Lizardman Journal

[Dark]

*Hello everyone. The story is back up and ready to continue *



'Prologue'


Journal Entry 1

My name is Drake, Prince of the Banished Lizardmen army. I stand roughly 7 ft tall to the shoulder, I have red scales, blue eyes, a burly built body, a ten ft long tail, and a single claw scar running from the top left of my chest down to my lower right torso. I wear a black jacket and black shorts made from the hide of a male Gorrta in his prime. I wield no weapons, because I don't need any. I am 23 in human years. Let's leave it at that.

I am second in-command of this force. My father, Lord Slythe, is in command and yet, he does not fight. Our army consists of two types of elite troops: warriors and berserkers. We have 100 berserkers and 500 warriors. I am a warrior and lead the army into the fray. Lord Slythe is a berserker and we all fear him. Why? Because he is strong enough to tear all of us apart. That's right, he's strong enough to tear 500 warriors and 100 berserkers, including his own son, to shreds. Why is he so 'grumpy'? He served under Bloodbane, which is frowned upon by our village. When the great black dragon vanished, Lord Slythe thought Bloodbane abandoned him.

I was only a hatchling when he returned to the village. He became different from the time he left. He returned angry, and killed my mother and siblings. The chieftain banished him. As I had no family to care for me in the village, I, along a few of Slythe's closest friends, went with him. Over the years our numbers grew, and my strength surpassed that of everyone except for my father. We wait for Bloodbane's return so that we may serve him once again. Slythe's first orders; eliminate the Daemonslayers, our greatest threat.


Journal Entry 2, Day 1, about three hours before suns-rise

A scout of ours has informed us of a large human town fifty miles to the north of our current position. The scout also reports a goblin lair twenty-five miles north, holding over fifteen-hundred goblins within a series of caves. I pondered why there could be so many goblins in one place, but my father insisted not to worry about it. Lord Slythe wants us to go to both places to get some supplies, some 'fresh' supplies if you will. The goblins will possibly hold us out 'till we reach the human town, but I don't think our stomachs will be full with such tiny morsels.

Suns-rise

Though the goblins were many, they didn't last as long as we hoped. They only lasted an hour before the feast began. The rest of the time we sharpened our teeth, claws, and weapons against the stone the goblins called home. With the suns rising, the human town in sight, we are all restless. Lord Slythe noticed a fortified wall around the town. They must have been waiting for the goblins. Well, now they face their time in this world. Lord Slythe is too hungry not to fight. I've never seen him so happy to see such pathetic beings.

Two hours after suns-rise

That was quick. So much for the humans thinking they could beat us. Anyway, the battle was filled with the screams of the dying. Almost every man, woman, and child was slain and eaten. Now with our stomachs full, we leave the town to burn. We should be able to last at least a week until our next feed. We took some 'prisoners' just in case we don't last. Next stop: who knows.


Journal Entry 3, Day 7

It has been 6 days since the attacks at the cave and settlement, and we have run out of food. What's even worse is that we are in the middle of a mountain pass. We can't go back, but without food we can't go forward either. We have no idea whether it's day or night because the clouds here never leave the sky. However, my father can hear the sound of a ceremonial chant. We have no idea how he can hear it, but we trust him fully. He has ordered us to march towards the chant, where food is most likely plentiful.

Within two hours of treading through the mountain side, we have found what looks like a temple. A very large temple. Perhaps there is enough supplies there to last the rest of the trip through the mountains. Lord Slythe believes the temple is filled with monks. He ordered us to march in unison to show the monks we are strong, to hide our weakened state from them. We have decided that once they take us in, we make our attack. They're monks, they have to let us in.

My father was right as always, the temple was filled with monks chanting to a ceremonial statue of their deity. The head monk, a very old human, took us in with great delight. When entering the temple, we noticed there were only 50 monks in all chanting. The head monk told us that these monks, along with himself, were the only ones there. We didn't take notice to the statue, Lord Slythe told us it was disrespectful, even for us. As soon as the doors closed the monks stopped chanting, stood up and took defensive stances. It was if they knew we were going to attack from even before they saw us. These monks were out of food as well, and lured us in to eat. They set up a trap. They may have known we were coming, but there's one thing we have over them: numbers.


Journal Entry 4, Day 8

We underestimated their strengths to a fatal level. Some warriors were just too anxious to fight to let the berserkers go in first. As a result, we lost 100 warriors. Luckily, our berserkers were able to take out the monks before any more of us were killed. The head monk was the worst as he was the strongest. We thought because he was old, he would be weak. Lord Slythe and I fought him at once, and yet he threw us around like we were nothing.

The fight itself lasted for hours. Lord Slythe ordered the others to not interfere with the fight. One warrior, however, ignored that order and because of that we were able to beat the old monk. That lone warrior attacked the old monk from behind. The monk turned around and punched a hole into his chest. We didn't think, we acted. I was able to latch onto the monk and bite into his chest, which for a few seconds stunned him. In those short few seconds my father was able to leap through the air, bite onto the monk's head, rip it off, and land right next to the body of the fallen warrior. He spit the head off to the side as he watched the fallen warrior reach his towards him. As he reached towards the warriors hand, it fell to the floor.

We prepared the ceremony of the Fallen Feast. Lord Slythe said it was customary to feed on the fallen warriors and leave the monks to decay. Before it could begin, we tore down the monk statue and replaced it with a statue of the greatest being of them all: Bloodbane. As soon as the last of the details were put in, we prayed to Bloodbane. Then the feast began. We ate everything except for the bones, weapons, and the armor. Next, we cleaned the bones, sharpened the weapons, and polished the armor. We then placed the bones back together and equipped them with their weapons and armor. We placed half of them on one side of the great hall, and the other half on the other side. They were all placed on brick stones to tower over those who entered the temple. On each brick we carved, 'To the glory Bloodbane, we fell with honor'. We prepared to leave the temple. We stared back for what seemed like an eternity. We left the temple and headed north to seek a foe much stronger than these monks. Once we were out of the mountains, we would train to face this enemy.


Journal Entry 5, Day 22 Midnight

It has been a long time since my last entry. It took us one day to get out of the mountains. We entered upon a vast plain which lasted for miles around. Lord Slythe ordered five small groups of warriors to set up a fortification within five miles of the mountains to the south, east, and west. If anyone were to see us, we were to destroy them. Luckily, there were small patches of farms and a mile wide river within our encampment. The river stretched from the mountains to the horizon. We were not to destroy the farms, for we needed them for food.

The sky was covered in clouds, so there were no stars to give off light. In the middle of pure darkness we set up our 'camp' with watch towers facing each direction, a mile apart. Our wall was twenty feet tall with spikes on the front and covered pits within ten feet of it. If the pits didn't stop any trespassers, the spiked wall would.

It took all of us to build this fortification in just six days. The following week was nothing but training. Day and night we trained physically, mentally, and spiritually. As the week went on, we became more immune to pain and grew twice as strong. We became faster and stealthier. Our senses became more acute and we learned to use everything around us as a weapon, even the dirt. We all took shifts on the watchtowers for anyone to test our growing bodies on. Unfortunately, there was no one around. The warriors and berserkers trained together to increase one-on-one and team fights. Lord Slythe and I sparred together and became rivals on the training grounds. Everything is well, so far.


Journal Entry 6, Day 30 about three hours before suns-rise

We got a real surprise yesterday. About three hours after suns-rise, there were hundreds of cattle wandering the fields. Something was wrong, so I informed Lord Slythe about it. He ordered everyone to get ready for battle and take defensive positions along the wall. For hours we waited. At high noon a path was forming through the cattle. Something was pushing itself through the bovine. It was a small army of farmers.

A small boy, roughly around the age of twelve, popped out in front. He challenged us to a fight to the death. I agreed to the match, knowing it could be a trap. I walked out fifty feet from our wall, right in front of the small boy. Before a single thought entered my mind, I noticed my hands covered in blood. I looked down to see I had been impaled!

I looked at the small child whose hand was in a fist, his arm pointing at me. It was then, that I saw the child was fifty feet away. That kid knocked me into the defensive spikes we set up. He moved with such speed none of us had seen it happen. Lord Slythe jumped down in front of me with two of his favored berserkers. They checked to see if the wound was fatal. Luckily, the spike missed my vital spots. I would live. But, if they took out the spike now I would die from loss of blood. I had to stay where I was while Lord Slythe talked to the head farmer.

My father returned to me with news. We joined forces with the farmers. That show of strength from the child was to earn our respect. They got our respect alright. When the boy came to me to apologize, I told him it was ok. "It's better to get a beating like this from an ally than from an enemy." We all laughed. Those were the words that would seal our friendship. We found out how they got that strong. The farmers grow special herbs, that if eaten regularly, it would enhance your speed and strength ten-fold. They helped me recover from my almost fatal wound. They were able to take out the spike and stop the bleeding. Lord Slythe told me the farmers are loyal servants to Bloodbane. They will help us find and destroy the Daemonslayers. We all had the same idea: kill them, and Bloodbane would return to rule once more. They told us there was a small city to the north. There, we can find and hire a Master Assassin. His name: Darkclaw.


Journal Entry 7, Day 40 Midnight

I went alone to the city to find Darkclaw. There were guards everywhere, and I didn't have time to be unnoticed. I crushed the skulls of the two guards at the front gates. I ran into the city killing everyone who got in my way. Now I have the entire city after my tail. What I do know is that Darkclaw is in a bar, and boy does this city have a lot of bars. I've already destroyed about 20 bars so I know which ones I've been to. However, I do get the occasional drink before I go off to kill some more people.

I finally found the last bar, Shadow Haven. What a wonderful name. I hear nothing coming from inside which is strange. Maybe there was brawl in which everyone died. I might as well check it out. What's the worst that can happen? I could die. Oh well. Let's see what I can

That was weird. I must have been knocked out cold. It would explain why I woke up in the bar. The gory, bloodstained, wrecked bar. I found him! Darkclaw is here. He couldn't have done all this. There is someone sitting next to him drinking. He must be the one that caused all the damage. He has a giant axe covered in gore. His eyes are different colors. Wait a minute. It's one of the Daemonslayers. Oh crap.


Journal Entry 8, Day 52 Suns-rise

I ran back to out fortification as fast as I could. It was too late. A giant hole in our wall led to my worst nightmare: everyone had been slaughtered. I ran to Lord Slythe's tent to see if he was alright. When I got there, Lord Slythe lay on the ground full of deep wounds. He told me that all three Daemonslayers, including Darkclaw, attacked our base. Even our entire army, at ten times normal strength, couldn't lay a finger on them. He looked into my eyes with great happiness. Tears running down his cheeks. I asked what was wrong. He said I have become a berserker, a feat done by only a single lizardman. That lizardman was Tulrog, the legendary berserker that had slain entire armies before the times of Bloodbane. I couldn't believe my ears. Lord Slythe started to cough up large amounts of blood. With his dying words he said, "Son, it is your destiny to kill them, to kill all who stand in your way. For you are the descendant of Tulrog. You carry his blood within your veins. All I wish is that you slay the Daemonslayers, as well as Darkclaw. But be warned, the one known as BlackJack is the one we've been serving all these years. Bloodbane has turned against us. For me, for the lizardman race, kill him and gain the respect you deserve. Follow your heart for it will lead you to them. Goodbye Drake, my son." And with that he died. At the end of this journal entry I will bury the last, the greatest of those who fought: Lord Slythe. For when I finish, the hunt begins.



Gorrta, Bloodbane, the Daemonslayers, Darkclaw and Blackjack are all creations of Drakhenliche

[Dark]

*The story is going to contain strong violence, blood and gore, and swearing both small and strong. I hope you enjoy. *



Chapter 1


Drake walked along the same path he took weeks before. To walk against his father's footsteps felt strange to him, but he had to follow his heart. After two days of walking through the mountains, he stares at a temple. "Damn this place. I might as well enter for the night." As he advanced towards the great temple doors, he noticed something strange; fresh foot steps leading inside. The prints were still warm. "Killing them in their sleep will be much easier than fighting them. However, I want to see the pain in their eyes." He walked in to find something he didn't expect.

Inside, the Bloodbane statue had been toppled over forward. He moved slowly towards it, just in case it was a trap. He was now close enough to something moving under it. "Lucky creature. You are underneath the mouth of Bloodbane, the great Black Dragon. However, within a matter of minutes his teeth will pierce your body. You will lose large amounts of blood which will kill you." Drake looked closer at the creature; it was the female Daemonslayer. "Where are the other two? Tell me or I will slit your throat."

The female looked up into his eyes. He saw something in her eyes he couldn't understand. He lifted the statue and pulled her out from underneath. He put the statue back on the platform and looked back at the female. She was scared. Drake walked over to her, healed her wounds, and draped her some cloth sheets.

"You'll freeze to death without the right equipment." Drake sat down next to her, and pulled her close to keep them both warm. "My name is Drake."

"My name is Soul. Why did you help me?"

Drake looked away and said, "I followed my heart."

Outside on a beaten track in the mountains, the two male Daemonslayers stand around looking towards disappearing footprints. "Shade, tell me again why we're standing here."

Without losing his concentration on the path in front of him, he replied. "Soul went to check to see if there is any shelter from this storm. You're so impatient Blackjack."

"It's not that hard to spot shelter. Just look around. There's nothing but snow! Where the hell is she?"

Shade could see Blackjack getting aggravated. He ponders for a few moments and then asks, "What's wrong with you?"

“Nothing. I'm going to find Soul. Stay here if you want."

"Wait, I'll go with you."

Meanwhile, back inside the temple, Drake carries Soul to a bed he found. He covers her with warm cloth and gets her some fruit. "Stay in bed and don't get too excited. Your friends are almost here. I can smell them." Drake walks into the next room while Soul starts eating. Drake walks out with a halberd in his right hand.

"What are you going to do with that?"

Drake can hear the fear in her voice. "Don't worry, it's only for self-defense if they decide to attack. If for some reason they don't, I'll tell them where you are and lead them to you."

Soul smiles and says, "Thank you."

