[Scaltoth Jungles] A trial and an arc

[Vega]

1st Vhalar, 717

"Mornin'!" Vega said with a grin as he emerged from his tent. They'd set up camp the trial before, with the bare basics of an overnight stay and, actually, in fairness, they'd passed a fairly easy night, all things considered. Of course, that was at least mostly due to the fact that Arlo's small companion was an excellent lookout for them. Vega, however, had not slept well and in all honesty it had probably been obvious. Her dreams were constantly bombarded at the moment with images of the bird that wasn't a bird but which, following yestertrial, she now knew was a flunny. Her familiar, Vega was growing more and more convinced, was at least part flunny. Which was not, in her mind, at all funny because she hadn't slept properly for ages and this bird that wasn't a bird seemed to live just on the side of her consciousness at all times.

He knew, of course, because their tents were next to each other and Vega was more than restless at the moment. But had he asked, she'd have denied it and if he mentioned the dark circles under her eyes, she'd thump him. Such it was living with Vega on any trial and even moreso on one where she was tired. However, she had a smile on her face and she handed him a mug of tea. "Happy birthtrial, Arlo," she said, ignoring her tiredness and just happy for him. "I can't torment you about bein' a kid no more, can I? Yer eighteen. Course, in biqaj society, you've got two arcs for you're supposed to leave 'ome an' stuff."

Having travelled with him for as long as she had, Vega knew to leave Arlo be for a little while. She'd given him a cup of tea, now, he needed to surface. So, she did, busying herself with packing up their things which could be packed now. When she judged that he was ready, she handed him a small, wrapped parcel. "I got this for you. Since you're all grown up an' all. Yer hard to buy for, you know. I mean, what do you buy the man who blatantly has everything he wants?"

Should he open it, it was a bag. Just a plain bag, but he'd recognise it as like one he'd seen before Vega joined him on the island. "You get 'im somethin' to put all his stuff in. It's magic. Bottomless, far as I can tell. But there's some letters from your mum an' food in there for you. Preserves an' stuff. She said to tell you not to eat it all in one sittin, remember to share an' write to her." Of course, Netta Creede might not have said those things, or might have, there was no telling.

"So, one trial an' one arc older all in one. You feel different?" Vega asked with a grin on her face. "All grown up, an' stuff? What's the plan for today, shall we try find some more trouble? An' also. What're we 'aving for breakfast? I would cook, but you know, it is yer birthday. No one deserves that."

Off Topic

Domain bag paid for in ledger, not added to item list.

[Arlo Creede]

Arlo had a handy knack for being able to sleep anytime, anywhere, and under almost any circumstances. The whole world of Idalos could be coming down around his ears, and he'd sleep contently through it. Not so much that night however. At least not consistently. First, it was hot. Hotter in the jungle than outside it. Saun might have ended and the moons and stars had come out again in an otherwise dark sky. But in the meantime, Idalos had absorbed a lot of heat and it was still radiating away. And here in the jungle, what rose from the ground seemed to get pushed right down by the canopy over their heads.

It wasn't the dangers of the jungle though that had stirred him awake time to time through the night. He trusted Lyova to keep an eye on those sorts of things. It wasn't even the heat that was the source of the trouble. Or even any muttering or pacing that Vega did. Except that it was, indirectly. It was his little diri companion, who couldn't seem to go a break or more without rousing him with a running commentary that no one could hear but him. She found Vega's restlessness interesting, and couldn't seem to resist sharing. But he knew better than to get up and look in on her. What was plaguing her, was hers. And although he was more than willing, even eager to help, it was for her to ask if she actually wanted it.

But in fact he'd forgotten all about his birth-trial when he'd stumbled out of his tent that next morning. Forgotten until she greeted him with overwhelming cheer and pushed a mug into his hands. "To be honest I forgot," he admitted sleepily while he found a log to sit on. "Thank you though. And good thing it's different for us ordinary humans," Arlo muttered. "I was gone from home two arcs ago now, minus a trial." Come to think about his, his mother hadn't been very happy about that. But she'd known the trial was coming. Sooner rather than later in fact.

