Krivax barely stopped himself from pacing back and forth as he waited anxiously for the tuskarr leadership to send back a representative to speak with him.

His first contact with the tuskarr was going well enough so far—given that there was no violence involved, even if there was a bit of understandable fear—but Krivax couldn’t help but worry about the next meeting. There were a lot of important things that depended on him successfully developing a peaceful relationship with the tuskarr.

Krivax had nearly panicked when he and Masruk returned to their temporary camp after successfully catching a fish, only to find it surrounded by armed tuskarr. It was fortunate for him that the walrus-people proved to be reasonable people who were open to diplomacy.

“Why are you so nervous?” asked Masruk.

“I just really hope this works out,” said Krivax. In an attempt to distract himself from his worry, he decided to pass the time by making small talk with Masruk. “So what do you think about the tuskarr?”

“Hmm… they look strong, but they don’t seem very fast. I would need to spar with one of them to form a complete opinion.”

Krivax waited for his friend to say more on the topic, but he seemed content to leave it at that.

So much for small talk, thought Krivax as he gave in to the urge to start pacing.

Krivax knew that in order to accomplish his ultimate goal of finding evidence of the existence of the other continents, he would need to develop a certain amount of trust with the tuskarr. It shouldn’t be too complicated for him to ask the tuskarr leadership if there was any contact between them and people from outside Northrend, but if they were suspicious of him then they might simply lie or refuse to answer.

Even if they did share their knowledge about lands outside of Northrend, Krivax would still need the tuskarr’s assistance if he wanted to get into contact with them. After all, he doubted that the nerubian leadership would give much credence to the words of a “lesser race” for such world-changing information, so Krivax would need to be able to bring them actual evidence.

The first step in getting the tuskarr to trust him was to start trading with them. Things would become much easier for Krivax if he succeeded in building a mutually beneficial relationship. The various trading goods he had brought for this meeting were all things that were both relatively cheap for him to acquire and were likely to be very useful to the tuskarr.

It also helped that all the silks were the magical varieties that he was capable of creating himself, and that the ores were mined within Azjol-Nerub in such vast quantities that it would not be impossible for him to supply the tuskarr by himself.

The only metals that Azjol-Nerub truly considered to be valuable were either extraordinarily rare, such as titanium, or were used by them as currency, such as copper, silver, gold, or cobalt.

The only problem was finding something that the tuskarr could trade in return for these things.

While Krivax did not believe that the nerubians were a ‘superior’ race, it was still undeniable that their society was vastly more advanced than the tuskarr. Nerubians would not be interested in going out of their way to trade for knives made from shark teeth or vests made from the skin of a whale.

Krivax hoped that the tuskarr Elders would be clever enough to find something that the nerubians would want, or he would have a hard time justifying his continued interest.

Like this, Krivax anxiously tried to sort through his future plans while waiting for the tuskarr to arrive. It was only after a few hours had passed and he started to worry that something had gone wrong that he finally spotted a group of tuskarr that looked more official than the previous one heading in their direction from the Ancient Lift.

Finally, I guess it makes sense that their meeting would go on for a while when they need to figure out how to deal with the two giant spider people who randomly showed up.

When the group came close enough for Krivax to properly see them, he could tell that the warrior he spoke to the first time was accompanied by a few other warriors, and someone he assumed to be an Elder was leading the group.

The presumed Elder had long yellow tusks covered in carvings, a small mustache, carried a gnarled wooden staff, and was wearing an extravagant fur and leather jacket. Krivax could tell the exact moment the new tuskarr could see him and Masruk properly because they all immediately stopped moving and started to nervously talk amongst themselves.

Krivax tried his best to stay still and look as harmless as a nerubian could look while he waited patiently for them to gather their courage. Eventually, they started to move again, though their body language was notably more cautious than it was before.

“Greetings,” said Krivax when they finally reached him. “Happy to meet you. I am Krivax. My friend is Masruk. What is your name?”

He did not have a firm mastery of the tuskarr language, but he decided it would be best to use it as much as possible instead of relying on magic to translate his intent. Ultimately, the best way to learn a language was to use it as much as possible.

“Greetings, Krivax,” said the Elder in a feminine voice. It was very difficult for Krivax to determine a physical difference between male and female tuskarr, but now that he was looking, he could see that her tusks were slightly more curved and her hair was longer. It was also possible that she had breasts… but it was honestly generally hard to tell considering the stout and blubbery build of tuskarr.

“I am Elder Ko’kewi. These are Lunk-tusk, Kagonut, and you’ve already met Orfus. We greet you and hope for peace between us.”

Hmm… so the one I was talking to is named Orfus. Good to know. I’m not an expert, but these guys look like skilled warriors.

It seemed likely to Krivax that the tuskarr had decided to approach him with a small group of skilled warriors as a way to offer sufficient protection to their Elder while not appearing overly hostile.

