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“Is talking to them a good idea?” Raindu asked. “When they were stronger, they killed you without giving you a way out. Now that they can’t kill you, they’re willing to negotiate?” The ferret crossed its front paws in front of its chest. “It makes sense, but I don’t like it.”
Sam knew the ferret was speaking to him, but its words weren’t exactly meant for him; after all, with Dirt holding down his legs and his mobility entirely dependent on the wooly pig underneath him, Sam didn’t have much autonomy. Making decisions was up to his familiars, and it seemed like Raindu had an opinion differing from the majority.
“What can they do to us if it’s just a conversation?” Vercedei asked. It was no surprise the twin-headed snake wished to speak with the blue avians; it hadn’t unlocked Sam’s throat chakra for no reason. “It’s always fun to listen to what others have to say even if they’re speaking nonsense.”
“You’re speaking nonsense right now,” Raindu said, glancing at the snake wrapped around Sam’s face. “And I’m not having fun.”
“You don’t even know how to have fun,” Vercedei said. “You only live for shiny objects. What else do you even care about?”
“Sam’s safety,” Raindu said. “Something you should be more concerned about.” The ferret leaned forward to make eye contact with the sloth hugging Sam’s waist. “You think this is a bad idea too, don’t you, Joe?”
“The blue avians move quickly,” Joe said, the sloth’s words dragging on and on as it spoke slowly, so slowly the wooly pig’s footsteps stalled as well. “If they pull a trick, we might not react in time to save Sam.”
“Everything moves quickly to you,” Birdbrained said and let out a squawk. It readjusted its position on Sam’s head, its talons clacking against his armored hat. “If a fight breaks out, we have the advantage. The more blue avians we kill, the more guardians Ess and Dirt can create.”
“We shouldn’t get cocky,” Big Fish said, the whale poking its tiny head out of Joe’s fur. “What if they realize the Venusians are all living inside my mouth? They’ll surely target me first because I’m the most important to our strength.”
“As if,” Vercedei said. “Look at how small you are; they won’t even know you’re there. You didn’t even do anything previously, so they probably forgot about your existence.”
“I don’t like following plans that rely on my opponent’s making mistakes,” Big Fish said. “I’m with Raindu on this one. We should remain in the city and let them come inside to meet us instead of us going out there to meet them.”
“They didn’t agree to that,” Vercedei said.
“Because you’re bad with words,” Big Fish said. “The blue avians know they can’t do anything to us, so they’re trying to negotiate themselves into a better position. They’re the weaker party, so they should capitulate to our demands if they want to be heard by us; that includes placing themselves in a vulnerable position.”
“I’m bad with words?” Vercedei asked. “Manga, stop right there.”
The wooly pig halted its footsteps and let out a four-syllable-long cry. “Make up your minds,” the pig said. “Are we going or not? There’s nothing worse than indecision.”
“Why can’t we just establish communications with them while we’re in here and they’re out there?” Sam asked. If he formed a connection with them, he could tap into their chatting network, allowing him to hear the blue avians even at a distance.
“That reveals our position,” Vercedei said. “It’s not a good idea to let them know your exact location.”
“And going to the outskirts of the city to yell at them won’t reveal our location?” Sam asked.
“Of course not,” Vercedei said. “Werchbite’s illusion can cover us if we’re simply transmitting sound, but a connection is different. Don’t be dumb.”
Sam ignored the twin-headed snake’s rude comment. He wasn’t dumb. The twin-headed snake’s purple head had never told him exactly how its illusion ability worked, so he couldn’t be blamed for not knowing the specifics.
“Tell them to send an envoy inside the city,” Raindu said. “If they don’t enter, then we don’t want to hear what they have to say anyway.” The ferret nodded its head and smiled. “And if we don’t like what they say when they’re here, we can have Dirt and Ess turn them into a guardian after taking their soul.”
“What if we like what they have to say?” Dirt asked. “We let them go?”
“That depends on what they have to say, doesn’t it?” Raindu asked.
“I don’t see a lot of situations where we’d let them go,” Vercedei said. “In the end, we want the blue avians gone, so unless they’re offering to leave Oterra, we should kill them when they’re in the city. We can handle four of them with ease, so we’ll invite that many to enter.”
Sam knew his familiars were morally bankrupt, so he wasn’t surprised by the plan they came up with. He wondered if it would work though. Were the blue avians desperate enough to send vulnerable envoys into the heart of enemy territory? Despite his familiars’ words, Sam didn’t think they held the absolute advantage. If the blue avians decided to stay just outside of reach and focused on laying siege to the capital, they’d be able to contain the higher-dimensional beings even if they weren’t able to kill them. Sam’s familiars relied on prayer for their strength; if the blue avians decided to commit genocide on species that’d potentially worship the calamities as deities, they’d limit how strong Sam’s familiars could grow.
