Chapter 16
(Zoomies)
The sensation of Jarow’s body moving through the portal was something he couldn’t totally describe or even comprehend. He no longer had a sense of himself, Xinpo, or Noruff passing through the portal separately; instead, he felt a strange oneness, both with his two companions and with everything else in the universe. It was as if his consciousness expanded to engulf all of existence while also being trapped within one single entity.
There was also a strange physical sensation that accompanied the trip; it felt like a type of suction, but nothing central or localized within any part of his body. Instead, it felt as though each part of his anatomy were being unilaterally pulled forward, separate yet at the same speed. The sensation encompassed every molecule of him, from the tip of his nose to the last bit of fuzz on his butt, including his internal organs, as well as every last bacterium in his gut. It felt both invasive and unnatural, as well as unusually relaxing and incredibly soothing.
The travel through the portal wasn’t instantaneous either, unlike what he assumed it would be before stepping through. As he flowed through the weightless substance which made up this tunnel, his senses became more and more accustomed to its peculiarities, and the passage of time became less relevant and inconsequential. He quickly stopped trying to remember how long he had been traveling, simply enjoying the oneness with the portal as well as the universe itself.
Jarow had been in a hurry to leave the Fading Divide, his excitement reaching its peak at the prospect of leaving the great hall and the hope of exploring an entirely new world. Now, as he passed through the never-ending portal, his excitement to find adventure waned, and he found himself simply enjoying the journey.
There was one thing he had correctly imagined about the trip through the portal though: the streaks of colored lights, resembling stars, zipped by, creating a mesmerizing sense of motion. The lights changed colors as they swiftly passed his field of vision, giving the entire experience the feeling of moving through space at a faster-than-light type of speed.
But as with all good things, this too had to come to an end.
Jarow, Xinpo, and Noruff emerged from the portal, once again separate beings. Their feet gently touched the ground, as if they had just stepped through the portal inches away and only moments ago. However, as the remainder of their cells coalesced on this side of the portal, an abrupt and inescapable sensation overpowered them.
They both collapsed to the ground, convulsing in violent coughing fits. The coughing, intense and uncontrollable, threatened to escalate into vomiting, and would have had their stomachs not been empty. The world around them spiraled, a disorienting kaleidoscope as they retched and desperately tried to halt the spinning chaos.
Time now seemed to stretch, it felt like an agonizing hour of torment passed before they could finally regain their composure and once again begin to think clearly.
“Well, that was an experience.” Jarow moaned as he sat up, the world around him gradually steadying from its dizzying spin. “I could have dealt with less disorientation on the landing though.” He said to no one in particular.
Noruff, however, still whimpered and quivered at Jarow’s side, so Jarow asked his companion in a sympathetic tone, “Are you okay, buddy?”
In a whiney and strangely high-pitched tone, one which Jarow had never heard from his friend before, Noruff answered, “I didn’t like that. I do not want to do that again.”
Jarow could see Noruff was deeply upset and shaken, still recovering from the spinning and nausea. He pulled the Quigza close, embracing the small furry man, and softly patted his opposite shoulder. “You’re okay now. It’s over.”
It took a few more minutes for Noruff to fully recover. Meanwhile, Jarow surveyed their surroundings. They had arrived and now sat atop a large semi-circular plateau. To Jarow’s imagination, the hilltop resembled a mountain cleaved in two by a titanic sword eons ago, its missing summit soaring to unknown realms, leaving this meadow growing on the newly flattened summit. The area grew, from the bisection, into a lush meadow adorned with a vibrant green carpet of soft moss and dotted with flowers.
Gazing beyond the plateau's edge, Jarow could see a multitude of towering peaks rising all around, jutting up from an unseen floor. The rocky spires surrounded them, some similarly adorned with lush greenery and wildlife, while others sported crowns of snow and ice. One particularly striking peak emitted black smoke from its summit. The stone of the spire was whitish, making it resemble a cigarette more than a volcanic cone. The image and word for the strange object, ‘cigarette,’ filled Jarow’s mind as he stared at the unusual spire in awe.
