It's time to take a moment to figure out what to do next for Iah and her group. They may need some allies for what is to come, but how to go about doing that.

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Chapter 17

Vel may have been tiny, but Iah could still tell how pale he went after her pronouncement. The fear was plain in his voice as he asked, “Is there any chance you’re mistaken, Iah?”

“I could be wrong,” Iah sighed, “But I doubt it.”

Lanzui walked up to Iah and Vel, looking at Vel and asking, “Do your people have some means of defending yourselves from an army like that?”

Vel looked hesitant for a moment as he considered answering that question. Then he looked around at everyone else in the room. He could not meet Lanzui’s gaze as he finally said, “I don’t even think Iah would need every member of her clan here to conquer my world if she wished. Honestly, based on how strong your scales are, I don’t think any army could defeat you alone.”

“My scales may help prevent cuts, but I do still take damage, you know,” Lanzui added sympathetically, “I will have a few bruises after some of the blows I took.”

Vel laughed sardonically, “I may not be some great general, but I have seen the weapons of the legions and the barbarians on our borders. No one has anything that could even annoy you.”

“Could you at least delay them somehow,” Oshiko spoke up this time.

Vel turned sad eyes to Iah as he asked, “You fought an army before. What do you think?”

Iah sighed, out of both sadness and frustration, “It would only take them as long as it takes to crush them. I truly mean no offense, Vel, but your people are almost helpless without magic. If hundreds of thousands of them were to concentrate on one person, they could pull off a death by a million cuts, but there is no way they could hope to slow down an army of anything our size, even if they are herbivores.”

Oshiko sounded annoyed by that, saying, “Well, they’re tiny. Maybe it will be hard to find all of them.”

Iah motioned for Ryrrg to come forward and speak. He immediately complied, “Once I got used to the scents of their world, it was easy enough to detect the presence of a city. And the plants on their world are scaled to their height, too. Any of us could spot signs of human activity from a distance unless it was obscured by a mountain or a large enough hill. Unless it’s a very small population living isolated in a forest, they’ll be able to find them.”

Lanzui asked, “How long would it take to wipe out the human population?”

Iah shrugged, “That depends on a few things. Though everything in the human world seems scaled to their size, I think the world itself is as large as any of ours was. So, oceans could slow them down if all their continents aren’t joined and they have not found portals giving them access to all of the human continents. We would also have to factor in the size of their army. It could take them months.”

Oshiko let out a low growl, “Let’s assume that someone with future sight may have given them enough information to make sure they were well prepared for something like this.”

The nine-tailed fox shot an angry look at Masumi while she held her niece close. The kirin just shrugged and said, “There was a price to get help from each of you. And I can only tell but so many lies before suspicion falls upon me. I can assure you, I set things up as best I could.”

It was Iah’s turn to give him a growl, “Was your poor treatment of someone under your care also a part of that.”

“I didn’t crush the disgusting little creature like I so wanted to do. That’s good enough,” Masumi said dismissively.

Iah felt her fur starting to stand on end, but she made an effort to calm herself and returned to answering Oshiko’s question, “Under ideal conditions for the cultists, they might be able to do enough damage that the humans could never recover from it in a matter of weeks.”

Lanzui let out an angry hiss before turning an enraged gaze to Masumi, “You call this the best you could?”

“Of course,” Masumi said calmly, “Your little group is not the only one I have been in communication with.”

“What do you mean by that,” Iah asked.

Masumi looked at Lanzui as he responded, “I may have been talking with your partner. He could be under the impression that he should be trying to assemble a military force.”

“He would only do such a costly thing if a fortune was on the line,” Lanzui said doubtfully.

“And what greater fortune is there than his own existence,” Masumi chuckled.

“And just what is my partner up to?”

Masumi shrugged his shoulders, “I’m not certain anymore. My knowledge has come to an end. I simply gave him what hints that I could. What happens next all depends on what he has prepared.”

That was far more uncertain than Iah was comfortable with. One glance at Vel told her he thought much the same. There was not much they could do about it, though. All they could do was try to find Lanzui’s partner, Iah’s other employer. Iah considered putting Vel back in his pocket for his own protection, but that was how she treated him while he was her captive. After what she had planned to do with him, she could no longer consider him her captive. So, Iah asked, “Vel, would you like to go back in your pocket, or do you want to stay out in the open?”

“It’s my choice now?”

“Yes,” Iah said hesitantly, “You are free now. After the shameful thing I planned to let happen to you, and now, knowing what the consequences for that were, I can make no claims to you.”

