As Kae’lo turned and walked down the hall towards the stairs that descended to the dining area, Brandus followed, “Kae’lo, normally I’m not one to pry into another’s business, but since this is going to involve me risking myself with a particularly dangerous group of people that I’ve never met before… I don’t suppose there is something more to this than you’ve told me?”

Kae’lo paused and looked over his shoulder at the top of the stairs and sighed, “…I suppose you’re right. I don’t talk much about this. Once we’re in the wagon and on our way- away from prying ears- I’ll tell you more about it. Will that suffice?”

Brandus frowned at troubled expression on his friend’s face, “Yes, of course.”

Neither Brandus nor Kae’lo made much of an attempt at conversation while they walked through the dining hall, out the side door, and to the stables. A sense of sober thought hung in the air while they hitched the team of horses to the open wagon and drove it through the city and out the gates.

It wasn’t until Kae’lo had driven several hundred yards from town that he gave a frustrated grunt and launched into his tale, “It all occurred long before you met me, at least 20 years before I met Rastera, even. I was a young dwarf who had just left the dwarfen city and taken to the road for the first time. I had barely begun to learn the dangers of the open road and the world outside of the northern mountains…”

---

-45 Years Earlier-

The young dwarf, Kae’lo, had finally set out a month ago. His family and friends had bid him farewell, and he’d departed. Like many young dwarfs he had saved for quite a while prior being able to afford, to his best estimate, a trip into the world to test his fortunes.

He’d spent several years hauling merchandise around the city for merchants, both local traders and foreign ones

He worked his way southwest out of the mountains and foothills. There he found himself confronted by the swampy jungles that covered vast amounts of land. Not a hospitable or pleasant climate for a dwarf, but one that he’d determined to traverse in order to shave a few weeks off of his journey towards the nearest human settlements. Circumventing the jungles was possible with travel to the south or east, but Kae’lo was eager to begin practicing his trade skills.

The jungles grew lush where the heavy runoff and the rivers of his mountain homeland met the arid airs of the eastern deserts and the fertile soils of the western plains. Dense foliage covered the ground as far as eyes could see. Miles of jungle that Kae’lo had the “pleasure” of viewing as often not while traversing the side of the nearest mountain. All the while he had tried to ignore the building displeasure at the thought of the sticky air, standing water, and rotting foliage… and bugs. Kae’lo hated bugs, especially large ones.

So there he stood, scowling at the first pool that he would have to wade, chest high to a dwarf and about waist high to a man. It was covered in green algae and, as he repeatedly muttered to himself, “…like to contain all manner of poisonous snakes and bugs.”

A sibilant chuckle reached Kae’lo’s ears from further down the shore. “Sir dwarf, glaring at the pool like that most likely won’t cause the algae and snakes to part way before your wrath- nor will it help you progress to dryer land and further shores.”

He looked up, startled, and looked down the shore. Kae’lo flushed and turned red. There lay a reptilian creature lounging on a branch out over the water in a patch of sunshine. A Caldorean- Kae’lo had heard of them: vicious, venomous, and as like to fight you to the death as to ignore you and pass by silently. He was surprised that this one was this far north as they tended to be creatures of the plains. He glared at the creature. “Shut your mouth, snake-eyes, or I’ll come over there and shut it for you.”

The scaled creature swung his legs off the log and sat up. Bristling spines shivered and mud flaked of into the pool causing small ripples. A pale tongue darted out over his smiling lips. “Oooh. Now that is scary. A dwarf that is scared of a bit of pond scum is going to teach me a lesson.”

The Caldorean nimbly jumped up on the log with both feet and beckoned with one hand, “Come on, now. Come and instruct me on the finer points of manners.”

Kae’lo growled and dropped his pack on the ground with a thud, walked around the shore to the base of the tree, pulled his gloves on tighter and took a step out onto the log. No fork-tongued over-grown swamp lizard was going to make a fool of him. He took another two steps out onto the log, which was significantly farther over the water than he had originally thought. Another two steps and he’d be able to reach out and throttle the scaled heckler. Venom or no, when his hands wrapped around that scaly neck, he’d not let go.

