  Parts of its branches had dropped down to burrow back into the soil around the central trunk.  They formed a nest of columns that gave the whole the look of an enclosed hut or other structure.“Aerial root system, how unusual,” Quellan noted.“I think it would be better to focus on the potential ambush,” Xeeta said dryly.“By the central trunk, on the right side,” Rodan said quietly.  The tiefling had his bow out, an arrow fitted to the string.They followed his direction and saw what had first looked like a clump of vines or some other outgrowth of the strange tree.  But then it moved, and they could see that it was a creature of some sort.  It might have been one of the cat-men, but it was difficult to see clearly, both because of the obstruction of the dangling roots and the fact that it was wrapped up in some sort of snare that suspended it a good four or five feet above the ground.“It’s injured,” Quellan said.  He started forward, but Glori grabbed his arm.  “It could be a trap,” she said.  “Rodan?”The tiefling didn’t turn around; his attention had been focused on the tree and the surrounding forest since they’d arrived.  “I’m not sure,” he said.  “I suggest that the rest of you remain in cover here while I circle around.”The trapped figure shifted again and made a soft, plaintive sound.  “I can’t just stand here while an intelligent creature needs help,” Quellan said.“All right, together then, but slowly and carefully,” Rodan said.They rose up out of the brush and made their way carefully into the clearing.  As the sunlight hit their faces they were acutely aware of how exposed they were.  Quellan kept moving forward, however, forcing Rodan to advance a bit faster than he otherwise might have liked.  The tiefling’s crimson skin seemed to glow in the bright light.As they got closer, they could see that the creature hanging from the tree was in fact one of the cat-men.  It was wrapped in some sort of rope harness that was wrapped around its legs and lower torso.  It was watching them, but it was also clearly hurt; dried blood stained the ropes and the shredded remains of a fibrous wrap that it had worn as clothing.  It didn’t appear to have any weapons on its person but there was a small spear lying on the ground close to where it hung.“We’re not going to hurt you,” Quellan said as he approached.  The creature tried to move, but its struggles only caused it to sway slightly.  Fresh drops of blood fell to the forest floor as its wounds were reopened.  They could see now that the snare that had caught it included barbed hooks that had gotten embedded in its legs, inflicting a number of nasty injuries.“That looks painful,” Xeeta said.“Yeah, but who set the trap?” Kalasien said.After a final look at Rodan, Quellan hurried forward.  The cat-man tried to recoil but could not escape.  “I will get you out of there,” the cleric said.  “I can heal you, but first we have to get you down and get those hooks out of you.  Don’t worry, everything will be all right.”It was obvious that the creature did not understand him, but he kept speaking, trying to soothe it with his words.  Either the cat-man realized it could not escape or the loss of blood was weakening it, for its struggles eased.“Bredan, your dagger,” Quellan said.Bredan started forward, but before he reached the creature they all heard something; a soft swish of something moving through the brush at the clearing’s edge.  The companions instantly tensed and lifted their weapons.A sound emerged from the bushes, a soft twittering trill.  It was echoed a moment later by another from the opposite side of the clearing, on the far side of the tree.  Then a third, back in the direction from which they’d come.“We’re surrounded,” Kosk said.“Defensive ring,” Bredan said, summoning his sword.  Quellan remained by the imprisoned creature, so they gathered around him, forming a circle.  Xeeta summoned mage armor, while Glori strummed an inspirational melody on her lyre, gathering its magic.“There!” Kalasien said, pointing with his rapier.  They all turned to see a blunt, reptilian head rise up out of the brush.  It belonged to a creature that looked to be about as tall as a man, as it rose up on its hind legs.  Its jaws cracked open to reveal the sharp teeth of a carnivore, and a certain animal cunning shone in the eyes that regarded the seven defenders.“What is that thing?” Glori whispered.“Some sort of dinosaur, I think,” Quellan said.  “I’ve never heard of anything like that on Voralis.”“There’s more of them around us,” Bredan said.“Pack hunters, probably,” Quellan said.“Is there any reason why we’re not killing that bastard right now?” Kosk asked.“Maybe we can scare them off,” Bredan said.  “Xeeta?”The sorceress lifted her rod, but before she could summon her magic the thing let out a sharp bark, and half a dozen of the creatures burst out of the bushes and charged into the clearing.</blockquote>

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