349 Lizardmen Village
The massive piece of land had a mysterious feeling to it. Arthur could not tell why but felt that way by looking at it from the horizon.
“Do you think there will be enemies waiting for us?” Sybille asked Arthur as they all flew toward the continent.
It was hard to say if there would be enemies, but Arthur could see through his Emperor Eye that there was no such thing as guards waiting for them. That particular spot of the continent looked relatively empty.
“I don’t sense anyone, so we should be fine. Let’s cast our invisibility spell now,” Arthur said.
Arthur did not feel anyone, but he still used his invisibility spell. All of them did, just in case. Who knows? Maybe a hidden assassin waited for them there.
They got closer to the continent and landed on it without many problems. Arthur scanned his surroundings and saw that the land looked similar to the central continent, way too identical.
“Looks good. We must first find a village or city to get information and mingle. Remember what Turquoise said about the humans here, right?”
The demon continent also had humans, and one of these human families was one of the strongest rulers in the demon continent, having a rank four mage. But what differed them from all the other humans? First, they were ruthless and killed those who deserved it without a problem.
Secondly, they usually fought using swords, spears, and so on. And, what differed them the most from all the other human mages was the type of magic they practiced; Transfiguration Magic.
It was a subject that had little study in the central continent, and no mage could cast it at all! Arthur was deeply interested in it, seeing he also used this type of magic when transforming into a dragon.
“It could help me power up my transformation.”
Finding suitable clothes and weapons to look like human natives of the demon continent was no problem — Arthur had all of that inside his magical pouches — but learning Transfiguration Magic was a whole new story.
They had to learn some of it before going into the major cities, or else people would get suspicious about them, and then it was game over. Arthur was not feeling like going up against many rank four mages, as that would only result in his death.
“We need to look for a remote place and try to learn some Transfiguration Magic before going on with our mission,” Arthur said.
His wives nodded in response, feeling like it was an appropriate state coming from him. So, they chose to follow the muddy road near the shore they had just arrived at.
They had two directions to choose from, left or right. After a quick vote, they went right, walking up the muddy road, looking for a village or something.
It was more complicated than they thought. While walking on that muddy road, there was no village, and many magical beasts jumped from the surrounding forest to attack them. A nightmare, one could say, and the only good part was that the beasts weren’t strong.
Not only the vegetation looked similar to the central continent, but the magical beasts too! Arthur had read many books about beasts, and he recognized each one of the beasts who attacked him.
That should not be possible at all! Arthur was sure no book mentioned the type of beasts living in the demon continent. In fact, all the information about that place was a mystery, and people never went or left that place.
Theorize while looking for a village was all Arthur could do, and after four hours, they finally found a village! When they got close to it, Arthur and his wives saw that the habitants of that village were lizardmen, living not only near the sea but a massive swamp too!
“This is the first time I’ve gotten inside a lizardman village!”
While traveling to the demon continent, Sybille took the time to teach them the general language of the demon continent, the one she had used before.
Each race had its own cultural language, but there was one that all knew. That way, none of the races lost their inheritance, yet they could speak among each other without problems.
Not that they often spoke to each other, as most living in the demon continent were selfish and did not like outsiders getting inside their space.
Arthur knew little about the lizardmen, but contrary to their fierce looks, they were kind and welcomed humans to their village without problems.
“Ryumans! What brings you here today?” a lizardman said.
The way they spoke humans was funny, but Arthur restrained himself from making jokes. He looked at the enormous white lizardman in front of him and said, “we have been traveling for quite some time. I was hoping you could give us temporary shelter? We can help with the village duties!”
Arthur wanted to make sure the lizardman felt confident when talking to him and did not see him as someone who could lie or, worse, destroy their village while they slept.
He even proposed to help them with the village duties, like farming, fishing, hunting, and other things. The lizardman seemed to like them, so he said, “no problem. If you keep your promise, you can stay here as long as you want.”
So, Arthur and his wives could stay in the lizardman village as long as they kept helping. It made sense, as no one would want people who would only eat and do nothing to help.
“Thank you! What is your esteemed name?
“I am Hattami, the chief of this village!”
“You can call me Arthur, and this one is Jane, Wisa, and Sybille,” Arthur said, pointing to his wives as he said their names.
After they spoke with Hattami, all the other lizardmen around went to talk with them, curious to see humans there. They got to know themselves better, but Arthur and his wives did everything to keep their identities secret because if the information leaked, they would die.
Although Hattami said they did not have to help on the first day, “you are tired because of the journey. Rest first,” Arthur did not feel like it.
Jane, Wisa, and Sybille opted to rest in one of the empty tree houses available in the village. They built houses at the top of the swamp trees. It was not the most beautiful sight to wake to, but it felt safe.
Arthur, different from his wives, wanted to go out and help the lizardmen. But, for him, it was also a way to learn more about the environment, the other races, and the demon continent.
Like in all tribes and villages, some lizardmen hunted using their own crafted weapons. Arthur was among them, trying to fit in. He had to help them track and gather more information without showing too much of his skills.
“Here, take this spear,” one lizardman said, giving Arthur a stone spear.
Arthur said thanks and wielded that on the hunting. He was not feeling like showing them his other weapons, and it was also a sign of respect to the lizardmen tribe to use their own weapons.
After all the preparations were over, eight lizardmen and a human left the swamp, looking to hunt for food. They did not know, but the rival village would get in their way.