Femi's eyes narrowed, the gears in his head turning furiously as he pieced together the information she had laid before him.
"So, you're saying that the entity who kidnapped me is the same one who one that told me to survive?" he asked, his voice filled with a simmering, deep-seated anger at the memory of that disembodied, taunting voice.
Melin nodded, her expression one of calm certainty.
"Yes, that's correct and as I said he doesn't play by the rules. He's more interested in his own twisted amusement than actually winning."
"Why would you say that," Femi pressed, his fists clenching at his sides as he recalled the mocking voice that has contributed to half of his bad dreams and the other parts being about dancing goats and twerking fishes.
"Because you are not, currently chained, castrated and fighting on some blood-soaked front line against the Alliance legions of keepers and city destroying sage's." Melin stated bluntly, as if this was the most obvious fact in the world.
"You say wetin?" Femi blurted out, the shock causing the pidgin to slip out, and his eyes nearly pumping out from their socket in pure shock as he instinctively held his jewels..
"What?" she asked, tilting her head, luminous brow furrowing slightly. Looking genuinely confused by his sudden shift in language.
"Ah, sorry," he said, catching himself and reining in his surprise. "I meant what did you mean by that?" he explained, his formal tone returning though his heart was still dancing against his ribs.
"Oh," a small, understanding smile touching her lips.
"Well, I simply meant, that since, you are still able to act on your free will, it means the one who took you, isn't interested in you much as a useable pawn." She paused, letting the weight of her words sink in. "They might have just wanted to muddy the water, to drop a new variable into the equation and see what happens." she finished, her gaze seemly intent on his reaction, while she took another sip of her cup.
Femi's face frowned into a dawning realization, his anger giving way "So, I'm a basically a free player now?"
Melin nodded, dropping the cup as it began to float in the air "Yes, exactly. You can make your own choices, chart your own path, without any direct influence from any of the opposing forces." she paused and looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, "well with out them immediately sending their vast forces to swach you like an insect for stepping out of line."
Femi's eyes locked onto Melin's, not minding the slight burning feeling, he got from doing so. A hundred questions, came to mind, but one rose to the surface above all others, a very important one.
"What are you?"
Melin's smile grew wider, a flash of mysterious delight, and she leaned in closer.
"That's a secret," she said, in a manner that seemd both a tease and a warning. "But I'll make you a deal. If you agree, I'll give you a hint and I will even add a gift to top it of. Something valuable you were supposed to earn only after completing the first level of the wicked dungeon."
Femi's eyes narrowed in skepticism. This sounded far too convenient."You want me to sign a contract, don't you?" he asked, his voice laced with the suspicion of a man who knew deals made by fools with mysterious beings rarely ended well.
Melin laughed, with amusement at his suspicion.
"No, no, nothing like that," she assured him, waving a dismissive hand. "It's a simple thing. Just agree verbally, and I'll give you the gift
Femi didn't really had much options at this point, he bent down a little elbows on his lap as weighed his scant options.
He wasn't sure if he could trust Melin but the possibility of gaining a crucial advantage in this dangerous world was too enticing to dismiss outright. "Okay, I'll listen," he said finally, crossing his arms over his chest. "What's the deal?"
Melin seemed pleased with his acquiescence.
"I want you to continue to grow stronger, to hone whatever skills you possess, and then head east," she said, as if it were the most obvious course of action.
Femi's eyes narrowed, trying to decipher the meaning behind the direction. "East?" he repeated, what possibly could lie in that direction that she would send him there.
Melin nodded, her infuriatingly calm smile still plastered on her face, offering no further explanation.
"Head East, that's all."
Femi's eyes narrowed further as he listened to Melin's vague instructions, his patience wearing thin. "So, you want me to head, to the East.., a journey of who knows how many miles, and do what?" he asked, demanding more than just a vague direction.
Melin's smile grew wider, a gesture that was beginning to feel more aggravating. "I'll leave that to you, and your own ingenuity," she said, her voice dripping with intrigue but offering no substance.
As if this were all some grand, amusing game.
But, Femi was tried of playing it.
Femi's face contorted in raw frustration. He threw his hands up in exasperation. "So, you want me to leave the north, the only region I barely know, and find my way to the east?" he repeated, his voice rising in incredulity. 'Head east, that's all'? That's your grand plan for me?"
Melin nodded, her maddening smile still plastered on her face now looking more like a mask..
"Yes, that's all. That is the task."
Femi's eyes widened in open skepticism, his patience wearing dangerously thin. This had to be a trap.
"Madam, I hope you're not trying to set me up," he said, his voice now heavy with thick distrust. He stood up and took a step back, creating space between them.
