Stepping into the land of the Castrator...
Time had passed quickly, and all was in readiness. D'Amboise had several wine skins of blue paint, the passage of the Hetmen to the temple had been reported the day before, and the party was crouched in the woods staring across the marshy, humid landscape at a totem clearly dedicated to the goddess Hel in her fish-aspect as worshiped by the Taku Taku.
The totem stood six and a half feet tall, a thick spear stuck in the ground, the fish mask affixed to the shaft, with a collection of feathers, beads and arrowheads hanging from around it's neck, along with a string of small leather pouches, each containing what appeared to be two small stones.
The professor was at your side, though he was progressing no further. Brudher is particularly happy that they are no longer required to wear the masks.
Shank had doubled back several times, and is fairly certain that your party has not been trailed.
Thatch had closed his eyes out at one point to get a sense of the surrounding magical atmosphere, but had fought off a headache ever since.
Ovo was tensed, aware of the approaching potential for combat.
"That will put you pretty deep in their territory," the Professor explained, the line the Taku Taku shared with their rival tribes a good two miles to your left. (Southward.) "Don't let that fool you, they are jealous of their prerogatives. We are probably past where the city sinks under the surface, but there is no way to be sure. I suggest you go in about a mile, the drift left for awhile. If you don't find the opening, tread back to the north."
Unless someone has last words for the man who had guided you thru the lands to this point, he will head out, leaving you to the myriad ways a jungle can kill a person, not even gounting the natives.