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The line of worn travelers straggled from the brightness of the barren gray rock valley into the cave mouth, all carrying bags of various sizes and too weary to talk much. The light of the sun was moderated here in the cave due to the angle of the overhang, so they could remove shaded goggles and blink tired eyes, but only a few had the motivation to do so. At the head of the group, their guide folded his map and looked askance at the etched markings on the cave wall, none of which held any meaning for him.

"How much longer?" asked the woman behind him, unslinging her bag so she could roll her neck. "Our elders will need to stop." The pretty woman in tattered brown and gray layers had recently reached her twentieth year. Her husband was two years older, both of them stoop-shouldered with advancing age. The three weeks of travel had not been easy on any of the travelers, but it had taken a toll on the elders especially, some of whom were even as old as thirty, and the guide's wife had taken it upon herself to keep an eye on them.

Alar turned back to her, wiping a frown off his face. "This is supposed to be it," he told her quietly. His eyes darted about the group, noting the fatigue present in each. "We'll rest here!" he called out, a murmur of relief echoing around the chamber as all present released bags, some flopping down on the floor with no care for the bare comfort.

"You might as well come all the way in, you've come this far," pointed out a female voice from behind Alar.

He spun to find a black-haired woman in gray standing under the odd wall markings, though he was sure there had been no one there before. She looked about twenty, but her bearing didn't suggest advancing age. At first his voice deserted him, too surprised at her appearance from nowhere to ask any of the pertinent questions. An elbow from his wife fixed that. "Where'd you come from?" The woman's eyes were so pale it was hard to see their color at all, and to the tired guide she seemed every inch the ghostly spirit.

She smiled and beckoned, raising her voice. "Welcome to Starwatch, my name is Nisa! Your families are waiting for you inside. Anyone without a permit needs to see me." With hand raised to encourage the travelers, her wrist tattoo was easily visible, marking her as cavern leader for all to see. She beckoned once more, and directed Alar to the hidden entrance, which was behind a stalagmite that had partially merged with the cave wall.

Murmurs rose and fell at the sudden change, but all of the travelers found they had the strength to pick up their bags and file past the woman. All but the last, a man who stood in contemplation of the cave's marked wall, lips moving slightly as he shifted the weight of his backpack.

The local woman watched him for a quiet moment before cocking her head at him. "Are you coming in?"

He blinked in some surprise and turned to face her, lost for words as he, too, noticed her odd silver eyes. "Uh, yes. Thank you."

She nodded as if she hadn't noticed his hesitation and turned to lead him through the narrow opening. The passage opened out within five steps into a dimly-lit cavern wide enough for twice the fifty standing there, walls ringing with eager greetings of friends and family reunited, many family groups meeting new children or lamenting lost elders since last they had met. Few made any journey more often than each cycle, and the cycles were rarely kind.

Nisa waited to one side of the gathering beneath an artistic assortment of phosphorescent fungi, watching with very little expression as smaller groups broke away from the whole, families relieving their guests of bags and outer layers as they led them off into the cave system.

There were still a few stragglers remaining in the entry hall when the last member of the traveling group approached Nisa once more. "Jered from Tor," he offered by way of introduction once he had her attention, lifting his left sleeve to flash the inked symbols that marked him as a member of the far-off cavern and older than this woman, though not by much.

"Welcome, Jered of Tor," Nisa replied with a polite nod. "What can I do for you?"

"Thank you, Nisa of Starwatch. I have no permit. I apologize for the trouble, this was not the destination I had in mind when I left Montain." The young man shook his head with some embarrassment, removing his backpack and setting it at his feet. "Olaf said he'd vouch for me..." He looked around and realized that his friend had disappeared along with just about everyone else. "Or Alar... um."

Instead of frowning at the disappearance of the named guests, Nisa threw back her head and laughed, startling Jered with its unexpected music. "There's time enough to find them. I'm not going to throw you out with dark-month only days away, have no fear of that." She glanced down at his single bag. "Come with me, I'll show you a room. I can carry that if you like," she added when he reached for it.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Jered replied, shouldering the pack once more.