The plateau's flat top, the place where they now sat, was a tapestry of springy, soft moss adorned with small white and blue flowers sporadically blooming across the tableau. As Jarow turned his head, a single tree caught his eye, growing near the center of the expanse. It stood like a solitary sentinel, as if guarding this elevated landscape.
Jarow’s wish had come true at last; he could feel the sun warm his skin. The alienness of his surroundings was momentarily forgotten as he turned his head to the sky and closed his eyes, allowing the sun’s rays to permeate his skin.
Sensing that Noruff had finally calmed down, Jarow nudged him gently with his shoulder to get the Quigza’s attention. “Look, Noruff, we can feel the sun, just like we wanted.”
Noruff turned his gaze upward, and Jarow could feel some of the tension release in his friend's muscles. They both took a few moments and basked in the sun's warming radiation, letting it dispel some of the misery and monotony which had been a constant drain on them while living in the Fading Divide. The grayness of that place slowly began to fade into memory, allowing them to once again appreciate the colors of an actual world.
After a few more minutes of relaxation beneath the sun’s rays, Jarow decided it was time to explore this new place. He opened his eyes once again and spotted the tree, but strangely, it appeared to be a little closer than he remembered it being.
“A trick of perception,” Jarow told himself.
He nudged Noruff once again and pointed with his nose toward the tree. “We should sit in the shade, with our backs to the wood, maybe see what kind of fruits are on that tree.”
Noruff nodded happily, wearing an expression that Jarow had never seen before. They stood up and walked towards the solitary tree growing in the middle of the mossy meadow.
The mesa’s top spanned about one hundred and fifty yards across, according to Jarow’s reckoning, and thus offered a leisurely walk towards the majestic tree near the center. As they strolled along, they felt the springiness of the mossy green floor beneath their feet, frequently dotted with patches of small powdery blue flowers as well as slightly larger white ones. The blue flowers had only a few larger petals encircling the dark pistil, while the bright white flowers sprouted an abundance of petals surrounding the smaller dark spot at their center. Jarow watched as the small white petals occasionally detached themselves and gracefully danced in the light breeze.
The enchanting scene around them as well as being bathed in the gentle warming sunlight, worked its magic to dissolve Noruff’s anxiety. By the time they reached the large shady tree, all three of Noruff’s tails wagged with excitement, and Jarow saw Noruff eagerly taking in their surroundings, a large toothy grin winding along his muzzle.
The tree, adorned with broad pentagonal leaves sprouting along its massive branches, generously provided a deep and cool shade to them. Stepping beneath the boughs, they immediately felt the soothing embrace of nature. There, Jarow noticed intriguing fruits or pods, roughly the size of his clenched fist, hanging below the leaves, their dark red skin glistened as though they were wet with morning dew.
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“Jarow, there is something I must do, but I need you to keep your eyes closed. Will you please do this small thing for me?” Noruff asked politely, with a hint of utter desire, as well as what Jarow thought might be embarrassment, in his voice.
Jarow wasn’t sure what Noruff wanted to do without him seeing, but he didn’t want to upset his friend, so he answered, “Sure, buddy. Go do what you gotta do.”
A little nervous, since he’d only known Jarow for a short time, Noruff waved his paw in front of Jarow's eyes to make sure he wasn’t looking. Then, cautiously, he took a few steps away from the dwarf before running up on him quickly. Jarow didn’t so much as flinch. Finally satisfied, Noruff unbuckled his belt and removed the jewelry adorning his neck and paws; these were the only things he wore at the moment. Then he placed his beloved sword, Shiarra, on the ground along with his other accessories.
A huge, toothy smile opened up on Noruff’s face. He fell down to all four of his paws and started to run. He ran several yards away from the tree and Jarow before he started to spin in place. Before he was too dizzy, he took off running in another direction. He wasn’t in any danger of finding the edge so didn’t particularly care in which direction he ran, as long as he didn’t smack into Jarow or the tree.
