Swamped

Rider presumably still eats sometime, so maybe somebody's seen him at the mess tent. You opt to head back over there and ask around.

You don't see any of the other humans around; just two greblings sitting together. They look to be a bit young, not as young as the child you saw last night but they still don't seem fully adult.

"Um, hello," you say. One of them stares at your missing arm intently but silently, the other waves.

"Oh, hello. I'd heard we had humans staying with us, but I hadn't seen any yet," the talkative one says. "Nice to meet you. I'm Liz, the quiet one's my little brother Jimmy."

Jimmy offers an extremely noncommital wave.

"I'm Marshall. Actually, I was looking for another of the humans," you say. "But I guess if you haven't seen any humans yet, you wouldn't know where he is."

"Sorry, nope. We don't see a whole lot of what goes on here, everyone's always too busy. We're lucky if we get to see our own Pops for an hour a day."

"I saw a human," Jimmy says, very quietly. "Big one. Big spear. Talking to Pops."

"That's who I'm looking for, then. Was this today?"

Jimmy nods weakly.

"And where was this?"

"Pops' tent, I'd guess."

Jimmy nods again. You wonder if he's getting enough vegetables, he seems extremely low on energy.

"Well, that's great, but I don't know who your Pops is. Who is he?"

Liz starts smirking.

"Well, I could just tell you, but it's more fun to see what you guess first."

You suppose you can spare a moment to indulge her. Who are you going to guess?

>You still don't really know the workings of this place, or about greblings, so you've basically got no idea. Just say whatever names occur to you as possibilities.

You shrug as best as you can with one arm and pick the first male grebling you remember meeting.

"Robert?"

Liz shakes her head.

"Nope. Interesting guess, though... for a human."

"It's not like I know everyone around here yet," you point out. "I've met maybe twelve or so greblings? And this camp's pretty big. What do you mean, for a human?"

"Lost of humans have trouble telling how old greblings are. They wind up guessing old man Theodore, even though he's nearly old enough to be Pops' pops. When I ask new greblings, though, they usually guess Robert. Not sure if it's because they think he's fatherly, or if it's just that they all know him because he gives them a quick check-up when they arrive."

"So I made a boring guess, but it's a boring grebling guess instead of a boring human guess," you say, with a slight smirk.

"Pretty much! And that's kinda funny. Anyhow, our Pops is Jebediah, the priest."

That strikes you as odd. Back when you worked at the theater, one of the grebling performers told you that grebling priests aren't allowed to have families, a prohibition that supposedly goes back to before the gods other than Reth abandoned them.

You wonder if you should even bring up the subject. Perhaps it would be better to just thank them and be on your way. But you have to admit, you're curious now.

>ask if they have a mum here too.

Your curiosity is getting to you, so you decide to ask indirectly.

"So, do you have any other family members?"

Jimmy looks down sadly.

"Sorry, that's maybe not the best question to ask," Liz says. She gives her brother a comforting pat on the back. "Our mother... well, she's not in this camp with us. And he was very young when we had to leave."

You've hit a sensitive spot. One you know all too well.

"I'm sorry. My own father disappeared seven years ago. It's not an easy thing to face."

Liz looks at you, still consoling her brother.

"It's all right, you couldn't have known. He'll be fine in a bit."

You can see she's holding back her own tears. Must feel she has to set an example for her brother.

The room falls awkwardly silent for a while. It's only broken when an older grebling comes in to eat.

"Gettin' real crowded in here," says the new arrival. "I prefer to eat alone. When are you lot leaving?"

"Soon," Liz says.

"I'm not eating, I was looking for someone," you say, a little nervously. "Er, I'll see myself out."

"Long as you aren't looking for old Gascoign here, 'cause I'm retired. And I really mean it this time. They tried to put me back to work yesterday, and what'd I get for it? Stabbed in the damned chest, that's what I got."

They don't seem to be talking to you in particular at this point, so you just excuse yourself and look for the priest's tent. You find it rather quickly, due to the holy symbol over the entrance.

But when you look inside, you don't see either the priest or Rider around. Now what?

>just wait, they'll be back eventually. maybe have a look around the tent.

Maybe you can practice your wizardry while you wait.

