The Lead Crown: Ch 2a, League of Leaves (pt 5)
Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 2-5, League of Leaves
Henry Evans was as good as his word. The moment there was even the faintest hint of Tribal presence the human disappeared into the forest. Although Kesst was content to stay as far away from the man as possible, it was to the dragon that the wildman chose to announce his departure, "I'll be waitin for all'a'ya t'get outta here... no worries 'bout leavin me bahind, buck-o... I'll keep an eye out for ya."
"...alright." it was a simple reply, but good enough for the man and, with that, he took a step into the brush and literally disappeared. Despite the human leaving, Kesst was still filled with the horrible sensation of being watched... but his attention was quickly pulled elsewhere.
"Well, yes... I suppose if you HAD to pay a woman for sex then it MIGHT be something you could come to enjoy." Sanmer's comment to Nicholas seemed strikingly loud amidst the quiet discussion of the party.
Despite the highly sensitive topic, the sailor didn't seem the least bit perturbed by the volume, and answered back with an equal amount of fervor, "It's not about HAVING to pay for it, fox." and he heralded the veracity of his comment with a hearty *hock-ptui*, "It's about actually knowing what a woman wants."
"Your money?" Sanmer replied with a wry smirk.
"Exactly!" the sailor acknowledged with a 'ha!' and a slap on his knee, "Thing is, every woman who drops her drawers without the aid of a ring is after SOMETHING... and, with a whore, you KNOW what she's after... and that makes things a helluvalot easier."
"Personally, I find the entire matter rather distasteful." Tobias added in his two cents, "The thought of a woman willing to cheapen herself by offering her body up in such a way is not only demeaning to the lady, but to any man who would--"
"And here I thought scholars and priests were cut from different cloth." Nicholas smirked, talking aside to Sanmer at an obviously high volume, "Guess it just goes to show that both are willing to show how superior they are over every little--"
"Maybe you should stop making it so easy." Theo interjected.
Nicholas spun about to address the ermine, staring down at him, "What's that, prissy-paws?" he demanded gruffly.
"It is the fact that you patron the women of ill repute that he questions your character, not because you are some kind of low-born." the white-furred scholar announced, "It seems to me that YOU'RE the one that has a problem with social status, not he."
"And it seems to me that YOU'RE fulla shite." the sailor announced in a matter-of-fact tone, following it up with a distinct spit on the ermine's boot.
"You're quick enough to point out his fault based on the fact that he is a scholar, and yet he has never ONCE approached you as if you were a lesser man because you were a sailor..." the small scholar somehow managed to stand his ground against the large human, "Please tell me how that isn't discrimination."
"Theo..." Tobias spoke up, pausing in his walk to regard the ermine, "It truly isn't something worth arguing ov--"
"It IS worth arguing about, Tobias." Theo countered, turning to glance at the prong horn, pointing at Nicholas, "This man is so caught up on the fact that you and I are members of the University that he is willing to overlook the fact that we are, first and foremost, people. People who are worthy of the same respect we would pay to him, and represent far more than the--"
"Stop pointing at me unless you wanna lose the finger." the sailor announced gruffly.
Kesst was not particularly interested in the direction the discussion was going but, fortunately, it came to an abrupt end as Enarork spoke up, "Be silent." the bear's voice was almost a growl, "Behave." he added, followed by, "We are almost there."
"How can you tell?" Nicholas questioned, glancing around, "All I see is forest."
"The smell." Sanmer volunteered, nose lifted up to test the wind, "Learn to use more of your senses, human." the fox smirked at the humor of the statement; everyone knew that humans had some of the poorest senses around.
"Har har." the sailor faked a laugh.
"I will go first." the bear announced, stepping past everyone to move toward the front of the group, "Follow me, and do not hold any weapons."
Tobias looked back toward the group, "Initial greetings among the tribesmen are always done peacefully... if you hold a weapon you are identifying that you intend to fight."
"Must explain why the missionaries always have so much trouble whenever they're escorted by guards." Theo offered quietly.
"Yea..." Nicholas chuckled, "most soldiers figure pulling a sword out is the same as a friendly wave when they're on the road."
