by Brent Tyman
“It is not as hard as you think,” Zelenia said with a wave of her hand. “These beings you call Gods are nothing more than a powerful race that forced everyone around them to bend to their will. They care for nothing but power, and that is likely how they are not present in this world. They must have destroyed themselves, and the heavens in the process, long ago. Their lust for war is perhaps, even greater than yours, my consort.”
I enjoyed killing, and some might say that I loved a good war, but all I ever wanted was for my people to prosper. That goal meant that I had to kill others to achieve this.
“Interesting interesting,” Flavious murmured as he stroked his beard. I knew that he was in deep talks with other truth sayers as he tilted his head to the side.
“Is there any more insight you can give on how this world was in your time?” Flavious asked with gleaming eyes. Zelenia looked to me, and I nodded to her in encouragement.
“I remember little, but my memories return gradually, or if I see something familiar,” Zelenia said. “But the time of the heavens was a place of strife, and cruelty. These Gods used their perfect affinity for prime to wage war for the pettiest of things. It is said my race was conceived from one of their experiments to create a weapon resistant to prime magic. I am unsure how true that is, or if it was a lie to make us submit to one of the ruling powers. What I can say for certain is that we must strike these Gods down, for if they killed their own flesh for conquest, they will stop at nothing to destroy us all.”
I let out a small sigh at the news, as it seemed prosperity for my people would be met with challenge after challenge. These Gods, including Frost, were a threat I could not ignore for long.
“Thank you, my dear,” Flavious said with a nod. “If you have any more information in the future, please by all means, share it with us. You may find some of my peers accost you for more news but I will make sure you are treated with respect here.”
Zelenia nodded, and I saw that her tail wiggled behind her as she looked back to me with a smile.
“Once I am strong enough, none will be able to defy me, especially these Gods,” Zelenia said with a bit of steel in her voice.
“What can we do about Ordan though?” Eliandra said with a worried expression. “We can't leave this Frost in his head forever.”
“There are a few Dunaran rituals we could try to force it to at least lose its grip on Ordan.” Lunara suggested. My ears perked up at this news.
“How do they work?” I asked with a bit of glee in my voice. Lunara expression turned sheepish, though.
“There is no guarantee and like how we helped you with getting your power back, it is very painful,” Lunara said.
Honestly, pain was something I had experienced far too many times of late. I did not fear it as I once did. If there was even a chance of getting Frost to lose its hold on me, I will take it.
“Anything will help at this point,” I said. “Once we overcome this demon problem, we can look into it after the wedding. Deal?”
Lunara smiled and gave me a grin, more confidence reflected in her face. “Deal,” she said.
“Yes, yes,” Flavious said. “A fine idea. I suggest for now that you acquiesce to its demands for now. Once we have a greater understanding of its intent, we can formulate a more refined solution to this problem.”
“I’m so sorry master, I did not know that you were suffering so much,” Tessa said from behind me. I gave her a smile and shared a kiss with her.
“Us too, Ordan. We know you can beat this,” Lunara said, and Eliandra also gave me a smile.
I nodded at this and let out a sigh of relief. It felt good to let everyone know the truth finally, and we gained some good knowledge from Zelenia too. Her confidence that we could beat this God and others like it was reassuring to me. If we could destroy Gods, who else could oppose us? That thought made me grin to myself.
Once the meeting had concluded, I headed for a much-needed sleep. Zelenia accosted me and suggested that we head back to her room. She insisted that it took a lot of seed to breed a Colalask and we would need to start now and every night until the battle, just to be sure.
While the rest of the women bid me farewell, whispering to each other as they left, I sighed as I followed Zelenia.
It seemed like I would not be getting any sleep today.
And possibly none in the following week.
Chapter 18
I stared at the lizardmen camp and tilted my head to the side as I examined its features. Somehow, despite the fact that they were here to flee from the demons that infested their lands, they still built their architecture to be pretty.
Most of the camp was not all tents as I imagined, but small dirt hovels that had intricate designs etched into the mud. They were not symbols but seemed to resemble patterns of different scales you would see on any lizard-like animal.
Steam billowed out from certain hovels and there was a sense of liveliness to the place, despite their grim circumstances.
I had brought all my women with me as I waited for the trio to give the all clear to enter the camp. Since I was a king, and these were unknown lizardmen, they would check to make sure there weren’t any threats to me. I didn’t really care about these sorts of formalities as I doubted any of these lizardmen wanted to kill me. But it seemed they got these orders from either Eklis or Flavious before I arrived. I had yet to see the trio, and their own guards insisted I wait.
“Quite a cozy camp they have,” Lunara said as he tapped a foot in front of her.
“Indeed, it looks nice. I hope that some of these refugees agree to join us,” Eliandra said.
“Do you need any water Zelenia, I can have someone fetch it for you?” Tessa asked the Zegari next to me.
“No, I do not require water, but this dress is tight on my chest,” Zelenia complained.
Zelenia now wore much more suitable attire for battle. Armored boots and a leather top with a small cape. It really did looked tight on her, and it reminded me that I had seen what was under those clothes only a few hours ago. Her tail now hang freely from behind her. I was pretty sure the clothes she wore would cease to be if she morphed into her true form, so one of my women likely had packed some spares.
