The words flowed out of him easily. Alvarr mistaking the word as his name, him bringing the children over, Farin commenting on how he believed their body language worked. He described the God in detail, described how their language sounded and how he behaved, told about how Alvarr learned his language.
He went on about being brought to one of the Gods' territorial areas and talking to one of Alvarr's fathers.
He didn't even keep his feelings a secret, although he cut out their interactions. He simply made it clear that Alvarr himself was both curious about leaving the cave and willing to stay outside, should that be needed to keep being together.

Ives had long stopped moving, eyes wide as he listened, but Farin ignored him and turned to the old master.
"Master, they really are kind people. They don't even care about us! I can't believe they are dangerous to us in any way!" His voice was filled with certainty and worry. He didn't want to be absolved of his task, he wasn't endangering anyone even when he interacted with Alvarr.

The temple master glanced around the room as if making sure everything was locked up before nodding. "Of course, you are correct. They are neither dangerous nor Gods. There is absolutely no problem in you being together with one of them, either, as they are mostly like humans in body and treat their loved ones gently."

Absolute silence filled the room. The master took his cup, drinking the last bit of water from it before setting it back down again with a small sound. Farin was still sitting tensely leaned forward, fingers curled over his pants in nervosity but now he was blinking just like the Gods did to display his confusion. "Excuse me?"

"They are a race like any other. They might even live somewhere else on this planet, who knows. But the only group I'm aware of lives in this cave. Since they are hardly curious, unlike humans, they see no reason to leave their territory as long as it is large enough for them. They've been in this cave even before the first temple master and carrier found them. Just listen for now, and let me tell you what happened..."

It had been two brothers that had the idea of walking up to the foot of the cliffside. At that time, the next village was hours on foot away, but the youths had been out to hunt and curiosity had driven them over to the mountain. The possibility of climbing up and having a view over the country had made them too curious and there were no other people around to stop them.
The older brother was the one who suggested moving alongside the cliff to possibly find a path upwards and also the one who warned that they couldn't try climbing up unless they were sure it was safe, as he didn't want to risk their lives. So both of them walked until the younger brother found the entrance to a cave.

He was ecstatic and willing to explore - they had heard stories of mines full of silver, bringing riches to those in the capital. They wanted to see how far the cave would go and then maybe take some interesting stones home to test them.
Instead, they walked and walked, when suddenly the path ended up in a huge cave filled with daylight. The older brother immediately explained: The mountain was hollow and opened up above. It was like one large cauldron, just that the opening was so small that you couldn't tell it existed with the angle you had from the foot of the mountain.

The cave was filled with plants they had never seen before, looking precious and beautiful, and the brothers were shouting in delight and running around. They didn't give a single thought about being attacked. Just as they debated on how to use this place which had exotic fruits and berries that they could certainly sell to merchants, a creature came out of the forest.
It looked a bit like them, but also not quite, and stared at them with unblinking eyes. Like that, both sides were locked in a staring-contest, neither quite sure if the other was hostile. The younger brother, too fascinated by the beautiful woman in front of him, ended up jumping forward to greet her as nicely as he could.

The woman responded in a foreign language, but came forward immediately, tugging at their clothes in curiosity. The youths were fascinated, trying to communicate with the woman and wasting away hours with her. She was able to replicate the human language with her vocal chords and learned some words in those hours. As it got dark, she tugged at the youths again, pointing farther into the cave.
The brothers followed her, right into her home.

For days, the brothers lived alongside the creatures who, while not exactly caring about the two strangers, were willing to allow them into their midst. The woman especially stuck always to their side, learning their language and showing them how they lived.

On the fifth day, the older brother began to worry.
The creatures let them walk around freely, even allowing them to carry around their children. They did not react even when the humans pulled their weapons. Moreover, the brothers found pools with water that healed their wounds faster than ever, the ground beneath the water gleaming with precious jewels.

And so the older brother warned his younger brother: Those creatures were so peaceful, they did not understand the horrible human nature. If an army stood at the entrance to the cave, they'd welcome it in. By the time they'd notice that the humans are hostile, as a race that knew nothing about deceit, they'd be surrounded.
And humans would come, because the cave was filled with treasures, and they'd kill, just to keep the cave for themselves, and they'd capture them, because the women were beautiful and the men were fair and the royalty would love to keep them as pets...
And the younger brother broke out in a panic. He liked the woman that had first greeted them and had already half planned on staying, but he worried about what his brother said. Sooner or later, someone else - someone greedy - would find the cave.

