by Bill Mays
“No. No, I don’t wonder about that,” he stated with blatant annoyance. She always asked the most inane questions.
Nivit did a dazzling series of aerial acrobatics. She did not seem to recognize the gremlin’s tone at all. “I suppose life would be a lot less fun, no offense,” she quickly directed the apology to the two humans.
“No offense taken,” Herrin chuckled. Tark only grunted again.
“Do you think it will rain all the way to the library?” The fairy wondered aloud.
The gladiator growled something in response, but no one caught it. “I would hope not,” Ado grumbled. He was tired of being wet.
“Do you suppose those weird lizard men will let us cross all the way through their lands? They look so scary. So far they do seem to be happy just watching us, though.”
It took a second for the girl’s statement to sink in; but, when it did, her three companions froze in place. Ado immediately began mumbling a spell and Tark pulled forth his trident in one fluid motion. Herrin scanned the misty trees nervously.
“Nivit dear,” the old sage whispered.
“Yes Herrin?” The fairy whispered back as she flitted to her side.
“Did you just say we are being watched?” The old woman tried to remain casual.
“Yes Ma’am, you know, since just after Lilelee left us, but don’t worry they haven’t done anything but follow us for days. They look different than those usual mean lizard men.”
“Stupid fairy!” Ado chided. “Why didn’t you warn us?” The gremlin went invisible.
Nivit looked a little hurt. “I didn’t think there was any cause for alarm, besides didn’t everyone else see them?” The looks on the humans’ faces answered that question. “Oh my!” The tiny girl seemed flustered. ”I’m so sorry. I just assumed you already knew about them.” Tark sighed angrily, but held his tongue. He was too busy trying to come up with a plan of action.
“It’s alright, Nivit dear,” Herrin tried to calm the girl. “You keep saying ‘them’. How many are there?”
“And where are they?” Tark whispered harshly.
“Ummm … They come and go, but there are usually about three or four of them and right now they are just over there,” the little fairy extended one arm and pointed directly at the concealed lizard men. The yellow reptilian eyes narrowed as their presence was identified.
“Don’t point!” Ado hissed. “Stupid fairy! You see, I told you fairies were trouble!”
There was a sudden explosion of motion as the three concealed reptiles tore through the muddy underbrush to get at the small party.
Tark was set for the challenge. “Ado, watch out for these two.” He made a quick gesture at the sage and fairy. “I mean it, don’t you dare run and hide!” The gladiator shouted as he moved to intercept the lizard men.
Nivit was right about one thing. These lizard men did look different. The color of their scales was a deeper shade of green with hints of golden yellow around their faces and the spines on their backs were less pronounced than the other lizard men Tark encountered. They wore crude clothing and decorated their bodies in strange markings with some sort of bluish-white paint. They also carried weapons instead of attacking with their claws as the others had. They armed themselves with primitive clubs and axes made of what looked like bone or petrified wood. The lizard men hissed back and forth between one another. It was some form of communication. They formulated plans.
Tark watched their gestures and movements. “They are fanning out to keep us all boxed in. Herrin, Nivit, run!” The gladiator yelled.
Tark tried to quickstep and to intercept one of the reptiles, which attempted to move around him. It was hard to move fast at all in the thick mud. In response to Tark’s shouts, the lizard man skirting around the other side broke into a charge after the old woman.
“Oh my!” Herrin cried out as she shuffled as fast as she could through the muck, struggling with her many satchels and pouches. “I do believe they can understand us.” The sage felt her pulse pounding and her legs aching as she ran for her life. “I’ll have to remember to record that in my notes.”
As the two lizard men met Tark’s charge, the other was upon the old sage. Herrin had no sense of combat and merely screamed and struggled in the creature’s grasp. Luckily, it was not trying to injure her. A rather large, dead tree branch came crashing down on the lizard man’s head. Herrin pulled free and returned to fleeing.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Weird Lizard Man, but I can’t let you handle my friend like that,” Nivit scolded from just above the creature.
