The old man's patient expression slowly grew stern as he listened to the chief's boisterous speech, and his grip on the knobbly staff tightened. "Your predecessors were wiser men than you", he continued - this time leaving the chief's title out. Raising one of his bony fingers, he tightened his lips and fixed his ancient eyes on the High Chief's visage. "Had we chosen to attack your village out of the blue, we could have reduced your tribe to ash. My... all too young companion betrayed our eagerness to deal with the situation, and made a spectacle - but not a single one of your people is hurt in the least". He put his hand back on the knob of the staff. "We have obviously not come to harm your people, and we are not asking for a banquet and a welcoming parade. We are here to settle a debt, nothing else". He leant forward, eyes thin as thread. The darker one held his arms crossed, letting his now-cold gaze sweep over the line of barbarians. "One more chance now, chief", continued the gnarled one. "Will you give it over to us?"

Before the chief had time to reply, however, the old man's head turned to the side. Tilting his face slightly up, he first took a deep breath, then a quick sniff. When he turned his head back to the High Chief, his face was a mask of earnest contentment and goodwill. He nodded twice, his purple-clad companion looking on with an eyebrow lifted. "Is your patience so finally up, ancient man?", the southlander asked. The "ancient man" ignored him completely, and instead shifted his head slightly to the right, looking up as he spoke. "So, it offers itself up? Is our debtor of the noble kind, perhaps - or maybe just ignorant? Or perhaps even wise? Yes, I know you are here!"

At this point, the hairless invoker opened his mouth again, shouting and gesturing wildly towards the surrounding warriors. "He is here? This instant! You must come out here and reply for your crime, or I promise to kill you horribly for what you cost me!". The elder one cleared his throat, silencing the southlander. "It is as my companion says. I am a gentle man by nature, but if you force us to go through an entire clan of bystanders to get to you, I assure you that you will be returned to the earth forcefully and slowly. The next choice is yours".