by Narro, B. T.
Eventually, the Humans separated from the Krepp. They went west and the Krepp stayed south.
Zoke and Vithos stopped, unsure who to follow. “The only thing south of here is the Fjallejon pathway to Kyrro,” Vithos whispered hastily. “And the only thing west of here is Tenred.”
“I’ve never heard of Krepps speaking with Humans from Tenred or Kyrro,” Zoke said, still without an idea of what he wanted to do.
“They don’t, unless Doe and Haemon have been sending them there secretly.”
Not much had been spoken of the Human territories, at least not to Zoke. The only purpose for leaving the Krepp encampment was for a task, and no task required interaction with a Human.
He tried to remember if anything he’d read about Humans might be helpful. There was plenty about Elves in his books. Zoke had read that the tribes of Krepps living near the Elves in Merejic were often competing for animal meat, but that was before Doe and Haemon came and consolidated all the tribes. The Elves were gone shortly after. The Humans were described as being similar to the Elves in appearance, except their ears were small and round and their skin could vary from light to dark.
Zoke thought as quickly as he could but soon he realized there was nothing he knew about Humans that would help him understand what the Krepp going south had planned. “What could the Krepp possibly want with Kyrro?” Zoke wondered aloud.
“I can’t say, but it would be much easier to question one Krepp than three Humans. Let’s get closer so I can see what can be gathered from psyche first.”
Zoke nodded and it was set. They would follow the Krepp, leaving the Humans who were going west to Tenred. They scurried behind their quarry, using trees for cover. It didn’t take long to reach the Krepp, for his walk was cautiously slow. Vithos pointed out his palm and lowered his head.
“He’s nervous,” Vithos said in a near whisper. “I’m not picking up on anything else. Unless a thought or emotion is overshadowing the rest, I hardly get a sense, especially from this range.”
“What would happen if he crossed into Kyrro?”
“He would be detained or killed, I would guess.”
“Unless they were expecting him,” Zoke suddenly realized.
“I don’t see how that would be possible without prior communication between Kyrro and the Krepps,” Vithos replied.
“We just found a Krepp walking with Humans from Tenred. That means there’s been communication between Tenred and Doe and Haemon. It could be the same with Kyrro.”
“Perhaps. But what could Doe and Haemon want with the Humans?” Vithos placed his hand on his chin for two breaths. “All those two care about is finding the Slugari.”
One thought came to Zoke. “The Humans could know where the Slugari are.”
Vithos slowly shook his head. “Even if that’s true, why would Doe and Haemon send a Krepp to Kyrro? Wait, look.” Vithos pointed.
The Krepp stopped to pull something from his belt. As he unraveled it, Zoke saw it was a scroll.
“It’s probably just a map,” he said.
“No,” Vithos answered with a palm extended at the Krepp. “He’s reading something. It’s a note. He has to bring it to wherever he’s going. He has to be careful not to damage it. The note is very important.” Vithos let down his hand. “It’s probably from Doe and Haemon. This Krepp must be delivering a note to the Humans in Kyrro on their behalf.”
“A threat, I imagine,” Zoke said, still working with his theory that the Humans knew where the Slugari were located. “It’s what Doe and Haemon know better than anything else, using fear. If the Humans know where the Slugari are and Doe and Haemon found out, then surely Doe and Haemon will threaten the Humans to get that information.”
“That’s a possibility,” Vithos said, continuing to stare at the scroll.
Zoke spat. “Whatever it is, the answer is in the mind of that Krepp not fifty yards ahead. You can tell when a Krepp is lying, so why not ask him until the truth comes out?” Zoke clenched his teeth. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they needed to act fast. It was too easy for the Krepp to turn and see them, but if they hid from view, they were likely to lose track of him.
“Because what will we do after? We can’t let him return to the tribe after he sees us.”
“Why not?” Zoke asked in a hurry.
“When I sensed the Slugari underground, it was near here. If the Krepp returns to Doe and Haemon with our location, surely they’ll come looking for us around here. They could find us before we reach the Slugari. Or worse, we may even inadvertently lead them to the Slugari.”
