"So I obviously can't take you to Motay, but I can take you to his son," said Taeguk. "His name is Timo, and he leads our little resistance group."
"Resistance group?!" said Keo. "Since when were we fighting a resistance?!"
"Ever hear of a squad of spirits sent away to kill 'remaining corruptions' or 'dark-slash-grey creatures' who 'threatened the light'?" the lizard asked with air-quotes.
"Yeah...more in recent weeks actually."
"Yeah, that's us."
"Oh my gosh...Mint, you were right!"
"I'll try to explain things to Timo, but don't be surprised if the others aren't too happy to see you. No other spirit has ever seen this place."
"So why trust us this much?"
"I don't. In fact, I'm taking a massive gamble by showing you our hideout! But if it pays off, you three could be the most help we've ever gotten!"
Taeguk led them into a cave built under the Wellspring Glades, the group never had to dodge the sight of any other spirits, since he'd shown them a back-route to get in. Just after the entrance, there was a sizable overhang above the main lobby area; before jumping down, he turned around and gave them a chilling warning.
"Again," he said coldly. "We've been at war with you guys, so don't be surprised."
With that, he jumped down. They didn't follow him immediately, as they were cautious to not jump far distances while carrying their wounded friend.
"Taeguk! Where'd you go?" they heard one inhabitant say from below. "You left without even taking a weapon!"
"It was...urgent," he replied. "Where's the boss? I got new info to deliver."
"In his office," said another inhabitant. "What's the matter? You look more stressed than usual?"
"We've got...visitors...and I swear to you that they can be trusted!"
Mint and Keo had spotted a ladder and were making their way down as he spoke.
"Greet them as you will, but I promise I'll explain everything in a minute!"
They heard him scurry off towards the back. The second that the spirits' hooves touched the wooden floor, they could feel multiple eyes burning holes in the back of their heads! They heard a number of gasps, and turned to see all sorts of creatures: moki, chameleons, beavers, gorlek, and more, all staring at the three of them with their mouths agape.
"Oh, crud."
"He led them to us!"
"What was he thinking?!"
Mint cautiously began to walk forward with Keo in tow, nervously waving at them with a dainty smile. When no one returned the gesture, the smile disappeared and she opted instead to anxiously hold her arms in towards her body. She just looked straight forward, trying her best to pay no attention to the cacophony of whispers. All she wanted was to sit at the table ahead of her and wait for Taeguk to return, but she would never get there.
A faded-yellow chameleon slithered to her from the side, ramming into her and shoving her against the opposite wall. At the same time, a moki wielding a small spear knocked Keo onto his back, Fir's unconscious body loudly flopping down to the floor of the hideout.
Mint's chest was pinned to the wall and a knife was held up to the back of her neck. The spirit's two paws were raised in surrender and she could barely see the creature out of the corner of her eye.
"Give me one good reason not to snap you like a twig!" she yelled into Mint's ear.
She probably could. Her grip was too strong for Mint to wiggle free! The spirit guardian was in shock; she just could not understand the need for such hostility. She felt her reptilian breath get closer to her ear.
"You've got 'till de count of five," she snarled. "One."
Her breaths quickened, but her throat closed-up. The chameleon's intimidation was working almost too well!
"Two."
What was she supposed to say?!
"Four and three-quarters!" she skipped.
"Because I don't wanna hurt you!" she cried. It was all she could think to say; it was the truth after all. Even in this awkward position, the guardian spirit could still kill her. But she never saw chameleons as hostile in the short time that she had been alive.
"Yeah, right!" said the moki pointing his spear down at Keo, his eyes never wavering from the spirit. "Your kind has killed too many of us for us to fall for that!"
"No! No, look! Look!" said Mint frantically, putting her own paws behind her back and displaying her empty palms. "Please! You can tie me up all you want! I won't hurt you!"
"You lie!" she hissed, pressing the knife harder into her neck.
This prompted a high-pitched squeal from the young spirit as she pressed her palms into the wall, desperately trying to push it away and create more space for her neck despite knowing that was impossible with nothing but cave rock on the other side!
"Ha, haa! Listen to that pathetic squeal!" said a drunk gorlek at the bar across the room. "Make her do it again!...The liar!"
"The enemy!" squeaked the moki on Keo, bringing the tip of his spear closer to his face.
"PLEAheese!" Mint half-yelled, half-cried. "I'm not your enemy!"
But before the room could actually start chanting those words, another voice rose above them.
"She's not lying!" said an elderly, red chameleon. "Let her go, Shikun!"
To Mint's surprise, when he talked...everyone listened. Instantly.
The chameleon holding her, the one named Shikun, looked behind her, and with a frustrated grunt lifted the knife off of her neck and took her slimy hands off. Only then did Mint realize that she had been squeezed; when she turned to face the faded-yellow lizard, she suddenly had to drop to her knees in exhaustion.
