In his sleep, Tulk felt as if he had fallen into a huge wad of cold, bouncy sli gel.
He struggled desperately to stand, but every ti he tried to rise, that elastic gel would "pop" him back down, like a pitiful bug slipping off a mushroom.
He fought like that for a long while, and instead of the feeling fading, it grew more real. His chest even bore a heavy pressure, as if sothing soft and squishy were lying across it.
No—this wasn’t a dream.
With a jolt, Tulk snapped awake. He instinctively clutched the tree trunk behind him tight, afraid a sudden movent would send him tumbling down.
As he recovered, he realized his chest did indeed feel heavy. Looking down, he saw a small green jelly-like thing resting steadily on his torso, rising and falling with his breaths.
A flicker of bewildernt passed, and then his eyes widened.
“S-Sli?!”
He got so excited he forgot he was still up in a tree, and the result was he toppled out of the branches with that little green creature, rolling several tis through the soft moss and muck, ending up filthy and awkward.
Even covered in mud, the grin on his face was impossible to hide.
He had spent the whole previous day searching for a sli and hadn’t even seen a shadow of one. Now he opened his eyes and it had co to him.
Could this be fate arranged by Putu?
Tulk carefully opened his arms to reveal the sli cradled against his chest, scooped it up with both hands, and asked, “O mighty child of Putu, spirit of nature, tell your devout follower what you desire. Tulk is willing to do everything in his power to fulfill your wishes.”
Chen Yu watched the mud-splattered lizardfolk and saw a bit of Sekashi in the foolish-looking youth.
Why did lizardfolk who worship Putu always look so dimwitted?
Realizing Tulk was undergoing so sort of trial, Chen Yu suddenly bounced, and his soft, squishy voice seeped into Tulk’s mind.
“Young lizardfolk, you may call …an envoy of Putu. I am lost and need you to help find my way ho.”
“An envoy of Putu?”
Tulk blinked, then his expression shifted into one that said, Of course. He wasn’t even surprised that the sli could speak.
Finally hearing a specific request, he exhaled in relief and asked respectfully, “Honored envoy, where is your ho? Could you give this foolish believer even a small hint?”
Chen Yu ntally noted that his plan to trick had worked and replied solemnly by thought, “Head west, deeper into the swamp. That is my ho.”
“I understand!” Tulk drew a deep breath and adopted an unbearably solemn expression, as if accepting a sacred mission.
“Please rest assured, envoy. I will protect you and see you safely ho.”
In his imagination, the swamp’s depths would be more treacherous, teeming with chaotic mana and dangerous magical creatures.
He had steeled himself, so he carefully set the sli envoy on his shoulder, gripped his crude wooden spear, and began westward step by cautious step.
He was so cautious that after most of a day he had only covered a few kiloters.
Chen Yu was speechless. Was such caution really necessary? Did the lizardfolk think his territory was the lair of so terrible dragon?
He couldn’t help but remind him again, “Quickly, quickly, it’s just ahead. Hurry up, I’m eager to go ho and eat.”
“A-alright, envoy, sit steady.” Tulk hurriedly answered, eyes sweeping the surroundings warily.
He clambered over a broken rotten log and was about to continue when a “gurgle gurgle” of bubbles drifted through the mist ahead.
Normally he would have assud it was simply swamp gas bubbling up from below.
But now he saw a dark silhouette blocking the path in the fog, and his vigilance spiked. This trial was indeed no simple matter.
After all, the final step of a trial wouldn’t just be escorting an envoy ho — the road would be filled with hardships, dangers, and powerful foes.
After bracing himself ntally, he lowered his body into a hunting stance and crept forward almost soundlessly.
The bubbling grew louder in his ears as he approached.
As he neared, the mist parted to reveal the black shape.
A dazed little crocodile t his gaze, blinking curious big eyes as if to say, Two-leg, what are you skulking around for?
Just a croc...
