TreeOfBounties/PerfectedFruit
ToTreeOfBounties/EnterExalted.
When We Left Our Heroes
The woman nods thoughtfully. "Yes, the hearthstone... I think putting into Kumar's hands will be one of the first items of business tomorrow."
"I'm not entirely sure where the current tree people are; in the upper limbs, mayhap?" Topaz nods; yes, the Hearthstone. They will have to empower him to take the Hearthstone. "A fine gift that will be."
The sorceress nods distractedly.
"We have not seen any active ones since our arrival," says Echo, "though there were some wood spiders here when we arrived who mentioned them."
Topaz glances at Echo. "I don't believe they will prove a large problem; the Tablet mentions no revolt or any such."
She shakes her head. "This is all very fascinating, but it can wait; these fruit-people don't look like they're going anywhere. For now..." she stretches. "I need a bath. Did I see hot springs near the tower?"
The Next Day
The two Exalted and three God-Blooded stand atop the Tree of Bounties, on the hearthstone platform. Kumar and the sorceress are dressed in full regalia, starmetal and orichalcum gleaming. As the others watch, Kumar steps forward, to the crown of the tree. His breath catches slightly as the swirling life energy washes over him.
Extending his hand, he grasps the hearthstone -- as the sun bursts free of the horizon, he plucks it from its stem with a decisive jerk. The first rays of morning's sunlight sparkle from his gold-chased daiklave as he raises it up and solemnly places the gem in its hilt.
"I claim this place in the name of the Unconquered Sun!" he declares, raising the huge blade over his head. His Caste Mark shines brightly, in harmony with the golden light spreading across the forest behind him.
For a moment, all is silent...
...then there is a faint, but distinct, "clink." The hearthstone wobbles across the platform, coming to rest against one of Hasan's feet.
"What...?" Kumar frowns.
The Sidereal's expression of beatific encouragement begins hardening into a glare; she takes a half-step toward the God-Bloods.
"What...!" her tone of voice is less confused, more accusatory.
A brief crackle of light flickers in the back of Hasan's rainbow eyes, as he freezes in what appears to be something just short of terror. Echo becomes very worried and freezes for a second before running over to Hasan, picking up the hearthstone, and offering it to the Solar while kneeling. "All apologies, honored lord," he says in a humble tone.
"I... Ah, I do not understand." Hasan murmurs, wracking his brain for an answer why this rather unfortunate event has come to pass. He concentrates intently as he does so, desperately searching his small measure of occult sensitivity for some sign of what is amiss. Topaz appears to have frozen up in surprise.
Kumar spares the obsequious Echo a quick glance. Lowering his daiklave, he takes the proffered gem, and moves to replace it in its setting.
"How curious!" The Solar's exclamation cuts the Sidereal short, just as she is preparing to -- presumably -- berate Hasan and Topaz. The hearthstone is still in Kumar's daiklave; in his hand, he holds an exact replica of it. A replica which is growing larger before the onlookers' very eyes.
At this, Hasan's eyes widen and flare with relief, and then slight alarm once more. Within seconds, the stone has swelled from the size of a chicken egg to that of an ostrich egg -- and is still growing. Echo rises and takes a couple steps back.Kumar sets the stone down and backs up a few steps, his look of puzzlement replaced by one of excitement. The sorceress also watches the swelling stone, purple eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"Of course..." murmurs Hasan, as if suddenly everything makes some kind of sense to him.
After about a minute, the gem has grown to a truly amazing size, at least five feet long. As they watch, it begins to shake. Cracks spiderweb across its pearly surface. Topaz leans forward, pushing up his glasses. This is most interesting!
With a loud crack, the shell falls completely to pieces. Viscous albumen flows across the platform surface. Topaz steps back as the sticky fluid approaches his feet. Where the "egg" was, a human form crouches on the platform, curled up into a fetal position, head pressed to knees. Its skin is a smooth, pale brown; damp, moss-green hair flows down its back.
Kumar watches in amazement as the figure unfurls and stands up, revealing itself to be a slim, lovely woman with a white stone set in her forehead. Echo looks on in amazement.
She kneels before the Solar and bows her head. "Greetings to you, great lord," she says in melodious Old Realm. "I, Sanwahei, Perfected Fruit of the Tree, am ready to serve you."
Later that Day
Hasan and Echo are in the common room. Iris and Kumar are below, in the masters' quarters, speaking with the woman who was born from the hearthstone. Topaz is farther below, in his quarters, once again poring over the journal tablet he found. As soon as he heard the name "Sanwahei," it became almost impossible to hold him back. After announcing his intention to re-analyze the diary for any information relating to this unusual being, he rushed to his room, snappily rebuffing Hasan and Echo's efforts to follow him.
