Act 1: Exploration plans.
Inside a large mound house with smoke and steam leaving its fire hole in its vine covered roof, the pack dirt floors were covered with flooring of sticks and dried fiber, the walls roof were made of wooden logs, sealed with mortar of clay, amber and ash.
Of the single roomed half circle mound home, on its middle a table made from the stump of a tree, laid and many sat on the ground around it, as incense burned on the table, as tea was placed in each seated place.
"We need to expand our clan." I told the elders to gather and called those who wanted to represent the foragers, crafters and warriors in clan decisions.
"You mean our village?" One of the elders asked.
"Expanding the wall would take atleast a season of work." Logi the crafter representative added, as he ate dried jerky.
"We have enough space for now, are you planning another new thing?" The Shaman-elder asked, after taking a sip of her tea.
"That's why we need to expand, we need more people." Everyone looked like they understood what I wanted, as they became thoughtful.
"The elders had grown healthy since we started eating meat." Axelia said as she stated a new thing we learned, meat is really good for them.
"I'm the oldest and I feel it, I think I can still live for a few more years before I take my final rest, and ask for more children from the earth mother." The Elder shaman said looking conflicted.
It was true, it's only been a month since I introduced them to eating cooked and cured meats, now the elders had become more vigorous, needing less help from the children, but still asking for it, and their missing fur growing back.
"That is normal, meat is one the reason we predators live so long." Vivi added before drinking her tea. She was accepted easily, even before and after the clan knew she used to have been a cursed beast.
"I noticed, that's why I plan to go to other rabbit-folk herds or friendly folks and convince them to join our clan." Some nodded, others looked confused.
"A herd is more than a clan, it is the collection of many herds into one to become more, and be able to protect and provide itself better than one herd alone." The Shaman-elder spoke as she battered away the confusion of the others.
"I am leaving in the morning, I would need an elder prepared to talk to elders of the other herds and two warriors to protect the elder." That was roughly my plan to ask the Forest-father for direction and have an elder to talk for our favor and me convincing the others.
"We don't know where exactly the other herds live, but we usually don't need to. We foragers regularly trade with others from different herds." Nilla, the representative of the foragers added.
"Can you spare the one who trades the most to help us?" I asked Nilla looking at her eyes, she looked away as she drank her tea.
"I'm the one who trades the most, I have few friends from the closest herds." I nodded, then looked at Axelia.
"I can spare two but we wouldn't be able to protect far away foraging missions." I nodded understanding them needing to stay near the village, we already have seasons worth of food, we don't need to do large foraging missions.
"Best chance for this first mission to go well, is to go to the herd south of us, we visit each other the most after all." The only male elder said as he ate roasted and smoked nuts.
I agreed with him and then we continued to plan the details until night fell, and we started our night feast. After telling the entire clan of the plan and the first mission, many agreed that more hands helping would be good.
But some worried about food, as that's usually the reason a herd would split, but with a promise that I will deal with it with something new and with more hunting, that made them confident, and happily agreed.
Act 2: Encounter.
Within an old forest, barely touched by civilization, a group of six walked silently through the forest with a torch in the hands of four of them, one wore the cloak of a giant boar, the rest wore hooded cloaks of rough black fabric.
"Brother Lazir, we're close." Nilla spoke as she pointed towards a tributary of the river. It was small cutting through two small hills, making a small plateau.
"We meet them there, they usually trade sweet river-grass for fruit or sticks." I nodded, the forest had started to thin in this area but it was still untamed terrain.
We continued walking then I felt a tug on my cloak. "I smell blood ahead, a few wounded." Vivi whispered but it was loud enough for all of us to hear.
"Spark, stay with the elder and Nilla, find cover." I told Spark as she and the non-combatants moved towards a hollow of a tree. Then I nodded to Vivi and Fleent, a newly named warrior to come with me.
Vivi led us, as we waved around flames making sure the predators around us were focused on us rather than those we told to stay. "Close." Vivi said as she prepared her long wooden shafted, large stoned cudgel.
I smelled it too, and then I felt it, the fading essence of a folk. "Hey! Where friends please come out." Then I felt Fleent shake my shoulder making me look at her as she pointed down, to a small borrow below a tree.
A rabbit-folk slowly came out fear in her eyes. "Help, many wounded." She barely said as she came to us clutching her side, she fell and I caught her and gently set her down as I gave my torch to Fleent as Vivi remained vigilant.
I focused on my hand, of the feeling of protection, and then blue flames flickered on my hand, turning into a torch and then I placed it on her chest, feeling her essence specifically of the fading edges, and then burned away the cuts and rips.
"Tell me sister, where are the others?" I saw fear in her eyes and awe in her speechless lips as she looked at my flames and my own eyes.
"In the borrow, they barely breath, we were attacked by Small-wings." I nodded, unsure what small-wings were. But from her wounds it might be some kind of bird.
I looked at Vivi and she shook her head, the predators were long gone. "Can you stand?" I asked the forager, and she nodded, standing with weakened legs, that grew stronger as she straightened herself.