Nisa smiled and turned to lead him into the nearest tunnel. "What brings you to us, Jered of Tor, that you hadn't planned to stop here? We're the end of the trail unless you want to turn south."

He had only her voice to follow in between the pots of glowing fungus, and he moved slowly to make sure he didn't run into anything. "So Alar tells me. I'm a storier... a few tales I learned recently spoke of a place not on any of the maps."

"A storier?" Her voice drifted back to him. "We'll welcome the news, certainly, and any stories you can share with us. Starwatch has a long memory, but we've no one to keep the tales for us." Nisa's silhouette paused at the next turning, waiting to make sure he followed her to the left.

"I'd be happy to share with your cave," Jered told her as she halted at the next wall lantern, which lit a door. "Is there anyone who might know the history of your cave better than most? I had rather hoped to learn the truth of some of these tales. With Eastwatch not on any maps, you're my best chance."

Nisa raised an eyebrow. "Eastwatch? There's no Eastwatch that I know of, not around here." She gave the door a shove and it squeaked open. "After you."
"Thank you," he replied easily, stepping to one side of the door when he found a pleasant living area, clearly not guest quarters.
A girl of five or so looked up from the figurines she was playing with. "Who're you?"
"Ahma," cautioned the cavern leader, shutting the door behind them with another squeak. "Where are your manners?"
The girl grimaced, but turned a smile on the storier. "I'm sorry. Who are you, please?"
Jered had trouble stifling the smile that the girl elicited "My name is Jered, I'm from Tor... a long way away," he amended when the little girl's forehead wrinkled in confusion.
"Welcome, Jered from Tor." The little girl replied in exactly the same cadence Nisa had used earlier, surprising Jered into glancing at the leader, whose eyes were sparkling in amusement. "I'm Ahma."
"Thank you for your welcome, Ahma of Starwatch," he replied as gravely as he could manage.
"Sure!" piped up the girl in response, and Jered turned back to Nisa rather than start laughing.
The older woman apparently knew exactly what was going through his head. "Why aren't you out with the others, Ahma? It's a bit early to be playing with dolls."
"Everyone was up at the entry," whined the girl in response, entire demeanor wilting as she turned to the leader. "Only Grigor snuck away, and we need four fo' cat-chase."
Nisa nodded. "Your friends are probably free again now, dear, most have greeted family and likely run off again by now. Off you go." The girl's face shone, and she immediately ducked under the ledge that served as seating and crawled out of sight.
Jered released the laugh he'd been holding, bending down to see the hole she'd crawled out through; it looked like a hole meant for air flow, not travel, but the child had obviously found other uses for it. "Your daughter?"
The leader sighed. "Aye, she's mine. Have a seat, Jered, I'll find us something to drink." She headed over to counters with various appliances on them as he sank onto the couch-ledge in relief. "You've traveled a fair ways for rumor, and I'm not sure I can help you. Our elders haven't traveled much."
"I'm a storier... rumor is my life." He chuckled, but when Nisa returned with a battered tin cup he sobered. "Thank you. It might not matter, the last story I heard of it was from before I was born. But your elders might remember others who talked of it, perhaps. It doesn't matter all that much, I've no one to pass my knowledge on to and finding Eastwatch won't make much difference without an apprentice."
The cavern leader kicked a stool towards him, then settled gracefully onto it. "We've some who would remember, if it were in memory. My... mother's grandmother, I think it was, came over as a child on the last shuttle. My family has been here as long as the cavern has existed."
Jered found himself staring and dropped his eyes. "Well, if your elders can help me, they'll have all the thanks I can give."
Nisa smiled. "If you'll tell us a story or two after supper, I'm sure they'll tell you everything they know."
*
"... and so Montain was born." Jered released his breath as the cave erupted with applause. Three stories, that was, and they'd loved every one of them. It really had been a while since they'd had someone to tell them tales.
"Let's let Jered catch his breath," suggested Nisa's voice from the side wall, where it was hard to discern one silhouette from another. "He only promised us two stories, you know."
