A little later the work finished, the spoils were divided equally amongst the Homins, although I politely declined. Each backpack now clicking with small vials, our small party moved on. The twilight of the deep Roots enshrouded us as we traveled deeper to other sources of precious materials that the Chanchey knew from earlier forays. But he also knew that this area was dangerous. A large pack of black Varynx prowled these caves and many ghostly white Zerx hunted around here too. One particular tunnel was haunted by a large species of Horncher crabs that lay hidden beneath the surface to grab unsuspecting victims from below with their huge pincers. He decided to avoid this place, despite the good quality of bark that could be found there.

Now we stood on a small rise not far from the moss covered cave walls. Small particles, glowing in all colors, slowly floated to the floor from somewhere high above, to settle gently on the ground and the softly waving ferns. A cluster of Cokamool, shellfish like creatures, further down the slope opened their black and grey shells to the air. Their softly pulsing, glistening, rosy interiors absorbing the sap contained in the falling flakes.

Transfixed by the eerie beauty of our surroundings, we. sat and watched the spectacle for a few minutes. Salazar passed around some freshly baked sweets from the Order’s Quartermaster and Chief-Cook Eta, whose talent for amazingly good food was almost legendary in Yrkanis.

Quietly chewing, Chanchey sniffed the air.

“A Sap-Storm’s coming up. We better get moving soon.”

“Sap Storm?” Tei-Jeng and Taniqa asked almost in unison.

“If a thunderstorm hits the surface the water seeps through to these caves and dissolves some of the sap in it. Some of it causes moss, lichen, and mushroom spores to light up somehow. Soon there’ll be more water and sap dropping from the ceiling, then the wind will pick up and really whip the droplets about and we’ll get wet quite a bit. The ground will be pretty slippery by then too, so we better make our way down to the amber spots. They’ll get washed out of the ground and cleaned by the downpour. With a little luck we’ll just have to pick the stuff up off the ground.” he mused.

“Great, let’s go!” Taniqa said excitedly.

So we traveled on through the dark caves, the ceiling almost lost in shadows far above us. Only the occasional gaps or larger rifts in the barkwood illuminated by dim sunshine sending down rays of low evening light hinted it was there at all. Our path led them through a dense forest of bulbous Jubla trees, and Chanchey warned the young Homins to not bump too heavily into them. because the impact might trigger their seeding mechanism. Pods with edges sharp as a razor would burst forth with high velocity and if fate bode ill might even set off a chain reaction with the surrounding trees. Showering clumsy travelers in a hailstorm of lethal small objects.

The trees stood in a small ravine that curved around a larger cave. Chanchey had led us along this narrow path because he feared that outside it we might run into the Varynx that sometimes hunted there. After a few minutes of cautious walking we came upon a small clearing with only a few shivering plants surrounding us. The constant clicking and rattling sounds they somehow produced was testing my nerves.

“Alright, here we are now,” Chancey said, his hair dripping wet with a mix of rainwater and sap, but he did not seem to mind it at all. The underground “Storm” was in full swing now and liquid was dripping from every surface.

Sal and I took to our positions of guarding the party, the others again started to  dig in the ground. This time the Tryker let Tei-Jeng try his hand at summoning the sources and the young Zoraï, after a few tries, produced two of them. As the others concentrated on collecting amber, we walked a few paces further into the Jubla-Wood to take a look at our surroundings. The trees here were a little sparser than they had been in the main forest, and many soft and fluffy ferns covered the space in-between. They glowed an eerie blue, casting strange shadows.
As we walked the perimeter of the clearing, a strange undulating cry erupted from the twilight. It was answered by short bursts of high pitched barks and growls, and the undergrowth to the west began to rustle with frantic activity. Small shapes could be seen moving through it in long leaps and bounds.

“Cutes!” Salazar cried out before the small hominoids came sprinting from the gloom. Armed with nocthing but their claws and teeth, the hunched primitives leapt at us with astounding speed. I swung my sword in a wide arc and caught one of the small creatures by the throat. It gurgled and dropped writhing to the ground. Salazar’s magic amplifiers crackled with energy as he unleashed a torrent of electricity in a scorching, blinding arc, burning two of the attackers in mid leap.

“Retreat to the others!” I shouted, trying to hold off the primitives with whide slashes while slowly moving backward towards the clearing. Salazar did the same, His Guild-Training kicking in: His hands held at the ready, the glow of his gloves was reflected in the Cutes’ feral eyes. But the tribesmen now were more cautious in their approach as they had seen that we were no easy targets.
A scream sounded behind us and we immediately turned and ran full-tilt towards the others. As we hurried into the clearing a terrifying sight greeted them. The Cutes had silently crept up to them too and were now harrowing them fircely.
The two Trykers and the Zoraï were trying to hold off a cluster of growling figures with their picks. Chanchey was trying hurriedly to wrestle his magic amplifying gloves from his backpack onto his hands and shouted orders above the din. Telling the young adepts to run for the relative safety of the ravine they had come through earlier.

