(backdated to a week and some change after cry havoc)

Tahi-shei had taken a little bit of time to track down Madhukar and have a conversation with James. Both of them had been suspicious, but ultimately, it wasn't as though they could stop him. They were both waiting for him outside of Ursa, with the intention of checking him for fungus on his way out and potentially coming in like knights in shining armor if he needed saving. He hoped that they wouldn't have to wait and have him not come back. He realized with a stroke of panic that he probably should have put one at each exit, but he'd only armed the way into Pegasus.

Oh, well. James and Madhukar could both move pretty quickly if they needed to -- certainly, much faster than he could without running into a wall. Ursa was bitterly cold, even without the whiteout, and ever since his hooves had crunched into fresh powder he'd been stomping his way through it blind.

Well, blind save for the sparrows -- he had seen them at the edges of his periphery, flitting about him more than her Eyes usually would. He noticed at least a handful every time he came through Ursa, simply by virtue of the range on this crown of his, but they were always careful to stay well out of the average Gembound's sensory radius. They did not like to be seen -- he supposed that spies rather wouldn't like to be. For a moment, he thought of the Wallcrawler he'd Spored all those cycles ago -- the poor thing had died by now, but he'd rather enjoyed watching it go about its day to day before it got eaten by that bird.

As it were, a bird actually descended towards him -- a large one, one of the circling beasts carrying what was most likely Mother's spores. He took a half-step back, maintaining some distance as his white eyes stared at it, unfocused. "Against all my better judgement," he said, voice far more confident than it had been with the Gray, "I am choosing to trust you. Do not betray that trust by attempting to infect me -- if the information you have is truly persuasive enough to sway me, then you will not need to rob me of my right mind." This was many things -- it was him not wanting to be robbed from his family, it was him not wanting to be a risk to it, but it was largely him not wanting to put James at risk. If Mother took him, then his connection to James would be exposed -- and that would very likely put him at risk.

Tahi-shei's ear flicked, and he was silent for a moment before adding, "... I would normally ask for confirmation here, but I'm rather sure this one cannot speak, so... I suppose I will have to assume that you are agreeable to this." He shifted uncomfortably. He was here without insurance, really -- Giggle and Wyvern had not awoken yet, couldn't have, but yet, here he was. By his best guess, they had a few days left to go -- certainly, not enough time that Mother would have given up on him. He hoped, anyway.

Tahi-shei drew in a sharp breath. It was hard to breathe in this cold, he noted -- though perhaps that was just the nerves. "I do hope you can sympathize with how much of a risk this is for me." There was arrogance in the acquiescence -- Tahi-shei's assumption that he was worth more to Vargas than any other random creation in these caves. He hoped he was -- he hoped he was performing well.

The Ghostbird landed some twenty feet away, and waited patiently. Yes, she had seen him through her many Eyes and yes, this one was hers; and no, this one could not talk.

So she was incapable of asking, as yet, about his assumptions--or responding to his thoughts.

'Against all my better judgment,' though. Now that was an interesting phrase. She made a note to comment on that, if and when the situation presented itself to do so.

The Ghostbird stared, cold wind ruffling its feathers--and then it turned, shuffling a few paces away. It glanced back, waited, then broke into a crooked run across the snow before taking slow flight, each immensely broad wing beating to lift it into the cold wisping air.

It led slowly--a leisurely glide, frequently circling back to allow the narrow-legged deer to catch up in the deep snow--but if Tahi-shei followed, it would come eventually to the Drowned Forest.

There the lake lay still, silent, like a dark wound on the snow, with ice coating half and floating in the other half, and skeletal trees jutting up from its slightly-warmer depths. The Ghostbird landed, here, and waited; and a Cleaner emerged from a snow-covered bank, all glassy carapace and insectoid gleaming eyes. The two simply stood facing one another some thirty feet apart, ready to hand off their guest from one to the next.

@Tahi-shei

Tahi-shei had already made his peace with this, and so he followed the Ghostbird easily. It was most effective for him to break into a leaping run in order to traverse in the snow, and furthermore, it helped him keep pace with the bird. Even at a leisurely glide, it was faster than the stag's casual stroll, especially through snow this deep. He did not get along well with snow and ice, but at the very least it was nigh impossible to lose his footing here. Then, they came to a stop, and the bird perched.

He could hear the quiet sounds of water, and was able to take note of the few and far between lichens of Ursa's sub-zero temperatures clinging to wet rocks shielded against the wind. Very few fungal growths were able to survive in this cold, but still, life persisted. He recalled that, once upon a time, he had taken note of a lake with trees in Ursa's wastes -- before he'd lost his sight in its entirety.

