Krivax had gravely underestimated how boring a trip out to sea would be, especially one that lasted several weeks.

When Green Island first arrived in Kamagua, he had been filled with a sense of awe by the turtle's massive size and the wisdom held in its eyes. His farewells to the villagers had been met with expressions of gratitude, well wishes, and tearful goodbyes in the case of Karfu. While Krivax had felt sentimental about his departure from Kamagua, he had also felt excited and optimistic about beginning the next portion of his journey.

Now, after a little over two weeks of having nothing to do besides continuing his studies in spatial magics, his excitement had completely dissipated. Krivax was confident now that he was ready to attempt short-range teleportation, or “blinking” as it was called, but the back of a giant turtle in the middle of an arctic sea was not the appropriate place to test such magic.

Krivax idly noted Orfus glancing at him worriedly as he released a forlorn sigh.

At least we should be arriving at Moa'ki Harbor today, according to Oomailiq.

During the trip, Krivax had exhausted every question he could think of to ask Orfus about what they should expect when they arrived in Moa'ki Harbor. Orfus admitted that the Moa'ki would likely be similarly… startled by the appearance of the nerubians, just as he had been. His plan to avoid any unnecessary violence would be for Krivax and Masruk to simply hide away in the cabin while he explained things to them.

Orfus felt like this was absolutely necessary, because the tuskarr of Dragonblight were notably more militaristic than their counterparts in the Howling Fjord.

They were still a friendly people who were prone to seeking a peaceful resolution to their problems, but the increased risk of attacks from wolvar, yeti, and prides of magnataur had certainly affected their culture. There was a real risk that the tuskarr would attack the two nerubians if they were not warned about them beforehand.

“Krivax, is everything all right?” asked Orfus, visibly concerned.

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m just not used to such long trips,” said Krivax. “Do you know how much longer we have until we arrive?”

“Well, according to Oomailiq, we could soon see Moa'ki Harbor appearing over the horizon at any moment,” said Orfus reassuringly. “You should enjoy the trip while you can, Krivax! Being surrounded by the ocean is an amazing experience!”

“I’m afraid I don’t quite share your enthusiasm,” Krivax said wryly as he glanced at the water surrounding the turtle boat. “My people are not as well suited for the water as your own.”

Attempting to swim with a nerubian body was not an experience that Krivax particularly enjoyed. Masruk seemed to enjoy swimming, but Krivax suspected his friend saw it as a challenge to overcome.

Krivax tried to pass the time with Orfus by making small talk, but unfortunately, they had already exhausted all topics of conversation that they could think of over the trip.

Krivax was considering whether or not he should follow Masruk’s example and weave a web that he could fall asleep on with the pair of flyers that he had brought, when his silent prayers were seemingly heard.

“We’re nearly there! The Broken Pillars peek over the horizon!” shouted Oomailiq from his position at the top of the deck.

Krivax eagerly skittered to the front of the deck and directed his gaze to the direction Oomailiq was pointing.

Sure enough, he could see the enormous shattered pillars of the Path of the Titans off in the distance. Krivax woke up Masruk, who was not as excited about looking at giant broken pillars as he was.

As Green Island grew closer and closer to the ancient structures, Krivax felt a sense of awe as their true size became apparent.

I really wish I could take a picture of this. I wonder if the gnomes have invented anything like cameras yet.

Once they passed the Path of the Titans, it was only a short while before they could see the kites flying over Moa'ki Harbor in the distance.

“Alright you two, I think it’s time for you to go below deck,” said Orfus. “I’ll yell for you to come out after I’m done warning the Moa'ki and it’s safe for you two to show yourselves..”

Krivax and Masruk both nodded their agreement and made their way below deck with the two flyers, where they were keeping the trading supplies. Kamagua and Iskaal had both purchased large amounts of goods from Kilah’Kuk that they intended to resell to the tuskarr of Dragonblight at a markup.

The nerubians were unable to trade directly with Moa'ki Harbor or the nearby village of Indu’le because the closest nerubian city was Azjol-Nerub’s capital city. Vizier Hadix had made some perfunctory attempts to convince the Circle of Viziers in the capital to allow for trade to take place from their city, but Krivax could tell that his heart was not in it. The capital city was the center of isolationist sentiment in the kingdom and rarely allowed anyone to use their gate to the surface for any reason.

