To say that the surroundings are unwelcoming would be an understatement. Certainly, Anisa was treated well enough, and the group was fed, but the "feast" the town was certainly less than filling … and nobody in Anisa's entourage had the heart to complain, lest they get on the bad side of these temperamental little folk once more.

That's all well and done with, and while Anisa's companions were led off to sleep for the night, and it seemed that they were all going to get some much-needed rest … such was not meant to be, it seems. Anisa was roused up, and led out here … wherever here is.

The wee folk quickly scattered. It's night time. It's not clear what time of night. Anisa finds herself struggling just to clear her head and think straight, as she really needed a great deal of sleep after the previous day's (or is it still the same day's) adventures and excitement.

However, the stark nature of her surroundings and the impending sense of doom does wonders for getting a Lapi's heart pumping.

The Lapi girl half walks, half stumbles around the crater, her head still trying to clear out the cobwebs of her aborted sleep. Eyes wide for what it's worth, the rabbit is going more by her powerful ears now, trying to listen for anything out of the ordinary. "Hello? Anyone there?" She grasps the pendant in her right paw, holding it close.

Alien cries echo from the jungle, and glowing pairs of eyes glitter for moments in the faint Procession light that filters through the leafy canopy, then flicker away just as suddenly. It's very dark here, and the Lapi's ears are full of the noises of the jungle.

Anisa swallows in nervousness, her heart feeling as though it would leap from her chest if it got the chance. Fighting the urge to lower her ears, the doe walks further inside the crater, focusing her ears in the direction of the glittering eyes. "H-hello?"

The noises of the jungle seem to be growing unnaturally quiet in one direction … generally to her right, though it's hard to pinpoint such a general phenomenon. Gradually, all of the noises begin to quiet, save for the most distant shrieks of birds and rumbles of predators.

"Okay girl, get it together," Anisa mutters to herself. "You've faced bad stuff before; you're a veritable bouncer, for Dagh's sake!" Taking a deep breath – but nevertheless still shivering – she starts to make her way slowly to the quiet spot, her ears held high and strained.

Now that it's very quiet for the most part, as Anisa makes her way to the edge of the clearing, she can hear that it's not wholly quiet. Rather, she can hear the crunching of leaves underfoot, and cracking of wood … and the clacking of something that sounds distinctly chitinous. What's more alarming, though, is a very strange … voice? It sounds artificial … some alien voice, babbling in incomprehensible language, comprised as if of multiple voices, both high pitched and low. It's far too unified and fast-paced to imagine that a chorus of people might be speaking. Despite the Lapi's sensitive ears, she cannot for the life of her make any sense of the quiet jabbering.

Anisa stops at the edge, confused at the gibberish emanating from the woods. She peers as best she can into the thick, trying to make out the source. "Hello? Are you the Observer?"

The lighting may be terrible, but Anisa can soon make out a large shape, the Procession-light glinting off of its shiny carapace. It looks perhaps like a giant crab or cockroach or something crossed between the two and with something else big and bug-like for good measure, about the size of a carriage and a Dromodon team. However, once she speaks, another conspicuous feature presents itself – a single, glowing red orb affixed to the front of what must be the head … wherever the head is, in that big mass of shadow.

The white doe freezes as the orb appears, feeling as though she were rooted to the spot. "A-are you the Observer?" she calls out. "I'm here for my test… that is, if you like… "

The large creature pauses there a moment, quietly jabbering to itself, the chattering echoing eerily – while Anisa's own voice seems to fail to carry very far by comparison. The red orb is most certainly affixed upon Anisa, and for a while, the creature remains motionless … but then … with a clicking and clacking of chitin on chitin, it starts to move forward, its multiple legs shuffling about as it crawls.

Anisa's eyes go even wider if possible, and she slowly starts to back away, clutching the pendant even more tightly. "I've had these d-dreams, and the High Mother said… she said you w-were the guardian… "

As Anisa backs away, the creature's forward motion picks up noticeably in its pace. Two large crab-like pincers are now visible, and it also has a large, scorpion-like tail poised over its back. (One need not fear being pierced by such a thing. More likely, one would be crushed.)

