The group of eight spread out to search the jungle clearing where their prey had just been. All clues they found taunted them more than anything else. There was a small brushed aside area where camp was likely made, and had been kicked aside in a hurry from their best guess.

There were a few broken branches, footprints no one could really make out, and more absolutely nothing of value to help any of the eight.

Except one.

“I found a stick!”

Jearx dragged a hand down his face as he groaned, pulling his basilisk to a halt to turn to his hired idiot. “And how do you think this helps us?!?”

“It’s uh….um…” The orange hobgoblin looked down and away to his canine familiar offering only a head tilt in response. “Well it’s pointy so...and there’s two!”

He grabbed the other pointed stick he had found leaning against the towering tree with an outstretched branch just out of reach for anyone not sufficiently tall, holding one out in each hand in triumph to a gallery of unimpressed stares and a chorus of croaking frogs.

“IT’S THE JUNGLE!” Jearx growled through grit teeth. “THERE’S STICKS EVERYWHERE!”

The orange hobgoblin wanted to point out the points on them but wasn’t in the mood to be berated again and relented as he slumped his shoulders and slunk off to keep searching rather than let the goblin riding a lizard that shot paralytic eye beams have some even worse ideas than a brazen attack on such a big name target and her entourage that included an unknown rock monster. Better to just end this quickly and get on with the assignment.

Tikonel rolled his bright blue eyes and spurred his forest rhino to continue pacing around the perimeter in search of their quarry. “Come on, we all heard that splash. I believe I heard running water over there.”

Jearx heard a snapping branch from somewhere behind him. He turned to see a still swaying vine next to a tree and grew a wicked, toothy grin. No one else seemed to hear it, but no one else had ears like he did. With a wave of his hand, his own three confused looking companions drew closer to him while the other group of four paused their advance to the sound of water with even more visible confusion.

The goblin leader spoke in a low voice. “There, by that tree with the hanging vines. They think they can hide. Prove them wrong, and if any of them try to run I’ll have Yezat here freeze them in their tracks.” He said as he patted his basilisk on the neck. “Now, go remind me why I keep you around.”

The hobgoblin, bugbear, and goblin that questioned their ‘friendship’ and prospective business union with him each day waited until they were out of earshot to groan and grumble to themselves while investigating the noise that Jearx almost certainly imagined.

Each of them was ready with a spell in hand and a beating at the ready just to get this over with. That thicket of hanging vines just before that upturned tree with exposed roots did look like as good as any place to hide and with luck they could get through a few broken bones before lunch. Xoco was the main target, and the unknown other three would have to be collateral to send a message to Xoco’s family.

Jearx scowled as he scanned the jungle for more movement, pulled his canteen from his backpack and downed the last of his water before narrowing his eyes at the empty container. “Anyone got any more?”

“Oh now he wants to go check out the water.” Tikonel’s lizardfolk companion said with a roll of her eyes from where she was leaning against a tree, dark green and black coloration disguising her well aside from her sun blue uniform.

The jungle troll atop the forest rhino let out a loud sigh. “Citlali, be nice and get our guest some water while we keep watch with his expedition. Shout if you find anything.”

Citlali had been cursing herself since she got to Black Reef Institute for not finding a better group to run with. Her tail thrashed about behind her as she stomped off towards the sound of running water with her small raptor in tow. She could have found a nice, boring group of other rich kids to befriend and had a grand time studying magic and making boring peaceful alliances between her family’s lumber interests and others. Instead, and thanks to her lacking networking skills, she was chasing splashes with grit teeth and regret making her footsteps heavy as the remaining four eagerly watched Jearx’s companions search for the reward of his superior goblin hearing.

The lizardlass’ screams amid crashing water followed by silence drew everyone’s attention to where she had disappeared around the trees and underbrush. The four stood unmoving, staring at that spot in the forest where last they had seen her like she would return at any moment.

“Kuhri…” Tikonel called to the goliath girl at his side with the mountain lion crouched next to her. “Why don’t you go see what that was about.”

The tall girl took a wavering step as she looked to Tikonel and the other jungle troll boy named Votan at his side, failing to meet her pleading gaze right as three cries rang out from behind them to call their attention to where Jearx’s companions had gone searching at the far end of the jungle clearing.

