"So then does that mean you are the leader ?" wondered a skeptical Nina.

Sparrow shook his head. “Nope. I am a foreigner like you guys,” he beamed. “I’m also the Chief’s son and you guys are welcome to stay the night just as long as you don’t mind sharing one dinner and one bed. Don’t worry, though, there’s so much to see and to do and to have done to you around here that you’ll probably skip dinner, anyway.” The mirth that had surrounded Sparrow since his introduction drove him now to laughter. “Follow me and I’ll take you to see pops since, technically, whether you stay or not isn’t my say.”

As if the similarities were not apparent enough, Helmut's superficial comparison between Sparrow's people and the Native Americans had become full-fledged validation of copyright infringement. Housing was evenly distributed between tepees of tended animal hide and rounder huts composed of clay and hay, potentially alluding to why this village was along the old man's way. The air was thick with cooked meat, the seasonings of which threatened to force a sneeze out of him. The people, in various states of undress, were surprisingly self-conscious when scrutinized under the eyes of strangers. Overall, it seemed to be a great place, provided that you were born there.

Before the quartet was even under way, their guide halted. Distracted. A pair of men passed by carrying a woman on a stretcher; the woman seemed to have difficulty breathing, but was otherwise fine.

"Not another one," growled Sparrow under his breath, fists tightening into trembling spheres.

“Another what ?" prompted Helmut, curious about what could cause such an about face. Sparrow’s posture and mannerism had changed from that of a blissful tourist to that of an incensed freedom fighter, whose eyes darted east towards the gaping mouth of a cave just beyond the village.

"For some time now,” recounted Sparrow, speech resembling a chainsaw in diction and affect, “people have been getting seriously ill. Some think that the cause is inside that cave outside the village, they say that it belongs to spirits of some type, and now everybody is scrambling to appease that ‘spirit’." His emphasis on the final word made it clear that, in this case, the spirit was figurative rather than literal.

“Oh…”

“Tell me more, tell me more,” urged Chewy, pumping one fist provocatively while hanging off of Helmut’s shoulder like a child playing on a tree.

"Village law decrees that we all have to stay away from the cavern because the spirit is some type of deity or whatever. According to pops, it has been that way before he was born, so why are people only getting sick now ? Wanna know what I think ?"

“Uh…I guess I--”

“A monster has moved into the cave and its presence is causing people to get sick,” Sparrow stated, posture growing relaxed. “You can hear it howling at night and once it attacked the village. That’s the real reason why it has been furthered decreed that people are not allowed to go outside of their homes at night except for warriors like us; because what they brush off as a random encounter is our next door neighbor saying high and everyone’s too afraid to do anything about it !” Whatever of Sparrow’s manic energy may have been lost was returned in full force, the accusation echoing across the village.

Of those nearby, the women covered their children’s ears or hurried them along on their day; those without children and the men regarded Sparrow with the stoic disapproval of a disappointed parent.

“This time I will accept nothing less than absolute obedience,” affirmed Wynf, whom had found himself back towards the front of the village in time to hear the outburst. “You will respect our customs and our traditions. Nothing more will be spoken of those that we are all indebted to.”

Months of repressed anger, the flood gates of which were slackened by the intervention of the foreigners, erupted in a less than venerable display of disagreement.

“Look around you, Wynf !” The intensity of Sparrow’s gesture would have transformed it into a backhand if anyone had been present to receive the blow. “Our people are dying, our children are dying, our families are dying--Soon everyone and anyone that we love is going to be dead and you are just going to sit here and allow that to happen ? You, whom is in his prime and is the least likely of anyone to succumb to this ‘spirit’, have no problems with that ? Are you kidding me ?!!”