Letting the pendant go slack around her neck, the rabbit puts her arms to her sides, readying herself for a sprint if need be. "What do I do? What am I supposed to do to prove myself worthy?" At the point, the Lapi is near panic as the creature becomes visible. Fighting is most definitely not and option.

The creature looms ever closer. A mass of smaller, sectioned appendages (arms? legs? suckers?) is visible underneath the "eye", and they weave about, reaching toward the Lapi. Unless she bolts at this very moment and makes a dash for it, that thing is going to be upon her in a moment.

Her fear reaching its breaking point, Anisa attempts to bolt to the side, avoiding the pinchers and other appendages, but staying close to the creature. "What am I supposed to do? Tell me!"

Anisa is able to evade the probing appendages, and the creature halts its forward progress, scuttling in place, and rotating about to face Anisa again, the swarm of small appendages still reaching out toward her.

Anisa continues to bolt around the creature, trying to get a better look at the small appendages to see if they look lethal or not, since it could just as easily strike at her with its pinchers or stinger.

The pincers and stinger look far more lethal by far, and the creature's reaction to Anisa's every move is simply to rotate toward her. So long as she doesn't tire herself – and so long as the creature doesn't change its method of operation – it seems like she can probably keep this up for a while yet, especially with the adrenaline pumping. The small appendages are hard to scrutinize. They don't have any visible pointy bits. If anything, they look oddly fragile compared to the armored appearance of the rest of the creature.

The Lapi's rabbit brain cranks its cogs, trying to put two and two together. Something about this creature is obviously not normal, and if it had intended to eat her, it would have had more than a chance to try by now. Skidding to a halt, the doe turns to face the monster. "Okay, ugly, here I am!" Picking up the pendant, she holds it out in front of her, setting her ears back and bracing herself as she waits for the creature's next move.

The creature, predictably, turns to face Anisa, and the probing appendages reach out for … the pendant.

Blinking, Anisa visibly relaxes a bit, her anxiety now replaced with nose-twitching curiosity. Raising her ears just slightly, the doe reaches the pendant out to the appendages, letting them get closer. She waits to see what they do.

The appendages reach out, one touching it, then another, then another. At the multiple touches, the pendant begins to glow faintly, and Anisa feels a shiver run up her spine and a strange tingle.

Anisa's ears shoot up, and she nearly leaps up out of surprise of the tingle. Bracing herself once more, the rabbit keeps her grasp on the pendant, her eyes focused on the glow.

As Anisa focuses on the glow, it seems that the jabbering isn't quite so alien. It's as if it's making sense … though her conscious mind can't quite grasp just what precisely it's saying. After a moment of this (and it's not certain how much time has passed), she's belatedly aware that the appendages are not just touching the pendant, but some are touching her face as well.

The Lapi closes her eyes, setting her ears back as her face is prodded, but not attempting to fight back or flee. Cautiously raising an ear, the rabbit tries to make out the words. "I-I'm sorry, you'll have to speak clearer. I can't understand!"

Strange symbols flash through the Lapi's mind … cryptic diagrams … bizarre patterns. No, they don't make the least bit of sense to her, though something in her seems to suggest that it should. This goes on for perhaps only a few seconds longer … and then the contact breaks. The appendages withdraw from Anisa's face and from her pendant … and with a scrabbling of claws, the creature begins to shuffle backward, its red orb still focused on the rabbit.

Startled from the sudden disconnection, the rabbit stays put as the monster backs away, looking up at the orb with a swallow. She clasps the pendant tighter, pressing it close. "S-so… what now?"

The creature does not respond. Instead, it turns, the red eye finally disappearing from Anisa's view … and then, with a crashing of the undergrowth, it takes off into the wilderness with startling speed. Surely, if Anisa had chosen to flee, she wouldn't have gotten far if it had elected to pursue. The jungle is still silent with the creature's departure. Only a few crickets have begun to test the silence by breaking it with their droning chirrups.

