There was no ti of day here, like there was in the realm of the humans. The sky above was constantly maroon. So Clyde was surprised whenever the monsters started talking about settling down for nightfall.
He was standing away from the others near a tent. From Clyde's point of view, the tent was the size of a large house. Luckily they had lodging for beings the size of Clyde.
Deciding it would be a good idea to et with the human-like creatures, Clyde tried to introduce himself. Leaning off the massive tent, he thought the best place to start would be the smaller tents.
His presence did attract so attention, but the beast chose to leave him alone for now. Clyde had already been asked to join several different clans, a concept he still didn't understand completely. To his surprise, a few creatures asked to join his own clan.
Clyde told them all yes, which hopefully wouldn't be a problem later. Technically, his clan had two mbers, excluding himself.
The large Minotaur he t asked to join pretty directly after camp was set up. Clyde recalled he said sothing along the lines of following strength. The other was a human sized spider. Clyde mostly said yes out of fear, but that was all it took.
Taking longer than expected, Clyde finally reached the smaller tents deeper into the center of the camp. He needed to be careful about revealing his true nature.
Seeing Clyde's entrance, a small, blue human-like creature walked up to him. He had glasses and short grey hair. He was currently wearing a dull leather tunic, likely preparing for sleep.
"You're Clyde right?"
His voice was higher pitched than Clyde was expecting.
"That's , and you are?"
"They call Quinn. I have another question for you."
Quinn intrigued Clyde because he was very straightforward.
"Go on."
"Why are you pretending to be an Inferi? I'm not strong but I'm intelligent, and you are a human."
This boy had completely figured out what Clyde was trying to hide. At least he found soone to learn from.
Grabbing the Quinn's arm, Clyde dragged him behind one of the tents. When he let go, the Inferi was blushing and clearly startled.
"Sorry to grab you like that, I just need to be cautious. I'm under the impression most of you don't like Humans."
"You're not wrong, but don't worry about . Think about it—if I really disliked you, I would've told people by now. I just want to learn more about your kind."
Letting go if Quinn's arm, Clyde relaxed himself.
"That makes sense. I think we can make an exchange. I need to know more about your people, the Inferi. You wish to learn about Humans and why I'm here."
Quinn's yellow eyes began to glimr.
"I would love nothing more! But I have one more request. You ntioned having a clan right?"
"I did."
"Is there any chance you would let soone like in? I've ntioned that I'm not strong, but I more than make up for it in insight."
Clyde acted like he was taking his ti contemplating.
"I don't see a problem with it, as of this mont you are a mber of the House of Fracture."
Quinn beca erratic.
"Finally, I've been trying to join one for almost sixty years now!"
'Sixty years!!? For soone who looks younger than , they are that old. They must age differently than humans.'
"By the way Quinn, what is a clan."
Quinn's jaw might as well have dropped to the floor.
"I have made a grave mistake."
He fell to the ground with his hands covering his face. Clyde didn't imagine this reaction at all, the aning of a clan must be deep.
"Are you gonna fill in?"
Quinn begrudgingly answered.
"A clan is a pact. It's a permanent as life and death in this world. mbers should treat everyone's lives as their own. Most importantly, it's beyond simple words or promises. In this realm, a clan is like a natural law."
"It's not like my clan is real or anything, I just made it up on the spot."
Quinn beca a bit angry.
"That's all you had to do! It's such an intangible thing here—literally no one would state their clanship, because it ant that you couldn't join another clan! I initially thought you had so knowledge of what a clan was. Best case scenario, you were the head of so infamous, powerful group."
Clyde ran a hand through his hair.
"I guess I'm just not comprehending the scale of your words. It sounds like the way in comrade should act with each other."
Quinn let out a hysterical chuckle.
"Look into yourself, and I an that literally. Close your eyes and imagine your heart beating."
Listening to her, Clyde followed her instructions. He saw a heart pulsing in and out. Suddenly, three small, shimring lights surrounded it.
"You see them don't you? Each of those is a representation of a mber. In case you forgot, it's like a natural law here. We are literally bounded! It might not be a big deal to you since you're not from here, but it is to . In exchange for your assistance, we pledge our existence to you."
This was a lot to take in, Clyde only felt more questions in his mind.
"What do you an my assistance and how exactly is your existence mine?"
"A clan's leader is supposed to be powerful, their duty is to protect their people and provide. A mber is bound to be loyal, the will of our leader is absolute. Going against it could result in death, if the clan leader wanted it to."
Clyde was finally realizing what he had got himself and others into.
"I'm sorry, Quinn, but rest assured, I would never forfeit a life for any reason."
Quinn looked up at Clyde with a heartfelt reaction.
"For so reason, I trust you. In fact, I believe you were ant to be here. Do you mind telling how you ended up in this place."
Clyde told Quinn about falling down a hole in the human realm, and the rest of the story to this point. His face was calm, displaying focus as he listened.
"That is a crazy idea to swallow. I don't think you're lying either. There's a lot to discuss, but for now I think it's best we get so rest."
Clyde couldn't disagree as he himself was beginning to feel an intense pressure to sleep.
"I agree. By the way, do you have any room in your tent? I don't have anywhere else to go."
Quinn's face beca flustered once again.
"Yes, you can sleep inside. I have a spare sleeping bag."
Following Quinn to his tent, Clyde wondered if he was putting too much pressure on him. He had never seen soone get so flustered over sothing this simple. Perhaps it was a difference between the Inferi and humans.
Lying down, Clyde got so much needed rest.
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