Nomusa Nuru
Nomusa Nuru's Theme
AppearanceRace: Human
Age: 18
Height: 6' Feet 1" inches
Weight: 185 pounds
Eyes: Light Brown
Hair: Black
Facial hair: None
Personality:
Health: Healthy
Deity: Ubtao
Alignment: Neutral Good
Base Class: Druid/Sorcerer
Developement: Druid (6)/Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep (10)/ Sorcerer (9)/ Thaumaturgist (5)
Languages: Tabaxi, Common, Goblin, and Sylvan
Weapon: Quarter Staff
Epilogue:
The zombies and batiri warriors shambled onward three abreast under the intense jungle heat penetrating through the treetop canopy. Scores of men, woman, and children were in iron shackles that bind thier hands and feet together. The iron, which was uncommon in these parts and more than likely imported from the north, dug into the captives skin slowly over time producing rashes and painful blisters as they were force marched toward an unknown destination. Dried tear trails lined the many unwashed faces as the captives plod on with most of the Tabaxi slaves looking downward for fear of receiving a lashing or worse. Many of the slaves had already witnessed what happens to those too exhausted to continue on. The weak were usually beaten to death and then raised as zombies to join the ranks.
The procession of slavers, slaves, zombies, and batiri warriors finally came to a stop at a massive clearing where the jungle had been stripped and left bare. The trees that once filled the land had been uprooted or snapped in half. The clearing was filled with undead zombies and skeletons hacking away at tree trucks with stone axes. Great large earth elementals lumbered along uprooting trees and carrying them off to stack upon a large moving platform tied to a score of undead triceratopses. The land seemed to groan in agony as the vegetation of the area was left devoid of its usual green luster. Roughly a mile off from the edge of the clearing where the slavers were with their captives, a unholy sight visited the Tabaxi captives as a large foreign designed palace rested intact upon two dozen undead giant tortoises who's sole purpose was to bear the weight of the massive structure and move it as the zombies and elementals plowed a path of destruction through the jungle ahead of it.
The rear batiri guards shoved the line of Tabaxi captives forward, but one of them wouldn't budge. One of the batiri guards became irritated and hit the young man in the back with the flat of his spear knocking him down. A grimace of pain flashed upon the captive's fair features. The goblin howled, "move," in his native dialect, but the young man only replied, "no." The defiant man stood up on his feet and turned toward the batiri that shoved him earlier. The uncompromising actions of the young captive drew a crowd of batiri wielding spears and shields, as well a dozen zombies who all surrounded the defiant slave.
The batiri warrior standing in front of young man lined up his speartip to the shackled youth's throat screaming, "move or you die!" The young man shook his head slowly, completley ignoring the sharp polished obsidian tip of the spear that was only inches from his own neck. The young man replied in the batiri's own tongue, "today, you will not be rewarded for your foul deeds by Nsi. No, today you will know failure. All these good people shall soon be free from your shackles and from the evil spirits that seek to lay claim to thier labor and lives." The batiri warrior seemed confused for a moment while looking around cautiously. It was very strange for a slave to be so bold. The other Taxabi slaves looked on, a mixture of hope and dread eminated from their features. The mysterious young man continued, "You have angered the spirits of the land in your pursuit of greed. You have defiled the honorable traditions of the people and we shall tolerate your crimes no more! Show honor! Lay down your spears in the name of peace, or be prepared to be utterly consumed by nature's wraith!" The batiri warrior looked to his comrades, his confusion had now left him and he began to share in their round of laughter as they looked upon this poor stupid human.
The batiri in the forefront wiped away a tear of laughter with his hand, and without a word, lunged his spear forward toward the defiant youth's throat but it completely missed it's mark as the human rapidly melted away shapeshifting into a large golden brown striped cat standing on all fours. The shackles that once held Nomusa Nuru's hands and feet bound slipped off being bit too large now to keep his paws secured. The large cat lunged at the batiri warrior's throat and easily grasped it in his jaws as they clamped down tearing away a large fleshy chuck. The dieing batiri warrior grasped at his neck wound as he colapsed in front of his now very agitated comrades. The remaining score of batiri warriors howled in anger, "get him!" as they released their spears at the cat. A small mob of shambling zombies staggered forward with outstretched arms.