Paws in her lap, and before Shikun could scuttle away, the young spirit looked up at her with a forlorn expression and asked, "What happened?...What have the spirits done to you all?"
She yelped as the chameleon backhanded her across the face and left, leaving a visible bruise on Mint's cheek. That was her answer.
. . .
"I am so sorry about that," said Timo. "Forgive her. Shikun has a past...and doesn't understand your...particular situation."
He had sat Mint and Keo down at the table she'd wanted to sit at originally. While he spoke, the two of them were practically scarfing down the few fruits they were given to eat; this was the first time they'd eaten in a while, but they still felt guilty eating their food.
Even so, Mint took a swig from a small, wooden jug and almost spasmed as the cold, refreshing water went down her throat. Her mouth had been so dry, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a solid drink of anything! There was the lake at the meadow, but that wasn't constantly filtered like a river, so she and her two brothers had refrained from taking more than a couple pawfulls of water from it at a time. This water was from a spring somewhere in Niwen, and every body of water in Niwen was as pure as can be!
"I forgave her before she even let me go," she said after swallowing. "But...this is all news to me. What have we...what have spirits...been doing this whole time?"
Never mind that she'd had several near-death experiences in just the past few days, the revelations she's been having were almost scarier: first the meadow beyond, then her father's true reason for saving Niwen, and now a hidden war that her own kind had never spoken to her about?! And as if that wasn't enough, the spirit she'd bonded with was unconsciously fighting for his life...no...possibly not! At least Taeguk turned out to be the resistance's best doctor; he and a few others were currently treating him in the next room, but she couldn't be sure. The jug of water quivered mildly in her paws; she almost didn't want to hear Timo's answer.
"From what I understand, the spirits of Niwen want the forest for themselves," said Timo. "This has been going on for just over a decade, ever since your numbers exceeded a couple dozen."
"Why?"
Why am I asking?! Why am I doing this to myself?!
She wasn't sure if her heart could take it.
No! I have to know!...I have a right to know!
"It all started when your five Elders were on their own for a while. As their skills grew, they began to see themselves as superior to all other beings. They've burned villages, slaughtered women and children, anyone who wouldn't stay in line."
Mint gulped when she saw his solemn expression. Sadness and anger radiated from his aura, and she knew he'd likely seen these things himself.
"Let's just say, Shikun was a mere hatchling when her parents were killed."
Mint nearly dropped her cup when she went to set it down, before placing her head in her violently quivering paws. No words could describe what was going through her head right now.
"How do you know all of this?" asked Keo.
"We chameleons keep track of all the spirit guardians here in Niwen," he began. "When more of you started showing up, my dad started a business of record-keeping for every spirit!"
"So, you basically stalk us for a living?"
"Well, father was more of the stalker type. The rest of us just did it for the money."
"But, how are you able to see everything we do without leavin-?"
"Trade secret," Timo interrupted. "Sorry!"
"What...what's the point?"
"Let's just say, it's something spirits could learn how to do, too. If that happens, we lose our strategic advantage!"
"Oh...I guess that makes sense..."
"As soon as my father witnessed the first of these atrocities, he moved his business underground, both literally and figuratively I guess. He saw that this spot was, and still is, a place where no spirit had ever been...until you three. As the resistance grew, he spent the remainder of his days tracking their every move for them. If it wasn't for the work we do, your species' death-rate would be too low for any ecosystem! It still kind of is, especially recently, with more spirits like yourselves learning how to fight from a young age...along with learning a certain healing spell..."
An uneasy silence descended on their table as Timo let all of that sink in.
"From what I also understand, we, as in everyone who isn't a spirit, used to have massive respect for you guys," said the chameleon. "Well, there is still respect shown, but it's-"
"Feigned," Mint completed, starting to cry as she remembered the shard merchant.
"I know this must be hard for you to hear. You seem genuine, but the rest of your kind are...at best they've lost their way…"
"Did we even have a way?"
"Not that I can remember, but that doesn't mean never. Especially at the time when your father arrived-well more like, fell out of the sky-everyone certainly respected him. In fact, they were happy to see him!"
The memory appeared in Mint's mind of Ori riding Ku through the storm, and of how he fell off.
"Wait!" said Mint, perking up. "Do you still have records of my dad?"
"Come to think of it, I do," said Timo. "They're in a dusty, old corner of my father's old office. I've only touched them a few times since I inherited the business, but I can pull them out for you if you're curious."
She nodded furiously. She still had so many questions! And finding out more about her father wasn't the only thing looking up: as they were talking, Taeguk had left the adjacent room and walked up to their table.
"Uh, boss?" he said. "He's awake."
"Good timing," said Timo. "Come, Mint. I think all three of you should see what those records have to say."