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Lakota follows the boy turned ...she isn't sure what he has turned into but she doesn't like the term monster. She is certain they are about to find out what happened to Calia. "Does she have a name?"

Kava quickly makes his way back to the first chamber of the cave, where Maroly is busily making notes on various pieces of paper under the light of a sunrod.  He tells her that the way beyond is safe, and gives her a small summary of the situation.  The timid scholar readies another piece of paper and says she is ready to continue deeper.

Upon his return with Maroly, Danner leads the lot of you deeper into the caves.  They seem to go on forever, twisting and turning, eerily lit branches leading off to gods know where.  Despite his hunched and distorted figure, Danner strikes a fast pace through the caves, and hisses harshly at anyone who speaks during the journey, telling them it isn't safe yet.  The crystals provide continous light throughout the caves, in veins of yellow, green, purple and blue.  Shelves of fungus grow between the green crystals and those of other colors.  They shine as brightly as the crystal they cling to.  More beetles scurry over their surfaces.

Soon, you pass by two roughly carved wooden posts.  Runes etched into the wood glow in red and blue.  Past the posts, the cavern widens considerably, becoming large enough that several of the huts from the village could have fit inside.  Green and purple crystals line the walls and ceiling, giving the entire place a muted glow.  Inside, you are surprised to find that there are many hunched humanoid shapes shuffling around, going about their business among the giant fungi.  Some are as large as Danner, others are smaller, down to the size of large dogs.  Ridges on their backs and heads flash in different colors when they stand near each other, and you wonder if they might be they way these creatures talk.  Toward the back of the cavern, a wood and stone structure roughly resembles a house.

Lakota finds a feeling of discomfort spreading within her. It isn’t the crystals or the fungi but the number of beetles that set off silent alarm bells inside her mind. If the cave were filled with bats she could understand, but what is feeding this many beetles? Could there be some type of symbiotic relationship happening here between the beetles, the crystals, and these boys? She remembers the beetle that landed on Danner’s horn, flashing red. Was a type of communication taking place? It certainly could seem that way as she reflects upon it.

The cave does twist and turn, boring deeply into the mountains until they arrive at what is clearly a functioning village. Lakota studies the runes etched into the post as they pass it. She feels it is important to know what they represent in order to better understand what is going on here. (See rolls below.) Then she studies the village, looking to see how they are managing on their own and if they are happy or morose over their situation. What she seeks is understanding.

History, Nature, Arcana for runes: 19(1d20) +7 = 26; 6(1d20) +8 = 14; 19(1d20) +2 = 21
Perception 19(1d20) +3 = 22
Insight: 18(1d20) +8 = 26

Danner seems to be a bit more confident now that he is within the cavern, but his attitude is hardly improved.  He replies to Moraq'om, "She can tell you what she wants you to know."

He takes you to the house-like structure in the back of the village.  It is of rough construction, if it weren't for the fungus of the cavern growing over the structure, it would probably fall apart.  More runes glow on smaller posts near the door.  Inside, you realize the place is larger than the huts in Hinata, though it is all one room.  Small piles of scrap cloth seem to make up a half dozen rudimentary beds.  The room is dominated though, by a single large creature near the back.  Its lower body resembles a giant, black beetle, nearly he size of a horse.  From where beetle's head would be, the torse of a woman grows.  Her skin is pale white, with a single jagged scar running from her shoulder to her navel.  The tatters of what must have once been a decent robe provide for her modesty.  Long, white hair falls to her waist, parting around the horn sweeping from her brow.  She waves in greeting, and you see that her hands have changed, covered in thick, black chitin like Danner's are.  She smiles soflty.

Danner walks over and joins three other creatures that stand near what must be their Queen.  Two of them appear much like Danner, the third is smaller and wrapped in cloth bandages that conceal most of its form.  These must be the other children.

"I apologize for Danner's behavior.  He is very protective of me." she says.  "I see that you count many types of person among your number, so I hope that you can accept my own unusual appearance."

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Ruminaw walks in amazement as he realizes that he had not been the sole resident of the cave system. Feeling quite humbled, he slowly trudges on, his bright eyes scanning the cavern, taking in all the sights. As Moraq'om recognizes the misshapen beetle-woman, Ruminaw's memory of her comes jutting forward sharply in his mind as well.

"You! You're the one who met me a few weeks ago," Ruminaw turns to Moraq'om for a moment. "I was going to tell you, but I hadn't had the chance."

He turns back to the misshapen moraq. "Is there a way to reverse this?"