I tossed another rock onto the pile. It was almost up to my knees. Taking a look at the collapsed passage I’d barely made a dent. I let out a long sigh. I’d been working on excavating the passage in my underground – and former nameless empire surgical chamber(!) – home. It’d become an important part of my daily routine. I found it therapeutic in a way.

  And it was a great way to kill some time while staying out of trouble. My damaged scales had been shedding for the past few days, and my broken talon was slowly growing back. Something deep in my *literal* lizard brain was telling me to lay low while the process played out.

  Each day since I rescued Telar had played out similarly. I would get up, usually in the afternoon, and move a few rocks. Then I would go for a quick patrol on the surface, the only small risk I’ve been allowing myself.

  “I’m heading out Telar, see you in a bit!” I said.

  He was silent, as usual. Not a peep since I rescued him. Right now he was more of a crystal decoration than a friend. I truly hope he’s still in there somewhere. I miss him.

  I threw my gold-green cloak over my shoulders, grabbed Tanglewood, and climbed the stairs to the surface. The sun was shining, and a low mist hung over the forest. Crystal like dew covered everything; it must have rained earlier. I stretched, reaching my claws towards the sky. Then I flexed each talon, feeling the mud squelch between each one. The fresh scales on my thigh felt extra sensitive, kinda ticklish. I wanted to lounge in the sun and relax. Unfortunately, I had to do my daily patrol run.

  There wasn’t much to see. A few tracks in the mud nearby, nothing too scary. Some of the nearby fruit trees looked ready for harvest. Overall it was a peaceful day in my tiny slice of the Emel Weald.

  I ran back, not even slightly out of breath, opened my hatch and went back into my little home.

  “I’m back, Telar!” I shouted as I entered.

  I had a quick bite to eat, fruit again. I sat next to Telar as I ate. Pretending to discuss my day with him.

  After eating, I moved onto some spear practice. I’d tied some sticks together with old blankets to make a training dummy. It looked like a creepy ritualist thing. Whatever, it serves its purpose.

  The sounds of practice echoed around the chamber. I could rapidly jab the dummy, with decent power. I’d started working in some sweeps too. Not a move that would be useful for hunting, but against a humanoid opponent it’d be crucial. I was also working on utilizing my claws and Tanglewood at the same time. It was a work in progress that’d ended with me on my butt more than a few times. Not bad for being self-taught. Everyday during these sessions I felt that Tanglewood had another untapped ability. I needed Telar to come back already so he could tell me what I was missing.

  The next day, I heard something odd on my patrol

  Two people talking! I scurried up a nearby tree to hide like a frightened cat.

  “Cleyre, ye really believe this is the right thing to do? If ye don’t feel up to it we can still leave.” said one of them, in a strongly accented voice.

  Peering down from my branch, I got a look at him. He was a 3 foot tall green skinned goblin! He had long grey hair. A heavily scarred face, including a scar that took one of his eyes, now covered by a leather eyepatch. On his back he wore a big rusty steel hammer. His clothes consisted of a grey tabard, worn over well-used leather armor.

  Next to the goblin was his companion, the one he called Cleyre. It’d be accurate to describe her as a dragon person. She was a fellow scale-haver! Her scales were dark red, she was about six feet tall and towered over the goblin. As they walked she picked through the foliage with a long gnarled staff. Large pearly spines ran down from her head. Her features were sharp, dangerous, and positively draconic.

  Unlike me she didn’t have a tail. She was also a lot larger and taller, so I doubted we were the same species. Was her species related to mine?

  “Come on Gorefang, we both know it’s too late. We’re not going back, and we’re not going to serve that bastard Hearthtooth, or anyone!” she said.

  “Come now lassy, you’re putting words in my mouth,” the Goblin said. I think his name was Gorefang. “It’s just, we get our freedom and we decide to go into the Weald. I’m sayin we should've gone somewhere safer is all.”

  Cleyre kneeled down in front of him, staring intensely into his eyes.

  “This IS a safe place,” Cleyre said. “And I won’t let anything so much as touch you.”

  She leaned forward and kissed him. I nearly slipped out of the tree in shock. It wasn’t the type of relationship I was suspecting.

  They both looked around. I held my breath, hoping that they wouldn’t look above themselves. I was lucky, people don’t look up enough!

  “Now come on you big softy, that’s enough exploration for one day, let's head back,” Cleyre said.

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  She scooped up Gorefang in her arms and placed him on her shoulder. I felt a twinge of jealousy.

  “Cleyre, ya know I don’t like being carried.”

  “Oh shush, just enjoy it until we get back to the village,” she said with a big smile.

  She started walking back the way they came.

  What. In. The. World. There was so much to take in. I felt dizzy.

  A goblin, a dragon woman and others were settling nearby. I needed to follow them! I had to know more.

  I’m not an experienced tracker. But they weren’t difficult to follow, and I know this part of the Weald. My part of the Weald.

  The lovey dovey couple marched to the East, towards the ruins that I’d avoided. The woman, Cleyre, carried herself with absolute confidence. Something about that irked me. I had to be careful of the giant creatures, spiders, lightning boars, and even undead! This woman and her goblin boyfriend didn’t show enough caution. My hypothesis: She must be a wizard, or wield some kind of magic.

