Just as Zul'ra was feeling the bottom of Zandalar's Golden Warship and turning over a few schemes in his mind, the ship delivered him and Kurtaki safely to their destination: Darkwood Beach, northeast of the Vol'dun desert on Zandalar.
Because the warship was so enormous, it dared not approach too close, lest it run aground. So Zul'ra and Kurtaki boarded a small rowboat and were escorted ashore by a squad of Zandalari guards.
Darkwood Beach was quite large, but a village was a sizable target, and the Zandalari guards were with them. It didn't take long to find the Tortollan village, but Zul'ra and the others also caused quite a commotion because of their group.
Trolls and Tortollan lived peacefully on Zandalar, but the Trolls couldn't shake their bad reputation. When Zul'ra and Kurtaki arrived with a group of soldiers, the local Tortollan were naturally terrified, thinking they had come to hunt them. The able-bodied men and women hurried out with weapons to defend themselves.
There was some confusion, but Kurtaki quieted the accompanying guards, and Zul'ra tried speaking with the locals in Common. A couple of sentences cleared up the misunderstanding. When they learned that Kurtaki had come to pay his respects to the King of Beasts, perhaps because they shared the same faith, the Tortollan even welcomed the group.
"My name is Kupaka, and I'm an elder of the Tortaka tribe. As you know, guests, we too are followers of the King of Beasts." Kupaka, the elder of the Tortollan of Tortaka, welcomed Zul'ra and Kurtaki, introduced himself, and confirmed their shared faith.
"That's wonderful, Kupaka. Do you know what happened to the King of Beasts? He hasn't accepted any followers for many years." Kurtaki looked at the Tortollan and asked urgently. They, too, followed the King of Beasts and were on the same side. Did they know what had happened to the God of Tigers?
"Pilgrim, I understand how you feel, but I'm very troubled. Tortaka hasn't answered our prayers for hundreds of years, either. He won't even let us enter the temple." Kupaka looked at the anxious Kurtaki and slowly shook his head.
"You can't enter the temple?" Kurtaki looked at the Tortollan and froze for a moment. Then the urgency vanished from his face, replaced by deep suspicion. Had these Tortollan committed blasphemy?
"Ahem, Elder Kupaka, could you tell us where the King of Beasts' temple is?" Zul'ra looked Kupaka over with interest. This was his first time seeing a Tortollan up close. The elder was a yellow-skinned turtle-person with a beak-like mouth. He wore a leather cap with drooping flaps, had gleaming bottles hanging from his waist, and carried several scrolls of hide on his back. Among them was a glowing lamp, though Zul'ra couldn't tell what it was for.
"It's nearby. I can take you there." Kupaka slowly got to his feet and offered to lead the way.
"Perhaps on the way, you could also tell us about the King of Beasts." Zul'ra spoke up as he watched Kupaka stand.
"Of course. We're just as eager to know why the King of Beasts has become this way!" Kupaka set off on his stout, short legs, talking as he walked.
The Tortollan moved slowly in appearance, but they didn't walk slowly. Zul'ra and Kurtaki followed him with interest, listening as he described the connection between the God of Tigers and the Tortollan of Tortaka.
Darkwood Beach, where Tortaka lived, wasn't as peaceful as it looked. It had once suffered attacks from Naga and Murlocs in the sea, as well as various beasts and monsters in the surrounding area. Faced with these threats, the Tortollan had formed a connection with the King of Beasts.
Whenever they faced danger, the Tortollan would ask the King of Beasts for help. The King's followers—and even the King himself—would strike down their attackers. But this continued only until several hundred years ago, when the King of Beasts suddenly went silent.
Not only had the God of Tigers gone silent, but his temple had also become surrounded by a kind of magic that barred all outsiders from entering. When the Tortollan went to the temple to beg forgiveness, bearing thorny branches on their backs, only one sentence came to mind: What are you seeking?
"That sounds like a question, a test, a riddle!" Zul'ra blinked and looked at Kurtaki beside him.
"Yes." Hearing Zul'ra's words, Kurtaki gave up on the idea that the Tortollan of Tortaka were blasphemers. The King of Beasts seemed to have rejected everyone, not just the Tortollan of Tortaka. But what was he testing his followers for?
"But why would the King of Beasts test us? We've never shown him the slightest disrespect." Kupaka sounded aggrieved and confused. Kurtaki seemed displeased by his words, but before he could speak, Zul'ra cut in.
"Ahem, let's leave that question to our scholar, Kurtaki. Besides being a devout follower of the King of Beasts, he's also a learned scholar-priest. He'll find the answer we're looking for." Hearing the faint resentment in Kupaka's words and seeing Kurtaki's displeased expression, Zul'ra changed the subject.
"I will surely pass the King of Beasts' test." Hearing Zul'ra's words, Kurtaki raised his chin proudly. I'm not like you unfaithful Tortollan. I'm a devout follower of the King of Beasts—and a scholar, too.
"I can see the arrogance on your face. Are you looking down on us Tortollan? Let me tell you, I've seen things that would scare the shell right off you." Kupaka read some of Kurtaki's pride in his expression and bristled.
"Kupaka, I didn't mean to offend you. We Trolls don't have shells." Hearing Kupaka's completely earnest remark, Zul'ra almost laughed, but he held it in and replied with a straight face.
"Oh, sorry, that's not what I meant. I mistook you for one of my own kind. But I must also make one thing clear: we Tortollan are seekers of knowledge, too. We travel the ocean floor, recovering countless treasures and witnessing things you've never heard of." Kupaka lived up to the Tortollan's good nature, but he also firmly corrected one point.
"You still salvage things from the seafloor?" Hearing Kupaka, Zul'ra's eyes lit up. Salvaging the seafloor sounded fascinating—recovering treasures in the still depths of the sea.
"Forgive me for asking, but are these your underwater diving tools?" Zul'ra suddenly remembered and pointed to the glowing lamp behind Kupaka's head and the glowing long-necked bottles at his waist.
"That's right. These are indeed our tools for salvaging things underwater. We Tortollan have a splendid civilization, too. Our Stonehill Defender is like your Rastali guards, protecting our village. Our seers are like your priests, establishing a connection with the spirits. And just as you have your totems, we Tortollan inscribe runes on parchment to make spell scrolls. We also have our own traditions..."
Kupaka nodded, confirming Zul'ra's guess, then began to prattle on about Tortollan traditions. Even Kurtaki straightened up and listened attentively. Zandalari Trolls had always respected history and tradition.
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