"You didn't need to buy me anything," he reminded her as he took the small package. "You're right, I've got what I need and don't want for much." Still, he was curious about what she'd done, and he put the half emptied mug down in order to open up the parcel. "Oh, I've seen these before but not tried one," Arlo said with a wide grin as he unfurled the magic sack. "It's a wonder isn't it? I mean sure, magic and all. But I can't make heads or tails of it." Even as he said it, he was pulling things out of that bag. The letter, he'd open later. But yes, write. His mother had reminded more than once before he'd left Rharne. It didn't surprise him that she'd said it to Vega too.

He smiled as he pulled another jar out. "Thank you Vega. This will come in handy for us both. And I'm not sure I feel any older. You'd think you might, as much as people tend to take note of things like that." But what would they do? More exploring, he told her. Who knew what strange creatures they'd stumble across? "This," he said when she asked what was for breakfast. He held up a jar that was filled with preserves, peach, bourbon and pecans, Arlo told her. And as much as his mother was a terrible cook in general, this she did well. It was his favorite. So before they set off again they'd dine on sausages that he'd made a trial or so ago, and corn cakes smeared with the sweet and rich preserves.

[Vega]

1st Vhalar, 717

He had forgotten that it was his birth trial? Vega grinned at him and shook her head."You ordinary humans, I dunno, I wouldn't have minded gettin' out of there an arc or two earlier, truth told." He'd been gone two arcs now? Vega shook her head, rather surprised at that. "You was jus' sixteen.You were jus' a baby, no wonder you've changed so much, Arlo. You've gone from boy to man. Or, grown up. Or, I dunno. Older boy." She grinned as she realised that she'd called him a man. That was not a route they needed to go down, she considered. "If I thought I had to, I wouldn't do it on bloody minded principle. Shurrup."

With a smile which she couldn't quite manage to hide as she looked at him opening the gift, Vega nodded. "I know, you told me about it." So, she'd asked the chap in the Spirit of Adventure and got one from him. Vega didn't tell Arlo that bit, after yestertrial's conversation about old soulful eyes. He didn't like the stinky cheese name man, she knew that, for whatever passed as a reason in Arlo's funny little mind.

More exploring? Vega grinned and nodded. "That sounds good to me. Maybe we'll find somethin' more strange than cannibals in loincloths." He liked the bag, though, and Vega was pleased in ways that she didn't quite feel she could put in to words. Other, of course, than to say simply, "I'm glad you like it, Arlo. An' it's important to celebrate birth'trials, you know. It's a chance for people to say, you know what, I'm glad you were born." Vega shrugged slightly and then added, because Immortals forbid that she was ever too nice to him. "But only sometimes, of course. Other times, yer just a dweeb. Come on then, stop flutterin' around an' give us some food."

The preserve was delicious, so we're the sausages she told him. As they got themselves out of the camp, though, Vega turned to much more business like in her way of being. The heat was outrageous, that was true. Yet, if the trial before had taught them anything then it was clear that this place was not in any way somewhere to be taken lightly. "Look, there," she said, pointing to a tiny, obscure looking trail. "Does that look like somethin' to you? Like, once upon a time, it used to be a path?"

[Arlo Creede]

Bloody minded. Arlo had shaken his head, snorted, stood up from his seat and had gone about getting them some breakfast. 'That sounds about right, and I believe it," he'd said. "I'm not sure I'd recognize you if it was ever any different." Funnily, it didn't bother him a bit. And in fact he preferred it that way. Why that was, was something he wasn't prepared to think on too deeply.

"Strange is relative, I'm thinking," he considered while pushing his hat down on his head, just about the same time Lyova swooped in and settled in on the brim. "We've already seen things as odd as those cannibals." Off in the ice caves, he meant. "And to hear the Scalvorans...Scalvorians...orites, whatever it is they call themselves, there's stranger things out here still." Hopefully nothing that would hunt and attempt to devour them, he thought. But chances were, there'd be some of those too.

