Otherworld

Part 32

A smorgasbord of tasty fruit greeted the travelers the next morning. All of them sat down and feasted till they were satisfied. There was some type of fermented drink to wash everything down. It was super strong and even their native friends were having a problem with how potent the drink was.

Bridged was extremely curious about the warriors. Each warrior was fully dressed which was weird. Bridged was used to seeing the natives were only loincloths on. The clothing was similar to the type of clothing that Native Americans wore, but it was absent of the fringe. It appeared to be made out of the same materials of the loin cloth that Bridged and the others wore. The only thing different between the clothing was that the warriors' clothes had designs stitched into them while the natives had plain loin cloths.

Arnold nudged Bridged slightly before he leaned over and spoke in English. "They don't look like the ancient warriors back home."

Bridged shrugged. "I agree, but we have yet to see their armor and their fighting style."

"From where are from?"

Arnold sat up and spoke to the man who had spoken.

"We are from a different land beyond this world. Bridged and I came here with a group of our brethren to see if this world would be a viable world for our people to live on. Our job was to make sure that we left this world as we found it."

"Then why are you with our kith and ken?"

Naknaki spoke up. "They are with us because their brethren tried to kill them. I came into contact with Bridged one night. My encounter with her caused me to let our Chief know about her and the man who was her mate." Naknaki motioned to Arnold. "We were observing them the one night when we saved them from slaughter at the hands of their kin. It took a long time for Arnold to heal. While he was sick, Bridged learned our language and they have both decided to help us save our world from their kind."

All of the warriors around them nodded or looked thoughtfully at them. A woman with bright yellow designs on her clothes spoke up.

"Why would you help our kith and kin when you came here to conquer?"

Arnold draped an arm around Bridged's shoulder. "Bridged and I didn't come here to conquer. We can here to preserve this world and keep it from becoming just like the word we left. Our plan was to find some sort of dangerous animal or plant and convince everyone that this planet was suitable for life on a grand scale."

Bridged felt the need to speak up next and she did so with gusto. "Discovering people on this planet changed everything. It would have been better if the natives here were violent and wanted nothing more than to kill us, but that doesn't seem to be quite the case. That is why we need you."

The man and woman who had met them first yesterday looked at each other. The woman nodded causing the man to look back to them. "Your sacrifice has been made and your request is not unreasonable. This world is ours as well. We will help you."

"What will you have us do?"

Naknaki shared looks with everyone before speaking up for their group. "We would have you help us get rid of these strangers. They have done nothing but destroy everything in their path that they don't like. Bridged and Arnold have helped us, but we need more than they can give us."

"Today will be spent preparing to leave. Our armor and weapons must be made ready. We will leave on the morrow. Until then, you are welcome to explore our home."