"Well, it may be humorous to you, but it's a very serious matter to the squirrels." ~ Lisa Kleypas

I shifted my attention away from the dungeon priests, recognizing as I did so that it probably wasn't necessary. I had the distinct sense that, if necessary, I could divide my attention much more readily than I had realized, though now didn't seem the best time to try to experiment with that kind of multitasking. Still, I left a part of my awareness with the clerical party, silently observing, while I refocused on the unannounced avian intruder.

I didn't get any particular sense of danger from the being; I assumed it was a male, mostly from the muscular structure of their humanoid parts, but also from an awareness that most brightly colored birds were the males of the species (though that was hardly a safe bet, for a variety of reasons). His body language seemed nervous and a bit conflicted, with a long red crest lying flat against his skull, and taloned fingers clenching and unclenching slowly. I guessed that he'd been observing my earlier visitors, as he paused where they had stopped, and spoke in an unsure tone. "Umm. Hello, dungeon. My name's Lukash, and I've been tasked by my tribe's shaman with seeking your assistance. I'm not quite sure how this is supposed to work, though. Can you... can you speak to me somehow?"

I could hear him muttering under his breath. "Gah. This is so stupid. I can't believe no one told me how I could communicate with a dungeon. Or that I didn't think to ask! I don't even know if this dungeon is intelligent!"

Amused myself, I attempted to communicate with him via telepathy, but without success. After a few moments, I gave up and simply sent a small swarm of ground squirrels with basic instructions. He very quickly noticed the unnatural movements of the dozen ground squirrels as they formed up in ranks in front of him and began a quick scurry towards the entrance.

"Well, that's not something you see every day. I'm going to assume that's an invitation to follow. I hope the dungeon has a better way to communicate than squirrel pantomimes, or this is going to be a very long, very strange conversation."

In short order, Lukash joined the dungeon clerics in my main entrance hall, nervously eying the sleeping grizzlies in the corner.

Noting Throg's quizzical glance in his direction, I quickly attempted to explain.

***Ah, my apologies, Throg. Apparently, this gentleman, by the name of Lukash, has been tasked by his tribal shaman with a quest to seek my assistance. I have no idea what kind of assistance they think I can offer, but I'm certainly curious to find out. Would you mind conveying my speech to him as I try to work through both of your missions?***

Throg was just as surprised as I was, if her rising eyebrows were any indication, but she good-naturedly agreed. Turning toward the newcomer, she nodded politely and spoke.

"Good afternoon, Lukash. The dungeon, Sylvanus, tells me your tribe – and I'd guess they're the Redcrest tribe, from your feathers and insignia – are seeking his assistance. He's asked me to convey his words, since you don't seem able to converse telepathically. My name is Throg, and my colleagues and I are priests of the God of All Dungeons, as you may have gathered."

Lukash straightened up, then bowed politely. "My thanks to you for your assistance. Having you here will make this much more straightforward. You are, indeed, correct. I have come on behalf of the Redcrest tribe seeking sanctuary with the Dungeon. My tribe is currently being driven from our home range by a force of ice-aligned, malevolent creatures, but we have no secure place to retreat to. The mountains are all claimed by other tribes and beings who haven't the resources or desire to take us in, and the neighboring lowlander polities would absorb us utterly."

Throg gazed at him pensively. "So you decided to move into a new dungeon on a sky island, reportedly home to a dragon? That seems like a rather desperate gamble. Or were you directed this way?"

Lukash shrugged in grim acknowledgement. "Our situation is pretty desperate. We've been fighting delaying actions for several months now, but winter is already moving in on the higher peaks and we're running out of maneuvering space. If we're going to retreat, and we need to, we only have a couple of weeks to start the process. As for this location, all I know is that the shaman received a prophecy that referenced "cliffs in the air", a dragon, and "a dungeon with a thirst for knowledge" – and so here I am."

At this stage, I interjected with Throg and had her relay my words. *** I'm not unwilling to help, generally, but there are some issues to be aware of. First, you should know that there absolutely IS a dragon living higher up the mountain, and while she is tolerating me, I don't know that she'd be happy to have more residents move in. I can try to contact her, but if she says no, I'm in no position to argue with her. Second, how big is your tribe? I can try to create some living space for you, but while I'm growing quickly, apparently, I'm not going to be able to feed and shelter large numbers of people for quite a while. I can probably get you under cover, given a week or two, but you'd need to feed yourselves with minimal support from me.***

Lukash looked more relieved than anything else. I was guessing both at the realization that I was willing to help, and the suggestion that I might intercede with the dragon, so that he wouldn't have to approach her. Still, he gathered his thoughts and responded carefully.

