The white haired Leader continues his Story. To be honest I am a bit nervous, what will come next.
“We can not see much, but we can see glimpses of what is happening. And a few years ago I saw the birth of a dark Crystal devouring the World. I could not sleep for days, but when the time came the Future changed.”
Dark Crystal? I do not get it…
“Something without a body took its place. The future was rewritten as it often is, and new visions came to me. Terrible visions…”
Okay, I am lost, but now it starts to become a horror story. Whatever he wants to say, I feel an ominous Aura.
“There was one of a massive Beast, coming to us to destroy all of us and making the less fortunate in new strange forms by its companion. It was a small beast, becoming a monstrous being and hiding in the form of a weak prey. Then there was the companion, being there with a body but not his body. The nightmare was ongoing.”
...I am not dense, does he mean us? We destroy them?
“Right now I am sure of the ongoing of the World, and want to make a trade.”
“What kind of trade?”
“As the future is not always linear, there are other Visions. If we stop the calamity of the Beast and the Unbeing, there will be another in the future. Metal moving on their own will come from the far western side of the Steppe, trampling our home and killing everything that does not submit.”
...Tanks? Maybe Mechs, we are in a fantasy world, and Magitech might be a thing. Far West would be… Maybe the Empire, but as I often seem to be proven wrong I do not fully commit on this mindset.
“What I want to ask of you is help us defend the Steppe with your Family in a few dozen years. We will help you find what you seek, as there are remnants of ruins everywhere, and too much for finding the right ones.”
Does he suggest I fight a War for them? I do not even know if I would still be there.
“You will be still here, do not worry.”
He said, he can see the future, not read freaking minds!
“I do not have the ability to read minds, be at ease.”
That does not put me at ease at all!!!
…
“What do you think Snow?”
We are in a tent especially for visitors. Normally the tent is only for other kin, but right now we are welcomed guests. I do not know how to think about them seeing the future. They know way too much and might be a threat.
But if all of the dozens or hundreds of tribes can see the future… Eradicating the whole Steppe would be tedious. So much Materials though! ...Nah, it would be hard to transport so much back, and to be on friendly terms with some of the Tribes would be nice anyways.
“So, about the War? Well it is still a few Years. If you are really still being here, why not?”
“I think just about going to a War is not like fighting some bandits or snakes in the Sewers.”
“Um… Null?”
Something wrong?
“Yes Snow?”
“You are working on Monster creation right now. How many Monster would you have in… around 20 Years?”
“So you mean I would have an Army anyways… I just want them for clearing the Miasma, but you are right. They might be able to help. But still, a War might be over our heads.”
“They just want our help, not that we have to win it all on our own. Besides… They are somehow kin, even if we were born different. I still can not fathom, why the one thought I am a dogkin though…”
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“That is not what he meant with bi… never mind.”
…
“Yes, these Vegetables would do nicely for our youths. You might not know, but we Beastkin grow stronger the more Mana we ingest. While we can not use Human magic, we have our own shamanistic ways of things. What do you want in exchange?”
I am in business mode right now with the Elder of the Cat tribe. When we already have one deal, why not more? It would help tremendously.
“In exchange I would like some animals. Maybe some I can let graze by itself, as I only have some Chicken and Grasswalker.”
“Sadly we can not help too much with that, as we are hunters, but one of our friendly tribes is having a large herd. We could buy it per proxy for other goods we find. Becoming friends with some of us, will be beneficial to you.”
Crafty. Let the others haul the things to our Village and just buy afterwards. Well cats are mostly crafty, albeit silly, so…
“If someone wants to be fiends with me and trade, I would not say no. Who are they?”
“They are a bovine tribe.”
Let me guess, milk?
“We are in a long truce between us, as they give us food for all kinds of findings, which are for us useless. Tomorrow we would send an envoy with you to explain all the things, we talked about.”
“This would be nice. For now we take all the things Snow wants to keep for those radishes.”
Well the rainbow stone necklace looks rather nice on her, so whatever. At least she is happy.
…
“Are you sure about that wise Elder? Those are the horrors of your Dreams?”
It is not nice to eavesdrop, but still it is better to know who you are making deals with.
“I am sure. I have had a hard time not to shiver. That girl must be the Beast, as her body looks way different than the Soul she emits.”
Aha! He can see Souls too! Maybe he can identify the spirit body or something of that kind.
“Should we not just kill them while they sleep?”
“Shush! Can you kill a demon while it takes a nap? No, you can not! Those two are more frightening than the Snake with eight heads! You do not have a chance.”
“And what now?”
Yes, dear Elder… what now?
“We befriend him. Mother Earth said ‘greed is pain, altruism is salvation’, as long as we do not antagonize them, we are safe. The truth behind the words of Mother Earth might be his vice laid bare. Do not take from him without giving. Do not demand something without reason. Mother Earth never lies, but always lets us ponder her wisdom.”
Friendship out of fear… Not what I really wanted, but at least they are friendly. Maybe someday they do not see us as some kind of demonic beings.
“What about the human? He looks normal.”
Yeah, what about me? All the talk about Snow makes me envious about her power rating… No, I am not sulking!
“His body is strong, but… there is no Soul inside. He is controlled by something unfathomable. It might be the Puppet of the Unbeing. Searching for a new body before going back where his hate lies.”
Okay, I take it back. I do not want to know anymore how they think about me…
“Then, what are your Orders for the Clan?”
“Tell them, they are friends send by Mother Earth. They will be handled like members of our Clan. Esteemed guests.”
“As you wish. We hope you do the right thing.”
“I hope the same. The Dreams I have the last weeks before their arrival are showing promise and a way further into a future without us being slaves by the walking Metal, so please have trust in my decisions.”
“Always, wise Elder.”
Slowly putting back the membrane over my inner ear I finally stop hearing every cricket in a kilometer radius, not helping that there is one right in a small cage on Snows backpack.
“What do you think?”
Snow heard everything too with a Shadow Rat. So she can advise in.
“Um… At least they like us? Well if we are treated like Family I think I want to help even more. What do you think Null?”
Putting me on the spot. Well I have similar thoughts, so maybe I should say them out loud.
“It is sad, that they just like us out of fear, but it is better than us decimating them right away. It also would have cost much time to get back with the survivors for me to pick their Memories. So, win/win.”
So this is a great thing for now. At least we have an inlet to the Grasslands with those as allies.
“By the way Null, do you think this Necklace would be a great present for Anna? Mack needs something to give her for an engagement present, this would be great, no?”
Oh, Anna has a betrothal candidate? I did not know that. Damn, I should sometimes watch over the Villagers or someday I am totally out of the loop.
“Better not Snow. If Mack gives the Necklace to Anna, she will immediately know you have given it to him. Maybe not to mess with their courtship, as it might not be the one which Anna really wants. You do not want her to be pressured into it, because she thinks you chose him, right?”
“Ah, nearly made a mistake!”
That made her sit upright while sweating. Well if it is Anna she would not want her to be in any dilemma. Those two best friends…