Over the next week, scouts ran hither and thither about the Demon Wastes. Attracting the attention of pockets of demons and then running just barely out of their reach to keep them engaged in the chase. A few of the scouts lost their footing or were surrounded and we mourned their loss while sending replacements. I prayed that this gamble would work and the dwarves would be able to slay our ancient foes.
The day of battle finally came. Myself and the councillors watched from the tallest tree from a safe distance. Zurek had utilized an ancient artifact to cast a spell of farsight that projected an image of the battlefield so that we could see the minutia of the fight.
"They look marvelous." A guard mumbled as he gazed on the arms and armor of the dwarves. "Look there! The beastkin girl is arrayed as one of them!"
Indeed, Yuki was wearing equipment similar to the dwarves around her, including the dwarf child Mochi. She wore it well and like a trained warrior. I personally wondered why children were on the front lines of a future warzone, but perhaps the dwarves knew something I didn't.
"By the gods, I wish I had armor like that when fighting against the demons." A one armed and scarred warrior muttered bitterly. "And those weapons… They look exceptionally deadly and easy to wield."
"We shall see." I remarked. "There are our scouts. They are emerging over the horizon."
Tensions rose as we watched the runners pick up the pace when they sighted the dwarven fortress. We felt a sense of shared pride and relief as the scouts leapt desperately across the dry moat for the safety of the dwarven forces. These were among the fastest members of our tribe, and we murmured a collective prayer of thanks to the gods for their survival.
A few minutes later, the demons appeared and began charging the awaiting dwarves. I braced myself for the coming clash.
However, nothing could have prepared me for the series of explosions that took place when the demons fell in the dry moat dug around the dwarven formation. From what Yuki had told us, her dwarf friend had spent the last several days crafting something dangerous from the miasma he took from our food, but I had no clue it would be that devastating! Even though I had not considered taking up arms against the dwarves, or Mochi, the vision of the ground erupting beneath the feet of their enemy to toss limbs every which way was an excellent motivator to maintain peace.
With a battle roar that we could hear from our remote position, the dwarves began hacking away at their demonic foes. They whacked and chopped with the fury of their ancestors.
"Look at the child." Zurek gestured towards the projection. "She fights with the strength of the gods!"
Yuki had just beheaded a nine foot tall demon with her blade before jumping back behind her friend. Mochi defended her as she recovered her footing before slaying another demon. This pattern continued so long as there were demons to kill in front of them. If it can be believed, they did not even take a scratch throughout the entire day of conflict. Her agility and his rock-like defense were in perfect sync, as if they had practiced for hundreds upon hundreds of hours and were seasoned warriors instead of children.
"By the gods." The one armed warrior exclaimed. "She's taken out twenty demons in as many minutes, more than I've slain in a week of hunting!"
"And she is showing no signs of ceasing." Zurek said. "I believe she can continue for the entire day."
"If only the demons were so brave." I remarked.
"Gods above. I never thought I would see the day that the occupiers would flee before any enemy aside from dragons."
A rare opportunity presented itself to me and I took it. "Deploy the archers. Anyone who can draw a bow needs to make haste to the battlefield. Pick off any of the occupiers who enter range. Not a single one can escape our wrath! Avenge our people and land!"
Every guard but the bare minimum took off with eager grins on their faces. This land had once been ours many generations ago, they had been raised on the stories of our ancestors who had been able to live without fearing demons behind every tree, not to mention they had lost many, many friends and family to the hated race. No doubt they would revel in slaughtering any demon they possibly could.
"They won't be enough." Zurek said grimly. "There are just too many demons."
"Even so, we can at least empty our quivers and hope this small amount of vengeance will satisfy our ancestors. Hmm?" My focus on the battlefield was interrupted by a flicker in the sunlight. Glancing upwards, I saw a welcome sight. "It seems like this battle has drawn the attention of the harpies."
Harpies were our fellow occupants of the Demon Wastes. They flew just above the treeline to avoid both flying and ground based demons, roosting in random branches and always in search of their next meal. Generally they were polite, if a little flighty, but if you annoyed them then you could expect to find your traps empty, rotten eggs in your shoes, and small tree branches dropped on your head.
Out in the field, the harpies descended on the fleeing demons. They, like us beastkin, hated demons with a passion and took every opportunity to safely kill the occupiers.
"Hey, Chief!" Chief Zeliphis of the Brown Tail tribe fluttered down from the leaves. "I saw the commotion and decided to see what was happening. What's up with the squawking dwarves?"
"It's a long story." I replied. "But in summation, dwarven warriors stumbled on our lands and we negotiated that they would kill demons if we could flush them out of the woods."
"Heck of a story." Zeliphis flapped her wings in a display of excitement. "How did you do the negotiating? Dwarf-speak isn't easy and they're not the type to learn our language."
"This is where it gets surprising. Ready your tail feathers for a shock. They had a beastkin child with them who had formed an attachment to a dwarven child." Zeliphis' eyes opened wide and her tail feathers spread out in shock.
"No squawking way!" She screeched. "How? The beardies chase off any non-dwarves who approach."
"Another long story. From what we've heard from the girl, she grew attached to a peculiar dwarf child who did not chase her off. He also equipped her with their equipment and trained her to fight, take a look." We took a quick peek at the farsight artifact, where Yuki was gutting another demon as Mochi guarded her tail. "She's been fighting like this all day."