He launched himself several more yards, sprinting at his fastest before turning to his side and sliding himself along the moss. He pushed forward, rubbing his side on the soft moss. Then, he kicked his feet and rolled himself to the other side, pushing forward and rubbing the luxurious foliage down the other side as well. He kicked his feet one last time and twisted his back along the ground. He wiggled from side to side, making sure he scratched every inch of his fur on the moss. Once done, Noruff took off in another direction, dashing for several seconds before once again spinning in place. This time he chased his tails until he was good and dizzy, then he fell to the ground and panted hard, laying on the soft loam and feeling the sun on his tummy.
It had been centuries since he had felt the grass and sun, since he had allowed himself to frolic and play. He ran around the tree several times, and even tried to mark his territory by lifting his hind leg. Unfortunately, nothing came out because he no longer ate or drank, but the feeling of being free enough to do so was still exhilarating.
Finally, he made his way back to where he had left his items, donned them, then returned to where Jarow stood. The Dwarf’s eyes were still closed, but his face was cut in half by a large smile. Noruff wasn’t sure why the man smiled so, but quickly buckled on his belt and sword before telling Jarow he was finished, and that he could open ihs eyes.
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Jarow had every intention of keeping his eyes closed while his friend did what he had to do; however, Jarow quickly discovered something interesting about this dwarven body he was in. While standing barefoot on the ground, even with his eyes closed, he could feel the vibrations of Noruff’s movement through the soil. Therefore, he didn’t have to open his eyes at all to know what was going on. Each movement the Quigza made sent small vibrations to his unclad feet, painting a picture in his mind of what was happening. It wasn’t perfect; he couldn’t see the emotions on Noruff’s face, for example, but it did give Jarow a decent play-by-play of the Quigza’s activity.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
With each footfall, each roll of Noruff's back along the grass, each spin and rotation, the vibrations beneath Jarow’s feet painted a vivid picture of the Quigza's joyful antics. His brain and imagination easily filled in the gaps of what he couldn’t physically feel.
The smile, stretching from his mustache to his beard, couldn't have grown any larger. Jarow felt the hairs around his mouth pull taut from their braids, seemingly unaccustomed to this face’s muscles moving in such a way. Standing in the same spot with his eyes tightly closed, Jarow didn’t want his companion to think he had been deceptive or sneaked a peek while he romped. Though there was no way for the Quigza to know that Jarow could feel his every move, Jarow couldn't contain his smile and elation at experiencing the exuberance of his new friend.
Finally, once Jarow heard Noruff buckle on his sword and announce that he could open his eyes, Jarow looked down to see the now moss-hued Quigza standing in front of him.
“I am done. Thank you for being so considerate,” the slightly green-colored Quigza said. He had scooted and rolled around on the ground as part of his zoomies and had taken a fair amount of moss and its chlorophyll with him.
Jarow watched as Noruff began pulling bits of moss from his body where it stuck in his fur. He reached out to his friend to assist in the moss removal, his grin still stupidly pasted on his face, when Xinpo began sounding an alarm in his head.
“Suzerain! We are not alone!” Xinpo practically screamed inside Jarow’s head. Up until this point, Xinpo had remained silent, allowing the others to enjoy the sunlight they had been longing for. His aura extended not quite to the boundaries of this place, and he had felt nothing out of the ordinary, until this moment.
Jarow froze mid-grab and focused on the surroundings. He quickly shifted his gaze to utilize his Extra Perception ability and scanned the auras of everything he could see.
“That was a very entertaining dance, small one.” A voice came from behind them. It was unlike anything Jarow had heard before. Its cadence was slow, and the tone was in a low register, low enough for the very ground to shake with each word spoken.
But that wasn’t the most unusual part about it. The sound itself seemed to echo. Not an echo like a sound returning from a far away reflection, it sounded more akin to someone talking through a long, hollow log.
