Fantasy Civilization (A Fantasy Historic RP) IC

Low-Budget Man · May 16, 2021

Global Event (For all players)
January 1st, 4000 BC

An amber comet streaked against the sky. A fiery tail followed a blazing core of extravagant light. The comet slashed across the starry heavens; its faded amber trail splitting the sky in two. So bright it was, it could be seen during the day. And at night, it illuminated Alterra with its pale ghostly yellow as if it was day.

The different tribes looked upon this comet with mixed emotions. Some saw it as a dark omen. While others celebrate it as a sign of the gods. The interpretations of this astrological phenomenon varied wildly.

The comet began its journey in the morning, drawing the attention of the continent quickly. The comet moved slowly and it took several minutes for it to make any distinguishable distance. By nightfall, the comet had crossed halfway across the sky. The comet angrily swam across the milky abyss of the black sky for the rest of the entire night before finally fading away.

Ruanta

January 4th, 4000 BC

Esuzu, Shaman of the North Sky, laid upon a moss-covered stone; a blazing fire nearby for warmth. While the winds howled outside, she was comfortable inside her makeshift cave home. Her walking stick which also doubled as a potential weapon leaned against the cave wall. The cave was neatly tucked away underneath a series inside of the hill near the northern shoreline. The entrance to the cave opened out to the wide black ocean.

Thick angry clouds grumbled in the sky and flickers of lightning could be seen in the distance. Swaddled in thick furs and seal skins, Esuzu watched the furious waves slam into the shore and retreat back into the sea. The moon’s light was obscured by the encroaching storm. The darkness that shrouded the lands turned the ocean, which seems playful at times, into an ominous beast.

For twenty days and twenty nights, Esuzu had ventured out to this cave away from the settlement. And for twenty days and twenty nights, Esuzu watched. She was patient. She maintained her silent vigil without faltering. No one knew what she was doing, but no one asked, for she was a Shaman and given a certain amount of leeway. She still performed her duties and traveled home for rest. But she always returned to her cave like clockwork.

She took her gaze off the water for a moment to reach into her bag to pull out a Hysp fruit. She briefly diverted her attention to gingerly peeling the Hysp fruit, taking care not to stain her fingers with its sticky juices. A flash of green light itched at her peripheral vision.

Esuzu’s head snapped to face the green light. The green light danced erratically upon the waters. It was roughly spherical in shape, but the size was difficult to comprehend due to its distances. With haste, she began to burn bits of Hysp fruit and Hysp bark atop of the fire. The sickly-sweet smell of the fruit and gnarled smell of the bark merged to form an enticing aroma. Smoke slowly filled the cave, and she could feel her physical senses growing more frantic. Ever sense began to feel like a kaleidoscope of sensation.

With concentration, she turned her attention to the green light. The green light seemed to be drifting closer. Slowly, she began chantings the words she’s been taught ever since she was a child. Words that are ingrained in her very soul. She closed her eyes and focused on the words, feeling the power the words bring.

Only Chief Shaman Gorga has been successful in contacting a spirit in the past. But even that was on rare occasions. And he had the help of all the other shamans, including Esuzu, assisting him with his ritual. Past histories have spoken of spirits bestowing powerful boons upon ancient shamans, but that has not occurred in recent memory.

Esuzu opened her eyes and looked over at the water. The spirit had gone. A low growl of anger escaped her. But was quickly cut short when she turned to her side.

A green ethereal fish floated gently around her, breathing in the smoke. Its scales glittered as if it swallowed a thousand stars. Two long whiskers drooped all the way to the ground. A singular eye blazed a fiery green while the other eye was dim blackness. Esuzu’s breath caught in her throat, afraid of scaring the spirit away. She had never come this close before to a spirit and this was the first time the spirit had ever responded to her calls.

An ancient voice sounded from the spirit, but no its mouth didn't move.

“I am Valuum, spirit of the waves. Why do you call to me, child? Your gifts and worship have brought you an audience. Nothing more. Speak swiftly, for your gift is a meager one. “

January 15th, 4000 BC

Two pale purple Naga arrived via a boat to Eloca. The boat, constructed by wood, housed a small structure to provide shelter. The boat looked as if it was about to fall apart any moment. It was a miracle that the two Naga didn’t simply perish at sea.

Half a dozen strange short green creatures were also living on the boat. They stared solemnly at the settlement as the boat drew closer. They wore raggedy clothes and were huddled underneath a single thick blanket. The creatures shivered underneath the light blanket of snow raining down.

All of the creatures looked fearful of the settlement, except one. His eyes glowed a dark purple in contrast with his brethren who had amber eyes. The unique goblin also sprouted a massive white beard with twigs tied to them and a serene peaceful expression rested on his face in contrast to his fellow mates. While telling their ages was difficult, it could roughly be discerned that the bearded goblin was old while the rest were probably adolescents or young adults.

“Greetings,” cried one of the Naga. He had a necklace of smooth stone upon his neck and a tradesman’s smile adorned on his face. His crest looked too large for his head, which served to make him look comical. Both the Naga wore massive fur coats to ward off the weather.

“My name is Mala! I am here to trade!” The Naga gesticulated toward his boat with his hand.

The other Naga was silent, but noticeably larger and bulkier than the first one. The large Naga’s eyes swept over the settlement in a calculating manner. His trident was held loosely in his hand as if he was ready to fight the entire tribe on his own. The larger Naga moved to moor the boat as Mala talked.

“We’ve come from afar in search of treasures for you my brethren! We have much for sale! Trinkets from clever tribes. Information about neighbors! Locations of ruins and powerful places of worship!”

“But most importantly, we are offering you a great deal! Slaves recently captured! They’re called Goblins, and they’re slimy little creatures. But don’t let that fool you, they can have a lot of potential! They’re magical!”

Elohim

January 5th, 4000 BC

A forager stood before Divine King Ba’al. The forager clutched his cap in his hands in nervousness. Filth coated the forager from head to toe. He wore a short sleeved shirt which displayed his lean arms. A massive bandage was wrapped around his left arm.

Huntmaster Davit stood next to the anxious forager with his arms crossed. His favorite well-worn spear was within grabbing distance and leaned against a wall. Huntmaster Davit tapped him on his shoulder and looked pointedly at him.

The forager cleared his voice, then spoke. “My name is Pral, and I went out to gather fruit and berries from the forest. Like I do everyday, nothing too special. Then I saw an area that looked like it was covered in webs. Like a spider’s web. But these webs weren’t small ones like the ones we usually see, but they were massive!”

Pral took out a pouch and pulled out a clump of sticky webbing and displayed it.

“I cut out some of it to bring back. But when I was cutting, I got my foot stuck in some of the material. It took me a few moments to cut it away. While I was busy, a spider came to the tree canopy. I think it was watching me the entire time.”

“It was no ordinary regular sized spider, but it was huge! This one was bigger than me by three or four times. It looked like I could sit on its back and it could carry me around. Thats how big it was. It tried to jump on me but I got free just in time.”

Pral gestured toward the bandage on his arm and then continued his tale. “It scratched me here, but luckily I managed to run away.”

Davit silently took the webbing away from Pral and inspected it. The material was soft but hard at the same time. It also seemed to stick to his fingers. Davit attempted to pull the fiber apart but it held strong. Davit chewed the inside of his mouth as he pondered Pral’s story and the webbing.

January 12th, 4000 BC

Huntmaster Davit counted again. And when he got to fifty-two, he counted again. The same number. Huntmaster Davit looked at the herder Mackler who was also doing a recount. But by the time Davit managed to count them twice, Mackler had finished once. When Mackler finished, a frown crossed his face.

“I don’t know what to tell you Davit.” Mackler scratched the back of his dirty hair with filthy nails. “We’re missing another cow. I don’t know where they keep disappearing off to.”

Davit grunted in disapproval and wandered off to inspect the herd closer. Mackler followed shortly behind. Even when there wasn’t a need for silence, Davit’s footsteps were quiet. Mackler stepped in some cow manure and didn’t even notice. Twice.

“We counted them up yesterday. Fifty-three heads of cattle. A few days before that. Fifty-four. Several days before that. Fifty-five.” Mackler rambled as he followed Davit. His fingers occasionally stretching out to gently pet a friendly cow.

“I’m not the best counter. Numbers get mixed up in my head pretty easily. And they don’t like to stand around to be counted, they like to wander around. But I counted fifty-three heads of cattle two dozen times.”

“And the other herders counted the same. Why the other-”

Davit interrupted Mackler’s ramblings. “Escape?”

“Can’t rule that out Davit. Definitely possible. I’ve lost cattle before. But this doesn’t feel like that. It's too consistent. Happens regularly. Like the sun rises up every day. There’s a…. what do you call it?”

“Pattern.”

“Yeah, a pattern.”

“Also, we’re not seeing anything out of the ordinary. We have herders watching this specific herd every day. I talked to some of the other herders and their herds, and their cattle are fine. Maybe there’s a disease happening. A disease that lets these cattle sprout wings and fly away.”

Davit grunted politely at Mackler’s theory.

However, something drew Davit’s eye. A dull white object was buried in the grass. He crouched down to inspect it closer, careful not to immediately disturb it. After looking at it for a few moments, it became clear what it was. It was an elongated tooth. Sharp. Something from a carnivore.

Davit glanced up at the tree line. A slight chill went through him as he felt certain that he was being watched. And then the feeling was gone.

Thanny · May 16, 2021

Ruanta
January 1, 4000 BC

An angry tear in the sky, a wrathful slash of the speartip from Father Spirit, a forewarning that time was of the essence to pray for the benefit of the occupants of Mother Earth -- this was the greater interpretation of most of the snakelike shamans as they divined with knuckle bones, ice chips, spirit channelling, and sometimes just unadulterated intuition (for better or for worse) the meaning of this event. These shamans worriedly huddled to each other, chanting mystically in the oldest of tongues known to them, questioning their faith in Mother Earth and Father Spirit, and sought out the greatest of their rituals to appease the lesser spirits and the Great Spirit. They did their best to ward off the evils that would soon befall them and their fellow created beings, to appease the Father of All and to unite their faith for the good of everyone.

One saw it differently and decided to wait, his wise head bowed as he desired to consult the lesser spirits regarding their interpretation. One other saw it differently as well and decided to continue acting, her ambitious, haughty gaze drifting over the horizon. This was but one of the triggering moments to instill a bitter, bloody struggle that lay ahead that would set their settlement to ruin . . . or, perhaps, to greatness.

January 4, 4000 BC

Proud and ambitious Esuzu fought the carnal urge to slink back from the spirit before her and maintained her distance, her storm-grey eyes leveled upon the green spirit and reflecting its light. The offerings were a success, her success. She was a young shaman, but she managed to make contact with a true spirit, not one that the others seemed to connect with that were either imagined or like grains of rice compared to an elephant. She kowtowed in its presence, her magnificent crest bowed too a sign of appreciation for its visiting her, and raised her head and upper body. The snakelike portion of her curled tightly beneath her, and her hands moved in rhythmic circles as she spoke.

"Honoured spirit of the waves, I greet you and ask of you how to gain great power over the fish of the arctic seas, to change their patterns as I see fit. Do you or another have the power to sway their path?"

She did not yet speak about her reasons for the request, partly out of fear of injuring the spirit with time, and partly due to the potential knowledge of the great deeds she imagined leaking to those she intended to remove from power in place of herself. Her eyes sparkled with desire far more than a craving. It was lust, a lust for power, and she hoped the spirit would yield something to her even for the paltry offering she provided.

January 15, 4000 BC

The seaside scouts gave early warning of a boat not of the settlement which attracted the supreme chief's attention even as he was seated with his wife and daughter for supper. Excusing himself from dinner, the purple-scaled older man slithered to the docks wrapped in a profound seal-pelt coat himself, but his hood remained low so that he can listen well and show his status. Even in the chilly air he did not much flinch at an errant wind. He was accustomed to the frigidness of the January air from many long hunts with his clan-brothers.

These merchants were not clan-brothers, but he accepted the merchant one with a handshake. The other he eyed curiously, muscular and meant for protection, no doubt to keep harm-doers or the slaves at bay. Within the He eyed the slaves with a particular glint in his eye, of compassion rather than distaste. The thought of owning magic was not a new thought to him, but it required more than perhaps he can provide if the stories were true. These walking creatures were of a less race, according to nagakind's thought, though something about the glowing eyes inspired him to consider the offer more carefully than outright rejection.

"I am not one to mince words or to haggle," he spoke in a low voice, gravelly and with more hissing than others of his tribe, "but I would offer a fair price for the lot of these goblins." He pointed down towards the members of the other race, unsure if they knew that the Naga were talking about them. "We do not have much currency, but we can offer much else in trade, things of religious importance and furs already crafted into clothing. If it is food you are after, we can pay their weight in fish and Hysp fruits and bark. Name your bartering choice, as well as the locations of these ruins, and this wealth is yours to profit from."

Heyitsjiwon · May 16, 2021

The Eloheim

January 1st, 4000 BC

As Ba'al woke in the early stirrings of dawn, he could hear some commotion outside of the main hall beyond the roosters crowing. He glanced outside a window to see some of the Eloheim looking up the sky and pointing at a streak of light in the sky, slowly flying through the sky. A sign from the Sun Spirit? Perhaps, a servant of his? A divine being who has set off to do the bidding of the Sun Spirit? Or, a sign that his father had made the journey to the old lands? Many potential things that the streak of light could mean, yet it was just further proof of the Sun Spirit's power and majesty. Suddenly, someone burst through the door to Ba'al's chambers while urgently speaking "Brother! The Sun Spirit...!" Ba'al turned to see Rhea who just realized that he was already up and looking outside. Ba'al smiled and said "Yes, the Sun Spirit. It is ever present. Perhaps, it is a sign that Father has arrived at the Old Lands and is under the protection of the Sun Spirit." Rhea sullenly replied "I hope so, Brother... I do hope so."

Ba'al cheerily said "Rhea, this is an opportunity for us. Perhaps, the Spirit of the Sun will be easier to reach or bless us with its wisdom during this time when it's presence is closer than ever. I ask of you Rhea, will you lead a ritual to honor the Sun Spirit and attempt to contact it? Have Mother and Aunt Anat assist you in the ritual. Let everyone see that the Spirits still watch over us and guide us, and that we thank them and worship them for their guidance." Rhea nodded as Ba'al gently escorted her out of his room and to the center of the settlement to begin preparing for the ritual.

---

January 5th, 4000 BC

Ba'al approached Pral with his hand to his heart as he said "Brother, I am glad that you fled the giant spiders. Your resourcefulness may provide our people with a bounty. Please, rest for today and make sure that you see the apothecary to see if your arm is fine. I will speak with the Huntmaster about your discovery, but you have done more than enough for today, Brother. You honor your Kin and the Spirits." as he sent the forager on his way to rest and heal from the wound. With the Great Hall now empty except for Ba'al, Davit and Elder Saul, Ba'al turned to Davit and said "Giant Spiders are a major concern. Send word that no one is to approach the area, especially alone. Thank the Spirits that Pral managed to escape..." Davit grunted in acknowledgement and then spoke "The webbing... it is tough... tougher than any fabric that we can make. Even my spear may not easily pierce it." Ba'al nodded, understanding where Davit's comments was leading to. "Yes, if we could somehow harvest the silk... we could turn it into various clothes even armor." Elder Saul spoke up "Our people, long ago, used to collect some spider silk to use as bandages and to close deep wounds. It prevents rot and corruption while its stickiness helps keep the wound closed.

Davit tersely interjected "Nets... ropes... very useful." Ba'al nodded and looked to Davit "Huntmaster, can you pick some of your best hunters and work together during the day to begin harvesting the spider silk? The day light, large numbers and some torches might be enough to scare off the spiders. If it's too dangerous... then perhaps we could spare some of our excess food and use that as an offering to draw the spiders away while we harvest the silk? I trust your judgement to see that this is accomplished in a safe manner." Davit nodded as Elder Saul quietly wrote on a scroll of papyrus to record the discovery and potential applications of the giant spiders and their giant webs.

---

January 12th, 4000 BC

In the midst of the daily Elder Council meeting, Davit approached King Ba'al once more with the sharp, long tooth in hand. "King, the cattle... are being preyed upon by a beast of the forest." Davit said as he lifted the tooth for the King to see. Ba'al grimaced slightly. The herd was the lifeline of the Eloheim in the past. Without them... their people would have perished in the Great Exodus long ago. It was part of Eloheim culture to treat their livestock with respect and not inflict unnecessary pain. Davit handed the tooth to the King as he inspected it. Ba'al turned to one of the Elders and said "Elder, can you organize the carpenters and craftsmen to begin construction of a building that can provide shelter to the livestock during the night within the settlement? That way, the Animal Speakers and herders can bring the herd into the safety of the settlement by sunset?" Ba'al turned to Davit and said "Huntmaster, tell the night guard to be extra vigilant in the coming nights. The beast may desperately attack the settlement itself if it is starving. Otherwise, it will move on to other easier prey. If it is desperate or continues its attacks even in the day, then we will have to set up an ambush to fell the beast." Davit replied "I can track it." But Ba'al shock his head. "If we must fight the beast, then it will be on our terms when we are prepared to launch an organized attack."

---

Summary:

1. In response to the comet, the Eloheim prepare a ritual to honor the Spirits and hopefully make contact with them

2. In response to the giant spiders, Davit and his best hunters are to attempt to work together to gather some of the spider silk using the daylight, numbers, and fire to ward off the giant spiders. If it proves to be too dangerous, then they are permitted to use some surplus food as an offering/bait for the spiders and then harvest the spider silk while they are busy with the offering. All of this is subject to Huntmaster Davit's best judgements.

3. In response to the beast hunting the cattle, Ba'al seeks to have a barn/ranch constructed within the settlement that can safely house the livestock by sunset where they can be in the safety of the settlement and under the watch of the night guard. If the beast continues to attack the settlement OR attack the cattle during the day, then an ambush is to be set to fell the terrible beast.

Low-Budget Man · May 18, 2021

Ruanta

January 4, 4000 BC

The fire that warmed her cave began to grow dimmer as the spirit lazily swam. Thick droplets of moisture began to accumulate across the cave wall. Esuzu’s suddenly felt cold and damp, as if she had been standing in the rain for hours instead of nestled by a warm fire. Her fur coat felt heavy with water. She licked the outside of her mouth and tasted the salty tang of sea water, but she had not been in the sea for several hours.

Valuum, spirit of the waves, circled Esuzu in silence. The large whiskers drooping from its face floated gently as if they were underwater. The singular bright green eye turned its gaze upon her as it spoke.

“The power to sway the path of my lesser children is mine to grant. But a hefty price is required for me to bestow this great boon upon anyone.”

“I require three things. All great in numbers.The gift of Hysp bark. And the gift of flesh. The gift of mana blood. I will come when I am called upon again. Do not disappoint me.”

With that final message, Valuum began to disperse into a thousand glimmering lights. His once somewhat solid shape breaking like sand against the wave. The lights one by one winked out of existence before finally the cave was dark. Her fire had gone out and she was left alone with her thoughts.

The gift of Hysp bark was simple. The gift of flesh meant a significant amount of sacrificed fish meat and seal meat probably. Mana blood probably meant the blood of those with magical potential. That was a much harder ask. While she had made great progress today, it looked like it was merely the beginning of a difficult journey.

January 15, 4000 BC

“A few thick furs for the winter and as much spiritual bark as you have. Those fine furs you wear are very valuable to us and those Hysp bark would help us greatly! I guarantee you, that this will be a great deal!” Mala looked positively excited at the prospect of the trade.

“Go on! Present yourself!” Mala hissed at the goblins. The goblins looked at him with blank expressions. The larger Naga grabbed one of the goblins and pushed him roughly off the boat. The others got the message quickly and scrambled off the boat and onto land. The strange older goblin kept his head held high as he stepped onto the snow. His eyes betray a deeper intellect as he watched the assembled Naga with keen interest.

“”We’ll trade you all of our little goblin friends for the goods you offer.” Mala followed them off the boat and clapped one of the goblins on the back with a loud meatly slap.
“And here are the directions toward the ruins.” Mala held out a stone tablet with a crudely drawn map on it.

“So what say you? Also, perhaps a place to rest and a meal for my brother and I for a single night?”

Birna, one of the swiftest and most experienced hunters, took hold of the offered tablet and peered at it.

“Ruins a few days away. What do you think?” Birna questioned quizzically.

Chief of Rations Mopzu studied the goblins intently and spoke to the chief. “We probably have enough food to feed them, but what use are they? They’re a waste. They can barely reach the top of the Hysp tree to pick its fruit.”

January 25th, 4000 BC

Birna, one of the most experienced hunters, trekked through the snowy forest in silence. Cloaked in thick warm furs, he was protected from the volatile elements. Only his two darting amber eyes peered from beneath the layers of clothing. A gentle murmur of snowflakes fell from the skies. His favorite trident was used as a walking stick. Well-worn and sharpened, the weapon was mainly used to support Birna’s weight at the moment. The other explorers with Birna did the same. Esuzu had also joined the journey for her own reasons and kept pace with Birna.

The journey took five days. Three days by boat following the shore. Two days on foot, venturing into the hilly woods. They hunted and foraged along the way, but also packed food for the expedition. So far, the trip was dull. But Birna was fine with dull. Dull meant no pain and misery. Dull meant safe. And safe meant everyone gets to go home. As a youth, he yearned for adventure and action. As an older naga, he yearned for boredom.

Many youths often called Birna slow and ponderous. Traits that seem to go against being a successful hunter. But Birna found that moving slowly and choosing the right path often determined a successful hunt instead of being swift. The youths who mock Birna’s speed and liken him to a fat turtle have never truely seen Birna move. For one does not grow old in a profession where many die young. Animal attacks, terrain hazards, rogue weather, there were hundreds of things that have ended a hunter's life prematurely. Yet, Birna still kept slithering on, unperturbed by the dangers of the world.

A few more hours of travel forced them through a snow-covered ravine. The ravine’s cliff faces were worn down and smooth from the wind’s fury. A frozen river ran through the very bottom of the river, its icy surface reflecting the sun’s rays and bathing the ravine in fancy light. On closer inspection, a few silver scaled fish could be seen underneath the frozen river. Other than the fish, the ravine was lifeless. No birds seemed to nest in the nooks and crannies of the cliffside wall. No small game made their burrows in the snow.

As they traveled deeper into the ravine, they began to see signs that people had onced lived here. Upon the ravine cliff side walls, were faces carved out of stone. The faces cut in a blocky geometric art-style. The faces reminded the travelers of dwarves, each having thick stone beards and bright rocks for eyes. Well-worn and battered by the elements, their expressions were grim.

Eventually they came across a forest of stone pillars. Each stood as tall as a tree and were about as wide as a Naga. The pillars were scattered randomly across a stoney foundation, the spacing of the pillars varying wildly. Some were a few feet from each other while other pillars stood far apart. No discernable pattern could be spotted for their placement. Strange runes and blocky art covered the ruins.

Birna wiped away some of the snow on a pillar and inspected the art curiously, trying to identify the meaning behind it. Some of the other youthful hunters glanced at the pillars briefly before continuing their trek. As Esuzu wandered by them, she felt a faint pulsing of spiritual energy that her sensitive connection was able to perceive. Placing her hand on one of them, she could feel a distinct strange warmth radiating through them. It wasn’t a warmth of physical heat, but a spiritual one.

Ahead, one of the youthful hunters called out. Birna’s head snapped to attention and moved to the front of the group to see the commotion. A hunter gestured with his trident to what laid ahead.

A massive stone temple was erected into the side of the ravine wall. Constructed out of hundreds of stone blocks, this structure stood at least 20 meters tall and about the same wide. There looked to be even more blocky artwork carved into each stone block, but at their distance it was hard to tell. A singular gate was centered in the structure. The hum of spiritual energy emitted stronger from inside the gate. So strong that even the least spiritual of the group felt a distinct vibration in their bones and soul.

What brought panicked cries from the youthful hunter was the seven figures standing in front of the temple. At first, Birna thought they were stone sculptures, but his keen gaze quickly identified them as living beings. Or at least, something resembling a living being.

Arrayed in front of the gate, were seven dwarves. Their skin was charred and blackened as if they had been in a terrible fire. Cracks in their skin were spiderwebbed all over their body. Fiery light spilled from those cracks as if they had a fire blazing within them and that the skin was merely a shell. They stood shirtless in the blistering cold, a single loincloth covering their bottom half. However, they were unperturbed by the chilling weather. As snow touched their bare skin, it seemed to melt and turn into steam as if touching a hot surface. Each was armed with different weapons from stone axes and flint knives.

While their glowing red eyes had no pupils, Birna had a distinct feeling that they were watching him closely.

The Eloheim

January 1st, 4000 BC

It was a day of joy as the ritual was performed. While many of the Eloheim had jobs to perform, this was a blessed day and they grew distracted by the strange astronomical phenomena. Many stayed to watch the ritual be performed.

The king’s mother Mara, the king’s sister Rhea, and Anat all worked to perform the ritual to call upon the Sun Spirit. Minor sacrifices of a couple of cattle and fruit were burnt in the fire, dousing the air in its aroma. Some lamented at the waste of food, for the Eloheim was not a wasteful people. But such occasions called for some wastage.

Their ceremony took many hours, and by the end they felt no change. Disappointed, they returned to their homes. However, curiously Rhea had felt a slight tingling vibration within her bones through the ritual as if some being of immense power briefly watched them, but dismissed it as a minor sickness perhaps or something she ate.

January 6th, 4000 BC

Huntmaster Davit stood with fifteen of his finest hunters. His spear gripped wearily in one hand as his eyes scanned his surroundings. It was like Pral had described, a web forest. Silky white webbing was draped over trees and vegetation like a blanket of snow.

No sign of life existed in this small patch of woods. Presumably, they were all eaten by the spiders. But the spiders were nowhere to be seen. Davit glanced above to the tree canopy, but spotted nothing amongst the branches.

The stillness unnerved him. They were walking directly into a predator’s territory and they weren’t attacked. Half the hunters brought food to attempt to bait the spiders, but no spiders weren’t even present to be tricked. This felt like a trap. But nothing directly spoke to him that this was a trap.

Redia, Davit’s young niece, boldly began walking closer to the webbed forest. She had spent years learning alongside her uncle and was quickly becoming one of the best hunters. Although Davit didn’t say it outright, in a decade, she’d probably surpass Davit’s skills. But for now, she was merely just above average in competence.

