When it came to her crafts, only the best was used to make even the most mundane things. If you wanted to make an ordinary tea set made from ordinary porcelain, then why bother? After racking her brain for what to bring to the goddess of life and love's upcoming wedding, Shiloh decided it was time to go material hunting. Due to not being the most creative individual, she currently had two options in mind: household objects and weapons of mass destruction. Knowing that Angela would likely prefer the former, Shiloh chose to create a personalized tea set made from bone china. And what better way to make the gift extra special than to use the most durable and exotic ingredients known to man? So when she heard rumors of unusual materials being sold exclusively in the swampy, forested isle south of Eritea–she fired up the Clepsydra. Oh, and not to mention the rare flowers which any herbalist and healer would love to get their hands on. If her first plan for making pottery failed, she could always send a specimen of one of those plants in a shatter-resistant bell jar.

Crossing over to the third continent, the deity soon found she would have to leave her airship in Mamjaku. Although flying to Akan was no problem, the island was so densely overgrown that there was no place to land. Parking the Clepsydra in Eritea was also pointless, as the constant volcanic activity and noxious gases threatened the integrity of her vessel. She was forced to fly back to the coastal outpost and dock, while opening a portal close enough to reach the island from a safe spot on the southern peninsula. With a skiff, she and a few other intrepid explorers crossed the lagoons to venture into the swampland. There was dead silence as they approached, rowing the oars of the flat-bottomed boat closer to the marshy jungle. Soon the silence replaced by the perpetual buzzing of insects and the sloshing of the oars pushing through murky water. Her face, neck, and hands were fully covered to protect against the bugs. Among the small group were a few mages which put their magic spells to use in keeping the buzzing pests away. It was a nerve-wracking experience as they slowly paddled their way through the maze of channels, unsure if the looping cords dangling from the trees were vines or serpents.

Apprehension began to build as the hours passed and civilization was nowhere in sight. The thick overhead canopy of branches blotted out the strong noonday sun, leaving only dimmed sunlight to filter through the shadows. There was the unspoken fear that they were lost and that they had been wandering around for hours. Then, one of the feline beastmen perked up their ears. "There! Do you hear it? I think…I think I hear drums!" They all stopped to listen, and sure enough–through the ever-present hum of waterflies and mosquitoes, there was a steady drumbeat echoing through the rainforest. Following the sound, they soon came upon solid land. The rainforest was thinner here at the bank, and an old weathered wooden pillar was driven into the ground. Dried shells of wooden gourds dangled from coarse, thick ropes as if to mark this spot. After pulling closer to shore, everyone got out and dragged the skiff up to tie it to the pillar. 

It was a hot and humid trek through the dense jungle, the group going along a beaten path that was riddled with overgrown roots and foliage. The pulsing beats were growing louder, and soon it was pounding in their ears. As one of the hired guards hacked away some branches with a machete, they stumbled upon a large tribal settlement with wooden palisade walls. Shouts of joy and sighs of relief were had as they found civilization at last! One of the traders then took charge, approaching the village with the expedition's hired guards at the rear. The man had visited Akan once with his master as a boy, and he had learned how to speak with the local tribesmen. Upon their arrival, armed reptilian warriors clad in a mixture of armor barred their way. These were the Khantsi, the people who knew the swampy terrain of Akan better than anyone. 

With a lengthy explanation, they were allowed to come into the camp. The traders quickly began to show off their wares to set up trades while the explorers were being introduced to where they would be staying. The Khantsi had built a separate area within their settlement to house outsiders such as traveling merchants. That night they would be given a celebratory feast, but first there were preparations to be made. Hanging around the expedition's merchants, Shiloh learned through them that before they arrived, the Khantsi had been planning to go on a hunt. There were many strange and dangerous creatures in Akan which the Khantsi used as food or to make tools. Today their target was a 'Sirah-tumbak', which meant all able-bodied warriors were gathering. The merchants didn't know what that meant, only that it was one of the beasts the Khantsi used in making weapons and armor. With the help of a translator, she and some of the more ambitious members from the mainland offered to participate as a sign of goodwill. She had no idea what they were going to be fighting, but she was taking cues from what the local warriors were doing. 