"This conversation has gone on too long without any real answers, other than stories. You want me to pack my things, especially, now that I barely have any, and head to a place I don't know about, filled with things I don't know about, on your say-so?" The sheer absurdity of it made him want to shake his head."
His furry face twisted in anger, the helplessness of his situation boiling over. Leading to a sudden flare of paranoia and pent-up fear.
"Okay, I can see your intentions now. You want me to die. You want me to walk blindly into my own doom. Don't worry, your plan will fail."
He glared at her, his accusation clear to both of them. "They sent you to me, didn't they? Those people who want to kill me. Even in this place, it won't work." His voice rose to a shout, echoing off into the vast darkness .
"I WON'T DO IT!"
As he stepped, further away, he unintentionally hit the glowing chair , leading to it disappearing. His claws were out as his fur stood on end ready to defend him self. His eyes had turned feral for a split second.
Melin's smile finally faltered for a moment, a flicker of genuine concern crossing her features.
"Calm down, Femi," she said, her voice softening into a more soothing, maternal tone. It sounded as if she was trying to palacate a spooked animal
"There's some danger involved, of course there is, but that's precisely why I'm giving you a gift, a tool for the journey, and."she paused, letting that promise sink in before delivering the true incentive, "and I will wake you up from your coma, returning you to your body."
Femi froze, his anger momentarily stunned into silence by her last statement. His pupil, returned to their normal brown, as he locked onto Melin's. His body tense and still suspicious of her but his desire to escape, outweight that suspicion.
He felt like if he doesn't get out now something terrible will happen.
Femi's pushed his fears down for now, focusing on the immediate offer. His voice was lower now, measured after calming him self.
"Let me hear the process of getting me out and then what that gift is first, before I give you my answer."
Melin, seeing she had to offer something concrete, paused. Her strange, captivating eyes flashed for a moment with an unreadable emotion before her familiar, smile returned, now looking more like a gambler about to reveal a winning hand.
--------
Varga headed over to where a thick, pillar of grey smoke was rising from behind a rough looking Krag who was already there, hunched over and stroking the fire with a stick.
She pushed the bulky Krag slightly away with a firm hand to reveal the cooking pit and the flickering flame beneath them, but the meat hanging inside, a haunch of some spotted dear, didn't look quite done. Its surface was still glistening raw in places. It had to be done before the rest of the raid band returned, hungry and expecting a meal.
With a disappointed grunt, she made it back to the main campsite, her eyes scanning the perimeter with wariness.
Unlike before, in the wake of the harpy assault, there were even less active Krags with in the camp after the camp was attacked, a heavy emptiness where once there had been a bustling, if grim, community of warriors.
The loss has really affected their hunting and patrols, making her wonder what she would tell Arieus when he gets back, how she would explain the diminished numbers under her watch. She let out a heavy sigh.
Still with that grim thought occupying her mind, Varga got everything ready for the return of the band, checking supplies and ensuring the wounded from the earlier attack were as comfortable and fed as possible.
And later that day, as the suns reached their peak, casting it's bright rays through the trees, the raid party returned.
The first of the victorious, but battered, Krags came down the snowy road and immediately began finding places to rest their weary bodies and brag in tired voices. Most of them looked exhausted, their armor dented and stained. Many of them also had some sort of injury bandaged up with rough cloths already dark with blood.
The smell of sweat, blood, and the sweet-rotten scent of pus was everywhere, like a thick miasma that filled her sensitive nose.
She scowled, her lips pulling back from her tusks as she took the scene in. She deeply disapprove of the ragged state of the raid, seeing the cost of the victory written in their limping gaits and pained expressions.
The last few raid men came down the road slowly, hauling a pair of wagons covered in stained, heavy tarps that hid their precious cargo. "Quite a few of them are missing,"Tarlak, who had joined Varga just a moment ago, his own face grim, muttered with a hint of genuine concern for his missing band mate.
"It means the battle was a though one" varga replied simply, while watching the group with a critical, assessing eye.
Arieus was at the very back of the returning Krags, a solid, imposing figure. The first thing the white fur wearing leader did when he came into sight was head directly varga's way, his stride purposeful. Goruk and Dana followed closely behind him, their own expressions unreadable.
Tarlak, despite having seen him many times, was always shocked at how Arieus's always looked so intimidating, his presence filling the space around him. But unlike the other war chiefs he had seen he had a certain air to him, a palpable aura of command and unreadable power, as if he was bigger than what he could see with his eyes.
For a second, he was worried he was going to cut him and Varga down, because of the intense, focused look in his eyes but then he realized Arieus was just calming smiling, as he walked towards Varga, the expression not quite reaching his eyes.