Heart still beating wildly, Anisa stays frozen in place for a few moments more, her ears now up straight and her breathing more normal. Shaking her head suddenly, she snaps back to reality, wide awake. "I… I guess that was it." Suddenly breaking into a violent shiver, the rabbit nearly falls forward as the fear of the moment finally hits her. Catching herself before she slams to the ground, and breathing heavily, the Lapi stumbles forward, inspecting the edge of the clearing where the Observer took its leave.

There's nothing left in its wake, save for a fallen log that was crushed by one of its legs, and some indentations in the ground. Most assuredly, though, it was really there … not just some illusion (unless, of course, this is part of the illusion, too).

Stumbling backwards from the edge of the clearing, the doe takes a moment to let herself calm down. Looking around for any sign of the little people, the Lapi makes her way out of the crater, trying to discern the way back to the village.

Anisa stumbles along a short distance … and then she sees a small glimmer of foxfire. It's one of the wee folk, holding one of those odd little 'lanterns' that let off only the most faint of glows. Another and another. It occurs to Anisa, though, that the foxfire glow is not coming only from that lantern, though – Before the startled eyes of the wee folk … Anisa's own pendant is still glowing faintly as well.

The doe continues to stumble towards the wee folk, slowing her pace as she notices the pendant. She holds it in her hand to inspect it closer, remembering the bit of the glow it had after her strange dream. "I think… I think I passed."

Back at the village, it would seem that in the eyes of the wee folk, Anisa has indeed passed their test. The pendant has largely faded back to normalcy by the time that she makes it back to the village, but there's still a faint glow for any who examine it for the rest of that evening (or, more accurately, the morning, as Anisa discovers when dawn breaks and she hasn't gotten much sleep yet). Anisa ends up spending a good portion of the next day sleeping heavily, and it isn't until another day has passed that she realizes for certain that all is well, and that the wee folk intend to guide their visitors to the Center, through the strange pathways of the Node.

Several of the wee folk accompany them, and most of the time, Anisa can't even see them. It seems to be the style of these diminutive people to hide whenever there's the least bit cause to do so, and only to pop up when it's absolutely necessary to say or ask something, or point the way.

Taer, the miniature Kujaku that Anisa first met, seems to be the appointed guide for the group, and is the only one that is visible most of the time. (At times, it seems as if he might be the only guide given to the group at all.) Given his typically brightly colored Kujaku-esque plumage, it hardly seems likely that he'd be able to hide well even if he tried … yet now and then even he seems to have a knack for disappearing without warning, only to reappear again with some news about a hazard up ahead that must be avoided, and a necessary change of course. (Given that these appearances and disappearances happen without warning, it goes to say that the denizens of Faed Schrumreng are not the best communicators.)

The provisions provided by the wee folk might be sufficient for themselves, but hardly enough to take care of the appetites of their larger charges. Thus, Gibson and Spencer have proven very useful at procuring edible mushrooms and plants along the way to supplement their supplies. A few days of travel go by … and it often seems as if some days are longer than others. The very passage of time seems to be malleable here, and all too often it seems as if they might have retraced their steps, visiting a familiar spot … only to find that this "familiar spot" adjoins entirely alien surroundings.

At present, Anisa treads along, and once again, she's lost sight not only of Taer, but of the rest of her group. (It seems that she regularly gets the dubious armor of being "point" for the group … so that if the Observer shows up again, she'll be the one "answering questions".)

Letting a yawn slip free, the Lapi girl pushes forward, keeping one ear focused on her path and the other focused back on where she hopes the rest of her crew are. Taking one of the mushrooms, she pops it into her mouth and munches, giving a look around the path. "Taer? Are you there?" The rabbit steps over a root. "Are you sure I'm going the right way?"

