“I have a few ideas, Chieftain Atuk,” the ‘nerubian’, Krivax, said with what sounded like good cheer.

“Then please, share them,” Atuk responded as he sat down on one of the seal hide pillows in front of the firepit while gesturing for his guests to do the same. Both Krivax and his companion Masruk did so, if not in the same manner as himself.

Both oriented themselves above the offered seats and then curled their legs until their ‘lower bodies’ touched the ground. Krivax folded his arms in front of him while Masruk laid his spear across his lap. It was… odd, but understandable given their different body shapes, more similar to the savage Magnataur than any Tuskarr, but much more polite and peaceful.

So far, anyway.

Elders Ko’kewi and Wumni also sat down, the latter with a sigh as she rested her old bones, while their party of warriors simply backed off a respectful distance… but still close given these strangers.

“First, you must understand that our kingdom, Azjol-Nerub, is very self-sufficient for the most part. We haven’t interacted much with the surface world for a very long time since… Well, frankly many believe it has nothing we want or need. The Circle of Viziers, the order I am a part of, are among the only ones who still have an interest in the surface for research purposes, but even then most think we are better off on our own. I am one of the few who believe that the surface has much to offer us, but only if we lend out a friendly hand and speak with those who live here and get to know them. Hence, why we are here,” Krivax explained.

He then paused for a moment before continuing. “Do keep in mind though this is mostly a personal venture. I have no authority to speak on behalf of my own city’s ruler, let alone the High King. But I do hope our talks here might lead to something more official in the future.”

Atuk hummed to himself as he digested the information. A whole kingdom living underground, apparently for a very long time and barely venturing to the surface, without anyone knowing was rather… distressing. Still, the fact they hadn’t caused his people any trouble in the long memory of the ancestors was good, and even better this diplomatic venture by this curious and open-minded example of their kind.

Still, that left the question…

“If your people are so well off, then what could we possibly have to offer them?” Atuk asked outright.

“Well… if I can be frank, not a whole lot, but what you can provide can still help show the rest of my people that totally isolating ourselves is not in our best interests,” Krivax said.

“And what would that be?” Elder Wumni asked with a slightly clipped tone.

“Knowledge is a big one,” Krivax, earning a huff from the Elder Wumni. “Not your magic though! I get that the last nerubian here likely didn’t leave the best impression. Viziers can be… a bit single-minded at times. While I would love to know more about it personally, I also would love to learn about your history, your customs, your traditions, your language, and everything you would feel comfortable sharing with outsiders.”

“That would be something we’d be willing to share with guests freely. Our way of life is no secret, and so long as you’d be willing to share the same I think this could build the groundwork to a good relationship between our people,” Atuk nodded at the easy enough request.

“As Shaman I suppose you’ll be dumping that job mostly on me then,” Elder Wumni grunted. “I suppose it won’t be too different than teaching the calves.”

“Thank you, Honored Elder, and naturally I will share with you my peoples’ way as well. And if you ever feel comfortable teaching me a little about your magic I can gladly do the same,” Krivax hummed and gave what Atuk thought might be his version of a smile… It was a little disturbing seeing the mouth parts in front of his face move like that.

“Don’t go hunting whales just yet, boy,” Wumni lightly warned.

“Of course,” Krivax nodded before turning back to Atuk. “As for other things… is it true that you fish certain creatures from the waters that have an outer exoskeleton like us?” he asked while tapping at his chest, letting out a light clicking sound.

“Exoskeleton… you mean a shell? In that case, yes. We catch many crabs, lobsters, shrimp, clams, and other such creatures all the time in our traps and nets. Why do you ask?” Edler Ko’kewi questioned.

“Well, you see the main source of food for our people is fungus, algaes, protein-rich webbing, and especially raised and ranched insects, arachnids, and worms. Fish is a rare meal only few of our people actually eat, from whom I learned to fish,” Krivax explained.

No fish! Atuk thought in shock, not imagining anyone not taking part in the sea’s bounty at least in some small way.

“Why not trade our excess fish and whale meat then for… whatever it is you use for currency?” Elder Wumni asked.