His eyes snapped towards the insectoid shape covered in spores. He had seen some of these from a distance, he realized, but forced perspective had led him to assume they were minuscule insects not far from him -- not massive things half a cave away. "A little on the nose with that Hive branding," he commented, a sarcastic edge in his voice. He didn't much like the cold, and besides that, he was realizing that there must have been a tunnel entrance near the water here. It made him feel like a fool for having dragged his troops out across the open plains towards the mountains -- but, he supposed, perhaps that was why she had brought him here.

Here, it likely looked confusing to Tahi-shei: the Cleaner's faint spore covering, its feet tipped in thick fungus, seemed to simply turn and walk into the bank. Could Tahi-shei see the snow's surface? Could he see that the Cleaner was beneath it, pushing past an overhanging mat of roots and snow to delve into the ice tunnel carved into the ground beneath?

Whatever the case, it--and the clicking of its feet--would be easy enough to follow. The Ghostbird waited, then took flight, departing. The Cleaner, meanwhile, began to lead the way down the lengths of narrow tunnels--six feet wide, generally, and curving into a steep, dark, slippery descent. The insectoid legs kept grip on the ice at each point; deer hooves might struggle.

They passed other tunnels, here and there--and an abandoned alcove that still smelled faintly of hay, off to the left. But if the deer followed, the Cleaner would lead him a long and winding path, almost half an hour of careful maneuvering and navigation through the labyrinth.

@Tahi-shei

Tahi-shei hesitated, and inched slightly closer. This was... unnerving and somewhat uncertain, but he noted that Mother seemed to have been paying mind to his lack of sight. He gauged about how tall the creature seemed to be and lowered his head to give himself a bit more clearance before starting to inch forward, placing his feet carefully around where the spore-marked footprints were. Then, the thought occurred to him that perhaps she had no clue about the curse of the Crown, and this ant had more sinister reasons for tracking spores through the tunnels.

And, certainly, he noted, these were tunnels. As the Cleaner led him through the maze-like labyrinth, he took note of the various things he was able to see through the walls -- a whole hive of these creatures, the smaller ones and bigger ones too, and globs of fungal mess here and there in the distance that he dreaded to consider. The complex web of intricate tunnels made his heart sink by the moment -- he'd have never made it through here, not with all the life scurrying around in parallels. Distantly, he also noted that he had little to no hope of being able to find his way out alone, either.

Mostly because, on a few occasions, he had nearly slipped into the damn thing, and it was covered in far too many spores for him to be comfortable -- he had been breathing shallowly the whole way through. "This ice is havoc on my hooves," he noted, a bit of dry humor in his tone. He was nervous, trying to fill the air with a bit of conversation, even though this ant couldn't reply. "Though I suppose that's not an issue for your guards here, is it?" His ear flicked. "Assuming you don't plan to betray me, I imagine I am going to have a difficult time getting out of here. My hooves don't work well on ice as-is; I can't imagine how they'll do uphill."

The Cleaner did not answer. It simply led the way, silent bar once: when Tahi-shei spoke it paused, and turned half toward him. Mandibles clicked together a few times, softly, as if in thought or as if it were speaking with something other than normal words.

Then it proceeded forward again.

Down, and down; farther, and farther. Colder and colder, and darker and darker, though this last mattered nothing to the blind deer. The Cleaner led in silence, navigating by means unknown, until--at last, after another nearly half an hour traversing tunnels back and forth--a voice called out in the distant dark. It was a small body Tahi-shei would see: rodent-like, swathed in fungus. And its words came halting, unsteady: an echo of thoughts it didn't comprehend.

"This is... Sam. It spe-eaks... for me. For Moth-ther..." The Cleaner moved toward this, and at last came to the little Echoing Gray from Orion, crawling toward them along the tunnel, blind in this dark. "This is... a fault-tee meth-od. But... it spares you... ahh. Cont-inu-ity... with our Hive. Which... you do no--do not... wish." The scraggly grey rodent sat upright, shivering slightly in the cold, whiskers twitching as it sniffed at Tahi-shei from a distance away. Then it turned, and began to shuffle back along the tunnel, leading ahead of the Cleaner. "Would that I... could link... with you. Would that I... could sh-show... you. What I have... seen. What. They have--done. But, I will... respec-ct..." (squeak) "your w... Wishes."

