Gol's large hands reach up and pluck a ripe red apple from a branch. He looks over the fruit for bruises, and smiles when he finds no such blemish. Gol puts the fruit in his fern leaf bag before marching through the forest in search of another apple tree with ripe apples to pick.

His feet crunch leaves and twigs; Gol makes a mental note to ask for some kind of fern foot protection the next time he sees Tack and Cara.

Something catches his eye as he walks through the forest, and he sets his bag of apples down to take a look. The orange glow is unfamiliar, and gives him an uneasy feeling. The feeling grows into one of fear and dread as the orange light gets closer to him, yet he cannot see the source.

"What could that be?"

Two people carry blazing branches as they step out from the trees. They're both naked and covered in blood stains as well as soot. Their eyes look devoid of life as they sullenly trudge their way through the tall grass.

"Who goes there?!" Gol shouts firmly.

Both strangers look up at the same time, and the hopelessness in their eyes vanishes as they realize a healthy looking muscular man they've never seen before is calling out to them. They look at one another before realizing they probably don't look too friendly.

"W-We come in peace! This blood is from wolves!" Nim shouts back.

Gol's eyes narrow slightly, but he allows the pair to approach him with their burning torches. The heat and light of the fire impresses him, but he doesn't show his surprise to these strangers. They both appear shocked by his leaf clothing and the bag of ripe fruit.

"Oh wow... Did you make those clothes?" The old man asks curiously.

"I didn't, but my friends did." Gol answers flatly.

The three of them are tense at first, but after coming to a quick agreement to trade knowledge of fire for the knowledge of cloth making they set off toward the lake. Gol is sure to keep an eye on them during their brief walk.

~

Bluish green lake water is a welcome sight to both Nim and Col as they step out of the trees and onto a slightly sandy beach. Nim drops her torch and sprints to the lake; She jumps in while her torch burns itself out on the sand, and Col is shocked by her behavior as he eyes the water.

"So much water! It's incredible!" Nim yells gleefully.

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Col looks at her helplessly while Gol has a smile on his face. He jogs over to the others with a positive opinion on Nim due to her carefree actions.

Nim is enjoying the feeling of blood and soot being washed away by the lake water, and dips her head below the water to swim beneath the surface. The subaquatic world is fascinating, and she finds herself distracted by the lake for several minutes before remembering they came here for a trade and alliance.

Everyone else is gathered around hauling stones in order to create a ring of rock with a slight pit dug in the middle of them; Their very own lakeside firepit. Col has already revealed the source of fire in exchange for a set of fern leaf clothes of his own.

Nim swims over, and pulls herself onto the shore.

"Finally got bored of the lake?" Gol teases with a slight smirk.

"No. I'd like to swim some more, but we have business and I would like to get my own clothing as well. Have you found any flint yet?" Nim replies coolly.

Tack walks over with a bunch of small silvery looking rocks, and Nim's gives a nod as he offers the flint to her. She takes the rocks, and without a word she strikes two of the small silver stones together to produce a shower of orange sparks.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Gol's eyes are wide.

"Let's get the tinder put together so we can start an actual fire." Cara reminds them.

With that the group sets about collecting plenty of fire wood as well as kindling and tinder. The four who have yet to witness actual flames are all staring at the prepared firepit with anticipation, while Col and Nim feel more relaxed about it.

"Here I go..." Nim says.

With that statement Nim knocks the flint together, and hot orange sparks catch onto shredded bark and reeds in the firepit. The tiny flame is then fed with a few small sticks, and Col carefully guides the fire into a roaring flame which burns thick dry branches.

"Incredible. It reminds me of God's blessing." Gol mutters quietly.

Nim's eyebrow raises as she hears him, and she sits beside the burly man.

"God's blessing? What do you mean?" Gol looks a bit embarrassed.

The group decides its fine to tell them the story, and so they relate the tale of the starving wolves attack, Dar's wounds, and the golden light of God healing Dar back to full health. The story is incredible, albeit the situation feels unfair to both Nim and Col. God had helped these people, but not Zen. Did God not favor Zen for some reason, despite his noble sacrifice?

"If only I could ask God directly..."

~

Single file lines of soul seekers move through the Soul Citadel to offer up their bounty to the soul keeper, and each one is obedient to a fault. Unlike Ben, the soul keeper is far more particular about his minions and their freedoms. At this point all of the soul seekers are tightly bound by the soul keeper's will.

"He's not doing anything, and I'm starting to think he's not conscious."

The soul keeper scarfs down a rather large wolf soul. His creator has been completely silent for two whole days, and it's getting rather unnerving for the soul keeper.

"All of you store your souls for now. I'm busy." The soul keeper says.

Every single soul seeker moves to store their harvest into a larger soul binding cage while their creator trundles out of the citadel's inner sanctum and onto a balcony overlooking the abyss. The soul keeper stares down at God's incandescent body, and then at the strange indecipherable symbols beneath the world. Those symbols move constantly as their purpose remains a mystery to the soul keeper.

"Are you truly sleeping?"