Chapter 54: Community

They arrived at Congrosus four days later, bursting with energy and ready to work. The island was about two thirds the size of Hessiopolis, and covered with a forest with the biggest trees Adriana had ever seen. It was a wide crescent, and greeted the Children of Stephanos with a gorgeous lagoon filled with simple huts along the shoreline.

A hundred villagers worked and played on the beach or in the water when the Duskbreaker came in. Upon seeing the ship, half of them turned tail and ran, while others gathered on the sand in a group. They pointed into the sky as Eva flew by for a closer look. She buzzed past them and into the forest at the edge of the village. A second later, she disappeared from sight.

“They didn’t attack her,” said Adriana, squinting. She could see much further than before, but she had to push herself to make out details of the villagers. “They’re all beastmen. Every one of them!”

All except a couple of children, who still looked too young to have Divinity or Bestia. The rest of them had fangs, claws, and fur in varying degrees. The most extreme of them looked like bipedal animals, while most had a few features, but none of them could be mistaken for pure humans.

“Strange,” said Lucas. The team spread out behind him and Adriana, watching the island grow as their rowers kept pace. “The reports talked of much fewer people, and a smaller village. Our goal is to find the source of Maw Divinity and take it back with us. Past that, be careful and do not start any fights. With any luck, we can talk our way through this and then go home.”

“Sure,” said Tobias, with no confidence or enthusiasm in his voice. “We’ll just ask around a bunch of beastmen and hope that everything will be going fine.”

“To be fair,” said a hesitant Iris, “they didn’t attack Eva. She hasn’t come back yet either, though…”

Cora groaned. “You lot are the worst sometimes. Most beastmen are just people, same as any other. Talk to them with respect and you’ll go far. Act like they’re subhuman…” the priestess trailed off, but looked pointedly at Adriana.

Davos stood between them. “I for one think this is a great opportunity. You all protect the people of the archipelago, right? Maybe they’ll have some trouble we can deal with, as a sign of peace and cooperation. Villages like this all have troubles they could use some help with.”

Lucas shrugged. “It couldn’t hurt. We’ll send boats to shore, and then we’ll start our investigation. Be ready in ten minutes.”

The words were more reminder than anything, as all of them were already prepared to go. Adriana continued to watch the villagers watch them. More disappeared past the beach, into the thick, overgrown forest. Only a few stayed there and waited for the boats to come to shore. When they did, a tall, lanky man with the scales, eyes, and tail of a lizard came up to them.

“Outsiders,” he said in a perfectly normal voice. “And not the normal traders. Why have you come to Congrosus?” The lizard-man stood a few feet away, not afraid but not comfortable either.

“Our oracle led us here,” Lucas answered. “Do you have a village headman we can talk to? We don’t want to inconvenience you or disrupt your life, but there is an important task we’re on, and perhaps he can help.”

The man’s tongue flicked out disdainfully. “You’ve already disrupted us. You bring a warship to our shores, when we have no need of war or protection. Please leave.”

“We can’t,” said Adriana. “Not until we find the source of the Maw Divinity.”

Lucas shot a look at her, but it was too late. The lizard-man’s golden eyes widened in recognition and distrust. “You will not find it here. Please leave.”

“Not until we talk to your headman,” Lucas said.

The man sighed and motioned for them to follow him. With one additional look of warning at Adriana, Lucas followed after, and everyone lined up after him. They cut across the center of the beach, past several tiny homes. Inhuman eyes followed them from a safe distance as sand became grass and shrub.

Although the forest was impossible to see through, there was a clear path around the largest of the trees. It was there Adriana looked up to see houses built up on the tallest branches of trees that grew knee-high to mountains. Enough to form its own village up there. Her gut tightened.

“I thought the reports said this village was tiny,” Adriana said, not bothering to whisper.

“They did,” said Lucas. “The reports are also old, and we haven’t had any need to update them. Before now.”

The lizard-man looked over his shoulder to sneer for a second before leading them into a sudden clearing. If the beach and trees had been occupied, this clearing was like a miniature city. Hundreds of beastmen stopped what they were doing upon seeing them. A woman who seemed half-bear crossed her big claws over her furry chest. More human children played with inhuman children, but upon seeing them, they hid behind parents and friends who had taken in Bestia.

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That more than anything surprised and horrified Adriana. How many people were on this island, and how many of them had consumed Bestia to become these creations? Some children were already beastmen, but the rest were normal, which could only mean one thing. She swallowed a lump in her throat and followed silently. The rest of the group wasn’t as quiet.

“There’s so fucking many of them,” Tobias whispered loud enough for Iris and Adriana to hear. “If they decide to attack us…”

“They’re just people,” Iris insisted. She waved enthusiastically to a little girl, who half-heartedly waved back, looking to a parent to make sure it was alright.

Buildings here were more complex, built out of sturdy wood and on stilts to stay above the damp ground. The majority of them were two stories, but a few were built higher, and connected to rope bridges leading to the first of the tree-houses. The headman’s house was bigger than the rest, as expected, and painted all kinds of bright colors rather than the normal, unadorned wood that made up most of them.