There's a faint rustling amidst the trees, and then the tiny peacock appears again. "Shhhh!" the diminutive avian hisses. "The others have been ambushed by some enemy Longstriders!" he whispers in a loud and high-pitched voice that the Lapi would no doubt have trouble understanding if not for her incredible hearing.

Anisa stops dead in her tracks, and whirls around. Jumping into the underbrush as quietly as she can, she stares hard back towards the way she came. "Enemies? It must be Vandringar!" The rabbit grinds her teeth, aiming her ears back on the path. "What did the other Longstriders look like?"

"Big," the Kujaku says, "and with weapons. My brethren have fled. We may guide thee, but not fight thy battles." To Anisa's surprise, as she looks back the way she came, she sees … a small stream she doesn't remember being there earlier. She feels the faintest tug on her sleeve, and the Kujaku directs her to look an entirely different direction. As she does so, peering between a couple of fallen tree trunks, she can see her friends and family, surrounded by a group of rough-looking types … including a Vartan that Anisa remembers earlier – the one that carried the hematite mirror.

The doe scowls, setting her ears back only briefly in anger before aiming them back at the Vartan. "It's that bird brain again. Looks like I'll get my chance for a match with her after all. When did they show up?" The Lapi listens intently, trying to make out what the Vartan says.

"If you surrenders now," the Vartan says in broken Standard, in a high and whistling voice, "no more blood will be sheds."

As Anisa surveys the scene, she can see that Gibson is collapsed on the ground, Spencer hovering over him, and not looking to be in all that good of condition himself. Kurtis appears to be trying to tend to Gibson's wound, and Wanda is not to be seen, while Royce just looks to be frozen in place, incapacitated by fear.

The Kujaku doesn't answer Anisa's question, but instead whispers, "I will guide thee onward, if it be thy desire, but if thou stayest to fight, we part ways here."

Anisa's fur stands on end in a mixture of anger and fright, fighting the urge to burst in at the sight of her brother, injured. Heart pumping wildly, the Lapi rummages around in her pack, reaching for her machete. "What did they do to Gibson," she asks the Kujaku. "I can't just leave them here!"

"That I do not know," the Kujaku answers, then states the obvious, "but he looks to be wounded." Anisa quickly finds her machete – a very useful and oft-used tool in the jungle.

As for the chances of her taking on Vandringar's lackeys, it looks like there are at least eight of them, counting the Vartan, assuming there are no more outside of her range of vision. They are hardy sorts – a black Rhian, a couple of Jupani, three Vartans total, and a couple of muscular Khattas.

Pulling the blade out, the rabbit puts her pack to the side, crouching low and keeping her eyes on the Vartan. "I can see that," she snaps at the Kujaku, starting to inch a little bit forward. "How much further is it to the Center?"

"Not far," the Kujaku whispers, after fluttering up to keep close to her ear. "By sunrise."

Meanwhile, Anisa can see Gibson's prostrate form shifting slightly, though Kurtis moves as if to encourage him not to move. Gibson lifts his head, glaring balefully at the Vartan.

Anisa bites her lip in frustration. "That's too long. They may be dead by then. Dagh!" She freezes as she sees Gibson move, focusing her ears on him. "I can't just abandon them!"

The Kujaku's tone of voice sounds faintly sympathetic for the first time Anisa has noticed. "Be that as it may, I cannot help thee in combat. To show thee to the Center is as involved as we may get into thy differences between each other."

The Vartan smirks at Gibson's defiant look. "We haves plenty of ways to kill you all, if we haves a mind to. But ifs you will come along peaceful, you cans be guests of Secretariat Vandringar, and we cans talk about it."

Gibson, his voice strained with effort, says, "You've got us outnumbered … but we're not talking."

Anisa stares at the scene, her brain racing to think of a course of action, when suddenly she realizes something. "Wanda… " She turns to the small peacock, whispering, "The big mouse lady, did you see where she went? I don't see her anywhere."