Redia’s head swiveled slowly around, watching every tree for movement. The group followed suit. All veterans, except for Redia, moved in silence. Their spears were fanned outward, ready to fight anything that came close. They’ve now entered the outskirts of the webbed forest.

Davit grunted to attract the hunter’s attention and gestured toward the webbing. The group dispersed and began to collect the webbing. A few didn’t assist in the cutting, but instead maintained a vigil over their companions. The group stood in roughly a circle and were spaced apart.

Redia quietly crept deeper into the webbed forest as the other hunters worked. Davit looked at her retreating back, and grunted and gestured for her to move back. She turned to him and gave a slight shake of her head, and continued onward.

Davit’s teeth slammed hard together in anger. She knew that he couldn’t shout at her in this place. Davit quickly chased after her, ready to pull her back physically.

When Davit reached her, she was a fair distance away from the main group. Davit grabbed her arm and was about to yank her away before she pointed desperately at what she saw ahead. While she may be occasionally disobedient, she was still a proficient hunter. She did learn from the best after all.

Nestled underneath an outcropping of rock was a massive cluster of spider eggs. Amber colored and covered in webbing, there were around a hundred of them. A fat spider, presumably the mother was sitting atop the pile. Like Pral had described, it was large. Davit is estimated to be as large as two or three cows.

“I can sneak in and steal some eggs, Uncle,” Redia whispered to Davit.

Some instinct, prompted Davit to glance back at the group they’ve abandoned. His eyes widened in horror as he spotted two spiders quietly crawling their way to the group. Due to the heavy vegetation and trees, the group would be unable to spot the spiders until it was a few meters away from them. But Redia’s boldness had accidentally given them a unique perspective on their surroundings that isn’t obscured by trees.

January 21st, 4000 BC

Mackler, the herdsman, yawned as he watched over the cattle. The moon was obscured by the cloudy sky and it dimly illuminated his surroundings. The shelter for the cows wasn’t entirely finished, but it was enough to gather most of the cattle there. The shelters built were on the outer edge of the settlement since they didn’t have room in the center and it would be easier to let the cows out to graze during the day.

A few unlucky herdsmen were designated to be additional night guards for their own cattle for a few hours. After losing a cow every few days, the herdsman were not willing to take any chances.

Various thoughts lazily floated in Mackler’s head. None of which pertain to guarding the cows. Mackler mused over whether or not his neighbor would stop attempting to sing loudly in the morning. He mused over whether or not he could out run those giant spiders he heard some of the others talking about. And finally he mused over how he would attract Jenzine’s attention and how beautiful she was.

The hit took him entirely by surprise. He was knocked off his feet and sent sprawling to the ground. A massive hairy piece of fur was shoved into his mouth, deafening his shouts for help. He flailed his arms wildly, attempting to make noise, but they were quickly grabbed and held down.They were much larger than him and much stronger. A foul smelling plant was shoved in his face and slowly, he began to lose consciousness.

But not before he managed to observe his attackers for a brief moment. Feline faces with intelligent eyes stared down at him. About four of them. One bared his teeth as Mackler’s gaze passed over him. Sharp canines shined in the moonlight. They were much larger than him and much stronger, and his struggle seemed pointless. He glanced at the shelter to see another two of the same creatures proceed to gently open the door to abduct another cow.

It wasn’t long before it all became black and Mackler fell to the land of dreams.

Heyitsjiwon · May 19, 2021

Eloheim

January 2nd, 4000 BC

Ba'al entered the quarters of Rhea to visit her as she reportedly did not feel well. "Brother." She said with a slight smile as she sat in her bed. "Rhea, do you feel better?" Ba'al inquired as he approached her bedside. "I was just tired from the ritual. Nothing to worry about." She assured him. "We prayed from sunrise until the streak of light could no longer be seen..." "Sadly, I don't think we received the wisdom of the Spirit." Ba'al replied "If that is the case, then it is not because of anything that you have done, Sister. If anything, the Spirits have at least witnessed your devotion and will continue to watch over us. We would know quickly if we offended the Great Spirits. Now, do not let me bother you any longer. Get some needed rest and sleep at ease knowing that I am proud of you, and so are the rest of the Eloheim." With that, Ba'al left the room to return to his duties and let Rhea continue to rest.

---

January 6th, 4000BC

Davit's brain was racing as he tried to figure out the best course of action. Spiders reacted to vibrations, particularly to vibrations in their webs as it indicated a captured prey that was easy to deal with and of a minimal threat. However, they could still sense vibrations in the air... could it be possible to overwhelm their senses with continuous vibrations? That was the best bet that he could think of without putting people in risk. Thus, Davit reached for a large stick on the ground and threw it as far as he could in the opposite direction of the Eloheim towards some other webs that were set up. The sudden movement from Davit caught the attention of his hunters who paused in their duty. Davit signaled that there were two spiders approaching them. The spiders however paused in their tracks, likely confused or surprised by the sudden vibrations in their webs. Davit tried to grab his niece's arm and begin to pull her back. He knew that the mother spider would be alert now, likely investigating the source of the sudden and sharp vibrations that his thrown stick was causing. They had to move, now. Only the Gods knew how many spiders there were in total, and it was clear that they had already overstayed their welcome. More could easily come at any moment and swarm the small party. Yet, Davit only grabbed air as he turned back to see Redia approaching the nest.

The other hunters began to back away carefully from the web as they readied their spears and looked in the general direction that Davit pointed towards. Davit signaled to them once more to throw the offerings towards various directions into the webbing. If there was a Spirit of the Spider, then Davit prayed that it would be satisfied with the offering... or any Spirit. Redia cursed her misfortune as the stick alarmed the mother spider as she was approaching the nest. She stood completely still as he watched the numerous eyes of the spider begin to look around in the direction of the thrown stick. The mother spider became more alert as the offerings landed at various parts of the web. Davit saw the two spiders approaching his hunters skitter and pounce in the direction of one of the offerings. His hunters looked to him for orders as signaled if they should retreat or come towards him. Davit looked towards Redia and saw that she too picked up a stick. Then it seemed like time slowed as his blood ran cold. He saw her wind up her arm for a throw as the stick began to fly towards the webbing near the back of the mother spider. "Damn it." Davit muttered under his breath. This girl was too ambitious for her own good... she was going to get herself or others killed at this rate.

The mother spider turned around to face the vibrations in her web, at which moment Redia dashed forward to the nest and stuck her hand into the pile of eggs. She began to run back with the spider mother turning to face her as she felt the sudden vibrations in her egg sac. Davit yelled "Fire and retreat!" as he threw a stick at the mother spider to keep it distract for a second or two... whatever time he could buy for Redia as she ran towards Davit. The hunters behind Davit took their torches and began to burn the webbing around them, which seemed to melt and vanish instead of actually catch on fire for some odd reason. It was then that all hell began to break loose as skittering sounds could be heard coming from deeper in the woods. Davit could see more spiders approaching, running along both visible and invisible networks of webs. He grabbed Redia as she approached and like a hell hound began to run. The hunters continued to burn the nearby webs so that the spiders wouldn't be able to follow them easily, but when they saw Davit running followed by the sight of even more giant spiders skittering from the depths of the woods... no man could blame them when they started to run.

The hunters retreated through the woods, running for their lives as the skittering followed them. Yet, as they continued to run, the skittering slowly became more distant until they were met with the familiar sounds of birds and insects chipping. The party stopped for a break and to regroup. Davit silently counted the number of people. All 15 were accounted for. Thank the spirits. He had to report back... the spiders could become a problem if their nest grew and their babies fully matured. They would have to return to make sure that the spider lair would not expand too much. More spiders meant that they would likely expand their territory. But that was a problem that could be addressed in the future. There was another major problem that faced them right now. Davit silently turned to Redia and glared at her. She was breathing heavily with a shit eating grin on her face as she opened her palm to show her grotesque bounty, a few pearly, slimey spheres. Though at least one of them looked... compromised. Davit was infuriated. Redia did not risk her own life with her stunt, but the lives of the others as well. All for some spider eggs that he didn't even know what to do with. The Eloheim never tried to raise spiders. He didn't know what it took to properly care for these eggs if they were still viable. For all he knew, they could all be squished. Over a dozen lives were put at risk for some squished spider eggs and a little bit of spider silk. Redia finally broke the silence "Told you I knew what I was doing." Davit shook his head and silently turned away. Redia became crestfallen and asked "Are you mad at me?" Davit curtly replied "No, disappointed." as he walked over to check on the other hunters before they made the final trek on their journey.

---

"Thank you, Huntmaster. You have done us a great service today." Ba'al said to Davit. Davit had just returned from the mission and came back with his findings and goods that he gathered. The silk gathering... didn't go as well as hoped. There was certainly not enough to make armor or clothes for everyone. Though it would be feasible to make some high quality nets and ropes that the hunters and fishers could find useful. Elder Saul stood nearby as he examined the spider eggs. He spoke "The eggs look like they haven't been destroyed. It's possible that life may hatch from them. However... what comes after is the real question. Spiders are not docile creatures like cattle or chicken. I do not expect us to be able to train them to do specific tasks like riding them." It was then that Davit spoke up. "Some new borns, like baby birds treat the first thing that they see as their parents. If we feed the hatchlings and make them used to the presence of humans... they will not attack us and let us gather their silk peacefully?" The Elder shrugged and replied "It is a possibility. I will defer to the knowledge and wisdom of the Animal Speakers." Ba'al nodded and replied "I will entrust this task to you, Davit. Experiment and see what you can make of this situation. You may also take the spider silk as a reward for your hunters. Have the weavers turn them into nets and ropes to help you and your men in your endeavors." Davit grunted in acknowledgement as he then took his leave. He knew exactly who to give this responsibility to... this burden to care for the lives of others.

---

January 22nd, 4000 BC

At first, cows were vanishing... but now a Eloheim AND a cow has gone missing. Several shepherds stood before King Ba'al as they recounted their story. They were a part of the night watch when they noticed that one of their own had vanished. They thought that he had gone to secretly go to sleep in his house, but this morning... no one could find him AND a cow had missing. One of the shepherds commented that he thought that he saw some human like shadows around the barn that night, but when he had gone to take a closer look he found nothing. This wasn't a beast... no this was something intelligent that avoided the night watch and broke into the barn to steal a cow. This was an organized job. The Huntmaster suddenly entered the Great Hall as he placed his hand before his heart and spoke "Tracks. I found tracks that look like someone was being dragged along with cow tracks... but they seem to vanish in the woods and there's no other tracks... they're cautious and know what they're doing." King Ba'al looked at the Huntmaster with a confused look and said "They?" "Yes, unless it has multiple arms to drag a person and guide a cow into the woods." Ba'al replied "So, we're facing outsiders who have been stealing from us..." He then looked to the Huntmaster and said "More guards. They won't stop these thieves, but it will make them think that we're putting up more of a fight and make them them think that this is the best we can do. Huntmaster... you have that spider silk, yes?"

Davit nodded. "The web is strong, sticky, and versatile?" Davit nodded once more. "And you say that in the dark, it's impossible to see it?" Davit replied "Even spiders have to rely on their sense of touch to figure out where their webs are." Ba'al replied "Then can you and your hunters set up a trap in the barn entrance using the spider silk? A simple tripwire that will make a net fall on the intruders and make some noise would suffice. Capturing the thieves is crucial. We need more information about them, and find out if Mackler is still alive. It may even lead to a prisoner swap, but we need a strong position to bargain from. I do not take kindly to these outsiders stealing from us and abducting one of our own, but my priority is to make sure that our people are safe and that Mackler is brought back unharmed." Davit nodded as he began to hatch a plot to have some of his trustworthy men work as shepherds to make it seem like all is normal even if they are being watched. He would have more guards, but it was all a ruse to make the thieves think that having more guards was the best that they could do. After all, not doing ANYTHING in response would be suspicious.

---

Summary:

1. Ba'al visits Rhea to make sure that she is fine and to encourage her to rest after her long ritual.

2. The gathering mission ends with very limited success as the group manages to only collect a small amount of spider silk and a few eggs though fortunately, no one was killed despite Redia's recklessness that endangered the lives of everyone and put them at unnecessary risk.

3. The spider silk is to be turned into some high quality rope and nets and given to the Hunters as a reward and to help them with their duties.

4. Davit gives Redia the task of caring for the spider eggs and attempting to raise them into tamed spiders that are not hostile to the presence of humans as both a punishment and hopefully a lesson about being considerate of others and their lives.

5. The Huntmaster and his hunters are tasked with using their newly acquired spider silk ropes and nets to set up a trap inside the barn for the thieves in an attempt to capture and question them.

Low-Budget Man · May 20, 2021

Eloheim

January 22nd, 4000 BC

Redia sulked moodily as she sat on an old wooden bench. Rays of light illuminated the single room house she was in. Outside, she heard some hunters chatting about a successful hunt they had accomplished. One hunter boasted that his thrown spear managed to precisely hit his target from over 50 meters away. The other hunters called him a liar.

A batch of spider eggs were clumped in front of her. Unhatched and boring. They were placed in a large wooden box with a lid in case they needed to be contained. She had managed to salvage five eggs. One had been cracked open when she grabbed it aggressively. They captured her interest for a total of about twenty minutes before she grew bored of them. The eggs were covered in spider webbing, but a silhouette of the baby spider could be seen through the partially translucent eggs.

She sighed as she doodled on the dirt floor with a stick. A few moments went by as she added another sketch to her collection of doodles. Redia assumed that she could check upon the eggs every couple of weeks or so, but apparently Davit wanted her to watch the eggs constantly. Or at least have someone watch the eggs constantly in case something happens to them. She had a few scraps of parchment where she had been documenting taking care of the eggs.

“Wow! I can’t believe I’m missing all the action here!” A hunter strolled into the hut with a broad grin on his face. He held a stick with slabs of charred meat upon it and offered it to her.

“Shut up, Hadad. What’s that on your face? You fell face first into dung again? Or did you rub your face on a deer’s butt?” Redia retorted moodily as she took his gift.

Hadad touched his modest beard self-consciously. He’d been trying to grow it for weeks but so far, he had only a tiny scruff. Hadad was a young hunter of a similar age to Redia. He was the son of the King’s aunt Anat. In other words, the King’s cousin. His relation to the King gave him some status, but he never really viewed it as important. Redia never seemed to treat him that way at least.

“I thought that you’d be interested in hearing the latest gossip. But I guess I can tell it to my other hunter friends…..” Hadad trailed off.

“No! Don’t go! Anything to distract me from these dumb eggs.”

“Are you sure? Because I think Bildann might be interested in my news. And he says my beard makes me look stronger.”

“Okay. Your beard makes you look stronger than Uncle Davit and you can probably strangle a panther with one hand while fighting a bear with the other.”
“Don’t say that bit about your Uncle when he’s around or he’s going to make you watch these eggs until you grow old and grey. But anyways, rumor has it those cattle aren’t being eaten by a predator. They’re being stolen!”

“By who?”

“We don’t know. But they’re smart and they had your uncle fooled for a while.”

“How are they going to catch them?”

Hadad shrugged. “I don’t know. I think the King said to just put more guards.”

“That’s dumb. We should go on the offense and track them down!”

Hadad laughed loudly and then stopped as he realized she was serious. “Even Davit can’t even find them. You’ll never be able to do it.”

“This will prove to Uncle Davit that I’m a great hunter and he won’t stick me on egg duty. He’ll put my talents to good use.” Redia paced around the hut as she concocted her plan.

“You're telling me, your brilliant plan of winning Davit over is to break more rules? While you’re under punishment because you disobeyed orders?” Hadad was incredulous over Redia’s logic. He took a seat in her previously occupied spot as she began pacing about. He had to take a seat after hearing Redia’s absolutely ridiculous proclamation.

“He was mad because I endangered the group. This time I’ll only be endangering myself. And besides, it was a success. Good for all of Eloheim. People will speak greatly of my deeds of catching the first spiders.”

“Redia. You’re insane. How do you expect to track the thieves down?” Hadad didn’t even bother trying to talk her down anymore. He’d known her long enough to know what she had a foolhardy idea in her head, it would took a mountain falling on her to stop her. A big mountain.

“I think I have a plan. Do you mind watching over the eggs for a couple of nights?”

“I’m not sure-” Hadad started.

“It’ll pay back the time you accidentally threw my spear in the river. And the time you accidentally gave me berries that caused me to break out in hives. Also that one time you forgot to pack rations for our trip.” Redia crossed her arms and looked down at Hadad’s embarrassment.

“Okay. Fine, I'll do it for three nights,” Hadad relented. Redia leaned over and hugged him in thanks.

“Now, it's time for me to hunt some thieves,” Redia proclaimed with a hunter’s grin upon her face.

However, unbeknownst to the pair engaged in conversation, one of the eggs began to wiggle slowly and stopped. They were soon to hatch.

-------------
Mackler awoke with a start to see two amber eyes staring down at him. He attempted to flail out and shout in panic but realized he was tightly bound and his mouth was stuff with a disgusting hide ball. The two amber eyes were set upon a feline face with several horns sprouting from the side of its hide. Brightly plumed feathers hung from his ears and his belt also was decorated with feathers. A hint of amusement seemed to lie behind those eyes as the creature proceeded to watch Mackler struggle. After expending his energy in his useless outburst, Mackler eventually calmed down.

“Finish cry?” The creature spoke. It was a heavily accented rough voice that came out of the creature. Mackler’s face contorted in confusion.

“You cry. No more cry,” The creature spoke again and reached out and poked Mackler in the chest with a claw finger. Not enough to hurt, just to draw attention. The creature’s pelt was an ashy dark grey with stripes of solid black.

“Name is Argoo. We are Khates. Clan name is Swift Flight.” The creature, now identified as Argoo, proclaimed. Its name was pronounced with a strange variation in pitch.

“Take out hair. No cry.” Argoo yanked the fur in Mackler’s mouth.

“Sorry scare you and…” Argoo mimed a hitting motion. Then he mimed falling to the ground.

“What the….What...Where?” Mackler sputtered, utterly bewildered by the situation.

“Home.” Argoo stepped aside and gestured to his surroundings. His massive bulk was blocking Mackler’s point of view before, but now Mackler could see where he was for the first time. It was a forest clearing, with one massive overhanging cliff on one side. Dozens of the Khates were loitering around, talking, eating, practicing their weapons. Small tents were thrown up underneath the shelter of the overhanging rocks. A few Khate children could be seen wrestling with each other.

His mouth fell open at one particular sight. Several of his cows herded in an area. Safe and unharmed.

“Cow keep getting lost nighttime, friend.” An amused grin crossed Argoo’s face.

Argoo casually loosened Mackler’s bonds, allowing him to wiggle out.

“No run. If run, we no need chase. Spider eat you!” Argoo guffawed and patted Mackler roughly on the back.

“You hungry? Eat and ask question?” From beneath Argoo’s cloak, he procured a pouch of berries and he held it out to Mackler.

January 26th, 4000 BC

Night had fallen and Huntmaster Davit sat in a neighboring hut to the barn. Several of his hunters slept lightly on the floor. Hunting was taxing work and they took every chance they could to sleep. A few hunters stayed awake with Davit and waited for sound to rise from the barn. For four nights, the hunters waited for the thieves to come. And for four nights, nothing came. The cows were accounted for and nothing was stolen. A few lit torches were in also in the hut, but were covered by plant material so that the hunters wouldn’t lose their night vision.

A loud clatter of rocks suddenly echoed from within the barn, followed by a shout of panic.

“Move! We have intruders!” Davit leaped to his feet and was running out the hut within seconds., a torch in one hand and a spear in the other. His feet pumped as he sprinted to the barn with the awake hunters hard on his heel. The previously asleep hunter roused quickly and followed suit.

As he ran to the door of the barn, he spotted two night guards lying sprawled on the ground. There was no blood, and he didn’t have time to check on them personally so he gestured for one of the hunters to take a look. But luckily, he saw both their chests rise and fall slowly.

Davit bursted into the barn with his torch blazing light. In the barn stood five large feline creatures with horns. Each stood over a foot taller than him and each were armed with spears and knives. However, one was trapped underneath a thick net of silky and was struggling to cut himself out.

On closer inspection, their spears were different than the Eloheim’s spears. Firstly, the spear head seemed to be made out of some sharpened bone material and it was much longer than the spearheads that the Eloheim uses. A ruffle of black feathers were also placed behind the spear head. Lastly, the shaft of the spear widened slightly at the very end and it was wrapped in that same bony material. The very bottom of the spear seemed to function as a club.

The felines were desperately sawing away at the silky material with their flint knives, but were making slow progress. Upon seeing that the Eloheim hunter had arrived, the trapped feline creature shoved his companions away with a yowl and pointed toward one of the uncompleted sections of the wall. One of them gave a command and began sprinting toward one of the uncomplete walls of the barn, shoving through the startled cattle.

The rest of the feline creatures sprinted after him. One of them looked conflicted at following the command. The conflicted feline stared longingly for a split second at her trapped companion before running aswell. She dodged a tackle attempt by one of the Eloheim hunters that was close to her and quickly caught up to her friends.

The felines were sprinting away from where the Davit’s hunters had entered. And more night guards were arriving at the barn with every passing second. The window for the felines to escape was closing, but the felines moved swiftly due to their long legs.

Two night guards close to the felines attempted to intercept them. However, in a brilliant quick display of martial ability, they were swept off their feet with the feline’s long spear shafts. Stunned, but relatively unhurt. The felines barely slowed down in their movements to take down their opponents, and were nearly out of the barn.

The single trapped feline halted his attempts to escape the net and sat down crosslegged. He placed his strange spear and knife beside him in the net and made no moves to touch them. He then looked at the humans expectantly.

Heyitsjiwon · May 20, 2021

Eloheim

January 22nd, 4000 BC

Hadid returned to his room after a long day. Things were getting hectic with the discovery of the spider lair and the missing cattle and was looking forward to getting some solid sleep. Yet, in the darkness of the room, a figure stood up and spoke "What's with the box?" Hadid froze for a split second, but replied "None of your business, Iskur. Just doing someone a favor and looking after it." as he lit a small fire in the oven to lighten up the room a bit. Iskur smirked slightly and said "You sure it's a good idea to be doing this?" Hadid replied "You looked in the box?" Iskur replied "Hard not to when you left it in the middle of the room. Someone else could have come along and tripped on it, knocking it over. Now THAT would be a sight to see." with a chuckle. Hadid replied "Who would walk into our room other than you and me?" The twins lived in their father's home. It was a modest building with two rooms. Their mother took up a room herself since the two brothers would often not return home till late in the night and they didn't want to disturb her. That left the remaining room to the twins who shared it to take care of their father's home and their mother.

Iskur replied "You're lucky that Mother isn't as curious or cautious as I am." Hadid retorted "You're worried even when the deers stop pooping by the stream." Iskur replied "And I was right to be worried. The deer migrated cause of a bear that moved into the area. The same bear that spooked you while you were taking a leak." Hadid "Uh huh, and guess who took down that bear while you lost your spear cause the bear knocked it out of the air with it's massive paws?" Iskur shrugged and said "Never said that I was strong as a moose." Between the two brothers, Hadid was more straightforward and blunt both personality-wise and physically. He was strong enough to wrestle a hog if need be and his strikes with the spear with deadly. On the other hand, Iskur was dexterous and observant. He could sneak up close to a herd of deer silently, and throw a spear with deadly accuracy.

Hadid sighed and and began to get ready to sleep. Iskur did the same. A short moment of silence fell in the room. It was Iskur again who then commented "I hope you know what you're doing." Hadid replied "How hard could it be? I just have to look after some eggs." Iskur retorted "Not for long..." Hadid replied "Yes, just for three days... wait. What do you mean by..." as he stopped what he was doing and looked at Iskur. He knew that the tone that Iskur used meant he was implying something. Hadid immediately walked over to the box to check on the eggs. He opened the box to find the eggs all sitting without a problem. He exhaled a sigh of relief until he thought he saw one of the eggs twitch. Hadid swiftly closed the box and looked up to Iskur. "They... they're..." "Hatching? Yes, you better start looking for food. Those spiderlings are going to be awfully hungry. I've seen baby spiders eat their eggs, and then their mother... then each other if there isn't enough food around." Hadid stuttered "Yes! Food... what do they eat? Venison?" Iskur replied "No, you idiot. Bugs! Catch some bugs like they eat out in the wild! Worms, flies... then once they're a bit bigger, then we might be able to feed them meat."

Hadid hurriedly scrambled out the room to go hunt for some bugs. Muttering under his breath "Damn it Redia... you owe me BIG for this one..." as the mighty boar wrestler went out to wrestle up some worms and other insects that he could find.

---

Mackler gingerly took the berries and ate one of them. He wasn't sure where they were... other than somewhere north of the Eloheim settlement seeing the giant cliff that overlooked the area. There weren't mountains nearby other than towards the north after all where the Eloheim haven't crossed since the Great Exodus. Mackler pointed towards himself and said "Mackler. Why take me and cow?" He was confused by the circumstances... it was clear to him that he were abducted by these Khate... and that they were of a specific tribe... yet why steal from another larger group? Unless... there was a lot more of them or they were desperate. Still Mackler wasn't certain about his fate. They kept him alive for some reason even though they could have easily gotten rid of him and made sure that he couldn't tell anyone about what had happened. It didn't seem like they were interested in hurting or fighting the Eloheim despite being tall and strong creatures. He had heard stories from the Elders about the Old Lands where the Eloheim had fought vicious wars against other species, but the Khate didn't seem interested in war. Confused, and full of questions, Mackler waited to hear from Argoo.

January 26th, 4000 BC

Davit looked to one of the Hunters and said "Summon Elder Saul..." as he realized that the thief was clearly NOT human. He wasn't sure if he could communicate with the creature, and hoped that the Elder would know a thing or two about this captured being. The rest of the guards had their spears pointed and raised at the captured feline being. He called off the chase of the other felines as he didn't want them to blindly run around in the woods especially during the dark. They accomplished their mission, which was to capture one of the thieves alive. Davit confiscated the weapons of the Khate and motioned for the Khate to put it's hands behind it's back and to put it's feet together. The Khate complied willingly and without struggle as Davit bound the feline's hands and feet with spider silk rope.

Davit pointed towards himself and said "Davit." He then pointed towards the Khate and asked "You? Why take our Brother? What do your people want?" He felt somewhat dumb asking this as the chances of it speaking their tongue were... unlikely. However, they had many questions that they had to try and solve. To his relief, Elder Saul arrived shortly after. The Elder spoke up "Ahh, I believe this fellow is a Khate. Last I've met one was long ago... some of their kind are nomads if I recall. A opportunistic bunch if I may say so myself. One group might be working as traveling merchants, while the next bunch shows up and steals supplies to keep traveling. The last time this settlement was visited by Khates... I was just a scribe! Their caravan brought some interesting mysteries. Though... it seems that this group of Khates are not interested in trading."

