Colonizing the Dark Continent (For Weiss Ritter)

[Xatarias]

Your suggestion interrupts Claire just as she opens her mouth to deliver another crippling verbal blow to your fastidious façade. She considers for a few moments before nodding.


"That should be sufficient. So long as you recognize that my Mistress is not bound by any agreement you make."


She nods, satisfied and you get the distinct impression that the sleek assassin is thoroughly pleased with her performance thus far... Thinking on it, you can't deny the effectiveness of her methods, however crude. The mental image of Cynthia laughing in your chair creeps into the back of your mind and you get the distinct impression that the Lentani scion was very much aware how this expedition was going to turn out.


"Bondage?" Telai asks Milly as soon as Claire and Shen'ri have departed.


The fiery corsair flushes, but fires right back, "You might not realize that adults like to spice things up a little bit from time to time. No need to be jealous cause you can't give what I can."


"You don't know what I've done or am willing to do," Telai states calmly. She goes to retrieve her pack, leaving Milly to sputter.


Riveting as this exchange is, you have bigger things to worry about. Like ditching a handful of Forest Folk sentries with superior mobility and- you think observing the fading evening light - night vision.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Nathaniel wasn't sure what he would have done if Claire actually said something, but it probably wouldn't have been pleasant or well-advised. He stopped himself from giving the Lentani maid the satisfaction of seeing him sigh in relief, offering only a curt nod.


Not bound, hm? We'll see how long that lasts...


Cynthia wanted to laugh in his (technically the Skeetering Crab's...it wasn't even that comfortable..) chair?! How smug would she be with those hempen ropes snaking around her ankles and wrists, binding her in her prized seat? Or perhaps...to it. The raven-haired Lentani leaning forward, her body stretched taut with her wrists tied to the arms of the chair while her ankles were similarly knotted against the sturdy wooden legs. Her skirt or pants or whatever she expected to wear while lording over him that day would be pulled down, exposing her creamy yet pleasantly toned backside to his tender mercies. It probably wouldn't be too hard for him to whittle a good switch from the forest. He'd tap it against one of her cheeks then raise it high, pausing just long enough to savor Cynthia's squirming before...*whack!* Hm...would it be better to hear her erotic cries in all their glory, or would a gag of some sort sealing her lips make the victory all the sweeter?


That...erm...mental exercise took some of the sting off picturing Cynthia's wicked smirk the next time he walked into "her" office to discuss strategic matters. It did not help in the least when Telai spoke up.


Nathaniel visibly flinched. "Not now..." He all but whined under his breath. His voice was so low that Milly may well not have even heard it before firing off her retort.


The young man's face was thoroughly flushed by the time the duo were prepared to move on. The memory of Telai's piercings, gleaming in the gentle lighting of the Hillfolk caverns, were a potent reminder that the soldier was hardly a stranger to erotic experimentation herself. But...business before pleasure! Even with Claire and Shen'ri serving as decoys and distractions in all likelihood, they still faced a formidable challenge.


Gaining some distance and finding some place to hide might have been a wise first step. Nathaniel would probably have to be careful about how much he reached out with his mind to keep tabs on the squirrels as well. The Gift was an invaluable tool for warding off the Forest Folk warriors and dismantling any attempts at an ambush before it could be set, but if he was clumsy enough to let them feel, then they would know how far he could reasonably be from them.

 

[Xatarias]

(Intellect roll for advantage: 14)


(Precision roll with advantage: 11)


"-the hell do you mean by overly possessive!?"


The escalation of your partners argument quickly pulls you from your less-than-professional daydream. While it doesn't take much for the unflappable Telai to calm down and focus on the task at hand, Milly is absolutely fuming. For a moment, you worry the rebellious pirate will disregard the mission objective completely and stomp off headless of the screen of sentries encroaching on your position. Her face grows crimson and the tension is positively suffocating...


Meanwhile, you sense a gap in the net of furry observers. Either boredom or laxness has caused a shift in their relative positions, presenting you a pathway to slip past.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

In an ideal world, Nathaniel would have waited or found some way to calm Milly down before proceeding with something as delicate as infiltrating a forest of warrior-squirrels. Alas, the urgency and danger of their mission made that impossible. There was a hole in the Forest Folks' ranks, one he doubted would remain for long


Nathaniel gestured briskly for Milly and Telai to follow his lead as he pressed forward to exploit it. If his senses, supernatural or otherwise, gave him approximate knowledge of the squirrel sentries' position, he would have been able to guide himself and his comrades to suitable hiding spots along the way. The Forest Folk might have mastered the forest, but that did not make the cover it offered any more partial to them once someone else knew how to exploit it.

