“Rek’Salji Lily. Kihet, how does that sound?”
“Not quite Scylanis. Try extending the pronunciations of your words a bit longer and speak slower.”
“My, nake, iz, Lily.”
“You’re getting the hang of it.”
[My name is Aten.]
“I can understand that. Good job.”
“No fair! Writing is easier than speaking it!”
The three of them grew accustomed to the sailing lifestyle as they neared the end of the voyage. During the remaining time, Kihet had Lily and Aten learned the basics of Scylanis, the native language of Stusis, the Scalemen. Since Aten had experience speaking older variants of all languages from eons ago, he was able to refine his knowledge to under Scylanis characters to some extent in a matter of weeks.
Meanwhile, Lily was able to understand but was still far from speaking it fluently. For one, unlike Vivirian and Zuxin, the pacing of words Scylanis spoke were much, much slower. Her habit of quickly speaking led her to mash her sentence into one incomprehensible word.
“It’s so difficult.” Lily dropped her forehead onto the table and let out a heavy sigh.
“With a bit more effort, you’ll get there. It’s just like learning Vivirian.”
“That also took weeks.”
“And you did good. No one said it was going to be easy. And it’s only the fifth hardest language in my opinion.”
“Wait a minute.” She narrowed her eyes. “Some of those words sound familiar.”
“Who knows? Anyways, stop complaining. I’m cramming everything I learned into your brain and made it as easy as possible.”
“I know, but still!”
“How goes the lesson, Holy one?” Tama stepped through the doors and jumped into her hammock. “Nyie see those two have made big progress.”
“Not enough.” Lily pouted. “Tama, let me touch your ears.”
On demand, Tama lazily hung her head close enough for Lily to scratch her ears. The Werecat purred as she enjoyed her head massage.
“Don’t let it get to you. Even Nyie had troubles learning. A little to the left-, oh! Right there!”
“Tama,” Kihet interrupted. “What did the Shipmaster say? Are we almost there?”
“His navigator estimated we’ll arrive at Stusis’ port very soon, nya~.”
“What about monsters or pirates? What are the chances of them attacking us?”
“Very unlikely. Since we joined a fleet going Nyinto the same direction, Nyither of them would dare attack. There is safety in numbers.”
“That seem reassuring.” Kihet dug into his satchel and set a dozen silver pieces on the table. “Could you take over to teach Lily and Aten? I’m stepping out for a moment.”
“I’m going too!” Lily immediately stood up from her seat.
“No. You stay until you’re done the assignments I gave you.”
Before Lily furthered her complaint, Kihet already closed the door behind him. With his goggles on, everything was tinted in brownish yellow as he looked onto the deck. Numerous ships flanked the vessel he was on, travelling parallel towards the same direction with more following behind. With a fleet made of nine boats, he noticed most of them carried Beastkin mercenaries and adventurers preparing to join the civil war in Stusis for money.
After examining other ships, Kihet proceeded to make his way to the bow to get a better view of the direction ahead. The flying sand constantly splashed his face, but the goggles allowed him to see a small dock in the distance.
“Holy one, we’re almost there.” Shipmaster stomped up next to him. “Whatever business you have in Stusis, I hope you can keep your Vivirian friend under control.”
“Sure. Are there anything you know about the mountains there?”
“I’ve spent my whole life sailing Pamalyra. I don’t know the rocks of other countries other than the civil war there that reached my ears. You’ll know more than me.”
“Then I’ll go check on my belongings before we dock.”
Soon enough, the vessel had succeeded its long journey across Pamalyra’s desert. As Kihet led the horse drawn carriage down the ramp, Lily jumped off the ship and onto the wooden platform already searching for the nearest restaurant. Aten hovered over the railings to the bottom of the stairs to help clear the path for the horse. Tama made herself comfortable at the back of the cart and waved to the Kobolds that saw them off.
