There was near complete silence, as Ganja walked through the forest. All that could be heard were his footsteps, and the croaking of tree frogs in the distance. The air was humid, as it usually was. The soles of Ganja's shoes were caked with thick mud, making his feet heavier with each step. Beads of sweat streamed down his face, stinging his eyes. As he raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his eyes, he heard the shuffling of a bush, and what sounded like footsteps.He quickly grasped the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at any second.

After a few seconds of silence, he began to walk again. He still had a tight grip on his hilt, alert and ready for a fight. The beauty of the forest was only a cover for the many dangers hidden inside, waiting for any unsuspecting traveler. At a glimpse, you see the forest's towering trees covered in lush green leaves and tropical fruits. When one takes a few steps into its borders, one sees its many colored flowers, bathing in the sunlight, many of which are just beginning to bloom, others fully blossomed.

If you walk nearly a mile into the trees, you might caught the glimpse of a tropical bird, or a snake hanging from the trees, stretching downward to observe you walking into its forest. One may even catch a glimpse of a black panther chasing its prey, or in a deep sleep, curled up under the shade of one of the many trees, sleeping. But all these beautiful sights are not all the forest contains.

Deep within the forest, were even the most courageous creatures of the forest wouldn't tread. Deep within, were there is almost no sunlight, were darkness is everywere, lurk creatures even the strongest warriors wouldnt dare take on. The darkness of this area is possibly from the tree tops that blocked the light. Ganja believes other wise. As he walks, he starts to think that it is not the trees that shade the light, but that this area is shrouded in evil, warding away the sunlight.

Out of nowere, Ganja walked through a large group of nats, hovering at exactly head level. They began to follow him, obsucring his vission slightly, and continuosly landed on his face. He released his hilt and tried to swat at the the nats in hopes of driving them away.

Just as they began to clear away, Ganja heard what sounded like mumbling, and quick footsteps. Swiftly, he drew his long sword, eager to battle. Adrenaline flowed through his veins, giving added power to his muscles, and extra swiftness. Which, to be honest, at this point, would come in handy. At this depth into the forest, only God knows what could be wwatching him right now, patiently and eagerly awaiting the perfect chance to strike.

Seconds seemed like hours to Ganja, as he waited for the inevitable attack by this unknown being. He began to grow impatient, and both curiosity and anger took over him. He took a few steps towards te large bushes directly in front of him. From the corner of his eye, Ganja caught a glimpse of what he thought was the figure of a human being.

He turned to slightly left, and began to slowly walk back to the center of the dlearing in which he was standing. Waiting a few more seconds, Ganja thought to himself Wow, that figure was moving pretty fast. A smirk slowly crossed over his sweat-covered face. This should be interesting.

Now facing the tree behind which he could have swore he seen the figure run behind, he slowly walked forward. Both hands now on the hilt of his longsword in a tight grip, Ganja yelled Who is there? I warn you, I am a skilled warrior, and I am armed. If you do not reveal yourself, I shall be forced to kill you. After a few seconds of silence, he advances forward slightly. This is your final warning stranger. Reveal yourself. I would rather not spill your blood, but I will if i must.

As before, there was no response to his warning. Ganja had grown angered at the strangers silence, and advances once more towards the area. He stepped to the side of the tree, and stuck out first the blade of his sword, then his head. There was nothing there...

As he began to examine the area, he heard the rattling of the leaves of a branch, and turned just in time to see someone jump down from the branches. Even to Ganja's keen eyes, it was a little hard to see in the darkness. But this figure, this... human was only a few feet from the tip of Ganja's sword, and was close enough for him to see.

In all his travels, Ganja had never seen someone who looked like this man. He stood slightly shorter than Ganja, which he guessed to be about 5'10. The man had a very dark tan. He guessed this man must be a part of the tribe that lives within Taurerosa he had heard so much about. Legend has it that the tribe within this forest are a vicious, blood-thirsty cannibalist people. It is said that few have encountered these people of the forest, and that even fewer have lived to tell of their adventures. Those who did make it speak of monstorous people. These people, these... things are said to be extremely cruel to anyone who steps within their territory. The only problem is, noone is sure where their tribe is located. Very few people have actually seen it and, in an attempt to escape the clutches of the creatures, have no clue where the tribesman took them.

These people are said to be so monsterous, they shouldn't be allowed to be called humans. The survivors of these things speak of a village that is srouded in an eerie darkness, created by an evil presence. The survivors, who Ganja frequently refers to as the "lucky ones", speak of a pitch black city, lit only by the multiple eerie, luminous fires that are spread around the "city", if you will.

Ganja began to imagine what it would be like if he were caught by a group of tribesman you suspect to be cannibals. Then the thought began to cross his mind about what it would be like if they were taking him to their tribe were there are more suspected cannibals, and an even significantly smaller chance of escape. All of that, plus the ominous glow of the flames must have really puut those lucky survivors on edge.

Ganja invisioned all this in his mind a mere fraction of a second. When this thought was done with, and he came to, he began to assess the matter at hand. The way he saw it, there was only three and a half feet of sharpened and polished steel between him and this man, whom he believed to be hostile. Armed or not, this man looked like he could really do some damage if he felt the need, or the urge, rather.

Ganja raised the tip of his sword to the mans throat. Don't move! I am Ganja of Lómëdor. I fear no man, and I shall not hesitate to kill you if ou give me the slightest reason to do so. He hoped that these words would convince the man to stand down.

The man did not back away at these words. I am Thromkar. I am of the tribe which resides deep in these woods. You are intruding on our land, and for that you must pay the ultimate price. And with that, he drew from his sheath what looked like a scimitar, but was covered in tribal markings, and sharpened hooks on the blade that looked like it could kill a man with a simple tough. Prepare to die, Ganja of Lómëdor!

