Chapter 2: Service to the Following

The next morning, the camp is bustling with activity. Already a ditch has been built for smoking of the moose meat so it'll last longer, even though some of it already been used for a stew. Others depart to collect spring herbs, hunt small game, or forage root vegetables nearby. Nearly everyone chatters excitedly about the upcoming Green Moon ceremony.

You are all approached by Letsua who tells you he and Grandfather Eiwa want to meet you. You follow him to Grandfather Eiwa's tent, where he waits outside.

Seeing you, he greets you warmly and immediately starts speaking. "Young ones. Wipa says good things about your scout training. Said you might make good Mammoth Lords someday, ha! Let us hope so." He smiles broadly, and his weathered face crinkles like parched earth. "The Green Moon rises three nights from tonight, and its light will mark you as true Broken Tusks. But there are still many things that must be done if we’re to be ready for the ceremony."

"Three things, exactly," trills Letsua. He steps forward, even taller than Eiwa. "First, the ritual site at Rockloom must be scouted, cleared, and secured before the Green Moon ceremony. Second, we need you to carry fragile ceremonial vessels and fill them with water from the Gornok River. Third, there are some tapirs nearby which we seek to add to our herd; capturing them would go a long way toward your training."

It does not take long to fill a vessel. Grom who is quick to the river is the first to notice the water is a bit murky—floating along its surface are bits of charcoal ash, as though from a large fire upriver. Cloudy weather and rolling hills, however, make it difficult to determine whether
or not there’s really a fire somewhere that way.

Looking around the riverbank you notice nothing unusual aside from the ashy water, except Grom who spots a long wooden spear jammed into a thatch of reeds along the river’s far bank.