Though he doesn't relax as the lizardmen move off, Lucien is surprised. He raises an eyebrow and looks to Arixos for an explanation. "Any useful information?"

[Language unknown: "Dinnceion com ilwh loeve sicediarneev! Si meive sa ntieraers tho ompousacse preventin ndeel a ni, m ai ma m roei vorla ai ounic na pe ivweet iouearwhi."] Arixos calls after them as they leave. He turns to the party, and begins to explain what happened. "They said we are trespassing in their land, so I explained we were only here to hunt down the giants, and they said as long as we left after that we should have no issues." He shook his head to Lucien's question. "They hadn't heard of any giants in the area. However if any do show up I have asked that they tell us so that we can be done sooner."

"And did they know anything about the dragon?" Lathan asks Arixos, his eyes still fixed on the lizardmen in the distance.

"They wouldn't be able to provide us with a map of the swamp or something, would they? I mean, wouldn't they know this place the best?"

Viola pipes up, looking at Arixos. "Perhaps we could, like, pay them? In gold, or in kind?"

Karon has held his tongue while Ariox talked with the strange lizard-people, but now that they are leaving he gets a bit closer. "I'm a little surprised they claim not to know anything about any giants. I mean, giants are, well, huge. They are not exactly easy to miss. I think that perhaps we might be missing something. Who could have something to gain by spreading stories about giants? I mean, who has actually reported seeing them? What if it's a cover for something else, a reason to keep people out of the swamp, or to cover up killing some people?"

"They didn't mention anything about a dragon, most of the conversation was about them telling us to leave their land, and me trying to convince them to let us go unhindered." He tells Lathan. "I have a feeling they don't have a map, they just know the land." He said to Viola. He turned to Karon after his point, thinking about it. "Now that you mention it, it is a bit strange. You would think the lizardmen would know what's going on in their swamp, especially as they found us so soon after we started exploring."

"Well, thanks for convincing them of that," Lathan says to Arixos. "Let's spread out again and continue our search. Stay on guard. Even if the lizardmen keep their word and leave us alone, we still have to potentially contend with giants, a dragon, and whatever else calls this muck home."

Lucien nods in agreement, but his expression is dark as he is clearly in agreement that it seems improbable that the lizardmen haven't noticed strange goings on in their own swamp. As therories swirls through his head, he resumes his position on the periphery of the group and begins the search anew.

With the indigenous creatures of the swamp leaving without further incident, Theron breathes a sigh of relief; he leads them away with his muddy brown eyes, aware of the group slowly reforming their comb line while discussing their run-in with the tribeslizards.

"Or maybe someone embellished their story to match their fear; how many times have you heard someone speak of a vicious killer wolf, when in reality the creature turned out to be an old and mangy hound looking for scraps?" He responds to Karon's musings before heading back over to his designated spot in the line, ready to pick up their search again. The idea of the story being mostly built on falsehood and possible misunderstandings reaffirmed in his head, his gait through the muck seems more confident, making his chainmail jingle with the spring in his step.

"Could be that. A really tall bandit, perhaps," Karon, who like Theron is rather tall himself, says with a grin. "I guess it's more swamp-patrol," the massive half-orc continues, as he sets off into the swamp again in the same line formation as before.

"Except that we saw the footprints at the site of the attack," Lathan says. "They were much too large to be from even the tallest bandits. I'm inclined to believe that there really are giants somewhere out here, even if the lizardmen aren't being overly forthcoming about their whereabouts."

"Heh, I'm no tracker, but I suppose tracks can be faked, by magic or mundane ways," Karon muses. "But we have no idea if the scaly ones were telling the truth or not, so this is all speculation at this stage."

Mapping the Shrieken Mire is slow going. The rest of the day passes without incident. As the sun starts to get low in the sky, the party finds some relatively dry, higher ground which would make for a decent spot to camp for the night.

As the group makes camp, Lucien emerges from the shadows and takes a seat on a mossy stump. "A good start for the first day. There will be more days like today, I'm sure. Lathan, would you prefer the first watch or the second?" Lucien has been quiet since earlier in the day. Turning to face his other companions he voices his thoughts. "Something Karon said earlier has been pulling at my mind. We have seen considerable evidence of something with nefarious purpose happening in the area. Those same agents may have reason to convince locals that there are giants about. We still have no idea as to why, but we may need to consider that what we aren't looking for actual giants."

"Yeah, I'm sort of thinking along the same lines," Karon agrees. "But then, I'm new to the area and don't really know who would want to do that, or why. It's not like someone wants to keep people out. It's a swamp. Nobody that doesn't have to be here wants to come anyway. You can't really mine a swamp, the forest is not good for logging. If there is something of value here, I sure can't see it," the half-orc says, swatting at a large red and yellow flying bug that just landed on his arm.

"I'll take first watch, Lucien."

The party makes camp and rests for the night. Early in the morning, as the first light is just starting to break over the horizon, Lucien, who is keeping watch, spots four lizardmen approaching the campsite from the southeast.

"Let's hope they want another chat, not breakfast," Karon says quietly. "Perhaps they want to share something about giants or people pretending they are giants."

Arixos had rested well, and was chewing on some breakfast when more lizardmen were spotted in the distance. He stood up, putting his food back in the pack and walked up to where Lucien was keeping watch. "Looks like I am up again. I wonder what they want this time?" He said as an open-ended question. He walked a little bit down the hill towards them, stopping a little bit away from them, still fairly close to the rest of the party.[Language unknown: "Hingsi whiardshe!"] He called out to them.  [Language unknown: "Plul ame en il any avead? Be ut thch ut notticthoons si o truserou an linentder?"]

After alerting his companions to the presence of the lizardmen, Lucien doesn't move from the spot where he is posted keeping watch. He watches Arixos pass and nods to the dragonborn. "With luck they want to be helpful. I'll stay right here and watch your back." The woodelf keeps his hands off his weapons and stays reclined in the crook of the tree branch that he had chosen for his watch stand. In the branches above, his familiar takes flight and begins to circle the area in a wide arc.

When the lizardmen see Arixos, they quicken their approach. They are armed but do not have their weapons readied. [Language unknown: "Lat, estiou-astthelesund..."] the apparent leader of the quartet says as he gets within talking distance of Arixos.

Arixos makes the sign of Bahamut, [Language unknown: "Redreatic el whi ainoneant."] He turns back round to the rest of the party. "This solves one debate for us, there are definitely giants. They attacked the lizardman village last night." He turned back to the lizardman in charge. [Language unknown: "Iv ncpo era he verwas'ousoun alni m st.]

Lathan walks up alongside Arixos, adjusting his sword belt. "Find out what exactly happened. We need to know how many giants and if they have any idea where they went afterward."

"If we join forces with the lizardmen, we might have a chance against the giants," Viola muses, still tucking into her share of breakfast rations. "Especially with their knowledge of the marshlands. We might be able to set up an ambush or trap against them."

The lizardman nods at Arixos. [Language unknown: "Ameousith pont. Pr andni houdinich mi iontheineureere peit lotoesfo ce to tapecher, com t yinno stniel enilta ndefo, el le witoul'thupronti is elro elint nt. Ast nt ek narea al ec ers lesoerrea?"]