Porcelain Child/SessionThirty

Session Thirty

Entering the impoverished city of Nishimo...
<onine> You lead your horses into Nishimo, and down it's main street. You've heard a lot about how run-down Nishimo is, and these rumors are somewhat correct. Most of the buildings in the town were pulled down to sell the marble, most storefronts, inns and other buildings were 'renovated' to include a higher amount of wood construction. Indeed that is evident, but the process is being reversed, though using simple, well-crafted stone and hardwoods the place is being rebuilt, some of the teams working after sunset with the help of torch-and-mirror spotlights. You're also well aware that just beyond the main roads, the true underbelly of Nishimo is one of slums, shanties and unsavory elements of society - these are not roads that Farion takes you on of course.
<onine> She points out certain buildings and such on the way. "As you can see, we've been bringing teams in from all over the Isle to renovate the old buildings, return some of their air. When Nishimo's nearby marble quarries dried up, the city was forced to pull down most of its own to help bolster the sagging treasury, then all the 'higher' elements left for greener pastures, leaving bandits and mercenaries in their wake."
<Aliasi> "A story repeated many times in history."
<onine> "It's a sad state of things, when one must rip down his or her own pride to survive. You see it in people, cities, everything."
* Epheri nods appreciatively to the constructions that are pointed out, trying to visualize both what they did look like in their heyday, and what they will look like when finished. "It is, yes."
* Yengo swallows. "Yeah... but it looks like things here are on the mend, at least."
<onine> "Since my men and I arrived we've been trying to fight the tide and rebuild this city. It was very difficult at first, but once the silver and jade started to flow, things became easier."
* Yengo wonders what her secret is. It's seldom as easy as she's making it sound. "Ah."
<onine> "We've instituted quite a lot of new laws, and putting out quite a lot of benefits for mercenaries who join with our interests. Those who don't are driven out, or find it stiflingly hard to operate here.
<Epheri> "You’re not a native of the city?" Epheri asks curiously "Where do you hail from, then?"
<onine> "Great Forks as a matter of fact, with some Nexus blood mixed in. No, I understand what you are trying to get at, I am not one of the eleven families." She laughs. "Just an entrepreneur making something out of a place that most have given up on."
<Magpie> "But why are you doing it here then?" Magpie demands with unconscious rudeness. But few people came to the Realm to prosper.
<onine> "Money. The Dynasty attracts it like moths to flames. Prices here are higher, people will pay more for products, so if you are in a position to sell the product they want, then why not here?"
<Magpie> "Oh."
<onine> The Yeddims start to move off down another street towards what looks like a complex of storage houses and stables. Lady Farion stops her horse and the procession passes slowly.
<Anona> "But doesn't the higher cost of operation eat into the higher profits?"
<onine> "Sometimes, it depends on how you run things. Really, the costs are no higher here, especially if you bring most of it with you. As long as you are not after rare or hard-to-get things, costs are fairly level wherever you go."
<Yengo> "Well, rampaging little gods aside, I guess."
<onine> "Indeed. I have to oversee the storing and processing, but if you would do me the honor, would you care to dine with me so we may talk more? The food will not likely be as delightful as Dynastic tabletops, but after days on the road..?"
<Anona> "Don't even bother to grill the horse, just walk it through the kitchen."
<Magpie> "You can add the mule too if you want," Magpie offers generously.
* Yengo wouldn't know what to do at a Dynast's table anyway. "Sounds good to me."
<onine> She laughs. "Nothing quite so rustic ladies. To that end, I shall see you all later this evening. Everyone knows where to find me, you wont have difficulty."
* Epheri nods "Thank you. We will see you later."
<onine> She bows slightly and rides her horse off after the procession.
* Yengo shrugs. "She seems nice enough."
<Magpie> "Too nice," Magpie asserts, disappointed she had to keep her mule.
<Epheri> "She seems to have her head screwed on, that's for sure..."
<Yengo> "Maybe. Considering some of the other people we've met, though..." Then again, who wouldn't look good next to Kallorn?
<onine> "I do have a sense that she's not quite what she seems in some ways. She is genuine enough, though I don't expect we are getting the full story. We shall have to press her for it tonight." Diamandus says.
<Magpie> "So where are we going to stay?" Magpie asks, driving them back to more immediate (and interesting) issues.
<Anona> "It may not be all that sinister. But it's possible her actions are the cause for the river god's anger."
<onine> "Possible."
* Magpie sighs.
<Yengo> "It could be... but gods can be very... forceful when there's no Order around to keep them in line." He remembers that Road God the Legion angered in the Threshold that once.
<Magpie> "Maybe Farion is stealing jade from him."
<Anona> "That's so, but even without the Order, there's plenty of secular Exalts running around. Us, for example."
