Nate's luck was poor as usual. About an hour after Rod left, a pair of Forest Lions showed up at the scene of the beast massacre. Nate had planned for the possibility and was camped out up in a tree about two hundred yards away.

"At least they aren't high level,” Nate thought as he pulled back his bow and let an arrow fly off into the distance.

The arrow met its mark and one of the cats dropped to the ground dead. The other beast turned and ran off into the woods. Nate was just about to climb down to retrieve the beast's core when he saw two people moving through the woods in the distance.

Nate prepared another arrow as the two people neared the scene. As they got close to the beast corpses, they started looking around as if they were trying to find something.

"Nate,” a man yelled cupping his hands next to his mouth to project his voice, "Rod sent us from the Greyfor Tribe. He said not to shoot us."

Sounds like something Rod would say. Nate yelled back, "Up here. I'll be over in a second."

Nate was down and over to the people in less than a few seconds. As he walked up to the two people, he realized that he had been incorrect in assuming it was two men. The two were actually a man and a woman.

These Greyfor Tribesmen looked mostly like regular people with the exception of four grey lines that ran down their foreheads. It almost looked like paint.

Other than the head marks, the two Outsiders were clothed in very nicely made beast leather. Nate could tell that the workmanship was spectacular.

"I guess Rod really did stay at the tribe then?" Nate asked worried about the old man.

"Yes, Rod stayed back at the tribe. Heart got a bit excited when he returned with the head of her husband's killer so he decided to stay,“ the woman said with a chuckle. Her voice was very pleasant. Nate’s sight cascaded down her frame as he observed the woman that appeared to be close to him in age. Her hair was cut short similar to the man next to her. The tight-fitting leather clothes that covered most of her body really accentuated her features. Nate couldn’t keep his eyes from lingering on some of her curvier parts.

"I'm Sky," the woman said grinning widely at Nate’s roaming eyes while pointing to her brother next to her, “and this is my brother, Glory.”

"Nice to meet you, “Nate said after containing his thoughts. Rod had said that these people were friendly. Their names are interesting too. Taking his eyes off Sky and getting to business, Nate asked, "So how are we going to carry all of this to your tribe?"

"Don’t worry. More people are coming,“ Glory said as he walked forward and started to disassemble one of the boars. He was clothed much similar to the woman with tight leather clothing covering everything except his hands, face, and feet. Not that friendly of a guy though.

Nate turned to look at Sky and she smiled. She seems friendly.

"Let’s head over to the tribe,” Sky said grabbing Nate by the arm.

"Don’t we need to watch over the beast until everyone gets here?" Nate asked feeling awkward as the eager woman pulled him along.

"Glory can watch over the beasts. The others were right behind us anyway. We are just the two fastest of the bunch, “she said as she let go of his arm, "Let’s go."

Nate followed along as the woman led the way. After about five minutes of running, they passed a group of twelve other Greyfor Tribe members. They didn't stop as they passed the group so Nate could only get a close look at a few of the people. The two men he could see were wearing similar clothes but seemed to have one less grey stripe in their forehead.

"Keep up,” Sky yelled to Nate as she picked up speed.

Nate also picked up speed and stayed just behind the woman. Is she trying to race me? Sky's speed continued to increase until she seemed to reach her limit. If Nate hadn't been keeping up with Rod over the last couple days then he would have probably lagged behind. They had already been running for about forty-five minutes.

"Almost there, " the woman yelled back before abruptly slowing to a walk. Nate ran into the back of her on accident and his hands going to her hips to keep from slamming into her. He quickly apologized for the contact thinking he may have touched her inappropriately.

"It's okay. Come on,“ Sky smiled as she grabbed him by the hand and led him up to a fortress-like cave entrance built amongst steeply sloping forest terrain. The stone and timber wall blended in pretty nicely with the forest.

"Rod said you don't know a whole lot so just ask if you have any questions,” Sky said as she stood in front of a large wooden gate at the mouth of a cave. This cave opening was at least ten times bigger than the entrance to Nate’s cave. Nate could see guards with bows positioned high above in several of the surrounding trees near the entrance and he was sure that there were more he couldn't see. There were also a handful of guards posted near the access gate.

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After Sky exchanged a few words with the guards, they opened up the fortification and let her and Nate inside.

Nice cave. As a case dweller himself, Nate could recognize the exceptional nature of the underground village that lay just inside.

"Don't be amazed just yet," Sky said walking on a cobblestone street that led to the depths of the cave, "This is just the cave entrance where the guards and hunters are stationed."

She was right. This cave opening seemed to consist mostly of small buildings built into the cave walls. There didn’t appear to be anything big enough to house families. Confirming his thoughts, he saw no elderly or children amongst the faces that followed him as he entered. Everyone at the entrance was men and women who looked well-armed and capable. Guards and hunters.

Sky and Nate continued to walk along the street deeper into the cave. The guard buildings became less common and the walls of the cave returned to their natural state. The high roof of the cave seemed to be inlaid with a glowing stone of sorts. Nate liked the idea. The only reason he could see in his own dark cave was his [Dark Vision] skill.

