"I'm worried that something scared off the animals here," Kesefeon raised his concern.
"You mean like the Thallian gorillas?" Uthorium asked. Suddenly he sensed the wind change above and saw large shadows looming over them! "Heads up!" he cried out.
A troop of five gorillas dropped to the ground and surrounded them!
"Oh, crap!" Garrik cursed. The thief immediately opened a small bottle and poured a green liquid over his blade. Before he threw the emptied container at the enemy facing him, Haladavar yelled, "Don't!" Garrik immediately halted his throwing motion but questioned his leader. "Why not?"
"They haven't attacked us yet," Haladavar replied.
"But they jumped us," the thief hissed. "We should wrestle back the initiative and attack first!"
"No, we shouldn't," Uthorium voiced his opinion. Within the group, the trapper possessed the most knowledge regarding animals living in this forest. "I think they're asking us for food," he said. "What do we have available?" Uthorium asked.
"Is it okay for me to offer tofu pudding?" Luka asked.
The trapper tilted his head and thought for a moment. "Is it sweet or salty?" he asked.
"I have the sweet version with honey syrup," the boy replied. Luka made a bunch of them for himself because the elves preferred to eat salty tofu pudding instead.
"Please give it to me, and I'll pass it along," Kesefeon proposed. Since he was the main tanker, the elf thought he should take the dangerous task of giving an offering to the gorillas.
"Okay," Luka agreed. He took out a wooden box from his magic storage and opened the lid. The honey syrup was on top and visible. Luka passed the sweet pudding to Kesefeon, who slowly approached the male gorilla and offered him food.
The redheaded gorilla snorted and showed no hint of fear. The animal sniffed at the opening of the container and licked the syrup. The male became delighted with the sweetness, dug two meaty fingers into the box to scoop out the pudding, and licked it off his fingers. The leader soon finished the food and tossed the container aside. He held out his hand to demand more.
Kesefeon wryly turned toward Luka and asked, "You got more of those puddings?"
"Sure, I got a bunch," the boy replied. He quickly took a stack out of his spatial storage and opened the lids.
The party members formed an impromptu chain and passed one pudding to each gorilla present.
The Thallians copied their leader and ate the dessert.
But the redhead became greedy and asked for more food.
Kesefeon shook his head, but the gorilla wouldn't accept and pushed the elf aside like a bully.
Bel became incensed by his gluttony because the gorillas had devoured his share of the pudding! [You greedy bastard!] The rabbit released his murderous intent at the redhead. Whoosh! The sealed demon king's overwhelming pressure knocked the leader back, and the large animal fell on his ass. The other members of the troop felt frightened and fled immediately!
Bel glared at the remaining gorilla sitting on the ground. [Well?]
The redhead prostrated before Bel and slowly backed away. After a few steps, the gorilla ran after its troop.
"What just happened?" Garrik asked with astonishment.
"The Thallians fled," Haladavar replied.
"Yes, Captain Obvious, they did. But why?" the thief asked with sarcasm.
Uthorium held up his hand to forestall an argument. He had a good view of the exchange between Bel and the redhead. "You saved us," he said and scratched the rabbit's ear.
"Huh? Are you crazy?" Garrik said. "How could this little rabbit fight off that big gorilla?" he mocked.
Bel glared at the thief and rereleased his murderous aura.
"Eek!" the elf squeaked and backed away. "What are you, a monster?" Garrik asked and raised his poisoned dagger. However, his hand trembled.
"Stop it!" Luka ordered.
The familiar snorted and turned away.
"I think we should return to the village and report this encounter with the Thallian gorillas," Haladavar suggested solemnly. He was surprised by the ambush because these animals did not venture into the Twilgrave Woods until now. He worried that something inside the Great Forest had driven the gorillas out.
"Let's retrieve the traps and then go back," Uthorium agreed. Seeing no opposition from the other hunters, the trapper led the way back to his equipment. To his delight, his snare caught a hare!
The hunters looked at Bel in unison and wondered if they should kill the caught animal in Bel's presence.
