Akira used his sword to chop down the many hanging vines blocking his path. The ancient hunting path he was walking on was overgrown with large weeds, small trees, and thick vines that had covered the deep imprinted footpaths.
After ten minutes of clearing a path, Akira sheathed his sword and rested against a moss-covered tree.
“Yap!” said Fluffball as he scanned the area, sniffing the air for any suspicious scents.
One of Akira’s royal guards took Akira’s place and continued clearing a path through the thick, swampy jungle foliage.
“They weren’t kidding when they said that they have not been keeping the paths cleared since the return of the demigods,” said Akira as he wiped his forehead that was sweating profusely from the warm and moist jungle weather.
“Yap?” asked Fluffball.
“With how things are going… It will take us longer than expected to get to the Griiq village… if it has not been wiped out and they are still living there,” said Akira, answering Fluffball’s question.
“On the bright side of things, with how unkempt the swampy jungle has become, it will make it even harder for large forces to invade our territory, at least at the beginning, before they make their own paths,” said one of the royal guards who was resting at a nearby tree.
Clearing paths through the jungle would be another task the Allied army would have to complete to reach destinations quickly. It would take far more work than this little clearing job they were doing if they wanted to be able to transport large amounts of materials, equipment, and rations to keep an army fully supplied and fed.
Taking one last sip from his waterskin, Akira stood back up and rejoined the rest of the royal guards that were clearing the path ahead.
Several days of traveling through rough and harsh terrain continued to pass by until Akira found an old jungle path that he was familiar with in his distant memory.
It led to the small hut that was used as a meeting and trading post between the Earth clans and the Griiq villages.
…or at least it was in the past… the old wooden hut looked like it had been sliced in half, as only half of the old hut was standing, with the other half crumpled on the ground. Grass and other vegetation were now growing on and all around it.
“Yap!” said Fluffball as he sniffed the air but found nothing of interest.
“Whatever happened here happened years ago,” said Akira as he searched the abandoned meeting site for any clues. “Guess we won’t get any easy breaks. We will have to continue towards the nearest village.”
Several more days of travel passed before they noticed a clearing ahead of them and saw the tall mud brick ziggurats that the Griiq were known to build and live in.
Akira lifted his armored hand to silently stop everyone.
Unlike the last time he had been here, it was far too quiet… no sounds of the loud lizarsaurus or the chatter of the Griiq going about their daily lives.
In fact, he could not see or smell any Griiq from this distance.
“Let’s continue, but be on guard. There is no telling who or what may be occupying the village,” said Akira.
They moved from their hiding spots behind the swampy trees and entered the open outer area around the ziggurats, swiftly making their way to the first large set of steps and climbed them to the top.
“Empty…” said Akira as he made his way through each of the ziggurats.
“There’s no sign of blood, and little to no possessions have been found inside these large structures,” said Maud, one of Akira’s royal guards, as he looked at the empty and dark room inside one of the ziggurats.
“Which means they either left the village… or they were captured by someone and taken away,” said Akira.
While Akira was searching one of the last homes, a commotion outside forced him to end his inspection and rush outside.
“Stop hiding! I know you are there, I can see your tail!”
“HEEE! Don’t eat me Humans!” said a young male voice from behind the tree as a gray-scaled hand reached down and pulled the tail behind the tree to hide it.
“Well, we found one Griiq. Let’s go have a chat and see what’s going on here,” muttered Akira.
Only after calming down the young Griiq and assuring him that they were not humans and that they did not want to eat him did the young Griiq start to open up and explain what had happened to the village.
“My father said that the great chief and the village champion stayed behind with several warriors who volunteered to hold off the evil humans that were hunting us. They sacrificed themselves to allow the rest of the village to join up with other villages to create a new city that was farther away from the evil humans and easier to defend,” said the scared and shaking young Griiq as he held his tail to his chest as if to protect it.
Akira gave a sigh at hearing this news. He didn’t know which chief it was, but he might have to send a letter back to Kodria to inform Chack if his guess was right.
“So the Griiq are still all alive and doing well?” asked Akira.
“Well… we are alive but not doing so well… the evil humans are constantly trying to hunt us if we go too far north…”
“Can you take us to the new Griiq village? We have important things to discuss with your elders.”
“Um… are you sure you aren’t humans?” asked the young Griiq, looking at Akira, still not entirely convinced.
“We are werewolves, and we don’t eat Griiq,” said Maud, transforming into his furry werewolf form.
This startled the young Griiq and gave him new fears that large beastmen were going to eat him.
“In the past, I completed the hall of trials! I am sure that your elders who used to live here will be able to recognize me and would speak with me if you were to take me to them,” said Akira.
The young griiq looked at Akira in a whole new light after hearing that.
“Wow! I guess I won’t get in trouble this time! They might even give me a treat for finding you! Follow me!” said the young Griiq before dashing off to the southwest.
“We found you…” muttered Maud.
