Herald of Shalia 5

by Tamryn Tamer

  “Good,” the tiny female harpy said with a smug grin while stretching her wing toward Frost. “Go check Brave Bo.”

  Frost continued trying to think of a way to introduce himself that wouldn’t cause them all to fly off. He’d hoped to approach them from a distance with gifts like he would a wild animal but under the circumstances it would seem like a trick and harpies disliked tricks. Tricks made them feel stupid and wounded their pride.

  “Give me a few moments,” Bo said, further stretching his wings out to make himself as large as possible as he slowly moved toward Frost. The dark-feathered harpy fixated on the small pebbles at Frost’s feet, moving side to side and tilting his head as if trying to look behind them.

  Frost glanced down and realized that the shadows being cast by the pebbles were impacting the bend of the light. While a normal person wouldn’t have noticed, the harpies did which was why Bo was focusing so intently on the tiny rocks.

  Invisibility was a tricky ability in that it didn’t really turn the caster invisible. It was just light and shadow manipulation combined with a few stealth abilities. To a human he would be invisible but to a harpy it might as well have been a magician’s mirror-filled magic box. The longer they focused on the edges of the spell, the more likely they were to see through it.

  “There are rocks,” Bo said as he cautiously moved closer despite still being nearly twenty yards away. “But something is very wrong with the rocks.”

  “What’s wrong with the rocks?”

  “Is it a tricky snake like the ones that hide in grass except it’s hiding on rocks?”

  “Maybe it’s a spider,” a female said worriedly. “One of those spiders that hides under rocks and pulls things under that get close.”

  “They look like rocks,” the male said as he moved a few steps closer. “But they don’t look like rocks. They look like rocks being reflected off water. There's a ripple but the ripple isn’t moving. It might be a predator…”

  “Predator!” a terrified harpy yelled causing several others to panic. “Predator’s change colors! It’s a predator!”

  “Fuck,” Frost groaned under his breath as he realized that if the panic spread it’d take all day to get them to calm down.

  Harpies were intelligent demihumans but they were cautious. They survived by avoiding conflict since their talons were ineffective against most monsters and their knowledge of magic was limited. Their first reaction to danger was to fly away and escape.

  “Get Lady Ka!” a silver harpy male yelled while spreading his wings. Several other males did the same until they had formed a feathered wall in front of the village. “Protect the high priestess!”

  “Wait!” Frost said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a handful of vegetables before deactivating his invisibility spell. “I’m not a predator and I’m not here to hurt you.”

  “Human!” a harpy male shouted. “They’re here to kill us because we took their food!”

  “I promise I’m not here to kill anybody. The food was a gift! It was me offering a gift!” Frost said while holding out the vegetables he’d pulled from his bag. “I want to be friends so I brought gifts to prove that!”

  “Gifts?” a harpy asked while staring at him.

  “Friends?”

  “The food was a gift and you brought more gifts?”

  Several harpies gave each other confused looks and even ones that were panicking seconds earlier appeared cautiously intrigued. He was surprised by how quickly they calmed down. The harpies in his village responded positively to both compliments and gifts but he was surprised by how well simply mentioning gifts worked.

  “Gifts from a friend for harpies with very vibrant and beautiful feathers,” Frost answered politely.

  He took a breath and held both of his arms open before placing his right leg behind his left. He then bent his knees and leaned over slightly to mimic a small half-bow half-curtsey motion that the harpies in the village used as a formal greeting.

  “Oooh,” several harpy women said in unison while poking their heads out from behind the men trying to protect them. They glanced at Frost and then at each other while wondering what to make of him.

  The harpy males cautiously lowered their wings and took several steps back while scanning him. Frost noticed a growing unease amongst them as all of their scans failed and he performed a second polite bow.

  “I also brought gifts for the very brave harpies that protect the flock,” Frost said while nodding at the men. “You’ve all been very brave. I want to be friends with all of you.”

  “We are indeed very brave,” Bo nodded while puffing out his chest. The large black and silver male looked around at the other harpies for some direction but they were equally unsure of how to respond.

