Having taken the task to raid an enemy camp, Kihet and his band moved through densest parts of the forest under the night sky. Those who followed him were Lily, Aten, Tama, Yizdra and ten other Scalemen. Those who were defending their new base were Draigh, Carmyn and Scalemen militia led by Hilaqi.

With Kihet at the helm, he led them through Shadow infested areas without much trouble. Five night cycles later, a trail of smoke coming from the bonfire in the middle of the enemy camp marked their destination. One of those nights, they came across the large encampment Hilaqi marked on their map. They managed to find the time to survey the enemy’s activity and was surprised to find Alc’Bruk wasn’t present.

Perchance it was luck or a tactical withdrawal. That final attack to dissipate the flood of Tower Monsters must’ve taken a toll on the Dragonborn’s body.

“Umm… Grumpy one. Why am Nyie here?”

“Since we can’t bring a cart with us, you’re our next best option. I paid your price. It’s your fault for accepting to be our porter.”

“So, Nyi’m just a pack mule?”

“Yup.”

Tama repeatedly stated she was a non-combatant. Regardless, she was chosen to join the raiding party.

Her uniquely oversized knapsack possessed magical properties to allow her to carry vast quantity of items. It wasn’t just that. Kihet learned Werecats also had night vision which came in handy for the time they planned to start their raid. Kihet trusted Tama’s discerning eyes and her being multilingual could help relay information between races in the group.

“Do you have a weapon you can use just in case?”

“Nyi’m a arms dealer too. Even I need to fight when I must, but…” The Werecat shook her sleeves. “I will do only what I’m hired to do. Don’t expect any more support I’m giving you, nya got that?”

Kihet agreed and turned to the Scalemen. “Yizdra, she’ll be with you.”

“What of you, Oracle?”

“The three of us will deal with enemy while you guys secure the slaves.”

“Just three? I’m unable to imagine you would be victorious against those numbers.”

Kihet drew his Nagamaki, giving a quick inspection then looked towards his other two companions who would support him.

Yizdra stretched her scaled neck, poking over Kihet’s head and examined the two figures behind him. The insectoid with a stash of javelins on him was as silent as ever. His large compound eyes were trained on the enemy camp. The Devil Folk gave her bowstring a pluck, checking the bow’s condition. Neither of them looked concerned they were about to fight an outnumbered battle and were rather calm about it.

“There’s two ways we can do this. Go in fast before they realize what hit them, or slowly pick them off until it’s too late.”

----------------------------------------

Behind lively tents and hidden at the darkest corner of the encampment, two prisoners were confined in their own cages. As dayshift ended and night shift arrived, the Dragonkins swapped guards.

At first, they seemed determined to stake out through the night and dutifully perform their task. An hour or so later, their motivation were drained, and one fell asleep on a table. The other balanced itself on the chair’s hind legs, about to doze off as well.

“Krullu… I’m hungry.”

“Shuddap idiot! Complaining ain’t helping us!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, but my stomach hurts so much.”

His two pronged feet weakly kicked against iron bars that separated the two of them. Looking at the Tortoise folk laying stomach down on the floor, he hung his head in shame for scolding at his only friend. What’s he to do? They were captured by the Dragonkins and forced to labor away their lives with only one meal a day to sustain the harsh upcoming days.

Not only would they be worked to death, the Dragonkins occasionally pit Scalemen against each other for entertainment. They rewarded the victor the loser’s portion of food. That way, it’d encourage the Scalemen to sabotage each other to give themselves a better chance at keeping their stomachs somewhat fed.

He tried to distract himself from the body’s needs. Once the Tortoise Folk brought it up, his stomach couldn’t stop growling. The worst part was he couldn’t sleep. Strength was leaving him as he laid flat on his back. His slightly bulbous eyes gazed upon the thickened clouds hoping it would at least rain.

“You still awake?” He asked, but his friend remained silent. With arms tucked into its shell, -still hearing his friend breathe-, he envied the Tortoise could sleep with an empty stomach unlike him.

