[h2][color=662d91]The Mustaqilun Tribe [Turn 7.5][/color][/h2]

When Rukdug approached the gate, the guards on duty looked at him in wide eyes as he ordered them to let him through. Nonetheless, his determination crushed any sort of protests before they could even be uttered, and so the orcs merely stepped aside as their chieftain stepped out from the safety of Riverforge and began walking down the river alone. The peaceful greenery and the sound of flowing water might have lulled him into a sense of safety if the stakes weren't so high; the birds were still singing, after all. He followed the river around a bend and found himself no longer even within sight of the wall that protected Riverforge, and then he heard the sound of wolves from an alarmingly short distance away.

The ghostly howl of wolves caused Rukdug to pause slightly, cautiously glancing around to see if he could spy any hiding places that such creatures could have been lurking in. If anything was in his immediate vicinity, he didn't see it. As a precaution, he pulled his sword away from his side and grasped one of his javelins in the other, prepared to defend himself if the need arose as he continued his walk, unafraid but with care none the less. He only made it about another twenty strides before the sound of breaking twigs and rustling leaves alerted him to the presence of something emerging from nearby foliage, and then there was suddenly a wolf and its rider before him in broad daylight.

The wolf itself looked vicious, albeit obedient enough. Its back had a saddle of some kind, but what was most interesting was the rider: a small, porcine-faced goblin. It wore black clothes and had a hood and mask, though both were pulled down. At least a willingness to expose their faces showed some degree of good faith, but the sudden emergence of another half dozen mounted ninjas was enough to alleviate any comfort. Upon seeing Rukdug's grip upon his sword and javelin, they similarly rested their hands on the handles of their sheathed blades. They made eye contact and regarded him in silence for a moment before one spurred its wolf onward and came closer. The slavering beast came to a stop at about fifteen yards away from Rukdug, and then the ninja's eyes darted to the orc's weapons. "Those won't do you any good," he finally said.

"Maybe." Rukdug answered back, through he clearly made no effort to put his weapons away. "I confess that if you had wanted me dead you would have had me killed in my sleep. But one can't help but feel a little on edge when one is surrounded by wolves." Glancing between the lead goblin (or at least the one who was speaking for them) and his companions, he sighed a little as he returned the sword back to his side. The javelin was stuck into the ground by his side though, still within easy reach if the need should arise. "So you're the ones who have been making my people disappear." This wasn't a question; It was a statement of fact.

The goblin looked bemused at the mention of the wolves, and a few of ones farther back sniggered or snorted. "These are simple mounts, docile beasts. If they set you on edge, I hope you never see the monsters that the oni train for battle. And as in for your people, we haven't killed them. Their return can perhaps be arranged, if you prove agreeable."

The sniggers and snorts caused Rukdug to narrow his eyes a little, the insult clearly registered but managing to keep control of his pride. "Yes, in your message you have mentioned the Oni before, through you didn't exactly go into detail about what they actually were. As for returning my people..." For the first time in the conversation, he not only stood relaxed, but with a strange sense of confidence. "We both know it's in your best interest to return them. You've got an enemy to fight and from the sounds of it, you really don't have the time or man power to waste on trying to wipe us out with your hit and run tactics..."

The goblin had been abrasive before, but he was quickly becoming irritated and more hostile. "We'll get to telling you about the oni and our conditions for returning your people, but first, you can rest assured that we'd storm your settlement and kill you all within a night if we wanted! Our master alone could cut through a few dozen of your brutes-" "And yet..." Rukdug interrupted "You didn't. You've had plenty of opportunity, but you haven't. So clearly you're not interested in trying to kill us all. So how about we take open warfare off the table and talk this out like we were going to do from the beginning without all the hot air?"

"I'm not interested? Ha! I advocated for removing you the day that your kind set foot in these river canyons, but you have Master Ful to thank for your safety. He was content to wait and see what you would do, but the eruption of the volcano has spurred him into action...and your meddling with the oni blood demanded that [i]I[/i] act with my soldiers! We did not have the time to wait and learn passively about your kind, so I took the matter into my own hands and interrogated your people. Since you do not seem to serve our enemy, you are at least spared my wrath. But if you are to remain upon [i]our[/i] lands, you shall show respect! I expect that Master Ful will want to meet you in person, and when he comes, you will show fealty! Then, I'm sure he will permit you to stay here, and perhaps in time he will take some of you under his wing. In the meantime, there remains the pressing issue of an oni invasion..."

Rukdug let the goblin rant and rave, clearly not impressed by his display and demand for respect. However, when it seemed like he was finally winding down, Rukdug deemed it time to speak. "What happens between myself and this Master Ful will happen between us. However, I am curious... how many of your actions here were done with his knowledge or blessing? Breaking the chain of command can be rather... risky to one's health. Even more so when doing so was because you went against a direct order."

"Your tampering with the oni blood was enough to justify all of my actions," the goblin replied without wavering. "When he comes, you [i]will[/i] show him the respect and veneration that befits a spirit, and you [i]will[/i] pledge to send warriors to aid us in the war against the oni. That is the price that I demand for freeing your people and agreeing to a peace. We will not simply let you squat upon our temple's land without paying respects to the Master, and we likewise won't suffer you to remain here in safety without contributing to the war effort. Were it not for the other temples between here and the Fire Mountain, there would doubtless already be rampaging oni in these hills. I shall [i]not[/i] allow my brothers to sacrifice their lives for your people if you won't help to defend the land you live upon from monstrous demons." By the end of his monologue, spittle was flying from the goblin's mouth. It was clear that he'd been wanting to say this for a long time.

