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MHO - Chapter 13. Slightly short one this time. Enjoy!

-Llox

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The next morning, Lykou and Kuna sat eating breakfast and chatting with Shiko outside. At Kuna's curious, if slightly shy prompting, she'd started describing where he might find the various fruits he'd had there, as well as the source of the nectar he'd so enjoyed. After a while, they saw Tashira and Nauja returning as they crested a nearby hill. The two had left early that morning to search for the wardstone, with Tashira acting as protection for Nauja while he divined the stone's location.

"I guess it went well, if they're coming back so soon," Shiko noted. "Hopefully, anyway."

When the two finally reached the camp, Tashira looked frustrated, and Nauja had a mixed expression. "Well, good news is we found it," she announced.

"Much sooner than I'd expected," Nauja added. "Unfortunately, it's out of reach in the bottom of a tight ravine. Too tight for us to climb into."

"How tight are we talking?" Lykou asked, perking up a bit. "Maybe I could reach it for you?"

Nauja furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin. "Possibly even a little tight for you near the bottom." He paused and glanced over at Kuna. "You, however... you're quite lithe, and I imagine fairly agile."

Kuna folded his ears down and gulped down the piece of fruit he'd bitten off, looking a little nervous. "Uh, I s-suppose..."

"You are by no means obligated," Nauja assured him. "It is our trouble to contend with. But if you would be willing, we would be very grateful."

Lykou grinned and nudged the sereva. "Whatcha say? Up for a little bit of adventure?"

Kuna shrugged and looked back at the shakonu, taking a deep breath before responding. "Alright. Just show me where this ravine is."

"There is one other thing," Nauja warned, looking a little concerned at the sereva.

"There are cut-worms," Tashira chimed in. "I'd deal with them, but they're out of reach."

"And none of my spirit-given talents are developed enough to reach that far," Nuaja said. "We could help keep them at bay near the surface, but that's it."

Kuna immediately looked a lot more anxious. Lykou wrapped an arm around him and gave him a gentle squeeze. "How dangerous are they?"

"Only somewhat," Tashira answered. "They have sharp fangs and blade-like bits along their sides, but they're not venomous. And they usually only attack if they feel threatened. Still, it's better to be ready to defend yourself, just in case, since you never know where one might be lurking among the rocks, especially in such a tight space."

Nauja approached Kuna and pulled out a knife, seemingly made from carved bone, and offered it to him. "Again, you're under no obligation. But if you're still willing, you should bring this, just in case."

Kuna shrank back a bit, clearly uncomfortable. But then Lykou squeezed him again and got his attention, gently waving away Nauja before taking out his own knife. "No, use mine. It's sharper," he said, pressing the hilt into the anxious sereva's hand. "You can do this, Kuna. I believe in you. You only have to keep them away, that's all," he assured his friend as he placed his hands on his shoulders with a confident smile. "One little cut and they'll know not to mess with you." He winked.

Nauja eyed the knife curiously, having not seen it before. Tashira grinned and whispered to him for a minute, after which he nodded and put his own knife away.

Kuna glanced around at the others, still clearly a nervous mess. But he somehow felt like he couldn't say no at that point- and somehow, holding Lykou's knife did give him a bit more courage. "O...kay... w-where is this r-ravine?" the sereva nervously asked, his words clearly lacking confidence.

The shakonu all smiled. "Thank you, Kuna," Nauja said. "We'll lead you there, but first make sure you're ready. By all means, finish your breakfast first."

*****

After everyone had finished eating, Kuna, Lykou, and Nauja walked out across the gently rolling hills and large fields. Tashira and Shiko stayed behind to guard the camp, though they both regretted not being able to join the expedition. Eventually the three arrived at a long, thin crack in the ground. It wasn't especially deep, but as promised, it was fairly narrow- like a crevasse in the soil and stone, more than a typical ravine. Lykou might have been able to fit, but with thicker fur and more muscular build, it was possible he'd get stuck part way down. Clearly only the slender and agile sereva was well suited to the task, and even then it'd get a bit tight. He was certainly dreading it.

As they looked down into the gap, they could see some large worm-like creatures moving around in certain spots occasionally. Their size was more like that of large snakes. Beyond them, there was a shimmering object further down, glowing with a faint golden light. Kuna instinctively started to back away, but Lykou stood behind him and rubbed his shoulders. "You've got this, Kuna," the canid assured his friend.

