[Flashback] Among the Jamoura (Dayn and Herth)

[Herth]

Summer 12, 507 AV

Herth woke with a yawn, his back stretching and snapping as he stretched. The Jamoura rolled onto his stomach and rose to all fours, the rest of his joints cracking and snapping as well. Leaving the comfort of his shelter, he moved outside into the rest of the forest, slowly moving through the inner city and moving slightly faster once he reached the Outer city. For good reason, it always seemed to inspire him to move a little bit faster, and think a little bit quicker.

While this wasn't necessarily a good thing, he felt he would need it today. Word had been sent that a human was coming to visit the camp, and many Jamoura were hungrily anticipating the chance to learn more about the outside world. The problem with such an immobile and slow moving group being scholars was that before long, their information got stale, and the Jamoura simply could not allow that.

So they had waited, patiently of course, and before too long, the sentries and others further out from the city had sent the news that the human was close by. Herth, wanting to make sure the human felt welcome, had decided to see the guest himself. Moving outside of the perimeter of the village, he came to the main road and, climbing a nearby tree for a good vantage point, waited some more.

[Dayn]

The great trees swayed in the gentle breeze, their rustling leaves melding with the gurgle of a meandering brook and the cries of strange birds to form a calm, yet sonorous symphony. Dayn paused for a moment, struck by the presence of the ancient forest. It made him feel small, and very alone. But he was at peace, and that was always something to enjoy while it lasted. Breathing in the rich scent of loam, he heaved a sigh and began to walk again.

Despite the tranquility of the forest, he was a bit anxious of how the Jamoura might receive him. He hadn’t met one of the wise, mighty apes yet, but he had the feeling that he was nearing the Spires. Are they watching me from the trees? he wondered. There was nothing to be afraid of, though. Before he’d departed from Avanthal, one of the Vantha had assured him that the Jamoura were generally pacifists, and that they’d welcome the opportunity to speak with an outsider. Even so, he suspected they might be wary at first. Long ago, when a ship he’d be traveling on paused at Ahnatep, he’d seen what could only be a Jamoura’s head mounted inside a house, its teeth bared in a mockery of a grin. Dayn didn’t understand how anyone could slay a sentient creature, much less mutilate its body for a trophy. It was probably better that the Spires was isolated. After all, humans

Dayn was so absorbed by his reflections that he started in alarm when he finally noticed the Jamoura watching him through the mottled tapestry of shadows and sunlight. “By the thumbs of Tyveth, you gave me quite a fright,” he swore, only for his face to split into a grin. “Are you the welcoming committee?”

[Herth]

Herth was wondering what it would be like to really meet a human. Of course he had seen them before, and occasionally talked to them, but only for a few moments before they had wandered off. Hopefully though, he would get a good long while to talk to this one. That way, at least, he could learn something about them. He was going to be leaving the village soon to go traveling, and he wanted some information about the way things worked in the rest of the world. Then, without warning, he heard the loud crunching of footsteps and concentrated, peering out through the branches. Given that he wasn't being particularly stealthy, he was rather surprised that it took so long for the human to spot him. Once he had been seen however, he gave a low chuckle and dropped to the ground, his massive legs flexing as they hit the dirt. "For the most part, yes" he said in common, "I am also here to make sure you don't go near those nasty things" he said, waving a meaty palm at a nearby plant. "Get too close and they spray you with a rather...unpleasant knockout gas" he warned

[Dayn]

Dayn watched the Jamoura drop the ground, with a low rumbling that he took for laughter. It spoke relatively good common, its unexpected warning prompted him to raise an eyebrow at the specified plant. ”Let’s hope the effect doesn’t last forever,” he said, though he knew it was a feeble attempt at humor. It was a bit disconcerting to know that he’d been standing so near to an aggressive bit of flora.

“Thanks for the warning.” Dayn moved closer to the Jamoura, all too aware of its imposing bulk. I must seem like a child to him, he thought, raising his eyes from the Jamoura’s enormous hands to its dark, green-flecked eyes.

“My name is Dayn Nigriso,” he began, extending his hand. “I’m supposed to meet some people in Alvadas, but I figured that I’d stop in the Spires for a few days.” It was disconcerting to speak to a giant ape, that he couldn’t deny, but he figured he’d get used to it with time. “If you’ve any time to spare, I could use a guide. As you can probably tell,” he said, glancing warily at the plant, “It must be painfully obvious that I don’t know my arse from my elbow in this place.”

[Herth]

Herth smiled at the human's lame attempt at humor, inadvertently displaying his full compliment of huge white teeth. "For most it is" he explained, "Though a few have been known to have an unusual reaction and stay under for weeks at a time" After meeting the human's eye, Herth noticed the swords and dagger the man carried. "I'm afraid you won't get much practice with those here" he commented "We have very few weapons here, other than that which nature provides. Fortunately, she provides quite a bit" he said, smiling again. When Dayn introduced himself and held out his hand, Herth shook it, his huge hand enveloping the smaller one. "I am Herth" he said, nodding "and do not worry, you did quite well for your first time in the Spires. We find many people lying unconscious on the side of the road, or in hiding in a bush from a beast"

[Dayn]

Shaking hands with a Jamoura was, by far, one of the stranger sensations that Dayn had felt, and one that conjured up memories of his childhood. He wasn’t used to feeling small. “Well met, Herth,” he replied, pleased by the compliment that ape had bestowed upon him. If he’d been a scholar or a swindler, he might have answered in kind, saying something about the wonders of the forest. But that wasn’t him. Dayn didn’t like to offer praise or flattery any more than he needed to, and he didn’t want Herth to think he was trying to be ingratiating. “I guess I’m just lucky, he said.

