Our journey took another day of walking. It’s mostly because we had to go around the deeper parts of the forest, instead of through it. According to Eidechse, terrible monsters live there. Monsters that would make the brown bear shiver. Vyth gave him shit for it, saying that no such things could exist and other usual things people tend to say when hearing that. But, he shut up after we all heard some of the noises that came from there. It reminded me of mountain lions, though I think I prefer them. The deeper parts were also darker. There was a clear line between the outer circle and inner circle, drawn by the two different tree species. The ones we were walking under were something like oak. The usual you’d envision when thinking of a forest. The ones in the inner circle were more distinct. They looked exactly like Californian Redwoods, except for the canopy. The canopy was tightly packed, leaving barely any light through.

If it wasn’t for the screams and howls, it would actually look like a nice place to set up in. There’s no annoyance from the sun, It’s probably cool, even in the summer, and there were some hills that could be dug out for a nest. Oh well. It’s not like we’d do well with just the two of us anyway.

There was also another reason why we couldn’t just settle down. After we defeated the brown bear, I had been thinking. We’ve gotten quite a bit stronger. Nowhere near good enough to safely make this trek on our own, but stronger than we were when we found Eidechse and Thet. Perhaps we could get even stronger and take revenge. It’s a long shot and, honestly, life threateningly dangerous. But, ever since the day our home was taken from us, I haven’t been able to wipe my memory of their faces. 

That group of adventurers is probably still traveling together, just as we are right now. They’re probably wrecking other homes. But, if I could just get strong enough or find some kind of other way, I could at least avenge our home and people. I might’ve been avoided by most of my kin, but there were some good people among them. People like my mother, my chief, my siblings. I don’t care so much for avenging the rest, but they didn’t deserve the fate they were given.

After all that happened, I was ready to let go of them. It frustrated and hurt me, but there wasn’t anything I could do. Now, it seems different. I can’t bring them back, but I can at least try attacking their killers. I’m sure Vyth wants to do the same.

That painful train of thought came to a halt once we got out from the tree line. The landscape was made up of gently rolling hills and bright green grass. At the horizon were stunning grey mountains with snow covered tops that poked out like sharp teeth. They must’ve been hundreds of miles away, as they appeared rather small. I couldn’t look at the scenery for too long before the sun gave me it’s fury, though.

After another 2 hours of walking, a small village poked out from behind one of the hills. It was maybe a quarter of the size of the town we had been staying in at best. I got a better look at it once we arrived. It looked like a typical medieval village seen through rose tinted glasses. Roof shingles coloured in terracotta, dark brown, green, red, etc. Trails of smoke rising out from brick chimneys. And wooden frames sticking out, with walls in all kinds of light colours. It was a pleasant change from all the somber colours and muck in town.

The people were just as colourful. All of them were Dragonkin, though not like Eidechse. Their scales were of differing colours. Some green, some red, some brown. It didn’t take long for their numbers to increase. People were coming out of their homes to greet us, or rather, greet Eidechse and Thet. From between these scaled giants, Dwarves popped out to greet them as well. Guess it’s not only Dragonkin that live here.

Before I realised, there were a good 10 or more people standing around us. Thet was shaking hands with some of them, while Eidechse hugged another Dragonkin with the same bronze scales he has.

“Good to see you, little scamp!”, the Dragonkin said.

He was about the same size as Eidechse, though some of his scales showed cracks and their colour looked matted and worn. It reminded me a bit of our old chief. His scales didn’t look as beat up as this gentleman's.

“Let me introduce you too…”, Eidechse started before being cut off.

“Kids already, huh, Eidechse”, the bronze kin mocked.

“They’re clearly Kobolds!”, Eidechse shouted.

The other Dragonkin burst out in laughter. Though their colours might’ve been different, these bunch seemed almost like a big family. No wonder Eidechse came here at the first sign of  trouble.

After all the pleasantries were exchanged, we were introduced to yet another Dragonkin who seemed older than our late chief. This one was silver. She stood probably 7 feet tall and was rather slender. She only needed a pair of glasses to perfectly resemble your typical librarian. She had those same piercing eyes of one. Her name was Turasjir and she’s the one who’s supposed to teach us new languages.

Following her, I got to see more of the village. There were people walking around, shopping, working or just having a stroll. All the Dwarves were in working attire and seemed to be by a large cart with supplies. The sound of rhythmic hammering drew my attention to the blacksmith. A bulky, black Dragonkin the size of a barge. Our teacher greeted him as we passed by, breaking his stone façade into a smile. Finishing our impromptu tour, we arrived at a mostly cobblestone building.

The building resembled an old Gothic church. It’s walls were sprinkled with moss and the windows had cobwebs. The inside was just as bad. The floor was clean, but dust had piled in the holes and cracks of the walls. Bookshelves were half filled with old books whose bindings were starting to get undone. Two of those books were the ones she grabbed and laid before us. We sat down and began learning Elfilun and Duengish.