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Raucous laughter and many drinks filled the tavern until late into the night. Cire was right about Selene being in no condition to leave the next day. When he made his way to her farm the next morning, she had readily agreed to delay leaving for a couple of days just to get him to stop talking.
Nicolas and Andreas had been friendly during the party. They made a point to share a round with him, but they begged off anymore monster fighting. Fighting the yetis had been a favor to Stacy. The fungus beasts had been low level and the temptation of a share of duergar loot had been tempting enough to lure them, but they weren’t warriors. Getting knocked around like they had was enough adventure to last them a while.
Far from being caught off guard, their reasoning made sense to Cire. He worried that they were bowing out because of his darker heritage, but that didn’t seem to be the case. They hadn’t come to the hamlet for excitement, they came to be loggers and earn coin. To get away from their problems. Cire had walked them right back into a whole mess of new ones.
Cire requested that Durg to stay in his cabin while he was away. Since he didn’t know how long he would be at the Tempest Treetops their discussion resulted in Durg agreeing to move in, but under permanent arrangements. The dwarf couldn’t work the farm, but he had stayed in the lodge long enough to get his fill. Before parting that afternoon for the naga camp he extracted a promise that Durg would find someone to tend to the crops.
Letting the farm go fallow was probably the right call. The hamlet didn’t need the food, even though the fresh produce supplemented the poor variety available. Dried meat, grain, and other edibles that kept were the main staples of the laborers who worked the mines and forest. Cire felt driven to harvest Eugene’s last planting. He wanted to honor the memory of the kindly strangers who had taken him in and shown him the way of things.
Taking joy in the warm sunshine and beauty of the day, Cire made his way towards the center of the valley without a rush. No one else was available to join him, but he had to see Kalani and explain why he was leaving, so he was headed her way. Not that he knew how to navigate the strange waters of their relationship.However, running out on her without a heads up felt like the opposite of a good idea.
At least I come baring gifts, I should get a warm reptilian reception. I wouldn’t feel good about myself if I didn’t start helping them out as soon as I could. They are my people now. That’s going to take some getting used to.
Standing at the lip of the giant bore leading down to the great hall, Cire recalled the several times he had traveled here already and had a thought. He couldn’t exactly fly down there as a bat right now, he had a lot of stuff to bring with him. Although, if he left a set of clothing down there he could save himself the need to climb up and down. It wasn’t difficult, bit it was hard and tiresome.
Tying his pack off with a new rope, he carefully lowered down the fully laden rucksack. Cire had left his armor back at the cabin and wore a plain hemp tunic. Belted to his waist, his blessed steel longsword stuck out awkwardly as he made his way down into the cavern. He still hadn’t gotten the hang of how to secure the weapon without it getting in his way.
By the time he touched foot to stone there were two female naga waiting for him, one already had his pack on. Sea green hair brushed ashen shoulders and their matching lanterns flashed in what he was starting to recognize as excitement or amusement. He didn’t recognize either of them from the other day, but they saved him the need.
“My lord, I am Lita and this is Tila,” the taller of the two spoke and waved her hand to her sister.
“How may we be of Ssservissse?” Chimed in Tila right after, like they commonly finished each others sentences.
Cire was still wrapping his head around becoming the territorial lord. It felt like they were calling him Mr. Eventide instead of Cire. He had never much cared for formality, but he knew enough not to suggest they use his first name. If he was going to have the responsibilities and danger of being the leader he needed to assume the role as well. He wasn’t a symbol yet, but if he lived long enough, someday he would be.
“Looks like your already a step ahead of me, well, a slither ahead of me? I don’t know if you have an equivalent idiom.”
He started walking towards the lake, trying to put physical distance between him and his ungainly reply.
“I was going to ask Kalani if she could get the mushrooms cleaned up and you beat me to it. Did you find anything besides the fungus beasts?”
“The dwarves, yesss, Sssire. We found the remains of your kills. The queen holds the prizes of your victory,” Tila replied with a reverence to her tone.
Lita’s tongue swished in the air close to Cire’s face and a purring hiss wound it’s way to his ear.
“Most impressssive Sssire.”
“Ahh, Thank you?”
Cire didn’t really know how to take the compliment, so his stilted response came out as a question instead of a statement. He still felt threatened by the unpredictable violence of the naga, but displaying any of that fear would undermine his uncertain position. Staying quiet the rest of the trip up the tunnel to the lake, Cire was relieved when Lita and Tila handed him back his pack and returned to the great hall.
Waiting for him on the small sand strip at the lip of the water, Aanya smiled broadly and performed the naga style curtsy. A beehive of activity stirred in the camp behind her. Clumps of males were treating large pieces of mushroom skin with a glowing sickly yellow fluid. Piles of the fungus had been neatly sorted and an assembly of females picked through them selecting choice specimens for alchemy.