“We use coins,” Krivax stated, sharing a convenient fact about how his people did business with one another that was similar to how their own did. “And unfortunately I don’t think it will catch on since only a few of us as said actually eat and enjoy it. However, while I haven’t tried it myself and I hope I can while we are here, that these creature’s similarities with what we eat already will make a luxury market for those in my kingdom who come to enjoy them. This can be a very beneficial trade since it exposes my people to an aspect of the surface they like and you would likely earn much in exchange, be it coins or products.”

That was an interesting idea… and it was harder to store shellfish than fish anyhow so they could sell the surplus during good seasons and use the wealth earned to better prepare for lean ones. Of course… this depended on whether the nerubians did enjoy shellfish…

Well, it was close to lunch anyhow.

“Then let us test it now,” Atuk said with a smile.

---

Atuk chuckled a little as he took a bite of fried Fangtooh and shoveltusk, both provided by their guests to complete the gift giving ritual, alongside Elders Wumni and Ko’kewi as their guests dug into their own food… almost literally.

They were given steamed crab and lobster, with a side of oysters, to see how nerubians liked the taste of them, and the answer was apparently very much.

The chieftain watched as his guests dug into their food as if they hadn’t eaten for days, cracking open the shells of all the foods with their teeth and happily sucking out the meat within. Masruk was especially eager, shoving a whole lobster into his mouth with only a couple of bites, while Krivax was more restrained.

On one hand it was a little nauseating watching them devour their meal with such gusto, but on the other he himself remembered his first solid meal of the sea’s bounty very fondly too. His own children and their children were very much the same with their first fish as well. He could excuse a bit of messy eating considering the nerubians had never partaken of such fine meals before.

It was only after they cleared their plates that the nerubians recognized their rudeness and actually looked embarrassed, or as embarrassed as giant spider people could look.

“I- I apologize for our poor manners,” Krivax bowed, followed quickly by Masruk.

“It smelled like nothing I’ve eaten before, and tasted like a mix of beetle and flyer- but better!” the warrior explained himself.

“I suppose that answers the question of whether or not your people would be willing to pay good coin for it then,” Elder Wumni chuckled out loud at their shamed looks.

“Indeed, I am sure it will be the talk of the Spiderlord, Vizier, and Queen circles the second it reaches their tables,” Krivax said. “Easily something they will pay a vast amount for.”

“That is good to hear, though I doubt we can sell much all the time since there is only so much we can safely fish out of the sea every season without harming the population. You’d have to ask the other clans elsewhere if you want a similar deal,” Atuk explained.

“If this grows as popular as I believe it will, then I am sure the High King himself will send trading parties to set it up,” Krivax said with confidence.

“Hehe, good to know,” Atuk smiled. “Now that we have shown you our bounty, do you mind sharing yours?”

“Of course,” Krivax said as he reached for his ‘magic bag’ and began pulling out various items from it that should not have fit within something so small. It confirmed Orfus’ earlier stories at least about the spiderfolk’s strange magic, since Atuk knew of no ancestral items with similar abilities.

He then laid out several bundles of silk and a small pile of different ores before him, also confirming past reports.

“Since we live underground my people mine a lot of minerals pretty often and use them for all sorts of things. I am sure you can get things like iron and steel for cheap from us, but don’t quote me on that since I am no merchant. We also mine precious metals like silver and gold, which we use in our currency along with copper and cobalt. I am sure you can find uses for that in tools, weapons, armor, kitchenware, etc.”

“Indeed we can,” Elder Ko’kewi said. “We value our tradition of making various things from the bones and teeth of the creatures we hunt, but we know the value of forged metal as well.”

“Great to hear, but I’m sure you’ll be more interested in our silk,” Krivax said while unrolling a sheet and presenting it to them. “I don’t like to brag, but our Weavers are masters in working it into all kinds of things: clothing, art, structures, stories, food, you name it. It can be woven into nets and ropes of great strength and longevity. As master fishermen, I am sure you can see the benefit of it, but don’t take my word for it. Take this and just try to tear it.”

Elder Ko’kewi took the sheet offered to her, and after feeling it for a bit did as she was told and attempted to rip the flimsy-looking sheet in twain… and failed.

