10 Way Ahead

Blag strode forth. He had two destinations in mind. On his back was a present which he would take to one of those places.

That present was huge fishes, each of which was two meter long. He carefully dissected them and cleaned them before storing them in the bamboo baskets on his back. Their odor did not repulse him, but instead tantalized him. Big fatty fishes are a prized delicacy for Lizardmen, as they are difficult to capture. One has to venture deep into the lake and be lucky to encounter one. The inner lake is very dangerous as it is inhabited by giant sea beasts, some of them even mutants. Even Dragons are cautious when hunting for food near the center of the lake.

'How I'd like to eat these fish.' Blag had to cast that desire aside while sighing several times as he splashed through the shallow water on his way to village.

His subordinates, whose scales were still bright and shiny from fishing, giggled and laughed seeing their leader's troubles, but they were also drooling looking at the big fish on his back. They were only ableto catch ordinary small fishes. As they approached the village they could see kids with their ravenous appetites peering at them from their houses, their eyes focused the most on Blag, no, on the fish he carried. Lizardmen have a sharp sense of smell and could identify items just from their scents.

Almost all they encountered had their mouths slightly agape, most likely drooling in anticipation. Even as he drew away from them, their eyes were still glued to him. Blag smiled bitterly at this and pretended that he had not notice. Instead, he continued on. He had already decided who would receive this present. The fact that there was a glow in their eyes pleased Blag, because it was a sight which would have been unimaginable several years ago.

After leaving those longing looks behind him, Blag passed several houses along the way before he found the dwelling that was his destination. It was the food storage unit of the entire village. After his subordinates put down their baskets, they had a look as if they are parting with their heart.

"Can't you stop this drama every time we come here?" Blag can only shake his head from the side. To his remark they got their act together and left the storage with the demeanor of a brave warrior, who would not flinch even at the face of death and are willing to sacrifice anything. They only showed their childish side in front of their leader. Blag can only laugh seeing their sudden change.

Blag contemplated for a moment before putting half of the contents in his basket down so that the villagers can also enjoy. Leaders of the expedition have the right to take their catch home but he still left half of his catch. He left the storage after waiting for the caretaker to arrive.

"Blag you don't have to share such expensive item with the village. You put your life in danger to catch it." The caretaker was Crag, an old Lizardmen who retired from being a hunter.

"No problem sir, it's more than enough for me to have this much. Please share it with the children." Blag left the storage with these words not willing to hear anymore from the old man.

Blag was now at the outskirts of the village, and if he carried on any further, he would no longer be in the marshy region of the caves, but in uncharted territory of the cave system with dry land and narrow passages. The houses built on this subtle dividing line seemed quite sturdy in appearance, they are the first line of defense against any unknown threats. He walked for a few more minutes before reaching his house.

-----------------------------

It's been a month since Alyx accepted the mission and during this time he went through the information that Aons have on Q10, Lizardmen, Dragons or any other creatures present in Q10 and its surrounding quadrants. He went through the cultures of different civilizations on MBN. He looked through the history of different civilizations, especially their conflicts and how they have been resolved, if not their conclusion.

In many of the problems Aons have interfered and brought it to an end forcefully. Due to their fear of Aons many were successful ended in this method but not a small number still started fighting after a few generations. By now it has become a situation where they fight till Aons interfere or one side is destroyed. Some Aons also resorted to extreme methods like forced displacement but it only led to new problem at another location.

"These Aons really have a superiority complex and frequently use force to quell any problem. Only in a few instances any meaningful intervention is done which resulted in a long time peace." When Alyx asked Neo about the reasons for using force in one of their meeting, Neo looked at him as if he was looking at an idiot and replied, "Those are the procedures adopted by others who accepted those mission and the rewards are based on the end result."

Alyx was at first ashamed that he did not think of that but later was overjoyed and immediately asked "So the rewards posted are only the minimum and higher rewards are possible based on the outcome."

"Yes, don't waste my time by asking silly questions. If you have no other questions I'll take my leave." Alyx did not try to stop Neo as he was thinking of getting the maximum rewards out of this mission.

Neo visited Alyx to resolve any doubts he has as part of the guidance to new Aons. There was no fixed time and it was entirely random.

"Now I have to come up with a plan which will get me the highest rewards in the remaining time I have left." Alyx regularly went through the missions and noticed that all of them were out of his reach. Till now he was worried how he was going to do any other missions with only 10CP after completing this mission.

Now he had a path opened to him and he is going to get as much as he can out of it.