The lizard man was not particularly concerned with the fairy. He was after the old woman. He used his bone axe to swat at the tiny girl as if she were one of the annoying swamp insects. Nivit easily dodged the half-hearted attack. She then wriggled her little fingers and began lifting the tree branch again. Tiny sparkles danced about the dead limb. She used the same levitation magic she had used to carry the teapot back at the shack.
Herrin was having a hard time between the mud and the tangled underbrush. The sage made a break across an open portion of ground covered in about two feet of water. The water was also hard to run in, but at least there were no tangling plants here. The lizard man easily gained on her. It also moved faster in the open space. Suddenly, a huge snake rose up out of the water between the old woman and her pursuer. It was large and lime-green with red eyes. The snake had wicked fangs that literally dripped with venom. Herrin screamed, and then Nivit screamed and dropped the branch back on the reptilian man’s head. The lizard man hissed something unpleasant at the fairy and readied his weapon to deal with the snake. The huge serpent darted forward entwining itself around the lizard warrior. Both tumbled and struggled, splashing about in the shallow water. The ten-foot long snake seemed to have the advantage, but Herrin was not waiting around to see the outcome. Nivit darted down and grabbed the old woman’s pinkie. She flapped her colorful wings as rapidly as she could in an effort to help her friend run faster.
Tark found that these lizard men did not just look different, they fought differently, too. They seemed much more intelligent than the ones he encountered before. They paced their movements and watched his technique. He began twirling his trident like a great silver pinwheel. It spun so fast it seemed a solid shield of metal. His two opponents kept their distance. They were sizing him up. Unexpectedly, one of them spoke to him.
“You will come with usss, human. King Karzack awaitsss you,” it hissed uncomfortably in the common tongue.
“Not a chance!” Tark shot back without a second thought. He was a bit surprised to hear it speak, but shrugged off the initial shock. “I have important business of my own beyond your lands and we’re in a hurry.”
“Karzack cannot be denied!” The other lizard man hissed angrily. Its forked tongue flicked out repeatedly between its sharp teeth.
“We’ll just have to see about that,” Tark smirked. “If you walk away now, you’ll live. You can tell your king I’m not interested in his invitation.”
The two reptiles did not seem to like his answer. They came at Tark from both sides. One carried a club, the other an axe. They wasted no time in engaging the human this time. Unfortunately for them, this was no ordinary human. They fought a gladiator; and Tark the Trident, to be specific. Tark used his weapon to block the axe. The big man then jabbed backwards burying the butt end of the trident into the club-wielder‘s midsection, causing him to double over. He then spun the weapon back around and jabbed the axe-wielding lizard man in the face, again using the butt end. The double attack happened so quickly that his two opponents were not exactly sure what just hit them.
“These gloves are going to come in handy,” Tark grinned. His already quick reflexes were greatly enhanced by the invisible hand wear.
Tark tried his best not to kill his opponents. He knew next to nothing about lizard man society, but they were not trying to kill him. They obviously held some jurisdiction over the land. They even had a king. The last t
hing he wanted was another country as an enemy if they did not have to be. Better safe than sorry, he figured. This way, they could slink back to their leader with a few bumps and bruises and a declined offer of audience. Tark suspected these creatures had been given specific instructions not to kill. Though they came at him with hate in their eyes, their attacks seemed a little hesitant. It was as if they were holding back.
“Big mistake,” he mumbled to himself.
Another lightning-fast twirl of his weapon brought the flat of the pronged head to smash into the back of a lizard man. The reptilian warrior had just stumbled past him after a failed attack. The creature ended up face down in the thick mud. The other attacker met a similar fate as Tark whipped his weapon around to swipe its feet and tail from under it. As the first lizard man pulled his face free of the mud and struggled to stand, the second one hissed out something that caused a reluctant hesitation. They both stood, tails twitching angrily, but they did not come for him.
“We will return with newsss of your answer, human, but Karzack isss not easily ignored,” one of the scaly creatures hissed heatedly.
