Daylight is almost gone and the echowings seem to be quieting down. I needed to spend an additional time back in my Manifested Form to properly prepare the sign's strap, since the grasses are easier to twist and tie as a Creeper than in my human-like state.

Unironically there actually are advantages to not being restrained by humanity's hands; tentacles and vines can be quite dexterous in contrast to fingers, particularly since I've had a long time to adapt to this kind of grip by now. If human shape is the best form for casting magic, it's probably not far-fetched that Creepers and the more plant-like evolutions are better for labor. A strong comparison is human-pulled carts versus those drawn by horses; as fast and as strong as humans can be, they can't ever compare to a horse in equal health.

Given the fading sunlight, Bomber is fully dug-into a burrow within a tree's roots to avoid any detection from echolocation. I'm not sure that he enjoys hiding under a tree, but at least all the experience of share a home with Ivy gave him some experience being within something.

As for me, my gear is ready: ten carved-wood plates on an inch-thick vine. It's unwieldy and a bit heavy, but with this many, I'll be able to properly communicate. One of them is different from the rest, though.

On my first plate, I've carved out a good selection of Nata that are simple, short, and should be useful in speaking.

ME | KADEN | MAGE

HELLO | FAREWELL | WAIT

HEALER? | STOP | REPEAT

YES | NO

These four lines are going to be my quick method of communication so long as things go well. Based on how they mark their homes, using mage may at least help give reason to some floating sign and knife waving around in the air. Hello and farewell is straight forward, but the third line is useful for interrogating them or dealing with them using their strange language. The final line is the most important, as they'll no doubt have questions for me that these don't answer. The remaining nine wood plates give me more room to have drawn out discussions, should I actually get the chance to talk.

Once I initiate my form, I'll have a short amount of time to find that girl... and as long as they don't have some means to attack me, this is the best way to do it.

Bomber, wish me luck. Time to deal with this so we can be left alone.

The ranbli kid isn't coming out of his hole but that's fine. Let him sleep. After all, he had helped me for a while, too, preparing a means to actually recover the artifact if I do find it.

For tonight, I either find out how dumb they are... or I find this artifact.

Echowings at night are exactly what I thought they'd be! They're nocturnal!

But it's surreal because the amount of them going out at night is actually a smaller amount than I'd seen during the day. They came and went throughout most of the day, but now they moved alone instead of in groups. The overwhelming majority of echowings instead stay in the village, some of them preparing and dealing with torch-lighting. Despite their homes being made of stone, it's only logical that they're cautious of their light sources burning the whole valley down around them.

So far, they still aren't noticing me though; I came up to the edge of the village and have been waiting for a few seconds yet they just keep walking on by.

It looks like... I'll have to be the one who takes the initiative.

Let's pull out my knife and get started...

Kliikli paces around the same as she always does: heavy-trodding and with a smile on her face. After all, she's the best hunter in the whole village! Her hearing is so great she can hear the crunching of gemfawn feeding from over two hundred yards!

Yet... she can't help but slow down and tilt her head in bewilderment.

"What is... sign?"

Mokumoa passes within a few feet of her, yet since he doesn't stop she clicks her tongue to get his attention. "Mokumoa: sign?"

"Sign," the echoing druid asks, tilting his head at her. She points and guides him toward floating pieces of wood. "That's not sign, that woo-... huh?"

The male walks slightly over, pushing up against the side of her, their cheeks pressing up against one another as they stare at the wood.

"Nata sign strange; why on wood?"

Kliikli laughs, patting his head just as he does whenever they find a nice and thick grub. "It's okay, Kliikli confused too! Hard see!"

Neither of them understand what's going on but this trick at least is a good distraction. She gently pulls away and trots forward, poking the runes and furrowing her brows.

"Hmm... these sign... nata... unusual. Not... recognize these ones. But... this say... mage?"

She tilts her head, looking at it for a long moment. But then both of them give a startled cry that draws even more eyes toward the oddity. Kliikli retreats backward, nearly toppling head-over-spiked-heels in her confusion. It's Mokumoa she hides behind and stands slightly upright; despite their stature, they knew looking big in the face of danger could drive off the gemfawn and bonebacks that were too much to handle.

"Knife move," he yells. "Something strange! Strange!"

That's it, good. Good! They see me this time! But why are they letting out that shrill noise now? They'd been speaking in Oldnat for a while there, so I was hoping to get answers to my questions.

