Session 2 : The Bone FacesThe scouts along the reed fence that surrounds the Green Shadows encampment hear the running men before they can see them. Quickly, the palisade is athrong with archers, waiting. But when the men get closer there comes the sound of two stones striking together, beating out the code. The five runners are brought into the camp. They are the survivors of Ari Jackalstooth's ill-fated raiding party, lead by Twisted Root, the nephew of the chief Grasping Roots. Once they have calmed down they are brought before the hastily-awakened chief and his advisors, the shaman Sudden Forest Stillness and the mysterious visitor from the westlands. Grimly, Grasping Roots listens as his nephew describes the success of Ari's mission and the sudden, terrible ambush of the forest creature - although his men are unclear as to quite how many arms or eyes the monster had, whether it was flesh or fur, or what motivated it. Grasping Roots knows one thing though: The arrival of this creature can only mean a war. Perhaps it is in league with the dark-eyed monster that now rules the Red Scars, some fell demon which it has awoken, or perhaps even another of the moon gods come to the Oaklands in this dark age. Whichever way, his tribe's planned move against the Nine Ravens will not go smoothly. When the men are done talking he gives orders to his swiftest runners to make for the interior camps of the Shadows's lands and for his drummers to strike up the rythmn of war. With the messengers running and the drums rolling in the background, the chief turns to discuss events with the man beside him - a slim, silent westerner, pale of skin and with curious golden hair and an arch profile. The man is Haarken, a slavemaster of the Guild. He smiles and mentions that his allies have already taken steps to counteract the threat of the "dark-eyed one", and that these measures can be offered to the Green Shadows too... "for a most reasonable price." Meanwhile, Jao, son of Jiun, is leading a train of about 20 of his kinfolk north, out of the fringes of Green Shadows lands and towards the lands of the Bone Faces, where he expects to find his uncle, Whispering Leaves. Now that the exhilaration of his battles is wearing off, Jao finds himself suddenly aware of the beating he has taken, both under the jaws of the claw striders and on the spear-points of the Green Shadows. His tough, scaly skin has mostly protected him but he has some nasty bruises and some goodly cuts nonetheless. He also finds that, now that the excitement of their liberation has worn away his fellow tribesfolk have grown somewhat wary of him, unsure what to make of one of their own who has now become a god. And so Jao walks a few dozen paces ahead of the long train of Nine Ravens warriors. Green Briar has organized a few scouts to move out to the side of the line, stretchers to carry the two who are too badly wounded to walk any further, and bearers to carry the unconscious Ari Jackalstooth, who is trussed under a pair of spears. After a time, Jao turns and beckons to Curious Ember, who has found her way to the head of the line and she timidly approaches him and walks beside him, talking for a while. As they talk, Jao remembers another time, when he was just plain Jao, the mender of roofs and handyman for the village. It was in the month of Descending Water, three or maybe four years ago. A storm had torn a great hole in Whispering Leaves's roof and Jao was up there with the wattle and daub and some birch struts, trying to repair it when Curious Ember, then a girl of maybe 14, came to call on the Shaman. Whispering Leaves was inside, chewing nightmare root and not wishing to be disturbed, but Curious Ember told Jao that the boys in the village were saying that they had seen a Borrible out in the woods. When he professed ignorance of such a creature she explained that they are a terrible monkey-like demon that pushes too long claws in through your ears so that it can drink your brain. So Jao dutifully woke his uncle from his torpor and the girl related her tale to the shaman. Whispering Leaves was not impressed. "The creatue, dear girl, is called a Barrow Bull and it does not live in the jungle. It lives hundreds of miles to the south and you will never see one, even if you live to be as old as Vahael." When the girl had retreated from his scorn he chastised Jao mildly for disturbing him, saying that Curious Ember's problem was that she was about twice as smart as she should be to live in the Nine Ravens tribe. "Give her a good spear through one eye and cut her brain in half and she might fit in around here." With this wisdom, the shaman retired, grumbling, into his hut. From within he called, "And hurry up with that damn roof. Tonight will bring a storm." That night brought terrible rains, and wind which sucked Jao's hasty wattle patch-job right out of the roof again. The pair huddled in the hut whilst the shaman put together a contraption of skins and bark tubing which diverted the rainfall out the door where it cut a deep pool in the soft earth. His recollection over, Jao realizes that he and Curious Ember have been walking in silence for some time while he muses. The train is making good time but they