“Can you hear me?” Vercedei asked, the twin-headed snake’s blue head shouting in Sam’s voice. “Suddenly, I don’t feel very safe conversing with you all the way over there. How about you send some envoys to enter the city instead?”
Upon hearing Vercedei’s shout, the blue avians in the air exchanged their thoughts with one another. “That isn’t a good idea,” Paula said. “The calamities grew much stronger, and they’re more than capable of defeating a small group of envoys. Whoever goes in will perish.”
“Would they really do that though?” another blue avian asked. “What if they really do just want to speak with us?”
“Don’t be daft,” Mozart said. “We told them we wanted to speak to them out here to find the limits of their power. Their motive for speaking with us in there has to be equally as, or even more, underhanded than our reason.”
“Yeah, you saw what those calamities did to poor Gogh, Vince, and Michael,” another blue avian said. “They were turned into sculptures! Who’s to say the calamities won’t do that to the envoys? If that happens, not only will some of us live lives worse than death, but the calamities’ forces will get even stronger.”
“It’s settled then,” Paula said.
A blue avian cut in before Paula could say anything else. “No, it’s not settled.”
“What do you mean, Benedict?” Paula asked, their attention focusing on the blue avian who had just spoken. “How is it not settled? Are you volunteering to enter the wide-open maw of the calamities to let them eat you?”
“I’m quite a charismatic individual, don’t you think?” Benedict asked as they stroked the feathers on their chest with their hand. “If I spoke to the calamities under their terms, they’ll listen to me. On my spiritual journeys, I’ve spoken to many people, and I’ve always gotten what I wanted through the power of my words.”
“Are you really stupid enough to believe your own words?” Paula asked.
“I’m not stupid,” Benedict said. “Ask anyone who knows me. They’ll say only the best things about me.”
“And they’ll be confident enough in you to follow you into the heart of the calamities’ territory to act as envoys?” Paula asked. “Who are these people who know you?”
“Marcus, Pierre, Aldrich,” Benedict said. “What say the three of you? Shall we enter the city as envoys?”
“Well…,” Marcus said, dragging out the word, “it is dangerous, but if there were some sort of incentive to go….”
“Is the safety of Oterra not enough of an incentive for you?” Paula asked.
“I mean,” Marcus’ aura flickered, “the safety of Oterra is everyone’s concern, so why should it be the four of us who risks our souls to protect the land?”
“How about glory?” a blue avian asked. “If you do it, you can tell the story to everyone you meet. Bragging rights is a pretty good incentive, don’t you think?”
“All of you are already here,” Marcus said. “If we do this, you’ll already know what we did, so how are we supposed to impress you by telling you a story of the event you were at?” The blue avian’s aura flickered with a green hue. “No, we need something more tangible than bragging rights—at least, I need something more.”
“Same here,” Pierre said.
“Paula’s tree is nice; its branches are where they need to be, and the location is perfect,” Aldrich said. “If they’re willing to give their tree to me, then I’m willing to brave the dangers of being an envoy.”
“That’s all you’re going to ask for?” Pierre asked. “Potentially losing your soul is only worth Paula’s tree?”
Aldrich’s aura flashed yellow. “You know how it is,” the blue avian said. “It’s easy to get whatever we want, but someone else’s property is off limits. If we can risk our lives, Paula can risk their home.”
“I could,” Paula said, “but I really do think this is a bad idea. You’ll be throwing your lives away. We can promise you whatever you want, but we won’t have to give you anything because those calamities will chew you up and turn you into whatever became of Gogh, Vince, and Michael.”
“Whatever we want?” Pierre asked as if the latter half of Paula’s words meant nothing.
Paula’s aura darkened. Although it wouldn’t bother the blue avian if Marcus, Aldrich, Pierre, and Benedict disappeared and Paula never had to see them again, but it was problematic if their deaths increased the strength of the calamities’ forces, so even if Paula wanted the blue avians gone, Paula couldn’t let them die in the city where their souls could be extracted and reanimated into an immortal soldier.
“No,” Paula said. “We won’t give you whatever you want. We’re not going to pay you to die and bolster the enemy’s ranks.”
“We don’t need payment,” Benedict said. “I’ll speak with the calamities, and I’ll negotiate a truce with them.”
“Really,” Paula said, their voice scathing. “And what kind of truce can you negotiate with them? Will you ask them politely not to destroy Oterra?”
“I’ll just tell them what we were planning on communicating with them,” Benedict said. “As long as they don’t spread their influence outside of this region, we’ll leave them alone. We’re all tired of this conflict between us and them. It’s been over a decade since it’s started.”
