Open Chronicles Redemption

[Orion]

Orion's lips curled into a smile as Brynneld replied to his query. He was a sharp one, sharper than the Rangers who had been giving him the cold shoulder gave him credit for, he would say. Indeed, there was much more to this mission than they were being told. Orion found himself increasingly curious about the reasons behind such secrecy.

He tilts his head back, looking up into the sky as he speaks, his raven hair falls down his back in waves. "Even with them, the roads of Alliria roads grow more dangerous by the month. Surely you've noticed?" It was no big secret that the region had a quickly building problem involving attacks along the roads. To somebody who could easily defend themselves like Orion, this was no big matter. However, it was alarming nonetheless. "And I would say this mission seems awfully targeted towards a goal unrelated to such danger."

For a moment, he considers asking his question directly. The crux of the matter lie within these rangers, he felt. However, he was interrupted by The Devourer, who nudged for them to slow their pace and listen. Orion's eyes soften as he processes what the creature was saying, his head tilted in thought. He turns to Brynneld. "He proposes that on our arrival, we lead with the nonhumans and explore the possibility of reasoning with our target."

 

[Erland Karr]

"He proposes that on our arrival, we lead with the nonhumans and explore the possibility of reasoning with our target."

Orion Pretty Boy

"The nonhumans?" Bryn mused, looking around.

"Looks to me the nonhumans consist of you," he said to the devourer, "and the troll. Now I might be wrong and the troll could be a scribe and the ogres on guard duty might be able to read. Fair to say that might not be the case though eh?" he asked.

There was nothing too malicious in Bryn's nature. The man had spent months in a cell, despite the aches and pains he was glad to be outside again.

 

[Kalia Oro Khastan]

Overhearing a bit of the conversation (being an undead had its perks), he caught up with them and matched their pace. If the troll wished to answer his questions he was free to.

"I couldn't help but overhearing, gentlemen. While I'm closely associated with humanity I am technically of giantish descent, I doubt these ogres would readily identify me as human off the bat."
He acknowledged the writing of the Devourer with a respectful nod, "It's a viable option, sending inhumans first to potentially open dialogue. I'm well versed in the arts of negotiation and debate, perhaps I can serve as the voice for our envoy to the sorceress."

He rubbed the chin of his mask thoughtfully.
"Of course there are many ways we can approach this situation depending on what we find when we arrive at our destination. These can be discussed along the course of our journey."
He chuckled a little to himself.
"And just to get it out of the way. As I'm sure you know, a frontal assault is an option, but not a viable one. Ogres would outmatch the human warriors in a head on battle any day. So other options would run along the lines of ambushing, hit and run tactics, raids, and gorilla warfare. Stealth will serve us better which is what ranger's specialize in, correct?"

 

[Erland Karr]

Two days later

It had not been easy to get Garleth to agree to let the nonhumans try and negotiate. He was clearly suspicious that a troll would end up joining in the 'fun' with the ogres. In the end he relented. At the least they could scout out the defences

The group had been split into two. The handful of rangers and humans remained on the far side of a copse of trees from the town. Scouts had been posted and they didnt set a fire.

Danger was not far away. The scout posted close to the trees was left lying in a pool of his own blood. An elf crouched over the body, wiping his blade and watching the Rangers from afar. Several great shadows emerged from behind him.

"Go and have some fun," he told the ogres.
Orion

---

The others had gone on ahead. They would find that the town wall was missing its gate. Several bodies had been crudely hung from the palisades as a warning. Two ogres, armour formed from multiple ill-fitting pieces and chunks of iron stood watch.

"Oi, watchu want?" called one of them, clearly confused by the arrival.

Kalia Oro Khastan Tol Pretty Boy

 

[Pretty Boy]

Pretty Boy trotted near the ogres confidently. He felt a bit validated, knowing that they’d not been attacked on sight. The ogres at least were willing to speak with them on some level. That meant they could get somewhere with them. Pretty waggled his tail appealingly, the little bob thumping happily against the ground. He smiled at the ogres, and hoped they could read.

He lifted his paw and scratched into the soil. Hello. We to talk with your master. Mage.

Pretty Boy hoped that was clear enough. He looked over his shoulder at the troll, clearly expecting his aid. They had to be polite, but firm.