Davit replied, cutting straight to the point "Do you speak their tongue, Elder?" "No, but their kind are perceptive. They may know a bit of our tongue... or this fellow may pick up on our language rather quickly." The Elder replied. "You have done well, Huntmaster. I will bring the Khate before the King and see if we can learn something from him. Will you summon the other Elders? I believe they will be interested in meeting this Outsider." Davit nodded and set off to summon the other Elders. Davit approached one of their homes and called out "Elder Ur! Elder Saul summons you to the Great Hall. We have captured one of the thieves." After a few moments, a man with dark hair, speckled with some strands of grey stepped out of the home. His skin looked waxy in the moonlight as he was on the pale side of Eloheim skin complexion. "At this time of the night? You must have had a long night then, Huntmaster." Ur said as he yawned. Davit then handed the Elder the weapons of the Khate. "Elder, these were the weapon and tool of the thief... if there is anything that you and your craftsmen can learn from it, then my hunters will be grateful to have better quality weapons and tools." The Elder yawned once more and said "In the morning, Huntmaster, I will look at them with fresh eyes and mind. For now, I must head to the Council." The Huntmaster nodded and continued on his way to summon the other Elders.

---

Summary:

1. Hadid realizes, with some horror, that the eggs are hatching soon thanks to the sarcastic and witty comments of his twin brother Iskur. He sets off to start collecting bugs to feed the spiderlings

2. Mackler awakes and asks Argoo what is going on and why the Khate were stealing cows and abducted him

3. Davit questions the captured Khate, and hands him off to the Elders and the King for further questioning.

3. Davit brings the Khates weapons and tools to Elder Ur, the Craftsman, to see if the Eloheim can learn anything from the Khate handiwork/crafting.

Low-Budget Man · May 21, 2021

Eloheim

January 22nd, 4000 BC

“Show strong warrior, no need kill or hurt,” Argoo explained.

“We come from far place. Enemy tribe steal our animals. We steal back. No kill. Make strong warrior. If warrior captured, big shame. If steal good and escape good, big happy. Way of life, “ Argoo elaborated as he watched two Khate children wrestle each other. The two cubs yowled at each other as they playfully grappled each other.

Mackler followed his gaze and also observed the two playing children. However, his gaze also roamed over their entire encampment. A few fires burned almost smokeless in pits. He didn’t realize this before, but the land they were on was sunken into the ground. They were essentially in a basin and the cliffs lead up to the normal height of land.

“Steal you. Accident. We try cover eyes so no one see stealing. But idiot warrior not fast. So steal you too. Don’t want friends to know Khate.”

Mackler chewed as berries as he contemplated this information.

“Swift Flight clan break few years ago. Big war with enemy. Few family stick together and run away together. Maybe more Swift Flight clan out there running. But don’t know where.” A far off look crossed Argoo’s face as he told his tale to Mackler.

“Spend long time trying to find more Swift Flight. Maybe enemy kill all Swift Flight. Maybe all here is last.” Argoo gestured to the Khates loitering about.

A few of them stared curiously at Mackler. The two wrestling children realized they were being watched and cautiously approached Mackler and Argoo. They were clearly curious of Mackler and they gazed at him with wide open eyes. They whispered to each other quietly.

“If last of Swift Flight tribe. Then, I need to make more cubs! Many children!” Argoo reached over to one of the Khate women who was walking nearby carrying a basket of picked fruit and gave her a friendly and obnoxious lick across the face. She playfully pushed him off and continued on her path. Argoo guffawed at her reaction and then turned his attention back to Mackler.

“We wander long time. Maybe time to stop wander and make new home.” Argoo pointed toward the cows.

“Never had reason to stop wander. But with cows, we stop and make new home. Wander hard. Many danger. Many Khate die. Stop wander. Raise children. Build house. Be safe. Near spider forest, so enemy hard to attack. We have trick to not fight spider. ”

“Steal you accident. But good. Find a shiny stone inside rotten fish stomach. Argoo know human clan before many many years before wander. Learn a little speak. Speak to you, find out what human think of Khate. What clan of Mackler think of Argoo plan? What Mackler think of Argoo plan?” Argoo side-eyed Mackler as he asked his question. Even though Mackler has never met a Khate or knew anything about their body language, he could detect a hint of anxiousness coming from Argoo.

The two Khate children had grown bolder and were now sniffing Mackler’s legs and inspecting his clothes.

January 25th, 4000 BC

Redia had combed the surround area for tracks of any kind, but was unable to find any. The thieves were skilled hunters, she had to give them credit. It was like trying to hunt Devit when he made her practice tracking him. She was beginning to grow frustrated. Whoever these thieves were, they didn’t want to be found.

But an idea struck her. What if instead of looking for the tracks directly, she would go to the place where the thieves would mostly likely be hiding out. But the jungle was a massive place, and it seemed like they could hide anywhere. Her new plan made her search in known caves and behind a waterfall, but no thieves were found.

A second eureka struck her after hours of searching. These thieves had to be close. But they had to also be in a place where an Eloheim hunter would never look. It was incredibly insane, but the answer had a certain logic to it.

So, she stood on the outskirts of the spider forest. The sun was falling and sending the world into twilight. The birds were silent on the outskirts. The life that once accompanied the forest had seemed to have fallen into the shadowy grasps of the spiders. She crept quietly with her spear in hand. A small pack of supplies and tools was strapped to her back.

Suddenly, she saw movement in the spider forest. Redia froze. Two humanoid shapes moving. Debit had ordered no one enter the spider forest, so they clearly weren’t Eloheim. Redia’s heart pounded in her chest as she realized she had found the thieves.

Three days of searching in the jungle had finally paid off! She would be bragging about this for years to Hadid. She had to force herself to stop smiling, fearful that her teeth would reflect light and give away her position. She watched the two shapes for a moment and slowly a frown crossed her face.

They weren’t human. They were strange feline creatures with massive horns on their heads. And they yowled softly at each other in a foreign language. Both carried an odd spear with them as well as a bent stick with a string tied to either end. Both of them were also carrying recently killed game. Redia quickly moved behind a massive tree and peaked from behind its leaves, fearful of being discovered.

The two felines casually wandered into the spider forest as it was a walk through town. They glanced around occasionally to be aware of their surroundings, but they weren’t scared at all about being in the spider forest. Either they were very brave or very stupid.

However, the reason soon revealed itself to Redia. One of the large spiders drew close to the felines, and one of them took out a pink shiny rock. In the twilight, she could see the light reflect brilliant off it. The feline tapped his spearhead atop the pink rock, which created a loud ringing sound. The spider quickly skittered away from the pair.

Redia’s mouth fell open at the sight. If she managed to track them down to their home. And then also found a way to deal with the spiders? Her name would go down in the legends. She could go home and report back to her uncle her findings...but her eyes followed the pink rock in the feline’s hand greedily.

-----

“Damn it Redia.” Hadid muttered as he fed a worm to the three newly hatched spiderlings. Two eggs were still unhatched, but twitched occasionally. He suspect he was about to be a mother to a batch of five baby spiders very soon.

“That girl is going to be the death of you. These little guys are going to crawl into your mouth when you’re sleeping and choke you to death.”

“Don’t give me that mental image.”

“Or perhaps they’ll crawl into your ears and eat your brain from the inside”

“That’s somehow even worse”

“Or they’ll go up your butt and-”

“Let’s talk about something else. Like, have you seen Redia recently?” Hadid said, desperate to change the subject. Her three days were up but she was still nowhere to be seen. While he oddly did find the little spiders cute in a strange morbid way, he didn’t enjoy thinking about them killing him.

Iskur shrugged, “Don’t know. I thought you were the one always following her around. Asking her if she wanted to hunt together or asking her if she wanted to share a meal”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…..” Hadid waved him off and then noticed something. One of the spiders had crawled on his hand. So far, it was about the size of a finger. But from what he heard from Redia, they’d eventually be bigger than a cow and could eat a fully sized human. But so far, the babies were docile.

“Hey, do you think we should start trying to train them somehow?” questioned Hadid.

“Why? Trying to impress Redia?”

“No! I just think it’d be good for the clan is all,” Hadid said unconvincingly.

“We’re both clever hunters.” Iskur snorted at Hadid’s comment. “Between the two of us, we can probably figure something out,” finished Hadid.

January 26th, 4000 BC

The assembled elders stood around the Khate prisoner and maintained a good distance away from him. Several guards watched the Khate warily, but the Khate made no sudden movements. In fact, at one point he politely pointed toward a knife that a hunter had accidentally dropped and was frantically searching for. However, the Eloheim took no chances and he was heavily bound in silk. While the Khate was docile, the Khate was a foot taller than the tallest Eloheim and was rippling with muscles underneath his midnight black pelt. The Khate’s thick sturdy horns, razor sharp claws, and rows of carnivorous teeth created an image of a powerful predator

There was no doubt in any of the hunter’s minds that even without the Khate’s weapons, the Khate could probably take down any of them in single combat. Even with the rows of spears pointing at the Khate, the thought of the Khate leaping at them and attempting to eviscerate made them anxious.

The Khate sat down-cross legged once again when he saw that they had reached a stopping point. The creature looked around at the various elders curiously. With his hands tied, he wasn’t able to maneuver much. But he thumped his chest with his hands, and spoke.

“Poltoo.” The Khate introduced himself. His name involved strange pitching of sounds.

Poltoo then began making a series of strange yowling sounds to the assembled people, occasionally backed by a gesture such as touching a horn or tapping a leg. Blank faces greeted Poltoo’s foreign speech. Poltoo observed this quietly for a moment.

With great reluctance, Poltoo spoke again slowly. This time, it came out in an extremely accented Eloheim. It was so poor, that the Elders barely understood him and only by conferring with each other could they piece together what he said.

“Poltoo know human speak little.” Poltoo repeated the phrase a few times to make sure the Elders understood him.

“Take human mistake. Return soon. Poltoo see easy food. Poltoo take. No kill. No blood. Good warrior. Blood and die. Bad warrior. “ Poltoo took a pause as he gathered his thoughts before continuing. Something resembling shame crossed his face as he looked down.

“Poltoo bad warrior.”

Poltoo then looked back up toward the assembled elders.

“What you do with Poltoo?”

A flash of fear crossed his face. “Poltoo smell bad. No eat Poltoo”

January 28th, 4000 BC

Elder Ur showed the assembled council the Khate’s weapon. For the most part, it resembled a regular spear in concept. But there were a few differences. Firstly, it was longer than the spear of the Eloheim. The spearhead was also made out of some strange bony material and was also much longer than the Eloheim’s regular spearhead. Carved flowing artwork could be seen on the bone spearhead, resembling flowing water. A ruffle of black feathers sat directly below the spear head.

The spear shaft has a dozen slight notches cut into it, not enough to reduce the integrity of the shafts by any means. The bottom part of the spear also widened out to a larger club-like shape. The same piece of bony material was also affixed to this end, but wasn’t sharpened and was simply a blunt chunk.

The Khate’s knife was also on display. But for the most part, it looked like a normal flint knife used by the Eloheim. The only exception was it was fractionally larger, probably to accommodate the size difference between the two races.

“This Khate spear is a marvelous weapon. When we showed the captured Khate the weapon, he pointed at it and called it a Taiaha. “ Elder Ur spoke that word carefully to mimic the way the Khate had said it.

“The top part of the spear is for lethal combat and the bottom half is for nonlethal combat. If struck hard with the bottom part, it can inflict brutal damage. But it looked like it can be also used to disabled enemies as well by knocking them. As the hunters have witnessed when we ambushed the Khate thieves.”

Elder Ur flipped the spear around to demonstrate the club portion of the spear. “While it might be stronger in melee combat, it also reduces it heavily as a throwing weapon. And the extra weight might slow fighters down.”

He pointed toward the bone material reinforcing the bottom part of the shaft. The bony material only covered the lower 10% of the wooden spear shaft.

“This bone material is relatively tougher than the wood. The bone And I presume that that’s why they’re using it. It is a lot heavier than the flint we use, so this weapon weighs more than our regular spears. But the material is sturdy. I would also predict that they don’t have a lot of the bone material since its used sparingly. The weapon is also finely balanced aswell I would add.”

Elder Ur flipped it back right side up and tapped the bone spearhead and then tapped the feathers. “I’m not sure what the point of the feathers are. If thrown, the feathers would actually slow the weapon down probably the way they’re placed. So I reckon that they would only use this in melee combat. But the spearhead is the same bone material and looks to cut pretty well.”

Heyitsjiwon · May 23, 2021

January 22nd, 4000 BC

Mackler was stunned by the words of the Khate. It appeared that his tribe were much like the Eloheim. They were driven out of their homes by a hostile people. However... stealing from the Eloheim... not only were they NOT human... they stole sacred cattle to whom the Eloheim revere and consider near sacred due to their aid during the Great Exodus. Though... the fact that the cows are still alive and being well taken care of was of some relief. Mackler began to speak in a simple way to help the Khate understand. "Khate send warriors to steal of enemies? Do Swift Flight clan see Eloheim as enemy? The Eloheim, many moon ago, fought a large, long war... many people stole from us. We had to leave our homes and go on a long journey to find a safe place to settle. It was dangerous and hard... yet the cows that we had helped us survive from starving. Thus, Eloheim see cows as almost sacred since the cows were our life line. Swift Flight clan... stealing cow is like stealing Eloheim life. Argoo, be careful... some may want war and see Swift Flight clan to be the same as Eloheim's old enemy. Eloheim want to live peacefully, and maybe try to reclaim old home if Gods will allow us."

Mackler sighed. "Mackler is an Animal Speaker and take care of cow. I don't want war, but stealing cow can be seen as act of war. Maybe Argoo can talk with Eloheim leader? Promise to take care of cows, and pay Eloheim back for the cows? If Swift Flight clan also take care of the cows, then Eloheim people might not be angry, but see Swift Flight clan as brother who also had to run from Old Home because of big war and want to live in peace. Up to Argoo, but if Swift Flight clan keep stealing cows... I can only see war. Open trade might help us find a way to live together peacefully."

---

January 25th, 4000 BC

Redia found herself at a crossroads. She had discovered that the thieves had a means to repelling the giant spiders... this was major information that could be useful to the Eloheim. Not to mention that it had already been three days... did the eggs hatch already? Well, Hadid could handle a couple of baby spiders. Not to mention she had yet to find where Mackler was taken to. But, she had a strong hunch that these two cat like beings were the culprits. They were swift, silent, and cautious... if anyone could steal cows in the middle of the night without anyone noticing it until the morning... it would be them. Redia watched as the two felines walked deeper into the spider forest, and occasionally heard the crystal ringing through the trees. If she tried to stalk them, then she would have to be close so that the spiders were stay away from her as well... but that would make it much easier for them to notice her. If she tried to stalk them from a distance... then she would have to deal with spiders trying to creep up on her. She could try to go around the spider forest and just try to follow the sound of the crystal, but that was a gamble in itself as the felines might walk so deep into the spider forest that she won't be able to hear them.

While Redia was deep in thought, she didn't notice a silent figure slowly approaching her from behind. Something flashed before Redia's eyes as her mouth was covered from behind. She blindly tried to elbow whoever it was that was behind her, but she was instead pulled backwards forcefully and fell onto her butt. "You didn't think I would notice." a familiar voice whispered. "If I can notice a chipmunk burrowed under some leaves, then I can certainly notice a girl missing from the village especially one who I personally asked and trusted to do something." Redia muttered a cursed under her breath, but it was muffled by the gag that Davit had placed on her. "Listen to me carefully, girl. You might become the greatest hunter in Eloheim history. But at this rate you will NEVER become the greatest Eloheim Hunter. We live in a society where we must be able to trust each other. You personally have seen how even wolves behave. If one wolf goes off on its own and does whatever it pleases instead of keeping watch... then it becomes ostracized and exiled from the pack. The lone wolf could be the most talented hunter in the pack, but if the lone wolf can't be trusted with a simple task like keeping an eye out during the night then the wolf puts the pack in danger and will get cast out. I do not want to see you become a lone wolf, Redia. I would not wish for anyone to go through what I have. Do you understand me?" Redia nodded.

Davit removed the gag from Redia's mouth and said "You are my blood kin. I only wish the best for you and might give you a second or even third chance. But, trust is a precious resource that can rarely if ever be restored. Do not break the trust of the Eloheim, Redia. Now, go, the thieves look like they're walking in a straight line. You can go around the spider forest if you are swift and catch up with them. If you get lost, then I suspect they've let down their guard a bit and are walking directly to their camp. Keep following that direction. When you find the camp. You are to return immediately and report to me. It will only harm the Eloheim further if you take a risk and get captured. Now, go and don't destroy my trust and faith in you, girl. I must return to the settlement." Redia, a bit stunned and overwhelmed, just watched as her uncle walked away and seemed to vanish into the trees. She didn't know how he had sneaked up on her like that... how long was he stalking her? And what he had said... it was all a bit much. All she knew was that she had a lot more to learn if she wished to catch up to the abilities and capabilities of the Huntmaster. With that, Redia shook herself out of her temporary stupor and began to run through the trees.

---

Hadid and Iskur began to brainstorm. So far, they had been allowing the spiders to crawl around their hands and arms... getting them used to the scents of humans. However, this didn't mean that they wouldn't attack or try to eat humans at some point. They had to train these baby spiders to help make sure that they wouldn't go rogue. It was then that Iskur spoke up "Remember when we were kids, I once taught a chicken to play dead?" Hadid replied "How the hell does that help us now?" Iskur retorted "Well, if you had a bit of imagination or maybe thought about something else other than Redia, then you would know that maybe we can use food to reward the spiders when they do something we want them to. That's what I did with the chicken. Took about a week to teach that stupid chicken, but these little guys seem smarter than chickens at the very least. We can start with simple commands. Like come here, or stay. If they do it, we give them a juicy piece of worm. After a while, I think they'll start picking it up."

Hadid replied "This... is the stupidest idea I've heard in a while." Iskur snapped back "You have a better idea?" Hadid sighed and said "No..." Iskur smirked "Well then, you better start hunting for some more worms. If you want to try and avoid worm duty, then you better try to come up with a better idea." Hadid grumbled as he left the room in search of more bugs.

---

January 26th, 4000 BC

Ba'al sat and watched the captured Khate as he had difficulty speaking. The Elders questioned him a bit about himself and his people. They were of a tribe called the Swift Flight who were fleeing a terrible war. Frankly, they could be seen as war refugees as the Eloheim once were. However, the cattle raids were a hostile act... one that could be seen as an act of war. However, it was notable that the Khate had not spilled blood and according to Poltoo Mackler was still alive. This was quite a predicament. The Eloheim were wary of outsiders, yet some could be sympathetic to the Khate... but the cattle raids were out-right hostile acts. Thankfully, no one had died yet... that would likely trigger a war. With all this established Ba'al spoke "Poltoo, we will hold negotiations with your people. Every night, you will be outside with numerous guards. I ask that you translate for us, so that I can speak with your leader and figure out a solution to our problems." Poltoo sighed a breath of relief as it seemed like the Eloheim wouldn't be eating them.

---

January 28th, 4000 BC

The Council of Elders talked to each other as they observed the Khate weapons. Huntmaster Davit spoke up "The Hunters have little need for such a weapon unless we're hunting large game. The ability to throw our spears are crucial as hunters." Elder Saul then spoke "The heavier and longer spear design appears to be more useful in combat. Perhaps, our warriors can adopt it as their primary weapon, and wield our lighter spears as javelins to be used to skirmish or as back up weapons?" Ba'al nodded and said "Elder Ur, can you see to it that our settlement's warriors are given new spears that are heavier and longer? If we desire peace, then we must be ready for the possibility of war. These new spears may help us protect ourselves." The Elder replied "Our craftsmen will carry out your will, King Ba'al."

Low-Budget Man · May 25, 2021

Eloheim

January 25th, 4000 BC

She eventually picked up the trail of the two feline creatures after maneuvering around the edge of the spider forest. The spider forest was fairly large, but she luckily managed to avoid unfortunate meetings with its inhabitants. The spider forest seemed to be almost a crescent moon shape, with the Khates walking toward the center point of the crescent. So presumably, their camp was protected on three sides by the spider forest. It was no wonder that the thieves managed to hide away from all the Eloheim so successfully.

Once she managed the skirt around the spider forest, the two creatures began growing sloppy in their movements. They seemed more engrossed on their conversation and were less focused on watching their surroundings. Redia mentally took note of that. The spider forest functioned almost as a gate for their home. Once they passed it, they were noticeably less cautious.

As the pair moved closer to their camp, Redia found more signs of life. Footprints crisscrossed the ground. Branches were broken. Claw marks could be seen on trees. Eventually, the land sloped downward and she eventually followed the pair to a small basin.

It was an entire encampment of them. Her eyes widened at the site. Dozens upon dozen of tents were set up. These were not dumb creatures like spiders, they were clever creatures who managed to evade most of the Eloheim for weeks. The fact that there were so many of them, yet they remained unfound for so long struck her. The world suddenly seemed a lot scarier than before, facing this extreme unknown. The usual arrogance that cut through her fear seemed to dissipate. But she breathed deep and swallowed her rising panic. She was a hunter, not a idiot young girl. So instead of fleeing, she took a brief moment to survey her surroundings.

She glanced about letting her hunter instincts take over. Then she noticed that there were more of the same creatures in the surrounding forest area around the camp. Some were children playing, while others were collecting fruit. It seemed pure luck that she didn’t stumble into one of them. The pair who she was originally following greeted a group of three other felines and they began conversing loudly.

And her stillness and calm saved her, for two young cubs had stumbled onto her rear. They hadn’t spotted her yet, and were happily chasing each other around the forest. If she had ran, they would have spotted her and cried for help. And she had no doubt that these creatures wouldn’t be happy with her scaring their children. But this also bought a new dilemma, she was now unable to escape the way she came and she was deep in enemy territory.

She quickly ducked behind a tree and some bushes. Fearful of being spotted. Her cloak of animal hide was deeply washed in the river and rubbed vigorously with plantlife to disguise any sort of scent for hunting. There was a small patch of rock with some vegetation. And she stealthily crawled over there. Its location blocked line of sight to much of the camp.

But they’d be hard pressed to spot her with her camouflaged cloak wrapped around her. She was relatively safe for now.

With her vantage point, she was able to count at least seventy felines present in the camp. But Redia had no idea how many were out in the surrounding forest or out hunting farther away. She felt guilty that she was already breaking Davit’s trust in her to return as soon as possible. She was stuck since the felines were constantly roaming the forest. She just had to wait for a prime opportunity to escape. Hopefully, Hadid was having a much easier time with the spiders.

---

Hadid and Iskur stared at one of the baby spiders happily snacking on a worm.

“I think it worked?” said Hadid.

“Try again maybe.” Iskur suggested.

Hadid gently picked up the baby spider and placed it a short distance away. He then retreated back to his original position next to Iskur. Then with a firm command, he shouted

Then with a firm command, he shouted, “Come here!”

The baby spider remained where it was and kept eating the worm.

“Let me try. My beautiful voice will entice the spider easily.” Iskur took a deep breath and firmly stated, “Come here!”

The spider ignored them entirely.

Hadid plopped a worm to the ground near his feet. “Come here!”

The spider finished eating the orignal worm and wandered over to Hadid’s bed, completely ignoring Hadid entirely.

“Maybe it was a fluke?” said Iskur.

Hadid sighed. While Redia was probably off being the hero of Eloheim, Hadid was stuck trying to get a baby spider to eat a worm. Life was not fair in the slightest. Competing against Redia was like fighting a storm. If he hunted a bear, she’d hunt two bears. Now he was probably gonna hear about how Redia did some spectacular thing when she returned and he was going to tell her how a baby spider wouldn’t listen to him.

“Come here!” Hadid gave one last half-hearted command before turning to Iskur.

“Any more bright ideas, brother?” said Hadid.
“No, I think just the one’s enough.” A smirk crossed Iskur’s face as he looked past his brother.

One of the other baby spiders had wandered close and had begun eating the worm Hadid dropped. Hadid moved to the other side of the room and waited until the baby spider had finished eating.

Then he dropped a second worm, and gave several serious shouts of “Come here.” After about the eighth time, the same baby spider came over to Hadid’s position and began eating the worm. Progress

January 29th, 4000 BC

The warriors of the Swift Flight clan approached as nosily as possible from the north. Argoo could be seen leading from the front. There were five of them in total. Each was armed with their Taiaha spear as well as a bent stick with a long piece of string between the two ends. A quiver of arrows was slung across their backs. With their retinue was Mackler, who was unharmed and unbonded.

The Swift Flight party was met with a reception of the Eloheim. Davit, several hunters, King Ba’al, and many elders stood waiting for the Swift Flight clan. The Swift Flight displayed none of their signature skullduggery and stealth, and were as open and friendly as possible. However, despite their friendliness, they still held their weapons at close. While the party was only merely five Khates, the Eloheim hunter were still wary of the approaching group. Even stoic Davit felt a slight apprehension at the oncoming situation, fear of losing his hunters and friends to a possible brutal war. But he maintained an outer exterior of utmost calm and provided a bastion of tranquility in contrast to some of his hunters.

The only person on the Eloheim’s side that didn’t show a hint of the fear was Poltoo, who was still bounded and was sitting cross-legged upon the ground. Several hunters watched him with spears gripped tightly in their hands. Although, from many days of spending time with him, he had displayed no sense of outward hostility. He was oddly a friendly creature, nonplussed by the fact that he was captured. He told many stories of great thefts he had done in the past in extremely broken Eloheim that had brought much merriment to the hunters guarding him over. But none of them were foolish enough to fully trust this strange Khate. So they kept a close eye on Poltoo, and twitched their hands to their weapons whenever Poltoo moved a muscle.

Argoo and his retinue eventually stopped about thirty meters away from the assembled Eloheim. Argoo slammed his spear into the ground and he dropped his other weapon of a bent-stick with a string between the two ends. He also casually handed his flint knife to one of his companions before he walked forward on his own. His companions remained stationary as Argoo walked forward solo. He held his hands up in a placating gesture of peace. But the Eloheim’s eyes wandered over Argoo’s massive claws and his mighty horns. Argoo gave a smile that displayed ferocious teeth. The Khate was not truly defenseless.

