Rebuilding Science in a Magic World

After having the realization about the name Gokura, I realized why Zeb made that worried look while translating.  Before we continue diving into this issue, I think I need to talk to Zaka again, and try to get a better understanding of exactly what might have happened.  Rather than try to dive more into this, I changed the subject slightly by asking, "If you keep having these 'demon lords' invade, why don't you try to find out where they come from, and take the fight to them?  You've already shown up on this island after all."

The dwarf chuckled for the second time before talking, "You really don't understand much of this world do you?  Searching for where the demons come from has been done many times in the past.  Every time, the expeditions never return.  It's not that big of a surprise though.  The ocean is teeming with Leviathans.  We were lucky to even make it to these islands honestly."

Again, I've got more questions than answers from the conversation, so I asked, "What are Leviathans then?  Why do they make travel across the ocean difficult?"

The dwarf simply replied, "They're giant sea monsters.  They don't all look the same, but they have one thing in common, they're plenty large enough to sink an entire ship in one go, and they sure do seem to enjoy doing that."

I asked further, "If they're such a threat, why did you bother coming to this island?  What was worth such a risk?"

The dwarf shook their head, "You probably wouldn't understand, but a number of creatures we consider a guardian beast has recently been disappearing from one of it's two habitats, and two were spotted flying out to sea a few months ago.  These beasts are considered quite important to the protection of our country, so an expedition was prepared to attempt to figure out where they were going, and as luck would have it, as we were setting out, another beast took flight in this direction.  We've stopped at two islands before this one, but found no evidence of the beasts."

I started to get even more concerned at that point.  The timelines are lining up that these guardian beasts were likely the eagles that we've been killing... For that matter, it's what they were given to eat for dinner.  I had a second dilemma now.  Do I tell them what I know immediately?  They might be more angry with me if I do.  If I don't though and they find out later, it'd probably be seen as disingenuous, and any hopes I have of gaining their trust will likely be shot.

After evaluating my options, I decide to tell them.  If long term relations are going to succeed, they need to be built on trust.

"About those guardian beasts... We, most likely, killed them.  They're really large birds right?  They've been coming to this island since last winter, and started killing us demons, so we, or rather I, devised a way to kill them.  It was either us or them.  The meat we gave you to eat today was harvested from them.  I'm sorry that you had to find out about it like this."  I said.

I watched the dwarf carefully as Zeb translated for me.  Their face went from disbelief, to shock, then disgust.  They immediately said something to the rest of the group, and they all stopped eating, and returned the tray of food to us.  I suppose that was probably to be expected.

"I'm sorry, if I'd known the circumstances, we wouldn't have given you that to eat."  I said.

The dwarf only responded with a stare and no longer wanted to talk.

Things did not go well, clearly.  To mend this bridge, even more effort is going to have to be put in place.  I left their prison cell, and despite it being evening, I personally went out to hunt some of the ground birds nearby that had become rampant in recent months.  I brought them back intact, and butchered them in front of the prison cell, so that the group could see I wasn't feeding them more of the eagle, then cooked and gave them the new meat.  Hopefully that gesture will at least indicate that I really didn't mean any harm before.

After a day, the prisoners still weren't talkative.  I've continued to spend my own time hunting other meat for them just outside the village.  I'm not particularly pleased about that fact, as I've personally grown accustomed to not needing to hunt small game all the time anymore.  On the bright side, it's probably keeping my skills with the spear sharper than they would be otherwise.

I took the opportunity today to talk with both Zeb and Zaka about all the information the prisoners revealed to us.  There are a lot of questions that the conversation with the prisoner's presented me with.

"It sounds like Gokura isn't just a family name."  I state bluntly before asking, "What is the full backstory behind that name?"

Zaka states, "That name belongs to everyone who can trace themselves back to the noble Gokura.  The individual who was in charge of the territory I was born in.  Famine struck our lands, so many of us fled."

"From what I understand, the seas are dangerous.  Surely famine wasn't as bad of a threat?"  I asked.

"The famine isn't what we fled.  It was the other demons.  There are two options when famine or disaster strikes, by rule of the emperor.  The first option is to die, and be devoured by those stronger than you.  The second option is to go and claim new lands for the emperor, and gain your right to live."  Zaka said, "I chose to try to live, as did most of us."

"Just how many are we talking about here."  I asked.

"I couldn't say exactly how many.  We set out in longboats holding twenty individuals each, but they stretched further than I could see.  Many, many individuals set out."  Zaka replied.

"Wait, I thought you came here alone?"  I asked, confused.

"No, when we left, there were many in my boat, and many more about on the waves.  Not long before I landed on this island, there were only half of us left alive in the boat.  Hunger had taken most of us, I do not wish to say more about it."  Zaka said sternly before continuing, "Then the storm hit.  Many were thrown overboard, and I was the last to cling to the boat before eventually crashing here."

"Did no one else crash here?"  I asked.

"I searched for a long time.  No one else seems to have landed here."  Zaka said, "I earned my right to live, I've fulfilled the second option presented by the demon emperor."

"I ask all this, because our prisoners speak of the demon lord Gokura, who ravaged their lands, eating and killing all those they interacted with."  I said.

"Well, they are liars then.  Lord Gokura remained on the continent to face fate.  Unless they refer to the viscount who did flee with us."  Zaka says.

I had a sudden thought, and asked Zeb, "Just how certain are we about the translation you gave me?  The prisoner's demon language seems pretty broken."

"I'd say it's more likely than not that the information has been lost due to their poor understanding of the language." Zeb replies.

So there is a chance it's not actually whatever noble Zaka served under, but just a lesser noble, or some other powerful demon that they are referring to, who shared the family name.

"Okay, assuming they aren't referring to the actual Gokura proper, why would they all attack and eat everyone indiscriminately?" I asked.

"It is the natural order to fight for land.  As to why they ate them, I can give a bit of insight."  Zaka said, "Within the demon tradition, to eat another demon is considered an honor to their memory, although I personally disagree.  It is said that by consuming another, their essence will continue on within your core forever.  By the end of the journey, those of us left were incredibly starved, so it likely was a natural result, honor the dead and serve as a meal."

That's... a bit messed up.  I ask, "Why do you personally disagree with that?"

Zaka replies, "I already said I would rather not go into the final details of my what happened in my boat, but it was related to that.  There was no honor there."

I think I might have an idea as to why he doesn't want to talk about it, so I won't press the issue.  Given starvation and the long ship ride though, likely they resorted to cannibalism to live.  More importantly, why did their longboats survive the trip?  Aren't the Leviathans supposed to be incredibly deadly?  The mysteries keep piling up.  At least I have a bit more information as to why the demons keep invading our prisoner's homelands.  If they'll talk to me again, maybe we can come to a closer understanding between us based on this new information.