“Uh, you don’t plan on setting me free right this moment, do you,” Vel sounded a little worried as he looked around the room at all the beings that must have seemed like giants to him.

“I will continue to act as your guardian and protector, as will my clan,” Iah said bashfully, “My offer for my clan to protect your people still stands as well, if you will have us. We will try to rush back to them right now if you so desire, though I am not certain if we can stand against an entire army.”

Vel looked at Iah thoughtfully before responding, “Perhaps we should see what Lanzui’s partner has planned first. No point in us all going down if we don’t have to.”

“Very well.”

“But won’t everybody be able to tell I’m here when I’m not in that pocket,” Vel asked.

Lanzui waved off that concern, “You needn’t worry about that while I’m escorting you in this city.”

Vel mulled that over momentarily, “I would like to have a good view of this world. But you might still need both hands to fight if other cultists are hiding in the city.”

“That is true.”

“Just anchor him to your head or wherever else you want,” Oshiko said as if that were obvious.

Lanzui saw Iah’s look of confusion and added, “It’s a means we use to keep valuable items from being stolen by those that would dare to try and pickpocket us.”

Iah looked at Vel, and he shrugged his shoulders. So, she lifted him up to her head and let him hope off between her ears. She waited until it felt like he gripped one of her ears before carefully turning her head to look at Oshiko and Lanzui, “Teach me.”

“Aren’t you almost out of powder,” Oshiko noted with a smile.

Iah pulled out the little pouch of mana powder that Vel had produced for her and showed it to the smug fox. She expected Oshiko to look more surprised than she did, but any look of surprise she did have seemed more feigned than anything else. Then she said, “You probably thought that would have been a surprise to use against me in a fight. Well, let me show you something.”

Oshiko walked up to Iah, and Iah tensed up, placing one hand on an axe. The fox rattled off a quick spell, and Iah was about to take a swing at her when she was surprised to see a few grains of her powder start to glow as they were used up for Oshiko’s spell. That surprise only lasted for a moment, though, and Iah was about to take that swing at the black fox. Suddenly, she heard Vel say, “Woah, that feels a little weird.”

“What happened,” Iah asked.

“It’s like I’m stuck to you, but not stuck to you at the same time. I can move around, but it feels like I won’t come off you. Try moving your head around,” Vel requested. Iah did as he wished, finding she could move her head around as much as she wanted without throwing him off. He even claimed not to feel any discomfort from rapid movements.

That was all good, but Iah still glared at Oshiko as she asked, “How did you do that?”

The fox grinned in self-satisfaction and remained quiet, acting like she would not answer before Lanzui let out a frustrated sigh, “There is no trick to that. It’s the managlasses that prevent others from using your powder. Without them, the powder is free to be used by anyone in audible distance.”

Iah did not let it show, but that was a disturbing fact. She really had been depending on her extra powder to help fight Oshiko. It would have been very bad to discover that little bit of information in the middle of a fight. She did not have time to worry about possibilities that had not occurred, though. So, she simply grunted and said, “Let’s go find your partner, Lanzui. The herbivores are probably already on the move.”

The others nodded in assent, and they quickly departed Lanzui’s manor. Upon getting outside, the guards had finished mopping up the herbivore attackers. What was left of their numbers was added to Iah and her clan. That was both a blessing and a curse as far as she was concerned. While some of the guards were loyal to Lanzui, others turned out to be in Oshiko’s employ. She did not like that fox having any further backup but seemed content to behave herself. By the way she kept her niece so close to her, Iah suspected that she simply did not want to put her in danger.

Despite traveling in such a large and heavily armed group, they were not getting that much attention. Groups like theirs were running about all over the city in response to the army still outside the walls. However, there was something that got the average passerby’s attention, and that happened to be the smallest, seemingly most insignificant member of their group. Even with everything going on, Vel’s glow was hard to miss, even if he was. Some people might have thought Iah was the gifted one even though no gifted gnoll had appeared in quite some time. More keen-eyed individuals might have been able to spot Vel on her head, but that only sparked their curiosity even more. But with such an intimidating group around him, no one was willing to venture close enough to ask any questions.

That was for the best. They did not have time to answer the questions of everybody in the city. What they needed to do was find someone who knew the location of Lanzui’s partner. Fortunately, that did not take that long. In fact, some of the soldiers in the city were already on the lookout for Lanzui. They were supposed to guide him to where the other city leaders were to help organize its defense. After that, it only took a few minutes to reach his location.

