I didn’t know much about the village and didn’t bother to ask so was surprised to learn it was populated by what Ann called lizard folk. Lin came back with one of the villagers in tow. She was a head taller than Lin and muscular. She had long arms and legs with an equally long tail. Her outfit consisted of a colorful fabric wrap around her chest and another wrap around her waist. She had dark green scales on her mostly exposed body and her face looked like that of a reptile.
When she got closer I could see she had reptilian looking eyes and when she opened her mouth I could see razor sharp teeth and a long snake like tongue. “It is good you made it back. You are the first to ever return from the cursed city. Oh, I see there is a new face and a couple faces are missing. I am sorry for your loss.” The villager said, bowing. “Matt, this is the head of the village, San. San, this is Matt, he rescued us when we got in trouble.” Lin said, doing the introductions.
“It is a pleasure to meet you.” I said, bowing my head slightly. “That certainly sounds like quite the story, you will have to tell us all about it while you wait for the ship. You are in luck since it should return within a few days if they are on schedule.” San replied, looking at me curiously. “You may use the same huts as last time. Now, you must be tired so I won’t bother you anymore. Rest and get cleaned up. We will have a bonfire tonight to celebrate your return.” San continued bowing once more before leaving.
I had half expected her to sound like the stereotypical lizard person with hiss sounds thrown into her speech, but she sounded normal. Ann explained that they had stayed at the village to prepare before starting their expedition. Lin led the way to two huts a little way away from the rest that looked somewhat run down compared to the others. “They are just some unused huts that they let us use. It’s better than sleeping out in the open, especially if it rains.” Lin explained, seeing my curiosity.
We left our gear in the huts and the girls dragged me down to the beach to wash off. Lux stayed to guard our possessions and would take his turn when we were done. I had to remind myself that we were carrying extremely valuable items that people would certainly kill us to have for themselves. We couldn’t take any chances and even aboard the ship would need to be careful.
The beach was just as nice as the last one but was much bigger. There were more of the lizard folk wandering around who waved to us. Their smiles were a little scary with the sharp teeth, but they seemed friendly enough. We waded out into the water and started rinsing off. We all were stripped down to our underclothes and Ann had grabbed some soap.
Our clothes were filthy as well but we had changes of clothes in our bags. After scrubbing ourselves in the water, Lin led us away from the ocean to a well where we rinsed off the salty water. I had trouble keeping my eyes off the beautiful sisters as their white underclothes were now see through. The girls noticed me staring and both grinned mischievously while flaunting their assets.
I gulped and tried to keep my hormones under control. The cold water from the well certainly helped. The girls giggled to each other as we returned to our huts and got dressed. Upon seeing us return, Lux went off to get clean. I wasn’t sure what the sleeping arrangements would be like but evidently the sisters had already decided they would both sleep with me in one hut while Lux took the other.
The huts were circular and had plenty of room inside for the three of us. There was place for a fire in the middle with a chimney going up toward the sloped roof. The rest of the area was empty except for our belongings. Lin laid out our blankets and the girls pulled me down. It wasn’t dark yet so it seemed they wanted to fool around before the festivities began.
Soon it was time to eat around the bonfire which was in the middle of the village. The food was grilled fish and other seafood, some of which I couldn’t identify but all of it was good. The villagers were dying to hear about the cursed city and our adventures. Ann and Lin were only too happy to tell the tale, with many embellishments thrown in. San even broke out a supply of alcohol for the celebration. It was a kind of wine that they had traded for.
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The party lasted well into the night by which time both girls were drunk. I had stayed sober as I didn’t care for the wine. Even after they got tipsy, the girls made sure not to mention any of the treasures we had found which was a relief. Lux had drunk some wine but seemed to be sober as well. I guided the sisters back to our hut where they promptly passed out. I stayed awake for a while, still not fully trusting the villagers. They seemed friendly enough but I didn’t want to take any chances.
I saw Lux go into his hut a while later and we nodded at each other. I was out front, looking at the stars and the huge planet hanging in the sky. I hadn’t seen the sky in a while since the jungle was so thick. I still didn’t know how it could be so close but chocked it up to magic like everything else. I had asked Ann and she said the planets were called the twins. Ours was called Attax and the one hanging in the sky was called Ottax. There were several myths and legends about Ottax and even heroes being able to go there but nothing concrete.
I didn’t have any abilities I knew of that would allow me to travel to another planet, even one so close, so it was probably just another folk tale. I noticed the bonfire was dying down and the villagers were heading back to their huts. I had the feeling of being stared at and noticed two lizard folk standing in the shadows of one of the nearest huts. I waved at them but they didn’t respond which started making me nervous.
About that time Lux came out of his hut and stretched. He glanced at the two lurkers which made them turn around and leave. I breathed out a sigh of relief. “I’ll take first watch, you get some rest.” Lux advised. I readily agreed and crawled back into the hut. I slid in next to Ann who immediately grabbed onto me and started using me as a hug pillow. I didn’t mind too much and soon fell asleep.
Lux woke me up what seemed like minutes later. I yawned and somehow managed to extricate myself from Ann. Both girls were snoring peacefully. “Any problems?” I asked as I made my way out of the hut. “No, but keep a lookout. I trust most of the villagers but there are a few bad seeds.” Lux replied returning to his hut. I glanced around but didn’t see anything. The village was quiet except for the background noises of the jungle. Ottax acted as a bright moon so there was plenty of light for me to see.
I had asked earlier what keeps monsters away from the village. The wall they had constructed only went up to my waist so wouldn’t stop much. I was told they concocted a type of monster repellent from one of the sea creatures and spread it around the wall that encircled the village. I didn’t notice anything but Lin said she could smell it and that monsters didn’t like the smell so stayed away. They had used some on their way to the city but then lost it with most of their belongings during the attack that separated them.
Supposedly there was still at least one guard that patrolled the village at night but if so I couldn’t see them. I made myself a chair using earth magic and sat down. The night was pleasant and the sky clear. It was hard to not stare at Ottax but I needed to focus. I managed to stay awake and nothing happened so it was an uneventful night. Lux was the first to get up followed by the sisters who were embarrassed that they had gotten drunk and made us take watch without them.
We ate a quick breakfast and wandered around. I was somewhat tired but didn’t think I would be able to fall asleep. Instead, I wanted to get a better look at the ruins. Ann and Lin accompanied me while I explored. I had also brought the map with me that showed the road between East Port and the old capital. It was supposed to be along the north side of East Port so I wanted to see if we could find it. I’m sure we could have asked one of the villagers but it was something to do instead of waiting around. Plus I didn’t want the villagers to know about the map.
The ruins were a disappointment with not much to see besides stones sticking up through the dirt. They were in such a sorry state that I couldn’t tell what they used to be even knowing the layout of South Port. We followed the ruins to the north and searched around until Lin finally find what had to be the old road. Like the previous road we had followed, this one was completely covered by the jungle but the trees didn’t grow down the middle of the road so it created a path that could be followed.
The road between East Port and the capital was much shorter than the one that ran between South Port and the capital. Maybe one day we would see if we could find the old capital. If it was intact like South Port then who knows what we could find. From what Ann said, it didn’t sound like anyone had attempted to reach the capital since they didn’t know its location. That adventure would have to wait for now though.