Jarow spun at the sound and watched in awe as the only other thing standing upon this plateau began to move and transform. The large limbs above them twitched and began to bend. The leaves all shook with the movement, and several strange-looking and well-hidden birds were scared from their roosts.
The trunk of the tree cracked horizontally several yards up from the ground, and a large eye opened from beneath the fissured bark. Its pupil was large and dilated, surrounded by the slightest ring of a darker brown, the color difference being the only thing separating the pupil from the iris. Several feet below the eye, Jarow noticed a large tree cavity. The opening was a roundish hole that tunneled deep into the trunk; it was from this hole that the voice from before had come.
“It’s been a long time since I have been so entertained.” The voice of the tree spoke once again. The hole from where the voice came out didn’t move like Jarow expected a normal mouth to function. Instead, the voice seemed to come from somewhere deeper inside the tube, thus causing the echo effect.
The eye moved around rapidly for a moment until finally stopping and focusing. It stared directly at Jarow and Noruff. Jarow, being surprised and quite frightened, stood there, mouth agape during the entire transformation.
Noruff must have had at least a little more experience in strange situations like these, for as soon as he realized the solitary tree which occupied this grassy plateau was a sentient creature, he swiftly dodged behind Jarow and began shivering. His head poked out from behind Jarow’s knees as he took in the scene.
“I am sorry, suzerain. When I sensed the nature in the aura of this creature, I did not realize it was simply an immobile tree. That being said, I do not sense any form of malevolence coming from this creature.” Xinpo apologized in Jarow’s mind.
As if in a mocking response to Xinpo's previous words, the trunk of the tree split once more. This time, the crack started at the base, where the tree met the ground and ascended straight up the middle. The crack rose from the dirt and cut the trunk in half vertically until stopping just below the mouth hole of the creature.
One half of the large trunk then bent at its center like a knee mounting a stair, and uprooted itself along with a tangle of dirt and roots, which came up with it. The newly freed foot stepped out of the ground from its previous position and placed the strange-looking end upon the still stable ground before it.
The accompanying sound of the trunk splitting wasn't as thunderous as Jarow might have expected from a tree trunk tearing in half. Nevertheless, it was loud enough to make him flinch, and he sensed Noruff cringing behind him. Instead of the sharp cracking of wood, the noise resembled the rapid separation of multiple fibers in dense cords. It was like the tearing of sticks along the length of the now parting appendage.
The tree’s movements were definitely not quick, but any movement from a tree seemed incredibly rapid to Jarow since trees were supposed to obviously be rooted in place. His mind tried to wrap around the fact that he was watching a plant, a giant tree, uproot itself and move. The two ideas seemed completely contradictory.
He couldn’t seem to find words. His mind refused to accept what he saw, and therefore his body refused to function. He knew he should act in some fashion, that he shouldn’t just stand here while the thing that was supposed to be immobile decided to walk away from him, because he couldn’t bring himself to accept his new reality, but that is exactly what happened.
The other leg moved, and the tree pulled its other foot out of the ground. Jarow thought of them as feet because he had no other words to describe what would be at the end of what his mind determined to be legs. The actual foot part couldn’t be seen as it was surrounded completely by roots that jutted out in random directions with dark soil covering the entire structure.
Within the span of several moments, the tree stood before them. “Hello, friends. I am Orrobotonoo-Fodaamoloroobo. But you may call me Orro.” The tree said to them. A strange melodic rhythm accompanied the tree’s introduction, followed by a strange crackle coming from deep within the voice-hole; which Jarow’s brain registered as a chuckle.
A sound also came from Jarow's mouth after hearing the tree give its name. Jarow wasn’t sure if he had actually said the words or if they had been placed there by someone else. “I am Jarow, and he is Noruff.”
“Well met, Jarow. Well met, Noruff.” The echoey melodic voice greeted them. “How do you come to be here, if I may ask? It has been a long time since I have had visitors.”
Jarow’s brain was finally starting to catch back up. Although he couldn’t completely reconcile himself with a living and talking plant, he could see that it did, in fact, have intelligence.
