Chapter 6 - Lizardmen!

“What did you say?” Tannyr whirled around to face Racti, taking a few steps back from the hole.

“Lizardmen. Martell and I fought one earlier.” Racti pointed to the spot where the lizardman had fallen, but the floor was empty. Blinking with surprise, Racti looked at Martell, who gaped in stunned silence. Racti opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly stopped.

The hissing repeated, but now much closer.

Auric, quickly taking charge of the situation, drew his sword and motioned for everyone to stand on both sides of the hole. He put his finger to his lips, signaling for silence. “Don’t make a sound,” he whispered. The others stood close to the wall, armed and waiting silently.

The first lizardman slowly and cautiously entered the room, its rusty scimitar held tightly in its hand. It turned its head to the side, the skin on its neck rippling as it caught sight of Auric and Racti. With a low growl, the lizardman leapt at the pair.

Zengrath, chanting in a low drawn-out voice, waved his hand at the creature, who suddenly fell to the floor in a deep slumber. Two more lizardmen entered the room after it, unaware of the enchantment that had just been cast. They fell to the floor, meeting the same sleepy fate as the first.

When Zengrath indicated with a nod that the sleep spell had dissipated, Auric, Tannyr and Martell advanced toward the remaining lizardmen, ready for the grueling battle that would soon ensue.

Swarms of reptilian figures were upon them, hissing and cackling in their native tongue as they charged the three warriors. They were dressed in dark leather armor, and all wielded the same weapons: long, thin scimitars with jagged-edged blades. Martell quickly noticed that the lizardman he fought earlier was not dressed in the same manner as these were. He assumed that it had been a scout while these were obviously soldiers.

Tannyr, eager to prove himself in this battle, was the first to be among the lizardmen, swinging his battle-axe in wide-sweeping arcs, slicing into the thick, leathery hide of the creatures. Auric and Martell, right behind him, made their own impression as their swords found their targets easily and without mercy, leaving a trail of bodies as they fought side by side.

The swords wielded by the lizardmen were both swift and strong, but ineffective against Auric's and Tannyr’s armor. Martell, however, wore no armor and consequently his bare shoulders and arms were stained with the blood from the numerous cuts and gashes inflicted by the lizardmen’s blades.

Another line of lizardmen charged. Martell looked up and sighed. “Does the enemy ever rest?” he said jokingly.

Suddenly, before anyone could say a word, a loud reptilian shout rang high against the clanging of metal in the battle. “Grazikt!” The lizardmen immediately stopped and arranged themselves in rows along the walls of the corridor.

A long, dead silence followed as a large lizardman stepped out of the darkness and stood before the party. He was larger and more muscular than the rest. His arms were marked with numerous tattoos, and on the lizardman’s head rested a golden circlet, studded with gems. Probably fake, Racti thought. The lizardman also wore a long, thick blood-red robe that stood out against the green of his flesh.

As Racti and Zengrath were pushed into the hall by two lizardmen, the leader approached Auric, first looking at the piles of bodies on the floor, then eyeing Auric from head to toe. “So, you are not the black elves we thought you to be,” the lizardman hissed,” but yet you may be of some use to us.”

Auric cautiously stepped forward, sword lowered but still held firmly. “Black elves? You attacked us because you thought we were shadow elves?”

“You have something we want, at least we think you do.” The lizardman raised his eyebrow and looked at each of Auric’s companions, deep in thought.

“We have nothing!” Martell yelled. In an unexpected move, he bolted toward the leader, arms stretched out toward the lizardman’s neck. A knee to his groin from a nearby lizardman quickly stopped him. He dropped to his knees in great pain, falling silent.

“Silence!” The leader turned to the closest lizardman and pointed to the party. “Zrech Na!” He then returned his eyes to Auric while the other lizardmen bound the party members with leather straps. “We will talk when we get to our lair.” The lizardman wheeled around and returned to the darkness of the corridor ahead, followed by the rows of lizardmen who stood along the walls, pulling the bound party members by a long chain that linked their bindings.

* * *

Tannyr nodded angrily at Racti. “Now look at what you have gotten us into,” he whispered harshly, yanking the chain connecting the two. “Your sneaking around always seems to get us in trouble.”

“Peace, Tannyr. We would have met up with the lizardman eventually anyway,” Auric said. Unable to turn around to face the dwarf, he focused his attention on the front of the group in an effort to see where they were being led. Unfortunately, all the corridors looked the same, and it seemed they were going in circles.

As they walked, two massive pillars carved to simulate giant lizard guards became visible, indicating the entrance to the lizardmen’s lair. This lair had a very high-domed ceiling on which was painted an underwater scene complete with exotc sea creatures and an undersea city. In each corner of the room hung large iron cages. A skeleton, either in a curled-up position or leaning against the bars as though it spent its last moments pleading for freedom, occupied each cage. Toward the center of the room was a wide-open fire-pit encircled in runes. Flames crackled and burst from the pit, slightly brightening the room, but strangely, threw little heat.