"Of course. I understand that the dragon will be the final arbiter. They are deeply territorial, by all accounts, but my people have, at least in legends, shared space with them before. I don't have an exact headcount for our tribe, unfortunately, but with recent losses we're down to probably only 80 or so people – mostly children and elders – and perhaps 30 to 40 fully functioning adults. Feeding ourselves shouldn't be an issue in the short term. We have supplies to last us for several months. Having made the trip, myself, though, if we're going to get the children to you, we'll need to make several trips starting in about a week, when the sky island is at its closest to the Dragonspine Mountains."

I turned my attention to Throg, sending to her directly and individually. ***What do you think of this mess? As I said, I don't mind helping, but I'm sure there are some aspects of this I'm not anticipating. ***

She seemed a bit startled to be asked for this kind of advice but shrugged mentally. ***I don't think it should be a problem for you, though it will tend to disrupt your focus from standard dungeon building and whatever mission your patron set you. That said, it'll give you a set of semi-permanent delvers that will be good for your mana flow and growth, as well as providing a good bit of insight into how dungeons are perceived in other cultures. It's likely to get you on the good side of whatever deity is sending them here, as well – as long as you don't devour them, of course. Plus, I wouldn't think that whatever force is harassing them from the mountains will pursue once they're gone – particularly not here. Mostly it's a question of how you think the dragon will respond. ***

Yeah, I wasn't looking forward to THAT conversation, but it was probably a good idea to get it over with as quickly as possible. I'm pretty sure she's been keeping tabs on all the comings and goings and was generally fine with it, so far. Permanent residents were a whole other matter, though, and she'd definitely want to be consulted BEFORE any decisions were made.

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I gave a mental shrug, tabling the notion for a moment and began guiding my visitors around to what I was already beginning to think of as guest quarters. Hopefully, Hakdrilda would be okay with sharing space, at least until I could expand to provide some privacy. I'd already begun to think about how and where I might be able to house an entire tribe worth of avian humanoids – quickly deciding that if they didn't want to be exposed on the surface, the best spot would likely be along the exposed cliff face –either beside or below the wyvern's current sky pier roost.

I assumed that Lukash likely wouldn't stay any longer than necessary, being clearly in a hurry to return to his tribe. The clerics would likely stay for a day or two at least, I figured, though concern for the crew of their airship might prevent a longer stay. That said, I thought I might as well ask.

*** So, Throg, how long can you stay? I assume YOU weren't planning to take up permanent residence?***

Her hood long since thrown back, she smiled warmly, tossing her long black hair back over one massive shoulder, yellow eyes literally glowing slightly within the craggy confines of her stony face. ***Alas, no. We'll need to report back to the Cathedral in a timely fashion, so probably 3-4 days at most.***

Kraal interjected in a wry tone I was already beginning to associate with him. ***That is a longer visit than we would normally make, but your circumstances are both unique and logistically challenging, so barring direct guidance from Our Lord, that seemed like the best plan when we were working on it.***

*** Does that happen often? Direct guidance, I mean?*** I'm pretty sure that sounded more wistful than I intended, but I couldn't really help it.

Blorg burbled amusedly. *** No, not often. You aren't the only one who'd sometimes like a bit more clarity from the divine plan! It does happen, though. I take it you haven't had much contact with the deity that sent you here? Any hints as to which god that was, or what they want you to do?***

Lukash had been trailing along rather quietly, though I could tell he was a bit agitated both by the leisurely pace and by the obvious side conversation. I felt a bit bad about leaving him out, so as we headed through the wyvern's den, I asked Throg to pass on inquiries about his tribe's preferred living arrangements.

Lukash startled briefly but clearly took the inquiry as a hopeful sign. That said, he also didn't seem like he'd ever really thought about his people's lifestyle. He did his best to give at least a basic description of how they led their lives, though. To my anthropologist's metaphorical eyes, they seemed to follow a combined version of hunting, fishing, and gathering and transhumant pastoralism – dispersing across their range to collect a variety of mostly wild resources, but also with some flocks of some kind of wool-bearing, milk-providing animal – not quite a goat or sheep, but not a camelid either. Those moved up and down the mountainside depending on the season. The only other domesticated creature they raised was a form of plump rodent, suitable for stewing or occasionally eaten whole.

