Author's Note: Enjoy.
The Branwen Tribe was an odd sight to see, let alone one to be led through. Colonel Aurelian took the lead, walking only a few steps behind the man who had come out to bring them inside. With Pyrrha walking a few paces behind him while Winter was the last in line. It hadn't been intentional, but as she was led through the camp, she was grateful for it.
More than once she found her attention wandering to their surroundings and the small groups that gathered to watch them. When one heard the term 'bandit tribe' many things were brought to mind. Villages in ruin, piles of hoarded loot and valuables, rough and dangerous men; one thing that certainly didn't come to mind was organization.
According to the Colonel, the Tribe was self-sufficient, or as far as any bandit group could be called such. They had just about everything someone might need to live out in the wilds far away from the established cities. Cooks, healers, blacksmiths, teachers for children, and a host of other jobs she never pictured a tribe having. The Tribe was a village in and of itself, larger than the few small frontier towns she had visited in her life, and far better protected than all of them.
While the walls weren't anything special, simple trees cut down and carved to create a wall of spikes around the camp, they were at least sturdy. The real defense came in the way the various tents were laid out. Towards the edge she could see people who looked similar to those who had challenged them at the gate, many with weapons either in hand or within reach, and it fit her expectation of them perfectly. That changed as they moved deeper into the temporary settlement however.
Groups of armed thugs guarding the walls gave way to rather ordinary looking people doing work she would expect to see anywhere else on the frontiers. There was an odd sense of organization and orderliness to it. Those waiting in line for food did so patiently, never threatening or demanding those handing it out to do so quicker. Those having their wounds tended didn't curse at the ones helping them. Rather than being held hostage, those who didn't fight seemed to almost be respected.
It didn't fit what she was told, that the Branwen Tribe respected strength and little else, though she figured it made some kind of sense. What good were strong fighters if they couldn't eat? What good was personal strength when faced with a disease you couldn't simply cut down? The Tribe had survived for decades, and it clearly knew how to do so.
"Raven is in there." Their guide gestured to a tent sitting central to the camp and on a raised platform. The path they had walked from the entrance leading directly to the large tents entrance. Around it she could see three other paths all leading off in different directions, but each being centered on the same tent. "She knows you're coming, so don't get any bright ideas. If she doesn't kill you for it, the rest of us will."
He didn't stick around for them to approach, moving off back down the path they had come.
"Does he really plan to just leave us with their leader?" Winter asked, raising an eyebrow.
"From what our intelligence has gathered, it's not unwarranted." The Colonel replied. "Raven Branwen has cut down plenty of talented Huntsmen in her time, and she's unlikely to have let such skills slip. At the very least, she'll be able to hold off until her men come crashing down around us. Have you seen any sign of this Maiden yet?"
"All existing records of her appearance were destroyed by Lionheart, so I'm afraid we have very little to go on shy of seeing her actively using said power." Winter answered.
"She's here." Pyrrha stated.
"How can you tell?"
"I…" Pyrrha began before realizing she didn't know how to explain it. She hadn't seen any sign of magic, yet she could feel it radiating faintly in the area. It was an odd feeling and not one she would call pleasant. It felt like an itch underneath her skin, as if there was something warm surrounding her on all sides and causing her to sweat. She wiped a hand against her brow, and it came away dry. "I can feel the magic."
Aurelian glanced around. No one had approached them yet and no one was close enough to have heard what she said; despite that, he lowered his voice further. "Maidens can sense other Maidens?"
"I don't know." Pyrrha shrugged, Ozpin hadn't ever warned her of such, and it wasn't like she had interacted with very many other magic users before. He was the only other one she knew, and she didn't recall feeling like this around him. She could feel something when he actively used his magic, a radiating force that made her own magic fluctuate, but it was never the Maiden powers reacting to that; It was her own magic, and this was far different.
It felt unstable, or maybe unintentional; without purpose. It was undirected and fragmented and... wrong in some way; wrong in a way her own magic rejected. Why she never felt this way with her own she didn't know, only that it was happening now. It was so subtle that she wouldn't have been surprised if she had simply missed it.
