Having to explain who and what we were took a while. It was mostly up to me as the others were tight lipped. They were skeptical, but had no reason to disbelieve it after everything they saw from us. We also learned some more about them. They were a race called Likin, humanoid creatures all totally made out of light. The three main subraces were red, blue and green. Made sense to me. There were others, but they were more rare. They had an ability to fuse together in order to get stronger. This was called Bonding. Bonding not only increased the stats of the main body, but could also result in new abilities and powers forming. That was why the squad was trying so hard to absorb them. Bonding did not have to be consensual. If one tried to force it, it became a battle of wills. One to see the Bonding to completion, and another for a shot at control of the main body. It was therefore entirely possible to subjugate and erase another's will. That sounded horrible. The three we saved were the chief and his two young sons. They had Bonded the entire village to give them a shot at fighting them off.
Only moments had separated them from being Bonded against their wills. The death cry we heard was the chief's eldest child. He was absorbed along with a quarter of the village. "It took a while because she was such a fighter and strong willed." The chief said as he got up. "Are you not concerned about her? Where is she now? I do not see her anywhere." Margaret asked as she looked around. He just shook his head. "Nowhere. She was absorbed by one of those soldiers. She died with him." "Does that not concern you? I understand this might be common in war, but your daughter..." Mousse trailed off. The sons were tearing up but trying to remain strong. The chief saw and just shook his head. "The joys of youth. I will certainly shed a tear for her in private, but only one. I'd prefer to celebrate her life than mourn her death. Her fight saved us all." The dam broke and his sons began sobbing. The sight was pitiful. "As commander of our cavalry, I propose an alliance. If you provide us a map and allow us to settle here, we will protect you from those red Likins." He nodded. "I find that acceptable."
You could tell that they were rather saddened by the turn of events. I decided to tell them to come with us to camp. "We have to leave to get the others. We are just one scouting party of the large group. If any of them come here when they realize their grunts are dead, you'll be goners." Once again, the chief looked at his sons. "Yes. The bastards coming back is true. Let's go. The village survives as long as we do." he said. I allowed the two sons on my back. The chief got a ride with Sir Doran. With that out of the way, we made it back without much fuss. I took them directly to the leaders. People were really surprised when they saw us come back with the natives. The other scouting groups had already come back and were waiting to discuss what they found. In a single moment, everyone realized just how very out of their depth they were. They were brought into the big tent were the leaders were waiting for the debriefing from all of the scouts. Everyone gave their reports and then the villagers were allowed to speak. They gave them a basic rundown on their world and the things that went on.
Personally, I had heard most of it before so it was not that interesting for me. This continent was called Nenibla. Something that was good to know was the map they had brought with them. Nenibla was a large circle and at the center was a country for the strongest of the Likins. They were said to have white skin and be of all different colors and abilities. A true rainbow connection, I guessed. The name of the country was Luxun. It was almost a total concentric circle on the continent. On the outer circle were the three ethnostate kingdoms of the continent. They were Igniso, Verdantis, and the blue kingdom of Azulia. They were split into thirds among the map. I told them of my proposal for an alliance. I pointed at the map. I asked them where the village was. The chief pointed to the direct center of the green third of the outer ring. That meant the conquest was already halfway complete. I could see that Father Conrad and Sir Gifford did not like the sound of that. "Why should we join on the losing side of this conflict?" the paladin said. I had to have a damn good reason for this. I took a deep breath.