“We also want peace. We want to trade and exchange knowledge. We want to grow friendship.”

The tuskarr delegation seemed to relax significantly at his words. It seemed that they were very willing to be friendly after they got over his appearance and realized they did not need to be afraid.

“I am happy to hear that,” Ko’kewi said amiably. “Orfus has told us about the goods you wish to trade. May we see them?”

“Of course.”

Krivax quickly laid out the various silks and ores he had brought to trade and presented them to the delegation. After that, he gave the same speech he already gave Orfus about their various uses. The tuskarr were visibly startled when the intent of his words started to be translated to them by magic, but they must have already been warned because they got over it fairly quickly.

Unfortunately, while translating intent was far easier than translating language directly, it was also much less clear. Krivax needed to repeat a few things during his speech multiple times for them to accurately understand his meaning, but they eventually understood what he was offering them.

Krivax felt comforted when he saw the visible greed in their eyes; it seems like he picked the right trading goods to bring.

“What do you want for these?” Ko’kewi asked with a feigned lack of interest after he finished speaking.

“I don’t know,” said Krivax honestly. “I have a few ideas, but I would prefer to speak with your leadership so that we might negotiate a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

It took a little effort to get the tuskarr to understand what he was asking, but after they did, they huddled together and started to talk about it quietly amongst themselves.

“We will take you to meet our Chieftain,” said Ko’kewi after they reached a decision.

Once she was done speaking, the tuskarr called Kagonut stepped forward and delivered a series of stern warnings and threats about what would happen if they harmed anyone in the village.

While Kagonut was busy delivering his warnings, Orfus ran off to presumably get the body of the shoveltusk they had offered him earlier with Masruk guiding him.

I’m pretty sure I would be able to understand this guy even without magic. There’s no need to glare at me so much, dude. You’re the bad cop. I get it.

After reiterating his peaceful intentions, the tuskarr must have felt sufficiently reassured because they instructed him and Masruk to follow them back to their village. Orfus displayed the crazy strength of warriors in this world by easily carrying the wrapped-up shoveltusk on his back without any visible strain.

“Where are we going?” asked Masruk. Unlike Krivax, he did not know any tuskarr, and the magical artifact that translated intent only worked for those who held it.

“They have invited us back to their village,” said Krivax. “I’m going to talk to their Chieftain about trade, and hopefully we’ll be able to reach an agreement.”

“Why are they willing to bring us into their home?” asked Masruk, confused. “Kilah’Kuk would never allow them to enter our city under any circumstances.”

“I suppose they are just more trusting and open to outsiders than we are,” said Krivax evenly. It was good that his friend was asking these kinds of questions and learning that different groups had different values.

Masruk contemplated that silently for a moment before he spoke again.

“The big one looks very powerful,” said Masruk while looking directly at Kagonut. “You should request that they allow me to spar with him. I would like to test his strength.”

“...Sure, buddy. I’ll make sure to ask.”

I just hope they are familiar with the idea of friendly spars.

The tuskarr seemed to be growing agitated by the two of them speaking in a language they could not understand, so Krivax decided to end the conversation there.

It was not long before they reached the Ancient Lift.

There was a small group of several buildings that likely served as an outpost that protected the Ancient Lift from potential threats. The buildings themselves seemed to be fairly well built, with thick thatched roofs and an exterior constructed with wood and stone. The support beams were made from what Krivax assumed to be whale bones, and the doorways were covered by some kind of leather and fur.

Although the design of the Ancient Lift looked simple, it was still a remarkable thing to see in real life. Krivax wasn’t sure that some kind of primitive cable car that was in fact a vrykul boat suspended over the air by a rope was the safest way to travel, but he didn’t have very many options if he wanted to get to the Isle of Spears without a boat.

The tuskarr probably understand the thing pretty well, and they don’t seem particularly concerned, so I guess I should just suck it up.

The boat itself had a surprising amount of room and their entire group had no issue fitting inside.

Krivax was not certain how the tuskarr managed to start the thing when they were all safely aboard, but he couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe as they began moving.

As they approached the Isle of Spears, Krivax couldn’t help but feel that the tuskarr had chosen a truly defensible location to build their village. Aside from murlocs, there were few things in the Howling Fjord that could threaten them when they lived on an island. Not only that, but the real island was much larger than it was portrayed in the game.

Krivax looked to one of the snowy portions of the island and gawked at a white, two-headed creature that was flying lazily through the air.

Soon enough, the boat passed over another tuskarr village—Iskaal, as Ko’kewi told him after being asked—and Krivax could see people waving up at them and staring in open curiosity. Krivax waved back at a tuskarr child and chuckled in amusement when the kid jumped in surprise and ran into one of the houses.

