A nearby bush shakes violently...

Snarg slows his pace for the Burun, and after a few minutes of travel, you come across a place that is obviously 'the large tree'. There is a large clearing with a tree in the middle. There is a charcoal message on the tree reading: 'The Large Tree'.

"Left a message for myself, although I don't ... see why I thought this was a big treeor where my gear is," Snarg looks up and down the tree. "huh. Maybe I buried it?" Getting down on all fours, he begins pawing around the tree on the ground.

Zipar leaps out of Snarg's grasp and hops over to the tree. He stands close, stares in to the bark, and then begins whispering in to the side of it.

*Z had followed at a less hurried pace and is now watching Snarg root through the dirt. She stands there, arms crossed, the hem of her cloak swaying slightly. You can't tell if this movement is from the light breeze that is blowing or if she is laughing quietly.*

As Snarg moves around the area, pawing up dirt as he goes, Zipar finishes whispering to the tree and steps away. No sooner has that happened than you see something emerge from the side, folding out from the tree like jelly; something that looks eerily similar to Sumomo. It steps out and breathes in deeply before turning around to look behind it. From behind it emerges another shape that fully appears to be another Taku. The two begin chirping and chattering with Zipar very excitedly.

Snarg seems oblivious to these going-ons as he searches the area on the other side of the tree.

*Z blinks and looks in Sumomo's resting place, where was fairly certain sumomo had been snoozing.*

Sumomo is still there, continuing to rest.

At this point, Snarg has spotted the trio. "Oh, you all want to help out?" The three stop their chattering and look up at Snarg as he speaks. "Still can't find my sword, so if you see it, let me know. Found most of my stuff already." They pass glances to each other for a moment before nodding and beginning to circle the tree. There are several holes around the tree at this point where Snarg has been digging.

*Z walks over to the false Sumomo and crouches down next to it.*

The other Sumomo chirps and begins digging at the ground. Snarg bounds over and helps with the digging, eventually unearthing a greatsword. "Yep! That's it!" He roughly pats the false Sumomo and sheaths his greatsword on his back. "Whoa, a little lighter than it used to be. Guess all this combat has been working me out."

Snarg flexes a bit and then turns to Z and Sethos. "Thanks for helping me find my stuff. I don't think I'll be using any more of that drink soon, but ... keep it around, yep? Where'd you get that stuff anyway?" He closes one eye and squints at Sethos. "Wasn't you, was it? You always seem to have some sort of stuff like that on you."

*Z still crouching next to the false sumomo pokes it with her staff.*

Snarg watches Z poke 'Sumomo'. "Uh, new trick?"

The false Sumomo chitters at you happily, which although cute, sounds quite unlike any sound you've ever heard the real one make. The other copies follow suit. "Is ... it supposed to be making that sound? I haven't heard any of you do that before." Snarg peers down curiously at the copies. As he bends down, you notice that his sword is chirping as well and vibrating ever so slightly.

*Z reaches out and pokes the sword.*

Letting out a shrill series of chirps, almost like a bit of laughter, the sword morphs out of its slot and falls to the ground. Before you eyes, it twists in to a small, green, bird-like creature. It seems to be somewhat of a cross between a generic songbird and a fairy, leaning more heavily towards its avian part. It maintains the form only briefly before twisting again in to a miniature version of Z. It laughs and makes the same poking motion towards Snarg, who is now staring at the creature, mouth agape.

The area is now becoming increasingly louder, the strange chirping coming from all around you. It seems to be coming primarily from the tree, which is now rustling. You see glimmers of the bird-like creatures through the leaves as the jump around.

*Z scowls and turns to Snarg.*

"Some tree you found here."

"Some tree you found here! Some tree you found here!" Several of the closest creatures morph in to Z and mimc her movements and voice, although at a much higher pitch than the original.

Snarg is currently too busy to answer, ripping various pieces of transforming equipment off of himself. As he removes various gear, it twists in to replicas of himself, which mimic his frantic dance, including the pieces of gear he is taking off. The scene is so perfectly replicated, you can see tiny versions of the mimic creatures in their mimic, and in their mimc, and so on until it becomes too miniscule to discern.

The replicas of everyone's companions soon join in the fun and mimic the closest target. There are several groups that seem to be replaying scenes from a few minutes ago, showing the group moving up to the tree with uncanny accuracy.

There are also a few scenes with an obviously drunk Snarg chasing the creatures around the tree, a peculiar scene containing Snarg, Z, and Zeiss, as well as various other scenes containing some Dwarves you don't recognize. The creatures seem to have an amazing ability to perfectly replicate people and objects, although the voices are much higher-pitched than normal.