  “What is all of the commotion about?” a small pale harpy asked while walking out of the central tent. Her feathers were incredibly white except for the tips which were all vibrant pink. Her golden eyes fixated on Frost and she immediately froze. “Predator…”

  “Priestess Ka! This human says the food we took last night was a gift and that he wants to be friends with the very brave harpies,” Bo said proudly.

  “Priestess Ka! The human said he wanted to be friends with harpies with vibrant feathers,” a rainbow-colored female said smugly.

  “Y-you told him about the food?” Ka asked while quieting her voice. “But what if that’s a trick to get you to admit you have the food? Have you admitted we have the food?”

  Frost was immediately mesmerized by Ka. The snowy-feathered priestess was different from the other harpies. She was shorter than the other harpies in the village, probably about an inch or two shorter than Renna even, but the feathers on both her wings and her tail were longer than those of any other harpy on the plateau. As she walked the feathers dragged on the ground behind her like a white gown.

  “Um,” Bo looked away in embarrassment. “He just seemed to know about the food.”

  “But you denied having it, yes?” Ka asked worriedly. “You asked what he was talking about and pretended to be confused, yes?”

  “We didn’t think of that,” another harpy chimed in. “Should we say that now?”

  “Priestess Ka,” Frost said, offering another formal bow while scanning her. While the harpies called her a priestess Frost’s scan revealed that she was only level sixteen and wasn’t even a cleric, let alone a priestess. “I am honored to meet such an elegant woman. Your feathers are unlike any I’ve ever seen.”

  “Elegant? Honored?” The golden-eyed harpy shuffled back and forth nervously as she watched him. “Why? This is a trick, yes?”

  “It’s not a trick.” Frost looked around and several other harpies seemed similarly confused by the statement. “I’m honored to be able to speak with a harpy priestess. While I have some harpy friends I’ve never met a harpy priestess.”

  “You have harpy friends?” Ka asked suspiciously. “What are their names?”

  “Ke, Ki, and Kie,” Frost answered while attempting to pronounce them each correctly. He found that he needed to smile while saying certain names in order to get them correct.

  “My name’s Ki!” a green-feathered harpy said while hopping excitedly. “Does that mean we’re friends?”

  “I would love to be your friend Ki,” Frost said while stifling a laugh. “And I’m sure Ke, Ki, and Kie would all love to be your friend too.”

  “Wait,” Priestess Ka said as her golden eyes narrowed. “You say friends but you mean pets, yes? I am aware that some humans keep harpies in cages, yes?”

  “You are very wise to ask that question. Your nest is lucky to have such an intelligent leader. I assure you that I mean friends. I came here to make friends with all of you.”

  “Hm,” the priestess glanced around at the other harpies. She was clearly pleased by the compliments but tried to hide it. “You will tell us your name then, yes?”

  “I am Frost, the Herald of Shalia,” Frost answered politely.

  “Frost, H
erald of Shalia,” the priestess opened her wings and performed the formal greeting. Frost found himself staring at the massive wingspan of the harpy. Her pink-tipped feathers were extraordinarily long and her tail feathers trailed behind her were like the train of a wedding gown. Her roughly crafted tunic also reminded him of a wedding gown given how ornate the white fabric was. “I am Ka, The Sun Chaser, The Moon Hunter, The Storm Racer, and High Priestess of the Goddess Twi. I am honored to meet you, yes!”

  “Ka!” the entire crowd of harpies cheered enthusiastically. “Ka! Ka! Ka!”

  “It seems I was right to be honored,” Frost smiled politely as he returned to his original upright position. “You sound absolutely amazing. I am curious about your goddess though. I’ve never heard of Twi.”

  Several harpies muttered things while glancing suspiciously at the priestess. Frost suddenly got the impression that he might have touched on something he shouldn’t have.