 

[Xatarias]

You make your way carefully through the undergrowth, slipping amongst the foliage, trying to make as little noise as possible. While much stealthier than simply bushwacking, none of your party are particularly skilled forest walkers. You end up with more scrapes and bruises than you'd care to count. A particular brush with some clinging plant leaves you with a nasty, prickling rash that leaves the flesh of your arm swollen and tender to the touch. Paying such a steep price in physical fatigue, you hope that your efforts have paid off and have shaken off the forestfolk rangers.


"Down!" Telai hisses.


You sense it too. A fast moving squirrel is moving directly towards you. Hopefully, his frantic movements are the action of a desperate hunter who lost his quarry. Otherwise, your covert mission might end in a much more dramatic fashion than you had originally planned. Either way...


You tug the oblivious Milly under a fallen tree trunk, covering her mouth just as the furry scout makes his appearance. You didn't realize it when you chose your hiding place, but the log above you is more than half rotten in addition to being quite massive... And it shudders precariously just as the forestfolk lands on top of it. You can barely see his bushy tail as he shuffles to and fro, chittering nervously as he tries to relocate the band of human trespassers.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Ngh..." Nathaniel grunted as his arm brushed against the poisonous plant. It mercifully seemed to be only a rash-giving irritant than something akin to the toxin the Forest Folk warriors had used to attack him earlier, but that quickly became a small comfort as even slight movements of his afflicted arm challenged him to not flinch in discomfort. He did not relish sneaking his way toward the meeting with Laughingwind like this, and he tried to not think at all about how it might effect the return trip.


Telai's warning mad his body tense and his eyes widen. He managed to catch sight of the squirrel scout seemingly before he or his part could be spotted. There was a massive log visible in the corner of his eye and the young man wasted no time jerking Milly beneath it with him. One hand muffled whatever surprised noises she might have made while the other reached for his blade out of sheer reflex. It remained firmly in its sheathe, but his grip remained tight as the sentry rapidly looked about. The distress in the Forest Folk's movements was a relief...until Nathaniel realized just how rotten the log he'd hurled he and Milly under was.


His teeth clenched and he had to fight not to give their position away with a sharp intake of breath or muttered cure. Last he checked, the Forest Folk weren't particularly heavy, but the rot ran deep enough that even a single of their warrior's weight might have been able to crack it atop them...and this one did seem distracted enough to not realize his platform was on the verge of breaking until it was too late.


Nathaniel's eyes darted about in search of...something beneath the log. Preferably small rock or some other projectile he could hurl once the squirrel was facing the opposite direction that wouldn't instantly give them away. Anything that would at least give him the option of trying to misdirect the Forest Folk elsewhere, or at least long enough to reposition to a safer spot.

 

[Xatarias]

Your hand closes around a length of fallen tree branch. It lets out a perilous crack as you try to dislodge it, and the squirrel above you shifts, ears twitching in response to the noise. The log above you begins to quiver, letting out a stream of dusty woodrot. Milly's nose twitches and she lurches, trying to contain an impending sneeze.


You hurl the piece of wood shut as your companion chokes out a muted exhale, luckily covered by a loud clattering as your projectile tumbles and rebounds through a nearby thicket. The forestfolk lets out an excited chitter and leaps in the direction of your throw. Several flashes of shadowy fur soon follow after him and you sense the band of sentries leave the immediate area.


Milly lets out and enormous sneeze just as you move clear of your hiding place.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Nathaniel almost sucked in a panicked breath of air when the limb he gripped creaked and the log above shuddered with the movement of the squirrel warrior. He caught himself before he could get a lungful of rotting wood particles that would have surely set off a coughing fit. Milly wasn't so lucky. She was doing her best not to sneeze, but her body seemed to scream that it was a losing battle to him.


He bit his lip and hurled the rotting wood into the farthest patch of thicket he could see. An entire squad of the Forest Folk warriors darted after it, and swiftly enough that Nathaniel wasn't even sure if they had bothered with their hand signals. Either way, they appeared to be worryingly adept at coordination and teamwork.


Still, they were gone now. It was enough for Nathaniel to let out a relieved breath...right when Milly sneezed hard enough to be mistaken for one of the giant beasts Agatha had tried to assassinate him with!


"Tch...!" Nathaniel just barely managed to stop himself from swearing aloud. He jerked a hand to the nearest tree or sufficiently large, non-poisonous bit of brush...just...somewhere they could hide until for the moment or two it would take to make sure the squirrels weren't coming right back!

 

[Xatarias]

The tension mounts as you prepare for a return of the squirrel search party... But no one makes an appearance. In the same moment you sag with relieve, a fresh wave of panic surges through you. Where was Telai!?


Milly seems to be on the same wavelength, peering through the undergrowth in vain for your dusky companion. It seems utterly inconceivable that she could have vanished without your- or the squirrels for that matter- noticing... Where-


"N-nat..."


