>>5336107Ilos now had more than a zoo, as the animal army had a leader that fit their image. Mere creatures followed by instinct, yet easily manipulated by human minds, the exact opposite of what he was in his essence. Tigers, Warthog, Mooses, Elephants, Wolves. Practically every feral animal that could incapacitate intruders, bring them to Banrham and watch him eat to strengthen his body was invited to stay.
A primitive society, yet one that he found peace in sleeping with. It's not like he could feel the difference between a mattress and the dirt on his back. Perhaps he had it too in on his head when attempting to retake the glory of Midland, when he could life this way without ever hearing the word 'compromise' ever again.
The most curious specimen he found amidst that artificial fauna of predators were the moles. Creatures that could dig tunnels and traps to disperse intruders and send them tinto freefall as the ground crumbled beneath their feet. All in exchange for Barnham's regenerating flesh, which the bear offered to keep the predators from starving or rebelling against the magic that inhibited their killing intent.
Oddly enough, thanks to their continuous digging, Barnham managed to find an underground passageway that wasn't made by them. Being around the mountain that Ilos' slums were made, the moles found a way to move past the natural frontier of the hills, where a tribe of natives seemed to live by. A group of people that lived in caves, hiding from the war and looking carefree until the armoured apostle came along.
Despite being terrified of his appearance, a kid from their group offered Barnham a taste of it's culinary delicacies, and after forcefully shoving it into the Lord's mouth, the child smiled as she chanted:
"A good visitor!"
"A good visitor!" The other cave folk gathered around to throw an assortment of petals, seeds and rocks around to commemorate Barnham's arrival, as if they knew of his important figure.
"Why am I a good visitor?" He confusedly asked to the child.
"You can dig, and you didn't hurt us! That means you can help us discover the great sound of peace! Like our sage Padishar told us!"
"Your words could not make less sense even if you made an effort to confuse me." Barnham was still lost, but enthralled in discovering how this little group came to live in such a poorly lit cave.
"Padishar told us you can stay with us, but only until tomorrow, we have a rule of not letting visitors stay with our team!" The child returned after turning over a rock that served as a door for the old sage's room.
"You sure stay well hidden, if it took someone to dig through a mountain to find your hideout. How long did it take for you to dig this entire tunnel?"
