Ch 34 The Lizard-Man Hunt

After my quick retreat back into the hut and redressing, I smacked Kidj's face around a few times to wake him up.

"Ow. Stop that. What..."

He opened his eyes to find my face right in front of him.

"Oh, Lake. What's up?"

"Why are there hundreds of lizard-people outside?"

"This is the hut of mating. It was made for the previous Master but, he never used it. News that you have come has spread. You were not quiet about what you wanted to do to Riksa, last night."

He pointed to the female that was following me around the hut, gently touching and caressing me in various ways.

"They heard and this is the result. The people are happy that there is a new Master."

"Actually happy? Or just, supposed to be happy?"

"Again, word has been spreading. You are different so they want to meet you. They want to see this new, kind Master."

Riksa started to put her hand down my pants. I stopped her.

"Sorry Riksa, I'm just not really attracted to your kind in that way. Nothing against you personally, I... "

"We could have her executed if she is annoy..."

The female lizard behind Kidj smacked him hard on the side of his face.

"No. No executions."

I said. Riksa looked sad now.

"So, you don't like me? Is that why you don't remember? I was not good enough for you last night?"

"It's not like that. I swear."

Maybe a hangover would have been preferable to this headache.

"Can I still be around you? I promise I won't be annoying."

She had massive puppy dog eyes. I didn't want to hurt her feelings though. She was kinda cute, in her own reptilian way. I let out a heavy sigh.

"I guess. Only as friends though."

She jumped up and down a few times while clapping. Her tail knocked over a, still dimly lit, candle. It fell onto the bed and it began to light quickly.

I grabbed the first large blanket I could find and smothered it out. Riksa looked a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry."

I had a very different first impression of the lizard-people. I hope stress and annoyance are not lethal powers of mine, too.

"I am going on the hunt today. So I won't be around for a while."

I remarked.

"Oh! You're going with us?"

Riksa looked happy again.

"I can protect you!"

She was so excited. I almost wanted to say, never mind. I was not willing to pass up this experience though. I want to see how the lizards hunt. Kidj finally got out of bed and put on his loincloth.

"I won't be going. I have to stay in the village as the temporary leader while Wab is gone. You two have fun."

He wandered out without giving the black-scaled female a second look.

"These are the males we have to deal with."

She was obviously disappointed with him.

"Maybe, you and I... next time?"

She made a few gestures I had never seen before and a few I have.

"No. He is mine now. He said it himself, I can stay by his side."

"I did say, as friends."

I reminded her.

"Friends make the best lovers."

The concept flew over her head. I was done with this atmosphere.

I left to find Wab. I was surprised that Riksa did not follow. I had to wade through a sea of lizard-people.

One of the first that I came across, stopped me to ask a question.

"Where are you going, Master?"

That title again...

"Calling me 'Master' is forbidden. Only use my name, Lake. Spread the word. Also, I will participate in the hunt today. I need to find Wab, before that."

"Lake..."

"Lake!"

"Lake?"

My name was said over and over, all around me. One stood up while the others were bowing at the waist.

"Our new Master will participate in the hunt! He fights for us! He helps us survive! He will feed us! LAAAKEEE!"

They cheered loudly.

"Show him the way!"

Another one cried out. They began to open a path among the crowd. I followed the opening among the lizard-people. I was surrounded by lizards until I got to the edge of the mass. A single lizard-man bowed to me.

"Let me show you the way, great one."

"I'm not that great. How many times am I gonna have to say, call me Lake?"

He bowed to the ground.

"A thousand apologies, Lake!"

"And stop bowing."

He stood up straight. I rolled my eyes.

"Can you show me the way to Wab, now?"

He nodded and began to lead. It was about a five-minute walk back to the village. It seems this 'Hut of Mating' was out in the middle of nowhere. I recognized Wab's hut when we got close.

"Thank you, I can make it from here."

The lizard I was following, bowed.