The Kujaku peruses the scene, then shakes his head. "I did not see. When I came back to see this, the enemy Longstriders had already engaged thy fellows. Mayhaps she didst escape?"

Peering hard with both eyes and ears, the white rabbit scans the scene, trying to find any trace of the crafty Skeek. "She's gotta be around here somewhere. Can you fly above and see if you see her anywhere?"

"Where is the Lapi maid?" the Vartan can be heard to ask. "This is dangerous jungle. We not be responsible for what mights happen if she wanders off alones."

The diminutive Kujaku nods. "Yes, but only so high." With that, the small bird-man flutters off, seeming to be yet another ordinary jungle denizen when seen from a distance.

Crouching back down, Anisa keeps her eyes on the scene, one ear scanning for any sign of the mouse. She backs away just slightly, getting a feel for her surroundings and any advantages it might give.

Try as Anisa might, she can find absolutely no sign of the Skeek in her surroundings. Evidently Vandringar's lackeys haven't done any better.

Gibson forces out, "We're not turning over the 'Lapi maid', you hear me? She's long gone by now! Whatever use you have for her, you're not going to get to her through us!"

Anisa's ears shoot up in alarm at her brother's outburst, but she quickly hunkers back down, watching to see how the Vartan reacts. She tightens the grip on her machete, looking for any sign of Taer to return as well. "First Ones take it, somebody do something!"

The Vartan doesn't seem to be particularly surprised. "We goings to take you prisoner. Any who fights will have all you blood on his hands," the Vartan threatens.

Swallowing hard, the doe decides to take a course of action. Getting her voice in as high a pitch as she can, and speaking in a Lapi-quiet whisper, she attempts to get her brother's attention. "Gibson! Gibson, can you hear me? Don't say anything if you can!"

Gibson's face takes on that peculiar expression that means all too clearly to Anisa that he heard her. True to her instructions, he doesn't reply. (At least, that's assuming he really has heard her, and this isn't just wishful thinking on her part.) For what it's worth, the others don't evidence any notice.

"Now listen to me, and listen good," continues Anisa, keeping her voice in the whisper, "surrender, don't fight for now. I can't fight them all, and you're hurt. Wanda is around here somewhere, and when I find her, we'll come up with a plan – "

The Lapi cuts herself short, as she notices that one of the "jungle birds" visible out of the corner of her eye is actually flying toward her. Taer! It's the little Kujaku again. He looks visibly ruffled as he alights near Anisa.

"She didst find me," the Kujaku says. "She didst demand to know if thou art well and not wounded. I told her that thou art fine, but she didst not believe me – She demanded that I ask thee, and respond in thy own words. Methinks she suspects my people of treachery, though I pledge to thee, such is not the case," the diminutive avian whispers quickly.

The Lapi turns to the Kujaku. "She found you? Where is she?" she whispers urgently.

The Kujaku whispers back, "On the other side of this confrontation entirely. I couldst not entreat her to trust me enough to follow back to here – and it wouldst have taken far longer than flying back to thee directly, true enough."

"Tell her I'm okay, and that I'd love nothing more than to beat the cabbage out of that Vartan wench six times over. She'll know it's me, if you tell her that." The Lapi scowls, alternately tensing and relaxing her grip on the machete. "How long would it take her to come over to me? I need to make a plan with her!"

The small Kujaku frowns, looking to be calculating something on the feathers of one of his wings, then whispers, "I can try to be as swift as possible. Perhaps the span of 'fifteen minutes'." It occurs to Anisa that Royce often has a habit of claiming that many things will just take "fifteen minutes", so it's not certain whether the little Kujaku means the real thing, or not, as the wee folk seem to not normally be overly concerned with the exact passage of time.

Anisa shakes her head. "Too long. Go to her and tell her to stay put, and see if she has any ideas. I told Gibson to stay put; hopefully they won't do anything to him." The Lapi frowns. "If they take them prisoner, we may be able to find their camp and break them free later tonight. Does that constitute combat to you?" The Lapi looks the little bird in the eye.