Brynneld Tol Orion

 

[Tol]

Tol felt good to finally meet someone who actually recognized and apricated him being a priest and the man even apologised for not recognizing sooner. Tol hadn't received such respect before and wasn't exactly sure how to respond "uhhh... To.. I accept apology"

The next things the man spoke of Tol could not comprehend. He spoke of a place where the sun turned water into something, What ever vapor was Tol didn't like it and used this vapor to suck it out of the land. Such a place must have been created by a being that hated to Swamp and used its power to prevent the Swamps growth but this proved how strong and hardy this man was to be able to survive in a place with no water. Tol was going to ask more about this land but then the man told Tol the reason for his mask

Now if the concept of a desert would confuse a Swamp Troll then the ability to survive a fire breathing dragon's breath head on is even more improbable. Normal fire is dangerous to Swamp Trolls as it quickly spreads across their body faster than another creature, but dragon fire is a lot different well at least Tol believed it was as dragons could apparently melt mountains with their fire. The fact Kalia survived dragon fire made Tol not only respect him but also fear him for a man who can survive a dragon could easily beat a troll.

Tol stood dumbfounded as he tried to make a coherent response to the mans question about the swamp's message. "Ahhh Da Swamp uhh message is" Tol then realized he wasn't really sent to give a specific message as the Swamp never spoke to him in words, but this legendary being was asking what was the message and Tol couldn't simply say he doesn't know. Tol had to guess the message or somehow interpret what the Swamp has told him into an actual message "Da Swamp want all to know da bonty of life it provide" Tol knew he would have to refine the message a later date but for now that should do.

Tol wasn't sure what next to say and watched the man head towards other members of the group. Maybe the swamp wanted Tol to learn about place of no water and fight what ever demon is stealing its water
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Tol had been informed of the plan to talk to the ogres which was understandable but he was a bit confused why they wanted him since Tol wasn't the most diplomatic troll but then he was a priest and if needed to he could give a holy beating to these Ogres.

Tol walked with The Devourer and who ever else was apart of the talking team to where the front gate was. While Tol was most likely bigger than the ogres he understood not to underestimate them as he had lost an arm wrestle to a half ogre once before. The Devourer gave Tol a certain look that no matter what species you were you would know that means go up and talk.

Tol straightened his back and walked towards the ogres with with a loud booming voice spoke "I Tol Priest of Da Swamp come with friends to speak with ogres. Things want to know why you kill and raid village for magic lady" Tol made sure to have has hand on his club in case the ogres didn't want to talk

 

[Kalia Oro Khastan]

Kalia also went with the negotiation group, his size had often set him apart from humans in the eyes of inhumans, though in life he was accepted and even revered for his strength and power as a half giant among his people.

They approached the occupied village and things were much like Kalia would have expected... And given the circumstances he was glad for his undeath to keep him emotionally detached, because he had no doubt that he would have attacked these ogres on sight when he was alive... When ogres take over a place like this... Bodies are never left laying in the streets and captives have a limited shelf life depending on the size of the ogre forces...
Emotions were chemical reactions in a biological system that no longer existed for him, but he hid this well through his acting ability. Only things that truly mattered to him struck deep enough into his very soul to bring forward a reaction.

Kalia let the Troll introduce their group to the ogre guards. Ogres were far less common in the wilderness of his homeland and those he had met during his adventures in undeath left no room for negotiation. He would save his negotiation prowess for the meeting with the mage, one he was sure he could reason with.
And should anything go wrong he was confident that his magic could protect them, having another potential magic caster in the Troll made him confident in their chances of success.

Spoiler

Rebecca Fourtuna
Little did he know that the mages greatest crimes had yet to be revealed...

 

[Orion]

Orion wasn't the most social of people in the first place, but even so it felt strange to travel in such a large group, with a litany of nonhumans. If it weren't for the obvious distrust that these Rangers he found himself with had for the creatures who'd gone out of their way to help them, one could almost consider this a milestone for interspecies cooperation.

What a joke. They were a band of primarily humans, off to kill a bunch of ogres and elves.

Orion was quite silent, even in comparison to the hushed tones of his fellow man, hiding in wait while their non-human constituents made an attempt at diplomacy. He doubted their chances of success, but he'd been willing to go along with the plan if for no other reason than to buy time and information. The enemies reaction to their ambassador's would influence how the raven haired mage would likely try and proceed. He wasn't about to let him free unless the situation turned especially dire.

