River’s Journey – Part 4

Sensing the invitation, River stood up, shouldered her pack, and followed the wind’s direction into the forest. As she walked deeper into the woods, she sensed that the woods themselves had a presence. There were times when she swore that a vine or tree branch moved on its own. Other times, she could feel thick grasses that seemed to almost squeeze her legs as she quietly passed through, but then a breeze would appear, and the grasses would release their grip on her. Was it just her imagination, or were the grasses acting as a sentinel?

There was very little sun because of the thickness of the forest’s canopy, and deep shadows fell on thickets and other briar patches, creating low visibility. The travel was slow, and River heard the constant sound of the Margreve. Wild birds chattered, sometimes with a tone that sounded as if they were in grave danger. The rustling sounds of leaves and tree branches were ever-present. Occasionally there was a terrifying roar that echoed through the woods from far off in the distance.

As the sun set and the darkness closed in, River sighed quietly and thought of her companions of the night before. It had been nice to be able to share camp duties. The forest had her uneasy, and she decided against a fire, to avoid both drawing attention and hindering her night vision. She pulled out some of the leftover roast turkey and thought about her friends. The message from Avari had been short and not very enlightening. Could Feng fly yet? Was Kriick still trying to pick pockets? She smiled ruefully. THAT would get him in trouble someday. Look what it had done for her. “I miss you guys”, she said, to no one. “I hope you’ll be on your way soon.” After finishing her meal, she threw the bones into the underbrush and walked on for another half mile or so, to avoid the smell drawing predators close. Finding a large oak, she lightly scrambled up it and settled in the branches. “I’m going to forget how to use a bed by the time I get to see one again”, she thought, and eventually dozed off.

Seeing nothing, she would fall back to sleep. Deep into what would be the 3rd watch, River felt slow, deep breathing on her face. There was a musky, familiar smell, and she slowly opened her eyes. There, lying on the same branch, his face about a foot from River’s face, was the black panther.

“Yes, this is exactly what I need right now,” she thought, as the adrenaline brought her wide awake. She flexed her claw-tipped fingers as her lips pulled back from her teeth in a snarl, and she growled at the intruder.

The panther didn’t flinch. Its eyes were half-closed. As River continued to growl, it said in a male voice and in common, “Very good– your instincts are to protect, but are you trustworthy or do you serve yourself?”

Startled, River sat up and backed away from the panther as far as she could. Regarding him for a few moments, she finally said, “If I served myself, I wouldn’t be here. Forgive my surprise; I was not aware that any of my cat-kin could speak. Do you live here in the Margreve?”

The black panther didn’t move, and its eyes were still half-closed as if it was toying with sleep. “People I care about live in the Margreve. Therefore, I am here.”

River eyed it carefully. “I’m also here searching for my clan. They were in the mountains, but I’ve been told they’ve worked their way into the forest. I hope to find them and bring them to safety. Who are your people?”

“Come… follow me… and see.” The black panther said, as it slowly stood on the branch, stretched, and then silently hopped to the forest floor. He did not turn to see if she followed.

River watched until the panther was almost out of sight. She didn’t know who or what he was, and it would be pretty foolish to walk blind into a situation she knew nothing about. However… “Damn my curiosity,” she thought, as she grabbed her pack and climbed down the tree, following it. The black panther began to move quickly through the woods. The large feline was utterly silent as it hopped over fallen trees and slinked between large rocks. It took everything River had just to keep it in sight. Suddenly, there was a horrible snarling sound as something enormous crashed through the brush from behind River as she hurried to keep pace with the mysterious cat. Turning to look, she saw a creature that looked like a half-man/half-rhino with very sharp teeth. “Follow me and live,” River heard from the black panther. Was that in her head?

The creature itself became stuck in the thicket and started to flail wildly to free itself, giving River time to scramble to her feet and take off after the black panther. But where did he go? She studied the forest and, within 5 seconds, saw some branches in another thicket, about 40 yards away, still vibrating– probably because the panther had brushed against it as it ran through.

“What am I doing? I don’t have time for this! I need to get to my people, not chase some talking cat to who knows where.” With that thought in her mind, she quickly turned and started to retrace her steps.

The Render freed itself from the thicket, and twisted its head this way and that, trying to find her. It tilted its head high in the air as if sniffing. Then, in frustration, it loudly snorted, dropped its head, and lumbered off deeper into the forest, away from River. River quietly let out the breath she had been holding. “That was close. You need to keep your focus, my dear.

You can’t help the clan if you get yourself killed rampaging through the forest chasing some stray forest sprite. There is a time and place to indulge your curiosity, but this is not it.” With her senses on high alert in case the Render decided to come back, she turned and continued in the direction of Djurda Falls.