"Men trained to survive war figure having a weapon out and at the ready means the best chance in a fight." Sanmer declared, "Can't fault them for doing what they're trained to do."
"It's a self-fulfilling prophecy with the Tribesmen." Tobias stated, "If you draw a weapon it's the same as you saying you intend to use it."
"The joys of social misunderstandings." Theo murmured quietly, stepping into line behind Enarork as the bear proceeded forward. As usual, Kesst found his way toward the back of the group, following along for less than a dozen steps before a shout caused their guide to stop.
A female bear emerged from the undergrowth, shouting the greeting again, "Rohn!" she called, holding a paw in the air as she looked to Enarork.
"Oani, Kunsa." the party's guide responded, likewise holding his arm high, a warm smile on his muzzle as he addressed the much younger bear woman.
"Oani, Rohn." she said in a much more casual voice, approaching Enarork. The two embraced, resting their heads on one another's shoulders and only then did she look past him to the rest of the group, "Wenyai'u'Vahn?" she questioned. There was no hiding the fact that she was eying everyone, obviously surprised by the party's presence.
"That's his daughter." Tobias noted quietly, "They were greeting one another, and she wanted to know about--"
"The Stone Tribe." Kesst spoke up, and took an inadvertent step back when several eyes settled on him. The dragon cleared his throat and addressed Tobias, "You... you said earlier that the thing Enarork showed us was a 'Yio Vahn'... Bonding Stone... and... one of those words was 'vahn'... and you said earlier that 'wenya' was 'people'... so she called us stone people... right?
"I thought they called us Rock Tribe..." Nicholas spat to the side, "But now I've heard Rock Tribe and Stone Tribe AND Stone People... which is it?" his objection, and accompanying 'hock-ptui' went unanswered.
"You are learning our language?" the bear woman spoke up, gaze focused on Kesst. The dragon was not enthusiastic about having so much attention on him but, thankfully, Tobias took over from that point, seamlessly stepping into the discussion with his greater skill of the tribal tongue, and began gesturing to each person in return... most likely introducing the group in general, as far as Kesst could tell.
In the end, the bear woman turned to Enarork and they exchanged several more words. The merchant then pointed to the different members of the party, speaking their name one-by-one. Once he was done, the tribal merchant looked to the group and motioned to the female, "This is Keiara, my daughter."
"Not afraid to show it off either." Nicholas added, eyes obviously taking their fill of her scantily clad body. Kesst felt his scales burn in embarrassment when he realized that the woman was wearing hardly more than her father; she had a loincloth and a wrap of leather around her chest but, other than that she had nothing on but stone and bead jewelry.
The dragon's prudent reaction was also echoed by Theo and, to a lesser extent by Tobias, who was obviously much more used to the way of the tribal people... but still blushing nevertheless. Kesst felt slightly more at-ease since he realized that his display of awkwardness was not as obvious as the reddening in the ermine's and antelopes' visible skin-- the dragon didn't have any obvious signs thanks to his scales.
"The women of the tribal folk do not have the same sense of prudence as our own women." Tobias announced what was obviously on everyone's mind, "It takes some getting used to, but it's important to remember that you will do far more insult by looking away than by approaching it casually." the prong horn, however seemed to be having as much trouble as the rest of the group in following his own suggestion. The rest of the group, excluding their sailor.
"So we're ALLOWED to appreciate em?" Nicholas smirked, obviously doing just that, "I'm liking Tribals that much more already."
"Mr. Poole..." Theo spoke up in a quiet tone, "Her father is RIGHT HERE."
The large bear merchant chuckled, and noted something quietly to Tobias, who seemed to blanch at the comment. "Tonight?" the word came out as a rasp; Enarork nodded with a smile.
"Share the info?" Sanmer spoke up, making Kesst almost jump in surprise when he didn't realize the fox had once again moved right next to him.
The antelope pulled at the collar of his fine tunic, obviously uncomfortable, "We're being invited to the tribe's ritual... tonight... it begins at sundown." Kesst didn't miss the urgency in the scholar's voice; it was already getting dark.
"Ritual, is it?" Nicholas questioned, eyes moving to the prong horn, leaving Keiara for just a moment, "So... a party or something?" and they returned right back to the curvy female.
