Chapter 125 - Run Through the Jungle

I was not fond of how many times I had gotten smacked in the face by a leaf that I swore was every bit as large as my body. Despite whatever potion Eira had given me to sober me up, I still felt a bit dizzy and sluggish. That rum stuff was damn good. I'd have to see about getting more of that sometime.

The sounds of singing were getting louder, but this time there came the thundering rhythm of drums accompanying it. And some kind of chanting in words I couldn't make out.

Oh, I didn't care much for this at all. It was probably all the absolute shite adventure novels I had read in my youth, but this was usually the set-up to some horrifying shenanigans. Or an orgy. Or both. Usually both.

I was not a discerning reader.

No, none of those thoughts. I was in a jungle with just a knife, a basic cloth outfit, my girlfriend, and her drunken uncle. I really, truly wished I could have Ice Moon right now. I missed my magic sword. And my armor.

I contemplated trying to fire up my concealment spell, as I had used during my investigations with Farina, but it was hard enough to do sober, and in my partially drunken state, it just was not happening.

We continued to move in silence, approaching the cacophony carefully, hoping beyond hope that nobody would spot us.

Soon enough, we found the edge of the clearing, and I wasn't entirely sure what I was seeing. And judging by Osian and Eira's expressions, they didn't either.

The clearing itself was fairly large, and it opened up onto the ocean. The jungle around it was dense, and part of me wondered if others were hiding in there like we were. The main focus of my attention, however, was on the gathering in the clearing.

It was a group of people, clad in all kinds of different outfits, though it seemed a large part of it was some form of swimwear. They seemed to be dancing and playing drums around a large bonfire around a stone plinth. And upon it was a female harpy who was singing something in a language I couldn't understand. She was absolutely bare, with unfamiliar symbols painted on her skin. She didn't seem to be all there; her eyes were glazed over, and she seemed to sway unsteadily.

I tentatively sniffed the air. It reminded me of something, but what? It was earthy, almost herbal. Herbal? I sniffed again, and I began internally swearing.

"Cover your faces with something!" I hissed, tearing a piece of cloth from the tunic I was wearing, wrapping it around my face. The other two pulled kerchiefs or bandanas out and did the same.

"What is it?" Eira asked, her voice low.

"I'm not sure exactly, but I recognize the smell from some of Myth's herb stash. It was the stuff she used when she wanted absolutely to become insensate. And these people are burning it like firewood!" I explained, as quietly as I could.

"Marsh Fungus. Nasty stuff outside small doses. These people are either stupid, insane, or both." Osian added, before pulling his bandana down and taking another test sniff. "It's mixed with something else though, and I can't quite put my finger on it."

We hunkered down as the harpy's song, the drumming, and the frantic dancing were hitting a fever pitch. It was wild, frenzied; people started tearing the clothes off, revealing hastily painted markings all over their bare bodies.

"Ok, that's not right," Eira said, her brows furrowed.

"You think? They're having a drugged-up orgy dance circle. That's not any kind of right!" I hissed at her.

"No, that's pretty normal for the surf cults. The problem is that there are both factions of the surf cults mingling together. That really doesn't happen outside their duels. And there's no idol." She explained, but I must have looked very confused as she followed it up with a shrug. "I'll have to really sit down and explain the surf cults to you."

Before she could continue the thought, the frantic dancing, screeching, singing, and writhing hit a height I didn't think was possible, until I heard over the maddening din the deep sound of a horn. I could almost swear it was coming from the ocean itself. All music and movement stopped cold save for that horn, and the sound of the harpy harmonizing with it; her voice sounded stretched to its breaking point.

As her voice went silent, the gathered throng knelt where they stood, their faces cast down. Everything was still, the only motion being the flickering of the bonfire as the embers and smoke stretched into the clear sky. Directly overhead, hung the red star. It felt like a judging eye staring down at the madness we had just seen.

There was movement from the ocean. I tried to focus to see clearly into the moonlit darkness. Something was coming out of it, rising out of those shimmering depths.

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I wasn't entirely sure what I was seeing. It looked like two well-muscled humanoid individuals wearing some kind of scale-like armor, their heads having distinctly fish-like features. Remembering some books I'd flipped through in a fit of boredom, they reminded me of sharks. Bipedal sharks. Shau-gan were often called Shark-folk, but these beings lived the term more thoroughly.

Riding on their shoulders was a tall being, slender, almost too slender, whose limbs felt ever so slightly too long. They were clad in all white robes that shunned the water they had emerged from. Upon their face was a while featureless mask, no eye holes or anything. Framing it was long hair that seemed to flow in an invisible current in the air.

The whole thing felt like the product of too little sleep and too many herbs. I wondered if I had inhaled more than just a few test sniffs of the air. The uncanny etherealness of it felt wrong in a way I couldn't quite articulate. I felt like we definitely were not supposed to be here, but I also didn't want to miss what was going on.

