Once again we come across the grass covered mound surrounded by rocky soil. Hibimage said we are correct in guessing it’s the burial mound of the second Great King Falikam. It’s no wonder we never saw any inscription on the stone. Hibimage turned it over decades ago in an attempt to preserve the writing. He pried out the stone and showed it to us. It was difficult to make out the ancient writing, but it contained the name as we guessed, along with the title, Father of the Valley. It’s apparent other people accompanied the elderly man to this place, and buried him with the best honors they could in this wilderness. Hibimage said two days from now he’ll show us another interesting relic from that era in history.
I asked Hibimage if he’s ever encountered any of the giant worms we saw as we traveled north through this valley. He said he never saw any, but he’s heard tales in Habbar of deadly worms that lie in wait for people, and will jump out to suck their blood. He’s never met anyone who’s actually seen one of the worms, but everyone in Habbar claims they’re real. His description bears no resemblance to the slow, slimy worms we encountered, so it’s probably another local tale used to scare people from adventuring far from the city.
We came across a good crop of some red gourds. If Boktoseethet and Hibimage hadn’t mentioned it, I think the rest of us would have avoided eating the delicious fruit since there are so many plants that aren’t edible. These, however, are actually one of the larger crops in Habbar. They seem well adapted to the rough terrain and poor soil. We ate our share, and picked as many as we can comfortably carry, which really isn’t much. They will go well with our meals for several days, and Niahla’Sen said she’ll be sure to use some tomorrow night to cook us a good stew.