Besides, as far as Vizier Hadix was concerned, if a trade route was established between the capital and Dragonblight’s tuskarr, then his Division wouldn’t be the ones profiting from it. Krivax was not too concerned one way or another; he understood that sapient greed would eventually push Azjol-Nerub to open itself up once the benefits of doing so grew too large to ignore.

If he was actually able to successfully establish a trading relationship with civilizations that could offer more than luxury food goods, then Azjol-Nerub’s time as a completely isolated kingdom was destined to become history.

Krivax and Masruk waited patiently below deck as Green Island pulled into port; soon he was able to hear the voices of unfamiliar tuskarr men, so he assumed that the guards had arrived.

The conversation between Orfus and the Moa'ki clan’s guards went on long enough for Krivax to begin growing nervous, but he eventually heard Orfus yelling for the two of them to come out onto the deck.

Krivax tentatively made his way up onto the deck, followed by Masruk, and was immediately met with the shocked yells of frightened tuskarr warriors.

As the leader of the tuskarr attempted to calm down his men, Krivax took a moment to look over the warriors. They seemed similar enough to warriors of Kamagua, given that they all wielded spears and were covered in various pieces of leather armor, but there were some differences as well.

The litany of scars that covered each of their bodies made it easy to tell that these warriors saw more frequent combat than the warriors of Kamagua. Many of those scars were likely made by the wolvar given that they seem to have been made by claws and fangs.

“Greetings, warriors of Moa'ki Harbor!” Krivax said as soon as the tuskarr managed to calm talk enough for them to hear him. “I am Krivax, and my companion is Masruk. We have come to your village with peaceful intentions toward your people and hope for the same. We present this fresh catch to you as a gift and proof of our character.”

Krivax finished up his speech by reaching into his spatial bag and pulling out an Emperor Salmon within a silk net to hold out to the group of tuskarr. Since it worked the first time he figured it only made sense to catch something the day they were expected to arrive to give to this new group.

The tuskarr looked between each other, likely dumbfounded that they were currently being addressed by a giant spider person.

After a few awkward moments, one of the tuskarr warriors stepped forward to address him. Krivax assumed that they were the leader of the group.

“Welcome to Moa'ki Harbor, outsiders. I am Shakukka,” said the tuskarr warrior with an accent that Krivax found strange. “I confess, I had not quite believed the words of the warrior from Kamagua, but if you offer no threat to the people of this village, then you are both welcome here and your gift of the sea’s bounty is gladly accepted,” he said as he took the net bag from Krivax’s hands.

“Thank you, Shakukka,” said Krivax. “I am glad to see that the Kalu’ak of the Moa'ki clan are as kind and welcoming as those in Kamagua and Iskaal. I greatly enjoyed the time I spent in Kamagua and look forward to being able to see your village as well. I have heard that it is quite beautiful.”

Krivax did not hear anything of the kind, but his flattering words had the intended effect of causing the tuskarr warriors to release most of their tension and puff up in pride.

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“You heard correctly, outsider,” said Shakukka. “Come with me. I shall escort you all to the Chieftain so that you can make your introductions.”

“Before we go, there is one other matter,” said Orfus, interrupting the warriors as they were about to escort them to the village. “Kamagua has sent many more items than usual that they wish to use to trade with the Moa'ki clan and Indu’le village. I would request that some of your warriors aid us in removing them from Green Island.”

“Of course,” Shakukka said indulgently. “How many warriors do you need? One? Two?”

“Err… I think it would be best if I showed you so that you could make your own judgment,” said Orfus after a moment of hesitation.

Shakukka raised a bushy eyebrow but said nothing as he accompanied Orfus onto the turtle boat, hesitating only slightly as he passed the two nerubians, and followed him below deck.

The tuskarr warrior bellowed in surprise when he saw stacks upon stacks of silk and boxes filled with ores.

“What is all this?!”