The Kujaku mulls this over. "If it can be done without fisticuffs or bloodshed, I can make certain allowances," Taer ventures. "I'll deliver thy message to Wanda, immediately." With that, and not a moment more to see if Anisa has aught to add, the little avian flutters off, vanishing into the trees.

Meanwhile, it appears that negotiations aren't looking much better for Gibson and Company. The large Rhian moves in toward Royce. Royce lets out a squeak of alarm, and makes a couple of steps back. Spencer looks about to respond with force, but Gibson shakes his head. "No, Spence … we can't fight … not now, not here… " He does not look in Anisa's direction, but his ears are distinctly canted to still give him good coverage that way.

Turning back to the others, the doe tries to get through to Gibson again. "Just let them take you back wherever they came from, and don't do anything to get yourself hurt!" She almost takes back her words when she sees the Rhian step towards Royce, fighting the urge to sprint in. "If you understand, wilt your right ear."

Gibson's right ear wilts, though he looks none too enthusiastic about the plan. "First Ones help my sis," he whispers under his breath.

Anisa nods, and sits tight, keeping her ears peeled for the Kujaku's return, and her eyes watching the Rhian approach Royce.

The Rhian grabs Royce's shoulder, while another Khatta moves in, readying some rope to bind the Lapi's hands. Royce struggles and protests, but once he's in hand, he really hasn't a chance of getting free, it seems.

Spencer's shoulders slump in resignation. "I hope you're right about this, Gib," he mutters, sheathing his blade.

"So am I," Anisa sighs to herself, slinking back to her original hiding place by her pack.

By the time Taer returns with Wanda, the Vartan and her associates have already bound up Gibson and his companions. Perhaps it is at least a little heartening that they lashed together a stretcher for Gibson, and allowed Kurtis to finish binding his wounds before moving him, but the sounds of Gibson's grunts of pain with rough jostling were not all that comforting.

Shortly after they have made their way off, and before Anisa can give up and go to pursue them, the little turquoise bird-man flutters up, shortly followed by a sneakily-moving white Skeek. "Here we be," he declares, in a low and quiet voice. "Never fear, but I can track these Longstriders easily," he says in a tone of voice of one stating a fact, not making a boast.

"I'm so sorry, Sugar!" Wanda says, looking pained. "Gibson covered my escape. Has to be chivalrous and let the women go first and all. Not sure whether to bless or curse men for that sometimes," she adds with a sigh. "If he'd just bolted for it, we could have all scattered to the trees before they'd finished surrounding us!"

At the sight of Taer and Wanda, Anisa springs up from her hiding spot, pack on her back and machete in hand. "That's what I'm counting on," she says to Taer. "How did they get the drop on you? I never even heard it happen!"

Taer shakes his head. "I would not know, unless I can find my kinfolk. They surely have fled back to Faed Schrumreng at first trading of blows. But if I go so far to return, I will not be able to return to thee before thy kin are long gone."

Wanda gives Taer a dubious look, her expression clearly showing that she's not wholly convinced of the good intents of the wee folk.

Anisa sighs, starting off towards the clearing where everything took place. "We'd better not waste any time, then. We have to get them out and quick! Who knows what Vandringar'll do to them!" The rabbit angrily slashes at some random plants, grumbling under her breath. "I swear, that walking pillow-stuffing is gonna get a face full of my fist!"

Wanda says, "Well, I hate to put it this way, Sugar, but we do have one slight advantage. They've got Gibson slowing them down. But you're right; let's not let them get too far ahead of us."

Taer executes a miniature bow. "I shall do my best to guide thee safely through the wilderness, as I am so obliged to do."

"Right, and we don't want to give our position away to them either." The Lapi stops, and waits for the little Kujaku. "Taer, lead the way. And while we're going, I'm open to any suggestions."

Slashing her way through the underbrush, the Lapi tries to fight images of the attackers hurting her brothers and friends from popping into her mind, settling instead on images of herself hurting the Vartan.