The familiar entered Luka's dimensional storage, and Uthorium killed the rabbit and removed its innards. After the elf washed away the blood with water created via magic, Uthorium tied it on a rope and slung the rabbit over his shoulder.
In the meantime, Garrik taught Luka how to retrieve the snares. They then returned the equipment to the trapper.
Kesefeon and Haladavar kept lookouts over their surroundings while their comrades worked. The two worried that more gorillas would accost them for food. The leader wasn't happy that Luka had fed the troop because this might become a habit for the Thallian gorillas and lead to more encounters with these animals.
However, Haladavar understood that the gorillas behaved like bandits and were ready to kill the hunters and search their dead bodies for edibles. The leader thought he made a mistake in not asking Luka to help the group escape via teleportation magic.
The party cautiously navigated through the woods because they spent more time checking overhead for gorillas. Fortunately, the party saw no sign of pursuit and continued their quiet and uneasy trek home.
The hunters arrived at the gate by mid-afternoon. Haladavar considered asking Luka to teleport the group back but ultimately declined because he didn't wish to alarm the guards unnecessarily.
"Hey, you're back early!" Vulluin said with surprise on his face when the gatekeeper noticed their approach. "Is someone injured?" the guard asked gingerly as a guess for their unexpected return. The elf's eyes quickly glanced through the party members but saw no hint of injury on anyone.
The leader remembered the warning Vulluin gave this morning and returned the favor. Haladavar drew closer and said quietly, "Thallian gorillas ambushed us."
"What! You didn't leave the Twilgrave Woods, did you?" the gatekeeper's eyes narrowed. "No, your group can't go through the woods and return in just a few hours," Vulluin noted and frowned.
Haladavar shook his head. "We didn't even reach the center of that place. The gorillas jumped down from the trees and surrounded us. They acted like bandits and demanded our food. Fortunately, Luka carried some sweet tofu pudding and offered it to the animals, or else they might have killed us in a fit of anger," he recalled.
"This is very troublesome news," the guard remarked. "Please report to the chief elder," Vulluin ordered politely.
"Yes, I will," the hunter promised with a nod.
Vulluin waved them through. He noticed Uthorium carrying a rabbit. "At least you didn't return emptyhanded," the guard said with a smile.
"Indeed," the trapper agreed. "We'll teach our young apprentice here how to skin the rabbit," he added with a mischievous smile.
The gatekeeper chuckled and patted the boy's back. "Good luck, kid!"
Once the hunters entered Langerlan, Haladavar separated from them to report to Ailmoon.
The others ate lunch and spent the afternoon teaching Luka how to skin the rabbit.
Chapter 29
Troublesome Gorillas
Haladavar's hunch proved accurate. The gorillas began to approach the elvish hunters when they entered the woods and demanded food.
The elves tried to ignore the animals and leave, but the Thallians followed the hunters and made enough noise to drive away other animals. Therefore, the hunters often returned home with no catch. They tried using traps and snares instead, but the gorillas found and destroyed them. The elves became incensed and slowly reached a boiling point because the Thallians were maliciously interfering with the hu
nters' livelihood.
Some hunters pinned the blame on Haladavar's group for feeding the gorillas and causing this change in the animals' behavior. But only a small minority felt this way because most hunters understood that they couldn't fight off the Thallians, who ruled the forest. Instead, the elves could only seek a resolution to appease the gorillas so that the hunters could hunt in peace.
When Ellaria heard the news regarding Luka's rare encounter with gorillas, the foster mother immediately rescinded permission for the child to follow the hunters. Instead, she forced the lad to return to the fields under her careful watch.
Additionally, the tofu pudding makers feared that hunters would blame them for the impasse. Therefore, the factory workers engaged in a conspiracy to avoid bartering their products with the hunters.
The elves offered other types of food to appease the Thallians. But the gorillas rejected these alternatives because they yearned for the sweet tofu pudding and accepted no substitute. The animals demonstrated their displeasure by tossing the offerings on the ground or throwing them back at the hunters. The gorillas also made loud noises as if to complain about the missing puddings.