The spears were intended to hit their mark, but an invisible force field surrounding the golden cat deflected each one. Nomusa tried to flee out of the circle, but the zombies had already closed the distance and the young shapeshifter was left surrounded on all sides. A sudden movement in the undergrowth caught Nomusa's eye which was followed by a deep rattling growl. A large black panther leapt up from the dense undergrowth and slammed into a pair of zombies with it's claws raking furiously at the animated walking cadavers. A stream of arrows punched through the batiri warriors' ranks coming from a wild elf in animal leathers behind them. A few more batiri soldiers laid dying as the arrows hit vitals. Nomusa used the newly found openings in the ranks to drive through his encircling foes and reach a safer position. The large golden cat was able to bypass the batiri and zombies without incident and finally he could see his allies quite clearly.
There they were, his inner circle of druid brothers and sisters came charging in from the rear of the column of slaves and their captors. Arì Ta, the wild elf, was standing tall and proud with her longbow rapidly retracting and firing away deadly swarms of arrows. Grokon Glitterstone, the surely albino dwarf, ran forward and stopped suddenly to drop to one knee while chanting. Grokon Glitterstone hands erupted in glowing auras as he placed his them onto the ground palm down. The albino cried out, "clear!" as a massive tremor shook the ground. From where Grokon Glitterstone's hands were placed, a stream of crumbling earth spilled forward and was heading straight for Nomusa's position. The black panther, Nomusa's life long companion, sensed the danger as well and leapt from his position to safety, along with his master, just as the stream of crumbling earth slammed into the batiri and zombies ranks. The earthy stream came to a halt as it transferred it's kinetic energies into the surrounding land creating a growing rift right beneath the scores of zombies and batiri. Batiri screams filled the air as many of them tumbled away into the deep chasm breaking bones along the way.
The rest of the caravan forces were now running to join the fray with two dozen of it's forces already decimated by the druids' magics and arrows. The slavers had the advantage in numbers. Nearly 30 batiri remained along with 40 zombies. The slavers abandoned their duty of watching over the now huddled and frighten captives to turn their full attention to the three high druids. Behind this formidable force was the rest of Nsi's army of undead workers, elementals, and what looked like the entirety of the Tyrannosaurus Tribe. Ras Nsi, the Fallen Barae of Ubtao, possessed forces that were easily a thousand strong whereas the small druid guerrilla band was comprised of only three. Despite these three being some of the most powerful jungle druids in the lands, this raid would have been an impossibility. But the triad was not alone.
It wasn't more than a few fleeting moments after the initial attack by the druids when the ground started to tremble once more. From out of the jungle, a massive army of creatures representing all different shapes and sizes stampeded into the clearing heading straight for Ras Nsi's forces. Various dinosaurs, big cats, giant eagles, flying lizards, and ungluates of all kinds numbered easily a hundred alone. The second wave of attackers were made up of another hundred or so eliete warriors from a few neighboring villages willing to supply some man power to stop Nsi's nefarious plotting once and for all. Mixed in with the Tabaxi fighters, who were fully dressed up in their war paint, were about twenty albino dwarfs and most of them were riding massive triceratopses.
As the jungles combined forces rushed in to clash with Ras Nsi's evil army, Nomusa made his way to the other two druids and shape shifted back into his tall and slim human form awaiting further orders. Arì Ta, the wild elf, notched two arrows quickly and fired them into a batiri that wandered in too close to the three companions. Grokon Glitterstone huffed, "blast ye dern longshank! Ye were supposed ta wait fer our signal before engaging." The pale pink eyed dwarf continued to survey the battle when his eyes widened. "There! Look! It's Nsi!" the albino bellowed pointing to the "walking palace". A well dressed and heavily muscled ebony skinned man in northern styled attire stood on the palace balcony with two robed monks on either side of him. Grokon Glitterstone further commented, "see if ye can get into position to pick the Mad Tyrant off. With him dead, it will likely break the curse on the undead and throw the batiri into a panic."
The three great druids moved quickly added by Nomusa's haste spell. Some of the druids' allies provided cover and cleared a path for the three through dozens of undead and batiri warriors. All around Nomusa, the carnage of battle echoed in his ears. A albino dwarf riding a triceratops was smashing into a whole rank of zombies flinging limbs and bodies off to either side in it's wake. The dwarf was so far into the frenzy of battle, whooping and swinging his battle axe in great circles over his head, that he missed the massive looming shadow overtaking him and his mount. Nomusa cried out, "by Ubtao's grace! Watch out!" But it was too late, the gargantuan earth elementals weighty foot came crashing down upon dwarf and mount. The dwarf was instantly pulverized. The force of the blow easily broke the back of the large reptilian beast underneath as the triceratops plowed face first into the ground twitching in its final death throes.