Several more days were spent traveling through the swampy jungle, which was getting harder to traverse as more swampy land was submerged.
“Halt! Who goes there!?” shouted a rough older male griiq voice as several scaled bodies rose from their hiding positions in the muddy swamp.
The griiq warriors all surrounded Akira and the young griiq.
“Chez, is that you? How many times have I told you that going north will get you killed!” said one of the spear-wielding warriors.
“Big brother Chex, I was searching for treasure, and I found something good this time! The elders will definitely reward me!” said Chez.
“Humans?” asked Chex.
“No! How could humans be a treasure! They are were-much-you-call-its. He said that he passed the hall of trials in the past, and the elders would know who he is! He would definitely be able to…”
“Quite! Don’t Blabber about such things to outsiders!”
“But…”
“No scaly butts. Speaking of, butts father has been looking for yours. You’d best get back, otherwise you will have no butt left when he is done with you.”
“Unfair! You are trying to steal my treasure!”
“I wouldn’t do that! I will let the elders know who found them. Now go!” said Chex, as he pointed to a spare lizarsaurus that was smaller than the rest of the mounts that were hiding nearby.
It seemed that he had prepared it just for a situation like this.
With a loud, unhappy clacking of his jaw and a large huff chez left the area on the mount.
“As for you… were-much-you-call-its. I will escort you to our barracks, where you can wait. We will see if you truly are known by the elders or if you are an impostor human looking to eat our young!”
***
Akira had been called to a small underground office room at the center of the current ziggurat, where the rest of his companions were waiting.
“It is an honor to see you once again, hero,” said an elderly man who Akira recognized as Chack’s father as he sat down behind a stone table.
“With such dangerous times we live in, and since I am getting older, I have been teaching my nephew all that he needs to take over my role as one of the elders,” said Chack’s father, pointing to a younger griiq who was standing on the right of the stone table.
“I am Chok Nai-lie, the cousin of Chack who joined you many years ago. I hope he has not caused you much difficulty,” said Chok as he held out a clawed hand to shake.
“Chack is doing fine, and he is actually a respectable warrior and one of the royal knights in charge of protecting the queen, my wife,” said Akira as he shook the clawed hand.
Chack’s father let out a sigh, “It’s a great relief that he has not caused you trouble. I guess he really did need to leave the village to change for the better.”
“What brings you here?” asked Chok.
“Yes, I was going to ask you that as well. While it is nice to meet you again and catch up on how Chack is doing, we are not so free to waste time chatting leisurely,” said chacks father.
“Let me guess…demigods are causing you problems?” asked Akira.
“Aren’t they causing you problems as well?” asked Chok.
“Indeed, that has forced my fellow werewolf tribesman to have to huddle in our ancestral caves, hoping that they do not come to hunt us down. We are no longer able to roam or land freely without worry of being attacked.”
“As it is with us!” said Chok.
“We have been forced to increase the patrols of our lands to keep what little territory we still control safe from the devils known as demigods,” said Chack’s father, snapping his jaw in frustration.
“We have been using traps, poison, and our knowledge of the swamps and the wild beasts to keep the enemy at bay. It seems they are afraid of dying from such unseen dangers. But for how long this can last, we do not know…” said Chok.
“For now, they have stopped sending out so many people and seem to be focused on ruling over the human villages that they have captured. But that is never enough for them. They will want more and once again come to our swamps looking for a fight…”
“They have been a thorn in both our sides, so that is why I have come here today. I want the Griiq to join the alliance we are forming to fight against the demigods. We will push them back and in the future cleanse the land of them entirely!” said Akira.
Both Chok and Chack’s father looked at each other and back at Akira with thoughtful expressions.
“We are open to the idea, but I can not choose for the entirety of our race. I must take this up with the other elders,” said Chack’s father.
“You may stay here while we talk with the others. I will champion the cause you speak of, as I agree they need to be taken care of, or we may be in trouble in the future,” said Chok.
“Thank you,” said Akira, bowing to both Chok and Chack’s father.
Akira and his companions waited nearly half a day inside the Zigurat. They were not uncomfortable or hungry as servants brought them food and water to drink.
Some time after they had eaten a light dinner, Chok came back alone to deliver the decision of the elders.
“The elders are reluctant to fight the demigods… but… they have agreed to fight those that are encroaching on the lower continent and swamp lands. They do not want to go to the other countries as they would be too far from the swamps and unable to protect our people. If that is okay with you, they have no issue joining your alliance,” said Chok, holding out a scaly, clawed hand.
Although it was not a complete success, Akira was happy for any win he could get.
“We welcome the griiq into the alliance,” said Akira, shaking the scaly hand of Chok, sealing the deal.
“Now, can you tell me where these new demigod villages are? I want to go check them out and see what we will be up against,” said Akira.
“Of course! We have mapped out their locations as they are highly deadly places that one can not go to without risking one’s life.”
