With the initial operation proving successful, Alex grew more emboldened. He had realized the superiority he possessed and how deploying the number of troops he did was overkill. Atarra hadn't said anything; however, she knew it was a valuable experience for the young man and that she should let him learn, especially when the stakes weren't too high.
Gradually, Atarra's military camp filled with all the rescued Gnolls. Most were not in a state to serve immediately, but with a couple of weeks of good food, they could recover.
"What do you plan to do with the influx of rescued?" Alex asked.
"Most can be used for labor and later incorporated into our armies. My main concern is what to do with the foreigners," replied Atarra, busy registering the newcomers.
For her, the top priority was reclaiming her clan members. Additionally, she wanted to include people from smaller clans. Those from the Sha clan or other major ancient clans wouldn't be easily recruited by her, as Atarra was a matriarch with a certain reputation before arriving on the Iretar Peninsula.
"I understand," responded Alex. He knew that Gnolls were generally frowned upon by other races, so he decided to handle the negotiations himself.
Most of the "foreigners" were dwarves. From his trip to the city, Alex had learned that not long ago, their last great empire had fallen from grace. For this reason, many expeditions had been launched to various parts, seeking diverse and often unknown goals.
"Hello, friends. My name is Alex," the young human tried to introduce himself to a frightened group of dwarves huddled in a corner of the camp.
However, the group didn't understand the human language, so they didn't comprehend what Alex was trying to convey.
Although there was no one around, Alex said, "Torel, could you help me translate, please?" Immediately, the elf materialized almost instantly.
"Of course, what do we have here?" Torel said jovially.
The dwarves were surprised by the situation – a human and an elf appearing out of nowhere in a camp full of Gnolls was, to say the least, a peculiar situation.
"Let's start from the beginning. I'm Alex, the leader of this expedition. I'd like to know if there are any injured or sick who need special attention," Alex asked them through Torel's translation.
When the dwarves heard the translation, they quickly shook their heads in denial, not speaking. Whether they thought Alex would get rid of them or that they really didn't need help remained to be seen.
"The next question is, do you have somewhere to go? Is there a nearby dwarven settlement?" Alex asked.
At this point, the dwarves thought more about the answer. Although they were grateful for the rescue, there was nothing certain for them, and it was evident they weren't willing to cooperate much.
"We have nowhere to go exactly. All we hope is to find another expedition and join them," was the dwarves' response.
"If, for the time being, you have nowhere to go, would you be willing to work for me? I have a deposit of acevidrio that I'll start exploiting soon, and I need to make shields and bows of quality with that wood. Do any of you know the craft?" Alex asked them.
Upon hearing the question, the dwarves frowned and began to whisper among themselves. Alex wasn't sure about the source of their problems, but he finally got an answer.
"Among our group, there is only one artisan skilled in the art of bows. The rest of us could work on making shields or some other masonry projects. However, we have doubts about the conditions of these jobs," the dwarves replied.
Alex noticed the change in their attitude and much preferred this side of them to being fearful in a corner. If they were willing to negotiate, they could achieve much better results.
"First, we'd like to know if you have slaves; do you intend to make us work forcibly for you?" The question came without mincing words.
Alex understood the dwarves' apprehension. Slavery was a natural thing in Glamoria; even the dwarves practiced it in their empire.
"No, I don't have slaves, nor do I plan to acquire them. I'll only work with free individuals," Alex replied.
The reason Alex was averse to slavery wasn't just a moral disposition. Although he abhorred slavery in his own world, throughout history, it had been proven that free nations produced much more than enslaved ones and ended up being more stable.
"Will you take care of our accommodations?" "We'll transfer you to a safer settlement in the north, and you'll work from there. You'll be under my direct command and only have to answer to me." "And when we have the possibility to leave?" "I don't plan to hold you back, although I hope you'll repay my generosity in some way. If not, you'll stay to fulfill the orders. At least I hope you'll teach my people how to do it."
The dwarves were already in favor of the deal they were offered. It was a cultural aspect among them to repay debts, so in some way, this aspect of the human pleased them. Besides, they knew that without help, they wouldn't get anywhere. Now it remained to be seen if he would really follow through on everything he had said, but that would take some time to judge the real character of a person.
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"What about the other prisoners? There are many more scattered in the other settlements," suddenly asked one of the younger dwarves in the group.
The group of dwarves was stirred for a moment, not knowing what to say. It was evident that they had many things to express, many things they wanted to say, but they managed to contain themselves. They knew it wasn't the time or the place, so they just turned to look at Alex and waited for his response.
"As you may have noticed from the camp, we are in the midst of a war with the Gnoll and Orc factions. We will continue fighting and bringing down their settlements. As for the prisoners, rescuing Gnolls is our top priority. If there is any other race, we will also free them, but I don't plan to take anyone with me who doesn't plan to cooperate with my cause," Alex was emphatic.