The other rangers that remained with the human group would do decently in a fight, but he wasn't betting on them against ogres. Despite their dimwittedness, Ogres could display creativity well beyond their nature, and who knew what this enchantress had done to them? Of course, there was Brynneld. He was different, and while Orion still hadn't entirely discerned exactly how, he--

His eyes snapped open wider than the half lidded gaze that had been scanning the tree line, the usually sedated look on his face lighting up as bright as a camp fire would have.

"We have friends coming. I can't tell how many, but there's movement on the tree line. I suggest you all prepare yourselves for combat. We have to assume that our invitation to talk was declined."

His hands slide out from his cloak, glowing with a faint blue light that seemed to dance along his fingers like lightning. There was a chance he could scare them off, but he hadn't performed such a large scale illusion in some time. It would be a crapshoot. He looked towards the Ranger he knew to be in command.

"I can attempt to divert them with magic, and possibly keep them from getting too close. Not a guarantee though. We could set up an ambush, alternatively... I will follow your command for the time being."

 

[Erland Karr]

The ogres at the gate looked at each of the three in turn. A troll, a giant man hidden in his armour and a...thing. The dog thing was scratching the ground and shuffling along in a line opposite them, perhaps preparing to charge them down.

"I Tol Priest of Da Swamp come with friends to speak with ogres. Things want to know why you kill and raid village for magic lady"

"Why?" the ogre replied, looking around them. "Cos it was fun?" he tried with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

---

Bryn was glad he had been given his sword now. He didn't want to be out here. Garleth had been shrewd around his offer, knowing how to phrase it to convince him to come along. It didn't change how reticent Brynneld was.

Just five ogres rushing across the open ground. It was enough. They wore crude armour fashioned from random pieces of iron and steel which made their charge rather noisy.

"How the fuck did our scout not see them coming," Garleth complained. "Bows!"

"The scout is dead," Brynneld muttered. He turned to Orion as he drew his sword. "If you can distract even two of them from the fight..."

The twangs of the first arrows being shot rang out as the archers found their range. The charge was more like a cavalry charge, based on how big and fast the ogres were when up to speed. The Rangers were skirmishers, ill-suited to an engagement like this in the open field.

Which was why they had not intended to be caught out like this.

 

[Kalia Oro Khastan]

As soon as they spoke he had an idea of the kind of creatures he was dealing with.
Kalia stepped forward to address the ogre guards.
"All the same, we are here to negotiate with your leader, a magic using elf I understand?
You're both strong warriors, with your watchful eyes and strong arms there's absolutely no danger to her, least of all from us."
The ogres glanced at each other but seemed to puff up a little when called 'strong warriors', they waved the group into the village. Flattery got you everywhere with this sort, and Kalia was beginning to understand how a clever elf could persuade a tribe of these warlike creatures to follow her.

One of the ogres led them through the decimated village to the main building, the whole way there the only signs of life Kalia saw were in cages... And their numbers were small and dwindling.

 

[Rebecca Fourtuna]

Rebecca sat at the mages right had. The ethereal chain pulled tightly against her neck. The end wrapped lazily around the mages wrist.

“I wish you would not try me so demon. All I need know is your true name and I could be your master she said casually. “Then there would be no need for these chains. You could eat..Smite my enemies..It would be quite nice..But if this persists I-.” She stopped as guards entered. The chain slackened and Rebecca was inches away from the monster nearly scarring the pants from his body.

“I told you not to disturb me.” She said in a somewhat frustrated tone. Rebecca was yanked back to her side roughly to the relief of the orc.

“Apologies Mistress. The guards are bringing in a group saying they want to negotiate.” He said with a bow. Rebecca growled at the monster ready to pounce if given the chance. Her anger was displayed in her glowing red eyes and her hatred was building up. She needed to eat.

“K-keep that thing on close to you..I saw it bite someone’s head off..” the orc said nervously. “If you would allow them in and wait at the door you won’t have to worry.” She said with a cold smile. “A-alright..” He said stepping out.

“Now..Where were we..” She continued as the monster left.

 

[Pretty Boy]

Of course, no one could read. He missed the dark haired man who had read his words aloud. Well, he had to deal with what he could. He shook his head a bit when the ogres mentioned it was fun. Fun? They found that sort of thing fun? Maybe he had been wrong about them. He was about to try and see if he could get someone else to read, when the elf sauntered up and began talking.

Well, she certainly didn’t mince words, but neither did she start a fight. Pretty and the others were waved through, and Pretty wagged his tail appreciatively. He saw the people in cages, and wandered up to them for a smell. Ah, so these were the people they were here to free. He smiled at them, in the weird way devourers could smile. He pulled the corners of his mouth up and let his mouth hang open a bit.