Kuna glanced back anxiously at the konuul, then took a deep breath and knelt down by the crack.

"Don't worry, if you get hurt at all, I can patch you up afterwards," Nauja assured him, kneeling down next to him, as Lykou did the same on the other side. He handed Kuna a bag for him to carry the stone up in, and Kuna slung it around his neck, shaking slightly.

"Hey Kuna, look at it this way," Lykou said, gently taking the sereva's hand into his own- the one that was holding the knife- and squeezed it gently. "Think of the knife as an extension of me, and I'll be right there with you. Alright?"

Kuna couldn't help but smirk faintly, his trembling subsiding for the moment. "Sappy, but thanks," he said, then took a deep breath and started to climb down, warily trying to avoid any worms he could spot. "H-here goes."

He slowly descended, with Lykou and Nauja watching on from above. On several occasions, he was nearly startled out of his wits as a worm burst out of the ground nearby, sometimes making warning hisses at him before burrowing back into the ground on the other side. Further complicating things, there were large, thick roots from some kind of plant running between the walls as well. They sometimes worked as useful hand-holds, but the worms seemed to congregate around many of them and became particularly defensive if he got too close. He yelped as he jerked away from being nipped a couple times. On one occasion, he managed to nick a worm with the knife, effectively driving it away when it came at him, but most of the time he was too timid and just jerked away if they snapped at him. A few times, he came dangerously close to losing his grip. He had to periodically pause and calm himself when he started to tremble again, pushing away the panic with slow, steady breaths.

The further he descended, the more worms he seemed to encounter. Eventually, he realized with horror that they seemed to be surrounding him and getting more hostile. He let out a small whimper and looked up at Lykou with fear in his eyes.

"Just breath, Kuna. Take your time. You're doing good," the konuul called down to him, though he was starting to worry a bit as well.

Kuna took a deep breath to steady himself, even as a few worms popped up not far away and started hissing and aiming their fangs at him threateningly. As he closed his eyes, trying to calm his nerves, something suddenly occurred to him and he furrowed his brow, his ear perking up a bit as he heard a faint sound. For a moment, he felt something he couldn't quite explain, when his eyes were closed. It was a subconscious feeling, fleeting and faint, but it was there nonetheless.

He opened his eyes again and looked over at one of the thick roots nearby. Ever so slowly and carefully, he reached his shaky knife-hand towards it, past one of the worms. He winced as it lashed out and burrowed back into the ground near him, one of the sharp edges on its side giving him a small cut as it did so. But he ignored the pain as best he could and suddenly stabbed the knife into the root, then cut a small slit in it.

A greenish-blue fluid started oozing out of the root. Immediately, the worm popped back out, looked at Kuna for a moment, then turned and latched onto the cut in the root, ignoring him. "That's w-what they're after," he noted aloud to himself. Quickly looking around, he carefully cut several other roots, and continued doing so on the way down. He took a few more minor cuts and jabs from irritable worms at first, but soon they were all far more fixated on the easily accessible fluids pouring from the roots and forgot all about him.

Finally, he reached the wardstone. The object was a bit more than double the size of his balled up fist. He stared at it with some fascination as he reached out for it. There were strange symbols all over it- with one in particular being repeated more than others. It was a circle around a stylized star, with a series of dots surrounding it. All of the symbols were glowing with a soft, golden light. The rest of the stone's surface was shimmering like the surface of a lake on a sunny, breezy summer afternoon. When he touched the stone, he felt strangely at peace, as if he was suddenly safer just by being in contact with it. It was pleasantly warm, too, as he carefully picked it up. After curiously looking it over for a moment, he slid it into the small bag Nauja had given him to carry it up with.

Between knowing that the worms had been placated, and the magic radiating from the stone, he ascended with considerably more confidence and speed, even smiling as he finally reached the surface. Lykou and Nauja reached in and helped him out, both beaming as well. Lykou immediately pulled him into a tight hug as soon as he was out. "Great job, Kuna!" the konuul congratulated him, then pulled back and grinned at him. "I told you you could do it."

"Yes, well done, my friend," Nauja said, clapping a hand on the sereva's back. "Smart thinking with those roots. I'm telling you, you've got the mind of a spirit-guide," he said, tapping his forehead with two fingers. "Whether you want to admit it or not."

