BEJEWELED〔M〕〔IC〕「Hoef & GodlyD&D」

[Dire Hoef]

There was a lull in the conversation, which only picked up when the aid spoke for the first time. "My Elder," he did a customary kneel, "I grow weary of the amount of people there are.. Do you know why there are more people than when I was last here?"

Elder Shantu looked to the aid and gave a grim expression. "Whispers, from among the broken footed. They speak of beasts that spit flames, and men who kill at a distance. I am of no contest with these whispers, nor do I rebuke their cries for help. Those that you may see come from the coast to the west."

The aid's concerns were only made manifest in this moment, and he fell silent as result. But sensing that shouldn't be hanging around for too long, the aid decides to escort everyone outside the building. This was to give the elder some much needed room to think and converse with the other elders.

✧ ✧ ✧

As her mind grew vacant of any intrusions, the gem that was laden into her forehead began to shimmer. The shimmer only lasted a few moments before it glowed, lighting up the area immediately around her branch. Then suddenly, a wave extended outward from her forehead and flashed out into the depths of the jungle.

To her, she was soaring.

Her eyes could see all of the island, from the highest mountain at the center down to the lowest reefs just off the coast. However as she was embracing the utter euphoria of being one with the Anu-Hadis, being one with the island, her attention was gripped by walls of smoke along the western coastline.

She flew over to that side of the island, and saw that those men had weapons that spat flame like geysers. She watched in horror as they burnt everything before them to ground. She even felt a singe on her arm, and she reflexively gripped it. She snapped back to the scene unfolding before her, she only felt sadness and rage. They were destroying her home, and for what purpose? Why did they come here? She still didn't know.. But, she was determined to find out..

She flew off, failing to hold back tears. She flew to their vessels, and looked for the most striking out of them. Once she found one with the most uniqueness, she flew down onto the deck to observe the goings-on here on this ship. To her, these men were stone-cold silent. Everything appeared to be business. She wandered the deck for a while before she spotted someone that looked to be the most important, and closed in on him to listen in.

[GodlyD&D]

They had gone outside, and the men with Ildapan were showing they were confused. Gernot, who spoke more with Ildapan than the others, directly, asked, "What does this mean? Threat is coming to these people, and any from Erhohen are only concerned with finding an artifact of power and won't deal with that?"

Ildapan said to Gernot and the others along with him, "You don't see? Hylax wants to bring help, and deliverance, and is not hostile. Ones from Nynmark are ones who are the threat, and so are ones from Erhohen, claiming to serve Hylax though going contrary to the will of Hylax. We serve them only with not serving Hylax, who we should serve. If we serve Hylax, we must not let an artifact of power, even the Old Source Shell, fall into the wrong hands. It must be hidden from them."

The others looked at each other, and then Gernot said, "We were told to be looking for it and to kill any who stood in our way."

Ildapan said, "Those would be the wrong hands to acquire it, who send you out to kill. These people were not doing anything wrong but were living in peace. Who are we to try to take that from them? We would not be any really serving Hylax. Let us do the right thing and help them be certain it is kept hidden, that those from Nynmark are kept from here and those from Erhohen not really serving Hylax will not succeed at their efforts."

Gernot said, "That is a hard message. To choose to serve Hylax your way and protect all the effort to keep what we would seek from ever being found by any, we must turn against those who sent us."

"Right, those who name Hylax for what they do and go contrary to the goodness of Hylax. We would have the blessings from Hylax turning to really serve the goodness of Hylax and help those here who would keep the item hidden rather than bring destruction to these who never deserved that."

[Dire Hoef]

The aid had spoken to Ildapan saying, "I must step away to question my loved ones. Some hail from this place, and I must know if the whispers the elder spoke were true. These beasts that spit fire and men who kill at a distance. Do not stray too far from here, I will be back."

At that, the aid disappeared into a crowd that had begun to form around the group of foreign men. Children grew curious and were creeping close toward Ildapan. All the while mothers and fathers kept their distance, watching with some measure of hostility. A child came up to Ildapan and handed the holy man a flower. This flower was purple and red, and had seven petals that formed an umbrella over the stem.

✧ ✧ ✧

This gentleman was clad in regal attire fit for a general of the Naploeonic wars. He stood tall and had his eyes on the coast that lit up with fire. He had a sinister smile upon his face as he seemed to relish in the devastation. However, that fetishizing came to an end as a subordinate stepped up to the man.

"The preparations are done sir," said the subordinate after having done a salute.

"Any savages left?" The imposing general did not even look at the subordinate, and merely kept his eyes trained on that coastline. "Did we eliminate them from the coast?"

"Yes sir, we bombarded the coast. We even cleared dozens of acres of jungle to ensure that they weren't able to hide." The subordinate remained still as he explained.

"Then we move onto next phase. Begin settling efforts, I want our outpost to be functioning within the week. Defenses and other security concerns will be handled as they come up during construction. Additionally," the general finally stared at the subordinate, which made the young man quiver, "Send out kill teams to routinely harass and poke at the savages. I have no doubt that Erhohen is here, and I want to know where they are."

The subordinate nodded, and then saluted. He ran off to act on that command.

Idmah, having been silently listening, absorbed this information and continued to listen in. But she realized that there wasn't just these men on the island, there were others. These men from a place called "Erhohen." This spooked her as she wondered what these men wanted with her home. Why were they so hellbent on burning it all? What were they after?

[GodlyD&D]

Ildapan said quietly but still that those with him heard, "What was this with the aide who came to guide us? He just leaves us to talk with others he knows here?"

One who was seeming to be closer friend to Gernot, who went by the name Smirgun, said, "Be very careful, Father, this whole thing might have been a trap for us."

Ildapan still said, "But I was clear with the shamanic leader who sent us here that I wanted to help with sharing the needed information that there were those who would take over the island and those who would try to find the source of the great power here to take that, which leaders of these people of the island need to know. We are not the ones they would aim to have entrapped. Elder Shantu would certainly have more to say for me to hear, and we should wait as he would have us hear it shortly."

There was the approach of this child that held the red and purple flower with the petals reaching out over the stem, and then held it out to Ildapan. Surprised, Ildapan accepted the flower, looking at it with wonder, and then made a bow to the child, and smiled. He said to the others, "I believe this is a starflower. It is important that we show we are not a threat to these people, we need them to be allies if we help them with being sure the Old Source Shell is kept so hidden no one would ever find it to take that."

Gernot said, "There is someone at the door where we just came to, right now. Could it be that we are being called back in now?"