By this point, Snarg has cleaned himself off down to his clothing and jawpiece again, which he seems keen to hang on to. He shifts closer to Z and Sethos, watching in awe at the various scenes playing around him, although he seems to be particularly interested in one. "Look at his," he whispers, bending down to examine one group in particular. Snarg is in the scene, although looking much younger and less haggard, cautiously approaching an Olthoi. "This ... is when I first met Kezrinthka of Worker. I didn't know it was her then, but ... I must have told these things about it when I was drunk."

The scene begins to play out...

Spoiler:

*Kezrinthka of Worker is leisurely walking down a road watching the world around her.*

"Yo! Yo," the Snarg in the vision walks in front of the Olthoi and calls out to her, "you ... bug?" This younger version has much less of a grasp on Common than the current. "Wildpaw Gnoll," Snarg points to himself and then back to Kez.

Kezrin stares at the Gnolls open response in very blatant surprise for several seconds before she catches herself with a jerk and responds in undercommon.

"Kezrinthka of Worker. I am an Olthoi from Centeral."

*She gestures toward the Hive.*

"The pleasure of meeting you, Snarg of Wildpaw, is mine."

*She gives a deep bow as she says this.*

Snarg's face lights up in excitement as Kezin speaks. "Ooooh, you speak my language! Good, good! Tell me, what is a Centeral? What is an Olthoi? Are you a bug? Where did you learn Undercommon?" The questions continue on as he circles her, studying every movement she makes.

*Kezrin stares wide eyed at the Gnoll circling her jabbering a mile a minute. She gives a hearty laugh (dont forget it sounds weird and probably isnt recognisable as laughter to someone who has never met an Olthoi before.*

"You are not afraid of me at all, are you?"

The Gnoll cracks a wide grin. "Ha, Snarg ain't afraid of no bug," he boasts as he boxes the air, "hunted lots of big animals - magic ones at that! There isn't anything out there that can scare me!" Stopping for a moment, his ears twitch and turn in different directions. You can faintly hear a horn being blown several times. "Boss' calling for me to come back. I gotta go soon. But I think we've got a bit of time, I'll just tell 'em I got lost. Now, tell me about Olthoi!" He plops down in a sitting position, looking up expectantly at Kezrin.

*Kez plops down beside him.*

"Well Olthoi are Olthoi, little one. We look scary,"

*She brings her hind claws close to his face and snaps the blades out, the sharp edges gleam in the sunlight.*

"But we aren't. We aren't bugs."

*She gives a short laugh.*

"We speak Skittish."

skittish:

"We have a great thirst for knowledge and the betterment of others. I personally am with The Circle of the Written Word. If you have an issue with languages or history or communication, we are your Olthoi. I am from Central. Central is our main city in the Hive. The Hive is where we are from. What about you? Tell me about your family unit of the Wildpaw Clan."

Snarg listens fascinated to the Olthoi. He seems to have trouble understanding Skittish, trying to replicate its sound and failing.

"Oh, Wildpaw, yeah! We got a boss, Gnawbone, and bunch of others. Some were born after me and some before me. Boss sends me to do scouting since I get in to trouble if I'm not doing something. Lately I've been learning a bit of," he leans close to Kezrin, as if about to reveal some deep, dark secret, "white magic!" He leans away again, sporting a very proud grin. "Been practicing on myself and on people I can get to let me cast on 'em!"

Standing up, Snarg brushes himself off. "Anyway, I got to get going or I'll be in big trouble. I'll try to visit you in Central, a'ight?" Without another word, he runs off in the direction of the horn.

The scene begins to repeat again as the creatures imitate the memory once more. The real Snarg solemnly looks up from the memory at Z and Sethos. "I didn't even remember her the next time I met her. Never did visit Central either. I wonder why?" He sighs and straightens back up again. "I never realized it until now, but I was a lot different then. Didn't have a care in the world. Now look at me. Feels like I've got such a huge weight all the time now. I really wish I could just run home to Wildpaw sometimes and let Gnawbone take care of things."

Sighing a second time, he begins searching around the area again. "This is real weird. I don't even remember some of these things, yet I'm sure they happened. I'm about tired of this and missing my gear."

The ambient chirping has grown quieter, and as you look around, it appears that many of the scenes have vanished. The numbers of the creatures are diminishing. Various pieces of Snarg's equipment seem to be appearing as some scenes vanish. He leans over and picks several of them up, giving them a sharp rap before attaching them.