After a few days of training, it was finally time for the assault on the Eldritch Forest. Nori went on ahead to the Coalition Village while Gi and Poe walked at a leisurely pace towards the hills that the village hid in. Gi lifted his head, taking in the vastness of the sky-ocean as lazy ripples drifted across its surface.

Even from so far away, he could have sworn its salty smell permeated the entire country side. If it wasn't for the smoke from the Fighting Drakes' mountain and the Coalition Village, it might have smelled quite nice. Some vague memory of Danna receiving a ring on a boat on the ocean came to mind.

"She deserves so much more than that," Gi mumbled.

When he and Poe finally arrived, the Coalition Village was in full force. It looked like nearly two hundred monsters were all gathered there. Krayli passed out collars to each monster before they went and lounged in front of the town. Most of those gathered were some form of goblin, but he could see werewolves, golems, and skeletons as well. Apparently those were the most common dual race humanoids. Each of them should be just as strong as he was prior to the Dungeon run.

Hillin stepped out from the main production building that they'd met in before, his hands folded behind his back. Once he caught sight of Gi and Poe, he flashed his kindly smile and made his way over to them. Gi took a deep breath in and then slowly released it. Now the dance of betrayal would begin. Each of them feigning trust until they could stab the other in the back.

"You made it. Excellent," Hillin said, handing each of them a collar. Gi placed both of them in his robe for now with a slight glance at Poe. With his [Borrow My Strength] trait, he would be fine unaided in the forest, but Poe would have to rely on Hillin's technology. Was that the first step in betrayal? Could he risk Poe like that?

Hillin didn't seem to even notice his concerns and instead turned back to watch his gathered army continue to receive collars of their own. Gi figured it was time to make his first move as well. What could he say to help ensure the golem leader that he wasn't a threat to him? That the two of them were on the same side? "Hillin, thank you for thi-"

"Krayli wants to kill you, you know." Hillin didn't even turn to glance at him as he dropped that bomb. Why threaten him now? Where were the subtle barbs? Krayli was staring daggers at him from where she continued to pass out the collars. Gi waited for the golem to say more, but he stayed silently watching his army. Something seemed different about the golem compared to the last time they’d spoke. What had happened?

"I thought you needed another Elite?" Gi asked, "You have the army. You could definitely kill me if you wanted to."

"I suppose we could, but despite how I look, I'm old. I'm tired of conflict." Hillin's shoulders sagged. "You may not have noticed, but we don't have any biological functions in the Child stage. No waste, no drive to breed, no age. Sleep provides the only verisimilitude that mimics real life."

Gi looked down at his paws. He hadn't really ever noticed. There had never been an instinct for any of those. "Are you saying we're not real?"

"We're as real as the hand that pilots the puppet."

What was a puppet? A flash of understanding came to him from Danna and he understood the reference, but that only provided more questions. Chiefly, how did Hillin know what a puppet was?

Hillin chuckled. "Yes, we're the same. There are many humanoids who know more than they should. Segments of past lives, or like me, divine gifts."

"Divine gifts? You have a god?" Gi's mind was whirling from all the new information. He'd come in expecting to simply smile and lie and ingratiate prior to killing the man, but all of this?

Hillin gave him a smile, but the collars had already been passed out and Krayli stepped up to the two of them. She gave a glare to Gi before addressing the golem. "All the other monsters are ready to march."

"Very good. Let's get them moving then. We've waited long enough."

With that, Krayli barked out commands to the mob of different monsters and they all started moving in a slow wave. It was anything but orderly, but they were monsters so what could one expect? Krayli started to turn back and walk with Hillin, but a request for her to scout had her turning away with a wary glance at Gi.

Hillin seemed to lack all suspicion or at least didn't feel threatened by Gi at all. The strange conversation they were having was ruining his confidence. Sure, he didn't really have a plan per se, but he'd finished the infancy stage at the top. Shouldn't that make him one of the strongest?

"Noctua Dominus, the God of Knowledge," the golem said. "Through His guidance, I've been able to achieve all that you've seen here. I've pushed for years for us to arrive at this point and for this moment."

