Chapter 4

The smells, the sounds, the creatures! The jungle was truly wondrous. Luc grinned like a child as he gazed upon the vines and palms around him. He watched as birds flew from tree to tree. Small rodents crept beneath the brush and engaged in various activities.

Luc was lost in the beauty of the land around him. It was amazing, even as he traveled at night. He was almost regretful knowing what he had to do.

The Lizardmen are powerful and stealthy warriors. Almost like reptilian wood elves, these creatures took to the jungles. Their mighty Stegadons and deadly Carnosaurs would cause almost any enemy to flee in terror. The Slann-mages were also mighty; their magical energies might even be the strongest in the entire world.

It would be unnecessary to face those powerful beasts anyway; even a mere skink, the scouts of the Lizardmen, would do. Finding a dead body would be the most effective but was risky.

Luc didn't have time to continue thinking as the heard a rustle in the brush. He looked around him and saw nothing. Drawing his sword, he slashed a fern to pieces but found nothing. Pain stung at Luc's back in a mere moment and he fell to the ground as the poison began to take effect. "Camouflage...chameleons? Ingenious..." he said before he passed out.

Strange chanting seemed to surround Luc as he awoke. His limbs were bound and his armor had been stripped off leaving only his loincloth. He looked around and noticed forests in the distance. The surface he seemed to be on was made of granite, with strange pits nearby. There was also a stone building to his right. Was this a temple?

The chanting grew louder and marching filled the area. Luc turned to notice a group of warriors appearing, led by a Skink Priest. The lizard wore a blue robe and carried a staff and blade made of obsidian. He was the one chanting.

Saurus warriors, their red skin shields blazing, their spears raised, encircled Luc as the ritual continued. Luc's skin began to burn as the sun's glare was on him. Either way he was doomed. At a loud cry, the Saurus stepped aside to allow the priest to get near to Luc. He began a strange dialect which Luc could not understand. The Saurus sniggered as the Priest dropped his staff and gripped his sword with both hands over Luc's heart.

Luc struggled wildly against his bonds, but in the sun's light his strength seemed drained. The Priest stabbed his blade into Luc and continued his chant. Luc began to feel pain. Was it all over? Had he failed? Was this truly the end? His blood flowed into the pits around him. The Priest climbed onto a pedestal and cried out in a wild primal roar. Luc tried to keep watching, but his eyes began to close...

"Did he survive?" Luc awoke to the sound of human voices. Around him lay the bodies of countless slain Lizardmen. He looked rose to his feet clutching his bloody chest and turned to see his saviors. There was a force of about fifty men, but Luc noticed that about that number lay dead or wounded as well. The men seemed to be loading golden artifacts into carts.

"Where did you get those?" Luc asked one of the men. The man pointed and Luc turned his eyes. An enormous granite ziggurat arose from the jungle floor. "That must have been where I was before I awoke." He said.

"Yes, it was a desperate battle to save your life," came a female voice. A young woman walked over to Luc. She was not powerful looking or particularly attractive, but something about her seemed to arose fear within the men. "I am Wyla, a healer employed to heal the wounds of these fools." She motioned to the plunderers. "Hurry up!" She yelled at them. "We need to get these to Tilea by next month!" The men raced faster to transport the goods into the carts and began to give the horses pulling them buckets of water.

"I am Sir Luc of Bretonnia," Luc replied to her. "I have a mission myself. Would there happen to be a Lizarman I could skin?"

Wyla laughed. "A deadly man, eh?" She motioned to the bodies scattered around them. "Take your pick, none of them matter to us."

Luc bent down and proceeded to skin one of the dead Saurus with a dagger he found on the ground. He picked up the skin and draped it over his shoulders. Then he came to a terrible realization. "Would you have happened to have seen an elven shield and a Khemri bone? Or possibly a sword and some armor?" Wyla looked at him without confusion. She moved over to a small chest and kicked it open, spilling the contents.

"I assume these items are yours. Take them." Wyla said sternly. Luc walked over and proceeded to don his armor and sling his sword through its belt. He slung the shield and skin across his back and put the bone through a loop in the belt.

"I must be off," Luc said turning away from Wyla and the treasure hunters. But as he tried to move, he seemed stuck. A loud cackling was heard above everything else.

"Foolish Undead scoundrel you shall accompany us!" Wyla cried. Luc noticed his legs were bound by a strange pair of blue shackles. "Try all you like, you can't break through my shackles!" Luc drew his sword.

"What is the meaning of this? I have dealt you no harm!" Luc growled. Wyla merely continued to cackle.

"We are mercenaries and one of our clients will pay very highly for a live vampire specimen," she replied.

"So, you only saved me to sell me?" He said in rage.

"Yes," Wyla replied. "It seems like such a waste of a good warrior, but money rules the world." Two of the mercenaries walked over and drew their swords while another approached and pried the weapon from Luc's hands. He was bound by more magical threads and carried over to one of the carts. "Now, to Tilea!"

End of Chapter 4