Deep Usque

Yutin shook his head at the offer of the water. "You can keep it, I have my own. You need it more."
He helped set up the fire, then once the fire was lit, he set out his sleeping roll. He sat crosslegged on the roll, watching over their small camp as the night went on. His bright yellow eyes flashed with the reds and oranges of the fire flickering before him.

Yutin chuckled.
"There's nothing to apologize for. They'll be fine, whoever they were. Besides, I had no real attachments to that adventure. I'm an open book, you could say. I'll do whatever you see fit."
Yutin ruffled around in his pack, procuring some ingredients and supplies.
"Here, I can make some stew. A little food will do you some good." He began to make a stew over the fire.

"Giant spider, you say?" Yutin mused, stirring the stew.
"And that's what was where they were going?" He asked, as he dropped some herbs into the pot.

Ogi didn’t keep track of time well, as he saw very little reason to count days, weeks, months, or even years. It was for this reason that he wasn’t very sure how long it had been since he had left the quiet comfort of his hut deep in the heart of the Usque. Not terribly long, he surmised, but he already found his mind wandering back to it. In a way he missed it - the dense woods and small creatures around the hut he’d made for himself had become very familiar - but, in another way, it was hard to be homesick when he was still well within the confines of the Usque. The same earth that his hut had sprang from was the same earth he could feel under his bare feet even now as he walked. His home was the forest, the Usque itself, and he couldn’t feel homesick when he was already home.

As night approached, Ogi’s thoughts, like that of Tana and Yutin, came to rest on the idea of making camp; a place to bed down for the night. That was when a faint smell came to his nostrils. It was smoke. Wood burning no doubt for a campfire. Ogi hadn’t expected anything with a mind for fire-making this deep in the forest. The terrain was hard in places, and he hadn’t seen a permanent shelter since he’d left his hut some number of days before. Curious, he followed his nose. It wouldn’t be long before following the smell of burning wood turned into following the smell of food cooking, and finally turned into following the dim light of the campfire.

Ogi approached the camp with caution. At a bit over 7-feet tall, Ogi walked hunched over like an ape. He had short legs, and steadied himself on his powerful tree-trunk-like arms that reached all the way to the ground. He was acutely aware that he could easily be misidentified as a monster, especially in the darkness, and sought not to rile the inhabitants of the camp. Despite his heavy frame and the lumbering gate of his walk, Ogi made very little noise until he was within earshot of the camp.

“Hello!” he said, his voice just a bit above normal speaking volume. “I-yam Ogi! I wish to share your campfire!” Ogi stayed just outside of the brightest part of the firelight, preferring to hear from the camp before he would continue in.

Tana gave a nod toward Ogi and pointed to the fire and then a log for him to settle upon if he so wished. Then she stared at the flames and lapsed into a long silence, which wasn't uncommon for her. Of course, she kept her ears open for the whispering of the trees. She perked and then gestured to Yutin, signing that Faisine has returned to the Usque and there are whispers about her traveling westward to meet with leaders of different tribes. She gestured to the newcomer as well, signing that she knew what he was doing too, how he was helping to mend the forest.

While Ogi was trying to find out what Tana was saying, a being came sauntering out of the thicket. She was beautiful, clearly a nymph. The firelight turned a purple color and it was as if all went still when the lovely nymph looked from one camper to the next. 

She didn't open her mouth to speak, the words could be heard by all in multiple tones of voices comingled into one... 

"Tana the Tongue-Tied... We have come to bring you word. There is a reason that you did not go into the Underbelly, and it wasn't just through your own choice. The Usque made the choice for you. We need you, young Tana, for you are pure, kind, and true. You are our chosen one, the one who the forest has decreed would be the leader. It is through your strength and valor that your name has traveled far and wide, danced upon the tongues of the elders throughout the many villages and tribes. But there is one thing you must do, and you must take your friends with you for they serve a purpose as well in protecting you. You must journey to your birthplace and be baptized in the waters there, consecrated by the Goddess of Light. It is through that which you will gain your powers that you will utilize as Queen of the Usque ar Hara. Go at first light, for your journey will be difficult, as there are those who might stand in your way. Consider it a test of strength..." And just as quickly as she arrived, she disappeared back into the thicket.