Nomusa turned away from the sight quickly, he couldn't bare to watch it any longer. The battle field was quickly turing chaotic as the three companions neared the walking fortress just in arrow's shot away. The lithe elven archer chanted as she touched an arrow that burst into magical flames. Arì Ta quickly lined up the shot, taking aim at Ras Nsi's chest. The legendary dogged foe of the Eshowe didn't even seem to notice the three companions, nor his two mysterious skull-masked bodyguards. The Master of Undead watched the ensuing battle and belted out orders to his ground commanders with his thick arms confidently crossed over his chest.
Arì Ta closed her eyes and let the enchanted fiery arrow fly, it's blazing streak of light caught the attention of many in the battlefield who paused a brief moment to watch it's flight. Ras Nsi's attention was still squarly focused on a completely different area of the field and he didn't even see the arrow. With the fiery arrow having made it's way to Ras Nsi, he couldn't help but look down and smile with surprise at the still vibrating arrow clutched in the hand of one of his skull-masked body guards. Ras Nsi quickly turned his attention to the three druids no more than a 100 yards off from his position and gave them a curious scowling glare. The fallen Mezro Guardian pointed the companions out as his two masked assistants turned away to head back inside the palace.
The Circle of the Broken Spear quickly moved away from its location calling on allies near to clear a path for the companions toward Ras Nsi's "walking fortress". Nomusa hasted the small contingent force as it barreled into a mob of batiri and undead warriors. The skirmish was intense with both sides taking heavy losses, but the companions forces eventually prevailed and opened up a clear path for the druids to make their way inside the strange and horrid fortress. A few pterodactyls swooped in to act as mounts and carried the small strike force directly above Ras Nsi's central chambers located in the middle of the palace. The vaulted ceiling of Fallen Paladin's central hall was made up of a mosaic of beautiful stained glass windows that were quickly smashed into tiny shards as the massive flying reptiles dove into the chamber to deliver their parcels.
The fight inside Ras Nsi's Palace
Theme
The three druids quickly hopped off the pterodactyls with Nomusa shapeshifting into the large golden striped cat once again, Grokon Glitterstone pulling off a finely crafted dwarven battle axe off his belt, and Arì Ta knocking up a few more arrows while looking around with her keen elven senses on full alert. Arì Ta would need them, for not a few moments after the companions slid off the flying mounts, Arì Ta screamed toward Grokon Glitterstone, "behind you!" It was too late as a skull-masked man stepped out of nowhere and delivered a palm strike that hit the unsuspecting dwarf square in his back, the shockwave of the blow seemed to flow right through the backside his breast plate as if he had nothing but clothing on. The monk didn't even seem to touch the albino. Grokon Glitterstone stood frozen and erect for a moment before falling over stiff like a massive tree trunk. A white ooze seeped from Grokon Glitterstone lips as it started to trail down one of his bare ruddy pink cheeks; the dwarfs eyes went glossy indicating death had taken hold. The skull-masked monk retracted his palm, which was still quivering, and gazed at the remaining two druids with the calmness of a professional killer. Arì Ta let out a high pitched scream as she released her arrows at Grokon Glitterstone's killer. The enchanted arrows shrieked as they made their way across the room, but the monk was quick and sidestepped one arrow while spinning around with a crescent kick to knock the other arrow out of it's destined path and into a wall nearby with a thud. Nomusa's cat ears perked up and he swung around to face an hidden attacker. Nomusa drew upon the powers of the weave, his golden eyes burst into spellfire as a swarm of magic missiles slammed into seemingly empty air. All of a sudden, the other skull-masked was revealed as he was sent flying across the room to slam into a opposing wall of the square chamber. The first monk quickly vanished into the shadows just as a second volley of Arì Ta's arrows flew toward him.
