CHAPTER 61 - Natives
Chasing the trail of scattered totems near the river, I end up finding a bigger group of them, all gathered in the same place, forming something similar to a border around the dangerous zone.
What dangers lay in the area I just came from, I have no idea, but I will try to find out soon, and a lot more things too. Let’s hope the people that built these things live near.
I walked in a straight line from the place, and sure enough, I spot a village far away. The village isn’t big, hosting a few hundreds of people at most, which in reality is a lot for such an isolated place.
The houses are small, and not many of them go higher than one floor, most of them are built with some kind of clay and the roof is made from logs and big leaves from the trees above. The village resembles quite a bit a normal human village that you could find in some places of Earth with similar conditions, so I approach for a closer look.
Crawling around the edge of a cliff near the village, I peek over the edge to get a clear view of the place, and sure enough, there are humans roaming the street. No major differences are to be appreciated from this distance between them and any other human I know, being far too similar to us to be another species.
They are the same as the guards of the vampires, who supposedly were humans before being enslave and converted into vampires by the head of the family of vampires. The guards of the vampires were a bit different,mostly because of their pale appearance thanks to them being no longer humans and having no blood constantly running through their bodies.
Knowing that I need information, I end up setting up camp nearby, hiding amidst the sea of trees on one of the more leafy tree’s canopy to avoid detection. For days I spy on them, and try to forge a connection with them with my mana like the one some monsters did with me to talk the same language.
It takes longer than expected for anything that I create with my mana to resemble anything similar to what I want, yet little by little I am getting there with the help of Bruma, whose connection with me works as a perfect frame to copy.
The villagers go around the village and out of it to hunt daily, but not even one of them notices my probing. I create similar yet different constructs each time, modifying and changing parts here and there, aways varying targets to avoid suspicion.
The closest I get to my construct working as intended is on the third day, where I was able to send a greeting through the link to one of the guys who was coming back from hunting. Sadly, after delivering my greeting and letting the guy confused look around, information started leaking through the link onto his mind so fast that I had to instantly shut down the whole thing before I fried his brain, letting me realize just how dangerous this mind related magic is.
After four days, I leave.
After three long days of grinding my only known way of communication with the natives I choose to leave to avoid being found by anyone who might be searching for me.
Three days in the same place is far too long when I am probably wanted, so I set off to the next village to continue my practice with my much needed magic.
Rushing through the jungle, I border the area where the totems are to help me maintain a stable route. Inside this thick jungle, it is the only clear landmark that I can follow and be able to maintain a clear route that I will be able to re-track if I ever need to go where I started my journey.
Under the thick forest, I make my way, each day being faster than the one before, getting used to the layout of the jungle.
I took my time to watch those hunters that left the village to observe how they maneuver around the jungle and it was worth it. It will always be more efficient to just start jumping from one tree to another at a higher altitude, but that leaves me far too exposed to anything near, so for now, I stick to the ground.
The next village I find it's 2 days away from the first one, at least at my speed, which is definitely slower than these natives as I am being careful not to leave too many traces of my passage and I am not fully used to transverse the jungle yet, so I am still slower than them.
Seeing the even smaller scale of this second village makes me choose another approach. With how primitive these villages are and how isolated they are, I doubt they are in contact with anything else other than maybe the couple villages next to them, so I take a more direct approach, betting that my assumption is true and I will speed up my escape of this jungle.
Closing in, I enter the village where the entrance seems to be. A couple of long and thin logs signaling it, positioned into an arc at the front of the clay buildings, with a small fence made of sticks going all around the rest of the settlement.
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I approach with both my arms in the air, showing that I do not carry any weapon, be it primitive or of any class. My appearance is far from optimal, resembling more a wild beast than anything else after so many days in the jungle on my own.
My clothes are filled with holes and I am missing a much needed bath. I am already barefooted since my shoes weren’t able to resist for long the harsh environment of the jungle and the friction produced from my fast traveling.
I shout a greeting to make them aware of my presence the moment I walk below the primitive entrance, hoping that my friendly approach will get me as much of a warm welcome as I can get.