"The raid was a success, Varga! The weapons are ours," he declared triumphantly as he marched towards them, gesturing back towards the covered wagons.
"Good, we may need them soon. I see you lost more than a few krags," Varga observed, her gaze sweeping over the diminished, injured group.
Arieus nodded, a shadow passing over his features as he gazed at the remaining raiding band, the cost of their victory.
"They fought bravely, and died with honor. we lost half of our fighters and the rest were injured, some gravely. We had to perform the ritual of the dead, before coming back," he said, his voice solemn for a moment.
His gaze, sharp and penetrating, returned back towards, Varga.
"But, with the two recent and profitable raids, we will now have both the coins and weapons to arm our reinforcement. So filling the holes in our ranks won't be a problem," he stated, the strategist in him already moving on.
Varga frowned,her tusks jutting out. The cost seemed too high.
"Now Varga, before you start complaining about the deaths, tell me what happened to my camp," Arieus said, his tone shifting to one of command, his eyes taking in the signs of recent battle.
Varga took her time to think her response over for second, choosing her words with care.
"We were attacked by Harpy's and they had a queen with them, a formidable foe. we lost almost half of our remaining krags, who were left behind, in the defense. Also a krag's body went missing after the battle, taken from right where it fell. I had a look around with Tarlak and another scout, but we couldn't find any traces of whatever grabbed the body, no tracks, no drag marks. It's probably still out there," she told him, laying out the events that transpired
"What," Goruk exclaimed, hand gripping his axe tighted
He then cast a serious look around the camp as if he was expecting some unseen horror to attack them then and there. Dana also looked taken aback, a rare flash of surprise on her face, and her eyes narrowed as she gazed at the sky, searching for threats.
Arieus on the other hand looked to be deep in thought, seemly processing the information.
"What do you think it is?" he asked the varga calmly, as if testing her knowledge.
Varga hesitated before answering, reluctant to give voice to her fears.
"I don't want to guess, but since you asked," she replied with a frown, crossing her arms. "It's unlikely but it could be a mutant of some sort, drawn by the blood.or the Harpies, although again it's highly unlikely…"
"Why, not a Harpy if you couldn't find a trace, they could have taken it into the air?" Dana asked coldly, skepticism dripping from her words.
"Because, even if they could fly trying to lift a full-grown krag's body with out strugle or even leaving a single feather behind is highly unlikely," Varga explained calmly, her logic sound.
"what about a mutant, you don't think one could do it ?" Goruk asked varga suspiciously.
The female Krag shook her head, her gaze never leaving Arieus's.
"No, mutants are powerful and intelligent. One would have killed more people, especially after see the weakened state we were in after the attack. It would have kept killing, until forced to leave."
Varga sighed heavily after saying this and after a brief hesitation decided to give voice to what she really suspected, her worst-case scenario.
" Unfortunately, the most likely cause by far is that it's…" Varga reluctantly told them before she was cut off.
"…Undead," Arieus finished for her, his voice flat and certain.
Goruk growled a deep, hateful sound, Tarlak frowned deeply, his hand clenching and Dana cursed under her breath, but Varga just nodded grimly.
"That would explain the Harpies attack, those bringers of disasters are known to collaborate with the foul undead." Arieus reasoned out loud, connecting the sinister dots.
"I take it you didn't share these concerns with anyone else," Arieus asked her as Varga shook her head in answer.
"Panic would serve no one."
"Good, If it's undead then they'll strike again tonight, under the cover of darkness," he said emotionlessly, stating it as a simple fact.
Varga nodded thoughtfully, already thinking of defenses.
"Then we have a lot to do before nightfall," the war chief told his lieutenants, his voice taking on the tone of command.
Arieus began to lay out a plan, his words quick and idea well detailed. Before he let them go to their tasks, he had them all swear to secrecy, his eyes burning into each of them to ensure their silence.
After the tense meeting, Varga left with Tarlak as they both went towards were the injured were kept, she had a deep, troubled frown on her face, as she thought back to the plan Arieus came up with.
Tarlak was quite by her side, his own mind racing, and also had a frown on his face deep in thought. It seemed the heavy silence between them was too much so he had to ask the question that was plaguing both of them.
"Do you agree with the plan... Varga" he asked quietly.
"No I don't" she replied simply.
Then she stopped and sighed.
"But we have to follow orders of the war chief." She turned her fierce emerald eyes towards Tarlak. " But that those not mean I will allow the worst to happen, and I think you agree with me."
Tarlak just nodded, his own determination clear in his set jaw.
"Good then, let's get to work.