Eventually, their group descended safely unto the Isle of Spears, and Krivax and Masruk followed the tuskarr off the lift. Awaiting them was a pair of tuskarr warriors who were holding spears and riding giant turtles.

“Elder Ko’kewi, Chieftain Atuk awaits you and our guests.”

“Thank you, Turtle Rider.”

The two tuskarr followed along on either side of their group as they approached the village of Kamagua. While they entered and made their way to the Chieftain, Krivax took the opportunity to take a good look at the village.

For the most part, the buildings were built in the same style as the ones at the Ancient Lift’s outpost—although Krivax did see one interesting building that looked like it was built down into the ground and a couple of large tents made of some kind of hide.

There were also rows and rows of boats lined up near the docks and a steady stream of fishermen could be seen coming and going. The villagers themselves seemed to be both fearful and curious of the two nerubians, but they remained respectful enough of the Elder not to approach and did not appear overtly hostile.

Soon, they were led into the largest building in the village which Krivax assumed belonged to the Chieftain.

The inside of the building had a large fire pit lined with stones in the center, and several doorways that led to different rooms. Colorful weavings and a variety of what Krivax assumed to be trophies were hanging from the wall.

The Chieftain himself was a large tuskarr wearing a dark brown vest and a thick fur coat. His tusks were long, yellow, and densely covered with intricately carved symbols. However, his tusks could not compare to the female tuskarr that stood next to him.

She was much smaller than the Chieftain, yet Krivax felt like she had a presence that filled up the room. Her hair was long and white with old age, and her tusks were the longest of any tuskarr Krivax had yet seen and were nearly completely covered with carved symbols. Like Ko’kewi, she carried a gnarled staff and her eyes held a wisdom that made Krivax feel like she could see all of his secrets.

“Greetings, outsiders,” said the Chieftain. “I am Chieftain Atuk, and this is Elder Wumni. Welcome to Kamagua.”

“Greetings, I am Kriv—”

Before he could finish his introduction, Elder Wumni let out a snort of irritation and pounded her staff onto the ground. Krivax didn’t know what had just happened, but he momentarily felt a sudden surge of magic from the woman before it suddenly dissipated.

Krivax tensed and prepared for a fight when the old tuskarr suddenly spoke in what to him sounded like perfect nerubian.

“I’m not interested in listening to you butcher our language for the rest of this conversation, outsider,” said Elder Wumni, completely unconcerned by the sudden tension of the two nerubians. “This magic will allow us to understand each other while in the confines of this building.”

Krivax was completely dumbfounded. True translation magic was not a simple thing to accomplish, which was why the artifact Hadix gave him only allowed for the translation of general intentions. The Circle of Viziers had specific members who were trained to use such magic, and Seer Kuk’ir was the only nerubian he knew of that could cast a Glyph of Comprehension.

The fact that this old tuskarr managed to cast such complicated magic so casually was a… tad intimidating.

“Thank you for your assistance, Elder Wumni,” said Krivax as politely as possible. “My understanding of your language is incomplete, and I hope to learn more from your people in the future.”

Elder Wumni snorted with faint amusement.

“At least you’re polite. As far as I’ve been told, you’re already making a better impression than the last nerubian who came here. There’s no need to introduce yourselves. Orfus has already told us your names.”

“You have experience with my people, Elder Wumni?” said Krivax, forcing his voice to be as calm as possible, even as his mind was racing.

“Not me, but one of our ancestors,” said Elder Wumni. “When I called upon them and asked, they told me that a nerubian like you decided to come here in the pursuit of knowledge while offering nothing in return.”

She’s probably talking about the most recent Vizier to try studying the tuskarr. That definitely sounds like something a Vizier would do.

“I will not lie to you and say that I do not seek knowledge, but I wish to do so in a mutually beneficial way that will leave us both enriched, Elder Wumni.”

Elder Wumni stared at him searchingly for a long moment before suddenly nodding and turning her attention to Masruk.

“And you? Are you just a silent follower with no thoughts of your own?”

“I am Masruk, and I am here to protect and support my friend,” Masruk said matter-of-factly. “I would like to spar with some of your warriors, but I am not otherwise particularly interested in you.”

Krivax barely resisted the urge to bury his face in his palms.

Thankfully, rather than being insulted, the Elder instead started to chuckle.

“Very well said, Masruk,” said Elder Wumni. With a nod to the Chieftain, she stepped back and allowed him to lead the conversation.

“I think we both know that the goods you have brought to trade are very valuable to us, outsiders,” said Chieftain Atuk seriously. “I’m curious to hear what you wish for in return.”

“I have a few ideas, Chieftain Atuk,” said Krivax, shifting into a more comfortable position.

The negotiations were likely to go on for a while once they started getting into the specifics, so it was a good idea for him to get comfortable.