As a group, they seemed to divide primarily into extended family groups favoring a vertical array of cliff dwellings positioned under an overhang and centered around a larger cliff platform used in a variety of public functions, all of it ideally overlooking preferred hunting grounds. Individual households were constructed from whatever materials were available, but usually housed 10-20 closely related individuals, with internal spaces divided into mostly nuclear families. The various tribes would collect periodically in the summers, when young adults (both male and female) would seek partners from outside their own tribe and negotiations would be held as to which tribe they would join.

***So, for starters, you'd likely need four or five large residential structures clustered around a central space, some storage space, and likely access to a paddock or livestock area on the sky island's surface?***

Throg patiently passed along my questions, and Lukash nodded. "I'm sure we could make do with just a protected space to construct our own village, but having ready-made structures would be a massive boon."

The conversation cut off a bit abruptly as I warned the party that we were coming up on Hakdrilda's space. I had not given her a door, as yet – I suppose that was something of an oversight – So Kraal paused outside the room and coughed politely to draw her attention. Hakdrilda's hands twitched, but she had enough presence of mind to settle the alembic she'd been erecting safely on the platform before turning swiftly to face the entrance.

"Who's there?" she called out. "I wasn't exactly expecting any visitors," she muttered, impatiently. Transparently, she had somehow missed the logbook which I had placed fairly centrally on a table. To be fair, it simply added to the clutter, as much of her pack had apparently been unpacked and not yet put away.

Kraal stepped into the entryway and chuckled. "Ah, well, we're mostly a delegation from the Church of the God of All Dungeons, plus an extra visitor from the Redcrest tribe of the Dragonspine Mountains. I was asked to speak with you first, as my senior priestess companion is a troll, and was concerned you might react poorly to a surprise visit."

Hakdrilda drew herself up, a bit offended. "I've no prejudice against trolls personally." Her posture then sagged, "But I know enough of my people who do, that I understand your concern." She shrugged, a bit ruefully. "Please, come in all of you, and we can chat. I'm assuming you can speak with the dungeon directly, and I'm sure it has things to say to me beyond what we've already worked out."

Kraal, Blorg, and Lukash walked calmly into the space, carefully steering clear of her scattered belongings, before Throg hunched over to edge through the entryway. "He goes by Sylvanus, or Vay, apparently", she rumbled. "He did try to contact you via a new logbook skill he's received. Apparently, he's limited to about a written page a day, though."

"Who, the dungeon? Is he an elf, somehow?", Hakdrilda asked, a bit confused.

Kraal shook his head, slowly. "No, the dungeon is a core, like them all, but apparently is also a reincarnated outworlder human, of all things."

"An outworlder, a human, and a dungeon? I was not expecting that. Well, frankly, that probably bodes well for my studies." Hakdrilda posited, before flushing slightly. "I mean no disrespect; I just thought that might mean he'll have an interesting perspective on air magic."

I chose that moment to interject, via Throg.

She nodded. "He'd like to know exactly what it is you're planning to research. He does have an air affinity, but he's only just starting to learn about magic. Says he does have some basic knowledge of 'atmospheric science' and the 'mechanics of airflow' from his previous world, though. He's not sure how much of that is still valid, but he thinks a lot of it should be. Enough to help him understand your work, hopefully, and make some useful suggestions."

Hakdrilda's eyes lit up at that, and I could see her excitement. I could also see it dampen as she considered the difficulties of conveying any of that knowledge through a series of yes/no questions and a handful of written questions. Clearly communication was going to need to be a priority.

Still, Hakdrilda calmed herself and responded politely, but with a hopeful tone. "My research is mostly into ventilation in subterranean regions, as one might expect, with a particular focus on maintaining breathable air in deep regions with no natural airflow. I know I mentioned flow control, turbulent drag, and the effect of heat and pressure on breathable air earlier – did he happen to understand any of that?" she asked hopefully.

Throg passed along the good news with the bad. "The terms, in general, made sense to him. Sadly, he's got very limited knowledge of mining engineering, and only some limited knowledge of the issues involved. He's been blessed with a perfect memory, though, so with some time he should be able to accurately pass on what knowledge he does have – he'll just have to pull it all back to the forefront of his mind. Some of it will be more useful than the rest, since you likely mine in very different ways than his people did and looking for different resources."

"Speaking just for myself," Throg interjected, "my group is here primarily to help address any concerns Sylvanus has and to just provide some basic orientation beyond that provided by the Adventurer's Guild. Lukash, over there, is seeking refuge for his tribe with Vay – whether as a short-term or long-term measure, I'm not sure yet. I haven't really established what Vay's goals are, but he's been very welcoming so far."

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