<onine> "As for sleeping arrangements. There." The Magistrate points a beefy hand across the lane, where a large building sits, with half of its original marble still there, but the rest in wood, it looks odd, but the wood is clean and has a rich coat of green . ‘'Xizle's Bunk' is painted on the sign hanging from the second story.
* Magpie leans forward on her mule, hands resting on the makeshift pommel, and squints at the writing. "Shii...Xii-el? Xi zul?" She looks perplexed.
* Yengo wonders if he simply picked the closest inn. Still... "Looks alright. At least from this side."
<Anona> "I figure in this town, they're all going to look run-down. Still... so long as there aren't vermin."

Xizle’s Bunk. There are no visible vermin.
<onine> You enter the place to an eating and drinking area/bar section. There is a bar serving drinks on the other side of the large stone and wood room. There aren't too many people there, and all are relatively quiet, enjoying their drinks.
* Magpie looks expectantly at the Magistrate to arrange a room.
<onine> There is an older looking slender man, well weathered tending the bar, which is all but abandoned with the exception of one patron. The barman simply wipes the bar endlessly.
<Epheri> "I'm going to find the local post office. I'll be back soon." Epheri announces quietly.
<onine> "Very well..." The magistrate says walking over to the bar.
* Yengo looks at her briefly, then shrugs. Not like he hasn't arranged his own errands lately. He trails after Diamandus.
* Epheri leaves the inn! In search of the post office! Where I post a letter!
<onine> "Hmmmm, you look like sturdy Dragonbloods." He says with interest. "How may I help you tonight?"
<onine> "You're the proprietor here?" Diamandus asks, though it seemed fairly obvious.
* Anona lets the boss handle it.
<onine> Standing at the bar you can see the man has his foot bandaged up, though he gets along just fine with only a slight limp. There is a wooden crutch leaning up in the corner of the bar.
<Magpie> "Do you think we'll have time for you to summon a demon here?" Magpie asks Anona curiously, as they stand together near the door. "I want to see a demon."
* Yengo leans against the bar, eyeing the crutch surreptitiously. And no, she did NOT want to see a demon. He sighs.
<Anona> "I don't really think we'll be able to construct a proper lab for it here."
<Magpie> "Oh. What's a proper lab?"
<onine> The barman answers the Magistrate. "Yes, I'm Xizle. Hard to say, no? So, a drink, room for a night or two?"
<onine> "One night I would say..." The magistrate goes about the negotiations.
<Anona> "Oh, various essence-manipulating apparatus, restraints, proper wards of protection, that kind of thing. You can do it with less but you /don't/ want to see what happens if one gets loose."
<Magpie> "It makes a big mess?"
<Anona> "Yes. Sometimes with dead people."
<Magpie> "Oh. So I guess a proper lab is better, huh?"
<Anona> "Yes."
<onine> "Havin' a drink there traveler?" Xizle asks Yengo.
<onine> The magistrate already has one.
<Yengo> "Sure." He nods at Xizle, leaning back against the bar. "It's been awhile since I've had a good drink."
<onine> He fetches you an ale. "So just passing through, or are you here as part of the revamping project going on around here?" Xizle asks Yengo and the Magistrate.
<Yengo> "Just passing through, mostly."
<Yengo> "Seems like Lady Farion has a good thing going here, though."
<onine> "Aye, that she does, things are looking up lately."
<Anona> "And she's the cause behind most of it, eh?"
<onine> He returns to his cleaning with a twinkle in his eye. "Sure is, she certainly has got a smooth operation running here, and if you're riding with her, you ride well."
* Yengo takes a sip, reflecting that the last time he had a drink with the magistrate was the first time he met him. "The way I hear it, there've been some... problems with one of the local gods."
<onine> "Mmmm." Xizle hums concerned. "I'kuan, been rather angry since Lady Farion arrived. I've lived here my whole life, and I don't think I'kuan has harmed a soul or even shown himself up until now."
<Magpie> "Why do you think he's mad?" Magpie pops up at Yengo's elbow.
<onine> "I don’t think it's hard to guess. All about territory. Old I'kuan doesn't want humans walking up the banks of his little river."
<Magpie> "No one did before?" Magpie asks incredulously. "Not even kids?" River gods aren't that tetchy in the Imperial City. Well, River God, really....and it was really more of a Stream God. There weren't many rivers in the Imperial City.
<onine> "Never did anything before. People could walk his river all they wanted, no danger."
<Yengo> "Then what's the difference? And just what is he doing? Killing?"
<onine> "Killing yes, attacking caravans and soldiers - but only since the renewal. And somehow I think that people would much prefer I'kuan than living in the dirt."
<Anona> "Well, if he's getting territorial in his old age, we can take care of that."
* Epheri walks back into the inn, and slowly makes her way over to the bar.
