CHAPTER 127

"They want my permission to stay, don't they?"

The owl-woman sighed. "They do. We are tired of fleeing from your people, Caretaker. The Order has forced us to remain hidden from your world, which means we cannot retaliate in kind as our homes are bulldozed. This place is a sanctuary, an untouchable piece of paradise where they can live and be free."

"I doubt this." Bigfoot sneered at the owl-woman. "Even if the Nirumbi are planning on playing nice from now on, I saw the creatures of the forest you had gathered out there. Some may be happy to piss away their days without bothering anyone, but you have a collective who's-who of man-eating monsters up there."

"Really." Mike looked from Bigfoot to the owl-woman. "I'm not keen on hosting creatures that will fight and potentially kill me or my friends."

The owl-woman nodded. "And yet you did not see them attack you. But I do not expect that to be the proof you need to change your heart. There is more to see."

They followed her through a large cave with thick stalactites. The dripping water sounded almost like rain, and he could see thick tree roots up above. How far down beneath the ground were they?

"While Leeds is gone, it may be possible for you to win over the forest children by agreeing to let them stay, but I understand your hesitance. I would tell you my own story before we get to our destination. You see, I am one of these creatures that Bigfoot would warn you about. My sisters and I -- we used to hunt and devour humans."

"Tale as old as time. Please, continue." Mike waved his hand for her to go on.

The owl-woman looked back at him as if judging his comment, but continued. Her soft voice barely echoed in the cave. "You see, we didn't need to eat humans. Not only were they easy prey, but their parts made great materials for rituals. But we paid a price. There were once five of us. I lost three of my sisters to the tribes of this land. We only had ourselves to blame, if I'm being truthful. After their deaths, it occurred to us that maybe we were, in fact, wrong.

"My remaining sister and I decided that maybe it was time to understand the human world better, but we erred. We took a human child from his village and tried to raise him as our own."

"That didn't go well for you, did it?" Mike asked.

"It did not. Though we tried to offer the boy the secrets of our magic, thinking it would be enough, he betrayed us instead and returned to his people. When he led them back, we were caught off guard and our home was destroyed. My sister died, but I was lucky and managed to escape." She stopped and put her hand on a rocky outcropping. Her clawed fingers ticked on the stone like an old clock.

"What happened, then?" Velvet asked.

"I am the last of my kind. When I die, my legacy goes with me." The owl-woman suddenly looked tired. "So I decided to try and become family with the others of the land, to pass on my knowledge. I encountered the Nirumbi decades back, and they revered me as an elder. Many of them came to realize that the old ways are gone, and it is time to adopt new methods of survival. That is part of the reason why I am here, the others look to me for guidance as well. I know that Leeds will outlive me. I would see the Nirumbi become something better than even I could be, but they will not do so with Leeds in charge. He hates humans, and will spend his life forging the children of the forest into a terrible weapon to use against them."

She turned to Mike, her eyes suddenly wide. "But we cannot guide the children of the forest without you. Take away their reason for fighting, and Leeds loses his power over them. They are capable of learning, and I am not afraid to teach them the ways of peace."

Mike shook his head. "So, you want me to, what? Forgive them for nearly killing me?"

"Yes." She bowed her head in supplication. "But do not speak your decision yet. For we have arrived."

Mike looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Bigfoot, however, let out a grunt, then frowned.

"This way," he said, then crouched down to crawl through an opening that had been hidden in the wall.

The darkness was difficult to navigate, but he found himself in a large chamber. Up above, large stony spikes glistened in the light of the foxfire. Multiple levels in the chamber made him realize that it had been carved out of the rock. The others came through and stood silently behind him.

"Where are we?" he asked, his voice gobbled up by the dark spaces above.

"The cave of the dead. The Nirumbi fear this place," replied the owl-woman. She pointed out into the center of the chamber, and Velvet gasped.

It was covered in tiny skeletons, hundreds of them. They were curled up on the ground, their remains undisturbed. Mike moved into the middle of the chamber, his heart pounding. The tallest of the lot were perhaps four feet tall, and he could see the spiked protuberances at the front of their skulls. They were mostly mummified and still had their clothing and hair.

They were goblins.

"How did this happen?" Mike asked.

Bigfoot grunted, then wiped his nose. "Many years ago, the goblins emerged from the cave. They attacked our family, and we retaliated in kind."

"I heard, but this?" Mike ran up one of the nearby ramps. The hovels here were similar to what the Nirumbi lived in. He looked inside of one to see a goblin's remains lying across several smaller goblins. "You killed all of them?"