“These are items that Kamagua acquired through trading with the nerubians,” said Orfus, only a little smugly. “The rolls of silk possess properties that make them perfect for weaving sturdy nets, ropes, and even clothes to keep you warm during the winter. The nerubians are also able to produce large amounts of metal ore. Kamagua is able to acquire more than enough of these for its needs, so our Elders decided to send a portion to Moa'ki Harbor for trade.”

The next time Shakukka turned his gaze to Krivax and Masruk, his expression was one that was filled with greed rather than apprehension.

“I see,” said Shakukka, obviously struggling to remain calm. “I will have all of my men help in bringing these items to the village.”

Krivax and Masruk spent the next few minutes helping the tuskarr unload all of the trading goods from Green Island. While they were doing this, Shakukka said some quiet words to one of the younger tuskarr warriors which sent the boy running back to the village.

Krivax assumed he would be informing the village leadership about what was happening so that they would have time to prepare for their arrival.

Once they were done, each of the warriors carried a box of valuable trading goods as Shakukka led them into the village from their wooden docks. Krivax kept the two flyers close to him in order to avoid frightening any of the villagers. He had left behind the skitterers so that they could save space on Green Island and so that they could continue carrying trading goods. Hadix indicated he would be willing to send more if they were needed, but Krivax felt like the flyers were enough for now.

The shocked faces of the villagers as they gawked at the two nerubians made Krivax feel a small sense of nostalgia for the first moment he walked into Kamagua. He couldn’t help but send a friendly wave to a young tuskarr calf who was staring at him with her mouth open.

Krivax chuckled as the young tuskarr girl jerked in surprise and hid shyly behind who he assumed to be her mother.

While Moa'ki Harbor seemed to be larger than Kamagua, the village seemed to be less prosperous than Kamagua was, even before they began to trade with Kilah’kuk. This did not particularly surprise Krivax given that the climate of Dragonblight was much harsher than that of the Howling Fjord.

There was noticeable damage on more than a few of the buildings, likely from past attacks, that has been repaired over and over again. Krivax even could see some tuskarr working to fix a hole in the outer walls with wood and whalebone. The whole place had a more fortified look to it, which made sense given that unlike the Isle of Spears threats from the land could—and apparently did—happen regularly.

Their group reached the Chieftain’s home fairly quickly since the building was very close to the harbor.

Once they were there, Shakukka instructed the nerubians and Orfus to wait outside while he spoke with the Chieftain. After a few moments, the tuskarr warrior reappeared and escorted Krivax into the building.

The first thing that Krivax noted when they entered the building was that the tuskarr Chieftain was the largest tuskarr that he had ever seen. The man was huge, well-muscled, possessed a large magnificent mustache, and had the tuskarr symbol for ‘Chieftain’ proudly carved into his enormous tusks.

The second thing that he noted was that the shamans of the Moa’ki clan seemed to wield spears rather than staves like the shamans of Kamagua and Iskaal. Krivax assumed that there was a greater emphasis on these shamans being able to fight than there was on the Isle of Spears.

Krivax felt like he would have a difficult time telling the difference between a shaman and a warrior in this village if he had not learned how to interpret the symbols tuskarr carved into their tusks.

Well, that and the magic he could feel radiating from their bodies.

Once everyone finished entering the building, the massive tuskarr began to speak in a deep voice.

“Greetings, outsiders. I am Chieftain Ko’nani. These are Elders Si’uigo, Duuqni, and To’a. Please introduce yourselves.”

“Well met, Chieftain Ko’nani,” said Orfus. “I am Orfus, warrior of Kamagua. These are Krivax and Masruk, two nerubians who have proven themselves to be friends of Kamagua and Iskaal. They have expressed an interest in traveling to Moa’ki Harbor, and I joined them with the intention of both facilitating introductions and arranging for trade between our villages.”

“Nerubians?” questioned Ko’nani. The Chieftain turned his gaze to the Elders, but they all shook their heads. “I have never heard of your people, and it seems my Elders have not either. Tell me about your people, nerubians.”

“Of course, Chieftain,” said Krivax. He spent the next hour giving the Chieftain and the Elders an abridged introduction to Azjol-Nerub and its society, much like the one he had given Chieftain Atuk and Elder Wumni.