Before Tulk could relax, his eyes caught the folded wings on the little crocodile’s back.
A s-subdrake?!
Tulk’s face drained of color. He fell back onto the slick moss, trembling so badly his spear nearly slipped from his hands.
Are you kidding ?
To beco a shaman, the ultimate trial is to defeat a subdrake?!
How on earth did Shazak the shaman and Sister Sekashi pass back then?
Were they secretly dragon-slaying heroes?!
A thousand chaotic thoughts flickered through his head. Though fear made his limbs quiver, he clenched his teeth and forced down the instinct to run, propping himself up with his spear to stand.
“C-co on! I…I’m not afraid of you!” he shouted at the subdrake, trying to drown out his terror with volu.
The subdrake ignored his provocation and instead fixed its gaze on the sli perched on his shoulder.
Chen Yu was utterly exasperated.
"Little Ka, what are you hiding here for?"
"Little Ka, blowing... blowing bubbles, playing."
Chen Yu sighed inwardly. “Fine. You can carry this lizardfolk back, so he stops dawdling.”
Then he explained to the still-tensed Tulk, “Don’t be nervous. This is Little Ka, a guardian of our sli holand. He will take us ho.”
On hearing “guardian,” Tulk froze for several seconds. His muscles stayed tight, but he visibly relaxed.
He was stunned that a subdrake would guard slis.
And the sli holand he’d never heard of—could it be Putu’s hidden divine realm deep within the swamp?
He drifted in such thoughts, unaware he had unconsciously moved closer to the subdrake and actually climbed up onto its back.
Although lizardfolk are shorter than humans, he still seed large compared to this young drake.
Before he could worry if the subdrake could carry him, Little Ka beat his wings and rose smoothly into the air.
“Wah!”
Tulk cried out, clinging desperately to Little Ka’s neck, terrified of falling from the sky.
Once the initial fear passed and he adapted to the steady flight, an indescribable excitent surged through him.
He—a lizardfolk who had lived his whole life in the marsh—was flying! Soaring through the sky!
It felt like sothing that could only co from a dream!
As that thought blood, his nervousness and fear gave way to curiosity and eager anticipation for this fantastical journey.
He began to imagine what the legendary Putu realm, the sli holand, must look like...
While he indulged in these fantasies, the outline of the Swamp Fortress grew near.
As Little Ka carried him through a drifting veil of thin mist, the towering fortress walls burst into view like a miracle.
Sunlight bathed the territory, which buzzed with activity.
Poison-stinger Wasps patrolled thodically, Beetles ford long lines hauling supplies, and slis were everywhere.
Slis of all colors hopped freely across the land, flitting between tidy fields and odd tree houses.
Even more surprising, different sli groups wore different outfits—so with little flowers on their heads, so donning tiny hats, others bustling like craftsn around constructions.
Just like humans, though they looked similar, their clothing made their roles easy to pick out.
Tulk stood bewildered, feeling as if he had stepped into a legendary, dreamlike kingdom made for slis.
“Putu above…”
He murmured, eyes full of shock and reverence. “Could this…really be the fantasy land crafted by Putu?”
Even after Little Ka landed him gently on the trimd grass within the territory, Tulk remained in a daze.
He awkwardly slid off the drake’s back and felt the solid ground beneath his feet yet it seed unreal, like stepping on clouds.
He stood blankly and looked around.
A bearded Dwarf passed by yawning widely. Seeing him, the dwarf muttered, “Where did this lizardboy co from? Looks half-asleep, standing here like he’s sleepwalking.”
After saying that, the dwarf casually nodded to the sli on Tulk’s shoulder. “Good morning, Your Majesty.”
Chen Yu waved a gelled hand as a return greeting, and then said to Tulk, “Our king, the slis’ ruler, has heard you have arrived and wishes to see you. Will you co with ?”
“Sli…king? He wants to et ?”
