Educational

Luca learned quite a lot from the visiting Sumerians, despite their obvious distaste for 'savages' such as himself, they were more than eager to explain and praise their own culture. It was quite a shock to find out that this 'Sumerian' country already produced most of their food from farms, and that they even had some form of writing?

They'd shown him some of their 'writings' if it could be called that... He was pretty dumbfounded when the man produced a clay tablet with many symbols written on it, kinda similar to Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Apparently, the tablet was a receipt of some sort recording the transaction he'd made with someone back in Sumer that he'd forgotten to store.

Unfortautnely, it seemed as if Luca's magical language comprehension ability didn't extend to written things, which meant he'd be forced to manually learn them... Of course, this wouldn't be as difficult to him as it would others, as he had basically already mastered most languages, so all that was left was to link up the letters to how it was spoken.

Luca then questioned what the Sumerians used to purchase things. If he had a receipt, then it wouldn't be that far a leap to suggest they had currency as well... As opposed to the bartering system the tribes used.

The man then explained the Sumerian economy while producing rough-looking copper coins that had various symbols on them. The lowest value of which was called a 'Shekel', and sixty Shekels equalled one 'Mina', after that sixty mins equalled one 'Talent'.

It was fairly easy to understand, which actually surprised the Sumerian as he hadn't expected a 'savage' to understand math, arithmetic, and everything else that went along with it. When asked about the worth of each coin, the man explained that one Shekel equalled one Hal Seed... Luca didn't know what a Hal Seed was, so the man gives a different example. One month's labour was worth one Shekel, as well as enough Barly for him and his family while he worked.

Luca almost scoffed at that but somehow managed to stifle it, his modern sensibilities were clouding his thoughts again... Really, such wages for a primitive society like the Sumerians is pretty progressive when he thinks about it. After all, it wasn't uncommon for tribes to starve when unprepared for winter, at least with this the Sumerians didn't have to worry about starving if they worked hard.

Though, he imagined that if you injured yourself there wouldn't be any 'Free Health Care' to fix you up either. He wondered how wealthy skilled labourers like smiths, engineers, and such were, he asked the merchant about how many he usually earned with the Lapis Lazuli he bought and almost received a slap...

Apparently, it was very impolite to ask about someone's income, the reason for this? Because if someone was asking, it was highly likely they'd attempt to rob you afterwards. And this isn't 'inner-city' type robbing either, due to how low the population is relative to the modern world, if you get robbed, they'll kill you afterwards.

Flashback end:

It was a very interesting meeting, and Luca hoped to one day visit the place with Sarr'ina... At least, hopefully, before he's forced to become Chieftain of the Sua'jiki. As Sarr'ina's husband, it would ultimately fall to him, so he was reluctantly preparing for such an eventuality.

The other interesting thing that'd occurred during these months was the strange rumours that were popping up. Luca had kept a close ear to these things ever since the 'Plague' caused by the Gutizia salt, so once he started hearing rumours of a new cult, he'd quickly started investigating.

The cult didn't currently have a name, and they were too elusive to pin down, but from what he'd heard they worshipped some sort of deity that would be salvation to all those who worshipped them.

First mentions of these rumours had actually started in the Olmnar tribe, this would be suspect, were the town not the trading centre of the region... Still, Luca had personally asked Jubba to keep a close eye on things

Like this, all the investigations, clues and rumours led to now. Luca was leading a small group of hunters belonging to both Sua'jiki and Olmnar to spy on a tribe that has apparently been attempting to contact the cult in order to join them.

Luca personally didn't think this would lead anywhere, but without this, they'd be left with no leads whatsoever.

"We are almost here, what should we do?" the Olmnar guide deferentially asks Luca as they cautiously watch the direction of their target.

Luca thinks for a moment before nodding, gesturing at Das'ju, "Take half our numbers and wait North of the Araignin Tribe, my group will sit South... Do not move until my command or if spotted." he states and Das'ju nods before leaving.

Once they are out of sight Luca leads his own group, they climb up a small incline covered by foliage that gave a fairly good view of the Araignin tribe. The tribe itself was fairly small, only sitting on the eastern outskirts of the tribal territory. They didn't produce anything specialized, only supplies that they had an abundance of, but their quiet and reserved demeanour had them somewhat well respected by the other tribes. They hadn't engaged in any warfare, raiding, or scheming, so that was a plus...

Still, the thing Luca was worried about was where they got the information about the tribe's intentions... It was a cultist they'd captured and interrogated... No one knew who they were or which tribe they belonged to, yet they were a willful as a CIA agent, completely unwilling to talk no matter what torture they were put through...

Which is why it was so suspicious that they'd suddenly rat out this tribe out of the blue...

Luca releases a long sigh, hoping this wasn't yet another ambush or something. He didn't know if he could bear losing even more people, especially those currently following his orders.