After catching up with Ahanu and patching up his fractured leg and cut side, the two shared experiences. They debated long over whether or not they should delve deeper into that cave, and eventually decided against it. They wanted to move on and gave the excuse of wishing to find Inadu as soon as possible, but the horrible sense of dread emanating from the cave mouth sending chills down their spine didn’t encourage further exploration either. Taking all that they needed and a little more from the tent, they said a prayer for the souls of the unfortunate villagers and finally continued on their way.

Another day of travel, and they had finally arrived at Knightsbed grove. The monolithic wall of trees, with the smallest trunks 50 centimeters wide and branches reaching up so high they had to crane their necks to see them, made for an awe-inspiring sight. The leaves were a deep lush green and a low breeze whistled gently as it played with them, occasionally plucking them from where they hung and scattering them cautiously left and right. The canopy blocked out most of the sunlight, but various orange pools of it scattered here and there provided more than enough to see by. A quiet chorus of buzzing insects and chirping birds filled the warm evening air. Despite the sun slowly beginning to set, the two decided to press on into the grove, not wanting to waste any more time than necessary.

Half an hour or so of travel later, they came across a curious landmark. A titanic stone cross, still standing tall despite being weathered by age and overgrown by moss. Ahanu stepped up and gave it a push, but it stood firm against his palm. Removing his hand he turned away, but as he did so he pulled some moss with him and uncovered an inscription. Makatai took notice and stepped forward, summoning Ahanu’s attention and squinting to make out the lettering in the fading light. The writing was in travellers tongue, which Makatai could speak well but read less so. Still he gave it a try, and spoke the words he understood. “Memo- No, Monolith to… Knight. Retainer of line..” More letters he didn’t understand “...dragon. The forest will eat well from his…and one day...to fight again.” And that was all he could make out.

Ahanu shrugged. “I suppose that’s why it’s called Knightsbed grove.” He muttered, looking unimpressed. Craning his neck and looking around he pointed to a small clearing, just enough for the light tent they had taken from the merchant to fit. They set up, ate some rations they had taken and when morning came they pressed on, not wanting to stop for long. Once they had gone far enough into the forest Makatai called forth Noaidi, and based on how far they had gone from the grave he told them a rough direction in which to proceed. They followed his instruction until they finally managed to make out a wooden structure, not far in the distance and through the trees to their right. Vines clung to the side of the building, desperately trying to climb it to reach what valuable sunlight they could despite the roof reaching nowhere near the canopy.

Makatai could see why Inadu had chosen this environment for research about the Otherworld. Ever since they had passed the grave, Makatai had been sensing a thick blanket of spiritual energy covering nearly all of the grove. Indeed when he closed his eyes he could see it, golden dust drifting through the air and raining slowly from the trees, whose deep green leaves seemed to be secreting it casually. Beyond that he could sense large clumps of it in the far distance, shifting through the forest. Deeming them to be too far away, although promising himself that he would keep an eye on them, he and Ahanu changed course and picked through the forest until they stood before the building, Makatai’s father’s “Laboratory” itself.

“...So?” Ahanu said, watching Makatai who had stopped in his tracks outside the small cubic construct. “I just…” Makatai couldn’t help but tap his fingers against his leg nervously, shifting his jaw as he considered. “It’s nothing, really. I’ve just never known Inadu, and… never mind. Never mind.” He scratched his neck, looking down at the floor, and Ahanu came over and put his firm hand on Makatai’s shoulder. His friend was always a comforting presence, and brought him out of his rut and back into the present. Giving a courageous nod Makatai strode over, grasped the door handle and gave it a firm push.

The planked door swung open and immediately Makatai gave a dry cough as it sent clouds of dust billowing up from the grimy floorboards. It was rare for Navahoans to make a permanent fixture anywhere, so Inadu must have spent a lot of time here. That said, as Makatai stepped through with Ahanu ducking slightly under the doorframe and the sunlight following, it was clear to see the cabin was in a state of disrepair. Broken planks, smashed windows and vines creeping in through the walls and hanging down from the ceiling. Despite that it seemed that the building was untouched by human hands. It had been deep in the grove, so it was understandable.

Inside wasn’t actually too much to look at, aside from an opulent centerpiece that drew his attention. “Don’t tell me…” Ahanu stepped forward and touched the apparatus. “Leviathan ribs? Whole ones?” Indeed two large silver rods, curving slightly inwards like a gateway, stood in the center of the room emerging from a steel base. Socketed in the center of the base sat a gem of some kind, with a design that seemed very similar to an eye etched into it. Makatai crouched down to pluck it out. “No, wait-” Noaidi’s voice rang out too late. The second Makatai made contact with the gem he felt his legs go weak and he went to the floor as his knees buckled, feeling his spiritual energy being sucked into it. He released the gem and began to feel himself again, slowly regaining his strength and pulling himself back to his feet, dazed. Ahanu, frowning, crouched down and touched the gem himself. Nothing happened, so he plucked it from its socket and held it in the palm of his hand.

Noaidi spoke again after having abruptly vanished moments before. “A soul gem. It can store and release spiritual energy. Your father never fully explained how it worked, but it seems to draw more from someone the more spiritual energy they have.” He looked over at Ahanu distastefully, as he passed the soul gem carelessly between his hands. He stuffed it in his waist pouch and turned away, moving to search the room. Makatai continued to examine the apparatus for a moment, but after questioning Noaidi and failing to discover any use for the extraordinarily valuable construct he left it alone to help Ahanu search.