He stands in the center of the temple for what seemed like weeks in his mind, but only five minutes have passed. Then, it struck him. This temple should be a wreck. It's where he fought the monks with his father. There should be some sort of damage, but there wasn't. Not a single scratch. He looked down to think when he noticed something else. The floor was spotless. No bodies, not even a spot of stained blood. Something was wrong and he could smell it.

"Soul, when you entered the temple, what did it look like? Did you touch anything?" No response came. "Soul, are you alright?" Still no response. "She must be sleeping. Probably from eating that fruit. But there wasn't any food, or weapons here before. Son of a dragon!!"

He took a single step towards the room, halberd in his hand. Suddenly, Soul ran out of the room, hiding behind Drake. "There are some kind of monsters in there. They look like corpses." They stepped out. They were corpses alright, and they looked hungry.

"Why are you monks still standing? Answer me, or I'll rip you to pieces a second time."

It was then a small figure, surrounded by smoke, stepped out in front. With a scratchy voice it said, "They are mine now. And soon, you will be too. For I am, Tesha, the necromancer."

Drake stares at Tesha. “Crap.”

The undead monks attacked Drake at once. With wild swings he tore the monks to pieces, dust escaping from their bones. As the dust began to settle, Drake breathed heavily, quite tired already from his trek into the mountains. There were pieces of rotting flesh scattered across the floor. The undead monks put themselves back together, and surrounded Tesha. "Blast these vile creatures. Witch, come fight me!!"

Tesha became irritated and summoned a fireball in it’s hand. "Are you sure you want me to fight?"

Soul was hiding behind the Bloodbane statue with her heart racing. "Shade, Blackjack, where are you guys?"

Outside, Shade and Blackjack were looking at the temple. "This place is huge. I hope they got something to eat in here."

"Blackjack we're looking for Soul, not food. Anyways, I hope she's inside."

They walked up to the doors, when they heard a woman scream. They took out their weapons and smashed the doors open. "Soul, are you alright?!"

"Shade, I'm behind the statue! We need your help!!"

With surprise on Blackjack's face, he simply said, "We?" Shade jumped over the undead monks and landed next to Soul. Blackjack charged into the group of undead and started fighting.

"Who else is with you Soul?" She pointed to Drake's motionless body.

"Who is he?"

"Shade, he protected me from these things. He got hit by Tesha's fireball."

Shade looked up at Soul, then over to Tesha who had a grin on it’s face. "A necromancer… Hey Blackjack, take out Tesha!!"

"How am I supposed to know which one is Tesha?!" Two undead jumped towards Blackjack. With a single swing of his axe, he sliced them both in half. "Well, which one is it?"

"Tesha is the only one that isn't a corpse."

"That doesn't help Shade."

Drake suddenly sat up. Taking a deep breath he stands up. "Soul, are these your friends?"

She nodded. "Are you alright Drake?"

Drake picked up his halberd, Shade took out his sword, and Blackjack stepped back between them. "I'll be fine after we kill this necromancer. Are you guys ready?"

Before anyone could say anything, the corpses collapsed and turned to dust. Tesha fell forward with a dagger in it's back. The reason for Tesha's death was Darkclaw. He retrieves his dagger from it’s back and while wiping off the blood, he says "The necromancer's a guy just to let you know."

Soul stood up and said, "I was wondering about that."


*** The Daemonslayers, Bloodbane, Blackjack, Shade, Soul and Darkclaw are all creations of Drakhenliche ***

[Dark]

"Darkclaw, why did you do that? I was going to kill him!"

Darkclaw looked down at Tesha and then at Blackjack. "No offense, but you needed me. Those corpses would have surrounded you before you got close. Besides, it looked like he was creating a fireball in his hand. Blackjack, the lizardman standing by the dragon statue. Don't you recognize him?"

Blackjack looks over his shoulder to see Drake sharpening his halberd. "He does look familiar. Why?"

"Remember when we met in a bar in that strange city? That's the same guy the city guard brought in. Whoever killed him got ten bags of gold."

Blackjack started to frown. "That's when that pickpocket spilled my drink. I showed everyone in there my axe. I should have gotten those bags of gold just for killing the guys in the bar. They were criminals after all."

"Well you didn't. Mostly because you killed the city guard as well."

Blackjack had a big grin on his face. "Good thing I did. First of all, I got free ale. Second, I saved them from a long, painful death from the smoke." He turned around and stared at the back of Drake's head. "He's the reason the city burned to the ground, along with all its ale. Darkclaw, watch out for his head. No telling where it will land." The grip on his axe grew tight.

Blackjack, with a tight grip on his axe, charged forward. Shade and Soul looked over to see Blackjack making his attack. Before they could say anything, Blackjack swung as hard as he could. At that very moment, Drake moved his halberd aside to something shine on the ground. He bent over just before Blackjack's axe reached his neck. Drake had ducked down, causing Blackjack to miss and spin in circles several times on the smooth and slippery floor before crashing into the nearest wall. Darkclaw ran over to him to see if he was alright, while Shade and Soul couldn't believe their eyes. Drake stood straight up, staring at an object in his palm. "I found a coin. Must be my lucky day."

Drake grinned, staring at the coin in his palm. He looked over at Darkclaw helping Blackjack get out of the wall. Flipping the coin into the air, Drake took his halberd and raced toward Blackjack. "Time to die!!"

The sound of tearing flesh echoed throughout the temple. Blackjack saw blood rising into the air, splashing against the floor. He looked over to see Darkclaw being strangled by a long red tail. Using his tail, Drake threw Darkclaw across the great hall. Blackjack’s hands tightened into fists, but it was then he realized his axe was gone. He looked down at the halberd, still impaled into his stomach. Looking back up he noticed Shade charging Drake with his Fireblade, but Drake had the Unbinder. "My battle axe. He took my battle axe! Nobody touches the Unbinder but me!!"

Shade swung the Fireblade downward, trying to cleave Drake in two. Drake moved to the left and kicked Shade in the face, knocking him out cold. The coin then landed making the similar sound of a small bell. "That was too easy. I thought you Daemonslayers were tough, but I guess I was wrong. Well Soul, time for you to die. However, you can save yourself if you promise to be my bride. We will rule this world together with an iron fist. What do you say?"

Soul was full of tears and mixed emotions. "I will never be your bride! I would rather die!"

Drake laughed and gripped the Unbinder tight. "So be it. I would've told you to say farewell to your friends, but I guess it's too late." Drake raised the axe and swung downward.

"Next time you should check to see that we are dead before grinning like an idiot." Blackjack stopped Drake's attack using his hands, grabbing the Unbinder by the rod just under the blade. He took back his axe with a forceful pull and sliced Drake's left arm off. "This is my axe!" He then fell to the floor, unconscious from using too much strength.

Drake put his hand on his shoulder where is arm was gone. "My arm!! You runt!! You got lucky this time Soul! I'll be back!!" With that, Drake ran out into the fierce blizzard outside of the temple. The freezing snow and ice froze over his wound, stopping the intense bleeding.

"Need some help lizardman?"

Drake looked up to see a shadowed figure standing atop a rock. Drake's vision was becoming blurry, but he managed to focus and ask the figure a question. "Who are you?" He then passed out in the snow.

The red lizardman soon awoke finding himself in a very warm, yet ever-changing place. "It must have been a dream. It had to be." He looked down at his left shoulder; his arm was gone. "No, it can't be. How did I get from the snowy mountains to this place?" A shadow fell upon Drake, and he looked up to see a strange creature. "A demon? Where am I? Answer me or die!!"

Before he could move the demon fled leaving behind an arm. "Will you take it lizardman, or do you want to live with only one arm?" Drake turned around and found the source of the voice. "Well lizardman, will you take it? Before you answer let me introduce myself. I am Tulrog, your father." Standing there was a tall and burly lizardman-looking being. With red scales covering his entire body, he was the same coloration as Drake. Atop his head was a black crest. His smile showed off his pearly white teeth. Orange eyes with black slit pupils looked down upon Drake, examining him. A long twelve foot tail sways behind him as he begins to move toward the one-armed lizardman.

Drake couldn't believe his ears. "Impossible! My father is Slythe! Besides, your dead."

"Or so you thought Drake. Slythe was merely a puppet. He died long ago, and I gave him temporary life to achieve a certain goal; finding you. We have the same blood, the same powers, the same hate for the Daemonslayers. I am a daemon, and your mother was a lizardman. That makes you a half-lizardman, half-daemon. You are the first of a new breed. Now choose your path. Pick up the arm to join me in our quest to kill the Daemonslayers. Or you can refuse and die where you stand."

Drake was confused and believed the only way to find out if he was telling the truth was to join him. So he walked over to the arm, picked it up, and put it near his left shoulder. The arm attached itself to Drake and transformed into his new arm. It took the shape, color, and feel of his original arm.

"Well done. You have learned your first daemon power: regeneration." Tulrog laughed and Drake smiled to his new powers. "Drake, before you get to training I need you to meet someone. This friend of mine hates the Daemonslayers even more than we do." A figure moves out from the shadows and stands next to Tulrog. "He is Lord Saragoth, and he has agreed to help us train to build your abilities to their breaking points. In return you must bring Blackjack back here alive, and unscathed."

Drake grins and stares into Saragoth's eyes. "It's a little late for that. He's already dead. Looks like you're out of luck."

Saragoth chuckles and walks toward Drake without looking away for even a second. He stops inches away from Drake and with a single hand, starts to choke him. "You better listen to your father or else I'll rip your head off." He throws Drake aside and nods to Tulrog to continue.

Tulrog looks down at his son gasping for air and begins to speak. "You better respect Lord Saragoth or he'll kill us both. Besides, the Daemonslayers are still alive. The ones you fought at the temple were merely demons that could change their shape. The real Daemonslayers are much stronger than that. More than ten-times stronger."

Drake stood tall and looks over at Saragoth before fixing his eyes at Tulrog. "I guess the necromancer was a demon too, along with the monks. Am I right?"

"Yes, they were just a test. And before you ask anymore questions, Lord Saragoth has something to say." Drake and Tulrog turned toward Saragoth, as if awaiting orders before a battle.

"There is another I want you to seek Drake. His name is Maim, and I want him here as well. He must be alive, but I don't care if you cause him pain and suffering. There is a female assassin named Catsulek that you must be careful of. She is after Darkclaw and will be more than happy to kill any men that get in her way. I want you to meet her and try to get her to join you. It will be difficult, but I'm sure you can convince her one way or another. That's it for now. Time to train for your future battles."

Tulrog puts his hand on Drake's shoulder. "You ready?"

Drake smiles at Saragoth and then faces Tulrog. "I'm going to enjoy this."


*** Blackjack, Darkclaw, Shade, Soul, Maim, Catsulek, Saragoth, Fireblade, Unbinder, and Daemonslayers are all creations of Drakhenliche. ***

[Dark]

An hour later, Drake and Tulrog stand amongst a barren landscape of stone ground and rocks of many sizes all along the land.

"Where's Saragoth? I thought he was going to help me train."

Tulrog shakes his head. "He can't spend all day with us. He has other important matters at hand. Now, we'll get to training. Let's start with speed today."

"Against what? Some rocks?"

"No. Against those." Tulrog points upward to a small flock of five flying demons. "They are called Fians. You have to use your speed to get to their height. Then, you must kill them and get back to the ground safely. The trick is, when they're slain, they tend to explode in clouds of acid. They attack on my command. Ready?"

"I'm ready. Where's my weapon?"

"Drake, you have to kill them bare-handed, no weapons."

Drake keeps his eyes on the Fians. "Give the order, I'm ready." Tulrog leaps onto a boulder to not only get out of the way, but to get a better view point and then gives the command.

One of the Fians goes straight in for the attack. Drake jumps and uses the Fian's back as a stepping stone to gain more height. The Fians split in different directions, but one isn't fast enough. Drake uses his tail as a spear and drives it into the torso of the Fian. He pushes against it to gain more speed at a nearby Fian. Drake tore it in two using his left arm while going by it. Another was caught by surprise as Drake landed on it. The collision breaks the Fian's back as Drake leaps again towards the last demon. He reaches its height and stops in midair. He then rips the Fian's head from it's shoulders. Drake falls but lands safely on the ground. He glances back as the last of the bodies hits the ground. He looks back at Tulrog and holds up the demon head. "I'm pretty sure you said they explode in clouds of acid. So why didn't they?"

"I said they tend to, it doesn't mean all the time. By the way, you missed one."

Suddenly Drake feels something grab his leg. He looks down to see the first Fian that attacked. It's head hits the ground and explodes, covering Drake in a cloud of acid. "Aaaaaaaaagh!! It burns, it burns!!" The cloud of acid disappears and Drake's body heals. Still holding the demon head in his hand, he tosses it aside. He looks up to see Tulrog standing in front of him.

"Ready to try it again?"

A few hours pass since the beginning of Drake’s training. He lands on the ground smiling, then stands up and looks over to see Tulrog with his hand on his face, shaking his head. "Hey I killed them and didn't get hit once. What's wrong with you?"

He looks at Drake and crosses his arms. "A small amount of acid hit the tip of your tail. Its not much, but it's enough to fail. You'll do it again."

"With more demons? All you do is add five Fians to the flock. So I guess this time I'll have to kill a hundred without getting hit?"

Tulrog sits on the boulder and grins a way Drake has never seen before. "Oh no. This time you can't get hit while fighting... Five-hundred Fians. And to make it interesting, I'm adding a Tharleseer, also known as a Gulper daemon. It is a Greater Daemon, and I'm sure you can beat it easily, the way you act gives me that impression. If you get hit, even the smallest scratch, I'll add one-hundred Fians and another Tharleseer for you to fight. Ready?"

Drake turns around to see a Gulper daemon and five-hundred Fians in the sky. He looks at Tulrog with fear in his eyes. Tulrog stands and chuckles. "Begin."

It takes Drake several hours to complete his training against the large flock of Fians and the Tharleseer, the battle being chaotic as Fian after Fian died before finally the Tharleseer was the last to be killed.

"Nicely done. You have completed your training. Get some food and rest, for we have a guest coming soon."

Drake lays on his back breathing heavily with his eyes half-open. "Well Tulrog, who is it? Saragoth?" He gets up to his knees shaking. "Didn't you say he was busy? Is it someone like him?"