Your cast your gaze along Milly's pointing finger and freeze in shock taking in the scene before you.


Telai lies at bottom of a shallow depression, covered in leaf litter and utterly motionless. For a moment, you fear the worst before detecting the most minute motion betraying the amazon's shallow breathing. Your relief is short lived, however, as you soon realize the reason for Telai's petrified position.


A sinister hiss reaches your ears as an enormous snake raises his head, fangs bared aggressively. Half of its body is coiled on top of your companion's torso, while its tail raises aloft with a ominous rattle.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

(Using a Special Point here, if that is allowed, since NATHANIEL SMASH! )


Nathaniel let out a relieved sigh even as his eyes darted around for any sign of Telai. She may have been a veritable pillar of muscle, but the southerner was also an experienced soldier. Maybe...she was able to hide that well? Gods, there was no way anyone or anything could possible have dragged her away without a fi-


Milly's call ended that train of thought. His gaze followed her fingertip towards the depression in the ground. Nathaniel's heart skipped a beat, but then he saw the gentle rise and fall of her chest. He should have known better than to underestimate Telai's ability to outfox the Forest Folk even in their own domain. This was what she did for a living!


Nathaniel raised a hand to signal to Telai that the cost was clear. The serpent's hiss and rattle carried through the air before he was halfway to making the gesture. The young man's world world froze. His heart stopped and time itself stood still.


No...no, no, NO!


She had not come this far, survived Agatha, and become this close to him just to die by some gods-damned snake!


Power, or at least rage-fueled adrenaline, raced through Nathaniel's body. Every inch of him felt like it was enveloped in white hot fire, all hot and cold at once. The force and speed with which his consciousness rushed to meet the great serpent's rivaled anything even the heaviest cannons could muster. He didn't just try to mentally seize it. If Nathaniel's mental fingers found purchase, they were likely to pierce into and shatter whatever they touched.


If he succeed in violently wrenching the snake away, what would Nathaniel find once the rage passed just enough for him to comprehend what was racing through its mind? Had greedy hunger run through its gaze at the sight and scent of Telai, or fear that some giant creature had forced its way into its domain?

 

[Xatarias]

(jeez, someone doesn't want their amazon stolen via snakebite)


(Intellect with advantage vs. insight: 16)


Your consciousness surges forward and invades the snake's mind. Your actions are hardly deft or precise, but they don't need to be. After dominating numerous humans and dueling with other psychics, your mental powers have strengthened considerably. One moment, you were linked with the creature in the most profound way, sensing each articulating muscle and firing nerve, marveling at shifting starscape of the snake's active brain...


Then a millisecond later, the momentum of your vicious assault catches up and the snake's consciousness is snuffed out. The creature flops listlessly against Telai's chest. The amazon hurriedly pushes the creature aside and scrambles from its corpse.


Milly gapes at you, an expression on her face that you have never seen before.


"Was that the... The..." She doesn't manage to finish her sentence. Somehow, you know the spunky pirate won't be referring to the Song as your "woo woo powers" again.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

(Clearly Nathaniel has no tolerance for motherfuckin' snakes on his motherfuckin' waifus! )


Nathaniel hadn't had the time or inclination to wonder what it would be like to join minds with a snake, or any other animal for that matter. He'd been forced to use his gift to deal with the normally docile beast Agatha had turned into a living weapon, but even then he more focused on her psychic fetters rather than the creature itself. What would it be like to see the world through a lifeform so different from him in every way...?


Of course, only a small part of his mind could be bothered to formulate such academic notions. The rest was all too eager to smash the snake's conciousness into fine powder.


"Telai-!" Nathaniel hissed under his breath as he approached her, only to freeze when the amazon swiftly cast the serpent's body aside and rose completely under her own power. "I...it didn't bite you? I assumed the worst, and..."


What had been meant as a grasp for the snake's corpse to prepare anti-venom was halted mid-way. Milly's stuttered words drew the young man's attention back to the unflappable pirate. Nathaniel was frozen to the spot as he felt something unpleasant churn in his gut. Gods, not Milly too...


His jaw clenched but now was neither the time nor place for a heated discussion on the way he used this power. The Forest Folk patrol could be back any moment now.

 

[Xatarias]

"I'm fine," Telai says briskly, brushing herself off. Looking up, she sees your expression gives you a reassuring smile. "Tripped over the big bastard just as the jumpers were passing overhead. Didn't have much of a choice other than hope he was a squeezer and not a biter."


Crisis averted and the Forestfolk patrol nowhere in sight, you and your companions make ready to leave. Milly takes point, occasionally prodding the undergrowth with a long stick. At some point you catch her murmuring, "snakes, why'd it have to be blasted snakes?"