“W̵̱̖͎̟̜̭̥̏̈́̊̏̈̉̈͆̕̚h̶͕͇̭̰̽͠ỏ̴̩͖̪̬̠̽̂̅͊̔̎̊͝?̸̺̺̟̖͉͕̄”
“W̷̪͕̰̿̄͂̅̽̐͌͘h̴͈̫̗͋͛̀͂̐e̸̢̥̦̻̟̪̔͒̓̾̈́̿́̽r̸̥̠͔̫͓̘̺͉͊̎̿͊́̑̋̀e̶͔̠̫̻̩̪̬͍͊̃̃͘ ̴̢̏̾́̑̂̀̄̈́d̸̛̳̩͇͚̩̝̂̐̐́͗̅̚i̸̬̩̠̅͌̓̽͝͝ͅd̸̨͉̱̬͔̹͍̑ ̵̛̣̙̤̀̀͗͌̕͘͝h̷̨͔̫̬̮̬͈͇̅͘ę̵̡̩͍͖̝̣͈̐͑͒̎̒̄̇͘̚͜ ̸̻̹̥̼̂̈́̆̈̽͘c̷̢̬̬̼̪͔̬̔͐̋͂̊́̈̀̚ͅã̸̻̠̹̬̬͝m̵̲̊ͅe̵̡͕͗͐̔̈̒̏̈́̀̅͘ ̸̧̲̞̘͊͜f̶̡̩͉̜͈̀̽̊͗́̍͝ͅȑ̸̯̙̗̰͐́̅̈́̈́̑̕̚̚ő̶͇̹̻̳̰̟͇͇̀̋̑̃m̶̡̱̪̱͔̟̖̪̚?̵̺̫͆̅̓”
The nearby people finally notice me, getting closer and some of the kids that were playing around even asking me something I can understand. The words that come out of their mouths are a lot clearer than the ones from the vampires, not carrying any of those guttural sounds the others made, yet they still talk a whole different language.
Everything seems to go nice as they get to me. I may not be able to talk with them, yet they don’t seem aggressive or scared of me, which is a good enough start in my book.
D̴͖͔̫̊͘̕͝ǫ̶̛͚́͊͊ň̸͚͇̺̤̙̫͉̻̇̑͋̚͜'̶̨̛̳͍̗̞̻͈̫̩͇̃̀͒͋̒̕ţ̵̦̞̙̔̉̿͊͌̈̕ ̸͓̳̟̾̂̚͝g̸̼͈̈̅̐͑̓̃̇͊̽͠e̷͖͔̽̋̑̀͊̈́t̶̢̘̼͙̫͗ ̵̨̢̼͕̺̹͔̩̏̾͑̓͋̔́͝͝c̷̖͖͍͓̿̾̎̕͜͜͜͜͜l̶̢͔̱̻̙͈͎̼̠̜̒o̸̟͎͓͈͚̜̰̜̐͆͂̒̾͛͂͜͝ͅs̶̨̼̝̭̬̭͙͈̣̏̋̑̃͜ȩ̴̢̹̙͙̼̻͑̇̈͑̊͊̚ ̶̟̜̙̅͊͊̒͛͝ẗ̴̼̺̩̺̘͈̞́͋̑̒͒̔̑̕͝ͅō̶̢̭̅͑͗̒͊̏̕ ̴̧͕̙̥̣̜̲̺̙̥̾͑̈͌̉ḩ̸͇͉̰̭̯̮͙̮̃͌͋͘͜i̵̱͕̙̥̬̳̙̐̇͌̓̔̍̚͝͠m̴͍͚̲͔̔̇ ̵̘͕̔́͑k̴̨͎̘̮̹̿͋̋͒̎̐̉̀͜į̸̢̦̞͝ḑ̵̢̭̳̟̠̼̩̬̀s̵̡̺̱̾̐̂̀!̶̛̝̦̪̥̳͙̆͗̇
Only before an older man leaves one of the houses and signals the kids to go away, shouting something at them.
‘Obviously there had to be someone more distrusting than the rest, but I guess that for the best, I would be suspicious too if they just welcomed me in.’
