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Huini'Ata, aspiring Skink priest, looked up from the ancient tablet he was poring over as a shadow fell across it. General Xa'Xlanax, the Saurus Old Blood, towered above him. "Ah, Xa'Xlanax, I'm glad you could arrange time to meet me. We have much to discuss"

Xa'Xlanax regarded him stonily. "When do we march?"

"I was hoping you would ask that", replied Huini, enthusiastically. I believe I have uncovered the meaning of our Supreme Leader's statement. According to this ancient text, our temple-city of Kaihuan has moved out of alignment with the Geometric web - that must be why my powers are so slow to develop here; we are not making use of the full bounty of power generated by this earth which the Old Ones, blessed be their names, chose to grant us dominion over. Why, just last week..."

Huini trailed off as Xa'Xlanax glared down at him impatiently.

"Uh, so anyway, If we are to make any headway in the great plan, I believe we need to relocated to a Geometric node, a place where many lines of power cross - which, according to recent readings of the constellations, I estimate to be right about...here" - Huini pointed to one of the hexes on the campaign map he had on laid out on the table. "But there are some complications, I fear."

Xa'Xlanax waited.

Huini cleared his throat, and continued. "In the years we have been waiting for our Great Leader to speak, some of the other races have been taking up residence in lands that were not meant for them - the Itz'xa'khanx and Dro'ka'khanx have expanded from their place allotted to them by the Old Ones, and I am sorry to say that near our present location there now dwell some of those most repulsive creatures spawned on this land, the disgusting Xa'kota! Those filthy, disease ridden vermin have expanded right up to our very doorstep....

"Xa'Xlanax frowned. "Humans?"

"Oh, no, although the Xho'xa'khanx are also present, according to our scouts, and...”

"Speak Sauran!"

"Yes, yes, of course, uh there are Humans nearby, Ogres too, but I was actually referring to the... uh, Unnatural Spawn of the Rat; I believe the vernacular term is Skaven. And just as disturbing, the Itz'xa'khanx..or maybe the Tli'tlanax

Xa'Xlanax's frown deepened.

"Sorry, sorry, I mean others who have been tainted by Chaos; Elves, or perhaps Beastmen - our scouts have not been able to get close enough to get a clear view of our foe yet- but regardless, there were clear signs that servants of evil are camped uncomfortably near to our optimal building location. It is imperative that we act as soon as possible to try to eliminate or at least minimize these threats to the furtherance of the Great Plan and, uh, any questions so far?"

"When do we march?"

"Ah, right, well we must wait until the stars are in the proper alignment, and the moon, the real one, I mean, not the-"

Xa'Xlanax's obsinite club crashed down onto the stone table, a scale's breadth away from the small priest.

Huini let out an instinctive trill and jumped back a pace. "By the end of the next lunar cycle! I know this is short notice, but I hope your troops will be ready to.."

Xa'Xlanax had already turned and began to walk away.

Huini'Ata let out a sigh of relief, waited a few minutes for his heartbeat to return to normal, then headed back into the main Skink Barrios to continue his preparations.

Great stuff! I am sure all the young races will be crushed by the might of General Xa'Xlanax's armies. I hope the spawning pools have been busy, I can see things getting pretty bloody in the Badlands.

Nice back story. Cool.

This was like watching a movie! Timing, sequencing, tension, visualisation – all were fantastic! I love these two characters

Great stuff!

General Xa'Xlanax headed back for his quarters after a long day of overseeing the training of the newly spawned warriors. As the only Saurus left of his Cohort, spawned thousands of years ago, he enjoyed the luxury of a chamber to himself, despite the crowded conditions due to the recent unprecedented spawnings,

Sharing living space with other Cohorts was not the Lizardman way. This custom, as other traditions in the civilization, were not determined by choice – their societal nature was set in stone, as unchanging as the turning of the sun.

As he cut across the parade grounds, The chief secretary, Qua'Tli, busily followed after him, informing him of the schedule for the rest of the cycle.

“The first messengers from the Huabok are due to arrive within two hours of daybreak, giving us news of their condition and their progress in searching for the ancient holy..”

The Skink paused in his monologue as he heard a coughing sound behind him.

“Hhrrm.”

They both turned and looked to the rear of the plaza.