"Quite thorough, isn't she?" Telai whispers over your shoulder. With Milly amply distracted, the amazon must be feel emboldened and gives you a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for the save back there."


You complete the rest of your journey with mercifully little opposition, reptilian or otherwise. Concealed in the undergrowth, you, Telai, and Milly lay on your bellies observing the small, round door of Agatha's former abode. The cheery welcome mat and potted plants are still arranged outside, remnants of the imposter's meticulous efforts in maintaining her farce. You detect a dim light emanating from within. Someone was already here.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Nathaniel nodded with a strained expression despite Telai's gentle words and gentler smile. He was half expecting her to caution him on wielding the Song as a weapon or at least give him another witheringly wary look. Yet, no such admonishment came.


The young man didn't go so far as to exhale a relieved breath but the tension that had built in his body faded...or as much as it could while they were still traveling through Forest Folk territory.


"A-ah..." Nathaniel stumbled over his own words as soon as he felt her lips press against his cheek. Considering his broadened...experience since he'd come here, it was a rather chaste gesture rather than a broadening of his horizons. Still, it meant enough that his face flushed all the same.


As the trio lay prone, Nathaniel cautiously reached out with his mind to scan over Agatha's abode. He just wanted to get at least a vague idea of how many people were in it and whether they were there in good faith or setting an ambush obvious enough for such a cursory mental sweep to detect.


"Telai, could you take point for this?" The young man would have glanced to his right hand amazon if his psychic scouting indicated that abandoning this effort wasn't the only real course of action. Telai was almost certainly the most effective melee combatant among the trio, and definitely the most durable. As potent a weapon as the Song had made his mind, one good smack to the head or a sufficiently debilitating poison would be all the Forest Folk required to disarm him of it.

 

[Xatarias]

You detect the presence of four minds within the hollow. Definitely Forestfolk. You recall your mental brush with Laughingwind and how difficult it was for you to remain in the center of her consciousness... Perhaps the squirrels were more psychically adept than the average human, or you simply had an easier time infiltrating the minds of your fellow species. Either way, it is clear that attempting to discern more details, such as any intended hostility, would carry the risk of alerting them to your presence.


The metallic rasp of unlimbered weaponry draws your attention. Telai has shouldered her musket in favor of a rather nasty looking hatchet engraved with the spikey calligraphy of her people. Watching her familiar handling of the weapon makes you feel better about your chances in close quarters combat.


"What about me?," Milly asks, "Might be better for one of us to hang back in case something goes wrong."

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Hm..." Nathaniel grunted with a faint frown as his consciousness surveyed the outermost edges of the Forestfolks'. He was loathe to attribute the greater sensitivity they had to his psionic movements to an innate physiological advantage held by their entire species. The fear their culture had of "skinwalkers" seemed too broad and deeply entrenched even before Agatha murdered their chieftain for him to believe Alestra was the only other one they'd had contact with. If that was the case, perhaps they had formulated some way of training themselves to resist the power of the Gift? Or perhaps a simple awareness that "Skinwalkers" existed was enough. Either probably would have represented a significant advantage that Cynthia's mercenaries, and an off-guard Telai, almost certainly lacked.


"I agree," Nathaniel nodded to Milly. "But don't use a firearm unless absolutely necessary. This close to their home, it's bound to get every warrior the Forestfolk can spare coming down on top of us."


With everything seemingly in order, Nathaniel drew his blade and gestured for Telai to take the lead. He followed her closely to guard her flank and would have braced himself against the opposite side of the door when they reached the structure. Preferably withing striking distance of any window or orifice a fleeing Forestfolk warrior could scamper through. Nathaniel had heard them chitter and make their hand-signs, but not blow a hunting horn or raise their voices in a way that would have carried through the forest. Maybe they did have have some way to raise an alarm far and wide, or perhaps those large ears of theirs made it a moot point, but it cost him nothing to plan in a way that would let him find out whether the Forestfolk were too well-adapted, too used to being the often undetected masters of their forest to have to innovate around that problem.

 

[Xatarias]

You slink over roots, dodging stray leaves and dry twigs. You sense no movement of pursuers- Either your efforts at stealth worked, or there is no one to observe your movements.


Telai swiftly unlatches the small door and swing it open, hatchet ready in her offhand.


You peer inside and see a huddled group of Forestfolk. Two silver-furred females rise and turn towards you, one decked out in clattering chains of bones and copper beads, the other wrapped in a simple shawl, her features remarkably similar to Laughingwind who stands nearby. The final member of the entourage is the only male, lean and strong with a war club held loosely in one paw. You think you recognize him from one of Thornpaw's war bands.