These two were the first echowings I saw that didn't look terribly busy and it ended up being the girl with a bone necklace that saw me. When I walked through previously, she'd been sleeping in the building marked Hunter, so I'd hoped she'd be a bit calmer compared to other echowings. Instead, it looks like she's more wary rather than cautiously investigating. The other one I've not met... but he's standing upright and extending his wings partly; is that a means of...

Wait, are they... afraid? I mean I know I'm a floating knife with signs, but-

Something swings through my head and my vision momentarily vanishes, yet it returns quick enough it feels like a blink. A wooden club smacks off the back of my signs, sending me teetering forward for a moment before I turn and see my attacker.

They're a girl... and they seem equally terrified of me as the first two!

Come on, you're kidding me! I'm not a mean guy!

I tap my dagger off the nata with my name, sliding it across the surface toward "me".

"Dagger is moving," Akiikumi cries in disarray. She swings her club with so poor of a grip that it sails from her fingers, nearly hitting an approaching echowing in the process. "How dagger moving!?"

Kliikli yells over at her, peering out from behind her meatshield with a thankful feeling in her gut. "Wood has sign saying Mage! What other signs say!?"

One of the village guards approaches, pushing through and squinting. "It has many signs! One says "me" and another looks like name nata. Elder may be able to read, but if that is mage, they are using vanish spell! Do not continue attacking!"

Mokumoa turns his head to look at the guard before dropping his posture, letting Kliikli finally pull out from behind and slowly approach. The huntress is cautious but equally the most agile of their rank. It's only logical that she be the one to get closer and figure out what's going on until the elder arrives.

"Name nata... means... probably speak Oldnat?"

"... probably speak Oldnat?"

She's not speaking in that shrill tongue! This is my chance! I drift my knife downward, setting its tip against Yes. She casts a glance over at all the others before clearing her throat.

"I... not speak... Trader tongue good. But," she pauses just long enough to morph her voice momentarily into the shrill cry. "-try speak."

This is it! I can finally talk to someone besides Ropert! Yes, yes, yes-

[Quests]://A Nugget of Truth Quest Completed

Your world is always expanding, isn't it? You control your territory and now look outward to explore and find more! But the best way to do that is to rely on more than your own means. It's time to meet the locals who can talk.

Meet a humanoid-level intelligent species.

Bonus: Learn a Language ability. Completed! Reward: Increased time outside of Manifest Forms by 10 minutes.

Bonus Reward

New Dungeon Town Construct: Training Area

New Dungeon Construct: Magic Academy

The quest didn't complete until I spoke!? Well... I guess that's... fair enough. But this second part, the bonus reward, looks different from the usual bonus rewards. Most of them are simply added after the reward line and look as if they're all together. Yet now I get two constructs that both sound too good to be true. Training areas generally are means to improve experience, whilst the Magic Academy may actually allow me to either refine my own magic or teach it!

"Are... you... okay?"

Getting enthusiastic and panning through my dungeon's new prospects needs to wait! I got additional time and it actually applies to my current use, but I've already wasted a minute just to get their attention!

My knife clacks over yes, waiting until the huntress sighs in relief before sliding it up.

Me. Kaden. Me. Mage.

Although this form of communication is slow and time-consuming, it's my best method of communication without the ability to directly speak to them. It's not like I had a mouth nor could I actually make noise with my mana-like body. At least, not yet. Maybe in the future.

The echowing woman takes a few moments looking between the nata before she finally points toward me. "Kahh...den? Kahden?"

Close enough. The pronunciation is slow but they likely aren't natural speakers when it comes to Oldnat, even if it is an old language.

My knife strikes yes and the girl smiles.

"Me," she starts, yet lets out a screeching cry a moment later. "Nice... to meet... Mage Kahden."

Time to use one of the other boards.

The knife taps between stop, then wait. I wait until she tilts her head before pointing the blade toward the wood in general, clapping its blade against me... then point it at her and tap repeat. It's a long and drawn out way but it's faster to try this method than carving the whole sentence and risking a miscommunication.

"Repeat... who I... am?" She mummers, raising a finger to her mouth whilst I tap yes. "Mage... not... speak echowing... language? Hard to... explain."

Well... if she can't explain it... time to follow in the steps of my old world's explorers.

