"Imagine that," I mumbled as I handed Gibil the Pathfinder the bottle of [Peely Fruit Wine] he grumpily demanded before talking to me. "Luds gave me correct advice."

I thought Luds was pranking me again when his instructions led me back to the crimson goat. Like in Arakmad's laundry quest, the goat asked me to dance. And so, I did, after making sure there were no other players nearby.

That stupid goat should just be removed from the game!

At the end of my spectacular dance number, the goat rewarded me with [Peely Fruit Wine]. According to Luds, Gibil would ask for this particular type of wine, so better have it ready when I visited him not to waste time. However, Luds didn't mention any dancing. Given his personality, he should be laughing his ass off if he knew about it.

Was I doing something wrong? Did I make a mistake that triggered the dancing part?

Given that I’d be doing more tasks for Arakmad, I could see more crimson goats and dancing in my future. I wondered if SpartanDonkey knew how to fix this.

Besides the tip about the [Peely Fruit Wine], Luds also told me exactly where to find Gibil.

The elusive Pathfinder was staying in a small room I almost missed, tucked away in the corner of the third level of the ‘Cliff Village.’ It was almost right below Arakmad’s store! And that crazy trapped shopkeeper sent me looking around the main village instead.

Thanks to Luds—which was something I never thought I’d say—I skipped a ton of talking to NPCs and running around, only to end up near where I started. He was proving himself helpful, but I knew it wasn’t because he had a sudden change of heart to be altruistic and friendly. He just wanted me to reveal the supposed ‘secret’ of Kezo.

"My gratitude for delivering the package to me," Gibil said as he surfaced after a long swig. “If you’re curious what’s inside—”

“No, I’m not.”

“It contains love letters from my precious Yusa.”

“The laundry lady?” I asked. “But she…” I didn’t continue saying she was in love with a different guy. I didn’t quite get his name because I wasn’t paying attention to her dialogue. For sure, it wasn’t ‘Gibil.’ And he was a Blacksmith, not a Pathfinder.

“My heart flutters at the thought of reading them,” said Gibil. “I hope ink can capture my feelings for her as I write my reply later. That reminds me—I’ll need someone to deliver them to her, for I am avoiding her mother, who dislikes Pathfinders.”

Sensing he might ask me to do it, I changed the topic. “How’s the wine, Gibil, sir? It was difficult procuring a bottle.”

“A fine wine, indeed!” He gestured to the mat across from him. “Come sit and drink with me! The moon is high, the nightly winds blow cold. Best warm up with some Peely Fruit Wine!"

"Thanks," I said, folding my legs beneath my body. I sunk into the cushy mat. "But I brought that wine just for you. I'd rather that you drink all of it."

"You already had this with you when you came here?" Gibil shook the bottle before taking another drink. He wiped his mouth and said, "You do know about my tastes! With pleasantries done, and what a pleasant pleasantry this wine is, perhaps you’d like to hear stories about my journey as a Pathfinder?”

“There’s a story I’d like to hear,” I said. “Plus, some questions I want to ask.”

“I’d try to answer them. What information do you seek, my new friend?”

I was tempted to ask why there was a mysterious goat with bright, deep red fur living in a small hut inside the village. A better question was how that goat could talk and play instruments to accompany my dancing. But I stuck with what I came here for.

“Can you tell me about the Great Quake? Are there other surviving tribes out there?”

“A sad tale, that is,” Gibil said. “A tale that a youngling like you should be familiar with.”

“Let’s just say I’m not good with history.”

“Ah, history…As our ancestors continually watch over us, we should also never forget our past. The Great Quake…” Gibil started by narrating things Mehubanarath had told me before.

The Mountain Guardian, an unbelievably gigantic monster living deep within the mountain, awakened from its sleep a couple of hundred years ago and caused massive quakes. Mardukryon settlements were destroyed, and only the Mardukryons in Kurghal Village survived. But there were those, like Chief Nogras and Arakmad, who believed there were other survivors.

“Why do you think so?” I asked. “Have you found—?"

“The Crabores!” Gibil roared, raising the bottle of wine. “The Hermit Crabores! A toast to the key to finding other tribes!”

I raised my brow. The Crabores were giant crab monsters. The Hermit variant liked to gather various junk they came across and form it into a makeshift shell to protect themselves. “Did you find a Hermit Crabore carrying evidence of other surviving tribes?”

“Might be…might be…” Gibil scratched the bottom of his tusk with the wine bottle. “Hermit Crabores are aplenty on this mountain. Traversing the untraversable, as a Pathfinder should, I’ve encountered many of them carrying different curiosities, including relics from our past. Pots and pans, weapons, pieces of buildings. Many things! And some of them don’t look too old.”

“Not two centuries old?”

“Precisely, youngling.” Gibil reached inside his leather vest and pulled out a necklace. At the end of the silvery chain was a carving of some serpentine creature constricting a lanky beast I hadn’t seen before. “This is a Sigil Totem I have found in my travels.”

“Sigil Totem? The item used to warp to various locations?”

“Yes, a Sigil Totem like those the Spirit Carvers make. You may have used some of them to quickly move from one point on this mountain to another. This Sigil Totem, in particular, leads to—"

“To an area that had been blocked since the Great Quake.” I finished his sentence

“Yes. How did you—?”

“Is it a newly made Sigil Totem?” I quickly followed up. That was the only logical explanation why Gibil would think this was proof of survivors. No one else could make it other than Mardukryons.