"Are all of these monsters followers of Noctua as well?" Gi looked out over the small horde that crossed the hills towards the plains. If he wanted to spread Danna's majesty then he was far, far behind. Hillin simply chuckled.

"No, monsters are a selfish lot and rarely willing to adopt a higher power. Being the God of Knowledge lacks some appeal as well. Few understand the value of knowledge at this stage. As the name suggests, we are still only children after all."

The two lapsed into silence, following after the not too quiet horde as they finally made it into the plains. While that happened, Gi tried to slot this new information into his plan or lack thereof. Would this make it easier or harder to betray them?

"And Krayli?" Gi asked.

"She follows him, yes, but less because her belief and more because of me." He patted Gi gently on the back and the cold steel of his hand made the Gang Otter flinch, but the golem gave no notice. "I found her when she was new to this stage being attacked by another monster. I saved her, took her under my wing, and helped her train. Now she dotes on me like a loving daughter might a cherished father."

Gi nodded, not sure of how to respond. Krayli was more intelligent than Poe, but he supposed it was similar to that. Maybe some monsters were just more precluded to being followers? Or maybe it was some inherent pack trait?

"That's why no matter what happens. I'd like you to make sure she survives this."

"I can do that," Gi said. He wasn't sure why he agreed, but from the flashes of insight from Danna, he felt he understood the desire of a father.

"Good. Good. She has a great potential for the next stage."

Gi practically spun on the man. "Do you have knowledge of the next stage?"

"I do. Since you've listened to my request, I suppose I can tell you more about it. In the Adolescent Stage, we step fully into the land of monsters. Progenitors like us and their species as well as other truly bred monsters will be in abundance. There are cities and nations and war. Monsters thrive on conflict."

Gi tried to imagine something like this world they were in now, but infinitely bigger. One where monsters could grow old and die. If monsters could breed, would that mean they'd have relationships? Families? An image of Danna with her dopey follower and a small child appeared into his mind. With monsters also living in cities, how much more complex would it get?

"You're smart," Hillin said, "I can tell you understand. How does a Progenitor carve a place for themselves in a world like that? A world of already developed clans and cities. A place where the future stages all intermingle? That brings up my next offer. Join me. With your follower, you've seen the benefits of monsters cooperating. Together, carving out space for ourselves would be simple."

Gi started to tell him to shove off, the lie of cooperation dying with his flippancy, but a system message stalled him.

Accept Boss Hillin's offer to join his Coalition?

Accept: Change goal to "Rise or Fall Together"

Reject: Keep current goals. Progress 2/3 Completed.

Betray: Change goal to "Steal An Opportunity"

"Yes, it's a system backed change. Krayli received the same options that you're seeing now."

Gi reviewed his options, but they didn't give much information on what they entailed. He could assume what Rise or Fall Together was, but what would about the Steal An Opportunity goal? As hard as it would be to kill three Elites as part of this attack, he still felt like going with the goal he knew. Without thinking further, he selected "Reject." He glanced up to Hillin, but the golem didn't appear to have received any notification of his own. "Then let's work together," Gi said with a smile.

"Excellent." Hillin returned his smile as though he couldn't imagine Gi to possess any sort of duplicity. Now, Gi was back to how he'd expected this team up to go. Lying and waiting for the betrayal. Feeling like he was back on familiar ground, he pushed for more information.

"Do you know anything about the post Child Stage rewards?"

“Noctua believes in the sharing and disbursement of knowledge.”

“Is that a yes?"

"It is. After the Child Stage, a Progenitor chooses their Job and Skills."

Gi was about to ask what those were, but knowledge flooded his mind. The flashes of inspiration or memories were getting more and more frequent. Could that be from his increased connection to Danna? "So how does that manifes-"

"Peace," Hillin said, holding his hand. "There will plenty of time to talk later, but for now, we prepare for the attack."

Hillin's eyes were focused on the Eldritch Forest that had slowly grown larger in their view since leaving the Coalitions hills. They were still a few hours out, but herding goblins was apparently a difficult task. Hillin left to speak to Krayli, leaving Gi and Poe alone.

Poe floated down near Gi's face. "D-do we have to go back to the forest?"

Gi patted Poe's back just above his flickering wings. "I'm afraid so. It's time to get a little revenge for my arm."