A middle-aged Saurus, with a slightly rounded paunch and self-conscious matter, was standing with a small group of Lizardman cavalry and their Cold Ones, arranged in a ragged formation. A few of them sported cuts and bruises on their scaly hide and bloodstains on their armour. Behind them, a group of Skinks were carrying what appeared to be a pile of writhing, maggot infested rags and kitchen waste on a crude litter.

”Captain Xapati, reporting for debriefing, Sir!” The leader of the group snapped a half-hearted salute.

Xa'Xlanax frowned. He turned to Qua'Tli “Explain!”

“Ah, yes – during your inspection yesterday, we had an ambassador from one of the surrounding tribes come and ask to arrange a treaty.”

“I wasn't informed.”

“Well, you were quite busy at the time, and I thought a swift reply to the Skaven nation would be...”

“Skaven!”Xa'Xlanax wheeled round suddenly to face the secretary directly.

Qua'Tli nervously shuffled his papers.

“Well, I think you'll be quite pleased with the result of our agreement – with the Ogres and Humans so close by, and new strongholds being discovered every cycle, having a pact with the Ratmen could be advantageous. And their diplomat was such a cheerful fellow, quite unlike what I have heard Skaven to be like from the old tales, especially as he must have known the consequences for trespassing on our sacred Temple-City grounds.”

Xa'Xlanax took a deep breath. “What did they want?”

“Well, they said that as we must be quite concerned with the threats to the North, they would be happy to stay on their side of the Wastelands for the time being as long as we provided some small token to guarantee that we would do the same. Of course, I knew to drive a hard bargain, and in your response to the...”

“My response!?”

“Uh, well, I didn't want to go above the line of command, and I felt you would want their query answered as soon as possible ..but not to worry, I feel we have the better of the deal. I gave them nothing but a weak charm, which provides a small amount of magical protection- almost worthless really! In return I had them promise to deliver not less than one hundred sacrifices to be offered up to our exalted Deities –“

They both turned and looked at the small party lifting up the platform containing the squirming bundles of fur.

“I say, Xapati, where are the rest of the offerings? Surely that can't be a hundred?”

Xapati ignored the Skink and addressed Xa'Xlanax directly.

“We located the prisoners. But on approaching; an ambush! Thousands of Skaven, war machines; An attempt on my life – but we return triumphant!”

He swept his hand out dramatically to indicate the bound ratmen. “But only nine – we feared further enemy approaching. So, retreated with haste to inform. Sir!”

The secretary peered at him. “What, surely you Saurus could handle a small party of Skaven with ease. Especially with the Salamanders and Chameleons backing you up. And what are those things stuck in your mount's feet?”

Xapati looked down at the forelegs of the Cold One he was leading, He picked off a small obsidian blade, of the kind used by the Skinks at close quarters. “They died bravely. Defending their leader.” He shuffled right slightly to hide a small, scaly hand poking out from between the front claws of the riding dinosaur.

He cleared his throat again. “Permission to be dismissed, Sir?

Xa'Xlanax nodded. Relieved, Xapati turned and was about to issue an order to his unit when he heard the General's voice.

“Half rations for one cycle. And extra drill”

Xapati winced slightly, then nodded. “We bring prisoners to the altar - Now?"

Xa'Xlanax nodded again, then turned his head to look at Qua'Tli. “There will be one more.”

Qua'Tli's eyes widened in alarm, but by the time he was seized in the iron grip of one of the Saurus, his shoulders had already sagged in resignation. Obeying orders was the Lizardman way - as unchanging as the turning of the sun.

The Underdweller wrote: This custom, as other traditions in the civilization, were not determined by choice – their societal nature was set in stone, as unchanging as the turning of the sun.

Obeying orders was the Lizardman way - as unchanging as the turning of the sun.

Very nicely done Underdweller I love it! We have a very talented bunch of fantasy writers on this little forum of ours.

Should I take it that poor little Qua'Tli will no longer be dealing with any correspondence? Poor little guy. Probably for the best though.

Primarch wrote:Should I take it that poor little Qua'Tli will no longer be dealing with any correspondence? Poor little guy. Probably for the best though.

Well, there are lots more where he came from! And I'm sure the gods will be happy, assuming they're still around.

Ah, well written. I enjoyed the similes. Reading it, I think my dwarves must be quiet relieved to not be in the barbaric east, full of rats, lizards, ogres and such. Sacrifices, how grotesque.