“We are Swift Flight Clan. My name Argoo,” greeted Argoo to the assembled Eloheim.

“Your Mackler safe. No hurt.” With a whistle, Argoo called Mackler over to join the Eloheim.

“Good that Poltoo looks safe and no hurt. He probably want to get captured to eat all Eloheim food,” Argoo laughed at his own joke, then he took on a more serious expression.

“Argoo apologize for misunderstanding. Swift Flight have different way of life. We have two type of war. Blood War and Night War. Blood War is bad. Last resort. Real fight to kill. Spill blood. Argoo don't want Blood War. Blood War bad for Swift Flight and for Eloheim. No need.“ Argoo’s once mirthful exterior grew solemn as he explained the Blood War. Which just sounded like regular war to the Eloheim.

“Night War more like sport. Like game. Do against rival clan. In Night War, Swift Flight clan steal from rival. Rival clan steal back. But no blood spill. No death. If steal successful, big honor. If steal fail, big shame. Good way to make warrior stronger. Reason why Swift Flight good at fight and steal. Elohim don’t understand Night War. Eloheim think different. ” Argoo tapped his head with a clawed finger.

“Eloheim want payment for stolen cow. Not Swift Flight way of life. Swift Flight fair steal. Don’t understand why need pay. But Argoo understands that humans think different. Swift Flight keep cattle stolen and offer payment. ”

“Argoo offer few thing to Eloheim. And continue Night War. Swift Flight have fifteen cattle so far. Swift Flight continue try to steal cattle. Swift Flight have many cattle now, so we steal less in future. One or two cattle a moon for rest of year. Then we can reach new agreement. Also, brave Eloheim warrior can try to steal back. Maybe one day, Elohim take all Swift Flight cattle.” Argoo looked amused at the concept.

Argoo held up three fingers. “Swift offer three things for payment. First thing: We have way to get through spider forest. Have spider not attack. We have crystal spider don’t like. We call Spider Crystal. We have only few crystal, so cannot give away. But we can let you enter spider forest and take all web you want. “

Argoo held up two fingers. “Second thing: Location of Titan Bone. Titan Bone make strong spearhead. Don’t break easy. We found place with many Titan Bone. Eloheim can go and take for strong weapons.”

Finally, Argoo held up a third finger. “Third Thing: Train two of you in the way of the Taiaha. Our spear weapon. Strong weapon in hand of warrior. Argoo grandfather fought in three Blood War. Once saw grandfather kill three Khates in five heartbeats with Taiaha. Grandfather hard bastard. Will not take more students. Best deal out of three payments.”

Argoo paused as he contemplated something else before speaking. “Also, Argoo ask one more thing of Eloheim. Mackler come with us and help us learn animal speak. Swift Flight don’t know much about cattle. Poltoo can stay and help Eloheim as exchange.”

February 22th, 4000 BC

Iskur watched silently as a deer wandered close and nibbled at a berry bush. With mighty precision, Iskur threw his spear at the deer. The swift spear drove itself deep into the deer’s flank and it stumbled a few feet, not quite dead. However, unfortunately for Iskur, the deer was near a slope. The deer eventually tumbled over the edge and began to ragdoll down a steep wooded hillside.

He cursed himself for his poor luck, and sprinted after the body. He had no desire to lose his kill because he lost sight of it. But he also had no desire to break his ankles. So as he deftly maneuvered down the cliff after the deer’s corpse, he slowed down dramatically. His bumbling brother would have probably tumbled down the hill head first if he was in Iskur’s position.

Eventually he came to the bottom of the valley. The first thing that hit him was the smell of rotting meat, amplified by a hundredfold. Iskur was fairly resistant to horrible smells, but even this made him gag. He desperately pulled out a silk patch he had just in case he needed to bandage himself and tied it around his face to block out the smell. But the stench permeated so much through the air, that he quickly picked a few flowers and stuffed them inside his makeshift mask.

Sounds of screeching birds and an incessant droning filled the air. Curiously, he moved closer and found the source of the strangeness. Iskur’s knees buckled at the horrific sight.

Over two hundred bodies were laid upon the forest floor. Draped over fallen logs. Impaled upon spears. Collapsed against mighty trees. Thousands upon thousands of flies buzzed over the corpses and feasted, causing a loud droning noise. Massive scavenger birds fought over the scraps of meat that clung to the long dead bones of the warriors. Millipedes crawled and burrowed into the meaty husks.

What stunned Iskur the most was that a third of the bodies were human bodies. Glassy-eyed young boys. Once beautiful girls with dead smiles. Elders with frayed grey in their hair. Spears laid forgotten next to cold hands. The dead humans were not all hunters, they looked like just regular people. Many of them looked like they were speared in the back trying to flee. Iskur tore off his makeshift silk mask and threw up in the bush next to him. He hoarsely wiped away at his bile that stuck to the corner of his mouth. Iskur was no stranger to death, but butchery at this scale rocked him to his very core. The sheer brutality of such horrific violence brought forth memories of stories told by the elders about times before the Great Exodus. Stories that scared him as a child, but laid forgotten behind the progress of age.

Two-thirds of the bodies were a strange insect-like creature. Each possessing a carapace shell and four limber arms. They looked to be approximately as tall as a human from what Iskur could see. Many of them also had once beautiful silk cloaks, but were now carpeted under a macabre coat of blood. They were also all armored with a primitive carapace suit of armor and each had seemed to carry a shell shield along with a long spear.

Heyitsjiwon · May 25, 2021

January 25th, 4000 BC

Redia cursed her misfortune as she realized that there was no easy way to leave the settlement... not with this many people around at least. Giving up on the idea of trying to make a break for it, and risk getting caught, Redia simply decided to wait it out in cover and concealment. She was near a source of fresh water, so staying for a few days wouldn't be too much of a problem. In fact, there was one hunting trip that her uncle Davit took her on to track and hunt a bear. Rather than walk into the bear's cave and risk bumping into the bear, they simply waited outside the cave for two days as the bear slept then ambushed it as it left the cave. Redia figured that she would wait until a lot of people were leaving the settlement and use all that noise and movement to cover her departure. Redia silently added more foliage to her cover and slowly worked on a spider hole that she would use to observe the settlement while in a camouflaged position as she began to wait and bide her time for an opportunity to escape.

---

Hadid placed a piece of worm in front of the spider. "Stay." The spider crawled forward to eat, but Hadid quickly pulled the piece of worm away and said "No! No! Stay! I didn't say go." Iskur chuckled as he watched his twin brother struggle with the baby spiders. "If you're having this much trouble with baby spiders, Gods bless you when you have your own babies you need to take care of. At least the baby spiders aren't actively trying to kill themselves unlike human babies who will crawl away and get lost if you don't keep an eye on them." Hadid threw a cold glare at Iskur before returning to the task at hand. The baby spiders seemed to be learning simple tricks rather quickly... could they be trained in more complex ways that require them to wait before eating? There was only one way to find out as Hadid held out the piece of worm once again to the baby spider and said "Stay!"

January 26th, 4000 BC

As the guards took away Poltoo and the Council of Elder began to disband, someone burst through the door to the Great Hall. Covered in all sorts of dirt, grime, fur and vegetation, the stranger looked like some sort of nature monster or golem, but held a vaguely human shape. In a feminine voice, it called out "They're coming!" Davit walked rapidly up to the figure and reached towards it's head. Davit pulled off what looked like a hood and a dirty, tired female face looked up to Davit. "They're coming" she repeated. Ba'al called out "Redia? Are you okay? You look like you've been lost in the forest for a month." Davit waved towards the guards to take the Khate away. He then looked to Redia and said "Speak, what happened?" Redia said "The thieves were sending more thieves tonight, but it looks like you already foiled them. My King, I journeyed into the Great Forest to try and find out who the thieves are and where there camp is. They're a group of large feline beings numbering slightly below one hundred at their camp. I saw some of our cows, but most importantly... I saw Mackler! Walking around the camp with one of the felines. They seemed to be treating him like a guest, showing him around the camp."

The Council of Elders began to mutter to each other from the new information. "Where is this camp, Redia?" Ba'al asked. "The Spider Woods... take the shape of a crescent. in the middle, encircled by the crescent is a crater where there camp hides from plain view. The Khate also seem to have some sort of crystal that they use to make a noise that repels the giant spiders, so they rely on the spiders as an early warning system and impromptu guards. My Uncle can bare witness to this." Davit nodded in response. Ba'al sat there, stunned by the revelations. "How did you find and escape the camp when we couldn't catch them for weeks?" Redia replied with a slight smile "I just waited in the outskirts with a lot of foliage during the day. Then waited for a large group to leave and used that as an opportunity to leave the area as they didn't have their guard up as high and were focused on sending the group off. Plus, when the Khates are in the Spider Woods, they let their guard down. It's almost like a gateway for them."

Ba'al nodded and said "You have done the Eloheim a great service, Redia. Now go clean up and get some rest. You've certainly had a long day." Davit grunted in agreement as he patted Redia's back. Redia smiled as the tiredness seemed to wash off from the compliments. With a skip in her step, Redia left the Great Hall while the King and the Council of Elders continued to talk through the night about their new, cunning neighbors.

---

January 29th, 4000 BC

Ba'al listened to the Khate leader carefully. He began his response with some measure and caution. "The Eloheim do not see different kinds of "war". War is war, meant to harm and if possible to kill the enemy. Stealing cows and food to starve the enemy, that is war just like stabbing them with a spear. Though the first one might be more agony and pain as it is drawn out while the second one is swift. Regardless, the Eloheim are willing to look past this... confusion and see this as a competitive game of cunning, wit and stealth among our peoples. We promise not to badly injure any Khates if they are found during this game, but Khate must not harm Eloheim either in game. Though a few bumps are to be expected during escape attempts. Also, we seek your help in keeping the Giant Spider population at a safe level. Too many spiders may devastate the natural balance of the Great Forest... and threaten the cows when they're grazing. Something that we both do not want to happen. The rest of the terms we can agree with, but ONLY if Mackler agrees to them." Ba'al looked towards Mackler and said "Are you okay with the idea of living with the Khates for a while and teaching them the ways of Animal Speaking?" Mackler replied "If it means we don't have to worry about fighting each other in the future, then yes." Ba'al nodded and said to Argoo it appears we have a deal. We will have my cousin Hadid and the Huntmaster learn your way of combat. He looked to his scribe who was finishing up writing the terms of the deal. The scroll was brought up to him and Ba'al took an owl feather and added his name to the bottom. "This is just to record our deal so that our peoples, and children to come will know the exact promises we have made and mark the occasion where Eloheim and Khate began to work together to survive in these lands. If you could leave your mark, such as a paw print at the bottom to acknowledge the promises, then we will have made a promise that even our great-grandchildren will not forget."

---

February 22th, 4000 BC

"Over here! Just over the hill!" Iskur called out as a group of Eloheim hunters, Poltoo, and oddly Rhea followed him. "Death. I smell, death." Poltoo spoke out loud as he seemed to become physically larger as his fur began to puff up due to him tensing up. The rest of the group was concerned... they knew what to expect as Iskur had run back to the settlement to get more people to come and help him make sense of what happened. But as they crested the hill, none of them were truly prepared to experience it in person. They paused and gasped in horror as they looked upon the battle field. Hundreds of bodies littered the ground as pests began to tear into these bodies. One of the hunters even began gagging as they were hit by a wave of terrible stenches. Rhea felt faint from the sight, but surprisingly didn't gig as well despite her lack of experience. Iskur pulled up his makeshift mask, which prompted the others to do so as well. Davit was perhaps the only one who seemed unmoved by the sight or smell as he simply continued to look at the sight instead of putting on a mask.

After several seconds of silence he finally spoke "Half of you gather whatever weapons, equipment, and supplies you can from the dead. Iskur, you're in charge of that team. The other half prepare two mass graves for the dead under the guidance of her Majesty so that the Princess may at least give them a final send off and offer these souls to the guidance of the Gods. I personally, will examine the battle site and try to piece together what happened and where all these bodies came from. Seeing the size of the battle... it shouldn't be hard to find tracks." The men scattered to perform their macabre duties while Davit looked to Poltoo and signaled him to follow. Davit approached one of the insect bodies and asked Poltoo "Before we start looking for tracks and trying to figure out what happened here... do you know anything about this species? Have you or your people met them in the past?"

---

Summary:

1. Redia waits for an opportunity to escape, and begins adding more camouflage and concealment to her position. She eventually finds her opportunity when Poltoo's raiding party leaves, creating a distraction for her to leave as well.

2. Hadid works on continuing to train the baby spiders with increasingly more difficult commands.

3. Redia returns to the settlement after Poltoo is caught and questioned, providing the Eloheim with some crucial information about the Khate.

4. Ba'al agrees to Argoo's proposal, but with some additional, reasonable promises.

5. Iskur returns to the battlegrounds with a larger group of hunters, Poltoo and Princess Rhea. They arrive to gather whatever spoils of war that they can, give the dead their last rites and a burial/offering to the Gods. Davit and Poltoo separately begin to brainstorm as to who or what these insect like beings are, and try to piece together the mystery of this battle and where all it's participants came from.

Thanny · May 27, 2021

Low-Budget Man said:
Ruanta

January 4, 4000 BC

The fire that warmed her cave began to grow dimmer as the spirit lazily swam. Thick droplets of moisture began to accumulate across the cave wall. Esuzu’s suddenly felt cold and damp, as if she had been standing in the rain for hours instead of nestled by a warm fire. Her fur coat felt heavy with water. She licked the outside of her mouth and tasted the salty tang of sea water, but she had not been in the sea for several hours.

Valuum, spirit of the waves, circled Esuzu in silence. The large whiskers drooping from its face floated gently as if they were underwater. The singular bright green eye turned its gaze upon her as it spoke.

“The power to sway the path of my lesser children is mine to grant. But a hefty price is required for me to bestow this great boon upon anyone.”

“I require three things. All great in numbers.The gift of Hysp bark. And the gift of flesh. The gift of mana blood. I will come when I am called upon again. Do not disappoint me.”

With that final message, Valuum began to disperse into a thousand glimmering lights. His once somewhat solid shape breaking like sand against the wave. The lights one by one winked out of existence before finally the cave was dark. Her fire had gone out and she was left alone with her thoughts.

The gift of Hysp bark was simple. The gift of flesh meant a significant amount of sacrificed fish meat and seal meat probably. Mana blood probably meant the blood of those with magical potential. That was a much harder ask. While she had made great progress today, it looked like it was merely the beginning of a difficult journey.

January 15, 4000 BC

“A few thick furs for the winter and as much spiritual bark as you have. Those fine furs you wear are very valuable to us and those Hysp bark would help us greatly! I guarantee you, that this will be a great deal!” Mala looked positively excited at the prospect of the trade.

“Go on! Present yourself!” Mala hissed at the goblins. The goblins looked at him with blank expressions. The larger Naga grabbed one of the goblins and pushed him roughly off the boat. The others got the message quickly and scrambled off the boat and onto land. The strange older goblin kept his head held high as he stepped onto the snow. His eyes betray a deeper intellect as he watched the assembled Naga with keen interest.

“”We’ll trade you all of our little goblin friends for the goods you offer.” Mala followed them off the boat and clapped one of the goblins on the back with a loud meatly slap.
“And here are the directions toward the ruins.” Mala held out a stone tablet with a crudely drawn map on it.

“So what say you? Also, perhaps a place to rest and a meal for my brother and I for a single night?”

Birna, one of the swiftest and most experienced hunters, took hold of the offered tablet and peered at it.

“Ruins a few days away. What do you think?” Birna questioned quizzically.

Chief of Rations Mopzu studied the goblins intently and spoke to the chief. “We probably have enough food to feed them, but what use are they? They’re a waste. They can barely reach the top of the Hysp tree to pick its fruit.”

January 25th, 4000 BC

Birna, one of the most experienced hunters, trekked through the snowy forest in silence. Cloaked in thick warm furs, he was protected from the volatile elements. Only his two darting amber eyes peered from beneath the layers of clothing. A gentle murmur of snowflakes fell from the skies. His favorite trident was used as a walking stick. Well-worn and sharpened, the weapon was mainly used to support Birna’s weight at the moment. The other explorers with Birna did the same. Esuzu had also joined the journey for her own reasons and kept pace with Birna.

The journey took five days. Three days by boat following the shore. Two days on foot, venturing into the hilly woods. They hunted and foraged along the way, but also packed food for the expedition. So far, the trip was dull. But Birna was fine with dull. Dull meant no pain and misery. Dull meant safe. And safe meant everyone gets to go home. As a youth, he yearned for adventure and action. As an older naga, he yearned for boredom.

Many youths often called Birna slow and ponderous. Traits that seem to go against being a successful hunter. But Birna found that moving slowly and choosing the right path often determined a successful hunt instead of being swift. The youths who mock Birna’s speed and liken him to a fat turtle have never truely seen Birna move. For one does not grow old in a profession where many die young. Animal attacks, terrain hazards, rogue weather, there were hundreds of things that have ended a hunter's life prematurely. Yet, Birna still kept slithering on, unperturbed by the dangers of the world.

A few more hours of travel forced them through a snow-covered ravine. The ravine’s cliff faces were worn down and smooth from the wind’s fury. A frozen river ran through the very bottom of the river, its icy surface reflecting the sun’s rays and bathing the ravine in fancy light. On closer inspection, a few silver scaled fish could be seen underneath the frozen river. Other than the fish, the ravine was lifeless. No birds seemed to nest in the nooks and crannies of the cliffside wall. No small game made their burrows in the snow.

As they traveled deeper into the ravine, they began to see signs that people had onced lived here. Upon the ravine cliff side walls, were faces carved out of stone. The faces cut in a blocky geometric art-style. The faces reminded the travelers of dwarves, each having thick stone beards and bright rocks for eyes. Well-worn and battered by the elements, their expressions were grim.

Eventually they came across a forest of stone pillars. Each stood as tall as a tree and were about as wide as a Naga. The pillars were scattered randomly across a stoney foundation, the spacing of the pillars varying wildly. Some were a few feet from each other while other pillars stood far apart. No discernable pattern could be spotted for their placement. Strange runes and blocky art covered the ruins.

Birna wiped away some of the snow on a pillar and inspected the art curiously, trying to identify the meaning behind it. Some of the other youthful hunters glanced at the pillars briefly before continuing their trek. As Esuzu wandered by them, she felt a faint pulsing of spiritual energy that her sensitive connection was able to perceive. Placing her hand on one of them, she could feel a distinct strange warmth radiating through them. It wasn’t a warmth of physical heat, but a spiritual one.

Ahead, one of the youthful hunters called out. Birna’s head snapped to attention and moved to the front of the group to see the commotion. A hunter gestured with his trident to what laid ahead.

A massive stone temple was erected into the side of the ravine wall. Constructed out of hundreds of stone blocks, this structure stood at least 20 meters tall and about the same wide. There looked to be even more blocky artwork carved into each stone block, but at their distance it was hard to tell. A singular gate was centered in the structure. The hum of spiritual energy emitted stronger from inside the gate. So strong that even the least spiritual of the group felt a distinct vibration in their bones and soul.

What brought panicked cries from the youthful hunter was the seven figures standing in front of the temple. At first, Birna thought they were stone sculptures, but his keen gaze quickly identified them as living beings. Or at least, something resembling a living being.

Arrayed in front of the gate, were seven dwarves. Their skin was charred and blackened as if they had been in a terrible fire. Cracks in their skin were spiderwebbed all over their body. Fiery light spilled from those cracks as if they had a fire blazing within them and that the skin was merely a shell. They stood shirtless in the blistering cold, a single loincloth covering their bottom half. However, they were unperturbed by the chilling weather. As snow touched their bare skin, it seemed to melt and turn into steam as if touching a hot surface. Each was armed with different weapons from stone axes and flint knives.

While their glowing red eyes had no pupils, Birna had a distinct feeling that they were watching him closely.

The Eloheim

January 1st, 4000 BC

It was a day of joy as the ritual was performed. While many of the Eloheim had jobs to perform, this was a blessed day and they grew distracted by the strange astronomical phenomena. Many stayed to watch the ritual be performed.

The king’s mother Mara, the king’s sister Rhea, and Anat all worked to perform the ritual to call upon the Sun Spirit. Minor sacrifices of a couple of cattle and fruit were burnt in the fire, dousing the air in its aroma. Some lamented at the waste of food, for the Eloheim was not a wasteful people. But such occasions called for some wastage.

Their ceremony took many hours, and by the end they felt no change. Disappointed, they returned to their homes. However, curiously Rhea had felt a slight tingling vibration within her bones through the ritual as if some being of immense power briefly watched them, but dismissed it as a minor sickness perhaps or something she ate.

January 6th, 4000 BC

Huntmaster Davit stood with fifteen of his finest hunters. His spear gripped wearily in one hand as his eyes scanned his surroundings. It was like Pral had described, a web forest. Silky white webbing was draped over trees and vegetation like a blanket of snow.

No sign of life existed in this small patch of woods. Presumably, they were all eaten by the spiders. But the spiders were nowhere to be seen. Davit glanced above to the tree canopy, but spotted nothing amongst the branches.

The stillness unnerved him. They were walking directly into a predator’s territory and they weren’t attacked. Half the hunters brought food to attempt to bait the spiders, but no spiders weren’t even present to be tricked. This felt like a trap. But nothing directly spoke to him that this was a trap.

Redia, Davit’s young niece, boldly began walking closer to the webbed forest. She had spent years learning alongside her uncle and was quickly becoming one of the best hunters. Although Davit didn’t say it outright, in a decade, she’d probably surpass Davit’s skills. But for now, she was merely just above average in competence.

Redia’s head swiveled slowly around, watching every tree for movement. The group followed suit. All veterans, except for Redia, moved in silence. Their spears were fanned outward, ready to fight anything that came close. They’ve now entered the outskirts of the webbed forest.

Davit grunted to attract the hunter’s attention and gestured toward the webbing. The group dispersed and began to collect the webbing. A few didn’t assist in the cutting, but instead maintained a vigil over their companions. The group stood in roughly a circle and were spaced apart.

Redia quietly crept deeper into the webbed forest as the other hunters worked. Davit looked at her retreating back, and grunted and gestured for her to move back. She turned to him and gave a slight shake of her head, and continued onward.

Davit’s teeth slammed hard together in anger. She knew that he couldn’t shout at her in this place. Davit quickly chased after her, ready to pull her back physically.

When Davit reached her, she was a fair distance away from the main group. Davit grabbed her arm and was about to yank her away before she pointed desperately at what she saw ahead. While she may be occasionally disobedient, she was still a proficient hunter. She did learn from the best after all.

Nestled underneath an outcropping of rock was a massive cluster of spider eggs. Amber colored and covered in webbing, there were around a hundred of them. A fat spider, presumably the mother was sitting atop the pile. Like Pral had described, it was large. Davit is estimated to be as large as two or three cows.

“I can sneak in and steal some eggs, Uncle,” Redia whispered to Davit.

Some instinct, prompted Davit to glance back at the group they’ve abandoned. His eyes widened in horror as he spotted two spiders quietly crawling their way to the group. Due to the heavy vegetation and trees, the group would be unable to spot the spiders until it was a few meters away from them. But Redia’s boldness had accidentally given them a unique perspective on their surroundings that isn’t obscured by trees.

January 21st, 4000 BC

Mackler, the herdsman, yawned as he watched over the cattle. The moon was obscured by the cloudy sky and it dimly illuminated his surroundings. The shelter for the cows wasn’t entirely finished, but it was enough to gather most of the cattle there. The shelters built were on the outer edge of the settlement since they didn’t have room in the center and it would be easier to let the cows out to graze during the day.

A few unlucky herdsmen were designated to be additional night guards for their own cattle for a few hours. After losing a cow every few days, the herdsman were not willing to take any chances.

Various thoughts lazily floated in Mackler’s head. None of which pertain to guarding the cows. Mackler mused over whether or not his neighbor would stop attempting to sing loudly in the morning. He mused over whether or not he could out run those giant spiders he heard some of the others talking about. And finally he mused over how he would attract Jenzine’s attention and how beautiful she was.

The hit took him entirely by surprise. He was knocked off his feet and sent sprawling to the ground. A massive hairy piece of fur was shoved into his mouth, deafening his shouts for help. He flailed his arms wildly, attempting to make noise, but they were quickly grabbed and held down.They were much larger than him and much stronger. A foul smelling plant was shoved in his face and slowly, he began to lose consciousness.

But not before he managed to observe his attackers for a brief moment. Feline faces with intelligent eyes stared down at him. About four of them. One bared his teeth as Mackler’s gaze passed over him. Sharp canines shined in the moonlight. They were much larger than him and much stronger, and his struggle seemed pointless. He glanced at the shelter to see another two of the same creatures proceed to gently open the door to abduct another cow.

It wasn’t long before it all became black and Mackler fell to the land of dreams.

Ruanta
January 4, 4000 BC

The chill still clinging to her clothes and flesh, Esuzu stared at where the spirit Valuum once was, her storm-grey eyes clouded in thought. This was risky business, dealing with a spirit, but she was used to risks, and she was going to have to deal with even greater risks further down the road. Still, for the sake of uncontested power, no price was too great.

"Three things great in number. Two of these things I can provide by pulling a few strings. Raglosu-seri -- no, Raglosu, there is no dishonour within her -- of the old stories did not have the people on her side. I do. The last one, mana blood, is harder to find without getting caught or weakening the tribe . . . or me." Her eyes lit up, a bark of a laugh erupted from her throat, and a grin full of pointed teeth penetrated the darkness. "I suppose I will have to light my fire again." A blaze of power, tall and powerful but definitely wasteful, ignited the embers of the fire she had earlier as she tossed some special ash onto the woodpile. She looked at her handiwork with a smile, then a frown at the rest of the room. "I should choose a different hollow once this is over. There is much to do, so much, but while this is so haste is waste. The methodical outlive the quick, and the active the inactive. I will have to be methodical and active, and when the time comes I will be fully ready for the mantling I deserve."

January 15, 4000 BC

Supreme Chief Yuska nodded very slightly at the prospect of this deal, his mind weighed with burdening information that he felt must be stated to the merchant.

"Our bark rations are lower than they typically are, but there is enough, or we can provide more furs for trade. From one of our groves of sacred Hysp trees thieves have been taking the flesh of their trunks and leaving the trees scarred with their unpractised hands. I have moved some of my hunters there to investigate, to capture the thieves, but they are long gone. The most they can say was that it was naga in origin, two or more."