Tulk snapped out of his stupor. His heart pounded and he nodded like a man beating mortar, “Yes, I’d be honored. Of course I will.”
Guided by Chen Yu, Tulk tiptoed, careful not to step on the hopping sli residents.
He entered an odd building that seed to have grown naturally from several massive Swamp Oak trees, cleverly blended with stonework—a wondrous fusion of nature and craft.
The tree house interior was spacious and warm, sunlight pouring in through thoughtfully designed windows.
At the far end, on a throne carved from oak, sat a noticeably larger green sli with a small crown on its head.
It looked much like the other slis but carried a unique, comforting charisma that eased Tulk’s nerves instantly.
He drew a deep breath, stepped forward, and presented himself as solemnly as he could: “Tulk of the Rotten Moss Tribe pays respects to the great Sli King, His Majesty.”
The green sli on the oak throne wobbled its gel up and down to show assent, trying to convey the dignity of a king.
“Devout follower of Putu, welco to the Sli Kingdom, to this land favored by nature.”
“Sli Kingdom…”
Tulk repeated the na, still dazed.
He had only intended to pass the tribe’s shaman trial, but sohow he had been swept into a dreamlike journey.
He had ridden a subdrake into the sky, found the legendary sli realm, and even stood before its king.
Everything seed impossible. Even if he returned and told his parents, they would think he had fainted from hunger and hallucinated.
Seeing this foolish expression, Chen Yu continued, “Putu watches over His followers. Your devotion and courage have passed nature’s test.”
“You ca from far away. You must be hungry. First, eat so of the kingdom’s food.”
As he spoke, a few Beetles crawled in, bearing on their broad carapaces food laid on broad leaves: several chunks of tuber roasted until the skins were crisp, and skewers of juicy moss monsters sizzling with oil.
The aroma pierced Tulk’s nose and his stomach audibly gurgled.
“Th-thank you, Your Majesty!”
He couldn’t contain himself. He grabbed a roasted tuber the size of a fist and bit down.
In no ti he had swallowed chunk after chunk, tasting nothing particularly sophisticated—only that it was delicious, intensely so...
At that mont he thought of his tribe by the Reed River, stockpiling for winter.
The thought of elderly parents and hungry young ones possibly succumbing when the long Winter Year ca made him feel hollow, and the food in his hands went suddenly tasteless.
After filling his belly sowhat, his courage swelled.
He lifted his head and looked toward the throne, then summoned the nerve to ask, “Y-Your Majesty, forgive my bluntness. Does the kingdom have more food like this?”
“Our Rotten Moss Tribe is willing to trade anything you might find valuable—furs, herbs, or our labor.”
Oh?
Chen Yu inwardly chuckled. The foolish lizardfolk had at last co up with a smart idea—bartering for food.
He maintained his regal composure and replied, “The Sli Kingdom does not generally trade food with outsiders.”
“But for those who live on this land, the kingdom promises that its people will never go hungry, nor will they perish from cold.”
“The kingdom has sufficient strength to shelter its subjects from external bullying and nature’s harshness.”
Never go hungry or freeze? Never be bullied?
Those words struck deep in Tulk’s heart.
This was...this was exactly the fantasy he and his people had dread of for generations.
It matched his image of Putu’s divine realm almost perfectly.
Legends said Putu’s realm teed with slis, its streams ran with sweet dew, even the ground was made of bread and jelly, and there was never the rank sll of fish.
In that instant, the young lizardfolk thought of so much: his elderly parents, the suckling young, all those still struggling to survive.
He drew a steadying breath, tamped down his wildly beating heart, and made a decision that might change his tribe’s fate.
He stepped forward and, with unprecedented solemnity, voiced his request:
“Mighty Sli King, Your Majesty, forgive my presumption and greed.”
“But I, as the shaman of the Rotten Moss Tribe, earnestly implore you to shelter our people. We are willing to join the Sli Kingdom as a whole and beco your loyal subjects.”
User Comments
0 comments from readers