Quiet complaints came from adults and children alike, but all began talking amongst themselves once more. He was rather honored to see that no one left the room, though many rose or shifted position. Ahma apparently led the band of children, as she promptly led most of them up to talk to him. "Hi Jered," she offered shyly, biting her lip with uneven front teeth. "This is everyone," she said with a quick wave at the group, most of the children offering little waves or smiles. "How many stories do you know?"
He laughed. "Many. Too many to count, Ahma. That's what I do. I learn stories, and tell them to caves so we can all remember."
"Can you teach me?" the girl asked eagerly.
"Well, I can try, if you like. Why, do you tell stories too?" He was intrigued, in spite of himself, that a child her age would want to learn stories. When he visited caves he usually kept an eye out for young adults who might learn from him, but Ahma was younger than he had ever considered.
"Good ones," replied the boy at her left hand. "Not real ones, tho'. Just fun stuff."
Jered had to laugh at the difference between 'real' stories and 'fun stuff', but he nodded again. "Well, Ahma, I would be happy to teach you stories. Maybe you can help your cave keep stories for you until the next storier comes to visit."
"You're not staying?" asked a tiny voice from over Ahma's shoulder, Jered didn't see exactly who the speaker was.
"For dark-month, definitely. I might leave with the next group, or I might stay longer. It depends on whether or not I run out of stories to learn, or stories to tell."
Ahma giggled. "I'll tell lots of stories to keep you here." Then she blushed and turned abruptly to run off, her following moving with her, though only to the other side of the meeting cave. Apparently they wouldn't miss the chance to hear him tell any other story he might offer them.
"Trouble, that one," offered an elderly voice as a silhouette appeared at his left, slowly resolving into an old woman of forty-some years, leaning on a metal shaft in place of a proper cane. The smile on her lined face brought a reply smile to Jered's face. "She doesn't normally take to strangers so fast... you might have an admirer."
He chuckled. "She was kind enough to welcome me when her mother offered me a room to stay. I doubt it's much more than that." The idea intrigued him, though, that the leader's daughter with an interesting heritage to say the least, would be interested in the history of the caverns. He tucked the thought into the back of his head to think on later.
"You might be surprised," the elder warned with a smile as the cavern leader walked up to them.
"What's the matter?" Nisa asked.
The elder gave the leader a wider smile, making Jered wonder if this was the leader's mother. "Nothing, dear, nothing. Your daughter's fond of the storier, that's all."
"Ah," remarked the leader easily. "Wouldn't surprise me. You're likely stuck with her," she told Jered, smiling. "Sorry about that."
"That's quite all right," he objected immediately. "She asked me to teach her stories. If nothing else, I can at least try. It's about time I earned my keeping somewhere."
The two women shared a glance that apparently said more than Jered could understand. "Well, don't let her keep you from what business you have," Nisa told him with a shrug. "Anna, here, might be able to help you somewhat, though she's never traveled."
"Help you?" asked the elderly woman, looking confused.
"I came here after hearing stories about an 'Eastwatch'," he told her. "It's not on any of the maps, and no one's heard of it, not that I've found yet, anyway."
Anna shook her head and sighed. "It's too bad..." Her eyes drifted to Nisa and to Jered's surprise, the elder blushed. "We've no travelers who might have longer memories than mine. I don't recall an Eastwatch, but I'll see if I can't think of it while you're here."
"Thank you, Anna," Jered replied, hopeful still, though he didn't understand the interchange between the two women. The elder nodded to him and rested a hand lightly on Nisa's shoulder in passing, headed back towards the seats that had been set out for the older audience members. He watched her go, then looked back at Nisa. "Your mother?"
"What?" She laughed. "No, forgive me. I can imagine where you might have gathered that. No, she's my mother's best friend, something like an honorary aunt for me. Her memory isn't as good as it once was, though, so don't get your hopes up."