“They won’t accept that,” Paula said.
“So, the previous plan was purely to observe their limits?” Benedict asked. “With my eloquent speech, I’m sure I can convince them to stay put. If it doesn’t work, then so be it.”
“If Benedict wants to try, we shouldn’t stop them,” Pierre said. “What if the calamities actually listen to Benedict’s words?”
“And what if fish jumped into people’s boats without them having to try?” Paula asked. “There’s a difference between having hope and being blinded by stupidity.”
“It’s Benedict’s choice,” Aldrich said. “Sure, it might be troublesome for us if the calamities get another earthen puppet, but ultimately, our lives are our own to live.”
“That’s right,” Benedict said. The blue avian turned towards its three companions it had called by name. “Are you coming with me?”
“Not if there’s no other reward,” Marcus said.
“Yeah, you go ahead,” Pierre said, “the glory is all yours.”
“I’ll pour one out for you if you die,” Aldrich said.
“There’ll be no need for that,” Benedict said before turning towards the city. The blue avian shouted, “I, Benedict, am willing to enter the city by myself to negotiate terms!” The blue avian whirled around to look at its companions. “Wait for my triumphant return; I promise I’ll bring back good news.”
“Good luck, Benedict!”
“I hope you succeed!”
“If you survive, we’ll throw you a party!”
“If you don’t make it back, I’ll keep your tree warm for you by occupying it!”
With Benedict’s companions giving them such auspicious blessings, how could the blue avian fail their mission? Benedict flew towards the border of the city where the blue avian’s All-Seeing Gaze distorted, becoming incongruent. “Hello?” the blue avian shouted. “Is this how envoys are received? Where’s my escort?”
Benedict hovered in the air, waiting for a response. It didn’t take long. Benedict’s All-Seeing Gaze detected a grayling on the ground that hadn’t been there a few moments ago. The grayling waved at the blue avian, and Benedict descended, hovering an inch off the ground beside the short creature. “Are you the escort?” Benedict asked. “Take me to your master.”
“Right this way,” the grayling said and disappeared before reappearing a few steps away, facing another direction. It walked forward, each step it took causing it to disappear and reappear further down the road.
Benedict floated after the grayling while matching its pace. The blue avian focused on its All-Seeing Gaze, but it couldn’t detect anything beyond a radius of three meters from itself. Even its connection with the blue avians in the sky had been cut off as if it had entered another dimension. Benedict’s aura flickered like a candle in the wind, but a second later, the blue avian reaffirmed its belief in itself, and its aura solidified. Who cared if its range of vision had been greatly reduced and if it was cut off from its companions in the territory of its enemy? Benedict was a blue avian, the strongest species on Oterra; they didn’t know the meaning of fear.
“Are we going in circles?” Benedict asked out loud as it followed the grayling on a meandering path.
“No,” the grayling said. “We’ve been traveling in a straight line.”
Benedict wasn’t sure if the grayling was messing with them or not. The illusions created by the calamity were realistic; if they weren’t, the calamities wouldn’t have been so troublesome to deal with. Perhaps, the grayling was telling the truth, and they had been moving in a straight line whilst the surroundings were manipulated to make it seem like Benedict had been moving in multiple directions. The blue avian wasn’t sure if it even knew the way out anymore; they thought they did, but what if they were wrong and fled deeper into the city instead?
“We’re almost there,” the grayling said.
Benedict focused on their All-Seeing Gaze, trying to expand its range as far as possible, but it was like looking through the waters within a bog. The blue avian grounded itself, focusing on its Muladhara, and straightened out its aura, making sure its outward appearance didn’t reflect how it was feeling on the inside: slightly intimidated. After passing through a temple’s golden archway, Benedict and the grayling came to a halt.
“Hello,” Vercedei said in Sam’s voice, greeting the blue avian. To Benedict, Sam had appeared out of nowhere with a Venusian appearance. “It’s awfully brave of you to come here alone.”
Benedict’s aura brightened with an orange hue. “Someone had to,” the blue avian said. “Why not me?” Benedict glanced at the throne Sam was sitting on. Clearly, the summoner of the calamities thought he was of a higher position; otherwise, wouldn’t he have prepared a table and seat for the blue avian to sit at? The blue avian leaned back and sat on the air, copying Sam’s posture while floating upwards to be at eye level. If there was no seat, then Benedict would make one; after all, they came here as an equal, so they had to behave as such.
“What proposal does your species have for me?” Vercedei asked. “It had better be good, or you won’t be leaving this place with that original body of yours.”
Benedict’s aura froze for a brief moment. Perhaps they weren’t so equal…, but no matter, the blue avian had prevailed in everything they had attempted, and it’d be no different this time.