After having declined the offer to sleep in the Chief's hut (I can't even sleep anyway), I spent the rest of the morning sitting on my cot thinking over what had happened while waiting for the other's to finish resting.
It felt peaceful, almost like daydreaming as I "meditated" over the things I've faced. For now, I think this is the best I can do regarding "sleep"-- it would probably freak the others out if I didn't, so I'll pretend to sleep in their presence if the need arises.
I had been transported to the world of Chronicles of Eos, and found myself in the middle of a massive sunflower field; which so happens to be a Demon burial ground. I'm no longer Human, but instead some kind of Demon-- there's no mirrors around so I've yet to see what my face looks like. And within a day, I've managed to not only kill a man for the first time in my life but save a caravan full of enslaved children; and a village chief's daughter at that too.
Phew.
I'm still not sure whether this is a lucid dream or not with how crazy it's been.
My meditation was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a familiar face poking her head through my tent; it was Ashari.
"Good afternoon." She said as she opened the curtains letting the afternoon's sunshine in.
She wasn't wearing the warrior robes that she had worn last night but instead wore a sheer white dress that hugged her body pretty provocatively. And I could see her underwear quite easily through the cloth...
"Hello?" Ashari broke my trance as she bent down and waved at my face.
"S-Sorry, just a little tired from this morning," I said as I averted my eyes from her body.
Out of all of the emotions that could've been numbed in this new body, why isn't THAT one put on the list!?
Ashari only looked at me quizzically, what she was wearing was likely common for women out here in the desert steppe. It was me who was perverting her outfit from my very Earth-instilled sensibilities.
"Why, I would be surprised if you weren't Ignis, hehe." She giggled innocently.
"Come, the Chieftan has asked for you at the village center. The two children you were accompanying are there as well."
She gave me her hand and motioned me to take it; she then lifted me with ease.
"For how strong you are, you're surprisingly light." She remarked as she took a step out of the tent; her eyes asking me to follow.
As we exited the tent and walked to the village's center, we were greeted by the excitement of hordes of children teeming about.
"Ah, the savior of the children and my beloved daughter," Ratusk called out to me from where he was; he had a few children in his tow who were eating fruit from out of a bowl.
"I can see you've been busy handling all of this, Chief Ratusk." I said, feeling a smidge guilty over the influx I've dumped onto this tiny tribe.
"Gahaha, it's nothing. Children are the flowers that brighten this steppe; without them, we are nothing but barren sand." Ratusk proudly stated as he got up from his chair while gently setting down a toddler who was tugging at his beard.
As he approached me, I suddenly felt two little bodies hug me on both sides of my legs; a despicable pincer attack!
"Ignis!" It was the two siblings, they looked like they were on the verge of tears.
"What happened?" I asked them.
"We heard what happened! We're so sorry we ever called you a Durga!" They simultaneously apologized.
"You're a hero!" Tesera cried as she rubbed her snotty nose into my leg.
Ashari watched silently from the side with a smile as I was stuck not knowing what to do about the siblings' teary-eyed apology.
"Ahem." Ratusk coughed, catching our attention.
"I've called you here to ask-- for what you've done for us..." Ratusk paused, he looked all around him; children's laughter filled the air to its seams.
"-For what you've done, I... we, the Zepar, consider you a friend of the highest honor," Ratusk said with a proud smile as he beat his chest twice.
Then, the others of the tribe: women, men, and even children of the Desert Ogres did the same.
Ashari was the last one to do it, her eyes locking with mine.
"I... don't know what to say," I spoke, feeling a little clammy over all of the attention being put on me.
"Say nothing, for now-- it's time to feast!" Ratusk joyously cried as from multiple tents and huts came out women carrying plates full of food to the village center.
---
"So, tell me Ignis, where are you taking them?" Ratusk asked as he sat across from me on the low table, he was drinking from out of a gourd; it had the distinct strong smell of alcohol.
I looked over to Rayji and Tesera who were happily gorging themselves along with the other children at the end of the table.
"I'm taking them back to their homeland... Ars Goetia." I replied.
"The Demon Capital," Ratusk said out loud with a hint of longing in his voice; his face was flush from drinking too much.
"Chief, I think you've had enough." Ashari curtly spoke as she swiped the gourd out of Ratusk's hand; she was sitting next to him.