Only to see them dragged up into the thick canopy by an apparent snare as three figures descended on ropes while using them as counterweights. The three had their weapons at the ready a moment after setting down, and only a few moments of sprinting away.

And before they could react, to the intense confusion of Tikonel who was the only one to spot the unexpected sight, a cave octopus sailed through the air above them and released a large glob of ink that was hit with a bolt of water to atomize it into an inky cloud to blind them all.

Screaming and shouting followed as the four tried to escape the ink cloud while rubbing at their eyes.

Votan heard someone dash into the cloud, swiping at them and flinging small fireballs every which way until he fell hard after taking another step to find someone had roped his ankles together. His monkey familiar scampered off, trying to gain high ground only to be carried off by an overly colorful vulture that vanished up into the treetops.

Kuhri yelped as a wayward fireball hit her gray and black striped arm as she dashed out of the ink that was finally settling only to run arm first into something very tall, very solid, and very cooling to the burn on her arm. She looked up to see the infamous elemental rock monster standing tall over her as it casually extended an arm to blast her mountain lion out of the air with a geyser of water mid-pounce.

“Surrender is recommended.” The rock monster bellowed as she hopped back, looking over to the four for backup and instead found further chaos.

Jearx’s basilisk was the first to be blinded by the blood mage’s beam of light focused squarely on it’s eyes to prevent any paralysis. The goblin was busy slinging fireballs of his own at the human and the Honey Heiress herself both sprinting at her group with their sharpened sticks at the ready. The thrashing and shrieking basilisk was doing him no favors as it stumbled about and tripped over its own legs while being blinded.

“Hey.” The sudden voice at Kuhri’s side caught the goliath girl by surprise with the sudden appearance of a drow. “I’d listen to Vidal.”

Her response was a kick that the drow blocked with a raised arm and a grunt that sent him sprawling, giving her enough time to pull Votan to his feet just before being hit square in the chest with a blast of water that sent her flying directly into Jearx to knock him from his mount and cease his fireballs. As soon as her mountain lion had recovered, a darting flash of colorful feathers was around her neck as a rainbow feathered serpent choked her out in short order.

The rock man braced as the forest rhino charged into him, only the short distance and build up time allowing him to stay on his feet as the red-furred beast tried knocking him down while bellowing its lungs out. Tikonel grinned wide enough as his forest rhino was proving enough of an obstacle already, but he couldn’t help but bare a knife-filled grin as he saw that same cursed octopus perched on the rock monster’s shoulder and the rock very preoccupied with fending off a rhino.

He readied a blast of lighting as a flying tackle from the drow knocked him out of his saddle and to the ground. The drow got the lightning blast grazing his leg to drag a scream out of him while Tikonel shoved the drow off of him and climbed to his feet. He saw Jearx lob a final fireball at the human who just barely dodged it before whacking him in the gut with the stick and following up with a storm spell to shock him off of his feet to lay next to a still wheezing, very much defeated goliath trying to regain her breath.

The Jungle Princess herself was faster though, already on him and a hair's breadth away from striking with her own stick just as his rhino forced her to retreat with a charge after the rock monster had deflected him to the side. The rhino bellowed and readied another charge as the Jungle Princess eyed both the rhino and thrashing basilisk with caution.

Which gave Tikonel an idea, as he cast a concussive blast at the blood mage to knock him down and end the basilisk’s blindness right in time with his rhino charging at the rock monster that had been distracted with carefully setting that cursed octopus in a nearby tree. Votan leapt into action against the Honey Heiress as she circled with anger in her eyes, trying to catch her off guard.

He failed miserably as she wielded the long stick like a blunted rapier to tap him on either side of the head to daze him right before a strike to the throat to put him down and gasping for air like this team had some kind of theme going on to leave his own woefully inept subordinates breathless. All as though it were nothing but a short distraction as her anger filled eyes were back on him.