At least the two friends would be together before they were both guided to the beyond.

It was then, his hazy eyes caught a glimpse of an insect silhouette flying overhead. His long tongue desperately lashed out hoping to catch a meal, but it simply stretched far up then dropped down. By the speed of his tongue lashing out, he was sure he should’ve struck his meal. He must’ve misjudged the distance, or his hunger played games with his mind, causing him to hallucinate.

Suddenly, a flash of white light flickered at the edge of his vision like stories he heard the dead would see before their souls moved to the beyond. Finally, death had claimed him of this misery. However, the pain from his aching body reminded him he was still alive.

“Ack!”

“GAAHH!”

He heard the screams of his captors and slowly peeled his back off the ground to take a better look. The Dragonkins in his view hastily took flight when they were plucked off the air by quick flashes of light. Following their landing, their screams ended by vicious noise of piercing flesh.

One enemy soldier came running to the cages, eyes filled with desperation. It saw the guards supposed to keep an eye on the two laid dead. The Dragonkin gripped its spear and dashed towards the cages.

“You damned Scalemen! I’ll take as many of you with me before I fall!”

“Hieee!”

The sound from metal scraping screeched their ears as the Dragonkin raised its spear to defend against a hatchet arcing out of the dark. The ambusher hissed and kicked the Dragonkin back, then took a defensive stance with her shield to the front. Frills over her head fan out as her tail smacked against the ground, putting distance between the cage and her enemy.

“That cowardly scream… Krullu, is that you?”

He recognized the poncho with the emblem of a claw on her back.

“Y-Yizdra?! Yizdra, watch out!”

The Dragonkin lunged forward and struck Yizdra’s shield. Her enemy wasn’t planning to sit and wait until the two were done with their reunion.

Yizdra deflected the thrust and pushed forward. She pounced at the enemy, only to have met with an orange glow coming from the Dragonkin’s throat. Realizing if she were to dodge, her friend would be burned. She shook off the spear scrapping her shield and spun, quickly using her tail to smack the Dragonkin’s jaws. Her tail would be caught.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Got you!”

“Tch.”

The Dragonkin thought it was its victory. Unfortunately for it, an elongated sticky tongue sniped its cheek and dragged it towards the ground.

“Gof fo if!”

Yizdra’s tail snapped while she spun. Using that momentum, she cleaved her hatchet into the enemy’s neck, causing a light puff of flames to come out. Her attack was shallow, but after a second strike at the same spot, she destroyed the trachea connecting the flame sac and the fire chamber.

“You…! You’re a devotee of the Ash!”

Wanting to hear no further of her opponent’s last words, Yizdra delivered the final blow to silence the Dragonkin. The Lizardman filled her lungs with new air then marched towards the cages and knocked off the locks.

“We’re saved! You came to save us!”

“The others told me you were kept separate from the others. Krullu, can you move?”

“Hardly. I’m hungry and dehydrated, but Ainig…” Looking at the Tortoise Folk tucked in its shell. Neither he nor Yizdra could carry someone of that size.

“The bloodline of Pale Dragon still exists! This is great news! We must find others to transport Ainig-.”

“There’s someone trying to free them!”

“Don’t let them escape!”

Yizdra turned around to find five armed Dragonkins with their weapons aimed at her. She quickly tossed a spear into Krullu’s hands and put herself at the front.

“If it were three, I may manage to hold. I need you to fight.”

“You know I can’t fight!”

“Just stab them! They’re coming!”

“Hieee! Impossible! I can’t!”

The enemy charged when suddenly five javelins came piercing Yizdra’s foes from the heavens. As the Dragonkin searched where the volley came from, gale force winds kicked dust into their faces. After the dust cloud cleared, one of the Dragonkins was found headless with a clean cut exposing its throat and windpipe. Its body went limp and collapsed without anyone knowing what had happened.

