The streets of the mountain city buzzed with hushed murmurs and wide-eyed stares as crowds of Ingans gathered to watch the arrival of the human group. The air was thick with the scent of earth and distant spices, mingling with the occasional whiff of metal from blacksmith forges. The uneven cobblestone path clacked beneath their boots, while the gust of wind ruffled their clothes and making their hair dance along with it.

  Along the way a group of twenty six Ingans blocked their path as they fanatically shouted slogans in their tongue. They even tried to latch onto the humans causing the guards to go off their way to throw them out of the road.

  Suddenly, a group of twenty six Ingans surged forward, their voices rising in fervent slogans while raising banners written in their native language. Their eyes burned with intensity with some even reaching out with desperate hands, clasping onto the clothes of the groups. The guards snapped into action, shoving back the crowd with firm hands and giving stern warnings. The protesters tumbled backward stirring dust but stood up undeterred. They were about to repeat their actions but seeing the vigilant guards drawing out their weapons they backed off. Picking up their banners they continued their match shouting their slogans the crowd retreating giving them way.

  “What were they shouting?” Eric asked Kevin

  “The end is inevitable.” Kevin simply said.

  The royal messenger quickly clasped his adjacent right and left hands together, “Forgive us for showing you such an unsightly scene.” He said apologetically, his voice carrying a slight relief as those fanatics decided to leave them alone.

  “It’s no problem, we also have similar people back in our world.” Matelda spoke, the memory of a certain disruptive protest running through her mind.

  The messenger was blinked at her words, realizing that the humans too had some problems.

  Leaving the commotion behind, the group pressed on until they arrived at the royal gate. The gate was made of blue metal intricately twisted into beautiful spiral patterns with golden leaves glinting under the sunlight.

  The guards stationed at the gate gripped the handles and opened the gate when they saw the group. The gate swung open to reveal a broad, stone paved road stretching into the heart of the palace grounds. Blue banners with the royal sigil fluttered with the wind along the pathway. Beside the path were beautiful gardens of purple vegetation that had been trimmed to become artwork. At the center of the court yard stood a circular fountain though it was dry and cracked. Atop the fountain stood a huge statue of a four armed Ingan, draped in an ornate robe, its arms spread wide welcoming all who entered the compound.

  The palace was a grand opulent building that exuded top elegance. Stepping into palace corridor, their footsteps clacked across the smooth yet cracked grey floors. White stone pillars supported the ceiling, their surfaces embedded with a softly glowing yellow crystal. However the team did notice cracks on the pillars with some even missing great chunks of material.

  Creak! The large wooden doors to the royal hall were swung open as the messenger entered followed immediately by Kevin. The royal hall was opulently decorated, rows of neatly arranged wooden benches lined the sides of the hall while a vibrant blue carpet stretched down the center. Heavy cyan curtains cascaded over the windows with golden beams of sunlight piercing through the gaps forming shifting patterns across the room.

  At the far end of the hall, the Ingan king sat in a turquoise cushion seat adorned with golden embellishments on raised floor. Beside him were two fully armored warriors holding long spears, their figures as still as statues. And behind the King were several other Ingans presumably other royals and perhaps nobles seated on benches.

  Seeing the whole group enter the hall, the messenger cleared his throat and introduced them to the king.

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  The king was wearing a yellow robe with blue stripes, on his arms were golden bangles symbolizing his status. His eyes flickered with interest as he observed the human group below him. Getting up from his sit he spread his arms out and spoke, “Welcome, people from afar. I am king Ruh’Vir Em, the ruler of Muelug Kingdom.”

  He paused gesturing to the benches for the group to seat.

  After the group took their seat the king gave Kevin who stood beside him a side eye.

  “As the translator it enhances the experience if I stand next to you.” Kevin sheepishly smiled rubbing the back of his head.

  The king continued. “I am still in disbelief. For centuries we had accepted that we were the only intelligent life here. We thought outside the storm was too dangerous for people to live. I never imagined in my life that I would see people.”

  “I heard that you would like to learn of our way of life, as king I give you permission to interact with my people. You are clearly more advanced than us and we too would love to learn from you. As a gift for saving one of our warriors I pay for your expenses during your stay.”

  “What was the problem with the kingdom for them to explore the ruin?” Matelda asked.

  The king’s exhaled deeply, his expression darkening, “The kingdom is indeed facing turmoil. You may have noticed destroyed houses as you were coming,” He gestured upward, pointing to the cracks in the ceiling, “even the palace is full of cracks.”

  At the mention of this a clamor spread among the royals seated in the back, their faces a mix of anger and some fear. The king raised a fist signaling them to quiet down.

  “About fifty days ago the land started experiencing tremors and earthquakes. People thought nothing of it as it had been recorded in the past. They would happen only once in like a hundred years. However this time it was different, it persisted. And to make matters worse, the cloudy veil protecting the kingdom is acting up, randomly becoming ineffective. A while ago some beasts broke past the veil and caused lots of damages to the land and crops.”

  “I believed that these were signs of a tragedy about to happen to this land, so I arranged some people to explore outside in hopes of finding a suitable place to move to. Alas it’s only been bad news one after the other.” As he said this the royals started to make noise again but the king just turned and glared in their direction shutting them up.

  “They don’t believe in my judgement but I am very sure that the earthquakes have a course and they are just the prelude of something much worse.”

  “Would you allow us to investigate the reason for these earthquakes?” a certain scientist inquired.

  The king blinked for a moment in surprise, “Of course, if you can please do.”

  "If I may ask, what exactly are the stormy clouds surrounding the city?" another scientist asked.

  “It is believed to be divine protection provided by the gods. The story is that our ancestors lived in oppression and prayed for deliverance. Then god descended creating the divine land shielded by the storm. Giving them the key to enter and exit the storm. I don’t really know much about the clouds, however I heard you could perform miracles and hope that somehow a miracle will happen.”

  “Again you are welcomed to stay as much as you like.”

  *****

  After the group left the royal palace they naturally scattered, each eager to explore and immerse themselves in the foreign kingdom and its culture. The scientists had taken several seismic sensors and started to lay them around the land. Some of the scientist were mingling with the locals able to communicate with them courtesy of Kevin. He had tirelessly wrote an extensive dictionary of phrases for them. His ability allowing words he wrote to appear to the reader in their language.

  Back at the compound they had been given earlier, Eric was relaxing on a swing his feet dangling in the air and his mind lost in thought. Several tents had now been set however at the center the playground he had set was left untouched.

  “There you are.” Eric looked up and, ‘speak of the devil.’ Kevin his mouth full of food and his hands holding several sticks wrapped up by thin intestines.

  Grinning widely Kevin came and sat at the swing next to him, “Come give it a try, you don’t know how much you are missing.” He stretched his arm handing him the skewered treat.

  Eric took off his mask placing it at his lap. Taking the food, he looked at the golden crusty piece of meat and admitted it indeed looked delicious. Taking a nibble from the tip he slowly chewed and swallowed. His eyes widened slightly it was indeed sweet, taking another bite he begun enjoying the skewers.

  Seeing this Kevin laughed wildly patting Eric.

  “Say, from what beast is this meat from?” Eric asked.

  Kevin smile got even wider, “This is actually a worm.”

  Eric’s expression froze slowly twisting as he looked at the empty skewer in his hand, holding back the urge to barf he glared daggers at Kevin.

  “No need to thank me, see now you know just how much you’ve been missing.” Kevin said stuffing the others he had in his mouth.