“Fine.” Tikonel said as he readied another concussive blast in time with his rhino charging towards the rock monster. He wasn’t going to let the class traitor close the distance and put those legendary skills to use. That it was the perfect opportunity to send a clear message from his family to hers made it all the sweeter. “Since you have made such poor choices in companions, it’s only right of me to put you in your place. Or have you forgotten who you are, Miss Ya-”

Isak had been aiming for his stomach when he threw that spear. The human’s newest rival that he didn’t even know the name of was busy with a monologue, just waiting to engage in combat with Xoco. And though she had already proved herself quite capable in the recent fight, that was no reason to fight fair in some sense of ‘honor’. He was too far back to intervene with anything but a thrown spear, launching it with sight on his gut to knock him out. The spear sailed through the air as Isak grit his teeth and hoped that he wasn’t about to make a fool of himself and miss horribly.

Instead, he missed slightly and made a monster of himself by having the blunted end of the makeshift spear hit the jungle troll boy right in the family jewels as he fell to the ground with a pathetic squeak.

“Sorry!” Isak called out while wincing as Xoco looked on, completely bewildered. “I was aiming for the stomach I swear!”

The rhino was undeterred and collided with Vidal as the rock man struggled to stand his ground as he grappled with the mighty beast as the basilisk shrieked in rage to draw the attention of the two still standing. The monster had eyes on Isak, weapon gone and familiar currently indisposed with a rhino pushing him back into the soft forest soil. In a few long strides Xoco was striking at the monster while casting a quick Find Weakness spell to stun it before it could paralyze anyone, following up with a two handed swing right into the neck to knock it down.

Vidal gripped and grappled with the raging rhino, striking at it’s head and neck with stone fists to disorient it enough to gain time to form water jets at the base of his feet to finally push back against the beast to knock it to the side. The rhino bellowed narrowing it’s beady eyes at Isak and charging at it’s new panicking target as Vidal launched himself on water jets towards the beast to grapple with it once more, arms around its neck with water jets in his feet angling the struggling beast away from the boy and towards a large tree.

The rock man redirected the water jets, ceasing his own struggle as he aided the rage blinded rhino in an unstoppable charge right against the tree to force it into a collision to knock the beast out cold. Without delay, he stood and ran over to Tonauac to pick him up and set him on wobbling feet.

“I’m okay! I just used my own blood to heal myself, I have plenty!” As soon as his legs were working, and after steadying himself on Vidal, he ran over to Zyn to start healing his leg as Vidal trailed behind him, stopping at his mage.

“Are you well, Master Isak?”

“I’m fine...though it might be the fear or a barely averted basilisk gaze that had me tensing up…”

“My apologies, I should have dealt with the gazing beast sooner.”

“You were fighting a rhino, and Xoco handled herself just fine!”

Xoco smiled as she held out a thumbs up while helping Zyn to his feet with a scrambling Ozzy joining him. “I...may have practiced with a rapier before…”

“And it was very impressive to watch!” Isak’s smile was pure bliss as he remembered that there was still clean up to do, and fished some rope out of his bag. “Alright, who knows how to tie a good knot?”

Only Zyn raised his hand. “It is non-optional in spelunking lessons.”

The two boys set about binding the hands and feet of their attackers, still writhing and groaning in pain. Zyn looked over his shoulders each way before kicking Tikonel in the groin again just as he was recovering to force out another agonized scream.

“Zyn!” Xoco chastised him as she stormed over to him.

“What?!? He was targeting Ozzy!” The drow defended as he pet a still skittish cave octopus. Xoco’s hands were on her hips as she tapped her foot before giving Tikonel another hard kick to draw out an undignified squeak.

She crossed her arms but bore a smile. “Next time don’t leave me out.”

“Uh…” Tonauac was the only one who hadn’t joined in on this worst of team building exercises as he rubbed at the scales on his neck. “I’m sitting this one out, the man is already dead.”

“I SAID I’M SORRY!” The human threw his hands up in the air after binding the last of their attackers. “I was aiming for the stomach!”

Xoco had taken the time to walk over to him and pull him into a hug while bearing a radiant smile. “I was looking forward to that fight, but instead I will always have the memory of my Isak annihilating him and causing his eyes to try and jump out of his head as he squeaks.”

Isak’s face was red by the time he was set back down and released from the hug. He leaned against Vidal as he did his best to play things casually. “Ah well, you know. I knew you probably had that but a man can’t just stand by and-”

Hang on, what did she call him?

“-uh...um, letawarriorladystandalone hey I probably misheard but whatwasthatyoucalledme?”