I looked over at Eira and her uncle to see their reaction, but they seemed as confused as I was. Oh good, at least I wasn't alone in that. We were all completely gobsmacked in equal measure.

The trio strode up upon the sand of the little beach at the edge of the clearing, and the two shark men placed the tall figure down with surprising grace. The pale one moved forward, illuminated in full by the firelight.

"My children, chosen of the truth path of Peloras, those who have shunned the false faiths of the Waveriders and the Sunblessed, I thank you for your welcome this night! Peloras delights in this display of your devotion." The pale one held out their arms, and the gathered ones uttered some phrase I couldn't quite understand.

"I come to bring you news! The time soon approaches for us to reclaim this island from the infidels who stain it with their wanton debauchery and faithlessness! Pirates, decadent tourists, foreigners, the false shau-gan, and worse, those heretics who cling to the petty worship, who ply the waves for the sake of entertainment and call it worship! You, who have shown me and Peloras your true faith in them, shall raise the temple from the depths of its resting place, and soon shall the burning star of judgement descend upon this cursed world, cleansing it! And all that shall remain is those of purest faith! We shall rule this world as the most holy servants of the Divine of Sun and Waves, and all shall bow before your righteousness!" The pale one spoke with a fervor that chilled me to the bone despite the tropical heat.

This was very wrong. This whole thing was very wrong. There was so much wrong it was hard to decide which part was the most concerning.

"Now raise your faces to the burning star! Praise Peloras! Praise them, and pray for salvation from the burning star's wrath!" The pale one pointed directly at the red star above, and I swore it twinkled in response.

The whole mood of the scene was the most disturbing thing I had encountered. Monsters, weddings, the horror of the sewers, and the weird experiments the knights and mages had inflicted on the people were horrifying in a visceral way that at least made sense. This was some kind of religious madness that I had never encountered before.

The group lifted their heads and arms towards the sky and began chanting in that same language, their voices raised in unison. The pale one nodded at the group before turning towards the harpy, who wobbled around unsteadily, her eyes still glassy and unfocused.

I looked at the two shark men, and they seemed entirely unimpressed with the whole display. At least I assumed. I wasn't entirely sure what their expressions normally looked like. Their eyes were pure black and gave nothing away either.

The pale one waved their hand, almost dismissively, and the fire around the plinth parted, and they strode towards it. With an almost bored motion, they moved their arms like they were pushing themselves off the ground, and they floated towards the top where the harpy looked at them, blinking dumbly at their pale mask.

I saw the lanky specter draw a dagger from under their voluminous robes.

"Oh shit, don't tell me they are going to-" I heard someone say before realizing it was my own voice. I started to move almost instinctively. I wasn't about to let some, probably, innocent harpy get sacrificed. I had seen too much of that in Firenze manor, and I wasn't about to let it happen when I could do something to stop it.

Before I could spring into action, a shout sounded from the other side of the clearing. There was the glint of steel, of blue and silver cloth, and in the firelight I saw armored individuals tear into the clearing. On their chests, I saw a silver trident. Knights? Out in Free Waters?

"Shit, shit, we gotta run! This is all kinds of messed up!" Osian hissed at Eira and me. Eira nodded and turned to grab my hand and drag me after her.

"Not yet, Eira! I have to help her!" I pointed at the harpy.

Eira winced as I pulled my hand free, but nodded.

"I'll back you up!" She said firmly. I drew my knife and moved into the chaos of swords and screaming cultists.

I dashed forward, making a straight line to the plinth, and watched as the pale figure looked around in confusion, bolts of light flying from their hands towards the knights. I ignored the fighting, focusing on my goal. I had to save that poor bird.

I leapt and grabbed the edge of it, pulling myself up with a little difficulty, but the rush of the battle was helping me push hard. The pale one was distracted, but if they spotted me, I might be in trouble. The plinth didn't have enough room for a proper fight.

So I did the next best thing. I gave them a sharp kick to the arse, which sent them falling off into the fire below. I looked down and saw their shark men attendants helping them up. The pale one had lost their mask to the flames, and I saw an all too familiar face.

"Caru? Why aren't you dead?!" I pointed at them accusingly. I had a feeling the whole time, but this confirmed it!

Instead of saying anything to me, the two shark folk picked them up and quickly disappeared into the nearby water, sinking quickly beneath the waves.

I looked around to check the madness of the fighting, and decided that this was my best chance to escape. I lifted the harpy into my arms, always shocked at how light the bird folk seemed to be, and hopped down, my knees regretting it as I had landed on a rock.

I didn't turn to look behind me, as I bolted towards Eira and Osian, harpy held close to my chest, making sure to keep her wings from flopping around.

"C'mon! We got to run!" I shouted as I tore past them.

I heard them swear and follow close behind me, as the sounds of fighting faded into the tropical night.

I guess there went my peaceful vacation. At this point, I really didn't expect anything less. Such is life.