Squee!

Clink. Clack.

After passing the salamander corpse up to it’s buddies waiting in the trees, the naked possum scampers back to us. Once again, it nudges the bronze armor towards me and then sits back on its heels, waiting.

Nodding, I fly back to the cave, taking stock of the meat we had left. It did look like we had a good supply. There was the pile in the corner, and then the a few other cuts of meat hanging from the ceiling, with different herbs rubbed in. How much could I use to trade for the armor.. I tap my beak.

Crixus watches the proceeding bemusedly. With a gray wolf pup curled up in his lap, he looked perfectly content resting his sprout-arms on top of the pup and turning a curious gaze my way.

Ignoring him, I continue to take stock. Hmm..Not all the wolves were healed yet. I couldn’t barter all our meat away.

For now, I grab one salamander, pre-dried and blooded with my talons and hoist it away.

The possums looked crafty. They kept glancing at the me and the cave behind me, trying to peer past the wall of vines and into the cave. Judging from the way their pink noses continued to twitch at the cave. Did they know there was a lot more food inside?

Hmm…This would be difficult to communicate with the possums unable to use Thought Transmission.

I do my best to keep a serious expression when I drop the salamander in front of the possum. With a soft landing, my talons sinking into the rich earth, I wait for their response.

Squiik!

Urged on by the calls of the others, the lone possum given the task of trading with me inspects this salamander too. I watch as its human-like fingers comb over the corpse, picking out some bugs and sniffing at it. This time, it was taking longer for the possum to accept the trade.

Tapping the tips of my wings together in a pyramid shape, I peer out over the tips of my wings. This salamander was bigger than the last one I’d given them. If they traded fairly, they should give me a large piece of the armor..

While the possum was busy inspecting the salamander, I inch closer to get a better look at the armor. It was the same armor all right. Same as the one the skeleton and the possum we’d killed before had been wearing.

Two. Four. Six. Six possums that I could see up in the trees still wearing the armor. Deeper in the forest behind them, there was definitely more. I’m sure the wolves were picking up the scent like I was.

Where did these possums get this armor? They didn’t look evolved enough to have made the rusted armor. The possums themselves seemed to have appeared out of thin air. I was beginning to think that first encounter wasn’t so accidental after all.

Because I’d smelled them before. What felt like a long time ago, when the Subterranean rats first destroyed our cave. I’m pretty sure they’d been watching us all along.

Either way, I would take advantage of the trade they initiated.

I want to trade for the breastplate. To make my intentions clear, I point straight at the breastplate, then at the salamander.

They didn’t like that.

I don’t miss the split-second freeze on the possum’s face when pauses shivering, as if it was surprised I tried to actually barter with them.

In response, the possum sets the salamander down and pushes it back to me. It even turns its head to the side, not meeting my gaze when I repeat my offer. For all the shivering it did, looking afraid of us, it sure didn't bargain like someone afraid.

Fine. I’ll use the good ol’ walk away method. Shrugging, I take the salamander and lift off.

Sqiuee! Squik! Squii!

A chorus of squeak, and I hide my smile, making a tight u-turn back to the clearing. Again, I point. Salamander for the breastplate.

The possum reluctantly slides the breastplate to me, and then swiftly grasping the salamander by the tail heaves it back to the trees again.

Master. Happy?

Greenie asks, crouching besides me and stroking my back.

Was I happy? Yes, yes I was.

More shiny armor, this time not stinky and not on a skeleton? What a day today was!

I’m happy, Greenie. But we can’t let these possums know that, okay?

??

Keeping a straight face, I grasp Greenie’s fingers with my wing, opening the palm of his hand to draw on as I explained.

This is bartering. We’re trying to get more from the possums with what we have right now. I explain, pointing at the jumble of metal armor besides the possum, then at the salamander I’d given it gripped in it’s paws. Almost like a game of poker.

I fly back and bring out a new, slightly smaller salamander to test their reaction. Round possum eyes glance at the salamander, then back at me. More specifically, at the dirtied pack on my back.

Ok nevermind. That didn’t work

Nope. This is not on the table.

Shaking its furry grey head, it changes tactics.

With it’s annoyingly cute and functional fingers, it mimes rolling up something and then tying it off on the end.