It was easy to spot where he must have been from a distance. An especially large group of soldiers was at one of the city’s gates, and some very large dragons were among them. Most of them were around Iah’s size, though only one was actually taller than she was. While not quite as tall as Lanzui, being one of the sturdier winged dragons, he probably outweighed him by a good amount in sheer muscle mass.

He was wearing what looked like golden plate armor, though it was probably made of something other than gold. Its appearance was probably being altered by magic and was made of much better metals. Iah would have been surprised if the armor had not been further fortified by magic.

The dragon was not wearing his helmet, so a familiar golden-scaled head and royal purple underside were visible. Three Ivory horns jutted out the back of each side of his head. Upon noticing their group, he turned a set of blue-slitted eyes that seemed to flutter with an inner flame. He smiled upon spotting Lanzui, and that smile turned into an even broader grin when he saw Iah and her passenger.

“Lanzui,” the dragon bellowed happily as he strode toward their group, “And my favorite mercenary princess, returned triumphantly with our prize.”

He looked around and also spotted Oshiko and Masumi, making him frown as he said, “What’s this? Did someone try to buy your services out from under us? And I’m assuming that did not work.”

“No, they did not try to buy my services, Qandryd,” Iah responded.

Qandryd looked very serious as he said, “Then you wouldn’t mind handing that little creature over to me.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Excuse me,” Qandryd put a lot of authority into that brief statement.

Before the conversation could go in a bad direction, Lanzui interrupted, “Qandryd, we have much to discuss.”

Qandryd looked at him questioningly, and the Lanzui took him aside to talk in as much privacy as they could in an area as active as this one. Iah could only overhear bits and pieces of the conversation, but that was enough. She could tell that Lanzui was having the same discussion with Qandryd that they had all had just a short time ago. By how the gold dragon reacted, it seemed he did not believe everything initially. At one point, she thought things would come to blows between the two dragons.

That worried Vel enough for him to whisper into Iah’s ear, “Do you think he’s going to try and take me by force.”

“That would not be smart of him right now,” Iah said, “Not with an army outside the city. The last thing he needs is to start a fight inside the walls with a group of mercenaries and his partner.”

Iah waited impatiently as the two dragons continued to argue. It was not long before she felt Vel stirring, climbing down her head, and walking along her snout to sit close to her nose. It looked like he had done that so he could look her in the eye before he started speaking again, “So, a lot has been dropped on both of us. How are you holding up?”

“Not as well as I would like,” Iah sighed, “I’ve never really liked what happens to the gifted, but I have acknowledged its necessity. And now I find out that I’ve been assisting in destroying all creation. But listen to me shamefully complaining to you when your people are being targeted for extermination.”

“It sounds like we all will suffer if that comes to pass,” Vel said with a hint of resignation in his voice before lapsing into silence. Iah felt so sorry for him. His people were too small to defend themselves. It did not matter how strong they were for their size. They could have been brilliant tacticians and strategists, but it would not have availed them in the least. Her clan alone could wipe out the humans if she desired it. An army of the hundreds, or possibly even the thousands, would make quick work of their entire race no matter what other race they came from, even the smaller herbivores.

Vel suddenly got a look on his face, and Iah’s ears perked up to listen as he asked, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something. Guess I should get it out of the way in case I never get to find out now.”

“What is it?”

“Why is it better for me to get eaten? What makes it worse if I’m turned into mana powder,” Vel asked, “Besides eating away at the foundations of creation, as Masumi put it.”

Iah stared at Vel for a bit. She had nearly forgotten he was an omnivore, not a full-fledged carnivore. He was probably not even a meat-leaning omnivore based on how surprised he had been by her clan’s strength. Many carnivore religions had similar beliefs even before becoming one with Patch and getting absorbed into the dominant faiths there.

Vel’s people simply had no means of knowing, so she took the time to explain, “When you consume someone, not only do you make their flesh a part of your own, you take in their soul. If the one that was consumed has lived a worthy life and the one they became one with also lived a worthy life, it allows the soul of the consumed to be deemed ready for ascension into the afterlife.”

“So, getting eaten is the way into heaven. What happens otherwise?”

“It depends on the individual, really,” Iah said with a shrug, “The truly exceptional may be given a second chance at life. Some may simply be consigned to oblivion or be relegated to an eternal cycle of being born again as lesser creatures. Those judged to be villains by the gods will get what they deserve.”

“But a lot of you are large enough that you could get eaten by multiple people. What does that mean,” Vel asked curiously.

“Multiple chances at ascension.”

Vel smiled sardonically, “But a tiny creature like me only gets the one chance. That’s pretty pathetic, isn’t it?”

