The others looked at Nick. It wasn’t like he was wrong, but wasn’t Nuir already safe? He was still injured, sure, but it wasn’t like he was about to be attacked again.
"I meant in the long run. He can’t go back to his tribe. Clearly. So, what’s going to happen to him now? And will the Lowat tribe sit still if they discover Nuir is in another tribe?"
The others were a little surprised by Nick’s questions. That was how valid they were. He made a very good point.
Nuir was a kid. Technically, he was still under the care of his tribe. That meant the Lowat tribe had cause to kick up a fuss if anyone else took in Nuir.
"I’m starting to think tearing that whiny brat’s jaw off isn’t a bad idea."
"..." Although no one had a response to Monkey’s words, they had to admit that they agreed. Basla was annoying.
"We can’t do anything like that, unfortunately." Surprisingly, Sosora was the voice of reason.
"We can’t risk a repeat of the situation that my tribe created all those years ago. We can’t go around policing other tribes, and we can’t just punish people of other tribes as we see fit." It was good that someone from the Aer tribe said it. It meant no one else had to bring it up.
It was a dark period in Tiabe’s history. If possible, they should stop it from happening again.
"But what do we do?" Mijko asked, glancing at Nuir. They couldn’t just walk away from this and hand Nuir back to the Lowat tribe.
Monkey, sitting cross-legged, scratched his chin. He was the most senior and influential person at the sausage party. It was inevitable that they turned to him. However, to everyone’s surprise, he wasn’t the one who answered Mijko’s question.
"I figure we have two options. The first is to do it the right way. We bring it up in a tribal meeting and tell the other tribes what we know and what we’ve seen. But..."
"That won’t lead anywhere."
It was similar to when the Lowat tribe tried to bring retribution to Sosora when she beat the snot out of Nuir’s bullies but reversed. It would be a matter of opinion and perspective. The only thing they had to go on was the words of those present.
At best, it would be dismissed at the tribal meeting, and Nuir would be sent back to the Lowat tribe whether he wanted it or not.
At worst, the other tribes would rally behind the Lowat tribe and blame the Aer, Ursa, and Gezercher tribes for conspiring to bring down the Lowat tribe by blackmailing them with the chief’s grandson.
"What’s the other option?" Muhso asked after everyone had taken a moment to consider the first option.
"We play dirty," Malak answered. "Together, everyone here has connections with the other tribes, right? We tell individuals about...nothing special. We didn’t see Nuir beaten half to death. We ’heard someone see a bunch of Lowat hooligans gang up on a kid.’"
"We spread rumors?" Muhso asked doubtfully. What about tearing them apart during a night raid?
"That’s just the beginning. We spread the rumors. We act like the rumors didn’t come from us. We start taking action.
"Since it’s just a single fight in the Lowat tribe, there isn’t much we can do without getting looks, but we can do small things. We start distancing ourselves from the Lowat tribe. When they want to buy or barter things from our tribes, we just increase the price for them slightly. We don’t greet them when we see them around in the forest. We ignore requests from them to help deal with monsters, floods, fallen trees, or transporting resources."
Malak’s words made everyone else look at him a little differently.
This wasn’t just playing dirty. Malak wanted to engage in psychological warfare and isolate the Lowat tribe completely. He was going to make the Lowat tribe outcasts in their own home.
"Will—will that really work?" Sosora couldn’t help but ask. She was the least surprised by Malak’s plan. But it just didn’t seem straightforward enough to carry through to the end. Would the other tribes follow their lead?
"I would like to say yes, but there’s only one way to know for certain." Malak shrugged lightly. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was curious to know if it would work.
The others looked at each other.
Issa thought it was an insidious plan. If it was used against her, she would never recover from it. She would go mad with worry, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. But she wasn’t against it. She would have preferred another option since not everyone of the Lowat tribe could be bad.
But there was no way there was someone in the Lowat tribe who didn’t know of Nuir’s fate. They were guilty through inaction. She was on board.
And since Issa, the gentlest of them all was on board, the others were naturally also on board. There was only one question mark left.
They turned toward Yamanas.
The Phoriae were notorious for not getting involved in the everyday affairs of Tiabe. It was for a good reason that the other tribes accepted.
The Aer tribe had gone overboard in the past, but they had relied solely on their ability to fly to do so. Once the other tribes developed countermeasures to that, the tables were flipped.
What were the countermeasures to overwhelming force? No one had the answer to that.
The only two tribes of present day Tiabe who could stand up to the Phoriae tribe were the Ursa and Asa tribes. But only in terms of individual strength.
The scary part about the Phoriae tribe wasn’t just the strength of each wolf rider. It was the unity. They moved and attacked in perfect harmony with each other. Unless the defending tribe had both the same level of strength and cohesion, they were doomed to fail.
The Phoriae stayed out of the forest’s affairs because they didn’t want to get overly involved and make the mistake the Aer tribe had made.
Yamanas looked down at the unconscious Nuir.
He...