In one corner sat a solid dark wood desk and chair, covered in scattered papers. Sticks of charcoal were strewn from left to right over the desk, and a heavy-looking leatherbound journal sat square in the middle of the table. Noaidi, leant against the wall behind Makatai’s back, regarded the book with narrowed eyes. Makatai picked it up and opened it, but instantly began to scowl as he turned page after page. The book was full of writing, however to his dismay not one letter was written in a language known to him, or even vaguely similar to any of the native languages of the five nations. The writing looked ancient and runic, scrawling and spiraling across the pages, the book brimming with the symbols. They looked to be more pictures than letters. “Noaidi?” “Yes, boy?” “Any idea what language this is?” Noaidi vanished, reappearing at Makatai’s side and taking the book from him. He took his turn to finger through it, furrowing his brow as he scanned over the text. “Yes, I know of it. This is a very old spirit language, common thousands of years ago in the Otherworld. Your father must have done a lot of research to know even the very basics of this language, let alone this much.” “Do you know it?” “Barely any. A few words, here or there. The very very basics, from talking to spirits who still bother to practice the tongue. But still, I’ll see if I can make anything of the inscriptions.”

Makatai was lost in thought when he was brought back to reality by Ahanu. “Hey, Makatai. Pass me your knife, would you?” “Uh… Alright. Why?” He paced over, leaving Noaidi attempting to decipher the glyphs and drawing his knife to hand to his friend. “Got a locked box here, and I can’t resist!” There was indeed a short wooden lockbox sat on the floor against the opposite wall where Ahanu was crouching, sealed by some unknown mechanism. He took the knife and jammed it into the crack under the lid, attempting in vain to lever it open. “Hey. Watch the blade, brother.” The knife was bending under the strain Ahanu was putting on it. “Yeah, I’ve got it, I’ve got it…”

An audible groan was heard as the wood strained, followed by an almighty crash as Ahanu flew over and the chest exploded open. Simultaneously Makatai’s separation dagger cracked and broke, the top third of the blade shattering off entirely. Makatai turned to lay into him. “Ahanu, are you SERIOUS?! I JUST told you-” “Wait! Wait, Makatai! I’m sorry, but look!” Ahanu pointed desperately at the chest again, anything to quell Makatai’s anger. Makatai looked back into the chest, and his eyes widened at what he saw. The entire bed of the chest was full to the brim with golden aurum and silver argin. A veritable fortune lay before the two young men, more than enough to start their own village if they wanted.

But what caught Makatai’s attention more than the hoard before him was an item, a weapon, that hung in the lid of the trove. The weapon in question looked to be a short spear, perhaps two feet in length, with mesmerising and intricate carvings running across the head of the weapon. Two beads of spirit glass sat firmly socketed on the spear, one in the blade at the very bottom and one directly in the pommel. He reached out and took the handle, sending some spirit through the blade. It allowed the energy through easily, just as he had expected it would. He tried pulling energy through it from the otherworld, to generate healing properties similar to that of his dagger, but it felt like the flow was dammed somehow and nothing happened. It would serve well as a weapon, but his dagger would still need replacing.

The spear came alongside a leather band and fitted snugly inside. Feeling around and locating a metal clip, he clipped it to the leather bandolier that ran from his shoulder to his hip and it hung diagonally across his back. “I… Where did your father get all this money?” Ahanu was astounded. He ran his hands through the coins over and over again, unable to believe that his senses weren’t playing a cruel trick on him. “How should I know? Besides, don’t you have anything to say? You broke my damn dagger!” To emphasise, Makatai held it out and pushed energy through it. The dagger began to spew golden dust from the broken point, the conduit damaged and consuming his energy at a vastly inefficient rate. “Alright, I’m sorry Makatai. But come on! We could buy you a thousand and more with all this!” Makatai, slightly sulkily, muttered back “I don’t want another one. I want this one repaired.” “We can manage that too! I’m certain.”

“That dagger is Avalonian?” Noaidi finally spoke up, after minutes of silence. “Well, yes. You know as well as I do.” “Then you might be in luck. I finally found some passages I could decipher” With that Noaidi lifted the thick journal and raised a hand to one of the passages he had located in the last few pages of the book. The other two looked blankly, waiting for his translation. ““Finally made a breakthrough. Need certain services. My journey takes me from here to Avalon.” That’s one of the last things he wrote, and all I could translate for now.” “Reeaaally?” Ahanu purred, almost mockingly. “That’s really all, chief?” “Do you want to try? Nobody, human or spirit, has spoken this language for thousands of years. I know a few more words here or there, nothing that would be of any assistance to us.” Noaidi looked at Ahanu, annoyance very clearly plastering his face.

“Avalon?” Makatai was momentarily relieved. Avalon was the perfect place to have his dagger repaired, and the new sense of direction gave him a surge of encouragement. Maybe there was still time. Surely they weren’t all dead, it just couldn’t be. He would find his father and set things right. Someone there had to know something. As he considered the situation he remembered the warning from the trader, and hoped that his father had avoided meeting whatever fate awaited a shaman in Avalon. Ahanu drew his jibes of Noaidi to a close, and finally the three of them gathered round to discuss their passage into the Iron nation of Avalon.