Consequently, Langerlan became divided again, but this time between the hunters who wanted to offer tofu pudding to the gorillas and the factory workers that refused. Finally, the hunters approached Haladavar and pleaded with him to ask Luka on their behalf to release the product for barter with the gorillas.
As a result of this meeting, Haladavar visited Ellaria's treehouse in the evening and joined her and Luka for dinner. Haladavar brought cured meat, which he received from Uthorium.
The foster mother accepted the gift and added pieces of the meat to the tofu casserole she had made for the evening meal.
Once they finished eating, Haladavar began to talk. "The redhead has been harassing us hunters nonstop, and his troops are clearly demanding your tofu pudding snack. I'm hoping you would provide us with a supply to barter with the Thallian gorillas," he explained.
"It's all my fault," Luka admitted with a disheartened face.
Ellaria slapped the table. "No, it's not! Those stupid hunters can't get their act together and convince the soldiers to take down the gorillas. Or perhaps the militants are too afraid to fight them," she snorted in derision. "Where's Phraan when you need him?" she ridiculed.
"To be fair, a war against the Thallians would result in great casualties amongst our villagers. General Folen considered ordering an expedition already, but he decided against it," the guest replied. "Although we elves live in the Great Forest, our strengths match poorly against the Thallians in their natural habitat. We can't use fire magic without the risk of starting an uncontrollable fire. Their flesh is too thick for our swords to pierce through easily. And they could jump from tree to tree and avoid our traps on the ground. The biggest risk, though, is that the redhead could cry for reinforcements and draw other troops to fight our soldiers," Haladavar explained. "The general agreed that we should pursue a peaceful solution first."
Bel listened intently to the conversation and decided to cut in. [Let me chat with the redhead and convince his troop to work for food.] The familiar suggested.
"Can you communicate with the gorillas?" Luka asked.
[Well, I can't exactly hold a conversation with the gorillas. But I could pressure them into becoming my minions and obeying me.]
Ellaria noticed the conversation and asked. "What did Bel suggest?"
"He wants to talk to the gorilla leader and make it serve him," the lad replied.
Haladavar stared at the rabbit with a weird face. The hunter remembered that the small animal somehow scared the redhead and its troop into fleeing. The elf humbly held his hands together. "Please help us," he pleaded to Bel.
The demon puffed his chest. [It's great that you finally accept my might! And the strong must assist the weak. I'll do it!] Bel declared.
"He accepted," Luka translated his familiar's response to Haladavar.
"Great! Let's leave tomorrow morning!" the hunter replied. He rose from his seat and said, "I'll let the others know." Haladavar bid a good night and left the treehouse.
Ellaria looked at Bel with a flabbergasted expression. She worried that the rabbit would drag Luka into danger. But it was too late to turn back now. After dinner, Ellaria took Luka and Bel to the plant manager's treehouse.
Aien was surprised by the impromptu visit, but he welcomed them nonetheless.
"We need to make an additional stock of the sweet version of the tofu pudding ASAP," Luka said without preamble.
"You're supporting the plan to appease the gorillas?" The manager asked in surprise because the boy opposed the idea just a few days ago. Aien wondered if the hunters threatened Luka into agreeing. The elf glanced at Ellaria, who shook her head.
The lad denied it. "With Bel's help, we'll persuade the Thallians to work for us," Luka said. "Their compensation will be sweet tofu pudding."
Aien's gaze turned toward the rabbit in the child's arm. "How would your pet convince those ill-tempered gorillas?" the elf asked incredulously.
"Trust me," Luka smiled mysteriously. He refused to elaborate and explain Bel's real identity as a sealed demon king. The boy was careful to avoid disclosing this fact because otherwise, the elves might exile him from Langerlan despite Luka's relationship with Alectos.
Although the factory manager was still doubtful, Aien put his faith in Luka since the child created the salted tofu pudding, which became the hottest commodity for barter in Langerlan. And the boy won his division in the archery competition despite facing more experienced contestants.