The Echoing Gray at last scrambled up a slight lip of ice, and into a space perhaps twenty feet in diameter. Here was something that would have been one hell of a sight, if Tahi-shei could have seen it: a hulking insectoid beast almost fourteen feet long, grey-white with a crystalline white woven throughout its carapace. Its eyes regarded him enormously in dimly-lit silence, for a moment: a light granted by what might have been baubled orbs, their rays gleaming dully through the pincers on the creature's forelimbs. But what made it grotesque, more than its simple insect body, was the thick white webbing laced over it: spread like spiderweb over every corner, tangled in its limbs, clotted over its antennae. And there was more: wrapped around its 'neck' were thick strands of pearls, chains of silver, and other jewelry--including no less than three quietly-ticking silver pocketwatches. A shawl of white fur was draped over its back. It looked like some distorted insect Queen, indeed, sans any but a fungal crown--ironic, then, that the visitor wore a crown upon his head.

"Do not come... t-too... far in... if you wish to... remain unaffected. I have no... way," (and as the Gray spoke, it shuffled in beside the creature, and turned to face Tahi-shei) "...to remove my gift... once it is given... intentional or not."

There was a quiet shuffling and clicking in the corners of the room. Creatures similar to this one--slightly smaller--lined the outskirts, waiting in the wings in near-silence. Guards, perhaps; servants, but unobtrusive, for the time being.

"Are you ready to... hear what... I have to... say?" she asked, and then--there was nothing to do but wait.

@Tahi-shei

Sam. The rat was named Sam. "Well, I suppose its good that I didn't kill him," Tahi-shei asked, voice somehow distant. "I'm sorry, how does the Lesser have a name?" The concept of pets didn't even occur to him. His mind was wandering to the fact that the rat might've been sentient, which led to questions about all Lessers and worried him. Still... it was strange how respectful she was being. He reminded himself that she was manipulative; he needed to be mindful of it. "Thank you for respecting that," he said anyway.

Then, he was led towards one of the nearer globs of fungus -- Tahi-shei stood slightly inside the room, staring blankly at the web. He could barely make the whole mess out; it was entirely covered in mold and spores, and he was very mindful of where the safety zone was. His ears twitched at the clicking, ticking all around him. He recognized one of the faint sounds as the bronze necklace he'd found in Ursa. "I knew you were behind the things in Ursa," he said distantly, head half-turning towards the secondary click of the creatures waiting in the wings. He counted them quietly, making no real move to disguise that he could see them -- not that he knew if they were actually in the room or not.

He was just barely able to sort out that she probably looked something like her soldiers, or maybe like a bumblebug. "Can your main body not speak? It seems that Dontacael didn't want you telling his secrets." It was something like a joke, but in the same vein, he was halfway serious. Still, he finally looked up towards... more or less where he thought her head might have been. It was anyone's guess if he was actually able to find it, what with the massive white-out of fungus she made.

"Yeah," he said, ears pricking forward. "I'm ready to listen."

At first, Her voice was silent; she let Tahi-shei look around the room, "Sam" only observing. "I... granted it a name. It seemed... suitable," she admitted quietly. Sam then waited, whiskers twitching, while Tahi-shei finished his observations. When he at last spoke again, her answer was once more quiet, "Sam's" voice barely more than a tremulous squeak. "They were... gifts," the Gray said; "glimpses of other worlds taken from your kind."

The darkness was dripping cold and full of quiet squelching, the sound of fungus and breathing and the many bodies huddled within. For a moment this was all there was, and then Tahi-shei spoke again: 'Can your main body not speak?...' "I cannot... speak. None of my... true Children can. We were not... created with this... ack... possibility. We had no... need. We are all link-ked, you s-see... Mind, to mind, to m-mind. To-together." The gray rat dropped down from its haunches, briefly washing its whiskers with two pink forepaws.

When at last Tahi-shei was ready to hear Mother's truths, the rat crouched, whiskers twitching, and began to reveal.

"Become... comfortable. There is much t-to-to tell."

_____________

"There are two--two forces... in the universe. Ch-chaos, and order. Chaos... is destruction. Order... is preservation. The House of Chaos... has rolled across many w-worlds. So-so many w-worlds. It has... killed. Slaughtered. Everything... everyone, ac-cross entire planets. Y-you cannot grasp... the scope of th-the destruction. The n-numbers in these caves... are a t-ten thousandth... less... of those on one world. Black clouds... green fire... screaming. Torment. Terror... death. Th-that is all the Chaosbringer l-leaves in his w-w-wake... " The rat shook itself, briefly, almost irritably (it seemed to have particular trouble with "s" and "w" sounds) and worked its jaws for a moment, as if to loosen them.