"Thank you, for allowing me to serve you."

He stood up and wandered away. I went into Wab's hut.

"Are you ready?"

He asked.

"I am."

"Good, we will leave as soon as the last hunt member arrives."

He led me outside to a group of about twenty lizards. None that I had recognized.

"Do you have a weapon?"

Wab asked. I began to feel my pocket for Gleamour. The absence of it reminded me that, Sophie was the one I left it with.

"No. I don't have it with me right now."

He pointed to the nearest hut with an open shop front.

"Go there, tell him you need a weapon for the hunt. If you humans had claws, you wouldn't need a weapon."

I nodded and found my way to the front of the hut. An older-looking lizard with all-white scales was behind the counter.

"Hi. I need a weapon for the hunt."

He grumbled a few times and slowly wandered into a shadowy corner of his shop. He returned and threw something at me. I managed to catch it with quite a bit of luck. He had a good arm for an old lizard.

It was a tonfa-style blade. The handle was in the side of the blade, sharpened to a point on both ends. One end was longer than the other. I've seen this style in a movie and a few video games. I moved it around, rotating the blade a few times. I jabbed the air with the short end and then the long end. I would need to get used to something like this.

"Lake! We are all here."

Wab called out. I thanked the old lizard and caught up with the group.

Riksa was standing next to Wab.

"This is my sister. She will be coming with us today."

"Your sister?"

She waved with only her fingers on one hand.

"Hi."

She smiled. Wab could see that we were somewhat familiar with each other already.

"Have you met already?"

I was about to speak when Riksa took over.

"Yeah, we slept together last night."

Wab slowly wandered over to me. He got close enough to whisper into my ear.

"She is not fond of males. How did you catch her interest?"

I shrugged.

"Honestly, I think I got drunk and... I don't remember much after starting an arm-wrestling match."

"He beat Hild."

"Hild? Your friend, Hild?"

She nodded.

"You are strong indeed. Kidj could never beat her. He keeps begging for rematches in order to get her to mate with him."

So that's why he gave her to me and did the, 'swap partners if we win,' gamble. I should smack him again later.

"We have wasted enough time. Let's move!"

I began to follow the group. We were on foot. It made me realize that there were no large mounted animals around the village. No horses or large lizards that I have seen pulling carriages. Riksa was walking next to me.

"We are set in pairs for hunts. If someone is hurt, the partner is responsible for the care of the injured. I am your partner for this hunt."

She was in good spirits. I guess if the women are the ones that are good at hunts, I should be glad to have one with me.

"I have never been on a hunt before. Let me know of anything important or if I do something wrong."

She giggled a bit and began to lightly skip.

"Okay! Just stay with me and you will do fine."

Since we left early, we found the tracks of our prey to the west while it was still daylight. The tracks were massive mammoth-like footprints. Larger than the outline of a car. We began to follow the tracks a bit to the north.

Riksa offered me some water. I politely refused. I figured it was more for her, just in case.

It began to get dark.

"The prey of a hunt will only be fought in daylight. If we come across the prey we will stay out of range until morning."

Riksa explained.

I was not about to complain. In the early morning hours before the sunlight could begin to reveal itself, we found our prey. I could only see a large body, not what it is or what it looked like.

There was only one moon out tonight. It had already gone below the horizon. It was still very dark.

We sat around a small grouping of trees, waiting for the light of day. Some pairs snuggled together for warmth during the wait.

Riksa got close to me for the same reason. I didn't mind if, it was just for warmth.

"How often are both moons out on the same night?"

I asked.

"That's a funny question. Most children know this. Once every year for fifteen days. It should happen again in another half of a year. Otherwise, It is only one moon or the other. What made you ask that?"

"The last time I saw it was the first time. It was a nice night like this. Slightly chilly. Few clouds. Many stars in the sky to look at."

"Are you a romantic?"

"Sometimes, I hope so. Most of the time, I'm not sure."