Rukdug looked at the 'leader' of this band of goblins with a little of anger and disgust, his arms crossed over his chest as he let the little wretch speak. However, when he reached the end... "We have recently escaped the bondage of being slaves to one dark master who cared nothing for our lives. We have no intention of serving another. However... considering what we discovered about this... oni blood you called it?... before you deemed fit to interfere, it is likely that we have a common enemy that needs to be dealt with. We would have been in a better position to help deal with it [i]without[/i] your little siege, but we've never backed away from a fight. So how about you get off of your wolf, show some respect and actually [i]REQUEST[/i] our aid rather than demand it."

Though the goblin's size was certainly small, his pride was not. "We are in the position of power here! Do you need a display of force to see that, brute? We do not [i]request[/i] aid from those that we suffer to sit upon the lands we've controlled for centuries! If only to delude yourself into thinking it was a choice and mend a bruised ego, you can think of this as a trade: the lives of your people that I hold prisoner and the land you built your hovels upon, in exchange for your military support. It's a better trade than you could have hoped for, and the alternative is death. Your fealty to Master Ful and the other great spirits can come after you accept my terms and contribute the warriors."

"As I said, what happens between your Master Ful and myself will be handled between us. But I can accept this arrangement. Our people returned and no more interference from you in our affairs in exchange for a military alliance... However, while I would welcome insight into our new enemy, my forces will be under orcish leadership, not yours." This seemed like a sticking point that he wasn't going to let go of any time soon. "I want my people back by the end of the day. We have a war to prepare for."

Surprisingly, the goblin capitulated. "Lead the warriors yourself, for all I care. I care little for [i]what[/i] you do to oppose the oni tyrants, merely that you do [i]something[/i]. It is simply a matter of principle that if you will dwell in these hills, you will help to defend them. And as in for your people, on my word they will be returned before the next sunrise. And as in for insight..."

The goblin first went on to introduce himself as Saizo; through interrogation of the kidnapped orcs he had already come to know much about Rukdug, so no introductions were needed on that end. And as in for the nature of the oni, he told Rukdug a great many things. Few of them were pleasant to hear: the oni were monstrous demons normally confined to the netherworld, where the most fearsome and brutal of their kind carved out kingdoms and ruled through terror and brute force. They were chaotic and violent and anything under their control was bound to exist forever in turmoil; fortunately for the oni, that mattered little since they were almost immortal. One could kill their body, but it would just quickly decay into ash and firestone, and then their spirit would live on and eventually form a new body if unmolested. Killing them permanently required some sort of magic, but fortunately the ninjas had their ways and Master Ful might be able to help Rukdug's people in that regard.

As far as what the oni looked like and what to expect in combat, Saizo described them as having horns and cruel, snarling visages. Some had green skin, some red, and some black; the different breeds varied in their viciousness and in the type of magic that they could use. Saizo also went on to say that he imagined the Mustaqilun found the remnants of massive, black wolf-like bones in the caverns below Riverforge. Those belonged to horrific beasts of the netherworld that were mere pets of the oni; the beasts' masters were huge, hulking brutes. The most fearsome of them were the kings and their most loyal soldiers, who use dark magic to craft burning red blades and armor from the blood of other fallen oni. Though many oni could be called stupid, they have a low cunning guided by cruelty and innately wield great strength and magical powers, so they are to be feared. In fact, Saizo claims that they've been the sworn enemies of the ninjas for hundreds of years, and that they seem to hold an especially great hatred for goblins.

Rukdug seemed content to listen in silence, absorbing all the information that Saizo was giving... but he did raise one question that he felt needed to be asked. Why the goblins had been so frightened when they had uncovered the firestones (or oni blood as they called it)? While the efforts of his shaman had clearly uncovered its demonic nature, he suspected that there was more to the demonic stones if the goblins felt the need to act despite orders not to. Saizo answered by giving Rukdug a condescending look as though he thought the orc was a great fool, but at least he held back on the insults this time. Aside from the obvious issue that the orcs apparently did not look so different from some of the black kuro-oni and that it was alarming to see them use magic in an attempt to work the oni blood, they also ran the very real risk of falling under the influence of the oni kings. Meddling with things so closely related to the underworld was sure to eventually draw the attention of the oni, and they were especially capable of slowly and subtly tempting the greedy to fall under their corruption. All manner of mortals had been known to succumb to such forces before, Saizo claimed. Rukdug nodded his head, offering a surprising thank you for the goblins for actually informing him of this. While it might have been a moot point due to him burying the firestones under tons of rock that likely destroyed them , being able to support his decision to do so and inform his people why they shouldn't mess with the blood in the future seemed like a good idea. After all, there was going to be a -lot- of oni blood spilled in the near future...

"By the way... I believe we recently found the bones of at least two of your people in the back of a beast's lair. As a sign of good will and how we will be working together from here on out, I am happy to have them returned to you to do what you will with them."

And then it was Saizo who was surprisingly thankful. "I shall gladly accept this...gift from you. Though they would have been fools to find themselves dead at the hands of a mountain beast, we will nonetheless be able to have Master Ful consecrate their remains to ensure that their spirits are never taken by oni."

"Very well then... I will leave them by the river here for you to collect tomorrow. Until then, it seems that we have a war to prepare for."