The tribe’s gate opened with the heavy sound of chains being pulled.
Its two massive leaves, made of compressed wood, monster bones, and layers of insect shells, slowly moved apart.
The guards on the wall still kept their bows ready, and green mana light shone on the tips of several spears.
One took its first step inside the tribe’s territory.
Its six massive legs landed on the wooden path one after another, and with each step, a dry and heavy sound echoed among the roots.
Lian looked around from the ant’s back.
Up close, the tribe was much larger and more complex than it appeared from outside.
The houses were carved into the giant roots.
Some entrances were at ground level, but many of the houses were built several meters higher, and thin rope bridges connected them to each other.
Wooden platforms stuck out from the root walls at different heights.
Thick ropes moved baskets and loads between the upper and lower levels.
Lamps made from the sap of luminous plants hung inside transparent containers.
Their green and blue light fell on the Lacerians’ scales and created trembling shadows on the root walls.
On one side, a few hunters were separating the skin and shell of a beetle-like monster.
Two craftsmen were striking a sheet of black shell with stone hammers, shaping it into a curved shield.
Men and women carried baskets full of edible roots, mushrooms, and small fruits.
A few children were peeking from behind a platform.
In another section, six-legged, lizard-like animals were tied next to stables made of roots and wood.
Leather armor was placed on their sides, and their short horns were marked with the tribe’s colors.
Everything was alive.
Busy and orderly, but as soon as One entered, all this life froze for a moment.
The sound of hammers stopped, baskets were lowered, and children hid.
The guards jumped down from the platforms.
At first, the gazes were on the massive ant.
Then on Ravian, Sera, and Nemi, and finally, they fixed on Lian.
His appearance was far too different among the hundreds of Lacerians.
He had no tail, no antennae, no scales, smooth skin, tall stature, and eyes that looked nothing like theirs.
Even his clothes were made of a material that most of the tribe’s people had never seen.
A murmur spread through the crowd.
"What is that?"
"What kind of creature is it? It looks like us but very different?"
"Where did it come from?"
"Why is it with that ant?"
A group of warriors blocked the way.
The guards’ commander was a broad-shouldered man with gray scales and a deep scar next to his jaw.
He aimed his long spear directly at One.
"Ravian, step away from that creature."
His gaze then fixed on Lian.
"And that stranger get down from behind the ant too."
Ravian jumped down from One without delay, but instead of stepping away, he stood directly in front of Lian.
He did not have his spear in his hand, but his body posture was completely defensive.
"Lower your weapons."
"You don’t know what you’ve brought into the tribe." The guards’ commander frowned.
Ravian stepped forward, the exhaustion of the journey was still visible on his face, but his tone had no doubt.
"I know exactly what I’ve brought into the tribe." His voice grew louder.
"If it wasn’t for him, neither I, nor Sera, nor Nemi would be here."
Sera also climbed down from behind One and stood next to her brother, her wounded shoulder was still bandaged, but her gaze was firm.
"This person saved our lives more than once."
Nemi hesitated for a few moments, her gaze moving from the ready spears to the angry faces, and then she came out from behind the two of them.
"He is not an enemy." Her voice was not loud, but in the silence that had formed, everyone heard it.
A few guards looked at each other, this support was unexpected for them.
Ravian did not trust anyone easily.
Sera was usually too cautious to defend a stranger.
And Nemi, the youngest and most fearful of the three, was now standing in front of the tribe with dozens of weapons aimed at her, defending Lian.
This was enough to show that this person might really be trustworthy.
But they still could not trust an outsider.
Lian said nothing, through Hive Link he commanded One.
Sit down.
The ant immediately bent its six legs and brought its massive body close to the ground.
Its antennae folded, its jaws remained closed.
One’s sudden movement made a few spears come forward, but when no attack occurred, the tension decreased slightly.
However, the weapons were still not lowered.
Before the guards’ commander could say anything else, a firm but quiet voice was heard from the crowd.
"Lower your weapons." The voice was not loud, but that one sentence was enough.
The crowd parted, and a man came forward through the opened path.