"Whoever the mage is," Mokumoa grumbles. "This Kahden sure is strange. Why come here if they can not speak to us?"

Akiikumi is just as skeptical, crowded up with her sisters and watching with distrust. "M-Maybe they didn't plan to talk to us! Th-they don't even appear before us but instead use strange magic!"

The locals murmur in their native tongue, whilst another separates and approaches Kliikli from the side: the guard from before. Toout may be one of the village's eldest, yet even he can't help wearing his caution as the signs clatter and a blank slate comes out. "Kliikli, the elder is coming. If they are truly a mage, we cannot risk angering them."

"I know," she whispers, watching the knife begin carving. "But... isn't it strange? We've not met mages in the Valley who do this sort of talking. Why is this one going through so much effort? Speaking someone's language is at least expected when you meet with them... but they only know Oldnat?"

Toout nods, yet before he can speak the knife clacks off the wood. Kliikli stands upright and blushes, albeit her skin's tone makes it all but indistinguishable.

"He... he is naming me in Nata!?"

I will call you Faeh.

Comprehension of Oldnat gave me a variety of expressions and deeper understanding of the language than simply learning to communicate with it; it not only told me phrases related to my race, for example, but also names that were commonly given to the most dangerous of them. When you see enough patterns in a language, you start to notice things like root words or common themes between wordings, such as the use of "anti" to depict the opposite of something.

Nata is a lot like my prior's life ancient languages in that regard: Faeh is a name inspired by the nata for feathers and flying. Although I cannot understand her name in her language, giving her a name that is symbolic to her is a no-brainer. A feather charm nestling behind the back of her left ear is part of her occupation, sure, but her ability to fly and the ability to fly make it obvious it's a good name for her.

I'm not sure why her tail is uncurling and she's standing upright, but it sure is a cute thing. It's like she's proud of getting a name.

"Faeh," she whispers. "You... call me... Faeh?"

Wood clattering and then bone clapping against wood shows my confirmation, Faeh's wings closing together in an adorable self-hugging way. "Faeh... understands."

Good. Then it's time for my next question. Healer?

Faeh's wings tighten up and she leans forward, whilst the other bat beside her steps closer. I'm not terribly sure what his specific job is but he's one of the only ones still carrying a weapon so he may be one of the scouts or guards.

"This nata... Faeh not know." Faeh turns her head to the other, speaking in their tongue.

"Not know," the male grunts in response, looking between the signs and Faeh. "Mage... use... unusual Nata."

Unusual? Wait, this language... it said it was supposed to be the base of many languages, yet they don't understand it? Did they discard this word?

Lifting the board and moving to the third — my second one will from now on be for names — and carve a new message.

Female. Lick. Wound. Healer.

I don't have any visible wounds so I think this should clear up a lot of the confusion.

"He wants to lick us?"

One of the batgirls in the crowd cries out and bolts, whilst others start complaining. Kliikli had felt hot-headed for a moment with the first two words, yet the subsequent carvings all but answered their questions.

"Those nata," she says, turning to look around at her village companions. "He seems to be searching for a Tender! Has anyone seen Umuuki?"

"Umuuki? Isn't she the daytime tender?"

"I think so... but didn't she leave in the afternoon?"

"I heard she was going to go out with the hunting party!"

"Silence! Step forward, you three!"

All of the bats ramble noisily for all but a moment before the three loudest all step forward whilst the crowd parts. Kliikli and Toout turn and bow their heads, the latter staying standing whilst the huntress and all the other gathered echowings drop to both knees.

What are they saying? This isn't going too fast, is it? Why are they all moving and bowing right- wait, who is... he?

Unlike all the echowings in the village, this new figure coming forward isn't so simple. Although he physically has the same tail and batwings as the other males, this one's ears are considerably smaller and his hair is silver. Unlike all of the others, this echowing's attire isn't simple either; furs and leathers with simple binding may be fine for everyone else, but he wears pants made of linen.

And unlike all the others, his wings are actual arms with hands; the wing-like membrane lines the back of his arms, yet their length and shape can only be defined as human.

The figure bows his head only, raising both hands to clench into fists as if holding a sword upright near his chest. "Greetings, Mage. I am sorry you have had to deal with my village and its bad manners."

He can speak fluidly? So this must be their leader...

