บท 113: Chapter 112 - The Shaman

The sign that we were allowed to enter came when the golems raised their human-like hands and motioned us in. They moved in a far more fluid manner than the stone and stiff like motions I had expected, and at a speed far quicker. These things would definitely be devastating to normal soldiers and would make for a great army as they would have no need for sleep, food, entertainment or rest of any kind. Creations created for one purpose, to serve and since they weren't really alive, it wasn't like slavery.

The wave of smells that hit me when I entered the tent was powerful to say the least, and I had to place a hand over my nose momentarily. Herbs, smoke, spices and all other manner of scents clashed, msot not working well together.

The inside of the tent looked like a mess, with shelfs of all manner of trinkets and open scrolls and books just lying about, not to mention the bones scattered everywhere. It seemed bone was integral material for these people.

"Nathan, this is my uncle, Delorn, head shaman of our tribe."

Delorn looked even older than his brother with a wrinkled face and two beady eyes in a head with only a few strands of gray hair. His beard however was full and long and to my amusement also had a few bones attached to the hair with strings. Some must have been magical as they had a glow to them. He was dressed in a simple black robe with a cloak of fur around his shoulders and a necklace of bones around his thin neck.

"Greetings to you, King Natham." The shaman spoke in a dry and raspy voice. "My dear niece had told me you plan on ridding us of the hive spire?"

I nodded. "I do, and in exchange you will give me the whereabouts of all your hunting grounds and the locations of beasts."

"Good, good." The shaman rubbed his beard. "Well then, give me a moment, and I shall return with a map."

As I watched, the old shaman hobbled over to a nearby stack of scrolls and proceeded to rifle through them. Eventually he found what he was looking for and he walked over to me with it in hand.

"This is a map of the eastern part of what your people know as the Denzin plains," Delron explained as he unfurled the scroll and moved a hand to a black shape close to its edge. "This is the hive spire. You need only travel east. It is a large structure and near impossible to miss. The abominations will help, no doubt you will run into a few. Simply follow their trail and you shall find the spire, but take care. My niece has told me of what she witnessed you do, but this spire is different, it is alive. Take heed of my words, end it quickly."

I nodded, but inside I wasn't listening. There was no way I was going to destroy this thing, not if what they were saying was true, and it did really create an endless amount of monsters to kill because an endless amount of monsters to kill meant a whole lot of exp.

"Is there anything else I should know?" I asked.

"Do not go until morning." Delorn shook his head. "The spire is never active at night, only during the day and it has a tendency to disappear underground as though it's sleeping."

I held back a sigh at his words. It was going to be night in less than an hour which meant we'd have to wait till tomorrow. On the bright side, I could use my summoning tokens without a rush.

"You can stay with me and my father," Karyea offered. "We will treat you well."

I glanced over to Asara who looked none too pleased, but she did nod her head.

"We accept your hospitality."

Delorn handed over the map and we bid the old man farewell before we left with Karyea.

"Come, I will take you to my home," Karyea said. ``We can rest and have some food, you must be very hungry."

I had my own, but it felt wrong to say that and who knew maybe their food would be good, although probably nowhere near the level of Rindo's cooking, but it wouldn't be polite to reject her offer of food. If my mom was here and saw me doing so, she'd probably shout my ear off.

Before any of us could take a step towards Karyea's home, a group of men stepped out from hiding behind a nearby tent. I immediately recognized Jall, though he wasn't the one who caught my attention. The man at the front looked very similar to Jall, though not as tall, and clad in a suit of bone and leather armor.

"Grom." Karyea words came out as a hiss.

"Karyea," Grom spat. "You have rejected my brother for the last time!"

"Rejected?" Karyea laughed. "I have no desire to be with your brother, Grom, now run along before you start trouble you won't be able to end."

Grom growled, and his gaze turned to me and Asara. "Ah, these two must be the outsiders that have the elders up in arms."

His eyes roamed over Asara's body in a way that made my fist clench. "And who is this beauty. Perhaps you would like to be one of wives, you seem like you know your way around a sword."

Karyea opened her mouth, but I held a hand out to stop her as I turned to Asara. "He's all yours, just don't kill him."

Asara gave me a feral smile then began to march over to Grom who was laughing at his own joke. "Leaving your king. huh? Want to see what a real man is- Ah!"

Asara fist caught him in the side of the face and he was flung abc in his gaggle of men, who fell like bowling pins. Before Grom could get abc up, Asara was on him and her fust flew as she beat him down. He wildy swung at her, but she dodged or blocked each strike with ease. She grabbed one of his legs and with a superhuman display of strength, tossed him into the air like a ragdoll before bringing him back down hard.

"Speak to me or my king like that again, and I will rip your manhood off, and shove it down your throat." She glared down at the beaten men and then turned to the others who took one look at their leader before running off like a bunch of cowards.

I turned to Karyea who looked both shocked and frightened at what had just happened. "Now, what did you say about food?"