The port they landed in was quadruple the size of the first port they visited, perhaps the second largest after the capital. Most of its visitors were cladded in armor, walking up and down the roads browsing goods from numerous armory shops as the chimneys pumped out smoke nearly nonstop.
There was no sign of the Rozzalian Douglas mentioned that was pursuing the ‘other Oracle’ and Elius.
“Were here! After all of that, we should take the rest of the day easy! It’s nice to be on the ground.” Lily gave her arms a great big stretch and took a big breath of air in her lungs. “Something smells great!”
“Ease up your appetite for just a moment. We’re not here to play.”
“You’re too strict.”
[Where to?]
“I’d like to go to the tavern to get us rooms. That should also be the best place to get a run down on the situation of what’s happening around here.”
“You can leave that to me, Holy one.” Tama said. “Finding information is one of my forte.”
“You can start helping by not calling me that.”
“What else should Nyie call you?”
“Something that won’t bring any attention to us.”
“Do you have an alias in mind you wish to be called by?”
“No.”
“Nyi’ll call you ‘the grumpy one’ because you’re always grumpy.” Tama heaved her knapsack and jumped off. “By the way, getting information will cost nya. Because you’re my escorts, I’ll charge you cheap for the day.”
“What if we got a room for you?”
“Nyat works too! Tomoe, Aten, I’ll see you two this evening!”
“See you, Tama!” Lily waved.
The three watched as Tama blend into the crowd. Her large bag was becoming more difficult to spot as numerous similar ones emerged left and right, making it easy to lose track of Tama’s location.
“It feels like she’s part of the party.” Lily said.
“She just overextended her stay, and we are only her escorts. I don’t trust her at all.” Kihet commented. “But she knows how to talk her way out of stuff. Aten, did you need to buy more spears? I noticed you lost some on the way here.”
[Yes.]
“Let’s drop off our things then go replenish our supplies. Provisions are our first priority.”
The three managed to snatch keys to three rooms. After parking their carriage in a secured location, they wandered through the marketplace. Neither Lily or Aten dared to leave Kihet’s side as they couldn’t understand Pamarian and he was their only translator. To them, everything was gibberish, but there were some repetitions in those sounds that they understood some of the context exchanged between Beastmen.
Surprisingly, even though their appearances were vastly different than those roaming the streets, no one paid any attention to them. The most they received were quick glances and moved on.
Just as Kihet completed a transaction for restocking Aten’s arsenal of preferred weapons, he overheard a conversation that sparked his interest.
“The Dragonkins drove other Scalemen tribes into the corner, yeah? So why are they still hirin’ more of us?”
“Don’t question et. As long as they got de coins to pay us to fight easy battles, dat’ll keep me happy.”
“I wouldn’t call it easy. Last I heard, there was a hulking figure fighting on the Scalemen side. It completely decimated the last wave of attackers. They say its punches can destroy large boulders catapulted at it and carried a huge shield protecting itself against elemental attacks.”
“What was it called again? Goliath?”
“That sounds scary.”
“Well, give it a few more weeks. The Dragonkin are planning to starve the rest of the Scalemen before making one final push.”
“Do you think they’ll attack Pamalyra once they’re done with Stusis?”
“No way. The Crimson’s Wrath said he had no interest in our lands and kept blabbering about how his kind should reclaim the glory of the Dragon God’s rule over the heretics.”
“He really likes the word heretics to say it so many times.”
It was all Kihet could hear before the group of Beastmen entered a building.
“What’s the matter?” Lily asked.
“I just overheard something that doesn’t sound nice. The resistance is holding, but Dragonkin are planning to starve them before dealing the finishing blow.”
“And they’re hiring mercenaries in preparations for that. I wonder where they do their recruitment. I don’t see any Dragonkins anywhere.”
[Oracle, suggest scout. Border.]
“If there aren’t any Dragonkins here, they’d be at the border for sure. It’s not a bad idea, but there’s no one heading out of town. We’d rouse suspicion if we were caught.”