The two of them left the cave with a promise to return and wandered back to their village. During their journey back, they discussed what to do. Finally, the older brother had an idea.
They got into the right mindset before running into their village, screaming and shouting incoherently as if completely out of it. The villagers and a prominent merchant, curious about what happened, led them into the meeting hall and gave them food and drink while the brothers told their story.

They had found a cave in the mountain that could be seen even from the village and went inside. As they had hoped, they had found incredible riches but... they would not belong to them.
Huge beings had appeared, the mere sight of them hurting the brothers' eyes, their immense pressure pushing them to the ground. The beings had scolded them for entering the mountain, their voices booming directly inside the youths' heads. The two had begged for mercy, apologized, and the creatures decided to absolve them.

Instead, they gave them an order: They'd allow the humans to serve them, which was an honor, and bring them a sacrifice of fruit and meat each week. They would not be allowed to see while they entered the cave and if they did, they'd be torn apart as punishment. No human had the right to lay eyes on them.

The boys spun their tale of the Gods that lived in the mountain, of the honor they had been given, of the possibility of living under their grace near the mountain. The villagers bit the bait.
The area around the mountain was highly fertile and the youths were convincing. The merchant promised to talk about this matter in the capital, the villagers should wait in the meantime.

Time passed. The youths went back to the mountain in hiding more than once, telling the creatures that if anyone other than they entered, they needed to scare them away - as if it was just a game. That was why, when the crown prince came from the capital and entered the cave, before he made it all the way through, the most horrible screams and howls sounded in the path and the earth seemed as if it was shaking with heavy steps. The prince ran out right away, happy to keep his life.

The order from the king came promptly.

The older brother, who had talked to the Gods, would be responsible for a temple up in the mountain. The royal family would give him material and guards to build it. The younger brother, fair and innocent-looking, would bring the sacrifice into the mountain, clothed in the most beautiful robes. Certainly, even the Gods would not be mad then, right?
The younger brother could return to his beloved woman as he wished, telling the outside that he only brought in the sacrifice twice a week and otherwise sneaking into the cave.
The older brother, with metal made from materials that the creatures gave them, built an intricate door with a key only he would have.

Years passed where the brothers kept the peace for the creatures, deciding on how to keep the heritage.
The temple master needed to be someone who would understand how important it was to keep away humans from the cave, the only person to know about the truth and only when the current temple master was getting too old.
The carrier would need to be someone meek and obedient, someone calm who would follow the order of not taking the blindfold off. Before they got too unhappy with the situation they would be allowed to be switched out at any time, but in return couldn't know the truth.

But the younger brother also asked his older brother for a favor.
If a carrier saw the Gods, he needed to be killed. But if it was a carrier that was just like him, simply full of curiosity and wishing to protect the creatures just as he did, then he could be tested on his honesty. If he truly meant no harm, then it was fine to allow him inside the mountain. Besides, the younger brother remarked, caressing the twitching, furry ears of his sleeping daughter curled next to him, there was no harm in couples forming between human and 'God'. As long as the secret was kept, this kind of thing might as well be allowed.

On the day the older brother passed away and the new temple master took on the task, the younger brother took his older brother's body and went into the mountain to bury him and live out the rest of his days with his wife.
Behind him, the new temple master took the key from his hands and closed the door. 

For the next hundreds of years, the temple masters guarded the truth carefully, keeping a watchful eye on the carriers. In time, the belief of the Mountain Gods manifested and could not be shaken anymore.
Sometimes, carriers would die inside the cave - either by accident or by being hostile towards the creatures. Sometimes a carrier would be disposed of on the temple master's order.

And some carriers met the Gods and got attached to them, and then he'd either keep doing his task or sometimes vanish forever into the mountains, where he would become a part of the creature's tribe. The temple masters would keep their mouth shut, never allowed to enter the mountain themselves, so that they'd never be tempted to keep for themselves what they saw.