"It's called the Rite of the Bower's Bounty." Tobias acknowledged, glancing to Enarork, who had moved past the party. Two more bears, a male and a female, had come into view and he stopped in front of them. The three talked with one another, seemingly oblivious to the party-- what really caught Kesst's attention however was that the newcomers were entirely naked. That fact also didn't seem to escape others' notice, and the dragon took the opportunity to review the reactions of the party rather than fixate on the clothless people.
"Heh..." Sanmer smirked goofily, "They're 'bare'." Nobody bothered contesting the comment.
Enarork's daughter approached Nicholas, their eyes on one another, and everyone in the group (except the human) took an involuntary step backward. She stopped at arm's length from the sailor and held out a paw, "Would you like to join me for the ritual?" her voice was decidedly feminine despite holding the deep growl of a tribal bear.
"I suppose that depends on what's involved." Nicholas countered, but he took the paw, obviously not worried about waiting for an answer. The two headed off back the way she had come.
"The Rite of the Bower's Bounty is--" Tobias began, pausing in his explanation as Enarork's loin cloth fell to the ground, and he disappeared into the forest, joined by the two bears with whom he'd been conversing.
"I think we can all guess what it is, Toby." Sanmer replied, his tongue sliding from the left side of his muzzle to the right, "So... I guess we'd be pretty poor guests if we didn't accept an invitation..." and the fox slapped the dragon's back, "Right, Kesst?"
The dragon was not particularly inclined to respond but, fortunately he didn't have to since Tobias continued, "The Shaman will be busy tonight, so--"
"Heh..." Sanmer interrupted, "everyone'll be 'busy' tonight." His green eyes continued to inspect Kesst in a way that made the dragon exceedingly uncomfortable.
"Are we even going to be welcome in camp with all of--" Theo paused as if searching for the right word, "with all of THIS going on?" the ermine was gnawing distractedly on a small stick, looking by all accounts as uncomfortable as Kesst felt.
"Yes, we're welcome, based on what Enarork had to said." the prong horn nodded, "Although you should be aware that the ways of the Tribals are far different then our own. We are entering a village that will be displaying that in a very obvious way tonight." Tobias seemed calmed by that point, but Kesst could see the tell-tale signs of his discomfort by the way he rubbed at the grip on his walking cane as he talked.
"I have a feeling Mr. Poole doesn't mind learning those differences first hand." Theo announced, glancing in the direction the sailor went; he scowled around the stick, but continued chewing on it.
"We aren't going to be forced to take part in all that... are we?" Kesst spoke up.
"Afraid of being surrounded by so much fur?" Sanmer inquired, the fox's tail curling around the dragon's thigh, "Don't worry... I'll keep you safe."
"Oani!" a deep, rumbling voice called to the group in the tribal tongue, forestalling any further discussion. If Enarork was 'tall', then the massive bear crashing his way through the forest was a veritable giant. Kesst was taken aback by the huge tribal, whose muzzle was large enough that he could likely have snapped someone's head clean off their neck; Kesst guessed that the bear's biceps were easily the thickness of his own thighs.
Thankfully, he did not appear to be hostile, "You are friends of Enarork... yes?" the mountain-of-bear asked in a heavily accented version of the common tongue.
At first Kesst had thought the man was naked but, after a moment's observation he realized that the tribal wore a harness as black as his fur. Oddly enough, the straps were placed across his chest and around his waist, but did nothing to cover his genitals. Sanmer's tail was no longer curled around the dragon's thigh-- it was, instead, wagging quite profusely. "Yes... yes we are!" the fox announced, moving to the front of the group, "Who are you? I like your harness. Does that come in a smaller size? What did you say your name was again?"
"I am..." the enormous tribal paused for a moment in thought, "How you say in your Words... Roaring-Flood." His red clay-colored eyes focused on Sanmer, "Among my people, guests always tell who they are first." he reached forward with surprising alacrity and grabbed hold of the fox by his tunic and hoisted him off the ground so they could be face-to-face without Roaring-Flood having to look down at him.