Kuna blushed but smiled over at him, his ears folded down. After separating from the hug, he gave Lykou his knife back and handed the bag over to the shakonu. "That thing's nice to hold, heh..."

Nauja chuckled. "As much positive energy as it radiates, I'm not surprised," he said, hanging the bag over his shoulder. "Come, lets return to the camp and I can patch up those cuts for you."

All three turned and headed back to the camp, with Lykou keeping an arm wrapped around Kuna's shoulder for a good portion of the walk. Behind them, the worms enjoyed their unexpectedly-easy feast.

*****

Back at camp, Kuna struggled slightly to sit still as Nauja worked his magic on his cuts. The sensation was strange and slightly tingly in a way he couldn't describe, as his flesh rapidly grew back together. Luckily, with most of the cuts being fairly small and shallow, it took very little time at all.

He was also a bit flustered, as everyone sat around, with their attention mostly on him, praising him for a job well done after Lykou finished filling Shiko and Tashira in on the story.

"Leave it to this guy to find a way to fight the worms without actually fighting them," Lykou said with a big grin, rubbing Kuna's head lightly.

"You may not have killer instincts or raw strength, but more warriors would do well to have a head like yours," Tashira noted with a smile.

Kuna looked away sheepishly. "Come on guys, you're laying it on a bit thick, don't you think?" he said with a bashful smile. "It wasn't that big a deal..."

"Take pride in your accomplishment, Kuna," Tashira replied, smirking. "It was obvious you were reluctant and terrified of going down there," she went on, earning a look from Shiko, but she waved it off as she continued. "But you did it anyway and came out victorious. That takes real strength."

"And you've done us a huge favor, too," Shiko added, reaching down to rub the sereva's arm softly. "So thank you again."

Kuna clearly wasn't used to so much praise and attention and just ended up looking quite flustered and staring down at the ground with a slightly silly grin. Lykou chuckled and pulled him into a tight hug once Nauja finished mending the last cut. "People appreciate you, Kuna," he said with a slight squeeze. "Get used to it."

Once the excitement subsided and he was finally able to calm down a bit, Kuna looked up at Nauja, who was busy looking over the wardstone. "So what are all those symbols?"

"Spirit signs," Nauja responded with a smile as he set the object back in the bag and turned to face him. "They reflect the language of the spirit world, in some way, and are used to channel magic into and through objects." He gestured to the medallion hanging off the sereva's neck. "Just like the one allowing us to talk right now."

Lykou shared a look with Kuna. "I wonder if that symbol we saw behind the falls was one?"

"Falls?" Shiko chimed in curiously.

"The last place we camped. We found a really nice spot under an overhang with some falls coming down one side. The night before we left, we saw this weird symbol on the back wall that we hadn't noticed before," Lykou explained. "I thought it might've been some tribe's emblem, but now that I'm seeing these things," he continued, gesturing to the medallion, and then the bag containing the stone. "It does kind of have that same sort of look to it. Wasn't glowing, though."

"Hmm. Possible," Nauja said, stroking his chin. "Many are made by people skilled with the arts, but there are also those found out in the wilderness, usually left by wandering spirits, for one reason or another."

"And even some left by wandering mystics from an unknown people, or a lost tribes that have vanished from the world," Shiko said, suddenly grinning. "Or, at least, according to some stories," she added with a shrug.

Nauja chuckled while Tashira smirked and rolled her eyes a little. "Yes. Some stories," Nauja said, then turned back to Kuna and Lykou. "Most likely what you saw, if it was only a single sign, was left by a spirit, though. Without seeing it for myself, I couldn't tell you any more about it."

Lykou described the symbol, and Kuna even drew a small rendition of it in the dirt.

"Hmm," Nauja said, rubbing his chin again. "Can't say I'm familiar with that one." He shrugged. "Then again, there are so many out there, most of us only ever learn a few," he continued, then smiled. "Who knows? Maybe one day you'll learn it on your journey. You said some of your people use magic, did they not use any signs?"

Kuna frowned and shrugged, looking away. "No idea. Was never in the position to see if they did."

Shiko frowned and exchanged a look with Lykou, then gestured to Nauja that he should avoid the subject.

