The party of adventurerers questioned Lore some more on his mission. Lore gave as little information as possible, and as soon as he got the answers he needed on the Demon Lion, he said his farewells, and continued following the beasts tracks.
He traveled through the desert for several more days without encountering anyone else.
On his fifth day, Lore found the carcasses of different men and animals. Their bodies were mutilated and drained of blood.
At first, Lore thought that perhaps the beast was feeding nearby, but then noticed the trail heading deeper into the desert.
Lore followed the path, and eventually came across a strange rock formation jutting from the ground.
Upon closer inspection, Lore saw that there was a hole carved into one of the rocks. Inside was something black and shiny.
Lore approached carefully, and knelt down beside the opening.
His heart raced as he looked inside. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
In the center of the room lay a giant egg, surrounded by smaller ones. Each one appeared to have been laid recently. The cave was empty otherwise. Lore looked around some more before approaching the pile of eggs.
They had a faint blue glow emanating from within. As he leaned forward, he heard the sound of movement coming from the pile.
Suddenly the egg closest to him began moving. It opened like a mouth, revealing sharp teeth. Not all the eggs were like this. Lore deducted that only a couple of these eggs were the real ones.
One of the other eggs rolled away, and Lore jumped back quickly.
Another egg moved slightly, causing the one next to it to wobble. Suddenly both of them fell apart. Two creatures emerged, each as tall as a grown man.
The monsters were covered in thick scales. Their heads resembled those of lizards, with long necks and wide jaws. Their tails curled behind them. Both of the creatures had two sets of arms, and four legs.
Both of the lizard-like beings turned towards Lore. They stared at him with bright red eyes, and let out a screeching noise.
Lore drew his swords and readied himself for battle. He charged forward, swinging his blades wildly. One of the lizard-men dodged his attacks easily. The other swung its tail at Lore, knocking him back a step.
Lore managed to get back up, and attacked again. This time the lizard-man tried to block his attack, but missed.
Lore pushed the monster back, and then slashed at it repeatedly. The beast blocked most of his strikes, but still didn't manage to land a single blow against him.
Lore pressed his advantage, and continued attacking. After a while the creature grew tired of defending itself, and backed away slowly.
It raised its claws menacingly at Lore, who responded by raising his own weapons.
Lore swung his left hand, the blade of sword dragged across the lizardmans neck. Blood splattered everywhere.
The monster stumbled backward and fell onto the sand.
The second lizardman rushed Lore from behind. Lore spun around, and parried its attack.
He struck at the beast's arm, but it batted it aside with ease.
Lore leaped backwards and brought his foot up hard, striking the creature in the face. The lizard-thing staggered back, clutching its nose.
Lore ran past it and lunged at the other lizard-creature. He stabbed his sword deep into the creature's chest.
The lizard-monster collapsed on top of Lore, pinning him down. Its claws dug into his flesh, drawing blood.
Lore struggled beneath the weight of his attacker, and kicked it away. He scrambled to his feet and grabbed his sword.
His opponent lay motionless on the ground, a pool of blood spreading around it.
Lore looked around, he pulled out a dagger, and took off as much materials from the lizardman corpses.
***
A couple miles away the Demon Lion's were hunting for their food. They hadn't eaten in a couple hours and their hunger grew by the second.
Their noses eventually picked up on the scent of fresh blood, and all three began running in the direction of blood.
***
Lore finished with the bodies, and prepared to moved on, but could feel the earth begin to shake.
"What is this?" Lore asked. "Another earthquake? Or something worse than that."
Lore put his hands on the ground, and felt a tremor pass through it. He looked around and saw cracks forming along the walls of the cave.
Then there was a loud roar.
Lore turned around, and noticed a giant figure standing outside. A huge beast stood on two legs, with thick fur covering its entire body. Its skin was red, and it had sharp fangs protruding from its mouth.
The monster fell back onto its front legs after rearing its ugly head.
At long last, Lore had found the creature he was looking for. The Demon Lion growled at Lore, hunger in its eyes.
Lore stepped forward, and gripped his sword tightly. He stared the beast down, not backing away.
The Demon Lion charged at Lore, roaring loudly. It leapt over the wall and landed on top of him, knocking him to the ground.
Its claws raked across his stomach, cutting open his shirt.
Lore rolled away, and managed to get to his knees. He swung his sword at the monster's leg, but missed.
It roared again, and jumped towards Lore. This time, he blocked the blow with his shield.
The Demon Lion tried to grab hold of Lore's armor, but couldn't quite reach. Instead, it ripped apart one of his shoulder plates and tore a hole in his leather jerkin.
Blood flowed freely from the wound.
Lore brought his sword down hard on the creature's wrist.
He struck true, and cut straight through tendons. The Demon Lion howled in pain before falling backwards onto its back legs.
Lore followed the animal's arm, and saw where it connected with the floor. He placed his foot against the wall behind him and pushed off with his other leg. With a grunt of effort, he launched himself forward and landed on the demon lion's chest.
His blade sliced deep into its flesh. Blood poured forth, and the monster screamed louder still.
With one final swing of his sword, Lore severed the Demon Lion's neck completely.
The beast died instantly, and lay motionless atop the pile of corpses.
Lore wiped his sword clean, but before he could step away from the monster, the second was already at Lore's neck.
This one was larger than the first. It had longer arms and thicker legs, making it much stronger.
Lore swung his both swords at the front leg of the Demon Lion. While doing this Lore wrapped his swords in Loghtning Magic.
Both blades sparked brightly, and the Demon Lion screeched loudly.
But Lore wasn't finished yet. He continued swinging his swords, and the Demon Lion stumbled backwards.
Lore rushed forward and stabbed his sword into the creature's eye. He pulled his weapon free and watched as the Demon Lion collapsed onto its side.
Lore was panting, and finally thought the fight was over, but just as he was sighing in relief, the third Demon Lion charged at Lore.
"I'm sorry," said Lore softly. "You're dead."
It couldn't speak back, bur a deep, grumbling growl escaped from its teeth.
Lore prepared himself for battle. He combined his two swords, and waited for the attack to come.
The Demon Lion attacked, lunging at Lore with all four limbs.
Lore dodged the creature's charge by jumping backwards, and slashed wildly at its belly.
The Demon Lion rolled backward and quickly recovered. Its claws dug deep into the ground, and it lunged forward.
Lore leaped to the side, avoiding the strike entirely. But when he spun around, a claw was swinging at him.