Zoke understood, but they still needed a plan. He was becoming eager to question the Krepp and figure out what to do later. “So what do you suggest? We can’t keep following him. Eventually, he’ll see us.”
“We may have to kill him,” Vithos said regretfully.
“Kill him?” Zoke was shocked by the suggestion. The Krepp they were talking about murdering looked familiar. But even if he didn’t know the Krepp, he found murder to be an unnecessary choice.
“I’m just warning you,” Vithos said. “I don’t want to, either. However, we need to consider it. The opportunity to question this Krepp is too great to pass up. By intercepting this note, it could give us leverage against Doe and Haemon. You know common tongue; you can speak to the Humans. After we figure out how they’re involved, we can use that to our advantage. This may end with thousands of Humans on our side, fighting to take power away from Doe and Haemon. Once their leadership crumbles, reuniting you with Zeti will be easy. Krepps have never been able to lead each other. Chaos will separate the army back into many tribes.”
“Yes, I know all that. But while questioning the Krepp may result in what you described, it could instead lead to nothing but the death of an innocent Krepp.” We’re losing time. The longer we talk about this, the greater the chance we lose him or he sees us. “Just let me decide if he needs to live or die,” Zoke said with a frustration that was sure to erupt if Vithos disagreed. “If he must die, then I’ll be the one to do it.”
Zoke hadn’t decided whether he actually could kill the Krepp, but he knew he wanted control in this instance and that they needed to act now. Vithos stared at the Krepp’s back as he took a breath, his hand on his chin. Zoke felt like he was standing on ice. He shifted back and forth. Hurry, Vithos, he thought.
“Fine,” the Elf finally answered. “He’ll run once he sees me, and neither of us is fast. So, we must make sure I’m in range for psyche before we’re seen.”
“Understood.”
They split to increase their chances of catching their target if they were to be seen. Vithos stayed directly behind the Krepp, while Zoke went around.
He slowly closed the distance between them, careful to watch his feet for leaves and sticks. It became clear that this Krepp hadn’t been chosen for his awareness, as Zoke never saw the Krepp look anywhere but ahead of him. He’s probably the first one they found who could speak common tongue.
Zoke, too, could speak the language of Humans and had only met one other Krepp interested in it. They used to practice together. What was his name? Zoke tried to remember him, wondering how high the chances were that it was this same Krepp in front of him.
They’d had to be secretive. That part was easy to recall because when they weren’t, it brought on aggression from other Krepps for speaking a supposedly stupid language that wasn’t Kreppen. Each of them had a book on the funny sounding tongue. It was twice the size of a normal book and thus difficult to hide, so he and his friend wrote down what they wanted to share on folded paper and brought only that to their covert meetings.
But what was his name?
Zoke shuddered as he recalled their last meeting. They were both nearly fluent by then and went to study near the bakers’ ovens. They’d never met there before. It was uncomfortably hot, so Zoke figured no one would bother them. When they arrived, they were surprised to find a small table already there. Atop it was something he couldn�
��t remember. Whatever it was, they’d thought it was trash, perhaps scraps of rock-hard bread. They’d wiped it from the table.
There couldn’t have been more than two conversations between them before they were interrupted by four older Krepps. One had a deck of cards. They all started yelling at once, so it took a few panicked heartbeats to understand what they were saying. Their bets were gone from the table—that turned out to be the issue. They’d saved their progress of a long game from earlier, only for their chips to be discarded and their table to be taken by a couple of weak-looking Krepps.
The four did not stop after just curses. No, they wanted blood, and they got it. Both Zoke and his friend were beaten until they were unconscious. I was lucky they didn’t kill me or break a bone, Zoke thought in retrospect. He came back to consciousness first and helped his friend to his feet. They both seemed to be in similar physical condition as they hobbled out of there, but emotionally it did far more damage to his friend than to him. Whenever Zoke mentioned studying again, his friend would twitch with fear and eventually they stopped talking altogether.
As the memories came back to him, so finally did a name. Nebre, that was it, Zoke remembered with a breath of satisfaction. The Krepp stopped to glance to his side, giving Zoke a glimpse of his face. A sudden realization squeezed his heart for a beat. It is Nebre!
