<strong>Eshalu - in the Saurian settlement</strong><br/><br/>Eshalu settled on the floor, half-reclining against a pile of cushions and still slightly bemused by the hospitality of the inscrutable, scaly Saurians. She lay her spear by her side and sat cross-legged, her eyes never leaving the cold, predatory gaze of the alpha who called itself Kelcis. Making a note of the relative positions of Aeryn and Reliyian, the ranger continued to mentally prepare herself for a sudden strike or ambush. She had no idea that Cold Ones had any notion that the soft-skinned peoples could be anything but food or sacrifice. The heterogeneous collection of artifacts did little to reassure her. Those seemed clearly to be trophies - spoils of war and raids which spoke of the prowess of the Saurian warriors. There was a ring of reason in Reliyian's words, though. If the Cold Ones were truly hostile, they would doubtless have already acted on that instinct.<br/><br/>When the smaller Saurians arrived bearing food, Eshalu found herself pleasantly surprised. The sweet cereal-meal was familiar - her clan's staple food was a similar mash of tubers or wild grains, beaten with nut oil and dried fruit or honey and this bore a striking familiarity to it. There was something uncanny in the sweet, viscous fluid binding the coarse pap together and she thought for a moment that it was strange that the Cold Ones would harvest the sweet jelly of giant termites, too. The taste though, had a mineral and herbal tang that set apart from anything else to which she had been accustomed.<br/><br/>She ate hungrily - realising how long it had been since she had last had a full meal and, when she had her fill of cereal-meal, she grazed on the nuts, knowing that they would release their nutriment over a longer period of time, enabling her to go for the next couple of days without eating, if necessary.<br/><br/>Then came the pleasant surprise of Lazerette's re-appearance. Eshalu gave a relieved smile the moment she saw the human noblewoman walk into the chamber. She seemed in good health and happy enough and that was all that mattered. Surely the Moon Huntress had shown them favour by returning their band-mate to the party. Smiling wordlessly, Eshalu nodded in acknowledgement. "Welcome back," she called, "we thank She Who Tracks a Myriad Paths for leading you back to us. May she never separate us again."<br/><br/>High-status humans seemed to be distinguished chiefly by their clothing and the significance of Aeryn returning Lazerette's apparel was striking. Perhaps that explained why Aeryn had insisted that she be clothed in Magna Sophia lodge. Though she now understood this particular human custom better, Eshalu remained skeptical. Amongst the People, body-paint and jewellery could tell a much better story than clothes and had the benefit of being evident when the bearer was naked.<br/><br/>The joy of Lazerette's return was tempered only by the Saurian alpha settling down into a half-crouching, half-squatting position in front of Eshalu. There was an air of challenge in the great alpha's sibilant speech and in its aggressive body language. The creature was clearly used to being dominant and took all challenge to its physical supremacy very seriously.<br/><br/>"It is you who will feel the point of my spear, Cold One," Eshalu replied, her voice pointed with an edge of menace, "your death will make a good story to tell my Loreweavers and a pretty druid in my favour will wear your skin with pride." She followed up with silence and a sharp, ambiguous smile. "But since you ask, it is I who have sought to speak to the Great Mother on this island -" Eshalu paused, fighting back the unspeakable memory of the vision she had witnessed the previous morning, "and something...else answered. It hated all flesh, all life. But you - you know this place. Your kind saw the radiant dawn long before mine ever drew breath. If you do not already know the spirits of this place, there may be little else I can tell you."<br/><br/>She had learned enough from Aeryn not to say it out loud, but Eshalu was certain that if there were unfathomable and ancient evils on the island, the Cold Ones would most likely be the resident experts.