Since he stepped away from Divinity on his own accord Lokir had kept a rather low profile in that time. He was focused on staying with Basse as much as possible, helping her family whenever they needed it, and in general enjoying life. Even when the angels had attacked the lands Lokir had stayed out of the fighting, then again he had more to do with that than many knew about and he wanted to keep it that way.

However being a knight at heart the time away from any large scale fighting was something he was slowly starting to want. Life was great as it was, but he wanted to get into a good fight of some kind and he didn’t much care what he fought. So when Shiloh had sent him a message asking if he could accompany her on a trip to Onnen to act as a kind of bodyguard/ally she knew would always be there, he had taken that opportunity.

That was how Lokir ended up here, on the row boat, in full armour, broadsword strapped to his hip, standing while the boat moved down the waters. The bugs didn’t bother him that much in the few places they could through the gaps in his armour. When they had started out someone had commented on the weight of his armour in the boat, Lokir had pointed out it was either the armour weight or two tons of bear. The complaints had stopped and Lokir remained in human form during the trip.

Though it was rather warm under all that metal but he was dealing with it as best he could. Things looked up when they could hear the drums in the distance and headed in there direction. The walk from where they left the boats wasn’t much fun either, and while the one guard used a machete to clear the way, Lokir was using his considerably longer and sharper sword to clear the area in front of him.

The werebear stayed close to Shiloh, while she was immortal Lokir wasn’t sure how much of a direct fighter she was, which was probably at least part of why she had asked him to come along. Suited him fine, since the invasion of the insects years ago and when they had fought together Lokir had gained respect for Shiloh.

As they waited to be let into the camp Lokir just scanned the surrounding forests taking in the new scents around him. This wasn’t the kind of lands he was used to, this was a new experience for him and he was excited. It was too bad that Basse had been unable to join them, but the couple had spent a lot of time together, so a few days away wouldn’t hurt.

The idea of a feast that night was a welcome one, but when Lokir heard of the hunt that was being prepared he got excited. Lokir along with others, including Shiloh, had offered to help on the hunt as a sign of goodwill, but Lokir would have probably followed them anyway just for fun. When they had a moment Lokir removed his helm and hooked it to his belt, shook his hair out and spoke half yawning as he did. ”Thanks again for asking me to come along, by the way. I think it’s been too long since I have been out in the world.” A grin played on his features. ”And a chance to hunt some beast in these lands is just the kind of thing I have been needing.”

It was always good to travel with someone you knew, and Lokir was the right person for the job. The lucky bear had managed to drop out of the Conclave while he still could, though it was probably more like the Voice decided it would be mutually beneficial to go along with it. As for her countless requests to be 'honorably discharged' from her responsibilities, she had no such luck. Fortunately he didn't mind coming to the lesser-explored reaches of Onnen, as she knew he could stand his ground even without divinity. It was like a business trip, except with more mosquitoes and humidity. The older man also agreed to join in with the hunt that would be happening any time soon once the locals gave the word. While they were standing around idle, they had a brief moment to chat. Lokir thanked her for having him tag along, and he was pretty excited to see what they would be hunting today. She nodded back, following up with her reply. "I should be thanking you really, not everybody would be interested in going out into the jungle miles away from the nearest city as an escort." Not to mention staying on board with the idea after she had to fly back to Mamjaku after realizing she couldn't land, then making the same trip to the coast again. Not one of her best moments in planning to say the least.

The blaring sound of a horn drew their attention, and the Khantsi were starting to gather towards the edge of the camp. The reptilian warriors were clad in their finest–armor made from chitin, scales, horns, and anything else that could withstand punishment. These parts were secured to cured leather strapped about their bodies to provide greater flexibility than the standard cuirass or jerkin, something which Shiloh chose to commit to memory. She might borrow that design for something later. It was an interesting take on physical protection. With a forest of spears at the ready, the Khantsi began to move out into the dense jungle that encompassed their village. There was silence as the hunters advanced cautiously. It had only been less than an hour and she was already on edge. Shiloh never did get the chance to ask any of the traders to inquire what exactly a 'Sirah-tumbak' was, but she and the rest of the volunteers were going to find out very soon.