Zoke glimpsed over to see how far Vithos was behind Nebre now. The Elf was skulking behind trees to stay out of view as much as possible, still quite far away.
Zoke checked back on Nebre, who had stopped. His head was turned now, eyes staring wide…right at Zoke.
Panic exploded in Zoke’s chest. Before another thought could pass, Nebre burst into a sprint.
“Wait!” Zoke ran after him.
He took a moment to check on Vithos, who was sprinting as well. He must be too far for psyche, Zoke thought, for the Krepp wasn’t slowing down.
“Nebre!” he shouted. “Stop, it’s Zoke. We just need to talk.”
Nebre appeared to slow down for two strides. He turned to give Zoke one more look, only to turn back and pick up speed.
“Nebre!” Zoke let his desperation come out in his tone. “Please!” he shouted in common tongue.
It worked. His old friend slowed to a stop with his chest still heaving.
“It is you,” Nebre answered in the same language.
The word “please” didn’t exist in Kreppen, and it had taken several meetings for Zoke and Nebre to understand its meaning. They had to first learn about manners and polite speech for it to make sense, for that was something that didn’t exist for Krepps either. The word felt weak to Zoke, like admitting you needed something that only another person could provide. Nebre, on the other hand, seemed to like it. When they practiced together, Nebre often used the words “please” and “thank you,” and Zoke never hid how uncomfortable it made him.
“I thought you might appreciate hearing the word from my lips, finally,” Zoke said. Uttering it had caused a sour taste. He needed to spit, but that gesture would wipe away all sincerity, so he swallowed his saliva and did his best to hide his discomfort.
“Thank you.” Nebre smiled. “What are you doing out here?”
Vithos came forward. “We were wondering the same thing.”
Nebre’s yellow eyes widened as he stepped back from the Elf. “Vithos. They say you’re a traitor, and that…and that you’re dangerous.”
“I’m sure they do,” Vithos answered nonchalantly. “But the truth is that Doe and Haemon sent me away and commanded Krepps to come after me to remove my head.”
“They said they had to send you away because you were no longer working with the tribe…that you didn’t want us to find the Slugari.” Nebre was still dragging his feet away from them when he peered back at Zoke. “They say the same of you.”
Zoke edged after him. “Don’t listen to their lies.” He took a breath to think. Some of it’s true, actually, he realized. Vithos knew where the Slugari were and didn’t share it because he didn’t want Doe and Haemon to find the creatures. Many would call him a traitor for that. They might also say I’ve joined his side, making me one as well.
“What’s untrue?” Nebre asked.
“I never was a traitor,” Zoke answered. “I always did my tasks.”
“But what about wanting to find the Slugari? You can’t smell, and you told me how you didn’t care for their meat. Now I see you out here with Vithos.”
Zoke had always figured that if he had the chance to explain himself that all would be understood, but now he was beginning to see that might not be true. Does Zeti think of me as a traitor as well?
“I’ve done nothing wrong,” he told Nebre. And nothing right either. Many Krepps would have removed the Elf’s head while he slept and brought it back to the camp, but he’d let Vithos sleep peacefully. Zoke hardly had given a thought to turning on Vithos. Could I be a traitor? he wondered for the first time, but he didn’t have time to think about it further. “It’s true I never cared for Slugari meat,” Zoke answered. “But I still did what I could to help us find them.”
“But what about Vithos? You are out here with him.”
Zoke hoped Vithos had an answer, because he sure didn’t.
“I am a traitor,” Vithos said, “but to the massive Slugari, Doe and Haemon, not to the tribe.”
“How is that? They lead the tribe.”
“I have no quarrel with the Krepps, only with Doe and Haemon. They led the attack on my people. They took me from my parents.”
Nebre shifted his weight to his heels. “But…but their actions are performed by Krepps.”
Vithos leaned forward. “If they commanded you to shoot an arrow at me, I wouldn’t seek revenge against you, nor would I against the maker of the bow or arrow that you used. But I would come at them with all my power as soon as the opportunity arose.” Vithos turned his head to look from the corner of his eyes. Zoke could almost hear him say the words as he glared at Nebre: “And you too if you cross me.”