Description
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The line of worn travelers straggled from the brightness of the barren gray rock valley into the cave mouth, all carrying bags of various sizes and too weary to talk much. The light of the sun was moderated here in the cave due to the angle of the overhang, so they could remove shaded goggles and blink tired eyes, but only a few had the motivation to do so. At the head of the group, their guide folded his map and looked askance at the etched markings on the cave wall, none of which held any meaning for him.

"How much longer?" asked the woman behind him, unslinging her bag so she could roll her neck. "Our elders will need to stop." The pretty woman in tattered brown and gray layers had recently reached her twentieth year. Her husband was two years older, both of them stoop-shouldered with advancing age. The three weeks of travel had not been easy on any of the travelers, but it had taken a toll on the elders especially, some of whom were even as old as thirty, and the guide's wife had taken it upon herself to keep an eye on them.

Alar turned back to her, wiping a frown off his face. "This is supposed to be it," he told her quietly. His eyes darted about the group, noting the fatigue present in each. "We'll rest here!" he called out, a murmur of relief echoing around the chamber as all present released bags, some flopping down on the floor with no care for the bare comfort.

"You might as well come all the way in, you've come this far," pointed out a female voice from behind Alar.

He spun to find a black-haired woman in gray standing under the odd wall markings, though he was sure there had been no one there before. She looked about twenty, but her bearing didn't suggest advancing age. At first his voice deserted him, too surprised at her appearance from nowhere to ask any of the pertinent questions. An elbow from his wife fixed that. "Where'd you come from?" The woman's eyes were so pale it was hard to see their color at all, and to the tired guide she seemed every inch the ghostly spirit.

She smiled and beckoned, raising her voice. "Welcome to Starwatch, my name is Nisa! Your families are waiting for you inside. Anyone without a permit needs to see me." With hand raised to encourage the travelers, her wrist tattoo was easily visible, marking her as cavern leader for all to see. She beckoned once more, and directed Alar to the hidden entrance, which was behind a stalagmite that had partially merged with the cave wall.

Murmurs rose and fell at the sudden change, but all of the travelers found they had the strength to pick up their bags and file past the woman. All but the last, a man who stood in contemplation of the cave's marked wall, lips moving slightly as he shifted the weight of his backpack.

The local woman watched him for a quiet moment before cocking her head at him. "Are you coming in?"

He blinked in some surprise and turned to face her, lost for words as he, too, noticed her odd silver eyes. "Uh, yes. Thank you."

She nodded as if she hadn't noticed his hesitation and turned to lead him through the narrow opening. The passage opened out within five steps into a dimly-lit cavern wide enough for twice the fifty standing there, walls ringing with eager greetings of friends and family reunited, many family groups meeting new children or lamenting lost elders since last they had met. Few made any journey more often than each cycle, and the cycles were rarely kind.

Nisa waited to one side of the gathering beneath an artistic assortment of phosphorescent fungi, watching with very little expression as smaller groups broke away from the whole, families relieving their guests of bags and outer layers as they led them off into the cave system.

There were still a few stragglers remaining in the entry hall when the last member of the traveling group approached Nisa once more. "Jered from Tor," he offered by way of introduction once he had her attention, lifting his left sleeve to flash the inked symbols that marked him as a member of the far-off cavern and older than this woman, though not by much.

"Welcome, Jered of Tor," Nisa replied with a polite nod. "What can I do for you?"

"Thank you, Nisa of Starwatch. I have no permit. I apologize for the trouble, this was not the destination I had in mind when I left Montain." The young man shook his head with some embarrassment, removing his backpack and setting it at his feet. "Olaf said he'd vouch for me..." He looked around and realized that his friend had disappeared along with just about everyone else. "Or Alar... um."

Instead of frowning at the disappearance of the named guests, Nisa threw back her head and laughed, startling Jered with its unexpected music. "There's time enough to find them. I'm not going to throw you out with dark-month only days away, have no fear of that." She glanced down at his single bag. "Come with me, I'll show you a room. I can carry that if you like," she added when he reached for it.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Jered replied, shouldering the pack once more.