One of the large set of double doors in the audience chamber crashed open as Ras Nsi burst through, his face full of vengeance and anger as he gazed upon the two remaining intruders. The Fallen Paladin's finely crafted northern long sword was already in his hand. "You have dared to come into my fortress and assault my minions!? You will know the folly of your actions, druids! The Eshowe still remain! It is my duty to hunt them down and exterminate them all. And yet here you are trying to stop me from dealing out justice, too stubborn and full of pride to see the greater maize for what it is. The lands of Ubtao will never be home to Mezro's enemies, nor the foreign dogs that seek to pillage our lands for their own uses. Without me, Mezro will not survive long!" The Fallen Paladin of Ubtao uttered a few words calling upon a dark blessing that lit up his sword with purple negative energy swirls. Arì Ta exclaimed, "you are a fool, a terribly misguided fool! You seek to hunt down the vile Eshowe, but to do so you have created a vile army that has created more havoc than the enemies you wish to replace them with. You seek to keep the foreigners out, and yet you work with the worst of them selling off the land's people as slaves and pillaging it's precious resources to fund your zealous quest. You claim to be Mezro's protector, and yet you terrorize it's men, women, and children with your horde of vile undead. You are no ritcheous guardian of the lands Ras Nsi, you're it's enemy and your tyranny ends tonight foul beast!"
Nomusa cast haste as Arì Ta knocked up another two arrows and took aim at the Fallen Guardian letting them loose. Ras Nsi's sword arm flashed as the two arrows were sent screaming past him being completely deflected. One of the hidden monks lunged in with a flying kick aimed at the wild elf, but Arì Ta was able to duck away and fire two more volleys of arrows at Ras Nsi as Nomusa conjured up another missile storm of death that slammed into the other skull-masked monk knocking him back. That monk soon vanished behind a pillar. Ras Nsi was able to deflect most the arrows from Arì Ta second attack but one got through his defences and stuck the Fallen One in his shoulder as he let out a furious yell.
Ras Nsi charged Arì Ta with the speed of professional sprinter deftly dodging some arrows while swating away others. Arì Ta stood her ground fireing rapidly at Ras Nsi when one of the skull-masked monks suddenly attacked her with a furry of strikes that put the wild elf on her heels. The deadly archer used her enchanted oak longbow to deflect the monks combinations of blinding unarmed strikes, but this allowed Ras Nsi cover to close the distance. Ras Nsi was soon upon Arì Ta cutting and slashing with epic precision. The swift attacks form the skull-masked monk and Ras Nsi sent the wild elf into a tactical retreat as she turned and raced to a more defensible position.
The situation was confusing. The skull-masked monk who had been engaged in direct battle with the shapeshifter now saw multiple images of the golden cat. Nomusa's ears perked up just as his attacker came at him with a flurry of hand strikes that landed true. To the monks surprise, the copy of the cat was just a simple illusion that winked out of existence the moment he struck it. The various images of Nomusa spun around and attemped to call up another storm of missiles just as the skull-masked monk worked his way to another image of Nomusa to deliver a flying knee. This was no image, however, the monk's strike landed true as his knee buried into the golden cats very real snout, interrupting Nomusa's spell, and sending the cat skidding backwards. Out of sheer reflexes, Nomusa lunged at the monk but the unarmed fighter was too quick. The dark robed monk closed the distance in a blinding instance and struck with his palm. The full force and momentum of the monk's body went behind the blow knocking the air out Nomusa's lungs and sending him falling backwards rolling upon the floor.
The wild elf led her two pursuers to a corner of the room, and at full running speed, the elf lept high into the air to literally wall-walk the side of the chamber firing another barrage of arrows at Ras Nsi's and the monk's feet backing them up a bit. Arì Ta used this fleeting moment of reprieve to call upon her druidic magics and summon a planar earth elemental servant. The massive earth elemental stepped out of the portal, its bulky humanoid body groaned and creaked as it lifted it's two massive arms overhead and immediately reversed them to come crashing down upon the wild elf's pursuers with a huge double fisted clubbing blow. Ras Nsi and his body guard lept to either side of the massive fists as they came slamming down with enough force to crack the polished mable floor beneath.
Nomusa shapeshifted back into his natural human form, still out of breath, and slowly crawling away from his own pursuer as one of the monks calmly followed the now helpless druid. The monk lept up into the air to come crashing down upon Nomusa with a finishing blow, when all of a sudden, a fiery arrow slammed into the back of the monks thigh. This interrupted the skull masked monk's attack as he limply fell to the floor cursing. Nomusa finaly regained his senses and reached into his fine leather leathers to find a scroll which he unfolded and read aloud. The scroll crumbled into dust in Nomusa's hands as his form seems to spread out into a cloud of fine mist. The skull-masked monk was finally able to sit up, snap the protruding arrow on one side of his leg, and pull the other piece of the arrow shaft out of the meat in his leg. The body guard was then able to stand up, though a bit hobbled, and reached in his satchel to pull out a aweful smelling liquid substance trapped inside a flask. The monk quickly drank the substance and tossed the empty flask aside to smash upon the floor as his bleeding wound seemed to close up immediately.
