Chapter 15 < Chapter 16 > Chapter 17
Chapter 16 - "A dark hope"
The peaceful relieve didn't last for even ten minutes. I'm just glad the injured were brought inside already ...
It's the middle of the night by now, the rain is still coming down like a flood and the occasional lightning strikes light up the otherwise dark surrounding. The thunder isn't as loud as it was before, but it still adds up to the unwelcoming atmosphere ...
Me: [Who is coming to challenge us now?]
Orsha gives some advice to the 6 Lizard-Man around her before replying;
Orsha: [The Ashrani are ready to hunt everything that comes to this place!]
The hunters took cover in the bushes and behind fragments of the wall, melting with their surrounding. Even I wouldn't see them, if I didn't know where they were. After a moment, a figure appeared at the border of the forest. Then another one, and a third one.
Me: [More human soldiers!]
But something's amiss. These guys are running like crazy!
Orsha: [They are not hunting. They are being hunted ...]
It's like she says, this doesn't look like an attack charge at all. They are running away! Shortly after they pass the border to my dungeon, one of them gets struck down by an arrow, coming out of the woods. One of the others - a women - stops and attempts to help him, but he just grabs her by her armor and yells:
Wounded soldier: "RUUN! ..."
... before he pushes her away and drops to the floor. In the meantime the third soldier managed to load an arrow in his bow and shoot it towards the forest. It wasn't an aimed shot, so I doubt he hit something.
This is certainly an unexpected situation. But beasts or monsters don't shoot arrows, meaning that there's someone intelligent being hunting them down. They are obviously not Ashrani since - like the commander previously said - the lizard-man don't use bows. But if they are enemies of these soldiers, they are potential allies to us. It would be nice to try out diplomatics for once, since I don't think that neither I, nor the Ashrani are ready for another big-scale battle.
Me: [Orsha, intercept the soldiers!]
Orsha: [Yes!]
When they almost reached the outer wall of the tower, the lizard-man jumped out of their cover and pierced them with several spears each. The Humans where stopped there like they run into a wall with shock, fear and surprise all over their faces. It was a silent kill, no one yelled or screamed ...
Me: [Now, I hope the persuaders will show themselves ...]
The Ashrani didn't try to hide again, but they stood behind cover, just in case. Almost a minute passed, and the only thing disturbing the silence was the thunder, and the painful moans of the injured soldier with the arrow in his back. He is trying to slowly crawl away to somewhere. I don't know what he is thinking. We're in the middle of nowhere, and he is trapped between two parties that wants to see him dead. Where does he hope to find a rescue?
At a point where the tension is almost beyond tolerance, and everyone starts to feel nervous, and I even begin to doubt if the mysterious hunters are still there ... they finally show themselves.
Tree figures, clothed in dark cloaks, leave the shadows of the forest. They walk slowly - almost casually towards the tower, not showing any kind of aggression. Their clothing does not reveal their faces, not even a patch of their skin. But with that straight and upright figure, they could be humans themselves. Their high would fit too.
After getting to a distance of about 15 meters, two of them stop. The third one draws a curved sword, and I already see the hands of the hunters gripping to their weapons. But I have a guess, what he is up to.
Me: [Easy ... don't attack first.]
Orsha symbolizes to the others with a hand gesture to stay calm. And indeed, as the stranger walk by the still crawling soldier, he slams his weapon into his body, almost piercing him to the ground. And he leaves it there. Even though, it was clear that the unlucky guy wouldn't survive another hour with that injury.
Me: [They must really hate this soldiers ...]
About 5 meters away from the wall, he stops and slowly raises his hands up to his head, intending to take off the hood of his cape. He is aware of the tension on the Ashrani's side, so his movements are carefully considered to not provoke anyone. His two comrades also look calm on the outside, but their hands are near their weapons and their attention is focused to the scene upfront. They sure are ready to intercept if necessary. When the cape drops into the grass behind him, I expect to see a white face of a young man. What meets me instead, is a dark - almost black skinned old man with pure white hair, clothed in likewise dark leather clothes.
 |
| Dark-Elf leader |
Me: [A "Dark-Elf" ...]
For some reason, I feel relieve. Even though, I have no idea of who exactly they are, nor what they are up to at this moment.
Orsha: [Does Kalifos know the dark man?]
Me: [No, not exactly this man, but I know their race.]
The self-invited guest is standing there in a pose, that shows that he is not holding a weapon and thus not posing a threat. I can imagine though, that he has some hidden weapons in the niches and many pockets of his clothes, that resemble more an armor then simple clothing.
Orsha: [What does the "Dark-Man" want?]
Me: [He can't see me, so I guess he wants to speak with you.]
Orsha hesitates for a moment, I can see the uneasiness in her ayes. But then she steps out of her cover. With a demonstrative gesture, she strikes her spear into the muddy ground and steps forward. Despite the many things that could go wrong, some weird sensation deep inside tells me, that we are not facing a threat.
Orsha: "Ogóz shor-mock, az-dar gorgot Kalifos!"
I didn't expect her to say my name. Do the Ashranie associate themselves with me that much already? But what surprises me more is the reply of the stranger:
Dark Elf: "I am a member of the clan "Dark Hope", and I came here to speak to the soul of this dungeon!
Me: [Wait ... WHAT?]
How does he know? Also, he is speaking in the language of the Dark-Elves, but I can understand it clearly. Orsha seems puzzled by my reaction, not sure what to do.
Me: [He says ... he wants to speak with ME! ...]
Does this mean, that he is able to speak with spirits, like Orsha?
Me: [Orsha, I'll try to open a connection to him ...]
Orsha: [... Yes ...]
