Overwhelmed with curiosity, I crept up the hill to get a better look at the melee in the swamp below. Two creatures wielding spears chased four unarmed lizardfolk soldiers. Moving silently, I got a better look at the spear wielders, who appeared human from the waist up but had the bodies of serpents from the waist down. Nagas.

Two of the lizardfolk fell shouting, and the nagas laughed as they impaled the last of the lizardfolk warriors on their spears. As far as I could tell, neither naga had been wounded. They wore purple-and-black tunics, which meant they were soldiers of Nagak-Thurn. I considered reporting this to Raven's Rest, but I wanted to learn more.

I proceeded farther down, unstrapped my crossbow, and loaded a bolt. I tried to line up the gunsight with one of the naga’s heads, but I couldn’t get a clear shot—the creatures glided like ice skaters on a frozen pond.

As soon as the nearer naga stopped moving, I aimed at his chest and struck him in the shoulder. He shouted, and both nagas scanned the swamp, their faces consumed with rage. I loaded another bolt and aimed at the chest of the closer naga, but the shot went wide.

The other naga finally noticed me. “There! On the hill!”

The nagas slithered upward in a graceful, serpentine motion, but they couldn’t move as quickly on land as they could on water. I intended to take full advantage of that.

I fired three more bolts at the naga I’d struck earlier, and two hit, bringing his health to three-quarters of its maximum. Next, I loaded a bolt of poison and hit him in his torso. I wasn’t sure he’d be affected, but his health bar turned green and began dropping steadily.

The nagas were getting close, so I strapped on my crossbow, cast Blur, and ran to one of the many trees that seemed to reach to the sky. When in doubt, climb.

“Human!” the unpoisoned naga hissed. “You wear the sscaless of a sssnake! We ssshall eat you alive!”

At first, I had no idea what he was talking about, but then it struck me. Orla had stitched my armor from cobra scales, and these snakemen took that personally.

I leapt up the tree, using the hooks in my boots to push myself upward. A thud sounded as a spear struck the trunk where my leg had been.

I climbed onto a sturdy branch, loaded my crossbow, and glanced down. The health bar of the first naga was still green, which meant my poison was still working. I struck him in the neck and loaded another bolt, but a spear flew upward and pierced my upper thigh. I shouted in pain, and it took everything I had to stay on the branch.

“There isss no essscape, human! We ssshall weave armor from your ssskin!”

Steadying myself against the tree trunk, I gritted my teeth and pulled the spear out of my leg. My health bar had turned green, and I was now at 22 health points and falling. I drank my only Potion of Cure Poison and sighed as my health bar returned to its red color. After a Potion of Lesser Healing, my health rose to 21.

Without their spears, all the nagas could do was circle the tree and hiss. Their serpent bodies were great for gliding in water, but they couldn’t climb. It took one more bolt to kill the poisoned naga. +800 XP!

“Come down, human!" The shout of the remaining naga filled the swamp. "Fight with honor!”

I shot him once in the shoulder and once in the neck. I would have used a bolt of poison, but I didn’t want him dead. Not yet, anyway. After I struck his upper chest, he glared up at me.

“You are a fool, human! I will return with my brothersss and sssistersss, and we will ssshow you how nagasss deal with cowardsss!”

The naga turned and slithered away. Once he was halfway down the hill, I lowered myself from my perch and followed. It didn’t take much effort to keep up. It wasn’t until he reached the marsh water that I had to break into a run. I expected the naga to turn and fight, but if he heard me splashing behind him, he never turned. It probably never occurred to him that I was more eager to meet his brothers and sisters than he was to introduce me to them.

The naga headed south, gliding below low-hanging trees, through dark forests, and across streams. He came to a stop near a wall of giant trees, and I heard him say something aloud in a sharp, military tone. As I caught up, I saw huge wooden doors and two guards wearing purple-and-black tunics. Words were exchanged, and the doors opened.

I leaned over, panting. My stamina was almost gone, but I’d done it. I checked the map and smiled. A new marker had appeared in the north-central part of the Baildril, and its label read Nagak-Thurn. Now I just needed to figure out what the nagas were planning.

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The city of Nagak-Thurn was shaped like a vast oval bowl, surrounded by steep hills on all sides. A wanderer would never know a city was there unless they spotted the tall gates in the east or west. The gates were guarded by spear-wielding sentries, but the rest of the perimeter was left unguarded. Nagas couldn’t climb, so they might have presumed that their walls were unscalable. If so, they were mistaken.

I climbed the city’s southern wall, and as I looked down on Nagak-Thurn, I was surprised by how busy the city was. Hides and ore were brought into the tanneries and metalworking shops, and weapons and armor were shipped out. There could be no mistake—the nagas were preparing for war.

