324 Meeting with the Minokawas (1/2)
”So, now that he's found his new companion, shall we continue northeast?”
Following Jack's lead, the party continued their journey. All was going well and smooth since no beast dared approach them, which Jack then attributed to Bowzer after seeing how much respect Ssildro had for the fox.
But after some time, Kims spoke up, ”Jack, Ssildro is warning us not to go this way.”
”And why's that?”
”He said we're about to enter the territory of a the Minokawas.”
”Mino… Minokawas?!” Vixus was shaking with joy. ”Jack, there are Minokawas in here?!”
”I wanted it to be a surprise,” sighed the hero. ”If memory serves me right, then only three or four were put in here back in the day. But based on Ssildro's suggestion, it seems they've become quite a force here on the sky floor. Kims, tell Ssildro that I want to meet with the Minokawas, but he's welcome to stay behind if he's afraid.”
With a laugh, Kims soon added, ”Ssildro just wanted to warn us but he's more than willing to join. He has no fear of the Minokawas.”
The party chuckled and continued their trek. After another five minutes of wandering, they heard a shout.
'Halt!'
Besides Jack and Tralon, the other men were all startled by the shout. It was only a telepathic message, but it was still understandable to them all. That meant whoever spoke was either another human or a creature that could rival their natural intelligence, if not surpass it.
'Halt! Are you humans, perhaps?'
Jack looked up to see a majestic beast dive from the distant sky with immeasurable speed yet still gracefully land on its feet. It still had a beak, but within the beak was a row of serrated fangs. The beast was covered in feathers but it's head and feet more closely resembled a dragon than it did any bird. From the top of its head to the tip of its tail, the beast only measured around three meters in length, but it still showed no awareness or respect for the larger Winged Serpent.
”My name is Jack,” the hero introduced himself with a bow. ”Is there any way that you and I can speak between just the two of us?”
The beast eyed Jack and scoffed. 'Does that mean that you are, in fact, human?'
'I am, and I would like to speak to your leader,' replied Jack, 'or as you would call him or her, your sovereign.'
'Interesting indeed… You know of our culture so well yet we only know ancient legends of yours. Explain this, human.'
Smiling, Jack bowed again. 'Can you please take me to your sovereign? I'm sure he or she would also like to learn this and I have a request for them as well. Of course, with that request comes an offer of my own.'
”Everyone, hurry and follow that Minokawa! We're going to go meet the Minokawa Sovereign, so store all your weapons!”
While they all started to run after Jack, Vixus started to ramble on about the Minokawas and the sovereign before anyone else could ask for more information. ”The Minokawa Sovereign?! There's a sovereign in here?! Jack, do you know what this means? We had assumed that the Minokawas were either extinct or hiding away from the world. The fact that they have enough Minokawas in this place for them to elect a sovereign is incredible!”
”Get all your nerves out now, Vixus, because when we meet the sovereign I'll be the only one allowed to speak. Got it?” Jack eyeballed Vixus, making sure he understood.
”Right, I'll act properly for the sovereign's sake.”