"We're celebrating, Ashari, call me Papa like you were earlier, Gaha-- OOPH." I couldn't see it from where I was, but I could tell Ashari had given Ratusk a swift jab into his ribs.
"Hmph!" She said as she poured some of the gourd's contents into her own cup.
"Quit pretending as if you do not know what Ignis' plans are and tell him about 'that' already," Ashari said as she took a sip from her cup. She wrinkled her nose but she was too proud to spit it out.
"Yes, yes." Ratusk sighed. I think I had just gotten a good glimpse of what Fatherhood must be like.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused over what they were hiding.
"We want to help you reach there, to the Demon Capital." Ratusk spoke as his jovial attitude from earlier was now replaced by a sober look.
"Help me? Help me how." I asked.
Ratusk clapped his hands and from the far left of the village's center, a massive lizard-like monster came trotting in.
It looked like a raptor from Earth's Jurassic period... wait scratch that, it literally was like a raptor from Earth's Jurassic period.
Ashari got up from her seat and clicked her tongue, catching the lizard's attention as it cooed at her in return.
"This is Tiki," Ashari said as she petted the Lizard's massive maw, it licked at the air passively.
"Nice to meet you, uh, Tiki." I said as I cautiously waved at it. But it only ignored me with its cold reptilian eyes.
"We will give you Tiki to carry a small wagon out to reach the capital," Ratusk explained.
"Thank you."
But Ratusk raised his hand, shaking his head.
"Do not thank me just yet," He sighed.
"It pains me to do this, but this isn't without some strings attached."
Ashari returned back to her seat as Tiki followed, sitting down behind her next to some crates.
"After what had happened, I've realized that my time as the Chieftain is nearing its end."
Ashari frowned as she took another sip from her cup, this time she didn't scowl as hard as before.
"What do you mean? Your hands were tied, there was nothing you could've done." I spoke up.
"That may be so, but, the fact that this had happened in the first place..." His voice trailed off, he was beginning to look drunk.
"What my father is trying to say,--" Ashari cut him off, her face was flush too; didn't she only have two sips of alcohol!?
"Is that we cannot keep isolating ourselves anymore." She finished as she took one big swig out of the cup.
Like Father, Like Daughter.
Sobering up from his Daughter's outburst, Ratusk took back the reins in the conversation.
"The Zepar are a proud people. Never have we in the millennia after the Lost Age sought help from the other Houses."
"It has been the case since my Father, and my Father's Father."
"But, those Humans... we would've suffered heavy losses if we had fought them." He gravely admitted.
"If it were not for your intervention, we would not be here as we are now."
I sat silently, hearing the old warrior pour his heart out to me.
"We must make contact with the other Houses, or face extinction from the Humans." His words fell like tar in water; sinking deep into the air.
"You want me to act as an ambassador." I finally broke my silence.
"No," Ratusk shook his head.
"No?" I asked, confused.
"My daughter, Ashari, will be the one to make contact with the other Houses."
I looked over to Ashari, even in her drunken haze, she held her head up high as she heard her name.
"Which is why she will be accompanying you on your journey." He declared.
"Wait, are you sure? I don't know how long of a journey this'll be..."
"We cannot keep relying on an outsider's kindness to save our people." Ashari bruskly cut in.
"It would bring us great shame if we could not even ask for help ourselves... *Hiccup*!" She spoke proudly but was immediately embarrassed by her hiccup.
I couldn't help but laugh over Ashari getting flustered. Ratusk got a funny glimmer in his eye as he watched us both.
"Is she not lovely, Ignis? Don't you agree?... you know, if you're interested, she has yet to get a Husba--" This time I saw the jab that Ashari let fly, it was aimed directly at Ratusk's head; knocking him out cold mid-sentence.
"Ahaha, Father, you say such strange and very unnecessary things when you've had too much to drink." Ashari's cheeks turned a darker shade of blue as she tried laughing it off.
He hadn't taken another sip since she had taken the gourd away from him...
"Ahem, moving on. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning. See you then." Ashari made a swift exit, avoiding eye contact with me as she dragged her father away back into his hut. Tiki only watched them lazily, falling back asleep once they left.
I wonder what more excitement will be waiting for me tomorrow?