“Brilliant deduction, youngling!” Gibil said as he stuffed his snake necklace back inside his vest. “This Sigil Totem had lost its power due to age—unfortunate that we cannot use it to travel to its set destination. But that does not mean it is two hundred years old! About three decades, perhaps four at most, is my estimate.

“I had this checked by those grouchy Spirit Carvers at their Lodge. They wouldn’t admit it outright, but I could read from their reactions that they thought this Totem wasn’t from before the Great Quake. From its appearance alone, even a youngling could say that.”

“Well, then, that’s already evidence,” I said. “We should organize a search party and—”

“Rein in the enthusiasm, eager youngling. You might trip over your hooves and fall flat on the ground. The Spirit Carvers dismissed this Totem as something a member of their Lodge made for practice and dropped elsewhere. Others think it could be that a Spirit Carver who survived the Great Quake tried to make a Sigil Totem to return to his home settlement.”

“Could that work? Can we power that Sigil Totem now and warp to where it leads to? Do we have a Sigil Totem recharging station around here?”

“Sad to say, that is not possible. Although I commend you for your ideas, eager youngling.”

“One idea down,” I said with a shrug.

“To power a Sigil Totem, you need to go to the Warp Totem it should connect to.” Gibil placed his hand on his chest where the Sigil Totem should be beneath his leather vest. “This Totem I found could either have never been used and lost its power or one that has never been infused with the energies of this mountain. The Spirit Carvers think it is the latter—a spare lying around that the Hermit Crabores found.”

“But you think otherwise?” I asked him. This was a clue, no doubt about it. Might as well rub it in my face about how obvious it was. Not willing to give up, I thought of other courses of action. “If we’re looking for more evidence, how about we follow the Hermit Crabores? We start where you found this Sigil Totems and then track those oversized crustaceans whichever way they go.”

“Alas, if only Mardukryons could squeeze through cracks and gaps as Hermit Crabores could. Those Crabores who haven’t collected enough odds and ends to make into rudimentary shells could squeeze through tight spaces like you can never believe. Chief Nogras won’t agree to dig the holes Hermit Craborelines enter…believe me, I tried convincing him.”

I sighed. “It comes down to finding a way around the blocked areas, isn’t it?”

“Blocked! All the ways are blocked. We are isolated here in our small pocket of the mountain.” Gibil threw up his hands in resignation. “We Pathfinders should’ve found a way if there is one!”

“Yeah, that’s kind of in the name itself,” I mused.

Gibil despondently shook his head. “Even the colossal beasts know that everything is blocked.” He raised the wine bottle. “All we can do is drink and complain in our prison.”

“What colossal beasts?” I blinked as my brain whirred into action. “The Great Hunt!” I slammed my hands on the table in excitement. Fortunately, Gibil was holding the bottle, or I would’ve toppled it. “Pathfinder Gibil! Why are the large monsters moving during the Great Hunt?”

Every six weeks, the Great Hunt was held. Mardukryon players could sign up at the Hunter-Warriors Lodge to join the five-day event. Players could hunt rare monsters and gain bountiful loot. There were also Totems that players could exchange for rewards.

I joined Kezo’s party because Megan invited me to join just to increase their numbers. But I only knew about it as a game event, not the lore explanation for it.

Gibil laughed while waving his beloved bottle of wine. “You have it backward, confused youngling! There is a Great Hunt because the monsters are moving!” He drew squiggly lines in the air as he explained, “The energies from the Heart of the Mountain flow in a specific way. The beasts congregate in high-concentration spots like Verdant Moths circling the candle flame. The stronger the flow of the energies, the more powerful the beasts that feed off the emanations.

“But every so often, for reasons unknown, the mountain ‘breathes’…you will feel it. The flow of the energies changes, and the colossal beasts follow. Smaller and weaker animals stay behind for fear of being eaten or trampled by the larger ones. This is an outstanding opportunity for our people to hunt many valuable beasts in one fell swoop—and thus, we have the Great Hunt.”

“The colossal beasts search for the strongest emanations of the energies. Oftentimes, those are not on our tiny corner of the mountain. If there were a way to get to them, the beasts would’ve found it, and we would’ve followed them. Two hundred years…of nothing.”

“So that’s how it is,” I said, nodding while pondering his story. “Thank you for the explanation, Pathfinder Gibil. I hope the Peely Fruit Wine is enough for your stories. I learned a lot.”

It was apparent that the Great Hunt was an essential piece of the puzzle. I should convince my party to explore the area traversed by the migrating beasts during the event. I was sure many players, especially SpartanDonkey and his Contractors, searched those places. But they were missing something.

They’re not with Herald Stone!

"Imparting knowledge to younglings is my duty as an adult," Gibil said with a chuckle. "I enjoyed talking with such an inquisitive youngling as you, and I also enjoyed the wine. Now, it is time for me to read the letters of my beloved Yusa." He started to open the parcel, which was the signal for me to leave.

"I better get going." I straightened my hind legs simultaneously, then extended my front legs one at a time. "Arakmad's store is near here," I said, pointing up above. "You should check in on him to not miss your mail." Funny that he was using the store as a post office box. Yusa probably didn’t go to his house so her mother wouldn’t get angry.

"Yusa usually leaves her letters to me by the end of every fortnight. That is the time I visit Arakmad to sell my wares. I have one more hunting trip to make before going there; there are a few more orders I need to stock on."

“Right, you’re collecting stuff for him.” I slowly sat back down. "By any chance, do you have some extra Majalis there that I can buy?"