Hopefully they took that as encouragement.

Tol
Orion

 

[Tol]

"Cos it was fun?" Tol couldn't argue the fact that it was fun to smash skulls once in a while but to this extent Tol found it undesirable. Luckily Kalia took charge and started to speak with the ogres and as expected the ogres swayed by Kalia's words of flattery and took the group within the town.

The people of this town were now trapped within cages and looked like they hadn't eaten in days. Tol now understood why the Swamp sent him here it was so that he may free these souls from their suffering within these small cages but for now he mustn't take rash actions for they still had a plan to talk with the enchantress and reason with her to stop this cruelty an act Tol thought he would be unable to do but then he had faith that Kalia would be able to convince the enchantress and maybe the Enchantress would understand The Devourer.

Still Tol felt uneasy and needed to be prepared if things went wrong. Tol grabbed his bone knife which of course was noticed by the ogres and they would have probably took it as a reason to attack Tol if Tol did not stab the knife into his arm. Some of the ogres watching chuckled and Tol swore he heard one mention how stupids trolls are that they would hurt them selves.

The wound would heal pretty quickly but took long enough for some blood to drip down onto his club. Tol was betting the ogres had little to no knowledge of blood magic and there was no way he would be in the same room as the enchantress without having atleast some magic ready.

 

[Erland Karr]

There was little to mark Duanne Vaye as a powerful mage. She could have been mistaken for for any elf, dressed in plain and muted fabrics. It was not every elf that had a pack of murderous ogres showing them deference.

Duanne watched the group with an idle curiosity. She already knew about the pack of rangers approaching Hatfield. She already had several elven scouts leading a group of ogres that way to deal with them.

These were not Rangers.

Once she had known many of their kind. She had taught several of them basic healing. She had even taken a lover from amongst them. Then, when an elven caravan was attacked by human bandits and they had made no effort to deal with the problem she had taken matters into her own hand.

It wasn't just bandits. Their kind had been deliberately attacking elven settlements to drive them out of the region. They would pay for their transgressions.

"What business have you brought here?" she asked.

 

[Orion]

Orion peered over at Brynneld as he spoke from the side of his vision. He had to admire his ambition. Killing even three of the five Ogres would be an accomplishment few could lay claim to. The side of his mouth curls into a smirk, the glow dancing along his fingertips brightening. "The rightmost two are mine then. I'm trusting you can handle the rest of them."

He didn't wait for the two creatures under his jurisdiction to come to him, setting off to meet them halfway. His shoulders shrugged off the long black cloak he wore, leaving him bare chested. His skin seemed to have countless markings and symbols burned into it, and all of them seemed to radiate with energy. Raising his hands with his palms outstretched towards the Ogres, he began his work on their simple minds.

The first thing the beasts would notice is the disappearance of their three comrades, seemingly into thin air. Of course, most everything that Orion did was nothing but an illusion. He had not disposed of three Ogres instantaneously: He'd merely convinced the two's minds that they were now alone. That wouldn't help if they decided to attack the Rangers even without strength in tremendous numbers, however.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened. Orion let out a quiet swear as the two lumbering oafs continued on their path towards him. They didn't have the strategic mind to even consider retreat. Orion didn't have as much strength as he'd like; his condition had deteriorated too severely as of late. Even so, if he pushed himself a bit, he could still draw them off.

Tightening the muscles in each of his fingers one by one, he spreads his arms apart wide. A pained grunt forces it's way from his lips as he feels the immense weight of the illusion he was attempting. It was all he could do to maintain a grip on his mind as he saw the results of his work immediately. The ogres panicked at the sight of at least 50 faceless figures in the armor of the rangers, springing from the ground itself as though he'd risen the dead. Even beings as simple as them realized the chances of their victory over this false ambush were minimal. While the three other ogres pressed their attack, the two rightmost ones now turned tail and ran from the fight.

Orion dropped to his hands and knees as soon as they were out of sight, coughing and heaving. He'd had no idea he'd regressed so badly...

 

[Kalia Oro Khastan]

Finally they were led into the presence of the sorcerer herself. Kalia took note of the building, once it must have been owned by the town mayor, he identified obvious signs of ogres having smashed their way through the building.
He took note of potential escape routs but his intuition told him that if they didn't reach an accord it will all end here. Indoors fighting for larger creatures such as himself and the troll had its pros and cons, their movements were limited if they tried to be conscious about structural damage, but their size also posed an effective barrier that limited the movements of enemies as well.

