| Fred fingered the small box strapped around his shoulder. It still
amazed him how it could translate the animal yips and growls of the Pack
into intelligible sounds that normal humans could understand. And he was
very glad that the unearthly Golem had left a few of these magical devices
behind. The box was the only thing that allowed his cousin Willian and
the Princess Astra to communicate with him. "So what do you think, Will?"
Fred asked, looking up at the stone fortress that sat above the harbor.
Will smiled, "It is exactly what we've been looking for."
The sun was now low in the afternoon sky. They had searched the whole of the city as best they could (they were only seven people). And though the city was too large for the Pack to defend and hold, the walls and streets that surrounded the harbor fortress made up an easily defendable perimeter. It had been designed that way by the original builders. This was the heart of the city, from which everything else had quickly sprung up. A military encampment overseeing the silver mines of the dark interior of the forested mountains inland. That is how the city of Panaras began. And Fred knew that that was how the Pack's new colony could begin as well; as a military stronghold that in time would blossom into a thriving city filled with song and laughter. Only one thing now bothered him. That Lizard Man. Of Minestus, well, the dragon did not know where the Pack had gone. He was not a threat, atleast for now. And they were free of the dangers of the plague. The humans that once lived in Panaras were either dead or scattered in the dark expanse of the tropical forests outside the city's walls. But the Lizard Men... They were the real threat. The Golem had called them the Enemy. But who were they really? Only time would tell. But there was one thing Fred was sure of. Where there was one, there were others. And their magical weapons were awesome. How long would it be until more of these Lizard Men came to Panaras? Were they out in the jungle right now, seeking their lost member that Pall had killed in the mayor's house? "We need to take stock of all the canon and powder that has been left here," Fred told the others as they entered the fortress. "We may need it sooner than we like." Go Back
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