"Well, at least we know something is going on here." The Colonel sighed. "Let's not keep her waiting." He pushed forward and through the tent flap with ease. Pyrrha had to shake her head to dispel her thoughts before following, Winter having stopped to wait at the entrance for her.
The tent was surprisingly cluttered, the floors covered in numerous rugs while the tables held anything that appeared to be of value. Lamps and vases were piled in one corner, jewelry spread out over most of the tables, there were even a few paintings leaning against a support beam in the back. There didn't seem to be any system to it, other than to display the most valuable looking items first.
Stood center was a woman in red, a large grimm mask held to her side as one hand rested on the sword with her other. It was the first time Pyrrha had seen her, but it was shockingly easy to see the resemblance to Yang. While her friend's hair had taken after her father, everything else appeared to come from this woman. Even had she not known, she likely would have been able to make the connection. A few feet behind her was another woman, younger and less intimidating for sure, but she held herself the same as the bandits outside.
The feeling she had been assaulted by was strongest here, standing center in the camp. Whether that was due to one of the women in front of her, or the fact that the Maiden had been through here frequently Pyrrha could guess however. The feeling was indistinct and difficult to describe, but it was stronger here.
"Aurelian." A voice Pyrrha didn't recognize didn't so much as greet them, as state their presence. "I see you brought friends, no longer capable of fighting your own battles?"
The Colonel didn't rise to the bait. "Branwen, I'm told you were expecting us. Don't suppose you'd care to explain?"
The woman smirked. "And do your job for you?"
"Then I take it, you know why I'm here."
"To rid Mistral of its bandit menace." Raven drawled. "That's what your council wants anyways." She looked towards Pyrrha. "The fact that they're here suggests something else though. You have a poor choice in friends."
"If you know, then let's skip diplomacy." Aurelian didn't sound disappointed by that, and Raven's smirk only grew. "The Maiden, where is she?"
"Around." Raven answered vaguely. "I see Ozpin has been more forthcoming than expected. Did he tell you what they are?"
"He gave me the short version."
Raven scoffed. "Of course he did, he never was one for honesty."
"We aren't here to discuss Ozpin." Aurelian shook his head. "Specialist, make the General's offer."
"In exchange for the Spring Maiden opening the Vault we are prepared to offer you a full pardon of all past crimes, amnesty in Atlas, and a small fortune." Winter said. "Haven has been secured and there is no threa-"
"Enough." Raven cut her off, never having looked away from the Colonel. "You didn't honestly expect that to work, did you?"
"No." He replied with a soft shrug. "For the record neither did Ozpin. They're prepared to negotiate however."
"They are?" Raven looked at him curiously. "But not yourself?"
"I would have your tribe removed as a threat, one way or another. If we can avoid a fight that is preferred for the sake of my men, but when I return to Mistral this matter will either be settled… or I will be in a body bag."
"Such determination." Raven's voice was filled with mirth. "You make your threat of violence sound more appealing than their offer of peace."
"What is your price?" Winter didn't enjoy being ignored, and the cold tone to her voice made it clear she didn't have the highest opinion of the woman in front of her.
"It's not a matter of price, princess." Raven's smile was all teeth. "Not that I'd expect a Schnee to understand."
"If you're attempting to get a rise out of me based on my family, you will be sorely disappointed."
"Oh I don't know." Raven looked the woman up and down. "Seems to be working to me. Maybe you should get laid, or is my brother already taking care of that?"
"Why isn't it about price?" Pyrrha interrupted before the two could come to blows. Usually Winter was a very controlled individual, but something she had learned was that she did have her limits. Some easily pushed if someone knew what to say. The words worked, allowing Winter a moment to compose herself as everyone looked to her. "You said it's not about price, why? I thought bandits cared about lien."
"That might be true for the petty kind." Raven shrugged. "But the Tribe is about more than turning a profit. If it were I'd go into the dust business, I hear it can be just as ruthless."
"What do bandits value more than money?" Pyrrha rushed to ask before Winter could respond.
Raven's smile turned vicious. "Strength."