Dayn glanced at his surroundings, noting the rough, heavy vines that hung between the enormous tree trunks, whose cage of branches stretched up almost out of sight. It was almost as if he was viewing the forest through different eyes than before. “Herth, there’s something I want to ask you,” he said mischievously. “I suppose that most visitors come here by way of foot or horse… but what if I climbed? I know it’s dangerous, but wouldn’t that make quite an entrance?” Dayn hoped that Herth wouldn’t be alarmed by his suggestion. It wasn’t as if he had a death wish or anything. He lived for risks like this, especially when they involved the prospect of dying. And if he fell splat on the ground, well, at least he stood the chance of having his deeds fashioned into a cautionary ballad.

[Herth]

Herth observed the way Dayn shrugged off such a sizable compliment. He's either an ungrateful freeloader or a very modest person indeed he thought, hoping it was the latter. "Very lucky indeed..." Herth mused, talking to himself. He wondered what the other's response to Dayn's personality would be. Hopefully positive, but you could never really be sure about how a group so unused to humans would react. There was always the chance they would be offended. As the Jamoura were a peaceful race, there was very little chance of him being in actual physical danger, but jail time was a common penalty for disrespect or rowdiness. Upon hearing Dayn's request, Herth blinked. "It would make an entrace." he admitted "But it is, as you said, quite dangerous. If you truly wish to climb, I'll climb alongside you, and catch you if you slip or fall."

[Dayn]

Dayn gave Herth a playful pat on the arm. “You have my thanks, friend,” he grinned, yet while he was grateful to know the Jamoura would be looking out for him, he felt guilty for being reckless. He didn’t want Herth to feel guilty if something went wrong, but then again, he wasn’t going to admit that quite yet. It went against the science of risk. Not thinking about the consequences was, in fact, a form of self-preservation, for worrying destroyed the confidence that allowed him to rely on his instincts. Thinking was something you did while reading a book. Climbing was instinct.

“Catch me if you can,” Dayn laughed as he seized a dangling creeper and began hauling himself through the foliage. His legs flailed absurdly, and he found himself wondering if Herth would think his struggles were frightening or hysterically amusing. Either way, he thought wryly, he must already think me a maniac. After a few moments, he realized that he could climb faster if his legs were rigid instead of swinging. Dayn swarmed up the vine, intoxicated by the frenzied pulsing of adrenaline through his veins. He wanted to go higher, always higher. By the time he was forty feet up, he was ecstatically unaware of the fact that he could plummet to his death at any moment. He grasped a branch, hauled himself up even further, and then reached for another, squatting to give his aching shoulders a chance to recover.

That was when everything started to go wrong.

Dayn felt his center of gravity shift dangerously as he swiped at the mossy branch, but used his forward momentum to leap forward, hands groping for a swaying vine. It eluded him at first, and he plunged toward the ground for a terrifying moment before he finally managed to grasp the vine. He was grateful for his thick gloves, for otherwise his palms would have been scraped raw. His heart was pounding even faster, and his eyes were bright with relief and exhilaration. Offering a cheeky grin, he swung back, then forth, using his legs to push off a tapering trunk, and boldly released his grip.

Unfortunately, he lacked the momentum to snatch the vine he’d been trying to reach, and once again found himself falling. The dense foliage whipped at his face. Before he knew what was happening, he careened off another branch with a bone-rattling crunch, scarcely having the time to register the ache that blossomed in his shoulder before his stomach struck a broad, fungi-strewn branch, effectively halting his fall. Dayn folded over it like an abused rug, the breath driven from his lungs. “What the petch,” he croaked with a blend of shock and disbelief, and began to shudder with pained, spasmodic laughter. “Who put that there?”

Then he started to slip again.

[Herth]

Dayn patted Herth on the arm and thanked him. The problem was that Herth wasn't really sure he had done Dayn any type of favor, especially when Dayn started climbing. It was painfully obvious that Dayn had no experience whatsoever with climbing. "Try to use your legs" he suggested, but his voice was too quiet, and it was clear Dayn hadn't heard him. Herth, true to his word, moved over to the trunk and began climbing slowly up the trunk, his claws sticking in the soft wood and vines. Unfortunately, Herth wasn't paying that much attention to Dayn's increasingly daring antics.

He only looked up when Dayn caught the vine for the first time. Having not seen what was going on beforehand, he assumed Dayn was fine and went back to surveying the forest, hearing the natural calls of the birds and beats, and enjoying the smell of rich soil and organic matter. Only after the huge smack and what sounded like a dying crow laughing did Herth look back up at Dayn.

Why is he lying like that? Herth wondered and what was that smack?. Still wondering these, he progressed slowly towards Dayn, totally unaware that his new companion was not only mere minutes away from a possibly lethal fall, but also has a broken rib more likely than not, with a chance to puncture his lungs and cause him to drown in his own blood.

[Dayn]

Dayn stared at the ground. Is it just me, or is the world spinning? he wondered, so preoccupied by the lush vegetation that he almost failed to notice that his head was slipping past his legs. It was quite a beautiful sight. The strange plants were daubed with vibrant hues, their flowering buds bursting with new and familiar aromas. But inevitably, he realized that he was going to end up with a broken neck. He twisted his body, grabbing the branch as his legs slipped over, and suddenly he was dangling again. No, no, no, he grimaced as his sweat-slick palms found scant purchase, but throwing one arm over the branch, he managed to heave himself back up.

Lying splayed on the branch, he couldn’t help but chuckle. He was sore all over and his heart was racing like never before, but he was alive. “I’m still alive,” he said, as if he was trying to convince himself that he still drew breath. He perked up when Herth came into sight, sitting astride the log like a drunken sailor on a yard, giving the Jamoura a lopsided grin. “Herth, that was amazing!"