The Great Elder had thought it through.
Tribal wars and slaughter offered no shortage of ways to make sacrifices to gods and demons.
If all they had to do was offer up their enemies' heads and receive power in a fair exchange, that was perfectly acceptable!
But he glanced at Barluf, and his face darkened again.
"You really are reckless, carving it right onto your forehead!
If something goes wrong later, are you going to cut your head off?"
He would have carved it onto his arm instead.
That way, if the worst really happened, he could sacrifice the limb to save his life.
Barluf rubbed his smooth, bald head and gave an honest, guileless smile.
"You..."
The Great Elder shook his head.
Several days later, Tatali was once again sent to visit and socialize with the neighboring tribes. He discovered that some warriors among the Sladelta People now had Seris Runes tattooed on them.
Several had tattooed the character for "Punishment" onto their arms, covering some of their earlier decorative patterns.
Others had carved characters onto their palms and arms. These were actually characters he recognized, such as "axe" and "shield."
"Barluf, what's going on here?
Has the Great Elder mastered some new Battle Tattoos?"
"Tatali, you've come at just the right time."
Barluf pulled him along toward the Great Elder's tent.
"I think the Great Elder has something to discuss with you."
"Brave warrior from another world, please pass these secret texts on to Lord Roland."
A short while later, inside the Great Elder's tent.
The withered old man took out a piece of hide covered in mysterious writing and handed it to Tatali.
Most of it was written in the Sladelta People's own ancient script, which looked obscure and difficult to understand, but scattered among it