Chapter 85: The “merciful” Green Dragon Queen
Anse rubbed his temples, unsure if the other was playing dumb or truly clueless.
Giant Tail saw his expression and quickly reacted: “This is the Emerald Kingdom in the southern part of the Lalakonde continent, the territory of Green Dragon Queen Veridia. She is a merciful lady who has allocated a habitat to every race…”
The Emerald Kingdom is the common name; the official short name is the Dallas Zarisaka Kingdom, and as for the full name, few can remember it.
Green Dragon Queen Veridia rarely appears; for matters, her two adult offspring handle them, and the territory is mostly in a state of racial autonomy, as long as they pay tribute with prey or gemstones on schedule.
‘Merciful?’
Anse glanced at the Dinosaur Forest; that Green Dragon Queen was indeed magnanimous for not turning it into a poisonous mist forest.
“Where are you from? Can you tell me what happened?” Giant Tail pointed to the coast connecting to the plains on the east side, a hint of expectation visible on the lizardfolk’s face.
Anse pondered for a moment, then shook his head: “We come from Silver Scale Bay. I’m not clear on exactly what happened either; it might be some very dangerous supernatural phenomenon, so we want to leave here. Do you know how to get out?”
One must be cautious; if the lizardfolk knew they came from Faerun, their attitude and behavior would be hard to predict.
“Get out?” Giant Tail looked baffled. “I’ve never left here. I heard that following this river south leads to the sea, but now… I don’t know.”
“If we follow the river south, which tribes will we encounter? Is it safe?” Anse pressed.
Giant Tail tilted its head and looked strangely at Anse and Nolnos: “If Your Excellency remains restrained, those tribes should be safe.”
Your two spells eliminated the mountain that had weighed on the lizardfolk for ten years; whether it’s safe or not isn’t up to others to decide.
Anse’s expression froze; this lizardfolk seemed not very smart. He emphasized: “I mean, are there any dangerous races like the Dasuo Barbarians?”
“There are quite a few. There’s a merfolk tribe by the lake that doesn’t get along with us; they don’t let us fish there, saying all the catch is for the queen, though the queen doesn’t like eating fish at all.
Further south there’s a dragonborn town; they hate merfolk and aren’t too friendly to humans either…” Giant Tail spoke at length.
Anse stroked his chin, finding it quite interesting.
That Green Dragon Queen was indeed “merciful,” deliberately relocating hostile races together to make it easy for them to take revenge, so hatred built up deeper and deeper, leaving no energy for anything else.
“What language do you mainly use to communicate?”
“Common Tongue, Dragon Speech, Primordial…” Giant Tail answered without reservation.
Anse had Giant Tail say a few phrases in Common Tongue and found that the so-called Common Tongue wasn’t “common” at all; he couldn’t understand it whatsoever.
His mind raced, and he smiled at Giant Tail: “You were able to wipe out your enemies thanks to me, right?”
“Yes, yes.” Giant Tail agreed. “Do you want loot? I can let you pick first, but no dinosaurs; once the master dies, they run back to the forest.”
Anse glanced at the dirty, chaotic primitive tribe and couldn’t imagine anything good inside.
“Just give me whatever.” He waved his hand, his tone softening a bit. “You’ve been holed up here so long; are there any tribesfolk who want to see the outside world? We have space on the ship and can take one or two.
Best if they’re fluent in Common Tongue and Dragon Speech; even better if they know other languages. We’ll cover food and lodging, and I’ll do my best to ensure their safety.”
Giant Tail’s eyes widened; it finally understood the other’s intent. This mage… was recruiting a guide.
“Look around you; the world is undergoing earth-shattering changes. Only by embracing transmutation is there a future; stepping out might open another path.” Anse persuaded patiently.
“Uh, I need to go ask the shaman.” Giant Tail said vaguely.
“Then it’s settled. I’ll wait for you at the swamp edge.” Anse chuckled and rode off.
Watching the departing figure, Giant Tail took a long time to recover. Thinking of its tribesfolk still fighting, it banged its shield and charged toward the battlefield.