I stare at the possum blankly. If you didn’t want the salamander, then what?

Eyes darting around, it lights up when it spots a small plant with large fronds growing under a tree. Scurrying to the plant, the possum rips of the leaf and comes back before me.

It mimes rolling again, this time rolling up the leaf into a messy jumble and pretending to tie it with its small mouth.

What was that, a blunt?

It then points at the half-bare Crescent Leaf bush growing next to our cave. Most of the leaves were gone, used for treating the wolves.

You want a leaf?

I tried handing them one, picking it off the bush, but they wouldn’t take it. The possum opened up the leaf, looking for something that wasn’t there.

So you guys had been watching us. They'd seen us make the bombs. They'd also probably seen us using them. And now they were trying to trade for our Spice Bombs.

No, we can’t give you that.

Pretending like I don’t understand, I shake my head, pushing the salamander back towards the possum. No way was I giving the possums the Spice Bombs. Too risky.

But we could trade something else.

Greenie could you also bring ‘that thing’? I ask, sending him a mental image of what I wanted.

In a game of poker, the less your opponent knew, the better off you were. I’ll bet even if the possums knew we had meat, wouldn’t know we had this!

And now, for the crowning joy!

Greenie, please bring the ‘ham’!

With much aplomb, Greenie comes out carefully cradling a hard brown mass.

This time, instead of a salamander, out comes the leg of a monkey-like creature we’ve had drying over the fire. I was hoping smoking it would make it like a leg of prosciutto ham. All smoky and salty with a good meaty flavor.

Now, this, this should be worth at least one whole set of armor. I’d painstakingly selected herbs that Greenie said tasted good, pounded them into a paste, and rubbed into the meat as it hung over the firepit.

Here, you can have a sample. I even benevolently offer a small slice with my proffered talon. The possum doesn’t take it, eying the morsel warily.

Here, take it.

[Skill proficiency reached. Acquisition of Skill 『Bargain LV1』 failed.]

What.

I reached the skill proficiency but I wasn’t able to get any skill??

[Requirements not fulfilled for Skill 『Bargain LV1』]

Well that was a waste of my time.

Ignoring the notification window, I offer the slice of ham again. Try it! I will the possum, feeling like a wholesale warehouse worker hawking the latest batch of samples to a shy customer.

It eats it when I set it down on a patch of grass. And it looks like they liked it! Eyes lighting up, it unclasps the helmet that came attached to the armor with nimble fingers and rolls it forward towards me.

Nope. This ham took me too long to process for only one helmet. The rest of the armor too, please.

Shaking my head, I wave my wing at the rest of the armor. It ignores me though, reaching out for the ham in Greenie's arms.

No.

Flap!

My wings open wide, coming between Greenie and the possum.

It tries rolling the helmet to me again. ‘Take the helmet!’ I can tell the possum seemed to be saying. It tries making another go for the ham.

NO.

Ksssssss!

The possums bear their fangs at once, tails whipping behind them. Spine raised, the possum didn’t seem so afraid of us anymore. Again, it swipes towards Greenie, the other possums beginning to climb down the trees in their clunky armor.

Now don’t you get fresh with me!!

I hiss back, my wings flapping in time with my anger.

[Skill: Dominance activated.]

The possum rears back into and upright position and freezes.

Thud.

As if in slow-motion, the possum’s wide eyes go blank, locked with my shocked gaze as it’s stiff body falls onto it’s back.

If the scent spread like paint, then this whole area, including Greenie and I, would be like a Jackson Pollock painting.

And in the same moment, I can feel the click. This was what I’d been forgetting!! POSSUMS PLAYED DEAD!!! And when they did, they stunk to high heaven.

So now we had a dead, or a playing-dead possum before us. What were the others going to do..?

Silence fills the clearing. Greenie and I exchange glances, unsure of what was happening. He looked unaffected by the scent, but the wolves on the other hand…

CRASH!!!

Oh. My. Goodness. THE SMELL!

Boudicea roars, running out of the cave at full speed. Greenie drops the ham in surprise, not expecting the wolf’s extreme reaction.

I CANNOT. Mate. Alpha. I am going to go hunt.

She throws over her shoulder as she whips out and away.

BANG!