“Vel, you’ve seen me eat a kobold by myself. That’s nothing to look down on yourself about,” Iah said, wanting to reach out a finger to rub against him to comfort him but then deciding against it. Then she continued, “Taking on the full responsibility for someone’s soul is considered a special act, a sacred act. One should take care before taking on such a responsibility. I thought I was worthy of such a thing, but now I fear otherwise.”

Vel looked at Iah, surprise clear on his face, “You think you’re not worthy. I’ve seen you fight and the aftermath of your battles. You looked worthy out there to me.”

Iah smiled sadly, “It’s not just about being an amazing fighter, Vel. My actions have contributed to the end of creation and I had my clan participate in it too. I fear what fate awaits me now.”

It was Iah’s turn to be surprised when she felt Vel’s hand running through the thin fur at the end of her muzzle. Vel was actually trying to comfort her, “It’s not like you knew. And maybe it was meant to be this way. I mean, Masumi pretty much said this path is the only one that even had the possibility of saving creation. Perhaps the gods meant for you to be here. You may have made some mistakes in the past, but you are in a position to seek redemption now. My people are going to need someone like you.”

Iah stared at the tiny creature on her snout and then admonished herself for feeling so sorry for herself. She was not dead yet, and she was young. There was plenty of time left for her to make up for past mistakes as long as she was willing to fight for it. Iah reached out with a finger and gently rubbed its furred backside against Vel. She said, “Thank you, Vel. I will work to ensure that I am worthy of you once more and that we will live long enough for that to happen.”

“You’re welcome,” Vel said, “Wait, did you just promise to eat…”

Vel was interrupted by Iah’s hand coming up next to him, palm up for him to step onto. He asked, “What’s this for?”

“I want to give you something,” Iah responded. Vel shrugged his tiny shoulders and moved to her hand. His movement seemed a little odd as the spell keeping him attached to her was still in place. A part of him had to stay in contact with her at all times for him to move. So, hopping into her hand was not even an option for him. He had to climb into it. She did not drop him far when he was in her palm, bringing him right in front of her muzzle.

Even from there, Vel completely disappeared from her view. Her sense of smell was easily able to pick him up and give her a good idea of his location, but she did not want to take any risks. Iah used her tongue to pull Vel in closer to her lips, pressing him gently against them and giving him a little kiss. The way Vel spluttered in response as she returned him to her muzzle made her smile as she said, “A thank you for helping to lift my spirits.”

Vel looked a little moist, and his skin turned red, reminding Iah more of how the skin on someone’s ears turned red when they blushed. Iah sounded amused as she said, “You act like I’ve never kissed you before.”

“I didn’t know I was dealing with a princess back then,” Vel spluttered.

Iah felt her ears turning red at that remark, “Don’t you start that too. There are no princesses in the Daghai Federation.”

Those words had barely finished leaving her lips when she heard someone heartily bellow, “Princess Splithallow, I see you were summoned here too.”

Iah turned around to see a large lion striding her way. He was armored and had a great axe strapped to his side, obviously prepared for battle, while he carried a helmet under one arm. His dark mane was tied back to keep it out of the way, and his fur was golden in color, almost seeming to shimmer in any light that shone on it. This lion was no ordinary one, and that was not just because of his imposing figure. By the color of his fur, it was easy to tell that he was of Nemean descent, the most powerful breed of their race. He was only slightly shorter than Iah, but he looked larger than her while she was still in her light brigandine, and he was in much heavier armor.

Most people who referred to her as a princess were either being derogatory or joking. With this lion, it was the latter. Iah had to resist the urge to facepalm, not wanting to crush Vel in the process. She could only give the grinning lion an annoyed glare as she said, “Alekos, please don’t give my companion the wrong impression of me.”

It was hard to tell if Alekos was looking at her or Vel as he said, “Speaking of your, uh, companion, just what is it?”

Iah said, “There’s a long story behind that. We have much to discuss Alekos.”

The lion gave Iah a curious look, and she tried her best to summarize what she knew about the humans. She also went into the truth behind the gifted and why the humans were far more important than their size hinted. She noticed his jolly smile vanish as she talked. When she was done, he practically hissed, “You really suspect the army outside Cado is meant for these humans.”

“I’m afraid so,” Iah replied.

“Well, little human, your people will have the support of the lion clans,” Alekos said enthusiastically to Vel before he sounded like he was talking to himself, “I suppose that’s why Qandryd summoned the others.”

“The others,” Iah asked.

