The next day they traveled south from Rosewall, crossed a stone bridge over the Soran River, and found a town just a few miles north of the Savage Jungle. Everette Plains was on their map, but the town was apparently too small. The place was basically a coffee plantation with some extra homes, a tavern, and a general store.
Figuring that the jungle wouldn’t be an easy place to ride, they found a farmer who was willing—for a few coppers—to keep their horses for them. Instead of renting a room, they set out on foot and camped an hour later when the sun set. Since, they had no idea how long they’d have to make their limited funds stretch, Falcon thought it best to not spend unnecessarily. He knew Julia considered sleeping in a real bed a necessity, not luxury, but she didn’t argue.
They finally entered the jungle just before noon the next day. The trees in here were mostly skinny and half-covered in moss, but the forest floor was thick with undergrowth.
“I’m seriously hot,” Julia complained.
He smiled, knowing what she meant, but couldn’t keep his gaze from traveling down her backside. Her fitting clothes clung to her overheated body, showing off her slender form and subtle curves. “Yeah.”
She glanced back with a curious look.
“Yeah, it’s hot,” he said simply, his eyes on her face now. “Aren’t you happy to have your heat back?” he added in a teasing tone.
She shrugged. “Better than being cold, but I’d prefer dry heat… it’s so humid here," she told him as she turned back to see where she was going. "I will say, though―I won’t be taking air conditioning for granted when I get back. Still can’t see how you want to live in a place that doesn’t have modern conveniences. A drive-through would be nice, too. I could really go for a cold soda and a cheeseburger right now.”
“First of all, I’d never live in the south, so I don’t need air conditioning. And fast food is nasty. It’s horrible for you.”
She shot him an appalled look over her shoulder. “Oh, I forgot, you like to eat plain oat―”
“Jules!” he said urgently and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a sudden stop.
She turned to the giant plants blocking the way. They were almost as tall as humans, and had ferocious snapping mouths that took up so much of their car-tire-sized heads that they left no room for other facial features. They didn't seem to have eyes, but the way they were leaning toward them said they knew of Falcon's and Julia’s presence. Luckily, thick stems kept them firmly rooted in the ground, so their spindly vine arms came just short of touching Julia, who was closest to them. Each had a glossy, goo-covered leaf at the end; they seemed to be sticky, since there were a number of insects stuck to them.
Before either of them had time to react, there was a noise from above. Julia looked up to find a bow drawn and aimed at her. Fierce, almond-shaped green eyes glared down at her. The woman in the tree wasn’t a child, but she was as small as one at only three and a half feet tall. She squatted on the limb, her bare feet calloused and dirty. She was very deeply tanned, with long, blond dreadlocks, and a slender, toned body. Her toned body was clothed in a dark green loincloth, a strip of the same material wrapped around her chest, a necklace made out of squares of turquoise, and around her waist a leather belt held a slightly curved dagger.
She addressed them in a regal voice. “Tall people,” she said angrily. “You do evil in Tikki jungle?” When they didn’t respond immediately, she made a low, snarling sound. “Answer or Tikki shoot you in the face!” Her words were hard and short, and her sentences flowed in a fast and very steady rhythm.
Falcon raised his hands slightly in a gesture of surrender. “We don’t mean any harm.”
The little savage contemplated this for a moment, then made a loud, birdlike sound and waited. Nothing happened. She growled before yelling, “Badger!”
Heavy footsteps came toward them. Slowly, a large monster emerged from the thick foliage. The humanoid creature was over seven feet tall. His body was thick and loosely muscled, his skin was a light, muddy green, and his eyes were black. He had a large, bald head, long, pointy ears that flopped over at the top, a wide, flat nose, and tusks. He looked a little like the half-orc in Jaida Grove, but this one was huge and much more monstrous.
The giant gazed up at the woman in the tree. “Hi, Tikki,” he said in a voice that was deep with an accent similar to hers, except he spoke slowly.
“Stupid Badger!” she scolded him. “What Badger do when Tikki make bird noise?”
He stroked his chin with one enormous hand and screwed up his face in earnest contemplation. After a minute, he said―more to himself than anyone else―“I like birds.”
A giggle escaped Julia, and she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth to stop it. Falcon muffled s snicker behind her. Tikki didn’t find it amusing and glared at them again.
“I’m sorry,” Julia said seriously, lowering her hand. “We didn’t mean to trespass. We’re only trying to find Nathora’s Temple so that I can get back home.”
“Tall people lost?” she asked, easing up on the bow. “Seek guidance from goddess?”
“Well…” Julia gave her a quick summary of everything.
Tikki stared at her for a long time. “Evil woman want to harm Tikki people?”
“Yes,” Julia said, not really knowing if that was the truth or not. “She’s a threat to everyone. But we’re going to stop her.”
Once again, she stared for a while, then nodded. “Tikki think tall people speak true.”