"Vivi, watch over her and secure the area, Fleent go get the others." They nodded and did so as I crawled into the barrow, its entrance was small but the inside was large, there were 7 wounded barely clinging to life.
I didn't want to triage so with a deep breath, taking out a pouch filled with black dust, I threw the dust in the air and then breathed out heavily. Fire escaping my throat and igniting the dust spreading fire towards the entire natural chamber burning black the dirt.
As the fire burned on the heavily wounded and dying rabbit-folk. "I can't believe that work." I said to myself as I focused and gathered the flames and gave them a will to burn away the wounds and pains of the wounded.
After a handful of minutes the first ones woke up and watched in awe as my flames healed them further and those fainted from their wounds. . . everyone was awake, and their wounds mended.
"I am Lazir, Sage of the Flame-sing clan, now follow me." I told them and they followed without resistance.
As I came out and the others followed I saw my party had gathered as the Elder spoke to the first forager I healed. "There you are Lazir, this child has told me of their fate and she agreed to lead us back to their herd if we promise protection."
I nodded and after a few more moments to regroup we started moving towards their herd lands. "We were collecting river-grass." The gatherers started telling our party what happened in their perspectives.
"Then from the west a swarm of small-wings appeared." We walked in a defensive circle. They were the ones supporting the elder in the middle as the rest of my party used torches to light our group.
"Small-wings were small weak animals that ate insects, but these ones were different. I saw it in their eyes they were cursed." A neutral non-threatening animal species succumbing to the curse? And become dangerous.
"Our warriors were few but they were able to fight off many, but a few got through their defense, and scattered us foragers." I saw shame in their shoulders, as they spoke.
"Alone a small-wing, even a cursed one is easy to fight off, even for us foragers. but we were outnumbered 10 to 1 and many of us were isolated and picked apart by the swarm." They stopped talking after that, as we continued to walk in solemn silence.
Act 3: Proposal.
It took an hour or so before we reached a large pond or small lake surrounded by hills. I saw dugged out holes on the hills, those must be there dens. We continued towards them, the foragers leading us.
"Where here, Sage Lazir, our crafters, elderly and young usually hide within the dens when the warriors are gone." I nodded and we continued.
"Elders! Where back! And we bring visitors." One of the foragers yelled, as we continued, I saw heads peeking out the holes, and yelling back.
After a few moments an elder supported by what I believe was a crafter based on her rope sash filled with stones and wooden tools. "Welcome kin, please wait. I need to talk to our foragers. You're welcome to stay in one of our dens to rest."
"Thank you elder, we will rest for now, but we came here to talk about something important please, don't make us wait too long." Said our elder as we left and the crafter led us toward an empty den with dried leaf piles to lay on.
"They have no warriors, or they are wounded." The elder said as we laid and ate dried snacks.
"I smell blood from the other dens." Vivi said as she ate dried fruit slices.
"That's good, they'll want us to heal them. . .Elder you think it'll help with our mission if I do heal them?" I asked the elder as she ate clover leaves we found earlier.
"I do not know, we already have their friendship, by saving their foragers. I'm not sure if their favor would be enough to convince them to join us, Lazir." The elder spoke seriously and honestly, as I felt she spoke by using her old herd as an example.
"I think they would if they feel unsafe, without their warriors." Said Fleent as she ate jerky.
After Fleent spoke we went quiet, as we all noticed that they were coming. Children came in holding vine baskets with what I assume is River-grass, that looked like a green stem with many small grapes.
A type of green algae, they resemble sea grapes. "We bring food, we eat as we speak." An elder said as she entered.
I nodded to our elder and she smiled. "I am an elder of the Flame-sing clan, we offer your herd to join our family." We decided it was better to be direct.
That struck the elders in contemplation as we sat in a circle and ate the food provided to us slowly, it was sweet. "This is an odd offer, Elder of the Flame-sing clan, aren't you all from the herd that lives protected by the thorned wall?"
Our elder nodded. "Yes we are, we have become a clan recently and now need more people than we have to become worthy of being a clan." Our elder explained.
The other elder didn't know what a clan was, but I can see in her eyes that she understood our purpose. "You want to gather more for safety?" She asked.
"Yes and more, as you can see we have developed much in our tools, we need more people to keep up with our progress." Our elder showed her dagger and cloak.
"We do not have enough people to support our development." Our elder continued.
"What of food? You know as much as I, that herds and families splinters because of food." The other elder said her lips were grave.
"We have found a new way to make food and learned how to take away the curse of eating meat." Our elder said as she showed a bag of jerky to the other elder and the herd members on the side.
I saw fear in her eyes, her essence chaotic. The elder ate from the pouch and then offered the other elder to do the same. "We've been eating this for months now, we have not become like the cursed beasts that hunts us."
The other elder ate from the pouch trying it, and liking it and then feeling relieved. "You have convinced me, Elder of the Flame-sing clan, I will tell my fellow elders of your offer and if they agree as I do we will advise it to the rest of our herd."
The elder said as she smiled. "Can I take this?" The elder said pointing at the jerky pouch.
Our elder nodded, and she took the pouch as she left the den, while some children stayed, looking at our torches. Fascinated by it, we played with them, showing them fire tricks and singing.