Zenberu was a lot of things, but easily surprised wasn’t among them. But when the guards atop the wall shouted that there was a monster coming… and it was carrying two lizardmen, he was very much surprised.

“Open the gate, I’ll go out and speak with them.” Zenberu barked the order and the little wooden gate made a loud creaking noise as the entrance split open and out he came.

As the largest of the Dragon Tusk tribe, he was also the strongest, and their greatest warrior. It was because he had the confidence of the strong that he thought nothing about swaggering outside the security of the gate to speak to their unexpected visitors.

He waited, open handed and open armed, as the hydra and its riders came closer.

“I am Zenberu Gugu of the Dragon Tusk Tribe, who are you and why are you here?” It was a blunt question from a blunt Chief, it set the tone that Zaryusu favored abundantly.

He hopped down from Rororo, then reaching up with one hand, he helped Crusch down so lightly that her feet made no sound when they hit a puddle on the ground.

“I am Zaryusu Shasha of the Green Claw Tribe,” he said and reaching over his shoulder, he removed Frost Pain and held it overhead, “bearer of Frost Pain.” He then replaced the weapon a moment later after ensuring that the others heard and saw him, not just Zenberu Gugu. “This,” he put a hand on her back, “is Crusch Lulu of the Red Eye Tribe. We come with important news that affects all lizardmen.”

This had the desired effect, he saw the way some tensed, fearing an alliance of tribes was ready to turn on them. Zenberu however, proved his mettle, he did not tense, nor flinch, nor did he show any hint of concern about the possibility.

“What is this news?” Zenberu asked and crossed his arms in front of his broad and powerful chest.

“Frogmen, the frogmen have mustered… how many?” Zaryusu asked, looking down at Crusch Lulu.

“Too many. We can’t beat them alone, none of us can. We need to join together, I’ve seen their numbers, they are far more than we can hope to fight.” Crusch said and bent forward with a slight bow of her head, her hands pointed toward the ground, “they want to kill us all. All lizardmen, all our old, our young, everyone.”

“The frogmen?” Zenberu looked over his shoulder, not thinking of the village at his back but rather at the distant frogmen, “They’ve been fighting the Baharuth Empire for years. Why would they come against us? How would they send so many against us? Humans may not be stronger than us man to man but they have good weapons, good armor, and there are a lot of them.”

It was then that Zaryusu took note of the mark of the traveler on the bare scarred chest of the deep green scaled chief. Clad in only the usual long brown loincloth and a necklace with monster teeth to show his status, the figure himself was so impressive it was easy to overlook the mark. But there it was.

“You traveled to Baharuth, didn’t you?” Zaryusu asked.

“Before my time as Chief, yes. The Empire always kept many thousands on the outskirts of the frogmen’s territory and they fought often. The frogmen are fierce but they don’t do well away from the lake or the swamp for long. They raided a lot of villages, but that is all.” Zenberu’s words were more thoughtful than Zaryusu at first expected out of the mountain of a lizardman.

‘But that is a Traveller for you. He thinks, he doesn’t just fight. He is more than a brute.’ Zaryusu mentally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Your woman?” He asked, pointing at Crusch Lulu, “Has an unusual look, not a warrior look…”

“I am a druid, but I have fought, I killed the frogman leader’s brother before our village escaped.” Crusch blushed a little at the assumption that she was bound to Zaryusu, but didn’t deny it.

“I see… and how many… how many exactly did you see?” Zenberu demanded.

“At least twenty entire prewar villages worth. And that is only what I saw. The frogmen can hide beneath the water, so there might have been more. They’re led by a female named Heketi, she is very, very large.”

Zenberu sucked in air at the scale she named. “That is many… but what do you plan to do?”

“Gather all the tribes together to fight them. And if we can’t fight, to gather us all together to flee, we can survive outside of the lake and the swamp, they can’t.” Crusch Lulu pointed out.

“My brother rules the Green Claw Tribe, he plans on raiding the frogmen, finding out what’s driving them. If there’s a threat behind them, perhaps we could unite, but if not, at least we will learn something. How many they have, how they will fight, where they will go… but no matter what we learn, we must all work together.” Zaryusu replied.

“You’re asking a lot from us…” Zenberu said and waved one massive arm back toward the village, “The survivors of two defeated tribes joined with us, and they have not forgotten Green Claw.”

“They’ll remember nothing when they’re dead.” Zaryusu said with cold calculation.

“Yes… perhaps you’re right, but this is Dragon Tusk, if you want us to work with you, then you must prove your strength.” Zenberu brought his massive right arm up in front of himself and made a fist.

“Fight me. Fight me and I will work with you.” Zenberu demanded.

Shasuryu Shasha jogged through the pathless forest, at his back were seven of his own volunteers who had offered to risk themselves on a mission which he would not pass to his brother. ‘Zaryusu…’ He thought, ‘Forgive me for not waiting on you, but I knew you’d want to do this yourself, and I don’t want to risk you again.’

It was hypocritical and he knew it. He brushed aside a branch ignoring the droplets of water that washed over his scales. He and those with him were all blending into the foliage, the surrounding bushes and trees were their best hope for hiding themselves as the frogmen naturally preferred to stay by the water’s edge.

It was a circuitous route to say the least, and exhausting. “Here.” He said when the sun began its decline in the sky and shadows began to deepen even within the already shrouded forest.

Strong limbs and strong claws dug into bark, and up the trees they went, limb over limb until they found thick branches and thick brush to hide themselves.

The sense of smell of the frogmen was a mild concern, but as the wind caressed Shasuryu’s face, much of that concern melted. ‘Assuming the female spoke the truth, then we’re downwind from any frogmen, a few hours sleep, that’s all we need and we should reach whatever is left of the Red Eye Tribal village.’ He shifted with discomfort even after wrapping his tail around the trunk of the tree that he set at his back.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest and lowered his head after closing his eyes. ‘Is she telling the truth? I want to believe it’s all a lie, I want to believe the threat isn’t as great as they say… but they came all together, and that makes it hard to doubt.’ He began to force his breathing to slow down, worry would keep sleep at bay, a racing heart was a tense one. ‘Steady, you’ll know tomorrow.’

That was a somewhat comforting thought, ‘Catch them early, kidnap one and buy time for the rest of our people to rally.’ It was foolish, it was bold, it was dangerous, ‘It’s exactly what we need… and if it’s true, then two chiefs’ words are better than one…’

Shasuryu yawned, baring sharp teeth to the dark shadows, the noises of the forest continued as they always had, a quiet rhythm of chaos, the occasional roar, the scream of bats emerging from some hidden cave out of view, the cries of a dying beast thrashing around in mud or water and the crunch of bones under the assault of terrible teeth.

None of it disturbed the natives of the great lake, it was just as it had always been, life and death, wakefulness and slumber, both… all, existed side by side and always had. The only thing to disturb him at all, was the prospect that the tribe itself might end.

‘To lose one… even a brother, is acceptable… as long as we don’t lose it all. If we lose it all… then what’s the point?’ He wondered, yawned, and finally fell into a longed for dreamless sleep.