Haku noted that he had done well to bring so many of his siblings with him and that he had spent a week preparing. If they had come in less number or less ready, it most likely wouldn't have been so easy to subdue the ogres. In his estimation, these ogres were only slightly weaker than the humans he and Darbi had previously battled. However, compared to that time there were big differences. In the first place this time he wasn't the hunted, but the hunter: consequently it was he the one who decided the rules of the game. And above all this time he wasn't fighting alone. Having so many dragons attacking simultaneously from multiple directions had allowed them to bring all the ogres to their knees without much effort.
Once again he had the proof that working together was the right choice to survive. Even so, however, the ogre with the axe had almost killed someone. Of course, this was due to the fact that his siblings didn't attack him immediately like they did with the others, since Haku needed him alive, but it showed that he and his brothers and sisters were still too weak. In a head-on engagement, without an ambush, surely the ogres would have emerged victorious. Only their surprise attack had been their guarantee of victory. Therefore it was clear that they couldn't afford to make mistakes, not until they became powerful enough.
Another thing that had guaranteed them victory was the attack technique. Haku had learned from his first encounter with the newcomers: hunting them wasn't like hunting the stupid animals. While for animals claws and bites were enough, since their reaction times were too slow, in the case of newcomers they weren't at all, since their numbers came to their aid. For example, while one of his siblings was biting a newcomer's throat, another newcomer could take advantage of those few seconds to strike him or her. Therefore Haku had determined that to fight the newcomers he and his siblings had to be not only lethal, but also fast, and they had to keep away from their opponents as much as possible. Their tails had been the solution: by slightly lifting their scales, they became lethal weapons capable of cutting even the thickest skin. Aiming at the throat, the kill would have been instantaneous, much faster than a bite, and the one who had done it could not only keep a safe distance but also escape immediately. Haku and his siblings had trained for this, and after a week they were able to use this technique to its fullest.
Last, there was the timing. Haku hadn't attracted the attention of the ogres by chance: his plan was to make them focus on him. This way his brothers and sisters could attack without the ogres seeing them. It had been a risk, but Haku had been willing to take it: after all, he had full faith in his siblings and in his plan.
Thanks to all these factors combined, Haku now had at his disposal a large number of bodies that would have became part of his food supply, many interesting objects and weapons that he would carefully have studied, and above all, an ogre ready to serve him.
His siblings were already rummaging through the ogre corpses and the things they'd stolen from Sarpa. When they found what they were looking for, they were a bit disappointed. "There is only one dimensional bag" Rhaegal said.
But Haku had expected it. "That's normal. While they're easy to make, it wouldn't make sense for each of these ogres to carry one of them. After all, they were hunting together, and I doubt they would catch anything over 50 tons, so why bring that many?" he pointed out. "Don't worry, we'll get some more. Just make sure there's a refrigerator inside"
Rhaegal complied immediately. "There is" he replied after checking.
"Everything as planned, then. Good, if we continue like this, we will be able to keep much more food by the end of the week" Haku said satisfied, then he looked back at the ogre. "But now we have other things to discuss"
Sarpa felt the dragon's malevolent gaze upon him again, but as before, he stood still and ready to face his fate. He almost looked like a statue of salt since he didn't even move a muscle.
"That's the deal. From now on, you'll do everything I tell you, and when the job will be done, I'll let your son go" Haku said. "I don't think you know much about my species, but I'm sure that at least you know how much a dragon's promise is worth, right?"
If just ten days ago someone had told Haku that he could use someone's children to blackmail him, he would have laughed in the face of the one who told him so. His relationship with his parents hadn't been exactly rosy. With his mother waiting for her maternal instincts to fade away to abandon him and perhaps eat him and his father trying to kill him to eliminate any future reproductive competition, Haku hadn't had exactly the right experiences to think that a parent could love his son. Luckily, he had Ethan's diary with him, through which he had discovered how different ogres were from dragons.
For the ogres, the family was the core upon which all their life was based. Nothing was more important to an ogre than protecting his children, especially if they were boys or even the firstborn. It is no coincidence that bachelors were looked down upon in ogre society and young people were encouraged to find a mate as soon as possible. The education of children had, in no uncertain terms, a central role in ogre culture: the more a son became strong, intelligent and able to make his way up in their hierarchy, the more his father was considered honorable and worthy of his role. Thus the father spent most of his time with his sons, teaching them everything he knew; because of this, it was basically impossible that a strong emotional bond wouldn't have formed between them, just like the one that existed between Haku and his siblings, or perhaps even more solid.
And even if for some unknown reasons this affection didn't form, culture came to Haku's aid: because of their society, losing a child to the ogres was considered the greatest of dishonors, as well as the worst of sins: it meant that the parent hadn't fulfilled the his duties properly. This idea was so deeply rooted that even the god the ogres believed in, the god Baat, was portrayed as the protector of families and the punisher of inadequate fathers. According to ogre mythology, when a son died the father was struck by the curse of Baat and his spirit was damned for eternity.