In Aien's mind, Luka earned the benefit of the doubt and the elf's support. If the manager polled his factory workers, Aien was confident that the overwhelming majority would agree to switch production to the sweet dessert. Since the factory had limited output for either sweet or salted pudding, switching over would reduce the salty version's supply for consumption. But the elves understood the need for sacrifice to protect Langerlan from rampaging gorillas.
Aien smiled warmly at the lad. "We'll do as you suggest. But I hope that you talk to Dilya and get her blessing, or else she would punish all of us for upsetting her plans," he warned.
"I'll talk to her tomorrow morning," Ellaria offered. She knew that Luka would be leaving with the hunters, and he wouldn't have the time to meet Dilya. The guardian, on the other hand, will see the cranky supervisor at the gate entrance. Besides, Ellaria believed that she would convince the supervisor to support this new development.
Additionally, Luka still had difficulty speaking to Dilya, and he avoided her whenever possible. The last time the two spoke was before the archery competition.
The visitors left Aien's house and returned home safely by walking instead of flying.
The next morning, Luka reviewed his inventory and brought a dozen packs of the sweet tofu pudding. He ate breakfast with Ellaria and Bel, and then the trio departed.
Haladavar waited on the ground with his hunting group of four members. He convinced the other hunters to remain in the village because the leader worried that the Thallians would turn hostile if the elves appeared in a show of force. The rest of the hunters agreed to sit out because now, the onus was on Haldavar to persuade the gorillas to let them hunt in peace.
Vulluin greeted the group at the gate and waved them through. The gatekeeper kept abreast of the developments with the Thallians through Haladavar, and Vulluin reciprocated this curtesy.
Once the hunters departed Langerlan, Luka took a moment to confirm his beacon functioned normally.
Kesefeon noticed that the lad stopped walking and asked, "Is something wrong?"
The human teenager smiled at the rearguard. "No, everything's fine." Luka resumed walking and returned to the party's diamond formation.
Kesefeon passed through the spot where the child lingered but couldn't detect the magical beacon because the elf was not proficient in spatial magic. The rearguard assumed Luka was lost i
n thought and disregarded this episode as insignificant.
After a fifteen-minute trek, Haladavar noticed something barricading the road. The leader frowned when he drew closer and identified the blockage: a dozen gorillas!
The male leader impudently thumped his chest and roared, declaring the road as part of his domain.
[I need to teach this brat a good lesson!] Bel huffed and jumped out of Luka's arms. The rabbit hopped over to the redhead and released his murderous intent.
The gorillas immediately cowered in fear. But the leader shouted in rage and forced his troop to stay on the road. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the followers sat down. They hooted as if egging on their mate to challenge the rabbit.
The redhead gorilla lumbered toward Bel. But as the animal approached, his body became frozen due to the overwhelming pressure he felt from his bloodline. Although the redhead was physically bigger than Bel, the gorilla's animal instincts weakened its spirit and flesh. Hence, its real strength was only one-tenth of normal.
Bel wouldn't need to unleash his demon form to subdue the gorilla. He strolled over to the gorillas confidently. However, the familiar felt displeased that the redhead remained on his feet because it was an implicit challenge to Bel's authority. The demon intensified his killing intent, which caused the submissive gorillas to whimper in terror. [Kneel!]
The leader's knees buckled under the instinctual assault and dropped to the ground.
The rabbit hopped on the defeated gorilla's head. [Luka, give each gorilla a pudding.]
When the boy tried to approach the animals, Kesefeon immediately pulled Luka back. "What are you doing?" the elf demanded to know.
"Bel asked me to distribute my tofu pudding to the gorillas," the child explained.
Haladavar shook his head. "You're not allowed to approach them. We're serving as your escorts and protectors. Give the pudding to Kesefeon, and he'll distribute them on your behalf," the leader commanded.
Luka quickly obeyed and removed a stack of boxed puddings from his inventory.
Garrik and Uthorium assisted Kesefeon in distributing the desserts.
The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima Page 24