  “I have never heard of you Herald Frost,” the priestess said confidently while glaring at the crowd of harpies. “Nor have I heard of your goddess. I’ve heard of Riliandra, Ziralia, and Altani but never this Shalia. Maybe you’re not a herald at all but an imposter. Maybe this is all a trick, yes.”

  “Of course not,” Frost answered. He definitely asked a question he shouldn’t have.

  “Has anybody here heard of this Shalia?” the priestess asked. “How many of you have heard of Twi?” All of the harpies began nodding at each other. “That’s right! Twi is the great goddess of beauty that leaves sparkles as she flies through the night sky! What is this Shalia the goddess of?”

  Several harpies turned their attention to Frost and waited in judgement.

  “Eh,” Frost chuckled nervously as he realized he was never asked that question so directly. He wondered if there was a way to answer the question without it sounding like a bad pickup line but had to accept that it was unavoidable. “Love.”

  “Oooh,” several harpies giggled before turning their attention back to the priestess. They were clearly pleased by the answer. “A love goddess!”

  “Twi is beauty and love is beautiful!” Ka said confidently. “Twi is greater than Shalia! Do not be swayed by Herald Frost! Twi is the one true goddess of the harpies, yes!”

  “Priestess Ka, I’m not here to take any of your followers. It’s like I said when I arrived, I want to be friends,” Frost said.

  “You implied that Twi was a false goddess,” Ka said while turning her nose up at him. “Twi is the goddess of beauty and she watches over the harpies, yes! Twi is the most beautiful harpy that leaves sparkles wherever she flies and she even blessed this very plateau with beautiful sparkles, yes!”

  “Twi watches over us!” a harpy female said.

  “Twi saved us and gave us strength!”

  “And a home!” a harpy declared confidently and several others agreed.

  Frost looked around at the proud harpies staring at their priestess with intense devotion and stifled a laugh. He’d run into various people that misrepresented their gods and goddesses but Ka was definitely his first flow-blown cult leader he’d come across.

  “About that. Your home happens to reside in my territory,” Frost said.

  “What?” Ka said, her already pale face somehow turning completely white. “W-what do you mean your territory? This is our land! We found it and nobody was here and…”

  “I mean this,” Frost pulled out one of the large maps he used to outline construction plans in the territory and unrolled it on the ground in front of him. Several harpies quickly stepped forward, completely forgetting that they were supposed to be afraid of him as they looked over the map.

  “Priestess,” a harpy said worriedly while pointing at the map with her wing. “This says that our home belongs to him. So does the village we got the vegetables from and lots of other villages.”

  “You really own all of this land?” a dark-skinned golden harpy asked while looking up at him excitedly. “And you really want to be our friend?”

  “Why is all this land yours?” another harpy asked while circling the map. “If we make a map that says it’s ours should it be ours?”

  “Our home is ours,” one of the males insisted while crossing his emerald wings. “A piece of paper doesn’t mean it’s yours.”

  “H-herald Frost,” the priestess began fidgeting back and forth, stopping occasionally to fluff up the feathers on her wings. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. “Do you intend to make us leave our home if we do not worship your goddess? It won’t work! We are followers of Twi, yes!”

  “I think you’re all thinking the worst of me here,” Frost let out an exhausted sigh while reaching into a pack. “I suppose that’s to be expected. You don’t really interact with people much and when you do they aren’t the nicest people.”

  Frost reached into one of the pouches on his hip and pulled out the recently acquired giant’s heart and held it out to the priestess. The white-feathered harpies golden eyes fixated on the gem as he presented it to her.

  “This is a gift for you High Priestess Ka,” Frost said.

  “F-for me?” Ka asked as her pale face suddenly turned red. “You brought such a wonderful gift for me?”

  “You are the High Priestess of Twi,” Frost said with an impish grin. “If Twi is the goddess of beauty then isn’t it natural that she is a close friend to Shalia? And if our goddesses are friends then we’re friends, right?”

  “That sounds correct, yes,” Ka answered while slowly approaching him, or more accurately the massive gemstone. “We should be friends, yes.”

