(Wow, I am now officially freaked out. Ein, you DID read what Makhno did, right? Heh...)
Ven slowly stood up, removing the sword from the ground.
"All... right... I'll take you."
"Excellent. See now, cooperation is so much easier, isn't it?"
Draven began walking down path towards the cave, still with the slight limp. He seemed to be favoring his left side slightly, at least that was what Ven could make of it. Ven shot Allen a distressed glance, as if to say "I'm sorry."
Draven had a different comment for Allen, when he made his way ahead of the other two.
"Oh yes, Allen. I will have your next assignment once I sort out this little mess..."
----
The Dark Emperor and his son followed the three lizard people though a rock tunnel and towards a large opening, where the crimson light flooded in. They were soon on a balcony made of stone, high above a vast underground chasm. The cave was gigantic, and it was impossible to see the opposite wall...
Over three hundred feet below they scurried about like ants... These lizard creatures... There were thousands of them running about among the plumes of flame and smoke scattered about the mammoth cave floor. Some were striking anvils, making weapons from small ovens attached to the streams of magma that flowed through. Others worked on what looked like suits of armor, suited for reptilian forms. Others were assembling strange metallic devices, some of them quite large and many resembling catapults and others cannons. Other lizard men were attached to harnesses and pulling loads through roads. And others tended to rows of white oblong eggs that haphazardly scattered the chasm... The noise spewing from below was deafening...
Retan brought his hand to his chin.
"Most impressive, Prime Minister Grav. When we last met, you were but a small population of a few thousand..."
The robed lizard Grav bowed his head.
"And all are your sservants, my lord..."
The lizard turned to the masses below, twitching his tail as he spoke.
"These are mostly C Class. We had only had a few hundred when we last met, but as you can see, they are now by far the most prevalent."
"The 'growable' warrior class, correct?" Jayce interjected, his mouth almost watering as he leaned far over the balcony, fantasizing at the countless minions soon to be under his disposal..."
"That is correct, my prince. They take three years from conception to be ready for battle. They have a lifespan of five years past that point, and are capable for battle for all of it. Afterwards, they'll just drop dead wherever they stand. You'll know it about a day before, when they become sluggish..."
Jayce turned and grabbed a small device that one of the lizard soldiers behind Grav was carrying. It looked somewhat like a remote control with a blue gem at one end and a display gauge with a needle underneath. Jayce returned to his vantage point and waved the device over the lizard horde below, watching the needle as it danced about.
"Oh yes! A battle aura of over 1,000 each! Delicious! The finest trained Dark Empire human soldiers rarely break 200."
"You ARE masking this place, are you not?" Retan quickly shot at the lizard prime minister.
"But of course, my lord. In addition to an aural shield around the entirety of Mizar, which renders everything that goes on here un-sensible to magically inclined outsiders, there's quite the powerful force barrier one layer underneath. It took us an hour to merely open a hole large enough for the two of you to enter."
"Excellent. And what about obedience?"
"You will find them to be far easier to work with than humans, hexed or not. Their intelligence is minimal, so their orders will have to be simple and clear, however they are programmed to recognized officers, friend, and foe with minimal direction. Furthermore, they respond to a certain shadow elemental frequency of magic fairly well. Observe."
The prime minister held out his staff and uttered the word "Bow" quietly, which of course wouldn't have been heard over the din of the work below. However, about a hundred of the closest lizards below immeditely dropped what they were doing and bowed to Grav above.
"Impressive. Allow me to try."
Retan blinked. Without a word the entire populace stopped in their tracks, the din of work ceasing entirely, and dropped to their reptilian knees, muttering "Hail Retan... Hail Retan..."
Grav gazed wide-eyed at Retan's level of control. Jayce smirked.
"I am quite pleased with your work here, Grav," Retan mused. "Now, show me what you've done with the D Class..."
"Yess, my lord..."
