Scarface still didn't finish his sentence, but the boy shivered under the intense stare of the apes' eyes. He had no doubt that punishment would follow, maybe even more severe and painful than ant bites...

Ashwin hurriedly took out the prepared torch and matches, lit the fire, and took the torch in his hand. Using it as a weapon, he turned to Scarface. The flame reflected in the beast's red eyes. Ashwin swung the torch, thinking that this would scare the leader of the troop. ‘Surely, he is trying to act calm or is just frozen in fear.’

He never landed a single blow. Scarface caught the stick and pulled, making the boy stumble forward. The ape clenched the newly acquired torch and looked at it. Then slowly, he lowered the stick onto the damp grass and extinguished the flame.

"Just a fire," commented the beast, looking back at the astonished Ashwin.

"Why did you save me?! You let me live and then you threw me aside for a year. Then you took me to the other side of the wall and refused to let me leave. Just why?! What do you want from me?!"

Ashwin took a moment to catch his breath. The uncertainty, anger and resentment that had accumulated inside him burst out. Contrasted with the boy, Scarface was calm. Looking at the human’s feet full of scratches and bruises, the ape asked, "Would it be better if I let you be torn to pieces?"

"I need to go back and avenge my family," said the boy in a brittle voice. Ashwin held his breath, trying to calm down, but when he started talking again, it sounded wobbly. "I have to return and fight Virat, but I have no idea how to do so. But that's what I have to do. He destroyed the Cheda house, so if not me... but I feel so useless..."

"You are a cub," interrupted Scarface, before the boy could indulge in self-reproach any further. Clumsily, the ape walked on two feet and placed its paw on Ashwin's head. "You endured ant's bites, so for the troop, you came out as a grownup. But for humans, you are still a cub. What you need to do is learn and grow. When you grow up… then you can think of a plan and fight."

Ashwin looked back at the ape. These simple yet obvious words lifted a heavy burden from his shoulders, which had been growing over the last year. Minutes passed before he could calm his breathing. The ape's paw was still lying on the boy's head when the beast said, "Come. We need to talk."

They walked deep into the woods. The only barely visible trail was so thin that Ashwin thought it was just a path taken once or twice by a single horsepillar. The air was humid, and the ground began to feel damp. They were near the Second Eye Lake. The bank was hidden by high grass, and a stork hopper's grumbling could be heard from the shrubs. Feeling exhausted from the oawkwalker's encounter and face-to-face talk with Scarface, the boy couldn't even think about other dangers that might lurk behind a thick curtain of grass and bushes. He quietly followed Main One. Was the ape's leader leading him to some kind of punishment ground, or did he want to avoid tribesmen who would soon come to cut off the oawkwalker's carcass? Or maybe there was another completely different reason why they could not talk in the village, or at least at the place where they met.

Trying to catch his breath, Ashwin sat down on a rock for a moment. After returning back the way he came, they turned around and walked for a couple of more hours. His throat was dry, but the flask was almost empty. Ashwin looked around in hope to find a spring with fresh water or at least leaves with rainwater. The meadow felt strange with a lot of stones and no high trees. He glanced at the rock he was sitting on – it was covered with moss and ivy, but it was still visible. It stretched far, rising above the ground like a beast's crest. Ashwin moved his hand over the rock. His fingers stopped, feeling the unusual roughness of the polished stone surface. A crack between two rocks had been filled with mortar. He was sitting on the wall.

The realization made him look around the meadow once again. Now, with the effort, he could see the outlines of the houses. 'But humans didn't build any outposts near the lakes, if I remember correctly.'

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Let's go. It's not far now," Scarface called him, interrupting the boy's thoughts. The beast held a few thick branches in its hands.

Ashwin glanced over the ape's shoulder. They reached the area where one of the lakes' banks went higher and met a hill. They headed towards the bottom of the hill. Scarface took a torch and pointed at its end. The boy understood the gesture, but not its reason. The sun was still providing enough light. Arguing seemed like a waste of time, so Ashwin simply did as he was told and lit the torch. Only then did Scarface raise his paw and move a thick ivy curtain aside. They were standing in front of the cave.

The air inside felt stifling and dusty. The ceiling was generously decorated with endless spider webs. But apart from that, the cave was much cleaner than Ashwin had expected. The floor was flat and free of large rocks. As if it had been purposely kept clean. He didn't understand the reason until he closely watched the walls. They were all painted with pictures that were wavered, and some colors had faded, but it was still possible to read them. Scenes of everyday life, conflicts between themselves and battles against nymphs. Every one of these scenes depicted the apes.

Looking carefully at the paintings, Ashwin forced himself to turn his gaze towards Scarface. The ape was standing close to the wall, using a torch to light up the scenes.

“Legends say our kind once lived a life far more advanced. Our magic was lacking, so we relied a lot on minds and tools. Other tribes, the ones you call wolf ants and indivisibles, thrived too."

"Wait. Wait," repeated the boy, trying to digest what he had just heard. "Indivisibles, I can understand, but wolf ants are just animals."

"They are much smarter than you think, and they were even more so in the early days," the ape said. Then he looked up and moved the torch closer to the wall, illuminating the paintings. "But Scaled Ones were annoyed by other species. Their kind is the most gifted with magic. Everything is measured by magic in their eyes. You can't even imagine what they are capable of. No wonder humans hid behind walls after they lost the war..."

"We didn't lose," objected Ashwin.

"You lost half your tribe, lost a lot of knowledge; you can't even leave too far from the defense of your walls."

"Well, the nymphs also lost many of their own, and they couldn't destroy humanity. It's more like a Pyrrhic victory."

Scarface grumbled something, but he continued to speak.

"Scaled Ones hold the utmost veneration for those who can use shaping magic. They called those Creators. They call them Creators. These are rare but powerful beings. The Creator can bring others together and command them. They can wage wars. And the Scaled Ones believe that the Creators even shaped our world into what it is today."

"And your tribe doesn't?"

Scarface took a deep breath.

"No one knows for sure. What we know is that the Creator was behind our downfall. My tribe lost the war, we degraded, and we were allowed to live only in this primitive state. The village that lit campfires will be destroyed by Scaled Ones. As for the wolf tribe, the Creator fused them with ants, taking away their ability to speak. They adapted, but never took the next step towards establishing an advanced civilization."

Scarface moved the torch away. The flame was getting weaker. He sighed.

"Well, humans are no better. If you knew we were intelligent, you would destroy us," the ape took another branch and lit it with the dying flame. The boy stood silently, watching the process that he did not expect to witness.

"Now do you understand? Humans have no chance to win this war. They could only survive this far because there were no powerful Creators. As soon as one appears, your kind will be doomed."

"But you have doubts," replied Ashwin. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have brought me here, shown me all this, and told me those stories. If you had truly accepted your fate, you would not even care about talking to me."

Scarface looked carefully at the boy. He had been quiet for so long that it made Ashwin uncomfortable under the heavy gaze of those blood-colored eyes.

"Yes. I'm sick and tired of playing savage. My kind deserves a better life. I trusted once that humans could offer us an alliance. I trusted Virat and paid the price. So, no more dreams. Just a fair exchange. You need protection and knowledge of the world outside the walls, and I want my troop to become stronger. Teach them everything you know."