ROLEPLAY

I finally managed to slip away and visit the Sap Slaves encampment. I tried casual conversation with Gichi Cino, but he was taciturn and revealed nothing beyond confirmation that my mistress was his sister. I dutifully made the rounds of the encampment not expecting better success. It seemed odd that all Sap Slaves I encountered were Matis with blond hair - all except for my mistress and her brother.

I didn't have much luck until I found an elderly guard who was off duty and had a taste for Stinga rum. We huddled together in a tribal hut basking in the warmth a small fire during a brief summer squall. He reminisced about the childhood days of Gichi and Jola. They were fun loving children always up to some prank or mischief. He said they were orphans of parentage unknown. They were brought into the camp by a mysterious old woman one stormy evening and left in the charge of the tribal outlands supplier. She raised them as her own, but revealed little to her tribe about the motivations for her generosity.

Sadly, as they matured, the carefree spirit in both children seemed to wither and die. They became increasingly withdrawn and sullen, as if some great burden was slowly descending upon them. Some years ago my lady suddenly left the tribe and moved to Yrkanis, offering no explanation to the tribe, except perhaps whispered words into the ear of her adoptive mother. Her brother remained behind, but spent more and more time away from the camp, increasingly isolated from daily tribal life.