Chương 208: A Visitor

My Danger Sense had been steadily increasing over the past couple of days. It wasn't at panic levels yet, but it was concerning. I had warned Lanner to be on guard. While he also had Danger Sense it was far from being maximized. I changed up my outdoor excursion routes. With no weather ward around the settlement, the harsh wind was great for covering up the few traces I left behind. The dark season was rapidly approaching as each day had less and less hours of light.

As I turned a corner, I saw a figure covered in dark robes. The snout sticking out the front of the hood indicated that it was a beastkin. My hand instantly went to the hilt of my sword, while the beastkin raised up a metal staff.

"A human. What are you doing here?" the beastkin spoke up first.

"Just hiding out until the dark season passes. You?" I asked back.

"Returning from my seclusion to pick up supplies and rest before going back into the wilderness," the beastkin said.

"Well, you are a bit too late. The demons wiped this place out and there is nothing of value left," I countered and slightly pulled out my sword. The cold wind swept through the abandoned settlement with a flurry of snow.

"There is no need for violence," the beastkin said.

"You say that, for now. But my experiences with your people have shown otherwise," I replied.

"I would apologize for them, but there is a reason I live alone out in the middle of nowhere. And if we fight, it might attract demons," he said.

"It might," I replied. I was being quite hostile, but I didn't trust any beastkin. Their general attitude towards outsiders, culture, and attempt to kill me had reduced the base level of trust I had for them as a whole. It was an overly broad judgement, but the default for the beastkin seemed to be hostile with few exceptions, rather than the default being cooperative with exceptions. That was why I wasn't going to let my guard down for a single moment against this beastkin until given significant reason to do so.

"Any food left behind?"

"The few pieces have rotted or are buried in rubble. Not worth the time or effort to dig them out," I replied.

"I would be willing to trade."

"Who said I had food?" I challenged.

"I see your spatial pouch. I am not some young child who is easily fooled."

"And if I say no to trade?" I asked.

"Then I won't bother you. But I have orichalcum for trade."

"That is?" I asked.

"A Mana infused metal, used for crafting higher tier weapons and equipment," he said. The cold wind blew past us again, chilling us to the bone.

"Preferably we can speak somewhere inside." I gestured at a nearby building. The beastkin entered, turning his back on me. I didn't take my hand off the hilt of my sword, since he was still gripping his staff as I followed behind him.

"Close the door, I will provide some light and heat," he said. I carefully closed the door while he set his metal staff to the side and brought up a hand." Solar Orb." A bright white orb formed, releasing heat and light, making the room we had stepped into more comfortable.

"Much better. I am Wild Tail," he said.

"Justin Burnstock," I greeted him in return as we sized each other up. The beastkin looked around the room we had entered and gestured at a table and some chairs. I nodded and we sat down. I noted he had left his metal staff far away. Either a way to build trust or encourage me to let my guard down. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a finger sized metal bar. He slid it across the table. I picked up the metal bar and inspected it.

"Tier 2 metal if I had to guess. Decent, but not worth that much," I replied and set it back down. It had value, but craftsmen back on the Eldarin continent had a supply chain and specific requirements regarding the materials they worked with. Metal from an unknown supplier in limited quantities wasn't that valuable to me. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

"This is high quality Mana infused metal," the beastkin countered.

"It Tier 2 and I am no craftsman. Food has more value than this metal," I countered and slid it back over the table towards the beastkin.

"Are you trying to drive me into a corner? I need to purchase food. If there was time to go to the next settlement before the dark season, I would," he replied.

"You can clearly survive the cold," I countered.

"Survive yes. And move during the day. But once it is dark, then I will freeze like everyone and everything else that tries to travel about," he countered right back and then let out a sigh and slumped.

"If you aren't willing to give me food, I will submit as your prisoner and slave." I recoiled slightly at this.

"What? Why?" I asked in slight shock.

"Like I said, food. I live outside the settlement, mining a vein of ore that I found. I return during the start of the dark season to resupply. But with the settlement wiped out, I don't have the time or food to make it to another one. I would prefer to live. If you weren't here…well there isn't much hope left," he said quietly.

"Don't resist, I am going to check all your skills," I said.