Nisa smiled and turned to lead him into the nearest tunnel. "What brings you to us, Jered of Tor, that you hadn't planned to stop here? We're the end of the trail unless you want to turn south."

He had only her voice to follow in between the pots of glowing fungus, and he moved slowly to make sure he didn't run into anything. "So Alar tells me. I'm a storier... a few tales I learned recently spoke of a place not on any of the maps."

"A storier?" Her voice drifted back to him. "We'll welcome the news, certainly, and any stories you can share with us. Starwatch has a long memory, but we've no one to keep the tales for us." Nisa's silhouette paused at the next turning, waiting to make sure he followed her to the left.

"I'd be happy to share with your cave," Jered told her as she halted at the next wall lantern, which lit a door. "Is there anyone who might know the history of your cave better than most? I had rather hoped to learn the truth of some of these tales. With Eastwatch not on any maps, you're my best chance."

Nisa raised an eyebrow. "Eastwatch? There's no Eastwatch that I know of, not around here." She gave the door a shove and it squeaked open. "After you."
"Thank you," he replied easily, stepping to one side of the door when he found a pleasant living area, clearly not guest quarters.
A girl of five or so looked up from the figurines she was playing with. "Who're you?"
"Ahma," cautioned the cavern leader, shutting the door behind them with another squeak. "Where are your manners?"
The girl grimaced, but turned a smile on the storier. "I'm sorry. Who are you, please?"
Jered had trouble stifling the smile that the girl elicited "My name is Jered, I'm from Tor... a long way away," he amended when the little girl's forehead wrinkled in confusion.
"Welcome, Jered from Tor." The little girl replied in exactly the same cadence Nisa had used earlier, surprising Jered into glancing at the leader, whose eyes were sparkling in amusement. "I'm Ahma."
"Thank you for your welcome, Ahma of Starwatch," he replied as gravely as he could manage.
"Sure!" piped up the girl in response, and Jered turned back to Nisa rather than start laughing.
The older woman apparently knew exactly what was going through his head. "Why aren't you out with the others, Ahma? It's a bit early to be playing with dolls."
"Everyone was up at the entry," whined the girl in response, entire demeanor wilting as she turned to the leader. "Only Grigor snuck away, and we need four fo' cat-chase."
Nisa nodded. "Your friends are probably free again now, dear, most have greeted family and likely run off again by now. Off you go." The girl's face shone, and she immediately ducked under the ledge that served as seating and crawled out of sight.
Jered released the laugh he'd been holding, bending down to see the hole she'd crawled out through; it looked like a hole meant for air flow, not travel, but the child had obviously found other uses for it. "Your daughter?"
The leader sighed. "Aye, she's mine. Have a seat, Jered, I'll find us something to drink." She headed over to counters with various appliances on them as he sank onto the couch-ledge in relief. "You've traveled a fair ways for rumor, and I'm not sure I can help you. Our elders haven't traveled much."
"I'm a storier... rumor is my life." He chuckled, but when Nisa returned with a battered tin cup he sobered. "Thank you. It might not matter, the last story I heard of it was from before I was born. But your elders might remember others who talked of it, perhaps. It doesn't matter all that much, I've no one to pass my knowledge on to and finding Eastwatch won't make much difference without an apprentice."
The cavern leader kicked a stool towards him, then settled gracefully onto it. "We've some who would remember, if it were in memory. My... mother's grandmother, I think it was, came over as a child on the last shuttle. My family has been here as long as the cavern has existed."
Jered found himself staring and dropped his eyes. "Well, if your elders can help me, they'll have all the thanks I can give."
Nisa smiled. "If you'll tell us a story or two after supper, I'm sure they'll tell you everything they know."
*
"... and so Montain was born." Jered released his breath as the cave erupted with applause. Three stories, that was, and they'd loved every one of them. It really had been a while since they'd had someone to tell them tales.
"Let's let Jered catch his breath," suggested Nisa's voice from the side wall, where it was hard to discern one silhouette from another. "He only promised us two stories, you know."
