In the birdmen village, slightly after Claire had left, Erasalis had gone out to gather the most influential birdmen in the village.
The wise owl, Fergo. The swift and strong bald eagle, Tora. The graceful swan, Relu. The calm and collected woodpecker, Yirald.
These five were all in a wooden treehouse. If one were to see this situation, it would look like a bunch of college students leisurely hanging out together while discussing the next frat party or whether or not they should bother studying for the next test, but despite the fact that their postures were all laid back, the mood in the room was not laid back at all.
"Boys."
"Yes, Erasalis?", Relu asked calmly.
"What makes the birdmen so great? I want each of you to answer in your own opinions."
"It would of course be the beauty and awe seen in the flight of one of our kind.", Relu responded.
"It would be our high intelligence of course. Even humans cannot come to accept the fact that our technology is superior to theirs. Our efficient and timely application of knowledge knows no competition.", Fergo stated.
"As a hawk, you should agree with me. It is our dominance over others. By using the air to fly high above the competition, our physical strength loses to no prey. We can ride the currents and swoop down on an unsuspecting target, and be gone with the spoils before they even knew they were being aimed at. In the air, we are untouchable.", Tora proudly proclaimed.
"I think it would be our practicality. Has there ever been a race known to be as resourceful as the birdmen? I think not. The lizardmen waste their time on arena events, always trying to be the strongest even among themselves instead of recognizing the differences in abilities between each other, and the humans spend their time indulging in pleasures while the rest suffer from poverty and sickness. The fishmen are unable to decide on a leader, and continuously hold competitions each year to re-decide based on irregular and unpredictable events. We of the birdmen are able to understand and accept that different members of our race are better at different things, and thus create an efficient distribution of labor." Yirald explained.
"Ah...."
Erasalis leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath, while smiling.
"Do you know what I think is the greatest thing about the birdmen race?"
"What is it?"
"It is the fact that even though all four of your answers were different, that we all are able to see beyond that and work towards true greatness."
"As expected of Erasalis. You truly are a wise leader.", Fergo responded.
"My boys! Are you all ready to get back to the grind!!!"
"OF COURSE!!! ANY TIME, ERASALIS!!!"
"BUT!!! BEFORE THAT, WE HAVE BEEN INVITED TO A MEETING!!!!"
"What type of meeting?", Tora asked.
"Do you all remember that human who had come to visit our village?"
"Of course! How could I forget! She was a natural at working out the way we do! I am surprised that a human would be able to comprehend the vast amount of culture that she saw today!"
"Of course! She is cultured! Just like us birdmen! However! She was not here to become one of our kind. She was here to invite us to a meeting among leaders, in order to have a peaceful discussion with those uncultured lizardmen. Even if she was more cultured than any human I have met, I cannot simply stand by and sit in the same room as the leader of those uncultured beings! We will attend their meeting, yes! But- even if I have respect for that woman, I cannot tolerate the offense of inviting us to such a meeting! We will defeat the leaders of the lizardmen then and there in order to show who is the most magnificent and glorious race of all! When the leaders of the slime village see the grace and glorious forms of us defeating the strongest lizardmen with ease, surely they too will wish to become members of our tribe! We will sit through the meeting, and not agree to any discussion of ceasing war, and after the meeting is when we strike! Are you all with me!?!"
"OF COURSE!!! FOR THE GLORY OF THE BIRDMEN!!!! HURRAHH!!!!!!"
----
The antiheroes had been traveling all morning and were finally getting closer to the goblin village. In the horizon, they started to see the outlines of the huts appearing, however... something was different.
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The huts no longer looked to have any straw making them up.
They were completely made of wood.
Not only this, but the huts all looked to be bigger, and there seemed to be more of them.
There was a large tower in the center of the village, and they could just barely see the outline of a pink figure looking at them from the top. The pink figure ran down the tower, and disappeared from the sight of the antiheroes, who were in toe with a caravan of 21 goblins, 2 spider people, and of course themselves.
When the group got closer, they began to hear... music.
Drums were being beat.
Tribal instruments that were similar to flutes seemed to be playing.
Some harp like instruments were also playing.
When they finally reached the village, what they saw was something that was completely heartwarming.
All the people of the village were gathered lining the streets- granted, this was only 12 people so it was not too much, but a few played instruments while others clapped and cheered.
"ANTIHEROES!!! WE WELCOME YOUR RETURN!!!!"