The dwarves quickly understood, and whether Alex liked it or not, they were truly intimidated by the cordial attitude with which he had delivered such a simple yet direct message. Alex was in total war, and he didn't plan to capture slaves. They had witnessed how the goblins were brutally massacred; not a single one survived in all the raids that took place that night, and the message the dwarves understood could be summed up as either you are with me or against me.
"Don't worry, Mr. Alex. If the mercy of your treatment extends to the rest of ours, you can be sure that everyone will willingly join your side," a dwarf quickly responded.
Alex noticed that there was a certain reluctance in him, something he didn't dare say, which began to find problematic. He didn't have much time to be constantly asking what their concerns were.
"Is there something wrong?" Alex asked.
Many dwarves hesitated to answer, but one of the younger ones found the courage to ask what was on his mind.
"There are several VIP dwarves in this sector, sir."
Almost instantly, when he uttered those words, the other dwarves tried to silence him immediately, causing Alex's annoyance.
With a hand gesture, Alex urged the dwarves to release the boy so that he could speak. However, the older dwarves insisted on keeping the boy quiet, saying that the boy was still a child and didn't know what he was saying.
Alex ignored these older dwarves trying to control the rest to keep quiet. He knew they were trying to hide important information, and although this annoyed him, he understood they were very wary of him and were trying to conceal vital information.
With another gesture, the nearby Gnolls approached and freed the youngest dwarf from the others, bringing him closer to Alex.
"What about these VIPs?" Alex asked again, facing a frightened dwarf with two armed Gnolls holding his arms in front of Alex.
At first, the boy stammered, trying to find the courage to speak until he could finally say, "There are at least a dozen important dwarves who entered this sector. It's not known if all were captured or even if they are still alive. But if you can have them on your side, they'll be good allies, or they could even be valuable prisoners for exchange."
The looks of the other dwarves changed to a really hostile one when the last words were mentioned.
"Don't worry. As I said before, I have no intention of using you or anyone else to gain anything from anyone other than what you can personally contribute to me," Alex said, trying to calm the anger of the other dwarves.
"As for you, little one, what are these names, what do they look like, and what do you want in return for this information?" Alex asked, asking one of the Gnolls to bring paper and ink to write down the information about these VIPs.
The boy looked slightly at the rest of his kin; a small doubt began to appear in his eyes. However, with willpower, he closed this and lowered his head, squeezing his fists with all his might. Then he began to recite all the important positions of each person. Unfortunately, the boy didn't know all the subjects in person, but he was able to give an approximate of their images and other clues that could help identify them.
"All I ask in return is the safety of my sister, as well as the promise of medicines or other care if necessary," the boy replied.
"I'll give orders to identify each girl of your race found, and if any matches your description, we'll send her in your direction. If she's alive, you'll have her by your side," Alex replied, although he knew the last comment might be insensitive to the boy. He didn't want to give him false hopes.
With this, Alex concluded the session and sent the dwarves to rest. He had received valuable information from many influential people in dwarven society.
"What do you think of the little ones?" Suddenly, Torel asked Alex.
"It's quite admirable that he wants to save his sister so much," Alex replied.
"I meant them in general," Torel said.
Alex looked back at Torel with a furrowed brow.
"I don't think they'd like being referred to that way; they are well known for holding grudges," Alex said.
" Well, it's not like there's much to fill anyway," Torel replied, shrugging before walking away.
Alex stayed there for a moment, not knowing what to do with what had just happened.
"Why are you staring at him so much?" Athena suddenly asked.
Alex was momentarily surprised by the sudden appearance of the owl.
As time passed, he was developing a great sense of hearing, which helped him locate threats or, ultimately, have a slight sense that something was wrong. And although he was slightly capable of feeling Torel's presence (when he wasn't really trying to hide), Athena's presence was extremely difficult to detect, even when right in front of you. It was almost as if she only existed for your eyes. The more he developed his instincts and detection abilities, the stranger he found this phenomenon.
"I don't know. I was just surprised by the sudden interaction. More than anything, I'm surprised at how much I've lost my sense of humor," Alex replied, sitting upright in his chair.
"Is that so? There's not much humor in the forest, I suppose. Anyway, today I've come to give you a mission on behalf of the Lightning Protector. There's a large number of invaders in an ancient remnant temple, and it has been proven that they have been performing evil rituals. So, the Lightning Protector is willing to reward you generously if you stop them and permanently seal the temple," Athena detailed to the young human.
Alex was about to accept instantly since this was the same temple Torel had indicated. He could kill two birds with one stone, although maybe it wasn't appropriate to say that out loud in front of Athena. However, what stopped him were the last words of the owl: permanently seal the temple. This seemed like a somewhat extreme condition since there could be things inside that were important or necessary for his future.
"I have a slight idea of what you're thinking. Believe me when I tell you there isn't much that's useful in that temple. And what does serve you will do you more harm than good," Athena finished.
"All right, I'll consider your words while I do this mission," Alex replied.
At noon the next day, while Alex was reviewing some documents with information he had acquired, he received a message.
"Mr. Alex, we are under attack!" a Gnoll rushed into his tent.