Unfortunately for him, young dwarfs are known for their stoutness… not their balance. With a tremendous shout and a splash Kae’lo tumbled from the slick log and splashed into the water below.

The Caldorean thought this was hilarious as the soggy dwarf unceremoniously floundered while trying to regain his feet and then struggled through the water to shore.

As Kae’lo reached the shore, red-faced, gasping for breath, and livid, he glared at the creature and considered the log in front of him. Veins stood out along his forehead and bits of algae and other weeds hung from his jerkin.

The Caldorean smirked contentedly and crouched down on the log. He smiled lazily, “So much for the manner lesson, oh most diminutive one.”

This last insult was too much for Kae’lo to take, with a roar he charged the log again, wrapped his arms around the based and heaved. The Caldorean thought this was impossible and started to smirk, until a popping sound indicated that the tree wasn’t as determined as the dwarf. His eyes shot wide open in alarm.

With a final heave and tremendous splash, the tree came lose and dropped the Caldorean, tree, and all into the water. Kae’lo gave a grunt of satisfaction and turned to walk back to his pack. He had taken three steps when he realized there was no sound of splashing or movement in the water. He stopped and considered the situation.

The water was cleared of scum where the tree had landed, but there was no sign of the Caldorean. Kae’lo sighed and quickly stripped off his leather jerkin. Irritating or not, he would not let some poor creature drown because of an exchange of words and insults.

Kae’lo wasn’t good at swimming, as made evident through his previous display, but thankfully the water wasn’t deep. He waded in as close as he could near the downed tree so he would have a guide and handhold in case he slipped and worked his way out feeling with his feet as he went.

Over a minute had passed when Kae’lo’s feet found the scaly skin of the Caldorean. As close as Kae’lo could tell it seemed the creature had been knocked senseless by a branch and was pinned in the muck under the log. Thankfully, there didn’t appear to be any blood in the water- Kae’lo didn’t know what kind of fish inhabited these waters, but there were several varieties in the mountains that ate live meat and were attracted to blood.

Kae’lo gave an experimental tug on the log but felt himself sinking into the muck at the bottom rather than moving the log at all. After considering the problem for a moment he broke off a few nearby branches and shoved them into the mud under his feet. It wasn’t the best footing, but it increased the rigidity of the muck a bit. He just hoped it would be enough.

Taking a deep breath, Kae’lo ducked under the water and grabbed the lowest branches he could find. Then he heaved with all his might. For a moment, it seemed like it wouldn’t be enough. He sank in the muck up to his shins and the log barely moved at all. However what anger had managed on the shore, buoyancy managed in the water. Slowly, the log began to roll over. Kae’lo hadn’t counted on the broken limbs on the other side of the log though, and as the weight accelerated the log’s roll, the mud prohibited him from moving out of the way of the sharp points. He gasped in agony as one of them dug through the flesh on his chest, blood immediately clouded the water around him. Air was now in short supply as he felt around his feet with his hands in the water. Grasping the Caldorean, who had thankfully not floated far from his original spot, he pulled him free from the muck and lunged towards the air on the surface.

Kae’lo was weak from blood loss now, and was afraid that his grasp on the slick scales of the Caldorean wouldn’t be sufficient to save both of them as he struggled toward the shore while holding the other’s head above water.

He was almost to the shore when he suddenly felt a lancing pain in his right leg. He roared through the pain and with his last bit of adrenaline-sourced strength heaved the Caldorean and himself into a pile on the shore.

As he lay on the sand gasping for breath, with his vision slowly fading into a gray fog, he realized that he seemed to be losing blood- a lot of blood. With that, he passed out, all the while wondering if it had been worth it.

He woke after it was dark outside. Judging from the smell and his surroundings, they were near the swamp still. Apparently, an as yet unknown benefactor had managed to build a fire with the wet wood of this place. From the feel of it, bandages had also been wrapped across his chest and leg. He had no recollection of how long he’d been unconscious. He tried to move his arms and legs, but found that they were unusually heavy. He grunted and winced at the throbbing pain that the effort induced and relaxed back to the ground again. It was then he realized that he was laying on the bedroll from his pack and not the hard ground.