<onine> "Heh! Give him one for me, one of his kids gave me this." He lifts up his leg a little to show the heavy cast and bandages. "The long one with bearded snout. She's the craftiest, watch her."
* Yengo raises his mug to her and drains it, setting it aside. "His... children? How many of these, uh, children does he have?"
<Magpie> "Snouts?" Magpie asks with a touch of trepidation.
<onine> "Metaphorically. Not as in a pig's snout kid. Not mammalian at all, I'kuan and his kids are pure lizard."
<Epheri> "Snouts?" Epheri asks with curiosity as she reaches the bar "Ah."
<onine> "We don't know... three children I think, at least that we've seen."
<Anona> "Hm. Children implies... er... a mate of some kind, doesn't it? Or is I'kuan asexual?"
<onine> "Well... never really thought of it, most of the time we're running away from them. I guess its possible that he has a wife or girlfriend." Xizle ponders.
<Magpie> "Maybe Farion turned her into a pelt. And sold it. And that's where all the jade is coming from. And now I'kuan's angry." Magpie looks pleased to have figured it all out.
<Anona> "Just trying to figure out the severity of I'kuan's offense. Last thing we need are monstrous god-bloods."
* Yengo pats her on the head. "Always a possibility... I guess we'll know for sure when we uh... talk to him. Them."
<onine> "Talk!?" Xizle laughs. "Just what would you *talk* about? How do you strike up a conversation with a twenty-five foot lizard!"
<onine> "There's not a lot of conversational ground in between you if you know what I mean."
<Anona> "Oh, it's quite easy, really."
* Yengo coughs. Twenty five feet?
<onine> "Well," he chuckles. "It's your funeral if you make him mad."
<Magpie> "We didn't kill his wife. -Or- his girlfriend. If you're polite to gods, they'll be polite to you too. Mostly. If they're not too powerful." That's what her Gran always said.
<onine> "Good luck." He laughs.
<Yengo> "Maybe it won't come to that." He'd learned a long time ago to stay out of their way, but he wasn't sure the Exalts knew the same. "Lady Farion should be able to tell us more."

Later that evening…
<onine> The time for the dinner rapidly approaches, and you excuse yourself from the friendly bartending chap to ready yourselves, with WASHING and DOING HAIR and other GETTING READY things.
* Magpie , who considers herself ready as she is, sticks close to Anona during these trying times, as she figures the Dragonblood is the least likely to subject her to inhumane tortures involving soap, brushes, etc.
* Yengo soon finds himself downstairs in his finest set of clothes, which look only marginally nicer than his regular set of clothes. Sure was nice to get out of that armor, though.
* Anona heads downstairs in a slightly-dressy-for-Anona outfit. Which still puts Yengo's to shame for fancy, being designed for a Dynast.
* Epheri changes out of her travelling clothes and into a dress more suitable to wear to dinner. Not her best, but still nice. She makes sure the Jade choker is visible around her neck, then heads downstairs.
* Magpie reappears with Anona in the same worn, smelly roughcloth clothes she'd always worn before.
<Yengo> "You're in for it when Tara catches you, you know." Yengo says to Magpie. It's not really so much a threat as a statement of fact.
* Magpie wrinkles her nose. "She hasn't before."
* Yengo shrugs, as if to say "We'll see."

A modest dinner party.
<onine> After a few questions here and there, you find your way to where Lady Farion has set up her far from modest home and command center, in the old government building.
* Anona looks around for someone to announce our arrival to. Or should we just knock?
<onine> It too is a little 'makeshift' in some ways, with wooden replacements for what was so obviously stone before. You are led through the building with houses a fair few mercenaries and other men of varying jobs.
<onine> The servant takes you out through a courtyard garden to a single room building. He kneels and opens the door and gestures you silently to enter the torch lit room.
* Magpie strides through.
<onine> You enter, there is a single large low table in the center with many stools around it. To the 'main end' of the room, Farion sits with two other men on a raised section. One makes notes on a scroll, the otherpacks little woven-straw packages into heavy strongboxes carefully.
* Yengo hangs back with Tara, feeling a little like a mortal fly about to enter a Dynast's parlour. He lets the others go ahead of him before following.
<onine> The area they sit in would likely have been where the council-heads of Nishimo sat when they held banquets long ago.
* Epheri follows Anona inside.
<Yengo> "Ah... well..." Not as intimidating as he'd thought!
<onine> "...this has been a good hall, Tuchara will be happy with this." Farion notices you. "Ah, you're earlier than expected. Or I am late.” She stands and bows. "Nevertheless, I am delighted you have accepted my meager hospitality.
<Anona> "We wouldn't wish to keep you waiting. And I am delighted to accept."
<onine> "Please sit." She gestures to the tables and turns to her scribe. "Thank you Olman, that will be all for tonight, go home to your wife - I've kept you long enough."
<onine> The older man bows. "Thank you Lady Farion, enjoy your meal." He makes his way out.