He looked at the two before him suspiciously, but did not say a word more on the subject, instead opting for silence at the time to intimidate the merchant with this knowledge. It was all true, but unbenownst to him the thieves were not these two in the water caravan.

Esuzu, having arrived in the crowd gathered, watched with great interest, chiefly because of two things: it was she that was stealing the rations directly from the tree with one other, and because one of these goblins seemed like he had an aura of magic. The others maybe so as well. Do they too have mana blood? She felt loved by the spirits. It was as if they provided these creatures to fuel her goals and ambitions, and she was definitely going to attempt to reap the benefits.

"Supreme Chief," she voiced, approaching him and parting the crowd so that she can bring her voice low so that only Yuska could hear, "would you consider my claiming at least some of these goblins? They will be very helpful for keeping things tidy, and I feel a greatness from at least one of them, the one with fur on his muzzle."

Yuska listened with a stoic gaze, wondering of her angle. She might have been high among the shamans, but she was still subordinate to the Chief Shaman, and he should have the first pick or distribute the goblins under their protection as they saw fit.

"Have a discussion with Chief Shaman Gorga regarding their placement, young Esuzu. I am sure that he will come to your aid in this regard." He raised his voice again so that Chief of Rations Mopzu, the other female naga in the group, could hear. "I will proportion the goblins throughout the clan in places of their own cunning. The mage goes to the shamans and two others to learn our ways, some to the weavers, some to the hunters, some to the gatherers, and some to you, Mopzu. They will learn our ways, indentured for a time of five years, and then they can choose to stay or leave."

Chief of Rations Mopzu bowed her head in veneration. Esuzu did something similar to hide the fury within her eyes. How dare he refuse? Well, it was no matter. In the end, she always gets what she wants. When they lifted their heads, Mopzu did not sense that Esuzu was staring at her intently, for Esuzu had an idea hatched days ago. Once the other gatherings could be obtained, the flesh will be obtained through the combined efforts of Mopzu and herself through a little . . . persuasion.

"Newcomers Mala and Mala's friend," continued the supreme chief, "you both may stay in one of our guest huts. We will set a fire for you and give you rations and fur blankets to stave off the cold." He shifted his gaze to Birna, an old hunter wise over the years, and gave a look of familial affection toward his battle-brother, as if he were a brother in full. "If the ruins are several days away, we should prepare our hunters for anything. Others I want by my side are you, Birna, and Esuzu and one of our brighter loremasters. Perhaps your combined efforts can produce great fruit for understanding what lies in these ruins."

January 25, 4000 BC

Esuzu grumbled as she was strongarmed into this hunt for ruins, combatting the cold with her fur coat. Ever since she consulted with that spirit it felt as if the moisture had never left her furs . . . or perhaps that it had never left her scales. Only a raw, naked flame seemed to warm the chill of her flesh, and that had not graced her since last night. Birna had noticed, but the old codger merely smiled enigmatically and continued on. A few of the younger ones, male hunters all, with the exception of the young and studious loremaster Iuzuzu (ee-oo-zoo-zoo), caught her shivering. How the loremaster never became a shaman instead, she never knew. Iuzuzu seemed to know much of the world, but had little common sense to go with this worldly knowledge. Her timid eyes darted in Esuzu's direction before shifting elsewhere just as quickly. Coward, Esuzu thought, though there was something else about her that seemed different. The hunters, on the other hand -- she knew they were thinking of craved love or lust, not that she would choose any of them.

However, there was something after all of this trekking, the blocky and unfamiliar faces of hewn rock and runes and a thrumming of spiritual energies. Esuzu's eyes shrank when she realised the power of this place a great distance away. She informed the others who had felt nothing, but eventually they all felt the thrum of its power. Esuzu maintained her composure. This was nothing in comparison to what she felt earlier. She could easily tolerate it, or so was the air that she gave off.

And then there were the little magic men. They stood there, seven in total, all for the most part naked but undeterred by the cold. Esuzu wondered whether these were really dwarves or if they were something that resembled them but not quite. What happened to these creatures, and what was the best way to approach them?

Even Birna did not have an outright idea, but took a slither forward to meet these charred seven, his trident still serving as a walking stick as he crossed the snow to approach these seven with a respectable distance between them. A raspy order of "Come with me, Iuzuzu" brought the loremaster to heel as well, and she slithered next to him as quickly as she was able, clutching a blank tablet she was holding at the time. Esuzu watched with ill anticipation. If he as an experienced hunter died here, that left them sorely at a disadvantage. While she had a command of magic, the numbers were poor if they wanted to best these creatures by combat.

Birna cast down his trident before him when there was about a hundred feet between them, plenty of room to gather the trident if need be, or to protect the loremaster from any trouble. He was not about to leave a clan-sister to die.

"Greetings, walking ones," he brought to voice over the distance, offering the closest thing to a more human smile without showing his teeth. "Would you happen to be the inhabitants of this place?"

If no answer, he would look to Iuzuzu and speak a few words to her, who timidly would cycle through languages starting with the most possible ones like Dwarvish, then Human, and so on. She was quivering, but it was difficult to tell whether it was out of fear or excitement.

Low-Budget Man · May 29, 2021

The Eloheim

January 29th, 4000 BC

Argoo looked curiously at the piece of parchment that was present to him. Then with a gentle touch, he made his mark upon the scroll. He moved carefully so that he wouldn’t cause damage to the fragile paper. After finishing, Argoo made a massive energetic leap into the air, which panicked several nervous spearmen. Argoo spread his arms wide in a welcoming and friendly gesture.

“Eloheim and Swift Flight friend! Good day for both clan! Argoo is happy for good day!”

“Swift Flight celebrate and have big meal! Eloheim come to new Swift Flight home and eat many food! Try spider meat!”

February 13th, 4000 BC

Redia glumly watched over the sleeping spiders. She was seated upon a wooden bench and hugged her knees, bored once again with her task of training spiders. She was in a small room in her home where she lived with her family. Redia sighed and blew a few strands of hair out of her face, wishing that she was allowed to hunt every day again.

“Hey, Redia! What did you manage to hunt today?” Hadid greeted her with a wide smile as he entered her home.

“Worms and other gross insects. At this rate, I’ll easily surpass Uncle Davit’s skill. Next time, I might try for bigger game like a centipede,” replied Redia moodily.

“How are these little creatures doing?”

“They’re getting better. They obey me about half the time. The other half, they’re doing whatever they want.”

“How is ‘Jumpy’ doing? He’s such a cute little guy.” Hadid inquired as he peered down at the box with the sleeping spiders. Jumpy was the first spider that Hadid had managed to get to obey his commands, and he had grown somewhat attached to it. Even so far as given it a name based on that “Jumpy '' liked to jump on Hadid’s face. The first time it did so, Hadid screamed so loudly that he awoke his sleeping mother aswell as several neighbors who thought that Hadid was being murdered. No matter how skilled a warrior, nothing could prepare you for a spider landing on your face.

“Your favorite spider is ahead of the class. He’s the most responsive, although not by much.”

Hadid poked his finger into the box and gently patted Jumpy.
“Okay, so you asked after your dumb pet. Now tell me about training with Fight-Master Talapoo today!” Redia asked eagerly. Her eyes glowed with curiosity as she awaited for Hadid to speak.

“I haven’t landed a single hit on him still in our sparring matches. Your uncle landed several hits on Talapoo though. Talapoo is a slippery Khate. ”

“You told me he was super old. Shouldn’t his bones be too busy creaking?”

“He is really old. He still moves pretty quickly, but that's not why he’s slippery. It’s like he reads me like I’m an open book. He’ll hit me right at the exact precise spot to knock me off balance and he moves efficiently so that he doesn’t waste energy. He’s been fighting longer than you and I have been alive combined, so I guess it makes sense he’s so skilled. Also, he knows only ten Eloheim words, so he just keeps shouting that at us. ”

“You need to show me what he’s teaching you.”

“I’m too tired for that right now. My entire body is sore. I see why those Khates are such good fighters now. A lot of the younger Khate children train underneath this guy and a lot of the older Khate hunters practice their skills as well. It's almost like a sport for them with the way they treat it. “

“If you’re too tired, maybe we can switch places. You can watch those spiders and I can go train next time.”

“Sorry Redia, you got your job and I’ve got mine. You’re not pulling into any more of your crazy plans. Oh! I found out recently that Poltoo is actually younger than I thought. He’s only a few years older than us. If you want, you could probably talk to Poltoo about learning how to use the Taiaha. He’s nowhere as good as Talapoo, but he’s still better than me by far.”

“That…..actually doesn’t sound like a terrible idea,” admitted Redia. Her previous sulkiness disappeared at the thought of learning the Taiaha.

“Also, Argoo gave King Ba’al the location of the Titan Bone deposit a couple of days ago. Its a journey of about three days. So hopefully some of us might get sent on an expedition. “

Redia perked up at the information.

February 22nd, 4000 BC

The hunters moved to follow Davit’s orders. Iskur took control of the hunters, directing separate teams to cover specific areas and assigning a place to drop off scavenged supplies.

Poltoo had thrown a makeshift mask over his face like the other hunters and looked somewhat sick at all the carnage around him. He held a hand to his nose in addition to the mask in a vain attempt to block out some of the smell. His nose was much more sensitive than the human noses.

After a few more moments to get his bearings, Poltoo responded to Davit’s question. “Swift Flight have Blood War with creatures long ago. They call themselves Sectine. Poltoo too young to fight in Blood War. Talapoo and Argoo old enough to fight. Know more about than Poltoo.”

“Poltoo know many stories about Sectine Blood War. Many Khate clan live in area. Many rival clans. We have many Night War. Sectine come and declare Blood War on all. All Khate clans work together or die by Sectine. We fight. Many die. Poltoo father die in war. Poltoo older brothers die.” Poltoo’s usual jovial nature was replaced with a solemn seriousness as he told his story.

“We don’t know where Sectine go or where Sectine home. One day, Sectine stop attack. And Blood War end. Life return normal. This long ago. Swift Flight clan break many many years later after Sectine Blood War.”

Poltoo wandered over to a spear driven down onto a human’s back. He forcefully pulled it out. Dried blood coated the spearhead with its rusty color. He examined the weapon and handed it to Davit. The weapon looked remarkably similar to an Eloheim javelin in that it was relatively light and it looked like it was used for throwing.

Poltoo then picked up a fractionally longer and heavier spear that was next to a Sectine’s corpse. A shield that was made out of a combination of wood and some strange carapace material was also still on the arm of the dead Sectine warrior. Casually he banged the spear against the shield to test the strength. The shield held strong.

He leaned down and gestured to the dead Sectine warrior. “Sectine fight different than Khates. Have many warrior in line with spear and shield. Khate fight with many small group. Hide then attack from many direction. If enemy know about attack, Khate don’t fight. Prefer run. “

After extracting as much knowledge from Poltoo as possible, Davit moved to examine signs of tracks. It didn’t take a master tracker to find several dozen tracks that led far north. From his examination, it looked as if the humans were being chased and then were caught by the Sectine. The humans tried to mount a desperate last stand, but were defeated. It seemed initially that the humans had sustained less casualties, but there were several spots where bodies were dragged away before the Eloheim had even arrived.

There were many more footprints that lead back to the north, human and Sectine. Presumably, the Sectine had won and had probably taken prisoners of the survivors. Only two things trumped Davit about the battlefield.

One, some of the bodies were like they were hit with a massive force that crumpled them. As if a massive animal had hit them. And the second thing was that there was a massive indentation on the ground where it looked like something heavy and large fell. It was clearly not a Sectine, but something they might have domesticated. The tracks reminded Davit of some sort of insect perhaps. Poltoo also inspected them, but was also unsure.

However, Davit's keen eyes spotted something else. Amongst the chaotic battlefield, two sets of tracks could be spotted leading east. Their tracks were almost imperceptible, but Davit was the huntmaster for a reason. Leaning closer to inspect them, a clean footprint could be seen indented in the mud. Leaves covered and grass covered most of it, but it was clear what it was. It was a human footprint moving in a different direction from the rest of the tracks leading north.

Ruanta
January 18th, 4000 BC

Chief Shaman Gorga watched the elder goblin with keen interest. The older goblin, whose name was Bol-tick, danced around a small fire. The other goblins sat around the small fire and loudly banged on a set of makeshift drums. The beat was an asymmetrical complex rhythm that thundered through the settlement. Gorga had temporarily asked for the goblins from the other jobs to perform this duty.

Bol-tick leaped and flailed his arms wildly to the drum beats. The ritual had been taking place for about two hours, but Bol-tick didn’t seem to tire. For such a small frame, Bol-tick seemed to possess endless reserves of energy.

Gorga had asked Bol-tick about magic and such. The conversation took some time since Bol-tick’s command of Elocan was weak. Eventually, the conversation had led to Bol-tick wanting to demonstrate his magic in return for the Eloca to treat them well.

Fish blood was splattered across the snowy ground. Cracked fish bones were crushed and strewn in a circle around the energetic fire. Partway through Bol-tick’s strange ritual, Bol-tick and the other goblins sliced their palms and dripped their purple blood over the flames. The blood seemed to sparkle and excited the flames to burn brighter.

As it also turned out, Bol-tick was the father of the other goblins. Gorga was not a cruel Naga, but he gently tucked away that information in case it was ever needed. Leverage over the unknown was always a powerful tool.

Several other shamans were also drawn to Bol-tick’s frantic antics and they watched with some amusement at Bol-tick’s movements. Even some of the other people who weren’t shamans stopped by to watch. While it looked like pure madness what Bol-tick was doing, there was a sense of rhythm and degree of practice to it. There were certain moves that Bol-tick repeated over and over again, in the exact same manner to specific drum beats. Occasionally, Bol-tick would toss in the fire, a scattering of seal teeth or sawed pieces of elk’s antlers.

The drum beat switched to a faster paced one with more energy, Gone were the complex rhythms, and it was replaced with frantic pounding. Bol-tick picked up an elk’s skull that was almost as large as he was and tossed it into the fire. The fire crackled over the bone, turning it black. It was an exceptionally large elk that Birna had managed to hunt one day and given its skull to Gorga as a gift. Bol-tick had spent several hours carving symbols into the skull. And then Bol-tick had spent the next day at rest after had Bol-tick periodically cut himself to let his blood run into those symbols.

Suddenly, the drum beat ceased. Silence reigned for a brief pause. The other Elocan looked at each other in confusion. Gorga frowned and leaned in to watch Bol-tick closer. The younger goblins cut through the silence and howled loudly in the air. Their cries were bloodcurdling and resonated a primal energy. Their bodies were small, but their screams rang through the air as if there were hundreds of goblins instead of merely five.

Bol-tick shoved his naked hands into the blazing fire. Gasps arose from those around him as Bol-tick had seemingly decided to burn his hands to a crisp. Bol-tick’s hand remained in the flame as he cupped the sides of the elk’s skull. Bol-tick stared deeply in the skull as his fingers followed those symbols he had inscribed.

After a few heartbeats, Bol-tick removed his hands. They were unburnt.

Bol-tick turned to face Gorga and spoke with utmost confidence.

“In fifteen days, walks a herd of many elk. Eating for months, the Elocan can hunt the herd. Following the herd, a tribe of many Fae.”

January 25th, 4000 BC

All the dwarves simultaneously opened their mouths and spoke as one. Each dwarf carried the same hallowed voice. The voice was gravel, the sounds crashing into one another like a tidal wave of rocks. It was also not in any Naga language, but luckily Iuzuzu could understand the Dwarvish. She translated to the rest of the party as the dwarves spoke.
“We, who have perished in fire, who have let their flesh be charred and blackened, who have let the flame roast our bones, watch over this place. We are the Burnt Dwarves, and we protect the tomb of our brethren. “

Esuzu moved forward, eager to question these creatures. With each closer step, the thrum of power from inside the stone temple radiated stronger. There was something beyond there, and she intended to find out.

“And what is this place? What happened to you?” Esuzu demanded, and impatiently motioned to Loremaster Iuzuzu to translate. Iuzuzu hesitated for a moment, but complied with Esuzu. Birna stayed silent in assent with Esuzu’s questions. He was also curious about them.

Their mouths moved, but the sounds were not aligned. Their words didn’t match the way their mouths were shaped. It was like almost hearing a different speaker speaking while the dwarves pretended to speak.

“A thousand dwarfs have perished in these black halls after a great fire sprang from the inner depths that brought down much of the cavern.. And only few escaped the great disaster that has befallen the clan.”

Loremaster Iuzuzu glanced nervously around their surroundings at hearing the words “great” disaster. The stone faces carved upon the mountains suddenly looked far more sinister as they watched the band of hunters. She gave a timid glance at Birna, who reassured who to keep translating.

“Trapped in their own home, we beseech a spirit to deliver us to salvation. The survivors made a grand sacrifice, and the spirit freed us. The cost was great, but the clan survived.”

The dwarves stayed completely stock still. Their weapons remained gripped in their hands. Birna quietly observed that there was no movement from them at all, as if they weren’t even breathing. Their fiery red eyes stared into Birna as they spoke. There was no hostile action from them, but they certainly weren’t friendly.

“Our clan brethren have left to journey to find a new home. But we have been given to the great spirit. The great spirit has granted us life from death. So we stand and watch. Do not disturb the tomb. For the great spirit slumbers with our dead, tired from expanding its might.”

The Burnt Dwarves finished their speech and turned their heads to stare straight ahead. But there was no doubt in any hunter’s head that they were watching the Naga closely.

Esuzu’s eyes widened in shock at the information of a slumbering spirit. She had heard stories of such things occurring, but encountering such an event was unheard of in recent times. Even Iuzuzu was shaken enough by the information to gaze upon the stone temple in shock.

A low growl of frustration escaped from Esuzu. So much power laid behind these seven dwarves, yet it could have easily been on the other side of the world for how far away she was from that power. She felt the whispers of spiritual energy calling to her, caressing her with its dainty touch. Her eyes greedily looked beyond the guardians of the stone temple and at its massive gates, her chill forgotten.

Then her focus changed to the seven dwarves. Perhaps there was also magic blood present in such creatures…..

Heyitsjiwon · May 29, 2021

What am I supposed to do
If I want to talk about peace and understanding
But you only understand the language of the sword

What if I want to make you understand that the path you chose leads to downfall
But you only understand the language of the sword
What if I want to tell you to leave me and my beloved ones in peace

But you only understand the language of the sword?

February 22nd, 4000 BC

Rhea looked at the gristly sight. It was unlike anything that she had seen before... such senseless violence and barbarity. Her stomach churned as she stood in shock. The others had already started working with one group of hunters beginning to pile the bodies into human and... non-human. The hunters notably handled the human bodies with more care and caution. Gently placing them into rows next to their fellow kin. The Insectoid bodies however... the hunters just threw into a disorganized pile. At least... rendered parts of it as the hunters stripped the bodies of the Sectine of large pieces of carapace. To their trained eyes, the carapaces could be dried and worked with to make a rudimentary armor. Without a doubt, the sight of the humans being slaughtered by the non-humans drew parallels to the Eloheim past. However, the Insectoids, who seemingly won the battle, left all the equipment and bodies sitting here... not even burying their own dead and disrespecting the local spirits by being wasteful.

One of the hunters made a ruckus as he picked up something from the carnage. Iskur quickly walked over and observed the item. "Looks like a horn of some sort, but it's hollow." Iskur said as he brought it over to Davit. Davit grimaced as he looked at the item. Iskur commented "It looks like a bigger version of the duck calls and whistles that we use while on a hunt. If I was a betting man... I would guess that they used this during the battle to try and communicate. I imagine that it's hard to hear much when there's people screaming in agony as they get stabbed by a spear." Davit nodded in agreement with Iskur as he pointed out the tracks heading north. Iskur took a second to look and said "Prisoners? Some of these tracks heading back north look pretty human to me." Davit replied "If what Poltoo told me is correct, then these Sectine are a war-mongering people... indiscriminately killing and waging war against all. We can't ignore them." Iskur felt a pit in his stomach when he heard war. Their new homes had been peaceful ever since his great grand parents had arrived. But the idea that they may have to fight yet again against a fearsome enemy... Iskur feared that another Great Exodus may have to take place. Davit slapped Iskur and said "Stay focused. This isn't the time to worry. This is a time to act." Iskur shook his head and returned to the present. Davit was right. There was no use in being afraid. Especially when there was much to do.

Iskur spoke up "I'll take two of my guys and see if we can scout up north. Depending on how far they had journeyed south, we might not have to worry much about them." Davit nodded and replied "May the Spirits guide you. We'll head back to the settlement when we're done collecting all the equipment. Meet back there." as he placed his hand to his heart. Iskur did the same and set off to find two hunters that he trusted to help him scout ahead to the north. Poltoo spoke up "Blood War... nasty business. Poltoo help find Sectine then go tell Argoo too." Davit nodded and said "May the spirits guide you too." as Poltoo went off to follow Iskur. The two groups of hunters were finishing up by that point. Davit walked over to Rhea who finally seemed to be getting used to the sight of blood as her face was no longer pale. Davit spoke "We must return and tell the Council." Rhea nodded and said "The bodies are almost all ready. Let me conduct a quick ritual to send their spirits off to the Gods." Rhea then approached the rows of human bodies that were placed in shallow graves. She closed her eyes and spoke.

""O Lord Sun, you govern the universe and treasure peace. You remove all kinds of diseases and grant us wisdom. Bless these tormented souls with your guidence so that they may find their peace that has been stripped from them."

The hunters watched as the rays of sunlight seemed to pierce through the canopy above and onto the faces of the dead humans. Coincidence or not... they all felt a bit more at peace since the dead were being given a proper burial. The hunters began to cover the graves with some dirt.

Rhea then walked over to the pile of dozens of Sectine bodies and limbs and closed her eyes once more. "Earth Spirit, hear my call, we the Children of El offer you this bounty of blood and food for the dirt and your ancient roots. May you bless us with your protection so that we may quench your eternal thirst with the blood of those who seek to do us harm."

---

Late at night on the same day, the Council of Elders was called upon however visitors and observers were welcomed as rumors quickly spread about Iskur's discovery. Particular to this Council meeting was the presence of their first honored guest in many years, Argoo. He was invited for two reasons, one he shared the Khate wisdom of bows and two... the knowledge of the Sectine was likely of great interest to him and his people. He had arrived with some of his delegates to the Council meeting as Davit mentioned that this was an emergency. Ba'al looked around the Great Hall and saw many concerned and grave faces. No doubt, every Eloheim feared a repeat of the past. Yet, as the descendant of El, Ba'al had to lead his people forward. Thus, he cleared his throat and spoke "Brothers, Sisters, and Friends. You have likely heard rumors today. Well, I will clarify what is the truth. Our hunters stumbled upon a fresh battle site that was filled with dozens of dead humans, but twice the number of dead insect-like beings. The Khate call them the Sectine. In the past, they seem to have suddenly appeared near the homeland of the Khate and declared war upon all living beings. A deadly conflict followed, but abruptly ended when the Sectine vanished. Why the Sectine have seemingly re-appeared is a mystery. However, it is clear that they are hostile towards other species as they hunted down a large group of humans and took some prisoner as well. Our Elders have also informed me that our ancestors have met the Sectine and that the scrolls tell us that they are... a fertile species. Just like a cockroach, they multiply in great numbers rapidly. Even at the site of battle, we found more dead Sectines than humans."

Ba'al paused to let the words settle in before speaking again. "We have been blessed with peace for a few generations after the Great Exodus. We can proudly claim Endor to be our home. Thousands of Eloheim live here, tending to our farms and herds. Yet, if we seek peace, then we must prepare for war." People began to mutter to each other... War was a distant memory for the Eloheim. The last time they had fought in a war was before the Great Exodus. Yet the wisdom and words of their ancient and brave warriors were preserved in the scrolls held by the Council of Elders. Ba'al spoke "Thus, I formally seek to establish a standing army consisting of soldiers, not warriors. Warriors are brave and strong, but they are not trained to work together with their brothers in arms. I seek volunteers to give up their livelihoods and to live by the Spear. They will train, protect and fight in the name of Eloheim. In addition, every Eloheim male of age should receive some basic training with the spear so that should the need arise, then every Eloheim man will be able to help protect their family and homes." Ba'al then turned to Hadid and said "Cousin, I ask you to take charge of this effort to form a standing army and provide basic training for every man so that they may protect themselves and their families should they ever need to." Hadid, stunned, by the sudden decrees of Ba'al could do nothing but nod as he couldn't get words to form in his mouth.

Ba'al turned to Elder Saul and said "Elder, I ask that you assist my cousin and give him access to the Scrolls of War. I pray that the past experiences of our ancestors will give Hadid wisdom and guidance in these times." The Elder nodded as well. Ba'al then returned his attention to the Council as a whole "Now, an army does not suddenly appear. It must be supported and provided for so that it may focus on combat. It is for this reason that we must address our resource situations. Thanks to our Khate friends, we now have safe access to the giant spider webs that we have been occasionally harvesting and making clothes with. In addition, the Titan Bone gives our people access to stronger materials to make weapons with. I ask the Council to organize a major project. It is time that the Eloheim spread its wings. We must construct an outpost in the woods, between Endor and our Khate allies for numerous reasons. One, it will facilitate trade and provide us a centralized place for all these resources. Two, having a settlement in the woods will make the lives of our Hunters, Foresters, Gatherers and Foragers much easier as they will not have to travel as far to reach such materials. Three, it will allow us to communicate with our friends quicker and send them help, especially if we clear a path and make a dirt road that will allow us to move carts and wagons through the Great Forest. We must obtain A LOT more spider silk and titan bone to make more armor and weapons. Elder Ur, I trust that you and the craftsmen can take a look at the new weapons and equipment we secured from the battle site? Are there any questions or comments?"

---

The Council meeting ended and Hadid stumbled out of the Great Hall. In the blink of an eye, he was no longer a hunter, but instead a warrior, nay a soldier. He knew how to fight, but he had never been in a large battle before. This was a great responsibility that he did not feel comfortable with, but his feelings aside it was something he had to do as he looked forward and saw Redia walking to him. "Going places, huh? Must be nice." Redia said with a smirk. Hadid smiled and said "I guess so, I think I understand now why Ba'al sent me to learn how to fight from the Khate. He's been planning this for a while." Redia with a confused look on her face asked "How do you know?" Hadid replied "That's our King... and my Cousin. If I'm the strong one, and Iskur is the quick and cunning one, then Ba'al is the thinking one. He didn't say all this on a whim... he's definately been thinking about this for a while." Redia sighed and said "Well, at least someone is thinking." with a chuckle. Hadid looked at Redia and said "Wait, shouldn't you be watching the spider?" Redia shrugged and said "Funny enough, when I tell them to stay now... they don't stand completely still, but they don't leave the room at least. They're getting pretty smart. I caught Jumpy once escaping the box, so it's kind of getting pointless to try and keep them contained." Hadid nodded and said "I have to admit... sometimes I thought those spiders might be smarter than me... sometimes." Redia grinned and said "Just sometimes?" Hadid had a goofy smile until the two were interrupted. "Prince Hadid." a wispy male voice called to him from behind.

