Submission (#7001) Approved

Niyari let out a big sigh and decided to sit down at the next boulder. They were in Kyendi and tried to find their way through the thick jungle. It was hard when there weren't any landmarks near you. Some ruins were still standing but it could be hard to distinguis them from each other. And the cloudy mountaints in the distance were not enough to guide you into the right direction. Niyari had learned to rely more on the rivers and waterfalls that were hidden throughout the jungle but even then there was no way Niyari could rely on these alone and just find a way. That's why they always looked at their map! The usual plan was to have the map open, start from one prominent landmark and then have the compass open as well, following the right directions for how many meters the map suggested. There was just one big problem with that... Niyari didn't have their Pomu with them! It was still miasma season so their Pomu was in its crystal state, floating along. Usually the Pomu would sit on Niyaris back, map propped up against Niyaris neck and had. Their Pomu would call out whenever they had to change directions. They even got a good system with their Pomu pulling on their hair on the right side for east and the left side for west. Saying Pomu once meant north and saying Pomu twice meant south. They had a system! The worked well with each other! And their Pomu knew that these adventures were always good to get delicious snacks and one of the few occasions that Niyari was fine with getting crumbs in their fur.
Now they were alone. Niyari put their bag on the boulder and took out the map and compass to get a look at where they might be. Their Pomu lantern was floating above and at least emitted a lot of light that helped Niyari read the map. Despite the sun being out it was sometimes pretty dark in the jungle. The Pomu lantern had an mixed aesthetic that had a lot of asian elements but got bolder colors than the traditional ones. It had a rounded oval shape and was open at the bottom. The top part had white flowers and a black ribbon. The lantern itself was made out of thin rice paper that had been dyed blue with a painted white symbol on it, swirling into itself almost like a triskele. The pattern was drawn to times, on opposite of the lantern. Despite it being white these areas actually let through the least amount of light due to the paint. The blue rice paper was thin enough to let the glow through though. The bottom part had a white ribbon and black flowers, contrasting the decoration on top. Along the string were some pearls being held in place by knots. The lantern was about as big as one of Niyaris ears and was currently tied to Niyaris backpack.

Niyari looked at the map and sighed. They could read it of course but it had honestly been a while since they had to orientate themself in a region that was very dense. Niyaris recent trips and missions had been mostly in cities. Looking at the map now was a bit overwhelming. The map had different colors in some regions indicating where there were mostly jungle and where mountains began. The ruins were clearly marked as well, as were the rivers and waterfalls of course. But just seeing at a big dark green area and knowing it was all thick jungle without a clear path... It wasn't easy. That's why the compass was so important to orientate yourself. Going in a straight line was hard enough in an open field when you had nothing to orientate yourself on. But going in a straight line while weaving through a thick jungle?

Niyari looked at the compass and then shook their head. It would be so hard to get through, they couldn't just stop every few meters to look at the compass. Walking on all fours did have its downsides sometimes. Niyari looked up to see if they could orientate themself on the floating islands but... It was hard to really see clearly when the big trees were covering up so much of the sky. Niyari really missed their Pomu right now. But they couldn't just wait until miasma season was over, the fruit they were being paid for to find apparently only bloomed now when a lot of animals were also hiding from the miasma and didn't eat the delicious fruits. And nobles were paying good coin for it... Niyari stuffed the map inside of their bag strap so it was easier to pull it out without taking the bag off, then they put the compass around their neck. Niyari would still have to pause to look at it but this was the best they could do right now. They looked one more time ahead to try and see some kind of landmark before lining themself up with the direction they had to go towards and started walking. The lantern was floating along, at least still shining it's light down on Niyaris path. They would need to pass a river on the right and then go forward until their was a ruin on the left where they had to turn.

"Nothing do it than to do it..."