“Humans?” I asked, “What kind of humans?”

It was a strange question. At least it sounded weird immediately after it left my mouth, but the monsters didn’t seem to judge at all.

“Five males leading horses,” Miwah answered immediately. It was likely that she was translating the description from her smaller kin once they brought something to her attention. However, the means of how the monsters communicated with each other was not something I was concerned with at this moment.

“No weapons. They wear no armour. Few have staves. We should deal with them easily, Master,” she added, sensing I would want the details.

“Thank you,” I said.

I looked into the distance and considered my options - if they weren’t armed, they likely weren’t soldiers or any kind of punitive force sent after us. It was possible they were either merchants or simple travellers, which gave me at least a small chance they might be able to talk to me. Or, at least, they might be willing to try. I couldn’t put much hope in anyone actually knowing the language.

My monsters patiently awaited my decision on the matter, though I felt I would need to choose quickly otherwise they would take liberties in approaching them.

I rushed out my plan for the situation. “Could you lead me through the forest so I can come out somewhere ahead of them? I’ll try to talk to them. Don’t attack them. If they aren’t armed they might not be that keen to fight either.”

“Yes, Master!” Miwah replied with confidence.

Of course, I could just let the humans go after their business.

However, I felt the pressing need to find a method of communication with locals without approaching some population centres with a lot of people and plenty of unpredictable reactions.

Lone travellers seem to be a way to do it with the least amount of risk.

“Master, we can’t let the humans close. They already hurt you before!” Tama objected and pushed herself into me. She was already hanging onto me at this point, and I even held her close. Perhaps I did so subconsciously, I realized.

“We need to try to communicate,” I reasoned, “If they harm me, we have the option to heal now. I’ll rely on Narita to heal me should I get hurt.”

I looked in the direction of Narita, one who actually did have the powers in question. The anthropomorphic rat didn’t seem to be enthusiastic about the plan either, though it was Tama who objected strongest to letting me be close to humans.

“They could kill you, Master!” She objected. I freed myself from the vixen’s embrace.

“Then you just don’t let that happen,” I said. Before they objected again, I added: “Let’s go. We need to be ahead of them a little.”

“Yes-yes, Master!” Narita nodded, though even I could sense she didn’t have any trust in the plan. Truth be told, I didn’t have any faith in the plan either, but I felt I should keep trying. Even if finding a translator was likely impossible, I had to do something. Anything..I had zero ideas how gestures alone would work. Finding the right, at least sufficiently patient people, was likely the way.

I set out through the forest in the direction of the road, with a large number of monsters. While some still roamed the forest in search of valuable items or disposing of remains as I ordered, the rest kept following me. The shadowy werewolf directed me toward the spot.

Reaching the cobbled road wasn’t that difficult. I stepped out into the middle of the road and looked around. It was quiet, and the natural curvature of the road sneaked through the relatively dense hilly woodlands. No one was around, at least, no one other than us. I could sense the monsters moving in the shadows of the trees.

Only three ‘Alphas’ stepped into the open.

A couple of ‘Eviserators’ and ‘Purifiers’ dashed to the cover among the greenery on the opposite side, and out of direct sight.

“They are still up the road, Master,” Miwah explained

I could glimpse the predatory grin on Tama’s face. The fiery vixen no doubt preferred to solve the issue with a fireball, though considering the hostility of the humans I couldn’t blame her.

“Thanks, Miwah,” I said, touching the furry hand of the werewolf, “Please, all of you, please stay hidden until it is absolutely necessary.”

“Yes, Master.” All three acknowledged in unison.

I started walking up the road with everyone except the ‘Eviscerators’, taking the hard road through the forest instead. Shadowy canines disappeared into their mirage-like disguise, creeping around the road leaving only traces of shimmering, shifting air as they passed.

The humans I wanted to meet were somewhere up the road towards the hills in the distance. At least, that’s where I was directed.

