The party decides to head back to Thurmaster. About halfway back, they spot two armed lizardmen in the distance, about 100 yards away. The lizardmen are standing still and appear to be watching the party carefully.

Karon stands very still, and keeps his eyes on the surrounding area. "They wanted us to see them," he mutters. "So I'll wager there are more waiting, hidden, to see what we do. Perhaps those fellows have some information they'd be willing to share?"

Lucien nods his agreement to Karon's statement. "I think talking to them would be a good idea. We shouldn't split up though, keep approaching them slowly as a group." His fingers twitch, but he resists the urge to draw his bow or reach for his rapier. He moves towards the front of the group with the clear intent to participate in talking to the lizardmen.

Seirye followed along, trudging through the marshy ground. Unlike her more folks-y cousins the High Elf found the ground heavy going, even dressed in her robes and tunic. The others seemed nervous enough but Seirye had never encountered a lizardman before and wondered if this race took a similar approach to the arcane arts as other humanoids. She hadn't read much about them but undoubtedly she would get an opportunity very shortly. Still, caution was wise and so she scanned the land to either side of them.

When the party begins to advance towards them, the lizardmen turn and begin to retreat rather quickly further into the mire, frequently looking back over their shoulders as they move away from the adventurers.

"Well, they either want us to follow them or are laying the most idiotic trap ever," Karon rumbles. "I'm hoping we're not idiots here, but I think we should follow them," he continues as he slowly slips his shield off his back, trying to be inconspicuous, and slides his left arm into the worn leather grip.

Lucien looks less sure of that course of action. "Honestly, it's possible they came across our trail and were simply following it. They may be nothing more than scouts. That would mean no ambush here, but they might easily lead us to more of their kind who could overwhelm us. Particularly in territory they are familiar with. They'll also be able to lose us easily if they want to." He stops advancing towards the lizardmen and encourages the others to stop as well. He watches the two figures to see if they keep retreating into the swamp.

The two lizardmen stop momentarily when Lucien and the others cease to follow them, then they continue to retreat further into the mire, eventually disappearing behind a small hill on the horizon.

Lathan watches the lizardmen retreat. "They probably don't get many visitors around here," he says to his companions. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of their kind soon. Let's be on guard."

He then continues to lead the party back to Thurmaster.

Karon follows the others, but he has doubts about returning to Thurmaster. "I think that if we see more of those lizard-fellows we should try to talk to them. If anybody knows something about dragons and giants roaming the swamp it will be the natives. Assuming they even speak some form of language we understand."

Seirye perked up a little at Karon's question, "I know a few languages, I mean it's almost a pre-requisite when you're studying tomes or scrolls from many places and you're trying to distill the knowledge of an entire world, or some parts of it, so that you can understand how better to prepare to cast some spell, or appreciate some nuance in the gestures required to maximise the mystical potential. You may not realise this but it's not as if Elves have a monopoly on the ancient arcana, or humans for that matter, or..."

She paused as she glanced at the faces of those around her for a moment.

"... yes, the lizard-people, no I'm afraid I don't know the speech of these folk."

She paused again.

"And neither does Fizjl."

Following Lathan back to Thurmaster, Lucien listens to the others musings on the lizardmen. For his own part, he is torn between wanting to find them and speak to them about the attacks and avoiding them due to the danger they themselves pose. "With any luck they'll know enough common to get by. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

As the party reaches the edges of the Shrieken Mire, they spot three lizardmen on the horizon to the east. Like the previous lizardmen, they are armed. As soon as it is apparent that the party notices them, they begin to retreat quickly.

"Okay, I'll risk going to them," Karon says. "You hold back, I'm tougher than I look. If they try to kill me I'd appreciate some help." He then walks towards the lizardmen with purposeful steps, shield on his arm but weapons still hanging in his belt.

"Yo, fellas, hold up!" he shouts to the lizardmen. "I just want to talk."

The lizardmen hasten their retreat as Karon begins to follow them. When he shouts to them, they begin running away.

The bulky Half-Orc returns to the others with a sheepish grin on his face. "So, I guess they don't want to talk. We should just get to Thurmaster, I guess."

Lucien raises a sardonic eye at Karon. "A half-orc charging at you, does not generally make one want to talk." He tries to make it clear that the comment is meant in jest, but the elf is occasionally too inscrutable for his own good, even when being genuine. "If we can think of a way to engage them in conversation next time, we can try that. Maybe having one of us approach with our hands up? It's probably that or shout at them." He resumes walking towards Thurmaster.

"That wasn't a charge," Karon replies with an indignant look on his face. "You will be able to tell the difference when you see the real thing. I will, for example, have a weapon in my hand when I charge someone. Well. Most of the time, anyway. But I take your point. I may not look very harmless to most people, let alone some mud-basking lizard-people. If we want to talk, perhaps someone who looks a bit softer might try his or her's luck."

The party arrives back in Thurmaster shortly after the second lizardman sighting. It is starting to get dark when they get back to town.

"With all this walking back and forth I feel as if I joined a band of merry hikers, not a group of mercenaries, or whatever you call yourselves," Karon grumbles as he finally sees the roofs of the houses of Thurmaster in the distance. "So, what's the plan now? More sightseeing?" he continues, his mood unusually dark due to a blister on one of his feet that's been annoying him all day.

"So, what do we know... not much as far as I can ascertain. We found the location of the fight, found the prints but everything was old. There were Lizard folk nearby..." said Seirye before she paused for a moment.

"But what don't we know? We didn't see a Giant or a Dragon. The Lizard folk presumably either saw the fight, or had come across the aftermath, much as we did, or know of the giants... in fact I can't see how they wouldn't know about the giants given that the area was their home... but they didn't want to get involved with us so, short of forcing the issue, which is likely to create a bigger problem, I'm not sure how we could get them to talk to us."

"Karon is right... what next? Do we look for this kidnapped girl? Should we spend more time interviewing the locals, although we'll need to be wary about sifting through the rumours and gossip. Do we get more supplies and patrol the marsh for a sustained period?"

Lucien heads for the inn with the intent of finding a place to stay for the evening. "We could try to lay out a trap. Set a target that the giants would be interested in attacking to lure them out. We might draw the attention of the lizardmen again that way too. Either that or try to find someone more familiar with the marsh."

"A trap could potentially work," Lathan says. "I doubt we'll find anyone more familiar with the marsh, apart from the lizardmen. It sounds like no one goes very far in if they can avoid it. I don't blame them.

"Let's see if we can find out anything tonight, then head out again first thing in the morning. I'm not one to give up after only a day's exploration. An answer will present itself if we're persistent."

"Hey, I'm as stubborn as the next guy, so if you want to take another crack at it I'm fine with that. But it seems to me that some leads or even a guide could make our holiday in this fine swamp shorter than it could otherwise be," Karon replies to Lathan.

"As for a trap, I'm not sure what giants like or dislike, so I'll be of little help baiting that trap. Unless you want me as the bait, of course," he says, laughing.

Seirye raises her eyebows a little and purses her lips as she considers Karon's offer. The look on her face is quite serious and is clearly thinking this through. "Hmmmm," she muses.