Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"None of them have allied or collaborated on anything according to my advisors. Not for a long time."

 

"Most odd." I say, opening a portal back to Xlentia's palace. "I think I'll leave them here for a while."

 

"Do they have something against your tribe, or is it just a constant of non-communication?"

 

The halls of Xlentia's palace seem quieter than usual.

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"I believe, from the information I have gathered, or at least, what scraps I have, it's a mix of both."

 

"Moving on. Do human adventurers hunt for you lot?"

 

"All of us. The only times we ever turn a blind eye to tribe and species is when there's a human in sight. Strategy's always the same; us raptors flank before they can react, and the mantis duel with the front lines. We clean up the rest however we can, but we've all been taking more and more losses as of late."

 

"How many travel at a time, and what gear?"

 

I head over to the library to look for Emily.

 

"We have no gear. We send about three packs of four each, and each of us take a different route to the backline. The mantis do something else entirely, but I never stay long enough to fight over the spoils of our efforts. That... is soon to be my downfall."
Pause.
"...Which is why I wanted the armor."

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The library seems just as lively as usual, Emily probably back in the Archives.

 

"And the humans?"

 

"Haven't left a survivor so far. They can't outpace our kind."

 

"Then how'd they get your kind's remains?"

 

"We... haven't won every battle."

 

"Moving on again. What's the thing with the dried up throat that you glided over the first time I saw you?"

 

"That is the deceased Wyrm Leviathan. The tunneling wyrms used to... mediate these lands... in a sense. They could sense emotions, but had poor eyesight. If someone were to build up enough hatred, they would call upon their leviathan to destroy them. However... they couldn't destroy the humans. They used their leviathan against them; they prepared a container filled with toxins that would also let off a gas that was equally deadly. In one fell swoop, the humans got rid of one leader and installed one who wanted nothing more than their prosperity." The raptor explains. "However, though the wyrms and their leviathan were no more, the planet too succumbed to the poison... except for their kingdom, of course. The rest of us have been forced to fight for what scraps are left."

 

"Well, that's humans for you. Not sure what I expect from them."

 

"Disgusting, if you ask me. I don't even understand how they managed to protect their lands from the ruin that seeped through the soil." They scoff.

 

"Yeah, I noticed that... I might be able to ask."

 

He pauses.
"I guess you'll want something for it, too?"
"Chief, we can't spa-"
"Shut up. He gets to name his price. I was giving him crap about this armor... but it held up much better than human armor."
"W-what?!"
"Yeah. Now, let the mech speak."

 

"Nothing."
I say, confident.
"I'm not putting a price tag on the 'hard work' of flying and talking."