  “You also understand that you’re in my territory though,” Frost said as Ka continued to move closer, unable to stop herself as she stared at the crimson jewel. “Which means that you’ll need to follow the same rules as others in my territory.”

  “What kind of rules?” Ka asked, pausing her approach. “We won’t live in cages or give…”

  “I promise that I wouldn’t do anything that hurts you or the others. You’ll be able to fly around safely, visit villages, and even earn rel to spend on things you want. But you won’t be allowed to take things that people leave out without permission and will need to follow the same rules everybody else follows. I just want to make sure you all have nice safe places to live and in exchange you would do work for the territory.”

  “Work?” Ka asked while taking several cautious steps forward. The beautiful white harpy couldn’t take her large golden eyes off the crimson jewel. “Do you mean to make us slaves?”

  “I would never dream of enslaving such beautiful women,” Frost answered flirtatiously.

  “What about the men?” Bo asked worriedly. “Are we to be slaves? Is this a trick?”

  “The men wouldn’t be slaves either,” Frost answered while swaying the gem back and forth, enticing Ka to come closer. “You choose the type of work you want to do and once you’re finished you are compensated for it.”

  “You mean with gifts?” a small yellow and green harpy woman asked. “Like that pretty stone?”

  “Maybe not like this pretty stone,” Frost laughed. “But rel, food, clothing. I suppose the golems in my territory do drop a lot of smaller gemstones. Ke, Ki, and Kie collect them.”

  “Herald Frost,” the priestess was finally in front of him and she looked even more elegant close up. Her body was small and slender like most harpy women but her chest was slightly larger. Her oversized golden eyes sparkled like molten gold and she had pink-tipped feathers where her eyebrows should have been. It was no wonder she was able to sell the fact she was a priestess given how ethereal she looked. Even the gentle pink of her lips was alluring. “You promise this is not a trick to steal followers for your goddess, yes?”

  “Of course not,” Frost said while taking cautious steps toward the regal white harpy. “If the harpies wish to worship Twi they can worship Twi. I don’t particularly care which gods or goddesses anybody worships. The Arachne in my territory still worship Sthilinna
and I don’t mind. I don’t want your followers. I want you.”

  “Me?” she said, her face turning red with embarrassment. “I am not such an easy woman Herald Frost! I am a dignified woman, yes!”

  “I didn’t mean it like that, I meant that I want all of you,” Frost smirked as he stared at the embarrassed harpy. “But I can’t deny that you, in particular, are absolutely gorgeous.”

  “Herald Frost!” the priestess took a quick step back and looked away, feigning offense. “That is a very bold statement, yes!”

  “It’s a very true statement,” Frost teased, stifling a laugh as he set the gem in front of her. Flattering the harpies was working much better than he imagined. “That’s why I’m giving you such a beautiful stone. A harpy as lovely as you deserves a stunning gift.”

  Ka gripped the gem in her talon and lifted it while standing on one leg. She paused halfway through lifting as she noticed Frost staring at the skirt of her makeshift tunic. She blushed as she placed the gem back on the ground.

  “Vee, come take this and place it on Twi’s shrine.” Ka gestured at the gem and a crimson-feathered woman rushed over. She grabbed it in her talons before flying it over to the scarecrow in front of the central tent which Frost quickly realized was an effigy of Twi. Moments later the crimson harpy returned and bowed politely to the priestess. “Thank you very much Vee. That gift is sure to make Twi very happy.”

  “So, where do we stand, priestess?” Frost asked while staring at the harpy.

  “You wish to make me and my followers yours, yes?” Ka asked while staring at him suspiciously.

  “That’s right,” Frost chuckled.

  “I am not such a cheap woman Herald Frost,” Ka said indignantly. “You have offered many nice words and a very pretty stone but I am a High Priestess of Twi and am worth much more than that, yes!”

  “She is not such an easy woman!” a harpy shouted.

  “The priestess is worth much more!” another agreed.

  “Right, harpies are anything but easy,” Frost groaned as he felt the blood rushing to his face.