"Just make sure to keep yourselves steady. I'm not asking you to charge out, I'm not asking for you to do anything besides make use of these long spears and stab anyone that gets close. That is all I need from all of you."
Those words of 'encouragement' at least got the civilians into a relatively 'content' state as they all readied themselves for what was to come, all while they had that hope that everything would be alright and that they wouldn't need to do anything more than just stand here.
Honestly I was hoping for that as well, though reality loved to disappoint whenever I had hopes like this... but for now I was going to work my way towards that actually becoming a reality since the idea of fighting alongside a bunch of barely recuperated civilians was not something I wanted to do.
If they died around me it would only make me feel guilty and horrible after the fact, so avoiding that was one of the things on the top of my priority list right now; what was at the number one spot was not giving this mountain of a Bearkin any advantages whatsoever.
In fact, I wanted to take some from her right now, but the amount of mana that was pulsing off of her dissuaded me from taking a few potshots at her here and there, because they would likely be deflected.
As for her minions, they were all variables that I wasn't wanting to take a risk on right now since a few mages were still amongst their number, while the amount of shields being brought to bear were enough to dissuade me anyways.
That left us at a bit of an impasse as we were waiting for them to advance, and for a brief moment I was flooded with worry when I noticed that they weren't getting any closer, which could lead to a very horrendous situation.
If they wanted to just wait us out and try to make us crack without using their weapons at all, they could certainly try; with the elderly and children here it was very easy to see how that would be an effective strategy, and sadly we didn't have a surplus of food to begin with, so...
That sort of method would leave us mere days before we were forced to surrender due to the lack of food, mental pressure and potential illness, so I was becoming increasingly concerned the longer it took them to do anything.
Thankfully - it was odd to feel thankful about this, but oh well - Altan stepped forwards and lifted her hammers for a moment, allowing her to show off their heft as she let them thud against the ground not that long after.
Both of them sent up a cascade of dirt and dust that spilled out quite far, and when it cleared up I was able to see a small divot in the ground where they were now resting; leaning on them and staring at the entrance with mild interest, the Bearkin took a deep breath before finally speaking.
"I don't know who is in there, nor do I know why you are here... but I do know that you have some people that belong to me. Erdene, Sarnai, if you can hear me... you have failed me, and for that you shall face punishment."
Her voice was ragged and deep, flooding the area and bouncing off of everything to ensure that it was everywhere all at once, further adding to her impressive, terrifying stature that just demanded your attention.
"As for those of you deciding to defy me... just know that this could have been avoided. You could have lived, you could have thrived... all you needed to do was bend the knee and accept what is coming."
Looking around at the entrance of the cavern, Altan was really leaning into the theatrics of this as she took another step closer, raising her hands like some kind of prophet and saying "A new age is to be upon us, and your actions here shall be remembered... so chose wisely."
The zealotry she exuded was worrisome, while the fervor in her eyes shone bright even as she reiterated that the only thing that awaited us 'dissenters' was a slow, agonizing death, and that death wouldn't even be the end of it.
For normal people the promise of Goddesses descending or interacting with us mortals was just something insane, and even for those that lived inside of Birchan the presence of Dryatra was barely something considered 'real'.
Many only saw her at a distance at festivals, and even then it was rarely longer than a few minutes before she disappeared or they were sucked into the dances and other performances; hearing that there was some sort of 'new age' had many of the civilians scared, and yet...
"Who cares if there's a new age, you dolt?! Even if all of the Goddesses came down tomorrow nothing would change for us here in the mountains! We're simple folk, unimportant folk! What Goddess is going to be worried about us?! You're the one they'll be lookin' for!"
I didn't see who shouted that out but I could tell that it immediately turned the emotions of everyone inside of the cavern around, with many letting out cheers and shouts of their own as they told Altan off.
The Bearkin just sneered at that, taking the step back to retrieve her hammers before bellowing "Ignorance will not save any of you! When the Goddesses descend and begin requiring us mortals, you and your ilk will be the first group they target. The unimportant, ignorant, idiotic weaklings hiding out in the middle of nowhere."
I just rolled my eyes as the civilians began shouting at her immediately afterwards, and for a moment I was wondering if this was going to become a debate between the two sides rather than a fight, only for Altan to shout "Enough!" and point one of her hammers at us.
"Erdene! Sarnai! If you are in there, come out! NOW! Otherwise you WILL perish alongside these nonbelievers!"