Put your weapon aside, Laughingwind signs firmly to as much you as her companion. No one comes here seeking enemies... We have much to discuss.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Nathaniel let out relieved breath at the sight of Laughingwind and began sheathing his blade even before she began signing him.


The patrols gave us some trouble, we didn't want to be taken off-guard if anything went wrong.


He briefly looked over each of the Forestfolk as he signed back to Laughingwind. The one clad in a shawl...Laughingwind's mother, perhaps? They resembled each other too closely for him to dismiss it as pure coincidence. The other female appeared to be some sort revered elder or one of the weavers of their precious silk? The warrior's presence in particular was a relief. Perhaps Thornpaw didn't speak for all of the Forestfolk warriors after all.


Yes, much to discuss. Well, to start with, what has happened with your people? When I spoke with Thornpaw outside Agatha's dungeon, he claimed your council was deadlocked over whether to continue with our trading agreement, but you made it sound like your people consider a war to be inevitable now. Did something change?

 

[Xatarias]

The squirrel you presumed to be Laughingwind's mother sniffs indignantly. Laughingwind simply shakes her head.


The council is deadlocked, but not over the trade deal. In fact, Thornpaw is the most enthusiastic proponent of trading with the nofurs. His lust for your weapons is no secret... But decisions on that and similar matters cannot take place until the chieftains seat is filled. Brokenstream named his successor in the weavings, but the choice must be affirmed by the council...


The young squirrel's shoulders slump as if bearing a great weight. Her face flickers with a hard expression you can't quite read.


He... He named me. I don't think he intended it to happen so soon, not with so much turmoil amongst the tribes, but it's a duty I have to accept. I won't let Thornpaw seize grandfather's legacy.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Nathaniel's expression, while neutral overall, tightened. Just what were Thornpaw's longer-term plans if he did manage to get his hands on firearms and how much of the Forestfolk council and population would back them if they were not held in check by their traditions? The settlement he and Cynthia Lentani had come to was...less than ideal even with the specter of the Patron looming above everything they held dear, but any second thoughts he had about the wisdom of not striking a bargain with Thornpaw were fading.


Nathaniel remained silent and still as Laughingwind slumped, stared, and finally signed. His hands twitched and raised before falling back to his sides. He wanted to help her, to comfort her with kind words or a supporting touch, but none of it seemed appropriate.


I am an outsider to your affairs, and I know...all of this has done little to endear my and my followers to you and your people, but unless the false priestess was making idle boasts before she died, we are all still in danger. For whatever it is worth to you, I believe you and your ideals will protect your people more effectively than Thornpaw's. What must be done to get the council to affirm you? When Thornpaw approached me, he was vague about everything except his desire for our weapons.

 

[Xatarias]

There is disagreement over the exact process. Grandfather wasn't elected so much as ascended... Honestly, I think the clans would have gone their separate ways were it not for the presence of a... A common enemy. Fraternization with nofurs would put me in an unpopular position, but offering a solution to the problem you represent is the only way for me to secure a future for my people. I need you to exhibit your cooperation and goodwill.


But not in a manner that makes her seem complicit with nofur ambitions. Laughingwind's allegiances must be unquestionable.  The warrior briefly interrupts. You must appear... Coerced.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Nathaniel nodded a bit at Laughingwind's signed words but otherwise did everything he could to keep his expression stoic and enigmatic. He wanted to consider the Forestfolk a friend, but he'd been privy to her thoughts before. Whatever the future might hold for them and their people, her interests and those of the Forestfolk clans seemed to come first in her mind. It wouldn't do to tip his hand too far before he was sure it would actually help build some semblance of trust.


It was hard for him to suppress a frown when the demented genius of Agatha's plan truly came together in his mind, though. The young man had wondered before if there were other Forestfolk tribes and enclaves and what dealing with a fragmented native population would entail for his expedition. Now he knew: the common front they put forth was neither as old nor as sturdy as the Forestfolk would probably have wanted him to believe. The power vacuums that arose in the wake of any strong leader, at least in his limited experience and considerably less limited understanding of history, could give even a well-developed and unified state like Avalon serious pause. If Laughingwind's fears were justified, this succession crisis of the Forestfolks' stood to shatter their unity in a way that would just as likely pit them against each other as their other "common enemies".


The Forestfolk see all of the...nofurs as the same clan?


The question was largely rhetorical and the briskness of Nathaniel's hand signs betrayed some of the irritation he felt at the notion. They were prepared to tear their budding civilization apart over such distinctions while painting his people with the broadest brush possible.


The warrior's signing did little to assuage those feelings. Nathaniel had to pause a moment before he felt comfortable enough to reply.


How? Elaborate, please.


There was a subtle tension in his body. He had already been required to make tentative peace with Cynthia Lentani on her terms. Did Laughingwind and her cohorts expect a similar "alliance" from him, with the caveat that they probably wouldn't command the mostly unquestioned authority over their followers that Cynthia did or have him suspended from a ceiling while "negotiating"?