Ras Nsi charged Arì Ta once again with the elemental chasing after the one of the skull-masked monks. Arì Ta turned her attention from Nomusa's location to the large ebony man charging her with his sword drawn high into the air. The wild elf fired two more quick shots at Ras Nsi before he was able to close the distance again. The Fallen Paladin leapt into he air with a great downward slashing strike. Arì Ta held her bow up with both hands to intercept Ras Nsi's sword. Arì Ta's bow was crafted from a branch of the mightiest and most sacred oak tree in all of Ubtao's realm. On top of this, the bow was blessed by the twelve druid elders with various enchantments. The mighty longbow held up against Ras Nsi's mighty swing producing magical sparks as the two epic weapons collided.
The monk who was fighting Nomusa, stared at the mist for a moment before twisting his head from one side to the other popping his neck in the process. He knew from experience that he would not be able to touch Nomusa in this form. With a heavy sigh, Nomusa's tormentor turned his attention to the rampaging elemental. Nomusa was cloaked in a sanctuary-like spell. If the shape-shifter attacked in any way, he would be left open to retaliation and he was in no shape to defend himself at this point. The shape-shifter floated over to the construct and applied some more enchantments to boost it's ability.
The elemental seemed to have no regard for the chambers decor as it smashed through every table, chair, and even a pillar or two in it's dogged pursuit of one of the skull-masked monks. The monk leapt from table to table evading the gargantuan brutes earthy fists and was doing reasonably well, when all of a sudden, the elemental caught up to him and swung one of it's mighty club like arms in a wide arch. The elemental's arm smashed through every furniture piece in it's path before belting the monk, who was in the middle of an aerial leap, and sending him flying off to smash onto the floor. The monk continued to slide on the polished marble floor due to the momentum of the elemental's hit to stop right in front of his brother's feet. The standing monk chortled with unrepressed mirth at his brothers plight adding with some insult, "no time for sleeping brother." The floored monk got up surprisingly quick, and seemed to glare at the other skull-masked monk for a silent moment before turning toward something that needed more of his attention. The massive earth elemental wasn't done with it's pursuit of him and it was barreling down upon the two monks with it's mighty fists raised high. The monks looked to each other once more and nodded before running forward to meet the construct.
Ras Nsi pinned the wild elf down to one knee with his overwhelming strength as his blade leaned hard against Arì Ta's enchanted great bow. Ras Nsi spit between clentched teeth, "Are you ready to die brash child? I have been around for centuries; one of Ubtao's first chosen. Do you really think you could just barge in here and kill me so easily?!" Arì Ta arms were giving out and quivering from all the stress put on them, but her eyes burned with such determination that it gave Ras Nsi pause. The wild druid simply stared at Ras Nsi before kicking at his shin with a boot and pushing the fallen paladin back a step. A quick sweep of her bow brought it smashing against the side Ras Nsi's face as she quickly faded back. Ras Nsi shook his head, a dark bluish bruise now evident on his face. The Fallen Barae came right back at the wild elf with a furry of thrusting and slashing strikes. Arì Ta kept the Fallen Paladin's strikes at bay by blocking them with her bow, finding opportunities to tumble away with grace, and firing rapidly within point blank range.
The two monks worked together almost flawlessly. While one distracted the elemental's attacks, the other attacked the construct at it's weaknesses. The monks attacks seemed supernatural, their fists where as hard as iron and dug into the tough exterior of the elemental knocking off chucks of earth with every strike. The elemental kept up it's attempts at squashing the monks under it's feet and swatting them with it's lumbering arms, but it was too slow for the all too quick brothers. The attacks on the elementals joints proved effective and the monstrous creature began to teeter as one of it's legs gave out. As the elemental struggled to stay up, it slipped and stumbled into a pillar knocking it down. The first pillar slammed into a another pillar which then began to fall upon two particular combatants, the wild elf and Ras Nsi.