It didn't take long once they had eaten, to break the camp down and head out on their way. They were both well armed, better armed in fact than when they'd first set out. As for the spear, Arlo had decided he liked the thing. Not for throwing yet since he hadn't tried it. But as a makeshift walking stick and a way to knock the snarls and small branches out of their way as they went, it worked nicely. And this time, it wasn't just them keeping a close eye out as they went. Lyova had been a little off her game the trial before, which had allowed the savages to catch them unawares. Not this trial. The little diri had resolved to do better.

Without a clear view of the sun overhead, it was hard to say how long they'd been walking when Vega stopped and pointed out the oddity that branched off the path they'd been following. Arlo stopped, swept his hat off his head in order to swipe off the sweat, frowned and put it back on as he dropped to his heels. "I think you're probably right," he considered. "It's not just a deer path one worn by other small animals going to water. It looks like it used to be wider, but now it's overgrown from misuse." But where there'd once been a path, surely there'd been a destination worth reaching? "Wanna follow it?" he said, standing up as Lyova swirled once round his hat and was off ahead of them.

It wasn't easy going and the path didn't widen any. They'd be forced to walk single file and even thing, snarls and thorns reached out to grab hold of clothing and flesh. There were the usual sounds that one might expect to hear inside a woody area, and unexpected, mysterious ones too. More than once, they could hear the sound of running water up ahead, as if it was tumbling and falling over rocks into a larger body below. "It would be nice if there was a pool up ahead. Something to cool off and wash up in," Arlo said, and then stopped abruptly. "Look at that, Vega."

He was pointing to what, at first just looked like a moss covered stone at the edge of the path. But the longer they looked, more and more it appeared to be man-made, if made crudely. It must have been there for decades at least, if not centuries. And as the pair of them moved on, there'd be more of them that Arlo began to imagine might have been remnants of a centuries old tumbled wall. Of sorts. And as they went on, there'd be more hints that what they were entering was some sort of settlement, but one that had been abandoned long before they'd been born. Maybe older than their grandparents, and theirs before them. Bits of walls, discarded metal or earthen objects that might have been tools or cooking gear during their time.

Some of them had crude symbols on them, the likes of which Arlo had never seen before. But eventually they seemed to arrive near the middle of whatever it was, or what it might have been, and there was a partial structure covered in vines and moss, some of it still standing and the rest collapsed with bits laying about. Lyova was swirling around it all, searching curiously and a high pitched squeal echoed in Arlo's mind as she spotted what he did, at about the same time. Something slithering and long. Very long, big around and slimy looking curling its way through a gap at the edge of the structure.

[Vega]

He wouldn't recognise her if she wasn't bloody minded? Vega shot Arlo an unrepentent grin "You love me jus' like this. More than that, you wouldn't know what to do if I came over all polite an' reserved. Can you but imagine?" Yet, he was right. They'd seen strange things, stranger things than she had words for already. "Scalv? Scallys? Scallywags?" Vega grinned slightly, shrugging. Who knew what they called themselves, but there was no doubting it, she had to agree with his assessment. "Yep. It's probably the weirdest place I've ever seen. Shame it's the arse end of nowhere, we could visit more regular." She was pleased, though, delighted in fact that he liked his gift. He did, she knew. They didn't ever say nice things about or to each other, but that was how they were.

Kneeling next to Arlo, looking at the path she'd found, Vega gave him a grin. Did she want to follow the path? Vega grinned and didn't bother answering. The only answer she had would be to ask him about bears and woods, after all, so she just made her way. It wasn't easy going and, in places, they had to cut their way through more than she'd like. By the time they started to hear the strange sounds as well as the more expected ones, Vega had a rip in her sleeve and a scratch on her cheek. She'd grumbled and sworn every time the foliage had snagged her but she'd carried on.

The sounds, though, included the sound of water and Vega looked at him with a genuine expression of longing in her eyes. "Oh, Immortals, Arlo, can you imagine it? I would give almost anything to just swim in cold water. Oh, Immortals, did you have to say that?" Vega had brought the cool sand, but at this point in her life she really wasn't sure that she'd ever be anything except fantastically over heating again. That was it, she was sure, she wasn't going to be able to concentrate on any exploration now, without a doubt.