Xoco’s smile vanished as realization hit her along with a rush of blood to the head to turn her a darker green. “OH! Oh you know just...a...it’s a jungle troll thing...translations...you know, translation barriers. Idioms-”

“HEY!” Zyn shouted out to the still three still dangling in the air high above the jungle floor. “I’D SET OFF THAT FLARE CHARGE IF I WERE YOU! YOU GOT FIVE MINUTES!”

The two fools looked over to where he was shouting. Nelli finally retook her place on Xoco’s shoulders after Tonauac had taken it upon himself to bind the mountain lion to give the two a moment while Patli flew down to him to reassure him that no professors were on their way yet. “We should get moving. Find a new place to make actual camp and resupply for real this time.”

“Yes!” Isak said a bit too fast as he pushed himself off of the still unmoving Vidal, still avoiding those large pink eyes that were not making it easier to form words.

“Very wise choice!” The jungle troll said as she strolled out ahead, leading the group now and definitely not trying to hide her still forest green face. Tonauac looked over his shoulder at Isak with a shrug before following the girl. “Great job everyone minimal injuries perfectly executed plan a good time was had by all!”

Zyn stood at Isak’s side while he remembered how to walk. “Still an improvement, I’m proud of you.”

Isak blinked several times before sighing and following after Xoco and Tonauac. “Thanks.”

“Master Isak.”

“Hmm?” The human looked over at the rock man still looming tall and patient.

“There is something else that requires your immediate attention, as I did not have the authority to make this decision for you.”

Isak stared at Vidal with open mouth and narrowed eyes as the rock man tested his already strained brain. “Uh…what?"

“Please follow me.” Vidal said as he turned and led the baffled group now exchanging confused glances back over to the stream.

They made their way through the underbrush as Vidal held a large frond of some plant out of the way to reveal the small camp that they had hastily abandoned. Now with the addition of a dark green and black lizardfolk girl kneeling down and shaking in sheer terror as she held out something in her palms as though offering it. The group of four readied spells and weapons followed shortly by lowering them as they realized the girl was making no effort to attack or even move at all.

“I-In b-battle, one m-must recognize a superior foe with a more r-righteous cause!” The lizardlass struggled to speak up in her soft voice to the group as the only thing keeping her from sweating out a few buckets was her lack of sweat glands. Her small raptor was also crouched down with its eyes on the ground. “I-I present to you my weapons and-”

“Are those…” Isak approached her and winced in recoil as he realized she was holding a few of her teeth in her outstretched palms. His eyes went wide. “Oh.”

“I d-didn’t have much choice of weapons to surrender!” Her voice, like the rest of her, was still shaking violently as she failed to make any eye contact. “Xoco, I present my weapons to you and humbly request that you-”

Xoco shook her head and waved her arms. “No no! I’m not in charge here!”

The lizardlass finally looked up as her mouth hung open before gritting her teeth and grimacing in embarassment before she shuffled on her knees to her next target and hung her head low once more. “Tonauac! I, Citlali, humbly request that you accept me as-”

“Of everyone here, it’s really not me that’s in charge.” Tonauac said with a nervous chuckle and glance around that belied nerves at the mere thought of such a situation.

Citlali looked up again as her pupils had narrowed to tiny little slits surrounded by green seas of panic as she muttered to herself “I am going to die.” before casting a worried look over to an amused Isak and Zyn. Her tongue flicked out as she looked back and forth between them several times.

Zyn chuckled as he fed Ozzy a small bit of dried meat. “Choose wisely! The only danger here is the shame that comes with possibly guessing our true leader dead last!”

“Do we even have a-”

“Shh!” Zyn held up a finger to silence Isak who’s eyes were now busy rolling off into the jungle. “This is a learning experience in making assumptions.”

The lizardlass gulped as she considered the grinning drow and the human burying his face in his hands before she slowly extended her offering of her ‘weapons’ out to Zyn. “...humbly request that you accept me as a wayward soul deceived-”

Zyn sighed, shaking his head and nodding towards Isak as Citlali choked on her words. Her outstretched palms almost curled in on themselves to ball into fists of anguish now that the vengeful human was absolutely going to have the rock monster tear her apart for her failed ritual surrender. Her breathing quickened as she struggled to form words again.