Suddenly, a large Fian lands next to Tulrog and smiles. "I see you caused the rest of my minions to explode. It was getting hard to find ones that wouldn't burst when they died. Is...is that a Tharleseer back there?"

Tulrog kneels in respect to the large Fian and then stands back to his feet. "It sure is. Drake here killed it after the Fians. He didn't get touched at all."

"Are you sure?"

"Pardon my interruption father, but who is this?"

Tulrog walks over to Drake and puts his arm around him. "This is Finegar, Lord of the Fian, servant to the Lords of Darkness. He provided all the Fian for you to fight."

"Sorry Tulrog, but I gotta go." Finegar then flies off into the distance.

"Well Drake, after you finish resting, you'll get prepared for your journey. Do you remember what to do?"

"I'll find Maim and Catsulek, get them to join me, and then kill the Daemonslayers."

Tulrog smiles and chuckles. "If you, Catsulek, and Maim find any of the Daemonslayers' friends and allies, kill them. Here's a list of names. Now rest up, you'll need your strength."

For two hours, Tulrog watched Drake sleep, the loud snores of a young battle-hardened warrior who was taking a small rest after his training was annoying to Tulrog. When the young lizardman finally awoke, Tulrog rubs his ears.

"Drake, come here. I have some things for you." Tulrog walks through a path, with Drake close behind. They get to a boulder with daemonic runes covered on its face.

"Father, what does it say?"

Tulrog crosses his arms and starts to read. "It says, 'Those with strength can fight, but only with the correct skills. Some skills do not come naturally and must be carried and worn. What are these skills called?' So what do you think these skills are Drake?"

Without taking his eyes off the runes, Drake smiles and confidently says, "Weapons and armor."

The boulder starts to sink into the ground to reveal a room full of daemonic weapons and armor. They both walk in and take a look around. Tulrog looks back at Drake smiling. "See anything you like? Take whatever you need, you've earned it." Drake walks around the room, taking glances at various weapons. He suddenly stops, and picks up a mace. Its long steel handle is met with an iron ball, covered by several spikes. "Like it? That's known as 'Skull Crusher.' Saragoth gave it that name. He got tired of it after a while and put it in here for anyone worthy enough to wield it. It has a unique ability. That mace can grow up to fives times its normal size, usually works well against large monsters and groups of small creatures."

Drake then walked over to a black suit of armor containing only the chest plate, boots and leggings. "That armor will only work with those it considers strong. Saragoth calls it 'Daemonic Rage' for a very special reason. Whoever wears it can tap into the daemonic energy trapped inside to unleash its powers. It gives the master, well to put it simply, daemonic rage. The energy increases your strength, agility, and any daemonic abilities by at least two-fold, but you have no control on what you do. Now if an actual berserker like yourself should unleash its energy, you'll have full control and your abilities will increase by at least five-fold. Its effects are temporary and should only be used in an emergency. You'll know when its activated when hidden daemonic runes glow red on the armor. Let's see what it thinks of you." Drake places his hand on the chest plate, causing daemonic runes to glow blood red. "Well, it seems to like you a lot. Grab the armor and mace and get changed, you're leaving soon."



*** Finegar, Saragoth, Maim, Catsulek, The Daemonslayers, The Lords of Darkness, Fian, Tharleseer, Gulper daemon and the ranks of demons are all creations of Drakhenliche ***

[Dark]

Saragoth and Tulrog stand in the middle of a small open area surrounded by rocks and boulders. The shadows of the surrounding stone make this spot ideal for the two as they spoke.

"Tulrog, I know you're a master at mind games, but this one is smarter than most mortals. In fact, he's the only half-breed daemon I've ever met...." Saragoth suddenly stops speaking after noticing Tulrog approach him.

"Saragoth, you have a lot to learn. Drake is smarter than most mortals, with the exception of the scholars, mages and so forth. And another thing. He's no half-breed, he is a full-blooded lizardman. I only said that to gain his trust. His ability to regenerate came from some special herbs that he ate regularly a while back that was grown by a society of humans. At first I thought they were farmers bribed by Bloodbane during his days of glory. In fact, they're cultists that use certain herbs and magic to increase their strength and agility, in the name of Bloodbane. That's why I left for quite a while. When Drake entered the nearby city, I killed those cultists and their new allies: the Banished Lizardmen Army. Before I killed Lord Slythe, Drake's real father, I morphed into the form of Blackjack. I left him somewhat alive to tell his son what happened. All went according to plan. And now he's working for us. Got it?"

Saragoth in a fury of rage, strikes Tulrog and sends him back twenty feet. Tulrog gets to his feet, as spikes start to grow from the top of his skull. "What the hell is wrong with you? We're on the same side."

Saragoth extends his arm, pointing at the demon in front of him. "Aster may trust you, but I don't. Allowing an enemy into our domain, training him, giving him weapons and armor? You are a foul traitor who only seeks to destroy us; to aid the Daemonslayers. You must die!!"

Tulrog stands still as the enraged Lord of Darkness charges. Suddenly, a giant mace emerges from the shadows and hits Saragoth, sending him flying into a group of stone pillars, causing them to collapse into a pile of rubble. The mace returned to its normal three-foot length. Drake walked steadily towards Tulrog and put his mace to his side. The demonic armor at his waist grabbed the mace and held it tight.

Drake stopped beside Tulrog and watches Saragoth emerge from the rubble. "I heard it all. Although you may not be my father, you are my master. And I will die to protect you!"

Tulrog turns around and reaches into a bag behind a rock. He takes out a scroll and hands it to Drake. "That's a homing spell. Just make the markings on the ground and whoever is standing on the symbol is sent back here. Not in this very spot, but in the prison. I have a portal that will send you within the city of Southrot, pretty close to a selected tavern. Carry on with the plan and forget about Maim."

The portal to Southrot appears from the void. "Go, quickly. It won't remain open for long. I'll stay here and hold off Saragoth. Now go!"

Drake jumps through the portal, and lands on the top of a large tavern. Saragoth screams in anger as the portal closes. Drake watches the portal vanish, and stares at the moonlit sky. His journey, his hunt begins.

"Well, I better start looking around. I hope something in this city will be helpful. Maybe you can help me." Drake turns to his left where a young, bald human stands roughly twenty feet away. He wears a black cloak covering his body. His gray eyes focus on Drake as he pulls a rusty dagger from the cloak.

The man's deep voice was full of fear, even though he tried to act tough. "Give me everything you got and you won't die. Come on scales, hand it over!"

Drake grabs his mace and chuckles. "If you want my mace that badly, I guess you can have it!!"

The cloaked man drops his dagger and screams, as Drake smashes his mace atop the human's skull. The man's head explodes from the impact, sending shards of bone and brain matter across the tavern's roof. As Drake puts the mace to his side, blood shoots out of the man's shoulders like a geyser, most of it landing in an alley below. The body falls into the alley, landing in a cart, as several men watch in terror. Drake jumps down into the alley in front of them, covered in gore. The men panic and run into the streets. "So much for first impressions."

Drake throws a bloody rag to the ground. He sits on a crate and takes off his boots to drain the blood that seeped in. As he places the boots down, he begins to rub his feet. "These boots were not meant for lizardmen. I should have picked something more comfortable. I guess this large tavern is the best place to start looking for info."

He puts the boots back on, thinking how the armor should suit his body better. At that point, the daemonic armor morphs around his entire body. It attaches itself to Drake's arms and legs, exposing his joints for better movement. His hands and feet have no armor for maximum combat effectiveness, allowing the use of his claws. Three bands of black armor runs down his tail. Armor remains on his chest and waist, not changing at all. Although his neck and head remain exposed, Drake seems happy with the current situation. "If the armor did this with a single thought, then maybe..." Drake holds up his mace, as it suddenly morphs into the shape of a halberd. It has a seven foot steel handle and at the very top, a silver double-edged blade in the shape of a dragon's tooth. "This is going to be a fun night."

Inside the tavern, several tables are arranged in front of small stage. One table has five Orcs and three Ratikin talking and having their drinks served to them by a young girl. Covered in dirty, ragged clothes she stumbles and spills the drinks on the eldest Orc. Although filthy, her face shows her blue eyes full of fear, as well as her age. Being sixteen summers old, she tries to calm him down, instead angering him. The rest of the tables of human men look over, seeing the bartender walk over and grab the girl by the arm. A cloaked woman sees this happening, and puts her drink down in anger. Her green eyes focused on the man throwing the young girl on the stage. Just as he grabs a whip, and raises his arm, the tavern door is kicked off its hinges. Everyone except the cloaked woman looks toward the door, seeing Drake holding his halberd. "What do you think you're doing human? Why whip that young girl?"

The bartender starts to laugh, yet angered by this interruption. "Well lizardman, since you're so interested, I'll let you know. She lacks discipline. She's about to get her due." He raises his arm to whip her, as Drake throws his halberd across the room. It hits the bartender in the shoulder, rendering him unable to move his arm.

The cloaked woman jumps from her seat, landing next to the young girl. Her voice a soothing, soft purr to the young girl. "Are you alright young one? Did he hurt you?" The girl nods slowly, beginning to cry. The cloaked woman's voice, now a horrible roar as she yells at the impaled man. "Now you must pay the price! Time for you to die!" Before the man can speak, the woman slits his throat. After a few seconds, his body goes limp and the whip in his hand drops to the floor.

Drake walks over to the stage and retrieves his weapon. The dead bartender hitting the floor with a thud. Drake cleans the blade, and then turns to face the rest of the men now standing with an assortment of crude weapons. Drake stares at them, as the cloaked woman reveals herself. All of the men drop their weapons and run out of the building in fear. Drake turns to face the woman behind him. He stops and stares as he realizes that the cloaked woman is actually Catsulek. He can't help but stare at her long, straight ginger hair.

Gazing into his blue eyes, she begins to speak in a soft purr. "Lizardman, I thank you for stopping him from hurting this young girl. I've never seen any man with such a heart as yours. To say that I thanked a man is unbelievable. To see you standing before me like this, you must be so scared you can't move. Am I right?"

Drake drops his halberd as his face turns a bright blue. He falls back onto the floor, passing out. Catsulek stares at the young girl as she giggles. The girl looks at Catsulek and speaks. "I want to wait for him to wake up. I want to thank him for his help. Besides, I think that’s his way of blushing. He must really like you to defend you from all those thugs. Don't you agree?"

Catsulek smiles at the girl and then stares at Drake. "I don't know, but I do know one thing. I'm not leaving you alone for a second."



*** Catsulek, Maim, Saragoth, Blackjack, the Daemonslayers, Lord of Darkness, Southrot, Bloodbane and Ratikin are all creations of Drakhenliche. ***

[Dark]

*** A quick note about the story. Going to just put up the rest of Chapter 1, which might seem like a bit of a read all at once. But I decided to do it due to a few things. One being to just get it up to where I had left off on the last forum. Another being the new year. Why not have the new year start with Chapter 2? Once I do some small edits and a quick proofread, the rest of Chapter 1 will be up shortly. ***

[Dark]

A few hours later, Drake slowly awakens to find that he is alone. He steadily gets to his knees, before hearing a woman's voice. "Your lucky she didn't kill you. Especially after what you did to her."

Drake stands and turns to face the woman. Covered in a long cloak and hood, he is unable to see her face. "What the hell are you talking about? I didn't do anything."

The woman chuckles with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "That girl's father showed up ready to fight for her. To his surprise, Catsulek stood before him. The girl ran to her father's arms and told him what happened. He thanked Catsulek for freeing his daughter. He then saw you. Catsulek informed him that you helped as well, and fainted after seeing her face."

Drake looks around for his halberd, only to notice that it's been taken. “Where’s my halberd? Tell me!”

"Let me finish my story, and I will tell you where your weapon is. As I was saying, Catsulek said you fainted. She leaned in close to get a better look at you. She was surprised how a single look at her face, could knock someone like you out cold. Then it happened. As soon as your eyes started to open, your armor seemed to come to life. It grabbed Catsulek and pulled her against your body. Your armor made you two to lock lips. That's right, you kissed her lips with yours. As soon as she got herself free, she slit your throat. To everyone's amazement, your wound healed before it could bleed. She angrily sheathed her dagger and put on her cloak. She told everyone in a loud roar not to say anything to anyone about what just happened. Then she and the others left, leaving just the two of us." The woman walked forward into the light, which only shows her mouth. She smiles revealing two sharp fangs. "I'm sure it will be difficult to pierce your neck, but I'm also sure you have some great tasting blood."

Drake takes a few steps back, as his fists grow tense. "A vampire huh? I have all the luck."

"Its pretty close to morning, don't you think lizardman? That means I have very little time to drink your blood. But before I do, what's your name?"

Drake grins as he gets ready to charge. “I don't see why it matters since you're just going to die, but if you want to know my name, I'll give it to you. My name is Drake, prince of the Banished Lizardmen Army. Got it?"

The vampire's smile turns into a frown. "I see. I didn't know why a lizardman could be so tall, but now I know. You truly are Slythe's son. You have his eyes."

Drake steps back, confused about what just happened. "How do you know my father's name? Who are you?!"

The vampire turns to see dawn fast approaching. "If you don't know who I am, then I guess Slythe never told you the meaning of your name. The word 'drake' means half-dragon. Slythe never told you who your mother truly was, or should I say is? Your mother is a dragon."

The daemonic armor begins talking to Drake with a deep voice. "Don't listen to her, she lies. Kill her before she escapes." He didn't move. All he could do was stare at her.

"If you want more answers, seek out Hawkwind. He lives Halel, but before you do that, you must find Catsulek. Apologize to her and get rid of that armor. I must go Drake. Perhaps one day, we will meet again." She turns and runs out the door, merging into the shadows as dawn breaks the night sky.

As Drake begins walking towards the door, he summons his halberd from his armor. As he walks outside with his halberd in hand, he stares at the ground. "Before I find Catsulek, I need to find some a place to eat and sleep. This has been one hell of a night."