“Give him my regards,” Tark smiled. The big man held his weapon firmly before him in both hands. “Herrin! Nivit! Ado!” Tark shouted, “You can come back now, our new friends are leaving.”
Ado lowered out of a nearby treetop. “It’s about time,” the testy mage muttered.
He snapped his fingers and the giant snake entwining the lone lizard man vanished. This left the reptilian warrior rolling around in the muddy water all by himself still fighting for his life. Nivit could not refrain from giggling just a little at the silly display.
“It’s alright, Mr. Weird Lizard Man. The big snake is gone and you’re going home. I’m really, really sorry about the tree branch.” She waved meekly.
The lizard man stood, hissed something again at the fairy, and then responded to the commands from his comrades.
“We will meet again, humansss,” the lizard man hissed before the three of them were swallowed from sight by the misty swamp.
“They sure do camouflage well,” Herrin huffed as she arrived at Tark’s side still out of breath from her run.
“Too well,” Tark muttered. The big man whirled on the tiny fairy hovering at his side. “If you ever withhold anything important like that again …,” he screamed with a wild gleam in his eye.
He had not even finished his statement yet when the fairy broke into tears. A slap across the back of his head ended Tark’s tirade.
“That’s enough!” Herrin scolded the warrior. “Nivit dear, he’s just angry. It will be alright,” the old woman comforted her tiny assistant.
“Yes, Tark, do watch your tongue,” Ado giggled as he flew just out of reach.
Tark was a little shocked and a lot angry. His instincts told him to lash back, but he knew that was just his anxiety talking. He took a moment to think things through before he spoke again.
“Forgive me for my temper, ladies. It gets the better of me sometimes, especially during battle.”
The big man tried his best to sound calm. He was still angry, but there was no sense in upsetting those who had willingly come along to help his cause. Herrin nodded with a hint of motherly disapproval in her gaze.
“That’s alright. Mr. Ado was right. I was being stupid. I will try harder to be of help from now on, I promise,” the fairy beamed at Tark.
She was smiling through her tears. Her cherubic, heart-shaped face looked extremely apologetic. Tark smiled back. He was a little embarrassed at ever having been upset with so innocent a creature.
“Oh, give me a break!” Ado sighed as he watched everyone play nice and make up. The gremlin could not stand the mushiness any longer. “So, Herrin, what was with those lizards? Why do they paint their bodies?” The mage was trying hard to change the subject.
“I do hate to speculate outside of my own head,” the woman mumbled, “but I believe they were worshipers of Veth-Kar,” she guessed.
“You mean the Death God?” Tark seemed a little shocked.
“It’s just an assumption from the markings they had painted on their bodies and the bone jewelry and weapons. I have heard of an advanced tribe of lizard men who make sacrifices to their ‘Temple of Death’ but until now I never knew if those stories were true or not. It would seem there is at least some fact to them. I’m afraid I haven’t put much focus into studying the lizard societies, though.”
“Temple of Death huh? Sacrifices?” Ado did not like the answers he was getting.
“They also mentioned a king by the name of Karzack. They said he wanted to see us,” Tark added. “Maybe they are working with the priests of Drackmoore.”
“Karzack? Karzack … That name does sound vaguely familiar. Maybe I read about him in a book somewhere.” The old sage pondered it for a long moment. “I know I’ve heard that name. I can’t quite place my finger on it, though. That name was definitely in my history research somewhere. It’s probably some sort of honorary name passed down from ruler to ruler. I doubt they are working with anyone. They are extremely secluded out here. A lizard man king that wants to see us, I suggest we avoid that particular meeting.”
“Really? Do you think so?” Ado squeaked sarcastically. Tark shot the gremlin a warning glare, which he promptly ignored.
“At least they’re gone now,” Nivit chirped happily.
“Good point,” Tark noted, “Let’s get as far from here as possible. Who knows how many of them there will be next time we meet.”
Ado sighed deeply. That meant another military hike through this dismal land. He was as accommodating as the next tremlin but this journey was getting to be a bit outlandish. What tremlin in his right mind would spend days on end traipsing through a place called the Acid Swamps? This library temple they were headed for was sounding better and better every day. Now, a lizard man king wanted them to come to his Temple of Death. Why was this big oaf plagued with such ridiculously bad luck? Ado wondered again why he felt the need to stay by the big warrior’s side.
