Silly Plots 5: Simply for the birds

[Shadowcaller]

Double Date

Jim nods to Batu and Div.
"I've been under the influence of Jaahlyn's powers before. I promise you that they're safe." he assures them.

[Double Date]

Batu doesn't look any less flustered than before, but now he's also uncertain. Still...

"If you say so, then I trust you," he tells Jim, looking to Div to see if he agrees.

[Double Date]

"Well... okay!" Div manages. This didn't sound so bad. He wished singing was so easy normally! Safety wasn't really a concern to begin with. Jaahlyn seemed perfectly harmless, and he trusts both Jim and Batu. "Let's do it!"

Double Date

Jaahlyn smiles widely as she raises her hand to her chest. "Thanks for trusting me guys, it means a lot. Really." Most people just looked at her eyes and assumed they couldn't trust her.

The nexus had been quite different in that regard.

"But come on then, let's go and meet Radigal." She gestures for them to come along and skips further along the road which seems to curve up the hill like a snake considering how many turns they have to take.

Eventually, after about ten more minutes of walking, they round another curve in the road and there it is. The ruins of what once seems to have been a grand building. Iconic columns raise into the sky but has either no roof to hold or have partly been broken themselves.

Nonetheless they still manage to form the rectangular shape of what might once have been a temple judging by the statues of either nude or near nude humans which decorate its interior. They are like the
columns in a state of disrepair. Some simply a pair of legs while others just have a few scratches on them.

"Fantastic, isn't it? Reminds me so much of home." Jaahlyn comments before making her way past the columns that seem to mark what probably was the entrance.

In the middle of the ruined structure they can now see a huge lion resting upon a big stone slab. There's a larger statue behind the slab depicting a human woman holding a brazier and a stone shovel in her hands which are outstretched to her sides. As its approaching noon neither the statue nor the columns cast much of a shadow allowing the lion to bath in the light of the midday sun, seemingly enjoying itself quite a bit as its lazily laying on its back.

From this perspective they get quite a good look at it and might notice some unusual traits, even if the group have ever seen one before. It's mane a brownish shade of red while the rest of its fur almost seem to glimmer in the sunlight like it had been made of gold. It also seem unusually large even for a male lion but not drastically so. It probably simply seems like the largest lion the group has ever seen.

Jaahlyn pauses for a moment as if considering her options before she slowly approaches the lion on the slab. "Radigal?" The satyr coos softly.

Without opening his eyes or indeed move anything but his mouth the lion replies in a deep bombastic tone that's in sharp contrast to Jaahlyn's attempt at softness. "Yeeess?"

The satyr seem somewhat relieved at the response and continues. "It is I, Jaahlyn." She courtesies before the lion which lazily starts to open one of its eyes.

"So it is." The lion confirms as he closes his eye again, seemingly already satisfied with what he's seen. "But you have crafters with you rather than snakes or rats." It sounds more like a statement than a question but Jaahlyn seems inclined to answer it anyway.

"I left the rats at home and the snakes are no more. I'm free. The latter a cause of celebration don't you think?"

This probably seems like pure nonsense to Div and Batu but Jim might suspect what this is about.

The lion turns to his side, turning his back to them. "I suppose, yes. Much earlier than I would have expected." He sounds like he's mulling something over in his head. "But who are these crafters within my presence? Let me hear their voices and desires loud and clear."

Jaahlyn turns her head and looks expectingly at the others before looking back at the lion as if afraid to really turn her back to him despite his relaxed state.