Look at that, Vega, he said and she turned to look. All thoughts of the cold lake fled as she caught sight of moss covered stone."That looks like it was made by hands, not nature." As she looked, it became obvious that what they were looking at were the remains of a structure of some kind. "What was it, do you think?" Vega wondered as she looked around, spotting a variety of interesting things. As she did, she caught sight of a crumbled wall. "Look at these, Arlo"

The wall had a number of symbols carved on to it, strange and unrecognised to her. Leaning against it, covered in moss was a chest. It was ancient, the wood having nearly rotted to nothing. Rusted hinges were nestled in moss, symbols also carved into that. Vega was kneeling and looking at it, not touching it just yet when she glanced to the side,

"Snarding flibbets, Arlo!" She stood, freeing her bow and pulling an arrow in a much more fluid movement than she'd previously been capable of. Lifting the bow and knocking the arrow, she stood watching, keeping her bow trained on it as the great thing slithered on the outskirts of the area they were in. "D'ya reckon we should just leave it alone an' it'll do the same fer us?" she whispered, completely disbelieving that anything like that could happen. Not to them.

[Arlo Creede]

He loved her just like that? Arlo missed a step as they walked, and couldn't quite figure out why it caused his ears to burn just a little. In fact, while he'd be quick, most times, to fire back with something irreverent or teasing, he opted not to in this case. Except to say, "No, I can't imagine." Imagine it, if she was any other way, that was. As they debated what the natives of Scalvoris ought to be called, however, he grinned. "Scallywags. I like that one."

So on they went along the narrow and half concealed trail, and like Vega, Arlo yearned to dive into a deep and cold pool of fresh clear water. So much so that he resolved not to think of it. It didn't help though that the more they walked, the louder the sounds of running water. "If they were made and put there by men," he considered when they discovered the stones. "It looks to have been a long time ago. Centuries, maybe." But how long would it take in a place like this, darker and damper than out in the open, for things to fall into such a state of disrepair.

There was no doubt about it though as they discovered one example of stones after another. "Those markings aren't like anything I've ever seen before," he said, just as they came upon the old chest. For the most part, the place would be a great place of fascination for a scholar that liked to study that sort of thing. The chest though, that couldn't help but spark Arlo's interest. Surely even if it was locked, one or the other of them could knock the rusty latch open with a stone or even a good kick.

So there was the chest, and then there was the more immediate, and possibly more pressing concern. The big...thing, that he only caught a partial glimpse of. Grabbing his shortbow and nocking an arrow, he stared hard, hoping for a second look. "I'd say it looked like a snake. But if it is, based on the part I saw of it, its bigger than any I've seen before." All the while, he kept the bow trained on the corner of the structure where it had disappeared. "Maybe we've startled it as much as it did us, and it's high tailed it out of here. Or maybe," he countered with a deep frown. "It's just going round to come back from above or behind."

It wasn't an appealing alternative, without knowing the nature of the supposed snake. But still there was the chest. "How 'bout I keep an eye out for that thing. Me and Lyova, while you see if you can get that chest open?" he suggested.

[Vega]

Vega glanced as he missed his footing and turned pink on his ears. Normally that would be more than enough for her to torment him in some way, but evidently, whoever the girl was he was hankering after, Arlo appeared to have it bad. So, with a rare show of consideration for him, Vega said nothing. She couldn't resist it, though, when he said he couldn't imagine her as polite and meek and different than she was. Her grin was impish and she seemed more than a little amused. He liked the name Scallywags and Vega had to admit, "It's got a certain ring to it, fair enough."

As they made their way through the jungle, Vega was quiet. Her thoughts were messy in her head and she tried to make sense of things. It didn't work, though, and she found herself just getting more and more frustrated with herself. So, Vega did what she did best and she stomped about next to him. Though, the sound of water was reassuring to her. It was normal, usual. Vega realised that it was the sound she associated with home. She could only nod, though, when he said that the stones seemed to have been there for centuries. Certainly longer ago than in the last ten-trial, Vega thought with a smile to him. "You sure?" Was her only question when he said that he hadn't seen the markings. She pursed her lips slightly and got some parchment to try and record them as best she could; her drawing skill was not great, but if she could record it then maybe he could find out about them in the university library or something. "You reckon one of your professors might know about it?" It was more likely than the people she ran into on a trial by trial basis, after all.

