The Champion Saga. Chapter Two. The Money Manager.

In our doctrines for the heroic pooja, there is a list of people of various animal clans whom I could go to, to manage the bounty from the pooja. Each of them has followed the teachings of their tradition that has been handed down to them, methodologies that are only known to select people of their clan. They are all ready to take on the responsibility should it come, and will pass on their teachings to their successors. Initially, I narrowed the selection down to three individuals. One a boar-lahk, another an owl-lahk, and a frog-lahk.
I was most tempted to reach out to the boar-lahk, but as a fellow tusk animal-lahk, our kindred nature made them the most expected partner. I ruled him out for the sake of the secrecy of my mission. There was no such association between elephants and owls, and I knew owl magic to be potent and varied. However, in spite of my doubts the Ganesha penpointed me towards the frog-lahk sorceress. I surmised that with me travelling overseas, it was wise to trust a sorceress who worked with water. And so, a couple days after sending an envoy saying to expect me, I rode north-west of Gajato see the frog-lahk sorceress Mava.
The journey was unencumbered. I rode in a carriage drawn by two elephants with a monkey-lahk directing them. As a Gaja diplomat I have always been able to travel this way. Regardless of how successful the pooja would be, this affluence was the sort of thing I would no longer have. I sat back and enjoyed the ride, and recalled all I knew about Mava. To be truthful, I didn't know much about Mava and what magic she was capable of as a frog-lahk. I was surprised to even see a frog-lahk as a potential candidate. In my mind, and with respect to Moonshah, frogs, like mice, are just so small and insignificant. Yet Moonshah was going to be lifelong ally to me, and so I knew to put my prejudices aside. Still, I could not fathom how a frog-lahk's magic could help with such a grand purpose.
The entrance to Mava's cave had water falling over it. I walked through the center instead of by the side, for it is customary to let the door drench you on the way in. Everything inside was damp, and it was noticeably cooler as well. I didn't mind it, except that I had to watch my footing to not slip on the wide flat stones. This place was simply not built for people of my size, but it was by my request that Mava and I meet in her den instead of the populated nation west of here where she lived.
The cave opened up into an open space that was large enough to fit a small town. Water was running through it, and there were frogs everywhere hopping through the ponds and over the moss. There was life here, and an ecosystem that I knew was connected to the outer world. To the left of me was a large circular stone table. There was a gap in the middle of it, and sitting inside was a voluptuous woman. Her eyes and mouth, that were already quite large, widened even more when she saw me. She immediately pushed herself up on the table with her hands and her legs sprang up next to them. The next thing I knew she was over the table, had bounded towards me, and was hugging me. I've never met this woman, and this wasn't a traditional greeting of her kind as far as I knew. Her head was at my chest and her girth was wider than my own. I just assumed she would be a small person, like her totem. She let go and backed away from me before I thought to hug her back. She was just not whom I was expecting. "Hah! Jahnhassan!" She belted. "Bhat Jahnhassan. How very good to see you. Come sit." She turned away as suddenly as she hugged me and compelled me to follow her. I was mesmerized by her dress. It was rippled and decked out with jewel like colors, although I couldn't tell if they were actual jewels. The only source of light in this place seemed to be the gaps in the mountain above, and the light filtering in through the water fall. It still seemed that there was more light here than there should have been, but it was still too dim for me. Unabashedly, she hopped over the table again, spun around, and landed in the center. "So!" She began before I had a chance to speak. "As much as I enjoy small talk, I must first know what business brings a representative of Gaja here." "Very well. I am delighted to meet you sorceress Mava. I did then what I do best. I told her my story. I told her of my foreboding, of visiting Saljigah and what she told me of the The Iskida and their Isikas, and I told her of the heroic pooja that Gaja was putting together. She listened without interruption. Her mouth seemed to get wider and wider as I spoke, except for when I mentioned the Iskida and Isika when it quivered. "Sorceress Mava, I will be travelling all over the world, first to find my spiritual Brimhur siblings, and then to find the Isikas. As you know, I will be reliant on a money manager who can bring me gold from this bounty of the upcoming pooja whenever I need it, no matter where I am in Adijari. I am here asking for that someone to be you." Mava's wide lips curved up and stayed like that for several seconds. Then, it opened wide. "Ahhhhh!" She bellowed, while drumming her hands on the table. "This is it! This is it!" She screamed. As a diplomat who speaks primarily to other diplomats, I'm accustomed to holding in my emotions. Right now, in the face of hers, I struggled between discomfort and fascination. "The is what?" I said back plainly. Mava hopped over the table and dived right into another unexpected hug, almost knocking me back from my sitting position. "Come." she said, as she let go and walked quickly away. All I could do was stand up and follow. Between the poor light and my unsure footing, I struggled to keep up. Fortunately my hearing was on par, for she never turned to look at me as she spoke while buoyantly marching ahead. "The Indigo Ocean, it is what we amphibian-lahks call the the psychic plane we visit for knowledge. It is a place of clouds and colors, and for the past month I've seen a growing intensity of vibrant collages. It was a sign that a great calling was upon me, but aside from it being something truly magnificent, I didn't know what it could be. All I could do was wait for destiny to come to me, and now here you are." She stopped suddenly. A wide carved out basin laid before us that was several feet deep. So much water was flowing around us, yet this space was intentionally left empty. "You know, in all the heroic poojas that have ever been done, my clan has never been chosen to be distributors. I know that there have not been many, for that is the nature of the pooja, but I am still so happy that you chose me! Many, many years from now, when we can talk about this, this will be such a point of pride for my people- that the mother nation of Gaja came to us with this honor! You can wait here if you like." She hopped down into the basin before I could say anything, and continued her buoyant march. She kneeled down at the center to pick something up and came back to the edge while I could only watch. She jumped up high enough to get her arms and top half of her body above the edge. I knelt down to help her back up, but she rolled herself out, skirt and all, and was back to standing beside me without my assistance. She gave me what she picked up, a little nugget of vibrant red gold. "Here. When you yourself give to the heroic pooja, give a lot of gold with it, so that when it all partially melts, this piece will be hidden inside. This piece won't melt itself, which is why the other gold you give needs to melt around it so no one sees it." "I see. And how will you get all that gold without being seen? We don't know yet how much there will be, but it will hopefully be so large that it'll be unmovable." "Ahhhhhh, it will be that much, but don't you worry about me getting it. Just do as I've instructed and the rest will fall into place. You should go now, Bhat. You have been here long enough telling me your story, and the less time you are here, the better, am I right? I have much to do anyway to do my part. Come back after the pooja is complete and we can talk longer. It will be less suspicious then. Ahhhhh! You have made me so happy Bhat!" She rejoiced. She walked away from me then, leaving me with the nugget of red gold that was supposedly going to help move the accumulated gift of thousands of people. Suddenly, as if summoned by my unsureness, her hands were on my arm again, and she was smiling up at me. "If you really want to know, I will prepare a spell that you can summon. When the full moon is up. Ask her to bless you, and then get back to the site of the pooja before midnight. I expect there will be others there using the same spell. There is nothing to be done about that, but the fog will hide you and them from knowing each other. You will enjoy what you see noble Bhat. I'll see you again after the Pooja. Ahhhh." She left me again, and I stood staring at the otherwise insignificant piece of red gold.