The streets of Southrot were full of activity, mostly drunks from the night before. Drake walked around them as best he could, trying to avoid a fight as he was already exhausted. He didn't have to do much since most everyone stayed away from him. Most people hadn't seen a lizardman in their city, especially one so huge. Using his halberd as a walking stick, he would occasionally knock some sense into anyone who tried to talk to him.

Three hours had past since he started looking for a place to sleep and eat. He was fully aware of the four guards following him from a distance, watching his every move. As Drake was about to turn to face them, a sign caught his eye. It was attached to a large building, roughly five floors from the ground, sitting by itself. The sign had a picture of a bleeding flower with its name above it. "The Crimson Rose. Not a bad name. I hope they have some food."

As Drake walks inside, one of the guards begins to chuckle. "Let him go. There's no need to follow him."

"But captain, why let him go? We can storm in and kill him now!" The captain raises his hand, stopping the young guard from moving.

"Listen Rawke, lizardmen are the best fighters there are. A normal lizardman can easily crush the four of us, but that one is nearly twice the size of a normal lizardman. Not only that, he wields an unusual halberd and wears some strange armor. The Duke informed me that this particular one is wanted alive. The Emperor sent a messenger saying that this lizardman was part of an army of over five-hundred. They wandered all over Caevalonia destroying towns, settlements, even cities. They slaughtered countless people, all citizens of the Empire. They killed demons and slain monsters. However, the last city they destroyed was infested with demons. Seems some demons escaped and took their revenge. The entire army was wiped out except him. The details are sketchy at best. The Emperor wants him alive so that he may kill this one himself."

Rawke was shaking so badly, he had to sit on the ground to keep himself from falling over. The words he spoke were just as shaky as his body. "Then why don't we call for reinforcements?"

The captain put his hand on Rawke's shoulder, trying to ease him. "Because that guild is wanted as well. Chances are the guild members will die, leaving that lizardmen wounded so that we may capture him. We're killing two birds with one stone."

Inside the tavern, Drake was greeted by over a dozen women wielding an assortment of dangerous weapons. Catsulek walked up to him holding her daggers with a firm grip.

"I'm a guest here and also their friend, but I still abide by their rules. One rule is if any man should walk in here, he should be killed instantly. Now I told them what you did to me and they're not too happy. We decided that you won't be killed for now. You'll be tortured until you scream for death. Being a lizardman, I don't think you will. Now let's begin the fun."

Drake began to blush and chuckle nervously. "Are you sure we can't talk over lunch?"

Catsulek couldn't help but smile at Drake's question. "You want to talk? Fine! Take a seat." She walks over to a table and sits at the far end, opposite of where Drake is standing.

"Where's my chair? Are your little friends going to get one for me or do I have to get one myself?" Most of the women stand around Catsulek, hoping to make Drake understand he's outnumbered.

Two cloaked women stand next to him, one on each side, with swords drawn. The women to his right speaks with a harsh voice towards him, although quite nervous. "Before you do anything, I'll take your halberd. I don't want you to have to carry it around everywhere you go."

Drake chuckled at her sarcasm and came up with a smart remark of his own. "Don't worry about it. I know a safe place where I can store it."

He lifted his halberd up and pointed the tip at his torso. Catsulek folds her hands in front of her face, and gives him a stern look. "Do you really think I'm stupid? You're a lizardman. You would never kill yourself."

"I never said I was going to kill myself. Just watch, you'll understand." Catsulek and all the women watched him as he slowly moved the halberd to his armor. As the weapon moved closer, the center of his chest plate seemed to turn into jelly. The armor latches on to the weapon and pulls it in. Catsulek and the others watch in amazement and horror, as the weapon and armor become one. The chest plate turns solid once more, as Drake stares at the woman to his right. "Where's my chair?"

Rawke had been watching everything through the slightly open door. His face was pale, his palms sweaty. He spoke under his breath to ensure no one would take notice. "The captain was right, he's no ordinary lizardman. Is he a lizardman at all? He even made Catsulek afraid. That's amazing." Rawke watched as a cloaked woman gave him a chair.

Then he saw something he never thought was possible. The armor on Drake's left arm combined with the chestplate. Drake used his right arm and grabbed his left near the shoulder. "There's more to me than this armor. Watch one of my abilities in full effect!" Drake used all of his strength and ripped off his left arm at the shoulder. Blood splattered against the near wall and ground, as well as the cloaked female on that side.

Catsulek's eyes widen in terror at what she sees. Drake smiles, and puts his arm on the table. His wound heals over, stopping the bleeding almost immediately. His former arm returns to its original demon form. Insect-like in appearance with a claw hand and three fingers tipped with sharp talons. Everyone but Drake moves away from the table in terror. Catsulek looks at Drake's left shoulder, only to see it has already started to grow another arm. This time, the arm is pure lizardman flesh and bone. Within a few minutes his arm is restored, and the daemon armor takes its place on his left arm once more.

Rawke runs back to the captain and falls to his superior's feet. He grabs the captain's legs crying, telling the captain and the other two guards what he saw. The captain's face grew with deep concern. "This is serious. Its going to be impossible to fight him, let alone capture him alive. We have no choice but to strike now. Rawke, you and the others head back to the Duke and tell him to send everyone. Bring as many crossbowmen and archers as possible. He must be taken down at a distance to ensure minimal casualties."

"I couldn't help but overhear your problem. I can take this guy out for you, but I want gold and free drinks for a month." Blackjack walks over with the Unbinder in his right hand.

Darkclaw puts his hand on Blackjack's shoulder. "If what I heard from the guard is right, you'll need our help." Soul walks over with her hands on her hips, as Shade walks behind her with his arms crossed.

The captain looks Darkclaw in the eyes and frowns. "Your going to need more than four people to take this one out. I'll have my men get reinforcements. I'll stay and help."

Blackjack narrowed his eyes at the captain. "We'll be fine. Stay out of it. He can't be that tough."

"He scared Catsulek by ripping off his arm and grew another one in less than five minutes. Not only that, he's eight feet tall and wears demonic armor. He’s a demon. There's no other way to explain it."

Blackjack clenches his hand into a fist and grins. "A better reason why we must kill him."

Drake watched as one of the women got him a chair, yet he didn’t take a seat. Instead, he went over to Catsulek and knelt down so that he was now at eye level. She raised a brow and stared at him. "What is it lizard?"

Outside the tavern, the captain continued his talk with Darkclaw and Blackjack. "You sure the four of you can take him out? You might grab Catsulek's attention. I'm sure you don't want to fight her while taking that overgrown lizard to his grave." He saw Rawke sitting on the ground, still shaking. "Get up you fool. You're a soldier, so start acting like one!" A quick kick to the head was all that took to get Rawke back to his feet.

Blackjack chuckled at the sight before speaking. "So this guy is a big lizardman? Should be easy to take out. He's going to be slow, but also have more stamina than normal. Any more info you got on him?"

The captain pondered for a few moments, until finally taking out a scroll. "Personally this is my first meeting with this guy, but I do have some info on him. Not only does this info come from the Emperor, but also the lizardmen from Sorth. He's known as Prince Drake, of the Banished Lizardmen Army. His father is Lord Slythe, or was as of now. Slythe had killed members from his own tribe after killing several guards from Sorth. Drake was only a small child at this point, so he probably doesn't have any memory of it. Slythe and Drake were banished from Blackmarsh and so created their own army of about six-hundred. They traveled around Caevalonia destroying towns and some small cities, killing hundreds, if not a couple thousand people."

Darkclaw puts his hands on the captain's shoulders in great earnest. "Do you mean to say they just wandered around Caevalonia for years killing people for no reason? Was there anything special about this army?"

The captain gently removes the assassin's hands from clutching his shoulders. "No one is sure why they went around doing that, but there has to be a reason. As for the army, there was something strange. Every once in a while after ransacking a temple or shrine, they would destroy all statues of deities and replace them with statues of Bloodbane. The army included one-hundred berserkers that would attack first, followed by the rest of the army. Just recently have we discovered their final resting place. After the army made an outpost outside a small city, that only days before was overrun by demons, they were completely decimated. Apparently Drake went into the city alone, burning it to the ground. When he came out, his comrades and father were dead. Even as we speak, we are retrieving more information about Slythe's personal history from the lizardmen at Sorth."

Inside the tavern, Drake had his head to Catsulek's feet. "I'm sorry for what happened last night. I had no control over the armor at that point. There's some sort of spirit inside it. It was the spirit's doing, not mine."

Catsulek looked over her shoulder to see a woman holding her palm towards Drake. Her long blonde hair swaying around as if there was a breeze only she could feel. Her hazel eyes glimmering in what light there was in the bar. Lowering her arm, she speaks. "I do sense a demonic spirit somewhere in that armor of his. He is also telling the truth. I'll speak up if he begins to lie."

Lifting his head, Drake's eyes met Catsulek's as he began to speak once again. "I would never do anything to harm you, physical or not. For you see..." His face began to turn blue as he gently used his right hand to hold her chin. "Catsulek, I love you." He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. He leaned back removing his lips from hers, as he lowered his head to her feet once more.

Her face now bright red, Catsulek slowly turns to the woman behind her. "He's telling the truth."

The spirit inside the armor began speaking inside Drake's head once more. "You sold me out, huh? I guess I can see why. By the way, I have a tip for ya: get off your ass and run! There's no way in hell you're going to survive these next few minutes. You should get started while she's distracted."

Catsulek turns to see Drake bowing before her. She calms herself and takes a deep breath. "Before we continue our discussion, tell me your name."

He lifted his head and stared her in the eyes. "I am Prince Drake of the Banished Lizardmen Army, son to Lord Slythe. My father and comrades were killed by demons and I vow revenge. As a half-dragon berserker, it is my sworn duty to kill all who oppose my two bloodlines. Even if it means killing the very lizardmen who banished me from Blackmarsh. Although I have never harmed a single female in my life, I have killed more than my share of men and monsters."

He got to his feet and walked over to the center of the room. Moving the women aside, then he began to vomit. When a thud of an object was heard, he stopped his voluntary vomiting. He cleaned the object, revealing a closed scroll. Drake opened it and began reading. With the tip of his tail, he etched a symbol into the floor. He grabbed the demonic arm, placing it on the symbol, and began removing his armor. Wearing nothing but his black shorts, he placed all pieces of the armor with the exception of the chest-plate around the severed arm. Drake spoke in a soft whisper to the armor. "Using this spell, I can give you your own physical body. You can move freely in it and it will shape into whatever you want. Thing is, you must do what I say."

The daemonic voice came into his head with a happy tone. "That’s all? You got a deal."

"Shade? I have a very bad feeling about this. I don't think we should fight this 'Drake' guy. Darkclaw and Blackjack seem a bit too anxious. Its like something has come over them. Besides, Ahri is waiting for us." Soul tapped her foot against the ground, waiting for a reply.

"I know what you mean. I can understand Blackjack wanting to fight this guy because he's working for demons, but Darkclaw? Not only that, but Catsulek is in there. To risk a run-in with her just to get one guy? Its not like him. Maybe we should go ahead and meet Ahri. If we explain the situation, she'll want to help Black' out. And if this guy is really as tough as the guards say he is, we'll need all the help we can get."

"I may be human, but I can hear every word you two are saying back there. Unless this 'Ahri' of yours can actually fight, I suggest the both of you shut your mouths!"

Blackjack grabbed the captain by the front of his armor and yelled angrily at him. "You listen to me you filthy human! No one yells at my friends but me. You got that weakling?"

The captain started choking Blackjack with his left hand, and lifted him off the ground. "Who's the weakling now? I am Captain Ulthalu Rawke, of Clan Rawke. And don't you ever forget it." He lets go and Blackjack hits the ground hard, gasping for air and cursing under every breath.

Darkclaw looks in astonishment, and forces himself to speak. "You’re the Warchief of Clan Rawke, one of the most powerful berserkers on Tymaera! You must be here to fight Drake. Why else would you be in Caevalonia?"

"That’s an easy question to answer. In fact I'm not here to fight this lizardman, but to make my worthless son stronger. I brought him here to toughen him up, but as you can see for yourself, he's nothing but a coward. I was about to leave him here and head back home without him. Luckily due to current situations, he may be able to prove his worth. Either that, or he dies in battle. Either one is fine with me. Our clan thrives on war, just like the lizardmen. Consider this, a trial by fire."

Just then, the sky became dark and a strange reddish light shone through the tavern's windows. Everyone, including Ulthalu's son, drew their weapons. "My son, its time to prove yourself not only to me, but to your entire clan. You guys ready to kick some ass?"

Not too far away in another tavern, Ahri was finishing her drink when she saw the sky darken. "Its the middle of the day and there are hardly any clouds in the sky. Here's the money for my drinks. I have to get going." Dropping a few gold coins on the bar, she ran out the door towards the area of the faint red light. "I bet anything that Blackjack is involved in this. It would explain why they’re late."

Catsulek watches as the daemon armor and arm are sucked into the portal. The scroll burns into ash and the symbol etched into the floor disappears. The screams of the daemonic spirit can be heard by all within the tavern. "You bastard! You tricked me you overgrown lizard! If I ever lay my hands on you, I'll eat your soul!" The horrid voice ended as the portal closed, and the sky returned to normal.

Drake smiled at the deed that has been done. "Say hello to Saragoth for me." He turned towards Catsulek only to have a dagger at his throat.

Catsulek grinned evilly and licked her lips. "Now where were we?"

His body was shaking worse than before, as he felt the tip of her blade against his scales. "Oh shit."

The bloodlust in Catsulek's eyes were unlike anything he had ever seen. The woman he loved so much wanted him dead. Drake didn't understand why she hated him. He apologized for the mistaken kiss, he got rid of the demonic arm and armor. He closed his eyes, thinking of his father and comrades. “Catsulek, today I will not die. I must discover the truth of my life, for I have been told many things about who I am, most of those being false. I must seek someone who can tell me who I am, or at least point me in the right direction. My father and comrades were killed by demons, led by a warrior known as Tulrog. I allowed him to give me training, and as far as he knows, I’m extremely loyal to him. He’s very powerful and I must become stronger if I am to kill him and avenge my father’s death. Only after that, will you kill me.”

