180. Deeproot
Jupi and Adri become visibly excited as the first signs of Deeproot appear on the horizon. The smoke of cooking fires drifts lazily upward, only slightly bent in the light breeze. Multi-story buildings rise up to follow, which the pair will explain are storage for vast quantities of grains, vegetables, and even some cured meats.
Mention of the latter comes with a curious shared look from the duo. When asked about it, they will explain that older generations of Utaru are all vegetarian or pescetarian, a tradition dating back to when the plains were first settled and animals were more scarce. Foreign refugees of the Derangement, mostly Oseram and Nora outcasts, brought with them their predilection for meat. Traditionalist Utaru see this as an erosion of their culture, and cause problems for any butchers or merchants dealing in raw or cooked game.
Jupi and Adri explain that they were both raised vegetarian, but have traveled widely enough to have sampled just about everything. They still prefer vegetarian meals, but won’t rebuke the hospitality offered to them. They explain that carnivorous options will be available on the streets in Deeproot, but suggest that those who partake be discrete or risk being the target of increased attention.
Approaching
If the party is mounted, Jupi and Adri will suggest abandoning the mounts several kilometers outside the city, as the wilds slowly transition to farmlands. They explain how most Utaru are not ready to handle such a sight, and would be immediately distrustful.
Similarly, they encourage everyone to avoid calling attention to the function of Focus devices. The items will be assumed to be jewelry, similar to how Banuk shamans and Oseram will wear the heads and armor plates of machines. Any use beyond that will again draw unnecessary attention.
Your Utaru companions aren’t looking to deceive their people, they explain, but want to be able to keep any conversations pointed in the correct direction. They will need to explain HADES, the Shadow Carja, and the Battle of the Spire, which is already guaranteed to gather distrust. Anything seeming to be linked with the Old Ones, Machines, or Ruins will be suspect.
The City
The people of Deeproot are diverse, well-educated, and generally amiable. While the predominant colors are black and a shimmering gold, every other shade can be seen as you look about. Facial makeup is very common, especially under the eyes and along the cheekbones. Most people sport wide-brimmed hats, elaborate craftings of thick grasses, or other ways of keeping off the sun.
The roads from the farmland into the city are choked with handcarts and people of every size, full of roots, grasses, and plump multi-colored vegetables and fungi. Utaru children of twelve years and above can be seen helping their parents, with those younger walking beside or strapped to clapboard benches.
The buildings of Deeproot are a combination of brick, stone, and wood. (Brick is relatively uncommon in Nora and Banuk lands, and may be new to some party members.) Machine decorations are very rare, and when seen are most often functional parts, not just totems. The architecture which was so out of place in Hanuli’s Heel is even more impressive here, in such grandeur and variety.
The city curves along the northeast shore of a lake which stretches off into the distance farther than can be seen with the naked eye. Almost as much of the city seems to be floating on the surface of the lake as is built upon the land. When asked if the lake has a name, Jupi and Adri will tell you that some call it “The Great Rootwell”, but that others just refer to it as “The Deeproot”. They explain there is nuance to the arguments, but are reluctant to go into detail while walking through the city.
The breeze coming off the lake has a hint of dampness to it, but smells clean and light, unlike the heavier and fishier smells of the smaller villages. The people of Deeproot work to keep the lake clean, and it shows. Children can be seen combing the shores, picking up small objects and filling woven sacks.
Free-Tail observations would tell you the lake is almost 15km at its longest point, and some 35km around. Jupi and Adri would tell you about the annual footrace in which the fastest can make it all the way around in under two hours, though a casual pace can round it in the light of a single day.
Merchants of every type line “The Root”, how the locals refer to the widest and most-maintained street. Commerce of every size can bee seen — from carts, to tents, to stalls with dozens of crates, to permanent buildings with streams of hawking vendors. Your companions explain the part shade plays in commerce: vendors out in the sun are only interested in quick transactions, and will be adamant in their prices. Vendors in the cooler tents, buildings, and indoor markets will be increasingly more willing to bargain, but also require much more time to complete any one sale.
You round a horn, cutting back to the southwest, and the din and crush intensify as you approach an older, but even cleaner, part of the city.
The Scythes
Around this time, Jupi and Adri pause to re-pin their scythes. They lock the blades into a wide but not straight angle, which would make them impractical as weapons or tools, but also make them stand out tall above the crowd and most tents. As they walk, they begin tapping the butt-ends of their scythes to the pavement stones, making dull thuds with each step. The distinctive sound draws attention even through the clamor, which seems to fade to a ripple around the party. Eyes drawn to the sound quickly trace snaith to blade, and go wide as their owner makes way to allow you to pass.
No one seems particularly afraid or reverent, but there’s an almost universal deference, accompanied by nods and raised eyebrows. If your party includes any who present as Tenakth, they will draw even more attention, and no small amount of fear and distrust. Carja will draw side-eye from older Utaru.
The Scythes lead you into the largest building you’ve yet seen. Three stories tall, made entirely of brick painted with a brightly-colored mural depicting the four seasons on its four sides, it’s an indoor market with ceilings which just barely accommodate the blade-tips of the scythes. A hush radiates out from you as you enter, followed by a peculiar whoop which is passed in a line toward what might be the center of the building. It’s hard to tell from here, but this seems to cause something of a commotion, and then a wave as a small party makes its way toward you.
Without fanfare, another pair step out of the crowd, face to face with Jupi and Adri. The couple is on the older side, maybe mid-fifties, but wear it lightly. The woman is darker-skinned, with long raven-black hair and deep cocoa eyes which seem to see everything at once. The man has a deep tan from decades in the sun, though on blotchy skin which seems less suited to it, with a completely bald head and bright white eyebrows. Both smile broadly at the sight of Jupi and Adri. The woman’s eyes flick across each member of the party, appraising, before a second sweep at the hairline of each, which ends with a raised eyebrow and a tilt to her grin.
Jupi and Adri don’t bow or kneel, but instead put both hands on the snaith of each scythe, nodding in unison. Without so much as preamble, greeting, or introductions, Adri addresses the couple while flicking back her head to the party.
“We have much to report, though it will not all be easy to hear.”
The grin fades from the woman’s face as she begins to walk toward the far end of the building, beckoning with a hand.
“We’ve heard some, but it will be good to hear all.”