"Wow... strong too." Sanmer crooned, "If you want we can get to know each other better." and his vulpine smile left little doubt as to what he was suggesting. The bear didn't bother replying, instead, he simply about-faced and disappeared back into the forest, the only sound other than crunching vegetation was the surprised yip when fox was thrown up onto the Tribal's shoulder. "Hey!" Sanmer shouted back to the group, "Don't be bad guests-- mingle a little!" and then he was gone.
"I am not entirely comfortable with this." Theo announced quietly.
"It's fine." Tobias commented, moving back to join the Ermine, "Kesst?" the antelope glanced over to the dragon.
"I just want somewhere safe to rest." Kesst acknowledged, "...alone."
"Alright." the prong horn nodded purposefully, "Follow me into the camp and just stick together... if anyone comes up to us let me do the talking and I will try to decline gracefully. Between the drinks they will be imbibing, the food they will be eating, and the herbs they will be smoking, everyone should be in a good enough mood that they hopefully won't take offense." he cleared his throat, starting forward toward the direction in which everyone else had departed.
The three of them came to a stop after emerging into a large clearing; all around them were Tribals engaged in various acts of debauchery and shameless gratification, "They don't have any civility..." Theo murmured, "No wonder the Church is trying so hard to convert them... this feels like the exact OPPOSITE of a holy ritual."
Tobias glanced around quickly, then pointed to a large, dome-shaped tent made of what appeared to be furs tossed atop a framework of curved branches, "There... that's a guest hut."
"How can you tell?" Kesst asked, looking at the structure which, as far as he could tell, looked exactly like all the others.
"There's no sign of a family mark on the ground nearby." the prong horn announced, heading right toward it, "Most tribes raise extra shelter in their camps in case they have guests."
Many ursine eyes gaze after them as the three went to claim the empty 'tent'. Tobias held the thick leather flap open so Kesst could enter, then paused at the opening to scratch something into the dirt with the tip of his cane. The dragon watched him do so; when it was obvious that the prong horn wasn't following him in, Kesst spoke up, "Are you--?"
"They won't think twice about a dragon avoiding them... most Tribals are familiar enough with the Church by now to expect it... but it would be rude if I disappeared without at least being seen and introducing myself." the prong horn paused as the ermine moved past him to enter the tent, "That would be the same for you, Theo."
"I wouldn't know what to say." the scholar declared, "...or do." he added, eyes slowly migrating to where two bears lay beside a fire, oblivious to the world around them as they engaged in what should have been a private act; the female was particularly vocal. "or..."
"Oani." spoke up a nearby voice, and another tribal approached the tent. She wore a very complex band of beads around her waist which held up a simple flap of leather covering her unmentionables, though her chest was completely visible. Kesst remained in the shadows of the tent, but Tobias and Theo were right there with nowhere to hide.
"Oani." Tobias repeated, his voice cracking. He turned to the side, announcing to Theo, "Oani is a greeting."
"Oani!" Theo announced loudly, almost at a shout, eyes flittering every-which-way, appearing by all accounts as if he were going to explode in awkwardness.
"Tasyn!" the bear called over her shoulder, "Neva ohm ma'hali!" A few moments later a second female bear joined the first; Kesst thought for a moment that they could have been related based on the similarities, but he suddenly realized that the second was completely naked, and he had to swallow quickly to avoid an inadvertent eruption of flame. Poor Theo looked like he was also trying to avoid a premature eruption.
"Oani." the second bear woman murmured, her voice sultry, and very suggestive.
Tobias spoke quietly, but at a fairly quick pace in the tribal tongue. As far as Kesst could tell it sounded as though he was tripping over his words... much to the merriment of the two bear women. In the end, the prong horn glanced to Theo, "They are inviting us to join them and their sister for A Breath."
"A Breath?" the ermine inquired, eyes locked on Tobias, obviously thankful for somewhere to stare that didn't involve 'jiggly parts', "What's that supposed to mean?"
"The Tribesfolk smoke for ritualistic reasons." the prong horn responded, "It's a collection of holy herbs and sometimes a tonic of sorts, but it--" he slowly trailed off in his explanation as the two bear women took gentle hold of the ermine and slowly pulled him off into the camp, "...and the ritual claims another victim." the scholar murmured quietly, sitting down beside the tent, sighing.
