7 Volume 1 - Chapter 6

We entered the nest. Vyth was shouting, telling everyone that the owlbear was dead. Naturally, a group started to form when we reached the plaza. I was still sceptical we could trust those adventurers, but Vyth had been praising them all the way to the nest.

A group formed around us, listening to Vyth attentively. Most hunters weren't all too keen on going out with that thing around. Even though it had only struck once, everyone was being careful. The fact that beating that thing seemed impossible was enough to scare everyone. I mean, who wouldn't be afraid. I wasn't too worried, since I wasn't going out except for a few times.

The sorcerer that took Cirauir under his wing made his way through the crowd. From what I had come to understand, he's the tribe's leader. Though, the tribe mostly works on its own, so he doesn't do much concerning that.

The sorcerer stepped up to Vyth and asked: "Tell me what you saw, young one".

Everyone went silent the moment he stepped up to him. Everyone was listening intently to what Vyth was about to say. He began to tell them about the village and the strange people we found there. He then told them about the man dragging the owlbears corpse. Everyone was dead silent. They were all shocked.

In their minds, the owlbear was like some powerful force of nature that could rip everything to shreds as it pleased. The only one having a chance against it was the sorcerer, though I wouldn't have to much hope in that.

From what they had been saying the past few months, it seemed like they believed the owlbear to be only second to dragons. But I know that's not true. They've been living rather peacefully, so anything powerful is bound to get that reaction. I wonder how they're going to react to the humans.

The sorcerers was concerned. Everyone was. I'm glad that Vyth was alone in his belief of the goodness of those adventurers. The rest don't know where they stand. They're questioning whether they are friend or foe. I'd like to say something, but that would betray me. Vyth accepted my explanation, but they certainly won't, as it goes against their beliefs.

After some thinking, the sorcerer says: "Gather a scouting party to spy on those humans. Gather any info you can, but don't let yourself be known".

I was relieved. Once they see that the humans belief in the light gods instead of the dark ones, they will immediately see them as enemies. They'll avoid them as much as possible from there on out. The only question left is how we're going to coexist with hostile relations.

We can't reveal ourselves, that'd be suicide. But if we leave them be, that village will grow larger and larger. There's no way our large nest will remain undetected for ever.

The scouting party had left and we were stuck inside, just waiting. It seemed like an eternity. We had gone back to our room, where we found the rest excitedly talking about the humans, wondering what they're like. I just distanced myself, like usual, and started drifting off into thought.

But before I could fully drift off, Vyth came to me and started asking questions.

"You've been pretty negative off them. I can't see why, but I'm guessing you have a reason".

"To them, we are just like the owlbear".

"What? The owlbear is a dangerous beast that could tear almost anyone apart. We're nothing like that!".

"To them we are. Kobolds worship dark gods and eat anything they can catch, regardless of how sentient it is. We might have done nothing wrong, but other tribes probably did. So, they see us as monsters".

"...Well, what would happen if they find us?".

"They'll either attack or flee, just like any other creature that feels it's in danger. Only, the chances of them fleeing is slim".

"Well,...shouldn't we attack first then? Catch them off guard and kill them before they can fight back".

"I'd wish you good luck on your mission, but I'd rather not have you die like that".

"Tell me. What makes you certain they'll see us that way?".

"I'm not".

"Then why are you talking like it's a certainty?".

"If they saw us as friendly, they'd have allied with us a long time ago. There's the chance they've never seen our kind, but I highly doubt that".

"Well,...if they're not friendly and we can't attack, what can we do?".

"Leave".

"We can't just leave…".

"Yes, we can and we should. That village will only get larger, unless it get completely destroyed. We can't be the ones destroying it, because that would mark us for death if that village belongs to a kingdom".

"What if it doesn't?".

"I get that you want to remain optimistic, bro, but that won't work here. If you're right, life won't change for us, but if you're wrong, we could die. We need to be prepared".

Vyth left with a sombre look on his face. I didn't want to make him sad, but he has to face reality. This'll be one strange world if the humans like kobolds. Some might, but definitely not the majority of them.

After ages of waiting, the scouts had returned. They all seemed fine, so there wasn't a fight at least. Everyone gathered at the plaza again to hear their findings, including us.

The sorcerer stepped up to them and asked: "What have you found out?".

The kobold in the middle began to speak: "The humans that killed the owlbear are different from the rest. They seem to be their fighters".

"Anything else?".

"They have all kinds of weird things and they seem to work on the dirt for something, but we don't know what".

"Anything else about those fighters".

"We couldn't understand what they were saying. They speak a different language. It does seem they are worked up over something".

"A different language? Well, that will make things certainly harder. You will be spying on them from time to time to gather any information. I want to be certain we can trust them before introducing them. We will need someone to learn their language as well".

At that moment I could feel multiple hands on me. They started to push me to the center and I immediately knew why. I tried to escape, but to no effort. My siblings were pushing me to the sorcerer, whether I liked it or not.

"A candidate?", the sorcerer asked.

Neban, one of my brothers, said: "He is very smart, sir. I'm sure he can learn it!".

The others looked at me like usual. The sorcerer looked around for a bit, gauging the reaction of the tribe. He looked back at me and said: "I am sure you'll do fine".

Vyth stepped forward, interrupting the sorcerer. He said: "If you're taking him, I'm tagging along".

"Ah, you again. You two are brothers, correct".

"Yes!".

"You can go along as well. You've proven yourself to be a good fighter. This should be a helpful experience for you. You'll leave tomorrow at dusk".

Great! I'm being dragged into the lion's den, where the lions are ten times my size and wield giant, anime swords that would wipe me from existence with a single slash. I was just fine staying at home and thinking about the problems instead! I never asked to try to actively help solving them!