>>6290811Teacher Oranya's eyes widen and she hastily bows again, grabs your shoulder and pushes you to do as she does. "Please, pardon us great elder, we entered thinking this was a nest of voracious predators that threaten the balance of nature as we know it. My scrying totems gave no hint that they were of your kin."
You certainly did wander into quite the mystery, maybe you hit a far bigger jackpot with finding the hidden tunnel than you could have expected.
The spider, Orrosk, gently dismisses her with the wiggle of a huge black finger. "None of that, Totemist. I should hope you weren't able to scry far, or our work would have been for nothing. These tunnels are laced with runes of obscurity and deterrence. It wouldn't do to have feral beasts wander in, mindless or nosy spirits less so."
"Has this...been a problem before?" You ask.
"No, though I adhere to the principles of preventative measures. However, as I'm sure you must know, the wild spirits grow stronger. Predator and prey alike are showing the telltale signs of natural adaptation but at a surprising pace over the last decade. A few of our number, thankfully only barely sentient Trappers, seem to be slipping into this river of change themselves, losing what little minds they had. All put to rest, before they could do damage to our home."
You nod, as does your teacher. "We've come up against a Stonestalker Puma which seems to have some resistance to lightning." She says, rubbing her thumb against her trusted cane.
"They will continue to change, adapt. Such is the way of nature. It reflects even in the great dream, perhaps plaguing my son's deep rest. That damnable fire spirit clawed it's way up from the pits of its birth and sought a way to burn brighter, finding my son's body to be perfect fuel, was such an example of one that began to crave a higher place in the courts of fire. It could never have survived so long without a flame to sustain it if not for happening upon our home."
"Can nothing be done?" You ask, concerned about a power that can even effect dreams maybe spilling into the village. "Is this something causing spirits to lose their minds and become feral?"
Orrosk loses himself in thought for just a moment before returning to the here and now. "Mmm. Nature is a force nothing can stop. It always has another way to march forward. Besides, although there are spirits that lose themselves to the change, the opposite is true."
He looks to your focus and extends a long claw to poke at the antler. "Some may fall but others will use the chance to grow into greater things. It is quite praiseworthy when the smallest can climb into an ascension."
Quite the predicament.
>What now totemist? 