'I don't think we should build anything too close to the river, look at these marks on the ruins.' Tarlequin said, pointing at a greenish line on the foundation of a house. 'The river must raise to at least this height when it rains, we'd be better of closer by the cliff.'

'But if we're close to the cliff, we can easily get attacked from above if anybody makes it there. In the middle of the valley, not even their arrows would reach us. They'd have to come down the same way we did.' Nume pointed at the narrow path they'd climbed earlier that day.

'Unless of course they come with Gseirut or take the long way round.' Kran added, referring to the far ends of the valley. The long sides were circumscribed by the high cliff walls but the river had seemingly just cut its way right through a huge hill, leaving the path open to either side if one just followed the river bank. Altogether, the valley formed a perfect natural southern border for K'haren, still a good distance away from the hot lands in the distance.

'But they wouldn't come from the other side, would they? I mean, if they had the means to go there on Gseiruts, they could just as well attack us during flight as when they land on the other clifftop.' Tarlequin said happily. 'So that's our best chance, we just go there, stay a good distance away so we're protected from a potential flood as well as the steep wind and can easily build houses against the cliff wall.'

'But then we can't use any of the foundations.' Nume remarked.

'Well, we can, we just have to carry them over there...' Kran said. 'Look at these, they are loose already, it shouldn't be hard to take them into pieces so they can easily be transported. And with our carts, that will be done even faster.'

'Alright, how do you plan to protect us from attacks from east or west?' Nume then asked, staring at the horizon where the river came from.

'We also have to find a way to block the path but still make it possible for newcomers to join us...' Tarlequin added.

'Well, I guess Luthi could carry any newcomers down and we'd better leave the path open, any permanent blockage might turn against ourselves one day. Of course, we could easily attack them if they tried to come down this way, but that's not what we want to do. We could just hope for them not to find it? I certainly wouldn't have if Raf hadn't showed us before.' Kran said. 'And maybe we could build stone walls further up and down the river.'

'What's the point in walls if they aren't defended? They'd just take them down or climb over them, it would only slow them down.' Feyn said, making heads turn and stare at her. She always managed to show up not making a noise, causing people to jump and her to smile.

'It would slow them down for long enough for us to escape if they really did show up with a huge army, which I doubt. The Phraio might be able to fight and form small troops but no tribe can get along without any working men, after all, they don't allow women to do their jobs, not even when they're gone.' Nume said with a hint of frustration in her voice. 'But in that case, that might be to our benefit.'

'Exactly, chances are they aren't even going to send anybody on such a long journey just to find us. The last armies we saw were high up in the north, we might just be safe here.' Kran pointed out.

'But we should still build these walls, it will give all of us some confidence and help us close our eyes at night...' Tarlequin yawned to emphasize his statement.

'Let's tell the rest of the tribe about that tomorrow, I don't think we'd find any volunteers today anymore because we're all exhausted. But after a good night's sleep, we'll all get back to strength. What do we do about our supplies, though?' Nume looked at them, waiting for suggestions.

'We can't grow or hunt anything here, there's nothing to be taken... And I don't think the southern lands are any better, they are known to be dry...' Kran said wearily.

'Oh, don't underestimate them, you just have to know what to look for! See, some plants there grow under the earth, hiding their fruits and most of their bodies in the cold ground so they don't die because of the heat.' Tarlequin said excitedly, forgetting about how tired he was for a moment. Nume saw a strange glow in his eyes and his smile was just too infectious.

'Alright.' She said. 'Then you'll find some others who can help you find new resources, I'll join you if I may, and we shall go up the southern cliff with Luthi. He, too, should show us what's edible...'

'Don't forget about the river.' Feyn said after a moment of silence. 'There's plenty of fish in it, though you shouldn't eat the grey ones, they'll make you throw up for days... Just go for the pink ones and those long three-parted green worms, they're delicious.'

'Sounds like it.' Nume said, swallowing hard.

'Well, if you don't want them, I'll have yours.' Feyn said with a sly grin at which Nume rolled her eyes.

'Kran, these creatures you told me about that are important for the Moodswings, are they edible?' Nume asked curiously.

'Well, I don't know, I've never seen one, but I guess they'd be hard to catch since they can fly and only come out at night. Also, them being here is a good sign, according to my mother, their dung helps plants grow on rocky ground like this.' Kran said, stroking his imaginary beard.

'Hm, plants need earth to grow, if we just brought some down here, might we be able to bring this valley back to life?' Nume wanted to know. 'Raf said the Phraio had drained all life from it, but there are a few flowers here and there and those creatures so it's not impossible for things to live here.'

'That's actually a great idea, I remember a culture far away from here living in the mountains, they cultivated all steep regions with grass and trees, saying that doing so lessened the risk of floods. They believed that was due to some plant spirit, and I don't want to say they're wrong, but it makes sense for earth to suck up heavy rain so this nice little river wouldn't climb as high anymore.'

'Yes, and, if we manage to grow food down here, we can save a lot of time later on. Also, it's a great symbol of hope, don't you think?' Nume said, looking at Kran and Feyn who seemed to be rather sceptical.

'Do we plan to stay for that long?' Feyn inquired.

'Well, we'll stay for as long as this is the safest place for us to be. It's not that bad, I mean, it might look a little sad now but, if we do cultivate it, this might be a lovely spot to be, why would we want to leave?' Kran said, giving Nume a gentle smile.

'Because the rest of K'haren is still out there, needing rescue...' Feyn said in a judging voice.

'We're not abandoning our plans, we'll still change things.' Nume defended her idea. 'Having a safe haven for all those in danger is a great start and bringing life back to this place which has been hit hardest can't be bad, can it?'

'Sure, if you still plan on changing those who oppressed us for so long and did this in the first place instead of just avoiding a confrontation. Your peaceful plans may be nice and all, but I really don't think we can change the world that easily.'

'Stop it, that's enough.' Tarlequin interrupted the Harpyie with an angry glare. 'For now, we'll all do our best to be safe and alive, we'll look after the rest of the world afterwards, alright? There's no point in saving it but letting all saviours die in the process. Trust me, I've seen something like that once...'

'I get it, old man, you're oh so wise!' The Harpyie hissed, spreading her wings and taking off without another word.

'Great, now she's pissed...' Tarlequin said with a sigh, he hadn't wanted that.

'Don't worry about it, she's got somewhat of a temper...' Kran said.

'Still we should take her concerns seriously, even if you just defended me, I have to say you should let her state her opinion. After all, her voice counts just as much as everybody else's.' Nume said to the bard who looked up at her with big eyes, leaning his head in his hands.

'I guess we all just need some sleep...' he finally said, ending their discussion for the time being.

// Hello guys, so Tschike asked me why I capitalize Phraio, Dretho, Faun, Gseirut, Bay etc. but not dwarves, dragons, orcs and such and I had to admit that the distinction is rather random. I do consistently capitalize certain species but not others and now I consider changing it so they're either all capitalized or uncapitalized – which would you prefer? Thanks for telling me!