Post by yakubu on Feb 1, 2006 19:08:26 GMT -5
Return to the Forest
I am Yakubu, son of the Shombe, member of the Clan Shumaza, aspirant of the Lion’s Mane warrior society, and I am a man. Before today I was a boy at my family’s fire, a simple herder of cattle, free of the burdens of adulthood. My spear and knife are my own. I have fallen in battle and I do not fear death. If I live and die bravely I will join my ancestors. Their orisha guide my steps and spear.
After resupplying in Mounchili we once again descended into the wet, green hell of the forest. The path seems more like a tunnel; all around vegetation presses inward. I am no burrowing animal and I do not like this place. Days of travel begin at first light. At midday we rest in the heat. Pressing further would be foolish. The last two hours of daylight are devoted to an exhausting effort to gain more ground before nightfall. A small cave in the northeast made for a marginally more secure rest.
Days of travel revealed no enemy. SomUnto’s vision of Kosan wizard merging with a dire lion, ultimately to be transformed into an undead beast was no comfort. The creature’s bodily destruction at the hands of a group of Amazons did not stop the Kosan priests from removing its black, shriveled, beating heart. Upon our return to Mounchili we were aided by Chaga, a wakyambi bangu who helped to interpret SomUnto’s disturbing vision. The lion’s heart is being used to control awakened animals. Chaga offered material support in the form of antitoxin, fine but useless weapons (a whip and a barbed spear). He also gave us his blessing and told us that normal animals would avoid us.
Several days more search in the forest revealed only a nasty, carnivorous plant which fired thorns at us. I am ashamed to admit that in my zeal to slay the wicked plant, I stumbled in its surrounding compost. Ole TUbi killed it before I could recover; a very disappointing development. Along with the remains of fallen Nghoi and wakyambi we found many coins as well as flasks of acid and holy water.
Pressing further into the jungle we encountered and crossed the river which had been marked on our map. Beyond that, a tall fig tree with four bound wakyambi. Ole TUbi again proved his worth by climbing the tree and gently lowering them to the ground. SomUnto healed the two who still lived. The survivors were from a village to the north. Their party of eight had been attacked by a cunning leopard. We met that same leopard the following day. We killed it but not before it had injured Hualib. It was only fitting that he was the one to administer the final blow. We fight well together. We know each others strengths and weaknesses. Ole TUbi can drop behind an opponent and make the warriors’ attacks more effective. Even the Mbanta have their role to play.
Just as I felt we were becoming more lethal, we discovered a ruin, at the entrance of which Ole TUbi was gravely injured by a very small but exceedingly poisonous viper. In his weakened state, I do not know how he will manage. A single blow from any enemy could kill him. Antitoxin and SomUnto helped to keep him from dying outright from the envenomation. The Kosan coins in the antechamber are of little value compared to his loss. We must proceed. But we cannot allow him to be hurt further. We are at the doorway to our objective. I can feel the black, beating heart on the other side of this threshold. We must proceed.
I am Yakubu, son of the Shombe, member of the Clan Shumaza, aspirant of the Lion’s Mane warrior society, and I am a man. Before today I was a boy at my family’s fire, a simple herder of cattle, free of the burdens of adulthood. My spear and knife are my own. I have fallen in battle and I do not fear death. If I live and die bravely I will join my ancestors. Their orisha guide my steps and spear.
After resupplying in Mounchili we once again descended into the wet, green hell of the forest. The path seems more like a tunnel; all around vegetation presses inward. I am no burrowing animal and I do not like this place. Days of travel begin at first light. At midday we rest in the heat. Pressing further would be foolish. The last two hours of daylight are devoted to an exhausting effort to gain more ground before nightfall. A small cave in the northeast made for a marginally more secure rest.
Days of travel revealed no enemy. SomUnto’s vision of Kosan wizard merging with a dire lion, ultimately to be transformed into an undead beast was no comfort. The creature’s bodily destruction at the hands of a group of Amazons did not stop the Kosan priests from removing its black, shriveled, beating heart. Upon our return to Mounchili we were aided by Chaga, a wakyambi bangu who helped to interpret SomUnto’s disturbing vision. The lion’s heart is being used to control awakened animals. Chaga offered material support in the form of antitoxin, fine but useless weapons (a whip and a barbed spear). He also gave us his blessing and told us that normal animals would avoid us.
Several days more search in the forest revealed only a nasty, carnivorous plant which fired thorns at us. I am ashamed to admit that in my zeal to slay the wicked plant, I stumbled in its surrounding compost. Ole TUbi killed it before I could recover; a very disappointing development. Along with the remains of fallen Nghoi and wakyambi we found many coins as well as flasks of acid and holy water.
Pressing further into the jungle we encountered and crossed the river which had been marked on our map. Beyond that, a tall fig tree with four bound wakyambi. Ole TUbi again proved his worth by climbing the tree and gently lowering them to the ground. SomUnto healed the two who still lived. The survivors were from a village to the north. Their party of eight had been attacked by a cunning leopard. We met that same leopard the following day. We killed it but not before it had injured Hualib. It was only fitting that he was the one to administer the final blow. We fight well together. We know each others strengths and weaknesses. Ole TUbi can drop behind an opponent and make the warriors’ attacks more effective. Even the Mbanta have their role to play.
Just as I felt we were becoming more lethal, we discovered a ruin, at the entrance of which Ole TUbi was gravely injured by a very small but exceedingly poisonous viper. In his weakened state, I do not know how he will manage. A single blow from any enemy could kill him. Antitoxin and SomUnto helped to keep him from dying outright from the envenomation. The Kosan coins in the antechamber are of little value compared to his loss. We must proceed. But we cannot allow him to be hurt further. We are at the doorway to our objective. I can feel the black, beating heart on the other side of this threshold. We must proceed.
