We approached the mounts and I checked if the plan I concocted earlier bore any fruit.

[Sonya, Lvl 1012 Ratnak]

I nodded, satisfied with the result of sending more than seventy percent of the E'er I absorbed her way after we killed the Mind Flayers. With how heavy with E'er the dungeon was, everyone benefited from the perfect filter I, as a Halve, am.

That told me a few things. Not much, but enough to conclude that a Halve delivering the particles through the bond was substantially more productive than mortals absorbing it on their own.

An interesting finding, if anything.

We climbed our mounts and made our way through the dungeon while I hummed a tune.

Very light tremors came and went, perhaps the deeper section of the dungeon further collapsing and filling up with water.

Something told me everything would be alright and the natural order would be restored in time.

I reached the entrance to the dungeon first and looked up, then tapped Sonya's neck. “Jump up,” I told her.

She did, bringing me up and out of the hole in the ceiling, back to the swamp.

Upon landing, however, I saw an incredible thing waiting for us in the early morning thick fog.

Chitinous bodies like insects, six limbs with serrated forearms that ended in three clawed digits each, triangular flat heads, long antennae, compound eyes, mandibles in place of a mouth, a complex thorax, and elongated abdominal sections that bent backwards.

In short, people-shaped Praying Mantes.

Jorrksuuv.

They were gathered around the hole. Thirty two individuals.

I had not been idle the last month and a half, and asked more questions than I probably needed to. Naturally I heard about them and their eusocial hierarchy.

A Jorrksuv spotted me the moment Sonya touched the ground. “Chrrrrkk skk klp rt chrr!” It announced and lowered its body in reverence.

The sound of its voice was quite the unique thing. It was a series of clicks, rasps, and hisses as they had no vocal cords like other mortals.

“Skrchhh krrtt Chrrrrkk!” another Jorrksuuv behind the first replied louder.

The entire group turned to face me, then bowed.

There were seven distinct body shapes among the group, different in size, color, and volume but all following the same pattern.

As a species inherent to Galeia, my perception of them was no different than if they were Elves, Luzo, or Oni. As such, my mind was free of disgust or anything of the sort. Lapia's words about them being disgusting made no sense to me when looking at them.

There was a big issue at hand, however.

I did not know their language, so I could not make the vibrations that their specialized ears picked up.

A chubbier Jorrksuuv approached me. One fitting Danuva's description of their Nest Leader. It was as tall as a Goliath, dark green exoskeleton with red and yellow details, a fluffy hairy collar, and wore a crown of sorts on its head. “Chrrrrkk,” it chirped, bowing to me. “Krr srrchh ch kk kh.”

There was only one such individual in the group.

[Jorrksuuv Nest Leader, Paladin Lvl 338 – Crusader Lvl 330 – Inquisitor Lvl 325]

Yolin landed next to me, riding Pochi. “Oh,” she uttered in surprise.

My other companions showed up one by one, each with a different reaction. They backed off a bit, leaving me at the front of the group.

Lapia sighed and stepped forward. “I'll translate again,” she told me with a scrunched up nose. “I know Common Sign Language. Let's hope they do as well.”

“Right,” I quietly uttered, straightened my back, and gave the Jorrksuuv a smile. “Greetings, mortals.”

Lapia moved her hands, throwing gang signs and repeating my words.

The Nest Leader stood up, joined its upper arms to have six digits to work with, and signed back while chirping.

Lapia thought for a few seconds. “This one's name is Tchr Krchk,” Lapia translated. “Nest Leader of my people. Why did Her Excellency remove the revered Pentalion? What events have transpired to warrant such drastic action?”

“I am Natasha Novak, a recently born Halve Warrior,” I replied. “The tree has been dead for a long time, Nest Leader. The removal will allow sunlight, clean air, and the flow of E'er to rejuvenate the swamp. If left alone, the rot would have expanded and end up consuming the area around it, resulting in avoidable damages to the land.”

Lapia and Tchr Krchk moved their hands in turns.

“Our Elders spoke of such events, but this one believes otherwise, that the revered Pentalion would never truly die and eventually return to its vibrancy of times past. Could Your Excellency enlighten this one about the process such saddening conclusion was reached?” was the reply.

“Her Divinity Danuva, Goddess of the Path of the Cleric, stated so and personally requested my involvement,” I informed. “Was the tree important to you?”

Gang signs were thrown.

“This one understands now. It would seem this one held onto blind hope. The Beloved Great Mother knows best, as always. As for the revered Pentalion, after obtaining Divine Permission a long time ago, it has served our Nest as a coming of age trial for aspiring Scouts: to retrieve a feather belonging to the Great Peroles that once inhabited the canopy. Perhaps their centuries long absence should have been a sign for this one,” Lapia translated.

“Is your Nest nearby?” I inquired.

Lapia did her thing.

“That is not the case, Your Excellency. This one leads a Nest eight hundred kilometers to the west. A group of patrolling sentries witnessed the revered Pentalion's disappearance and wasted no time to inform the Nest. This one then rallied the Nest's strongest in order to face the perpetrator of such acts, and were surprised and confused by Your Excellency's presence just now.”

The strongest? I wondered and appraised the other Jorrksuuv.

None were higher leveled than the Nest Leader, and their Classes were varied except for having none that looked to be from the Wizard Class tree family. The group looked to be quite strong nonetheless.

“Have you found a replacement for the trial?” I asked just in case.

Lapia moved her hands.

“This one has, Your Excellency. Not three centuries ago this one came across a sleeping Wild Dragon who made a spacious cave into a home. Young aspiring Scouts are since tasked with retrieving a scale. This one hoped for the revered Pentalion's recovery because the Wild Dragon, even when timing the trial with sleeping season, is far more dangerous than Great Peroles.”

None of that is my business unless the Wild Dragon attacks the Nest, I concluded. “You have your answers, Nest Leader. Is there anything else I could help you with?”

Lapia conveyed my words.

The Nest Leader was silent for a moment, then signed.

“It is an honor for this one to meet Your Excellency. This one would like to extend an invitation for Your Excellency to visit our Nest in the future,” was what Tchr Krchk said.

“I definitely will,” I replied with a nod. “If circumstance demand, don't hesitate to ask for help,” I finished with what I learned during the Royal Banquet, 'pledging' to protect their Nest.

My girlfriend and the Jorrksuuv exchanged gang signs.

“This one expresses heartfelt gratitude, Your Excellency. Apologies for taking up your time, this one will take no more of it. This one wishes Your Excellency plentiful spoils of War.”

The Nest Leader turned around, chirped something to the other Jorrksuuv, leaned forward, extended wings from its back, and flew away into the thick fog.

The others followed, taking flight and disappearing as well.

I watched them go and nodded to myself. “I'm getting better at this,” I muttered with a smile.

“You are,” Lapia agreed, a relieved expression on her face.

“Thank you for translating again, Lala,” I told her and blew a kiss her way.

She gave me a wink and walked to her mount.

“I wonder who else is going to check on the missing tree,” Yolin joked, moving Pochi forward. “Maybe Lamia live nearby, too.”

I laughed, “That'd make this already long day even longer.”

Pokora looked around for a few seconds, then turned to me. “Do you want to wait just in case someone else shows up?” she offered.

I shook my head. “No. Let's go back to the temple.”