"A wild guess. Though I can't imagine these spears being that useful during hunts," Lucius commented, as the group began moving to the entrance.
"You're right, for larger prey, we often resort to using our 'nature's blessing'. We mostly use these for hunting smaller prey, like boars," Avankor replied after some thought.
~The issue with these spears isn't that their tip is made from bone, it's that whoever made them clearly didn't care for their longevity,~ Lucius thought to himself as he side-eyed one of the warriors carrying a spear.
The bone tip had been fastened on with what looked like dry string, and the creator of these weapons hadn't even bothered to create a notch for the tip to rest in, so it was at risk of falling off at any moment.
Not to mention that the wood the spears were made from hadn't even been worked on, and were clearly just large, crooked branches.
"Avankor, how would you like to form another trade?" Lucius mused, as the group got closer to the entrance.
"A trade?" Avankor asked hesitantly. Lucius was well aware that the Zeldrave didn't really have a lot to trade, apparent by the fact Avankor had offered warriors as a substitute for their earlier trade.
"Don't worry, the terms on your end can be the same as last time. Where I'm from, your den would be called a Mercenary group," Lucius explained.
And though he wasn't going to be using these guys for fighting, the extra hands were much needed as he couldn't be everywhere at once.
~Besides, treating them as mercenaries allows me to trade with them without them having to worry that they're relying on me too much,~ Lucius thought to himself.
However, from Avankor's silence, it was apparent that he was hesitant to accept the terms. Lucius assumed that Avankor doubted that he really needed the men, after all, Avankor had been witness to him slaying a golem alone.
"I won't be using them for battle. They'll mainly work for resource gathering, nothing too dangerous," Lucius explained.
"I-If that's okay with you," Avankor replied hesitantly.
"In exchange for their services, I'll supply your den with weapons and gear," Lucius said after. This earned a few shocked expressions from the warriors around them. It seemed that weapons were a big deal to these people.
However, Trel seemed more amused than anything else.
"And where will you get these weapons and gear?" Trel asked, whilst her kin were still trying to process what Lucius had said.
"I'll make them," Lucius replied plainly.
"That's a little much, don't you think Havon? If you are going to give us so much, then let me join this 'Mercenary group', but even then I feel like we're still taking advantage of you," Avankor said hesitantly.
There were a few of the warriors who seemed against the idea of their king working for an outsider, however even they could not voice their opposition. They seemed to understand the situation their king was in.
"No, these guys will be enough. If I need more warriors I'll tell you," Lucius replied.
Though they would soon find out that the work he was going to put them through would be well worth the 'prototype weapons' he would be supplying them. They were merely going to act as a bin where he would throw all the weapons that weren't good enough for the golem king, which sadly would probably still be of higher quality than the weapons they currently had.
And besides, Lucius would benefit from both the Zeldrave and the Chames's den being better outfitted with weapons.
With enemies on two sides- those being the necromancer and the Immaculate Forest Council- he needed his allies to be as powerful as possible.
After all, he no longer planned on bringing the two groups into his commune. Last night he had a lot of time to think things over. And he came to realize that bringing them into his commune would be irresponsible.
He could hardly protect his children, how was he going to protect a commune that would effectively be three times larger?
No, instead he would work with his current commune until they were at a level where they could fend for themselves.
Until the commune was developed enough to operate, even in the event he died, he would treat everyone else as a resource.
Though this did not mean he didn't have plans to develop the two camps. No, quite the opposite. He planned on making them something of a vassal state, so if another council was built in the future, he would already have two additional votes in his favor.
When the group finally reached the entrance, Avankor used his blessing to open up the passageway and the group began trying to get the cart through.
"Stand back," Lucius ordered after they had been at this for a few minutes. With a few gestures, he used Elmando to create legs at the bottom of the cart, thrusting it upward, before using his tail to direct it through the passage.
"Uhm... thank you, Havon," each of the warriors mumbled as they walked past him, before awkwardly going through the passage.
"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Trel whispered as she passed by, before going through.
"I apologize for my sister, she does not understand that living creatures are not her playthings," Avankor explained, before going through next.
"I noticed," Lucius whispered to himself, being the last to leave after the chief.
*
The journey to the Chames's den went on without any hurdles. In fact, even the undead pits that the chief had warned the group about seemed to be empty now.
Lucius guessed that it was probably due to the stunt he had pulled yesterday. No doubt all the creatures in the area were patrolling around that region, probably searching for where he had run off to.
*
When they finally got to the cliff face, the group turned to Lucius with expectant gazes, almost as if they were saying -oh great Havon, what magics will you use to overcome this obstacle?-