Kalia also took note of the Trolls actions, unlike the ogres he was familiar with blood magic if not incapable of practicing it himself.

As they entered the main chamber Kalia had planned on being cordial, charming, polite, political, kingly.
"Greetings. I am the adventurer, Kalia Khastan. Apologies for arriving without invitation but we've important matters to discuss..."
He saw the elf sorcerer on her makeshift throne at the head of the hall, but what he saw beside her turned his heart cold...
His voice was a whisper, barely audible.
"... Rebecca..."
The demon that had served him in life... chained and leashed to that... woman... to that THING!
It was true that Kalia physically couldn't feel emotion as it existed in a chemical state... But what he felt now was a deep seated feeling that struck deep into his very soul.

His formally jovial and charming tone disappeared along with his overly heroic persona, his voice deepened in anger and he now spoke with a kalitian accent.
"... Duanne Vaye... My apologies... I am afraid I must re-introduce myself... I am Kalia Oro Khastan, King of Djedi Akhmis. And de Alzaaeim, cursed of de gods."
Whatever torches or campfires lit the room now flickered and sputtered, struggling to remain lit against the oppressively massive presence that Kalia now seemed to radiate.
Kalia took a step towards the middle of the room and planted himself there. Even though his size didn't change he seemed truly massive at this point.
He pointed at the mage in accusation, "I came here to negotiate with you on de behalf of de humans as de adventurer, Kalia Khastan. I would have offered you mercy, a chance at redemption, a compromise, a way to settle whatever wrongs dat were done to you to set you on dis path..."
Then his finger shifted to point at Rebecca Fourtuna .
"But now you have wronged me, personally. By taking my servant and placing her in chains you have committed a heinous crime against my authority..."

By now black magic like smoke began to fall off of him, leaking from beneath the plates of bronze armor and crawling like fog on the ground, choking any flames and blotting out the light sources one by one.
He drew his Khopesh in one hand and his other hand reached behind his back and under his cloak to draw a bladed scepter.
"If you release her now and beg for my forgiveness I will take my servant and leave... But defy me, and I will leave nothing for de laws of man to judge or for de gods to condemn."
All of this monologue was delivered in a glowering tone of righteous anger. Those sensitive to the flow of magic could feel the power he was prepared to unleash.

 

[Erland Karr]

"The rightmost two are mine then. I'm trusting you can handle the rest of them."

Brynneld hoped the rest of the Rangers were not also thinking he would personally deal with three ogres. He had been left in a prison cell for months. His sword - enchanted as it was - felt far heavier in his hands than it ever had.

"Go for their legs," Bryn called to the archers. One more volley was all they had. Arrows thudded home beneath the improvised armour the ogres wore. One stumbled and fell. Given the size of the ogre he wasn't going to get up quickly.

Bryn darted out towards their left, drawing the ogre on the flank. Several rangers tried to hold the charge of the next ogre, whilst others set about the one who had fallen with short swords.

With the enchanted sword in hand, Brynneld was afforded small glimpses into his immediate future. He darted aside to avoid the two-handed axe swung for his head. The ogre had to stop and turn to fight him. That was what Bryn wanted, to put his back towards the others.

His own two handed sword looked like a toothpick compared to the double-headed axes to ogre wielded.

---

"If you release her now and beg for my forgiveness I will take my servant and leave... But defy me, and I will leave nothing for de laws of man to judge or for de gods to condemn."

The mage looked entirely uninspired by his show of strength. There would be no begging here. She did however release her hold on the chain.

"Go to him," she said plainly at the creature. The monster could be someone else's problem.

"So you have come to offer me redemption?" she asked, with a wave of one hand. The candles flared back to life. "I don't know why you would want to involve yourself in matters. Perhaps you should take your servant a leave. It was found eating some of my people you see."

 

[Pretty Boy]

Pretty Boy didn’t like this. The people bristling around him were preparing for combat. Sure, some of the ogres chuckled at the troll, and Pretty hoped he had some reason for hurting himself...but that wasn’t any reason to get weapons ready. The ogres’ responses, that it was simply fun to take over the town, gave further credence to the idea they’d been swindled. Greenskins weren’t the smartest creatures in the world, and both humans and elves found them easy to manipulate. Pretty said nothing as they were led into the presence of the sorceress.

He did know how to be polite. He made an elegant leg and bowed to her, then sat upright.