"Go ahead. I am not much of a fighter," he replied. I began scanning him. Sealth skills, mining, and not much else. There were basic survival skills and he had Cold Immunity. I took my time carefully going every single skill Wild Tail had and his stats. Unlike the demon, this beastkin was not a monster, weaker than me, and much more cooperative. The biggest point was that it wasn't a monster.

While my general perception of the beastkin had been painted negatively, I could recognize the difference between a culture and a single individual.

"Are there are others like you?" I asked.

"Not many. There are demons out there. That is why I have strong stealth skills," he replied.

"But no other beastkin are showing up?" I asked.

"I haven't seen any. But I am also quite far out. We don't exactly share where we are prospecting," Wild Tail answered. I considered the situation. I was able to get back home now. That meant food wasn't as pressing as a concern.

"What are you looking to trade?" I asked.

"One of these bars of metal, in exchange for three fists of food," the beastkin said.

"A finger sized Tier 2 piece of metal. With how precious food is, that is a joke," I countered.

"Two and a half, but that is as low as I can go. I need to make my way to the coast after the dark season. Not much left here," Wild Tail replied.

"How many of these bars?" I asked.

"One hundred for two hundred and fifty fists worth of food," he replied.

"Deal," I said.

"Really?" he asked.

"I am not complaining, but…you seemed quite against this before."

"I understand that you are in a bad situation." And my situation had changed with the new skill that I had. The beastkin had been fully cooperative. If I didn't trade with him, then it would have meant I should have killed him, since he would have to target me for food. The deal still wasn't worthwhile in my mind based on the respective value of our goods, but I wasn't about to push Wild Tail into a corner with no options, other than fighting me.

"You have a container of some kind?" I asked.

"We will need to find a crate. I don't have a spatial pouch," he said.

"And you keep all that metal under your cloak?" I asked.

"Hidden away with my pack at the edge of the settlement. I was checking things out first and didn't want to be weighed down," he answered and I nodded at this. The silence stretched on a bit as I wasn't sure what else to ask and things were beginning to turn awkward.

"Well, shall I get the metal, and we can trade?" he asked.

"I will go with you," I said and he nodded. I made sure the beastkin was a half step in front of me while I also kept my wand hidden in my offhand. We exited the room, back into the biting cold. I scanned everything, but it was exactly like Wild Tail said. His pack was left near the top of the settlement's ridge. After recovering it, we made our way to one of the warehouses. I began moving 250 fists worth of food into one of the containers there while he made a small pile of metal.

Once I was done, I put the metal into my spatial pouch, concluding our transaction. I turned to leave.

"Um, I will be staying here during the dark season," Wild Tail said.

"And?" I asked.

"Um, well. Should we stay together for safety? Because of the demons." he asked nervously. That was when I realized, that this beastkin wasn't a major threat like the demon was. If pushed into a corner, anyone would lash out, but Wild Tail was clearly incapable.

"There are others in my team. You can stay here for tonight. When it is light, I will come back with an answer," I replied. Wild Tail nodded at this and I left. I made my way back to where I was staying with Lanner. Wild Tail didn't follow me, but I knew had the skills that might be capable of tracking me. Once I was back to my room, I explained things to my teammate.

"You gave up food?"

"I have a way back to the Eldarin Continent. It was either trade or kill him. But this is a major decision, if we want to let him stay with us," I said.

"You think we can trust him?" Lanner asked me.

"Maybe. I am stronger and checked his skills. He doesn't have anything concerning. But there is some danger. What do you think?" I asked Lanner.

"If you say it is fine, I trust you. Would he join us?" Lanner asked.

"I can't say anything long term. I don't know the beastkin that well. I just know he isn't a serious threat. His level is similar to yours and his skills aren't combat focused," I said.

"I have no problem if he joins us. But this room might be a bit small for three people," Lanner said.

"We can move out some furniture and move in another bed," I replied.

"It could be a bit uncomfortable, since he will learn about us, just spending time with us," Lanner said and I wasn't too worried. Even if Wild Tail ran off to find other beastkin after the dark season was over, we would be long gone. As for sticking with us to go back to the Eldarin continent. I wasn't that excited about such a prospect. But if we did come across beastkin on the way to the next dungeon entrance, his presence could be useful.

For now it seemed that Lanner didn't have problem with having a beastkin with us for the rest of the dark season. I would carefully watch Wild Tail's behavior. If he was aggressive or caused any issues, I wouldn't hesitate to kick him out or deal with him in a more permanent manner.