Lucy II

The Lizardmen lead Lucy through the jungle. While there was no discernible path, at least to her, they apparently were leading Lucy deliberately. They mostly moved through the trees, leaving Lucy to go through the ground. Occasionally, they would come to a river, but conveniently placed rocks allowed the blonde to hop across it. As they moved, Lucy would look up, and see what she originally thought were mountains peaking over the tree line. But then they broke out of the trees, and it was like Lucy had stepped into a different world.

Lucy was awed at the city that was now before her. Much of it consisted of great towering pyramids that stepped up to some kind of shrine at the top. The streets between them were filled with small buildings. Moving about these buildings were more of the thin lizards, but Lucy was offset by the massive, ten foot tall reptilians, who looked less like lizards and more like crocodiles, apparently being guided by the smaller lizards. Also mingling about, were lizards somewhere in between, who had what looked like thicker scales, and more powerful bodies. They eventually came up to the largest of the pyramid, where they stopped.

"Go!" the red crested lizard said, pointing to the top.

"Wait," Lucy said, "You want me to climb to the top of this pyramid?"

"Yes."

"Up all these stairs?"

"Yes."

"After all the walking we did?"

"Yes." Lucy looked reluctant, until with a yelp, she got struck in the rear by one of the lizard's tails.

"The Slann do not like to be kept waiting," the lizard hissed. That got her to climb. The climb was steep, and as they got higher, Lucy got progressively more nervous, occasionally looking down nervously at the heights.

Trying to take her mind off how far from the ground she was, she looked up towards the top. Now that she was here, Lucy could see what looked like a glow at the top of the pyramid. Not that she hadn't seen glowing things before, but this glow was different. It was more otherworldly, and more primal. As they were climbing the stairs, more of the larger lizards were framing the steps, standing so still, Lucy thought they were statues at first.

Eventually, they finally got to the top, where Lucy got to see what this "Slann" was. She wasn't sure what to think when she saw a giant toad not so much sitting as much as lumping on a floating pedestal, framed by the two giant reptiles. Surrounding was the strange glow Lucy saw from before, and it had red and yellow skin, with half closed, glowing green eyes. Good thing for the glow, since it showed it was still alive. The lizards knelt before the creature.

"What is this?" the toad croaked. It was literally like a toad had learned out to talk.

"Great Lord, we found this human deep in the Eastern forests," the red-crested lizard answered, "She has strange, foreign magic." The toad shifted slightly in his seat, and held up his hand. But before Lucy could approach (as she thought he was instructing), she found herself floating up to the pedestal. Once she got close, the toad leaned forward slightly (or as much as it could considering his horrendously fat gait), and looked over her.

"Describe the magic you use, warm blood," he croaked.

"Uh," Lucy said, "Well, simply put, I can use magic keys to summon magical spirits to fight with me. I can also use the keys to incorporate their powers into me for a time."

"There is no mention of a yellow haired human female, who can use magic concerning keys." Lucy had a feeling that no one could make that kind of prediction, not even Cana. But it was a long way down the pyramid.

"Look," Lucy said, "I'm not here by choice. If you want me to leave your land, all you need to do is show me the way out, and I'll be out of your… scales?" Though this toad didn't seem to have scales like the others.

"You're power is not akin to Chaos," the toad said, as he sat back on his throne. Lucy plopped to the ground, and looked up she rubbed her sore behind.

"I shall meditate on her fate," the toad said, "Her magic may warrant study. In the mean time, imprison her." Lucy opened her mouth to protest, but the larger lizards moved surprisingly fast, despite their size, and grabbed her by the throat. She tried to grab her keys, but the lizard grabbed them off her belt. Lucy gagged, as she was dragged down the pyramid.

After they got to the bottom, she was throne into a damp, moss covered cell. Coughing, the blonde looked up just as the door was being slammed shut. Looking around, Lucy saw there was nothing in the cell, save for a single circular window, which let at least some light in.

Bringing her knees in, Lucy hid her face, and sniffled slightly. She then sat in the darkness for she didn't know how long, with no idea what to do. That was when the door opened, and Lucy looked up to see the same red-crested lizard that brought her coming in.

"What do you want?" Lucy demanded.

"Just to study you," the lizard answered, leaning on its tail, and folding its arms, "My name is Itzaco." Lucy didn't know why the lizard was telling her all this, but figured to see how much information she could get out of him.

"What exactly is this place I'm in?"

"You are in Xlanhuapec the City of Mists."

"And you're a 'lizardman', right?" Lucy asked.

"Skink," Itzaco corrected, "That is what I am."

"What's the difference?" Lucy asked.

"There are four variants of Lizardmen in Lustria, each created by the Old Ones to serve a specific purpose," Itzaco explained, "The Slann are the leaders and priests, the Saurus are the soldiers and commanders, the Skinks are the artisans and architects, and the Kroxigor are the laborers."

"And you're a Skink?"

"Indeed."

"But why do you have that red crest then?" Lucy asked, pointing, "I haven't seen other Skinks with that crest."

"This crest marks me as blessed by Sotek," Itzaco answered, pointing to the crest.

"Sotek?"

"The great god of serpents. He once delivered Lustria from disaster, when the Old Ones were absent."

"Who're the Old Ones?" Lucy asked.

"No one really remembers," Itzaco answered, but said nothing else on the topic, as if it was something he didn't like talking about.

"So how long am I going to be here?" Lucy asked.

"It is not my decision to make," Itzaco answered, "But the Slann may not be inclined to do anything for you. If anything, they might find you ill suited for this world, and will destroy you."

"That's not encouraging to hear," Lucy said with a cringe, "Is there anything you can do?"

"The word of the Slann is absolute. They interpret the will of the Old Ones." While Lucy couldn't read the expression of such a being, there was a strange tone under his voice that Lucy couldn't pin down.

"You don't seem to agree," Lucy said, as she looked at him closely. The Skink was silent for a time, as his tail swished out behind him.

"It may be sacrilege for me to say so, but those priests are more obsessed with studying the past, than preparing for the future," Itzaco admitted, "They think that by reading ancient plaques, they can learn the ways of ancient beings."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"It doesn't harm the empire," Itzaco answered, "And I was never told not to do it, so I felt it was worth letting you understand what was happening, at least. At any rate, you're magic intrigues me. Anything new in this world intrigues me." Apparently deciding that was all he wanted to say to Lucy, the Skink took his leave, closing the door with his tail, leaving Lucy alone again. The blonde, trying to look on the bright side, was happy to know that she had someone who was willing to be nice to her.

Note: So Lucy's in the City of Mists, and is being kept as a prisoner by the Slann. However, she may find some companionship with a Skink of Sotek.

Speaking of which, the position of Sotek amongst the Old Ones seems to vary depending on the edition. But from what I've read on the Warhammer wiki, and 1d4chan, he's not one of the Old Ones, but is a new god. So to that end, I'm going off that edition that Sotek isn't an Old One. That's worth distinguishing, as it seems based on what I've read, that for the red crests, their loyalty to Sotek supersedes their loyalty to the Slann. And even then, for the sake of the story, its worth taking note of.

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