The male shakonu raised a brow but let it drop. "Well, on that note," he said, glancing back at the hut. "I'm going to meditate with this thing for a bit so I can be ready to activate it fully when we head home. Let me know if you see any sign of Verrin or Skaith. We'll probably pack up and head back tomorrow."

"Will do," Tashira said as the spirit-guide retreated into his hut.

"So that last campsite sounds nice. I think I remember the one you're talking about, though we didn't exactly stick around to appreciate it at the time," Shiko said, then grinned at Tashira. "Maybe we should revisit it sometime. Just the two of us."

Tashira grinned back. "Once we help get the stone safely back, that sounds wonderful."

"There's also a salt cave a little way southeast of it, in case you're interested," Lykou offered with a smile.

"Just watch out for giant centipedes," Kuna said with a shudder.

"Oh. Yeah, there is that," he said, wincing slightly at the memory.

"Salt cave, hmm? Good to know," Shiko said.

"And centipede chitin can make decent armor if you bring it to the right person," Tashira said thoughtfully with a slight grin. "For bracers and such, anyway."

Lykou blinked a few times, then brought his palm to his face. "I wish I'd thought of that," he griped, then shrugged. "Then again, I've never done that stuff myself, so I probably would've botched the attempt anyway."

"Even bad armor is better than none," Shiko chimed in. "You should give it a try if you get another chance. If nothing else you might learn from your mistakes."

"True. I'll keep that in mind."

Kuna looked visibly unsettled as he glanced between all three, his eye twitching slightly. Finally he sighed and rolled his eyes with a faint smirk. "What won't you preds do with dead things," he commented, earning some laughter from the group.

*****

Later, after everyone had rested up a bit, Lykou and Kuna started packing up, somewhat regretfully. While they'd ended up enjoying their time with shakonu, they knew they still had a long journey ahead to return to.

The next morning, everyone was packing up and preparing to go their separate ways. Lykou and Kuna had a long journey to get back to, and with Verrin and Skaith having returned the previous night, the shakonu had to get the stone back to their village.

Nauja approached and gave the outsiders some extra supplies for the journey. When Lykou started to reluctantly pull off the necklace to return it, the spirit-guide stopped him.

"No, keep them. May they help you find peace on your travels, wherever you can make it," Nauja said with a smile. "Do keep in mind the magic will fade in time, however. Actually," he continued, then lit up his hand and flicked each medallion once. "There, that should give you about a week or so. After that you'll have to find someone else to reignite them." He turned to Kuna and raised an eyebrow, grinning. "Or figure out how to do it yourself, perhaps."

Kuna folded his ears down and looked away, but smiled nonetheless. "We'll see," he said, then looked back up. "Thank you, though."

"No, thank you," Nauja responded. "You are good people, and you've done us a great service. Should you ever find yourselves in shakonu territory again, you are welcome friends."

"I'll second that," Tashira chimed in. "You're by far the most honorable outsiders I've seen. I can only hope we encounter more like you in the future."

"We can only hope," Shiko added, smiling. "Stay safe out there, you two. It's been a pleasure meeting you both."

"Likewise," Lykou responded with a big smile. "I only wish our tribes could officially meet some day."

"May the spirits one day bring us together again, in this life or the next," Nauja said, patting him on the back.

Kuna was at a loss for words, so he opted to make the thank-you gesture he'd learned from the spirits. Everyone else followed suit, then waved farewell as he and Lykou departed.

Shortly after the two left, Shiko was watching them approach the far tree line and turned to Nauja, who was working on packing some things into his travel bag. "Those two have good hearts. I hope their luck holds out."

"I suspect they really do have some kind of benevolent spirits watching over them," Nauja said with a shrug. "Perhaps some of their ancestors, or something."

Shiko shrugged and turned to step inside and join Tashira. "Could be."

After a moment, the curiosity got the better of Nauja. Just as the two outsiders were about to enter the treeline, he manifested his magic again, then waved his hand over his eyes, activating his spirit sight. When he did, he peered out after the two. His eyes widened and his smile faded to a slightly haunted look. He quickly dropped the sight, slightly shaken. "Or that..." he whispered under his breath.

The spirit-guide slowly turned to join the other two, but he paused at the entrance and glanced back over his shoulder thoughtfully. "Good luck, you two. You're in for... quite a trip," he murmured quietly, in a tone somewhere between fear and reverence, before stepping inside.