“We actually just arrived here. We escaped from the Fading Divide. Xinpo brought us here,” he managed to say, holding the key aloft as if Orro would understand that by Xinpo, he meant this key he held. For some reason, Jarow’s brain didn’t feel the need to explain further, assuming this creature, whatever it was, would either be interested enough to ask what he meant, or be intelligent enough to already know.
Orro bent his trunk and brought his eye down to the level where Jarow held the key. The pupil had finally contracted to a smaller size, and the tree focused its eye at Xinpo.
A twinge of fear shot up Jarow’s spine. He wondered if showing Xinpo to this being was a mistake. He focused on Orro with his Extra Perception and saw the powerful aura that radiated from him.
It was as if an emerald and golden flower of immense size and density blossomed out from behind this creature. He had never seen an aura so thick and defined before. Not only did it encompass the entirety of the tree but stretched far up into the air above him.
“Oh. A dimensional being. That explains the portal,” Orro told them after a moment of analyzing Xinpo. “I haven’t seen one of these in millennia. But I haven’t really moved from here in millennia either. Isn’t this place magical?”
The tree spread its limbs wide in an arc to encompass the entire world surrounding them. The fingers, or smaller branches, splayed out, and leaves rustled with the moving of the branches through the air. A smell wafted over the plateau, speaking of life and relaxation, sweet and hearty.
“You… You know what a dimensional being is?” Jarow finally managed to stammer out. He had gone through many different emotions and states of mind in this rapid turn of events. The stress of the situation finally caught up and held his tongue in knots.
“Why yes, young dwarf,” Orro said and stood to its full height again. “Dimensional beings often take the forms of inordinate objects. They are bestowed only upon those whose fate is of import in some way. Which means you are someone interesting. Please, sit and tell me of your tale.”
In a strange and very awkward motion of limbs and trunk, Orro managed to move himself into a sitting position upon the ground. Its limb swept along the moss in a motion that Jaroow took as an invitation for him to sit as well.
“I am interested to hear what this being knows of my kind suzerain. I suggest we take advantage of his experience,” Xinpo spoke into Jaroow’s mind with a hint of excitement.
“I agree. I can see his aura, and it’s immense. We would be foolish not to listen and learn from him.”
“Noruff. Let’s sit and talk for a while,” Jarow spoke to his Quigza companion who still stood behind him and shivered. “There’s no need to be afraid.”
A small shaky voice came from near Jarow's knees. “But, I tried to pee on him.”
Jarow couldn’t help but begin laughing. His huge guffaw took both Orro and Noruff by surprise. He doubled over as he moved towards where Orro had motioned.
“May I inquire as to the source of your jocularity?” Orro asked as Jarow basically fell to the ground.
It took a few moments for Jarow to finally center himself enough to speak again.
“Oh… Sorry. It seems my friend here attempted to mark you as his territory,” Jarow finally managed to say around his giggles.
Norruf smacked the dwarf hard on the back.
The bark above the eye of Orro lifted as if what Jarow had just said was unknown to him.
Noruff looked at the tree and whimpered a small, “I’m Sorry.”
It took a moment, but Orro finally figured out what marking territory meant and began to laugh as well. The strange grating sound from before was once again heard, this time louder and more distinct, a loud booming projection.
“Small one. I am an Oonja. A living tree. Birds roost in my branches. Small mammals scurry up my trunk and along my limbs. I have been the recipient of so much waste in my life that a small amount of urine from you would be truly inconsequential.”
The answer took Jarow by surprise. He had assumed Orro was laughing at the Quigza’s dog-like mannerisms as he had been. The more he thought about what Orro meant, the more he felt as though the way this being thought about life was completely alien to his own way of interpreting things.
Noruff had taken residence behind Jaroow’s back. He wasn’t quivering as badly, but there was some small grumbling coming from behind him. He decided he too would be a little upset if he had been the recipient of such mocking.