Haku didn't know if the god Baat really existed and he didn't care; after all, just as Ethan had told him, the gods didn't intervene in the mortal world, so he didn't risk that Baat attacking him and his siblings. Even though the gods still seemed to him more like a superstition than a reality, he had no reason to wonder about their existence. The important thing for Haku was that the ogres believed in Baat and his curse; or at least, that the ogre in front of him believed in that.
Haku hoped that Sarpa would have agreed to serve him to protect his son's life. From Ethan's diary, he knew that ogres had many tales and myths and therefore knew, if only partially, about dragons and their basic characteristics, including the fact that they always kept their promises. But unlike Ethan, Sarpa wasn't going to be duped so easily. "I know how much a dragon's promise is worth, but I also know that dragons are good at saying one thing and meaning another one. If you want my help you must promise me that after we do what you wish you will let me and my son go alive and unharmed, and that you will never seek us again in your whole life. I will accept no other deals"
Haku thought there was something charming about the courage and confidence with which the ogre spoke, but that didn't stop his dragon pride from making him want to rip off Sarpa's arm, or at least respond in kind. "You will accept no other deals? What if I threaten to kill you both here and now?"
"Then do it" Sarpa held his gaze without showing the slightest sign of weakness. "I prefer that my son and I die now rather than live in the false hope that we can be freed one day. I only ask that you kill me first if you really want to do it"
Haku narrowed his eyes. That ogre was no fool. He almost wanted to laugh: Sarpa was asking him to kill him first because in this way he would have avoided eternal damnation, since a dead father couldn't protect his son and so he couldn't be called guilty. That was funny in a certain way. At least, this confirmed that Sarpa firmly believed in the god Baat and his dictates.
Or he just didn't want to see his son die, who knows. In any case, it was exactly what Haku wanted.
Haku pondered his choice. He could easily kill them now and look for more ogres, and sooner or later he would have found one more easily malleable. However, a more morally weak ogre would also have been less intelligent and less courageous, and consequently could betray him even without realizing it. An ogre like Sarpa, who showed great steadfastness even in the face of death, could instead be a good spy for him.
"Okay" he finally decided. "You have my word, but I will keep it only if you obey my every order. Swear to your god that you will not betray me"
He expected Sarpa to resist a little, but he quickly submitted: "I swear by the sacred name of Baat that I will follow your commands and won't betray you, even if it will mean fighting against the whole world or betraying everyone I know"
Haku was surprised how strong a father's love for a son could be. The newcomers really had a different culture than the dragons. He felt a little envious: if it hadn't been for the catastrophe caused by the second sun that his mother had told him about, perhaps he too could have had loving parents ready to sacrifice everything for him. Instead his bond with his parents was so poor that if he hadn't read it in Ethan's diary it would never have even occurred to him that a parent could sincerely love their child. "We have a deal, then" he said. "Here's what you'll have to do. You'll go back to your tribe and tell them that the fairies are the ones who did this. Say to them that they kidnapped all your companions, including your own son, and that only you managed to save yourself". Having said this, he handed to Sarpa Ethan's crossbow. "Use this as evidence. Say to your tribe that you snatched it from one of the attackers"
Through Ethan's diary Haku had also learned the culture of fairies, so he knew that they were creatures that mainly used bows and arrows. On the contrary, ogres used close combat weapons. Consequently, the crossbow was irrefutable proof of the fairies' guilt.
Sarpa took up the crossbow reluctantly. He wasn't stupid: he understood that the dragon's intent was to provoke a conflict.
In fact, Haku aimed to obtain as many preys and resources as possible before completely abandoning the forest in favor of other territories. If a war broke out, no one would worry about food shortages, since everyone would blame their opponents. It would have been so much easier to walk through the forest! Not to mention that in this way the dragons could have hunted not only animals, but also ogres and fairies: the disappearance of the patrols would have been attributed to the opposing side anyway! And they could also loot their shelters, steal large quantities of supplies and materials, recover the corpses of ogres and fairies who died in battles for use as food… basically, regardless of how the war between fairies and ogres ended, Haku and his siblings would have been the winners!
"This dragon is a true monster" was Sarpa's only thought as he realized the fate of his people. However, he didn't dare to think of rebelling. He had sworn by now, and the dragons still had his son. He couldn't object.
"You have my word that we will treat your son well" Haku told him. "But don't try to betray us. There are many of us and we will keep your son in a safe place. Now go; when we need you again, we will contact you. Make sure you drive a wedge between your people and the fairies"
Sarpa nodded. "I will. I will go back to my tribe, pretend to be hurt, call a council of tribes and blame it all on the fairies"
"Good, I see you understand" Haku said, then his eyes narrowed. "But let me put a fix to your plan. You won't go back to your tribe PRETENDING that you are injured"
Sarpa's shout rang out in the forest shortly after. The ogre realized too late that he had asked to be left alive and unharmed only after the job was done; therefore, the dragon could now wound him repeatedly without breaking his promise.