Echo says idly "I wonder what this means for us. If the tree provides him with servant are we to be dismissed?"
Hasan regards him quizzically for a long moment, then shrugs. "That would depend what these tree people do, I suppose. Would you wish to return home if it were the case?"
Echo ponders that for a moment. "I don't know. The Solar's presence is a bit overpowering and all the bowing gets a bit tiresome, but I suppose I would like to stay for a time longer."
Hasan nods. "There is a certain wonder to this place, is there not? The things geomancers of old could do." He smiles, and shakes his head in wonder at the memory of Sanwahei's birth.
"This place interests me. I'd like to go out and see more of it rather than just gaze out from atop the tower. Perhaps if the tree gives him servants we will be free to do so," speculates Echo. "Also, there is a court nearby with some lovely tree nymphs I might like to spend some time with. Truly wonderous works indeed."
Footsteps sound, moving up the stairs from below. Hasan opens and then quickly shuts his mouth as he hears the steps, stopping whatever thought he was about to voice. Echo stands and smooths out the wrinkles in his clothes.
From behind the elegant latticework screen which the artisans placed to shield the stairwell from the rest of the room, a slender form emerges. Now that Sanwahei's hair has dried out, it is glossy and full-bodied, reaching almost to her waist. Its green curls recall the foliage of the tree itself. She has donned what look to be some of the Sidereal sorceress' travelling clothes; a white silk blouse and a pair of biege pants, rolled up at the cuffs; she is at least a head shorter than the purple-haired woman. With a bright smile on her face, she approaches the two men and bows politely.
Hasan belatedly stands, and returns the bow with a smile. Echo bows back.
"I am told that you tended the tree while I was asleep," she says. "I offer you my gratitude for a job very well done." She bows again, hands outspread in an unfamiliar gesture.
Hasan beams proudly. "It was a pleasure to tend to."
"I am glad we could be of service." Echo smiles.
"Are you servants of Lord Kumar?" she asks, her brown eyes guileless and inquisitive. "How long have you served him?"
"We are," replies Echo. "We were to tend the tree prior to his arrival. Only directly for about a day, though we have been here waiting for him for some time."
The brown-skinned woman nods. "He must be a truly noble Prince of the Earth, to command the loyalty of such skillful and dedicated servants."
"All I have seen of him has been qualities of a good ruler. In fact, I have not heard of a single instance of poor character or judgement on his part." The Perfected Fruit of the Tree regards Echo intently, as though committing his words to memory.
Hasan nods. "Indeed, to my eyes he seems all that one the Sun's Chosen should be."
"Who is the woman who is with him, the sorceress?" asks Sanwahei. "His wife? She... feels... strange."
Noting Sanwahei's intent gaze, Hasan's smile falters for a moment as a thought crosses his mind, but he quickly puts it aside.
"His advisor, I believe," replies Echo. "It could be more. I do not know the nature of their relationship as she spends most of her time with him and chooses to speak to us very little." Sanwahei looks slightly disappointed that Echo can't tell her more about the Sidereal.
"I think they are talking about me," she confides. "I hope that I have not done anything displeasing." She sits down daintily, bypassing the organic-looking artisan furniture for one of the plain stone benches growing from the floor. "I feel that it has been a very long time since I was last... awake."
Hasan nods thoughtfully. "Do you remember anything of that time?"
"It seems that many things have changed," she hedges. "I do not know exactly how they ought to be, but they seem strange to me. The tree has grown bigger; I feel different, inside... but from what I am not sure." Her eyes have a far-away look in them; the white gem in her forehead sparkles softly in the sunlight coming through the windows.
Echo ponders for a second. "I think Topaz would love to hear anything she can remember. Maybe it'll help him with whatever it is he's working on."
Echo's words seem to snap her out of her reverie. "Topaz is the one with the...?" she traces circles around her eyes.
"Yes, that would be him," Echo confirms. "He has a sharp mind and a keen interest in the past. If you remember the last time you were awake I'm sure he would love to listen. Perhaps he could help you figure out what's changed."
Sanwahei nods. "I may seek him out, when I am done inspecting the work you have done on my Manse." She stands up, gives the odd open-handed bow, and departs the way she came.
"Curious woman," comments Echo. "Quite lovely, if a bit odd."
Hasan listens to her fading footfalls, and regards Echo, nodding. "Indeed she is. I do hope Topaz doesn't mention anything he shouldn't when she meets with him, though."
