"Alright, Jiraxa, pretend to be someone important." Lee instructed, "Like you're a caretaker, but the two of us – regular treasure hunters."
"Shouldn't I wear a cloak then?" She was confused, "Why did you want me to pull up my sleeves and show naked shoulders."
"Haotians are almost naked, you see? They need to notice your pretty scales to realize we are harmless." Lee tried to persuade her and the rest of the group using the simplest terms.
Earlier he finally got their agreement after mentioning that the natives are surely guarding some kind of secret, and that's the main reason for their weariness.
Truth to be said, he was simply bored and curios, and the time spent befriending locals was time they didn't hunt dangerous beasts. And if they didn't hunt dangerous beasts, no one would get injured and he wouldn't be expected to save anyone. The logic was simple.
More importantly, if the natives had the intention to attack them, they would've done so the moment Lee and the company arrived. In addition, he didn't see any necklaces made of teeth, bone helms or armor, and it made him think this was actually a peaceful bunch.
***
No matter how much they didn't want to, in the end Arax and Thorax stayed behind, hidden from the sight of the locals. Meanwhile Jiraxa, along with her two new followers, slowly approached the village entrance.
"Hello!" She awkwardly greeted when they were around fifteen yards away from the narrow passage between two high rocks that served as the entrance to the village.
Either it was Jiraxa's natural shyness or the lack of the two red-skinned friends covering her back that made her stop, not being sure what to do next.
"You're doing great!" Lee whispered, "Go on, and don't forget to smile!"
Probably answering her forced change of expression, the tall natives barring the entrance also smiled, but few moments later, when Jiraxa was only five yards away, their eyes widened, one of the guys dropped the spear in shock, but the closest one, apparently the highest rank here, pointed at her, and gasped, "Ulava!"
Jiraxa's first impulse was to run, but Lee caught her, and forcefully turned back around.
"Stay calm!" He said, "They are surprised, but it's good!"
Neither Jiraxa nor Mirax guessed that the locals finally noticed her scales, and that was the reason for their reaction. Nevertheless, it was much more intense than Lee anticipated.
"Ulava! Ulava!" One could hear anxious shouts in the distance, and few moments later, through the narrow passage, tall people began to flood out.
There were at least forty, maybe fifty of them, and this time even Lee took few steps back along with his two companions. Most locals were men, armed with similar spears the group saw earlier, but there were few women as well. The look on their faces wasn't as friendly, though.
Then the disorderly crowd split, and natives made way for an old man. It probably was some kind of universal law, but despite him being from a tall race, similar to many elderly in the other worlds, the man was hunched over, supporting himself on a tall and thick stick. From the looks of it, the thing was his old spear, except without the spearhead.
He slowly walked up to Jiraxa, closely looked at her, stretched out his long, gnarled hand, but didn't touch her as if afraid. He stood there still for a moment, and then whispered, "Ulava!"
"Ulava!" The crowd behind him gasped in unison.
'We're in!' Lee grinned to himself, and from that moment on everything went smoother than expected.
They were invited inside, but the village they were prepared to see turned out to be a grassy field. It was big, or rather long – at least three hundred yards, while only thirty yards wide at most. There were no wooden shacks or ones build from stone, straw or any other material.
Turns out these people lived in caves! In the cliff wall next to the grassy field, there were dozens of cave openings from which one after another curious faces popped out.
Even a bigger crowd quickly gathered around the guests, watching them with big eyes from above, but while Jiraxa was left alone, Lee and Mirax were poked and pinched all over as if these people were verifying the two were real.
"Alright, it's enough!" At one point Lee got tired of the abuse, and decided to make things more formal.
He pulled out the knife he took from one of the dead treasure hunters in the Inferno Wastes, and with both hands presented it to the hunched elder.
The man took the thing, looked at it with confused eyes, and gave away to one of the kids standing nearby. The kid, at least a head taller than Lee, took it with dumb expression, but then the old guy said something, and the kid rushed away, shouting aacha! aacha! and waving the knife around.
A bunch of others joined him, and before Lee got upset he lost the knife for nothing, the children returned, the tallest carrying a mushroom cap in a size of a bowl, filled with berries, very much resembling the common blueberries, except larger.
"Take it and smile." Lee whispered to Jiraxa, and when she did, the crowd gasped, repeating the Ulava! again.
"Do we go inside the caves?" Jiraxa asked. She obviously was uncomfortable even though the natives turned out to be surprisingly friendly.
"Nah, let's explore a bit." Lee said, "I'm curious to see what where the things we took for shacks from below."
Apparently his idea fit the elder's intentions, and the old man gently took Jiraxa by her elbow, and guided further in. Lee almost teared up walking on the lush, green grass only now realizing how much he hated the endless emptiness and grayness of Ashland.
His other companions had different worries, though. Jiraxa was still nervous, and carried the big mushroom cap filled with berries with eyes full of confusion. She wasn't willing to eat them, but from the looks of it, the natives expected her to.
Mirax, on the other hand, was annoyed to no end because of the all touching and pinching. It was obvious he wished to utilize his long legs and escape from the place, but for now managed to hold himself together.
On the other side of the grassy field trio was met by surprise. From the right, directly from an opening in the cliff wall, a water stream flowed out, and twenty or so yards later fell down the cliff, forming the waterfall they saw from the bottom.
To the left of it was a tall stone stature of … well … something. It kind of looked like a bird, except it had four legs. But instead of the beak and the small bird eyes, it had a face of a person. The wings that were spread to its sides were made of straw, and were the reason why Lee and the rest though there were huts on the top of the cliff, but no one cared about those now.
The face was carved in great detail and looked rather cute. And one could discern the small scales it was covered with.
It didn't matter if it was the structure of the stone or the result of the masterful craftsmanship, the scales looked almost real – similar to the one the natives were covered in, except proportionally they more fit Jiraxa's looks. And what was even more interesting, the facial features the statue had somewhat resembled her.
"Jiraxa, give me the berries and try to politely bow to the statue!" Lee quietly instructed, "And try saying that ulava thing as well."
"What is that?" She asked.
"No idea, probably their god or something. It doesn't matter." He said.
"But it's not Lunax!" She began to protest.
"I know that! But Haonians don't and it doesn't matter. Try it!" Lee said.
Lee was ready for any reaction, be it everyone kowtowing or starting to pray to their totemic god. But he was caught by surprise when the crowd loudly cheered, seeing Jiraxa bow towards the statue.
Ulava! Ulava! Ulava!
The whole village shouted, but Jiraxa, her shiny scales blushed all over, whispered, "I hope Lunax isn't offended …"
She didn't have much time to worry about it, though.
The old man took her by the elbow again and led to the spot where the stream flowed out from the cliff. Lee and Mirax intended to follow, but few guys with spears immediately blocked their way. The rest of the villagers also didn't go further, but watched the two leave with eyes full of respect, and maybe – longing.
"Huh …" Lee scratched the back of his head in confusion. But then thought for a bit, and went over to the cliff to take a look.
Mirax followed him, and also glanced down, at the lake some hundred or so yards below, and asked, "What are you looking for?"
"If they sacrifice her to the mighty god Ra, the two brothers will skin me alive." Lee said, "I'm trying to figure out if I can jump down, just in case."
"What's a Ra?" Mirax looked at him in confusion.