The headman was a stooped old man with the head, hands, and long tail of a rat. Adriana’s lip curled upon seeing him, but the headman’s nose wiggled in interest when the lizard-man led them up. Eva stood beside him, looking about as nervous as everyone felt. But she was still alive.

“Welcome,” said the headman in a small, raspy voice. “Your comrade here introduced herself and all of you. Congrosus welcomes the Children of Stephanos with peace and hospitality. You may rest easy, so long as you follow our rules and mean us no harm. Are you the leader?”

“I am Lucas,” said their leader, bowing respectfully. “I don’t mean to cause you or yours any undue discomfort or pain. We’re here on a mission and as soon as it’s over, we’ll be happy to be on our way and leave you all alone.”

“I see,” said the headman. “I am Vinc, and we’ll do what we can. Although when it comes to Maw Divinity, we cannot help you. We do not traffic with the Maw anymore. Not since she first turned against the world.”

Adriana looked around. More beastmen came up close. No one looked happy, but no one looked ready for violence either. Not yet, at least. Here under the trees, her Godmark was suppressed, and she was glad for it. Everything about this place raised her suspicions. The sooner they were done with this, the better.

“I understand,” Lucas said. “Not many would be willing to admit to such a thing in this day and age. But I assure you, we are not here to punish or hurt anyone. Especially not those who help us in cleaning the world of the Maw’s corruption. Our oracle was quite insistent we’d find a disciple of the Maw here.

“Now, maybe that disciple was here,” he said, shrugging. “We don’t care about this village one way or another. If the disciple was here and left, you just need to point us in the right direction, and we’ll leave. But if you don’t, we’ll have to go over every last inch of this island to be sure.”

Adriana had known what was going on, but seeing it in action made her sick to her stomach. Kind, steadfast Lucas was going to bully the headman into giving them what they wanted. He wouldn’t use any more pressure than he thought he had to, but he…they, were all going to barge in and take over. Do what we say, or else. It wasn’t right.

Vinc sighed and bowed his head, ears flattening against his skull. “It isn’t often we have outsiders,” he said. “But most of them have been peaceful and understand our plight. I was not aware that the Children of Stephanos were marauders, ready to punish anyone who doesn’t bend over backwards for them.”

Lucas’ jaw set. Behind them, the rest of the team muttered, and the nearest beastmen grew agitated. It wasn’t the start of a fight, yet, but no one was happy, and it was unlikely that either side would do anything to ease the tension.

Until the nearest tree shook, and a short, clipped, tapping announced someone else. Lucas and Adriana looked up to see a massive spider scuttling down the tree. More impressively, the upper half of a woman jutted out from where the spider’s eyes would be. She looked just past middle aged, with lines around her eyes and gray hair pulled back into a tail. Her arms were crossed over her chest, upper half clad in clothes as normal.

“I believe you are looking for me, then,” she said flatly.

The headman reached out for the air, pain in his eyes. “Shella, no! Don’t do this.”

Shella sighed and shook her head. “It’s too late, Vinc. They’re here for me, and you know how most humans are. Well, Lucas. Here I am. The source of the Maw Divinity, and the village healer. What now?”

Beastmen moved closer now. Adriana clenched her fists and looked around. Her gut told her violence was imminent, and she needed to make a display before someone thought she was easy prey. She wasn’t alone. Tobias had summoned his Spirit Bow and kept it aimed at the ground but ready. Eva pulled out a dagger, and her proximity to the headman caused a cry of alarm.

Lucas held up his hands. “What happens now is that you and I have a long conversation. And we’ll go from there. Can we handle this peacefully, Shella?”

The spider-woman scoffed. “One does not expect peace from those who seek to kill without understanding. But you will have peace from us. I will not resist.”

“Okay. Then you can expect peace from me and mine as well. Do you have a place where we can talk?”

Vinc cleared his throat. “Please, use my home. I’ll do what I can to make sure you are not disturbed, or spied on. If I’m allowed to move.” He eyed Eva, who put her dagger away at a nod from Lucas.

Shella finished climbing down the tree. Standing on all eight legs, she was taller even than Lucas. Her legs worked in a blur, powering her into Vinc’s home, the open doors large enough for her when she bent forward.

Lucas turned to the group. “Alright everyone. Behave. Get a drink or a bite to eat, get information you can about the village, and then we’ll…we’ll figure out what the best course of action is after we talked to Shella. Understood?”

The Children of Stephanos murmured agreements, though Davos and Cora didn’t look happy about the current events. Adriana turned to walk away when Lucas’ heavy hand landed on her shoulder.

“Not you,” he said. “Please, come with me. I could use your perspective.”

Nothing about this felt right, but Adriana couldn’t ignore a direct plea from him. “Okay. But I don’t like this.”

“I know,” said Lucas. “I don’t either.”