A slight noise from the direction of the firelight prompted Kae’lo to turn his head. Thankfully, that was far easier and less painful. His deductions were correct about his surroundings; a small fire burned a short distance away. Across the flames, on a nearby rock, the Caldorean sat. An unreadable expression was spread on his face. The dwarf and Caldorean held eye contact for an awkward few moments. Now that the creature was no longer covered in mud, Kae’lo noticed that he had white scales, was muscular- but in a very lean way, and had orange colored eyes tinged with flecks of pink.

Kae’lo snorted and decided that ignoring him would be best. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. Apparently the Caldorean decided that it was prudent as well, as Kae’lo heard the sounds of relaxed breathing over the quiet crackling of the fire after several minutes.

The next morning Kae’lo was able to move again, though not without quite a bit of pain. The Caldorean was still around, but silently went about his business, occasionally vanishing into the woods for a period of time prior to returning and continuing his packing. Kae’lo stayed alert just in case, though he was fairly certain that he wasn’t in any danger. By the time that he had managed to get his pack into some semblance of order, kick dirt over the fire, and gather his mental fortitude for a day of injured limping through the wet jungle, the Caldorean had been gone into the woods with all his gear for at least two bells. Kae’lo figured that the creature had finally moved on and hobbled to the shore to consider the best place to wade across the water. He had decided on his path and was about to take a step into the water when he heard a frustrated growl behind him.

Kae’lo turned around to find that the Caldorean was standing in the camp site looking at him. “What do you want, snake-eyes?”

The Caldorean hesitated, shook his head in frustration, and finally spoke, “You can’t go into the water with your leg like that.”

Kae’lo raised a skeptical eyebrow, “My leg doesn’t appear to be that bad, not with the bandages that you applied to it.” His leg was sore, sure, but it didn’t appear to be bleeding and it definitely held his weight.

The Caldorean rolled his eyes and sighed, “Sit down and I’ll show you what I mean.”

Kae’lo hesitated only for a moment prior to sitting down on the rock where the creature had indicated.

The creature dropped to a crouch in front of Kae’lo and lifted the leg of his trousers over the bandaged calf. He swiftly unwrapped the bandage and set it aside. He swung his pack over his shoulder and set it on the ground, drew out a roll of clean bandages and tore off an adequate amount. He carefully wrapped Kae’lo’s leg again and tied the bandage off. He then turned and walked to water’s edge, “Watch.”

He flung the balled up bandage over the water a few feet from the shore. To Kae’lo’s surprise, the water suddenly started thrashing violently and hundreds of little fish launched themselves out of the water and latched on to the bandage. The Caldorean leaned out over the water and plucked one of the fish off the rapidly shrinking ball of cotton. He brought it over to Kae’lo.

Kae’lo looked at it closely. The little thing was mostly large sharp teeth. It also didn’t appear to like Kae’lo much, as it kept arching towards him and snapping its teeth. Strangely, it appeared to leave the Caldorean alone.

“These are sck’ro. In your tongue that means ‘tag fish’. A brood mother bit your leg and injected her scent into you. These are her spawn. Once you have been tagged by their mother, they eat you. You cannot wade in these waters, at least not for a few days. If you do, you will die very quickly.” He tossed the little fish back into the water, and wiped his hands on the tunic he had donned that morning. With a blank expression, he sat down in front of Kae’lo on the ground.

Kae’lo looked at him and grunted, “Huh. Thanks, I guess. It looks like I’ll have to go around the swamp to the south after all.” He gave a wry frown, “Oh well, it is in that way fortune decides the paths we trod, I suppose.”

With that, he lifted his pack and axe from where it sat next to him, and trudged into the forest. The Caldorean watched him go. For a few minutes he didn’t move from where he sat, and then he smirked, stood, and followed silently behind the noisy dwarf.