In the southeast, nagas with halberds guarded an isolated wooden hut. The hut’s windows were barred with metal grating, but I could see green-skinned occupants standing inside. Lizardfolk. The nagas had imprisoned lizardfolk soldiers, and they’d be the best people to ask about what was happening in the city. Conveniently, the hut was located directly under the branch of one of the Baildril’s tallest trees.

As the sun began to descend, I climbed the tree overhanging the prisoners’ hut. After securing two of my ropes together, I tied one end to the tree branch and prepared for the jailbreak.

Then I stopped. Something odd was happening in the city below. The nagas had halted their labor, and nearly all of them were slithering to the city center. They assembled into a silent mass, facing the leader’s tent. Was this a religious ceremony?

The doors of the tent opened, and a female naga emerged, much taller than the guards I’d encountered earlier. I couldn’t see her clearly, but she was flanked by two muscular nagas wearing gold helmets and cuirasses.

"A blessed evening to you, my beloved nagas!”

Despite my distance, I could hear her clearly, as if she was speaking through a megaphone. She had the joyful confidence of an evangelist.

Her audience erupted in applause. The shouts from the prison guards were particularly loud, and they didn’t seem to be concerned about intruders. And why would they be? As far as they knew, no one with legs had any idea where Nagak-Thurn was.

I couldn’t have picked a better time for a prison break. Slowly and carefully, I climbed down the rope to the hut.

“I’ve watched your diligence, children, and I am grateful! Know that your goddess will reward your dedication!”

I landed on the roof of the prisoners’ hut, which was made of long wooden branches tied in bundles. I couldn’t toss the branches aside, so after cutting the ties, I lowered each branch gently into the hut, hoping the prisoners would understand what I was doing.

“The hour of destiny is at hand, my beloved! Too long have we wallowed in darkness while the footwalkers bask in the light. We will have our day in the sun!”

As I lowered more branches into the hut, I got a better look at the prisoners. There were five lizardfolk inside, all standing with their hands tied behind their backs. They looked at me with a mixture of amazement and anticipation. I responded with a grin that would have made El Gato proud. This was going to work.

“Our attack begins in four days, and I will transform all of you into unstoppable warriors! Together, we will overcome all our foes! We’ll defeat the lizardfolk first, and then the entire kingdom of Phaneia!”

Every naga in the city clapped and shouted. Holding Ebonclaw in my teeth, I lowered myself into the hut. Then I sliced through the bonds of each prisoner and whispered the same message, “There’s a rope above the hut. Get on the roof, climb up to the tree, and I’ll meet you at the top.”

The prisoners nodded, none saying a word. Then each of them climbed upward.

“Our enemies outnumber us, but they are vile! Corrupt! They lack our virtue and purity of soul! Keep faith, and you shall be rewarded with victory!”

As the last of the prisoners ascended, I climbed out of the empty hut. I thought the prison guards might have noticed something, but I needn’t have worried. Every naga in the city shouted and cheered for their queen. Those wielding weapons clanged them together, and those without weapons clapped furiously.

I climbed up my rope and then made my way onto the hilltop. The five lizardfolk stood near the base of the tree, and the tallest of them stepped forward and extended his hand.

“I am Captain Virik, leader of the squad from Zelennkh. We owe you our lives.”

“My name is Dylan. The guards in Raven’s Rest sent me to investigate Nagak-Thurn.” I pointed down to the naga speaker, who basked in the nagas' applause. “Who is that?”

Virik shook his head. “That is Queenn Odrianna. She died of disease a monnth ago, but rose from the dead two days later. The nnagas worship her as a goddess.”

“What attack is she talking about?”

“She has promised the nnnagas war and victory. That’s why they stole iron from our caravannns. Their blacksmiths forge armor nnnight and day to prepare for their attack.”

A message scrolled at the bottom of my view. QUEST COMPLETED: INVESTIGATE THE NAGAS OF NAGAK-THURN. +1,000 XP!

A second message followed shortly afterward. NEW QUEST: STOP THE NAGA ATTACK.

“What about the transformation?” I asked. “Odriana said something about turning everyone into unstoppable warriors. Is she a sorcerer?”

“Evennn the guards donnn’t knnnow the details of her plannn. Onnnly that it’s goinnng to start in four days.”

That gave me four days to clear my latest quest. “Can you and your soldiers make it back to Zelenkh?”

“Yes. We'll leave nnnow to alert the counnncil of the attack. Thannnk you, Dylannn. You’re welcome to come back with us.”

“I wish I could, but I have more business in the Baildril. I wish you and your soldiers a safe journey.”