Badger grinned at her proclamation. “New friends!”
Julia gave a relieved sigh. “Thank you. Do you happen to know where the temple is?”
“Tikki know,” she said simply, then stood a bit taller. “Tikki protect people too. Tikki take tall people to temple. Help find orb piece. Defeat evil woman.”
“Great.” Julia smiled and took a step closer.
That was a mistake. Two sticky vine arms from the giant plant she had forgotten about, caught her wrists. As it began to drag her toward its hungry mouth, Falcon grabbed her arm and tried to pull her back. But as soon as he was within their grasp, the vines snaked around his legs, causing him to fall backwards and take her with him.
As they lay on the forest floor, struggling against the man-eating plant, Tikki’s laughter filled the air. Falcon reached for his sword, but the steel blade had flown from his hand when he fell and now rested several feet away. He tried to reach for his dagger, but one of the vines was wrapped around the sheath.
“Tikki!” Julia called in panic. “Help us. We’re on the same team.”
Still chuckling, the gnome called for Badger, who was watching a red beetle the size of an avocado walk along the ground. Badger looked up and Tikki pointed at them. “Get tall people.”
Obediently he strode over, wrapped a large arm around each of their waists, and yanked them free in one swift pull. He set them down, being surprisingly gentle, then walked away to find the insect again.
“Thanks,” Falcon said, pulling the broken, sticky vines off his pant legs and recovering his sword.
“Badger carry you,” Tikki said. “Tall people not get in more trouble,” she added mockingly.
Upon hearing his name, Badger, with beetle in hand, rejoined the group.
“Put bug away,” she told him with strained patience. “Carry tall people. Follow Tikki.”
Badger popped the beetle into his mouth as though it were a potato chip, then picked them up―one in each arm again―and held them against his very wide chest. Tikki made a squealing sound and started jumping from tree to tree, leading them past the monstrous vegetation. Badger simply stepped between the snapping plants and followed along.
“Why didn’t the vines touch him?” Falcon asked.
Tikki stopped for a moment to wave a hand back and forth in front of her nose. “Badger stinky.” It was true; he could smell it for herself.
Tikki turned around again and continued moving swiftly forward, using branches and vines and occasionally making a running jump, which included a flip before the landing. Falcon wondered if this was her usual way of travel, or if she was just showing off for company. Either way, it was impressive.
“By the way, my name Falcon, and this is Julia.”
“He not look like bird,” Tikki noted.
Falcon smirked. “And he doesn’t look like a badger.”
“Badger look like Badger,” the orc said.
“The animal badger,” Falcon told him, but the orc just looked more confused.
Tikki landed with a soft thud on a lower, mossy branch, then faced them in a casual crouch. “Tikki name brother Badger.”
“How can he be related to you?” Julia asked.
“Badger put down now.” Once he set them on the ground, she jumped onto his shoulders and he started walking again. The others followed. “When Tikki very small, she find Badger,” she began. “Badger only baby. Parents not want Badger, so they put him here. Food for jungle animals.”
Julia gasped. “That’s horrible!”
“Tikki take Badger home. Live with Tikki family.”
“And your parents didn’t mind?”
Tikki shook her head. “No, not mind. Badger not stay small, he grow very big.” She tapped one side of his head, getting him to turn in that direction and continue walking. “He stupid and clumsy too. He start to break village, make trouble. He not mean to.”
Suddenly she stood up on Badger’s shoulders, then pulled herself up onto a branch above her head and disappeared up a tree. Falcon was about to look up, but his attention was drawn by the thing that came falling down―a huge bunch of bananas landed on the ground in front of them. Badger grabbed it, then stood back up just in time for Tikki to land on his shoulders.
She sat down and continued speaking as if she had never stopped. “Tikki people tell Badger to leave,” she said, not even short of breath. “Tikki understand. But she not leave Badger.” She took a banana and started peeling it from the bottom instead of the stem. “Now Tikki and Badger live away from village.”
“How old are you?” Julia asked as she accepted a banana and passed one to Falcon.
“Fifteen years.”
“Wow, that’s young to be living on your own.”
She bristled at that. “Tikki grown!”
“Sorry. Can I ask what race you are?”
She nodded. “Gnome.” She pronounced the g, and the e sounded more like an a. Falcon had never heard it said that way before. “From Gwunto tribe.” She added, obviously proud of that fact.
“Are there other tribes?” Julia asked.
“No,” Tikki answered as if it were a stupid question. “All gnomes live by river. That way.” She pointed west. “They live in trees. They climb branches and ropes, way up high, use bridges. Have boats―fish boats, trade boats, shop boats, boats to go eat―lots of boats,” she said, seeming happy to tell them.
“Do you ever see them?”
“No. Tikki stay with Badger. They not like Tikki now.”