The tavern door swung open as Darkclaw and Shade entered the tavern. Expecting a fight, they were confused by the sight of Catsulek holding a dagger to Drake’s throat. Catsulek looked over at Darkclaw with angry eyes, her grip on her weapon growing tighter with each second. Drake opened his eyes and saw Shade. Remembering the encounter he had with the fake Shade, his rage intensified. He couldn’t tell if this one was fake or real, but he knew there was only one way to find out. He moved in front of Catsulek so that he was now between her and the door.

Darkclaw and Shade tried to run out of the doorway, but it was too late. Drake had tackled them out of the tavern and into the street. Darkclaw quickly got to his feet and ran over to Blackjack, but Shade was not so lucky. Using his left arm, Drake started to choke Shade until Blackjack sliced off his arm at the elbow. With a roar of pain and anger, Drake punched Blackjack in the ribs sending him back towards Soul, his body landing near her feet. Shade removed the severed arm from his throat and crawled over to Ulthalu.

Small drops of blood fell to the ground as Drake picked up his forearm. He muttered to himself, “Why is it always my left arm that gets cut off, stabbed, or broken? Its never my right arm.” He placed his forearm to his elbow, the two halves slowly merging and healing. “Its been over a week since I’ve had any food or sleep. I really shouldn’t have done that, now I have to fight them at less than half-strength.”

Holding a dagger in each hand Catsulek stepped into the street, stopping in front of Drake. “I’ll take out Darkclaw. If you interfere I won’t hesitate to kill you. I figure I can always track you down later. I’ve heard some rumors about you being on top of the Empire’s list, if you know what I mean.”

Drake looked over at Shade as his arm finished healing. “So in a way, your making a truce with me. You must hate doing this.”

“Its better than having all of these other people try to stop me from killing Darkclaw. Besides, you would never harm me. Right?”

“I would never harm you in any way. Now if these bastards lay a finger on you, I’ll tear them to pieces. All except that woman in your direction.”

Catsulek grinned evilly as she saw Soul helping Blackjack get to his feet. “That’s your weakness, isn’t it? Women? I need to remember that.”

“How about we get started?” Drake lowers his right arm, his palm facing skyward. “I don’t think they’ll expect an aerial attack.” Catsulek jumped on Drake’s palm, and was thrown over Blackjack’s head towards Darkclaw. She landed on him, instantly engaging in combat.

Blackjack turned to help his friend, but Drake’s tail was wrapped around his waist. He was thrown over at Shade, but landed on his feet and saw Drake snarling at him. “You’re outnumbered lizard! There’s no way you can take us on.” He looked over his shoulder to where the guards were standing. “Get your men behind him. We need to attack from all directions.”

Shade put his hand on Blackjack’s shoulder. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. She’s already behind him. We just need to distract him long enough for Soul to get a shot.”

Soul had her bow in hand and was already taking aim. She let an arrow fly, striking Drake in the back of the left leg, the tip protruding from his shin. Using his thumb and index finger, he slowly removed the arrow and stared at it. He turned to face Soul, who was shocked to see him in little pain. He smiled, wiping the blood from his leg, revealing the wound had already fully healed. “Is this yours? You should really be more careful. You might lose it.”

Blackjack attacked with a downward strike with the Unbinder, but Drake caught the handle and kicked him off. The two guards near Rawke and Ulthalu ran for their lives. Drake threw the arrow like a dart into the skull of one of the guards, and threw the Unbinder into the back of the other.

“I can’t land anything on him. What the fuck is he?” Blackjack muttered angrily. “I didn’t sense anything demonic about him. He doesn’t smell, sound, look, or even fight like one. A lizardman of this size, with unheard of strength and speed? And his healing ability… no wonder these stupid humans are calling him a demon.”

Ahri walked past the two corpses and kneeled next to Blackjack. “Who is that guy and what happened?”

“Geez, you look like shit.” Ahri turned around to see Moorin with his four arms crossed. “I bet you tried to take him on alone. Don’t you agree, Barlone?”

Barlone watched as Shade, Rawke, and Ulthalu fought Drake, unable to land a single blow. “He’s definitely fast. It seems our scaly friend is just toying around with them. If we strike now we can take him out before he uses his full strength.”

Blackjack leaned on Ahri as he got to his feet. He grabbed the Unbinder as his wings fully extend, his eyes glowing a brilliant orange red, and his tail twitching violently. “When I’m done with him, I’m going to have a new pair of boots.”

Shade, Rawke, and Ulthalu stepped back towards Blackjack as Drake wobbled and fell to one knee. "You alright? You got kicked pretty hard." Shade looked back to his fellow Daemonslayer, but only got a cold stare in return. "Ahri, 'bout time you showed up. Moorin and Barlone? What are you two doing here? I do appreciate the help, but still. Give us some warning next time. We would have waited for ya."

Barlone took out his rapier slowly and gracefully. "I'm here on official business with some of my associates. Seems someone messed up an order. We were supposed to get some paperwork and scrolls, but we got Firewater instead. I'm still not sure how they managed to screw that one up."

Moorin was stretching out his arms and accidentally smacked Rawke in the head, making Blackjack chuckle. "Me? Doing some shopping. I have to get some fruit from the market. That and some herbs. Crislana is pretty sick and Katlinia's in a bad mood. She said that I'm the reason our daughter's sick. All I did was give her a snack I found here in the market. The merchant said it was an exotic fruit found on a small island. It was strangely colored and was pretty squishy. Didn't have enough money to buy two, so I gave that one to Crislana."

Ulthalu smacked his hand to his head, surprised at Moorin's stupidity. "You don't just buy something without knowing what it is. Especially any kind of food. You should have asked how to prepare it so you can eat it safely. And the fact that it was 'squishy' probably meant it was rotten. Your daughter has food poisoning. It should wear off in about a week but it would be best if you got some herbs to help her recover faster. And this time don't screw up."

"My wife said the exact same thing." Moorin stared at Drake for a moment before looking towards Soul. He smiled and waved at her, which seemed to catch her attention. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Darkclaw fighting Catsulek. "Shouldn't we go help him?"

Soul started to jog towards her friends, but slowed her pace as she got near Drake. She put her bow on her back and walked past the lizardman cautiously. Drake had his right hand to his head in pain. As she past him, he quickly grabbed her right arm with his left hand. "Please wait Soul."

She stopped and just stared at him. "How do you know my name? And who are you? What do you want?"

"I think we got to a bad start. You see, the thing is, about a week ago I ran into a group of demons that took your forms. I saw Shade and Darkclaw and I didn't know if they were demons or not. Just tell them I surrendered or something like that. I'll also let you and that female dracosvulf beat me to a bloody pulp. We need to separate Catsulek from your blue-scaled friend. She’s really going to hate me for this, but I really don’t think she can hate me anymore than she already does.” He let go of her arm and grabbed his chest.

"I'll see what I can do." She walked to Shade and the others and explained what happened. She told them he surrendered and he thought they were demons. Blackjack threw down the Unbinder and started to curse angrily. Shade, Barlone, and Moorin had to pin Blackjack to the ground as Ulthalu punched him in the head, knocking him out cold. Soul talked to Ahri, then brought her to Drake.

He looked up at the two women standing over him. He looked away as he started to blush. Drake spoke under his breath in pain. “Why am I always surrounded by beautiful women? Its as if my body weakens whenever I’m near one.” Without realizing it, he spoke a little louder. “Even so, I got a good view from down here. You can really make out the curves--”

“What was that?” Ahri was annoyed that he kept speaking to himself, and couldn’t make out what he just said.

“I said I have an idea on how to stop them.” He quickly looked away, towards the on-going fight. “That was close. I really have a bad habit of speaking my thoughts out loud.”

Soul leaned in to Ahri and whispered. “I’ll tell you just before we beat him up. Now we have a good reason to.”

“Alright, but I get to hit him first.” Ahri started to imagine a small target on the back of his head.

Drake saw the combatants separate for a split second, and made his move. He tackled and pinned Catsulek to the ground. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.” She responded with a kick to his ribs. He then wrapped his tail around Catsulek, pinning her arms against her body. “Everything is good here.” He gave a thumbs up to Darkclaw, who was completely clueless about what just happened.

“You fool! I had him, I had him! Why’d you interfere?”

“Because my love, the situation has changed.”

She quickly kicked the side of his head. “Don’t you ever call me that. When I get free, you’re as good as dead.”

“Could you at least wait until we cause him the pain he deserves?”

Catsulek looked over at Soul who was walking her way. Then she saw Ahri behind her with hands clenched into fists. “Why? What did he do?”

Drake watched as Soul whispered to Catsulek. The assassin’s face grew with furious rage. It was only then that Drake noticed Soul’s ears. “What did you tell her?”

“I told her what you said about us.” She puts her hands to each side of her head, moving them downward to outline her figure.

Drake started to grow a pale blue as he was both embarrassed and full of fear. He slowly turned to Darkclaw. “Hey, Darkclaw, buddy. Come help me. We’re kin, you have to help me out.”

“Look, if you got Catsulek mad enough to ignore me, you’re on your own. May the gods have mercy on your soul.” Darkclaw quickly ran over to Shade and the others.

Catsulek broke free from Drake’s tail and smiled evilly. Then she took three steps back before falling on her backside. Her face went from complete fury, to fear. She was not alone. Soul and Ahri were horrified at what they saw.

Blackjack regained consciousness and got to his feet. He looked at Drake and saw two lizardmen: one red and the other a light blue, almost a ghostly pale. “Alright, which one of you hit me?” He looked around at his comrades, who all had the same look of disbelief on their faces. They were all staring at Drake. Blackjack looked at the two lizardmen again, but put his hand in front of his face. His hand wasn’t blurry nor was he seeing double. He realized he was seeing with perfect vision. “There’s really two of them, right?”

Drake was confused. He didn’t know what was going on. He noticed that the three women weren’t looking at him, but at some place behind him. He turned and saw a lizardman of near equal size to him. He immediately knew who it was. “Father?”

The spirit replied with a smile on his face. “Yes, my son. It is I, Lord Slythe. We have much to talk about. Perhaps we can escort these young ladies inside where we can talk more privately.”

In less than an hour, the women in the tavern had emptied into the street, conversing with Ulthalu and several guards whom had just arrived minutes ago. Shade had his three companions calm Blackjack and seat him on a nearby crate. He had been eavesdropping on the guards and the so-called Crimson Roses, until Ulthalu walked over.

"If you're interested in our talk, you could always join in. But then again, I don't see why someone like you should care."

"I'm just curious about what's going on. You never know what information could help you later on in life." It felt strange to him saying such a thing. Being undead, he didn't have to worry about his ‘life’ too much.

"Well, it seems the higher-ups in Fortune City made a mistake. For a few months, a group of all-female pirates have been raiding ships in and around Fortune Harbour. All we know is that they call themselves 'The Rose Pirates' and the name of their ship is 'The Crimson Dragon' which has red sails. They believed this group of women had connections with those pirates."

"Just because of their name? I could see the how they could make a mistake like that, but still. We're a bit far from the sea, don't you think?"

"That's why they looked more into it. The name of the tavern and what these women call themselves in just pure coincidence. Their slate has been wiped clean. What worries me is the lizardman."

Ulthalu stopped and waited for a reply. Shade didn't see what he was waiting for until he turned around. Darkclaw was standing pretty close and startled him. "Could you maybe not do that?"

"Sorry, force of habit. You don't mind if I join in, do you? And no need to repeat yourself captain, I heard everything. What worries you about that lizardman anyway?"

Ulthalu looked at his late reinforcements talking with the women, before staring at the tavern. Its door had been locked and curtains covered the windows. He remembered seeing the ghost walk inside with Drake, with Catsulek, Soul, and Ahri right behind them. It certainly was a strange site, but he quickly got back to discussing with Shade and Darkclaw.

"Drake is currently wanted dead or alive by the Emperor. Over ten-thousand gold will be awarded to those who can kill him. If someone can capture him alive, the price is more than five times that. Thing is, I have a feeling that we should let him go. I have a strange sensation that we may benefit from him living. Excuse me a moment." With that he walked off to his son who was telling the others about his fight.

"What do you think they're talking about in there? I'm sure Soul will tell you what she learns, considering you two are together."

"What I'd really like to know if he's a friend or an enemy. I mean, he threw Catsulek at you, he beat the crap out of Sy' and then saved you by pinning her to the ground. Is he trying to get himself killed?"

"He did not save me. I was doing fine on my own. Them working together threw me off, that's all."

"I hope they're alright. There's a ghost in there, and Drake is one big warrior."

"There's nothing to worry about Shade. From what I saw before, I'm pretty sure what his weakness is."

They had been seated around a large round table, with the exception of Slythe and the hazel-eyed woman. Another woman stood be Drake's right side, her features covered by the gray cloak and hood she wore. Drake had been tied to a chair near the door, where Slythe stood to his left. Soul was sitting opposite to Drake, with Catsulek to her left and Ahri to her right. The hazel-eyed woman noticed Slythe was staring at her and she tried her best to look away.

"I thought I recognized you." Slythe finally spoke after his initial greetings to everyone currently inside. "Princess, I don't think you need to hide anymore. I've already spoken with your father. We will hold off the wedding until further notice. You don't have to tell them who you are, but I would appreciate it if you did."

"I am Princess Tika. I'm half-human and half-vampire. Daylight doesn't affect me that much, but it still does some damage to me. Drake, I'm sorry. I met you last night and I thought it was you, but I was sure you were just some ordinary lizardman. I was going to tell you who I was in Halel. I lied to you that a specific person lived there, so we could talk in private. I hope you can forgive me."

"Don't answer Drake, your mouth has gotten you into enough trouble already. Tika, there's no reason for you to apologize. You were just trying to help out my son. I must insist that you go straight home after this. I know you want to do what you can for your future husband, but your father needs you at his side."

"She's supposed to be my wife? What's going on?"

"Drake, we'll get into that later. Right now we'll talk about who you really are. I don't intend to repeat myself, which is why they are here as well. Now, let's start at the beginning."

"That's a wonderful place to start."

