Chapter 48: Another Side

Perspective: Zarenna

“Greetings,” the hammer-wielder spoke in Navvish.

Their voice was clear, but shrill and monotone. They spoke something after, with a click and hiss that I did not understand.

“Hello,” I replied simply, then looked to my partner who spoke a little more Navvish than the simple phrases I knew.

Seyari nodded her head and spoke in Navvish. “What did you say after you greeted my partner?”

The bug-like humanoid thought a moment. I couldn’t read their eyes and their face was likewise inscrutable. However, their lower pair of arms fidgeted. They responded in Navvish, but I couldn’t follow what they said.

Seyari translated into Turquoiser for me. “They say the term doesn’t have an equivalent outside their language, but ‘corrupted one’ is the best I can translate.”

I frowned.

The hammer-wielder spoke up. “I can… speak the blue human trade language. Not good.”

The more they spoke, I noticed their voice was not monotone, rather it shifted tone in steps, without any inflection or transition. The effect was uncanny.

“Whatever you are most okay with,” I replied in careful Turquoiser.

The fact I had a limited vocabulary in the language was helping for once.

The fidgeting of their lower arms stopped for a moment. Their antennae twitched.

“The blue human language good.” The tones of their voice pitched lower.

I had no idea what their voice change meant, though I had a hunch they were uncomfortable speaking in Turquoiser and had lied for some reason.

“If you are sure,” I replied as kindly as I could. “I am Zarenna and my partner is Seyari.”

“This one thank you for help. We did not know the other was so close.” They paused a moment. “Call this one Hammer.”

I nodded. “What are your people called?” I gestured to those assembled around us.

“We are |\>—,” they replied. “Formid, in human language.”

Over the next few minutes, we held a halting conversation and I learned a little bit about Hammer and their band of Formid hunters. I tried to have Seyari talk in Navvish and translate, but I was only partially successful. Around us, Hammer’s hunters went to work disassembling the two titan scorpions. We learned the party had hunted one and sighted the other some distance away. Titan scorpions were solitary, but the other had stayed close for an unknown reason and rushed in, likely to kill its rival.

Had we not intervened, the group would have retreated empty-handed with losses while the two monstrous arachnids fought. I didn’t contest them taking from my kill. I couldn’t use anything from it, and even if I could, I really didn’t want to carry it over a mountain range.

As we spoke, Hammer kept their distance from both of us, me in particular. Their reaction had been far better than what I imagined the reaction south of the mountains would be, but I wasn’t exactly thrilled.

In a surprisingly short time, the hunters had made ready to leave. The large bundles each was carrying impressed me. Their strength far exceeded a human of their stature.

Before they left, I wanted to get more information from Hammer.

“We’re going through the mountains to the south, do you know a good route for us to take?” I asked.

They didn’t reply immediately. Instead, they levelled an inscrutable gaze at me.

“We are escaping Navanaea,” I added with an unsure voice.

Hammer was quiet a few moments more. I did my best to meet their gaze. Eventually, they broke eye contact by turning their head.

“Does the corrupted one lie?” Hammer asked Seyari.

Seyari shook her head. “No. Zarenna is telling the truth. We are not agents of Navanaea.”

Hammer turned back to me, and dipped their antennae low. “This one owe favor to the corrupted one. This one will take both to the path. Do not enter the Formid tunnel, or die. Path end before cross mountain.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

Hammer didn’t reply.

We followed the insectoid people in silence. I had so many questions I wanted to ask the reticent Formid! I wanted to know more about their people, their conflict with Navanaea, and especially about their immense namesake hammer.

Maybe weapons like that were commonplace, but the all-metal weapon looked huge and ancient to me. The surface was weathered and marked with intricate faded patterns. A curved spike opposite the head had long ago broken. I couldn’t place the alloy either, but I knew just enough to know I was woefully ignorant when it came to uncommon metals.

When they had swung the hammer, it certainly didn’t seem light, either. I imagined a normal human wouldn’t be able to use such a weapon. I wondered if the weapon was Formid-made, or other.

I had hoped to ask some of my questions when we stopped for the night. To my surprise, however, we continued to march through the night. Seyari managed to get Hammer to explain that Formids did not have the same sleep cycle as humans and would rest for an extended period every few days. They also did not want to risk being caught by scavengers or predators when asleep.

Or let their guard down around me, I thought bitterly.

The next morning, I was hardly tired. I probably didn’t need to sleep every night, but old habits were hard to break. Maybe I’d find a hobby to take the time when I was in a position where that would make sense.