"They aren't going to hurt him, are they?" Kesst asked.
"Only in pride, prudence, and piety, I am afraid." Tobias announced, shaking his head, "In my time I have studied the tribes there are few rituals I have learned to dislike as much as the Rite of the Bower's Bounty."
"Why?" although it seemed readily apparent, the dragon asked anyway.
"A scholar's first duty is to remain impartial. Clear-headed, attentive, astute, and impartial." the antelope glanced back into the tent at the dragon, "This ritual does not make it easy considering it involves alcohol, mind altering herbs, and more kinds of natural stimulants than you could mention on a page of alchemical reagents."
"And behaving like animals." Kesst added, most of his view beyond the scholar consisting of writhing furry bodies.
The antelope nodded, "And behaving like animals." he confirmed.
The night turned out to be a long one. Kesst had trouble sleeping, and alternated between dozing, and listening to Tobias speak with any number of visitors that came to see him. At some point, the scholar opened the tent subtly and splashed some sweet-smelling liquid on the ground out of view of the celebrants; the dragon didn't envy Tobias having to put on a happy face and suffer through an event that obviously didn't sit well with him.
When the sun finally appeared in the sky Kesst arose, stretching out his sore body. He would have loved to likewise stretched his wings but Tobias was laying on a pile of furs inside the tent with him, so he thought better of it. Ignoring the wing that felt as though it had fallen asleep, the dragon emerged into the early-morning air. Although he had fully expected the camp to look as though it had been the casualty of an alchemical explosion, he was thoroughly surprised at what he encountered.
Despite the raucous party that had taken place through the night the camp was actually immaculate. If he had not been present during the chaos of the evening Kesst never would have known what had transpired. Numerous Tribals were already up and about, going through all of the activities that Kesst would expect to happen in a camp without any indication that they had been partaking of every excess known in life only a handful of hours previous.
"Oani!" several young bears called to the dragon in unison, raising paws and waving his direction as they wandered past, carrying a thick net filled with fish between them. Kesst slowly raised his forearm, twisting it at the elbow before slowly wagging his talon in their direction. They all smiled, repeating their greeting before continuing onward toward the large ring of fires being stoked in the middle of the camp.
Kesst remained watching the village for a time, looking for any sign of the missing party members. It was a number of minutes before he spotted Nicholas, fastening his belt as he emerged from a tent; the sailor's usually gruff expression was dramatically softened, and he whistled on his way over to join the dragon, a spring in his step, "Oani." the human announced, a smirk on his face as he spoke the Tribal word.
The dragon didn't have to say a thing as the two were joined by Sanmer, "Damn... what a party." the fox declared, moving with very purposeful, dainty steps, white-furred tail swishing happily... but mostly in one direction, gingerly avoiding moving too far to the other side.
"Got to know the locals?" Tobias questioned with a yawn, head emerging from the tent as he looked around at the gathered party.
"Oh yea." the fox declared, all smiles, "And I found out why his name is Roaring-Flood." he winced when his tail swished a little too far to the left.
"He is a fisherman." Enarork's rumbling voice provided a much more company-friendly answer than what Kesst assumed Sanmer would have.
"Spear fishing?" the rogue proposed, ears wiggling mirthfully.
Tobias quickly forestalled any further uncouth discussion by being direct, "Will the shaman meet with us today?" he asked the bear.
Enarork nodded in confirmation, "Yes... but not until after breakfast."
"Good." Nicholas attested, then paused, glancing around at the party, "So where's prissy paws?"
The entire group fell silent at that, taking a moment to glance around at the surrounding tents. Kesst caught sight of the ermine first, "Over there." he noted, gesturing to a structure easily as large as theirs where Theo had emerged from the flap. The ermine smoothed out his tunic, secured its topmost button, and made his way back toward the party, but not before using his tail to caress the underside of the muzzle of one of three naked bear women lingering in the doorway.
All three smiled, waving to the scholar as he left, obviously smitten. Sanmer reached over, placing a finger on the underside of Nicholas' chin, and gently pushed up, closing it.