For now, I'll let him keep talking. Of course, it takes him a few moments of waiting without a reply before he peeks at the non-kneeling echowing. The male speaks in their tongue for about a minute before his gaze returns to me and he stands upright. "You have been communicating with our huntress and given her a name. Do you not know of our traditions, despite approaching us?"

Well, this is awkward. Time to use wooden plate number three again.

I do not. Not from Gardril.

This whole region is part of the free nation or whatever, so hopefully I picked far enough away that I can reasonably not know a damn thing about them. It'd be great if I could unlock their codex entry, but beggars can't be choosers when they're forced into things.

"I see," the echowing leader says, his posture raising and his arms falling with a look of confusion. "If you've come from so far away, it makes sense that you do not know our cultures, but... to come from so far just to meet us? We are honored to meet a mage so curious of our people."

It's a good thing magosbone is high-quality; the last thing I need is my edge dulling right now from all this chopping. All these back-ups are definitely going to get used if his conversation is on par for sentences. If he's going to ask about me, I need to try and avoid mentioning things about quests, lest I somehow out that I'm one of the most despised creatures in the Oldnat language.

Limited space on wood. Searching.

The man looks at the three whom had entered the circular clearing, then to the huntress before speaking in their tongue. Conversing between themselves in a language I can't understand isn't very respectful, but I can't blame any of them for choosing a route of ease when dealing with language gaps. Yet more surprising is that Faeh stands up and moves to the man's side.

"Faeh," he starts. "You named her before and she says you were seeking our tender?"

Tender? That's what they call healers? Let's swap back and use the previous carvings.

Female. Lick. Wound. Healer = Tender?

Their leader scratches his chin but ultimately nods, causing Faeh to smile and hug herself again. "I do not recognize your nata... but that does describe our village's tender. I apologize that there was any miscommunication in the first place, though. We don't have the means to learn Oldnat beyond personal education this far from the Heartlands.

Notification Your knowledge of the Doldol Heartlands has increased.

Current Distanced Discovery Progress: 1/4

That's new! So learning that it's far from this place allows me to accumulate progress towards unlocking its information without even going there? It might be possible to discover and unlock codex entries without going there so long as I've got basic guides. But there's no telling whether or not this system requires them to be close to currently-discovered locations or if it's exclusive to ones that are common knowledge.

But enough contemplation.

I understand. Me Kaden. Introduce. Me. Tender.

Despite the confused gazes of those around him, the elder speaks in their tongue to no doubt relay the message. The three that'd walked forward now stood up, speaking in turn to him for some time. It's only when his ears droop and he sighs that I know something's wrong, forcing me to wait until he ultimately bows. Faeh even stops her self-hugging to bow her head beside him.

"I am sorry, mage; our tender is currently not here. She has gone with the other hunters to tend to their wounds during a dangerous hunt."

Hunting, huh? Weird that Faeh didn't know her whereabouts. But this is good. I at least know what her profession is and, with my ability, can easily identify the nata to look for when I come through the village again. I don't even need her to be here to find the artifact, after all.

Thank you. Me wait.

I ignore his confused face whilst Faeh walks forward and speaks in their language, instead flipping to a new plate and beginning my final message.

"S-So now that you've given me a name in Oldnat, I expect you to take responsibility," Kliikli stammers, still hugging herself. "I-I can learn the language and we can stay in a tower together, as mage and wife!"

The entire village groans, all too aware that Kliikli is lost in the moment and not paying any attention. Toout and Mokumoa start moving to grab her, yet the elder raises his hand and stops both.

"It's not for us to deal with," the silver-haired bat sighs. "This custom may not have been known, but all mage are upstanding; despite not knowing, they will certainly take responsibility. For now, we-"

"Elder Homuugo," one of the villagers calls out, pointing their wing at the stranger. "Look! The signs!"

The huntress blocks some of the villagers' views, yet not Homuugo's. And it's all but moments later that Kliikli cries out in confusion and dismay whilst he clutches a fistful of his hair. Even though most mage are upstanding, it doesn't eliminate that he had failed to speak up in time after the mage mentioned waiting. He approaches the distraut girl as she turns and shows him the sign, sniffing back her tears.

"E-Elder," she cries. "W-What did he say?"

Homuugo consoles Kliikli as best he can for a young echowing girl lost in her fantasies, patting her shoulder and taking the sign.

"He said... that he will leave these things here and return in a few hours."