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--------------------------Chapter 39: Jungle Boogie--------------------------
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(Keilan:)
After the healing is finished and the paralyzed regain the warmth in
their bones, Keilan will stand up from his resting place and move next
to Falrun at the head of the pack.  To Tatiana, "Does Tuft feel like
flying in this bright sun?"

?: Are there still no signs of animal life near the road?

(Silver:)
As the party travel, Silver is not moving as fast as she normally does.

Close to Tatiana, she says softly "'Ana, we all survived, not least due
to your skill. Your efforts at protecting him probably saved his life
from ... whatever those things were." Holding her arm, she adds "And look
at what I managed - just hitting out with my staff, no blasts of magic
to defend us all. A personal battle is sometimes what fate demands ..."

(Tatiana:)
Her self pity mood evaporated as Silver talked to her.  "A better
group of friends, I don't think I could have wished for.  Thanks
for your words of kindness."

(Silver:)
Silver gives Tatiana a hug as they walk. "Friends are what count in life.
You leave little else behind ..."

Along the path, Silver will glance occasionally at Dithion. After quite
some time, Silver will say "Well, Dithion. Did you manage to finish your
... 'business' ... back in Dark Haven?  Is the path you tread now as dark
as it was then ?"

Her tone is still slightly aloof.

(Dithion:)
Dithion says, "The path is not so dark."  He looks to the sky and says, 
"although it will be soon as the sun continues on it's merry way."  He 
gives a slight smile, and then says, "My 'business' as ye call it, is
not concluded.  I thought, however, that it could wait whilst I have
friends in need or danger."

(Silver:)
Silver looks a little surprised at Dithion's response. She shrugs and
says "Is it the danger you seek - or the friends you seek to walk with
... when the fancy takes you ..." Silver is obviously fishing for the
reason Dithion stormed off from the HQ earlier.

(Dithion:)
Dithion says, "My, my, harsh words from you Silver?  I am surprised."  He
says nothing more.

(Silver:)
"Listen, my friend," she replies, "I have placed trust in your mysterious
actions. But just *what* is this mystery ? *Why* have you come to this 
land ? Just *what* requires so much secrecy that you don't believe you
can trust us ?"

(Dithion:)
Dithion looks at Silver with a look of interest, and says, "My ye are
most direct, Silver.  Why did any of us come here?  I am sure we all
have mysterious and secrets.  Why did ye come here?  Ye are most odd."
He shakes his head and says, "First ye shun me when first I arrive back 
and then ye call me friend.  A foolish inconsistency, if I might be so 
bold as to point it out.

(Silver:)
"Well, if you don't understand a little irony, then you have led a more
sheltered life than I realized," Silver responds, raising an eyebrow.

(Dithion:)
"As fer my secrets...they are of little concern 
and not worth mentioning why do you worry so over them?  I do not pry 
into ye're past, do I?"

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana quietly listened to the banter as she watched the march 
before them.  Bickering like they did laid heavy on her heart and it 
boded poorly for their journey ahead.

"Secrets are secrets.  Some should just be left alone.  Many times
we would not repeat what we have done in the past because we have 
learned from our mistakes.  Where we had not that knowledge before."

"The only time a secret should be shared is with a loved and trusted 
one that will not betray the trust.  Or when that secret endangers 
others around you."

(Dithion:)
Dithion says at Tatiana's words, "Aye, there is a truth in what ye say."

(Silver:)
"Fine, just fine. Rest assured, I will not mention it again. Ever."
Silver turns away and walks a distance away from the others. 
OOC: Boy, she is mad. *Really* mad. She'll cool down a bit in a moment.

(Dithion:)
Dithion throws his hands up at this then turns his attention to 
looking into the forest.

(DM:)
	Keilan listens and looks attentively for signs of animal life, but
not even having found older tracks of animals, concludes that animals shun
this part of the forest. If these shades are a 'regular feature' of this
road, he can well understand why animals avoid it. Then I guess you guys
move onwards, after having healed some, chatted up with Dithion etc. Falrun
and Keilan took the scouting positions if I recall correctly, with probably
Tuft flying up ahead to scout for any other nasty surprises.
	The road further sheds no more shades or other monsters or whatever.
The only thing you encounter, is another of the milestones/roadmarkers. This
one is in an even worse state than the one you found previously. After some
twenty minutes of travel, you begin to hear the sounds of moving water. You
are getting closer to the Ne'Thander. After another fifteen minutes or so,
all the while the sound of the moving water growing ever louder, the forest
opens up to a sight of beauty. The jungle parts to a fast moving river of
brownish, mud filled water. Contrasting sharply with the abundance of green
and brown from surrounding plantage, stands out a bridge spanning the river. 
	The bridge is crafted from seemingly a single piece of crystal. The
colour is a milky pink, and the bridge is crafted quite artfully. Some vine
has crawled partly over the bridge's railing, which is a low wall of
intertwining serpentine forms, with broader pedestal sections every ten foot
of the bridge. Most of the pedestals now stand empty, but on five of them,
statues of snakelike people stand, crafted quite lifelike, of similar
quality as the statue of the Lady in the Black Temple where Saicha was
found. The statues face the outside of the bridge, and stand eternal guard,
armed with tridents and spears.
	The bridge spans the 300 feet broad river, and near the far end, you
see the torso, head and weapon of a statue that has fallen off the bridge
poking above the water level. The 'floor' of the bridge is made of the same
crystal, and looks like it has been used a lot in it's day, showing much wear
and tear. However, it is roughened by the weather, and you can tell the
bridge has not been actively used for hundreds if not a thousand years.
	The sight quite well describes what can only be the Cryshal Bridge.

