Following that interaction, the adventurers walked after Bo,
tailing him as he stomped his way through the drier-than-usual mud and past the
tall, thick trees. A good way into their journey, they heard more footsteps
squelching and crunching through the mud and leaves ahead of them.
"Ah," Bo said in a low, restrained voice, "Urosites. Must be
on patrol. Come, must hide; you not supposed be free."
Relaying the information to Siquioce, Kantuta grabbed
Siquioce's arm and pulled him along to a nearby bush with the chick and Bo.
Finding that the bush was not large enough to allow for him
to join, Yuchauzch looked around in a slight panic, trying and failing to find
an alternative hiding spot. Just when it seemed like there was no escape, a
brilliant idea popped into the orc's head: laying his belly flat on the mud, Yuchauzch
shifted himself back and forth until his main body was dug into the moist dirt,
leaving only his white mullet exposed to the outside world.
Once the detected Urosites drew near, they looked around for
a bit, their blank faces hiding the sense of wariness and attentiveness about
them. Poking at various plants and objects in the area with their spears, the
lizards kept a vigilant eye out for anything out of the ordinary, listening
closely for any hint of an unfamiliar noise. Seeing that their unwanted guests
were on the lookout, Kantuta, Siquioce, and Bo all held their breaths, not
daring to make a sound.
Once the patrollers came to Yuchauzch's hiding spot, one of
the them pulled up a strand of the orc's unkempt, stringy hair before dropping
it in disgust.
"Ugh," the reptile groaned, "Moss..."
Reeling back in discomfort, the other lizard griped, "Of
course worst plant grow...get away! Rog get sick."
Looking back at the "moss" one last time with disdain, Rog
marched after his partner, and the two of them departed from the area.
After waiting for a minute to ensure that the coast was
clear, the travelers in the bush revealed themselves, shaking leaves off their
bodies before letting out a collective sigh of relief.
"Phew, that was close..." Kantuta said, "I almost thought
that we were about to get captured again..."
As Kantuta and Siquioce took a breather, Yuchauzch shimmied
himself out of the mud, wiping the filth off of his body before picking his log
back up and hoisting it over his back. Seeing this, Bo walked up to him, his
expression full of shock and awe.
"Bo see how orc fool scouts. Orc is smart!"
"Heh, oh, stop it, it was nothin'." Yuchauzch said proudly,
tapping his log on his shoulder, "All it was was just some quick thinking; I
knew that the best way of getting those lizards to go away would be to hide in
plain sight, tricking them with my..."
"Hmph, please." Kantuta scoffed, crossing her arms as she
gave Yuchauzch a mocking smile, "You just got lucky. I bet that you did not
even know what plant you were trying to imitate."
"Hey!" Yuchauzch objected, looking offended, "What gives you
the right to make assumptions like that?!"
Shaking her head dismissively, Kantuta turned to face Bo and asked, "Anyhow,
Bo, shall we continue?"
"Yes," the Urosite answered, "Danger is gone. We continue."
"Good. Well then..." Kantuta offered a small smile to
Siquioce, "How about you? Are you ready to go on, leader?"
Brushing a stray leaf off his dorsal fin, Siquioce answered,
"Uh, yeah. Carry on, Bo."
With that, Bo, Siquioce, and Kantuta resumed their journey,
leaving Yuchauzch to stare after them in disbelief. Groaning, the orc shook his
head before reluctantly following after his allies, mumbling foul things under
his breath as he gave Kantuta the evil eye.
After another few minutes of walking, Siquioce looked to the
right and through the gaps of some trees, spying what looked to be another
grove of trees connected by ropes and wooden bridges. Replacing the canopies of
said plants were many wooden houses of all shapes and sizes, creating a series
of arboreal abodes. Despite the cozy look of the settlement, Siquioce couldn't
help but to notice that some of the trees supporting the shacks and huts were
starting to show signs of decay, their trunks being a pale grey instead of a
healthy brown. Though they looked to be holding up well enough at the moment,
Siquioce knew that it was only a matter of time until the trees collapsed,
unable to support both their dying bodies and the weight of the homes they were
bearing.
Wow, Siquioce thought, feeling his face scrunch up in
worry, So this is what's happening. These Urosites might see me as food,
but...not even they deserve this. I hope we're able to get to the bottom of
this whole mess soon...