Ras Nsi's sword slashed left then right with the latter maneuver drawing a blood as it dug into Arì Ta's leathers easily enough leaving an open wound across the wild elf's midsection. Ras Nsi himself was injured with a shoulder wound and his clothing was torn to shreds with all arrows that narrowly missed him. The two were in the middle of trying to kill each other when a large shadow loomed above them ominously. As the two stopped to look up, their eyes widened and both leapt to the opposite sides of the falling pillar. The pillar hit the nearst wall first blowing a huge hole into the solid stone as Ras Nsi and Arì Ta covered their eyes from all the blowback of the debris. The debris from the impact shot out the side of the wall and out onto the battle field where it rained down shards of stone death upon Ras Nsi's forces. The now crumbled pillar was the only thing that stood between the wild elf and the Fallen Guardian of Mezro.
Each stared at the other with both respect and seething hatred. Arì Ta lifted up her bow quickly to fire at Ras Nsi, but a unforeseen commotion outside to the occupants inside caused the whole palace to rock and lean heavily. Arì Ta didn't have time to line up the shot before she was rocked off her feet and onto the floor. The wild elf was then sent skidding across the marbled floor toward the blasted hole in the large chamber. Ras Nsi was able to grasp the remainder of the broken pillar still anchored and held onto it to prevent himself from sliding down. Nomusa was immune to gravity's effects in his current state. The shapeshifter's mist form scanned the room looking for Grokon Glitterstone's body, but he was unable to locate it amongst all the wreckage. The monks too were nowhere to be seen. The wild elf looked around desperately for anything to hold onto, she was not about to let this ancient villain get away when she was so close to him. However, the smooth marble floor offered Arì Ta nothing to grab onto and so her decent was hastened until she literally spilled out of the walking palace free falling down into battle field below.
Nomusa panicked, he knew his mentor was in great trouble. Not only from the fall, but also what she would be falling into. Ras Nsi's palace was most likely still surrounded by a very large contingent of his forces. The Circle of the Broken Spear's plan was to find a way to storm Ras Nsi's palace and take him out, not to take on all his forces head on. Ras Nsi's strength in an open battle playing field was far superior to that of the Circle's. Nomusa could already hear the Tabaxi drums sounding off a call for retreat as he rushed after Arì Ta. Nomusa couldn't help her in his current form, but he could try to be there when she landed. As Nomusa's mist form neared the edge of the large opening in Ras Nsi's audience chamber, the entire palace structure seemed to level off all of a sudden and correct itself once again as the lumbering undead torteisis underneath where back in step. Looking down, the shapeshifter spotted Arì Ta just as she landed on a pack of zombies crushing them under her momentum and luckily breaking her fall a bit.
Arì Ta landed on her back with a thud and heard numerous snapping/popping sounds from the grotesque bodies lying underneath her. The Wild Elf wondered for a moment if some of those sounds were her own bones breaking, but that thought was soon dispelled when a circle of grimy and discolored outstretched arms came into her field of vision. Adrenaline rushed through Arì Ta blood as she leaped up on her feet with the grace of a panther and felt she had no debilitating pain or injuries. The wild elf's bow was still clutched in her hand as she drew it back and fired several shots in rapid secession while turning clockwise in a circle. Although her bow was enchanted with unlimited magical arrows, Arì Ta knew she could not last very long behind enemy lines and would soon be overrun by undead. As the wild elf blasted the walking dead with her arrows, she looked desperately for anything that could help her escape. From above she spied a column of fine mist descending down to her from above.
Nomusa's mist form settled down beside Arì Ta just as the spell faded and Nomusa reverted back into his human form. Nomusa was barely holding onto consciousness, the epic fight in Ras Nsi's fortress pushed him to his limits. The shapeshifter felt light headed and dizzy and collapsed beside Arì Ta who was still trying to keep the hordes of undead troops at bay. Nomusa vision started to blur with his last remaining image of the conscious world being that of a huge eagle swooping down toward him with talons fully extended.
Background:
The Land of Chult is said to be one of the most dangerous places in all the realms. The land of dinosaurs is teeming with poisonous insects and snakes that can kill fully grow men instantly. Even the fauna here can trap a whole man alive and devour him slowly over days. Wild bands of batiri roam the jungle floor where the light rarely shines even in the daylight hours due to the high tree top canopy that acts as a natural ceiling.