Hadid turned to see Elder Saul. "Elder, how may I help you?" Elder Saul replied "No, young Prince, I am here to help you. I've taken the liberty to read some of the ancient accounts of war from our forefathers. They didn't seem to fight like the Sectine do, but it appears in the past our ancestors fought on horseback, relying on speed and agility to rapidly strike and surprise our enemies. Shame that none of the horses survived the Great Exodus..." Hadid sighed and nodded "As of now, I plan to train all the soldiers in how to fight with spears and javelins. Javelins to throw and skirmish with in the beginning before properly engaging with heavy spears and shields. Thankfully, we were able to salvage weapons and equipment from the battlefield, but it is a shame that we cannot ride bulls into battle." Redia stood in the back and listened, but she blurted out "Bulls... but don't we have spiders that are the size of a bull?" Hadid raised an eyebrow to look at Redia while the Elder sighed and said "And how well have you been able to train the baby spiders, Lady Redia? Until we can have them stop and charge on command, this idea is mere fantasy." Redia didn't reply, but suddenly felt a strong urge to train the spiders and prove the elder wrong.

Elder Saul then continued to speak "Regardless, his Majesty has put in a plan to equip every man with spider silk armor, heavy spear made with Titan Bone and a few javelins. See to it that the volunteers are at least capable of using these effectively. We will discuss tactics and other things later, Prince Hadid." Hadid nodded and bid the Elder a good night. Hadid turned to speak with Redia again, but found himself looking at nothing, but the distant figure of Redia walking quickly back home for some reason. With a deep sigh, Hadid began to walk back home to get some sleep. Tomorrow morning, he would have to start training a lot of people.

---

Summary:

1. Iskur, Poltoo and two hunters follow the tracks north to see if they can do some reconnaissance/gather some intel

2. Rhea performs a burial ritual for the dead humans and performs an offering ritual with the remains of the hundreds of dead Sectine.

3. Ba'al begins two ambitious projects:

a. The formation of a standing army and a militia. This project is led by Hadid and Elder Saul using the recently salvaged equipment and weapons from the battle site for now until they receive new weapons and armor that is being made

b. The establishment of an outpost/small settlement in the Great Forest/near the border of the Spider Forest to facilitate trade with the Khate and make resource gathering easier by providing a central place to store resources that are closer to the source AND to create a dirt road network that connects Endor to this new outpost and to the Khate settlement so that carts and wagons can be used to transport goods. These resources are to be used to help arm this new army with Spider Silk/Sectine Carapace armor and shields, heavy Titan Bone Spears, and new Spider Silk bows. This project is led by the Council of Elders.

4. Elder Ur and the craftsmen study the weapons and shields of the Sectine.

5. Redia, after speaking with Elder Saul, sets off to train the baby Spiders with a new found fervor... she desperately wants to prove the Elder wrong and that she CAN train these spiders so well that they can be used as mounts in combat.

Low-Budget Man · May 29, 2021

The Marborette Tribe

January 5th, 4000 BC

Rena peered into the dark cave opening. Its black maw seemed to entice her in. She swore she saw a pair of eyes look at her from inside the cave. The various shapes inside the cave suddenly seem like monsters out to get her. She gulped and looked over to her best friend, a lazy donkey chewing up some grass. Jez the donkey snorted in response.

“I don’t know. It seems a bit dark…” said Rena as she moved toward Jez.

Jez chewed some more grass and looked at her.

“Yeah, I’ll light some torches of course. But it's risky entering a cave without knowing anything about it and being prepared. We could come back next time..”

Jez the donkey moved to nuzzle her hand. She absentmindedly patted him as she looked at the cave again.

“You’re right, Jez. We shouldn’t be cowardly. We don’t want someone else stumbling here and stealing our find. What if its another gemstone deposit?”

Jez sneezed on her hand. Rena casually wiped her hands on some tree leaves.

“Alright! Decision’s made! Let’s go in!”

Yure, Rena’s bodyguard and cousin, looked at Rena with his arms folded. His spear casually leaned upon the cave wall.

“You’re insane for listening to Jez. Jez is a poor decision-maker.” Yure shook his head in disappointment.

“That’s why you’re wrong, Yure. Jez is the smartest donkey in the entire world. He gives the smart ideas and I follow them. He’s the brains of the team. Just look at him! He’s thinking of many ways at the moment to make Marborette the greatest tribe.”

The two goblins turned to face Jez. Jez sneezed again on a patch of grass. Then he lazily continued to takes nibbles of the same patch of grass.

“Jez. Stay here and continue brainstorming, Yure and I are going in. I expect a lot of good ideas from you when we get back.” Jez wandered over to a bush with some berries, ignoring her orders.

Yure and Rena lit some torches and descended into the cave. The cave slopped downward almost immediately, and the two quickly lost sight of the entrance after a few minutes of walking. Rena dropped an acorn along their path to keep track of their path. Every once in a while, the cave split into different paths. Rena made sure to mark the tunnels to ensure that they wouldn’t get lost.

The darkness of the cave encroached heavily upon them. Only their torches provided any source of light against the weight of the black. She periodically checked to make sure that she had light left and fuel left for her torch. While she didn’t fear the dark, being trapped in these caves in the darkness would certainly mean death.

After trekking deep into the cave, a light sprouted at the end of the tunnel. Rena and Yure looked at each other and slowly began to move forward, their torches held high. Eventually, they entered a much larger chamber that looked like it could fit the entirety of Marbor. Along the walls, were scores upon scores of black headed mushrooms with eye-shaped spots. A gentle stream flowed into a pool that covered a quarter of the chamber.

Massive stalagmites broke up line of sight across the room so the pair wasn’t able to see the other side. However, from their perspective, they spotted dozens of different tunnels burrowed in the wall. The light came from a strange red glowing orb at the top of the chamber. It emitted light like a massive torch. Rena and Yure gazed at it in amazement.

However, it was too high up for the pair to reach. They would have to climb the walls of the cave and somehow get the center of the chamber roof. Rena moved to inspect the mushrooms which were closer on hand.

Her eyes widened in recognition of the plant. Some traders had traded the Blackrot mushrooms to the Marborettes long ago. The Marborettes had tried to cultivate them, but the Blackrot Mushrooms all died. They tasted like feet and smelled incredibly foul. But what’s special about them wasn’t that they were particularly delicious food.

What made them special was that their repugnant properties made them repel rot somehow. Crushed up into a powder, they were a prime way to preserve food for a long time. The food wouldn’t taste as good, but it would still be relatively fresh. Flies and other insects would also be repulsed by the Blackrot and refuse to eat the food. But not only did they preserve food, they had an unintended use to preserve bodies as well. Those who were living their second life lasted far longer with the Blackrot Powder.

Yure quickly moved to begin harvesting the Blackrot Mushrooms without Rena asking. However, something felt strange about the entire situation. Rena instead of moving forward to grab as much as possible, took a step back to look around. The way the Blackrot Mushrooms were growing clawed suspiciously at her mind. She stared at it for a few moments before it struck her why.

They were growing symmetrically. There were even clean sections of Blackrot Mushroom and they were all the exact same size. Which meant that they all began growing at the same time, which meant they were all planted at the same time. The entire wall was essentially a farming plot for the Blackrot Mushrooms. Her eyes widened in shock. They weren’t wild mushrooms, these were someone’s crops!

With that sudden realization, she began looking around at the immense chamber in panic. Realizing that they were now stealing from someone. Then she spotted them across the chambers, leaving one of the tunnels.

It was a group of three black creatures. Loinclothes hangs loosely on their lower section. Their spines seemed to be permanently bent as they moved. The creatures were larger than Rena by a decent amount, and even hunched over they were still taller than Rena by several inches. A strange spear staff with circular iconography was gripped tightly in their seven fingered hands. Their eyes were milky white. Rena had known a blind goblin with the same feature, which led Rena to believe they might also be blind or have very poor sight. However, their ears were massive.

Rena had never seen such strange creatures before, but they might not have spotted the Yure and Rena yet. But it would only be a matter of a few minutes before the creatures made their way to the pair’s location.

While she had no idea of the creature’s intentions. She had a gut feeling that they wouldn’t be with catching Yure stealing from them. She had only a few minutes to make a plan of what to do before they came to them.

January 17th, 4000 BC

A group of Filvera travelers had arrived at Marbor. Cloaks of grey and white feathers hung from their shoulders. Necklaces of animal teeth were wrapped around their throat. Massive wooden masks depicting grinning faces hid their facial features. Bones also dangled from their arms tied to plant fiber.

They were all hunched over a massive beast that was a mossy green color. However, on closer inspection it was a moss-like substance that coated the creature. Several swampy trees seemed to be growing from its back. The beast's bright green eyes lazily wandered over the goblins. It was an immense beast of burden that seemed to easily sustain all their weight.

With agility, one of them leapt down to greet the goblins. The rest of the Filvera watched the undead workers curiously. The leading Filvera moved crouched over as if she was ready to pounce at any moment. Her movements gave the impression of a predator stalking its prey. A spear was pointed downward and away from the Marborette. At the bottom of the spearhead was a tightly wrapped bundle of vines that had flowers on them.

She stalked her way to the Marborette, keeping her center of gravity low. Her eyes darted frantically across the area, wary of ambush. Her quiet footsteps eventually brought her close to a spear throw’s distance from the Marborette.

“Loi’Annai is my name. I am a trader of magic and information. Sisters and I wander far to learn magic and learn much of the world ,” The Filvera woman spoke in Goblin.

“Strange magic you have.” She gestured with her spear toward the undead.

“The Loi Sisters have an interest in magic of undeath. What do you desire? Loi Sisters trade two giftsfor strong magic. Loi Sisters know the location of the clan of giants. Maybe goblins steal some bodies.” Loi’Annai laughed merrily at the thought.

“Loi Sisters know a spell with vine flowers to trap the enemy. Loi Sisters know different spell with mushrooms to stun enemies. Loi Sisters know of great mountain dwarf clans to the East. Loi Sisters also know the location of the tomb of a once powerful king. Choose two gifts from Loi Sister. Good gifts all. ”

Loi’Annai prowled across the ground as she spoke, her head swiveling from side to side as she ensured that no one was sneaking up on her flank. Her sisters upon the beast of burden shifted among the trees constantly as well to make sure no one got near.

“Also, Sisters come to deliver information. Great tribe to the north wishes to hold a festival in two moons time. Many tribes come. Competition. Trade. Get much information. They pay Loi Sisters to spread word. If gobins come, meet Loi Sisters again. ”

Low-Budget Man · May 30, 2021

The Eloheim

March 4th, 4000 BC

Iskur and Poltoo, aswell as two other hunters have traveled for ten days while following the tracks. They were slowed since they had to spend some time foraging and hunting. If they had fully prepared rations, the trip would probably take closer to eight or nine days.

Poltoo stopped using his bow to hunt, realizing that he needed to conserve his arrows for the rest of the trip. He borrowed one of the Eloheim javelins as a temporary substitute. The journey was long for the travelers, but they were determined to see it through until the end.

While all of the Eloheim knew who Poltoo was (it was hard for Poltoo not to stand out after all), Iskur had only spoken a few words to Poltoo during his stay in Endor. Not because he disliked Poltoo, he just never had the opportunity to say more. However, during this trip, they spoke often to each other.

Poltoo may not be human, he was a hard person not to like. He told grand stories about the Swift Flight clan and himself, each more energetic and hilarious than the last. There were stories about Poltoo falling in a crevice and being stuck for an entire day while his clan tried to rescue him. There was a story about how he had stolen Argoo’s favorite as a dare and how Argoo had punished Poltoo by having him sit upside down in a tree while the Swift Flight tossed rotten fruit at him.

In return, Iskur told Poltoo stories about the Eloheim way of life. How the Eloheim lived, what they believed in, the history of Endor. He spoke about being a hunter, something Poltoo related to very easily. And lastly, Iskur spoke about his own life of being the cousin to the king and his friendship with his brother.

A bond of friendship grew between the pair through the journey. Strengthened by the hardship they endured on the trip. But their friendship grew also because they wanted to avoid thinking about the possible upcoming war. They spoke of happier times and traded life stories, all to bury the thought of the bloody battlefield to come. Both Poltoo and Iskur suppressed the thoughts of Khate and human bodies being added to the mass graves that were dug.

On the tenth day, they came across signs that a settlement was nearby. A broken spear shaft in the underbrush. A carved marking upon a tree. A piece of plant fiber tied into a rope discarded upon a rock.

Great hunters all, the group grew solemn and quiet. Their eyes darted frequently to cover their flanks and they moved without any sudden movements. Every hunter maintained a solid grip upon their weapon, but none were eager to use it. There was a massive gulf between killing an animal versus killing another intelligent being. But none were so foolish as to refuse the act if it came to it. Eloheim came first for the humans, and they would do what needed to be done. Out of the group, only Poltoo was the only member who had actually fought in a battle and had killed enemy warriors. However, for all his openness, Poltoo kept his mouth sealed on those stories.

They saw their destination a few miles before they even reached it. When they reached it, it stunned them into silence. The group had managed to find an outlook upon an inclination of the land which gave them a magnificent view of the landscape.

Looming far above the tree canopy was an immense world tree. Rising over a thousand feet at least, the tree casted a massive shadow upon the surrounding area. Black gnarled branches curled outward in an angry explosion of bark. Gargantuan roots sprawled across the forest floor like a thousand angry snakes, choking out all other vegetation. Each root, if chopped, could easily provide enough wood to build a home. Birds in the thousands fluttered to and from the crown of the tree, creating a storm of color. They had all heard stories about such things before, but never had they encountered such an incredible wonder.

However, their wondrous sight was ruined upon closer inspection. The tree sprouted an infestation of wooden platforms that clung to the trunk like an angry fungus. Black tunnels could be seen periodically carved into the side of the tree, presumably leading to the interior.

A wooden palisade wall surrounded the bottom of the tree where a settlement has been built. It looked just like any Eloheim settlement with many buildings of all shapes and sizes. Immediately outside the palisade wall was an immense farmland stretching out for miles. There was even a section dedicated for cows to graze. Black shapes that resembled cows could be seen blobbed up in the distance.

Their view was even ruined further by them spotting Sectine patrolling the farms. Human workers could be seen toiling under the hot sun under the Sectine supervision. Every once in a while, a Sectine would angrily shout at them or threaten them with a crack of a whip. The hunters in Iskur’s group bristled at the sight.

A Sectine with a cloak of shimmering blue silk occasionally wandered by while mounting a massive green herculian beetle. Two horns extended out from the beetle’s head and looked like it could easily gore a man with a charge. One horn was directly mounted on the front of the head while the other one was mounted upon the back of its head.

Poltoo was the first to speak after observing the settlement for some time. “Time for Iskur become Khate Warrior. Steal something valuable from Sectine, win great honor.” He gestured to the enslaved humans.

One of the hunters with them objected. His name is Balkir and he looked absolutely horrified at the suggestion. He shook his head vehemently at Poltoo’s idea.

“We came here to scout! Not cause a war! If we steal from them and we get caught, we might endanger all of Eloheim! You’re insane Poltoo. We should head back home after more observation, no more!” Balkir exclaimed.

“Cannot fight war with no information. Steal human from Sectine. Learn much,” replied Poltoo. He had taken off his quiver of arrows and began counting his arrows.

“There might not even be a war if we don’t make trouble for them. Iskur, surely you aren’t going to go with his madness?” Balkir pleaded.

“Seven arrows left. Seven Sectine lives in my hand. Poltoo not good archer. So more like two Sectine. If Iskur and other hunters sneak and steal, Poltoo can shoot chasers if Sectine chase. Should do at night-time.”

“Iskur, think about this before we make any decisions. If we go and steal from them, surely they’ll try to make war with us.”

Poltoo shook his head. “Sectine make war with everyone in past. Don’t trust. If Iskur truly afraid, then Poltoo go alone. More risk for Poltoo, usually Poltoo need friend to help steal, but Poltoo good thief. If Poltoo go alone, Eloheim don’t endanger.”

“You got captured last time!” Balkir countered.

“Poltoo steal from Eloheim dozen times before get caught.” Poltoo cackled.

“If Poltoo go alone and get captured. Tell Swift Flight clan, ‘Poltoo sorry to take all glory from stealing from Sectine first’. Also, tell new Eloheim friends ‘ Poltoo sorry didn’t stay around longer.’” Poltoo's request was made in a light hearted tone, but betrayed a hint of fear and anxiety. He turned away from the hunters and looked out upon the sprawling Sectine settlement and saw the massive danger before him.

March 12th, 4000 BC

The Council of Elders was called once again to discuss the progress made upon the various initiated projects. The Sectine have made no further incursions upon the Eloheim’s territories, but fear still ran rampant amongst the Eloheim people and Swift Flight clan. Argoo was also present with a few members of his clan, including his grandfather Talapoo. A younger Khate sat with Talapoo and quietly translated the meeting to him.

The first person to speak was Elder Saul. With a loud and clear voice, Elder Saul proclaimed his report, “Very good progress has been made on the outpost. The Khates have nicknamed it “The Spider Hole” since we’ve been harvesting much spider silk and temporarily storing it there. The Spider Hole been built with a couple of buildings to provide storage. We’re currently building a place for our hunters to rest aswell as more storage space. We also plan to build a watch tower to keep an eye on the surrounding area.”

“The Swift Flight clan have been tremendous allies in clearing out the forest and in clearing out paths for trees. We are making solid progress on the road from the Spider Hole to Endor. We are approximately a third of the way done with that project. Our workers are stretched thin between the many construction projects.” Argoo raised his hand in thanks after Elder Saul gave his appreciation. Elder Saul stepped down.

Elder Ur spoke up next. “The Sectine shields are made out of some strange green carapace and wood. Not from the Sectine carapace, but something else. We’ve obtained about 60 Green Carapace shields from the battlefield and have made an additional 40 wooden shields. We have no way of making more of the Sectine’s Green Carapace Shields without that material. Their regular carapace armor is molded to the Sectine shape, but we are able to adjust it so that it fits our shape. This one is made out of old Sectine carapaces so by harvesting the dead Sectine, we are able to build this armor. There are many broken pieces of armor, so we only have about 30 so far, but we are continuing to build more. Their spears and javelins are essentially the same as our, so we also have an abundance of spears and javelins from the battlefield.”

He took a pause to drink some water from a waterskin.

“We’re periodically sending an expedition to grab Titan Bones and the Spider Silk we are gaining an abundance. We will soon be able to garb all our soldiers in Spider Silk.” Whoops of joy and applause sounded throughout the room. Elder Ur sat down, beaming with pride.

Hadid hesitantly stood up. All eyes turned to him. Somehow this was more terrifying than an angry bear. With a deep breath to calm his nerves, Hadid gave his report to the assembled council.

“My group of 110 Eloheim have been training vigorously.” Hadid began.

Many more had volunteered, but had to be turned away since Eloheim still needed to function. Food still needed to be gathered. Animals to be hunted. And cattle to be herded. Homes to be repaired. Tools to be built. And Hadid had to keep the number to a reasonable amount.

“And every several days, we would run drills for a few hours with many of the other Eloheim that is available. So far, the full-time soldiers are learning much about the spear and shield. We’re not ready for a full-scale battle yet, but we’re becoming much more coordinated and responsive to fighting together. Talapoo has actually joined us a few times to show us various things. And Argoo has also appeared to show us how to use their bows.”

Argoo interrupted Hadid’s report. “Best archer in Swift Flight Clan, Ralogaa! She can train archer for Eloheim. And bow-maker in Swift Flight make bows for Eloheim. In exchange, Eloheim gift few more cows and make titan bone armor for Swift Flight. Ralogaa very good archer and can make Eloheim good archer! Also, can ask Ralogaa to make stew! Stew can also kill enemy!” Argoo gave a guffaw at his joke.

A black and white Khate next to Argoo, presumably Ralogaa, smacked him on his arm.

Hadid took a few seconds to start up his report again. “Well, yes...that’s….Yes, so the soldiers are doing well and-”

Argoo interrupted again, not accustomed to council etiquette.

“Hadid! If want, Swift Flight clan can have spar with Eloheim soldier. Have small mock battle against some Khate warriors. Learn by practice.”

“Uh....Thank you, Argoo.”

-----

“What is wrong with you Redia?” Hadid moaned.

“Look! It’s a really good idea. They can be trained when they’re young. “ Redia grinned at Hadid

“But why did you have to get even more baby spiders?” Hadid had both his hands in his hair as he looked at the scene. Dozens of spider eggs were arranged in several boxes.

“Because, if Eloheim can ride this many spiders into battle, we’ll be unstoppable.” Redia patted Hadid on his back.

“We don’t even know how well they can be trained when they’re older!” Hadid placed his hands in front of his face as if he could hide away and pretend Redia wasn’t an insane person.

“Davit wants me to take more responsibility. So here I am, taking a lot of responsibility. Jumpy is becoming more and more well-trained by the day. By the Spirits, by the time Jumpy is an adult, he’ll be super well trained and a perfect mount. And if I can even train even a small fraction of these spiders, then its a win for Eloheim. Imagine your soldiers riding on spiders into battle!”

“How did you even get this many?” asked Hadid with his head still in his hands. His voice came out muffled.

“I tagged along for a few of the spider-slk gathering trips.” Redia replied nonchalantly.

“Redia, are you sure about this? This is a lot of spiders that will hatch. We were having trouble with only six!”

“Well about that actually, I was going to have you ask King Ba’al for help with that. I probably need a few assistants for this. To help watch them and feed them while I train them.”

March 25th, 4000 BC

Davit led a mixed group of foragers, builders, craftsmen, and foresters to the Titan Bone deposit. It was a trip of three days through a hot unforgiving forest, so a few of his hunters accompanied them. There were many dangers through the forest, and Davit would prefer to be safe than sorry.

They came to a massive crater that stretched to the horizon. Vegetation was far more sparse here and trees avoided the land like a plague. The terrain grew rocky and harsher. But scattered throughout the crater were hundreds of immense bones. The bones sprang up from the ground like grass, but much larger. A singular rib cage was closest to the group and it towered over them, taller than any tree. And a majority of it was still buried beneath the ground.

Along the crater’s fields, there were broken grinning skulls, shattered femurs, cracked fingers, and all sorts of desiccated skeletons. While Davit was no expert on such matters, he suspected that a majority of the bones were in fact still underground. And that they were only scratching the barest surface of this deposit.

The only issue was harvesting the Titan Bones was difficult work. Relying many hours to chip any fragment off the gargantuan skeletons. Davit moved forward with his hunters to secure the area.

Argoo had told them that the area was infested with Bone Wolves to the far north, so they should bring meat to bait them away if needed. However, on all his trips so far, Davit hadn’t encountered any. And he had no desire to go looking for a fight that was unnecessary.

As Davit moved forward, a dozen shapes appeared from behind the sprawling bone. Davit immediately halted and began surveying his surroundings.

Draped heavily head to toe in Titan Bone armor, were several lizard-like people. Each carried a heavy axe in their scaly hands. Red dusty symbols were marked upon their armor. A crafted bone helmet covered most of their facial features. They were the Drakin, Davit realized. He’d heard tales of their kind before the Great Exodus but none have been encountered recently.

Davit saw more of them were lurking in the shadows, taking care to not spring out. A Drakin with a great skull helmet stepped forward. His skull helmet was made out of a panther’s skull and had two massive canines running down the side of it. Fragments of titan bone were attached for reinforcement.

“Warm-bloods! Back! We are the Followers of Hetek and I am Lek-ket! We claim this land for our own! The Illustrious Hetek killed these Titans for us so that we may armor ourselves and make strong weapons. A vision we saw that led us to find this great boon. A great gift for the Followers of Hetek, and not for warm-bloods!” Lek-ket shouted this while waving his massive axe around. He oddly spoke better Eloheim than a lot of the Khates.

Trektek · May 31, 2021

The Marborette Tribe

"When one is in danger, sometimes its best to cut and run to live to fight another day."- Goblin philospher

January 5th, 4000 BC

Rena had to think fast. This situation was a far more dangerous one then she had anticipated. Honestly, the worst situation that she would have thought of occurring here in this dark cave was one of them falling down a hole or getting stuck under some rocks.

But this was far, far worse. These creatures were not going to be happy at all that they were accidently stealing from them. And she wasn't sure that any sort of explanation was going to help. Unless of course she were a particularly sly goblin. A woman on the rise. A burgeoning entrepreneur.

Quickly, she tossed a pebble at her cousin, Yure so that he could scramble away. And possibly get ready to jump in and save her just in case her incredibly risky plan were to blow up in her face. Which was always a possibility of course.

Rena puffed herself up, stood up as tall as her small frame would allow, brushed off her dress and opened her big mouth. "Hello my fine fellows. My name is Rena and I came across your wonderful crop over here. I was hoping that you might be willing to be open to trade of sorts for your growing technique."

Even though they probably couldn't see, she couldn't help but break into a friendly smile as a force of old habit. She hoped that this worked. But at least Yure was on standby with his spear, just in case they needed to make a quick getaway.

January 17th, 4000 BC

At the sight of these tall newcomers, a goblin scout fetched the Chieftain. He would want to be the one to have contact with these outsiders once they arrived.

Grek was deep in thought over the current condition of the tribe. While things were good so far, he knew that they could be better. And he wanted things to better for the new pups. He would need to pave the way for his own children to continue and build the tribe to greatness. He would need to hold a council soon. He would need to talk with Fijr about sending out a representative for gathering newly fallen elsewhere to be given a second life. They could use the labor force if they are to grow beyond the current borders.

He was shaken out of these thoughts when the scout arrived. "Chieftain, traders that look like plants will be arriving soon."

And so it begins. Relations with other races will be paramount to their growth. "Fetch Jude. He will wish to be a part of these dealing." The scout gave a bow and left to go find the head of finances for the tribe.

Grek stood head and shoulders above the other goblins as he stood waiting for the filvera. His large axe strapped to his back. At his side stood a nicely dressed goblin with a freshly dewed hair. The remaining goblins made sure to give the two sisters plenty of space as they seemed ready to pounce on the slightest perceived threat.

