As Kraxka brought the kids to his hut, a sudden commotion began to happen all around the Pastoralists village, as the chief was called by the people.
"What is happening?" he asked, as he approached the crowd that was talking with one another, many of the people were holding weapons in fear of the worst
Kraxka, as their chief, also felt overwhelmed and fearful of what might be happening right now, and quickly decided to ask his people what was truly happening right now, moving closer to them, and hearing them out.
"T-There's sightings of large groups of Lizardmen, chief! What do we do? They seem to be part of the other wilder tribes…"
"They didn't seem to mind us at all but… what could they be planning?""Maybe they want to attack us or do something else?"
"They're more savages than us, we don't know!"
The chief felt surprised, something was happening with the other tribes of lizardmen, that often found themselves confined in the depths of the jungle, they were starting to move.
"(If they're not attacking us then… Are they grouping together to form some sort of attack against the nearby village? Damn it! If they really do that, they'll surely lose. They really don't know how strong those people and their sects are? And they won't only just kill them, they might even enter the jungle and just slaughter us because we got in the way…)" thought the chief. He couldn't reveal his thoughts to his people, or they would grow as alarmed and worried as he would.
The chief wanted to try a way to stop these savage lizardmen, but it seemed that they were being driven by a force and ideals higher than what he would originally think they were. He believed that they were being led by those that separated from the Pastoralists long ago, but it was actually not such a case.
After all, the rumors about the Scaled God were not untrue, and this entity of mysterious origins seemed to be a tyrannical and bloodthirsty being, with a strong desire for bloodshed and for those below his command to expand his influence.
Kraxka seemed concerned about the future, and due to the fear for his people's wellbeing, he decided to do something drastic… move his entire tribe elsewhere.He knew he couldn't fight these savage tribes, their numbers were up to the thousands, and they were less than 90 people. Although they had constructed houses here and had settled down for years, they would also be able to build new houses eventually.
He ended holding a meeting with various elders of the tribe, where he decided to ask all of them about their opinions. There were three other elders which were actually older than him and held wisdom, while being only interested in the wellbeing of the village.
"I suppose I agree with you, Kraxka, we should move out."
"There is no point in fighting if we are all going to lose and die at the end… Escaping and surviving has always been how we live… We don't have to feel embarrassed because of such a decision, cheer up, son, you're a good man."
"Indeed… But where should we move? If we move deeper into the forest, we'll only get caught by the savages, and if we go out, we'll eventually be found out by those people and the groups called "Adventurers" hunted down for our scales and mana cores until the last one of us is gone…"
Kraxka heard the three old lizardmen surrounding him inside of his house, as he nodded.
"I understand how you might feel, and I am grateful that I can receive your full support, Elders." He said. "But there's a place that we can go to…"
"A place?"
"What place?"
"Perhaps a hidden grotto? Or a cave? Maybe a cave could work for now!"
"No, it is not none of those, caves are deeper in the jungle, but they're often occupied by the monsters, I have explored deeper into the mountain, and I had also fought the beasts that exists there… It is not a place where we can raise our children safely." Sighed Kraxka. "The savages have found ways to fight them and even to scare them, but we are not as well adapted as they are, sadly." Kraxka knew that they were not well adapted as the lizardmen that lived in the depths of the jungle.
"Then… which place?"
Kraxka looked at the Elders with a sharp gaze, he seemed to know some place that perhaps… could be their last hope of a place where they could live safely for the time being.
It was a place they all were scared of, even the savages didn't dared to get near of it because it gave them an ominous feeling, and the chilly sensation it emanated was also near phantasmal.
As they are all cold-blooded, lizardmen doesn't like cold temperatures and wouldn't be able to survive in the snow lands deeper into the continent of Jotunheim, although it is said that there are variants such as Ice Lizardmen that spawn inside dungeons, but those are more monster than people.
This place was a place that had suddenly emerged in the jungle near the outer layer, it was a place that was invisible, and had an invisible layer of magic barrier around it, it emanated a strange and mystical aura, and the people was scared of that place, even the monsters didn't dared to get closer, and the area had become quite desertic… it was an ideal place to live.
"That place… where it is rumored that a holy spirit has descended." Said Kraxka.
"W-What? What kind of nonsense…?"
"Kraxka! Are you sure? That place is dangerous…"
"The presence we feel from there, it is too much…"
"I know…" sighed Kraxka. "But there is no other way around it, no other monsters or lizardmen get closer, it is the ideal place for us to refugee ourselves from the savages and perhaps even the people from the outside. Think about it…"