“Yes, that old dragon summoned most of the leadership of our federation,” Alekos explained, “I thought the dragons were going to be asking for more tribute. Then that army showed up and I thought our lords might be demanding our aid. It’s why I thought you were here, Splithallow. I just wish Qandryd had warned us beforehand that we needed to assemble our warriors, possibly many of our hunters too.”

“I don’t think he knew beforehand either.”

“What do you mean, he didn’t know,” Alekos paused and then thought of something, “Ah, I did spot that kirin. I suppose he was operating off some vague prophecy then.”

“Vague is one way to put it,” Qandryd said, walking over to join Iah with Lanzui not far behind him. Neither of the dragons looked entirely happy. Quite frankly, they both appeared surly, which was usually not a good sign for a gnoll or lion.

“Has my partner convinced you of this crazy story about all of existence depending on,” Qandryd paused and took a moment to stare Vel down, “this puny creature?”

“Yes, I believe the story to be true,” Iah declared confidently, “And even if it wasn’t, the Djallowuo cultists believe it to be true, and they are clearly planning to wipe these poor creatures out. They need our help.”

Qandryd grunted and expelled a small amount of smoke from his nostrils, “I don’t see that they’re worth the effort.”

“Like the kobolds weren’t worth our effort,” Lanzui shot back angrily, “Like the cultists haven’t used their keen senses to annoy us on multiple occasions.”

Qandryd turned an equally angry look back at him and growled, “They only took a quarter of their eggs. Most of their race is still loyal to us.”

Alekos chose to speak up then, “We can’t afford to be so lax where these humans are concerned if the story is true, Archdragon.”

“Not you too, Alekos,” Qandryd said in annoyance, “How do I know this isn’t all some made-up story to make these humans far more important than they could ever be? For all I know, this could be some fictional story by the kirin to help keep them off the diner table. I know they would love that.”

Masumi, who was standing nearby, guffawed, “As if we would do something like that to help a bunch of little flesh-eater barbarians.”

Qandryd’s mood did not improve with this conversation. If anything, he seemed to be growing ever more annoyed. Iah did not like it when the dragon’s attention turned directly to Vel, who had been sitting quietly on her muzzle the whole time. She was not sure that Vel noticed it, but he was stroking her fur. Iah could tell it was a nervous reaction. He was uncomfortable being the center of attention of so many beings so much larger than himself. And now he had an angry dragon trying to intimidate him. Iah would not have usually done anything about that, but Vel was her charge, and she returned the dragon’s gaze with a menacing growl of her own.

That did get a mixed reaction out of Qandryd, part surprise and part annoyance. After a few seconds, he finally said, “Bah, you’re going to need dragon resources if you want to deal with this army. But I’m not willing to agree to it…”

“Qandryd,” Lanzui barked, his body tensing up, making Iah think he was about to jump on his partner.

Qandryd raised a hand to silence him and continued, “Don’t interrupt me, Lanzui. Now, as I was saying, unless I get to talk with him in private. Then I’ll make my decision.”

The dragon pointed a claw at Vel, and Iah was about to tell him what he thought of that offer. However, Vel had taken a calming breath, saying, “I’ll do it.”

“You don’t have to do this, Vel,” Iah said, “I’m serious about protecting you if you wish it.”

Vel turned to look at her, “And he won’t believe a word I say with you around. He wants to intimidate me into telling the truth, and he thinks I’ll lie while I have your protection.”

“Not as dumb as I thought such a tiny creature would be,” Qandryd said flatly.

Iah frowned at him briefly before turning a softer look to Vel and said, “Very well.”

Qandryd reached out a hand for Vel, and he said, “It looks like we’re finally getting somewhere.”

Iah grabbed his wrist before he could grab Vel, and she growled, “If you harm him, there will be consequences.”

He returned her growl. Intimidating an ancient dragon like him was no easy feat. All he said was, “I’m not used to being threatened, Splithallow. Since you’ve been loyal and dependable for so long, I’ll forgive it this time.”

They stared each other down for a little while before Iah said, “Don’t grab him. Vel is…sensitive. You might hurt him. Let him come to you. And he has a spell attaching him to me. I don’t want to risk him getting torn apart.”

“You should have said so in the first place,” Qandryd said in annoyance, “Just will him to be free, and it will be so.”

As Iah did as she was instructed, Qandryd presented Vel with an open palm for him to step into. He did that with a noticeable amount of hesitation, so much so that Iah yearned to be able to help him. But, as the dragon walked off, she knew that Vel was on his own. If anything happened to him, the dragon would find out that she did not make idle threats.