30 The Caravan

"Patriarch." The two Lizardman scouts that had been sent to monitor the paths leading into the forest, and to the cave bowed after the initial confusion of Michael was. "Forgive us for our transgression." They were a pair that had Michael raising his non-existent brow upon seeing them. One Red Scaled, and one Yellow Scaled Lizardman.

"It's fine. You are forgiven." Michael waved his small scaled hand at them as he mentally sighed. He had given up completely on trying to get them to stick to a less formal name. He was a hundred percent sure they didn't even care if he had a name to begin with.

"Now, tell me. Have you spotted anything coming through this path as of late?" He turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

"Oh, I remember seeing a squirrel jumping into tho-Ah!" The red scaled Lizardman began speaking excitedly, only to be cut off by a slap on its tail by its yellow scaled companion.

"Not the squirrel, you idiot." It whispered before taking the lead. "There haven't been any strange movements or objects passing through ere ever since we were sent here by Lady Ramita."

'Lady Ramita?' Michael silently noted in his mind, a slightly amused smile on his face.

"I see..."

Before he could continue his sentence, the sound of an odd crunch of stone made the Lizardmen turn to face the road. From around the corner, a well painted wagon that saw frequent use came rolling. Behind it were three other large wagons, with all four of them being stuffed up with a multitude of supplies.

At the front of the wagon that led the caravan, Michael spied the forms of Brutus and Eudora. Behind, he could also see the various members of the teams that they had brought the day before to clear out the Red Lizardman tribe.

'Great, they're here.' Michael thought to himself as he stepped out onto the road. The horses neighed and came to a stop when they picked up the scent of a stronger being than them. Brutus' hands shot up to his twin hammers that were strapped to his back as he prepared to jump down from the seat where he was sitting.

Just as he was about to jump down, Eudora blocked him off.

"They are not our enemies." She spoke as she gestured to the other forms that were stepping out from the tree line. The seven Lizardmen, including the scouts that Michael had joined up with stepped behind Michael as he waited for the adventurers to calm down.

"What's going on up there?!" An annoyed voice came from the wagon behind the first, followed by some angry stomps. A large, burly man made his way around Brutus and Eudora's wagon, his face full of annoyance.

"Brother, what's wrong? Why did we stop?" He asked, before his eyes stopped on Michael's diminutive form, along with his escort of Lizardmen.

"L-lizardmen! Attack!" He drew out a sword immediately, his reflexes as a warrior not failing him one bit, although his words did. A corona of while light enveloped the sword just as he was about to dash forward.

"Wait, brother!" Brutus yelled, but it was too late. The burly man swung down his bastard sword, grasping it with both hands, as he arrived before Michael in a split second.

"Hmph!" Michael merely grunted as he watched this. The next moment, his tail shot out, deflecting the bright sword. A keening screech rang out as sparks burst between Michael's scales and the burly man's sword.

"Hup!" The man jumped back, his eyes sharp as he regarded Michael with a look of respect. That was when he felt the deadly aura of death that spread out from behind Michael. Seven pairs of eyes that oozed intense anger glared at him, their sharp eyes glowing in the daylight.

Michael simply held up an arm, stopping them from lashing out. The red scaled Lizardman's claws glowed an ominous red as it felt the need to protect its new leader.

"Brother!!!" A loud, angry yell cut through the tension as Brutus ran between his brother and Michael.

"My condolences. My stupid brother here must have thought you were a mindless, attacking beast. Please forgive his ignorance." Brutus' voice that was once full of unrestrained arrogance now bent below it's pride as he regarded Michael warily. He could vaguely sense that Michael was the same Lizardman he had left the night prior, but the change between an almost seven foot Lizardman, and a barely three foot dragonewt was very jarring.

"All is well. I can see how he would see me as a threat." Michael waved away the tense atmosphere. "I should have let you peacefully approach my mountain, but I decided to make my presence known here so I could make sure it was you."

Brutus let out a sigh of relief when he heard Michael's response. He was glad that this deadly being had not been offended, or else, there was a chance he might not make it out of this forest alone.

"By any chance..." Eudora chipped into the conversation, "Did you... Evolve?" She hesitantly finished her question.

"Yes, yes. This is my new form. Full of much more power than I previously held!" He raised up his arms and spread out his wings. He had a wingspan of roughly ten feet, large enough for him to maintain flight for some time. As he grew larger, his wings would only grow much more powerful.

"That is... Amazing." She nodded. She honestly had no idea how to feel upon seeing that Michael had grown stronger. On one hand, a potential ally of theirs would be more powerful, which would also be good for them. But on the other hand, if they were forced to stand against Michael, then that would mean that a potential enemy had grown stronger, which would translate into a deadly foe that they couldn't beat.

In fact, bringing Brutus' older brother had been part of their plan to show their strength. The man was famed back in town for his ability to fight D ranked beasts on even footing, and even come out on top!

Now though, their card had turned out to be a flop!