Tessa had also chosen to wear an outfit that was more defensive. She had some plate mail on her lower half that would offer some serious protection, but her upper half had her midriff exposed that was just like her slave attire. She was a feast for the eyes, and I was just glad she would join us at all. Perhaps her shadow ability would perform well in combat, if the battle required her participation. She was supposed to be a ranger, but I was unsure if she had kept up her skills. We would see.
That she wanted to fight at all surprised me, but the looming threat of demons must have spurred her on to act.
Finally, after a few moments, I saw the trio emerge from the camp and wave us over. I nodded to my women and set off towards them. The smell of manure wafted into my nostrils as I neared. It seemed not everything was as cozy as it appeared.
“Ordan!” Lyan shouted as he enveloped me in a hug. “I heard about those Vulenchians, good on you for sticking it to them.”
I laughed as I squeezed back just as tightly. “It's good to see you once again,” I said.
Dryan appeared in my vision as I pulled away and struck me with an even more crushing hug. His armor creaked as it scraped along my own.
“Another battle we can finally fight side by side, Ordan,” Dryan said, no doubt with a grin on his face next to me. “Just like old times.”
“Like the old days,” I agreed.
Utalis, as ever, gave me a silent hug but kept a genuine smile on his face the whole time. I wish he would speak up more, but he was stubborn.
“How have the others been Utalis?” I asked, and he gave me a shrug.
“Drunk and reckless, as always,” Utalis said as he smacked Lyan on the side.
“Hey, drunk is way better. Dryan spends more time having his slaves defy him than
leading the troops,” Lyan said with a grin directed at Dryan.
“Fuck off with that. She was upset I gave her no food when she… nevermind,” Dryan said as he looked away. His grin slipped into a frown.
“Ha, I can guess exactly what happened!” Lyan said with a shout.
“These friends of yours are loud, my consort,” Zelenia said with a sniff. “Except for the bald one. He speaks in a much more quiet tone.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot that Ordan got himself another woman!” Lyan said as he looked Zelenia over. “A real beauty too, with a tail.”
Lyan then looked at me and winked knowingly. “How does the tail feel on your...” Lyan said but was interrupted by another smack from Utalis.
Lunara and Eliandra laughed at the display, while Tessa rolled her eyes. She had gotten used to the trio’s antics over the years and had gained an immunity to it somehow.
“All right, lets get down to business. Once we talk to these lizardmen, we have a long week of marching to do,” I said. The trio nodded as they walked with me and my women to the camp.
“So they don’t really have a leader,” Dryan said as he waved his arm over the camp. “Just some lizardman they appointed to handle any problems. Apparently shit is bad up north and these lot were the first to run away from it all.”
“Do they even have any weapons?” I asked, and Dryan shrugged.
“Who knows, I’ve seen someone with a sword, maybe a few bows, but that’s it,” Dryan said.
“They don’t have any drink, not sure how they got this far on sober stomachs,” Lyan said with a burp. “If they have stomachs.”
I reached the edge of the camp and saw that a group of lizardmen waited for us. One was particularity taller than the rest and sported some strange ink on his scales. It stretched across his shoulder blades and the pattern was unfamiliar with me.
The lizardmen seemed formidable, however. All of them sported sharp claws, long snouts and tough scales. None of them had any plate armor though, like the one I had fought before, but I knew they would be far harder to defeat compared to a regular human.
They all seemed to have different colored scales, where the most prevalent lizardmen I saw in the camp was either green, blue or red. Most of them were green or blue, but that taller one that stared right at me was red. I wondered if the colors meant anything in their culture.
“Welcome to our camp, human king,” the red lizardman said as he dipped his head. “You have come to have us fight for you?” His voice came out with a small hiss after each word, but it was easy enough to understand him.
I glanced at Dryan, and he shook his head. It seemed they had not talked to the lizardmen yet about our intentions.
“Yes, that a good guess,” I said as I dipped my head in turn.
“Ha, it is easy to see your intensions from here. You have gathered a vast army and would have attacked us already if you planned to harm us,” the lizardman said.
“I am Slithertick. A warrior, farmer and now refugee. Five hundred of us will join your cause, including me,” the lizardman said, and I blinked in response. Surely it could not be that easy?
“Why did you abandon your homes? I hear that the fighting is still fresh in the north?” Eliandra asked, and the red lizardman shrugged.
“It is a fight that none can predict,” Slithertick said. “My brethren are strong, but these demon scum have foul sorcery at their disposal, as well as their own strength. I am convinced we will lose in the end, hence why we fled. The cities are all along the south of the empire, so we were safe for the time being here, but news of this demon army that approaches us is troubling.”
“Then why not run to the east, or west,” I said as I crossed my arms. “Why so eager to fight with me when you could sit here and wait for news of my triumph or failure.”
Slithertick hissed, almost the same way that Zelenia does sometimes, and while the surrounding guards became a tad jumpy. I simply smiled.
“Because we cannot run. We do not truly wish to leave the empire, and our flight was more out of fear than anything else. Dark elves have no love for us, and we will never abandon our faith for the Vulenchians. This only leaves Fulgrem, and we wish to live only a fair distance from the border.”