You decide to sit down and wait. Surely the priest will come back at some point, and even if Rider's left by then, at least you'll have something to go on.

It's a shame you don't really have anything to do. The only book you brought was your father's, and after you used its magic... well... you felt strange when you looked at it again.

Magic. Right, you can use magic now. You still haven't really processed that. Maybe you can start practicing with it, in case it's needed? Dominique says she can't do much, and you're not entirely sure what Captain Long's story is, but he doesn't seem able to use magic either.

But you're not ready to go casting spells. Instead, you think about something Dominique said - that she can sense ether. Maybe you can do that, too?

Well. It's worth a shot. As long as you don't try to do anything with it, there shouldn't be a problem. The question is, how can you start.

The only idea you have is to close your eyes. Take away the distractions of the visible world. Make yourself more reliant on your other senses... hopefully, including the one that can tell you where ether is.

At first you don't notice anything. But as time passes, you grow more focused, and you start tuning out the sounds of the camp, the smells, the hard touch of the chair you're sitting in. It's almost like you're asleep.

And you're definitely sensing something. Maybe this is ether? But it's hard to understand what it is, or even where it is. Is it right next to you, or miles away? Is it strong, or weak? All you know right now is, it's something.

And it feels like you could reach it.

You open your eyes with a start. No. You aren't going to actually use any magic, not without guidance. You're not even entirely sure you didn't do something before you caught yourself.

Maybe Dominique's lucky she can't manipulate it that much. You'd best speak to her or Captain Long before trying this again.

You also see a rather unhappy-looking grebling staring down at you.

"Finished with our nap, then?" he says. He doesn't seem upset, more... resigned.

"I wasn't napping. Are you the priest?"

"That's one of my tasks here, yes," he says grudgingly.

"I heard you were talking to Rider earlier. Where is he?"

"He's taking care of my sandy-mocker problem, or so he says. Not that what he's actually doing makes any sense to me, but I suppose I'll see if it works."

"Why, what's he doing?"

Bopping it on the nose.

"It looked like he was tapping one on its beak. I've got no idea what that's supposed to accomplish, but then, he's supposedly the animal expert."

He seems somewhat bitter.

"What exactly is the problem you're having with sandy-mockers?"

"Nothing big. It's just that for some reason, they seem to have singled out this tent to relieve themselves on. Which means I lose at least a good half-hour each day cleaning it off. If he can do something about it, well, it'd mean I've got more time to do other, more useful things."

"Like spending time with your children?"

He doesn't say anything in response. You decide to change the subject.

"I'd like to talk to Rider when he has a moment."

"Well, I've got no idea how long this is going to take him, but I'd rather not interrupt it. Just in case it works. He'll tell me when he's done, so feel free to catch him at that point."

With that, he sits down and just stops talking. He doesn't seem to be doing anything in particular.

Now what?

Sooo, what do you think of recent events?

"So, um, there's been a lot happening around here lately. How do you feel about it?"

The priest glances vaguely at the machinery around the edges of the tent.

"The anomalies have meant more work for me. Somehow they're throwing off my instruments. The charts have been completely inaccurate for days, and I only got the wrench I need to fix it late last night. Too late to actually do anything about it. And it took me two hours this morning to finally get it working... until it breaks again, naturally."

You don't think you really followed any of that.

"What's all the machinery for?"

"I study the weather," he says. "This machinery records various details about it. Some days it's hotter than others, and I'm the one keeping track of that."

"Is it a lot of work, then?"

"Not so much once I got the system set up - now most of what I do is write down the results so they can be archived. But that only applies when the thing actually works, which isn't that often these days."

"What about us coming in, has that had any impact?"

"Well, it's meant I haven't had to prepare a memorial service for the Director. And you don't keep me nearly as busy as the pilgrims do. So on the whole, it's been pretty good for me that your group turned up."

You're finding it hard to talk to him. He seems so detached. You're not sure where to go from here.

>just find a book that looks mildly interesting or something to read while you wait. this guy has books around right?

Just keep peppering him with idle questions if he doesn't want to stick to a topic. There's plenty that's new to you here and he hasn't told you to buzz off.

Are you more mechanic or more a priest? Which is your duty and which is your passion? I'm not too familiar with grebling religion, how is it different from what I grew up with?

