And (N)one Shall Remain

“Oldies? Did we take the wrong direction? We can’t find any sign of people in the general area you pointed us to,” asked Esperanza with some worry in her voice. 

 

The group had safely reached the general area Oldies directed them towards after three more weeks of travel. The smaller number of people who had to be carried – something that still caused pangs of guilt for all of them everytime they thought of it – helped speed up their pace, even with the added weight of Eda-Zil who needed to be carried on a stretcher.

 

They ran into a different problem when they reached their destination, however, namely that they could not find any sign of civilization after a couple days of searching. Not even Dali or Gordy found anything, so as a result, they had to wait until Esperanza could contact Oldies once more and ask them more directly, as their efforts were fruitless.

 

Fortunately the area was not only relatively safe – most of the creatures were in the second tier, which were easy pickings for the Progenies on their own – but also quite abundant. There were fruit trees growing in the vicinity, and between Nalihimatu and Mel-Ivas, testing them for poison was easy and safe enough to do.

 

We can feel you… and them as well… try heading towards the north and east, about… maybe an hour or so away. Look for a series of caverns near the shores.

 

“That region, eh? We passed through there but saw no signs of anything like people living there just yesterday,” noted Esperanza. If there had been people in the region, then they must have been very good at hiding themselves, given how none of them noticed anything at all. “Wait, do you mean in the caverns itself?”

 

We told you before that those who chose to follow up tend to be shunned and hunted. For some, those bitter lessons from the past led to them developing the necessary skills for survival. Hiding themselves was one of the more vital of such skills, of course.

 

“Then how come Navef was pretty much in the open?” she asked with some incredulity in her voice.

 

What you saw of that village was a more recent development, Esperanza. You heard it yourself from them. The village used to be located deeper in the jungle. The jungle itself was their defense, so they never had much need to hide themselves too well. Unfortunately they failed to consider doing so after they were forced by circumstances to move towards the perimeter.

 

“And these ones kept those lessons of hiding themselves close at heart, I see,” Esperanza noted as she nodded in understanding. “Still, what would they be hiding from, though? This place is so deep in the wilderness, did any of the Demons or Humans even ever come here at all?”

 

That would be a correct estimation if you consider things from land, but from the sea, this place is very accessible, and there are those who dislike our presence there as well.

 

“The water-dwellers you mentioned, huh?” she asked, mostly for confirmation. Oldies had briefed her about the six races that dwelled in this world before. The water-dwellers, or Gour-ug’rech in their own tongue, was the one race that had not bothered themselves much with the ongoing war. Both the humans and the demons considered them a neutral party, for rather obvious reasons.

 

Namely that their kind could survive for maybe two hours outside of water, at best.

 

As such, the water-dwellers never had any interest in the land, and vice versa. Everyone tacitly agreed that the seas were their territory, while the lands belonged to the others. They were also a pretty mixed batch when it came to religion, it seemed. There remained quite a few amongst their numbers that still worshiped Oldies, though the majority of the race seemed to care for no gods.

 

That said there were also others amongst the race that followed the new gods, and these often came into conflict with those who still followed Oldies. Due to the advent of time, those who followed the new gods grew in numbers, while those that followed Oldies slowly dwindled. Neither group ever grew influential enough to move the entire race, which saw their conflict as little more than an unimportant quarrel, however.

 

The hideaway here is one of the larger sanctuaries for those who still worship us, and it was made possible thanks to the support and generosity of our brethren from the sea. They were quite paranoid about safety, though this is a relatively safe region, so they hid and defended the place extremely well as a result. That said, when you show yourself there, they should recognize you for what you are.

 

“Would it be dangerous? I don’t want any of the kids to get hurt,” asked Esperanza somberly. She had grown more protective of the children after the night where they lost some of their members, although the Progenies had proven themselves more than capable of taking care of themselves. She still couldn’t help but see them as the children they used to be and worry incessantly about them, however.

 

Nothing that should endanger you, or them, for that matter, unless they were to grow far too relaxed. We will attempt to keep watch and direct you to the sanctuary, so maybe you should get moving.

 

“Okay then,” said Esperanza with a nod. “Legisvula, I want you and Tiesya with me. The rest of you, look after the young ones. We’ll look for the sanctuary as Oldies directed.”

 

“It shall be done, Exalted one,” replied Val-Kas’j with a slight bow. 

 

Esperanza took the two Progenies – picked because they were the best at scouting and tracking more than anything else – as well as Dali with her as they traveled in the direction Oldies had shown her. She left Gordy to help guard the younger children, as Gordy’s larger form might be less suited for the caverns they were headed to. Dali on the other hand was smaller and sleeker in form, which allowed him to easily pass through spaces too small for anyone else in the group.

 

With only the four of them, Esperanza chose to expedite the journey as she wasn’t sure how long Oldies could maintain the connection with her. She had Legisvula and Tiesya hold on to her “legs” while she used her arms to rapidly propel herself just beneath the treetops, latching on to one branch after another as she hurled the three of them forwards at high speeds, while Dali chased them from below.

