The tribe is taking a route directly through mountain valleys to the coast. While the unfamiliar territory has its dangers, this saves them weeks over the longer round trip through the jungle - and hopefully takes them past an old Rumi Runa city that has not been converted into a temple.

What happened

• hunters encountered a giant snow serpent with primal power
  • it seemed to possess a certain intelligence, able to communicate to a degree
  • the snake was slain, it should provide a lot of meat for the tribe, plus valuable skin and teeth
• hunters spotted human footprints in the snow - barefoot
• the party found a dead chosen, killed by the snow snake - but it had been horribly transfigured, its skin stonelike
• the tribe crossed a high pass with strong winds, where the party again proved instrumental to success
• the tribe is struggling with the cold, in particular at nights and due to its lack of shelter
• the party prevented Cuetspalli, a horribly transfigured Chosen of Sinchi Uruq, from killing a gaint Condor that can increase the weight of objects; they have started befriending the Condor
• the party found a spot where all life (and primal energy) had been drained from the environment, leaving an unnatural hollow - Zuma recalled that some servants of the gods have that power
• the party encountered yet another primal beast; this one a mountain predator that is considered an omen of violent change by the Nuqanchik; Ihui threw himself in front of Zumas axe to prevent the encounter from escalating
• the beast can cause echoes of important events; together with Ihui, it healed the fracture in the stone caused by the drain, using their life force
• Tetl Tetchi returned, horribly transformed, to demand obedience and "fresh blood" for Sinchi Uruq
• after the tribe leadership (pcs and chosen) challenged him, the god tried to subdue the tribe throughout a cold, harsh night; this backfired horribly, the tribe is now more united and self-confident than ever

What they learned

• it has been a long time since the tribe encountered one of the primal beasts
  • so far, hunting them (and apparently draining them of their power) has been the privilege of the Chosen
  • they are more numerous away from the temples - might they be growing in number again now that so many gods are gone?
• there was a Chosen of Sinchi Uruq here, transformed into part stone; he was killed trying to drain the Snow Serpent
• there is another Chosen of Sinchi Uruq here; its torso is hollowed out and houses a blizzard; it is very haughty and unfriendly and seems to be hunting beasts the Condor
• the central valley (the one that houses the ruins) is much more lush than other valleys; this is not due to temperature, it's just as cold here
• primal entities (spirits and beasts) make a big distinction between killing them (which returns their primal essence to the cycle of life) and destroying them (absorbing their primal essence, as the gods do) - the first is accepted as part of nature, the second is considered a travesty
• Sinchi Uruq has several Chosen in this valley, and they are actively fighting the primal beasts; unclear why exactly