[Ohska POV]
"You will be silent while we are within the bounds of their nest. You've all been selected because you've shown that you're capable of holding your tongues and interacting with others who think they're superior to you. If you ruin this for the Nyust'taa, don't think you'll make it back to the Principality to receive her wrath."
He'd heard this before. In fact, he'd been hearing this every day since they left their home. Even so, now that they were finally here, Ohska supposed he shouldn't have been surprised that Wuarmi wanted to say the same thing for the hundred–thousandth time. She continued repeating the same warnings she had been saying for the past two weeks, and at last, she was done making another vain repetition, and the group of messengers were finally permitted to approach the keelish's den.
As far as he was concerned, Ohska thought it was a disgrace that they'd had to approach the keelish as if the Misti Hawar were weaker than the beasts. It was a den of lizards, just go inside it, use shadow magic, and shred them all to pieces. There's no way that the captives the lizards'd taken were still alive, and it was a tragedy that they'd been overwhelmed, but also it was a humiliation that a so-called elite force was wiped out by a bunch of keelish! It didn't matter if they called themselves Keel or not, they were the ancient prey!
It had been what, fourteen winters since a den of note had been discovered? Ohska hadn't been allowed to go on that hunt, and however, many winters it had been before that that a den had been found, he hadn't been old enough to even be considered to go on the hunt at that time. In traveling, he'd seen some of the abandoned holes in the ground where the eradicated keelish once lived, and he thought he might have some understanding of the place he and his companions were going. He did mentally elevate the quality of the hole that he was approaching, given that the Nyust'taa had decided to retreat and gather the entirety of the Principality against them, but once you'd seen a hole in the ground, you'd seen a hole in the ground. None were particularly impressive compared to the next.
That this particular hole on the ground also had thousands of keelish in it certainly made the hole more impressive in content than most, but it was still a hole. Frankly, he lost count of how many times he'd repeated the refrain to himself, but now that he saw it, Ohska knew he'd done himself a disservice. When he saw the walls of the den, he was forced to cease thinking of it as a den of monsters. Instead, he was forced to recognize that he stood outside of a city with stone walls and patrols manning them.
Despite himself, Ohska understood why there was a possibility of prisoners being kept, given that they'd been able to create and maintain a city. With that came the realization that blunt, unplanned force would result in too many casualties to be engaged in without thought. He also knew that there was something else that Wuarmi had planned or was commanded to do on this visit, though she hadn't deemed it necessary to inform the rest of the expedition on that. What a whelp… Ohska himself understood that there were things that she'd been commanded to do by the Nyust'taa, but he hadn't seen any leader of any expedition so entirely devoted to their clan leader. Wuarmi was blindingly devoted to the Nyust'taa, which was probably why she'd been granted this opportunity. Apparently, there had been something that she was committed to do, and she was going to do it. Ohska wasn't going to concern himself with its specifics.
As they grew closer, the screeches of the keelish, almost like words, filled the air. How were they going to negotiate with these creatures that couldn't even speak? The answer to that question flickered across his mind at the same moment that a voice spoke in the common tongue.
"We have received your attempt at communication. As such, you've been permitted to approach. Now, communicate."
He had no way to place the gender or even the location of the voice, but it was commanding and somehow soothing. Despite himself, he relaxed ever so slightly as he waited for the expedition's leader to speak. After several seconds, Wuarmi stepped forward and answered, "I am Wuarmi, representative come on behalf of the Nyust'taa of the Principality of the Misti Hawar. We've come to discuss the return of prisoners. Do we have a promise of safe entry and negotiation? We swear to submit ourselves to your care without resistance."
The approach was traditional. Everything about this was something that Ohska had personally engaged in at least dozens of times. Even so, to be looking up at keelish faces as they humbled themselves was, at the very least, infuriating. Strangely, he still couldn't find the source of the voice. None of the mouths of the creatures on the walls were moving, and none of the enemies were looking at any individual that seemed to be addressing the Misti Hawar. He barely managed to school himself into a less disgusted countenance as the answer came from the city's walls.
"We do not know what you consider to be the traditional treatment of your enemies in a situation such as this, but we will welcome you into a room while we discuss. You have our promise of safety while within our walls, so long as you do not violate that offer that has been given."
The gates on the wall creaked open as the voice said that, and Ohska realized why he hadn't been able to see the source of the voice. It was, he thought, a female. The shape of the tail seemed to be the right shape for a female, but it was hard to tell with how different the body shapes were of these Keel abominations. After all, it needed to be a Keel, towering at least 10 feet tall, and most strangely of all, she wore a robe dyed purple over her shoulders. She spread her arms in a mockery of a welcoming gesture as the expedition approached.
"Do not speak in our tongue," Wuarmi hissed as the expedition approached. "There's no reason for us to put the beasts on their guard. Speak only in the common tongue, and do not attempt to whisper. We do not know what they can understand, we do not know what they can hear."
The members of the expedition didn't say anything, but they all understood that their leader's words were law, at least now that they were behind enemy lines. As they stalked into the cover of shade, Ohska felt his shoulders subconsciously loosen at the embrace of the darkness. It wasn't natural to be out in the light for so long, and he gloried in the deep black that surrounded him. The female twitched before she spoke again.
"I am the Zaaktifi of the New Empire of the Saharliard. You may address me as such."
None of the expedition understood the term, but they did understand her importance when three guards stepped out in front of her, each one truly massive. The unnamed leader turned on her heel and strode back out into the sun inside of the city, as she continued, "I hope this discussion can be productive. If we cannot come to an agreement of some sort, well, we already know where this is going."
With those ominous words, she stepped into the city, seemingly happy to leave the expedition in a stunned silence.
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