A Lizardman's Journey

Later that day after the Dungeon Core had respawned the Lizardman villagers, Bob was on his hands and knees crawling along the ground, his attention focused below him. Periodically he would reach a hand to his head and massage it tenderly, the feeling from his last death still weighed heavily on his mind, and also what he saw did.

Stood beside him, Ted and Suzy were talking between themselves, each proposing increasingly preposterous ideas as to alert the Humans to their intelligence and subsequent friendliness. A sudden shout went up from Bob that startled the other two conspirators.

"Ha! I found it!"

Bob was grinning as his eyes stared intently at the small glass lens, nestled between several blades of glass. Extending his hand, he went to reclaim the monocle, but struggled to grasp it, his claws fumbling with the lens. As the scratches on the lens increased, Bob did not let that dissuade him from retrieving his prize. With the monocle safely between two of his claws, he then saw a shadow come over him as Ted and Suzy peered over his shoulders.

It was Ted's voice that reached his ears first.

"Bob, is that the Humans eye you told us about?"

"Indeed, indeed Ted! With this eye, now the Humans will have no excuse for not realising we are intelligent! We are even smart enough to wield a Humans eye!"

Just as Bob was revelling in the words he spoke, an excited Suzy hugged him from behind and made the monocle attempt to escape from his claws. A few seconds of comically grasping at thin air and Bob had safely held the lens tight.

"Oh Bob, I'm sorry. Should I hold you from behind to make sure you don't drop it again?"

A silence lingered while Bob and Ted both repeated Suzy's words internally, desperately trying to picture what she meant and how it would be of aid. At the same moment they both came to the accurate conclusion that it was just one of Suzy's terrible attempts at flirting. Shrugging the lusting pink Lizardman off from his shoulders, Bob set off walking back towards the fallen logs, with his two allies following.

"Did both of you come up with good ideas to convince the Humans?"

Both of the Lizardmen started chuckling to one another as Ted answered his brothers question.

"No Bob! If all our plans fail, then I don't even think you with your longer tail could convince them!"

Suzy nodded away whilst Ted was talking, only becoming active at the mention of Bobs tail. Her eyes were now firmly fixated on his tail, as it swayed back and forth with every footstep.

"Your brother is right Bob. Even with your big, long, beautiful tail, not even you could convince them if our plans don't work!"

Choosing to ignore Suzy's ramblings, Bob halted and span around to face his kin. The sudden movement forced Ted to stop walking for fear of bumping into his brother, but Suzy decided to feign ignorance. Forcing herself to keep walking, she bumped into his chest and wrapped her arms around his body.

"Ohh Bob, I didn't see you there. Why did you stop walking?"

Bob let out a deep sigh and then held the monocle aloft.

"Behold Ted, Suzy, I will use the Humans eye!"

Ignoring Suzy who was near pressed up against him, and his brother Ted who was watching nervously, Bob began to follow through with his words. Lowering the monocle downwards, he carefully went to insert it over his eye. Not understanding exactly how the lens was to go, or be secured, Bob believed it to work akin to a contact lens (not that he knew what that was). Just as he was about to wedge it under his eyelid, the unthinkable happened and started to send him down the road to destruction.

"ACHOO!"

Suzy let out an almighty sneeze that took Bob by surprise and made the monocle slip between his claws. The glass lens went sideways and stabbed directly into his eye. A spray of blood and a clear viscous fluid shot out from the wound in his eye. The lens was proudly sticking out and leaving his left eye utterly useless.

"ARGHHH FUCK MY EYE!....MY EYE......DAMN....FUCK....SHIT....MY EYE!"

Suzy's eyes went wide when she saw the sight. Jumping backwards in surprise, she threw up the bile in her stomach and continued to wretch at the sight of Bob's damaged eye. Ted attempted to calm his brother down, reaching out a hand to remove the lens, he only succeeded in making it worse.

"Calm down Bob, it's okay, I'll help!"

Just as Ted was about to grasp the monocle from Bob's eye, a sudden movement by the injured party made Ted's hand bang against the lens and drive it even deeper.

"ARGHHH, HOW IS THAT HELPING!?"

The gruesome comedy that was unfolding, suddenly acquired new participants as the portal activated and a group of Humans entered the Dungeon. The first person through froze in place, causing the ones behind to bump up against him. Now all of them were staring at the three approaching Lizardmen.

Out of the three monsters, the smaller pink one had a green stain down its chest from some sort of liquid, the smell it was giving off had pricked the noses of the Adventurers immediately. Whereas the larger red one, had made the Humans all grimace in disgust at its horrifically injured eye.

Before the charging Lizardmen could get close enough to attack, one of the Adventurers shot out from the back of their group. With rapid movements that showed no signs of hesitation, the black clad teenager decapitated all three monsters in a matter of seconds. Even so he had killed the enemies and showed no fear, a single shout from a girl in their party made him near jump out of his skin.

"CURSE YOU BOBBY!"

"Ah, oh, I'm sorry Shelly. The red one looked weird, so I was worried it would hurt you"

The four person party had been split in two, the other members, a man and a woman stepped to the side to let the enraged girl get through. Shelly stood in front of the boy, the monsters blood pooling around her feet. Dressed in a similar black attire, her long golden hair shone proudly in the light. Placing her hands on her hips, Shelly bent over until she was at eye level with Bobby.

"I know you're trying to protect me Bobby, but I'm your older sister, I'M SUPPOSED TO PROTECT YOU!.....You really think a measly Lizardman with a wonky eye is a threat to me?.....Mum, Dad, tell him!"

Bobby who had been looking sheepishly at the ground while he received his tongue lashing, had now crouched down and was fiddling with one of the decapitated heads. The siblings parents who were about to admonish their child, saw that he was not even listening and had actually found something of interest. Appearing at the sides of Shelley, the woman stared intently at the Lizardman's damaged eye, joining her son on the ground, whereas the man whispered in Shelly's ear.

"Go easy on your brother Shell-Shell, you know he only did it because he loves you"

Whilst Shelly was pulling her face in fake disgust at her dads words, her mum rose back up to her feet holding the Lizardman's head. Now the whole family were stood examining it, with Shelly voicing what the others were thinking.

"What is it Mum? Were the monsters fighting with each other before we came?"

Looking at her daughter while she pursed her lips, she suddenly stared at her son and spoke.

"Bobby what's the answer? If you get it right, you don't have to the laundry this week!"

A massive grin spread across Bobby's face, the answer about to roll off his tongue and save him from washing the monster blood off the family's clothes.

"Mum, the monsters don't fight with each other, so it had to be another Adventurer"

"Ding, ding, ding! That's correct little Bobby! So then, no one else should have been in here. We hired this Dungeon from the Sword Guild, so it should be immaculate, as per the contract....We will inform the guards when we get out"

Listening to their mothers words, Bobby and Shelly nodded along, although Bobby was slightly unnerved about complaining to the Guild.

"Hmmm, Mum....Won't they be angry if we complain? It's not that big of a deal is it?"

Bobby's dad gave him a reassuring pat on the back, while his mum went into full explaining mode.

"Now then little Bobby, for that statement you are doing the laundry for two weeks!.....You're only a little child so you may not realise yet......"

"Mum I'm 17!"

Bobby instantly regretted his words, as his mum stared at him with eyes that made his soul wither.

"Exactly LITTLE Bobby, you're still my baby......Now, if we went to a restaurant and the table had dirty plates on it, would you complain?......It's rhetorical, because of course you BLOODY WOULD!"

Her statement was enough to end the entire conversation, with the family preparing to finish off the Dungeon as more Lizardmen started to appear.