The men seemed skeptical at first, their eyes moving between Rae and Books, as they were unsure whether or not the “spirits” could be trusted. A glare from the head huntress, though, seemed to make up their minds for them. The two guards then glanced at each other and, hesitantly, nodded and stepped aside, allowing the group to continue through.
The tribe’s dwelling closely resembled what many would probably imagine a Native American village to look like, except all held underground in a complex that looked like it could’ve been built by giant ants — all lit by the glow of neon-blue mushrooms. The group entered into a large, spacious chamber, from which many other tunnels led out. Here, much of the village activity took place, as children played and adults conversed and, eyes landing on the returning huntresses, many seemed shocked and a few even stepped back nervously as their gaze landed on the strangers.
The lead huntress sighed, sounding somewhat annoyed, before addressing the now silent crowd. “Do not fear.” she spoke sternly. “These are friendly spirits.” she told them, watching as the apparent leader of the tribe overall, an older woman in her 40’s at least, approached the group. “They request lodgings.” she spoke, now addressing the chief more than the group.
The chief glared at the head huntress. “You brought no kill?” she hissed. “There has been no fresh meat in days, and the season of fruit will not come for many more moons-”
“We couldn’t find anything.” he huntress snapped. “The beasts that roam the surface make food more scarce by the day. We thought we saw something, but it was only one of the spirits in disguise.” she reported, gesturing towards Muse.
The chief seemed to contemplate it all for a moment before replying. “Fair enough.” she spoke reluctantly. “Take him to the men’s chambers.” she told the two subordinate huntresses, and they proceeded to carry Muse away down one of the corridors. The chief then glanced back at the lead huntress. “You may lead the other two to their temporary dwelling.” she told her, before stepping aside and allowing the remaining group to proceed down another corridor.
As they began to walk, the huntress spoke towards the two girls, “Do you have any preferences regarding the nature of your room?”
——
Meanwhile, the small rodent-like creature from earlier shyly poked its head out of Books’ pocket, but only for a second, as it quickly noticed that the roleplayers weren’t quite alone yet. The creature had been successful so far in gaining access to the underground, but it would need to wait a bit longer before coming out of hiding.