"There is n-no reason for what... the Darkness does. He revels... in this madness. In destroying all that... is. When it is... conquered... when all else... is dead, his creations... will turn on themselves. You have... ssseen this," Sam went on, peering at Tahi-shei somewhat dully.

"You... who were raised... by agents of Chaos. You h-have been told... w-we are the enemy. Order is... p-peace. Order is... cities... cooperating. Order is... helping one another... In Order, all are... family. I ask-sked you here to... explain s-something. We d-do not... force others... to convert. When... when... I was sent here... I brought your 'Lessers'... to my side. This was a nest... of the House of Chaos... dormant. I sent out... the magic of my own... patron... it was I who brought... all of you to life. Orderly... creatures. Natural... creatures. Not chaotic... monsters... as the winged serpent... is." Draconua. "You are... my children... all of you. But I did not... expect so many... to waken, and not hear... my call. I do not know why... you are not bound... to m-me. To our... Hive. And those who... ate pieces... ate my Eyes... were joined with me. I could not... free them. I cannot... push them... from the Hive. That is not... my magic." The rat almost sounded sorrowful. It was a perfect mimicry of Mother's every thought, despite the pauses, the stutters; there was a slow melancholy in its words.

"They tell you... I control their will. But... that is not the c-case. Their will... is my own. When they know... what I know, their choices... their values... join with mine. I do not... lie to them. I have not... tried to destroy your... nest. I have only... defended... this cave. The stone creature... was my guardian." Sorrow, again? "When he sent me... to investigate... this nest of the House of Chaos... I could not have fo-foreseen all... ends. I have c-come to believe... that your kind... finds my Family repulsive. I d-do not know why. B-but we are th-the only ones... who are fighting... Chaos. The... selfish madness of the Darkness. The violent... mindless... slaughter."

The rat fell silent, for a moment, as if Mother were considering. Hulking carapace remained still at the room's center all the while, utterly still, the large insectoid eyes locked on Tahi-shei in silence. "I have brought you here... not for my s-survival. But for that of all... my lost children... in this nest. There are... two futures."

Massive, claw-like pincers lifted, widened, as if to offer two options in the creature's palms.

"In one... the House of Ch-chaos churns out monsters. Worlds... are ended in fire and darkness. In the end... you are all slain. You hide... you think if you s-stay quiet... submissive... you will be sp-spared. That is not... the case. The bones... in the place you c-call Canis... attest to that." One claw lowered. The other lifted. "In the other future... you fight back. You r-reclaim this nest. I asked you here... because if you ch-choose to fight back... I will l-lend you my aid. And if y-you wish it... one day... I would join you willingly... to my family. You could become... my Harbinger, Tahi-shei." There was another pause, the rat brushing paws through its whiskers again; this was interrupted as Mother jolted it back into speech. "But I d-do not ask this... for myself. This n-nest is... nothing, in the long span of things... It is another t-tragedy in millions. I w-wish... only to save... the children I have unwittingly... birthed, here... hatched like my eggs... from stone walls. You have been born... and fallen into the hands... of Chaos. You cannot... understand... the irony. Or the tragedy."

"I have told you... what you had to know. I asked you... here to show you... to prove... that I am not a liar. Ask... questions, if you have them. Go, safely, if you wish... my other Children... will bring you out. The stones of those... attackers, fallen... will be left alone, as promised. I am not... an evil being, Tahi-shei. I am on... your side. That is all... I wished you to know."

The pincers lowered slowly, bauble-light glinting off their glassy surfaces. The rat--grown hoarse, by the end--fell silent, and the room was plunged into dripping, icy quiet.

@Tahi-shei

Taken? he thought, his head inclining slightly. Tahi-shei had imagined other caves, of course, but... having been taken from them? Still, he settled into as comfortable a position as he could manage at the present time and listened to her in silence. It was after her speech that even James joined in. "... If she speaks the truth then..." He went silent for a moment, his thoughts like ocean spray against the bond. Some of them passed through, but others trickled back to him. Doubt, worry, horrors and fears -- Tahi-shei cringed at the images his partner conjured up of their children, victims of fungus and war.

And then, an image of peace. Their children running across a field, squealing with joy as they frolicked and played, no threat of death hanging above their heads. Hope.

"... What if she was right? What she says about Chaos... or Vargas, is all true. Caves, if she's right then the assault was wrong and we attacked her because we were blind! But... Damn it!! I don't know!"

