--AN) Just the one chapter tonight, I am a little under the weather.--
Blake did not mind. He kept his hands up to show he did not plan to do anything strange as he waited. After fifteen minutes, a few people finally came out of the cave. Three more guards and a dwarf that looked more like an official. "Sir Blake. Please allow our men to search you."
"That's fine, but I will say my space pouch must stay on me." Blake pointed to his chest and pulled out his pouch.
"That is fine. We are just checking for any hidden weapons. While you can still hide them in a space pouch it will still cause an unnecessary motion that our guards will pick up on so I would refrain from touching it unless you tell us that you are pulling something out." The dwarf official answered. Blake let out a sigh of relief and allowed the guards to search him.
"Sir Blake, you may put your hands down now." One of the guards said while standing to Blake's left. Blake nodded and put his hands down. He could understand the dwarves' cautiousness.
"Thank you." Blake gave the guard a nod and waited for more directions.
"You said you wished to talk with us so we will bring you to a meeting room we have freshly prepared not long ago. But I must warn you that if we see any signs of hostility, we will kill you without hesitation. I do not know how you managed to get past our illusion array, but since you are able to do such a thing, then that means you must have some abilities. Do not blame us for the rough behavior. We are only protecting ourselves." The dwarf official explained.
"It's fine. I would not expect anything less. After all, you went through the trouble to make the illusion array, so these kinds of protection measures are something I was expecting." Blake replied with a smile.
The dwarf official nodded and led Blake into the cave. The cave itself was nothing grand, just a bunch of dug out rooms in the side wall. But Blake figured this was only a temporary solution until they were able to create more complex structures within the cave. Blake did not have to go far. He entered a small room about sixty feet from the entrance. There was a stone table with stone benches. The dwarf official had him sit down as four guards from outside came into the room. The security was very tight.
Now Blake was sitting face to face with the dwarf official. "First and foremost." The dwarf official began. "I would like to know what race you are. You look dragonic but not."
"I am what is called a Drakani," Blake answered honestly. He did not expect to make any big waves at all, but expectation and reality served to be different because the dwarf official suddenly stood up and slammed his hands on the table.
"What you say is true? Are you really a drakani!?" The dwarf official asked, his eyes filled with excitement.
"Uh? Yeah, although I am not as powerful as one who has been alive for very long." Blake answered. He really did not know why the dwarf official was looking at him as if he was a rare breed. Well, in fact, he was a rare breed, but Blake had yet to realize this fact.
"Haha!" The dwarf official suddenly let out a jolly laugh before saying excitedly: "Wait here. I will go get someone who wishes to meet you." He then turned to walk out but paused a second before turning to one of the guards and saying: "What are you doing!? Quickly bring our guest something to eat and drink!"
After giving this order, he quickly left the room as if his pants were on fire. The guards and even Blake looked at each other in confusion. "Ummm… Is he okay?"
"We do not know…." One of the guards answered. Another guard had already raced out of the room to get Blake some food and drink.
When the guard returned, he had a plate of dried meat and some ale. Blake felt kind of bad because this looked like rations that they were probably saving. But he still had to be polite. He picked up the ale first and took a sniff. It was not as strong as Thardra's ale and seemed to be quite weak.
"This is our lightest ale. To us, it is the same as water." One of the guards explained. Blake nodded and took a sip. It was actually quite refreshing, but he still did not dare drink too much since he did not wish to get drunk. As for the dried meat, well, it was salted dried meat and was very bland. If not for the saltiness, Blake might not have been able to eat such a thing since it basically tasted like cardboard.
After another ten minutes, a dwarf, much older than the dwarf official accompanying him, walked in, in large strides. "Blake! My name is Forlad. I am sorry for the wait. It is a pleasure to meet a drakani after so many years. Hmmm?" Forlad looked at the dried meat and weak ale on the table and frowned. "Why did you bring these things out!? This is an embarrassment! Don't you know drakani drink blood!?"
"It's okay!" Blake quickly stopped the old man from causing a scene, and he smiled at him. "I am accustomed to snacking on things like this from time to time."
"I see…" Forlad nodded and sat down. "Blake, may I ask what happened to your kind? Things were steady with your kind around to keep the dragonic in check, but then your people disappeared."
"Ah, this… I am not sure, to be honest." Blake did not try to explain that he was once human. It already seemed like a mistake to mention that he was a drakani. He made note to be more careful about this later on. The last thing he needed was to bring himself more problems.