The Chieftain spoke up as they arrived. "Greetings sister Loi’Annai. I am Chieftain Grek of the Marborette Tribe. And we welcome you here for trade. You don't have to worry about your safety here. We are not sneaky thieves and you are honored guests."

Grek smiled as she pointed out their undead members of the tribe. "Yes, that strange magic is used by our Necrohandlers to bring those who have passed back for their Second Life. It is a time for servitude to the tribe and a chance to be among the tribe again, even if it is in a different way than before."

The gift of the Second Life was not one that they needed to horde. It was something that they would gladly trade for. At the mention of dwarves, Grek's hand inadvertently moved over to his eyepatch before going back down to his side.

Jude spoke to Grek. "No matter what, I say that you chose the location of the once great King. Who knows what sort of treasures might be found there for the tribe." Jude started doing some tallying in his hand and making marks down on a stone table.

The possibilities were endless with these choices. On the one hand, gaining the spells would aid the tribe's shamans to assist in battle. However, knowing the location of possible allies against the dwarves in case of inevitable conflict would be important. He came to his important decision.

"Very well. In exchange for learning the ways of The Second Life, we would like to know the location of The Clan of Giants and the location of the Tomb of the Once great King." Grek seemed certain as to his choice. He was however, also delighted to hear about a competition to the North. "We will definitely have people there to compete and enjoy in the festivities. Now, I will have Hecr teach you the ways of the Second Life. But first, would you care for some refreshments. Let it not be said that The Marborette are poor hosts."

Heyitsjiwon · Jun 1, 2021

March 4th, 4000 BC

Iskur urged the men and the Khate to calm down at the tense situation. He spoke "We're here to gather information at the minimum. Let's spend a few days to observe and try to count exactly how many Sectines there are and how many slaves there are. The size and number of buildings in this settlement could also serve as a good rough estimate as to their numbers even the amount of food that they're growing could help us try and calculate the size of the Sectine settlement. That said if we can liberate one of these human slaves and bring them back to Endor... then they could be an invaluable source of information." Poltoo replied "Just one?" Iskur nodded and replied "We're too far from our settlement. It's going to be a long trek back. We have to carefully pick who to liberate. Someone who is malnourished and barely able to walk will just slow us down. We need to look out for someone who looks like they can keep pace with us. We know how to hide their tracks as long as they can maintain our speed, then we're more likely to succeed. Plus, just one slave missing? That's not a huge issue... ten of them? That would raise many alarms. This will also likely mean that the person we liberate hasn't been around for a long time, but still some insight is better than none." Poltoo nodded and said "New slave more likely to try to fight back. Old slave will be... broken in mind and not just body." Iskur nodded and said "We should look out for people who are being whipped. They're the ones who will be the least cooperative with the Sectine. Plus... at the end of the day, I do not believe El would have sat still and watched his fellow humans being enslaved by other hostile people."

Balkir was clearly concerned about potentially being caught, but understood that Iskur was trying to take a calculated risk. He merely grunted in agreement. While he wanted to not take unnecessary risks, there was wisdom in Iskur's words. At the very least, they would be able to observe the Sectine for a day or two and gather some passive intelligence that way even if they didn't succeed in liberating one of the slaves. Thus, the hunters began the tedious, but vital job of observing, counting and keeping tallies while Poltoo kept his eye out for a target to liberate that would be able to keep pace with the hunters and the Khate on the journey back to their homes. Poltoo commented "Much like picking nicest cow to steal." as he observed the slaves working. A quiet snort rose from the hunters from the Khate's seeming attempt at a joke. As the small group continued to work, Iskur muttered "El, Spirits..... I pray that you watch over us and aid us in our just cause." as he continued to keep a tally by writing into the dirt under him with a short stick.

---

March 12th, 4000 BC

Ba'al found Argoo's interjections amusing as they were well meaning. He spoke up "Practice fights are a welcome invitation, Argoo. If you and your people can find the time for some... sport, then I'm sure Hadid will gladly participate as well with the Eloheim Royal Cohort. As for your offer, if the Swift Flight clan provides the raw materials for the armor, then we will gladly make the armor for you, my friend. Of course, Eloheim will provide the wood and silk needed to make the bows for your bow-makers." It was then that Hadid suddenly realized an opportunity. He spoke up "King Ba'al, may I privately request your ear?" Ba'al nodded and motioned for Hadid to come closer. Hadid approached and whispered "If we give some of our cows, then we'll have less need for Animal Speakers to watch over the herd. Would you grant me some of these extra Animal Speakers for a project I have?" Ba'al whispered back. "What project do you have in mind?" Hadid replied "I know this sounds crazy, but I think we might be able to train baby spiders to become mounts and draft animals for us. The ability to ride on spider back would afford us great speed and movement especially in the Great Forest. At the very least... they can be trained to not harm humans and be harvested as a domestic source of spider silk. That way, we won't have to rely on the Khate nor travel far to gather more spider silk." Ba'al nodded and replied "If Argoo accepts to this deal, then you may take the extra Animal Speakers for this project." Hadid replied "Thank you, my King." as he walked back to his spot. He had done his job of asking the King as Redia had asked. Frankly, he was a bit surprised by how much the King trusted him with this crazy sounding project... that or the sheer pragmatism of having a domestic supply of spider silk was too appealing to Ba'al. Knowing his cousin... this was a pragmatic choice more than anything.

---

March 25th, 4000 BC

The Hunters in the group gripped their weapons tight as they prepared for a potential fight. However, Davit signalled for them to calm down. He didn't want to fight, not seeing how heavily armored the Drakin were. If anything, their armor would make it easier for the group to retreat and flee to the Great Forest if need be. Davit was perplexed by the presence of these Drakin. Clearly, they were a more recent arrival since the Khate didn't mention of them. Still, their aggressive territorial claims were a headache. He wasn't part of the diplomatic leadership of the Eloheim, though he was given de facto status of an Elder due to his experience and skill as a Huntmaster and had insight into the high level discussions that occur in the Council of Elders. He knew that the Council would likely seek to establish cordial relations with these Drakin, though they seemed rather... unfriendly. Regardless, it was his duty to do his best to represent the Eloheim. Thus, as a way to see if he could establish a positive connection with the Drakin, Davit began to speak. "Hail Lek-ket, I am Davit. Huntmaster of the Eloheim. We have been here before as the Spirits have guided us to these lands and blessed us with fortune as well. Who is this Hetek? Perhaps we know of Hetek, but I do not know the names of the Spirits who guide us. Perhaps, Hetek has intentionally brought us here to meet for a reason?" as he showed Lek-ket his Taiaha in a non-aggressive manner to show proof that the Eloheim had been here to harvest titan bone before.

Low-Budget Man · Jun 1, 2021

The Marborette Tribe

January 5th, 4000 BC

The three creatures had reached within a stone’s throw of Rena and looked at her with their pale milky eyes. The blind irises of the creatures unnerved Rena as they focused their gaze upon her. If Rena had to guess, they weren’t completely blind, but they were close.They cocked their heads curiously at her. One of them approached her slowly, sniffing the air. The other two stayed in their original position. The leader’s back was hunched over and he leaned heavily upon his staff. She also noticed that one of his long black fingers was severed.

Rena held her ground, and kept her plastered smile upon her face. As the leader moved closer, their horrible rotting stench assaulted her nose. Years of probably laboring on the Blackrot Mushrooms had some dire side effects, but she ignored the smell as much as possible. Their skin had a slight slimy texture to it and was coated in fur in various spots such as the chest. Every instinct in her told her to run from these strange creatures, but she was an entrepreneur. Running away before they even tried speaking would ruin her choices of ever communicating with these creatures.

Eventually, the leader stopped within arm’s reach. Rena’s heart exploded wildly as the creature slowly leaned in. Thoughts of a massive array of teeth opening her up flashed through her mind. After what felt like an eternity, the creature’s nose stopped merely inches away from her and gave a deep sniff. The leader creature began prowling around, smelling her clothes and her hair. It poked with its slimy fingers at her muscles and at her pack. Then it circled back to directly in front of her. Rena held her breath as the creature stood stock still for a moment.

Then it spoke in poor goblin, “We greet you, goblin. My name is Vlanderhulf. We are the Children of the Red Sun, your kind calls us Batfolk.”

Rena had never heard of such creatures, but they did resemble bats. However, they seemed to possess no wings and were incapable of flight. She kept her smile plastered on her face as the creature greeted her.

“Our crop grows only here underneath the Red Sun. We grow to feed ourselves and Great Spirit Made Flesh in the Abyss. If don’t feed, Great Spirit Made Flesh devours us and grinds our soul to dust. ”

Vlanderhulf looked fearfully over his shoulders and then made a strange motion with his hands where he tapped his head and ears a few times. His other companions did the same. It looked like some kind of ritual to ward off evil.

“Cannot trade many crops away. Blackrot Mushroom favorite food of Great Spirit Made Flesh, but Batfolk eat anything. Batfolk willing to trade few Blackrot Mushroom in exchange for great amount of food.”

Vlanderhulf poked curiously at her pack with his long slender finger. Rena opened it up to show her various rations of fruits and meats. She held out an apple to Vlanderhulf which he excitedly devoured.

January 19th, 4000 BC

The Loi Sisters remained relatively suspicious of the Marborette throughout their stay, but they were eager to learn the ways of the Second Life. The sisters constantly whispered to each other while Hecr instructed them. Hecr estimated in about a week’s time, the sisters would be able to raise their first body. The Loi sisters slept upon their beast of burden at night, but would always have a single sister awake to maintain a watch.

However, for all their suspicion, the Loi Sisters made good on their promises. The Clan of Giants was settled in the eastern mountains at about six days' travel and Tomb of the Once Great King was far to the west at five days' travel.

Jude was grinned wildly as he made plans for the two expeditions. One could result in powerful allies and another could result in great amounts of treasure. If anything, the Loi Sisters got the worst end of the deal. Jude imagined opening the tomb to find great amounts of gemstones or other riches. Perhaps there were immense stores of trinkets buried with this king! If Jude went on this expedition, he might be able to grab some for himself. And when they arrive at the festival in the north, everyone would be jealous of the Marborette tribe!

“Grek, who do we send on these expeditions? What do you think? How many? Also perhaps I can be of assistance on the trip to the tomb? If there is great treasure there, I will be a very useful!”

January 25th, 4000 BC

A pyramidal stone structure rose stood above the trees. Heavy limestone blocks that would have taken over a hundred goblins toiling were stacked atop one another in an incredible feat of construction. Carved artwork of winged Tengu fighting in various battles were inscribed upon each block of stone. A massive stone Tengu statue was placed atop the apex of the pyramid. Surrounding the pyramid was a mass burial ground. Thousands of marked stone graves were arranged in neat rows. Each seemed to contain a name and a short description, but the Goblins were unable to read it. A stone statue seemed to be set in the center of various patches of graves. Standing upon a platform, the statue held a stone glaive and appeared to be watching over the area. Its eyes eerily seemed to follow the goblins as they approached.

Trees and other vegetation had oddly refused to reclaim the pyramidal tomb and the area around it. Only by going closer, was the expedition team able to identify why. The more magically sensitive of the group felt a foul presence from within the tomb. It irradiated forth and chilled their skin and hummed pon their bones. With every closer step, the feeling intensified. The unease settled into the expedition as they smelled rot and decay even though nothing was dead nearby. But the stench was subtle and only there if you weren’t focused upon it. It was like their minds were playing tricks on them and the rot wasn’t truly there.

They glanced around them, as paranoia clawed at their minds. Shadows seem to elongate and hold watching eyes. More than one of them jumped in panic when they thought they saw something lurking beneath a bush or behind a tree, but there was always nothing. One of the hunters, Terk, muttered that the temple was so cursed that perhaps anything that tried to grow near it died. Heka, the Second Son of Grek and Warrior, told him to shut up.

Heka braved forward first through the cemetery. The other goblins looked hesitant at each other before following Heka’s footsteps. The air felt still from the lack of wildlife. No birds chirped. No insects buzzed. Life refused to venture forth anywhere near the temple. Except for now. Heka’s heart seemed to pound harder with every step, but nothing stepped forth to attack the group. Heka eyed the stone guardians with distrust, but they seemed to be mere statues.

Eventually, they came to an entranceway at the very bottom. Two stone doors stood in the way, but it was easily pried open. Opening the doors unleashed a burst of foul air filled with dust. And now every member could feel the strange aura bury into their minds. It felt like a cold hand was caressing their brains. Sweat broke out among the adventurers. More than one wiped their clammy hands upon their clothes. They felt a chill upon their skin even though the sun was shining brightly during midday.

They peered into the temple and saw a pitch black hallway. Every instinct in their body was telling them to run, that something was telling them to get out while they can. Yet, the goblins boldly moved forward. Stone statues were situated on either side of the hallway like guards. Each was the size of a regular Tengu and each bore a frightening expression upon their carved faces.

Set at even intervals in the hallways were various entrances to different rooms. The expedition began to splinter as they moved to inspect the statues and the smaller rooms. Some of the rooms held beautiful sets of Titan Bone armor with various artworks carved into it and Titan Bone glaives with majestic ashwood shafts. Some of the rooms merely held a stone sarcophagus with an inscribed image of a Tengu, presumably the occupant. And lastly, some rooms held stockpiles of colorful feather cloaks and hats with magnificent feather plumage.

Heka moved toward the end of the hallway on his own and encountered a larger chamber with several hallways splintering off from it. From Heka’s estimate, this appeared to be the center of the pyramid. In the middle of the chamber was a raised platform containing a sarcophagus. There were also many stone guardians standing here as well, facing the sarcophagus.

With each step toward the tomb, he felt his bones thrum more from the aura. His teeth began chattering from the cold he seemed to be feeling, but yet he was also sweaty from his nerves.

Heka eventually reached the tomb and looked down upon the artwork inscribed atop of it. It featured a muscular Tengu in Titan Bone armor in heavily stylized artwork. However, what was strange about the tomb was that there were hundreds of ropes wrapped around it, as if someone didn’t want the tomb to be opened.

Terk in the meanwhile, was looking at the stone statues. Each was a Tengu and had their wings folded behind them. A stylized set of armor was also carved in stone upon them. Terk walked up to one in particular and poked at it. Then he noticed a small cracked section of the stone statue. Curious, he leaned in to look through the hole in the stone statue.

A gasp escaped him as he smelled a putrid rot from the statue and saw decayed flesh. The statues were hollow! And they each contained a body. Terk nervously looked around the temple and the dozens of statues about.

Near the central sarcophagus was a plaque of various writings. Heka wasn’t proficient in all languages, but dozens of different languages were written upon the plaque. He quickly found the Goblin writing and read it.

“Here Lies King Lotang, King of Kings”

“Only despair and ruin lies within this tomb”

Heka nervously glanced around at the statues and realization struck him. The statues were all facing inward. Guards of any sort always faced the threat. If these statues were meant to be a ward against evil of some description, why were they all facing inward?

They were all guarding King Lotang. They weren’t heard to protect King Lotang from the outside. They were here to guard the outside from King Lotang. This wasn’t a tomb, this was his prison.

A thud sound emerged from inside the sarcophagus of King Lotang. Heka jumped.

A creaky ancient voice sounded from inside the tomb.

“Outsiders? Yes-yes. Good friend! Free me! I’ll nourish you with magic. I’ll turn you into a god made flesh. I need magic blood to be freed, yes-yes. Fill this tomb with the blood of magic and free me! I’ll give you all that you desire, for King Lotang is a good friend to have!”

With that, all the stone statues ominously shifted their heads toward Heka. Heka gulped. Heka had a certain feeling that if he made any attempts to free King Lotang, they would begin to attack.

January 26th, 4000 BC

The Clan of Giants was much smaller than the Marborette expected. They had originally envisioned a settlement spanning hundreds of large creatures. But what they found was a slight disappointment.

Six giants stood around a roaring campfire. Each giant stood as tall as a tree. A massive herd of sheep was nearby belonging to the giants. Upon the goblin’s appearance, the giants welcomed the goblins to their fire.

The leader of the clan spoke to the goblins, “My name is Toe-eater. Why goblin come to giants? What goblin want?"

Low-Budget Man · Jun 2, 2021

The Eloheim

March 7th, 4000 BC

The hunters had kept watch for three days on the Sectine settlement. The hunters took turns to go out and hunt for extra food. They remained cautious of Sectine patrols and hunting parties. There were a few close calls where the Sectine nearly stumbled upon the hunter’s makeshift camp. Luckily, no blood needed to be drawn.

From counting the farming plots, building sizes and numbers, and a rough estimation of individuals working each farmland, there were probably at least 5000 to 6000 Sectine present. The hunters further estimated 1300 or so human slaves working the farms. However, from their distance the group wasn’t able to properly investigate the World Tree. The World Tree shadowed the entire settlement with its immense crown.

There was no surefire way for them to investigate the World Tree without getting much closer, but it intrigued the group greatly. There looked to be enough space in the World Tree for many more Sectine to live, so their estimated number was actually probably an underestimate of the population. There was nothing to clue them in on what the inside of the World Tree was like. All they could see were hundreds of moving Sectine dots walking on wooden pathways. And even that was hard to see.

The information gathered by the hunters made Balkir even more nervous about the situation. The Sectine possessed massive beetle mounts to carry supplies. But they could easily be used in combat skewer soldiers. The hunters could see various scouting parties being sent out in all directions.

The slaves however, were the main focus of the hunters. Since they were closest to the farming plots, they had the best view of how the slaves were treated. Slaves who were deemed disobedient were tied to a wooden stake and whipped, then left exposed to the elements as punishment. It boiled the blood of the human hunters to watch their fellow man be tortured harshly. The stakes were planted firmly in the center of the farming plot to discourage other slaves. It was a brutally effective tactic as many slaves tried their best to keep their head down.

However, not all the slave masters were Sectine. Several humans could be seen wearing the distinctive carapace armor of the Sectine and they behaved exactly the same as the cruel Sectine. They shouted orders and savagely whipped their compatriots. Balkir spat in disgust at the sight. They have seemingly turned their back on their fellow man and now bow to insects.

“Bastards,” Balkir cursed.

On the third day, a good opportunity came for the hunters. A massive party of Sectine ventured from the settlement. Numbering in the hundreds, they marched north east, away from Eloheim. Sighs of relief came from the entire group.

The group witnessed four slaves savagely whipped for some minor infraction involving the beetle mounted Sectine. The group was too far away to hear the exact specifics. The four slaves were then tied to the wooden stakes, to be scorched by the sun’s deadly rays. They slaves looked to be in fairly good shape and might be able to survive the trip back to Endor.
Poltoo and Iskur looked at each other with a mutual understanding.

When night fell, the slaves were left tied still tied up to the wooden stakes. They slept uncomfortably while still hoisted up. Under the cover of darkness, the group moved to free one of the slaves.

However it was no easy task, a fence was placed around the perimeter of the farmland. And a field of felled trees extended out beyond the farmland. Watch towers were dotted periodically along the outer perimeter of the farmland’s edge. Two Sectines could be seen in the tower every day, watching over the slaves to make sure none attempted escape. And they also provided an early warning system for any approaching foes. Patrols of three Sectine also roamed the fence edge and through paths in the farmland to ensure no slaves attempted to escape.

The open field of felled trees provided very little cover for the group and it took them a few hours of stealthy movement for them to eventually reach the fence equidistant from the two towers on their left and right. It was far enough that they wouldn’t be able to easily spot the group of hunters.

Even though Poltoo was larger than the humans, he still was able to move stealthily as any of them. Poltoo remained near the fence and gestured for the humans to move to free the slaves on their own. He pulled out his bow and kept watch on the towers and the surrounding area. His message was clear, he would provide covering fire for their escape if need be.

Iskur, Balkir, and the final hunter stealthily moved toward the four slaves who were tied to stakes. The punishment area was deeper in the farm area and they pushed through fields of crops. One of them looked fairly poorly, while the other three looked to be in good condition. Iskur chose the closest one to him to free.

With his flint knife, he cut away at the slave’s bonds. The slave’s eyes fluttered open in shock. Iskur clamped his hand down on his mouth to prevent the slave from making a racket. The slave nodded in understanding once he saw the situation. Iskur removed his hand.

“Please, you have to get my family out of here. They’re enslaved back in the main settlement-”

“I’m sorry, we can’t do that. We don’t have the time.” Iskur shook his head. It was practical but cruel. And he hated having to do it, but it was the only logical choice.

“Please, they can move fast. My kids-”

“We’ll come back for them. Now we just have to get you out. And then we can come back and rescue them. That sound good?”

“Free my brothers at least. The other two here. Please! They’re nearby! It’ll be easy to get us all out. Rayal hurt his foot though, but he can still move quickly. We’ll help him along! ”

Iskur and other two hunters had freed the first slave while he spoke. Rushing to one of the other slaves, the first slave began trying to pull his tight ropes apart.

“Help me, please. I will not abandon my brothers.”

However, time was not on their side. A Sectine patrol of three was wandering closer to the punishment area. They were armed with their customary spear and carapace shield. Relatively light Sectine carapace armor was layered upon their body, providing moderate protection.

Killing all three without raising any sort of alarm would be difficult. Especially without Poltoo to help. A bird whistle cut through the air. Which was Poltoo’s signal for a second patrol was nearing his position near the fence. They were slowly getting pincered.

The prisoners had awoken and were whispering ragged pleads to free them. The final slave, who was not the first slave’s brother, also begged for the hunters to save him. Although, he barely looked like he could walk a mile without collapsing.

However, his plea was different from the three slave brothers. “Free me! If you don’t I’ll shout for them to get you! Then we’ll all be trapped!”

March 25th, 4000 BC

“The Illustrious Hetek is the great god of the earth and rock! Followers of Hetek once lived near mountains, in the skeleton of a dead Titan. Ancestors found the Titan skeleton because the Illustrious Hetek gave vision to Shaman. Followers of Hetek learn much about armor and weapon making with Titan Bone. Great blessing to us. Make us strong.”

The Followers of Hetek displayed their weapons proudly. And while Davit was no expert, he could tell that the Drakin were steps above what the Swift Flight Clan and The Eloheim were doing with their Titan Bone.

“Then, we are forced to find a new home. We went on a great journey to find another dead Titan, and we are blessed! For the Illustrious Hetek has led us to such a holy site! Not only is there one dead Titan, there are many buried in this earth! He smiles gently upon us!”

Lek-tek warded them away with his weapon in a strange gesture of shaking his bone axe. Once again, Davit didn’t particularly understand the exact meaning, the tone was clearly telling him to go away.

“We stray from Illustrious Hetek gifts in past! We trade Titan Bone away for favor and food. We soil his gift to us. The Illustrious Hetek punished us. Enemies take Titan Bone from us and use it against us, take our home away from us. The Illustrious Hetek give us a second chance with these Titan Bones. We will not make the same mistake.”

The rest of the Followers of Hetek looked more and more agitated as their leader preached. Slowly, Davit and the other hunters began to back away a fraction. Lek-ket took a moment to ponder Davit’s words.

“Your spirits guide you here in the past to desecrate the gifts of the Illustrious Hetek. It is clear now why we are here, we are to protect these gifts from your kind. We wish to restore the ancient Titans while you wish to destroy them all. ”

Lek-ket pointed with his axe toward the Eloheim group.

“You are sent here to test our faith against Hetek! You try to trick us to give away our Titan Bone once more so the Illustrious Hetek will punish us again! Begone! We will not fall for your honeyed tongues!”

Trektek · Jun 2, 2021

The Marborette Tribe

January 5th, 4000 BC

"The past is seen clearly as the day sky, but the future is muddied through the reflections of a running stream." -Goblin Philosopher

Rena breathed a sigh of relief. Her gambit had paid off and now she had an avenue for some amazing trade deals. But what if she could take this even further? It seemed as though these batmen were dealing with a powerful evil creature that perhaps she could help broker a much larger deal but bringing someone back to help them be rid of this Great Spirit made Flesh.

"I am Rena. And I'm certain that we can make a deal with you that is satisfactory to help feed your people with delicious food in exchange for Blackrot Mushrooms." The young woman pursed her lips. Now was the time to go in for the big gamble. It was time to go big or go home. Either they would take her up on the offer, or this would completely sour their relationship and ruin the current deal of food for mushrooms.

"But, what would you say if I offered to escort one of you back to my village to talk with our chieftain? It sounds like you have great trouble with this Spirit Made Flesh. We have Shamans, Necrohandlers, and warriors that might be able to help you with this problem. The Marborettes are always looking for friends and allies in addition to good trading partners." She gave a friendly grin as she hoped for the best, but prepared for the worst. It was this moment that she was still glad that Yure was hunkered down off to the side, just in case they needed to make a quick get away from a disastrous situation.

January 19th, 4000 BC

Grek did not mind the suspicious nature of the Loi sisters to them at the present time. But he was certain that soon enough, word would spread of the great hospitality of the Marborette Tribe. Then they would garner many trade partners and expand their settlement into higher levels. This was just the first step onto the greatness of their tribe.

The Chieftain smiled at Jude's exuberance and in fact, it seemed contagious. These were great tid bits of information that would help them make great gains as long as they were accurate and filled with allies and treasures. Grek gave a heartily placed palm on Jude's shoulder as he laughed. "Yes Jude. You may go with the group towards the Tomb of the Once Great King. I would not trust the great treasures that would be found to anyone else. For this expedition, you shall take my second born son, Heka along with 10 warriors, 6 Hunters, 2 Shamans, 2 Necrohandlers and 4 of those in their second life to help with carrying any belongings. As this is to be our first foray into the world, I want us to be prepared. So take the time to gather all the necessary supplies and be safe, my friend. As for the other group, I shall appoint my daughter Fera as our representative. She shall take with her two warriors, two hunters and a trader with a cart full of various goods for trade, including gemstones."

January 25th, 4000 BC

Jude certainly felt the terror as it was palpable from the surroundings. Even the Necrohandlers could sense the dark magics at work there. Far different from their own magic allowing the giving of a Second Life. But his Chieftain had tasked him with traveling to this place of an Old King and fully exploring it. He knew that it would be a sad day if they returned with nothing.

Heka and some of the warriors had distributed the Titan Bone Armor and Glaives to as many warriors as their was such items available to. He wasn't going to let a golden opportunity pass him by. And who knew what lay deeper within this place considering all the darker signs. The craftsmanship on these items were wonderful and the weaponsmiths and armorsmiths would have to exam them in detail when they got back.