“What am I doing? I don’t have time for this! I need to get to my people, not chase some talking cat to who knows where.” With that thought in her mind, she quickly turned and started to retrace her steps.

The Render freed itself from the thicket and twisted its head this way and that, trying to find her. It tilted its head high in the air as if sniffing. Then, in frustration, it loudly snorted, dropped it head, and lumbered off deeper into the forest, away from River. River quietly let out the breath she had been holding. “That was close. You need to keep your focus, my dear. You can’t help the clan if you get yourself killed rampaging through the forest chasing some stray forest sprite. There is a time and place to indulge your curiosity, but this is not it.” With her senses on high alert in case the Render decided to come back, she turned and continued in the direction of Djurda Falls.

River shrugs. “As you say, I live. My clan needs me, so I’m not in a position where I’m free to go where my curiosity would lead me. I wish the best for your people and hope they are safe, but I have to concentrate on getting to mine.”

“I know that you do not follow me, unlike many of your kind. Tell me, you are well-travelled, what have you learned about the other Gods? And, as for the other races, what are your thoughts on the other races– how should we Tabaxi interact with the others? Should we interact at all, or should we remain secretive and elusive?”

River thought for a moment and then sighed. “I see nothing to be gained by interacting with others. I’ve met good people, decent and brave; I’ve traveled with them, fought with them, laughed with them, and adventured with them. If their kind ruled the world, I would throw open the gates. Unfortunately, the ones who do rule are petty and tyrannical. They do nothing for the good of the people and only concern themselves with what will make them richer and more powerful, and when they meet others like themselves, they wage war against them and kill tens, hundreds, and thousands of people who only want to be left alone to live their lives. No, I think we’re doing the right thing by only sending out those like me to learn of the world and make allies among those who would be true, whom we could depend on. As for the Gods…” she said with a snarl on her face, and then paused. “Wait… what do you mean ‘I do not follow you, unlike many of my kind’? Who are you?”

“Now, now…” said the black panther as he stood. “Felines are free spirits, but we have a purpose… Follow me and learn it.” With that, he trotted North, towards the Djurda Falls.

As River looked after the panther, a sudden thought struck her, and her eyes glittered with anger as a growl escaped her throat. “Ah. I see,” she thought to herself. “A child comes to pick up a toy that another child has abandoned.” She waited until the panther was well out of sight, and then shouldered her pack and made her way down the trail he left.

The trail was, at first, easy to follow. As the day progressed, however, it became harder to detect where the panther went. River finally lost the panther’s trail, but pushed on, using her own instincts and skills to move toward the falls. Two days later, she began to sense a change in the vegetation. The dense forests began to thin a bit, and the tree canopy opened from time to time to allow sunlight down to the forest floor. The vegetation became prettier, and River got a general feeling of tranquility. Soon she could smell water, lots of it, and could also hear the sounds of a waterfall in the distance; a constant “wooooosh” sound. As she continued toward the sounds, she came across a huge stone rock, over 50 ft. tall, with a carved face.

River stopped in a patch of sun and closed her eyes, and turned her face towards it. She’d held her own in the forest, but was not used to the closeness of it and wondered how her forest cousins could stand it. “When this is over, I’m going to find a nice sunny rock and curl up and sleep for days.” The tranquility was also a balm for her soul. She’d been pushing for a few weeks, and the stress of her encounters and near misses with the forest denizens, as well as with Anord was starting to have her temper on a ragged edge. Thinking of Anord brought to mind the black panther, whom she was pretty sure was the Cat Lord, or Bast, or whatever they styled themselves, and her lip curled back from her teeth. They’d been heading in this direction also, maybe they’d finally decided to stop tom-catting around looking for their lost paramour and already had the clan out to safety. Probably not though, her experience was that the gods really didn’t care much about anything other than themselves. At the current moment, her regard for them was not extremely high. She opened her eyes, and turned to examine the statue.

The Statue was old and weather-beaten, and similar in design and “art” to the statue she had climbed in the Silverstand Forest. There was nothing magical or new about it, and there was no evidence that anything other than birds and moss called it home.

As she examined it, movement at the top of the statue caught her eye. There, peaking over the edge of the statue, she saw a familiar face – Tulak, a male tabaxi from her clan.

As she focused on him, concerned that she might be seeing things, another tabaxi emerged from the shadows on the rock face of the statue. It was Salcha, also from the clan. Salcha and Tulak were twin siblings, although with different colorings and were not identical. They were friends and playmates from her youth.

River stopped and stared for a moment. Had she actually found them? Then a smile split her face and she ran forward waving. “Salcha! Tulak! Hey, over here!”

River’s journey continues in Post 5.