“We are still harvesssting the remainsss of your battle, my lord. We will be able to produce no Sssmall amount of potionsss before the next caravan arrivesss.”
Nodding, Cire was pleased to see Aanya again. Aanya had a more relaxed demeanor than the others the elf had interacted with. He had the distinct impression that she had been waiting to greet him, but he hadn’t seen any naga leave ahead of Lita and Tila to inform her.
“Your here to take me to the queen?”
“Yesss, my lord. Ssshe has many tasssksss to oversssee, so when Ssshe was informed of your impending arrival Ssshe asked me to Ssserve you until Ssshe was ready.”
“Thank you Aanya, it’s nice to see someone I recognize. I wish I had done a better job remembering everyone’s names, but it was a bit of a whirlwind.”
Cire’s pack hit the ground with a thud and he started pulling out bundles and placing them on the sand. First were a series of cloth wrapped bunches of smoked meat – boar, deer, rabbit, and goat. The next was a single large bundle of fresh boar sealed in a hide. Finally, he took out the magical serving platter they had found in the bolthole and handed it to her.
“I saw some tracks from your people up by the ropes. Have you done anything besides check it out? I doubt you’ve had a chance to hunt anything. I brought as much meat as I could carry. The platter should help increase the amount available more than a simple packs worth though. Do you know what it is?”
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“Yesss, my lord. I am quite adept at the arcane artsss. Your going to give this all to the tribe? Not keep it for persssonal ussse?”
A chuckle escaped before Cire had a chance to school his expression and shrugged.
“I’m a member of the tribe now right? I managed to trade a gem that I found a while ago for the meat. I cleared out most of the available excess. There should be another delivery by the dwarf that was with me, Durg, in a few days once the hunters bring down more large game.” Cire paused andclosed the top of his pack, leaving it on the ground.
“Let’s call the platter a loan. I can get by without it for a while and it’s better that I left it with you. That’s actually why I am here today, I need to go on a trip away from this valley and I don’t know how long it will take to get back.”
An unreadable expression crossed the elder naga’s face and then she nodded, lost in thought as her fingers traced the edge of the platter. Then, as if startled by her own lack of mindfulness, she blinked her two sets of eyelids rapidly. She made a piercing hissing sound and waved her hand towards a nearby pair of males who hurried over.
“Take thisss all to the Ssstoresss and then return to your previousss tasssk.”
With haste, the two males scooped up the various bundles and made their way across the rock bridges over the lake. Cire paid them no mind once they had left, still trying to puzzle out Aanya’s reaction, and failing. After taking care of business, they were left to converse and the fangless one took him on a second tour of the lake. Aanya pointed out small details about the lake he had missed on his previous visit.
Fresh and spotlessly clean, the naga’s fish processing station reminded Cire of the basics of mass production. No male broke down a whole carcass, they made a few quick cuts and passed the tilapia looking fish to the next male. By the end of the line they had not only removed two clean fillets, but also all the extraneous meat to be found, leaving little waste. The men were noticeably more expressive with their faces, without the lanterns they compensated as they could.
Aanya took him for another swim down into the depths of the lake and to the hidden living quarters of the naga. He was starting to get a sense that they were entering an artificially constructed underwater complex. It was still hard to make out until they neared the honeycomb structure of amber light that held the queens quarters. They dipped to the side, away from the familiar larger entrance from before, and entered a smaller tunnel.
Stepping off from the cushion of water, more accustomed than last time, Cire was startled by immediately being rushed by toddler to pre-teen sized naga hatchlings. The little boys and girls all had light blue shading mixed with gray and black. Hurried hissing of nagai bounded through the room. An elder with a yellow lantern flickered it wildly and called out with a clear scolding hiss causing the little ones to scurry back.
Cire grinned and laughed, deep and filled with joy. The bundle of kids weren’t exactly adorable, but they were cute in their own way. Typical childhood issues abounded within the gathered naga. Some had zits, others nervously stroked greasy hair, and one even sported a leaky nose that she constantly wiped on the back of her arm.
Aanya smiled as one of the little boys wrapped himself around her tail in a very full body hug. She bowed her head slightly in apology.
“They can’t Ssspeak anything but nagai yet my lord. I would be happy to transsslate anything you would like to Sssay or asssk them.”
Smile still firmly affixed, Cire went to the middle of the moss carpeted room and snatched up a leather ball. A quick toss between his hands and he looked to Aanya with a shake of his head.
“I don’t think we need to be able to talk to get to know each other.”
For the next hour the naga children zipped around playing ball, tag, and other simple childhood games with Cire. Kalani came to the nursery towards the end and played with the hatclings as well, showing a very different side to her personality than he had seen so far. Leaving the little naga with a treat, he used the platter to create a spiced roast and left it with their minder to prevent a frenzy.