[I go alone. Self can hide.]
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but just be careful. We want to keep our profiles as low as possible.”
Aten nodded as he passed Kihet his belongings to lighten his weight and began walking towards the edge of town. A few moments later, Kihet caught a glimpse of Aten darting through the air towards Stusis’ borders before the Dragonfly suddenly vanished in midair.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“There he goes. I hope he finds something.” Lily said, still watching the skies. “What should we do now?”
“Before we find Tama, is there anything you need to buy?”
“I’d like to eat something. That food stall over there piqued my interest.”
“The fried lizard?”
“No! The one selling chicken drums!”
Even though it was food, Lily rejected the idea of eating small reptiles. Kihet thought it was strange because she had no problems eating oversized insects. Perhaps the dishes in Vivrus were plated to appear similar to seafood, or lizards on a stick were simply too barbaric to her liking.
Happily munching on some chicken, her mood took a turn spiralling down as she observed Kihet exchanged some coins for two lizards on a stick.
“You seriously bought some? I can’t believe you.”
“It was an important diet of mine back home. Albeit it’s not the same as the ones I ate, but it had almost an identical taste to chicken.”
“What if it’s poisonous?”
“The innards were removed. Anything poisonous wouldn’t be being sold to the public. Maybe.” He muttered quietly at the last word.
Kihet proceeded to bite into its crispy skin. Tasteless as all the other food he ate. When Lily heard a crunch, a chill ran down her spine with her long ears immediately pointing upwards. She let out a tiny squeak and took a step away from Kihet.
“You ate some Ly Angs before. Aren’t they also reptiles?”
“That’s different! The ones you’re holding are small and wriggly. It’s gross!” One crunch, two crunch. Lily shrieked in horror each time Kihet bit into it. “You’re doing that on purpose!”
“I really don’t get you.”
“I just don’t like tiny lizards. It brings back unpleasant memories.”
By memories, Kihet suspected it was the time before he found Lily and Martha. To hide from assassins after her, Martha and Lily must’ve lived many days away from towns. It meant they couldn’t be picky about food and one of those meals happened to leave a bad impression on Lily when she was a child.
Kihet wolfed down the skewers and tossed the wooden picks into a communal trash bin. Moving through the streets, they caught up with Tama who closed shop when their eyes met. From the sagging of the Werecat’s fat purse being put away, Kihet was aware she had successful dealings and was probably sold out of whatever items she had put on display.
“Grumpy one, I got some information for nya. Did you book a room for me?”
“Are you seriously giving me that name?” Kihet handed her a key he received from the tavern.
“Do you want it or nyot?”
“Spill it.”
“Okay, apparently the Dragonkin are at the final phase of defeating the resistance before they take over Stusis. The final battle will be held at Bastion’s Canyon a week from now and Nyie was told all roads leading to the borders are under lockdown to stop other Scalemen from escaping and intruders from entering. However, there’s one way to get there without trouble.”
“That’s if we get hired as mercenaries.”
“As expected of the Grumpy one! Nyie was about to suggest that, but you beat me to it.”
“It’d give us nice cover to get close and contact your friend if he’s there.” Lily commented.
“Knowing him, he’d probably be on the resistance’s side. So where does one get signed up?”
“My last customers were kind enough to pass that information. Every week on the day of Luwer, a group of Dragonkins visit this port and recruit volunteers, nya.”
“And today is Solas.” Lily added.
“That means they’re going to arrive tomorrow. What luck.” Kihet looked towards the base of the massive mountains from the edge of the port. “Aten went to check out the border earlier and should be back soon.”
“In the meantime, Nyie will prowl around. It’s a competition with so many shops opened. Business is thriving! See you two later!”
With Tama gone, the two were left alone again. They decided to loiter by the tavern with Lily practicing more Scylanis until Aten returned with his findings.