 

[Xatarias]

You will promise that no nofur under your command will intrude into our territory without our expressed permission. You will generously expand the terms of the pending trade deal in our favor. She hesitates, clearly not experienced in negotiating like this. And this offer must be made only to me. Make it known that you will not accept the word of Thornpaw and that it is not fear of his warriors that motivates you, but fear of losing my peoples' goodwill... A fair amount of groveling would also help.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Nathaniel had expected something like Laughingwind's first condition. Not being able to enter Forestfolk territory, something he expected they would claim amounted to the entire forest. without explicit permission would slow his efforts to study and explore the Dark Continent, but not nearly as much as every venture into the woods risking ambush by their patrols.


Her second condition gave him some pause, but it wasn't entirely unexpected either. The Forestfolk were wary of "nofurs" even while Brokenstream was still alive. Something other than words to help prove his killing of Agatha wasn't a fluke or part of some larger game might make for a good gesture, or at least a reminder of the benefits peaceful relationships between their people could bring. However, his resources were stretched thin already and metal tools could be rather expensive in a frontier economy. Money wasn't his primary concern anymore, but it would be unwise to not keep the profitability of his expedition in mind until he could his family of the threat posed by the Patron and his Syndicate.


The third condition...groveling? Did she really-?!


Nathaniel took a measured breath to steady himself. This was clearly new to Laughingwind. He would have to keep in mind that she said was probably born of inexperience rather than malice. Hopefully.


You make it sound like I am a conquered enemy offering reparations for my crimes rather than another of the false priestess's targets trying to stop pointless conflict.


Nathaniel's jaw tightened a bit as he signed the words. The worst part was that he wasn't sure how much of this was truly Laughingwind's will and what was her earnest estimate of what it would take to placate her people. Negotiating with a single leader who ultimately wanted the same thing as you was one thing, but how could he expect to change the hearts and minds of an entire culture that currently seemed fine with hounding he and his followers through the forest?


I believe I can agree to your first condition, if a system is made so that I actually can request permission when I need it. I will hear what altered terms you have in mind and consider them. Showing good intentions is one thing, but I will not be extorted. I am willing to trust you in this over Thornpaw or any others, and I am doing this to ensure true peace between my expedition and your clans...which is why I will not grovel. I came here in the hope that we could be trading partners, maybe even allies or friends if the false priestess wasn't lying about more of her...clan coming. You're asking me to let your people think of me as a...


Nathaniel's features scrunched up as he struggle to find the right word in the Forest Folk handsigns he knew of. Vassal? They didn't have a feudal system, did they? Slave? Tributary...?


Subject or defeated enemy worthy of their scorn. I remember how some of of your people looked at mine when we first came to the hometree. That's domination, not peace.

 

[Xatarias]

The squirrel you assume to Laughingwind's mother eyes narrow at your indignation.


No one asked your kind to come here, She signs angrily. Things have only gotten worse since more of you Nofurs have arrived. You are in no position to determine the future of a relationship between our peoples. I-If none of your waverunners had arrived upon the horizon, I'd still have a father!


Laughingwind's expression is also pinched with pain but she places a paw on her mother's shoulder, quieting her.


My people need reassurance, Nathanial. They don't want friendship with nofurs or the promise of an alliance against an enemy they've never seen. They hear the fear and anger of the coastal clans which left the coast rather than fight at my Grandfather's orders. Dozens of them saw Brokenstream's flayed corpse hanging from Hometree, the deed done by one of the Norfurs we thought we could trust.


Maybe there will be a time when our peoples can deal with one another as equals, but I don't think this is it. If I were to walk in your peoples' forest making demands of your chieftains, would they deal with me in good faith? I want for the clans to live alongside nofurs, but only if you realize that these lands are ours and what you take from it is only what we allow. You do not understand the Forest and you have no right to its gifts. If you find this arrangement unsuitable, then you may leave the way you came...


Some part of you yearns for the young squirrel whose eyes widened with delight at the whirling intricacy of a pocket watch. The squirrel that stands before you eyes you with a cool intelligence and wisdom that belies her youthfulness. It occurs to you that if Forestfolk age similarly to humans, Laughingwind can't be much younger than you. It's clear she doesn't hate you or humans in general, but there is a steely determination in her that brooks no argument.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Even more indignation arose in Nathaniel reflexively as the older Forestfolk signed back at him. What did she expect of his people?! To be content huddling in caves or villages of sticks and mud when there was w world full of wonders to explore?! If it wasn't for him, the woman who murderer her father would probably be personally leading twice as many broken Hillfolk "pets" to murder and mutilate even more just as brutally as she had Brokenstream!