For a moment, you wonder if he might have any books you can read to pass the time. But you don't see any, and they might not be in a language you can understand anyhow.

So maybe conversation is your best bet. He's not really acting as if you're a nuisance, other than not wanting to talk about his kids; he just seems to be ill-tempered in general.

"So you're checking all this weather stuff, but you're also a priest," you say cautiously. "How did you end up doing two jobs like that?"

He gives you a good long stare that lasts over a minute before answering.

"I handle these charts because it needs to be done and I know how to do it. And that's the same reason I joined the priesthood. There's nothing more I can add to that."

Makes you wonder if he feels the same way about parenting. You decide to move on to something a bit more specific.

"So what exactly is your religion like? I don't know much about it. I've only been to fairly low-key human services, not directed at any particular god."

He suddenly stands up straight. This seems like something he's more comfortable talking about.

"When we were in danger, Reth protected us," he says. "The other gods stood by, or encouraged our attackers. Reth is our savior, the only god we recognize."

Well, that wasn't very specific, but you think it explained a lot regardless. Where do you take the conversation from here?

What's Reth like?

You could talk about what the danger was.

"When you say danger..."

"I mean an army with orders to wipe out every grebling they could find. After the first few colonies were attacked, the rest banded together. Old feuds were forgotten, too much was at stake. Warriors who had once been at each other's throats trained together, hoping to chase the humans off the next time."

He pauses.

"It didn't work. Back then, most greblings fought with their claws alone. Good enough for disputes between ourselves, but not against the humans' armor. And so the rest of us, those who had no means to fight back, we had no recourse but to pray to all the gods we knew."

He glances at the statue at the back, which you hadn't actually given much notice to before.

"Then the booming voice of Reth herself echoed on the winds. She condemned the humans for their cruelty, and warned them to leave the greblings alone. The humans started to argue amongst themselves, and another voice from the heavens told them to press forward, despite all Reth had said. In the end, half gave up and half tried to press the attack."

He stands up and looks straight at you.

"And moments later, all those humans who remained were turned, in an instant, into piles of sand. Even the ones who retreated became very sick later. After that, every grebling who survived became a devoted follower of Reth."

Well. Now this just feels awkward.

"Does it bother you having humans around?"

"Not really. Things have improved a lot since then, even if it's still not enough. Besides, if it did come down to a fight for some reason, well, we can handle ourselves much better than we could in those days. But I think we have more to fear from other greblings than from humans right now."

He doesn't seem particularly inclined to elaborate. While you mull that over, you ask the other question that's been on your mind.

"So... what's Reth like, as a deity?"

"Slow to anger, but ferocious when she does. All creatures are precious in her eyes, but she doesn't intervene often, for what she wants most is for us to have our own will. It's one thing to kill one another for food, even for territory, hells, even for ideology. But she will never forgive killing for pure hatred of another creature's existence."

You think you almost saw passion in his eyes there, a passion he's been lacking for the rest of your conversation. You don't know what to make of it.

Still, there's no sign of Rider yet, or of anyone else for that matter. So it seems you've still got time to ask him some more questions if you'd like.

Some of these things happening recently have seemed to be related to the gods(I think? I can't actually remember very well what Marshall has seen, its been a while since i read that part). What does he think of that? You don't really want to get involved with deities, but it seems like it might be too late for that.

It takes a little while to really process the story, what the priest is saying. And the more you think about it, the more it unsettles you.

"I suppose we're fortunate the gods don't intervene more often," you say. "What happened to your people is awful, and I'm glad you were saved, but... the idea of just being turned to sand in an instant, that's absolutely terrifying."

"If you ask me, no god can be nearly as scary as a mortal can," he says. "But I fear we're due for another miracle soon."

You look at him, confused.

"Last night, I felt Reth's anger. Twice. Something's upset her, and she's moving to stop it. I don't know what it is, but I've never felt her this upset since I joined the priesthood."

"Felt her?" you ask. You're not sure what he's getting at.

"I guess you wouldn't know much about priesthood," he sighs. "And maybe humans don't connect with their deities the way we do in the first place. Give me a moment."

He stands up and walks over to the statue. The expression on his face looks extremely pained.