Another hour passed before we were standing ready for orders. The sun was letting light over the top of the horizon but it was still semi-dark. Any moment, we had to be ready for the call to attack.

As soon as the sun's light directly touched the ground, a call was let out.

"JA HAAAJ!"

The others began to charge. They were all faster than me.

Riksa let up on her speed to allow me to keep up with her.

I could see the beast before me.

It was massive. Maybe three stories tall. It was like an elephant with two trunks and massive armor plates, either made of bone or scales. Its ears were tiny in comparison to its body. It had five tiny tails that came together at one stem before it met with the main body. Its legs were thick, like massive tree trunks.

This would be no easy battle. I began to wonder how the lizards would collect or make use of something this large with such a small party.

I had gotten close to my target.

I made note of how the others were attacking. Half the group was attacking the front left leg and the others attacked the rear right. Mostly hit and run tactics. The group near the front had to watch out for swiping trunks, while the rear had to watch out for stomps or kicks from both legs.

Riksa aimed for the rear leg. I followed suit. She jumped up and made a massive slash with her claw, just behind the knee. Blood was instantly traveling down the skin below the wound.

When I got close, I decided to use the short end of my blade. I stabbed inward with the intent to drag the blade across. The tip barely managed to puncture the hard skin and practically bounced off.

I had to quickly escape. The foot had been lifted and was about to stomp my lower half.

Riksa boosted her speed and managed to grab me out of the way at the last moment.

When we were at a safe distance, she scolded me a bit.

"What are you doing? If you want to be part of the hunt, you have to use more power than that. What happened to the strength that beat Hild? Even your speed is subpar."

"Sorry. My power is not something I am used to using just yet. I need a moment to see if I can bring it out."

She was not happy with me right now.

I concentrated on what I had done before. The feeling of anger. The emptiness of a blank painting. I felt the anger but, I didn't feel the strength.

'Come on. I need this now.'

I thought to myself, and whoever was listening in the darkness.

'How about something a little different. Anger can be a bit of a prude with his strength. I can lend you something more valuable than your own body.'

The familiar voice in my head. Fear. He really wanted me to use the power again.

'Can I control this "army?" I don't need a massacre like last time.'

"Now or never, Lake."

I could hear Riksa tapping her foot in the dirt.

'As long as you keep in control, they should listen to your every command.'

Should?

He was silent.

Let's try it. If it was the same concept, I needed to feel fear without an image attached. Fear of the ocean is attached to an image of the darkness. The creatures that lurk in the shadows. I pictured myself in the middle of the ocean. All around me was dark open water. Nothing to be seen. That feeling of not knowing what is lurking around you. I felt the fear of the image. I let it linger for a moment longer. The image in my mind went blank. I kept that feeling in my body.

What do I do now?

If the power works on the creatures around me...

I concentrated that feeling on the worms under the dirt, the insects under the rocks, the flies on rotting dessert leftovers. I opened my eyes and saw the beast that was to be my prey.

'HUNT' I thought.

I saw shadows begin to form near me. A cricket-like insect, of all things, was surrounded by swirling shadows.

I saw Riksa's surprised face.

"What?"

She readied herself. I put a hand up to stop her. She reluctantly backed down.

"Show that creature what true fear is!"

I called out to the cricket.

Riksa looked at me like I was crazy.

The shadows grew. The cricket was the size of a car in seconds. It had massive crushing jaws.

It leaped with a force I was not expecting. The ground around me trembled as it went airborne. Some of the lizards saw it and retreated, not knowing what its target was.

It hit the side of the beast with weight behind it. Our prey almost toppled over to one side.

Now, all the lizard-people were out of harm's way due to the interference. Riksa and the others watched the spectacle unfold before them.

The elephant grabbed the massive cricket with one of its trunks and threw it away like an empty tin can. The shadows released the cricket and dissipated.

