Unsurprisingly, the weak–willed male quickly gave in to my "persuasions". It turned out that he was, despite his unwillingness to suffer for the cause, considered something of a well regarded member of the Misti Hawar military, or whatever it technically called, that was coming to eradicate my people. As I'd suspected, one of their number had stayed back in the forest to watch their leader actually. When that leader was mentioned, the young scout named Iskatti couldn't help but mention that said the leader would have been able to destroy us all handily.
"If that's the case, why did he let this happen? Is he just… wanting to watch you all get slaughtered? Or is there something that I'm missing about how your people don't actually die when their heads are crushed or they're eaten? Because seems to be a coward to me."
He didn't seem to have much of a response to that, unsurprisingly, so I left off that particular subject. I was willing to bet that, even if their Nyust'taa had been present, she wouldn't have been able to do anything. And perhaps the scout was right, that, for some reason, this other clan leader was so powerful that he could have defeated us all without significant threat to himself, but I refused to believe as much until I saw anything resembling that. Something else he told me, and this was the most valuable piece of information that he provided, was that the Misti Hawar as a whole were planning to engage in a fighting retreat all the way back to their homeland for now. The winter was ending, and they preferred to engage with us on their own terms, meaning just during the winter.
"Zaaktif," Foire whispered to me in our tongue, "do we want to pursue them? Perhaps we can cut off the threat at its source now, to keep them from returning next winter. Kill their leader, cut them all down."
"Despite the way that I feel," I replied, tamping down the burning desire to kill every one of the furred foes,"there's no way that we can confidently kill them all right now. We'd sacrifice too much to find victory, and I'm far from positive we can kill them all even with every one of the members of the Empire. If we push into their lands, we don't know how many we're fighting or how to supply ourselves, and though we'll be aggressive, we'll still be on the back foot." As I said as much, another thought crossed my mind, and I turned towards Iskatti and asked, "How old are you?"
He squinted at me, but didn't hesitate to answer, "Fourteen winters, this being my fifteenth."
"And you are a child? An adult?"
"I am an adult! I am fully grown this year!"
I turned my attention away from the petulant "adult". As I looked at Foire to explain why I'd asked as much, he twitched his tail slowly. "They can't replenish their numbers as quickly as we can. The more time that we have, the better the balance of numbers will settle in our direction."
I flared my frills in assent and turned to the little scout. His companions were beginning to wake up, though their mouths were bound, their eyes were closed, and they were effectively kept from being able to do anything about it, so while I could hear their struggles and fear, there was nothing I could understand.
"Here's a question," I said, another thought suddenly crossing my mind, "what are the laws regarding the holding of prisoners?"
"You weren't allowed to kill us!" Iskatti shouted. "You'll be persecuted for killing Laisell!"
"Or," I countered, "she was killed when she was attempting to escape. There's no reason for the rest of you to die, is there?"
"What does that have to do with you murdering her? Of course you killed her!"
I sighed and gestured with my eyes for the other guards to cut the bindings from the other prisoners' mouths and ears. Once they could speak and hear, I repeated, "There's no reason for all of you to die in exchange for the possibility of attempting to pursue legal action against us, right? Besides, what kind of assembled body is going to hold court against us? Are these laws just an agreement between nations? If so, I don't know if any of you knew this, but we haven't entered any agreements. Of course, if we're being treated as a fellow nation to be dealt with, traded with, and treated as one of your fellows, we will act accordingly. However, if we're treated merely as pests meant to be disregarded and hunted to the last, I don't see why we would entertain such promises, since that body will decide to kill us anyways. If nobody vouches for us, then we might as well just kill you all and spare ourselves the trouble. So, again, I ask for confirmation, your companion, whatever her name was, she died while in the midst of an ill–advised, escape attempt, did she not? And the rest of you are wise enough to not make such a foolish attempt yourselves, correct?"
"You'll let us live if we don't try to escape? Yes! Yes, I will not try to escape!" A young, high-pitched voice answered, and I flared my frills once in answer. Then, with a quick gesture, I motioned for that ones' eyes' bindings to be cut free. As the female looked around and saw the crushed skull of her companion, she wrinkled her nostrils in what could be fear or something else entirely, and then she nodded to me once. "I am Maksulah, thank you for your mercy. How will we engage in a prisoner exchange?"
"Good question. See, now I can see that you can be a reasonable people. We will attempt to open a dialogue with your Nyust'taa before you all leave the territory of the Shandise. Ideally, she'll give an answer that will allow for a trade that we consider to be fair for your life. Then, you'll be escorted to the location of any such trade and allowed to go free. If they do not engage in negotiations with us in good faith, then, you will be stuck with us for a time. In the end, your captivity will continue for as long as your leadership decides. Do you have any further questions?"
"Only what I should call you. Lord?"
"Call me Zaaktif." The title was softer, less screeching in this language. Without the hard, squealing inhale on the "aa" or "i", it felt like an entirely different title, but I was willing to translate it into the "continental language" for her benefit.
"Thank you for your mercy, Lord Zaaktif."
"Well, you will find that I can be quite magnanimous, if given the chance. Now, it is time for us to be going back north, is it not? After all, how can I engage in talks with your people if not in my place of power? You've been threatening it for so long, I simply must show you what it's like when not shrouded by the shadows of our murderers." As I spoke, I relished in the obvious discomfort from the Misti Hawar as I mentioned that they had started this fight. Even so, I simply smiled widely as I asked, "Now, can the rest of your companions be trusted to walk? Or will we have to break them first?"
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