* * * * * * * * * *
There came a heavy rain the night they moved away from the battle scene. Though the weather was foul and the rains cold, it was a welcomed storm.
Tark tilted his head to the sky with a smile and let the cold rain wet his long hair back. “Ahh, that feels good! It will help to cover our tracks. This could be the break we needed to avoid those death worshipers,” the big man sang gleefully as he led their way through the water and mud. The gladiator’s mood shifted again. This time he was far too happy for their current circumstances.
“Easy for you to say,” Ado whined as he clung to the rim of Tark’s pack.
The gremlin found the winds to be too strong for him to travel by flight, and the muddy waters were far too deep for the little mage to walk. He hated having to rely on Tark for anything. It was all right if he chose to use the big oaf, but not when he had no choice in the matter. Nivit, too, had to cling inside one of the many pouches hanging from Herrin’s body. The fairy was even smaller than the gremlin and had been nearly swept away by the first few gusts of the storm winds.
The gladiator did worry that the storm would bring forth one major issue. In the massive downpour, it was nearly impossible for the big man to keep his bearings. He was not much of a navigator to begin with. He could only hope they stayed somewhat true to their course. Tark tried to keep a steady pace but it was clear Herrin was having trouble in that department. The gladiator found himself picking her up or lifting her from some particularly deep mud hole on several occasions. Luckily, the sage had a fondness for herbs. It was one of her specialties. Not only did she create her own tea brew but several other less tasty mixtures as well. She supplied them all with a portion of some strange concoction that held an amazing effect. Though it tasted like old pond water, it had the warming abilities of an inner fire. Shortly after consuming the smelly liquid, Tark felt comforting warmth spread through his limbs even down to his soaking wet toes. Without her m
ixture, Tark feared they would have had to take shelter until the stinging storm passed. As it was, they put some much needed distance between themselves and this lizard king.
After many hours of trudging along through the weather, the storm began to lift. By this time, Tark was the pack mule. His energy proved limitless, but the others were not so fortunate. Herrin’s strength all but folded under the difficult journey. The big warrior now carried the old woman in his arms, which meant he literally carried their whole party along. Much to Ado’s annoyance, Nivit moved to join him inside Tark’s pack while Herrin wrapped her arms around the gladiator’s thick neck. Lucky for Tark, the old sage was fairly small and did not weigh much.
“Perhaps we should start looking for a place to camp for the night,” Herrin volunteered out of nowhere. “My warming remedy won’t last much longer and I know I could use some rest.” She hoped Tark would consider the option. The man moved like a gnomish contraption without any signs of tiring.
Ado then Nivit supported the suggestion. Both of the little folk looked exhausted from hours of just trying to hold on and not blow away. Tark was not sleepy in the least. The gladiator had to remind himself that the artifact had an invigorating effect on him. Whether he felt it or not, rest was something his body needed.
“We’ll stop just as soon as we find a good place to set up for the night,” the big man assured them all.
True to the old woman’s words, about an hour later the chill of their wetness set in, but another few moments revealed a small alcove in an outcropping of rocks that offered some shelter from the rain and wind. It was the perfect spot for a campsite. Ado conjured up a small fire and they all used its heat to dry out and warm up. Tark remained on watch throughout the night, letting the others sleep. He rested his eyes for brief periods, but sleep would not come to him. He still received flashes of images, but mostly they made little or no sense to him. There was one set of images that came to him repeatedly. It was vague, like looking through a haze. What he did see clearly were eyes searching for him. One pair was black as night while the other pair glowed a ghastly red, like tiny fires burning in darkness. Though he did not speak of his fears with the others, they were always near the surface of his thoughts. He debated whether they were actual visions or hallucinations conjured up by his troubled subconscious. The big man could only wonder at the long-term effects the possession of the gem would have on his body and his mind.