The sun's heat can be intense in or out of the shade. Foreign explorers from the north regularly find it hard to navigate the steamy terrain without magical aid or a Tabaxi guide. If the poison, heat, or stinging insects carrying parasites don't bring you down, finding enough fresh water to replace spent reserves can seem impossible. And finally one can not forget to mention the large warm bloodied reptilian like creatures called dinosaurs that roam the lands.
The dinosaurs are Ubtao's children as the locals call them. The Tabaxi are proud people who inhabit the lands of Chult from the steamy jungles, to the more arid savannas East of the fabled city of Menzro. The natives tend to be taller than their Northern counter parts with longer limbs and ebony skin. The people here are nature wise and seek to live in harmony with the lands that sustain them. They worship the great creator and/or the various spirits of the land in relative peace and are mostly unconcerned about material wealth.
The lands of Chult may be mostly unsettled and explored, but many "civilized" ports and cities along the northern coast boast trade with various Northern powers and merchant companies. The southern areas remain occupied by the more rural Tabaxi. This story begins deep within the jungles 200 miles south of the great city of Mezro nestled in between Lake Luo and the Swamp of Sorrows. The Tawa Tribe was the most influential one in the area and usually was the one the other tribes looked to for guidance when dealing with larger issues that affected the larger territory as a whole. Like many Taxabi tribes, the Tawa Tribe moved around to various home sights in order to avoid depleting the soil and the animals that they depended on for sustenance. The Tawa tribe was especially in tune with nature, seeking to work with Ubtao's children in harmonious ways and even had many jungle worshiper druids within its clan.
Nomusa Nuru was the 2nd son of Chioma and Atieno. Nomusa mother was the village medicine woman and his father was once a great hunter but has since retired due to old age and now sits on the tribal elder council. Nomusa had a normal life by Tabaxi standards, even though his parents held important positions within the village of roughly twenty families, his parents afforded Nomusa no special privileges. It was a common wisdom in these parts that pride and privilege led to evil and selfish acts. Everyone in the village were treated as equals with no exceptions. Even those in positions of authority only held a claim to that authority as long as they could be convincing and had a great amount of experience in a particular area.
All Taxabi children are trained in the traditional Tabaxi hunting and warfare techniques at an early age and Nomusa was no different. Children were often put through trials out in the jungle in order to adapt them to the dangers they would have to face until they left this realm to join Ubtao in the afterlife. Nomusa developed exceptional tracking, hunting, and foraging skills and seemed to have an uncanny nature sense. Weapons never really interested Nomusa very much although he did go through the training as was expected of all village boys. Nomusa more closely associated with the druids than the warriors within his village. There were three female druids from the Circle of the Broken Spear that lived around the village offering their wisdom to the council of elders on all things belonging to the wilds.
Nomusa would find excuses and skip out on chores in order to go on long treks through the jungles in the druids' company. As young Nomusa matured, he showed an even greater affinity with the nature all around him and was invited to join the Circle of the Broken Spear at the youthful age of fourteen years. It wasn't long before the spirits of Ubtao sought to bless the young man with very rare gifts and super natural powers like the ability to take on animal forms. While this alone was enough to distinguish Nomusa from many of his cohorts, Nomusa seemed to also process a natural ability to harness arcane energies naturaly. Arcane magics in most Tabaxi societies was very strictly regulated with only a few individuals ever being officially sanctioned to practice the art. Luckily for Nomusa, his village was much more relaxed with its regulations on arcane magics. Nomusa's people found his talents useful in manufacturing potions for ceremonies and creating empowering concoctions for warriors during times when the defense of the village was necessary.
The Circle of the Broken Spear Nomusa belonged to was always on the lookout for dangers that threatened the land or it's peoples' well being. The most elder of the circle, Adisa Oluchi, received word from his animal spies that Ras Nsi and his undead army were moving through the area leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Several Tabaxi villages had been raided and burned to the ground with very few people being able to escape. Reports of slaves being rounded up and sold to foreign powers was also noted. Adisa Oluchi called a meeting of the circle one late night to set out a plan to rid themselves of Ras Nsi's vileness. The old Taxabi elder looked concerned about what hope they would have of stopping Ubtoa's Fallen Paladin when Arì Ta raised her voice to offer a risky plan. The wild elf quickly explained her plan to round up enough of a strike force to distract Ras Nsi's army long enough for a few elite warriors to slip in and kill him. Adisa Oluchi looked skeptical about the plan and even called it foolish. However, as the meeting grew late, and no other viable plan of action was offered, the old white haired Adisa Oluchi reluctantly approved Arì Ta's plan but stopped short of ordering any of his fellows to be apart of the small guerrilla force. The Circle of the Broken Spear's elder promised to raise a suitable force to distract Ras Nsi's forces which were rumored to number more than a thousand strong.
