act15mini

A-Alright.

(Sami) Great land, we ask your leave to pass over you.

(Sami) We offer you this sacrifice, that you may watch over us, and protect us from bloodshed, from being hunted.

(Sami) Sami says it's okay, ladies.

(Sami) It will eat well thanks to your generosity.

Isn't that a little... casual? Young shaman.

...Apprentice shaman.

This isn't really a formal occasion, after all. Sami wouldn't mind the presence of a child of the Santalla Tree.

...Oh?

A shaman, a hunter, and an outlander? That's a rare sight.

I don't suppose you're here just for the experience?

We're in a hurry to head south, and don't have time to go around the First Land.

I see. My teacher often takes this shortcut too.

Not this time, though. He left me here alone to 'experience the Samivilinn.'

I've been here for days, wandering the woods without a sliver of revelation to be found.

You should know what I mean, child of the tree.

Please, call me Santalla.

Very well, Santalla. Can you tell me what our teachers expect us to bring back from here?

I do not know, oak-child. I have only been here to witness. This is not where my trial was.

Is that so? What a shame.

We have a long road ahead of us. Let's hurry.

Hmm...

Wait!

I'll come with you.

I know the trees with the best shade, the cleanest streams, and the safest animal trails.

I can be your guide!

There's no one more qualified!

Let me come with you, Santalla. I'm so bored here I could turn into a tree.

What do you think, great shaman?

And what about you, hunter? Or our outlander friend?

I guess I don't mind...

We're all agreed, then?

Let's go, then! Welcome to the First Forest!

Hmph...

One more question, oak-child.

Hm? What is it?

What should we call you?

Me? Hm...

My Sami name might be a little hard to remember... My teacher calls me Oakcup, so you can too.

May I ask how you got that name?

Because he always grabs my horn and tries to drink from it when he's drunk.

Oh...

Hey, are we being watched?

Like, by a deity...?

Big predators. One on the tree, one behind Simone in the bushes, and one behind that tree to the left.

Oh, is that all?

After all the weird stuff we've encountered, dealing with carnivorous wildlife seems almost quaint.

Should I be ready for a fight then?

No need. They're not hungry enough to risk attacking.

So stop worrying about their dinner and start worrying about ours—!

Huh? Look out!

Need help?

No thanks, I'm done.

A tuskbeast lies prone on the ground, glaring at Typhon.

A gaping wound stretches from its cheek all the way to its foreleg.

I guess one of them <i>was</i> hungry enough. Terrible choice of prey, though.

Go. Your meat tastes terrible anyway.

The tuskbeast does not seem willing to leave. It crouches down in the shadows, ready to attack again.

Bang!

A loud bang rings out in the air before it, sending it scampering into the distance and leaving behind only a scattered trail of blood.

Did you just shoot something with your finger, Typhon?

Yeah, for scaring away big guys like these.

A roll of leaves?

You wrap up air with leaves until it forms a ball.

(Takes notes)

But how do you wrap air with leaves?

Don't ask. I've tried to teach others, but no one's ever been able to learn it.

Easy, it's just an unlucky hornbeast that got its neck bitten in half. Maybe by the one that attacked us, maybe by another.

Hm.

Looks like our outlander friend has grown accustomed to the ways of this land.

A few more weeks of this, and she'll be a fully-fledged Sami.

Ahaha...

An outlander who understands Sami. How nice.

I remember working as a guide for some Columbian tourists while on a pilgrimage.

They started screaming when they saw some carnivores doing their carnivoring. Apparently, they thought it was too bloody and uncivilized.

Not that I'd call myself civilized, but didn't they pay good money to come here and see the 'untamed wilderness'?

One of them even tried to stop the beasts, and nearly ended up as their next meal.

Their clothes were dignified enough, but certainly not the people wearing them.

You have quite a mastery of Columbian.

(Ursine) Not just Columbian! I just can't keep my mouth shut. Guess I'm a natural-born chatterbox.

And I suppose my teacher was a weird old man for teaching me all that.

(Broken Sami) Know.. a bit... ah, yes, true.

The folks back home hate it when I just strike up a conversation with southerners. One time, there was a regular Ursus caravan that passed through the tribal market, and...

(When was the last time I returned?)

(The breath of the wild continues to echo through this place...)

(Does Amma still watch over this forest?)

(Something isn't right.)

(The influence of Amma lingers... but it's not alone.)

(The Black Mark of Ursus...)

What is it, Simone?

Nothing.

Has our guide found somewhere we can spend the night?

Yup, inside that tree up ahead.

Cup says it's hollow, with enough room for the four of us.

I've never seen a hollow tree before.

Then now's your chance.

Wow, we could easily fit another person or two in here!

It's the largest tree house around. Could hold close to a dozen.

Where's Typhon?

The hunter? She went looking for musbeast fruit stashes. She wanted something extra for dinner.