We kept a steady pace until the evening, when Hammer led the group to a small rocky area to rest. The ground was hard enough that there’d be no sudden surprises from the sand below. Seyari and I camped a way away from the group. We elected to sleep in shifts. I doubted we’d be attacked, but I didn’t want our reluctant guide to leave us.

Hammer made no attempt to ditch us, but we were up and moving again very early. This pattern continued on for another week. Two days of solid marching, then a night of resting in shifts.

The most significant thing that happened, aside from the hunting party beating off various scavenging animals and smaller monsters, was when I realized I’d forgotten to get Lilly’s tea cake recipe.

I also asked Seyari about using the nickname ‘Sey’. She’d told me I was more than close enough to call her that. I told her again the same was true for Renna. I don’t think either of us were really in a state of mind to use nicknames. We both wanted to be clear of the desert.

Hammer, meanwhile, largely ignored us. I assumed they resented our continued presence. Then again, they had agreed to guide us.

Every day, the mountains loomed closer. Days ago, they had reminded me of the snow-capped peaks that could be seen in the distance, south of Linthel. Now that we had drawn closer, I realized with no small amount of trepidation that these peaks were much larger than those mountains. Their jagged tops sloped down into a mess of ridgelines and smaller peaks.

A day later, the sands died out and were replaced by rocky foothills. The land was barren, but by afternoon, scrub had started to make itself known in crevices and valleys. Tracks of dry streambed cut their way through the landscape.

That afternoon, Hammer’s hunting party split from us, headed east. Seyari and I continued on with Hammer toward the mountains to the south.

That evening, I tried again to talk with Hammer. They were seated on the hard-packed earth, alone. Either they trusted us to keep watch, or the danger was behind us.

“Hello Hammer,” I opened with a small smile.

They looked at me, but did not respond.

I took that as tacit permission. “Do you mind if I ask about the conflict with Navanaea?”

“The human of the north invaded our hunting ground,” Hammer replied in a single unwavering tone.

“Oh,” I looked away.

I sensed no anger. Hammer’s answer was simple enough. Both the Formid and the people of Navanaea were encroaching into the same region. Given Hammer’s appearance and mannerisms, I could easily see the people of Navanaea as being unwilling to cooperate with the Formid. At the same time, I wondered if the Formid had even sought cooperation. I knew too little about the conflict to weigh in to either side.

I hope killing the Third Prince didn’t hurt the situation.

From everything I’d heard, the Third Prince was much maligned, but in a time of tension, a high-profile ‘assassination’ could spark a war.

I looked to Seyari. She was sitting next to me and watching the single cloud pass in the sky. I looked up at it too, a thin string of wisps impossibly high in the sky.

I wanted to help. I wanted to find a peaceful solution. But I was ignorant. I knew hardly anything of Navanaea and less than nothing of the Formids. I had no stake in this conflict outside of my friendship with Aretan and concern for his family and some of the people I’d met.

It’s not my place to get involved.

I sighed inwardly.

Was Hammer reticent because demons are known manipulators?

Wrath demons weren’t exempt from that reputation either. Demons of my kind were simply more… direct. Sure, I wanted to reach a peaceful solution and avoid violence, but good intentions wouldn’t change the fact of what I’d be doing.

Stupid morass of tangled morality.

“You’re in your head again.” I hadn’t even noticed Seyari staring at me. She spoke on Ordian.

“Yeah, I am.” I looked to our guide.

If they were concerned about a conversation in a language they probably didn’t know, they didn’t show it. Not surprising.

I sighed and planted two hands in the dirt to turn my gaze skyward. I felt the weight of my horns on my head and the warm dirt under my tail.

“I just don’t—”

“What’s eating—”

Seyari and I spoke at the same time.

“You go.” I held a hand up to let the sun shine between my fingers.

I heard Seyari scoot closer to me. “What’s eating you, Renna?”

“I was wondering if killing Malich might make this conflict turn into a war. What if Navanaea decides the Formid were responsible? Maybe I’m wrong, and that would only happen in a story.”

Seyari was quiet a moment, then I felt her hand on the back of one of mine. “Shit like that does happen, Renna. But… I think you’d tell me something like ‘that won’t be your fault’ if I was thinking what you were.”

I looked back down at her. Seyari gave me a reassuring smile. I did feel a little better.

“Thanks.” I put a hand over hers that was still on mine and squeezed gently.

