Shantrali stood and looked around at the burned remains of the village. This was the second one he had come across in his travels to date since traveling up from the jungles to the south. There was a Swarming coming. He could feel it in his bones and the younger races were not prepared for a second Swarming in a generation. He turned away from the burned ruins and the dead remains. Nature would claim this place within a year if another race didn't return. While it was a natural cycle of things, this second Swarming felt... unnatural. Forced. As if there was a power behind it forcing it out of balance with the rest of the world. The closest major settlement was Xardin. Not exactly a place he wished to go, but personal feelings aside, an attempt to warn them must be made.<br/><br/>A day later he was within sight of the city and confronted with a choice. To go in alone, or to go in alone after having long pointless arguements with the city guard. One would think they had never seen the thunder lizards that dwelled in the areas not frequented by the younger 'civilized' races. Meditating on it for an hour or so he came to the conculsion that, if the younger races didn't like it, then to the Abyss with them. Rhentaliax would stay with him. No doubt poachers would attempt to capture or kill her and when she killed them they would complain to other adventurers that there was a killer monster on the lose in the forest. He rolled his purple eyes at the mere thought of that complication. Making sure his gear was secured, he turned to Rhentaliax and patted her nose. "I know you don't like it, but it will keep them from thinking to poorly upon you my dear." With a few words and gestures he reduced her size from the large creature she was to about roughly the size of a common horse. "Now, let us go."<br/><br/>He pulled up the hood on the simple brown terry cloth robe he wore when he was out an about checking up on things. His brestplate blended in with the natural browns and tans of the robe. For all intents and purposes with the hood up, the staff out he looked like a traveling monk or simple pilgrim, that is if one ignored the large toothy maw attached to the dinosaur traveling with him. Rhentaliax had a rather nasty habbit of wandering off on her own as things caught her attention and would on occassion come back to get him to show him what she had discovered, or worse, bring back what she had found. This came as a rather nasty surprise to the random traveler who would encounter him on the roads and in the forests he loved, when she would come trotting back to his side after a random excursion. It came and an even worse surprise to roving bandits who thought they had an easy target, when 10ft of angry reptile came charging into through ranks ripping and shredding.