(Silver:)
Silver is quite taken aback with the sight of the bridge contrasting
with the natural jungle. Getting closer, she sees the crystal guardians.
"I don't remember seeing anything like this bridge nor the snake-like
statues. Have you any heard of any tales of them ?" she asks of Shade,
Tatiana and Arlon.

"As beautiful as it may be, I don't like this bridge. Something about
it worries me. It seems not to care for living things."

(Keilan:)
"This whole path seems that way."

(Arlon:)
"Well, shall we cross."

(Tatiana:)
"I don't remember the instructions Saicha gave us on how to get to 
the Crystal Citadel.  Did anyone commit it to memory?  Weren't we 
suppose to go down river at some point?  Is this it?"

(Keilan:)
"We don't need to cross.  We're to turn south-southeast here and
follow the river to a fork.  From there we head into the swamp where
the Citadel sits."

(Arlon:)
"Well then, follow the river."

(Silver:)
"Did she really say *not* to cross the bridge, or just assume we would
cross here without needing to tell us ?" 

To Tatiana, she asks "Can Tuft see the Crystal Citadel from here and 
let you know which side of the river it lies ?"

(Keilan:)
Keilan kneels and draws in the dirt to try and make it clearer where
we're going.
"It simple.  We don't want to cross.  We've been traveling southwest.
Now we turn southeast with the river.  As we follow the river, we're
supposed to take the left fork.  If we cross here, that puts us on the
wrong side.  Without another bridge most likely.  Of course, if you
want to do that water walking wonder again, it's okay with me."

Raoh meanwhile takes a break, flopping down in the shade, panting from
the heat.  Keilan takes a swig of water and then gives some to Raoh.

(Silver:)
Silver looks at the map, then the forest and the sky. "Yes, you're right -
I'm glad you listened as carefully as you did"

(Tatiana/Tuft:)
*Whew! I feel sorry for you guys!  Bet you wish you had wings like 
me.* Tuft quipped as he scouted ahead.  *The forests here are 
nothing like the ones back home.*

*This is home now Tuft*

*Don't remind me*

Tatiana continued to look at the crystal bridge.  "Mind if I look at 
some of the statues before we rough it?" she said as she started 
towards the bridge.

OOC: Unless asked to stop she will inspect all the statues 
carefully.  This is art after all.

(Arlon:)
"I don't think there would be any harm in looking at the statues for a moment."

Arlon will also take a look, maybe something from his past studies will come
to light.

(Tatiana:)
After the discussion, she went over to each of the statues to 
inspect them carefully.  "Creepy looking things!" she commented.

(Keilan:)
"Be careful, Tatiana."

(DM:)
	Nay, Tuft cannot spot the Crystal Citadel from here. The swamp is
still quite some ways away (several hours travel worth), and then the
Citadel is in the middle of the Swamp. Tuft has not yet spotted the Swamp
yet. At least not from circling right here.
	The way that Keilan explains is the correct path. However, a path
there is not there. The way takes you through untouched Jungle. Mayhap not
too much trouble for a Druid or Ranger, though the thickness of these
Jungles is more than they are used to on the Old Continent, but will
probably mean quite some hacking and slashing to get through for most of the
others. Watch them snakes and such eh? ;)
	So let me know how you proceed, what order of ranks, what
precautions taken etc. This is not some hike through the park my friends. 
( :-) Arlon may already be thinking how easy it would be to just fireball
your way through, but somehow I don't think Silver would be too thrilled
neh? ;)
Soo. What next?

(Silver:)
"I hope we manage to rest for a while soon. My back aches, and I feel
the need to pray and feel the touch of my Goddess again."

(Keilan:)
"We should move deeper into the forest first.  I don't want to see any
more travelers on this particular road."

After a moment, Keilan moves back and hands his bow to Silver.  He
takes her pack in return.  "That should make it easier on your back."

(Silver:)
"Why thank you, kind sire ..." says Silver with a smile and a bow 
reminiscent of when they arrived at Dark Haven.

"I suggest you take the lead through the forest, with Falrun following
twenty paces or so behind. Dithion could be next, with Ana and Arlon,
then Shade and myself bringing up the rear. We would then have one of
us at fore and back, aware of the forest and what lies within." Silver
shrugs as if she doesn't mind any other suggestions.

(Arlon:)
"Everyone ready, follow the Keilan."

(Keilan:)
Keilan nods at Silver's suggestion and looks around to see if everyone is
ready.  He'll then set off into the jungle looking for the easiest path
for this crew to make it through.  If the underbrush is clearer away from
the river, he'll lead them inland paralleling the river.  Raoh trots
along easily beside him, slipping under and over obstacles.  Raoh will
occasionally run ahead and then stop, waiting for Keilan and crew to
catch up, then bound forward again.

Mostly Keilan is trying to keep up a good pace to reach the Citadel before
nightfall.

(DM:)
	You find yourself blessed having a Ranger and Druid along, for only
they can spot all the nasty things and find an 'easy' route through the
massed foliage of all sorts. When you get farther away from the road, you
also encounter more and more animal tracks, and even the critters
themselves. Some of the less pleasant kinds, such as tropical spiders and
snakes are encountered, but luckily the ever attentive Keilan and Silver
spot all before they get close enough to pose any problems.
	After, oh, about thirty minutes of trailbreaking through the
tropical forests, the vegetation begins to slack off slowly, and the smell
of decaying and rotting plants becomes ever more penetrating.

(Silver:)
"Be wary, we're approaching the swamp area" calls Silver just loud
enough for all but Keilan, right up front, to hear.
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------------------------------End of Chapter 39------------------------------
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