60

Keimia regards the jungle-clad mountain with a worried expression in her golden eyes, then orders everyone to disembark. You'll make the rest of the journey by foot. You and Stralchus gather your equipment, including your rifles, as Keimia skillfully hides the canoes and the controllers take what they'll need for the day trip up the mountain.

Control scans the mountain for signs of habitation, but even her many eyes cannot pierce the haze of fog that hangs to the west.

The forested slopes look trackless from a distance, but a narrow trail winds up from the foothills toward the peak. You're halfway to the top when dark clouds roll in, and Keimia hastily orders the controllers to find shelter. Moving fast as the sky darkens, Stralchus spots a cave and everyone gets inside just as the first fat raindrops start to fall.

It's cramped within but dry, and as lightning flashes and rain slashes down in torrents, Vecla makes a fire. It soon becomes clear you'll make no more progress today. When the rain abates, it's dark.

Stralchus sits at the cave mouth with his Amantiou across his lap, watching the moonlit jungle as if it were a scene out of some nightmare, while Control forms a loose perimeter.

While one of her warriors checks his weapons beside her, Keimia studies you from across the low fire. After a moment's hesitation, she starts to speak, wandering back and forth between the River Language's simple trade register and the more complicated mode of speech, making comprehension difficult. At last you understand what she's talking about: dreams. She wants to know if you've had any strange dreams. And she seems to be hinting that she has had dreams of her own.