"BANZAI!!! THE ANTIHEROES ARE BACK!!!"
"We have been working hard while you were gone to make improvements to the village! After seeing that wooden building you made, it inspired us to try similar designs...", Iotar stated.
Helen was holding a basket of flower petals, and throwing them on the antiheroes as they walked down the street like kings.
Garett did some poses, pointing at people and Samantha winked at the people of the slime village, while Trevor and Ashley sat there with arrogant smirks on their faces.
Samantha was embarrassed to be seen in the mummy like outfits that they all wore, but at least they were all matching. One could even say that they looked good in it, if they had an odd taste in fashion... if they were into horror films or Halloween style dress.
The caravan followed them into the town, and while Coran and Berith did not look overly surprised, they seemed to be enjoying the festivities. Oraguth simply had a look of shock on his face as always.
"As expected of your excellencies. I had no doubt that your followers would be this loyal to you all.", Coran stated.
"Indeed.", Berith said with a smile and a laugh as she waved some petals away.
Trevor then stood up, and held up a hand to quiet the people down.
"Everyone! I thank you deeply for this grand reception! It is truly an honor to be the dictator of such loving subjects! Truly!"
Even Rithargus was standing in the corner with a sly grin and seeming to enjoy himself.
"Aside from the news of our return, I bring good news! Our dictatorship has expanded, and we have returned not only stronger than we were when we left, but we now have increased the amount of subjects under our rule! Be sure to instill into their hearts that they are welcome here- so long as they do not collide with the wills of the dictators!"
Trevor gestured his hand over to Coran and Berith, as well as to Oraguth and the 20 other goblins. Oraguth seemed to be confused, saying 'eh? Subjects? What happened to being slaves?'.
Garett put a hand on Oraguth.
"I simply needed to see if you all were prepared to become slaves...", he whispered.
"Because here in our domain, we hold extremely high expectations for our subjects, and we do not take dissenters lightly. One might even argue that we treat our citizens like slaves, if they had a 'sense of justice'... what a useless thing to have..., however if we make it clear that you all are our slaves, living under our rule, then there should be no meaning if such a hero were to come about and preach such things. Because you all knew this from the start."
Garett gave Oraguth another demonic grin before waving more to the slime people who were cheering once more.
Fearsome.
Absolutely fearsome.
Yet... enticing.
Oraguth found himself drawn to these dictators... to these slave-masters... as if he was a moth to a flame.
Even if he was going to get burned, there was an odd sense of security behind that demonic grin.
He could not resist it.
He felt that if he obeyed these antiheroes- if he simply did as he was told and produced results for them, that he and his people would be spared.
"We will do our best to serve you, your excellencies!", Oraguth shouted.
Samantha shot Oraguth a kind smile, and Trevor then once more took the lead.
"Ah. I have a few more statements to make. The first is that two days from now there will be a meeting held here among the leaders of the nearby villages, which is why the Determined is not currently here. The second thing is that you are all to refer to us from this day on as 'your excellency' or 'your excellencies'. This is our proper title as rulers, and using it will show to others that you are our subjects.... and that they are not to lay a finger on you. That is all."
"Long live your excellencies!"
"Long live your excellencies!!!"
A rapid chant began once Trevor finished speaking, and the antiheroes passed through the crowd until they reached their own hut. Garett ordered the chief elder to show the goblins to their homes, and Samantha personally suggested that they pick out a home near their own to house Coran and Berith.
Coran and Berith seemed excited at the prospect, and quickly settled in, rearranging the minimal furniture and setting up some web like hammocks.
"You two.", Trevor asked for their attention as they were decorating their rooms.
"Relax for now. But be ready for when you are needed. You both are valuable subjects, and possess unique abilities that will surely come in use."
"Of course. Thank you for saving me and my sister from that abyss. If it weren't for you all, we would be dead, and even if we survived, we would have lost our souls. You have saved both of those things for us, and we are willing to give them back to you if needed."
Trevor smirked.
"Good words. I hope that you will act on them when the time comes. Always remember that we have high expectations for you, and you must not betray them."
The two spiderlings waved their bandage covered human arms as the antiheroes left the home, and returned to their own.
"AHH!!! THAT WAS EXHAUSTING!!!", Ashley shouted.
"Everyone was looking at us with such admiration... ah... how wonderful..."
Samantha seemed to be dreaming in her own world.
Trevor and Garett simply laughed.
"Things are only going to get a whole lot crazier from here on out."