"Indeed. He's not the most tactful when he's absorbed in his tasks."
Hasan sighs slightly. "Ah, well. Can't be helped either way, I suppose." He rubs his eyes, still somewhat fatigued from his fever despite the swift recovery. "Well then, what next?"
"I suppose we prepare the Exalts' next meal. I'll go gather some fruit."
The Tree People
"The tree's children are the servants of the Manse," says Sanwahei. Echo, Hasan, and she are sitting in a patch of fallen columns.
Nearby, noontime sunlight flashes off Kumar's daiklave as he works through his forms. Sweat glistens on his dark skin, corded muscles rippling as he moves the massive weapon through a series of precise, graceful motions. In concession to the sticky jungle heat, he is bare to the waist.
Topaz is back in the Manse, finishing up his project of mapping out the canopy of the tree. Kumar's Sidereal advisor is also back in the tower, apparently in the midst of some kind of private divination. Hasan, Echo, and Sanwahei have been doing some groundskeeping while Kumar practices.
The Perfected Fruit of the Tree sits on a fallen column and brushes dirt off her knees. "I am surprised you did not already meet them. It seems that they should always be there, attending to the tree, but perhaps things have changed."
"We saw what we think might have been traces of their presence," says Echo, "but when we ascended to the top the only ones there were asleep within their fruit."
Hasan finds his gaze wandering northward, wondering whether the ruins there would hold further clues as to the fate of the errant tree people; after a time he looks back at Echo and then Sanwahei. "In what capacity would they serve, normally?"
"Why, every one which is needed." Sanwahei seems surprised that the question even needs to be asked. "Bodyservants, groundskeepers, and housekeepers. Each one is made for a particular task."
Hasan nods, smiling at her. "I had thought as much, but thank you for confirming it."
Off to the side, Kumar finishes his routine, balancing on one leg and holding the pose for a minute, before sticking his daiklave into the ground and wiping the sweat off his forehead.
"I wonder why they were not there? Perhaps the jungle has more secrets." Echo looks off into the trees.
As if on cue, a figure emerges from the tower. Judging from the vibrant, iris-purple hair, it must be the Sidereal. Sanwahei glances at the approaching woman, then stands up and goes to Kumar's side. When the sorceress finishes crossing the distance from the tower to the makeshift practice area, Sanwahei is toweling Kumar off. As the taller woman approaches, her motions become subtly more possessive.
Hasan regards the three intently for a few moments, trying to discern whether he or Echo are expected to present themselves, or whether to remain out of the way.
The Chosen of Serenity barely deigns to notice the tree-woman. She is just about to speak to Kumar, when a commotion occurs at the edge of the clearing. Kumar turns, smoothly but quicky, his hand going to the hilt of his weapon. Echo stands and looks intently in the direction of the noise. After a moment, Hasan follows suit, rising to regard the clearing's edge warily.
Brightly-colored birds flutter out of the trees, their calls cutting throughthe usual background buzz of the rainforest. As the group watches, human shapes begin to emerge from the forest. They are all brown-skinned and green-haired, although their colorful body paint and headdresses make this difficult to realize at first glance.
Echo braces himself for trouble and moves over to where the Solar is. Almost without thinking, Hasan's fingers spread to form a cat's cradle of shimmering essence and jungle-mist, readying his magics for use, and he moves after Echo to stand near Kumar.
Many of the newcomers are carrying short spears, decorated with what appear to be leaves and colorful flowers.
They are led by five people who are wearing large, wooden masks, decorated with feathers and pigment: red, blue, black, white, and green. More and more of the strange tribespeople make their way out of the jungle, marching toward the group in the clearing. The spear-carrying men and women are chanting something, in time to the rattling gourds being shaken by the five masked ones.
"Tuka la, tuka la, sanwa tou kei!"
"Rejoice, the Perfected Fruit has arrived," murmurs Hasan, just in case his companions aren't so swift in translating the awkward dialect.
Advancing slowly from the east, the procession of about twoscore people makes its way toward the group in the clearing. Kumar looks wary, but not particularly worried; primitive spears are not enough to frighten a man with a daiklave. His Sidereal advisor is watching the tribespeople warily. Sanwahei is looking at them with a mixture of happiness and shock.
The group stops about ten yards away; the five masked people, two men and three women, make their way toward Kumar. Hasan keeps his composure well, for a man with ill-formed stormcloud homunculi climbing nervously in his mist-like hair; his hands occasionally twitch and adjust threads of essence as he watches the group approach.
