She knew what it was like to have no purpose, to be set to the winds and have to wander.  It was the path that had led her from the Umbral Depths and to the surface world.  Cutting a bit of the meat and chewing for a moment, Moliira nodded.  It was a hard thing to find oneself unwanted and unneeded.  "I have been in your place too, Gaius.  A long time ago, I walked as a mortal.  And I lost my purpose as well.  It can take time to find a new one, and you can find yourself on false paths.  Or you can see those as just a roundabout path to where you are truly going," the drow said with a slight smile.  She had been on both sides of the equation, and Moliira could look back with hindsight now and see where she had walked.

The laugh made her tilt her head for a moment, then she nodded in understanding.  There were many places she could show Gaius, and several came to mind.  But first…  "Let us finish your fine offering first.  I know of a few places that just might suit you.  There are places of great heat or cold, flats or mountains, deep in a forest or a place rich with grasses.  What would you like to see?" she asked, a slightly mischievous smile on her face.  Even within her own realm, there were many places that would be completely new to the one before her.  The Forest of Ancients would already be their starting point, Moliira had decided.  The earth-warder would be able to meet some of the very spirits that his ancestors had spoken with.

Gaius savored the food in the way a person only can when they do not suffer the pangs of hunger or the urgency of survival. He ate as he listened, and then he ate in silence. It was a ritual of its own, to break bread with a fellow person, however powerful or honorable or beautiful. A meal consumed one’s attention, lending to others a unique sort of trust that could only be imparted on someone who was also eating, also trusting. A part of him knew that there was nothing to fear here, but another part of him could not shake the deep-rooted instinct to keep his guard up.

“I wish to see mountains, to see if they are all the same,” he admitted finally, when the fire had turned to embers and there were only bones left on his plate. Though truly he only knew of other lands through hearsay, he hoped that the familiarity of high green slopes might aid in his transition to the rest of the world. Still, his slowly forming purpose was more important than his comfort; if he should be thrust into an unknown world, he would find a way to cope. After all, the earth is all the same down in its deepest parts.
 
“I wish to find a people, or a place, which needs help, or protection, or restoration. I know these people and places exist, but I would not know where to start.”

There was only a smile on her face when he asked to know of other mountains.  There were a few places she could think of.  And one that came first in mind for something wholly different than this earth-man would be used to.  "Come.  I have two places to show.  One to sate your desire for something knew, and another for your need to protect," Moliira said once they were finished with the food.  A slit seemed to open in the air, and the sharp tang of ozone drifted through.  She stepped through, then waiting for Gaius to follow her before speaking again.

"This range is called the Arazan Mountains, and they hold back the storms," she said, pointing to the lightning scorched plains far below.  From where they stood, the storms of Eldingarheim would not hurt them.  But there ferocity was clearly heard in the bellowing thunder.  The rusting iron towers still attracted the lightning, but did little to divert the bolts from the crumbling ruins.  The lightning here did as it pleased.  Turning, she pointed at the peaceful forest on the other side of the range.  "And that is the forest of Ataiyo.  The mountains guard the people from the storms they fled long ago, just as you wish to guard a place and people," she said.  Letting him drink in the atmosphere for as long as he wanted, Moliira set her senses forth, looking for the perfect place for him to guard.  And one she thought he would enjoy came to mind.

When he was ready to leave, another slit in the air opened, and they again stepped through.  "And these are the Ancense Mountains, we are a distance north of Adeluna.  If you wish to have a place to guard… I have one here for you," Moliira said, crouching to push a stone back into position.  There was an ancient shrine here, deep in the forested mountains.  The dark gray stone circle was foreign and austere to the rest of the area.  But it was neglected, other than the looters who were always on the prowl for anything they could sell.  But this place held an ancient power, and sometimes the fae still gathered to hold rites.  "Humans tend to trample through here with no respect for nature.  It needs a steward.  You would not have to always be here… but you attention would certainly be welcome," she explained.  Gaius could still travel, but but this place would be his to protect.