——
【Quesser】 was slowly sailing along the river channel.
Spotting Anse’s figure from afar, Salian finally relaxed.
This battle was easier than imagined; the cannons were secondary—the core was Anse’s two fireballs securing the victory.
If those weirdos had really boarded the ship, the outcome might not have been good.
Nolnos neighed excitedly, lightly leaping onto the deck, shaking its head proudly, looking very smug.
It was growing fonder of combat now, mainly because it and its master had been winning.
“Those were lizardfolk?” Salian hurried over.
“Yeah, they have a grudge against those beastmen…” Anse dismounted and briefly explained what happened.
“Emerald Kingdom…” Salian’s expression changed slightly. “If, I mean if the Magic Net recovers, will we be stuck in Abel forever?”
“I don’t know.” Anse shook his head slightly; he hadn’t experienced it, so he couldn’t predict what would happen then.
He thought believing in the Goddess of Magic now wasn’t a bad idea; maybe she’d take a liking to him and pull him out effortlessly.
“You’re finding a guide to keep heading south?” Kalenno asked, looking somewhat tense.
“It’s not that I want to go south; it’s that this ship can only go south.” Anse pointed east. “That’s a vast wasteland. Along the coastal road north to Baldur’s Gate, south to Beregost and Candlekeep.
It’s no safer there than here now, with monstrosities rampant. Without a ship, how far could these crew members walk, and to where?”
【Quesser】 was like a mobile home, providing shelter from wind and rain, with cannons, living quarters, and sufficient supplies; sailing was relatively comfortable.
But on land? Relying on two legs, how far could they go? Three days would exhaust them, no shelter, constant anxiety, short on food and water—the survival conditions speak for themselves.
“What if Candlekeep isn’t there?” Kalenno’s voice was low.
“You said it yourself—it’s a what if.” Anse patted his arm in comfort.
Outside Candlekeep there are islands and bays, plenty of Faerun people; only by pooling strength can they resist Abel’s racial invasions, like the green dragon.
“A few kilometers ahead is a large lake, with a swamp on the west side. Where do we wait?” Salian lowered the telescope and turned to Anse.
“Don’t enter the lake; rest outside. They say there are merfolk in the lake; better to learn the situation first.” Anse considered.
A guide’s main role isn’t just directions and negotiations, but scouting the local forces to avoid those that can’t be provoked in advance.
“Alright, your call.” Salian waved his hand. “Go rest.”
“Mm, I’ll treat everyone to chilled beer—come on—” Anse waved.
He returned to the dining room, had Brat get an empty wine barrel from the chef, and poured 4 gallons of beer from the alchemist’s jug, equivalent to thirty bottles.
He controlled the power of his ray of frost to chill the beer, distributing a small cup to each person; no more.
He himself chugged down a large cup in one go, then belched and exhaled comfortably.
It was fine in the forest, but once out, the heat was unbearable; a few steps and he’d sweat. After a big battle, without beer to cool down, something felt missing.
Brat gulped down a mouthful of beer, his face showing pure bliss: “When did you advance to elite spellcaster?”
“Just these past couple days. You know, I’m a sorcerer.”
“I’ve never seen a more outrageous genius than you.” Brat laughed heartily, as if he were the one advancing.
The crew drank and chatted, the atmosphere much lighter than before.
An hour and a half later, 【Quesser】 dropped anchor at the river mouth.
That lizardfolk hadn’t lied; merfolk occasionally surfaced in the lake, quietly watching this side.
Salian was very tense, fearing merfolk might sneak over to damage the hull.
Fortunately, nothing like that happened until afternoon; merfolk are a sentient race, and they must have seen what happened to the Dasuo tribe, providing some deterrence.
Toward evening, two lizardfolk ran over from afar, led by the Lizardfolk King Giant Tail.
He was fully armed, with bags on his back, looking somewhat excited.
The other lizardfolk was somewhat elderly, holding a long staff, dressed in robes, with a resentful expression.
‘Wasn’t it just negotiations? How did the tribe king get talked into coming along?’