"Skies above. She's screeching good! Well, we'll take care of the rest of the demons that are running. Take care, Chief!"
With a flurry of feathers, the harpy took to the skies. Within minutes, she was on the field swooping down on the demons with claws out.
"Hmm. If only I was young enough to do the same." I grumbled, instinctively reaching for an old wound in my knee where I had taken an arrow. "With their help though, we'll likely be able to finish off the rest of the demons with ease."
It took another hour to complete the task of eliminating them. Not a simple chore by any means. When it was over, I cheered along with the rest of my tribe. My cry of victory was joined by those of several hundred dwarves and harpies.
For the first time in my life, I witnessed a complete and total victory against demonkind. It wasn't a retreat with minimal losses, our normal type of win for the past age, but a complete elimination of our foe. I was elated beyond what the gods had deemed appropriate for a mere mortal to experience.
A few days later, I met with the council again with the rest of the tribe in attendance. Our mood had sombered from the highs of the initial success against the demons. Due in large part to the deceased beastkin laying in honor on a pyre. "Our scouts, Prauzish, Feesee, and Zazor, will be missed. Their names will be written on the scrolls of the tribe to be recited every year as heroes of the Grim Claw Tribe. May their souls find rest with the gods in the Eternal Hunting Grounds, running by their sides forever more."
Joining the gathering was chief Zeliphis and her tribe of harpies. Her attitude was as somber as ours. Despite only attacking fleeing demons, her tribe had suffered unfortunate losses. "Cecalle, Beryris, may your wings bear you to the stars on favorable winds."
Unlike us beastkin, who believed that life after death meant eternal hunts alongside the gods in the Eternal Hunting Ground, harpies believed that after death they would fly to the greatest heights and become stars that would guide their descendents. According to our customs, the fallen beastkin were dressed in their best hunting gear with weapons to match. The harpies had shiny rocks as decorations so they could shine brighter in the sky.
An unusual member of the mourning party, who had contributed unusual gifts, was Mochi the dwarf. The rest of his kind were still celebrating their victory and preparing trophies, but he had excused himself to show his appreciation to those who had made the triumph possible. When he had learned of our customs, he had donated a weapon for each scout and devices for the harpies that shone like a mini-sun when magic ran through them. Needless to say, we felt immensely grateful for his presence and his gifts.
Later that night, when the pyre had burned down to the last ash and the majority of the tribes had returned to bed, I held a secret meeting of the council. Naturally, Chief Zeliphis joined us without an invitation. She had the uncanny sense of her race for knowing when something interesting was occurring.
"Council members, Zeliphis, what are your thoughts?" I asked. "We left off making a decision over the future due to the upcoming battle. The battle is now over, the dwarves have eliminated our foes, and we are left with few options for the survival of our tribe." I held up my hand and ticked down the list on my fingers. "We can attempt to kidnap Yuki and the dwarf child Mochi for the sake of his miasma cleansing device. We can attempt to persuade them to stay with us for the same reason. We can attempt to bargain or steal the device and the training to use it. Finally, and I don't make this suggestion lightly, we can follow Yuki's example and follow Mochi as his servants."
"We can also continue as we are." A middle aged council member from the racoon clan growled in a surly tone. "We are a free people by the sacrifices of our ancestors and we should not forget them or our ways lightly."
A long silence followed as we considered our choices. Zeliphis had been filled in on Mochi's ability to provide near limitless food from miasma tainted demon meat, not to mention she had eaten more than her fill during the wake, and was thinking things through for her own tribe.
"The first two options are almost too ridiculous to even contemplate with any level of seriousness." Zurek grumbled with a frown. "A dwarven grudge would track every single one of us to the graves if we attempted to kidnap him. As for us persuading him to stay, why should he? We have nothing at all to offer him."
No one bothered suggesting that Yuki alone would stay, even though her skills would make her an invaluable addition to the tribe and we were her people. Based on everything we had seen, she was completely devoted to Mochi and would never leave him. Cat beastkin were infamous among the tribes for forming lifelong connections based on their instinct alone.
"What about bargaining for the device?" Zeliphis asked as she puffed up her ample chest. "Men can be simple."
"They can be…" One councillor stated with a distracted look in his eyes. His wife still hadn't forgiven him and at least one harpy child that flew the skies had his distinctive nose. "But Mochi is only twelve years old, much too young for the harpy's methods of bargaining. As our wizard has said, we cannot use the device without him."
"Hmph." Zeliphis sulked as her suggestion was turned down without a debate and preened her feathers.
"So we are down to the final option." I said leaving a single finger up. "We follow the dwarf child as if he were one of the lost beastkin kings of old. Obeying his every command in exchange for food and shelter. If the gods favor our plan, then he will provide for us as he does with Yuki. If the gods disagree, they will give us signs."
"What of our lands?" The raccoon beastman from before stood up. "Our traditions, descendents, and homes? Should we just abandon them without a second thought?"
"Can we eat our lands, traditions or homes?" I asked. "The fields are miasma poisoned, our traps are empty, and what the gods send us are tainted by demonic miasma. Do you remember the Lion Fang Tribe? The Black Panther Tribe? The Ancient Kingdom of the Tiger? All of them clung to the past with iron wills and all of them, down to the last woman and child, are dead. I believe that with Yuki and Mochi, the gods are showing us a new way to survive and I intend to trust them with mine and my family's fate."