are still miles from the Bone Faces lands. As he scans the night around him, a pungent scent comes to his nostrils and as he looks around more carefully his eye sees the distant phosphoresence of werwindel plants, that most useful of tubers which is both a bitter poison and a plentiful cure, depending on how it is prepared. Telling Curious Ember that he'll be right back, Jao scuttles up a tree and lopes through the canopy in the direction of the glow. All is still in the forest, the night air thick and humid with even the perpetual buzz of the insects muted by the heat. Beneath him is a small dell of marshy water, wherein grow the flat broad black leaves of the werwindel, almost but not completely shielding the will-o-wisp pale hue of their fruits. In the distance the shrieks of a pair of monkeys mating can be heard, but otherwise the night is still. Jao drops down into the clearing and is bending to pluck the valuable tubers when the knowledge suddenly takes him that he is being watched. A single toad croaks long in the silence, and then suddenly the toad is gone as something long unfolds itself from the branches overhead and engulfs it in one fluid motion. Jao finds himself staring at an enormous copper-and-midnight python, fully thirty feet in length, which has extended itself down from a nearby tree and is now gazing at him with bright, veridian eyes. The exalt cocks his head. The snake cocks his head. The two sway to and fro as the creature looms closer. When it comes within range, the young exalt reaches out and instinctively scratches it in the soft place behind its eyes. The snake, whose name Jao instinctively knows is The Master Of Captured Breaths unfolds itself from the tree and begins to wrap around the exalt, exerting if not its full constrictive force then what is still a mighty pressure. But Jao takes it in stride, flexing his arms to keep from being crushed, and after a few moments the Master settles around his new perch and consents to being scratched. The friendship is sealed by Jao confessing to the Master his uncertainty about how to interact with his fellow tribesmen and, indeed, how he is meant to deal with his newfound condition of godhood. The Master thoughtfully unloops one coil of his length from Jao's body so that he can catch and offer him a concilliatory toad, which Jao finds to have a surprising, rubbery taste which is very more-ish. After chewing the thing down with relish he proceeds to tell the Master a tale meant to illuminate his previous role within the Nine Ravens: It was the season of Resplendent Fire - high summer - and the tribe were camped at Thorned Nest. On a blistering day of unrelenting heat, with nary a cloud to offer shade, Vahael called a Moot and all of the tribesfolk came together to talk. It was not long before the eight-year old Jao and his friend Rahael became very, very bored. While the adults worried away at whatever problem it was that beset the village, the boys lay back and began to fantasize about going swimming. Ravenoak is maybe ten miles north of the Maruto river, but there is a swimming whole not half that distance away. Still too far, however. So Rahael proposed that instead they slip across town and cool off in the well. They knew they weren't supposed to, really, but they figured that everybody was at the Moot and no-one would notice one quick dip. As they slipped away they were joined by the two girls with whom they spent much of their childhood - Joyaen, daughter of the fire-warden Whispering Heat, and Terris, daughter of the huntress Steps In Shadows. Joyaen was one of life's free-spirits, effusively happy in each moment and unaware how much her beauty pulled on others. Terris, on the other hand, was sharp-tongued and clever minded. When he thought she was out of earshot, Jao liked to say that she would grow up to be named "Biting Shrew". When Jao was wrong, and Terris was in earshot, he ended up with some vicious welts. The four crossed town to the village well - a thick wood shaft about three yards across with a drystone wall surrounding it and a little thatched roof from which depend many charms and trinkets hung on thin leather cords. Jao recalled his uncle telling him that the charms are hung there just out of reach of the water-spirit so that he keeps coming to the surface to grasp at them. In this way the waters in the well are kept from stagnating. But before he could ponder the implications of this, Rahael had already dived into the water and the girls were splashing in after him. Jao held his nose and jumped over the side. The four splashed happily in the water for a few minutes, laughing and flipping water at each other. Then, all of a sudden, a ferocious bubbling welled up all around them and the water began to swirl around and round, faster and faster. Suddenly the whole well was filled with a whirlpool and they were sucked helplessly downwards, down, down through the black until they burst out into an impossible cave deep within the earth. The cave walls were carved of a strange, luminescent coral and sitting centrally was a tiny, wizened man - a mass of wrinkles, floating foetuslike atop a coral toadstool while a great mass of lank white hair floated all around him.
