Interlude 05: Hunt for the Lizard

They called him Grin Lee. His true name, the one given to him by his parents, was Lee Andrew Bosworth. But everyone called him Grin cause of the stupid smirk he always had on his face. Anytime you saw him, Lee was grinning. Whenever he ate, he was grinning. Whenever he walked down the street, he was grinning. Whenever he talked to you or someone else, he was grinning. Always with the grin!

If you ever asked him why he was always grinning, he’d simply tell you this: “I’m a simple man, I got simple needs. So, all in all, I’m always happy.”

With an answer like that, one would be tempted to think that Lee was indeed quite “simple.” But that would be a very foolish, and quite literally, a very lethal mistake to make. You see, a man like Grin Lee has many talents. One of them is the mixing of various venoms and toxins into various pernicious poisons. Poisons that he loves to coat the blades of his daggers with, quite copiously.

Currently, Lee was seated in the corner of a very posh and finely decorated parlor. The gilded walls held the framed works of many masters of art, and the furnishings could very well have been taken from a wealthy nobleman’s home.

Grin Lee wasn’t the only one in the room. Several other notable adventurers had also been invited and were currently lounging in the parlor. Lee recognized quite a few of the faces in the room.

There was the scarred, bestial face of Gordon Gaddows, who was seated upon the couch right across the room from Lee. He was clad in his signature red plate armor and had a heavy, brutish-looking mace lying across his lap. The fact that the couch could support his heavy weight as well as the weight of his gear spoke volumes about its quality construction.

There was also Jasper Vissetti standing by the window. He looked to be gazing out into the scenery outside, but Lee was sure the man was using the reflection in the glass to spy on his fellow adventurers in the room. Vissetti was dressed in simple blacks and browns that a commoner would wear, but the intricate and golden hilt of his thin sword betrayed some of his noble lineage.

Argus Sittariaous was seated on the couch across the way from Gaddows. One of the few elves who had felt the allure of adventure and thus journeyed outside their forest kingdoms, Argus was known as a powerful magician and incanter. He was dressed the part, too, in his flowing blue robes and scarlet red cloak.

The final face Lee didn’t recognize. It belonged to a beautiful woman with long brown hair wearing a very form-fitting ensemble of black leathers and purple cloth. She had a black eyepatch over her right eye, and her one remaining one was a startling color of emeralds.

The door to the adjoining room suddenly burst open, admitting their host to enter the parlor. He was a large man in his late forties, with a powerful build and a strong jaw covered by a well-maintained beard. His shirtsleeves were rolled up and staining his hands was what appeared to be blood, which he was wiping off with a clean rag. Just before the door to the other room could close, Lee took a peek inside. There, in the middle of the room, was a short, middle-aged man tied securely to a chair. The man’s face was a mess of blood and bruises, with some of the red liquid dripping off to stain his once-fine clothing.

“Alright,” Jack Garret finally spoke up as he finished wiping the blood off his hands. “You all probably know why I called you here. Some… beast murdered my youngest son. I’ll give a thousand gold to whoever brings me back his corpse. Two thousand if you bring it back alive.”

A heavy silence descended on the parlor upon hearing Garret’s offer. That was a lot of money.

“This… lizardman,” Gaddows spoke up. “Do we know anything about him? Or are we just supposed to go find as many lizards as we can round up?”

“His name’s Nero,” Garret all but spat the name. “He’s about six and a half, seven-foot tall. Wears a black coat and hat, like those Rekorim clerics. Dark green scales. Can speak Common. Also, be careful. He’s a magician and has some sort of fire wand. It can only be fired once before he has to reset it.”

Garret stood back and looked at each of the adventurers in the eyes. “Any questions?”

There was silence.

“Good.” The big man began walking towards the exit. “Remember! A thousand dead, two thousand alive!”

The rest of the adventurers left as soon as Garret did. All except for Grin Lee. He just sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers.

“Two thousand gold. That’s almost too much money.”

His grin widened.

“Still. All of this should be fun, regardless.”