I
o0o
"Badru, you and your men stand accused of disturbing the peace." The elder glared at the young man and his companions. To the sides, the families of the men stared at them silently, awaiting judgment. Nalaisi glanced at Badru, wondering if this would mean the end of their betrothal.
"For countless decades, our people have existed peacefully with the cliff-dwellers. So long as we did not disturb them, they left us in peace and even traded valuable items to us and offered us protection against those who would destroy our tribe. You threatened that balance."
The crime was indeed serious. One observer sat in silence, and Nalaisi was almost unaware of her gaze shifting over to the silent one. He was a somber figure, garbed in flowing robes that had elegant, intricate designs along the hems of it. Every time she had ever seen him, he evoked an aura of quiet dignity, and what was more, a certainty in the power he claimed to hold. It was hard to see why Badru and his companions would seek to antagonize such a one, for any reason other than the brashness of youth.
The observer turned his head, the pale grayish-blue protrusions from his face flowing down his chest like a beard. Their eyes met, Nalaisi finding herself becoming lost in the seeming abyss of Yorigthi's stare. A warm knot formed itself in the pit of her stomach, and she shifted.
"We were only trying to defend the village!" the leader of the small group protested.
"What provocation did the ones amongst the cliffs offer us?" the elder demanded.
"They... were planning something. We're certain of it!" one of Badru's companions declared. "How can we trust those who shroud themselves in secrecy?"
If there was any observer who might have agreed to this, they were wise enough to be silent. Yorigthi rose from his seat, and the others in the chamber turned towards him. Standing a head taller than the tallest person in the village, the figure was impressive as he stared down at the others, his wooden staff clutched firmly in his hand although he did not lean on it.
Nalaisi took a slow breath as the being from the cliffs took several steps forward. The understated elegance of his robes lent gravity to his presence. The tentacles that grew from the lower half of his face were slightly taut, their ends curled almost imperceptibly in what passed among his kind for a smirk. Several syllables ground from his throat, carried through the air in the way only magic could. A rumble came from deep within the earth, not enough to cause the building to collapse, but more than strong enough to make itself known.
"Give it up, boys." A sigh rumbled from the Teuthid's throat as he shook his head. "Initially, this amused me. However, you are now a mere annoyance. My kind has responded to such insults with death." His words hung in the air, and she heard a small sob from one of the women she recognized as the mother of one of the men.
"Baseless accusations have been levied upon me, and attempts were made to intrude upon the peace of my home. Reparations will be made."
Nalaisi leaned forward, eyes wide as Yorigthi took several more steps forward, now standing near the condemned as he stared down at them. With morbid fascination, she wondered if Yorigthi would eat their brains. There were rumors that the tentacled ones would flay minds and devour what lay inside the skull.
"My inheritance! I give it to you," Badru begged, seeing his folly.
"What need have I of your inheritance, boy? A bit of farmland, a few pieces of gold?, a handful of livestock?" he scoffed. The family estate was worth considerably more than that, but then with the mystery that surrounded the cliff-dwellers, who know what really had value to them? They seemed content with living on the shore, away from the fertile valleys and wells that sustained the village.
The men looked perplexed as they considered what they could offer him. All together, they were a group of men with various abilities. Some were more inclined to the ways of sword and steel, but her brother Njau was skilled in the arts of magic, and had used his powers to challenge Yorigthi. If the Teuthid wanted, he could demand that they become enslaved to him and serve him in whatever capacity he deemed fit.
"Mercy, please!" Badru's mother wailed. Several people looked at her, others at Yorigthi to see how he would react. Nalaisi opened her mouth, about to say something. What could or should she say? Badru was her fiance, as his betrothed did she not have a duty to stand up for him? And a good sister should also come to the defense of her brother.
Yorigthi lifted his cane in the air, and there were several gasps. Then everyone became still.
Nalaisi blinked as she glanced around. After a couple of moments, she realized that time had basically frozen, as if the passing moments had been encapsulated in the silence that surrounded her. There was no rustle of palms, no singing of the birds, or the distant chatter of the marketplace. She looked at her mother, gently touching the older woman's arm. There was no indication of a response. Not even a blink of an eye.
Was she the only one here who could move? But why? Her attention was captured as Yorigthi lowered his staff to the ground and moved towards her.
"Your betrothed, brother, and their companions believe that I plotted against your village. That I intended to devour their livestock, enslave their men and children, rape their women, eat their brains, claim the salt flats as my own-"
"I did not believe their claims," Nalaisi argued. Her few interactions with him in the past had always been respectful. Despite his appearance, she had never sensed ill intent from him. Yes, the ones who lived on the cliffs were secretive, but many of the humans would tell you that it was better that they live apart. Their appearance simply was too alien for a good amount of the villagers to be comfortable with. The villagers lived life as they had always, farming, fishing, and harvesting salt to augment their trade.
"Badru was not wrong about one thing. I do desire you."
"... Oh," was all she could muster as comprehension of his words begun to dawn upon her. He advanced toward her with several more steps, moving past Badru and his companions. She shifted slightly on the smooth stone upon which she sat, but did not move back in fear of offending him.
She knew she should remind him of the fact that she was betrothed, but Yorigthi already knew that, didn't he? Afternoon sunlight filtered in through the latticed shutters of the hall, casting stripes of shadow as he moved. And then she noticed that the dust motes had stopped moving as well, tiny flecks of gray and white illuminated in the shafts of light. He stopped at the edge of the floor, and even though she was seated several feet up the stone platforms, he still looked down at her. It was one thing that made the cliff-dwellers so intimidating - all records of them had them at least a head taller than the average man. Her father recalled one with purple-tinted skin, and her grandfather remembered one with rust-colored skin from when he was just a boy. But all of these cliff-dwellers had been tall, even to the biggest persons in the village at any given time.
And this one desired her. For all the collective knowledge the village had of the Teuthids, she could recall nothing about them having interest in women. What did the desire of a cliff-dweller entail?
Desire. She knew what would be expected of her when she married, and she wondered what Yorigthi would ask of her in this respect. Her thoughts inevitably shifted to what he had under his robes. Were the anatomical differences down there, between a human and a Teuthid as drastic as the difference in their faces? What if he had another tentacle down there, or a bunch of them, or...
"My lord?" she asked, his movement pulling her attention back to the present., who was staring off with a mixture of fear and consternation on his face, his eyes fixed at the space where Yorigthi had been standing.
"Did you consent to this betrothal?" he asked, gesturing to Badru with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"My parents arranged it. As our people have always done." She glanced at the man in question. He was tall and while not quite handsome, was good-looking enough. He was healthy and had a sizable inheritance. As far as anyone knew, he had no major faults like excessive drinking or gambling. From the eyes of the parents, it was a good match, and Badru had actually been a prospect for several girls and women. Nalaisi knew that she was considered lucky by her rivals.
Yorigthi stared at her, considering her words as he twisted one of his tentacles around a finger. Nalaisi knew how many there were, she'd counted them the first time she'd ever seen him. Eight tentacles that extended past his chest to his waist, and a pair that were nearly twice as long, sometimes loosely looped around his shoulders. Where the nose and lips should be, the tentacles started.
"Yes. I have observed some of the traditions of your people, and others." He paused, lightly tapping a finger of his other hand against his staff. "It is as I have told these men, I have no need for their lands or gold. What I would find much more valuable, is time with you."
"And this... in exchange for your mercy towards them?" she ventured.
"If that is what you wish to call it..." He shrugged. "Yes."