A ball of purple flame smashes into the wall of vines, which shrivel upon impact. Bounding out of the hole she’d created, Boudicea was off like a shot, disappearing into the forest.

Awoooooooooo!!

In a stream of grey bodies, the other wolves follow closely behind her.

Keep it together, Raven. The full brunt of the dead scent was washing over me in waves. I have to resist the hard urge to hurl.

The squeaking possums take advantage of the chaos created by the wolves. Possums rush in to cart off their dead? buddy with their flexible rat-like tails, dragging him off into the trees. All at once, they beat a hasty retreat, not forgetting to take the ham that Greenie dropped. They’d even taken the un-traded bits of armor that was left.

It was all too quiet now, with the wolves and possums suddenly gone.

Esteemed Lady, if there’s no trouble here, I would like permission to go train.

Crixus asks me, his round eyes somewhat wet. Two green leaves covered the two holes of his snout as he did his best not to react to the terrible scent like the wolves. It was too bad he looked utterly strange with the nose-holes plugged in a vibrant green. The pup that’d been sitting in his lap was gone, probably with the other wolves taking an olfactory break.

Yeah, of course. No problem. Take all the time you need.

I am not going because of the terrible scent. I am going training. Crixus reminds me, wincing.

Yes, yes.

Nodding to me, Crixus speed-walks away, leaving Greenie and I standing dazed in the clearing. Greenie stared at his hands, as if staring would bring back the ham..

I needed a break…

But the armor would need to be taken care of before the possums decided they wanted it back.

Greenie helps me start carting the items to the cave entrance.

Andvari, I’ve got some stuff for you!

What is it, Lady?

The dwarf slowly makes his way out of the cave, lifting his feet high to make sure he didn’t trip on anything. His hand stayed against the cave wall to guide him out, the other hand staying outstretched in the air. The deep furrows in his brows were there as usual, though the scrunched up nose was new. I guess the dead possum scent was bad enough that even Andvari could smell it.

Dark soot colors the scars around his eyes and shades his hair The difference in his movements inside the cave and outside was drastically different. He wasn’t as used to the outside, where the weather and the wolves running freely would constantly cause the landscape and markers to change.

The cave, and the dark hole that only he dared enter, were his domain.

Do you know what these are made of?

A surreptious Appraisal when the first possum removed the armor had showed me that the armor was {Agaemmonic Bronze}. It wouldn’t tell me what {Agaemmonic} was, but it had looked similar enough to the bronze from my old world that I was confident introducing it to Andvari.

Bronze was the first alloy I’d ever come across in this world. Hopefully, it would have the same properties that I knew of from my old world.

Greenie goes to step beside Andvari to guide him to me. I don’t miss the look of self-derision twisting his face when he grasps Greenie’s belt. Andvari did not like being blind, or at least having to rely on the help of others to walk about. It must be why he spent so many hours down in the creepy hole. Down there, the pitch blackness made everyone blind. He looked much more comfortable there.

The frown on Andvari’s face disappears when he feels the armor.

These-? What. This.. This is an alloy. But so fast-!?

Isn’t this perfect?! We can use these to figure out how to separate alloys together.

Where did you get this.

From the possums that were just here. Possum knights, I’ve been calling them.

Possums that are knights? Why are they knights?

Because they’re wearing armor.

Wasn’t that obvious? I think, wondering why Andvari’s expression showed what he thought of my naming sense.

Armor alone does not make a knight, Lady. Andvari sighs, stroking his matted beard in deep thought. The other hand stayed glued to the armor, which told me he liked it.

… They brought this armor? Here? His thick fingers stroke over the armor, feeling the punctures and dents here and there.

Were these possums the same creatures that smelt fouler than a goblin’s arse?

Kieek!

Greenie interjects, not appreciating the insult.

Well, yes. If my memory serves me correctly, this is one of the alloys you were looking for. Do you think you can work with this?

He grows silent, his face devoid of all expression. What was up with that reaction… Andvari’s reaction was making me nervous.

I hadn’t realized till then that my butt had been slightly wiggling in anticipation the entire time.

Andvari finally faces in my direction.

I will need to do some testing. And I will need a forge.

Stooping down so he can focus one empty eye towards me, he emphasizes the last part again.

A real forge.

Tell us what you need, and we’ll do our best to help you build your forge, Andvari.