  I darted from tree to tree as I followed, keeping as much distance as I could. I didn’t have my rucksack with me. Just my spear and cloak; so I was free to move silently and quickly. The only thing I had to be careful of was my tail. It had a bad habit of sticking out of my hiding spots.

  I followed them to the area around the Eastern ruins. The boundary of my own exploration of the Emel Weald. The first time I was here it was a silent and eerie ruin of ancient half collapsed walls. Now it was buzzing with activity! I could hear the sounds of axes felling trees, hammers, saws, people shouting to one another. It was a lot. I couldn’t get closer without being seen. I’d have to wait for nightfall to get a better look. So I climbed a tree and waited.

  Over time the sounds of the settlement began to soften, then night finally washed over the forest. Fires were lit one by one, illuminating the perimeter of their camp. A flickering barrier against the dangers of the forest. They’d have people on watch, but I could outrun them if necessary. Now was the time to get closer.

  I jumped down from the tree, landing on all fours. I slowly crept towards the lights. I knew that my claws and talons would leave a distinct trail, I could only hope they wouldn’t notice.

  Between two torches I found a dark spot they’d missed. I had to crawl on my belly, dragging myself through the mud. I sighed, it was difficult to keep my hair clean out here. Especially since it’s only been getting longer.

  From my hiding spot in the safety of a dense thorny (thank you scales!) bush I was able to look at my new neighbors. As I suspected, their settlement had been built around the eastern ruins. All the trees and foliage around the ruins were cleared. I could see about four large tents. In the center was a crude wooden tower. Perched atop was a young man keeping watch, with a bow propped up next to him. He had some elven features. His eyes continuously scanned the perimeter. Probably looking for monsters.

  Around the settlement a few others were still awake -about 6. Two that looked like humanoid rabbits, two small cat people, and two orcs (I think). They were paired up around camp fires, drinking and laughing with one another. The light from the fires danced across the ruined walls. It looked like they’d started building two wooden structures, still just frames for now. The longest one utilized the already existing ruin walls.

  They had about 10 crates and 10 barrels stacked near a couple wooden wagons. Near the wagons a big fluffy ox-creature ate from a trough.

  The ones staying up got drunker and drunker until people in one of the tents shouted at them. After that there were only a few left, they cuddled and whispered to one another by the fire. Eventually they went to the furthest tent together. I couldn’t stay longer, I was exhausted. I crept away and ran home.

  That night I laid awake on my makeshift bed -a crude pelt on top of a table. My mind was racing. These people were living there longterm. Dozens of them, maybe more. All of them were different species, connected in a way that I couldn’t quite understand. That last part stopped me from openly approaching them. It would be easy to walk up like: Hi I’m Vylet! Nice to meet you! Cue the screams and the arrows. Get the monster! Okay, maybe not that bad.

  But Telar did say that it could go either way! I don’t want them to hurt me, and I really don’t want to hurt one of them, even in self defense. For now I’ll wait, watch, and learn.

  So each night I would settle into one of the trees just outside the edge of their little village. I’d see first hand how quickly they were building. The large wooden building was starting to come together. It was their primary project, but not the only thing they worked on. There were hunters, builders, cooks, and even a blacksmith with a primitive anvil. The most interesting person was Cleyre. Each night, she would light the campfires and torches using a conjured flame at the end of her staff.

  Gradually I began to understand the dynamic of their village. Their group numbered about 30 and didn’t have a real leader. People often switched jobs and if someone needed help they just asked. Most of the time they either asked Cleyre or Gorefang; the both of them were very well liked. Honestly I’d begun to like them a lot too despite not knowing them personally. The little gestures they did for each other, like Gorefang making Cleyre tea each morning, were so cute. How often they worked together, the way they laughed together. It made my heart ache.

  The two of them weren’t the only couple. The rabbit and cat people were also in a relationship. How did I know? The couples took turns “using” a certain tent each night. I guess it was difficult to mess around with your partner in a big tent with five others.

  The other person that caught my eye was the elf I saw keeping watch the first night. He’d go out to hunt often, usually bringing back small game, or even a lightning boar. Then he’d keep the first watch at night. His work ethic had earned him the respect of almost everyone.

  His name was Windthrow, and I began to look forward to seeing him each day. He was over six feet tall, with deep green eyes, dark skin, and short cropped blonde hair. He wore loose fitting emerald green clothes. I thought he looked elegant and kind.

  As for why this diverse group was here in the first place, I was able to pick up a couple interesting tidbits. They were former soldiers, and former slaves of the same nameless Empire that I’d encountered in Tangle and whose abandoned bunker I was inhabiting. That Empire fell, and when it did many survivors had joined a new nation ruled by someone called Hearthtooth. A small number of these former slaves refused to join up with Hearthtooth, and instead struck out on their own. This was just one of the groups, there were at least two others elsewhere in the Emel Weald.

  I was confident that I wouldn’t be attacked on sight. Still, I was uneasy. Or…I don’t know, shy? There was no one like me in their group, and I didn’t share their background. I really don’t want to mess up “first contact”.

  As I came home after another night of monitoring, I vowed that I would work up the courage to introduce myself.