The large lizardman walked across the room and sat down on a grand rock throne set in front of a flowing lava-fall. He raised his hand and silenced the whispers, motioning that the five party members be led to the edge of the pit. They were released from their leather bonds, but immediately shackled to the floor.

“I am Tok, king of the lizard people. I have brought you here to pay for the kidnapping of my son, who was last seen where we found you.”

Auric’s face paled. What was Tok talking about? Confused, he spoke up. “You're mistaken, Tok. We haven't seen nor kidnapped your son.” He glanced at his friends. “You mentioned black elves­­ — perhaps they're the ones who took your son.”

“No, you're the one who's mistaken. One of my scouts saw your men leaving the room where we found you. The room that my son entered, but never came out of.” Tok stood, pointing to Racti and Martell. “These two men are responsible for my son.”

Racti leaned toward Martell and whispered into his ear. “Do you suppose it was his son who attacked us?” Martell only looked back wide-eyed and shrugged in silence.

“You there! If you have something to say, say it now!” ordered Tok.

Racti stepped forward to explain the events, but before he could open his mouth, two lizardmen entered the room carrying the lifeless body of a third lizardman. Racti and Martell quickly recognized it as being the one they fought earlier. Exchanging glances and shifting uneasily, neither said a word.

“My liege,” spoke the first lizardman, “we found him slumped in a corridor near the egg chamber. We were ambushed by black elves, and we had to fight to get back here. The other scout didn’t make it.” Bowing his head curtly, he stepped back and watched the floor.

Tok leapt from the throne in a quick rage, but didn't look toward Auric’s group. He grabbed a golden goblet that rested on the arm of his throne and flung it at the pit. The dull clang of the metal goblet echoed throughout the room. “Damned elves! First the amulet, now my son!” He paced back and forth in front of the throne.

Auric watched and remained silent, remembering the silver amulet in his tunic pocket.

Tannyr, unable to stay quiet any longer, blurted out, “What does the amulet mean to you? Why is it so important?”

Tok stopped his pacing and approached Tannyr with a dark glare, pressing his scaly snout into the dwarf’s face. The lizard’s hot wet breath soaked Tannyr’s nose and beard. “It's a key. It opens the door to the egg chamber.”

Zengrath cleared his throat. “Egg chamber?”

Glancing at the old wizard, Tok seemed ready to say something, but then hesitated. With a quick hand signal, the chains that bound the five prisoners were removed and the party was motioned to sit before the throne.

“Long ago," Tok began, "it was prophesied that one day a silver dragon would destroy Kulnor and rebuild it, populating it with new life. Hence when the first silver dragons were found, they were feared and hunted down, for they were believed to be the dragons that would bring destruction upon the world. These silver dragons, a relatively peaceful breed, were now almost hounded to the point of extinction.

“That is, until a cleric, whose name has long been forgotten, rounded up the last silver dragon and kept it inside this mountain. He formed a sect of clerics who worshipped this dragon as their god.”

Auric instantly remembered the book he found earlier about Cylac. Maybe the sect that Tok spoke of was one that Cylac had formed.

“After the cleric died," Toc continued, "his teachings continued to spread and many clerics joined his cult, believing that the silver dragon would free itself from the mountain and fulfill the prophecy. One of these clerics was Thelran, a young wizard-turned-cleric who lusted for the power of the dragon. He had discovered the entrance to the room where the dragon was held, and became the only living person to see the silver dragon.”

Tannyr interrupted, “I don’t understand. If Thelran was the only person who could get to the dragon, why didn’t anyone stop him?”

“Normagus, his brother, did try to stop him, but he was defeated and killed by the power that Thelran had gained,” Zengrath spoke up.

Tannyr looked at Zengrath, then back at Tok. “Continue, if you will.”

“Thelran foolishly cast several spells on the dragon, one to produce a mate, and one to put the two dragons into a magical, supposedly eternal slumber.

“Since then, Thelran has died, and the dragon has mysteriously awakened, its mate dwelling with it in the same room. The female has laid eggs, which have hatched and grown into the dragons that have since attacked towns all over Kulnor. We used to own the key to the chamber where the eggs and dragons are kept, but it was stolen from us by those malicious black elves,” Tok finished with a sneer.

“Why do you want the dragons?” Zengrath asked.

“So he can control them himself of course,” Martell replied snidely, standing up and crossing his arms over his chest.

Tok stood quickly and took a step toward Martell, but stopped and chuckled slightly. “The warrior is right. After the dragons destroy all other life on this world, we will repopulate it with our race!” Tok shook his fists in the air, and then slammed them on the arms of his throne. He paused for a moment, thinking.

“I know now why you're here,” Tok shouted, looking directly at Auric. “You are trying to stop us from letting the other dragons loose on the world. We won't let you foil our plans!”

Auric rushed at Tok, but was grabbed by two of his bodyguards. “What are you going to do to us?”

“I think you’ll make great competition in our little arena. The ogres will love the challenge of decent fighters. As for their last opponents, well…” Tok pointed to the cages in the corners of the room and laughed.