Chapter 18

“So, we’re lourdwarfs,” Navona started. She was sitting in mermaid pose, leaning against Kandel, who was sitting behind her. “You know what that is, right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Brandon said.

“Well,” Hal looked over at Brandon with a look that said just get the information. Brandon pursed his lips. I guess he’s right, Brandon thought, we should learn as much as we can.

Brandon cleared his throat. “You could tell us about the gorillas and stuff.”

“Ah yes,” Navona clapped her rough hands cheerfully. She seemed to enjoy explaining things. “So, early on, there were no lourdwarfs. Our ancestors were called goblin-dwarves and they lived on an island in the middle of an ocean. One day, the island cracked three ways and became three.

Each new island had a goblin-dwarf tribe on it, and in time, they each floated to a different part of the mainland. One island developed into the Bright Lourdwarf Tribe. They grew tall and learned special things like metalworking, mapping, and basic medicine. Another island developed into the Moss Lourdwarf Tribe. They grew larger and learned special skills like farming, complex tree house building, and taming animals.

Later on, the Moss and Bright tribes formed an alliance, coming to the conclusion that the third tribe had perished. They lived together, creating a mixed city and villages for a while before they found the Gorilla Lourdwarf tribe. They had gone down a more wild path, getting smaller and green for camouflage.”

“Did they learn anything special?” Brandon asked.

“Umm…” Navona looked to Kandel.

“No,” Kandel said. “They act more like animals than Lourdwarfs.”

“Smart animals,” Navona added.

Brandon had noted that all through the story, they had not mentioned Magi-Land or how the Anges separated Lourdwarfs from the other species.

“So, there’s a city with both Moss and Bright Lourdwarfs in it?” Hal asked.

“Yeah,” Navona breathed, a dreamy look coming across her face. Kandel bit his lip and sub-consciously shook his head slightly. His wild hair ruffled when he did. It was light brown, bleached in areas. Navona’s was similar, but more of a darker brown that had a glow developing around it where full daylight spilled into the cave.

“Why are you guys here?” Brandon asked. “I mean, it’s not that close right?”

Kandel crunched up into a small ball and the look on Navona’s face changed suddenly to sadness. It was obvious to Brandon that whatever he had just said made them very uncomfortable.

“Hunting,” Navona blurted out.

“Exploring,” Kandel said at the same time. They looked at each other in concern.

“Mhmm,” Hal agreed sarcastically.

Kandel sighed and pursed his lips. Then he turned to Navona, “Exploring way out here would make more sense than hunting.”

“Wouldn’t we be mapping though?” Navona argued.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Hal said in a suspicious tone, “So really, why are you out here?”