The village consisted of an outer ring of brown wooden houses that looked like poorly made wooden hunting shacks. Within the outer ring were 15 leather canopy tents, likely for the 15 Elders. Centering around the larger structure at the center which consisted of the Elders meeting spot Typhus had just left from.
Looking around, Typhus noticed claw marks and bones within the mud they walked on, slowly turning into dried dirt as the sun rose closer to mid day. Atropy followed his gaze and answered before he asked, "without outer walls- the undead can occasionally sneak in…". Amon's yellow eyes tensed with anger as a very small sized dirt grave was dug outside many of the clawed doors. "I see…" was all Typhus could muster while Sophia had to look away as the implications dawned on her.
"Outer defenses…" Sophia said seemingly having her own 'Eureka' moment while lifting a bone from the mud. "Hey Typhus, you're planning to go back into the grass tonight right?" Sophia asked him point blank, earning a look of interest from Amon as well.
"Yes, that's right, why?", both Sophia and the Lizardman mentally filing away the confirmation, "do you think you could bring back any clay that we find? As in a LOT of clay, I have an idea." Her eyes narrowed at the bone in her hand.
"Sure thing, Amon, do you think the tribe will actually accept me as their leader? If this is some kind of ruse I am not afraid to kill you all." Typhus obviously knew he would not be able to take on the possibly hundreds of inhabitants, but that didn't mean he wouldn't act like he could.
Staring at the floor Amon answered with vigor, shaking his orange scales that shone vibrantly bordering his skull and back. "I wouldn't say accept, but in order for our species to survive, all we must do is make it to the end of the tutorial. I doubt many care who leads until then, just that we survive. And so far, we likely wouldn't have made it. The Elders all knew it but none of us could hope to stand up against Sasha and his… decisions."
Responding in their concise manner made Typhus come to appreciate Amon more than the others of his species he had met so far. "Who here is responsible for building?"
Amon's throat croaked aggressively as he answered, "Yoick.". They ended the name with distaste.
Guiding the pair of humans they made their way towards the outermost ring of shacks. Loud hissing and deep guttural "SSSSSssss" sounded out from a group of Lizardmen who gathered at a build site. Atropy let out a much louder sound than the others turning the heads of those gathered. Skeletal Sasha had made those assembled shift expressions from annoyed and frustrated to shock and surprise in moments.
Holding an open hand out Amon gestured to Typhus before speaking, "As I'm sure you are aware our starting Mentor Sasha was killed last night, this will be our new leader for the duration of the tutorial."
Multicolored skin and eyes of all hues and shades littered through the crowd. The crowds attention jumped between Typhus, Sophia, and the commotion that gathered them to begin with. No one seemed entirely sure how to react to the new development, clearly already in the middle of something before the trio had approached.
"I don't give a fuck who or what the leader is, I am the builder! You'd do better to worship me than a fool like-" a relatively small sized Lizardman began to go on a speech about themselves before Typhus took a step forward. Drawing his silver sword from his back he let it drag in the mud next to him making a long line towards the loud unpleasant cold blood.
Seeing the writing on the wall, Sophia ran to get between the two, "I assume you are Yoick? The builder?" She asked in a hurried tone trying to grab Typhus's sword arm as he deftly pulled his arm around in circles making her chase it fruitlessly.
"Yoick the builder! The creator! Twice borne! The soon to be god! Descendant of Drogoth the Flame!", Yoick raised their arms high into the sky. Standing at the same height as Typhus the Lizardman's hands were eye level with Amon who simply took a long deep breath.
"You really suck at your job as a builder, and I mean a toddler could be an architect in comparison. Do you think mortality applies to future gods?" Typhus spoke loudly to ensure the entire crowd could hear him clearly.
He hadn't planned to do something as dramatic as making a statement like this. Truthfully, he planned to avoid the general populace as much as possible. Something about this 'Yoick' really got under his skin, so why not cement his reputation while also reminding a 'soon to be god' was still below the current leader.
Mortified, Sophia took back steps towards the lumbering Sasha who was still a good distance behind them, Typhus had been correct about being able to just out pace the undead if it came down to it. She had the common sense to know, her and Typhus were strangers to this group. If earth was any indicator, sometimes creatures will discriminate over even perceived differences. They were an entirely different species, she knew where the battle lines would land if he pushed too far.
Opening their hand Amon summoned a massive stone mace, the same technique Sasha used for their javelins in the fight against Typhus. "I will not stand aside to another tyrant, but neither will I endorse disrespect to the most powerful. Yoick, you are challenged. Will you stand against me? Or stand down?"
Snarling, Amon's yellow eyes literally sparked as they walked through the parting crowd. Lifting the heavy weapon onto their scaled shoulder made a sound like slamming two stones against each other.