She...she...oh, gods she wasn't all wrong. His attempt to trade with her people was the exception to the rule when it came to dealing with "nofurs", wasn't it? Even Milly had tried to drag Laughingwind off to some exotic brothel before he happened to intercede.


Nathaniel took a deep breath. It helped some, but that was all.


I'm not making demands of you, you're making demands of me. This is as if you walked into my peoples' forest, a criminal among your people killed one of mine, and then the chieftains expect you to pay for that crime even after you ended the one who committed it.


His movements weren't quite as animated with barely suppressed anger as before, but the tension remained. Maybe it was his pride speaking, but he was loathe to let even Laughingwind get away with reinterpreting things like that. That was the entire point of this negotiation, wasn't it? To stop the Forestfolk from equating all of his people, or at least his expedition, to people like Agatha? If that failed, what was to stop people like Thornpaw from rallying followers against Laughingwind's will the moment they decided killing and looting his followers was as righteous as it was convenient to their ends? Laughingwind herself had all but admitted that respect for less than ancient tradition might not be enough to stop entire clans from doing what they pleased anyway.


I already said I will respect your peoples' territory, and the resources within it. I'm sorry Brokenstream was murdered and that I wasn't able to do...something to prevent it.


Nathaniel's expression softened a bit, yet his eyes matched Laughingwind's steel gaze with a firm glint of their own. Brokenstream had seemed like a wise and benevolent chieftain and the love he inspired in his family and the fragmented clans seemed to be well-deserved. The world was lesser for his loss...but that was as close to groveling and pleading forgiveness for a crime he didn't commit the Forestfolk were going to get.


If that wasn't enough to end the negotiations, he would have continued signing a moment later.


Do you have something specific in mind for the renegotiation of our trade?


A few ideas on how to meet a demand for more metal or mitigate less silk coming in sprang to Nathaniel's mind. It partially depended on how valuable his stockpile of wood would have been and whether Laughingwind would have been able to grant his expedition access to the stone Telai noted they could use to erect their fort in its place. Mainly, though, it would be up to the Forestfolk. Even if Laughingwind bore him no grudge, he remembered the almost comically absurd amount of metal the Forestfolk had asked in exchange for their silk when Brokenstream was their leader. If spite, ignorance, or some combination of the two ensured Laughingwind's prospective followers would accept nothing less than a similar ransom, then...then he would just have to rush the construction of the fort or hope Cynthia understood what an immediate threat at least some of the Forestfolk would represent.

 

[Xatarias]

Halfway through your rant, Laughingwind halts you with a choppy brutality that conveys a depth of emotion that scares you.


If I held you responsible for my grandfather's death, Nathanial, you wouldn't be breathing. And yes, your very presence is a demand upon my people. Brokenstream allowed you to settle here in the face of fierce opposition because he was curious. But he made too many changes in too short of a time.


I don't have to wonder what will happen if I allow your people a foothold, the evidence is already in front of me. Conflict. More villages displaced, more trees cut, and our influence diminished. The confederacy is ready to unravel and it isn't just because of the actions of one madwoman. Humans have upset the balance of things, stolen a golden age from this nation... Now it falls to me to reestablish stability.


Her hands flit with a precision and grace. The voice might understand the mechanics of their sign language, but you could never match Laughingwind's pure magnetism. Brokenstream was a wise, grizzled leader, but here was an evangel. Somehow, you realize that Thornpaw won't stand a chance against her in the council chambers.


You will pledge to abide by our laws and the judgment of our council. If loyalty to your own chief or your pride prevents it, then I suggest you go home or find a different land to invade. You are not a sovereign nation, you do not even own lands since the farmland we ceded was contingent upon our future trade.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Laughingwind's emotional gestures alone would have been enough to "silence" Nathaniel, but the words she conveyed muted him for several long moments. It was like the young woman had just shattered his reserved mask with a hammer.


He stood and stared at her as a myriad of conflicting emotions played out across his youthful features. The silence was anything but stunned, however. As always, Nathaniel's mind was all to eager to press forward where his heart faltered.


Laughingwind may not have been looking at him with hatred, but in the end it seemed she did blame what he represented for everything the Forestfolk had endured. There wasn't actually a "maybe" about one day dealing as equals in her mind anymore, was there? At least, not in the foreseeable future...or even their lifetimes. Humanity would dominate this continent without the foot of the Forestfolk grinding against their throat, and that was exactly what Laughingwind intended to get in the end.


You do not...you...