Jude laughed at their finds. It was going to be a fruitful trip, he just knew it. He placed a hat with plumage upon his head. It felt right to him. It would be a show of their great success from this trip. Perhaps if this trip was such a great success, Grek would send him on other high end expeditions for great riches. The possibilities were endless as his mind filled with all the endless opportunities that could be afforded to him. His position on the Council would be further elevated. This would be it. This frilly hat, would signify the start of his greatness.

Terk shivered as they traveled. "This place is not right. It's not right." He muttered to himself. Clearly it was getting to him, all the ominous statues and frescos littered about. But it wasn't until he saw the corpses inside the statues at the tomb, that he truly knew that this was darkness. It was not normal, it was not natural. It was not a true second life. It was something much , much worse. There was evil here.

At the voice of King Lotang and the stone statues turning to look at the goblin group, Heka gave a nod to the warriors. They knew that if the statues were to make any violent move, that they would begin their counterattack with their new weapons. Now, the great difficulty would be in fighting the creatures of STone and Death if it came to that. The Shamans went over their magics in their head. Their offensive spells might make the difference between life and death of the group and the Necrohandlers mentally debated if their magic could be used to get rid of the corpses inside the statue. If they powered the statues, then the statues might just stop without the corpse inside.

Jude, though terrified by the prospect of this devolving into a fight. But the possibility of having a powerful King on their side. That could lead to more riches. "King Lotang, what could you give the Goblins of the Marborette Tribe? And will you accept the blood of magical animals to free you?"

The goblins all tenses up as for all they knew, those words alone would trigger an attack from the dangerous guards.

January 26th, 4000 BC

Fera was sent as the representative of the Marborettes and Truth be told, she was expecting something far greater than what they came across. She was overjoyed when her father had put her in charge of this group and that she was able to go exploring far from home.

But they only came across a small group. Six Giants hardly constituted a settlement, no matter how big they were. That was basically a single household vast settlement. Those Loi Sisters are big liars and she'd give them a piece of her mind if she saw them again.

Fera composed herself and gave a bow. "Greetings Brother Toe-Eater. I am Fera of the Marborette Tribe. We have come to establish trade relations with your clan and perhaps strike an alliance against the vile Dwarves."

Heyitsjiwon · Jun 2, 2021

March 7th, 4000 BC

Iskur was fed up with the situation. Their goal was to only liberate one slave, but this turned into a debacle as all four demanded to be freed. Iskur whispered "Fine, we will free all of you. Pretend to be still asleep while bound to the stake so that the guards pass by us."as he signalled to the other two hunters to find cover and hide in the thick crop field. Iskur replied with another bird call, signalling to Poltoo to also find cover and to hide as they were being approached by a patrol too. Iskur hurried into the wheat field and hide in the darkness and cover of the wheat stalks. He forced himself to take long deep breathes rather than shallow ones to make less noise and to calm himself down as he saw some light flicker through the wheat. The patrol was following a path with torches through the farmlands while "chatting" with each other though what they were saying... Iskur couldn't tell as to him it just sounded like chattering noises rather than vocal speech. The lights stopped moving and the chatter stopped. An ember from their torches drifted down onto the path just a few meters in front of him. Iskur gripped his spear, ready to burst out and attack if they noticed something.

To his relief, the Sectine started to chatter again and walk away. Once the Sectine patrol was out of audible range, Iskur emerged from the cropfield with his flint knife in hand. He continued to work on freeing the prisoners, cutting their binds one by one while the other two hunters cut their hand and foot binds. Finally, Iskur reached the last prisoner. He approached the men and whispered "I will now set you free. May the Great Spirits guide you." as he then sliced the man's throat, freeing him of his mortal coil and preventing him from calling out. Iskur spat on the dying man and muttered "Traitor. Should be ashamed to call yourself a human." before turning to the rest. "We must hurry. Being captured is a fate much worse than death. Not only will you be tortured by the Sectine for information, our chances of saving your families will shrink... and our own families will be put at risk too. So, if you want to save your families, keep up. Otherwise I will put you out of your misery so that the rest of us will have a chance to save your family and people. Understood?" The three prisoners nodded without a single word. Iskur indicated for Balkir to lead the way while he turned around and laid down the groundwork for an idea he got just moments ago.

After a few moments, Iskur caught up with the group and Poltoo at one of the outer crop fields. Poltoo nodded and said "Eloheim brave warriors. Steal three human onstead of one. But how to escape without tower guard seeing? Much harder with three than just one." Iskur replied "Don't worry. I have a plan. Just get ready to run at any moment." Then like clockwork, Poltoo noticed that the guardtowers seemed to be looking back towards where the slaves came from. With his feline eyes, he could see some light eminating from there. "Now. Go! While the guards are focused on the fire I started with the dry stakes." With that the group of seven began to scurry towards the forest as alarms also began to go off. As the group ran, Poltoo asked "Why set off alarm?" Iskur replied "To draw their attention away from the chopped down trees... and to get rid of some of the evidence that we freed some slaves. If we're lucky they might not realize that the slaves are missing... and instead think that they died in the fire. The Sectine patrols walked around with torches. If it were a dry summer, those torches could cause a field to catch on fire with a single ember. But, I figured that burning the stakes would be more convenient... at least buy us some time to run before they figure out what happened." Poltoo replied "Poltoo don't know if Iskur is a very brave warrior or very dumb warrior." Iskur grinned and said "I don't know either Poltoo, only thing I know is that we need to keep running."

---

The group took a short break to catch their breath and to check on the freed men. Iskur approached the brothers and asked "How is your foot doing?" Rayal replied "Didn't feel it at first cause of the excitement, but now... it's starting to hurt... a lot." Iskur frowned slightly. He reached into a pouch and pulled out a sheet of spider silk. He then approached Rayal to wrap his injured foot "Hopefully, this should cushion your foot a bit, but we have to keep moving if we're going to make our escape. It's going to be a long journey, but we might be able to save your families. If we get caught... well... we're going to face a fate worse than death. It all depends on you three, you all understand? You keep pace with us, we make it back to my people and can plan a way to save your families. You drag us down... well... for everyone's sake including yours... we'll make it swift and merciful unlike what the Sectine will do." The brothers nodded solemnly. Iskur replied "Good. Now, let's keep going." The group continued to move through the forest.

March 25th, 4000 BC

The Great Earth Spirit is called Hetek... Davit thought to himself. Or at least this was what they called the Earth God. Yet, Davit couldn't help but find the Drakin's conviction to be anything but foolish and laughable. Davit couldn't help but start laughing as he signaled for the group to start falling back and to prepare to depart. Davit spoke up "Lek-tek, do you speak for Hetek, the Great Earth Spirit? Do you claim to know his divine will without even speaking with the Earth Spirit? NO mortal knows the will of the Gods for their goals are beyond our comprehension. Yet, you have the arrogance to assume what Hetek's divine will is? I pray for your sake the Hetek does not smite you for your insolence. Go! Speak to Hetek and see what his divine will is if you claim to be so close to his divinity. We will pray that he shows you mercy. Us, Eloheim, were also guided to these lands by the Great Spirits after war drove our people away from our ancient homes. Yet, rather than assuming their divine will, we have always sought their divine wisdom and words to guide us in our actions. We welcome you to these lands, Lek-tek as our wayward brothers who were driven away and guided here by the Great Spirits. Yet, if you begin to assume the will of the Mighty Hetek, then we can only pray to Hetek that he will show you mercy for your folly rather than his wrath." Davit turned away to lead the group back to Endor. "We shall return in a fortnight and see if you have spoke with Hetek. Unless, you would like to invite us to speak with Hetek together? We offered Hetek the bodies and souls of over one hundred Sectine who are a war-mongering insect people near this region. It is them who you should fear, not fellow worshipers of the Great Spirits."

Low-Budget Man · Jun 6, 2021

The Marborette Tribe

January 5th, 4000 BC

Vlanderhulf looked at Rena for several seconds with his unblinking pale eyes. He leaned in closer to speak to her, his voice barely a whisper.

“I fear the Spirit Made Flesh more than I desire our freedom. Convince your leader to come to us, for we will not venture forth from this cave. I do not wish to anger the Spirit Made Flesh. If you can deal with it, we can offer you better trade.”

Vlanderhulf turned back to look at the shadows as if they had ears and were listening in. And then turned to face his unnerving gaze back upon her. Rena resisted making a nervous gulp at his unyielding attention, and kept her grin up. She inwardly sighed in relief that Vlanderhulf was mostly blind and couldn’t see her fear.

“We tried once to banish the Spirit Made Flesh and it crushed us. We will not help you for we do not wish to provoke its wrath. We will provide you advice however. Kill it in flesh, then kill it in spirit. Use magic blood to burn away the foul spirit and banish it so it will not recover its flesh. It has become engorged on its feasts of the mushrooms, so killing it will be no easy task.”

January 25th, 4000 BC

King Lotang’s voice drifted from the sarcophagus, eager to be freed. “Powerful spells I can teach you to turn your enemies to dust. I can show you the path to burial grounds in which you can find more riches and arms. And I can unlock the magical potential of your blood and make your magic even stronger.”

The statues remained stationary and merely watched King Lotang speak. The goblins eyed the statues nervously, for there were over twenty Tengu statues present in the entire pyramid. Each held a stone glaive in their hand.

“Any magic blood will do. The blood of spellcasters are the most efficient. Drip your blood upon my sarcophagus and let it flow into the runes and imagery. Only until every line is filled, will I be freed. Be wary of the guardians however, for once a single drop of blood lands upon my sarcophagus, they will do their duty of keeping me imprisoned.”

Barr, one of the Necro Handlers, moved slowly around the sarcophagus in study. She was careful not to touch it, fearful that it would trigger the stone guardians to attack. She sniffed the air and held out her hands to feel the vibrations of the magical current radiating from the sarcophagus.

She stepped to an inch away from the sarcophagus and closed her eyes, fully concentrating on the invisible thrums of magic. Her bones jittered and all the power she felt. Then she took several steps away and closed her eyes again to focus on the magic. She did this several times at several spots throughout the chamber, always cautious of the stone guardians who made no moves. Eventually, she came to a conclusion. She licked her lips in excitement at her discovery.

She moved close and whispered to Jude, “I believe that the Sarcophagus is somehow powering the Stone Guardians. The magic seems stronger the closer I am to the Sarcophagus. If we believe in King Lotang, then perhaps he is involuntarily forced to expend his magic on these Guardians. If we free him and break open his tomb, the guardians might stop with their power source cut off.”

Then she paused in thought, “That is merely a guess. Another solution might be for the Necrohandlers to try to disable the stone guardians by perhaps overwhelming them with our own magic. If we can touch the corpses inside, it's possible that we can disrupt their delicate magic with our own. More dangerous to us since we have to touch them, but it might also trigger them to fight us if we touch their guardians first.”

January 26th, 4000 BC

Toe-eater pondered the words of Fera as he took a sip of an immense cup. While there were only six giants, they were still giants. One of his hands could easily wrap around her and squeeze her to death. She pushed the thought away.

“I greet you, Fera of the Marborette Tribe. Dwarves have no trouble with us. Toe-eater’s family have no wish to fight. But we can offer much sheep and trade if you wish. Your gemstones interest Toe-eater.” said Toe-eater.

The massive giant offered Fera a giant chunk of meat as a gesture of hospitality. Fera took it with both hands and nearly fell over. Toe-eater continued speaking.

“Giant Eye-snatcher lives near Toe-eater family. His family are liars and cheats. Eye-snatcher cheated in a wrestling match and killed my brother. Now he steals my sheep and denies it. Twenty sheep he took, and he think we’re too stupid to notice. If you can take my sheep back, we will offer our help to Marborette tribe against dwarves. Or maybe help you build, giant strength makes building much easier.”

The Eloheim

March 18th, 4000 BC

The return of Iskur’s group brought much excitement to Endor, however the news he brought also brought much dread. Rayal, the freed slave, stood amongst a hastily assembled council of elders. His other two brothers were given lodging to rest. Poltoo and Iskur had already heard the stories from Rayal during the trip, but were also present at the council meeting.

Argos along with his entourage was also in attendance with the council. His usual mirth seemed to be replaced by a solemn seriousness. While in previous council meetings he seemed to joked constantly with his entourage and the other Elders, now he sat in stony silence with his feline eyes upon Rayal.

Rayal spoke to the group, “Greetings brothers. I must thank you for rescuing me and my brothers for our slavery. The bravery of your hunters is extraordinary.”

Iskur nodded his head in gratitude. Several attendees cheered Iskur’s accomplishment.

“Regretfully, I have to present bad news. The Sectine call themselves the Valakei Queendom. They shattered my clan and took them as slaves merely a few months ago. Many of us managed to escape, but we were chased down over time.”

Rayal looked far off into the distance as he recalled his thoughts.

“I do not know much about the Valakei Queendom in honesty. I believe they have a Queen who is their ruler, but I have never seen her nor has any other human slave. Their goals are strange. They seem obsessed with the idea of magic and spirits, but they have no magical potential as far as I’ve seen. There are more than five thousand of them by my estimates, but it is hard to count them when they all look alike and are spread over such a large area. Not only do they have superior numbers, they breed massive beetles called Horn Beetles in which they can ride into battle. And they also make their shields out of them, with their elite infantry wearing Horn Beetle Carapace as armor. They come from far away and have only come into this region recently. They had human slaves before they came to this region and a few of them seemed to have converted over to the Sectine’s side. These traitor humans wear the carapace armor of the Sectine and are savage and cruel as their masters.”

Rayal spat upon the floor in disgust.

“The World Tree that they have made their home is not theirs. It was once a settlement of Filvera and Humans living in harmony. There was a massive battle and they took it, overwhelmed it with their numbers. I was not with these people, but the other older slaves told stories of this battle. Thousands died on each side as the Sectine had their Horn Beetles scaled the walls. ”

At the mention of the Filvera, Argoo’s expression switched to a vile snarl. His clan-mates equally adopted a similar body language. Their ears were pulled back and their eyes narrowed. Many of the elders scooted away from the Khates at their swift change of emotion. Some of the Eloheim guards tensed up, nervous to see their allies suddenly agitated. Even Poltoo looked furious at the mention of the Filvera.

“Filvera, great enemy to attack Swift Flight clan. Cause clan to break. Make us go on great journey. Argoo say let them be slave, good punishment. Only reason we free Filvera, so Swift Flight can kill with claws, “ hissed Argoo.

Rayal took a step away from the Khates and continued speaking after Argoo’s interruption.

“The humans were sent to work the crops, however the Sectine brought all the Filvera into the World Tree. They haven’t been seen since. We don’t know what they’re doing with the Filvera, or that even the Filvera are still alive. Humans aren’t allowed deep in the settlement and we are to remain on the outskirts.”

Ralagaa spoke softly into Argoo’s ear in an attempt to calm him down while Rayal continued reporting on what he knew.

“Rumors are all I know. I cannot verify the accuracy of these stories, only that they are told by the slaves in the dark out of earshot of the guards. They always start with a human slave being sent to the World Tree to perform labor and they see terrible things. There are stories of the Filvera still trapped inside and tortured by their Sectine masters. There are stories of Filvera being bred with Sectine in foul arcane rituals to bring forth mutated abominations. There are stories of great pits filled with the green blood of the Filvera in which the Sectine Queen bathes in. And finally, there are stories of an abhorrent presence that resides inside the world tree that watches all who enter. A spirit that feasts upon the flesh of humans and Filvera alike. Those are the most common ones, there may be some truth to them, but they could also be pure fearful exaggeration.”

He shrugged at the skeptical expressions of the elders. Elder Saul looked amused at such strange stories. Argoo looked too angered by the mention of the Filvera to properly consider the words.

“That is all the information I can give you and once again I thank you for your help, Brothers of the Eloheim. However, I must beseech for further help. A thousand of your kinsmen bow at the feet of the Sectine, my family included. You must help us be free. I know it is a great ask, but it is only a matter of time before they turn their sights upon you. Please help the enslaved!” pleaded Rayal.

Argoo looked at Rayal and spoke for his people. “Argoo understand your pain. But, Argoo and Swift Flight cannot help. Swift Flight too small for big danger.”

Argoo turned to King Ba’al, “King Ba’al wise king. Do what King must do. But Swift Flight cannot fight big war with big enemy. If Swift Flight lose too many Khate, Swift Flight die. Swfit Flight can help teach Eloheim warrior and make weapon. But cannot waste Swift Flight on Blood War. If Swift Flight lose ten warrior, big danger of Swift Flight of dying. Swift Flight too small. Eloheim lose one hundred warrior, Eloheim no danger of dying.”

March 25th, 4000 BC

Lek-tek gave a low growl in Davit’s attempt to bring them into the fold. Frills erupted from his neck, making him look much larger than before. His tongue flicked out aggressively. Lek-tek waved his axe in a blind rage at Davit’s words.

“You human think you understand Hetek’s will more than us? I have eaten the mushroom of the gods, to ascend to the land of spirits. I have forsaken this fleshy prison to swim across the rivers of magic. I have felt his warm earthy embrace. I have heard his thunderous voice. I have seen the great vastness that is Hetek.”

The other Followers of Hetek took a menacing step forward, ready to rush the humans. However, Lek-tek gestured them back. They reluctantly did so.

“We do not care about insect people in a far away place. If they come, Hetek will guide us to victory. Our worship of him will ensure he continues to bless us. We were cast out once before because we failed to listen to him and instead listened to the honeyed words of the other clans who try to stray us from our path. We will not make the same mistake.”

Lek-tek pointed toward the humans.

“As supposed fellow followers of the Great Spirits, I grant you peace today. Do not come back to insult us further with your heretical ways. The next time you come and attempt to trick us, we will not be so kind.”

Heyitsjiwon · Jun 6, 2021

The Eloheim

March 18th, 4000 BC

Ba'al solemnly listened to the reports provided by the scouts and by the freed prisoners. With every word, he grew increasingly concerned. The Sectine not only out-numbered the Eloheim, but had auxiliary help in the form of former slaves who converted and now serve the will of the Queendom. Plus, the Sectine had a reliable source of Giant Beetles to ride into battle. Walls would not be very useful against such creatures and of the roughly 3,000 people who lived in Endor... only about 100 of them were being trained as soldiers. The numbers looked grim. They were not in a position to fight a conventional war with the Sectine, but it seemed like an eventual inevitability at some point in the future. Ba'al spoke up to address Rayal "Thank you Rayal, please. Rejoin your brothers and rest. You've suffered heavily in the past few months. I will speak with my Council and discuss matters." as he dismissed the stranger.

With the Great Hall now silent, Ba'al spoke "The Valakei Queendom will come for us at some point in time. This is not a possibility. This is a certainty. All it takes is for them to discover our location before they will send an army to attack us. Khate, Man... it will not matter. They will come for us all, and hunt us down if we flee. Inaction at this time, is a death sentence. We cannot flee, we cannot hide, thus we must fight. And if we must fight, then we will be swift and hope to end the war in a single, decisive strike. The Queendom seems to rely heavily on the slaves and farms that surround their settlement. If we were able to launch quick devastating raids to burn their crops and attempt to liberate as many slaves as possible.... we could avoid conventional warfare, then come winter the Sectine will go hungry."

People began to mutter to each other at Ba'al's proposal. He quickly spoke up once more "It will not be a pretty, or glorious victory where we stand victorious after a decisive battle. But, against a numerically superior enemy, we must fight in a manner that supports smaller and quicker engagements, ambushes, and raids. Instead of trading vicious blows with each other until one of us is decapitated, I would rather inflict a deep wound that will slowly bleed the enemy to their eventual demise. I am sure that Argoo and the Khates agree with my reasoning." Argoo nodded and said "Fast, aggressive, decisive. That is how Khate fight. There is only honor in victory. Only victory matters, we do not care how." Ba'al spoke "Hadid, prepare your men for an assault in the coming summer. When the dirt is dry, the sun hot, and the grass brittle... that is when we will strike. Coordinate with Iskur to get a firm grasp of the settlement and what it looks like. Iskur, I will entrust you and the men that you went with providing Hadid with intelligence and if possible... draw a map of the settlement so that we can visualize and plan the assault."

The cousins nodded before Iskur spoke up "King Ba'al, before I leave. I wanted to make sure to inform you that on our last day scouting the Sectine settlement... we saw hundreds of Sectines marching north east. I do not know what lays over there, but we may have mutual interests with other nearby settlements. Perhaps, it would be wise to send a small group of scouts to try and make contact with whomever the Sectine are attacking?" Ba'al frowned slightly as he spoke "While that would be ideal... that is a long and dangerous journey. I would only trust you and the Huntmaster to be able to handle such as task, but you are both needed here." Iskur replied "I do not mind heading out once more especially with some supplies. With your blessing, I will assemble a small team and set off after I finish drawing the map and speaking with Hadid about what I saw on the scouting mission." Ba'al nodded and curtly said "May the Great Spirits guide you... and may they watch over us all."

March 25th, 4000 BC

Davit was unconvinced by the Drakin's words, but was interested and startled by the mention of the "mushroom of the gods". As a hunter, he knew that certain plants had special properties. Some were useful as basic medicine. Some repelled insects. Others were simply very nutritious and could keep a hunter going for days. However, some rare plants, he had been taught by the Elders and herbalists, were able to help connect the gap between the physical world and the spiritual world by inducing a spirit journey. While he had never encountered such plants... when the Drakin mentioned that he had consumed some of these plants... Davit knew that it would be a crime not to attempt to obtain some of these plants for the Royal Family. Davit sighed and exhaled deeply with a change of heart. "My apologies for any offense I may have caused. I did not intend to offend... only to question for the ways of the Great Spirits are elusive and I thought that this may have been a test for us. The Eloheim do not dare to assume the will of the Great Spirits, and only trust what they directly tell us. However, if what you say is true and that you have mushrooms of the gods, then would you be willing to help guide us closer to the Great Spirits? We will respect your claim to the Titan Bone, and offer you spider silk in trade for a supply of mushrooms of the gods or anything that will bring us closer to the majesty and divinity of the Great Spirits. I ask as a humble follower of the Great Spirits who is lost in this world and tested every day." as he bowed his head slightly in repentance.

---

Summary:

1. Ba'al, the Council, and Hadid plan for an assault on the Sectine settlement in the summer, targeting their fields and liberating slaves with a large, coordinated raid. Preparations to grow, train, and equip the soldiers and the Eloheim community continue.

2. Iskur, after drawing a map for the Council, sets off to journey to the north/northeast with some hunters and supplies in search of who or what the Sectines sent hundreds of men to.

3. Davit attempts to calm things down with the Drakin and organize a trade deal. Mushrooms of the Gods in exchange for a promise to respect the Drakin's claims to the Titan Bone and some Spider Silk.

Trektek · Jun 8, 2021

The Marborette Tribe

January 5th, 4000 BC

"T..that is very good advice. Thank you Vlanderhuf." Clearly if this Great Spirit terrified them that much, it scared her as well. But she knew that her Cheiftain Grek could handle all things. And what things he couldn't handle, his powerful shaman wife would be able to. He must be informed of this possible alliance and great trade deals. And especially the part where she helped secure them through her adventeruous spirit and great business acumen.

"I will bring my Chieftain. I'm sure that he will want to help you. Til the Sun Rises in the Sky once more, brother." With that, Rena gave a signal to Yure so that they could both meet up outside the caves.

Carefully following the trail, Rena and Yure managed to get out of the cave. Rena took in a deep breath of fresh air, the first since they had ventured into those deep caverns.

Yure was the first to speak up. "That was nuts. I thought that we were going to have to fight those giant batmen."

Rena sat down on the ground and started fiddling with the nearby grass. "Yeah. Me too. I'm so glad that my trying to talk with tme paid off."

"And we managed to get some of those Black Death Mushrooms." He tossed one of the mushrooms from the bag in the air.

Rena grabbed it midair before Yure did. "Blackrot mushrooms, ya dingus. And they could be a major game changer for the tribe. It's why, we have to talk to the Chieftain."

"Right, right......And then fight a dangerous God, Spirit thing. Just what the Tribe needs right now." Yure went over to secure Jez for their journey back to the Tribe.

"But think of all the possibilities. We could end up being the cause of a massive supply of Blackrot mushrooms and a major ally to the Tribe." Rena was literally dancing at the prospect.

"Or, we could get the Chieftain of our tribe killed along with our head shaman."

"Stop being such a downer, Yure. Come on, let's get going."

The two began their journey to go seek support from the Chieftain to assist the batmen to free them from their overlord, the Great Spirit Made Flesh.

January 25th, 4000 BC

Jude eagerly listened to the imprisoned King. He was making a lot of sense, and offering things that would only catapult the greatness of the tribe. The riches alone would help them afford all the supplies that they could need from other tribes and nations. But the magic would be useful to the necrohandlers.

He began to think of the logistics of providing the magical blood for this King Lotang. Surely they could hunt magical animals to provide some as they wouldn't dare injure their own spellcasters for the task. But the Guardians might just be a problem. They might have brought some of the best warriors with them, but there were only so many of them to fight back these creatures of stone.

He was disrupted by these thoughts when Barr came and whispered the possibilities to him of dealing with The Guardians. Jude returned the whispers. "Your guess seems sound. What do you suggest for freeing him? Attempting to supply the blood now? Or have the Warriors push open the sarcophagus?" Jude was prepared to motion to the warriors to engage as needed. They would free this King Lotang and gain their rewards to the betterment of the Marborrete Tribe.

January 26th, 4000 BC

Fera took a sizable chunk of meat off in the bite, carefully swallowing it before speaking.

"How dare they steal from you. That is the lowest form of dastardliness. On my honor, I will go to get your sheep back. You will have a friend in the Marborette Tribe." Fera took another bite out, sharing the meet with the others. "Just give us directions to them and I will hopefully return soon with your sheep."

Once she got directions, she spoke up in thanks and went off to follow them with her group. "Til the Sun Rises in the Sky once more, brother."

Now that they were moving forward, she was feeling much less bravado and starting to seconds guess the fact that she so quickly agreed to this task. On the one hand, great, they'll have powerful allies, but on the other, she might get squished by evil giants who like to steal sheep and lie about it. Not something that she wants to think about. Especially so far from home. And getting killed in such a way, means no second life, which means no paradise in the afterlife....

Fera was scared and took a deep breath. She needed to be strong for the others. She was the leader of this expedition after all. Back to the first hand, if she manages to secure this, her father will be so proud of her and she'll gain great recognition within the tribe. She needed to do this. Her resolve was set as they traveled towards the evil giants.

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