Yyrees snarls and grabs Draco roughly by the shirt and shakes him.

"Foolish tricks."

She drops him and faces the direction of the arrows. Yyrees has placed her amulet around her neck and raised her hands into the air. She calls out in the rough Animas tongue. There is silence and then a single Animas emerges from the shadows.

The Animas man is short but broad and heavily muscled. Of the Animas the others have seen, it is plain that the boar folk strongly resemble their animal brethren. Their heads are almost entirely porcine with sharp tusks protruding from their mouth.

Yyrees is both relived and worried as the light of the fire reveals the scout leader to be covered in a pattern of green and red. Relieved that the boar folk are not marching to war upon the settlement...Worried that the green accenting to the red warpaint indicates war against city dwellers.

His voice is guttural and punctuated by deep throat-ed grunting noises. "We not see you, Cat. only more human flashing swords in our home! Only defend ourselves and ruin!"

Yyrees rubs between her eyes, "Humans have been attacking your bands?"

The man thrust a fist into her face and shook it, "Our sound! Children!"

Yyrees snaps into greater attention. "What? Here? Why?!"

The boar man smiles and shakes a finger slyly, "Humans think clever. Plant goods from your burrows and leave white fur. Think stupid boar-brothers not know Animas from brothers. Foolish humans."

He points at Draco, "Stupid human! only warning shot, for you too stupid to guard for death. Probably not get point."

Puffing his chest and bounding a fist to it, he declares to Yyrees, "Apologize for interrupting resting. I am Grul!" Grul waves at the shadows and the rest of the small scouting part filters out of the trees. A female boar Animals comes to stand just behind Grul. The crude but strong short bows of the boar hunters rests easily in her grasp and she smirks at Draco.

"This is second, Neela! You have purpose here, yes? Assist? Ruin our guard, we know much."

Yyrees looks at him curiously, "Our purpose here was to be certain our scouts had not seen you marshaling to attack." Grul lifts his eyebrows and starts to sputter in rage. Yyrees quickly soothes him, "Be calm, brother. I know, I know. I simply could not let their foolish lies go without investigation, you know this." Grul seems to quiet, although he's obviously feeling quite insulted.

"Grul, you said your Sound is Ward of this ruin? It was my understanding no Animas warded this site."

He grunts. "Long story. Good story. We join and Neela tell. Her Common better."

Yyrees turns and opens the path for him to the campfire. Most of the scouts filter through the ruin, but Grul and Neela take seats around the fire.

Neela rose. Despite her guttural voice, her speech was clear and fell easily into a practiced cadence.

Grul leaned over and whispered to Mrtlinder, who he was sitting next to "Neela is Keeper. Good stories!"

Neela glares at him and he quiets, looking much like a shamed child. She begins.

"Long ago when the Chan had their mighty empire spanning the continent, a quiet man built a Temple. His Earth God had fallen into disfavor and the cruel ways of his people had fallen into disfavor with his heart. Here, in the wild reaches not even the Chan braved for fear of the mighty Animas who guarded it, he sought to build a place for other quiet men to escape and be free."

"As it was it is now and the Sounds came to hunt earth's bounty. They found a man quietly shaping the rock with song and raising walls where none had been. They were wroth, for the Gift of the earth was uprooted and scattered. The ground was rent asunder and its bones ripped from her flesh!"

The ground then shook violently, as if the Earth beneath the campers feet was rising in response to memory. Yyrees smiled inside...the subtly of the boar folk's earth magic would without doubt slip beneath the notice of the city dwellers, even the wizards.

"The Quiet Man fell to his knees, begging for their understanding. He had paid the penance to the Earth and was grateful for all its blessings. The Quiet Man was wise, and the Sound came to learn he was not like the Chan who only came to destroy. The Quiet Man's temple rose and others came. They were Wise and the Sound knew only peace and trade from their humility."

She bowed her head, and raised it again, slowly making eye contact with each in the circle. Grul leaned forward eagerly...he knew how the story went.

"And then came the Harried One. He burst into the Temple of the Quiet Man and begged for his aid and the Earth's protection. A charm! He declared. Stolen from the most evil of the Chan mages! Without it they would crumble...and with it they could drain the Earth and its people of all they were."

"The Quiet Man calmed his mind and took the charm. He would make it safe until they could destroy it. The Earth would provide."

"The Charm was hidden by the Earth, deep within her bowels in the Heart of the Quiet Man's Bounty. And then they worked. The Quiet Men worked tirelessly to discover the secret to unmaking the Chan."

The fire exploded in a flash of light, then quickly settled down to the barest flame.

"They came in the night. The Sound could not be there. The Quiet Men were slaughtered and their home was ransacked. The Chan had come for what was taken. The Sound arrived and it was too late! They Took Everything."

Light was cast upon the listener's faces as the fire rose to its usual level.

"But all was not lost! For the Earth had hidden her Doom well in the Quiet Man's Bounty. The Quiet Man's last breaths were to the Chief of the Sound. Protect her, he pleaded. Protect her until the Unmaking."

"The Quiet Man became silent and the Sound cried. We cried for the Earth and we cried for the Quiet Man. And we honored him. The Sound will always honor the Quiet Man."

Neela bowed to everyone and sat.



Yyrees tapped a finger on her cheek as she thought. Fate, she had learned over her many years, was rarely an accident...