Tale 6 told by Taniwha on 28.11.2000
A tale of slaughter

Funny race, humans.   Although they lack the distinct abilities and
strengths my friends the elves and my enemies the goblins inherit, they also
lack the intelligence to realize and give in to their inadequacies.

Few embody this much as the tragedy of Lord Cromm.  Powerful and arrogant
almost from birth, the second son of nobles inherited lands larger than
heaven itself, when dishonour and dispute fell upon the elder son.  Although
he decried the accusations as false, the first child left his lands rather
than to tarnish the family name further.  The younger child quickly came to
enjoy his new ranking, with the lands and riches that came with the title.

I shan't bore you with the details, for they are as you would expect of
someone so riddled with greed and want.  His aspirations peaked, I fear,
when his wandering eyes led him towards claiming the nearby swamp lands as
his.  Murky on bad days, the bog was full of disease-carrying pests, the
largest being the clans of roving lizard-men.  Most had wisely turned these
lands over to the creatures. Cromm was not so inclined.

One of the few survirors of the battle that ensued between the lizard- men
and Cromm's hired soldiers could not bring himself to describe the battle
scene, but little imagination is needed to guess what the reptiles are
capable of.  He could only describe the ironic image at the end of the
battle, with the dead all around, and the signet ring of Lord Cromm -- the
symbol of all he coveted and desired, and the only legitimate way to
continue his family name -- being clutched in the scaly hand of the
lizard-man leader.