She is still unsure how to react. But the opportunity is to good to let it pass, so I ignore it. With this I concentrate on the stranger and try to establish a link ... But what should I say? Giving a good first impression may be crucial, but blindly trust someone I just met would make me a fool. He may also act friendly, but try to take advantage of me for his selfish interests later.
After pondering for a bit, I decide to give him a naive impression. This way, if he tries to use me to his advantage, I'll notice it early on. Without knowing, if he is able to receive my reply or not, I finally answer:
Me: [... What can I help you with?]
A slight smile, that shows his satisfaction, appears on his face. He heard me!
Dark-Elf: [I hope that we can be of help to each other!]
He can DEFINITELY hear me! Finally, someone else to talk with! Also, he is offering help-for-help. That's not different from my deal with the Ashrani.
Me: [Sounds interesting, what do you have in mind?]
Dark-Elf: [Well ... right now we are in dire need of a save place to house some people. In exchange, we could help you grow ...]
Me: [Help me grow? How so?]
Dark-Elf: [Ahm, I don't know if it's appropriate to say it like that, but ... by "feeding" you?]
So he knows about my diet too. What else does he know about dungeons?
Dark-Elf: [To show that this is not an empty promise, we already brought a snack along ...]
He throws a sarcastic look at the dead soldiers in front of him. Does he want to tell me that they pushed their hunt of the soldiers in my direction intentionally? This makes it look like I'm already owing them ... crap, he's good. But it's also not a bad deal. I would probably not get a better one for a while. At least he is not aggressive from the beginning ... Time to show him, that I'm not stupid either:
Me: [So in other words, you want to strengthen me, so your people are save. You would get a place for your people, and by "feeding" me you ensure that I would build a fortress to keep them save. You would benefit twice from that.]
He smiles again.
Dark-Elf: [Hmm that's true. I'm glad to see, that you are not a simple minded one ... then, what would you want from us, to even out the deal?]
Hmm, a good question. With this, he is building up trust, buy giving me the chance to make it beneficial for me. Bu I would also show him my weak point, by saying what I'm lacking in. Even if my feeling tells me to trust him, I should better be careful ...
Me: [First off, I already have an agreement with the Ashranie, the Lizard-Man you see around you, so they need to agree to this before we continue our negotiation.]
With this, I turn my look at Orsha
Orsha: [... If the "Dark-Man" did not come to hunt the Ashrani, then the Ashrani will not hunt the "Dark-Man"! ...]
So, she was indeed listening the whole time. Her questioning eyes are pointed straight at our guest. Her sudden reply clearly threw him off, which shows in his baffled expression.
Dark-Elf: [... We ... "Dark-Man", do not intend to become enemies of the ... "Ashranie", was it? In fact, we wish for your tribe to stay strong in this region.]
Me: [Why's that?]
Dark-Elf: [Because, it gives us more freedom to operate if the Rose Daggers and slave-hunters are occupied with the native tribes.]
So, they are basically using them as shields and distraction. Again it sounds like the wish for others well-being, but it actually servers themselves quite well. But it doesn't mean that we can't both benefit from it, so ...
Me: [Well, if the Ashrani are not opposing, then I don't see a problem. So, to even out the deal, I would ask for information.]
My first thought was to ask that the people he brings make themselves useful, but I couldn't think of anything specific to occupy them with.
Dark-Elf: [What kind of information do you have in mind?]
Me: [... Anything you can offer, actually; geography, factions, nations, wildlife, threats that I should be aware of ...]
I almost added "dungeons" to that list, but I figured that it wouldn't be wise to give off my lack in self-awareness. At least not until I make sure that they are trustworthy!
The man smiles again.
Dark-Elf: [This is a quite acceptable price. So, may I consider the two of us have came to an agreement?]
Did he expect me to ask for more?
Me: [... I would say, that we forged a foundation for a deal. I would like to discuss the details, before giving my final agreement!]
Dark-Elf: [That's reasonable.]
The tiredness, that stroke me after the battle, is growing during the whole conversation and begins to cloud my mind, slowly but steadily.
Me: [... Actually we need to take care of some things after the battle here, and I also need to consider my options, to know what exactly I'm able to offer you at the time being ...]
I don't want to tell him, that I actually just need a good long sleep.
Dark-Elf: [I see. Then how about we meet again tomorrow, before the sun sets?]
Should be enough time.
Me: [Sounds good to me.]
Just as I said that, the two dead soldiers in front of him begin to disappear, catching everyone's attention.
Dark-Elf: "... I forgot how beautiful this is ..."
He has seen it before? I'm definitely not the first dungeon, they encountered!
After the lights disappear, he turns around and just walks off, grabbing his sword out of the corpse on the way. I can feel the link breaking off, as they leave the borders of my area.
Me: [Phuh, that was an unexpected encounter ...]
Orsha: [... Yes]
Me: [Orsha, I need to take a break for a while.]
Orsha: [... Yes, Orsha understands.]
Me: [Bring your people and everything you need inside. I'll recharge the traps to give you some protection while I rest.]
Orsha: [Yes, Orsha will hurry!]
I would like to think that I build up some serious trust towards their tribe today. But we will see about that tomorrow...
Following Orshas instructions, the other hunters quickly collected their weapons and everything of value to them and retreated to the caves. I closed the door behind them and recharged all the traps, even the one in the building above. In the meantime, the Lizards tend to the many injured.
After confirming that I didn't forget anything, I leave the Ashranie to themselves. Retreating to the new core-room -which actually is the meeting-hall of the tribe- I once more give in to the sweet slumber and hope that nothing may come to hurt us while I rest ...
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