"I greet you in peace, noble sons of stone and steel. May our words be as strong as iron." KiRA began with a respectful greeting, talking in an accent similar to the dwarves before him. "A mighty honor it is, to stand before ye who've found rest in this paradise o' peace."
The way KiRA spoke surprised both the dwarves instantly.
His way of speaking, the accent and the dialect, it almost seemed like he was one of them instead of being a foreigner, much less a human.
"I am called KiRA, a child of men from distant soils. By fate's hand, I found a sigil carved by Sirius, a master of craft. With no small struggle I reached this hallowed tomb. And though tales told of the mighty Green-Eyed Tribe, 'tis a heavy grief to behold your elders thus."
It might sound like KiRA had practised saying all those things in advance, however to the dwarves hearing this directly, this seemed as natural as it could be.
The two dwarven elders were even suspicious of him at first, however, when KiRA called out their predecessor's name, they started seeing him in a completely new light.
"Though I am but a recent climber of the Tower, having only just begun my ascent, I was fortunate enough to discover this mausoleum. The sigil I found held vast knowledge of your people, and through it, I came to understand much. After reading the diary of the Lime elder, I could piece together what might have occurred here."
This time, KiRA used the human tone, indicating he was in fact a human of human blood.
The sigil of their ancestor that he was talking about must have been one of the relics left behind in the outside world by him.
The stories of the preparedness of their ancestors was no stranger to any of the elders. They had grown up hearing stories of how the great forefathers used to be craftsmen of gods who foresaw things that not even the prophets could predict.
"From what I gathered in them writings, it seems the spawn o' Ouroboros breached yer floor and spilled venom 'pon yer kin.
Breaks me heart, it does. But I'm no warrior worth his axe— not yet.
In this Tower, I'm but a fledgling, weak and without name. There's little I can do for ye now, and that shames me."
KiRA was deliberately shifting from human tongue to the dwarven to display his mastery of both the tongues, something that greatly impressed the dwarven elders.
The humans that they may have seen until now aware of their language and customs might have been proficient but they could not do anything more than copying their mother tongue.
This young lad right here, however, was showcasing his true bi-lingual mastery. He had not only mastered the tongue, he could live it.
And for that alone, their respect for the young man increased many folds.
"Belphegor, she's named… the one who bears the title of Sloth's Sin, and master o' its cursed weight." his voice grew grim as he talked of her, his eyes showing a strange darkness within them.
"Her arrival was as fickle as the wandering winds. Yet from but a moment in her wake, the Blessing of Sloth did settle upon us." He addressed both of them, informing them of the demon that they had randomly encountered.
"By fortune's hand, I laid claim to the lost lore of an archmage now faded from all memory. With coin in hand, I gathered what was needed to forge this shield 'gainst the dark."
KiRA was already aware the dwarves had already tried to analyze the barrier around them, not succeeding as the complexity of its structure must have repelled any attempts to interfere with its structure.
The dwarves of the green-eyed tribe weren't masters of craftsmanship, just like the creator of this pocket dimension, these elders here were also proficient in magic and spells.
Yet, as KiRA was aware, they could not understand this strange barrier, making the claim that it was a legacy of a forgotten archmage, pinnacles of magic, far more believable.
"Be it luck or the gods' own jest, here we stand all the same…"
KiRA was finished with what he needed to tell them.
"So help me, good elders. Please repay me with some answers I must know the truth of." KiRA returned to a casual tone, looking at both the elders hopefully.
He had answered the questions that they might have about his origin and his reason for being here, so now it was their turn to answer the questions.
"Can we take a seat somewhere? You must be hungry as well… Please allow me to treat you." He offered respectfully, and both the elders looked at him with a confused-surprised look.
He was a young boy, they knew he was not even a tenth of their age. And yet, this was the first time they were seeing a human as unique as him.
"That place looks good. Let's go there." KiRA did not wait for their answers since their speechless expressions were enough answers that he needed.
"Uni."
He had already spent a pretty penny to release them from the curse, but he knew he would have to spend another good penny to feed them some good stuff.
"Viv~!" (Yes, master~.)
Still, he did not complain for the time being and only looked forward to the future benefits.
"Oho?"
The ingredients that he bought from Uni's shop instantly attracted their attention.
There was enough meat and enough booze to feed a small military company. But for the two elders, even this much might be just enough.
"He's good…"
KiRA prepared the ingredients at a lightning speed.
He prepared the meat, he prepared the species, he cooked at a speed that was only seen from those with at least a decade of experience.
Seeing him use his not-so-good formless blade was a delight to the two who had created ones much better than that simple thing.
It did not take him even half an hour to finish everything up and set a long table full of food before them.
There was enough food and booze here to replenish their months of hunger. And, while they wanted to maintain their composure, they knew they did not have too long on their hands.
"Let's chat while eating." Since eating was the only time when the dwarves were the most chatty, KiRA capitalised on their cultural nature to set up the stage.
"Gulp."
The delicacies that he had made were all dwarven traditional food made so perfectly they could confirm the great quality from the scent alone.
Both the elders were hungry, almost drooling even.
They could tell there was something strange about all of this, but what evil could a young one as pure and amazing as him commit?
"Thank ye kindly for the fare."
He was connected to their predecessors as well as an archmage as well. There was no reason to suspect him or be wary of him… was there?