Escaping during the distraction, Kalani and Cire relocated to her quarters for privacy. He gave her the platter and let her know about the meat he had managed to bring. She had the same unreadable expression on her face that Aanya had.
“Sorry I couldn’t find any more food. They have plenty of grain and dried fruit back in Sunset, but their stores of meat aren’t as abundant. I asked Stout to keep any extra meat they get. It’s a tertiary operation compared to the logging and mining, but the hamlet has a tannery. A lot of the miners and farmers have some basic hunting skills. If you stick to the woods near the lake with your own hunting parties they shouldn’t run into them.”
Cire had let his mouth go on autopilot again and drastically overshared. Listening with obvious amusement, the naga queen greedily took in the information. Kalani lead him to sit on the moss and placed the platter onto a nearby stone table. Snaking her tail around his sitting form she gave him a squeeze.
“Husssband, why do you do thisss?”
“Aanya asked the same question. Is it not expected that the territorial ruler helps their bonded settlements? Maybe it’s my way of saying sorry that I need to leave and I don’t know for sure when I will get back, probably during the summer.”
“Where will you travel? Ssshall I have Sssissstersss I trust accompany you?” Kalani asked.
“I’m going to go to the Tempest Treetops. It’s an elven settlement in the forest at the base of the mountains. Selene will be with me. I don’t know if naga would be welcomed, but it’s best if I travel inconspicuously anyways. Thank you for the offer.”
They spent the rest of the evening much like their first. Quietly conversing about the naga and the lay of the land above the caverns. Kalani moved closer to him during their talk until she was sitting in his lap with her tail coiled around him. She brushed his hair out of his face and tucked it behind his ears.
Slowly, while holding eye contact, Kalani’s face began to change. Her features smoothed, her high angled cheekbones bent and her fangs shrunk to the size of human canines. Blinking her eyes, only a single set of lids closed to reopen. The scales on her cheeks and forehead melted away to display pale gray skin. Vibrant and bright, Kalani’s lavender hair framed a familiar, yet far more elven, face.
“My people can innately change our Ssshape. It’s one of our more common abilitiesss besssidesss water manipulation. I have not focused on it as an area of growth or practissse, but I have Sssome talent.”
For once, Cire didn’t speak, he leaned down and kissed her. Kalani didn’t melt, she wasn’t that kind of woman, she pressed back fiercely. Tugging on his lip with her teeth, she let a low hiss rumble from her. Then she leaned back with her arms wrapped around his neck.
“It took you long enough, husssband.”
Smiling, he kissed her again, lightly on the cheek this time.
“I’m still figuring this all out. Unlike you, I haven’t been married before. How long do your people typically date or court each other before they wed?”
Chortling hisses that Cire now recognized as laughter came from Kalani. Her tongue brushed ticklishly across his neck and collarbone. Shaking her head, she leaned back and pulled him with her to lay in the moss.
“Cire, we don’t. We take the malesss that catch our eye when and asss we please. If no other female challengesss a claim then we have firssst right to the male. If it weren’t for your title I Sssussspect some of my Sssissstersss would have already requested you to attend their needsss.”
He wasn’t blushing, but Cire was tongue tied. Kalani pressed into him, nestling against his side and resting her head on his arm. Her hand lightly stroked his torso as she spoke with a disappointed tone.
“We must wait until you return to consummate the marriage. If you are not here when the eggs hatch it would be dangerous for the children. It will give me time to set some of the changes I have spoken about with the fanglessss onesss in place.”
Cire nodded, he was appropriately distracted by the prospect of children that his passions cooled. He moved a hand over her hair and stroked it, letting his fingertips wander over her shoulders. He didn’t know whether to be relieved, disappointed, or both.
“Why would the children be in danger if I wasn’t here?”
Leaning into his hand, Kalani closed her eyes before responding.
“Up until you arrived, we had no way out of this place. No way to increase our yields. Only the strongest females, and maybe a single male, from each clutch of eggs are allowed to live. This is why the elders raise the hatchlings, they make those decisions. I could command them to cease the practissse, but I prefer to show them it is no longer needed before I have to. Many of the fanglessss onesss hold reservations; about me, our bonding, and the future. I may be queen, but without them, the tribe would be lost.”
They kept talking while holding each other close. The topics became more mundane as the hours grew late. A male came to deliver dinner and served it to them. Cire was pleased when he got to watch Kalani unabashedly devour a piece of the fresh boar. Her enjoyment of the meat evident by the little moans of pleasure escaping her lips between bites.
By the time he was being guided back to the ropes in the great hall, he was starting to feel downright comfortable around the naga. While many of the mannerisms and traditions of the tribe were foreign to him, they weren’t complicated. He tied his pack, full of various potions and duergar equipment, to the ends of one of the ropes to haul up. Once he was back up to the surface a small voice at the back of his head was telling him to stay.