Soon they were approaching a clearing devoid of any grass or brush. There was flat, exposed ground surrounded by tropical trees and the earthen slope of higher ground could be seen in the distance. There was something very peculiar about this area, but she couldn't figure out why. She didn't know why her apprehension was going into overdrive now that they were almost in the open, despite there being plenty of places nearby to take cover. The ground in the clearing was hard, like it had been compacted several times over. All of a sudden, tremors began to rock the earth beneath their feet. Instead of running, the Khantsi began to ready their weapons and let out a whooping rallying cry. A horrible sinking sensation took hold in the pit of her stomach as the deity became filled with dread. 

It was here. Tearing through the trees, a gargantuan creature covered in bony protrusions shaped like elephant tusks for spikes smashed into the clearing. Unfurling its heavily armored body, the beast let out a primal roar that forced those closest to it to buckle over covering their ears. The volunteers from the mainland were shaken to their core, but the veterans in the group quickly regained their mettle and took up arms. The Khantsi led the charge, baiting the massive bony lizard into stomping after one while the others took advantage to strike at its joints. They were using guerrilla tactics, taking turns in being the decoy and getting in a few quick strikes before retreating to a safe distance. Following their lead, Shiloh and the volunteers rushed in to take the initiative after the horned lizard rammed its head into the trees, narrowly missing the lithe Khantsi warrior who had provoked it to charge.

The tall tropical trees quaked with a sickening crunch as the creature's bony protrusions gashed the trunks. While Shiloh had prepared her lacriamium-coated switchaxe for the hunt, any sense of confidence she might have had evaporated in that instant. Those trees were ancient, primordial even. The fact this thing could smash them to bits was terrifying. A few seconds of contemplation was too many as the deity soon saw people around her fleeing and the sirah-tumbak's spiky hide coming closer! Letting out an inhuman shriek, the rogue turned tail and bolted–pumping her arms and legs as fast as they could take her. Her screams trailed behind as she was making a mad dash out of it's damage radius. It was like trying to outrun a boulder, except it was alive and very interested in grinding you into pulp. Too wired on adrenaline to notice, Shiloh's frantic running inadvertently led the bony lizard around the clearing in circles, providing the Khantsi and volunteer hunters plenty of openings to exploit breaks in its armor. 

This continued for a solid twenty minutes until the thing finally fell, dead. A great deal of its spike protrusions were broken with bleeding patches where the armor plating was shattered. It was a great day for the Khantsi and the hunters who had helped, and the reptilian warriors let out a war cry of victory. Exhausted at last, Shiloh flopped onto the ground with the fingers of her left hand clamped tight around the shaft of her switchaxe. Those who weren't helping with breaking down the carcass carried her back to camp where she regained consciousness before it was time to eat. She awoke to find herself laid out on two cots with her weapon still in her hand, and a member of the expedition who was tasked with watching her said that was because they couldn't pry it from her grip. The merchant then began to gossip about how the locals said this was their most successful hunt of the 'spear-head lizard' in all the years they have lived on the isle. There were no casualties, which was an exceptional feat since it was expected that they would lose a few dozen good warriors in the attempt. The merchant then went on to mention they attributed the success to an excellent decoy and a crushing blow to the creature's head by a great bear. 

The night passed quickly, and the next few days were mostly uneventful. The expedition members got what they came for, and Shiloh managed to get a hold of some cleaned bone fragments from the sirah-tumbak and one of its back-spikes. They said their goodbyes to the Khantsi and paddled their way back to the mainland, where she and Lokir left to return to Mamjaku. It could have ended much worse, but she finally got what she needed…at the cost of what little pride she still had.