The leader of the lizardmen, Rocko, was gathered later that day with Arlo and a few high ranked lizardmen.
The day after tomorrow, Rocko would be heading out to the slime village to facilitate a discussion among tribe leaders. It was a dangerous gamble to leave the village when they were preparing for war, but Rocko could not simply refuse to someone who Arlo regarded so highly- especially someone with such a gleam in her eyes.
Rocko could tell just by looking at that woman that she was a true leader- one destined to lead. When she stared into his eyes as she asked him to show up.... he simply could not refuse.
It was only for a second... but he felt... was it fear? Him? A proud leader who had been elected even above Arlo as the leader of the lizardmen? Was it even possible that he could fear someone? But without a doubt... there was a darkness lurking within that woman... one that he undeniable felt leaking out and cutting away at his soul when she pleaded with him.
The leaders of the tribe were all seated at a long wooden table, in a room made of stones like a castle decorated with skulls of animals and fur rugs. It was a tribute to the strength of the lizardmen as the strongest among the wildlife in the area.
Even so, they were relatively civilized. They were almost on par with medieval society. Weapons lined the walls as well, including bows, spears, clubs, maces, and swords.
Next to Rocko sat Arlo, and on the other side sat the minister of construction and civil affairs, Igard. Along with him, there were two other distinguished warriors almost on par with Rocko and Arlo- Yerth, a bowman, and Pilir a heavily armored warrior. Pilir was one of the only lizardman in the tribe who wore metal armor, as it was extremely heavy even for the most powerful lizardmen, and he had worked his entire life to build up the strength to not only wear it, but effectively run and maneuver while wearing it.
He was armored from head to toe with a horned helmet, and held a halberd.
Yerth, on the other hand, was covered from head to toe in animal skins- similar to Rocko, with a few bone charms hanging from his waist.
His bow and quiver were both on his back, filled with flint tipped arrows that had been sharpened to perfection. He was a bit skinnier than the others, but commanded a fierce and sly grin.
The minister wore a leopards skin cape cover his body, with trousers made of a black bears pelt.
With this, all the leaders of the lizardmen village were gathered, and Rocko folded his hands, confirming that everyone was present before speaking.
"I am sure you all know why I have called this meeting. Yesterday, a woman came to our village, and was subject to the typical test of strength in the arena to determine if she should be allowed in our village or not. However, before the test was performed, Arlo stopped it from happening, and brought the woman to me, claiming that she was someone important. First off, Arlo, I should have you explain yourself to everyone present."
Arlo bowed his head lightly before speaking.
"Everyone, I do not wish to demean the strength of the lizardmen by my actions. Quite the opposite, I understand better than any of you how infuriating it must be to see me- a representative for the strength of our village and our race- bowing to a human, and the leader of the slimes at that. However, there is good reason for all of this. That woman, as you may have heard, is no normal person. She is the Determined, who has come here from another world like we have heard in the legends, to lead all monsters as a fearsome dictator. I personally battled with her before, and I can confirm with all my strength that there would be no way any of us- even if we were to attack her with an entire army- would even be able to lay a finger on that woman."
"I doubt that, Arlo... perhaps you have simply lost your touch after losing to her.", Pilir stated, in a deep voice.
"Or perhaps you simply are trying to make up for your loss by acting like she is more powerful than we can imagine?", Yerth suggested.
The minister and Rocko stayed silent, but they looked to Arlo for a response.
"Yerth, Pilir... it has been a long time since any of us have fought each other, so I understand your doubts... but I can assure you that that woman is everything I am making her up to be, if not more! Not only this... but she has control over even the most terrifying creature I ever laid eyes on... his gaze pierced into my very soul, and he looked at me in the same way that I would look at a mere insect... he barely even considered me to be prey, there was that much of a difference... and yet, with a few words, that woman was able to drive this man to the verge of tears, and gain him as one of her pawns! She is beyond terrifying, but she is also kind and caring... she has a deep chivalrous desire to protect those weaker than herself... and I have an ultimate respect for her as a warrior. Fighting her is something that I will never in my life forget, and it has changed me profoundly. If you all were to fight her, I am certain you would think the same thing..."
Yerth looked disgusted, and Pilir was fidgeting clearly discomforted at hearing Arlo say these things. Where was the warrior they had grown up with now? It was as if Arlo had become a completely different person.