Nathaniel was tried and failed to sign. He remembered how Laughingwind had once marveled at the curious devices he wore: the pocketwatch and the pistol that was mercifully loaded with a non-lethal compound when it went off in her face. He remembered his elation when the trade agreement was struck with Brokenstream and the bright future it seemed to offer. The potential for conflict had crossed his mind back then along with the fear of what might happen once Newport and other settlements truly began to grow. It would have been a formidable challenge, but he had believed the shiploads of passengers coming to the Dark Continent seeking new lives or greater profits could have been managed if he cemented his position firmly enough. The Forestfolk would probably have been changed by the experience even then, but perhaps in a positive way. Metal tools were the least of what his people could have offered the natives once they were more than a backwater port.


That hope, that dream even, was dying. Nathaniel could almost hear Agatha's mad laughter now. Had he been...naive? Had her blade killed the hope for true peace between humanity and the Forestfolk, or had it merely awakened he and Laughingwind to the ugly truth? Although the strength and eloquence with which Laughingwind signed to him convinced him her victory over Thornpaw was all but assured all other things being equal, it brought him no comfort. What was the difference between the two now? Thornpaw might try to steal firearms slightly sooner?


I will not be your subject to rule over.


Nathaniel's motions were devoid of emotion. He felt too empty inside for that.


I have no desire to fight with you or your people. I will try to avoid encroaching on the Forestfolk's territory where possible. Much of the land you ceded has already been deforested and a fortified structure erected over part of it. If you are unwilling to renegotiate our original agreement or trade in any way unless I submit to you, then you are asking my followers to put ourselves at the mercy of the clan that took over Newport in my absence, weaken us against Agatha's clan if they arrive, and tear down what we have built to give you land your people may not benefit from for some time. The Hillfolk will be targets of Agatha's clan as well if more arrive, and your people have already suffered because of the ones she alone captured and turned into her...pets. If I can contact them without traveling through the forest, I will, but  if that is impossible I cannot guaranteed the safety of any warriors who ambush me on that journey again. Does that cover everything?

 

[Xatarias]

Thornpaw's clumsy attempts to keep you from Hometree won't be an issue any longer. As for the Hillfolk, we have ways of contacting them. If they wish to claim these killers roaming our forests, they may do so. Otherwise, we shall take care of the problem.


Your eyes are drawn to the silver-furred elder as a slight shift in her movements sets her garish jewelry clattering. She hasn't contributed to the conversation thus far, keeping her eyes on the floor, teeth clenched. It's almost as if she's concentrating on-


However, I must insist you stay for a little while longer. You will be allowed to leave, but not until the nation has been given evidence of this exchange.


She raises a paw and the elder visibly slumps as if relieved from some unseen burden. Suddenly, your sensory net is filled with dozens of forestfolk all waiting outside. The door opens and two burly warriors step inside, spears held loosely, but still at the ready. You can't help but marvel at Laughingwind's machinations. She had all but fifteen minutes to recognize the situation and lay this trap.


I don't claim to understand the powers of a skinwalker, but Twinberry has told me that few can dominate a full contingent of warriors without the element of surprise. Come quietly, Nathanial. I promise that neither you or your companions will be harmed.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Things hadn't gone the way Nathaniel had hoped, but the negotiations were at an end. Perhaps detente, in the short term at least, could be maintained if more amicable relations were out of reach for the foreseeable future.


He glanced to the decorated elder. Was something wrong with her? She hadn't said anything despite her apparent rank and now her entire body seemed strained.


A frown tugged at the corners of Nathaniel's lips, but Laughingwind's gestures forced him to look back to her. He hesitated a moment and then nodded, raising his hands sign back. This exchange did run the risk of being completely pointless without some kind of proof that it had happened. No real agreement had been made, but perhaps allowing the rest of her people to understand his intent could diffuse some of the tension all the same.


The elder slumped before he was finished signing half a word. Nathaniel's body stiffened and his mind prickled from the sensation of a small army of Forestfolk suddenly materializing around Agatha's former abode. Marveling at the force Laughingwind had been able to mobilize on such short notice was the last thing on his mind. The two warriors entering were registered only out of the corner of his vision.


Nathaniel's somewhat fair features and bookish nature meant he had generally relied more on influence than physicality to intimidate anyone in the past. Now, the Song's power was his to command and the font of raw psychic power that his mind represented was seething mightily enough that Twinberry might not have been the only one to feel it.


If my trust is betrayed, Laughingwind, I won't need to dominate your warriors.


He was prepared to follow the Forestfolk warriors, though he would tried to keep enough distance between his body and theirs' to ensure it would take more than a swift blow to the head to prevent him from acting on his warning. As they walked, he tried to get a feel for how much mental surveillance the Forestfolks' own "skinwalker" could place him under. Twinberry was probably too exhausted to prevent him from passing along a message to Milly that they might not be in real danger despite the dozens of Forestfolk warriors escorting them, but if they had more like her, he wouldn't have wanted to risk giving the captain away.