Chapter 10: The Elder’s Task

It was chaos. The slavers, a mix of humans, elves, and beastmen, fought in disarray as darts and arrows rained from all directions. One by one the slavers dropped. Lizardmen pounced the surviving slavers from the thicket, impaling them with sharp metal spears.

The slavers refused to back down. A human with a long, blonde hair grabbed a young lizard prisoner and used her as a hostage.

"Move one more step and I'll take this one with me to the depths!"

The lizardmen stopped attacking. The remaining slavers gathered around the blonde man, picking up hostages of their own.

"Let us through if you still want them alive!"

Although enraged and thirsty for blood, the lizardmen could do nothing. They stepped away, making way for the slavers.

Amea wasn't gonna let them. She conjured a fireball and hurled it at the blonde human. It exploded on his back, throwing the hostage away. The lizardmen siezed the opportunity and struck the other slavers. The blonde man recovered and attempted to flee, but Amea braved the dart volley and grabbed him by his neck.

"You will tell me everything about Murik!" Amea yelled.

The lizardmen screamed at her. One aimed a loaded bow and shot the arrow. I leapt in between, parried the arrow, and raised my arms in submission.

"Whoa, chill! We're friendlies! We came to hunt the slavers!"

As if by stroke of luck, a familiar lizard stepped out. It was the same light-scaled female lizard I let go more than a week ago.

"I know you."

"Look she knows me! Hey, tell them! We're not the bad guys, aren't we?"

She brandished her spear. "You outsiders are all the same."

"No we’re not! These guys owe us big time, especially to my girl here. Go tell them how much you hate the slavers, Amea."

Amea enveloped her hand in flame and started incinerating the slaver. He screamed in agony, yelling "I don't know anything!" as the heat increased. The murky soil around her dried up, and the grasses burnt. Veins bulged on her skin, almost glowing blue. I stepped away as she turned the man into a barbecue, producing a nasty smell of burnt meat and cloth.

"As you can see, she hates them a lot."

"What is happening here?"

Another lizardwoman entered the scene. But she was a bit larger. Longer snout, brighter scales, and a more intimidating outfit that further enlarged her frame. She had perfect curves, huge breasts held by fabric and ropes, and shapely hips that even Aphrodite would envy. A huge skull akin to an ox’s sat on of her head, and the husk of a huge red spider latched on her back, its eight legs sticking out. But her weapon lacked any upgrades – just a jagged, rusted metal spear slightly larger than everyone else’s.

To think a lizardwoman would be sexier than any woman I’d met – or any species I’d met for that matter. Then I noticed a six-petaled tattoo at the back of both her hands.

I looked at Mihan and any women around for the tattoo. No one else had them.

By the time she appeared, the slaver had been charred… or turned into ash. The wind blew whatever remained of him.

"What the hell did slavers do to you, Amea?" I said, but she just stood there, huffing. Her clothes were almost burnt.

"Mihan, explain."

"Elder Atala, they appeared out of nowhere and killed one of the slavers."

"She's right," I said, "well, Amea did most of the job and I just stood watch, but we all hate them all the same."

Atala approached me. Boy she was taller and larger than Imna. She looked down at me haughtily, her huge curvy frame cast a shadow over me. I could only swallow at her immense presence.

"A spear that swings itself is still a weapon," she said, "if you despise them, then I have a task for you. Do it, and I shall let you walk unharmed"

I sensed an opportunity here. As much as I wanted to leave this place, I would take any opportunities that could help me build a good foundation in this world.

"Oh, I'm not sure we'll do it for free. We did this for our sake."

"They only killed one and that's barely anything," Mihan said.

"Hey don't forget we broke the hostage situation! If not for us you would've lost some of your chained folks."

Mihan couldn't really say anything against that. Even her buddies remained quiet.

"You are not in the position to demand rewards, human," Atala said.

"Sure, but it would help a lot if we have another motivation."

Atala contemplated what to say. And while she did, my eyes did a bit of naughty exploration. Yup, I no longer minded species as long as it was a hot female. Her loin cloth was slightly pushed aside, revealing a horizontal slit, probably the one meant for fucking and laying eggs. I would love to know what kind of skills this female warrior had that I could acquire… if I could.

This Atala looked strong. I bet she had amazing skills. Not to mention the lizards seemed to have traits perfect for stealth. Yup, I’d made my decision. I wanna fuck this lizard.

"I think I’m more useful than that."

“And why is that?”

"We can't trust them, Elder,” Mihan said, “they are still outsiders."

Atala ignored her. "Talk, outsider."

"I'm the Champion of the Mother’s Cult, or whatever you call it here."

She looked at me skeptically. "You think I will believe you?”

"Then ask a fellow cultist here," I said, pointing at Amea. "Hey Amea, go tell them."

