The group, together with Paqarimuy, Cuahtemoc and selected strong Hunters/Fighters from the Nuqanchik, is travelling through the coast jungles to

• meet other tribes and spread the word about what they discovered on Spirits, Beasts and Rumi-Runa
• find out more about who the invaders are and what makes them so superior in combat
• determine the fate of Zumas son Zumatl (and rescue him if possible)
• help out Itzcoatls Kobold tribe (though only the group knows that)

What happened:

• the group was attacked by a large pack of Hatun-K'utuy, which were aided by strange spirits that seek high emotions and the life force seeping from dying creatures
  • the Hatun-K'utuy attacked at night, overwhelming the small group and killing Ihuicatl, then retreating to devour their victim
• they encountered the Sun-Eaters, a tribe focussed on survival and proving themselves strong
  • the Sun-Eaters believe the "balance" of the war between gods and spirits has simply shifted, with the gods now loosing
  • the group helped the Sun-Eaters in "winning over" the spirits, turning them on the Hatun-K'utuy
• the Sky-Eaters discussed the future with the group, but no ultimate consensus was reached
  • the Nuqanchik should focus on diversity for now, even though that will create rifts between tribes that follow different philosophies
  • for now, the tribes will stay separated and evade the invaders, not drawing too much attention - and possible forgoing their rain ritual meetings lest they get ambushed there
  • for magic, spirits seem the "most stable" currently - but also not perfect
• with the aid of the group, the Sky-Eaters managed to gain the support of another group of spirits, "sun-tailed swallows", which are communal and can grant powers of flight - and light the way towards goals
  • these should enable the Sky-Eaters to find a counter-balance to the spirits they already have
• the group was ambushed by Kobolds capable of illusion magic, "disguised" as trees; the ambush was handily defeated, but the shaman got away
• the group encountered a strange reflection in the water - a gift of Tzayeko enabled them to see a magic beast somewhere on the same river
• the group met the "Unblinking Eye" tribe - a tribe still faithful to the gods, with three strong Chosen protecting and leading them
  • the tribe is large and strong, it has taken in many refugees from tribes destroyed by the invaders
  • one of the Chosen is of Chuyapaq, who does not actually have any Chosen anymore (it is the main god of the Chikauitl)
  • another Chosen, Tlamani, recognised Zuma and taunted him about his son - Zuma controlled himself and later learned more from the tribe's scribe Ixchtli
  • the tribe will hunt the beast soon; the group discussed that they would try to hide the beast, but ultimately would side with the hunters if it came to blows
  • the tribe believes that this is a second, worse, apostate crisis, and that some sort of "cleansing" will be required to return to the favor of the gods
  • Paqarimuy tried to talk to the Chosen of Chuyapaq, but it did not go down well - the Chosen seems afraid of her (or her god), and since she is not particularly diplomatic things escalated a bit; she left the camp
  • the group was able to get the primal beast to safety
• the group encountered the invaders for the first time - they were spread through a mangrove area pursuing fleeing Nuqanchik
  • the invaders rallied quickly and made an ordered retreat - it was obvious they could likely have overwhelmed the group, but they seemed to have other priorities
  • the group was able to safe a few Nuqanchik from being captured, but was unable to reach the bulk of the captives due to heavy resistance from the invaders

What they learned:

• with primal energy flowing more freely again, the jungles are becoming a wilder place - for better and worse
• the invaders are not immortal superwarriors; the Sun—Eaters managed to ambush and defeat a small group, but had to retreat before any major clash
  • they say part of the invaders strength is that fighting groups of other people to the death is what they do
  • it also seems the invaders only have "strong people" in their tribes - men and women in their prime, no children or elderly; how and why remains a question, but this gives the invaders a numbers advantage in any larger confrontation
• there is an invader outpost on an island out to sea
• shores and big rivers are dangerous, many tribes are hiding deeper in the forest
• unsurprisingly, a number of Nuqanchik tribes still cling to the old ways, growing more zealous in response to the fading gods
• the invaders are capable combatants on their own, but it is their combination of superior equipment and group combat training makes them deadly