You see a thin, scraggly Nepharim, holding a crude club. It watches you warily.
"Mrmmm. I am called Hfass."
"Hrmm. Normally, I would be your foe. But here, we all work against the common enemy." As he says enemy, he lets out a slight hiss.
18
enemy
0
"Pfft. The giants take no allies. They want no friends, feline, lizard, or human. They captured me when I was on the hunt."
18
hunt
0
"Mrrm. Vapor rats. It is not important. The human there and I slipped away from the cell with the help of the third, and wait here for the chance to depart."
18
third
0
"A slith. The three of us worked together. The slith female was a mage, who melted away the passage to the cells. She died in an ambush as we explored. The giants look for us still. We hope to depart before they catch us."
18
human
0
"He is called Zed. A human. Worth respecting. Hmrrm. Who would have guessed?"
18
depart
0
"We have made it as far as the gate, with stealth and skill, but the gate is locked, and we cannot find the key. Without the key, there is no hope of getting out. I hope that one day I can return to my mate, but I despair."
18
mate
0
"A beautiful, soft-furred tan. You could never in a million years appreciate her beauty. She waits for me in the fort still, I am sure. Nepharim mate for life."
18
fort
0
"A few of us Nepharim choose to live together, with our own kind, near your city of Cotra. We guard ourselves, and the crypt."
18
crypt
0
"The tomb of a Nephar hero of old, who helped win the first victory against you humans. Hrmmm. In the crypt is a piece of the great blade of a human hero. It is a beautiful sight. I hope to see it again before the giants eat me."
21
stnd
0
There is a young, bearded man. His once solid figure is slowly wasting away.
"I am Zed. Welcome to you, fellow prisoner."
"Returning home."
21
home
0
"I am from the Abyss. It is my home, and I look at it with pride. I don't expect a vole to understand it."
21
vole
0
"Oh. That's what we call your kind. No offense."
21
abyss
0
"Yes! You call it the Abyss! We see it differently. We all live in the Abyss. But our cavern is the ladder that we will all one day climb to escape."
21
escape
0
"Perhaps you might help. We are protected from the giants by Bargha, the fort we build with our outlaw hands. There, ask of the Scimitar. I would be helping them now, but the giants are in the way."
21
giants
0
"Curse them. They take no allies, shrink from no treachery. They deal with Pyrog only. We are just food to it."
21
pyrog
0
"Yes. The humans don't know of Pyrog. Only Hfass and I do. We overheard them talk of him. He is a dragon!"
21
dragon
0
"They are his servants. They follow his orders and bring him tribute. He's the only being they respect. He lives to the east, and a mighty, horrible creature he must be."