“Thanks for waiting!” The waitress carefully set a large plate in the middle of their table.
Aten stared at it in awe, Lily’s mouth drooled while Kihet studied it with a troubled face.
“Ooh! There’s a lot!”
“This… isn’t what I expected.”
From generously cut meat cubes on kebabs to the comically oversized pieces of steak piled atop of another, they were served with this port’s specialty. The plate covered three quarters of the table and they had to stand up to see each other’s faces. Kihet ordered it thoughtlessly when he asked for the restaurant’s most commonly ordered food item without being aware of its contents.
“Well, with Lily here. She’ll eat most of it, right?”
His words fell on deaf ears as Lily helped herself to her third kebab. She was too busy eating, she didn’t hear Kihet.
The Dragonfly held a skewer close to his mandibles taking small but quick bites. It was almost watching a mill making wooden chips. While nibbling his food, his other pair of hands that were free -and clean-, passed a rolled-up tree bark with a small drawing.
[Scouted.]
“You could’ve waited until after lunch, but I’ll take it. “Kihet lethargically unrolled a drawing of the map Aten handed to him after he took a big bite from his steak. “Do these red dots represent the position of guards?”
[Yes. Many. All Beastmen]
“What are these squares with black dots in them? There’s a lot of them.”
[Prisoners. Escapees. Other scalemen tribes.]
“So, Pamalyarians are rounding them up for the Dragonkins. What the hell is Vol doing?”
Aten cocked his head to the side as to ask “Who?”
“He’s a friend of mine who was responsible for helping Pamalyra. Based off what I heard from Tama, you can say I’m disappointed in him.”
Since the Sandstorm brewing in the middle of Pamalyra only blows one direction, Kihet could only visit the capital once he completed his business in Stusis. There were ships that could sail against the wind, but they were rare and costly to hire.
Night came when Kihet noticed the white of his breath. Before the temperature had dropped to coat weather, Lily and he made their way to their room. While she took an early rest, Kihet stayed up a bit later to tinker with materials to replenish his arsenal of expendable weapons before getting some shut eye.
----------------------------------------
The next morning treading through the plaza, Aten drummed his slate and redirected the party’s attention to a caravan rolling from the border. Other mercenaries were aware as well and slowly gathered towards the Scalemen climbing off carts.
“They’re here.”
“They really look like Dragons! They’re really tall too!” Lily exclaimed.
They were bipedal dragons that were much smaller than their ancestors and called themselves Dragonkins. Their scales were brownish red which were lighter around their stomachs and darker on the rest of the body. They had deadly spikes grown at the tip of their tails, on their spine and horns on their heads with some growing at the opposite direction of their crocodilian faces. Some curved to wherever they looked like a bull’s or had a singular horn above their long snouts.
The Dragonkins were in the middle of transporting captives of different Scalemen tribes and having them displayed in the center of the port. Three Lizard folk shared one cage. A snake person, Naga, was cramped into the smallest one while a tortoise humanoid his in its shell that was cracked.
There was bickering between one of the lizard folks and a brute Dragonkin before a Prisoner plucked out of its cell. The Dragonkin gripped his claws around the lizard folk’s neck and dragged it middle of the crowd. He suddenly unleashed a raging roar and fiery breath towards the sky, rudely putting him into the center of attention.
“People of Pamalyra, hear me! These is weak creatures plague Dragon’s land!”
Although the Dragonkin wasn’t fluent in Pamariane, the sentence was enough to understand it.
After the Dragonkin found itself basking in the spotlight, the Lizard folk who was at the verge of strangled to death was then moved close to the dragon’s mouth. An orange glow formed at the back of the Dragonkin’s throat then seared the Prisoner with its inferno breath. The Lizard folk screamed at the top of its lungs as its voice slowly drowned out and went thinner and thinner. Scales, eyes and flesh melted off from the intense temperature of a dragon’s breath of flames.