<onine> "Hon Xa, please have my cooks begin our meal." She says to the young man who was loading the packages into the strong-boxes.
* Anona sits, after /just/ long enough of a pause to make clear it's because she WANTS to sit, not because a mortal told her to. One must keep up appearances, after all.
* Magpie plops down into a chair without ceremony.
* Epheri sits after Anona, as is appropriate, eyeing the packages with curiosity as she does.
* Yengo seats himself at the end of the table quietly.
<onine> The young man, not much older than exits to run his errand, but returns quickly. He stands to the right and just behind Lady Farion who takes the head of the table.
<onine> "So how are you finding Nishimo thus far?" She asks, sitting slowly.
<Anona> "It does seem to be doing it's best to recover."
<Yengo> "We've had no trouble. The people here seem pleased with what you're doing."
<onine> "It has come a long way after a few short months, and should make great strides as soon as I'kuan is silenced - presuming you are still going to look into the matter...?"
<Epheri> "We shall talk with him at least, I think."
<onine> "I see." Farion looks skeptical
<Yengo> "Have your people tried that?"
<Anona> "We do, after all, have methods of persuasion not available to you." Anona casually brings her hand up as in greeting, accompanied by a very brief spurt of flame.
<onine> She smiles. "Really."
* Epheri rolls her eyes.
<onine> A small team of servants arrive, setting down bowls of a thin watery soup made with... flowers you guess. It has a strange plant garnish and tastes weird, and smells even weirder. To the 'ruffians' at least. This is pretty standard stuff for the sorceress two.
* Yengo eats quietly, not really enjoying it but too polite to show it.
* Anona chows down. Neatly, of course - she IS capable of basic etiquette - but with relish.
<onine> "Any help you can render in this little crisis of ours will be much appreciated so that we can continue the renewal project. It has been set back a significant amount by I'kuan's fooling around."
<Yengo> "The people say there were never any problems before... what has changed?"
* Epheri eats slowly, but evidently enjoys the soup.
<onine> "Our activities for one. We go up the rivers a lot, cut down a tree or three. Industry."
<Magpie> "Killed hif wife," Magpie says indistinguishably around a huge lump of bread.
<Anona> "Even then his job is to monitor the river, not to attack those using it. We shall have to remind him of this."
<onine> "Of course." She says.
<onine> More servants enter, and place another dish before each of you. It looks to be a pair of pale green eggs, with a pinecone in the center.
* Magpie leans over to Yengo, "Are we supposed to eat the pinecone?" she whispers.
<onine> Magpie, Tara and Yengo have not a clue. It is only when the Dragonbloods open the top of the pine cone with a strange implement also set down before them that eating this thing becomes more practical. Inside it is stuffed with crushed nuts and savory fruit that you mix with the eggs to make a very strong flavored, herby mouthful.
<Yengo> "All that activity would tend to anger him. Have you p- er... " He almost said 'paid tribute.' That's Threshold thinking for you.
* Yengo quickly covers the gaffe by attacking the pinecone.
<onine> "Tribute? Oh no, its frowned on here, and that suits me fine."
<Anona> "Any other things he might have taken offense to?"
* Magpie watches Yengo, does as he does, and creates a bit of a mess.
* Yengo isn't doing so hot himself.
<Epheri> And why does that not surprise me? She tastes a little more of egg. "So, assuming that I'kaun is dealt with, what are your plans then? Apart from trade with Tuchara, it would seem."
<onine> "Of course. Tuchara, Arjuf. You name it."
* Yengo finishes the last of his egg-n'-pinecone with something very much akin to relief. "Trade like that could really turn this place around. I'm surprised no one else is trying to cut in."
<onine> "Oh people have tried, believe me. Our advantage is that it's mostly unknown at the moment.
<onine> "
* Magpie twirls her spoon in her soup, which she hadn't quite finished. "Tany knows, doesn't he?"
<onine> "Possibly. But the Ledaals and the Tepets have far larger fish to fry, or so they think."
<Anona> "Hm," Anona says noncommittally.
<Yengo> "As long as we aren't on the plate."
<onine> "I will have Hon prepare some maps for you detailing the areas I'kuan seems to frequent."
<Yengo> "Thank you." Though he wasn't sure he wanted to see I'kuan at all...
<Magpie> "Where was Tany going again? I forget."
<onine> "And what is it that you trade?" the Magistrate finally asks.
<onine> Farion looks at him and holds her hand up to Hon, who produces one of the wrapped packages, which Farion takes from him and tosses it onto the table with a clatter that seems to violate the quiet of the conversation.
* Yengo eyes it dubiously.
<onine> The straw covered package is about a hand'slength, and an inch thick. It clatters and slides to a stop in the center of the table in front of Anona and Epheri
* Anona looks inside!