With lightening quick speed, the man drew his blade upwards, which Ganja deflected only by chance. Ganja took his sword and, as swiftly as he could, brought it down towards his enemy, only to meet the piercing tone of steel-on-steel. Ganja then swung his blade towards the man's legs, and hit nothing but air as the man jumped to an incredible height, and flipped over Ganja's head, only to be met with more vicious attempts of Ganja's longsword.

Ganja was amazed by Thromkar's skill. He had clearly underestimated this warrior. How could any man, cut off from the civilized world, be so skillful in the art of swordplay. This man clearly knew what he was doing, and had probably been in more battles than most.

The loud clang of their metal weapons went on for what seemed like hours, with neither man slowing down, or bleeding by the others hand. Infact, the man seemed to be getting stronger as the fight commensed. Just as Ganja blocked a low swing, the man quickly contered with a slash to the face, cutting Ganja's face slightly. Ganja withdrew a couple of feet, as did the tribesman. He reached up and touched the cut, which was now trickling blood down his face. This only enraged Ganja. He began to run towards the tribesman, and the tribesman towards him.

When Ganja felt he was within striking range, he sent a swift upward slash across the mans chest. He was not close enough to have killed the man with the blow, however, he was pretty confident that it hurt him. The two resumed the fight closer now than before. Ganja was slowly becoming exhausted, but did his best to hide this, knowing it would give his opponent an advantage.

The tribesmans blows became harder to deflect by the second. He knew that if he didn't finish his opponent soon, he may not walk away from this. Ganja decided that it would be best if he went on the dfensive for a bit, and preserve some energy for a final blow.

After a minute or two of his defensive strategy, he realized he was still losing energy, though not as fast. He decided now was the time to finish this. With a swift side-swipe, and made his opponent block, and drove his blade directly into his gut. As he withdrew his blade, blood began streaming from the wound.

Ganja watched as his opponent dropped his weapon, and fell to his knees. The man looked up from his wound, and what Ganja say disturbed him slightly. After all the fighting, and being on his knees, at the mercy of a man he had just seconds befor ebeen trying to kill, this man showed no fear.

And with a swift slash of Ganja's sword, Thromkar was no more. He stayed only long enough to see his dismembered head to hit the ground, and the body to fall forward.

As he walked away, Ganja whiped the blood on his cloak. He realized that if he didn't exit these woods soon he might have to face another oponent like Thromkar. He knew that he would most likely die, as he was exhausted, and fatigue had began to take over his body.

He continues to walk at a slower pace, and was significantly less alert due to his extreme exhaustion. The darkness was most definately getting settled in al through the forest, and he knew he must find shelter.

Quickly increasing his pace, he looked for a dry area to stay. He came across a cave that looked like nothing had been in it for a long time. He decided that the back of this cave would have to do until tomorrow. He prayed to the Gods that it kept him safe. So, not knowing if he was away from the danger of the tribe, Ganja fell sleep in the cave, hilt never leaving his hand.

Elifain the Drow, had seen the man pass into the rainforest, and had been curious about it, so he followed him in. Always staying out of sight, but not to the point of suspicion if he was noticed. most the time he stuck to the tree's so he would not have to deal with the dirt, but at the same time, giving him more cover.
he witnessed the battle with Thromkar and had prepaired to jump to the mans defense, if he had been hurt, but the man survived and went to a cave.
Elifain, knowing the mans wieriness, for he to felt it, took up gaurd in a tree overlooking the cave, and using his thermal vision, customary of drow, watched out for any suspicious movements.
Before he got to confortable though, he went hunting, and cought a few rabits in the area, and dropped 3 of them in front of the cave, hoping the man would notice.

Ganja awoke the next morning thankful the Gods let his survive. He felt a little pain due to the fight, but other than that he felt better than ever. He grabbed his longsword from the group, placed it back in its sheath, and walked to the front of the cave for some sunlight.

At the entrance, Ganja found 3 dead rabbits. He knew no tribesman had done this.But who could it have been? He began to wonder if he had not been followed by another, much quieter individual. He figured they most likely weren't hostile, as they had left him a meal.

Ganja's paranoia suddenly kicked in. Maybe it is a trap, he thought. Maybe they poisoned the rabbits with hopes that i would eat them and die. He thought this through and came to a conclusion: If they wanted me dead, why did they not kill me while I was sleeping? Why waste the time to catch rabbits and poison them and not see the death.

Maybe someone was watching him, he thought, as he sunk back into the cave. He attempted to doctor his battle wounds the best he could, but had no medical supplies. All he could do was wipe the blood from his face with his cloak.

Ganja looked over at the rabbits and decided to chance eating them. After all, it may have just been another traveler who saw that he was in a bad shape, and was trying to help. He left the safety of his shelter to make a fire to prepare the meal. Although he felt safe, he still tried to remain alert, watching the trees and bushes for movement.

elifain, from a neary tree, hiding beneath his piwafwi, smiled as he watched the man emerge from the cave, and retreat back with the rabits.
he worked hard to muster up the corage to walk in and greet the man, but knowing his race's reputation, he wasn't sure if the man would accept him, or simply attempt to slay him for being a drow.
he sat in the tree for an hour, considering the chances that this man would take acception to a drow, and finally, slowly climbed down the tree, and aproached the cave, sword still on his back, and his piwafwi hood up, covering his eyes.
he entered the cave, and after showing he was not hostile, said clearly, in the common tongue,"Hello sir, what brings you to this fine jungle?"
as he spoke he took a look at the surroundings, and noticed the man had no medical suplies, but seemed fine for the time being. Elifain reached into his pack, and pulled out some of the healing herbs that he had found.