Chapter 1: The Arrival

The settlement of Akrivel covers about half of a square mile in the trees. There are numerous treetop longhouses and well-maintained gardening platforms. Around the standard communal and training areas stands an ever-expanding cluster of private homes, a communal sleeping space for visitors from other clans as well as the occasional adventurers, food and grain storage, and a small smokehouse. These buildings spiral slowly and lopsidedly outwards from the center. All told, there are probably two hundred permanent residents of this place.

The Ekujae nearby give you curious looks, but most are too focused on the feast preparations or cautious of outsiders in general, so you are largely left to your own devices for a while. Eventually, though, Nketiah comes to fetch you and bring you to the center of the settlement. Here, around a roaring fire, the Ekujae have set up numerous long tables. They gesture for you to sit at the head table as they begin to bring out lots of food: roasted meat, tree nuts, fruits, and vegetables, along with copious amounts of palm wine. Music and laughter fill the air, and several children perform a vigorous dance for your entertainment.