It was watching me again, and it looked at least as scared as it had been before.
“Can you talk now?” I asked it, and it aimed its face at me, tilting its head strangely as it appeared to look around, before finally speaking in a surprisingly deep voice.
“I speak,” it said, hands flexing as it continued scanning the area. I couldn’t decide if it was looking for a way to escape, or to attack.
“Who are you?” I asked, and the noise it made…well, I’d not be able to replicate that any time soon. “That’s your name?” I asked, receiving a short head bob in what I supposed was confirmation.
“Okay, I can’t pronounce that. I’m Jax; I’m in charge here. Where are the people from the ship?”
“Don’t know,” it said, still looking around.
“Well, that’s fucking unhelpful, isn’t it? Let’s try again…” I took a deep breath as I thought about the tracks. None of them matched the feet I’d seen on this creature, and they’d disappeared into the forest, while this thing looked…
“You’re from the lake, aren’t you?” I guessed as the thought registered, and the creature flinched, looking to the water involuntarily.
“No…” it said, and I couldn’t help but grin. It was a crap liar.
“Okay, so, did you attack the people on this ship?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“The greenskins… goblins…” it said, and I nodded.
“What do you know about the ship that landed here?”
“It crashed. Lots of people on the deck and about, making lots of noise. Never safe to make noise. The goblins came, took them; that’s all I know.”
“And what were you doing in the ship when we arrived?” I asked, seeing the creature hunch down as it heard my question.
“Didn’t know it was yours. Thought goblins would strip it. Just wanted to try to make things better, came to search the ship… we didn’t mean to steal…” That was enough, and it clicked in my mind as all the clues came together.
“You’re a child, aren’t you?” I asked, and a second voice answered me from behind our group.
“Yes, he is. I ask you to leave him be, stranger. We will bargain for his life.” I spun around to face the water, finding a trio of the creatures slowly emerging. I could see eddies and ripples in the water further out that indicated there were others out there still hidden, as my perception and meridian enhancements worked together to draw my attention to the details.
“I don’t deal in children,” I said automatically and gestured to my squad. They understood what I was getting at, and they moved back, making a clear path to the aquatic group that was now striding out of the water. They were considerably taller than any of the creatures I’d seen so far, and more heavily muscled. None of the creatures seemed built for power, more of whipcord strength and flexibility, but I knew instinctively that they’d be lethal in the water, and probably damn dangerous on the land as well.
The leader of the group inclined its head to me in thanks and gestured to the little one we’d faced.
The errant boy took a hesitant step, then another, then broke into a run, flashing past us as quickly as possible, before diving headfirst into the water. The leader of the group shook its head and muttered something to one of its companions, who disappeared after the child. Once its orders had been obeyed, the leader then set the butt of the spear it held into the ground, twisting it to make sure it was stable, then stepped forward, leaving the weapon behind and continuing to approach alone.
I nodded to myself, thinking that I could see what it was doing, and I did the same, driving my naginata’s base into the ground and walking forward to stand face to face.
We stood for a long second, evaluating each other before we both spoke at once.
“I...”
“We…”
We both came to a stop, and the awkwardness built, until I finally started laughing under my breath. I shook my head and held out my right hand, the creature reaching out and clasping my wrist, giving it a firm shake before releasing me.
“I’m never any good at meeting people,” I said, smiling. “I’m Jax, and I’m the Lord of the Great Tower of Dravith. Who are you?”
“I… ah. I am Flux. I had companions who were surface dwellers long ago, and I remember their issues with my name, so please, Lord, call me Flux.”
“Nice to meet you, Flux,” I said, and he suddenly dropped to one knee, splashing in the muddy shore and damn near making me punch him reflexively.
“I…we are sorry,” he said quickly, before snapping something out to his companion, who hastily dropped to a knee in the fashion. “We are unsure as to correct protocol amongst the surface dwellers. You are a Lord; I remember such titles. We did not mean disrespect.”
“Ah, fuck. No, please, Flux, don’t do that,” I said as I reached down, grabbing his arm, and hauling him to his feet. “There’s been a misunderstanding here, one that nearly ended with me killing one of your kids. Let’s just make sure that doesn’t happen again, first of all; other details, we can sort out later.”
“My apologies then, Lord, and my thanks for your understanding. We did not know this land had been claimed by the surface dwellers, nor that the ship was yours. The younglings should not have left the depths; they knew the council was debating exploring the ship, and they decided to try to be the first. Youth is foolish, and now we have this tragedy.” Flux said, shaking his head and setting his tendrils bouncing. I noticed they had colorful beads attached to the ends, while the rest of his body was covered in tight blue-black leather.
“Tragedy?” I asked.
“Five came to the ship; apparently, three stayed to explore, while two went to examine the tracks in the forest. Now only the youngling which you freed and his clutch brother, who came to get