“[][][] [][][][] [][][]!”

The echo sounded like a wraith hurling a curse at them. Their mistake was to be taken by fear and forgot about the Lizardman they challenged.

Yizdra took the opportunity to bury her hatchet into the unsuspecting enemy and watched as its blood turned from red to purplish. Her attack was not enough to cause major wounds, but her victim’s eyes bulged and suddenly cried out in pain as froth flooded out of its maw. Other than the ability to shed their tails to make an escape once every blue moon, some Lizardmen had the ability to secrete venom or acid.

Her hatchet was slathered in poisonous viscera.

“Using wretched poison! How low can you get?”

“You Dragons resort to your fire breath at times while the rest of us can’t?”

“Our flames are divine weapons of Crimson! Do not associate your trickery with our deity’s blessing! Your mockery will not be forgiven!”

The enemy flew into mad rage as they rushed her for insulting their God.

Another gust of wind hammered the area, but this time the targeted Dragonkin was fortunate to block the invisible strike. Once the blade was stopped, it growled at assailant not knowing the blade of the halberd was a hair’s breadth away from its neck.

In front of him, a grotesque humanoid figure with black tendrils wriggling about. The creature’s mandibles snapped at the air in a feral like manner, wanting to bite into the Dragonkin’s face.

“[][][] [][][][] [][][]! [][][] [][][][] [][][]! [][][] [][][][] [][][]!”

“A shadowed creature?!”

Though it was covered in shadows, Yizdra recognized the silhouette to be the insectoid companion of the Oracle. She had briefly met with him, and he was usually calm with his emotionless insect head. Right now, he was anything but calm. His ghastly voice were like echoes of a vengeful spirit seeking retribution. What caused him to run berserk? Where were his companions?

“[]•[][] [][][][] [][][] [][][]!”

“Stay away from me, monster!”

The Dragonkin shoved the full length of its blade through the Insectoid’s torso and lifted him to the air. As black blood flowed down and dripped from the hilt of its blade, black tentacles sprouted from the ground and lashed out at everything. A pair snatched two of the Dragonkins and whipped them around like a rag doll until they became a pile of bloody mess.

“Krullu, get back!”

“What is that?!”

Yizdra raised her shield and took the impact from one of the tentacles. It felt like being tackled by a bull as she was pushed several steps back with her shield arm numbing for a moment.

“Hey! We’re your ally!” She bellowed, but her words did not go through.

Instead, the last of the Dragonkins suddenly had two spears sprouted out of its shoulders. Another two came out of its thighs and eight more shot out of different parts of the Dragonkin like thorns had grown out of body. The spears were threaded in a way they interlocked with each other, suspending all movement as the victim screamed in agony.

The Insectoid then vanished into the dark and remerged above his stationary prey, driving one last spear through its temple and out the bottom. He landed above the tip poking from the top of the mutilated corpse, scanning Yizdra, Krullu and Ainig with his large compound eyes.

Krullu was in absolute terror hiding behind Yizdra standing her ground against the Dragonfly. Just as he tore a javelin off the corpse and gave them a hateful stare, silver flames rushed into the scene. A grumpy voice bellowed at the Insectoid and snapped him awake.

“What’s wrong with you?!” Kihet stormed past debris and began scolding Aten. His cloak and weapons were dyed in the blood of his enemies. “We had a plan and you decided to go off by yourself! If Lily didn’t stop the enemy from escaping, other places would know what we’re up to!”

The Dragonfly lifted up a sign.

“You’re sorry? Do you remember we’re not like you?” His voice was on the verge of exploding. “You might be able to dive into the enemy and come out fine, but the rest of us only have one chance-.”

With a sudden pause, he spotted two Scalemen bewildered at his anger.

“We’ll pick this up later. Go see if Lily needs help.”

The Dragonfly was expressionless as always but by flying off, he acknowledged Kihet’s words.

“Yizdra, where are the others?”