"If I was merely saying this for my own pride, then I wouldn't have bowed down to her in the first place, no? I have already given up my pride as one who lost. The life of a warrior ends when he loses... and yet I was spared. How do you think that makes me feel? It was liberating. I am free of the bonds that chained me to the number one spot... I no longer have to worry about maintaining my image as the best."
Pilir's armor flinched at that statement.
"Don't you think that's a bit far, Arlo?"
"No, not in the least. However, I will not tell either of you to attempt to fight her. The reason for this being that it will mean the end of the lizardmen race if we anger her. I am not exaggerating, nor am I lying. The prophecies of old are coming into light, and right now is the beginning of a new era. If we are not welcoming of the new era, we as a race will perish with the old era."
At this, Yerth slammed his fist on the table.
"Arlo... you.... you mean for us to give up our pride and submit to a group that we have never even witnessed their strength before! Ridiculous! Perhaps that woman cut off your balls when you fought her, but I will not have any of this!"
"I never said to submit to them... only that we should cooperate and not anger them!"
"And what if they wish to take us over like the birdmen wish to do? Will we simply 'cooperate' then? Or will we stake our lives on our pride and go out with a bang, should they be powerful enough to defeat us, which I severely doubt."
Arlo seemed hung up, and opened his mouth before closing it.
"Rocko."
"What is it?"
"I hope you will forgive me for making such a bold statement, but may I speak my mind?"
"Please do."
"If they wish to take us over, and you all are willing to fight back against their rein, then I will be the first one to turn my back on this village, along with anyone else who wishes to survive. That is how serious this matter is. Not only this, but I was asked to keep the existence of these beings a secret, so my very telling of this to you is already putting myself at risk... if they were to find out... I wouldn't be surprised if an assassin were sent after me this very day... however, the fact that the Determined came here herself likely means that contract no longer holds. Even so, that is why I have kept silent about this matter thus far."
Silence filled the room. This was no less than admitting betrayal, and loyalty to another ruler.
The two warriors were clearly angry, to the point where they wanted to scream and berate Arlo for such comments, but they simply couldn't believe what he was saying.
The greatest warrior of the village- the one who they had always strived to be as strong as- was now shaken with fear, to the point where he had become a lapdog.
It pissed Yerth and Pilir off to the point of madness, but it also filled them with doubt of their own convictions that he was simply overestimating these antiheroes and the determined.
Would such a warrior really fall this far if they were merely pushovers?
Rocko then took the lead.
"Arlo... I don't know what happened to you when you went to the slime village, and I trust your judgement, but right now we need to focus on the war with the birdmen. Are you at least with us on this?"
"Of course, Rocko. I wish nothing more than to fight for our village, and beat back those arrogant puffballs without any sense of tradition who think they can just declare our land to be their own. The meeting in the slime village is two days from now, right? I doubt that things will go well, but perhaps we should begin to prepare for that before anything."
"I agree. We should focus on getting ready for this meeting, get it over with quickly, and then put all our efforts into war preparations.", the minister chimed in.
"Then it's settled. You two, I understand your feelings, but please bear with things until we see this slime village and their new leaders for ourselves. Patience and calmly strategizing is the key to winning any war. Without strategy, even the strongest of warriors will crumble like a towering stack of dominoes, and the fall of one may lead to the fall of many. For now, the five of us alone will travel to the slime village two days from now."
And with that, the meeting was dismissed. The lizardmen all filed out and returned to their positions and duties, and the minister stayed behind with Rocko, who was still sitting there thinking.
"Is something wrong, Rocko?"
Rocko had his hand over his mouth and seemed to be deep in thought.
"I do not wish to allow those birdmen to get away with trying to declare war on us. Even if that Determined wants us to have a dialogue, I cannot simply lie down to them- no matter how powerful they are. I have a reputation to uphold, after all. We need to show those arrogant birdmen that they picked the wrong opponent..... even so... something bothers me deeply about the Determined... there was a deep evil inside her... was it hatred? Regret? Sorrow? Something is plaguing her, rotting her slowly from the inside out... perhaps even she did not notice it..."
"I agree, Rocko, that we shouldn't allow the birdmen to get away with what they've done... but patience is key to the success of any leader. Surely, you know this better than I do."
"Of course. Of course."