Faerwyll

----> Making their way through the jungle, Aegeon and Alliandra pass through several hours worth of thick greenery and heavy jungle before coming to a halt to rest on a fallen tree.
----> "This is it," Aegeon states, pulling a leather boot atop the fallen log to adjust the lacing.
----> "What is it?" Alliandra asks.
----> "This is Faerwyll. My village."
----> The cleric pulls her long, blonde hair back out of her face and looks around disbelieving. Surrounded by nothing but unadulterated jungle, there is no sign of faerie presence.
----> "Where exactly is it?" she asks.
----> "You can't see it from here," Aegeon answers, stamping his foot back into his boot. "This is only the gate."
----> Watching in genuine curiosity, Alliandra finds herself smiling. She looks to Aegeon who has walked up to an enormous banyan tree. The multiple exposed roots of the viny tree create an intertwined, wire-like mess of soft wood.
----> Aegeon begins to climb.
----> "Your village is in the trees?" she asks the marryk.
----> "Not quite," he replies.
----> Once he reaches a height of nearly forty feet up the banyan tree, he pauses. Aegeon motions for the human woman to follow him. Still smiling, she obliges.
----> Alliandra finds the twisting, viny branches easy to climb on her journey skyward. She joins the marryk high up in the trees. Smiling at one another, Aegeon pulls back some branches to reveal a hollow center in the tree. Leaves hide the hole very well, almost appearing specifically placed to block observation.
----> "We must enter Faerwyll through this banyan tree," Aegeon informs her.
----> "Your village is underground?" she asks the marryk.
----> "Not quite," he replies.
----> The twosome climb down carefully into the dark hole. Again, the branches of the banyan tree make for an easy climb. Once at the bottom, Alliandra comments on how very dark the inside of the tree is.
----> Aegeon laughs, but does not comment.
----> It is unusually spacious inside the tree trunk. In fact, even when Alliandra raises her hands to feel her way about, she still cannot feel the bark on her hands. Aegeon instructs her to hold his shoulder as he helps her along.
----> Putting her hand on the marryk's shoulder, Alliandra feels an odd sensation. The marryk begins walking forward inside what she first thought was a tiny space inside a tree. He walks and walks and she's sure they should have hit the inside of the trunk by now! She feels odd somehow, as if the branches were moving around her. After a short time, she begins to think she hears drums. The feint pounding grows louder as they walk. Just as her eyes begin to become accustomed to the poor lighting, they stop.
----> "Okay," Aegeon states. "Here we are."
----> And with that, and the sound of an iron latch opening, light disrupts the darkness of the banyan's trunk, blinding Alliandra momentarily. When her vision recovers, she is squinting into the sunshine of Faerwyll, the marryk village.
----> Drums are being played throughout the village. Marryk are dancing and fires are burning high into the lower branches of the surrounding jungle. Scores of butterflies flutter about the festivities, and many tables full of food and drink stand nearby.
----> Marryk dressed in red, blue, and yellow ceremonial garb are dancing around an enormous bonfire before a long-robed old man on a wooden throne. He is smiling at the dancers and clapping his hands along with the drumbeat. A long shaman's staff rests in the mud beside him. He has a good-sized entourage of bodyguards, numbering almost ten from what can be discerned. An intimidating jungle cat, lying unrestrained beside the throne, flicks its tail lazily as its enormous tongue cleans orange and black striped fur.
----> Aegeon's face lights up at the sight. He is home again. Thank Florizel, he is back in Faerwyll! He begins making his way toward the center of the village.
----> When Alliandra attempts to accompany him, however, a roar splits the ears of both travelers. From off to her left, a large golden jungle cat, hunched to pounce, blocks Alliandra's path.
----> She freezes. Aegeon turns about surprised. The drums cease at the sound of the upset feline and the dancing, in turn, ends. After an awkward and eternal moment of silence, Aegeon's expression turns serious and he readies himself to pounce as well.
----> Alliandra's eyes widen in shock as the golden cat does pounce. Leaping high into the air, the cat tackles Aegeon and bites at his arms. Laughing the entire time, Aegeon slaps the big cat off him with little effort.
----> "Tynker!" he exclaims, the sound of joy obvious in his voice. The cat leaps again, this time landing just in front of Aegeon and putting paws on his shoulders while bathing his face in sandpapery kisses.
----> Alliandra is caught completely off guard by the interaction.
----> After an awkward and eternal silence, the crowd begins murmuring. Slowly, lone voices begin to emerge. Alliandra picks up on the words 'outsider' and 'human'. She hears 'Baragon', 'survivor', and 'team'. She hears the name 'Lolynna'. And then she hears the old man speak.
----> As he clears his throat, the rest of the crowd hushes of their own accord. "Aegeon Sunleaf, come forward."
----> Aegeon does as he is bade, walking directly to where the grey-moustached shaman sits on the wooden throne. The pattern of the Hai-Shalyk's throne is unique in pattern, making it apparent that the wood used to make the fancy chair is banyan. This must be Hai-Shalyk Quigh.
----> "Aegeon Sunleaf," the venerable marryk addresses him again, "welcome home."
----> A female marryk, beautiful azure hair hanging down to her ankles, moves to stand beside the hai-shalyk.
----> Aegeon bows before the hai-shalyk and, eyes closed, reports. "Aegeon Sunleaf reports as ordered, Hai-Shalyk."
----> Quigh smiles as does the blue-haired maiden beside him. "Where is the rest of your team, Sunleaf?"
----> Aegeon proceeds to explain his misadventures to Hai-Shalyk Quigh, being sure to embellish the role of Alliadnra's group in their rescue and survival. Many of the elderly marryk scowl at the human woman, however the smaller and younger children of the tribe are completely in awe. They've never seena real human before.
----> As Alliandra looks about the faces of the crowd ogling her, she notices something a bit bizarre. Many cats, mostly of the small, jungle variety, lie about the congregation. Some are larger than others. A few of the cats are bigger jungle felines. She even recognizes two or three panthers. They lounge about beneath the feet of the marryk as if noting could be more natural. And, true enough, it seems even to Alliandra that there could not be.
----> The cat Aegeon called Tynker hunkers down beside him as he relays his story. When he is finished, the tribe is silent. After rubbing his moustache for a time, Hai-Shalyk Quigh speaks.
----> "Aegeon Sunleaf, your actions are honorable. And the actions of these humans, too, were honorable." He pauses and lets a hand fall between the ears of his tiger companion. "I will talk with the Jalbeorne and we will decide what is best for Faerwyll concerning the events you have described to us from Baragon." He halts and ponders his next words carefully, still stroking the great cat. "You must rest now. Your wounds require attending. We will supply a group to return to Baragon and finish this early Clearing in due time." Again he pauses, scanning the faces of the marryk who surround him. "For now, your companion will feast with us. She is a welcome guest and must be treated as such." Two claps from the old man's withered hands signals the drums and dancing to begin again. "Let the festivities continue!"