“We’re not here to hurt you, Nebre,” Zoke said, in an attempt to alleviate some of the fear he found in his old friend’s wincing face. “We saw you with Humans. We just need to know what’s happening.”
Nebre shook his head like he was coming out of a trance. “I’m not supposed to tell you. If I see the Elf I should…I should.” He looked down at the knife on his belt.
“There’s no need to panic,” Vithos said calmly. “They told you to kill yourself before I was close, didn’t they?”
Nebre turned shyly and shut his eyes for a breath.
“That’s how they are,” Vithos continued. “I would never make you do that. It appears that you know Zoke, so you should know he’s not like that, either. He would never wish harm upon you, right?”
Nebre asked Zoke in common tongue, “Can I trust you? Please don’t let him hurt me.”
“No harm, I promise,” he answered in the same language and knew then that he couldn’t kill his old friend, no matter what happened. “You can trust me,” he told Nebre, hoping Vithos couldn’t sense this peaceful change within him, otherwise he might take it upon himself to kill Nebre if he thinks it’s necessary.
Zoke glanced at Vithos as subtly as he could. The Elf was looking right back at him, but just like their time at the encampment, his face gave no signs to tell Zoke what he was thinking.
Nebre straightened to his full height. “Those Humans are from Tenred. They were escorted through our camp to meet with Doe and Haemon. Later, the entire tribe gathered for Doe to make an announcement. With the Tenred Humans beside him, Doe told us who they were and what they were doing in our camp. Doe said that the Humans in Kyrro have been in contact with the underground Slugari, that…that they’re allied with them, meaning our tribe is now enemies of Kyrro. Tenred and Kyrro are at war. Since we now have a common enemy, Doe and Haemon have agreed to join forces with Tenred.”
Could it be true? Zoke shared a glance with Vithos. Opportunity seemed to pull the
Elf’s eyes open as he held in a smile. He sees this as gaining an army, Zoke realized. The army of Kyrro. I’m not sure I feel the same way.
“They needed a Krepp who could speak common tongue,” Nebre continued. “I…I couldn’t think of anything else but the pleasure of using the language for a good purpose, so I volunteered. I was the only Krepp to do so. I’m sure the smarter ones were remaining silent.”
“It’s not stupid to wish to help your tribe,” Zoke told him. “What did they ask of you?”
“To walk into Kyrro and deliver a message. They wrote it in Kreppen because they don’t know the language of the Humans and didn’t trust anyone else to write it for them.”
Nebre pulled the scroll from his belt and handed it to Vithos. It was tied with a thin rope that the Elf undid with an eager twitch of his wrist. “I’m to read it to the King of Kyrro and then return with his answer.” Nebre spoke with a tremor in his voice.
Zoke stood beside Vithos to read it over his shoulder: To the King of Kyrro, Welson Kimard, we will stop at nothing until we have found the underground Slugari. Reveal their location to us or we will burn Kyrro and everyone within the territory. If our intermediary does not return within fifteen days with a map and instructions to find the Slugari, then we will prepare for attack immediately.
“I still don’t understand what Tenred has to do with this,” Zoke said when he was finished reading.
“They wish for war,” Nebre said.
“That’s what I don’t understand. Why would Humans in one territory ally with Krepps to fight Humans in another territory?” Zoke asked.
“Krepps kill each other all the time,” Vithos retorted. “I’m sure Humans are the same.”
“But Krepps would never go to war against each other. That’s madness. Nebre, did the Humans say why they wanted to start a war?”
“No, but I didn’t ask. What they did say was that they didn’t even want us to give Kyrro the ultimatum. Instead, they urged us to attack with them without warning, but Doe and Haemon decided otherwise.”
“Doe and Haemon care only to find the Slugari,” Vithos added. “If there’s a way they can do so quicker and easier, they’ll always favor that method. It just so happens to be a threat this time, not death. Yet, I imagine there would be no hesitation in attacking if their demands are not met.” Vithos handed the note to Zoke, keeping his dark eyes on Nebre. “Zoke and I will accompany you to Kyrro to deliver the note as instructed, but then Zoke and I wish to speak to the King in private before he provides an answer.”
