TreeOfBounties/PoacoAndButos
The Verdant Tower
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With a final swing of his machete, Poaco hacked down the last of the vines blocking his path. With the lianas out of the way, it was a matter of only a few minutes to push through the remaining underbrush to the clearing. Shading his saffron eyes until they adjusted from the diffuse light of the forest floor, he looked around. He didn't bother wiping the sweat from his bronzed face and chest; the air was so humid he half-expected to see tropical fish swimming past. As he took in his surroundings, a small chattering monkey dropped down from an overhanging branch and landed on his shoulder.
"Just like you said, Butos," agreed Poaco. "Do you think it knocked down the the trees when it fell?" The monkey screeched in reply, small hands plucking at its master's dark, sweat-matted hair.
"You're right," the Sidereal conceded, "it looks natural. But what would make an open space like this, in the middle of the rainforest?" He ambled out into the clearing, Butos still perched on his shoulder. "Well, there is what we came for, anyway." He nodded toward the crater a few dozen paces to the side, surrounded by a ring of flattened vegetation.
Making his way to the circular depression, Poaco scrambled down the side, splashing into the pool of tepid water that had begun to fill it. Butos, having abandoned his spot on the Sidereal's shoulder, watched from the lip of the crater. Poaco plunged his hands into the mud, feeling around; after pulling out several nondescript rocks which he unceremoniously tossed aside, he came up with a fist-sized lump of sparkling metal. Stowing the meteorite in his satchel, he went back to mucking around in the puddle, eventually dredging up three much smaller chunks of starmetal. Muddy and wet, but wearing a broad, white smile, he joined his monkey on the edge.
"Nice big one, a?" He fetched out the biggest piece and held it up to the light; rainbow light shimmered across its lumpy, heat-slagged surface. The monkey hooted appreciatively. "Gosling will surely declare her unending love for me once she sees this." He laughed. "And then she will shut herself in her workshop with it, and we won't see her until next season. But before we return to Heaven with this catch, what do you say we take a better look around this place?"
Monkey in tow, the mud-covered Chosen of Journeys got to his feet and moved away from the crater, following the curve of open space. To either side, vegetation rose up sharply, leafy ground foliage abruptly transitioning into walls of old-growth forest. The cries of unseen animals filled the sticky air.
After a minute or two, the crater was no longer visible behind them, hidden by the curving treeline. Butos chittered and pulled on Poaco's ear, making him turn his head.
"That's interesting." Following Butos' pointing hand, Poaco's eye lit upon white stone amongst the greens and browns; closer inspection revealed the segments of a fallen column, weathered and overgrown. As they progressed further, more ruins became evident, both in the clearing itself and in the forest bordering it. Poaco hopped over the remains of a wall, and passed under a still-standing archway of pale stone, feet leaving muddy footprints on the cobblestones which still covered patches of ground; the stones were fitted together so tightly that in some places, not even small plants had managed to push through the cracks.
"Perhaps all this paving made it too rocky for trees to grow here, a Butos?" Poaco speculated. "Or maybe it's some magic, left over from when this place was built." His eyes shone with curiosity, and just a bit of greed.
Shortly, the thin crescent-shape of the clearing opened up around him. Poaco came to a halt, looking up at what stood revealed before him. "Or maybe," he said, "it's that the other trees are giving their king a respectful berth."
The tree which rose up from the center of the glade was, if anything, shorter than those of the surrounding jungle; however, what it lacked in height it made up for in breadth. Its branches fanned out dozens of yards, spreading a canopy over the entire clearing. Its trunk was sheathed in white stone, a wide cylindrical tower reaching from its roots up to the first large branches. Farther up, Poaco could see more white peeking through the gaps in its foliage, small platforms fastened to its branches. Among the emerald green leaves, his keen eyes picked out specks of color; a multitude of fruits dangled from the branches, in all shapes and colors. On his shoulder, Butos was quiet and still, apparently just as amazed by the fabulous sight as was his master. Poaco absentmindedly reached up and ruffled the monkey's fur.
"Maybe that fallen star was not the most valuable thing to be found on this journey, a?"
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