"Where big cave?" Craig asked.
"Big rock cave," Guru answered, pointing toward the large stone temple that stood in the center of the city.
"Then that is where we are going," Craig said. "Come on."
Guru hung back. Craig sensed the dawn man's fear. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Monster that is always hungry in big cave," Guru answered.
"Ah," Craig said. The monster that is always hungry! The bright beast that eats forever! A shiver passed through him as he remembered how Guru had described whatever was in the cave. "What is the monster?" he questioned.
But Guru either did not understand or could not explain, and Craig was left with no knowledge of the nature of the monster. However he could guess that the Ogrum regarded the thing in the temple as a god and offered sacrifices to it, an impression which Guru confirmed.
"Tomorrow when sun goes," Guru said. "Ogrum feed one man to bright beast that is always hungry. Next day when sun goes feed beast again. Keep up until no one left to feed. Then go hunt more people."
Craig recognized the performance as an incredibly ancient ritual of sacrifice to ensure the return of the sun. The Ogrum seemingly had no real knowledge of the universe. Each night when the sun went down they were not sure that it would rise again. To make certain the bright light in the sky would return again, they offered a sacrifice to it.
"What do they do when they run out of captives?" he asked.