"I see…. So you are the only one left?" Forlad asked, his eyes showing a bit of sympathy.
"Mmm… Doesn't really matter. Right now, I am building a community of all races. I actually came here to form some ties with the dwarves and even invite you to join our growing community, which has quite a few races." Blake did not go into detail on what races, but he hoped this would be enough to allow the dwarves to understand he came here for a peaceful chat about joining his cause.
"I see. And what is this community's purpose?" Forlad was actually quite interested in what Blake had planned.
"For now, to cut out a spot in the world where all races are welcomed to come and live freely without worry of being oppressed by someone more powerful. We only have a contract to keep anyone from harming anyone in the community. We do not want infighting at all or people who might be trying to cause trouble." Blake lightly explained.
"I see…" Forlad sat back in his chair, seemingly lost in thought. Blake did not interrupt him as he quietly sat there. Only after about ten minutes did Forlad ask: "You will welcome any race. Does this also mean the dragonic?"
"Mmm… The dragonic are welcomed as well, but they will also need to be put under contract. They will not be allowed to harm the people in the community. As I said, people can live freely there and do as they please as long as they harm no one. This means dragonic can as well, but if they choose to leave, they will still be under contract and will not be allowed to do anything to harm those in the community even if they were ordered to attack it. Of course, dragonic will have a few extra clauses added to the contract compared to other races." Blake explained.
"I see…. I can not say my people would wish to go, but I do wish to ask if you can bring my daughter and some of the other dwarfets and elderly with you. I will give you a device that will allow us to communicate at long distances, and after I am able to convince my people to make the trip to this community of yours, I will contact you. But I do ask you to take our women and elderly with you. A safer place that will allow them to be free of worry and not have to wonder where our next supply of food will be coming from." Forlad's solemn expression said it all. It seemed the dwarfs were really having a tough time.
"I can do that. But may I ask if I can bring in two of my friends who are waiting for me? They are both female and can help me talk with the female dwarfs. You may not know, but drakani have a bit of an issue with a charm that will, well, I think you get the idea." Blake scratched his nose. He did not hate his charm, but it could be annoying when he is only trying to make friends and nothing else.
"Yes, of course! Please." Blake nodded and stood up. He asked a guard to lead him out, but Forlad personally saw to it. Blake went to the corner and called out for Mina and Mona.
When the Forlad saw Mina, his eyes went wide as he lowered his head in greeting. "Princess Mina!"
"King Forlad, please raise your head. Your status is higher than mine. And also, I am no longer a princess but Blake's wife." Mina's words caused Forlad's eyes to widen and then smile while Blake stood there blankly, trying to wonder when this dwarf suddenly became a king. He had no kingly aura at all!
"Ahem… You are a king?" Blake finally asked.
"Hmm? Did I not mention it?" Forlad thought back and realized he really did not! "Haha! Sorry. It slipped my mind when I heard you were a drakani. Anyway, my status and yours are no different, so there is no need to put on airs."
"Alright, then, let's meet those who will be following us back. You already know Mina, but this here is Mona a Mookin. She is a new type of beastkin." Blake introduced Mona, who nervously hugged Blake's arm. She was not used to new people, especially males.
"It is a pleasure." Forlad smiled and turned to Mina. "Prince…. Miss Mina, I am planning to send the dwarfets and the elderly with you while I talk the rest into moving to join Blake here. Blake's race makes it hard for him to speak with them, so I hope you can talk to them and help them throughout the journey."
"That's fine…. But let me ask, are there any princesses within this group?" Mina asked, causing Blake's face to have black lines form on it. He wondered just what this stupid fairy thought of him in her heart!
"Hmmm? Yes, Princess Josline will be in the group." Forland replied, seemingly a little confused.
As for Mina, she could only sigh. "Another princess…. Well, It was bound to happen sooner or later."
"Miss Mina, I am a bit confused…." Foreland really wondered what Mina was talking about.
"It's this fellow here. Half his wives are princesses!" Mina yelled out. "He is a princess picker! As soon as a princess comes along, he snatches them up!"
"Mina, that is not true! I had no idea you were a princess at all, and our relationship happened by accident!" Blake tried to defend himself, but the cheeky fairy only snorted and flew down in front of Foreland and said: "If you are okay with your daughter ending up with this guy, then it's fine, but if not, you might want to keep her at home."
"Haha! It's fine. If she takes a fancy to Blake, then I would feel blessed to have my daughter marrying a drakani."