Unfortunately, as was classic among two-legs, someone immediately lost their temper. The mage pointed at the captive, and claimed her. Pretty had no idea of their relationship, but now the other man was putting their negotiations at risk. Moreover, he’d drawn a weapon. Talking about giving no quarter. Pretty saw the lights gutter, and growled at Kalia. A little tact?!

Nevermind, two legs didn’t know what tact was. He hurried in front of Kalia, and sat down in front of him, shaking his head toward the sorceress.

Sorry. Want to know why attack humans? Humans upset. Want town back. Came to talk, talk ok. No fight. He scribbled, and gave a pointed look to Kalia. Making dangerous threats was not negotiation. If the mage’s pet was found eating an ogre it was no wonder it had been imprisoned.

Brynneld

 

[Rebecca Fourtuna]

“Master!” Rebecca bounded to him with little more than a glance at the woman. She had been a toy to prod and poke, and now that keeping her was even slightly at a cost she was tossed aside casually. She didn’t care. Her master. Her true master was here! It almost brought her to tears as she lunged a top his shoulders and perched there like it was the most normal place in the world to be. And in all honesty it was.

She was begging to speak with him, but her professionalism was instinctual. She would not speak until he bade her to. They both knew this. He had business to attend to their reunion could wait. Until then she was happy perching on his shoulders and glaring jagged daggers at everyone present.

 

[Tol]

Well any hope of peaceful negotiation was most likely gone now and the façade of Kalia disappeared. It seemed he was a being cursed by the gods which explains why he came from a land of no water. The current issue now was that the Enchantress had one of Kalia's servants prisoner causing Kalia to throw away any attempt at negotiation away. Tol believe that Kalia knew his servant was here to whole time hence why he joined this quest even if that wasn't truly the case Tol just couldn't believe this was a coincidence

Tol wasn't sure what to do until he saw The Devourer, while he may not be able to read the look The Devourer gave to Kalia in addition to the growl was enough for Tol to figure out what it was saying. "I agree with Da Devourer, Kala you take offar to leave and no ruin talk. You got what you want"

Tol hoped Kalia would simply refrain from forcing the Enchantress to beg for forgiveness. He doubted Kalia would take the Enchantresses offer right away but maybe would just calm down for a little bit.

Tol had faith that if the situation cooled down a bit then The Devourer would be able to lead the talks assuming the Enchantress could read which was most likely a given since she was a elf and normally they are smart most of the time. The servant however was something Tol felt a chill go down his spine when she glared at him, He could smell the Bayou on her yet something was wrong about it and he would step back a few more steps from Kalia and his servant.

 

[Kalia Oro Khastan]

Spoiler

Sorry, I thought I posted this week's ago!

Kalia hadn't expected the sorceress to actually give Rebecca up, as a hunter killer there were very few creatures that could match her. But perhaps he had misjudged her, the rangers had indeed painted quite the picture of this sorceress in his mind and he mentally berated himself for allowing his perceptions to be swayed so easily. As a king he was certainly out of practice.

With Rebecca safely on his shoulders and now the Devourer interposing himself between them and the sorceress Kalia calmed down and sheathed his weapons, the struggling lights flared then returned to their regular glow.
He nodded to the Devourer, wordlessly indicating all was well now.
His Kalitian accent vanished, once more replaced by the adventurer Kalia Khastan.
He made an apologetic bow with Rebecca still perched on his shoulders like a cat who decided it was a scarf.
"My deepest apologies for my outburst, miss Vaye. As promised, after our business is concluded here I will take my servant and leave."
So that the mage wouldn't have to move to read what the devourer wrote on the floor he went ahead and delivered the message.
"It's true, the humans have hired us to aid them in reclaiming this village. However, understanding the hastiness of humans and their tendency to act before thinking, a failing I myself just experienced, we three have volunteered to intercede for them and determine whether or not a peaceful accord can be reached. Will you hear us out?"

Kalia was well aware that he may very well have blown their chances in his anger, but it was still their duty to try for the sake of their employers and those hostages not yet eaten.
And even if an accord couldn't be reached, he had given his word that he would leave, so he would not be able to aid his companions directly should they have to fight their way out. He knew his own insinuation and held himself to it, he basically promised to not interfere further should Rebecca be returned to him, and she was indeed unexpectedly returned to him.
He reached up and patted Rebecca's head, scratching around her ears as if she were merely a house cat, which wouldn't be too far off given their comparative proportions.