Quiet complaints came from adults and children alike, but all began talking amongst themselves once more. He was rather honored to see that no one left the room, though many rose or shifted position. Ahma apparently led the band of children, as she promptly led most of them up to talk to him. "Hi Jered," she offered shyly, biting her lip with uneven front teeth. "This is everyone," she said with a quick wave at the group, most of the children offering little waves or smiles. "How many stories do you know?"
He laughed. "Many. Too many to count, Ahma. That's what I do. I learn stories, and tell them to caves so we can all remember."
"Can you teach me?" the girl asked eagerly.
"Well, I can try, if you like. Why, do you tell stories too?" He was intrigued, in spite of himself, that a child her age would want to learn stories. When he visited caves he usually kept an eye out for young adults who might learn from him, but Ahma was younger than he had ever considered.
"Good ones," replied the boy at her left hand. "Not real ones, tho'. Just fun stuff."
Jered had to laugh at the difference between 'real' stories and 'fun stuff', but he nodded again. "Well, Ahma, I would be happy to teach you stories. Maybe you can help your cave keep stories for you until the next storier comes to visit."
"You're not staying?" asked a tiny voice from over Ahma's shoulder, Jered didn't see exactly who the speaker was.
"For dark-month, definitely. I might leave with the next group, or I might stay longer. It depends on whether or not I run out of stories to learn, or stories to tell."
Ahma giggled. "I'll tell lots of stories to keep you here." Then she blushed and turned abruptly to run off, her following moving with her, though only to the other side of the meeting cave. Apparently they wouldn't miss the chance to hear him tell any other story he might offer them.
"Trouble, that one," offered an elderly voice as a silhouette appeared at his left, slowly resolving into an old woman of forty-some years, leaning on a metal shaft in place of a proper cane. The smile on her lined face brought a reply smile to Jered's face. "She doesn't normally take to strangers so fast... you might have an admirer."
He chuckled. "She was kind enough to welcome me when her mother offered me a room to stay. I doubt it's much more than that." The idea intrigued him, though, that the leader's daughter with an interesting heritage to say the least, would be interested in the history of the caverns. He tucked the thought into the back of his head to think on later.
"You might be surprised," the elder warned with a smile as the cavern leader walked up to them.
"What's the matter?" Nisa asked.
The elder gave the leader a wider smile, making Jered wonder if this was the leader's mother. "Nothing, dear, nothing. Your daughter's fond of the storier, that's all."
"Ah," remarked the leader easily. "Wouldn't surprise me. You're likely stuck with her," she told Jered, smiling. "Sorry about that."
"That's quite all right," he objected immediately. "She asked me to teach her stories. If nothing else, I can at least try. It's about time I earned my keeping somewhere."
The two women shared a glance that apparently said more than Jered could understand. "Well, don't let her keep you from what business you have," Nisa told him with a shrug. "Anna, here, might be able to help you somewhat, though she's never traveled."
"Help you?" asked the elderly woman, looking confused.
"I came here after hearing stories about an 'Eastwatch'," he told her. "It's not on any of the maps, and no one's heard of it, not that I've found yet, anyway."
Anna shook her head and sighed. "It's too bad..." Her eyes drifted to Nisa and to Jered's surprise, the elder blushed. "We've no travelers who might have longer memories than mine. I don't recall an Eastwatch, but I'll see if I can't think of it while you're here."
"Thank you, Anna," Jered replied, hopeful still, though he didn't understand the interchange between the two women. The elder nodded to him and rested a hand lightly on Nisa's shoulder in passing, headed back towards the seats that had been set out for the older audience members. He watched her go, then looked back at Nisa. "Your mother?"
"What?" She laughed. "No, forgive me. I can imagine where you might have gathered that. No, she's my mother's best friend, something like an honorary aunt for me. Her memory isn't as good as it once was, though, so don't get your hopes up."