"I was born nearly eight-hundred years ago, about thirty years before Bloodbane's reign. During my late teens, I met a half-gold, half-red dragoness. She had no interest in me and only thought I was a pest. A few days later I came across her again, this time saving her from some would-be dragonslayers. We started to form a friendship which quickly became love. She gave me the dragonlife potion and made me her dragonthrall. We became inseparable. She's a friend of the dragonqueen, so when Bloodbane began his reign, I was asked to become his advisor and strategist. I was to watch over him and make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Bloodbane had sent me to run an errand and when I returned he was gone. That was the end of his rule. About twenty-three years ago, my love and I had a child. That's you Drake."

"Wait a second. You mated with a dragoness? Now that’s a disturbing mental image."

"But it does explain why you're bigger than normal. Well, for your age anyway. We'll get more into your appearance later. Any questions so far?"

"Yeah, I have one. Is there any way to get that disturbing image out of my head?"

Slythe closed his apparition eyes and shook his head. "Do you always have to make a smart-ass remark about something I say? You're tied down to a chair, with three angry woman glaring at you, ready to beat you into the dirt. I should really say two since Catsulek would have killed you already were it not for my timely arrival. So unless you have something to say that is meaningful or helpful, shut the hell up!!"

He just sat there, unable to say anything. The only times he saw his father raise his voice to him, was on the battlefield or when they trained together. Drake didn't say a single word, he could only look to the floor and nod slightly. His tail wrapped around his legs, to hold himself. A shiver was sent down his spine. His pulse quickened and then steadied itself. The feeling was new and he made sure to try to remember it. Slythe was dead, yet his soul was merely a few feet away.

Looking back to the women, he continued his story. “My son may look like a lizardman, but his true form is that of a half-dragon. I’m sure none of you will see it, but I also hope you don’t. Thing is, he’s a berserker. And the only time he’s berserk is when he’s in his true form. Course that’s never happened. The berserker rage he has is trapped within him by a powerful set of sealing spells. Only the strongest emotions could break them. Only losing the closest thing or person to him will release his form, but I’ve trained him to hide such deep emotions. Everyone is safe, everyone is happy.”

Ahri and Soul nodded and relaxed, waiting for Slythe to continue. Catsulek however, did not care for such things. All she wanted to know is why he was telling them this and why she couldn’t kill Drake. She crossed her arms, her tail twitching quickly as her foot slightly taps the tavern floor. She was annoyed and angered. Mostly due to what the spirit’s son had done to her not long ago. The thought, the very image made her lust for his death greater.

“Now this is the part that is most important. Drake, listen carefully for this will explain much. When you were born, I brought you from our humble village to Sorth for you to be inspected by the shamans. You and I were not alone, several of my closest friends and comrades escorted us. When we entered Sorth, we were greeted with open arms and warm smiles. I thought something was different, and I was right. When we met the shamans, there were soldiers from Fortune City talking to them. They were trying to set up a trading route through an area of dense swamps in the southwest edge of Blackmarsh and needed guides.”

“Father. What does that last part have to do with the story? What importance does that have?”

A slight nod was the only answer Drake got. Then Slythe continued, “The shamans took you, inspected you. Physically, mentally and spiritually. They returned, placed you on the ground and handed me an axe. I was to kill my only child. They said it was necessary and that your death was for the bright future of all lizardmen. What struck me besides that they wanted me to kill you, was the fact they didn’t consult with the Oracle of Earth first. This was a major decision, for a Sorth commander to kill his son in front of the Empire’s soldiers. All it took was a single glance to my comrades for our decision to be made. We killed the guards, both human and lizardmen. We left the shamans alive and I told them that consulting the Oracle first is important and that I would never kill my son. My comrades and I left with you, went back to our village, and left Blackmarsh. Our choice was exile. We banished ourselves and our numbers grew. We were given the name of what we called ourselves. So we stuck with it. Twenty-three years have passed, all but one dead, and he will avenge us all. Then we may rest in peace.”

Drake looked up, watching and listening to everyone’s reactions. He was surprised himself about how he was lied about why he was traveling in an army, but he was even more shocked about the way the shamans acted. Even he knew that the shamans consulted with the Oracle of Earth before making a major decision. He caught movement from the corner of his eye. The cloaked woman to his right had taken a step forward towards him. He had forgotten she was there, and he grew curious. “So what about my appearance?”

Soul and Ahri watched the spirit and listened to his every word. Tika was holding back her tears, biting her lip as she heard the story of how things happened. Catsulek had begun to relax a bit, though still angered. She was wondering why they were being told this. It wasn’t like she cared or felt sorry for Drake. Yet she grew interested in what would happen when the story was over.

“You’re larger than normal because of the dragon blood running through your veins. You are taller, stronger and faster than a normal lizardman. Your senses are more acute and that was before we had eaten those herbs from the farmers after our trek through the mountains. I’m sure you wrote that in your journal. You still have your journal, right?”

Drake opened his mouth to say something, but stopped for a moment. He looked up to see his father staring at him, then glanced around the room. “Uh… Describe what you mean by ‘journal’ and do you have another?”

“You lost it?! How could you lose it?! You only have one pair of pants! Its not like you left it in another pair!”

“First of all, I didn’t say I lost it. But you guessed right. I lost it during a storm when I went back through the mountains. You should be happy I still have my pants.”

“Just shut up Drake. You know that the war journal is important. If someone finds it and reads it, they could use it against you. Why the hell would I have another? I’m dead!”

A dagger passed through Slythe’s face harmlessly and stuck into the wall behind him. He and Drake stared at the dagger and then to the direction where it came from. Catsulek had both hands in fists and narrowed her eyes to them, growling quite loudly. It was obvious who threw it and Drake was glad it was thrown at his father.

The cloaked woman walked over silently to the dagger, removing it from the wall and set it down in front of Catsulek. “Here is your weapon.” Her voice was smooth and something about it made Drake relax. As she turned to walk back to her spot, something small glimmered through the cloak. It caught everybody’s attention.

“Anyway, back to my explanations. Your body heals faster and you maintain your youthful appearance. A longer lifespan and larger muscles, highly intelligent, especially when compared to other lizardmen. Though you seem to turn blue when you blush. A minor side-effect from the sealing spells. Put all of this together and the fact that you’ve been trained in the art of war, and you get something amazing. Though you still need training and someone to teach you manners. Your mother would kill me if I weren’t already dead.” Slythe chuckled at his own joke and heard the cloaked woman chuckle with him. He had to say something to her. “Miss, who are you exactly? If you don’t mind me asking that is.”

Furred hands reached up from the cloak and pulled down the hood, revealing a young Degarii woman in her mid-twenties. She opened the front of the cloak before taking it off entirely. Black fur covered her face and body. A red leather top and red skirt was all that she wore for clothing. A gold necklace holding a small blue gem hung from her neck. Dark brown shoulder-length hair matched her dark fur. Her golden eyes surrounded black slit pupils, contrasted greatly against her fur. She stood five feet seven inches tall, not including her perfectly shaped ears. “My name is Valeera. I am a huntress and expert tracker. My skills with longbow and dual short swords are unmatched by any. My weapons are in fact gifts from the Silvari. If you don’t know who they are, they are the Wood Elves. I know it’s quite difficult for men to remember anything. It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.”

Drake simply nodded. Although he was insulted, there wasn’t much he could do about it. “That necklace you wear isn’t normal. A gift from the Solari? Or should I say High Elves, since I’m so forgetful?” What he said next was only understood by a few in the room. <“Is there anything you have that was given to you by the Lunari? I think that you should let us know, if you can understand me that is.”> *

(*< >Translated from Elvish)

Valeera stepped forward and placed her hand on Drake’s shoulder rather gently. <“I can understand you. In fact, I’m quite surprised you can speak this language. And no I don’t have anything from the Lunari. I hate them. I’m good friends with the Silvari and Solari, so the Lunari would kill me if they found that out. And of course the gem isn‘t normal. It’s a token of friendship. That makes it worth more than you think.”>

Slythe raised his hand to the two. “That’s enough. There’s no need to argue about the gem and the Lunari, so lets get back to business. Drake is going to meet with his mother and then avenge my death and the deaths of our comrades. How he avenges us and what happens now is up to him. But he can’t do it alone. Soul and Ahri, I told you this so you are not confused and you can let your friends know he is not an enemy. If your group ever meets him in the future, you may end up helping each other. Tika, take this knowledge with you when you return home.”

“Allow me to retrieve my weapons from behind the bar and I will go with Drake. It’s the least I can do, after I finish something I was told to do.” Valeera stood next to Drake and slapped him twice across the face. “One was for you Slythe, but since you are dead I had to hit your son. Just a little gift from Velchantress.”

“I thought I recognized your name. So you’re her dragonthrall. I see now why you wish to go with him. Alright, I will allow it. But only because of her. I need you to look after him and make sure he stays alive. He’s a stubborn one, so you’ll have to get used to him. And don’t let Catsulek kill him. It would anger my love more than she already is. Which reminds me, I have to go tell her I’m dead.”

A low growl was heard from Catsulek. “Then he better get a head start if he wants to live. I’m going to kill him whether there’s a contract or not.”

“Actually you’re going with him. You can really help him out in understanding the female mind and in behaving properly around women. Just be yourself but don’t kill him. And you’re going whether you like it or not. Let me show you something.” Slythe moved through the table and in a small room in the back of tavern, standing slightly behind the corner.

Catsulek followed with dagger in hand and closed the door behind them. “So what is it I’m seeing?” A bright light shone behind Slythe and a small portal opened. He moved to the side, showing two figures within the portal. Both were spirits, both female and neither could see Catsulek staring at them. A river of tears ran down her cheeks. The dagger fell to the floor with a thud, followed by herself falling to her knees.

“Protect Drake and help him. Be yourself and don’t kill him. I will allow you to see them again. I’m sure I could pull a few strings for you.” He kneeled down in front of her, the portal closing as if it never existed. “Wipe those tears away and act as if I showed you a special item. A necklace of some sort. Make it sound plausible.”

She wiped away her tears, taking a few breathes and grabbed her dagger before going back into the tavern to see Valeera untying Drake and letting him stand. Valeera had already grabbed her bow and quiver along with her dual short swords, which now lay on the table.

Valeera quickly strapped the dual Wood Elf short swords to her back, along with the bow and quiver of arrows, pulling on her cloak and hood to hide her weapons and appearance. “Shall we get going?”

Drake nodded and stretched out his muscles, his stomach growling softly. “We need to head east and get out of the Empire. We’ll need to find someplace to eat, rest and gather supplies before moving further. We’ll leave once Catsulek is ready.”

The dagger was placed in a sheath on the belt along her waist. She stretched out her wings before curling them close to her body. “If we use the roof tops, we’ll move faster and outrun anyone who tries to follow. We’ll use the main gates and escape on foot. Let’s go. I saw a rear exit in the other room. We can climb up from there.”

The three glanced at one another and nodded simultaneously, walking quickly to the rear entrance and out of the tavern. They climbed quickly to the rooftop and looked to the sky. Clouds were forming as the suns headed to the western horizon. They turned to the east and ran across the rooftops, trying to stay away from the main streets as they headed for the most eastern gate.

Meanwhile inside the tavern, Slythe was saying his goodbye’s to Tika, Soul and Ahri. As the three women stepped out of the tavern and closed the door, Slythe stood shaking his head. “It was bad for me to show her that, but there was nothing else I could do to make her go along with him.”

A small portal appeared behind him and from it, came Ymmu. “It was a smart move, showing her the past. You could have said something, especially a pun to go along with her question. It was quite difficult for me to find those two. I wouldn’t have done it if it weren’t for the deal you made. How do you know so much about that woman anyway?”

He closed his eyes and turned to the portal, opening his eyes again to see Ymmu with his arms crossed. “I was in Southrot at the time. That’s all I can explain at the moment. I’m just glad she was able to recognize the two. Yet I’m saddened by it. Lets go back to the others. Even in death my comrades want a battle report.”

Ymmu chuckled and followed Slythe through the portal, both returning to Uth Necros. The portal disappeared and everything was back to normal inside the tavern. As normal as it could get, after the day’s events that had unfolded.

[Dark]

Night had fallen upon the city of Southrot and the streets were empty of life. Storm clouds had covered the sky, stars and moons. The only light to be seen were the torches held by the guards on their nightly patrols. Near the tavern which had seen blood, combat, and the undead earlier that day, Ulthalu and Rawke were waiting in a dark alley in black cloaks. They stood in the middle of the alley but remained out of sight, the darkness keeping them hidden from the patrols that walked the streets.

“How much longer do we have to wait? The others should have been here by now.” Rawke crossed his arms, walking in small circles impatiently. “And why isn’t the damn lizard contacting us?”

Ulthalu held up his hand to silence his companion. “The others are here now. Turn around.”

He did turn and saw two guards: one with a gash in his back and the other with an arrow stuck in the back of his head. They were standing there, alive and well. The two walked over to stand on either side of Ulthalu, turning to face the direction where they just came from. “Hey East, you can take that arrow out of your head now. You look like an idiot.”

The guard chuckled and reached for the arrow, plucking it out of his skull and held it up. “Sorry about that, guess I forgot about it. And it seems we aren’t using our human names anymore.” The one who had been called East, spoke with a normal human voice, though that quickly changed into a lighter male tone after he snapped the arrow in two. “And why couldn’t I be one of the fun looking ones? Why do I have to stick with the dumb human guard look?”

No response came. They glanced to Ulthalu, who was busy nodding and grinning as Blackjack, Soul, Shade and Darkclaw entered the alley. “You guys can lose those looks now. No one in the streets can see us. And I’m sure the boss wouldn’t like seeing you all looking like those fools.”

The Daemonslayers’ and assassin’s forms changed. The clothing they wore turning into black cloaks with black hoods. Their bodies became thin yet muscular. Their faces changing, going back to their demonic forms. Four horns growing out of the top of their skulls, four blood red eyes with black slit pupils, and powerful jaws with razor-sharp fangs. In the middle of each of their foreheads, were the demonic words of the directions on the compass. Though only one direction was on them: the direction that they called each other by. The demon who had been Soul, who had the demonic word for ‘South’ in the middle of her forehead, shrugged and spoke with a feminine voice for a demon. “I’m no guy. And I’m glad I’m no longer looking like that hideous girl. I just want to be back in my beautiful body.”

