After asking the questions, Ned sat still and waited. The birds approached the circle of tobacco that Ned had surrounded himself with. They began to speak to him, each bird saying the same thing at the same time so that their words echoed in his ears.

“We are the thunder beings,” they began. “We have come from the above world and we came only to see you.”

“I am honored that you have come to see me,” Ned said.

“Don’t be so quick to feel honored, boy,” the birds said. “We have come to bring you gifts, but gifts that only a foolish boy might accept.” The birds moved in a circle around Ned. “Long ago, the people violated the land of the dead and for that reason men cannot cross over anymore without dying first.”

Ned nodded. He had heard the story many times.

“But now, men from the world of the dead are seeking to return to your world. These men want to return and stay, to walk the earth again in their old bodies. This cannot be allowed. We bring you gifts so you can stop them.”

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