บท 433: Lizards' Records

I was taken to a large, newly built stone mansion. Inside, a few Lizards already awaited us. They were dressed in elegant robes, and had a scholarly mood. Moreover, they were similar to Jora. Their royal blood was not as pure compared to him, but I could see some hints of golden streaks across their skins. One of the Lizards speed forward, and welcomed. "Welcome to our newly built library. Follow us, we will take you to a more private place, where you can view the books". I nodded, and followed them, Jora also joined us, and walked next to me.

They had loads of books, but not as many as Voltars had. We entered a room inside the library, where the leading scholarly Lizards said. "You asked for the period where they Greys were banished, right? Have a seat, and we will bring you everything we have on that".

I nodded and took a seat. Jora sat next to me, then asked "What exactly is that relic?". I made up some lies on the spot, "There are supposedly a few of them, and they reach antiquity. Those weapons are supposedly so powerful, one could overwhelm an army with their use". He thought about it before replying, "I never heard of such things. I'm not well versed with the history, but don't you think those relics are just fairytale?".

I said with a smile, "That's precisely what I'm trying to find out". A while later, the three scholarly Lizards returned, and each of them was carrying a few books. Altogether, there were nine of them. They placed the books in front of me, then the leading scholar said. "Those are the records from that period. I read them myself in the past, but found nothing about relics". I grabbed the first book, and read it. The book described how Grey and Royal Lizards worked together, but then mentioned some sort of betrayal on Grey Lizards' part.

The record wasn't detailed, but from what I gathered, the Grey Lizards overstepped their qualifications. Not much else was mentioned, but that's what supposedly warranted their banishment. It mentioned how the Royal Lizards were benevolent, and took all their previous work under consideration. Hence the Royal Lizards didn't kill them, but let them leave. I found it a bit fishy, that was when I recalled something. 'The history is written by the winners' I thought.

The Royal Lizards might've simply wrote betrayal, but the book didn't even detail what betrayal it was. Only some vague notion of overstepping their qualifications. This could mean anything really. The cooperation between both factions was also vague. Supposedly, the Grey Lizards were responsible for Formations that helped improve water quality. How they overstepped those qualifications, was a mystery to me.

I placed the book down, and said to the leading scholar. "I don't get it. The book mentioned that Grey Lizards betrayed you guys, but it doesn't mention anything about it. So what happened?". All of them narrowed their eyes, and I could feel that question was out of place for them. I smiled, "No need to be so stressed. I was only curious. Anyway, this book doesn't have anything on relics, I will check the other ones".

I grabbed the second book, and read it. That book described a period after the Grey Lizards left. Supposedly, their race thrived without the Grey Lizards, and they established more cities and villages around the Obsidian Mountains. The weird thing was, they hardly mentioned any resources with which that was accomplished. They did mention Atols, and how they helped them craft some of those new settlements. The book talked about two new cities, and three villages. Coincidentally, that was the same amount they had currently. Yet, Atols only built one city, and two villages for them. The rest was supposedly built by Lizards alone.

'Hmm, I don't doubt Lizards could create a city, after all Arangard was made by them. I feel like something is off here, like this is not the truth' I thought, and placed the book down. I looked at the scholars. I didn't want to arouse more suspicions with my question, therefore I decided to ask none about that book. Instead I said, "This book details construction of new cities and villages. It does cover a longer period of time, but has no information on other locations. Is there anything else before the Grey Lizards left?".

The leading scholar took one of the books from the stack, and handed it to me. He asked, "Why do you concern yourself so much with Grey Lizards?". I replied, "It was during that time those relics were lost, or rather seen. From the records I got, it was around that time period. I'm looking for mentions of locations, or strange events in overall. This could help me locate those relics". An obvious lie, but I said it so confidently, they could find no faults with my statement.

I grabbed the book he handed to me, and read it. The book indeed described a period before the Grey Lizards left, but it focused on relationship with Shades. At first they were hostile, actually everything was hostile in the North. Those races did everything to protect themselves, and their territories.

Although small conflicts arose here and there, it was never bad enough to warrant a war. The book described a deal that Shades made with Lizards. Because Shades lacked knowledge of Formations, the Grey Lizards were supposed to help them out. The book didn't mention with what exactly. While the Shades offered information on other races. That wasn't all. They proposed an alliance, which lasted till that day, as well as a few other things like resources.

'My guess would be, Shades needed water. The Grey Lizards were sent to help them out' I thought. That seemed like the most logical conclusion. The records were always all over the place. Voltars might had sorted their records properly, but they simply didn't allow me to view them. How much truth was in those records, no one really knew anymore.

I placed the book down, and shook my head. The leading scholar said, "If you are looking for books that describe more locations during that period, I'm afraid we might only have one or two more. The books you see here, will mostly not describe that". I asked him to bring those two books, but he refused. "Only the Royals have access to those books. Even me or Jora aren't authorised to take them out". This made me wonder what those books contained. Truth perhaps?

I told them that I found nothing new. The scholarly Lizard said, "I read loads of books here, but I never heard of such relics. Where did you find such information?". I thought about it, but in reality I was making some more lies. When I got an idea, I asked him. "Do you know who Bramans were?". He thought about it, but shook his head in the end. I continued, "It was a race that lived in antiquity. Humans waged a war against them, and won. Bramans no longer exist, but they were originally living here in the North".

He asked shocked, "I'm aware that Humans fought a war, before we made home here at Obsidian Mountains, but I wasn't aware how that other race was called. Where did you get that history?". I continued, "Partially from Voltars, and some from other sources. Unfortunately, there is nothing in those books that can help me locate them. I will have to search in a few other places".

Jora said, "Maybe you are simply chasing something that never existed? This happened so many years ago". I came up with another lie. "Remember when Vanauts were digging for something? What if they were digging because of those relics?". This was such an absurd lie, I wouldn't believe it myself. They were obviously digging toward those cities, not looking for any relics that I just made up.

But for some reason, they bought it without a second thought. The scholarly Lizard said, "That is entirely possible. Eterians might know about those relics too, and they are searching for them". Jora jumped in as well, "Do you need help locating those things? We can send a few group, if we have an approximate locations". I was stunned by their immediate change, and willingness to help. 'They really want to get their hands on those non existent relics' I thought.

I had no location for them to search, but I could make one up. I said, "I might have something in mind, but I'm not sure. If you don't mind sending a few people, then that is alright". He asked me for the location, quite excitedly I might add. I told them, "Don't get excited. Do not send too many people. For one, we don't want this to look suspicious. The other reason is, you might be wasting resources. I have a location in mind, but I'm not sure about it at all. Treat it as a guess".

They urged me to tell them the location, so I did. "I think the area where Dead Forest was, might have some clues about those relics. Again, send only a few people. If they find something, that will be great". Jora stood up while replying, "I will send a few people there to check the area. If you find anything else, be sure to share it with us". He then left, while I returned the books to the scholarly Lizards. I left Arangard soon after, and headed to Olrad.