Arì Ta stepped into the middle of the circle and was given the chance to ask for volunteers. A long anxious silence swept over the druid circle as the twelve members looked to each other, and then back to the elf clearly showing their was not much enthusiasm in joining a possible suicide mission. Nomusa stepped forward to bow to his most trusted mentor offering, "if it's my mentor's wish to dive head first into the beasts jaws, I shall accompany her gladly and with no reservations." Nomusa looked to the elders of the circle who merely nodded giving him the go ahead. Arì Ta eyes shot to each druid in the circle as she angrily spat, "I know I have not been the most favored in this circle, and I have in the past angered many of you with my decisions, but this is not the time for pettiness! Ras Nsi's forces have already decimated three villages and maybe yours is next."
The wild elf continued to scan the circle but found none but a few of the elders even dared to look at her. Arì Ta started to nod slowly and tossed down her bow in anger. The wild elf started to storm off presumably to some place alone and perhaps scream about her frustrations, but she was taken aback by a very unlikely supporter. This particular druid certainly stood out against his darker skinned brethren. First, he was a dwarf, and second, he was one of the "whitemen", as the Tabaxi called them, which were albino dwarves who migrated to the lands of Chult many centuries ago to settle deep down in the mines located throughout Ubtao's lands. Grokon Glitterstone had always been critical of Arì Ta, and would have been the last person she would have ever expected to offer his services. The stalky dwarf bellowed, "if that narrow arse elf thinks she's going ta take all the glory fer herself and for her lil inexperienced apprentice, than I'll be an orc kissing troll! Ye won't be going alone, I'll be coming ta make sure yer arse don't do anything else stupid and that's final." The albino dwarf folded his arms with a determined look in his eyes as Arì Ta gave him a curious nod of respect. Grokon Glitterstone added, "I still don't like ye and this don't change anything." Arì Ta only offered a smile as she picked up her bow and walked off silently into the jungle depths to be alone.
Post Raid on Ras Nsi's Fortress
The Circle of the Broken Spear's raid on Ras Nsi's fortress failed in eliminating the ancient terror, but it did push him and his forces far from the area as well as free over a 100 captives. It would seem that Ras Nsi felt there was too much resistance in that area and decided there were easier pickings in the other regions of Chult. Nomusa awoke in his bed with a healer, his own mother, attending his wounds from the raid. Arì Ta carried Nomusa's unconscious body with her when the giant eagle swooped in to extract the guerrilla team out from the middle of Ras Nsi's army. Grokon Glitterstone, the albino dwarf was never found again, the circle held a very solemn and honorable funeral for the dwarf. Arì Ta went to the dwarf's ceremony and stayed up all night to, as she said in her own words, "send him off properly." The next few weeks after the raid went by without much incident but a few disturbing reports came in.
One report claimed two foreigners dressed in simple monk robes and skull-faced masks were spotted in Refugee Bay docking a ship to sail to Baldur's Gate. The same report claimed the two monks were seen with a small band of Taxabi "servants" leading the Circle of the Broken Spear to believe Ras Nsi was receiving foreign aid somehow. The circle wanted to follow the monks trail. Nomusa desperately wanted to see justice handed down to these two killers, but he also had always dreamed about traveling the world beyond Ubtao's realm and threw himself at the chance to tail the two monks much to the circles discomfort. The thought of sending an apprentice, even one as accomplished as Nomusa, made many in the circle anxious. However, because Nomusa put his life on the line for the greater good, and head-strong Arì Ta promoted Nomusa's plan to the elders so forcefully, the elders of the circle had enough incentive to allow Nomusa to proceed. The Shapeshifter was to travel abroad, track down this source of Ras Nsi's aid, and report back to the circle on his progress.
Nomusa was sent to Mezro by the village elders, a very high honor for any Taxabi, to study common for a month before beginning his travel abroad. From the safety of Mezro's walls, Nomusa traveled to Refugee Bay and boarded a vessel traveling to Waterdeep to unload its cargo before going on to Baldur's Gate harbor. From there, Nomusa hoped to be able to track down these two mysterious monks and learn more about the evil plaguing his homeland.