16 Meeting with Taquila

The Taquila witches engaged in an intense discussion after Roland announced his intention to visit their base. None of them had expected that he would actually want to meet them.

"How do we know that he isn't just trying to spy on us?", said Celine.

"Spy on us?", Pasha said in a disbelieving tone. "Why would he need to spy on us. He already knows everything about us!"

"Are we supposed to just let him come to our stronghold?", questioned Alethea. "He is just a ordinary human."

"I don't think we can really call him an ordinary human", Pasha said. "He might not have magic but he is definitely not ordinary. I think we should let him meet with us."

So, it was agreed that they would let Roland come meet them. Then, Roland told them, "the demons are going to attack your base soon. In order to secure the yourselves in a safer location as well as to bring us closer together so that we can cooperate more easily, you can move all of your people and the central carrier to an underground bunker."

The Taquila witches discussed amongst themselves again because they were concerned about Roland possibly wanting to harm them, but they figured that with so many of them guarding the place, there would be no chance those humans could overpower so many God's Punishment witches.

Roland then began preparing for his trip to meet with the Taquila witches. He will bring along a squad of soldiers to guard him as well as having Nightingale. He would also bring Agatha because they would be more receptive toward listening to her.

Once Roland arrived at the meeting point, he met Pasha in person. "Hello, I am Roland. Who are you?"

"I am Pasha", she replied.

"Nice to meet you." Roland then held out a hand to shake one of Pasha's tentacles.

Pasha was shocked by his behavior. She had expected that Roland would be terrified once he met their true forms in person. However, not only was he not scared in the slightest, he was even trying to shake their tentacle like he would shake hands with an ordinary person. Pasha was still for a few moments before realizing that her hesitation was making the situation awkward, so she quickly grabbed Roland's hand with a tentacle and shook it. "That was poorly handled", she thought to herself. "Now it looks like we are the ones scared to shake his hand. What a strange situation."

When everyone was gathered together, Pasha asked, "How do you plan on defeating the demons?"

"In Neverwinter, I have invented new weapons which are more powerful than any used before", answered Roland. The soldiers that I have with me are carrying guns. These guns can shoot balls of metal far distances and pierce through armor. We even have larger guns, called cannons. Cannons can shoot large metal balls several kilometers. The cannons can decimate city walls and can also kill senior demons."

"That's impossible", replied Alethea. "How could such terrifying weapons possibly exist."

"You can send some of your people to come visit Neverwinter. I will be hosting a demonstration of our cannons soon. Then you can witness first hand the power of the cannons. These cannons work by igniting a substance which will explode with great power. In fact, Agatha here is involved in producing those chemicals. I think you might know her." Roland then had Agatha enter the room.

The Taquila witches were shocked. "Agatha, is that really you?", one of them asked. "I thought you died when Taquila fell. How did you manage to survive so long?"

"I encased myself in ice which preserved my body. I was found by Roland who was able to release me from the ice. What he says about Neverwinter is true. I have seen it all myself. I believe that he will be the one who can defeat the demons."

Agatha's confident proclamation surprised many of the witches. They didn't think that even one of their own would have so much faith in an ordinary human. If even Agatha is confident in Roland, then he really must be outstanding.

"How about we head back now and you can see our military demonstration", Roland said. "I can bring one of you along as well."

"Are you sure that is wise", replied Celine. "Wouldn't the common people be frightened by us?"

"I was planning on showing you to some people to get them used to it. They will probably be scared at first but if we are too cooperate then we need to become familiar with each other which means we need to let go of our fears", replied Roland.

Celine and some God's Punishment Witches decided to travel to Neverwinter with Roland. Celine was hidden in a big carriage to conceal her tentacles. When they got back, Roland called a meeting and showed Celine to the high ranking officials. Many of them were quite distressed with the sight. But they saw Roland standing right next to the creature and even patting it without showing any fear at all. Eventually, they calmed down and were able to start talking with Celine. Although they were able to suppress their fear, they still felt apprehension every time they looked at her.

Roland brought them to the public cannon demonstration that he had organized. A few demons had been captured to be used as targets. As everyone watched, they saw the demons being blasted to pieces by the powerful cannons. After seeing the power of the cannons in person, the Taquila witches finally started believing that Roland might actually have the power to defeat the demons.

Roland then gave a speech to the audience and told them that the demons will be defeated with the weapons that they themselves have contributed to producing. He urged everyone to work hard to contribute toward the war. Everyone started cheering and the people's morale was high.