* Epheri looks curiously at it as Anona opens the package.
<onine> You peel back the straw covering, and are met with something shiney and a rich deep-black. Jade.
<onine> Very good jade at that.
<Epheri> And black jade is water jade. Of the sort that might say be gathered from a local river bottom?
<Yengo> "No wonder this place is looking up."
* Magpie finishes her soup by lifting the bowl and gulping it down. She wipes her mouth with a grimy sleeve, and notices the others' interest. She peers over at their table.
<Anona> "Indeed. That's excellent jade."
<Magpie> "Jade? Where do you get jade?" Guessing. "From the river?"
* Epheri nods. What she could do with jade like that..
<onine> "It is not just excellent jade, its some of the best black jade on the isle. Only the imperial mountain yields better at the moment.” You have your 'money' jade for coins and whatnot, then simple artifact jade, for daiklaves, bracers, armour. Then you have jade of this quality which goes into the very fine and very special artifacts.
<Anona> "The plot deepens..."
<Yengo> To Yengo, jade is just jade. He's nevertheless suitably impressed.
<Anona> "It didn't occur to you that /this/ could be the reason the river god objects?"
<onine> "Of course."
<Anona> "I could certainly see a spirit getting possessive over such a cache. Again, something to be reprimanded for, but knowing the reasons makes it easier."
<onine> "We could always stop, and this fine jade will never reach the esteemed hands of your water aspected cousins."
* Yengo sees that Anona is much more optimistic about this than he is. "Yeah, good luck convincing him to part with it, though."
<Magpie> "But why doesn't a Dynast have it? I mean, jade is worth a lot. Jade is -money-. Dragonblooded like money." Dynasts -always- have the best stuff. It doesn't occur to her that her phrasing could be construed as insulting to Anona, Epheri, and for that matter, the Magistrate.
<Anona> "Obviously, this river god must have been hiding it."
<Epheri> "Obviously." Epheri wonders if this is all this an act on Anona's part or is she just taking this mortal woman at her word
<Magpie> "No, I mean why are Dragonblooded buying it instead of, er..." Magpie glances at Farion apologetically.
<Yengo> "Once anyone finds out about the scale of this, you're going to have problems, River God or not."
<Anona> "True, there is that. Normally all high-quality jade dealing is closely monitored."
<onine> "Oh, I expect to be well prepared for that, dont you worry."
* Yengo raises an eyebrow at that, but stays silent.
<Anona> "Hm."
<onine> The next course is rice with thin slices of some river fish served raw. It tastes very odd, something like sweet water, the flavour is... water.
* Yengo eats, wondering if the noise he heard in the woods a few nights back was a twenty-five-foot lizard kind of noise.
* Magpie wonders why so much effort is expended to ruin good fish, but gulps it down nonetheless. She doesn't believe in leftovers.
* Epheri tries the fish thoughtfully.
<onine> The rest of the meal goes by well and you feel thoroughly satisfied by the end. More polite discussion is exchanged with Lady Farion for the remainder of the evening.
<onine> Before you leave, you are provided with maps of the rivers to the east of Nishimo, and they are marked with confrontations the men have had with I'kuan.

The Streets of Nishimo
<onine> You leave the central building and make your way back to Xizle's Bunk to plan and rest up for the trip that will take place the next day.
<Magpie> As they trod through the still-somewhat-dingy streets, Magpie speaks up suddenly.
<Magpie> "You know what I think? I think Tany was laughing and laughing. Because he's up to no good and now he thinks we're going to get eaten or at least be really delayed." She scowls.
<Yengo> "Well, he's definitely up to no good... but I don't think we can just leave this problem."
<Magpie> "That's why Tany think it's funny."
<onine> "Certainly not." The magistrate says.
<Anona> "And there's two sides to every story. We just have to figure out what the other one is."
<Yengo> "Hopefully he won't do too much damage before we get there..."
* Magpie brightens up perceptibly. "And he's twenty-five feet long! I can't imagine a lizard twenty-five feet long. And we get to -see- one!"
<Yengo> "As long as I don't wind up seeing him from the INSIDE, I'll be happy."
* Anona cautions the girl. "And maybe fight it." Hm. Okay, maybe not much of a deterrent for her.
<onine> "In any case, we'd all better rest." The Magistrate says as you enter the inn. Xizle is still at the bar, wiping it. Must be reflexive.
<Yengo> "Sounds good." Dining with the upper crust was tiring in its own way.
* Magpie chatters on about large lizards and her guesses as to their teeth size as Tara tows her ruthlessly away to bed.

Outside Nishimo, where the wild buffalo roam…A riverside.
