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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eccles" data-source="post: 3363228" data-attributes="member: 5675">Still buried deep within the lair of the lizardfolk, we scrutinized the eggs in their most protected chamber. Learning nothing beyond the certainty that the large black egg had come from a dragon, I left the others to tend their wounds and consider the other tunnel leading out of the egg-laying chamber, and crept back up the flooded tunnel to speak with the priestess, telling her that the task was complete. Looking relieved, she returned with me to the egg chamber, where she looked around before speaking.“You have my thanks. You have that of the whole tribe. You have achieved more than I could have hoped. However, I – what is that?”She rushed over to the egg and ran her hands over it. “Dragon,” she whispered in terrified awe, looking around the chamber as though the creature might be in the room with us. Her eyes settled on the other passageway out of the egg chamber, and she pointed to it.“That was not here before. And don’t you think that it’s a little… wide for lizardmen?”We looked. She was right. The tunnel was wide and water filled, although it looked a little narrow at the top as the opening was ringed with weeds and pond-scum. Pushing these to one side, we registered how large the passageway was; almost twenty feet, and the vegetation of the walls was damaged, broken and scratched as though something truly massive had pushed its way through into this egg-laying chamber from somewhere beyond.We left. Fast..oOo.Settling down amongst the relative luxuries of the lizard-king’s throne room, we continued our discussions with the priestess. “You may stay here,” she said, “and I will promise you the safety of our lair. I will ensure your safe passage back to your human lands, and will do all I can to restrain the tribes’ baser instincts. However, I would make one more request of you. I would ask if you could speak with the leaders of your tribes, to reach an agreement – I would have a lasting peace with the human lands.”We spent a little while discussing the details, before resting – a deep and well deserved sleep..oOo.The next morning, the priestess was good to her word. A new passageway had sprung up in the night, and we were able to leave the lair without passing a single other lizardman. Our two day trek through the swamp was similarly peaceful, although we were nervous at the sight of any winged beasts we saw overhead for fear of the dragon.We reached Blackwall Keep, and saw immediately that soldiers had returned to garrison the fortress. Dozens of tents and corrales of horses ringed the keep, and over two hundred soldiers clustered around us as we approached them, caked as we were in swamp-mud, lizardman blood and the ichor of many giant spiders.As the man from the fort came down to see what was going on, I leapt onto a baggage-cart, and regaled the men with the tales of what had happened in the swamp. They were overcome with the story, thrilled by the savagery of the giant spiders, some wept openly as I spoke of Clive the ape’s terrible sacrifice in combat. They listened in rapt silence to our tale of entering the lizardman lair, where I dwelt a while on their noble sacrifice in trying to keep us out of their homes. I spoke of the similarities with the human soldiers, and my audience was caught by my descriptions of what happened. They cheered at Igmut’s strength against innumerable foes, thrilled at Endo and Malachite’s sorceries, and marvelled at Flynne’s bravery at being trapped in a room filled with the enemy. Finally, they were excited by the savagery of the huge lizard king, who I painted as a mad and savage beast, ruling his peaceful people with a warlike fist. They cheered as I spoke of the final combat, wincing at descriptions of massive blows and titanic enemies. Although I didn’t speak of our attempted deception or the possibility of their being a massive dragon in the swamp, I left my audience in awe of us, and with a respect for the nobility of the lizardman people..oOo.Later on, we spoke to the garrison commander and Allustan in private, where we told them of the possibilities for peace, the fact that the lizardmen were also affected by the plague, and that there was probably a massive black dragon somewhere in the swamp (and in all probability, had been there for some time). Although the commander fixated somewhat on the threat from the dragon, he paused to tell us that the infected soldiers in the keep’s basement had overcome their restraints, and had begun to drag healthy soldiers in with them. Within an hour, the healthy soldiers had joined the zombie-like infectees, gaining great strength, but becoming desperate to attack and savage their fellow men. With the arrival of the new garrison soldiers, the commander had taken the difficult decision to put down the menace, and had ordered the slaughter of the savage infectees in the basement. Allustan, a witness to the slaughter and the worm-menace, had come to the realisation that this threat was greater than he had first thought. However, he had reached the fullest extent of his knowledge, and suggested that we seek out Eligos, a sage and hunter of beasts who dwelt in the Free City, a day or two’s travel to the north. We set out almost immediately.</blockquote>

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