With a powerful war-cry on my lips, I charged into the fray. Cutting and slashing with desperation at Cutes left, right and center. I tried to snare most of the attackers into a close battle with myself, drawing them away from the harried group. Clad in heavy armor, I would last longer against the enemies than my compatriots. Most of them wearing light or padded clothing at best.
It worked.
For a few moments the primitives were surprised and turned all their attention to the black demon that had appeared in their midst. Giving Chanchey enough space to abandon his pick and grab his magical gloves from his backpack. Finally donning them, he jumped high into the air, his arms crossed above his head. Concentrating for a moment the Tryker drew moisture in misty streams from their surroundings, forming it into an incredibly dense, glowing, gleaming ball between his hands. As he hit the ground again, the charged ball of water was released from his hold and shot at one of the attackers, exploding in a sphere of bone shattering pressure. Killing the Cute instantly and pushing most of its fellows right off their feet.

Now my pursuers from the forest arrived at the scene to reinforce their tribemates. There were now about fifteen primitives against the five Homins. Though we were better equipped, with magic and a sword, we were heavily outnumbered. Positioning themselves in front of the Zoraï and the Trykette, the three experienced warriors pushed their friends further into the tight space between the Jubla Trees and into the ravine.

Magic crackled and boomed and my sword drew blood on a few occasions, but I had to be careful not to swing too wildly, mind the dangerous trees. Deeper and deeper we retreated into the gloomy space between the high wooden walls, Tei-Jeng and Taniqa doing their best to heal their protectors as soon as they got hit. All we could do was hold off their enemies and hope to somehow find a chance to escape them with their hides intact and not all of our energy spent.

After a few minutes of this pointless struggle we simply turned and ran through the narrow spaces between the trees. It was then that Taniqa gasped and suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“Everyone go on! I’ll be back in a moment!”
The small Tryker girl turned on her heels and ran back towards their pursuers.
“Stop! Taniqa!”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“What are you doing?”
We others shouted after her.
I turned in mid-stride to pursue the Tryker dashing back towards the densely packed Jublas.
“Stay there, I know what I’m doing!” Taniqa shouted over her shoulder, before vanishing into the forest.
“Damn that girl!” the I exclaimed and hurried after her, not believing a word.

But I couldn’t find her anymore. She was gone.
Looking around  frantically, I spotted  the leaping shadows of the Cutes pack that still hunted us. I braced for a final stand, whispered a short prayer to the goddess Jena and charged.
Then things happened almost too fast for me to grasp.

The Cutes ran at me hollering at the top of their voices, raising their calwed hands to kill the intruder. Something flew past my head from behind, hitting one of the Jubla-Trees right next to the running Primitives with quite some force. Immediately it began to shake violently, its rattling increasing in pitch and volume.
The attackers stopped dead in their tracks. The realization of what was going to happen reflected in their wide, terrified eyes.
The tree erupted.
Its bulbous trunk shaking and shivering as if in pain or strange pleasure. Pelting its surroundings with high-speed, razor-sharp seed capsules. As the seeds hit other Jublas, these in turn let loose volleys of shrapnel. Setting off a fatal chain reaction.
The tribe members were caught right in the middle of the deadly hailstorm.
The small, unarmored creatures weaved and ducked desperately.
Some fell to the floor howling in pain.
I hit the soft, wet ground from a full run. Sliding a few feet before coming to a halt at the base of a large, shaking Jubla.
Cowering against the tree's roots, I braced my back against the frequent hits of seed pods thudding into my armor. Even through it's hard shell I felt the tremendous force of the projectiles and knew that sooner or later some would breach it and cut into my flesh. Luckily, crouching under the curved trunk, the tree itself sheltered me from the worst of its fury.

A deadly storm erupted around those unfortunate enough to be caught in the ravine. Like a meat grinder, the projectiles shredded cloth and flesh with ease and soon the pained howling of the Cutes degenerated into the occasional frightened and desperate whimper.
After a few short moments, that felt like an eternity, all trees had emptied their seed-pods and the terrifying barrage ceased.

I carefully got to my feet from where I lay huddeld against the wet, musty ground. Every muscle in my  back gave some sort of painful protest. In some places the seedstones had punched through the armor, but got stuck about halfway through. pricking my flesh beneath painfully.
I winced in pain, picking up my sword from where I had dropped it.
Then I turned to the Cutes and gasped in horror..

Blood covered the floor. As many of the primitives had not found shelter under a tree like her or had simply been too slow. Most of them had received the full brunt of the trees seed-storm. Their torn bodies lying motionless on the musty  floor. The rest of them struggled to get up. Those lucky ones that were relatively unhurt ran. None even considered helping their more severely wounded comrades, who limped off into the gloom. They knew they were in no shape to best me and cast baleful glances at the me.

