Most were small caves dug into the earth, while some had been built from discarded sheet metal and broken bricks.
The foul river was the most common source of resources in the Earth Dwellers' world. Although what anyone could fish out depended entirely on luck, only large tribes could claim a stretch of its filthy waters.
Unlike the dimness along the way, things grew somewhat brighter once they entered the Copper Mountain tribe. Burning braziers stood at regular intervals throughout the settlement.
Judging by the smell of combustion lingering in the air, they were probably burning some kind of fat or grease... most likely corpse oil?
Heavy Load had been tense the entire way, worried that Little Mage would give himself away while talking to the Earth Dweller party led by Telly.
Unexpectedly, Little Mage turned out to be quite the conversationalist. Not only had he avoided exposing himself, he had even coaxed quite a bit of information about the Copper Mountain tribe out of Telly in advance.
By now, their quest party also had a general understanding of this Earth Dweller named Carter.
As the younger brother of the Copper Mountain tribe's chief, and the man hailed as its greatest warrior, Carter was even more popular within the tribe than its chief, Gu Lidu.
A younger brother overshadowing his chief, a rift between the brothers, and sinister undercurrents within the tribe?
None of that existed. Carter and Gu Lidu were incredibly close. Gu Lidu had practically raised Carter from infancy. For his younger brother's sake, Gu Lidu had never even fathered any children despite being chief. He was both brother and father to Carter, and had already named him the next chief!
When Carter went missing while exploring the foul river's forbidden zone, Gu Lidu had worried himself thin,