Ẅ̷̬͇̹̬̬͕͈̠́̔̌̈̈́͂̀́͝ͅh̸͇̠̰̼͓̬̰͉͛̍͂̓́͛͌̌̍̓o̶̦̖͚̍̏̆̑̑͘͠ͅ ̵̧̨̻̭͍̫̆̋̇̐̄̔͝a̶̯̲̱̣̪̰͎͈͆̋ȓ̵̘̟̻̙̯ë̶͔̟͖̲͍̐̒̌̈͌͝ ̴̟̞̫͈̖͇͉̰͉̀̈́̀͐̀̈́̍͝͝y̶̤̬͉̘̓͗ǫ̵̹̻̗̬̈́̅̌ù̵̢̢̞͓̝̭̣̥̩̌́͊̿̅̓̚͝ͅ?̸̪̟̰͖̭̝̑̋̃͑̓͗͒̽͘ ̶̧̰͉͍̙͎̬̈̾̑̀͋̈́̃̑͠ ̸͇̠̺̗̝̥̅̽̉͆̇A̴̢̙͙͚͔̮̓̅͛̋͑r̵͔̜̫̳͓̥̟̯̃́͝ë̷̡̡̠̖͚͒̏̊̈́̀̓̚͠͝ͅ ̶̨̢̩͚̮̭̲̜̟͒̽̈́̔̚y̷̧̧̬̰̠̖̆̏͒ô̷̳̫̬̟̾̅̀̀͛̾͑u̸̱̬͎̦̽̔͛̉̃̉ ̸̨̤͕̞̤͇̱̤͕̤͗̈́̈͒͋̅͝e̴̖͇̼͙͓̲͓̠̾͋͒̅́͐͜͜v̵̧̻̙͇̝̹͂̀̐̄͆̕e̵̝͆̈́n̵̡͂͋ ̸̧̢̱͍͎̦͆̀̈̕h̶̥̥̘̯̻͓̮̗̥̎̈́͌̈́̑͝u̵̧͇̘͌̔͗̓̀́̿̚m̵̗̳͖͖̈́͑͂͒͋͒̅͑͘ͅa̶̛̖̹̽̓̃̔̍̉̾̽̕n̴̢̏̉̿̏͝?̸̹͍͓̜̲͔̠̹̱̍͊̈́̄̇́̈͝͝ͅ
He asks me something, but I can’t understand, so I stay quiet, not moving an inch in case he might find it provoking.
He throws a lot of questions in quick succession at me, yet unable to answer or understand them and with him growing nervous, I take a gamble, creating a link with him and send him a “I am friendly and lost” through it before shutting it down so as not to harm him.
The link takes place, and the message goes through it just fine, yet the expression on his face goes from confused and suspicious to scared and shocked.
He starts shouting at the other people with way too much passion and then all of them kneel before me, all mumbling something to themselves like some kind of preaching.
Scared that I may have made a wrong assumption with my plans here and worried that I may have overstayed my welcome, I flee, quickly jumping from tree to tree and hastitly leaving the village of preaching people behind.
‘Fuck, I may have fucked me over, what if now they go around the nearby villages saying some weird shit like a mythical beast in human skin came to them or something.’
‘Why the heck did they start preaching and kneeling in front of me? It must have been the link, damn I wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction.’
I wonder what it is my best course of action now, and for a second I even think of going back and getting rid of witnesses, but I refrain from doing so, there was too many people there, half of them being kids, I would need to obliterate the whole village to assure myself that no-one escape, and that's far too ruthless.
Running from those thoughts, I end up running for hours before finally stopping at some point further along the line of totems. I find myself weightening my options, knowing that if I do the same I will probably get the same or similar reaction.
‘Now that I already messed up, I need to at least try and get something out of it.’ Thinking along those lines, I make my way towards the next village that shouldn't be far from my current position.
Sure enough, I reach another settlement similar to the ones before a while after, and I take a similar approach as before, just without the magical link, trying to avoid the same outcome.
At first it all starts the same way, kids and nearby people surround me with curiosity and ask me a lot of questions. Then, instead of an elder, what comes to greet me is a small group made out of their hunters, the people I have seen leave their villages in search of food a few times already.
The leader of the group looks at me with scrutiny, examining my appearance. I can spot suspicion in his eyes, yet I don’t know what to expect. I can only hope for the best.
