Chapter 241

"Inhabitants of this city! I am Ashlani, fahvalo of Bloodpriestess Ana of the Moonchildren, Alpha of my swarm, and saharliard of those who wish me no ill. I wish to speak to your leader, peaceably!"

After a few moments, Sybil's voice cut through the pregnant silence.

"... Was there no more diplomatic way to present yourself?"

"Well… I think I did pretty well."

"And why did you not give a meeting location? Talk about who you are bringing? Give any more detail?"

Sybil was unimpressed by my attempted diplomacy, even though she had approved of the general approach I had decided to take. I couldn't help but feel that she probably was right, but to speak again was to show uncertainty and weakness, so I simply turned my gaze to the city walls, hoping to see what reaction my words had garnered. With my [Raptor's Eyes], I could see that there was immediate movement in response to my shouts, but again, I was frustrated by my inability to see exactly what was going on, since I couldn't see anything more specific than just "movement" and the glinting of metal. At least my situation was better than the rest of my companions who were nearby, since they relied entirely upon me to begin to try to react to the situation at hand, even Foire. I'd learned that he could track and sense things much better than I, but his vision, especially in wide open spaces like this, was much more limited than mine. After a moment, though, as I saw that there wasn't anything I could react to just yet, I turned to Took.

"Go make sure that the swarm begins approaching. If anything happens and it becomes necessary, it'd be better to have backup." Without a word, she followed my command. Before Took could leave, though, Sybil smirked over her shoulder at me.

"You already had them begin approaching?"

"At this point, you really should know better."

"I suppose I should. Thank you, Sybil."

Just a nod answered me, and I couldn't stop the chuckle from bubbling over in my throat. I lowered my head to hers, bunting it gently. A gentle tap of her tail answered me as she directed Shemira to go back and grab whoever she considered to be most capable and potentially helpful in the upcoming meeting. 

"You're not my Alpha!" Shemira complained before teasingly rubbing hips with Sybil, the gentle scratching of scale on scale a reassuring sound. "Anything I should bring you?" Shemira asked me, but I simply clicked my teeth together in dissent. "Fine. I'll bring Vefir, since… you know."

With another flare of her frills, she jogged off, just quick enough to miss me relaying the next interesting bit of information: the gate of the town was opening.

It wasn't long before I could see the reason that the gates were opening. A large figure in resplendently shining plate armor stepped out, a large poleaxe used as a walking stick thumping the ground in tandem with their steps. I realized I was only imagining the steps and striking weapon shaking the earth as I stepped out into the cleared plain and approached the lone figure. The sound of their steps rolled like booming thunder with each step, and the grass around them shivered as if electrically charged as their implacable approach continued.

Before the armored individual got too close, I called out to warn them, "Hello again, I am Ashlani the khatif, a keelish who simply wishes to guide his fellows past your city. Would you introduce yourself?"

A surprisingly squeaky male voice echoed out of the full armor. "I'm Drolick, the head warrior and mayor of Shandr, this here city you see before you. Frankly speaking, why should I begin to trust you and not kill you where you stand? You gotta understand that even if you can talk, in the best of times your people are a pest, and in the worst… well, there's a whole lotta bloodshed on both sides." While the voice itself spoke in the halting, breathy tones of an aged tenor, Drolick's tone was firm and implacable, just as his armor was. I only realized belatedly that the armor wasn't shining in the setting suns' light, but instead emanated its own intricately patterned light irrespective of the sunlight.

"Well, there are hundreds of us, and we simply want to pass peaceably. If we do, we will no longer consume the prey found on this side of the Sheer Pass and will soon leave any place near your jurisdiction without quarrel or bloodshed. If our hands are forced, we will shed the blood necessary to ensure our escape in this direction. Yours and our own." I didn't speak with any particular inflection, but Drolick obviously started within his armor at the reality that it was me that spoke, and then at the near emotionless cast with which I stated my willingness to slay and die to earn the right to pass.

Drolick's armored figure approached, finally stopping just outside the reach of my tightly held spear. He was tall, taller than myself or Took, over seven feet, and the glyphs or paintings that adorned his armor shimmered, making him seem even more mysterious and powerful at this much closer proximity. "You dare threaten my people to my face?"

"Let's not play games." I drawled, the human words coming more comfortably to my mouth than ever before. "It isn't a threat but a statement of fact, allowing us to focus on reality. Given the opportunity, your people would almost certainly hunt us as much as they could manage, and slay many of us, but even so, you cannot guarantee the survival of every one of your subordinates in a pursuit. Additionally, I want to keep as many of my swarm alive as possible, and so I see no reason to kill your people if we can instead pass by peaceably."

A hacking noise sounded from within the armor, and a small vent opened near the right breast of the chestplate before a muddy brown drop of liquid shot out. "I really should kill you, according to what the 'gods' say." The emotional slant to his words was palpable and bitter. "But I never been too obedient to what nearly omnipotent but still stupid so-called 'gods' say, so why not. Pass by during the night, I don't want the civvies to see how many of you there're. Move along, because any one of you we see in the morning is a pest and will be summarily dealt with. Clear?"

I smirked. "Clear enough for me. Anything to look out for as we pass by?"

"Nothing I'm willing to tell you. Welcome to the Badlands, where the rejected and angry band together. Don't piss us off more than we already are." The helmet nodded curtly, the barely visible blue eyes within flashing before Drolick turned and jogged away, back to the city walls of Shandr. As the heavily armored man moved away, I realized that the armor sounded suspiciously hollow, but there was something inside… but that was wholly unimportant to me, so instead I flicked my tail, and with it, the thought from my mind. Instead, as the swarm quickly approached behind me, all that remained was just to rest until true dark, and we'd pass by the little city. Right?