Introductions

JP with Omni, Lorem, and Winteroak

As the robed man led them to another chamber, they saw images of men fighting giant scorpions carved into a nearby wall. These reminded Voah of the Neph-Kin for some reason.

He led them further into the cave to a secluded room where they saw rows upon rows of strange looking mushrooms growing in the damp and dark recesses of the rocks.

He started to harvest some, took one piece to his lips after dusting it and ate it. He proceeded to fill a pouch and he handed it to them.

Yet again, Voah was brought back to her memories from under Fang. She could not help but think of the mould-folk as the scenes on the walls involved spearmen. But they were fighting off scorpions larger than themselves. This place seemed to have a long and difficult past. The way the scenes were laid out, it seemed as if the depictions not only told a story of history but maybe a celebration of triumph over constant struggle. The people in this land must be made hardy and resilient to fight such great beasts and live in such a hostile natural environment over ages.

Voah found her stomach growling as she watched the robed man eat the mushroom. She gladly accepted the pouch he had stuffed full of them. They were not the same as the ones she had grown accustomed to, the ones that kept the hallucinations at bay. The residual effects of the mould had finally abated some time ago, thank the Pillars. Anyway, these mushrooms were sure to be acceptable and a nice change from the dry coyote meat that reaching depletion.

She thanked the robed man and realized that she hadn’t yet gotten his name. So she tried miming again. “Your name?” She requested, gesturing a hand to him.

“I - - Enustik.” She brought a hand to herself. “Zovyan” she gestured to Gonyaul then back to the robed man. “And you?”

The man smiled and pointed to his chest. "Naravas..."

“Thank you again, Naravas.” she bowed with a smile, then she pointed to one of the giant scorpions. “Your people - - still fight?” She motioned to him and then thrust an invisible spear at the sculpture as if demonstrating. If those things still existed, they would need to be ready.

The man cocked his head. He was not sure he comprehended the question. He pointed at the giant scorpions. "Skara..." He said. Bringing his fingers across to point at the men fighting the he said "Neph-Kin."

Her eyebrows lifted as she heard the confirmation that the spearmen were indeed the mould-folk known as Neph-Kin.

She tried again. “Nnn… Skara - - still here?” she pointed to the ground and made a face of mock nervousness, looking around like she was watching out for them.

Naravas gestured no with his hands and head, reassuring them that no Skara were here.

He pointed to the ceiling indicating the desert above.

Gonyaul’s mind was ablaze with a dramatic reenactment of the stone carving in the wall. The brave Neph-Kin were actively still battling the swarming scourge of giant scorpions, referred to as Skara. The exciting visualization of his daydream had him completely distracted and he seemed like a fly mesmerizingly drawn to a bright flame.

He had created a generalized narrative that spanned a decade and even created in his imagination back stories for the focal characters. It was a tragic tale, with an ending that made one weep for both sides. In addition, there were particular Neph-Kin personas that he quickly resonated with.

When the violent conflicts settled the Neph-Kin would be exiled to a fate of perpetual darkness below the surface and the mighty Skara were claimed by the sands of time. Tragedy had befallen both sides. In trying to win over the other, both lost.

Of course Gonyaul had no idea if his daydreaming was anywhere close to the real events of the past; however, it was fun to pretend.

Gonyaul came back to reality when he realized they were moving deeper still. Naravas was proving to be a reliably generous host. Information, his name and mushrooms; glorious edible mushrooms.

Gonyaul wished there was a way to repay such kindness. He didn’t have anything to give, save a hug; however, it was unclear if Naravas would welcome such a gesture.