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Once the laughter had died down and the three of them seemed relativelty comfortable, Jarow began his story. He told the Oonja of how he awoke without memories in a strange place, which he had learned from Noruff was called the Fading Divide.
“Yes. I have heard of this place. I have never heard of someone returning from there, though,” Orro told them, but there was a slight unfocusing of the Oonja’s eye as he said this part. Jarow mentally took note and wondered if there was something else going on with Orro's statement.
At this point, Jarow had to decide if he was going to add his body changes or not. He couldn’t see any way around it, though, not if he wanted to tell the story in its entirety and gather what information he could from this ancient being.
Jarow continued his story but paused after telling of finding his own previous body. Orro didn’t say anything or make any other unusual glances, so Jarow continued. He told him of the deadly flower and waking as an elf.
The Oonja still made no motion of speaking or looking at Jarow in an unusual manner, indeed the Oonja’s eye never wavered. Jarow was unsure if had simply imagined the look from before. He finally came to the point of his story where they walked through the portal and wound up here.
“And that is how we came to be here,” Jarow ended his story.
Noruff had finally come to relax a little and sat cross-legged next to Jarow. They looked up at the tree and waited. There were small movements coming from the single eye with its dark brown iris, but nothing else moved.
They sat and waited longer. Still no response or movement. “Hello? Orro?” Jarow finally asked after several minutes of silence from the tree person.
The eye instantly jumped back into focus and stared at them. The Oonja apparently didn’t need to blink. The bark never moved over the glossy organ.
“Very fascinating,” Orro finally spoke. There was no emotion or hint of excitement in the tone of his voice. Jarow didn’t know what to say or do next. Orro didn’t give any clues, and Jarow’s story had come to its conclusion. So they sat in an awkward silence.
Noruff was the first to move. He lifted his hind leg and scratched behind his ear. The large eye shifted and watched the strange motion.
“Is Xinpo hungry?” Orro asked out of the blue.
The question took Jarow by surprise. He had, of course, talked about Xinpo and his abilities in his story but never imagined this creature would associate his absorption ability as hunger.
“Actually, suzerain, I am quite famished,” Xinpo said in Jarow’s mind as a response.
Jaroow looked down at the key in astonishment. “You get hungry?”
“I don’t think hunger is the correct term, but yes. I enjoy absorbing different substances and look forward to absorbing more,” Xinpo explained.
Jarow looked up at the large eye which had shifted from Noruff to himself. “Well, I guess so, he says he is.”
“Splendid,” Orro said louder than normal and brought a branch over to the startled individuals. The limb shifted, and a single branch moved to hover over Jarow’s head. From the branch, a glossy red fruit hung.
“I would be honored to contribute,” Orro said again, this time in a less offensive volume. “Please take this Ponna.”
Jarow assumed the name of the fruit was Ponna and that Orro was offering but wanted to make sure before reaching up and grabbing the dangly fruit.
“This is a Ponna?” Jarow asked and pointed up.
“Yes. Take it for Xinpo.”
“Please, suzerain. I look forward to absorbing the offered fruit,” Xinpo said with great desire in his mind.
Jarow wondered why Xinpo hadn’t shown such desires before or hadn’t seemed to care about the fruit earlier when Orro was still just a tree. He raised an eyebrow and contemplated but gently plucked the fruit from the offered branch.
“Excellent!” Orro said and moved the branch from above their heads. There were several other Ponna along other branches, but since they weren’t offered, Jarow decided not to ask about them.
Xinpo transformed into his dagger form as Jarow had been reaching up to grab the fruit. Before Jarow could even bring the Ponna back down, Xinpo was quivering in his lap with excitement.
The entire situation made Jarow feel a little off. He looked at Noruff who had fallen asleep, his head lay over his left leg. He would find no help from him. He looked at the large eye of Orro again. He couldn’t discern any deception or any other emotions from the almost statuesque being.
Xinpo quivered with anticipation, so Jarow didn’t want to disappoint him. He picked up the dagger in his left hand and used his right hand to press the fruit onto the tip of the blade.