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After careful negotiations with body language, the mustelids pulled back farther from the party. We, too, regrouped ourselves, though Aleph kept one mustelid firmly clasped in his arm.
“Let him go,” I advised. “Let’s not make the situation worse.”
“Rae.” Aleph frowned. “These are demonic beasts. It’s impossible to reason with them.”
“Aleph, she just did!” Nora snapped, pointing at me. “Besides, if they can’t be reasoned with, then holding one hostage is pointless!”
Aleph opened his mouth to speak but then looked back at the group, his eyes troubled. “This is a trap, to be sure…”
“I told you, I know these guys!” Vernie argued with wildly gesticulating arms. “Do as the Holy Captain says!”
Oh, the full title came back now…
Aleph’s ears twitched with irritation, but he warily lowered the mustelid to the ground. As soon as it was free, it quickly darted off to the Matriarch. After a quick sniffing session with the previous prisoner of war, she stormed forward.
“Sssakrak!” she admonished Vernie.
I turned to her. “What does that mean?”
“How should I know?”
“You’re the one who just said you knew them!”
“I can’t speak with them! I just know how they act.” Vernie shrugged.
“Just apologize for whatever you did!” I demanded.
“I didn’t do anything! I just–”
“Skraaak!” The Matriarch interrupted angrily.
Vernie blinked and gave it a shot. “Er… I’m… sorry?”
“Charakas?” she questioned before sighing. “Krestakkok….”
Maybe I still had some brownie points to spend. “Uh.. ma’am? We need to go to another place called Kopria…” I tried pointing to the path we had been traveling. “Through these hills up–”
The Matriarch started chittering angrily at her subordinates, and some returned her… words? One large mustelid, whose fur was noticeably singed, appeared to be arguing with her. She let it continue for a moment before rising off her haunches and slapping it forcefully across the face with an openly clawed paw. It yowled, then lowered itself to the ground submissively. Ouch.
She snorted derisively, then pointed to a path off to the side that looked like a small game trail.
“Oh, I don’t think that will work for us…” I started, once again unsure if my words were working.
“Critakak.” She gestured again imperiously.
I set my jaw. “Up that way!” I pointed again.
“Chatah!” With that command, all of her uninjured minions lined up to block our path, assertively aiming their rears at us.
“Wait! Wait!” I held up my hands. There was no way I was going to be a target of that!
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“She’s going to lead us through their burrows!” Vernie inhaled suddenly. “Why would she do that?”
“Burrows?” Oh goddess, how smelly would it be in such cramped quarters?!
A gust of wind blew down the mountainside, and Tetora’s ears flicked back as he seemed to snarl without sound. “Against my better judgment, we should take her up on the offer. There are several men up in the hills, and they’re covered in blood.”
“Wait. We need to help them!” I balked instinctively before realizing we wouldn’t be much help without a healer.
“Not their own blood, but mustelid blood. We’ll be next, if not for any good reason except simple association.”
“Wait, are these guys at war with someone? Who?” I blinked. A loud brass horn pierced the air as if to answer, reverberating through the entire area. “What was that?!” I gasped, half-deafened by the frightening sound. The mustelids quickly headed towards the game trail with flattened ears and tucked tails.
Vernie hauled me towards the side route even as the Matriarch took point. “Now’s not the time, Captain! Ask inane questions later!”
The small trail wound around the shadowed side of a hill and under a few outcroppings of stone before ending at a short, hidden crack on another small cliff face. A group of mustelid sentries guarded it, each one almost as big as the Matriarch herself. The unarmed sentries, save for their claws, eyed us nervously, but we were allowed to pass without any sort of scuffle. They darted inside after us, pushing rocks and camouflaging vegetation across the opening.
I believed it would be a tight squeeze once deeper inside, but I was mistaken. As we entered the passage, it was clear their living space was a network of expansive, interconnected caverns. Nora summoned a bouncing ball of light that followed her movements perfectly, keeping our immediate surroundings well-lit. I noticed several glittering stalactites dripping from the ceiling, turning the uneven yet smooth stone floor a slip-and-fall lawsuit waiting to happen. Now and again, we heard the call of the brass horn, which would cause us all to freeze. I found myself more and more anxious every time I heard it, though.
“Rae?” Nora asked for the fifth time.
“Sorry, sorry. It just sounds…”
“Like they’re moving away from us.” She nodded confidently.
I was going to say ‘terrifyingly familiar,’ but I decided to keep it to myself.
We eventually stopped for a short break in a large, wet, underground gallery, where everyone seemed to relax slightly. “So, now, can I repeat my question? Who were they?”
“That was the call of the Holy Order of Blue,” Aleph answered with an absent stroke of his short brown bead. “They must be at odds with these demonic beasts.”
Vernie crossed her arms. “They’re not demonic beasts! They’re just misunderstood!”
“They’re hostile to–”
“Of course, ‘demonic beasts’ will be hostile!” Vernie spat. “It’s right there in the name! It's such a terrible thing to be named so poorly. But it’s just a designation. There’s no truth behind it!”
“Their names and labels did not come first.” Aleph shook his head stubbornly. “Their origins and behaviors did!”
“They were hostile towards us an hour ago,” Tetora snapped. “Or did you conveniently forget that?”
“They probably just confused us for those holy knights!” Vernie argued. “Besides, they started it! You act hostile towards an intelligent creature, and you’ll get it back in spades!”
“Explanation, please,” Nora interrupted. “What do you mean, they started it?”
“Demonic beasts and, uh, other creatures, like malodorous mustelids, used to roam the wastes,” Vernie said unsteadily. “But the holy knights routinely cull them for ‘training purposes.’ There aren’t too many left these days. This might be the last bastion for them.”
Aleph raised his head. “Demons engineered demonic beasts to attack human and hybrid settlements! They did not stick just to the wastelands, either. Historical records clearly show they attacked settlements all over Speranza! It’s only natural that the holy knights would—”
“When’s the last time a demonic beast attacked a settlement?” Nora interrupted.
“You saw the redbacks when you arrived! Proof right there!” Tetora grunted.
“Who was there first?” Nora pressed the argument forward, but neither Tetora nor Aleph answered in words, just derisive snorts.
Nora continued, “As I recall, they weren’t in the village limits, either. They were in that weird stone forest, next to the old demon king’s ruined castle in the middle of nowhere.”
The party stopped talking abruptly, and we mulled over the others’ arguments. Aleph and Tetora’s faces contorted with subtle frowns as they exchanged frequent glances, though they often observed the mustelids as if expecting them to turn on us. I felt Vernie silently reflect on something else, mostly because she caught my gaze for a moment before looking down at the slick stones before her feet. After a few minutes of awkward tension, the Matriarch chittered at us again and began to advance deeper into the underground passageways.
“Well, I’m going to do what she says.” I stood up with a sigh. “She seems like she knows what she’s talking about.”
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image [https://i.imgur.com/NWIWeFy.png]
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