Me neither, he admitted, lending James the comfort he sought. He felt the warm, spreading feeling of being loved and let out a small and unconscious sigh. His ear flicked to Mother. "Sorry. Give me a moment to think, please." A white lie, but he hoped she wouldn't mind.

"... Order is preservation and Chaos is destruction... Maybe she's telling the truth?" Tahi-shei could feel how deeply James wanted to believe her, wanted to fight back against Vargas and the children he created to train, serve, and die. Vargas made soldiers and that horrified James; in a way, it horrified Tahi-shei, too, but he was enough of a coward to try and excuse it for his own benefit. "... Tahi, what if I-I let her spread her spores on me? We know that for a short time they can be removed, and if she's right and our wills are shared then I can see if she's telling the truth! If not then you can remove the spores and it'll be fine!"

Anger and fear spiked through Tahi-shei like lightning. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. James didn't believe he was as important as Tahi-shei -- his self-doubt, wrapped up neatly as selflessness, echoed through their bond. You are every bit as important as I am, if not moreso. Do you have any idea the monster I would be without you? You keep me sane, James -- you are my moral center. And I refuse to let her touch you, not until I am sure. Vargas would kill you. He wouldn't even hesitate. And then he'd kill me, too, for allowing it to happen. I cannot let her have you, even for a moment. I can't. I am too selfish to allow it.

Finally, his head straightened -- when had he turned it slightly to the side? He took a deep breath. "My apologies. My thoughts run away from me sometimes. You were in my head before, Mother; I am sure you know my penchant for questions." Tahi-shei breathed out through his nose, then, and continued. "I have... many. So many. I'll start with the easy ones, and then move onto the harder, yes? Give your little friend here a moment to rest his voice."

He wracked his brain for which one to start with and settled on, "Why do you call this a House of Chaos? Would... factory not be more apt? Then -- why, and by whom, was this half of the caves sealed? Do you know when it happened? -- That is idle curiosity, mind. As for your patron -- do you mean Dontacael, or someone else? If another, who? Is there any way I could safely speak to him? Are there any neutral parties in this conflict I could speak to?"

Tahi-shei shifted on his hooves and counted the surrounding soldiers again. The problem was, Tahi-shei wanted to believe her. It was an alluring notion, that he might be able to be free of all this chaos and rage -- that these caves could become a place of peace and family. But she had every reason to try and manipulate him, and he had no reason to trust her. However, Tahi-shei currently knew one thing for sure -- the only way she was getting to James was if she walked through his Oil to do it.

Every creature in the room waited patiently on Tahi-shei.

The insectoid creatures--the crowned one at their center--and the echoing gray, all sat silent, allowing him time with his thoughts. The Gray even spoke for Mother, at his apology: a murmured, "Take your time. I know it is... much to take in." When he spoke again--when he mentioned Mother inside his head--the Gray offered gentle correction, of all things.

"I was not truly... within your mind. I do not know... you very well. I held a touch. I did not know... what was happening. That my guardian... was attacked... falling. I knew only... the brush of new minds. I tried... to welcome them. To guide them to me." It seemed she knew little or nothing of Tahi-shei, if she were telling the truth: of his personality or his goals. But then she waited, again, for him to speak.

"Ask... your questions," the little Gray said, hoarsely.

The first ones earned a sort of thoughtful clicking, a tilt of the head and a brush of massive pincers on mandibles from the fur-and-fungus-draped insect at the center of the room. The gray again spoke, though only after a delay, as if in thought. "You do not know... his names. His... titles. The House of Chaos... is the being. His name... is not spoken. His name... holds a link to him. This is a nest... a-... factory, as you say... of the House of Chaos. But you are right... it is a... factory. A place to churn out... his tools. His... weapons. I did not know that... when I reached out, here... I would birth children in this place." Sorrow, yet again?

"Yes... that is who I mean. I recall... your raging against... the name. I assumed... they had poisoned your mind... against the truth. I may try to seek him... but I do not know... if he will answer. Such beings... are spread wide. With many tasks." She did not clarify if she meant right now, or at some vague future point. Instead she at once moved on. "As for... neutral parties. I do not... know. I do not know... the minds of those in this cave, bar... my own family. You can try to... find out. But I would... be very careful. My patron and his... reach are not... welcome, in this place. That may be... why they sealed this area... off. But I do not know... I am not... privy to their minds. Their decisions."

The insect legs before him offered a gesture like a helpless shrug. Mother, it seemed, had no idea what the Creator's minions were up to, here. "Be wary... if you ask. If you choose... the wrong one to talk to... it may be your end." It was a quiet, sombre warning.

@Tahi-shei