<onine> The next day starts fairly nicely, warm for the season and with few clouds beyond a few fluffy whites in the sky. It's a good day to hunt gods! You trek off once again along the road south and to the east, backtracking the path Farion's large caravan of Yeddims. Soon you make the turn off on the road and head north along the river once more north of where you were the previous afternoon. Without Vana, the Magistrate is reluctant to split the group up, Yengo is the better choice for the pointman, but pointless before the power of a god.
* Magpie , her eyes shining, sits upright and alert in her saddle, keeping an eye out for giant lizards. She has achieved a temporary truce with her mule, and the crow, weary of flying, has landed on her shoulder. The bird's fluttering wings curve around her head like a helmet.
<onine> The Magistrate calls a short rest, and the Archons dismount with no small amount of relief.
<onine> Free of the mule, Magpie is allowed some 'exploration room'.
* Yengo stretches gratefully. They really should've left her and Tara back in town, he thinks, but with Tany on the prowl, nowhere was safe. At least not in his mind.
* Magpie immediately scrambles down the bank of the river, slipping and sliding in the mud, to splash in the water at the river's edge..
<Yengo> "Been quiet so far..."
* Epheri nods "Very quiet."
<Magpie> "HELLLLLLO!" Magpie shouts up the river.
* Epheri sighs.
<onine> During your frolic, you slip and land facefirst, which really isn’t all that bad. When you look up, you see perched on a rock... a lizard!
<onine> Only half a foot in length though...
* Magpie squats in front of it. Maybe it was one of I’kuan’s children, but a -baby-. And it paid to be polite, right? "Hello," she greets it courteously. "I am Magpie." She pauses, giving it a chance to look at her.
<onine> It's small, and looks around, its throat moving as it breathes. It's blue green and looks fast, with a really long tail. It's head is kinda weird, its all bony and ridged.
<onine> It scampers about a foot away from you.
* Magpie slides after it. "I just want to talk!" she protests.
<onine> It clearly does not, and makes a pretty good escape over some rocks in a small lagoon area.
<onine> You can hear a steady splash splash from a rocky water catchment that fills up, then sags, allowing water to escape. There’s lots of butterflies and dragonflies here too, being eaten by small fish when they stray to close to the surface of the water. You're pretty sure the lizard is over *that* rock...
<onine> You're about knee-deep on water.
* Magpie wades in a little further after it, and gets knee-deeper. She could swim.

<Anona> "Perhaps we should look around." Anona holds up a small hand mirror brought along for the purpose, looking for spirits.
* Yengo casts his eyes about cautiously, like HE could see anything. "Anona? Any of them around?"
<onine> You don’t see any gargantuan lizard-gods anywhere, thankfully. You do spot something out of the ordinary. In the mirror, amongst the clamoring least-gods, you see up in one of the tree-boughs, a bird. Upon looking there with your own eyes, you don't see it.
<Anona> "Hmm."
<Epheri> "Seen something?"
<Anona> "A bird-spirit of some kind. Up in the trees."
<onine> The bird is somewhere between a parot and a bird of prey. It's lean, with greys, blues and greens in its feathers. It's tail is a long lyrebird/peacock tail.
<onine> It's looking at you.
<Epheri> "Ahh."
* Yengo overhears the conversation and looks, of course seeing nothing. But dematerialized spirits couldn't hurt you, right? Still looking at the tree, he croaks out, "Magpie, stay-stay close..."
<onine> What Magpie?
<onine> She's gone.
* Anona considers, and discards, subtlety. Her form is outlined with elemental flame as a golden mask of light covers her face. (The Sacred Tongue) She stares directly at where the spirit-bird should be.
<Anona> = It's rude to spy. Reveal yourself! =
<onine> The bird does not comply. It takes to flight (not quick and scared mind you, just casual)

Strangeness..
<onine> In the mean time, Magpie is reasonably sure she sees the tail of the lizard poking out between two rocks.
<Magpie> "Ah hah!" She scrambles after it. "Don't be afraid. I don't want to hurt you."
<onine> You nab the tail. And just the tail. It squirms around in your hand, then stops. It's awful quiet. Magpie drops the tail as if scalded. "Oops." She peers down between the rocks where the lizard had vanished. "I sorry!" she calls guiltily. "I didn't mean to. I just wanted to...." She sighs. This was a faux pas. She turns back to tell the others she accidentally mutilated an ambassador. She looks down at the floating bit of tail. Maybe Yengo could sew it back on. She picks it up again, wrinkling her nose as she does so.
<onine> Everything is still. Too still. There is a butterfly in the air in front of your face. It is frozen still. The water does not move. It hangs in mid fall. The trees do not move.
<Magpie> "Uh. Er."
<onine> There's a fish splashing out of the water with a dragonfly in its mouth. Water droplets hang in the air.
* Magpie looks around. She looks down at the water. She looks up again to to examine the butterfly at the end of her nose. She looks back down at the fish. "I didn't mean to hurt the lizard," she tells it.