Somehow, though I felt more sympathetic toward my monsters, I was still determined to avoid bloodshed whenever possible. I still remembered the deaths, and mere thoughts brought back images of the destruction, making me feel once again slightly conflicted - at the worst possible moment.

I shook my head almost as if I wanted to shake the thoughts with it.

It took only minutes before the group of men came into sight, all dressed in plain dark grey or black, with straw hats on their heads.

They struggled to calm down the panicking horses.

Interestingly enough, none of them actually rode the horses, even if the majority of animals were saddled, and most likely fit to ride.

The men, villagers I presumed considering the outfits, merely held them by the reins or halters. It was strange, but since I didn’t know how to ride a horse myself, it wasn’t hard to guess that people without the skill didn’t exactly rush to be thrown off the saddle

Perhaps they just wanted to return the mounts to their rightful owners - charges belonging to the knights, or local equivalents of thereof, were likely expensive after all, especially so in the ancient times this world resembled.

The animals struggled and heaved, surely able to smell the lurking danger, wanting to get away as soon as they could. Ones which had their reins tied to the saddle of the others tore away first, galloping up the mountain path and out the sight.

Soon, the rest followed. I think that at least one of the natives earned a nasty kick from one of the upset horses in the process, while his compatriots were just upset they were left empty-handed. They threw up their hands in frustration. They did shout something, likely lamenting the loss of the animals, however, I didn’t understand the words.

I stood in the middle of the path, waiting, not making any movements or sounds. It took a while before they noticed me.

My outfit wasn’t that different from theirs. I didn’t have any weapon or armour, so I thought I must look fairly unthreatening to them, wishing that that wouldn’t trigger a hostile reaction.

I looked around.

“Don’t intervene unless absolutely necessary. If they run, let them,” I whispered, unsure if the command was heard, though I briefly noticed the shifting haze in the air to my side.

The villagers, at least assuming they were, spotted me, and I bet I did confuse them to an extent as they talked to each other briefly. It sounded almost like an argument, though without understanding their tongue I couldn’t tell.

They definitely did pick up the staves they had dropped when they struggled with the horses.

I grew a little impatient though, and stepped forward, showing my hands in a hopefully non-threatening gesture. While I didn’t have any clear idea how to handle a situation like this, or whether it would work or not, I did assume that if they felt threatened they could just flee.

A few sharp sentences came from them. Two of the five men seemed to notice something in the woods or perhaps took a glimpse of the monsters hiding there, or just caught the aftereffects of ‘Eviscerators’ invisibility. The remaining three seemed braver, holding their wooden staves, a little bit better than simple sticks, and moved towards me.

“I am sorry if I startled you,” I said.

They paused, then continued. One said something I didn’t understand and I stopped, keeping my hands up.

“I don’t speak your language, but I am not looking for trouble. Just need some advice,” I continued. I knew they couldn’t comprehend what I was saying, but I tried to keep my voice as calm as I could manage. Hopefully, the tone would carry the message my words couldn’t.

Their response was unintelligible, as expected. But even if we exchanged gibberish, it didn’t matter that much, I had to start somehow.

“I woke up in the … ruins, I guess… out there.” I kept gesturing somewhere towards the place where my journey started. “I don’t know where I am, or how I got there. Perhaps you know someone…”

They interrupted me with a sentence in their native tongue, two of them laughed, grinning, and the other two didn’t seem happy with that, pointing towards the shadows among the greenery.

Their leader, or at least most confident of them, said something again, perhaps to hush them off. Then something different was directed toward me. I kept my hands up.

They, in the meantime, came closer, surrounding me.

Men standing within the striking distance were unnerving, but I kept convincing myself it was necessary to bridge the gap of distrust. Shouting would do no good, especially if we didn’t understand each other anyway, perhaps reading the facial expression was the way to go.

“I come in peace?” I tried. It sounded idiotic even to me, however, it was better than nothing.