To my surprise, shadow fliers came from behind me. Two massive flying insects grabbed hold of the trunks with brutal shadowy jaws. They lifted the elephant's head up high enough to dangle the front legs off of the ground.

Dust clouds formed under the rear legs of the creature. It sank until its belly hit the ground.

Another cricket leaped up from the opposite side of our prey. It began gnawing on the back of the elephant's neck. It crushed the armor plate over the neck with a single chomp.

Two shadows broke the soil below the elephant's, still airborne, front legs. They were giant worms with a tri-split mouth. They reached up and grabbed his legs. He was pulled down until his head slammed into the dirt with incredible force. I felt the shaking ground with my feet.

The large flies landed and pulled his trunks out tight to prevent use. The elephant looked dead but the cricket was only halfway through the neck. I decided to let it finish the job, just to be sure.

When the deed was done, I called out.

"Disperse!"

The insects turned to the lizard-men.

I shouted.

"DISPERSE!"

And I waved my hand as if it would make a difference.

The shadows swarmed from the multiple creatures into one spot. Under me.

After a moment, they disappeared into my own shadow.

'Good job. You did excellent. I look forward to more applications of this power in the future.'

Fear was annoying but, he sounded sincere.

"Are you, okay?"

Riksa asked.

"What was that?"

"That was one of my powers from the potion."

"Serious? You took that thing down by yourself?"

"Well, the others did quite a bit of damage before I started."

I didn't want to take all the credit after, I failed hard with my new blade. Wab snuck over to me as though the sky was about to land on him.

"We have to get out of here. Those things could be back any moment."

"Only if 'I' want them to come back."

Riksa grabbed Wab by the shoulders and began to shake him, almost violently.

"Those were Lake's creatures! He did all that with his power!"

He looked like he was in a daze.

"Tha... That was you? I've never heard of shadow familiars before. So many things about you are... different. You are unusual."

"I get that a lot."

He removed himself from Riksa's grip and yelled out to the others.

"THE HUNT IS OVER! THIS IS OUR VICTORY!"

The confused lizards were still not sure if they should cheer or hide.

"THE SHADOWS WERE OUR ALLIES, YOU DOLTS!"

He yelled.

Now they were all cheering. One lizard pulled a large horn off of her back and blew on it. It was loud.

The others began charging at the corpse.

"Come, Lake!"

Riksa called. I had no idea what was about to happen. I didn't think anything warranted my hurrying so, I walked.

The others climbed up onto the sides of the corpse.

"Come, hurry!"

She called out again. What's the rush?

I saw something emerge from above the corpse of the elephant.

A shadow. Not one of mine. A flying dragon! An actual dragon!

As it got closer, it grew. It was a tan-colored dragon with large, rigid plate scales all over. It was still far off.

I began to run toward the kill. The lizards were all happy. They had to have seen it by now. One was even cheering at it.

This must be the transport!

I had to run as fast as I could. This dragon must have been over twice the size of the first one I saw on the walk here with Sophie. It landed right on top of the body. Its claws sunk into the flesh of the elephant carcass. Its long neck reached over and bit onto the severed head of the elephant. It was not an exaggeration to say that this dragon could swallow the head... whole.

I was not going to make it.

"LAKE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

As the wings began to flap, sand began to hit my face. I was running as fast as I could but, it was not going to be enough.

'Anger. Please let me borrow your power.'

I used the algorithm for summoning my powers once more. The feeling of anger and no image associated with it.

I felt the strength in my legs as I ran.

The corpse was already being lifted off the ground. I can't make it with running alone. I was nearly there.

I leaped forward and just barely missed Riksa's outstretched hand.

I was not giving up.

I crouched down while looking straight up. I put as much power into my legs as I could and released it all at once. I launched like a rocket past the corpse and neatly past the dragon's neck, just enough to have a soft landing on top of the dragon's back.

He quickly turned his head to look at me with his left eye.

I don't think he was amused to have a rider.

His mouth was full so, I just relaxed for the ride.