And better that he asked his professors, since they might have half a clue.

However, the thing which slithered around took her mind and attention completely and Vega glanced at him as he looked at the place where it had disappeared and considered where it might have gone, or be going. "Oh, well, I'm glad we're looking on the bright side," she hissed with a glare at him. "I mean, really? Above?" The thought of having a bloody big snake drop on her from above was not something which Vega relished and her lilac eyes glared at him.

Yet, she nodded at his suggestion, it was probably the best idea they had. She knelt in front of the chest, pulling a knife from her waist and starting to prize open the chest. "If it attacks you, you'll let me know, yeah? If you die, maybe try an' make as much noise as you can? That'd be really helpful, thanks. I mean, what would be...." Vega's voice trailed off as she succeeded in opening the chest and she looked at the contents.

"Arlo," she more or less whispered. "There's a map open. I'm scared if I touch it, it's gonna just crumble, but it's a map of the jungles. Or, some jungles, anyhow. There's things in there. A fountain, an' a tower, an' a circle of stones an'... " Vega sounded awestruck, because she felt it. "You've got to see this. It's beautiful." In there was, laying across the top, a beautiful and intricate map. It looked like a treasure map from a pirate, in truth. It was intricate and detailed, still vibrant even though the ink was faded. All sorts of details were on there. It was laying on top of something, but what, exactly, wasn't clear until Vega carefully moved it, revealing what quickly became apparent as four beautiful statues; each one a strange beast which was nothing like anything on Scalvoris currently. They were carved by a master craftsman, there was no doubt.

"What is this, Arlo?" Vega asked, her voice soft as she looked back at him.

[Arlo Creede]

Scallywags it was then, and Arlo suggested that they might want to submit the idea to someone in charge, back in Scalvoris Town. "We'd be famous," he said. "Or infamous." Either of them was fine with him. He shrugged though when Vega asked, was he sure he'd never seen the markings before. Or whether or not some big headed intellectual off at the university might know them. "I'm sure there's probably someone there who'd know. A historian or something," he considered. "Maybe they look a little like some markings I saw on Immortal's Tongue in an old temple. But if they are, I don't know what those meant either. Old though. They were as old as time."

"Well snakes go up trees don't they?" he shot back as she glared at him. "On the ground, in the trees." Somehow Arlo would rather on the ground. Easy to watch the ground as you moved from one place to another. But up at the same time? Infinitely more problematic. When she asked for a warning before he died, he snorted, even while training his loaded shortbow on the surroundings while he watched. "Sure," he muttered. "I'll try to offer up a whimper with my last dying breath, or go kicking and screaming into the unknown." It made him jumpy in truth and once he nearly misfired, mistaking a large vine for the serpent in question. "Hurry up will you?" he hissed without sparing the chest a glance.

Maybe she should copy it before they tried to pick it up? That was Arlo's suggestion regarding the map. "That way if it crumbles we've already got another." He couldn't resist anymore though, once she'd moved the maps and discovered the statues. 'You keep watch while I have a look," he suggested, then informed Vega that in spite of Lyova's best intentions, she wasn't proving to be much help. The little diri was an excitable soul, and once she'd decided to take it upon herself to watch for the snake, to watch over them, she'd taken to patrolling the treetops and searching through the leaves and vines. Except that three times already, she'd mistaken twisting vines for the offender itself. In truth she'd been the cause of Arlo nearly loosing his bow already, in response to one of her high pitched squeals.

Better Vega not rely completely on Lyova then. So he traded places with her, leaned his bow on the chest and looked down at it's contents. Statues. Four of them carved in fantastic and imaginative ways. Or was it, rather than imagination, closer to some strange reality? Part of him wanted to lift them out for a closer look, in spite of him wondering...Would it be bad luck? Inviting a curse? "Why would anyone leave these behind?" Either it was deliberate, assuming that this place had become abandoned over time. Or maybe, something had happened which had caused the inhabitants to abandon it en mass, he suggested, in the blink of an eye.