“They’re with the other captured ones. These two that were kept separately must be brought back to Holy Draigh urgently. However, I require assistance to move this Tortoise Folk.”

“Urgently. Sounds important.”

“This short one is Krullu. Though a coward at times, his machinations have been known to help the Scalemen.”

“I’m not that short!”

He kept protesting until Yizdra tossed the bag of rations towards him. The Chameleon instantly sent his long tongue after it and immediately gorged himself.

“This other package is for Ainig. Save it for him.”

“Wiff du!”

“Who’s Ainig?”

“He is the Herald of the Pale Dragon. In terms of status, he is equal with Alc’Bruk. But in strength, the Dragonborn surpasses everyone. By the way, I am affiliated with the Ash Dragon. Hilaqi is with the Azure Dragon.”

“There are more Dragons? I thought they went extinct.”

“Sightings of them are very rare, but the ones I’m referring to are the Elder Dragons. At least, they are extinct in the material plane.” Yizdra explained. “Their souls linger in the land where they governed and offer blessings to those who devote themselves to them.”

Their powers were like the elementals on a smaller scale. While Elemental spirits were omnipresent and allowed those to borrow their powers by simply offering power of words which shape into magic, Elder Dragons could influence activity within Stusis.

Ash Dragon provides vegetation, Azure Dragon decides the weather, Crimson Dragon maintains warmth and Pale Dragon gives light. No matter how many followers one have, the four have always played a role to keep life in Stusis flowing.

“It is important Ainig must live through this. His status among the Scalemen would have him play an important role. I shall speak more of Ainig after we return to camp. It is not safe here.”

Yizdra was right and with the Tortoise tucked in its shells, he wouldn’t be able to say anything.

“I hope there’s still something we can use Aten didn’t destroyed.”

Turning to show Yizdra the encampment, the scene was like it was hit by a bombardment. It was entirely different than the result he envisioned when planning out his assault. Small flickering flames light the wreckage of Aten’s fury. Leather tents were filled with holes, most of them collapsed into a pile of rubble. Corpses laid scatter with most missing a limb. It was a massacre.

Kihet heaved a heavy sigh as he dug through the wreckage to find the least damaged cart. One of its wheels was broken, but he simply swapped it with another.

“Sqwaak!”

Just then, something hit the cage. It was a large, feathered bird with scales on its neck. Although it could not fly due to its size, its powerful legs managed to warp metal bars by repeatedly kicking it.

“Yizdra. What is that?”

“They are called Droics.”

“It doesn’t look domesticated.”

“We Scalemen often capture them from the wild and keep them in cages. There is no need to keep one alive for long as they are plenty. We should feed it to the captured ones.”

“You guys could harvest eggs from them.”

“Eggs are too little to feed even a child let alone an adult. Droics are only best to fill our stomachs. If you wish to transport things, the running lizards, the Agamas are best to do so.”

“We don’t have much of a choice. This guy’s going to help us pull the Tortoise.”

“It may not be strong enough.”

“I don’t see a better option.”

The Droic squawked louder the closer Kihet approached the cage then the two began in a stare off. It enlarged itself by spreading its wings and feathered tail, nothing. It hissed and feinted a charge, nothing. Its eyes were trained on Kihet as he shrugged off every intimidation it made.

Back at his home, stray predators would rarely but do wander close. Instead of outright engaging into combat, Kihet has learned a once you take your eyes off an aggressive creature, you become a target of prey.

Thankfully Droics were known to be at the lower end on Stusis’ animal food chain. Upon meeting Kihet’s gaze, the giant bird winced a few times. Seconds later, it hunched over, took a defensive stance and moved a few steps back. Acknowledging Kihet was a much bigger threat than it was, the caged beast remained quiet as it observed him.

“Shall we have it hooked up to the cart?”

“The moment we open the cage, it’ll run. I need to get its trust. Is it carnivorous?”

“I believe it is an omnivore, though often they are seen feeding on fruits.”

“Good.”