“Stop kiddin’ ya-self South. No male, mortal or otherwise would ever want ta be with ya. I think da reason da boss wants ya is because ya can turn inta smokin’ hott women.” The male demon who had taken Blackjack’s form, spoke with a heavy Caevalonian accent. “Ya know how da boss gets… He’s one hell of a womanizer.”

And before South could respond, a twisting purplish portal appeared behind Ulthalu. It was small as a human teenager, yet big enough for them all to see clearly who’s image appeared within it. The eight turned to face it, standing at attention. Ulthalu gave a demonic salute before speaking up. “We are all here sir. And we have information. Though it’s mostly about your grandson.”

Tulrog stood with arms crossed, grinning at the eight. “Hello kiddies. Now, this isn’t the type of portal you can walk through. I have to use some Shadow Priests to keep this thing up just so I can speak with you all. So, what’s new about little Drake? And anything else important?”

“Well, Drake no longer has armor. Four of us were trailing him and we noticed he was wearing Taloth. Then he went into a tavern and soon the other four who disguised themselves as the Daemonslayers arrived. We had to talk like we had never met before, so bystanders wouldn’t be suspicious. We sent in Northwest and Southwest and before you know it, they come back out with Drake tackling them. That lizard wasn’t wearing the armor, which got me thinking. I was sure he used some demon magic after I saw a bright reddish light. And that lizard got Northwest by the throat only to have his arm sliced off. He put his arm back on. Just put it by the stump and it healed over fast. Do you have something to do with that sir?”

“Not really. He has the ability to regenerate wounds faster than normal. Then he ate some special herbs and his ability got even stronger. Luckily I was able to see what his regeneration does myself, so I’m not surprised. Did the arm take a demonic shape?”

“No sir. It was a normal lizard arm. Rawke saw Drake rip off his demon arm in the tavern, before the damn guy came out. Then he was fighting with Catsulek. And I don’t mean against her, he threw her on Southwest.”

Tulrog chuckled and shrugged a bit. “Well, he is my grandson. He’s bound to have some of my natural abilities. Attracting women can be a real pain at times.”

West laughed and waved. “Ya got dat right boss. Too bad we got stuck with dis bitch. She keeps runnin’ her trap about how beautiful she be. And she be scaring all da hott ones away.”

“Oh shut up West.” South brought a fist down upon the back of his head, but he only laughed more.

“You think you have it bad West? I’m stuck here in the Ruined Land with the Lords of Darkness, and the two finest ladies are off limits. I’m stuck with the lesser succubi. But let’s get back on topic. What else was there?”

Ulthalu looked back to the two demons and narrowed his eyes, making them silent immediately. He looked back and saluted again. “Three of the Daemonslayers’ friends arrived. We weren’t expecting them, but luckily we knew enough about them to recognize who they were. Before the true fighting began, Drake surrendered. But that’s when things got bad.”

“Bad? What do you mean North? What happened?”

“Well sir, an apparition appeared. It was Slythe. He stood next to Drake and then he went into the tavern with Drake, South, Catsulek, and one of the Daemonslayers. The one who calls herself Ahri.”

A low growl was all that was heard from Tulrog for several minutes, before he closed his eyes and scratched under his chin. “South? You were in there. Give us the important info.”

She stepped forward past North, who had been using the name Ulthalu, so that she was closest to the portal. “Well my lord, Slythe told me and the other women about his personal past and the reasons for Drake being as tall and strong as he is. That and how he is supposed to marry a half-vampire girl. What I learned about Drake… He is not a full-blooded lizard man.”

“What do you mean, he’s not full-blooded?”

“My lord, Slythe told us that his son’s name is Drake because that is what he is. He is a drake. He’s a half-lizardman, half-dragon berserker. And his dragon bloodline is half-red and half-gold. Slythe himself was an advisor to Bloodbane.”

Tulrog’s eyes opened slowly, hands resting on his hips as his tail swept back and forth behind him. “I am glad you were there South. This information will help us greatly. Though this makes Drake a bigger threat to us. This is all the information I need. I already know that Drake is going to want me dead. All of you, listen closely. Maintain your human forms and continue to carry out the missions I give you. You are the Chaos Stars. Remember that. You are my elite and when the day finally comes, you will all fight by my side. But until that day, do not kill Drake or the Daemonslayers. And don’t kill their allies. They may be of use to us. If any of you obtain any useful or important information, contact me immediately. Any questions?”

The eight of the cloaked demons saluted in their black cloaks. Ulthalu and Rawke, along with the two demons that took the forms of the human guards, maintained their human look. Three of the other four starting to take the forms of peasant ranwulfs. However, Southwest, who had taken the form of Darkclaw earlier, held clawed hands to his head and muttered quickly to himself. “Shut up. Shut up, its my turn. No you shut up, I was here first. But I want to taste it, I want to taste it. He is here before us, the other seven watch us. I can’t hold it any longer. Me neither… We both need it.”

West’s eyes went wide as he glanced over to Southwest. “Oh shit. North, he’s on the frits again. Better give him the stuff. Ya know what happened ta him last time.”

North reached under his cloak and tossed a glowing red gem over to Southwest. “One step ahead of you. And call me Ulthalu while we‘re in these forms.”

The gem hit the demon and fell. The demon caught hit before it hit the ground and tucked it under his cloak. He let out a relaxing sigh and grinned. “Ah, that’s much better, much better. Yes I agree.”

West chuckles and nods. “Sure thing Ulthalu. I’m glad ya still got those things. And about these forms… I’m gonna miss hearing Northwest talk. We hardly ever hear him speak. Now he’ll be silent for a long while.”

The portal started to close as Southwest changed into a ratikin. Black cloak and hood changing with him into peasant clothes. “Much better, much better. Time for a change. Yes I agree, time to change.”

“Alright my loyal demons, go out and fulfill the rest of your current mission. I wish to hear from you as soon as possible. You know how to contact me. Though things here in Khisan are getting a bit hectic, so even I may have trouble getting in contact with you. They are starting to suspect me, so I must drive attention away. You all know what to do.” And with that, the portal closed. The eight demons, now in their disguised forms turned to North, whose cloak transformed into armor.

“South, fill us in on what you heard in the tavern. Then we’ll head out before the suns rise. You heard what our commander said, we are the Chaos Stars. We are the best at what we do. No mortal, no demon is better than us. We have our roles to play. Just as soon as Southwest takes full control with his personality problem.”

The eight nodded and looked to South, huddling around her as she began to tell them what she was told. Her voice quiet to keep them hidden as another patrol passed by in the street. The light of the torches faded, yet her voice kept quiet. Within an hour, she told them all what had happened in the tavern. Then they all went their separate ways. The light of dawn was hidden by the thick storm clouds overhead, bringing darkness to this new day.



*** Blackjack, Shade, Soul, Darkclaw, Ahri, Catsulek, Bloodbane, Degarii, Ranwulf, Ratikin, dragonthrall, the Dragonqueen, Lords of Darkness, Khisan, Southrot, Ruined Land, Daemonslayers, Caevalonia, the Unbinder, Saragoth, Fortune City, Sorth, Hawkwind, Halel, Blackmarsh, Moorin, Barlone, Crislana, Katlinia, Fortune Harbour, Lunari, Silvari, Solari, Ymmu, Elvish, and Uth Necros are all creations of Drakhenliche. ***

[Dark]

Chapter 2


For three days they walked east, making their way out of the Empire. The cloudless day had the light of the suns shine through the leaves of the small woods, the path worn out from merchants and adventurers that took it. It was only a few miles away from the roads used by traders, making their walk safer. Drake had taken the lead, with Valeera to his left side and Catsulek ten feet behind him. Drake’s stomach growled every few minutes, which Catsulek grew tired of hearing.

"Will you just eat something already? That noise is driving me insane."

He didn't bother to look back at her as the walked, keeping his eyes on the path ahead of them. "Eat what? Dirt? There's nothing around. No animals and I have yet to see any kind of fruit."

"If it stops the noise, then yes. Eat dirt."

Valeera covered her ears and walked faster, not wanting to hear the conversation of the two. Before she knew it, she was well out of earshot of them. Resting her arms by her side, she took in the noise of the woods. Then, she stopped walking. She glanced around and listened closely. Only the sound of a snapping twig and the occasional crunch of dead leaves was all she heard. The tip of her ears twitching as she glanced at the trees around her. She spoke softly as Drake and Catsulek stepped closer. "Hold on. Keep still and don’t speak. I think we may be in trouble."

Catsulek narrowed her eyes at the closest trees, her ears picking up the same noises that Valeera heard. The woods were too quiet. No birds, no small animals, not even the lowliest insect could be heard. Drake looked at the two women before looking back at where they had come from. He saw shadows slowly moving closer. He kept quiet, they all did, trying to determine what was going on. Then the sudden loud growl of Drake's stomach broke the silence, echoing off the trees longer than the growls they had heard during their walk.

He shrugged as both women turned to him with narrowed eyes. "What? I’m hungry. I can't help it."

A soft chuckle made the three look to their left. A burly human man leaned against a tree, holding a cooked piece of animal meat. The scars on his bare chest and bald head made the three guess he was an experienced fighter. The longsword at the man's side confirmed it. "Aww… Hungry lizardman want some food? Well we got some food. If you give us your valuables and your women, and we can call it an even trade. What do you say? I mean, it's not like you have much choice."

Suddenly, the woods came alive as a few dozen men showed themselves, all harmed to the teeth with weapons. Mostly humans, they carried swords, axes and daggers. The few ranwulf and degarii men were armed with longbows in their hands, arrows loaded and aimed for the three. A large, heavily armored ogre showed himself in front of them, wearing ragged plate armor and wielding a giant war hammer.

Both women got into fighting stances. Catsulek taking out a pair of daggers and Valeera arming her bow, aiming at one of the ranwulfs. Drake just stood there, staring at the cooked meat and started to drool. Valeera growled and glanced to the burly man. "Let me guess. You're bandits, right? And you must be the leader."

The man chuckled and nodded, taking a bite out of the meat. "That's right. How clever you must be. Yet very foolish for taking this road. Just surrender yourselves so we can get to the fun faster." He looks to Drake and laughs. "No meat for you." He throws the meat to the ground and stomps on it, kicking dirt and dust onto it before kicking it over to Drake. "You need to earn your meat. Hand over the nice ladies and you’ll have your full."

Drake looked down at the ruined piece of meat and then back to the burly man, taking a few steps forward before a thin bandit stepped in front of him, stopping Drake in his tracks. The bandit held up a dagger and grinned. "Hold on there big boy. You agree to let us have your women?"

Drake looked down at the bandit and grabbed his wrist. Before anyone could react, Drake bit down on the bandit's arm and tore off a piece of his flesh. The bandit fell back and screamed in pain, as Drake slowly chewed and ate the arm flesh. He licked his lips and stared at the bandit, eyes going wide as he pounced onto him. "MEAT!!" Everyone, the bandits and both women, watched in horror as Drake ripped the bandit to shreds and chewed on his muscles and bones, the bandit alive the whole time, screaming in agony before the lizardman tore out his heart with his teeth.

The bandits held their weapons tight, terrified and angered. Catsulek tilted her head at what Drake was doing and Valeera dropped her bow and vomited in disgust. The bandit leader drew his sword and raised it up high. "Kill that lizardman! Kill him now!"

The bandit bowmen immediately shot their arrows at Drake. His warrior mind kicking in, he picked up the corpse and used it as a shield, defending himself from the arrows. He picked up the dagger and quickly threw at the bowmen, striking one of the ranwulfs between the eyes. Using his tail like a spear, he impaled an incoming human spearman coming from behind him, then throwing the body with his tail at the ogre who only smashed it aside with his war hammer.

From the sidelines, the bandit leader watched the fight, staying out completely. "It's just one lizard, kill him!" Then he ran deep in the woods, frightened that he was going to die and be eaten alive.

Catsulek looked to Valeera and nudged her side. "Hey, let's get in there and join the fun Drake is having. I want to kill some of these bastards myself." Before they could react, an arrow flew by Valeera's head and landed by the assassin's feet. The degarii grabbed her bow and shot an arrow at the bandit bowman who had shot at her. Both woman had entered the fray at this point, bandits attacking from all sides. Valeera dodged sword swings as she moved to the trees, firing off her bow at distant bandits as Catsulek used her two daggers to quickly stab and slice those that got too close.

Drake found himself face to face with the ogre, with five bandits rushing at him with axes and swords from behind. He ducked as the ogre swung wide, accidentally taking out the bandits trying to attack Drake from behind and killing them with his massive war hammer. "Big lizard move fast. Big lizard not strong though."

"You think so huh? Well if you're strong, why wear that armor? You're nothing but a weak little bug." Drake picked up the spear on the ground and threw it at the ogre's face. The ogre had opened his mouth to argue he wasn't weak, but got no words out as the spear entered his mouth and went through the back of his head and neck. He wobbled and eventually fell forward from the weight of the plate armor and war hammer which he was still holding. Drake rolled to the side just as a bandit tried to slash him with his sword. The bandit screamed as the ogre fell on him, crushing him under the ogre's corpse.

Before long, the fighting is done as all the bandits lay dead. Catsulek and Valeera gather arrows and any good quality weapons they can find, along with valuables and gold. Drake on he other hand, finds the nearest dead bandit and begins to eat him. Being over a week since he ate, he was too hungry to be picky. Not like it mattered, due to the fact that on his travels with his father and comrades when still part of their army, they would only take prisoners for information and for food. In his mind, he knew it wasn't the first time he ate raw human flesh and he was sure it wouldn't be the last.

The bandit leader was far from the area where he and his group of bandits tried to ambush Drake and the others. He slowed his run to a jog and finally stopped at a small opening with sword still in hand, leaning against a tree as he caught his breath. "Blasted lizard. A wild one, he is. Though one of that size, I shouldn’t be surprised. Good thing I got away."