[Vega]

"A whimper's no good. If yer gonna peg it, yell would you?" Vega bit back at him, her frown deepening at the thought of the conversation topic. She didn't like it, not one bit. Although, when he told her to hurry up, she couldn't quite help herself. "I'm goin' as fast as I bloody well can you irritatin' wart. Shurrup." Him being who he was, trying to chivvy her along? Well, it really wasn't helping. "Suggest I copy the map, then, suddenly, it's all 'urry up Vega. I'm not sittin' an' scratchin' my ass you know. I mean, really...." and so the grumbling continued whilst she copied the map as he suggested and then, finally, moved it.

By which time, he'd had enough of waiting and it was her turn to keep a watch out as he looked at the four statues. What Vega hadn't spotted was that there were four places identified on the map with symbols next to their names. There were plenty more than four places to be seen, but the four with symbols might have some connection to the four statues.

Of course, without touching them, it was hard to tell and thus far, neither of them had gone that far.

However, as Arlo's hand hovered over the statues, the carvings which might yet hold other clues, Vega let out an exclamation of surprise as, from the treeline burst what looked to be, for all intents and purposes, a giant snake. It was only feet away from them and it was heading straight for them. Massive teeth dripped some kind of venom and Vega leapt, putting herself between Arlo and it. As she did, she lifted her sword in a swing, arcing it over her head and slicing down on the snake, hoping that force and momentum would put even more strength into her swing.

"Get back an' SHOOT IT!" Vega yelled, determined to keep herself between him and it. After all, his strength was in ranged weapons and she was much better with a sword. So, she sliced down and grunted in surprise as her blow connected, but did not slice off it's head. Far from it, in fact as she cut it but not even that deeply. Still, it turned and tried to bite her, so Vega ducked under it's attack, readying her sword to strike upwards, under it's jaw.

[Arlo Creede]

They were very good at sniping and scrapping, the two of them. Most of the time it was all in good fun and one tended to enjoy it as much as the other. If it as an art, Vega and him had raised it to near perfection. More importantly though, they both understood instinctively that there was a time to bicker and a time not to. They could make that switch from rivalry to cooperation in the blink of an eye.

That time had come yet though, while Vega was keeping watch, and he was looking through the old chest. This was just the sort of thing that would appeal to any follower of Cassion that was serious about it. But had Arlo not been as devout as he was, he'd have been fascinated all the same. "Look here," he said, pointing at a spot on the map. "This symbol here is the same as the one on that statue. And here's another." He didn't get the chance to show her another and she didn't get the chance to look. Instead Vega cried out in surprise, and Arlo sprung up from his crouched position, grabbing his bow while getting onto his feet.

He'd only just swung around, arrow nocked, when she'd leaped in front of him and swung her blade. Meanwhile, Lyova was darting around the gigantic serpent, fierce and protective but not doing much good. Her form meant that at best, she was an irritation to the focus of her attack, since she passed right through the thing again and again. It was enormous. Big around with a thick head and a blunt nose, curling fangs and a diamond pattern along it's body. And if they'd been allowed the luxury of taking measurements, a good half of the thing was still concealed by leaves, vines and branches.

She didn't have to tell him twice, or even once, to shoot it. As she sliced into the thing, it let out a snarling hiss that could chill them both to the bone, it's maw opened up displaying more of it's fangs at the same time it revealed the underside of its head...like a lizard's underbelly, something in Arlo's mind suggested. Nonetheless, there'd been a time when he'd needed to think his shots from start to finish. Calculate them, focus on the mechanics. But as he'd improved, he'd come to rely more on instinct and feel, which had freed him in a way. It allowed him to act more quickly and worry less about missing when it mattered.

It mattered now. As the snake raised it's head, opened its mouth wider, he fired straight down its throat. He hit that mark and knew that if this was an ordinary snake, it ought to be a killing shot. And it might be eventually. But not before the thing did a great deal more damage. An unholy screeching sound split the air and the branches nearby bent as the massive body coiled, it's tail end coming full steam at them both, even while Vega prepared to strike. Needing to nock another arrow before he could fire again, it left Arlo few options but to drop, tuck and roll in an effort to avoid being knocked off his feet by the powerful tail coming round. It was only after he'd cleared it that he'd regain his feet, ready to fire again.