Once the body was turned into a solid piece of charred flesh, the corpse was dropped on the floor with a resounding thump. Other prisoners from their cages dug into the farthest corner of the cage to not be the next executioner’s target.
“They heretics shameful to Crimson’s will. We require aid exterminate vermin who scattered Stusis. Every head bring, award one thousand silvers! Those who interested earning money and glory, we welcome fangs, claws and steel!”
As the Dragonkins opened a gold framed chest filled with polished silver coins, mercenaries and adventurers rushed to the front to be registered.
“They’ve opened the recruitment. Damn. People are quick. At this rate, it’ll take hours just to get a chance to get into Stusis.”
“What about those people they captured? Can’t we do anything to help them?” Lily asked. “I can’t bear seeing another Lizard Folk being executed like that.”
“We’ll lose our ticket Nyinto Stusis if the Dragonkins recognizes us as enemies. Given the situation, Nyie say their fates are sealed.”
“We can’t just leave them. Kihet, you understand me, right? We have to help them.”
“Aten, what’s your take on this?”
[Want help. Too many save. Risky.]
“We’ll end up compromising ourselves. Sorry Lily, you can get mad at me but there’s nothing we can do.”
“So, we’re just going to abandon them?”
“Given our current situation, yes.” Kihet sourly answered. “You’re not the only one who thinks what the Dragonkins are doing are disgusting. We just can’t afford to give them a hand.”
“What if things were different?”
“I don’t know. It depends, but I’m putting our lives before theirs.”
“Grumpy one, Nyie have a suggestion to get the Dragonkin’s interest. If we present a head of a strong monster, you’ll strongly be considered.”
“If you mean the carcass of the Salamander from a while ago, we sold it off. It’d be rotting by now. What would they do with it anyways?”
“Nyie noticed that and kept its skull. Dragonkins love to collect the skulls of exotic beasts and especially ones that aren’t indigenous to Stusis. You better pay me back for Nyit.”
“If it works.” Kihet added, wondering how it fit in the werecat’s knapsack to begin with.
“It will.” Tama then turned to Aten. “Can Nyie ask you to fly over the crowd and pass this letter to the Dragonkins?”
[Letter?]
“A simple introductory letter. Every peddler who’s got enough connections has one.”
Aten gave one last look to Kihet and Lily before taking off into the air. A person flying over the crowd was enough to get the Dragonkin’s attention.
“What if it gets ripped up?”
“Nyie could always forge more of those letters. With everyone touching and examining the paper, I’ve kept the original safe in case anyone has a sharp eye.”
Later, a voice boomed over the port.
“Tama Leotharp, assemble your team before us!”
“See? Whaddnya tell you?” Tama flashed a grin and took the lead through the crowd. “Tama here! Please let us through!”
“Leotharp?”
“Don’t tell me it’s that Leotharp?”
“No way. It couldn’t be. Not after what happened.”
“What if one of them lived?”
Murmurs sprouted left and right, catching Kihet’s ears. The Werecat on the other hand, happily marched down the parted crowd without a car as beastmen in the area kept their gaze on her.
“You sure are loved. What’s your story?”
“Now you want to hear about my past? Nyot a chance after that one time.” She snickered.
At the end of the path, a Dragonkin prompt up to the group. It was armored with pieces of plates and wielded a lance. It towered over the Werecat as it glared at her with red slitted eyes then proceeded to scan Kihet and Lily for a moment.
“Follow.”
“Gladly!”
Along the way, Kihet spotted a ring drawn on the ground with Mercenaries pitted against prisoners the Dragonkins brought with them. One of the Dragonkin monitored a sand hourglass and when the top was empty, the battle was stopped.
Depending on the result, some mercenaries were turned away. Those that killed the opposing Scalemen were rewarded with silver and immediately hired.
