"So we're going to take advantage of the fact that they don't know how pathetic our new people are," I didn't like this tactic.
I didn't have a plan for what I was going to do next. Letty's plan was probably our only option at the moment. I tapped my talons on the hard stone floor. My muscles tensed as I stood up slowly. I wondered what exactly we would do with this information.
Having myself thrown out of any of the talks wasn't exactly what I wanted, but I couldn't exactly say he was wrong. I would have frowned to myself if I wanted them to know how this whole conversation was bothering me. My bonded already knew. Sekka looked incredibly uncomfortable in this meeting. Jax was another one of the people that was uncomfortable in this meeting.
{I'd like to properly meet your mother,} Sekka flinched when I started talking to him, {I haven't actually gotten a chance to speak to her since we rescued her.}
"I don't mind," Sekka answered aloud.
"Are you having a conversation unrelated to this meeting?" Letty struck me again.
This time I could tell he was actually trying to hurt me. I snorted to myself, and rubbed my sore shoulder.
"You're supposed to be paying attention to the details of this meeting," Letty lectured.
You couldn't really blame me. None of this meeting stuff was exactly entertaining. It was a depressing chat about the poor state we found ourselves in. Lack of housing. Lack of food.
Lack of capable workers. Inability to ask our population to do that work because we couldn't pay them.
"Can we take a page from the elves?" I interrupted Letty mid sentence.
The others dropped into dead silence.
"We don't want to reduce the greenage around here, and the idea of a pavement city bothers me," I shifted my weight, "Why don't we grow our housing? Preferably trees that won't affect the farmland."
"Given enough time that is a workable solution," Letty frowned to himself, "A good number of the mages we brought in are capable of nature magic so we should take advantage of their skill."
"The people that build the houses should get the best houses," I suggested.
"Put in the work to get their own completely paid off housing," Savannah nodded, "Sounds like a good plan to me."
"It's a start," Letty tapped his fingers on the table.
"Purchasing land is something you humans do, and I don't quite understand it," Aurora frowned at me.
"You don't need to understand it," I looked at her with my eyes narrowed, "We just need to profit from it."
Aurora nodded, and the meeting continued. The longer the talking went on the more I wanted to sleep. The only problem was that I wasn't tired. It was probably a good thing I didn't fall asleep because Letty would probably hit me if I did. As boring as it was I did manage to absorb a decent amount of information.
If this was what leadership looked like than I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like it. All talk, and no action was going to drive me more than a little nuts. They were going to have a hard time containing me to the meeting rooms once we were properly established. Once the meeting was over Letty walked me down to the ground floor of the hollow mountain. I changed to human form so no one would pay too much attention to me.
Although my intent was to go completely unnoticed I failed. Many of the slaves I'd brought in had seen my face at least once. Many of them had memorized my face. I tried to wave off their admiration, but more of them came to me. Although I looked human it was pretty obvious I was not to anyone that had the slightest magical sense at all.
All I needed to do was stand on the bottom floor where all the non earthborn people were. The purity of my core, and the fact that I was an origin species allowed me to push the tainted mana from their bodies just by sitting there. Letty needed my pure mana to aid those who were suffering from the worst mana poisoning. To say he was a talented healer was an understatement. Considering the fact that he had enough bloodlust flowing through him at any given moment to drive most people into a murderous frenzy I couldn't help, but be impressed.
I sensed Sekka's approach long before I saw him. I could tell that he had his mother with him. I did want to properly meet her since I'd only seen her stained in her own blood, and covered in muck. When I did turn my head her direction my blood felt as if it froze in my veins. It seemed she'd found two of her other children.
Both were much younger then Sekka, but the reserved way they moved told me they'd been thoroughly shown their place. I wasn't looking at the children though. Sure I'd noticed them, but it was the familiarity of her face that stunned me.
{Savannah} I called to her with urgency.
Sekka frowned at my stunned expression. His mind reached out trying to find what was wrong. He didn't seem to make the connection that I did the moment I focused my eyes on his mother.
"You haven't been paying very much attention have you?" I asked Sekka with a smirk.
"What do you want me for?" Savannah shouted from the top of the stairs at the center of the hall.
I simply pointed at Sekka's mother. It actually made a lot of sense really. The similarities between their mana were there. It was just harder to notice them due to Sekka's elf half. Savannah's irritation went away a moment later.
It took a few moments for her to see what I had called her down here for. Her expression completely changed.
"Mom?" Savannah walked toward her with a complicated expression.
"Savannah?" Sekka's mom looked at her with an equally complicated expression.