"Yeah, she's still mad. Never seen her like this since I took my vows. It's a strain just to channel, she's not particularly inclined to cooperate."

He steps away, looking slightly less pained.

"We can't talk directly with the gods. But we can catch a glimpse of their emotions. Reth's usually in a foul mood, but it's rarely this bad."

You're probably going to need a moment to think of how to respond to this.

>what's up with gods anyway? where did they come from?

Is there any way you can tell what she's mad about? Can you ask her?

"Is there any way you can get more details? It might have something to do with whatever's been going on around here lately."

He shakes his head.

"Everything I've heard suggests the gods only tell you what they think you need to know, and most of the time that's nothing. Supposedly, the priests at the main temple can commune directly, but even if that's true they rarely do it. Never been there myself, since I didn't get formally ordained. Probably just as well, though. I've never cared much for ceremony."

You wonder if that has something to do with his family. But you doubt you'll get an answer, so you opt to change the subject.

"One thing I've always wondered is where the gods even came from. I was always told they created the world, and us... but who created the gods?"

"The official church line is that the gods have always been, and it makes no sense to ask what came before them," Jebediah says. He sounds more than a little annoyed. "But there's a theory going around that maybe we've got it the wrong way around. Maybe the gods didn't create us, maybe we created them."

You're more than a little confused, so you let him continue.

"You heard anything about ether? Dominique studies it."

"It's what wizards use to cast magic," you say. You opt not to mention your own use of it for now.

"Yeah, but thing is, supposedly there used to be a lot more of it in the world. An absolute flood. There was so much that people with no ether-sense at all were doing magic - the ether was just that sensitive."

"It sounds like there could be a lot of accidents that way."

"Probably. In fact, so the theory goes, maybe the gods were one of them. Maybe a lot of people started believing in something, and they believed in it real hard, and the ether around them took the form of what they believed in. And that ether-being is what we call a god. Just a massive concentration of ether, able to manipulate itself."

You were having enough trouble dealing with just the ether you know about already. An entire being made of it... You're having trouble fathoming it. But then you think on it a little harder.

"And if ether can be easily manipulated in such intense quantities," you muse, "then a god could potentially be very sensitive to being around people. Their very form could start to shift unpredictably. That could explain why they'd isolate themselves, even from their own believers."

"Yeah, there's been some talk along those very lines from proponents of the theory. But our church has made very clear that this idea is heresy and not to be taken seriously by members of the clergy," he says. "So obviously you shouldn't believe it for a moment."

He's making as clear as he can that he doesn't give a damn if you believe it.

"Of course not," you reply, with a similar amount of seriousness. You're not sure what to think about it, but it's certainly an interesting idea.

You wonder if you should continue asking questions. For all you know, Rider might finish soon.

That's probably enough for now. Thank the nice Grebling for speaking with you and be on your way!

"Thanks for talking," you say politely. "You've given me a lot to think about."

"Yeah, well. I never said I was good at this job," he says. Then he holds up a tiny hand to his ear. "I think the sandy-mockers are calming down now, so you should have your chance to see Rider soon."

"I don't hear anything."

"Not surprising. Human ears usually aren't as sensitive as ours. Yeah, I hear him climbing down."

Rider steps into the tent not long after.

"I calmed them for the moment, but don't expect that to last too long," he says. "Something seems to be upsetting them, and I wasn't able to work out exactly what. It doesn't seem to be an issue with their nesting grounds or anything that your camp is doing."

"So what, are they trying to come in for a sermon?" Jebediah asks sarcastically.

"Hmm. You might not be far off - desert birds are in Reth's domain, so they might be reacting to her imagery somehow. But I'm afraid that's outside my expertise." Rider glances down for a moment and notices you. "Marshall."

"I want to know about my father," you say. "I've waited long enough."

"I thought you might," Rider says. It almost sounds like a sigh. "Jebediah, do you have a confessional or something of the sort? This is a very sensitive matter, and I would appreciate a considerable amount of privacy. Especially considering how good grebling hearing is."

"We used to have a confession booth, but it got smashed up by a dunebear. And no one here used it anyways, so what we could salvage of it just got used for other projects."

"Then where would you recommend that Marshall and I can have a conversation away from prying ears?"