Once they regrouped with Aten, the leader of the mercenary recruiter stomped up to them. It was then Tama pulled out the Salamander’s skull and held it out. The following conversation was spoken in Scylanis.
“Oooh! Such a magnificent specimen! Tell, where did your team encounter such a beast?”
“From Sanctuary. Nyit was called a slime Salamander by the folks and was said to be impervious to steel.”
“That means there is a caster among you?”
“Nyope.”
“No? Well, I am extremely impressed. That being said, you wish to be hired as mercenaries, yes?”
“You don’t want to know how nyit was defeated?”
“Where’s the fun in a good hunt if everything goes according to plan? Hearing it’s possible to defeat such a creature is enough.” The Dragonkin showed its fangs. “You’ve gained my interest with such prize, but now you must earn our trust. Prove to me you will be able to execute our enemies.”
Its tail slammed the ground, causing a small quake and issued an order for one of the prisoners to be thrown into the ring.
“Get out, vermin. Savor the last moments of your pitiful life.” The jailor kicked the cage containing a member of the Tortoise race.
The Tortoise crawled out slowly and raised itself with the support of a massive wooden club. Its shell was deep green with the underside being beige. There were remnants of broken blades lodged into its backside. With a closer examination, the group noticed numerous infections across all its limbs eating away its skin.
Its withering beak slowly raised up at its challengers. The glassy like eyes was a sign it had given up on living, but its body continued to instinctively fight against the one sided battle for survival.
“Do we really have to fight?” Lily rested an arrow on her bow.
“If we’re going to enter Stusis, yes.”
“Can it be done as painless as possible?”
“Fighting isn’t my specialty. Nyi’ll leave it for you three.” Tama set her baggage down and began chatting up to one of the Dragonkins in charge of watching them.
[Oracle, what do?]
The Tortoise’s current state somehow reminded Kihet of himself as he stepped into the ring to be its opponent.
“Kihet, don’t hurt it too much. Please.”
“I’ll do my best.” Kihet then stared at the Tortoise. “You’re going to die, you know.”
“…”
“What are you trying to achieve by dragging out your misery?”
“Nothing.” It responded with a dry whispering voice. “I did, what I did. I have, nothing else. I gave, it away. It is done.”
“What is?”
“Kill, or leave me. Stop asking me…” The Tortoise took a deep breath. “I will not be your entertainment!”
While Tortoises were always depicted as slow enormous creatures, this one suddenly flew into rage and swung its giant wooden club as easily as a person waving a stick.
“GRAAAAHH!”
Aten disarmed the Tortoise before the club hit Kihet. The Insectoid drove two spears into the shelled armor gap. He quickly disengaged into the sky before the Tortoise could catch him and collpased on its shell.
The Dragonkins who watched the battle unfold as most of them were impressed by Aten’s speed.
“Aten, thanks. But I said I got this.” Once again, Kihet faced the Tortoise. “I don’t want to fight, but I can’t save you. The most I can do is help you make amends before you go.”
“Help me, amends? Is this… a joke?”
“If it weren’t for the Devil Folk behind me, I wouldn’t have given a shit about you. She wanted to make this as painless as it can for you, but I can’t promise her that.”
The Tortoise slowly stretched its neck as its fading gaze examined the worried expression on Lily’s face. “How rare… that little one. To show concern, even for a stranger, like me.”
“Even though your body looks like it’s about to give up, you look like you still have regret lingering in your eyes.”
“There are things I wish to see, to still witness.” The tortoise gasped for air as he pushed an amulet into Kihet’s hand. “Please… give this to the Herald. If you do not know, recite the lines ‘I go to where the Pale Dragon slumbers’ and you shall find the one called the Herald.”
“Got it. Any last words?”
“O’Pale Dragon, Ishverial. Forgive me for being last leaving your clergy. I no longer able to witness the coming of your rebirth.”
After the Tortoise closed its eyes, Kihet raised his sword over its neck and with one swing, decapitated his foe.