<Magpie> She feels a strange fluttering in her stomach. She ruthlessly ignores it.
<onine> Your eyes fly around and you catch a glimpse of a person standing on the shore, about five meters further upstream.
* Magpie sighs in relief, and disregards the fish. She splashes out of the water. "Hellloo! Hello! What happened? It's all frozen. Are you a god?"
<onine> It's a girl you think. She appears to be dressed in odd tribal pattern clothing, very loose and flowing, coloured in browns and yellows. She has long golden hair, but you can't see her face, she is facing away from you. She's just... looking out at the river.
* Magpie is spattered in mud, wearing extremely dirty clothing which might, in the distant past have been white, and is still holding on to a lizard tail.
<Magpie> She runs over to the girl, dancing around her to be in front. "Hello?"
<onine> The figure turns to look at you, and you realize you were wrong, its a boy, probably around fourteen years old. He brushes a lock of blonde hair away from his ear. He has a strange earring made with a feather.
<onine> He smiles wistfully at you, but says nothing.
<Magpie> "I'm Magpie," Magpie tells him. "Who are you?"
<onine> You hear a splash behind you.
* Magpie whirls.
<onine> A fish neatly nabs another hapless butterfly. You hear a hollow sound in your ears as the breeze picks up.
<onine> The rhythmic splashing of the water in the lagoon also enters your ears again.
<Magpie> "Fish? Can you talk? It's not really fair to eat frozen butterflies, you know..."
<onine> The fish doesn't seem to be any more put off by your rebuke.
<onine> It drags the little yellow insect to the bottom and gobbles him up.
* Magpie blinks, shaking her head, as sounds alter and change in her ears. "Can you hear that?" She asks the boy beside her.
<onine> What boy.
<onine> You turn around to empty space.
* Magpie frowns, and backs a little, and stumbles to slide down the bank again. With the grimness of one determined to get answers, she wades back into the water, eyes searching the water for a certain slippery butterfly-eater.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
<onine> You watch in the mirror as the odd parot flaps away almost without a care.
<Yengo> "I don't like not being able to uh... see these things." He has taken Anona's moment of strange sorcery almost in stride. At this point, he expects sparks to shoot out of HER.
<onine> ("It wasn't me! It was the one-winged pidgeon!")
<Anona> = Hm. Didn't expect THAT. =
<onine> "Where's Magpie?" Tara asks.
<Yengo> "She's right - dammit!"
<Anona> = I don't see her anywhere. =
<onine> A swift search finds her a bit further up, waist deep in water. Fishing.
* Magpie is muttering emphatically about butterfly-eating fish and grave injustices.
<Magpie> She looks up.
<Yengo> "What are you doing? Don't wander too far."
<Magpie> "It isn't right to eat butterflies when they're just frozen there."
<Magpie> She blinks.
<Epheri> "So what did the spirit do, Anona?"
<Magpie> "Yengo!" She trundles through the water to hug him around the waist.
<Anona> = It just... flew off. Not excitedly, just casual. If that makes sense with a bird. =
<Yengo> "Hey... it's okay..." he pats her back uncertainly. "What's wrong?"
<Magpie> "Everything -froze-. Except a fish. And there was a girl, on the bank, with blond hair except she was a he. And then he disappeared and the fish ate -another- butterfly."
<Epheri> "Ah. Do you think it will be back?"
<Yengo> "Um... okay. Are you alright?"
<Magpie> "I think so. Yes. But the boy was sad."
<Yengo> "Did he say why?"
<Magpie> "He was standing right there." She points.
<Magpie> "And he didn't say anything."
* Yengo shouts for Anona and Epheri. Maybe they could see something in that mirror of theirs...
* Anona rushes up to look."
* Epheri hurries after Anona.
<onine> You see little gods at best.
<Yengo> "Magpie says there was a strange boy here... looked sad."
<Yengo> "Then he vanished."
<Magpie> "And everything was frozen," she adds.
<Magpie> "The butterflies were just hanging in the air, before the fish ate them."
<Epheri> "...right."
* Magpie scowls at her, perceiving a certain credibility gap. "It was. Everything was still, except for the fish and the boy."
<Magpie> She looks back where the boy had stood. "But..."
<onine> "Let's get moving." The magistrate says adding a little finality to the discussion.
<onine> "We have a god to deal with, fish can wait."
* Yengo takes her hand to lead her away. "If it was important, I'm sure he'll show up again." Well, he isn't, of course, but the longer they stand here...
* Anona nods.
* Magpie nods slowly, and as they walk back to the mules, she gives Yengo a lizard's tail. "If you see a lizard without a tail, do you think you could sew it back on?"
* Yengo looks at it dubiously for a moment before handing it back. "They grow back, you know."
* Magpie looks relieved as she takes the lizard's tail back. "That's good," she confides. "I was worried I had blown up our chances for negotiations with the god."
