Chapter 54: Faerie Village

Chapter 54: Faerie Village

The Faerie village was surrounded by a strong-looking wooden palisade. It was made of thick logs and connected by rope strung of green plant fibers. Roofs of thatch poked out from the top of the walls guarding the village, and I could see floating orbs of light strewn throughout the air above, illuminating the area in a soft blue-and-purple glow.L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

At one side of the wall was a huge gate made of the same wide logs, with a simple turnwheel to raise and lower it. It must’ve taken an immense amount of strength for a single person to turn it hard enough to lift so much weight. Next to the gate was the person I assumed did that manual labor – a muscular man in tight-fitting green clothes and simple sandals. And, of course, most notably were the four distinct eyes on his face.

I hadn’t done much research on Faeries in my time – I was much more interested in the monsters I’d more likely have to fight – but I at least knew enough to recognize their most notable trait. The man’s four almost diamond-shaped eyes blinked all at different times as he looked around, guarding the gate. Faeries themselves had many different shapes and sizes between their subspecies, some of them coming smaller and with wings on their back, while others were more Human-shaped like this one. But what all of them shared were the four eyes.

I set myself and approached alongside Erani and the Nymph, unwilling to waste any of my limited time. The Nymph, oblivious to our plans of diplomacy with the Faeries, had a hand on its whip, which I had to grab and remove, trying to get the point across that we were not, in fact, slaughtering these ones.

The Faerie man quickly noticed us walking forward, and immediately grabbed a dagger from his belt, holding it out at us and calling out, “Hold. You are approaching Nugyuk Village, a guarded Faerie settlement that is closed to outsiders. Turn and leave.”

He spoke with a clear accent – Faeries didn’t usually speak any Human languages, so it was clear that he had learned it at some point. Erani had mentioned that this village used to trade with the nearby city, so maybe he had learned it to speak with them.

I took a breath, choosing my words carefully. “We come with a humble request. We would not bother you if it were not urgent.”

Erani nodded. “We are willing to do what we can to help you in return for any help you can offer us.”

The Faerie stood and looked at us for a moment, particularly at the Nymph’s spiked whip that was on display. Maybe we should have hidden that somewhere before approaching. Weapons didn’t seem too diplomatic. I stood, trying to be patient, but silently wishing he would just hurry up and say something – we were acting on borrowed time.

“What do you request?” He finally asked. “And what would you be able to offer in return? Why must you bother us in the first place? Could you not ask your fellow Humans for help? And how did you find our village?”

Venom is coursing through your veins. 1 damage.

Your Health is 18.

I fought back the urge to sigh in frustration. I didn’t want to have to explain our circumstances to a guard, just so I could go and talk with the Queene and explain it all over again.

“Would it be possible for us to discuss specifics with the Queene, or someone else of influence?” I asked in as polite a manner as I could manage. “We are unfortunately pressed for time, and–”

“I am the right hand of the Queene,” the man who was apparently not a guard scowled. “I can assure you I am someone of influence.”

“Oh, I-I’m sorry,” I stuttered. “I just assumed, since you were standing out here guarding the gate–”

“Guarding the gate is one of the most prestigious jobs afforded to an individual. I assure you I take the duty of protecting the lives of each and every one of our citizens incredibly seriously. Now, if you are finished with your insults, you may leave.”

“I apologize for his rudeness,” Erani put a hand on my shoulder, “my companion is just ignorant of your culture. I assure you he meant nothing by his presumptuous statements. We are honored to speak with someone of your stature. We can offer to do anything you request of us, provided it is within our ability, and we ask that your Queene give this Nymph,” she gestured, “a single Tribute. What is your name?”

“A Tribute?” the man asked. “That is not what Humans normally ask for. My name is Aankin the Stalwart. As for whether we can give you what you ask for, we have skilled Enchanters and powerful Spell-casters, that much I can offer. But a Tribute from the Queene... fine. I understand why you would request to speak to her directly. How can you prove you are worthy to receive such a blessing?”

Worthy? What did he mean by that? I wasn’t sure if it would be polite to ask him to clarify – we were already not off to a great start of a conversation – so I just guessed. “I assure you we are virtuous individuals, and mean no harm to your village in any way. We simply have... medical complications that could be solved by the healing powers granted to the Nymph by a Tribute.”

The buff man – Aankin the Stalwart, apparently – looked at me with all four of his eyes skeptically, before saying “...Hm. Fine. If you're having medical problems, that would be the way we could help. I will take you to see her majesty. Simply open the gate, and I will guide you in.”

I looked down at the simple hand-crank used to pull open the massive door.

“We just use this?” I asked.

“Yes.”

Aankin held out a hand to stop us from approaching any further, the dagger pointed directly at me. He responded, “They wished for an audience with you, your majesty. They do not seem to be aligned with the other Humans.”

I looked sideways at Erani. What other Humans?

“They passed the trial of strength,” Aankin continued, “and so I allowed them passage. They will now speak their request.”

He stepped aside.

I assumed that was my cue to speak. I stepped forward. “Uh, we humbly request a Tribute from you to our Nymph, your majesty,” I bowed, trying my best to act regally when I had no idea how to do so. “We can offer–”

“Why do you ask humbly?” She boomed out.

“I-I beg your pardon?”

“And why do you beg?”

I blinked. “I was trying to be polite?”

“I do not care for Human niceties. Humility is for those too weak to flaunt their power, and begging is for those too weak to take what they want. Those traits are unbecoming of a trade partner, Human. You want Tribute, yes? And yet you refuse to prove yourself as one worthy of respect, much less Tribute.”

“I–”

“If you wish to be below me, that is fine. In the case that you wish to be below me, my price is that you give up your life, and I give Tribute.”

“Well–”

“I suspect that is not what you wish, though,” her voice was so loud that it consistently drowned mine out. I could only be heard once she decided to stop speaking. “I suspect that you in no way believe yourself to be truly below me. I suspect that you coated your words in courtesy in order to get what you want without ever having to fight for it. I suspect that you come here wanting more, but unwilling to act as though you do. I suspect you come here with the assumption that I would sink myself to act your equal without you ever earning that privilege. In the case that you wish for my respect without working to earn it, then leave and do not come back.”

“That’s not–”

“But while I suspect those things to be true, I do not want them to be. I want you to come to my domain and offer me the respect of proving that you are my equal. I want you to ask for what you want without politics or kindness or charm. I want you to show me that I am not wasting my time by saying these words to you right now. In the case that you wish to truly speak to me on a level that we both deserve, then prove yourself to me.”

She finally stopped speaking, allowing me to do so.

“The third case is true. I want to prove myself.” I didn’t have much of a choice, truthfully. Hopefully whatever test of power she cooked up wasn’t going to be too difficult for someone in my state.

“Good. The test begins now.”

“Okay. What do you want me to–”

You have been stabbed. 29 damage.

Your Health is 0.

A dagger poked through the front of my chest. Aankin’s dagger. I fell to the ground.

I could barely hear him say “So he was a weakling, after all,” before my vision faded to black.

You have died.