W̴̛̤̗̽̑̇͐͒̀͌̽h̸̛̗͖͉̽͑̈́̾̍̎̓͘i̸̦̋̓̒̑̈́̀̔͘͝c̴̛̬͓̣̽̅͘͜h̷̛̲͍̰͒̔̒͜ ̶̮͉̱̓̔́̍̈́̿͑̿͐͘ṯ̷̹͖̫̻͓̲̣͔͊̿̔͋̉̀̾͗ͅr̵̟̀̄͌̔̄̐̚͘͝͝ì̵̱͕̻͈͓̥̺̟̪̎̓̕͜b̵̛̺̟̳̥͗̊̍͛̍̅͊̚͠ͅͅĕ̶̛̹̬̩̲̹̝́͗̀̀͘͝ ̴̧̬͔̼̦̱̘̩̆̏͒͛͛͂̋͒̏ã̷̛̫͈͙̪̻̞̲̲͍͓̋̎̈́̅r̷̭̝̳͊͌̚ë̷̙̯͕͇͎́͗̉̀ͅ ̷̨̤͕̯̘̀̊̉̋y̶̟͖̘̞̮̯̫͖̺̿͐̄̾̄̊́͑͒ơ̵̢̮̏͑͛̀̋u̵̧̙̫̩͚͉̽̌͋́͛͊͜ ̶̮͚̯̰̰͂͆̀̐̊͋͗f̴̨̧̙̟̹̈̿͘̕͜r̶̳̯̼̼͈̳̯̭̀̑͂͝o̸͙̗̺̺̤̹͊̿̔̚͝m̵̮̀͑̂̋̈?̷̕͠ͅ
He asked me something, but I obviously have no idea what he means with that, so I just answer something in kind to make myself seem as friendly as I can. It’s probably better to say something even if they aren’t going to understand it than to stay quiet.
“I come in peace.” I say.
They all look confused at me, but I can only look back at them. At least if I don't plan on using magic.Seconds tick by and I start to feel anxious when there isn’t any response from the guy.
f̷̩̼̔̀̅̃̽r̸͍̐̄ơ̶̹͚̫̤̖̳̿̂̎̎̄̈̌̏m̷̨̡̺͔͉͓͚̅̓̈́̇ ̸̰̜̖̭͎͙͍̋w̵̰̜̬͎̲̮̝̗̘̯̍̋̾̽͋̉̈́̇͝͝ḥ̸́͊ḭ̴̲̞̀͝c̵̢̖͈̘͍̥̗̆̿̒͒͌͊̀̍̀ḫ̵̙̹̘̺̥̋͆̅̅͝ ̸̹͉̾͆̇͌͐ḑ̴̢͈͚̻͎͉͉̟̻̏͌̓̅͘̕͝i̸̫̯̘͌̉̓͋̚ͅr̵̬̺̝̫͉͈̙̻͆̈́̊̊͐̀̚̚e̷̱͍̳̗̥͔̹͈͉̺̓́̏c̸̤̝̺̦͑̓̾ẗ̷̗̱̺̪̫̜͊͊͊͗́̈́͜͝i̵̠̇͌o̷̢̘̘̱̠̗͍͎̾́n̵̲̰͉̮̞̏ ̶̡̺̙̣̹̜̈̎̕ͅd̷̡̧͇̱̜̰̹̥͔̭͆̏̓i̵̡̛͚̪̻̩̭͎̳̬͒́͋̿̏͆́̕͜ḓ̷̢̢͇͛̑̀̐̔̾̕͝ͅ ̸̢̯̈́̆̕h̷̩̲̗͎̱͙̀e̶͈͕̖̲̒ ̶͎̝̯̮̗͈̞̪͈̔̑͂̍c̴̳̲̼͕͙̓͆̈̎͂̑̋͘͝ͅỏ̷̢̬̬̥̹̗̪͆̋m̴͔̥̞̉͐e̵̡̙̺̪̜̜͍͍͇̜͛͑͆̃ ̸̧̨̱͓͕̲̒͊̇͌͒́̚f̷̡̫͎̮̒̔̎́̀̂̊̈́̑̈r̴̼͉̤̠̫̋o̶̠͕͙̗͉̰̬̐̓̿̈͗͂͘m̸͈̯͍͔̹̦̱̈́̍̋̊́̃͒̐͌͜͝?̴̲̬̬̋͂̾͂̽̆͐
He asks something to the people around, but there is no response from them. Then, he looks at me and signal on each direction, my guess is that he either wants to know where I am going or where did I come from.Thinking like that, I point behind me, where the line of totems is and where I come from, who know, maybe even if it is somewhere bad I can get some information out of them.
However, once I do, all of them draw their weapons amidst yells, pointing all their weapons at me.
‘Guess that wasn’t the answer they were looking for…’