"Filthy human children," the little man hissed, while he stared
at them with protuberant eyes as black as fishes. "Who said you
could swim in my well?" Of a sudden, the water elemental - for that's what he was - came off his stool, still curled foetall, and began to skull his way towards Joyaen, propelling himself through the water with his thin fingers, which were as long as a boy's arm. Joyaen suddenly noticed him and looked scared for the first time. Rahael dove at him but he clutched the boy in fingers that easily encircled his whole body, then cast him across the cave. Rahael struck his head against the coral wall and lay limp, blood and bubbles trailing away from his head. Terris screamed and lost all her held breath. And little Jao realized that the downwards pull on him was gone and struck upwards, swimming desperately, up, up through the chill black waters as they faded to midnight blue and then, eventually shimmered to lightness until with a great splash he broke the surface and clawed up, up to catch one of the hanging fetishes and tug it free, casting it into the waters below. Jao took the deepest breath he could and then dove back into the well. This time he was not pulled downwards and he had to swim as hard as he could to reach the little man's cave. When he got there he found the little man whirling in giddy circles as an ochre light poured out of the fetish and he sucked it in through his nostrils. His black eyes were misted with an ochre tint and he seemed oblivious to the children as Joyaen grabbed the panicking Terris and Jao the limp Rahael and all four struck out for the surface. That final swim was a terrible airless haul through the a tunnel of darkness and absolute cold and they were all four certain they'd never make the surface, until finally they did ... ... and found Whispering Leaves crouched, right there at the side of the well, waiting to inquire how they had enjoyed their dip. The story finished, Jao realizes that he has been talking to the Master for some time and that the rest of the Ravens must be some distance ahead of him now. So gathering the great snake about him and telling him to hold on he wraps the glowing gourds in his medicine cloth and rushes through the trees to catch up with his tribesmen. When he eventually catches up with them they are right on the edge of the land which the Bone Faces claim. Rather than alarm them he skirts round ahead of them and drops down on the path. But still the sight of the exalt dropping out of the trees with a 30' python wrapped round him like a mantle causes the whole train to come to a halt and more than one spear is raised, if only in suprise. In an effort to comfort them, Jao introduces the Master and then asks him if he would mind accompanying them in the trees. Pythons can book through the canopy remarkably fast and the great serpent gladly returns to the treetops, whereafter Jao exerts his will and returns, for the first time since his exaltation, to the form in which he was born. Now, for the first time, the tribesmen really believe that he is their Jao, the one they have known all these years, and they all crowd round eager to touch him, to hug and thank him, to know how he feels. For his part, Jao is surprised to learn that his natural boss-eyed nature is gone; even as a human he finds his eyes work like a chameleon's, seeing independently, and that they have a tendency to roam. Before they press into Bone Faces lands, Jao falls back to walk in the middle of the band, eager not to alarm the others any more than the act of bringing an armed band into their territory unannounced will do already. For a while it seems that the tribesmen are unsure of what to say to him, but eventually he falls into conversation with Sacred Sky and Tiger's Tail and they tell him a little about the raid on Silent Waters as they walk. It's not long before the Bone Faces find them - a small warband, watching from the trees, the light of the low moon catching the white skulls the warriors paint on their faces, over the jet black paint of their camoflauge. One shadow detatches herself from the trees and drops down to the forest floor to talk with the newcomers. Jao comes forward to speak with her and she tells him that she is Steals-From-Memories and that his uncle had told her to expect his coming, but not that he would be bringing a warband with him. Jao explains the situation, omitting his own role in the proceedings, and flatters her by presenting her with a rich coup - Ari's necklace of teeth, taken from the jackal he killed as a boy to get his name. As they walk, Steals-From-Memories tells Jao of the good news which