"Where do you get the glowing stones from? I'd really like to have some in my cave too,“ Nate asked Sky as they walked deeper into the cave.

"They are not stones. It's a fungus that grows naturally in our caves, " Sky said giving Nate an odd look, “I can have someone get some to see if it will take root in your cave.”

"Thanks. How deep is this cave? Mine is only about a four to five hundred feet deep," Nate asked. He was starting to settle into the line of questioning he had grown accustomed to with Rod. This cave village had really sparked his interest.

"Rod said you liked questions," the woman smiled still pulling Nate along down the street, "The caves go on for several miles, but most of our dwellings only cover the first mile or so. We are still building out the rest."

Just when Nate was about to ask another question, the cave opened up wide enough for several large buildings to be built on both sides of the road leading in. Large structures littered the walls of the cave. The continuous buildings running down both sides had various levels and doorways. The street remained mostly clear of people but there were flat areas on the upper levels where children played and little shops were set up to sell goods. The bustle of people felt familiar to Nate. Just like a city.

A fairly large amount of people moved around the buildings with purpose. Several paused in their steps to eyeball Nate before going about their business. By Nate's guess, this tribe had at least a thousand people if not more. As they continued walking Nate took in the stone architecture of the Greyfor Tribes village.

"This is almost like being back in the city, but everything is stone instead of steel, " Nate muttered under his breath as he saw everything happening in such close quarter. So much smaller than the city though. He had mixed feelings seeing all the activity.

"You're from a city? Which one?, " Sky asked as the started to approach a large building that seemed to close off the tunnel.

"I'd rather not say," Nate responded, "Almost got me killed last time I mentioned it."

"Oh," Sky replied with a bit of concern on her face.

Nate laughed seeing the look, "Don’t worry. I wasn't involved in anything bad. I just lucked out and got away before they could treat me like a slave."

The distaste for the city must have sounded in Nate’s voice because Sky quickly perked up, "Great. Anyway, Rod vouched for you then you can't be too bad."

"Speaking of Rod. Are we going to see him soon?" Nate asked. He and Sky had been walking for a while now and he was starting to worry about his situation a bit.

"Nope," Sky laughed showing her white teeth, "He will be busy until morning. He also promised to cook those boars you two killed for the entire tribe. Those beasts are probably enough to feed the whole village for two days. So we are going to have a big party tomorrow."

Nate shook his head. The behavior didn't seem out of character for Rod at all. At least he didn't leave me to fight off an attacker on my own this time.

"So where are we going?" Nate asked still wondering what was going to happen next.

"I'm taking you to one of the houses we allow guests to stay in," Sky flashed her smile again, "You can take a good rest then someone will come to get you tomorrow morning for the party preparations."

It wasn't long before Sky and Nate arrived at a series of inline structures that seemed to be slightly smaller than the rest.

"Here, " Sky said as she stood in front of a doorway, "This guest house is yours so make yourself at home. That is Rod's room, but I don’t think he is in there," she pointed to another doorway that seemed to be slightly bigger than Nates.

"Great, " Nate responded feeling a little better about the situation, "I look forward to the party tomorrow."

"Me too, " Sky said before leaning in to give Nate a hug. The hug caught him by surprise and he stiffened as he felt Sky’s body pressed up against his. He had never been this close to a woman. His rigid reaction gave her a giggle, and then she just turned and left Nate standing alone in front of the doorway. Friendly woman.

When Nate was growing up, he didn't have much interaction with people outside of work. The draconian ways of the Grey Sector don't really focus on family and relationships. It was all about productivity and work ethic. The freedom of the people he had met in the wilds was completely different and he loved it.

Nate opened the door and stepped into the rather spacious room. This looks like an area to meet with people. The entry room had seating and tables for six people. There was a small patch of glowing fungus on the ceiling that provided some light throughout the rooms, so it wasn’t entirely dark. In the next room, Nate found a nice looking bed with beast fur coverings. It looks really comfortable. Making his way around the room he also found a smaller room to the rear of the space with water splashing down the rock wall and draining out the floor. They even have showers. Nate was really surprised by the amenities. It did not take him long to complete his investigation of the rooms in his temporary resting place. The rooms combined were no bigger than his living space inside his own cave, but the condition was much nicer.

Nate removed his backpack and threw it on the table in the bedroom. He quickly sorted through the items and took out the things he wanted. Nate walked to the back of the house to the shower room. Finally. Nate hadn't had a shower in a really long time. Most of his personal hygiene in the wilds was conducted by scrubbing his skin with rough beast skins and a bit of dirty water. The shower was actually the only thing he truly missed about his home in the city.

Nate sat the pile of fresh clothes he had taken from the outpost on a small table and took off his old tattered clothes. Nate wasted no time getting in the water and rinsing off. The shower was just as glorious as expected. Nate was enjoying the water pretty intensely when he heard an odd noise behind him.

He spun around in reaction taking a protective stance in the nude. Then, his eyes made contact with Sky standing in the doorway of the shower room.