"And taking money is seen as weak?" Winter asked.
"Oh no, accepting payment would be a sign of strength." Raven nodded. "It would mean that we can't be defeated in battle so easily, and yet we are a threat worth removing. It would mean our enemy fears our strength."
"Then why not take it?"
"Because I don't need the wealth, and the tribe wouldn't grow any stronger for it." Raven answered simply. "Many would leave and start their own tribe before long. Which would be a problem."
"You don't trust your own people?" Winter's voice was a mix of disgust and surprise.
"I trust them to do what is best for them." Raven stated. "I would expect no less."
"So then we take the Maiden by force." Aurelian's hand fell to his sword, though he didn't grip it tightly or attempt to draw. "My men are soldiers, and the Huntsmen we brought with us will be more than enough for your tribe."
"Perhaps." Raven shrugged. "But you would never reach the Maiden before she escaped."
"Your semblance." Pyrrha muttered.
"Was it Qrow or Ozpin that told you?" Raven frowned, before checking her head. "It doesn't matter, but you are correct. The tribe won't go down so easily, as your fossil here knows; if you manage to win, by that time it'll be too late. That is assuming you don't accidentally kill her."
"If you won't negotiate, why entertain this at all?" Winter snapped back. "Why waste all our time with this useless posturing?!"
"I did not say I am unwilling to negotiate." Raven corrected, her smirk returning. "Just that your offer wasn't appealing."
"Then what do you want?" Aurelian asked.
Raven held out her arm. "Make me an offer."
As it turned out, The Branwen Tribe didn't need much from the rest of the world. They had all the skills they needed to survive, and what they lacked in resources they simply took from others. While Raven had made mention that they could use weapons, no one was willing to further arm the people who would almost certainly stab them in the back at a later date.
Winter had made every offer she could think of, from wealth only a Schnee could provide, to fertile land for their own use. All had been rebuffed for one reason or another, though the central theme being how uninterested Raven was by them; as if she never planned to follow through with anything. The few she had found intriguing would only serve her own ends however, and thus had been discarded because the Tribe wouldn't benefit from it.
"We are wasting our time." Aurelian hadn't made an offer yet, though he also hadn't tried to stop Winter on anything she said. "It is clear we have nothing you want."
"So it would seem." Raven didn't sound upset by that fact, rather she seemed unconcerned. "That means we are to fight. Perhaps I will see you in the battle, or maybe your pet Maiden here." Pyrrha froze. "Don't act so surprised girl, your aunt was of the tribe and she spoke often of you when she learned I was as well. It doesn't surprise me that she thought of you in the end." Pyrrha didn't know what to say to that, her uncertainty being taken for shock as Raven watched her. "Why fight for Ozpin? You have power unlike anything anyone can achieve."
This time, Pyrrha really was surprised, and it took her a moment to formulate a response. "Are you making me an invitation?"
Raven only shrugged. "If you wish, though that was not my intention. Another Maiden would surely be a boon, but it would also attract unwanted attention."
"Salem…" Pyrrha whispered.
"Ozpin really has opened up, hasn't he?" Raven growled. "It took him nearly five years to tell us anything about what we were really fighting, and he doesn't even bother keeping the secret from you? The Fall Maiden I understand, but you tw-"
"We can defeat Salem." Pyrrha said. "That's our offer. Help us get the Relic and we can defeat her."
"Or maybe he hasn't changed." Raven's face darkened. "She can't be killed, child."
"Not by us." Pyrrha agreed. "But what about something akin to the Brothers?"
"You want to bring back the Gods?" Raven's hand fell to her sword. "Has Ozpin really fallen so low?"
"Not the Gods, but something like them." Pyrrha explained. "I died fighting an agent of Salem, but something brought me back. Something I spoke to, something that can be reasoned with."
"And what proof do you have?"
Pyrrha swallowed nervously. "None, but is it really so impossible? Magic and Gods are real, why not this?"
"Perhaps you speak the truth." And didn't she sound skeptical of that fact. "But as much as I would enjoy a world without her, that doesn't offer any security to the tribe. We have remained out of the way so far, why would we involve ourselves against those which can't be killed for no gain?"