has befallen the Bone Faces of late: Their shaman, Listening Skull, has performed a great ritual and successfully made contact with a wise and ancient ancestor of the tribe's, Worship Of Many Worms, who has agreed to be their Totem and guardian. For them the long time of abandonment caused by Grandfather Oak's forsaking of them is at an end. As she talks she leads Jao and his folk deeper into their lands until they come to a great camp in an enormous thicket where the Bone Faces have encouraged great thorned vines to knit the canopy together and to weave the underbrush into a protective ring around many great white slabs of limestone which stand like grinning teeth amongst the forest oaks that ring the place. In three or four separate places great rings of sky peer through the canopy and beneath them are dug mighty firepits. Around one of these a hasty meal has been assembled to welcome the Nine Ravens, for Steals-From-Memories sent a runner ahead with news of their coming. The folk of both tribes sit down to eat together and Jao talks at some length with Steals-From-Memories and her brother, Tastes Like Leaves, before all conversation falls to a halt. Through the night, two figures approach the fire. The first is thin and gnarled, bedecked in a patchwork of scraps of animal pelts and leathers, with a great mask over his face carved from a human skull. He carries a great oaken staff bedecked with gourds and at every third pace he spins full circle, shaking the staff so that the dried seeds within the gourds rattle like rainfall - the sign of a shaman in his chiminage. This is Listening Skull. And beside him walks another figure, taller. Where the Bone Face moves like a dancer this man lurches like a drunk, his thick, matted mass of dreadlocks, ribbons and feathers falling uncontrollably over his thin face. His ironwood staff is thin as a twig and unadorned save for a long black ribbon that weaves in the breeze behind him. And Jao feels a great surge of joy to see his uncle, Whispering Leaves once again. Introductions are made and as Jao bows to the Boneface shaman a peculiar thing occurs: Unknowingly, he calls on the power of the Shifting Moon overhead and as he bows his face for a moment takes on the likeness of the fleshless visage of death, with only his pink tongue flopping from its bone mouth to give sign that yet he lives. Many who are present miss this momentary flash, but both shamans see it and Listening Skull is instantly suspicious and curious. Whispering Leaves brushes it off, though, and pulls his colleague down to a sitting position, encouraging him to eat. More recapping of events goes on and then Listening Skull makes his apologies and retires, claiming he has duties to perform. The party is quickly winding down as the exhausted Nine Ravens find that there is only so much wine that their adrenalin will allow them to drink. Steals-From-Memories and her brother retire and Jao and Whispering Leaves take the opportunity to slink away under the shadows of the canopy to talk. As soon as they have stepped into the dark, Jao leaps to his uncle's shoulder, taking on the form of a chameleon, and coils his tail about his neck. Very cautiously, the shaman reaches up to caress the flesh at the back of his neck, and Jao can tell the man is weeping as he tells him how proud of him he is. And Jao recalls how he first came to live with Whispering Leaves: When he was a boy of maybe five summers, his mother called her two brothers, the hunters Ferocious Boar and Tiger's Breath to her hut. Jiun was seated on her great curved stool, draped with the fine pelts of creatures which had fallen beneath her ironwood spear. The two men sat on lesser, stools, basically cross-sections of logs, and while the three talked young Jao hid behind his mothers and fiddled with the tassles of the pelts. Jiun was asking the two men which of them would take the boy to be in his warband and they both made a great show of demurring to the other's fine qualities, which was of course only polite but also masked the real reason: Although only five, the boy was already scrawny and gawky, tall for his age but too thin to be a great spearman and of a stumble-footed nature. But worse than all that were his eyes, which pointed outwards in different directions and were a sure sign that he'd never manage a throw which would find a mark more than a spear's length ahead of him. Still, Jiun was one of the most respected hunters of the tribe and tradition demanded that a boy be raised by his mother's brothers, so one of them would have to give in. And just as one of them was about to, although later they could never agree on