What has gone before
Exploration of the Chen Kunda ruins revealed a set of well preserved rooms. There were two basic kinds; an "egg" room that apparently held Chen Kunda eggs magically preserved, and "combat" rooms that held the remains of Chen Kunda and various opponents. There were four combat rooms all together. The largest held skeletal remains of humans and Chen Kunda that were 6 feet tall, the second had the remains of large wolfs and Chen Kunda that were 4 feet tall, the third had wolverine bones and 2 foot tall Chen Kunda, and the final room had rat bones and 1 foot tall Chen Kunda. The last room showed evidence of thousands of eggs having been hatched, the previous three a few eggs. One guard room outside one of the egg rooms showed evidence of a struggle, with the remains of a Chen Kunda, a human, and a large cat found in poses left by violent death. A magic spear head was found by the human.
Fra Rentec provided some historical perspective on the Chen Kunda. They were a race that attacked into Tawhiem from the north during the fall of the high council, causing the collapse of civilization in that region. They typically ranged from ten to twelve feet tall, and about ten feet wide. About fifty years after their appearance, they apparently suffered from some great disaster and vanished virtually overnight (over a year or so). The Tawhiem natives claim that the fall of the Chen Kunda was caused by the coming of the "Tresentarin", or great cats, that even today accompany the Salsenahain in their journeys across Tawhiem. This has been rejected by Kethem Scholars, since the Tresentarin have been around much longer than 500 years (as recorded by fossil remains). Whatever the cause of the collapse, the Tawhiem natives took advantage of the opportunity and razed what remained of the Chen Kunda civilization, leaving behind only scattered ruins.
One mystery remained unsolved. A passageway lead into a large, open room that had some sort of lighting in it. As the party progressed, however, a crystal in a pedestal was noted in the room opening. Fra explained that many of the pre fall ruins contained such crystals (called STARK crystals) that would store a spell and release it whenever a preset set of preconditions existed. The party decided not to get close to the crystal, and thus never had the opportunity to inspect the room.
The party attempted to remove a set of stainless steel bars while leaving the ruins, but the Ibisi would not allow it, saying that Chen Kunda areas could be visited, but not disturbed.
The party continued north and camped out early when a freak storm arose. The Ibisi, storm clerics, cast spells to keep out the rain. The spells failed, and the night was a cold and wet one. Arab Mycain explained that the Ibisi spells were failing about one fifth of the time. No obvious pattern could be discerned from the spell failures.
The next day, the party ran into a Salsenahain with two Tresentarin. The Ibisi bowed and invited the old man to eat with them that evening. The Salsenahain agreed. During the evening, the Ibisi quizzed the Salsenahain about many things. The old man's answered always in riddles, and frequently the riddles seemed incoherent and meaningless. One rhyme, however, caught Legum's attention, and he asked Arab Mycain to translate it. The rhyme was:
Moratyr guard against ancient beasts Kirander fall to Elvish Feasts, Myshavar wander the shadow land, Kazanti prepare for their last stand While all the while Salsenahain wait For long ago was set a date Five hundred years and a day Till Chen Kunda rise again
The Ibisi seemed disturbed by the reference to the Chen Kunda. they asked "what about the Ibisi?". The old man replied:
Storm worn, storm torn, Who will help the Ibisi? Kekamar tires, Kekamar sires, Who will help the Ibisi
when the storm child comes?
Baldar took this opportunity to ask the Salsenahain "what about us?" in common (Kethemese). The Salsenahain replied in perfect common:
Ziwa with her bright bright sword
Baldar with his demon lord
Guido with his will to sing
Jake with his blue ore ring
And the others, its so strange
That because of these a world will change
But still advise I give to thee
Always ensure that you can see
the object of your intention
The rest of the party took the opportunity to ask other questions. They questions and the salsenahain's answers were:
Can the Chen Kunda be stopped?
Almost five hundred years ago
The Chen Kunda and Elves went toe to toe
Who is still around?
Who is the elves enemy?
For ages elves have been around In the air and on the ground
They've made lots of enemies

Who is the storm child?
Kekamar sires the storm child While the weather grows more wild What will Kekamar's son want?
(from Baldar) How is my love?
Ranee's wife is doing fine Drinking of the strangest wine For a good time call...

What is in Nostrilia?
Ancient ruins can be quite fun
With good clean air and lots of sun
A little fighting, lots of death
but big rewards if you still draw breath