Eyes widened all within Atuk’s home as all the Tuskarr present watched as Elder Ko’Kewi failed again and again trying to undo the bindings that held the silk sheet together, all to no avail. She huffed a bit from exertion before huffing again and giving the sheet over to him in defeat.

Atuk merely held the thin and incredibly smooth piece of fabric before him, turning it over and over to see if there was any damage to it after all that effort or if there was some trick at play. Finding none of either he merely decided to also test its resolve against his own, in his humble opinion, great strength.

Yet no matter how hard he tried it did not break, and in his youth he had once pulled a small kraken to shore!

He merely looked upon the undamaged sheet in awe before handing it to Elder Wumni.

The aged Shaman held the sheet within her hands, carefully rubbing her fingers through it while whispering under her breath, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“This fabric… the spirits like it,” she simply said before handing it back to Krivax. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Not even the giant spiders of the Rivenwood could weave something such as that.”

“To be fair, lesser giant spiders don't have our intelligence and skill,” Krivax humble-bragged as he folded the sheet and put it away. “And our silk is also very receptive to magic, which is likely why your… ‘spirits’ like it. We weave many spells and magical effects into our silk for certain effects, but even in its base state it has countless uses. These are some of the most common ones, and in fact ones I made myself, magic and silk,” Krivax said as he handed over another sheet, this time to Elder Wumni first.

“So warm,” she said at once, rubbing her hands all over the sheet in surprise.

“That sheet contains an enchantment that my own robes hold we call ‘minor flameweave’, which in this case makes those who wear it have a constant warm temperature. I think you can guess how useful that could be here on the surface considering how cold it can get. That is not even getting into the Flameweave and Iceweave enchants which we use to heat up and keep things cool respectively, which can help in cooking and storing food. That is only the beginning though and I myself can enchant silk to have a wide variety of effects, and I am a total novice compared to master Weavers back home. And who knows, maybe you’ll find them useful in your own magic like we do for our own.” Krivax said towards Elder Wumni, who had at some point during the explanation wrapped herself in the magically warm sheet with a content smile on her face.

“So warm…” the eldery shaman simply said.

“I would assume that these magical… ‘weavings’ would cost a great deal,” Elder Ko’Kewi pointed out.

“The more complex ones, yes, though minor ones can along with pure silk works tend to be pretty cheap since all nerubians can produce silk ourselves,” Krivax explained.

Atuk hummed once more to himself as he considered things. From practicality alone, these silk products could be very useful in nearly all aspects of his village’s life, and the envy of the other clans once word reached them. All of which can be bought and paid for mostly through fishing, something they could easily do and then do more of once they had better tools.

It could be a very good deal.

“This is all very impressive and I won’t deny that if a deal can be made that it would be foolish not to take part of it,” Atuk stated, who was about to say more before someone interrupted him.

“If you are serious about wheeling and dealing with us you are gonna need to learn how to actually talk to us beyond broken words and magically transferred intentions outside these walls,” Elder Wumni spoke up from her comfortable looking cocoon. “And since you seem so intent on getting to know the surface I say you should stay here and actually learn it right.”

That earned more than a few shocked glances.

“You… you mean stay here? In the village?” Krivax asked.

“Where else are you gonna properly learn Kalu'aka than right here? Also, figure keeping you here for a bit and seeing how you do among our people is the fastest way to see just how honest you nerubians are in your peaceful intentions,” Elder Wumni said. “Of course, assuming you both and the Chieftain are alright with it of course.”

“I do not mind, so long as I can spar with your warriors regularly to keep up my strength and Krivax agrees to it,” Masruk was quick to give his consent.

“Well… I wasn’t expecting this so early, but so long as I inform my superior back home about my extended ‘research expedition’ then it should be alright. I have a magical tool on hand to let me do just that as well,” Krivax nodded along.

“I would be happy to extend guest rights to you both for the time being, but if you plan to live and learn among us then you will be expected to contribute to the wellbeing of our community like all adult members of the Kalu'ak,” Atuk warned them.

“Of course, that is something both our people agree on,” Krivax readily agreed.

“Then on behalf of all Kamagua, I welcome you among our tribe and hope in time you come to see yourself a part of it,” Atuk intoned.

And so it was that Kamagua had earned itself two new… unique members.