which one there was, there came a coughing outside of the vined door of the hut and then a great shaggy mane of unkempt hair was thrust through that curtain, concealing the head of Jiun's half-brother, Whispering Leaves. The shaman stumbled into the room and the raven on his shoulder cried loudly, took off, circled the room and eventually alighted on the ironwood spit over the inactive hearth. For some reason, Jao was overjoyed to see his uncle, who had always scared him a little, even if he was funny. He rushed forwards and flung himself around the shaman's leg. Whispering Leaves bent and ruffled his hair, saying, "Good afternoon, sister. I was just passing and could not but help overhear your dilemma. It occurs to me that since both of these brothers are too honourable to accept the honour of raising your son, the only way that the three of you would ever leave this hut is if someone much ruder was willing to interject and agree to raise the boy." And then he added, "Mind you, I've smelt tiger's breath and I can't say that there's much honourable in being compared to it. And as for a ferocious boar, well, it only runs straight ahead and often into a swamp or a great patch of briars, and I do hope that even the dullards in this tribe are smarter than that." The men bristled, but both were wise enough not to rise to a shaman's taunts, and so Jiun hugged her son quickly goodbye and told him that she wouldn't forget him and then turned to the men and all three began discussing their next hunt. Realizing that they were no longer needed, Jao and his new parent turned and made their way out into the afternoon. Remembering all this, perhaps Jao wishes for a moment to just stay on his uncle's shoulder and let the shaman continue to scratch the soft skin of his neck. But instead he leaps down and changes back to being Jao and the two begin to talk. Jao tells Whispering Leaves about the striders and the deaths of Cunning Mantis and Hungry Hog and about the stranger who kissed him and how beautiful he ... or she ... was. The shaman listens and agrees and then tells Jao that he was right never to give him a name other than his child's name for a shaman knows when the time is right to name someone and Jao was always too mercurial to provide a name. Now, Whispering Leaves explains, it has gone beyond his authority to give Jao a name, and others will do it for him. During the discussion there is a soft hiss from overhead and Jao finds that he is able to introduce Whispering Leaves to the Master of Captured Breaths, who has found his way into the camp and is hanging from a branch overhead. The two then discuss what to do next and Whispering Leaves confesses that he is worried about the Bone Faces because he knows for a fact that the ghost pretending to be Worship Of Many Worms is an impostor and he fears its intentions towards their tribe. In a moment of passion, Jao finds himself punching at a nearby tree and cursing Grandfather Oak for abandoning the Ten Tribes in the first place. Whispering Leaves counters that it is not the duty of the gods to love men, only to let men serve them when they will. Men need to remember that the gods serve the gods first, and the gods last, and men only in as much as it suits them. At this, Jao admits that he is scared that many of the tribe now want him to be their god. Although they have the Raven to watch over them they are nearly as desperate as the Bone Faces. Whispering Leaves tells him that his only duty is to serve Luna and the only way that he can do that is by being true to himself. After all, the Lady of the Silver Night, chose to Exalt Jao because of some quality she must have perceived in him. If he wishes to prove himself worthy of her gift then Jao must come to learn what that inner quality is and how to listen to its voice for guidance. What then, Jao asks, must they do about the Bone Faces? Is it really their problem or should they just take their warriors and return to Silent Waters as quickly as possible. Whispering Leaves remarks that with the power of one of the moontouched beside them he has little worry that the Nine Ravens may leave this place when it suits them, but it will be up to Jao to decide what actions he will take. As to the course that he himself proposes to take, the shaman is curiously silent. The visitors are due for an audience with chief Black Wind's Answer come the morning. Jao suggests that for now they will sleep on their concerns and see what the new day will bring.
Gazing at the sky through a gap in the canopy, Whispering Leaves
answers: "Tomorrow will bring a storm."
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