"For you, it wasn’t far enough." A deep, strong voice spoke from in front of the bandit leader, behind one of the trees. The human man was hiding in the shadows and hid well as the bandit frantically looked for the origin of the voice, but found no one. Boots, pants, belt, shirt, overcoat, gloves and brimmed hat, all black in color. They matched his unnatural black eyes, which kept their gaze on the panicked bandit. Under his brimmed hat, was shoulder-length black hair and a black soul patch on his face. "You're only worth five-hundred. Not much, but better than nothing. Though my real goal is now the red lizardman worth fifty-thousand, alive. How long have you been a bandit? How many years? Yet you only have five-hundred on your head. You should take lessons from the one of the most wanted people in the Empire. If you can tell me anything about him, anything new, you may be worth more than five-hundred."

The bandit waved his sword around as he turned left and right, looking for the man. "Who are you? Where are you? What do you mean by my worth? Wait... Red lizardman? Why should I tell you?"

The man in all black stepped forward into the opening, making himself visible. "So you do know. How interesting."

Panting and sweating furiously, the bandit leader finally finds the man in black and holds up his sword, despite sweaty palms. "A bounty hunter? I should have known. What's the deal with this red lizard? Why not go get him?"

"Because I don't know where he is exactly. I've been following his trail from Southrot. If you tell me where he is, I can make it so you are free."

"Free? Well then, that red lizard is down at the old path. He's with two women. Two degarii. At least one is. Other might be wyrd. She has wings."

The bounty hunter nods and holds up his right hand. "Very good of you to speak up. You shall now die."

"What!? But why!? You said I would be free!"

"Yes. Free of pain. Your death will be quick." A bright light emits from the bounty hunter's hand, blinding the bandit long enough for the bounty hunter to retrieve a dagger from his overcoat and dash forward. The dagger strikes the bandit's heart and kills him. "The light of justice has been brought forth by the hand of Shadow. Your head is now mine." He kneels down beside the bandit corpse and carefully slices the head from the shoulders. "Beware lizard, your head is next."

An hour later back at the dirt path, Drake patted his stomach and belched, the bodies of the bandits nothing but tattered clothes, bones and the bits of flesh hanging from their skeletons. The only corpse untouched was that of the ogre's. "Now that is what I call a meal. We should keep going. I need to walk off all the extra food." He picked up a spear and picked his teeth with the tip of the blade.

Valeera was at the side of the path, vomiting for the fourth time since Drake had begun his feast. "Oh, don't talk about food. Let's just go."

He nodded and the three began to walk east yet again. Several hours pass and the three find themselves in front of a sign reading, "Beware! The witch of the woods lies ahead!"

Drake smiles and taps the sign with a spear he decided to carry with him. "Look at this. Damn thing must be years old. If there is a witch, she’s long gone by now." With a quick flick of his tail, he knocks the sign down and steps on it, breaking it to pieces. "No need for this sign anymore."

Both women nodded and continued to walk with Drake. The suns were starting to set and nightfall was fast approaching. Dusk was upon them and they rushed to find shelter, strolling along the path they were taking until they reached a large boulder. Drake stepped forward and tapped he boulder with his spear. "Why would this thing be here?"

The boulder began to glow a light blue and a small oval portal appeared in front of Drake, making him step back. A soft and smooth female voice emitted from the portal. "This is my home silly. And aren’t you a cutie." A tall ranwulf woman stepped out from the portal, adorned in a purple silk top and silk bottoms that showed off the side of her legs while covering the front and back, the silks only going down to her knees. Her fur was all black, her hair going down to her lower back. Her hair was black, then turned purple when reaching the end of her lengthy hair. Purple eyes looked over the group before her, though her gaze kept going back to Drake. She was amazingly tall, just short of Drake's height. "Hello there. My name is Lily. Welcome to my home."

Valeera and Catsulek nodded and smiled to Lily. Drake on the other hand, looked her over then glanced to the boulder. "That's your home? What a piece of shit."

Lily squinted and held up a hand, shooting magic forth without a word and shocking Drake. "Bad boy. Don't use such foul language. Keep it up and I'll get my hairbrush."

Catsulek smirked and couldn't help but chuckle. "I like her already."

Once the magic shocks died down, Drake snarled and took a step towards Lily. "Listen here you bitch! What gives you the right to shock me? What makes you think you can just do that to me?"

She only turned and walked back into the portal, appearing moments later with both hands behind her back. "Because you're my baby cakes and someone has to look out for you and take care of you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, kissing his cheek. "And my baby needs to watch his tongue." As soon as she stepped back, she held up a metal hair brush.

Drake and the others were at this point, extremely confused. He had blushed very slightly from the kiss and shook his head. "Baby cakes? Are you insane?" He felt something strange and placed a hand to his neck. He felt something there that wasn't there before. He held up his spear, using the metal tip as a small mirror. "What the fuck?" He saw a black collar around his neck, metal spikes going all the way around and a small metal circlet on the front.

A small giggle and grin came from Lily, as she stepped forward and placed her hand to his shoulder, shocking him with her magic and smacking him on his side with her hairbrush. "Yes, you're my baby cakes. And you need to stop swearing. No calling Mistress bad names."

Catsulek chuckles and shakes her head, very amused by what she was seeing and hearing. "Better listen to her lizard."

Valeera was confused by all of this, scratching her head and trying her best to understand what just happened. "Mistress? So you're taking him in as your slave?"

Lily shook her head as she continued to smack his side, Drake finding himself unable to defend himself due to the powerful shocks of her magic. "Not a slave. He's my pet. From now on, he's mine to take care of. Where he goes I go. But first he must be disciplined and taken care of... And given a bath. You two are most welcome to come inside and spend the night."

Once Drake found himself free to move and speak, he decided it was best to keep quiet and do what she said. Lily guided them through the portal and inside her home. The portal closed behind them and the boulder returned to it's normal color, appearing just like any normal boulder. After ten minutes, the bounty hunter arrived and knelt by the boulder and looked at the tracks left behind. He shook his head and walked away, hoping to find any fresher tracks. "They are close, hiding somewhere in the darkness. The light of justice will find them." The suns had set and nightfall was upon the woods, Shadow disappearing into the night.



*** Catsulek, the Empire, Ranwulf, Degarii and Southrot are all creations of Drakhenliche. ***

[Dark]

The inside of Lily's home was much larger than the boulder, for the boulder was merely the gateway to her real home. The walls and floor were made of stone, but the furnishing looked as if they came from a noble's home. Chairs and table made from fine lumber, glass vases, fine silverware and candles giving light to the rooms Lily and the others were in. The ceiling was high, enough room for even Drake to jump as high as he could and barely touch the top. There were no windows and no door but a far wall down a short hallway had been drawn with a circle and a gem was placed on the top, bottom, and either side of the wall.

Lily stands over a large bath, touching the warm water with a finger and smiles. She opens two bottles of lotion and lightly pours the contents. The water's surface bubbles lightly while giving off the smell of a mix of lavender and honey. She takes in the smell before moving out of the bath area, pushing silk curtains aside to make her way over to the three travelers.

Drake leans against a wall as Catsulek and Valeera sit at the round table, snacking on some fruit. "This ain't bad. Really sweet." The huntress wipes her mouth with the back of her hand before taking another bite. "Drake, you really need to eat some of this. Nothing but meat isn't good for you."

The lizardman shrugged and patted his stomach. "I do eat fruit, I'm just not hungry. I ate already. And hurry up. I want to get out of here and get to Fortune City already."

The tall ranwulf woman stepped up to Drake, for he wasn't paying attention and didn't notice her enter the area. She gave him a small pat on the cheek and speaks sternly but with a soft smile on her face. "We can get going once you've slept. You need plenty of sleep for a journey to that bustling city. And before you ask... Yes, I'm coming with you. I said that already, remember?"

Drake rolls his eyes and steps away from Lily and over to Valeera, reaching down to grab the gem on her necklace and hold it up to look at, as he had been intrigued by it since he first saw it in Southrot. "Whatever. Just don't get in my way and don't treat me like a slave or kid." He narrows his eyes as he bends over to get a better look at the gem, while Valeera gives him a stern look. The degarii removes her necklace and gives it to him, not wanting the lizardman invading her personal space as she ate.

"My, you don't have any manners do you? You can't go touching something that doesn't belong to you, especially if it's jewelry." Lily places her hand on his shoulder, just as he places the necklace around his own neck and holds the gem gently with thumb and index finger. "Bad boy." She gave him a small shock with some of her magic, making it light enough for him to realize it was a warning. But the ranwulf's magic ran through his arm and fingers, touching the gem. The gem shone brightly, making the room glow. The women were delighted to see such a glow, but they were soon distracted by the scream of pain coming from Drake.

"Oh no!" Valeera covered her mouth as Catsulek and Lily look back at her. "I never told anyone about that gem. It's able to make the wearer use a glamour spell, as magic is trapped in the gem itself. I was warned that if magic from the outside, even a small amount, hit that gem... The wearer would be in danger."

Lily gasps and looks back at Drake with frightened eyes. "What do we do to stop it!? How do we help him!?"

Valeera slowly shakes her head. "There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry."

The three women look back at Drake as his screams continue. The glow from the gem becomes brighter as Drake's form becomes smaller. His scales slowly disappear, being replaced with skin and fur. His tail shortens, his muscles smaller and more lean, yet his eyes remained the same blue color. After several painful minutes, Drake falls back onto the floor, now in a smaller ranwulf form. Gray fur covers his entire body. Black fur covers his feet, hands and ears. Long and smooth jet black hair runs down from his head to his mid-back. His tail was now in proportion to his smaller body, the fur on his tail standing up from the shock of the magic. He closes his eyes and groans, glad that the sharp pain was gone. The gem itself dimmed down to it's normal state, still around his neck.

A few moments of silence pass as neither Valeera nor Lily know what to do. Catsulek speaks first and points to the pants on Drake, which still covered him and changed only in size to accommodate his smaller body. "I don't know what happened, and honestly I don't really care. I'm just glad his pants stayed on."

Lily quickly moves over to Drake's side and kneels, placing a hand to his forehead and then to his collar, which no longer fit neatly over his neck. She sighs and grabs his shoulders, slowly dragging him towards the bath. "He doesn't have a fever. Maybe a bath will do him some good. You girls get some rest. We'll start moving out in the morning."

***********************

As dawn approached, the women would stir from their slumber, Lily having slept very little during the night. They would prepare themselves, gathering food in sacks and cleaning their clothes and weapons to get ready for their walk out of the forest. Drake was still fast asleep but Lily prepared for such a thing. She made sure his pants were fit and his fur along his legs didn't get caught in the fabric. She watched over him and prepared him as a mother would, being gentle with him. She placed his collar in a sack along with some of her own silks. She patted his head and looked at his smaller body curiously. She noticed that if he stood, he would be shorter than Valeera, barely being chest-height to her. She sighs softly and gently pats his cheek as she grabs some extra fabric and begins to wrap it around her body.

Catsulek taps her foot by the far wall, staring at the drawn circle as Valeera checks her bow and twin short swords. They both look over as Lily walks over. Valeera shakes her head seeing Drake being carried by the fabric around Lily's body, sitting in the front of the ranwulf who carried him. "He's going to be pissed enough when he wakes up. You sure you want to carry him like that?"

Lily giggles softly and waves her hand in front of the circle, reciting words under her breath making the gems glow. An oval portal appears and she steps through with the two women following her. Once through, she waves her hand and recites more words, the portal vanishing. "He's in a smaller form, though I don't know if it means he'll be physically weaker than what he's like normally." She leads the others north through the forest, sighing softly as she keeps checking on Drake every now and again. "Valeera? I need you to be okay with Drake wearing that necklace. If we take it off him, I'm not sure what will happen. He could be stuck like this forever. Vel won't be happy about that."

The degarii huntress nods softly but perks a brow at the name. "Vel? Who's Vel? You speak like you know who Drake is."

"Vel is what I call Velchantress. She doesn't mind it too much, though I call her by her full name when others are around. I know who Drake is because I knew his father. What a shame... His father was such a handsome man. He told me to watch over his baby boy if anything happened to him. Of course, Drake was only a newborn when I first saw him. Last time I saw him too. I helped put those seals on his body and mind."

Valeera runs up to Lily's side and shakes her head. "But Slythe told us it was him, Velchantress and the dragonqueen."

Lily laughs and shakes her head, smiling as she gently pats Drake's head. "Slythe lies a lot. But he does it to protect people. He also does it to test people. It was him, Velchantress and I who did that. He nor Vel know the dragonqueen. And if he said he knew any other dragons, he was most likely lying."

"He said he was an advisor to Bloodbane. Was that a lie too?"

"Most likely. Though some stuff he says is true. I just wish he would be truthful all the time. But alas, he has passed and now I must care for his son."

Valeera nods and looks over her shoulder at Catsulek, who was far behind the group with wings folded slightly in front of her. "Is that why you said you would take him as a pet? Because you knew who he was and that you couldn't really be like a mother to him?" She looks back up at Lily before looking back at Drake, still sleeping with locks of hair brushing over his face.

She sighs, brushing away the locks of hair with her hand. "Yes dear. I have no children of my own. And what man, what ranwulf man would take me as their mate? Look at me. I tower above most men. And I use magic. People just run and scream when they see me, they call me such horrible names." She wipes a tear that runs down her cheek. "Drake is still young, never learned manners. I'm sure he'll stop being mean soon."

The huntress nods softly and rests her hand on Lily's shoulder. "I'm sure he'll get better with his attitude. Just not sure how long it'll take. How long do you suppose until we get to Fortune City?"

"Not really sure. Depends on the roads we take and if Drake feels like being fussy. He's sure to freak out once we tell him what happened and what we talked about. A lot to take in, but I'm curious how he'll deal with it. Unlike his father, I don't lie all the time. Just some here and there." She smiles softly at Valeera and looks back over her shoulder at Catsulek, narrowing her eyes and grits her teeth. She speaks under her breath as she looks to the path ahead. "Though some lies aren't hidden well enough."



*** Catsulek, ranwulf, degarii, Bloodbane, the dragonqueen, and Fortune City are all creations of Drakhenliche ***