The red lizard pointed deeper into the camp and snapped his jaws in frustration.
“My moon and young ones are all here. If you fail, they will all die,” Slithertick said with a bit of heat in his voice. “This is unacceptable. We would be fools to leave our fate to humans alone, so if we join you, there will be a greater chance of victory. Promise us entry into Fulgrem, and we will fight. These are our terms.”
It amused me that these lizardmen thought we were human but explaining our origins would be wasted effort for now.
I really had no issue with these lizardmen. If they fought for me, then I had no qualms with letting them into Fulgrem. I had previously declared that those who would join our army would be allowed through, but I had heard that none had taken up that offer. It seemed they had a strong sense of community and they wanted to stick together no matter what. That told me everything I wanted to know.
“I accept,” I said as formally as I could. “Obey me as you would your superiors and I will allow the rest of your camp entry into Fulgrem, with no restrictions on where you settle.”
Slithertick’s shoulders slumped down slowly in relief, but I could tell from the gleam in his eyes that he wanted something else.
“We wish for the camp to be granted entry now,” Slithertick said, and I shrugged. Now and later, it mattered little to me, as long as those who would fight came with me immediately.
“Fine, gather all those who would fight and assemble in the area behind me. We leave in the next hour,” I said as I turned and walked out the camp.
“Utalis, I want you to have some Tier Two’s leads organize the camp for their crossing into Fulgrem. The last thing I want is for them to get ambushed by bandits or troublemakers, so make sure they are well protected,” I said. He nodded as he moved off to perform my wishes.
“That was nicely done Ordan, as a true king would,” Lunara said with a smile.
“Yes, we gained an ally and some lizardmen troops. This will spell good things for us in our future relations with the Korodo empire,” Eliandra said.
“It was nothing really, they were already willing to agree as they were,” I said.
“True, but you were under obligation to help them. You could have easily let the demons kill them all,” Eliandra said as she gave my arm a long stroke.
“Master do you think these lizards will truly be of help?” Tessa asked, her eyes on the camp behind us. “They do not seem the warriors your people are.”
I looked back and saw that most of the lizardmen in the camp seemed to be peasants more than anything else.
“We are stronger together, my lovely Tessa. The bigger our army, the greater the chance of success,” I said.
Tessa suddenly vanished from her position and I saw a whiff of black smoke before arms wrapped around me. I could hear her take a soft breath that tickled my ears.
“Hmm, I love the kingly side of you. Would you like to…” Tessa said, letting her words hang in the air.
I laughed hard. Tessa loved to be openly intimate with me, perhaps more than the others. It was one of the things I loved most about her.
“Haha, we should get preparations for the march underway first,” I said. Tessa removed her arms and stood with her hands on her hips.
“It's not fair, Zelenia is supposed to get you all week before the battle. I need my master too,” Tessa said with a pout.
“My consort must spend his nights with me, it is of the utmost importance,” Zelenia said. Her expression softened the longer she stared at Tessa’s pout.
“Perhaps we could cut some time for others if you would like to join us,” Zelenia said and Tessa gave her a wide smile.
“Lets discuss,” Tessa said, and the two made off, where I could only hear the trails
of whispers after them.
They really had become closer than I ever imagined. I wonder if they would…
I shook my head as I cleared my thoughts. There would be time enough for that later.
While I waited for my army to prepare itself, I watched Zelenia’s children scamper out of a nearby portal. The surrounding land was flat so I could see the small portal in the distance where a sea of black slowly grew and grew in the horizon. We kept the creatures away from the lizardmen camp initially, as I didn't want them to question us about it until we had reached a deal with them.
After some time had passed, everyone was finally ready to march. My men were still uneasy about Zelenia’s creatures, as were the lizardmen in fact, but they would fall in line.
One thing I noticed was that I could not see Reska anywhere. There were others of his kind, the Terlasks, as Zelenia called them, but he was strangely absent.
“Where is Reska?” I asked Zelenia, who was in deep conversation with Tessa. She turned to me and waved a hand.
“He is coordinating the efforts for incubating the Colalask,” Zelenia said. “Around a thousand of my children have been sacrificed already, the rest will follow suit tomorrow. The Colalask requires strict guard and supervision, so I can only trust this to Reska alone. I implanted him with the knowledge required earlier.”
The more I heard about this Colalask, the more I wanted to see what it would look like. Zelenia seemed keen to hide much of its details, other than that it was powerful. As long as it was on our side, I would trust that she knew what she was doing.
The march began not long after, once the lizardmen were ready. There were around five hundred of them, as this Slithertick promised. What surprised me was that the lot of them wore full plate armor and sported large metal spears. It was more of a small army than a band of refugees. Strange.
I allowed Slithertick beside me on the trek, as I had a few questions for the lizardman. He also wore plate armor like the rest of his kin, and I could hear his boots crunch into the earth as we walked.
“An impressive army you have, human,” Slithertick began as he looked behind us. “Even the empire does not have many soldiers this well equipped. You are the tallest humans I have ever encountered in my years as a warrior.”