Waves of relief and even pity for the ferals that had died so horribly washed through me. I’d have preferred if no one died had on this day.
Suddenly the familiar chime of a healing spell sounded behind me. An blink of an eye later I felt energy flow over and through my skin. Knitting the cuts in my back and soothing the cramps in my arms and legs.
I turned around and there stood Taniqa, unhurt and grinning from ear to ear.
From further down in the gully I could see Tei-Jeng’s large form moving towards them with great strides. Salazar running close behind him and Chanchey’s brown hair with his red tattooed face beneath bobbing up occasionally over the huge ferns.

“Pretty risky idea, my dear,” I said to the Trykette, grinning in secret amusement under the protection of my helmet.I was kind of proud of her.

“Well … yes. But I told you to stay behind. It was your own fault. You should’ve listened. - And besides, it worked like a charm, didn’t it?” Taniqa said nonchalantly and winked at me.

I ruffled the Trykettes purple hair and bent down to hug her tightly.
As we parted Tei-Jeng stepped up to wrap his diminutive friend in his huge arms. Lifting her up, he laughed with relief to see her unharmed.
Chanchey and Salazar arrived next, both panting a little from their desperate run through the forest. The Tryker looked at his kinswoman with both gloved fists resting at his hips and an annoyed expression on his face, but before he could say anything Salazar broke the silence.

“What were you thinking, running off like that? I thought I would find only a ragout of young Tryker back here when I heard the trees erupting!” His eyes darted to the dead Cutes a few paces away, his face got a little paler. Then he focused on Taniqa again. “If we had not kept running, those trees would have cut up all of us! And what of Lyl?! She got caught in the blast and ...”
I stepped up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Calm down my friend, we are unhurt and all is well. In fact Taniqa saved us all.” “What was it you shot at that Jubla back there?” I asked, turning to the Tryker girl, who was still cradled in Tei-jeng’s arms.

“Oh, just an amber I’d picked up from the node.” She brandished a slingshot with a grin. “I’d seen a small crack in the wall over there when we first passed here, so I hid in there and shot at the tree when the Cutes came running,” she explained.
“And you were excellent bait.”, the girl quipped.

“You risked Lyl’s and your own life with that stunt!”, Chanchey interjected with an angry bark.

“Hey, I didn’t know that she’d come running after me like a pet Yubo! I was safe in there”,she pointed at a small crevice in the far wall to their right, “See? Not a scratch on either of us.”
With a grunt Chanchey turned to Lylanea.
“She was lucky, that’s all. I’ll never take her down here again, if she doesn’t learn to stick with the group. That’s a must around here for inexperienced travelers. Now, Lyl, let me see to your back. I saw those holes in your armor.”

“Master Breggan,” I stated, in a slightly teasing and overly courteous tone, “I am fully healed already and not worse for the wear. Our young fellow truly saved the day with her daring idea. It was my mistake not to trust her and maybe you should reconsider your judgment too.”
Behind Chancheys back Taniqa stuck out her tongue at him and earned a scorching gaze from Salazar for it. But then his face softened. The usually quite reserved Matis stepped up to Tei-Jeng, who still held Taniqa like a babe and laid a hand on the young Trykers cheek. Taking everyone by surprise with this unusual display of affection.
“I for myself am glad that both of you are unharmed.”, he said quietly.
Then, louder, he continued.
“Lyl is right, Chanchey. If Taniqa had not thought of this … uhm … creative way to … distract our pursuers, we would be either fighting them right now or already be dead.”

Everyone just looked at the usually stern Matis, still too surprised to respond.

Salazar then stepped away from the tall Zorai. Straightening his robe and his back, returning to his usual, haughty matis behaviour. He casually waved hand in the general direction of the young Tryker girl, but harboring a small, mischievous smile, said:
“Well, she did save the day, didn’t she? Good Job, girl.”

At that Tei-Jeng had to set the Tryker down, for everyone was laughing so hard it almost hurt. Relief washed over us like soft rain and Chanchey finally hugged his kin too. Taniqas face turned a bright red. Those that noticed laughed all the harder for it. Probably everyone knew about her crush on Chanchey, except himself.

Our small party then returned to the amber spot to further stake our claim and we found a good amount of rare amber. In the far distance the mournful cries of the Cutes echoed through the cave. A little spooked and even feeling sorry for them, we made our way back to the surface. Tei-Jeng carried our “Hero” on his shoulders the whole way, until we finally returned to Yrkanis. Even though Taniqa fell asleep on the Zoraïs back later in the trek, by the time we reached the city, we had heard the story of how she had saved us at least ten times. Each time with a little extra heroism added on her part, until Chanchey finally looked at her with a lopsided grin and said:

“Please, my dear, Hush!”