Bloodtooth Tribe

After Posa's warning, a tense silence enveloped the area, but nothing seemed to change immediately. Yet, Posa remained vigilant, glaring fiercely in a specific direction, his fangs bared and snorting white breaths from his nostrils. After a while, rustling sounds finally emerged from the direction he was staring at.

"Allow me to congratulate you, noble dragons, on a splendid hunt," a strong troll said as he emerged from around the corner of the rock wall, holding a bone spear as a sign of no ill intent.

With his appearance, numerous trolls, about twenty or thirty in total, came into view from their hiding places. They were robust warriors, their bodies marked with black and white stripes, wielding weapons like bone spears and stone axes. They gazed at the young dragons without fear.

These were forest trolls, identified by their greenish skin and protruding fangs. They were characterized by their long noses and ears, muscular limbs, and a sense of primal strength.

"You're spying on us?" Kazan growled aggressively at the troll leader, spreading his massive wings menacingly.

"Yongrong," Posa whispered to the blue dragon, "They're not just armed but also have nets. They might have come for us."

"I see," Yongrong nodded, keeping his composure.

"We didn't come here with any ill intentions. We were hunting the Griffons of the Broken Palm Cliff. Now that the Griffon is dead, please allow us to leave," the troll leader explained eloquently, showing proper respect to the dragons in a way that belied his savage appearance. His respectful yet confident demeanor prevented the dragons from underestimating him.

Kazan grunted but said nothing. The dragons remained on edge, ready to attack at any sign of hostility. Despite the troll leader's words, trolls were not a friendly species to dragons.

Seeing no response from the dragons, the troll leader, Horei Kreton, slowly backed away, apparently intending to leave with his group.

"Wait," Aisaria spoke up, stopping him. "State your name and tell us who you belong to."

"I am Horei Kreton of the Bloodtooth tribe. We are wanderers and belong to no one, young lady," the troll leader replied, halting.

Aisaria initially thought these trolls might be followers of the Green Dragon Sivvia, whose power she intended to inherit. But hearing Horei's response, she was momentarily lost for words.

"You came for the Griffon? It seems we had a common goal," Yongrong said, stepping forward authoritatively. "How did you know about the Griffon here?"

"We found their tracks during a hunt," Horei answered hesitantly, "There were two Griffons."

He wasn't sure how much to reveal, but it was clear to him that the young dragons were also targeting the Griffons. The dragons had displayed formidable combat skills beyond their apparent age.

"Do you know of the other Griffon?" Yongrong asked. "It should have been severely injured."

"We killed it two days ago," Horei replied, revealing that they had used every part of the slain Griffon.

Yongrong then declared the territory as belonging to the Barne family and accused the trolls of poaching. The dragons, though exhausted from their recent battle, prepared for a possible conflict, following Yongrong's lead.

Horei maintained his composure, and his warriors readied their weapons. Yongrong, however, eased the tension by stating the trolls could be forgiven if they returned the Griffon feathers, which were magical items claimed by their clan.

Horei agreed, informing them that the feathers were at their temporary camp. Yongrong then demanded that they wait while the dragons fed on the Griffon's corpse.

After eating, Aisaria expressed concern about visiting the trolls' camp, given the potential danger. Yongrong reassured her, believing Horei's intelligence meant he wouldn't dare to harm them.

Their meal finished, the dragons prepared to retrieve the Griffon feathers from the trolls, cautiously navigating the complexities of their interaction with the cunning troll leader.