The other members of the expedition group looked between each other in a mixture of confusion and worry, each doing their best not to think about dangerous things while also trying to work out exactly how the deer was even seeing their home.

He had talked about one of their member having so many eyes, but who would that even be and how? Was it just talking nonsense and reading their memories instead? Perhaps it was trying to influence their thoughts to make them reveal even more of their secrets. Aware of their suspicious thoughts, but not caring much about them, the Deer continued with its observations and spoke in their minds once more.

{This human kingdom truly is such a fascinating place. So many buildings. I'm sure that you've seen our attempts are still nothing like the humans could manage. Not many of us have the thumbs for it, and even less have the capabilities to properly use them.

Sigh Who would have thought such silly little things would hinder us so much.}

Whilst the Mind reading Deer acting as the alpha of this Beast Kingdom was lamenting about his lack of thumbs, and somehow managing to sigh in his mind, Seth was busy having a small internal panic about this discovery.

Not about the sighing, although that was strange since he didn't need to breath in his mind, but instead it was about the fact that the deer with the glowing antlers could read his mind. And not just that, but through reading his mind he could access his point of view and look through his eyes.

For anyone else, that wouldn't be a problem. But Seth had one mind spread across hundreds of bodies, and the Alpha Deer had access to the vision of all of them, just like he did.

Information was power, and he was unintentionally giving this possible enemy a premier look at their entire settlement, as well as their capabilities through the eyes of his guards. Even his workshop was exposed, and the efforts of the crafting twins.

Even if they were the ones actively controlling the puppets there, they were still connected to Seth while they simply acted like a local relay.

At the very least, he was glad that he didn't have any connected puppets in the arena and had left others to manage that. If they had seen that, things might not go as well as they could.

{Arena... What is this Arena? It sounds interesting, I would like to see it too~}

'Fuuuuck...'

The colour completely drained from Seth's face as even more of his panic set in. He always had an over active mind, and was absolutely the type that if told not to think about something all he could do was think of that damned thing. It was like an infection in his brain that he couldn't get out no matter how hard he tried.

He could see Astra shooting a true death glare at him over her shoulder, just the brief moment of eye contact sending a shiver down his spine, before he quickly looked away. His eyes trailed around the room, desperate to find something to latch onto and occupy his mind while the smallest part began to close the eyes of all of his puppets.

As his eyes wandered, he locked eyes with Erik for a few seconds, who was giving him a strange look. But since that was probably just coincidence, he quickly moved on and finally just decided to look at the floor and clench his eyes closed, just like the rest of his puppets. With the blackness occupying his vision, he rapidly began to recite the overly complex plots of certain games in his mind to make sure nothing else popped in there.

The Deer huffed in slight annoyance at losing access to such new and interesting sights, while Astra stepped forward to quickly remedy the situation.

"The Arena your... Alpha-ness, is simply a place where some of our people prove their worthiness and compete for things. Like mates, for example."

The deer tilted its head in curiosity while a round of approving growls emanated from the predators lining the edges of the room. Unfortunately the humans were completely unable to understand the internal discussions of the beast court, as they were all taking place in the beast language and there was no one around willing to translate for them.

{This is an interesting idea, We may have need for discussion of it later. But for now, you wanted to negotiate with me, yes? I've been told that you came to our lands with a goal in mind.}

"That's not exactly true... We were tasked by a mighty beast to find something of importance, although given vague directions. Our goal simply took us through your territory, it may not lie within it.

However-"

{You wish to negotiate for safe travel through it, now that you are here...}

"Yes... That is correct."

That was the annoyance of dealing with telepaths, everything was laid completely out in the open for them while you had nothing. It made deals completely one sided. However...

Subtly glancing over her shoulder at Seth once again, a playful smirk danced across her lips. The issue could also be turned into an advantage. After all, Telepathy made trust one sided, but it also made sure that their promises could be verified. And what better way to show what they brought to the table than to actually show it.

"I noticed on my way in that while you have open fields, they seem quite barren. Apart from grass, that is. I can only imagine how you feed the more meat inclined members of your population, but what about those like yourself?

Humans have spent generations working on farming and agriculture. I'm sure if I had some way of showing you that you would understand exactly how it could benefit you. But we could also help you improve the homes for your people, just like the ones you were admiring yourself in our minds."

Although her words might have sounded like flowery fluff, there was an obvious hint in there for himself that Seth easily picked up on. Especially because even though he was half way through reciting the plot to Kingdom Hearts, it still wasn't working entirely well to keep out the stray thoughts.

Taking Astra's direction, he opened the eyes of particular puppets. Instead of blocking out all thoughts, he directed them to useful ones. He showed the telepathic deer their innovations in agriculture, their developing farms of not just edible plants but also the cultivation of the mystical new plants that this new world brought.

He was not worried about this revealing their hand, you wouldn't understand the intricate details of farming just by looking at a field of corn after all. But by giving it a prime example, it gave weight to their claims.

With Seth acting as the eyes for the Deer to observe their 'product' with, the pair went back and forth negotiating what exactly the humans would give to the beast Kingdom in exchange for their safe passage through the Deer's territory, which meant that getting to their destination would be all that much easier since they wouldn't have to worry about stray beast attacks any longer.

Eventually, they decided that the humans would give them what they needed most, food. The secrets of growing food would be taught to the beasts so they could start their own farms and some meat would even be brought over. It seemed that, although it promoted peace in its own kingdom, the deer didn't actually care that much about the wellbeing of beasts outside of its territory. At least when it came to the consumption.

Then again, they shouldn't really have been surprised. The predators had to be eating some kind of meat, and it was simply nature for them to feast on lesser beasts. It was an exceptionally cruel society in the eyes of humanity, but that was simply the laws of nature. Wolves eat rabbits, Bears eat fish, Foxes eat chickens.

The food chain never really disappeared. It simply adapted, just like everything else.

Scraping its antlers across the ground, the deer snapped off one of its many prongs before nudging it towards the human collective with one of its hooves. It's voice speaking in their minds once again.

{Carry this with you as a sign that you are our ally. I hope we can also count on you in the future, as you can us. I expect the Human God will be an issue for both of us.}

"I expect so too. One we will have to face much sooner than later. Hopefully, we can complete our quest first."

{If I may ask, where does this 'Quest' take you? I can't imagine where such a beast would send you. I've never even heard of one such as that before.}

Lacking the answer to this question, Astra glanced over her shoulder at Seth once more. The groups 'navigator' and the only one with the information that was supposedly provided to him by the Lord.

Clearing his throat, Seth took a few seconds to consult the slight pulling sensation he got from the information poured into his mind, eventually speaking when he captured the sensation.

"West and slightly North of here. Maybe 20 miles, as the crow flies."

At the same time, the location popped into his mind, causing the deer to quickly rise to its feet. It shook its head, snorting almost as if it was performing an intimidation display. All around them, the beasts responded in kind. Letting out irate roars or scared whimpers, some of them looking at the humans as if they had committed a most cardinal sin.

"Is something the matter? Is that place sacred to you or something?"

{Sacred? No... Quite the opposite. It is cursed. Not only is it close to the Human Gods territory, but a most foul beast lives there. One not even my influence can quell. It can get you close but against that beast... It is useless.

I fear you have been sent to your death.}

At that moment, Seth seemed to figure out how to sigh in his mind as he let out a deep, utterly exasperated mental sigh as if his entire brain was deflating.

'Uggghh... Wonderful. Just Wonderful.'