I turned and found Hammer was still staring at us.

“Sorry. Personal stuff.” I spoke in Turquoiser.

No reply. As usual.

“I like your hammer,” I made an ill-advised attempt at small talk.

“This one does too.” Hammer’s tone pitched high. Their lower hands fidgeted.

I latched into the hint of emotion. “Do you mind if I ask how you got it? Was it made for you, or did you find it somewhere?”

“This one does not mind. This one hammer was found ahead through the mountain. This one hammer is not a Formid weapon.” Hammer’s tone stayed high.

“Could you show us where?” Seyari interjected.

“Yes. The place is close to where this one leave you. The tunnel is not Formid.”

“Thanks, Hammer!” I replied.

Their antennae perked up slightly. Maybe it was just the wind.

That evening, Seyari and I took shifts watching. Hammer stayed awake the entire night.

Where we headed the next few days matched Mereneth’s directions. The snow-topped peak to our right was the largest I’d seen on the horizon and Hammer took us east of it. We wound through increasingly rugged terrain along narrow footpaths.

The vegetation grew briefly thicker, but thinned as we climbed. Hammer spent more time resting, and had slowed their pace when we were walking. I asked them about it, but they brushed the question off.

We reached the end of the path a day before we reached the entrance to where Hammer had found their hammer. They indicated a narrow-entranced cave, then pointed to a gap between ridges south of us.

“This one found hammer deep in the cave. South, between the two hill may be a pass. This one must go now.”

“Thank you for taking us here, Hammer,” I said earnestly.

“Thank you. Do you know anything about where you found your hammer?” Seyari asked.

Hunter dipped their antennae. “This one does not. Formid do not like this height.”

“Have others been here?” Seyari looked at the cave entrance carefully.

“This one does not know. This one told location long ago.” Hammer moved their lower arms in a gesture I desperately wanted to interpret as a shrug.

Seyari frowned, then smiled. “Thanks for telling us, then.”

“Yes. This one must go now.” Hunter turned to leave. “Be safe.”

“You too!” I replied with a two-armed wave.

Seyari and I watched the Formid and their namesake hammer descend back the way we came.

“Do you think their hammer’s a Lost Era artifact?” I asked.

“Yeah. I hope the place hasn’t been picked clean,” Seyari said anxiously.

I turned toward the narrow cave entrance. “Who would even come up here? Besides other Formid?”

“No one I can think of. I’ve never heard of people living on this side of the mountains.” Seyari edged ahead of me to look inside the dark tunnel.

“Ne meither,” I stood behind Seyari and looked in over her head. “But I barely knew these mountains existed until we got to Navanaea.”

The tunnel, predictably, was long and dark. I could see fine, but there was nothing to look at but rock. Thankfully, the tunnel was bigger on the inside than the entrance. We tossed our packs a couple meters inside.

“Saying ‘ne meither’ just sounds like you screwed up your words.” Seyari turned sideways and squeezed inside.

“That’s the point!” I declared proudly and tried to squeeze in after her.

My horns scraped, and my chest smooshed down uncomfortably. Then I got to my tail. The base of it was too thick to fit inside.

“Crap.” I started to wiggle.

Seyari turned to look at me. I swear I saw appreciation when her gaze roamed over certain parts.

“Help?” I asked.

“What? Not strong enough?” She was definitely enjoying the view over wanting to help.

“I don’t want to collapse anything!”

The rock felt solid, but I didn’t want to find out if I could survive being buried alive if I tried to break the opening bigger and caused a landslide. I could probably survive that. Digging out would be another thing entirely.

“Fine.” Seyari huffed. “Give me your hand.”

I stuck out both of my left hands toward her. She grabbed both of them.

She nicked a finger on one of my bladed digits. “Hey! Watch the claws! Can’t you dull them, or something?”

Wait.

I am not very smart right now.

I shifted into my human form right as Seyari tugged.

Suddenly knocked off balance, I fell onto the smaller woman and we landed in an ungraceful heap.

I found my face close to Seyari’s. I’d landed on top of her, face-to-face.

“Please don’t make fun of me for forgetting my human transformation.” I moved to push myself off her, blushing hard.

“I won’t say anything.” Seyari reached up and pulled me back down. Then, she leaned up and pecked me on the lips. “Now you can get off me.”

I smiled at my girlfriend as I stood back up. Seyari got up before I could offer to help her up, flashing me a bright smile. We grabbed our packs and began to walk down the long tunnel-like cave.