He was taller than most Lacerians, and his sturdy body was hidden under a robe made of dark monster skin.
The scales on his face and neck were a mix of dark green and gray.
Two longer and thicker antennae than the others came out from the sides of his head.
Several old scars could be seen on his face and arms.
A necklace made of teeth and pieces of monster horns rested on his chest, but he wore no crown or other sign of luxury.
His authority came from something deeper than clothes, from the silence, from his gaze, and from the way all the warriors lowered their weapons without protest.
Averian, the leader of the Lacerians, stepped forward.
At first, his face was formal, but when his gaze fixed on Ravian, Sera, and Nemi, that calmness crumbled for a moment.
He moved faster, going straight to Nemi.
The younger girl had not said anything yet when Averian pulled her into his arms.
So tightly that Nemi’s breath caught for a moment.
Then he pulled Sera close with his other arm.
Ravian stood a step back, but Averian reached out his hand and pulled him into the family embrace too.
For a few moments, no one spoke.
Averian only took a deep breath, as if he still was not sure this image was real.
Nemi pressed her face to her father’s chest.
Sera closed her eyes.
Ravian looked down and clenched his jaw.
The tribe leader finally pulled back a little and examined all three from head to toe.
"What happened?" His voice was quiet, but heavy worry was in it.
"Where were you? Do you know how worried I was?" Then his gaze fixed on One and then on Lian.
"And who are this creature... and this stranger?"
"He is the legendary Otherworldly." Ravian stood up straight.
The murmurs suddenly turned into a wave of sound.
A few people stepped back, mothers who had their children close pulled them behind themselves.
"Impossible." One of the tribe’s elders whispered under his breath.
"Otherworldlies are only in old stories." An older man with shorter antennae added.
"He pulled us out of the Sky Giant Bird’s nest." Ravian raised his voice and pointed at Lian.
"He led us through the Forest of Giants. He defeated and killed thousands of Crimson Needle Ants."
For a few seconds, even the murmurs fell silent.
The claim was too big, so big that believing it seemed harder than rejecting it.
Averian said nothing, he only looked at Lian.
His gaze was calm, but precise.
Then at his children’s closed wounds.
At One, which remained motionless on the ground.
At Nemi, who unconsciously stood close to Lian.
Finally, he said.
"Come inside." He turned his gaze to the crowd.
"This is not the place to talk about such things."
Before moving, Lian commanded One.
Stay here, do not attack anyone.
He thought for a moment and then made the command more precise, even if they come close to you, just step back. Do not fight without my order.
One moved its antennae briefly, a few guards still remained around it.
From their looks, it was clear that the presence of a massive Crimson Needle Ant in the center of the tribe was like bringing a predator among families.
Lian followed Averian and his three children into the central part of the tribe.
The leader’s house was built inside the hollow part of one of the giant roots.
Its entrance was larger than the surrounding houses, but no sign of luxury could be seen in it.
The interior space was warm and bright, a few crystals were placed in the grooves of the walls, creating a soft green light.
The table and chairs were made of dark wood, maps on dried skins were hung on the walls.
An old spear and a short sword were placed next to each other.
Clay pots, pieces of bone, and a few carved stones could be seen on the shelves.
Averian asked everyone to sit and placed himself on the other side of the table.
For a few moments, he only looked at his children, and then he turned to Ravian.
"Tell it from the beginning."
Ravian took a deep breath and began the story from a few days ago.
About the decrease in hunting around the tribe, about the lack of water, about their decision to go to an area farther than the usual borders.
He explained that they, along with a small group of young hunters, had left the known paths.
First, they followed the trail of a large prey, then they got caught in mist in an area, and unfortunately, before they even realized what had happened, the bird had caught them.
Unfortunately, they had no news of the others who were with them.
"We thought we were still in the tribe’s area, but it turned out we had entered that monster’s territory." Ravian lowered his gaze.
"I told you so many times not to leave the tribe without an elder! What if you had been killed?" Averian added with the anger of a father.
And his three children just lowered their heads... they had no excuse.