“Wait, how am I the leader?” Isak asked his friends with a raised brow, being only vaguely aware of the old ritual the lizardfolk girl was engaged in now. “We’re all pretty equal.”

“You’re absolutely our battle commander!” Tonauac announced with joy as he welcomed Patli back onto his wrist after the large bird had finally returned from whatever he did with that monkey familiar. “And this is a high honor, Isak. Not many occasions for surrendering forces anymore! I’m still not clear on why we even have opposing forces but I guess we can ask her that. That is if you do accept her ritual surrender.”

The human groaned, shaking his head and looking between his companions and finally at Vidal who only gave him a small nod. “Battle commander is a stretch, and beyond that how would I be-”

“You are the reason we all got to know one another, Isak. And ongoing, um…” Xoco reminded him with a smile before she caught herself on some potentially sensitive information in front of what was still technically an enemy. She rubbed at her chin as Nelli eyed her with curiosity before she found the right word. “-events related to you provide an ongoing goal for all of us!”

“But Zyn-”

“Isn’t the leader type.” The drow finished his sentence for him with a shake of his head. “Happy to provide my peerless expertise in plenty of areas, but that just makes me a trusted advisor that will never betray you. And as your very cool, incredibly attractive advisor I advise you to make a decision with Citlali here.”

Citlali’s eyes lit up as she shuffled along on her knees once again to face Isak, now that the true leader had been revealed. “H-humbly request that you accept me as a wayward soul deceived by false authority who recognizes your legitimate authority and I just wanted to learn about magic and have friends and not be torn apart by a rock monster to serve some blowhard’s ego please please please.”

All decorum and ritual fell off at the end there as the lizardlass got desperate, so it was only fair that Isak who wasn’t nearly as familiar with this ritual as the others just sighed and swiped her teeth from her hand. “Okay, sure. Let um…let there…hang on what was it...”

He chewed on his lip as he tried to remember the line he had heard ages ago in school before all three of his friends leaned over to him to whisper him the line.

“Got it.” He cleared his throat. “Let your heart never change again as you find yourself in the presence of a legitimate- look you were never going to die. I specifically told Vidal no killing. You can join us, just-”

“Thank you!” Citlali rose to her feet as she grabbed her raptor under her arm, hugging him close now for comfort as she bowed to Isak and backed up. “I know I must prove myself, and in the meantime I will know my place and not interfere with your existing ways.”

“That is not at all what I asked-”

Xoco rested a hand on the human’s shoulder as she whispered to him. “I think the poor girl is…used to things being a certain way in high society. Let her adjust at her own pace?”

Isak’s shoulders fell for a moment before he looked at their new ‘recruit’ as well as Tonauac and Zyn who shot him similar quick shrugs and frowns of not really having any better idea what to do in this situation. “Alright. Let’s get moving, still plenty of jungle to cover to our destination.”

Citlali scrambled to her feet and took her place behind all of them before setting her raptor down. She adjusted her backpack and gave a reverent nod to her new command structure which elicited a sigh from Isak. The human stared down at the teeth in his hand as he pocketed them. He turned to Tonauac as he led on.

"I know your teeth grow back but…she'll be fine, right?" He asked.

The lizardlad nodded with a smile. "Don't worry! She can see a more powerful blood mage to speed it up but the new teeth should be be ready to go in just a few days! Lizardfolk teeth grow back much faster than human teeth!'

Isak's brow pressed together as he walked and stared down his friend. "Tonauac…how fast do you think that is?"

The blood mage tapped a claw to his jaw. "About one to three weeks, depending on how much calcium you eat. Right?...no?"

The human was frowning more out of concern now than anything else as his friend continued to guess.

"Faster than that…slower? Oh gods…okay…a month?" Horror was starting to creep across his face as the rest of the group pretended not to be interested in learning the answer. "Even if you eat well? It's not similar to that of drow? There's just no way it's longer than two months, right?...you're looking at me like it is. Okay, too long. Okay, okay…guess I'll work on learning a regrowth spell…but how long is it?"

Isak looked at his friends failing to hide their curiosity as they walked along behind him through the jungle as they put more distance between themselves and their most recent skirmish. "I'll tell you when that revelation won't be a distraction."