My hopes for a diplomatic resolution were quickly crushed as the bravest of them hit me with their staff.

The first blow struck my arms as I futilely tried to shield my head. A sharp pain as a punishment for my foolishness.

It made me lurch, wince, and stagger. Then, in quick succession, I was hit across my chest with a loud thud. I lost my balance. It hurt. A lot.

My vision went blurry, and I collapsed to the ground as the attacker raised the weapon for another blow…

“For Master! Master! Master!”

The third blow never came as black shadows materialized all around. Then there were only screams and a flurry of motions I was too dazed to catch. Men screamed in terror, then in anguish, and then there was a silence as everything around was flooded with the sickly, green glow swallowing that all.

I came back to my senses in a sudden burst of energy, strong and powerful, almost like someone flicked a switch and changed everything in an instant. Muscles and bones stretched, in a soothing way that simply defied any description - and logic, or biology, making them better once again.

Skill “Great Devourer lvl.6” gained.

A dull pop-up window was my first welcome back to the waking world, followed by the canine face of Miwah leaning over me, with worry in her blue eyes.

“Master!” She exclaimed. The word echoed around as the assembled menagerie repeated it, sounding equally concerned. Quite a few crowded around.

“I am fine.” I breathed out, and reached up, gently touching her in a reassuring way. “Thank you!”

“Master! You mustn’t endanger yourself this way!” Not only Miwah, but also Narita and Tama protested surprisingly in unison, and I let them lift me to my feet. Their equally excited smaller kind swarmed all over.

I stood up on uncertain legs. My vertigo was magically erased, and my limbs felt as strong as ever before, but I still leaned on my shadowy werewolf for support.

“Thank you for saving me,” I told them, grateful, and added, “This obviously didn’t work!”

“We protect you, Master,” Narita said, her muzzle moving in an agitated way. It wasn’t hard to guess she was angry. even the anthropomorphic rat did show that very clearly when she spat out: “Human-things will pay. For attacking you.”

I looked around.

“I am not looking for revenge,” I respond, tired emotionally even with the burst of energy the healing power gave me, and waved this way: “Let’s get out of there.”

I still held on to Miwah though I didn’t need the help to stand, for reasons I didn’t quite justify even to myself. It just felt better being close, after getting the beating and being saved, at the last minute.

I glanced over my shoulder, and over the horde of my monsters, taking a glance at what remained of the men I wanted to negotiate with. All of them were dead, their bodies twisted and broken, blackened almost beyond recognition. There was no smell. A glimpse of one of their now eyeless faces deformed in agony told its own story.

My attempts to stop conflict, and find solutions in a peaceful way, backfired, once more.

“Miwah?” I said hesitantly, “Send a scout if there are more humans up the road. Those came from somewhere.”

“Yes. Master.”

We made it back to the ruins, or rather a stone slab clearing that started my journey, without a word.

My monsters did seem restless, unsettled in the same way they had been when I first got hurt, the smaller versions coming to me with the quiet “Master” for affirmation. I patted a few of them.

It made me wonder if the knowledge of the local language would indeed solve anything if I had to fight everyone anyway.

Time passed and I spent a few minutes just standing silently between Tama and Miwah, enjoying the presence of the monsters I was originally afraid of. Non-violent ways to sort this out once again slipped my grasp. It was an hour perhaps, I spent submerged with thoughts only automatically giving my monsters positive acknowledgements.

And few hugs though I still couldn’t explain why they were so affectionate at times.

Blasts of fire erupted from the woods, though this time it was just ‘Purifiers’ setting ablaze the remains as I previously wished.

“Did you find anything else?” Frustrated, and almost absent-minded, I turned towards the various loot we gathered.

Whoever the people who had attacked me when I arrived were, they didn’t hold answers to get back. As I let my monsters equip mostly undamaged armour pieces, I was interrupted by another “Master!” exclamation.

Miwah pointed towards the hilly part and provided the simple report:

“They are more humans this way!”