None gathered seemed surprised by the declaration, echoes of croaks and hisses arose. Noticing the looks of admiration from the younger generation who didn't even attempt to get away from the two males.
Sheathing his sword Typhus saw Sophia slinking away and regrouped with her, leaning in close he whispered, "Amon seems to command a good amount of respect, and to clear any doubts. Yeah I probably would have killed Yu-You-Yoick…"
Stuttering through the name Typhus shrugged, "but not for my own vanity, we can't be careless and they have mentioned strength and power being coveted above all else multiple times now. I can carry the team in that department… Hopefully, but you need to stay close."
Sophia wanted to protest, but she saw the raw logic in the statement. Whispering back she responded, "I agree, but a few things, I trust you not to kill me in my sleep, but I don't trust you with power, I've seen what it turns people into. And no offense but you talk big for someone who won their last fight by taking a masochistic amount of a beating."
Now it was Typhus's turn to want to protest… But he saw the raw logic in the statement. Saying nothing more he stood shoulder to shoulder with his companion. Finally, Sasha came to a stop above Sophia. Her eyes were poking through the lowest ribs like a valkyries helmet making even Typhus's skin crawl.
"I would hate to deprive the Clan of our only real mage now that you've betrayed the chosen of the mountain Drake… I will not stand against you! But be warned you've made a most powerful enemy!" Yoick stood proudly staring up defiantly against Amon. "We shall see, small tail." Amon spat back before dropping the mace over their shoulder, the weight of it imprinting deeply into the cracked mud showing fresh mud below the surface.
Returning to the humans Amon took a knee in front of Typhus causing loud gasps from the crowd behind them. "Amon, the volcano's fury, declares service to Typhus the scaleless."
Twitching his left eye, Typhus stood uncertain of what that could imply to the overall impression he intended to make. Thinking on his feet, Typhus took a knee himself. "Typhus, the…", he took a deep breath wishing he had a cooler nickname but he didn't have a choice. "Scaleless, declares service to Amon, the volcano's fury."
Amon's massive 2 and a half meter frame stood up and helped Typhus to his feet. The only ones more confused than the humans were the surrounding Lizardmen.
Clapping his hands loudly, Typhus began his introduction after the overly enthusiastic declarations. "I do not plan to change things unless I am certain it will be a benefit to the whole. The only rule from me explicitly, death will be met with death."
Finishing the introduction he motioned for Amon and Sophia to follow him as he walked away from Yoick and the others. "Amon, what does service mean in this context?"
Bringing a claw to their snout, Amon thought deeply before responding. "Well, generally it is seen as a sign of submission to a stronger clan member, but since you responded in kind… I'm not really sure."
At least the lizard was seemingly honest, but that was exactly what Typhus had hoped the gesture meant. "Good, I would like to entrust your people to you after this tutorial. If we are each other's henchmen then we will have to answer to each other with decisions that affect the whole. Is that agreeable to you?"
With wide eyes, Amon slapped Typhus's back and laughed, "We will see who is entrusted with the clan's future if this is the way you lead. Let's hope you have the power to change minds in a way I never could."
Smirking, Typhus turned to face Amon and Sophia. "Let's prove we can change minds in a way you never could. Now! You wanted to teach me fire magic, let's see what you got cooking!"
Slipping into a stance he awaited the response from Amon who stared dumbfounded at the shorter man. "You know, you both could just agree to serve me. Logistically speaking that would be the simplistic solution." Sophia stated, with shrugged shoulders from within the ribcage of the overgrown crocodilian skeleton.
"You know we don't need to fight for me to teach you?", Amon said while still summoning his trusty weapon. Their eyes held a knowing intensity beneath them.
Releasing his sword for a second time in under an hour, Typhus laughed at the half assed attempt to give him a way out of a fight. "How confident are we? You know as well as I do, what kind of warriors would we be? To let such a chance at progress slip through our fingers, plus, I want to gauge each other's talent. Me and you alone will be venturing into the… What was it again? Blood grass?"
Spreading their claws wide, a torrent of flame erupted from Amon wordlessly. Surprised by the sudden attack Typhus leaped ungracefully onto the wet dirt to avoid the unleashed flames.
For a full 3 seconds the flames burst and crackled, darkening the grass and making the mud splinter in spiderweb cracks as it fell where Typhus stood only moments ago.
"Ignis."
Their bright orange claw was closed and the flames stopped as suddenly as they started. Making sure Typhus was watching, Amon's lips curled in satisfaction as they cut off the fire. Sophia and Typhus both held wide open mouths and shocked expressions.
Regaining her wits first, Sophia took the opportunity, "Hey, Typhus. I think Amon might be the only one making mages around here."