They walked in silence for a while until Tikki tapped twice on top of Badger’s head. He dropped the rest of the bananas, then lifted her up and set her gently on the ground. “Sleep here,” she commanded. “Tomorrow take boat to temple. Now wait here. Tikki get food.” She climbed up into a tree and was gone.
There wasn’t enough room for their tent, so they just rolled out their bedrolls on the ground. When they were set up for the night, they sat on their beds. Julia looked over at Badger, who was sitting nearby, looking sadly out through the trees. “What’s wrong?”
“Tikki gone.”
“She’ll be back, though,” she said, as if she were comforting a child whose mother had left.
He just nodded glumly.
“So, do you like living in the jungle?”
“Where else to live?” he wondered.
She shrugged. “There’s mountains, desert, flatland―lots of places.” She glanced at Falcon, checking her facts. He nodded while Badger looked at her as though she were speaking a different language. “Never mind. So… how old are you?”
He stared down at his hands for a long moment. He wasn’t counting on his fingers, but instead seemed to be trying to remember the look of how many fingers old he was. “That many,” he answered finally, holding up nine.
“Nine years old and you’re that big?” she said in amazement.
He looked confused. “Yes?”
“So, do gnomes have their own language?” she wondered.
Falcon opened his mouth to correct Julia’s pronunciation of gnome, but decided to let it go. Who was he to argue with the way a person of that race pronounced it?
“Or do you always speak in English?” she continued.
“English is called common here,” Falcon told her.
Tikki came back just then, and Badger complained to her while pointing at Julia. "She said questions.”
“Badger answer,” Tikki told him.
“Not know answer.” This obviously upset him.
“Oh, it’s okay,” Julia soothed.
Tikki dragged a large snake over and dropped it. “What question?”
“If you have your own language.”
She rolled her eyes. “Tikki not have language. Tikki talk gnome and human language.”
Julia smiled a little and nodded. “So what kind is that?” she asked, pointing to the dead snake.
Tikki looked at her as if she were stupid. “Snake.”
“I think it’s a python,” Falcon told Julia.
“No. Snake,” Tikki corrected firmly, shaking her head at him. “Tall people like raw snake? Where fire?”
“Oh, sorry.” Julia raised her hand, conjured a fireball, and tossed it onto the stack of wood that Falcon had already gathered.
Badger’s eyes grew bigger, and he started clapping. “Do again! Do again!”
Julia laughed. “Okay.” She conjured another and this time held it in her hand. He was instantly mesmerized by it. When it fizzled out, he clapped and wanted more, so she cast it again.
“Pretty,” he said, smiling, and then unexpectedly reached for it. She moved away, but wasn’t fast enough―as soon as his fingers touched it, the orb exploded into flames that covered his hand. The fire lasted only a second, but the damage was done, and Badger was howling. He raised his other hand, ready to take a swing at her.
Julia’s eyes widened, and she swallowed hard in fear. Falcon instantly moved toward her, but Tikki roared, stopping him. “Badger! No!”
Badger looked at her and put his hand down.
“Stupid Badger. Not touch fire!”
He hung his head at her scolding, and whimpered softly as he held his burnt hand to his chest.
“No more,” she told Julia with a warning glare.
Julia nodded. “I can help―”
“No!” Tikki said sharply.
“But I can heal―”
“No!”
A minute later, as soon as Tikki’s back was turned, Julia reached out to Badger. But before she could touch him, the end of a vine slapped her wrist like a whip. She gave a yelp of pain and pulled back.
Tikki scowled fiercely as she dropped the vine. “Tikki say no!”
“Sorry, I―”
“Badger learn. Not touch fire.” Julia opened her mouth to say something, but Tikki cut her off again. “Burn hand better than dead Badger.”
Falcon put a hand on Julia’s knee, getting her to look at him. “Just leave it alone,” he told her quietly.
“But it’s my fault and… I can’t stand him being in pain,” she told him miserably.
He smiled gently. “I know. But it was an accident, and he’ll be okay.” He moved his hand to hold hers, in case she tried to reach out to the orc again.
She looked at the orc. “I’m sorry,” she said, but Badger stayed silent. He just sat there, looking like a wounded puppy. She frowned at the fire and said nothing more.
The snake turned out to be good. Falcon had thought snakes tasted like chicken, but this one didn’t at all. It was a new taste; he couldn’t even think of what to compare it to.
After dinner, Tikki finally let Julia heal Badger, feeling that he had enough time to learn his lesson. She climbed up onto his shoulders, and he automatically stood. “Tikki back at sun up,” she told them.
When she left, Falcon and Julia laid down to sleep in the open, amid all the unfamiliar noises of the jungle. When he saw Julia shaking, he moved to her bedroll. He laid beside her and pulled her into his arm, molding the back of her body to the front of his. She let out a barely audible sigh and stilled.