The Solar draws himself up magnificently... but the masked people pay him no mind. Instead, they prostrate themselves before Sanwahei. One of them, a woman wearing a green mask with a mane of leaves, kneels and proffers her some kind of thick wooden scepter. It has been carved to look something like a tree; colorful dried gourds hang from its "branches."
"Wakusopalo na dou, fan sanwa," intones the woman. "Souka tu dou, winsonak petrei!"
Kumar looks bemused. "Do you understand what she is saying?" he murmurs in Hasan's direction.
Hasan regards his fellow Varangian and nods. "They welcome the Perfected Fruit, and offer her the sign of her station; presumably they are here to serve you under Sanwahei's direction."
Sanwahei looks at the tribal priestess, as though unsure what to do. After a minute, she takes the tree-sceptre and begins to speak haltingly to the five people kneeling before her. The priests react with what appears to be mild confusion. The red-masked man asks a question; Sanwahei waves her hands, hastily denying whatever he just said. She gives a short speech to the five priests; they back away from her on their hands and knees before turning to confer among themselves.
"Who are these people?" asks Kumar. He still seems faintly amused by this whole situation.
Hasan seems slightly less amused, but evetually begins trying to explain. "These, I think, are the rest of the Manse's servitors; at some point long past, they must have departed it, and now return to serve it again. Sanwahei is now refreshing their memories on precisely how those duties are conducted, if I understand things correctly."
After some quiet but heated discussion, the five priests turn back to Sanwahei and Kumar. They abase themselves before both of them; at a signal from the green-masked priestess, the spear-wielding warriors also kneel and begin chanting what seem to be praises for Sanwahei and Kumar.
Sanwahei hands Kumar the scepter. "This is yours, as the rightful master of the Tree. These people seem to have been waiting for the Manse' master to reappear, but they seem to have gotten... confused."
The Sidereal clears her throat. "As I was about to mention before these people appeared," she says to Kumar, "I have seen various omens in the stars over the past few days. These are surely only the first of the new followers who will come to your banner, Olba Kumar."
Kumar nods. "They are not what I expected, but I am sure they will serve well." He turns back to the tree people and holds the tree scepter aloft, his Caste Mark shining gold. He places a hand on Sanwahei's shoulder, smiling at her as his charisma fills the hazy air. The assembled tribespeople let out a collective gasp as the force of the Solar's presence washes over them; their chanting quickly goes from respectful to worshipful.
"I welcome you to my service, People of the Tree!" declares Kumar. "This tower, your ancestral home and my domain in ages past, will become the center of a magnificent new realm, exceeding all grandeurs of the past!"
Sanwahei translates for the Tree People as Kumar gives his speech.
"Come with me into our home; we shall feast on the fruits of the tree, and speak of the glorious future into which I will lead you."
Kumar waits for the translation to finish, then turns and hefts his daiklave onto his shoulder before heading back in the direction of the Manse. Sanwahei and the Sidereal follow after him; the tree people soon follow.
After Dinner
The sounds of Kumar and the tree people feasting drift down even to the servant quarters. The three God-Blooded are taking a brief break, in preparation for the cleanup which will certainly be needed after the revelry finally comes to an end. The tree people have presented Kumar and Sanwahei with many gifts; it sounds like they are once again performing special dances for them.
Echo listens to the festivities going on above. He's sent Soft Morning to watch the party and occasionally looks through her sight while he sips a wine-fruit. From her perch on one of the branches which run along the common room ceiling, the nightingale has a good view of the festivities.
"Everything seems to be going well upstairs." Echo stretches out, making the most of his relaxation time.
With no such viewpoint available to him, Hasan is slumped back in a chair, idly watching a few bulbous homunculi of his own creation jiggle about on the table next to him, in a parody of the dances going on. "That's good. Been quite a day. Looks like we may finally have made ourserlves redunant, eh?"
The Sidereal woman looks like she is beginning to tire of the proceedings, and Sanwahei occasionally fidgets in her seat at Kumar's right hand, but the Solar is clearly in his element, drinking up the adulation directed at him.
"Seems like it," says Echo. "It'll only get worse if the sleepers upstairs start waking up. Soon he'll have hundreds of servants probably. At least Sanwahei seems to like us, but we did get her manse fixed and all. I was worried about her at first, that there might be something suspicious about her, but she seems genuine enough. She seems possesive of Kumar a little. I wonder if he's bothered to notice."
Hasan nods. "Aye, she does, I suppose. Still, it's good to see things coming together at last."