Unfortunately, Amea was stuck where she stood. Her clothes fell off her body, leaving her naked. I rushed to wrap her with my robe.

“Hey, Amea. I really need your help right now.”

No response.

"Your friend has lost herself "

"Just look at this.” I showed Atala the six-petal brand. “I’ll do your task and give you the power of the Champion, but you’ll have to grant me a favor.”

I needed an insurance. I knew nothing in this world and my best bet would be to have an ace up my sleeve.

"Then perhaps we shall test this power of yours first."

"Oh, no, that won't do. I’ll be giving my powers for free if you did that."

She glared at me. Nothing’s free in this world, my dear lizard milf.

"Fine. Fulfill my task first and if you succeed, I will perform the ritual with you personally. But if you lied, I will have your head and tear your friend’s limbs off."

Not like I was lying, so there was nothing to fear… unless my powers didn’t work on lizardwomen.

"Deal,” I returned my attention to Amea, “let’s go.”

Amea didn’t budge one bit, so I had to carry her princess-style. She no longer looked like Amea, just an unresponsive human body. Maybe she’d returned to normal after resting.

The elder led us deeper into the jungle after freeing the slaves and looting the slavers’ corpses. It was unfortunate that I left the malevol ward behind, though. I’ll just fetch it later.

It was a long trek back to the same place we tried so hard to avoid. We were kept at the center of the company, ensuring we don’t escape. Not like we could get the hell outta here without that stone anyway. My heat-detecting skill wouldn’t be enough.

They talked about various stuff, about how their previous attacks failed to attack an entrenched fort, the politics going on in their capital, and so on.  While they were at it, I decided to get some information.

"So your Elder, is she like a chief or something?"

The lizardman about the same height as me threw me a side-eye. "An Elder is one who leads a quarter of the chief's army."

So a division commander, then.

"What about the six petal tattoo in her hands?"

I omitted the name of the cult in case they called it differently here.

"Mark of the Matriarch. Only three has been chosen by the Matriarch among the hundreds of priestesses in the empire."

Which was odd. Ever single member of the cult had the brand, and they were all capable of absorbing men’s essence. That meant those cultists could easily overpower the lizardfolk. Did these lizards have a strict criteria on who gets that tattoo? If so, then Atala might be super powerful.

It just made me desire her more. Her powers, specifically.

"And since you call your a Champion, it seems we might be seeing each other more often," he said.

"is that a bad thing?"

"To have an outsider perform rituals with our most-trusted Elder? What do you think?"

I didn't have to ask that.

By the time the skies turned black, we arrived at the settlement. Humongous trees encircled a clearing. Despite the darkness of the skies, bright glowing bulbs sprouting from the trunks illuminated the settlement. The white light revealed the huts built way up the tree branches.

I didn’t see any bridges, just hanging vines. I thought they used magic to manipulate roots into forming bridges. No, they didn’t use bridges. They went full Tarzan to transfer from one branch to another. As for how they climbed fifty meters up, they used the same vines.

"Follow me," the Elder said, climbing the vine with ease.

I thought it’d be tough climbing up. But with my strength, I was able to lift myself up with one arm and Amea on the other. I had a glorious view of Atala’s vagina, which split whenever she pushed one leg up, revealing a plump, white inner flesh. It was tougher climbing with a boner.

The Elder's hut didn't seem much, but it sure was much bigger than anyone else’s. It was furnished with huge, crude furniture custom-made to her size. As soon as I laid sleeping Amea down, Atala grabbed my wrist to lift me up, but I lodged my foot between the gaps of the floor planks. I was strong enough to withstand her strength but not for long.

"You're unusually strong for a human."

"Which is why I recommend you don't underestimate me."

She cracked a lopsided smile and let me go.

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Seeing how your friend there is unconscious, you'll have to do it alone."

Not like I intended to bring her in the first place. Amea’s conflicts with those slavers could jeopardize the mission.

"I intend to do it alone, but I expect you to keep her safe, unharmed, and alive."

"You are quite the negotiator, like those shrewd traders."

I shrugged my shoulders. "So? What's the job?"

"The outsiders built their fort up north, by the coast. I want you to free my people and open the fort’s gates.”

I guess there will be a slaughter.

Then, Atala approached me. She ran a claw from my bulge then up to my chin, tilting my face up.

“How are you called?”

“Uh, if you’re asking for name it’s Caesar.”

She smiled. "Come back alive, Caesar. Perhaps the Grand Matriarch wanted you to play a part in fulfilling my fate."

I didn't expect her to go full mystic on me, but that guaranteed my and Amea’s safety. Maybe I could use the favor I asked for something else, then? Not sex, though. Sex was guaranteed.

"Don’t worry. I intend to stay alive.”

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