Post by phoenix on Nov 22, 2021 4:06:34 GMT
For millennia since the world was young the lizardmen have dwelled in the jungles and swamps of Aliud or Ferran and they have not expanded nor made war on the other races of those lands. All they have expected is that they be left alone in solitude to carry on their ways as they have done for generations. Most others have been content to let sleeping dogs lie but the young race of men are youthful, vainglorious and ever so greedy in their lust for the luster of coins. What little is known of the lizardmen by the outside world is that in coin and gold they are in abundance, their ancient kingdom is supposedly chock full of the stuff. Many have tried to enter those eerie monster infested swamps and jungles in search of lustrous rewards and have only been given blood and steel or the gnashing of fangs. For the unluckiest a stone slab and a ritual of depravity only dimly hinted at by lizardmen exiles. Of all comers to the gold of the lizardmen there is one man said to have gone in and returned with wealth rather than death; the master tomb-robber and thief Camren Reinhold. Reinhold has written several books all of which boast of his travels and his heists in self-aggrandizing grandiosity. Of his supposed hauls there are whisperings among the elite and the blackest of markets regarding curiosities and rare baubles for sale.
The thief made his first heist in the southern realm of Durtheim amongst its infamous Bogwood Forest, a notorious area full of monsters and inhospitable terrain. The lizardmen enclave said to be contained therein supposedly lies at its center where the Basilisk Marshes have receded enough to allow thicker sediment. Reinhold is intentionally vague in his book ‘My Take From The Lizardmen’ where specifically he found the lizardmen stronghold but describes it as “hidden amongst the mist and trees, but subtly visible to those with sharp eyes and keen instincts.” He says that it took him three weeks to locate the stronghold and the same again to find a way to infiltrate it, adding that he had to dress up *as* a lizardman after catching a lone hunter that wandered too far into the Bogwoods to be missed. Once in his morbid disguise Reinhold states that he was able to swiftly bypass the door guards and gain access whereupon he crept throughout the grounds and stayed there three days before he was able to locate the treasure vault of the lizard priests. Taking only what he desired he absconded as a number of lizardmen chased him after discovering the ruse. The thief is barely able to reach safety within the walls of Selthenburg before the lizardmen catch up.This part of the tale matches up with some written reports of lizardmen sacking that town before the Order of the Eagle were called upon to disperse them back to the Bogwoods without their quarry. .
Reinhold’s story moves east afterward to the Raffon Marshes in the western part of the Duchy in the lands of men. The lizardmen here live in a much smaller territory and are not privy to the same fear as those living in Durtheim, as such the incursions into their land are more frequent and information more available in regards to their whereabouts. This seemingly made it much simpler for Reinhold as in his novel he states it took him a paltry week to infiltrate the lizardmen camp. In this heist the grave-robber turned masquerader plainly admits to planting himself amidst one of the groupings of men attempting another raid upon the lizard-kin and abusing them for a distraction. He adds that these men were cattle to the slaughter and lasted just long enough to get himself close enough to the temple complex so that he could get in while the lizardmen were away. Once he had departed from the human raiding party and eluded the few lizardmen patrols not focused on dealing with the incursion, Reinhold admitted himself to the lightly guarded stronghold by way of a hastily abandoned entryway. Sneaking about and stabbing where he could not, the trail of remaining guards led him to the treasure-hoard of that hold and once its defenders were laid low the thief was able to abscond with his well chosen loot.
The last theft occurred across the Diebennen Sea deep inside the humid expanse of the Voul Jungle where it is said the largest city of the lizardmen civilization lies. There in that mist enshrouded place is where the thief says he spent a total of three months exploring its depths and dodging hunting parties of beasts and scaled huntsmen. During these three months he was stymied at every possible entrance by the lizardmen with their unwavering vigil on the entrances to their underground kingdom. Even when he had the slightest opportunity at the doors one of the Vol Jungle’s indefatigable predators would come onto his path and force him to retreat lest he draw the attention of the sanctum’s defenders. At last the seasons aligned so that the thief could make his entry; the jungle grew more humid than normal, the mist thicker than porridge and at last even the animals were stymied in their predations. Reinhold, having grown impatient, slays the door guards and finally gains entry to the labyrinthian temple complex where he would complete his string of thefts at last. Following the twists and turns along the ever downward sloping passageways and having slain innumerable lizardmen on the way he arrived in a central chamber with a stone altar in the middle with peculiar circular slots on the side. In these he placed his previous haul, coins taken from the other places of the lizardmen empire, and just has he placed the last one the altar began to move of its own accord. Having slid aside the altar revealed a hidden space, nothing more than a crypt where a lizardman priest lay clutching a metal tablet. Of the items on the shaman Reinhold says that he only took the tablet to avoid incurring overdue wrath from any potential deities. After taking the tablet the thief took back the spoils he had used to open the crypt and absconded out the way he had come after dodging the lizardman response to his incursion.
Of the things taken from the lizardmen the robber-baron claims to have stolen just nine coins and a tablet explaining that the coins were necessary to steal the tablet based on a rumor found in an ancient text he had taken from an academic’s library. Each of the artifacts are said to be made up of different rare metals and inscribed with the symbology of the ancient race’s ritual language. The first set taken from the Bogwood are minted from Palesilver and bear the likeness of lizardmen warriors. Set number two from the Duchy was created from Mithril and displays ancient shamans. The last set of coins which were looted alongside the tablet were crafted from Draconite and feature what appears to be a feminine scaled face which Reinhold says is the first queen of the lizardmen. Lastly and certainly not least is the tablet itself, made up of silver-white metal and dappled in places with black spots, it is also warm to the touch. It is perhaps the only ‘known’ example of an object made up of the mysterious metal dubbed ‘Fal’ for the tower on Crescent Island. It is inscribed with the sharp cuneiform of the lizardmen language. The coins have since been rumored to have been sold off on the black market to differing men of means across Aliud and Ferran by way of the Butcher’s Market in Pirate’s Rest; the tablet is said to have been delivered directly to Nuvem. Even more rumors abound that Reinhold was hired by this wealthy mage in Nuvem to acquire the tablet in the first place.