"We'll pay you." Winter insisted. "While you say you care not for wealth, surely that would help?"
"And as our wallets grow, our skills will fade. How long before we are too weak to warrant payment?" Raven asked. "Salem or not, we would still be enemies of Mistral."
"What if they paid you to fight the Grimm?" Pyrrha asked. Raven turned her head, but didn't speak. "You said lien isn't enough, and that your people prefer a nomad lifestyle over settling down. What if Mistral paid you to protect the villages in the south?"
"Protection money?" Raven pondered the idea for a long moment before smirking and turning towards the Colonel. "Would Mistral pay for such a thing?"
The Colonel sighed. "Yes, they would. We are stretched thin with Atlas being pushed out, and if a third party agreed to protect villages so far from the city they would jump at the opportunity."
"Hmm, it's interesting." Raven said. "For a Kingdom to pay us to defend their land. It would certainly show our power."
"You get wealth and something to fight against." Pyrrha nodded. So far this was the only offer like this. The majority of what Winter had said was under the assumption these people didn't want to live like this, or that they were more concerned with petty things like wealth and riches. While this didn't apply, their desire was still no less simple. They wanted wealth, but they also wanted to earn it through a means that made them stronger.
"It would bring unwanted attention from Salem if we took such an active role against her Grimm." Raven looked back towards Pyrrha. "If you can truly remove her however…"
"We need to use the Relic to know for sure." Pyrrha replied.
The silence that followed was suffocating as Raven considered their request. The seconds gave way to minutes, before eventually she nodded once. "Very well. If you can remove Salem, the tribe will accept your offer. We will access the vault to retrieve the relic, and you may ask Jinn your question."
"I would like to see the Maiden first." Aurelian insisted. "While you may say she is here, I would like to see her with my own eyes."
"Very well." Raven smirked, putting her helmet on to cover her face as she moved past them to step outside. They followed, the other woman waiting until they had left to step out as well. No one had gathered outside as they had been negotiating, either to eavesdrop or prepare an ambush; though several did linger when they noticed Raven had exited. "Vernal, show them."
The woman behind them stepped forward a few paces before holding her arms out. Pyrrha felt the spike in energy long before anything visually happened. Now that she knew to look for it that same itch only grew worse as she felt the Maiden powers being used. The area was peaceful for a moment, before the wind began to pick up; dark clouds rolling in with unnatural speed. The wind crashed down into the clearing and the bandits that had gathered scattered back. Winter and Aurelian had to steady themselves against it.
Pyrrha didn't, the simple display being nothing more than a show of power that her own Magic instinctually protected her against. There was one other person seemingly unaffected however, and it was only then that Pyrrha realized the surge of power wasn't coming from the girl in front of her.
"See." Raven released a heavy sigh. "Magic, every bit as exciting as you thought it would be?"
"How soon can you get to Haven?"
Raven chuckled. "Give me a day to convince the tribe. Most will see our new arrangement as beneficial, but I'll need to kick it into a few peoples heads to stop them from getting any bright ideas of their own."
Pyrrha watched the woman remove her helmet and reveal a smile so like Yang that she had to look away. Raven Branwen was dangerous, more so than any of them had expected, and yet, they'd managed to do the unthinkable and negotiate a deal with the Branwen Tribe. All they had to do now was talk to Jinn, make contact with the being that had brought her back from the dead, and finish Salem off for good.
Pyrrha's stomach dropped at the idea. She'd died fighting Cinder, barely survived fighting Tyrian and Hazel, and still had very little experience with her Magic. Even if they found a way to circumnavigate Salem's invulnerability, that didn't necessarily mean that they could kill her, but there was only one way to find out.
Author's Note: I tried to make the Tribe interesting, in more than just a "hey they are bad people" kind of way. Heavy inspiration from Coeur Al'Aran's work. A very talented writer, highly recommend his work if you haven't already taken a look.
I hope you all enjoyed and I look forward to hearing what you guys think
Sincerely, SE