 

It was a good bit harder to do since the forest in the area was more like mangrove forests compared to the jungle behind them, but Esperanza still managed to cover the distance in half the time regardless. Her “passengers” did not look like they particularly enjoyed the ride, however, as both of them looked quite nauseated by the time Esperanza stopped and deposited them on firm soil once more.

 

She had thought that all the screaming was from excitement, but apparently she guessed wrong.

 

“Oldies? We’re back in the area. Which one? There’s a bunch of caverns here, and there’s more beneath the water level that’d probably be traversable at low tide,” said Esperanza after she took another quick survey around with her eyes. Dali caught up to them, panting happily with his tongue out, around that time as well.

 

There should be at least a few paths left available for times outside the low tide as well. Try to look for a cavern that would have allowed you to move freely, located near the waterline. We should be able to provide clearer directions inside.

 

“Okay then,” noted Esperanza with a shrug. The directions were rather vague, but not too hard to follow. Within ten minutes, Tiesya found one such cavern, large enough for even her – she was one of the tallest amongst the group – to move freely in it, so Esperanza decided to give that cavern a try. 

 

The four of them entered in a single file – the cavern was not wide enough to allow two of them walking side by side – with Dali up front and Esperanza right behind him. Legisvula followed behind her, while Tiesya covered their rear. The two Progenies brought their weapons just in case, but kept them sheathed to show goodwill.

 

They had to move rather slowly as they traversed the cavern. The cavern floor was quite smooth and slippery, with moss growing in many places that made the footing even more treacherous. At a glance it did not look like any sort of often-used passageway, but if someone was to stick to the center of the path where the rock was smooth, they would have left no sign of their passing either.

 

If there is a turn towards the bottom-left in a bit, take it. We can feel a congregation of our worshipers in that direction.

 

Oldies gave some instruction after they carefully navigated the dark cavern for nearly ten minutes. Fortunately, the pitch-black darkness inside the cavern was of no issue to any of them. Both Legisvula and Tiesya were of races who had natural dark vision to begin with, so they navigated the darkness with ease, while Esperanza’s new body allowed her to do the same.

 

She had no idea how Dali led the way so easily, but he did, regardless, so she just let that slide.

 

They found the branching path Oldies described just a minute later, Dali excitedly sending a thought to Esperanza about how he detected scents that likely belonged to people. The branching path broadened enough to allow them to have two people side by side, but Esperanza ordered them to keep to the single file.

 

She was not particularly surprised when she discovered how the cavern had many branches that practically formed a labyrinth down that branching path. As such, they relied on the general direction Oldies gave them, as well as Dali’s sharp nose as they navigated the caverns, which at times broadened and narrowed quite a bit, at some places a tight fit for just a single person to pass through. 

 

After what felt like hours – it was difficult to tell the time in such a dark place without any changes – but was probably barely half an hour or so, Dali seemed to have found the way, and the group of four entered into a larger cavern, one that had the ceiling so high even four people standing on each other’s shoulders wouldn’t be able to reach it, and so broad a good twenty or so people could have walked abreast.

 

That was also where they found the first signs of inhabitants of the cavern complex, for that was what the place clearly was.

 

“Who goes there!?” came a yell shortly after they entered the large cavern, which Esperanza noted had at least five paths leading towards it. She raised her hand to signal the others not to draw their weapons, even as over a dozen figures suddenly emerged from all around them, some from cleverly hidden places on the cavern’s floor, while others seemed to have flowed out from the walls itself.

 

Half a dozen spears were pointed threateningly their way, while the other half of the group wielded bows that had arrows nocked on the strings and aimed in the group’s general direction as well.

 

“We mean no harm!” yelled Tiesya back as she took a couple steps forward with her hands raised. Given her skills she was relatively certain that even if these locals opened fire, she could likely block their arrows without too much difficulty. “We came from the Village of Navef, to the west, and are here to seek refuge from the predations of those who worship the usurpers!”

 

The words she said clearly struck a chord with the locals around them, as Esperanza noticed how several of them started to murmur towards each other upon hearing what Tiesya said. The only people who would call the new – or rather, current – gods as “usurpers” would be those who worshiped Oldies, or the Deities of Yore, as these folks usually called them.

 

“How did you know where to go?” asked a doubtful voice from above and to their left, one of the archers perched high on the cavern’s wall. “How do you even know of our existence here, where we hid ourselves from the rest of the world? We hid here because we wished to live in peace, and do not wish for troubles.”

 

“Because we were given the choice of where to head to by the Deities of Yore, and this place was our choice,” replied Tiesya confidently to the question and unvoiced implication behind them. “We were led here by the Messenger of the Deities of Yore herself! Why don’t you open your eyes and take a good look at who stands before you!?”

 

On cue, Esperanza stopped concealing her aura and let some slip – she still kept the detrimental effects confined, but that was about it – out into the surroundings. Immediately, several breathless gasps were elicited from the people around them, and within moments, the dozen locals had left their positions and prostrated themselves in a line before her.