It took quite a while for him to finish because the Chieftain and his Elders interrupted periodically to ask pointed questions and Orfus also interrupted to tell them about all of the benefits the Isle of Spears had received from trading with the nerubians.

Krivax suspected that the large amounts of goods that had been brought to the village had done much more to convince the Chieftain of the benefits of cooperation. When he was done speaking, Ko’nani seemed to be much more enthusiastic about their presence than Atuk had been.

“If you are able to help my people as much as Orfus claims, then you will always be welcome here, nerubians,” said Chieftain Ko’nani. “Would your people be interested in trading for shellfish from us as well as Kamagua?”

“Yes, Chieftain,” said Krivax. Azjol-Nerub was massive in comparison to the tuskarr villages and would be more than capable of taking any amount of shellfish that the tuskarr would be able to produce. “Unfortunately, this trade would need to take place using Kamagua and Iskaal as an intermediary.”

“Oh? Why is that?” asked Ko’nani, visibly displeased.

Krivax explained to the Chieftain that Kilah’kuk was too far from his village for trade to be easy and that he would not be able to get permission to travel to the surface from the city nearest to his village. The Chieftain did not like it but seemed to accept it once everything was fully explained to him.

“At least we still have something to trade even if we have to go through Kamagua and Iskaal,” said Elder To’a. “This Azjol-Nerub seems to only be interested in shellfish and herbs. I doubt Indu’le has anything you nerubians would be interested in.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” said Elder Si’uigo, turning a shrewd gaze to Krivax’s spatial pouch.

At her words, all of the Elders turned their attention to the spatial pouch, or more accurately, to the magic it was emanating.

“This magic feels similar to the magic of the Lothalor Woodlands,” said Elder Duuqni.

“The Lothalor Woodlands?” asked Krivax. It had been a long time since he had played World of Warcraft, and he wasn’t sure what the Elders were talking about.

“Indu’le Village is built along a lake that is the end point of a long river of magic similar to the magic coming from your bag,” explained Elder Si’uigo. “This river of magic has altered the very life of the nearby woods. I suspect that the trees and animals of these woods could be useful to your people.”

She’s talking about a ley line! If there is truly a ley line running under the ‘Lothalor Woodlands,’ then I’m sure there are plenty of things in there that the Circle of Viziers would be interested in.

Although shellfish were spreading quickly in Kilah’kuk—and were starting to disseminate into the rest of Azjol-Nerub—interest in the surface had still only moderately increased within the Circle of Viziers. This was because many of the Viziers looked down on shellfish as a novelty and a luxury good that did little to tangibly benefit the kingdom, according to Vizier Hadix.

If Indu’le were able to provide large amounts of magical regents, then interest in the surface would increase significantly within the Circle of Viziers, and hopefully the rest of the kingdom.

“That sounds like something my people would be extremely interested in,” said Krivax, barely holding back his excitement.

“I’m glad to hear that,” said Chieftain Ko’nani. “But you can negotiate an agreement with Indu’le later. For now, I believe it best if we come to an agreement over the goods that were brought today, so that they can start helping my people. The wolvar have grown aggressive recently… well, more so than usual, and I want those ores delivered to our blacksmiths as quickly as possible.”

“Before we start the negotiations, there is something I need to ask you, Chieftain Ko’nani,” said Krivax. “I was told by Elder Wumni of Kamagua that your people sometimes trade with people from lands from across the sea. Is that true?”

“Yes, it is,” said Chieftain Ko’nani, growling slightly at the change in subject. “Why do you ask?”

“Just a topic I wish to speak about in more detail with you… after the trade talks of course,” Krivax said quickly. “I understand your urgency.”

“Very well, we will speak more on the topic later then,” the Chieftain said. “Now as to the goods in question…”

Krivax nodded his agreement and settled in for another long trade negotiation. Thankfully, Orfus would be the primary negotiator this time, as the goods technically belonged to Kamagua and Iskaal now.

As the negotiations dragged on, Krivax privately hoped that the Surface World Research Division would soon transition to using currency for all of their trading needs. Things would be much easier if they didn’t need to figure out how many lobsters a piece of iron ore the size of an average tuskarr fist was worth.

Barter may be the oldest form of trading, but it could get annoying at times and was terribly inefficient.