<Anona> = We aren't going to negotiate. Just... talk. =

Along the muddy trail…
<onine> Back mounted, you continue your trek up the river. The river becomes more winding, and rougher to travel on, not so good for the horses. You continue, and are fairly sure you see the odd suspicious ripple in the water. It's mid afternoon before you reach the waterfall. The river's source is a large lagoon with a waterfall at one end. There is a huge rocky outcrop in front of it jutting out on the opposite bank. You can see behind the waterfall is a cafe, a large cave, or perhaps more a sheltered overhang. You're presently standing at the mouth of the lagoon, facing the large open area, surrounded by tree-lined rocks. Brown and red leaves float on the surface of the water. Rocky spires cast long cool shadows across the water.
<Yengo> "Well... if he's anywhere, it should be here... right?"
* Epheri nods
* Magpie tumbles down from her mule, in a movement which was intended to be graceful and ended up more acrobatic. She stands beside her worthy steed a bit hesitantly. "So what do we say?"
* Yengo dismounts, loosening his sword in his sheath but not drawing it yet. He looks around with more curiosity than caution.
* Magpie crouches down to examine the water. She was glad she'd hidden the lizard tail in her pocket.
* Anona checks around with the mirror, as well.
<onine> Oddly, there is nothing large dematerialised.
<onine> The area seems pretty damn tranquil at the worst.
<Magpie> "Hello?" Magpie asks cautiously, because no one else had. "Are you here?"
<onine> "Is there anything here Anona?" The Magistrate asks with caution.
<Anona> = Nothing I can see. =
* Magpie splashes a couple steps into the water. "So there's no one here?"
<onine> "Stay out of the water Magpie." The Magistrate commands.
<onine> "Probably in there..." Diamandus looks over at the darkened overhanging underneath the waterfall.
* Magpie sighs, and backs back up to the shore.
<Yengo> "So... who goes first?"
<Magpie> "I can swim." She hadn't forgotten twenty-five feet lizards.
<Yengo> " No. "
<Magpie> "But-"
<onine> " No. "
<Yengo> " NO. "
<Anona> = NO! =
* Magpie looks at them all reproachfully.
<Anona> = But who SHOULD go first? I might have some trouble in that much water. =
<Magpie> "Maybe we should all go," Magpie suggests as a compromise.
<Magpie> She had a grim foreboding of the Magistrate heading in there, coming back saying it's all been solved, and then leaving without -ever- seeing the giant lizard.
<Yengo> "Well, we're burning daylight. I can go first-"
<onine> "I will go as well."
<onine> Tara creeps up and takes hold of Yengo's arm. "Me too."
<Anona> = As well. =
* Magpie looks delighted. "And me too."
* Epheri nods "So who is going first then?"
<Yengo> "Let's go together." He hopes that sounds braver than he feels...
<onine> "I will." The Magistrate says setting off around the rocky shore, taking care not to slip into the water.
* Magpie trots after him.
* Yengo follows closely after, taking Tara's hand to lead her.
* Epheri follows cautiously after him.

Behind a waterfall
<onine> The overhang seems to loom over you. When your eyes adjust to the darkness, you see that it is mostly smooth rock, and the cave goes back further. Water has gathered in the depressions in the rocks.
<onine> There is a bizarre rumbling from outside. You turn to see the rocky outcropping shadowed in the waterfall, but there is another dark shape above it. The sound of heavy feet becomes apparent, along with the scrape of claws on rock. Where you can see it, another shape slides almost silently out of the water and onto the rocky shore path you took to reach the grotto.
* Magpie opens her mouth to call 'Hello' but shuts it again. She looks at the huge shape of the magistrate walking in front of her. Probably he'd like to say greet the gods first.
<onine> The shape is massive, at least fifteen feet in length. It is clearly reptilian, long and muscular, but its long-tailed shape also built for speed and swimming. Its head is very bony and ridged. It doesn't make any attempt to get any closer to you, it just sort of eases itself onto land preventing you from leaving.
* Yengo tenses, forcing himself not to make any sudden moves.
* Magpie smiles tentatively at it.
<onine> There is a sound from in the darkness of the cave and a third, leaner monstrous lizard comes out, marching around to the side no more than five meters away. It's eye watches you from underneath bony ridged brows. There is a predatory intelligence behind them as it's eye moves to each of you in turn.
<Anona> = Anyone here happen to be named I'kuan? = Anona sounds much more confident than she feels.
<onine> There is a booming voice, a voice that sounds more like a rumble inside your head than an actual voice issues from the darkness of the cave.
<onine> " More humans coming into my domain, but why, to talk, to raid? I smell the elements on them. Speak quickly or you shall become weight in my belly... "
<onine> The sound of massive bulk comes from the darkness, as that which could only be the God I'kuan moves to reveal himself...