Expedition to the People of the Trees

 Over the weeks that followed, Bo-Jing and Narantsetseg received delegations from the Eagle and Worm clans, expressing gratitude, congratulations, and a wish for on-going peace among their peoples, supported by respect for the ancient borders.

Bo-Jing asked about the People of the Trees.  The delegations from the Eagle and Worm clans offered no other explanation except that the People of the Trees rarely communicated with he other clans. Bo-Jing paid a visit to Gaansukh.  Gaansukh agreed, but with an important clarification. Walking with Bo-Jing in a great circle around the walls of Sum Sakhius he shared his own theory. When he searched his own memory, Gaansukh failed to find an incident when he had encountered a representative from the People of the Trees.  He didn’t believe his father had either.  Nor his grandfather.  In the stories about “all the clans” the People of the Trees were never described.  No individuals were ever named.  His father could describe the flavor of goat he ate in the low dark hall of the Khan of the worm clan.  Remembering a visit to the lands of the Eagle Clan, he and his retinue sometimes sang the welcoming song of the young women who had rode out to meet them. Gaansukh stopped and leaned against the stupa. “I cannot believe that anyone has ever entered the lands of the People of the Trees or met those People, if there are any People there.  And yet, even in this holy place, when I say this, I feel . . . it is time to refresh ourselves with some tea.”

Hearing this strange stories, Bo-Jing resolved to visit the lands of the People of the Trees and find out for himself.  He wanted the company of Salt and his best men, and also his bride. Hoping for a friendly welcome, they selected fine clothes and gifts for their hosts.

The first part of the journey was agreeable as they passed through the reunified Naran horde where the people where people were glad to meet their new Khan and Khatun.  While evidence of the beastmen’s depredations remained, these reminders of recent horrors strengthened their resolve to create a better future and to honor their lost loved ones with a spirit of cheer and generosity.

But as the travelers approached the border, they were overcome by feelings of loneliness.  In the evenings, there were no welcoming fires, and the travelers were forced to make their own camp.  Each morning, Bo-Jing, even as he set his horse toward the forest on the still-distant horizon, he looked back wistfully at the sunny grasslands where they would be gratefully received by his own people.  On the day when they rode down a slight slope toward the trees, Ryu asked out loud, “Tell us again, what is our mission here?”

Bo-Jing could not answer.  The horses slowed to a walk and then stopped to graze.  Everyone dismounted to stretch out in the grass. Except Narantsetseg.  After dismounting, she walked toward the trees.  Bo-Jing, Batzorig, and Salt tentatively followed after her; the others hesitated for a moment, but the hurried after them.  They heard the horses starting to trot away.  Zhang and Gan-Wei were ordered back to guard them.  The rest pressed into the forest, all of them except Narantsetseg nearly overcome by an unnatural mix of apathy and panic.

In time they came to a clearing and encountered those who might be the People of the Trees.  They were more like trees than people— their skin was a range of greenish hues, some more yellow, some more brown, and the smaller ones being the color of a spring leaf.  In their vine-like fingers, they wielded crude spears and axes-- their jagged metal blades fixed with wire. With these weapons they had brought down a deer and were now butchering it into quarters.

Bo-Jing shouted a friendly greeting.  The dozen or so treepeople turned their faces toward him.  Their heads were like vegetables, with tiny pits for eyes and mouths that were deeper holes surrounded by root-like tendrils.  The treepeople returned Bo-Jing’s greeting, all speaking at once in voices that were too far from human speech to be duplicated, much less understand. Nevertheless, they made it evident that they were happy to see Bo-Jing and his companions.  Using the butt ends of their spears they pointed out a path out of the clearing and urged the humans to accompany them.  The green treepeople led the way and the others followed behind the party, encouraging them to press on. The deer carcass was forgotten.

It was late afternoon when they came to a rocky hillside where erosion had exposed two doors.  One was at ground level, a gate of shiny metal, firmly closed.  The other, about 30 yards up the side of the hill, was open; a soft light glowed evenly from within.  The party was guided by the treepeople up the hillside to the open door. The space inside oddly-furnished; all surfaces were sheathed in gleaming metal and a material like polished ivory or bone. Beyond the brightly-lit entry way, wide corridors led into darkness.  While the smaller treepeople disappeared down one hallway, the party was urged forwards with some urgency and even aggression.  When Bo-Jing, who was leading the party, hesitated, large treeperson with brownish purple splotches prodded him forcefully with a spear butt, sending him flying into a pit.  The party, perhaps relieved to have their suspicions confirmed, defended themselves with full force. Salt killed the treeman closest to her with a barrage of magic missiles, giving her space to flee from the edge of the pit. Gan Yul and the other warriors drew their swords and hacked down the stalky flesh of the treepeople, sending them into a full retreat.  Salt would not allow them to escape and with a blast of steam reduced them to a green puply mass.

Bo-Jing meanwhile had fallen over fifty feet, and landed in a bright room filled with hulking animal-like creatures made of metal.  Though badly injured in his fall, Bo-Jing raised himself up.  Noticing handles on the side of the pit, he began to climb back up. In the course of his climb, he was amazed by many strange sights including an extensive garden filled with plants he had never seen.  Also on the way back up, he was ambushed by another treeman.  The creature’s spear failed to penetrate his armor and Bo-Jing grabbed hold of the weapon to push the treeman off the ladder and into the pit. By the time Bo-Jing reached the top of the pit, the rest of the party had overcome their attackers.  Ryu and Narantsetseg tended to Bo-Jing’s wounds while Salt and Ryu surveyed their surroundings.  The door to the outside had been closed.  Looking down the corridor in which the treepeople had fled, they could see light in the distance.  Another corridor led into darkness.  The corridors were lined with closed metal doors.

The party elected to go down the dark corridor.  They encountered and fought a smaller group of treepeople.  One of their number carried three vividly colored cards, made of an odd material, durable like bone, but more pliable than wood.  Using these cards, they were able to open one of the closed doors and then close it from the inside.

The room was softly-lit and luxurious furnished with metal tables, brightly-dyed carpets, and leather settees. Exhausted by their experiences, the party collapsed into sleep.  Only Narantsetseg had the prescene of mind to stay awake, asking her brother to watch with her for anything that might try to open the door or make use of any unseen entrances.

Several hours passed without any incident, except for the gradual brightening of the light, which seemed to emanate from the very air. When everyone had rested, the party decided to further explore the strange structure.  They were assaulted by other strange creatures including black lions with spiky tentacles growing out of their shoulders.  And they found the central lair of the treepeople—a series of small rooms filled with rotting animal corpses on which very small treepeople were feeding. They fought and won another large battle with treepeople warriors and hunters and recovered more of the strange cards.  And, by the chance, the party returned to the door by which they had first been herded into the treepeople’s home.  It was open and, outside it was daytime.  Though fascinated by the strange place they had discovered, the party realized that they were likely to discover many more dangerous creatures within and that the treepeople might number easily number in the hundreds.  Though they had overcome the previous vague sense of dread, they understood that unless they took this opportunity to escape, they would likely be killed.  Therefore, they left the city of the People of the Trees and passed through the forests to the comfort of the sunny grasslands of Naran.