Samudra's Journal

by vren55

Entry 115: The Kelpie Demand

The kelpies want us to stop the cullings before we begin any negotiations.

My initial reaction, and frankly, I still want to say no to this. Stop culling? Allow the kelpies to gain in strength when I honestly don’t know if they won’t just betray us? How do we know that they’ll keep their word or that Tethys won’t just ambush me?

But saying no to this does have risks. If I say now, they might call this whole thing off. They might just think we’re not worth their time and… and if they’re telling the truth, a… brief… pause in the culling will buy us the possibility of peace.

At the same time, saying yes to this has its own risks, besides the fact that they may be doing this just to keep as many of their fellows alive. If I say yes too easily, well… they might think I am trying to deceive them. I… might have to do that, but I’d rather not warn them off so quickly.