So, how did the meeting end?
Well…
We ended up fighting.
I didn't understand them, and they didn't understand me, so we all decided to fight.
"How interesting! What does your blood taste like? What will it give me? What knowledge does it hold? Ah, I can't hold back!" I shouted in anticipation as our weapons clashed. I received a shout in response, but I couldn't understand it.
Without hesitation, I summoned a "ghost wolf" that grabbed the second crocodile by the leg. Although this magic was from the school of illusion, it was capable of dealing damage.
I crossed swords with the first crocodile — strike, parry. I grabbed his machete with my free hand and struck him under the breath with the hilt of my weapon, knocking the air out of my opponent's lungs.
Without delay, I grabbed him by the rags he was wearing and bit into his neck. But I decided not to drain him completely.
"I no longer need to fight so desperately for my survival. Mercy is also an option."
So, what did I learn? Well, practically nothing. His blood gave me almost no knowledge except for the language. In fact, this was the first time I hadn't drained my victim completely; it was new to me. I could barely pull my fangs away from his neck.
"Hmm, being peaceful is rather unprofitable. Whatever. I won't let my thirst take control of me again," — the crocodile that managed to deal with the "ghost wolf" and the one I had thrown off suddenly looked at me in amazement.
"Brother, he knows the language of our tribe."
"But he was shouting in an unknown language a couple of seconds ago!"
"Oh, it's simple. I didn't know your language back then — until I drank your blood," I replied politely to them, flashing my green eyes.
"Blood… ANSWER! ARE YOU THE DEMON OF THIS FOREST?" the crocodile shouted confidently, raising his machete.
"Brother, you don't think this is the same monster the elder spoke about, do you?" his companion said uncertainly.
"Demon of the forest? No. I am a Vampire," their faces lengthened at my words.
"Vampire? Are you from the Sarcas tribe (one of the races on Terra)?" Now it was my turn to be surprised.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'd be glad if you could enlighten me. I give my word that I won't attack you first," I plunged my sword into the ground and stood freely in front of them, showing the seriousness of my words. I even managed to wipe the smile of anticipation of future carnage off my face.
After hesitating for a moment, they repeated my gesture and enlightened me about where the hell I was.
They called the planet Terra, and we were in a tropical forest. They were one of the tribes of Sargon, the state in which they lived, and they belonged to the Archosaur race. That was it.
That was really all they could tell me, because their tribe was too far from civilization and barely interacted with the outside world. Or maybe they were just too stupid.
And ridiculously simple.
After a brief conversation, I found myself in their tribe. They actually let ME into their tribe. I don't look like a peaceful creature at all — people just ran away in horror when they saw me. When I got curious, I decided to ask why. Believe me, those people had strong spirits; they fought my kind without thinking of retreating. But at the sight of me, they tried to hide in terror.
The reason was quite strange: I instilled fear in them because they couldn't understand the nature of my threat and how to deal with it, unlike battles with my kind, where the tactics were already known. I was the only vampire with green eyes. That man was trembling in his wet pants, trying to explain that something inside him was just terrified, something primal that he didn't even suspect.
So, even trained church paladins sometimes froze at the sight of me. That's why I was confused now. Why were they so careless in my presence? Why did they let me into their tribe? When I asked these two archosaurs this question, they laughed and patted me on the shoulder, causing the ground beneath my feet to crack slightly.
«You're not evil; I don't sense any malice from you towards us! A human who puts his sword into the ground can't be evil!» His words stunned me, and then I burst out laughing.
«Wow, you're the first mortal to say that to me! The others just tried to kill me or ran away from me!» After these words, I picked up the strange liquid they were drinking and raised it high.
«To your bravery!» And I was deafened by the roar of this tribe.