Rebuild

The silence was deafening. Finally, one lizardman shouted out.

"Yeah sure, I forgive you at least!"

Another one shouted out. "I guess I do a little!"

It kind of made the silence even more deafening and super akward, because only a few shouted out their forgiveness.

Every other just ignored him and continued the repairs. Kai sighed.

Kai decided to walk up to one of the lizardman that forgave him. He wanted to thank him personally.

He went up to him.

He looked younger, maybe in his teens. Had a muscular body with a necklace and some wrisbands, and he was only wearing a loincloth around his waist. Now that Kai looked around, he did realize that most of the lizardmen males were wearing short loinclothes around their waist. The females were wearing the same, but a lot longer. And they had a covering around their chest.

"How's it going?" Kai asked.

The lizardmen made a dismissive wave. "Nothing much."

"Was the destruction really that bad? Do they hate me that much for it?"

The lizardmen shook his head. "No, we have had worse than this. In the war 10 years ago the village was detroyed in total ruins. Burnt to a crisp. We lost all our allied tribes in the war too. Our tribe has really declined since then and we are at threat of other tribes exterminating us. You seem like an extremely strong person, so we really think you might've saved our tribe for when the inevitable attack comes."

Kai was not expecting that asnwer. "So," he asked. "Why does everyone hate me then?"

"Because your human. They hate the idea of being ruled by a human. Of course I don't really care, but many of our members are blinded by rage sadly."

Kai sighed. "I kind of figured."

So it wasn't entirely about the destruction, but just the idea he was human. Kai chuckled a bit. Talk about prejudiced. He would have to deal with it though, he really didn't give two shits about it. Doesn't change anything.

"What are the enemy tribes then?" He asked. "And how many members do they have?"

"Well, we have the Margax tribe. They number about three thousand members. We also have the Gilxosak tribe, with about 2 thousand members. They both are our enemies." He looked to the ground and sighed. "We stand absolutely no chance by ourselves. We don't even have 1 thousand members in our tribe. That's why I really hope you're willing to help us."

"Well, first I'll help with your guys reconstruction. But I will definitely find a way to get you guys out of this predicament."

The lizardman sighed in relief. "Thank you so much."

"Yeah no problem," Kai said. "Also, could you show me the places where you harvest your materials for reconstruction?

The lizardman told about the materials needed and where they were, including how to make mortar so that he could help.

"Thank you."

The lizardman bowed. "My pleasure."

He was given weird looks from the other lizardmen when doing that. Kai knew exactly why. They hated the idea of a "superior" lizardman bowing to a human. I mean in physical sense, they definitely had better strength, and most likely had better hearing, smell, and vision. Most likely not superior intelligence though. Kai didn't like the thought of being inferior though, so he gave the scoffing lizardfolk a death stare. They squealed in fear and went back to work.

Kai looked back to the lizardman infront of him.

"What's your name by the way?" Kai asked.

"It's Narcen."

"Well," Kai said. "See you later Narcen."

Kai headed back over to Karla.

"Shall we get to work?"

Karla smiled and together they headed off to join the reconstruction efforts. Kai focused on the tasks at hand - hauling lumber, mixing mortar, setting stones. Also collecting resources like finding trees to harvest, finding big stones, finding the ingredients used in mortar. The labor helped clear his mind of anxious speculation about mysterious voices and veiled powers. Time would reveal more in due course. For now, building trust and community seemed the wisest path.

Kai worked tirelessly alongside the lizardfolk as the day wore on, using his cosmic powers subtly to help with the heavy lifting and reconstruction. Though he tried to make conversation, most only gave wary glances or short replies.

As dusk approached, the workers began packing up their tools and materials. Kai's back ached a bit from the labor, but it felt good to have helped. Especially all the things he did.

Karla came over, grinning ear to ear. "You did great today! I think they're starting to warm up to you."

Kai sighed. "I really don't think so. This is gonna take more than just one day of work."

"Ehh, whatever," Karla said. She waved her hand. "It'll happen eventually."

They started walking back towards the metal shelter, the setting sun casting an orange glow on the damaged buildings around them. Kai's thoughts turned to the mysterious voice again. He still had more questions than answers.

"Hey Karla, what do you know about the gods or powerful beings of this world?" he asked. "Have you heard of any that seem to...keep tabs on people?"

Karla pondered for a moment. "Hmm, well the lizardfolk told me they have various minor nature gods they revere. But the most powerful deity I know of is the God of All, though few have ever seen or heard him directly. That's at least what my parents told me."

"God of All..." Kai murmured. Could that have been the presence he'd felt?

"Why do you ask?" Karla said, peering curiously at Kai.

"Oh, uh, no reason," Kai stammered, not wanting to explain further. "Just curious if you knew any legends is all."

Karla shrugged. "That's about all I know. The lizardfolk elders may know more though."

Kai nodded. He would have to discreetly ask around, though he doubted any mortals truly understood that cosmic power.

They soon arrived back at the shelter. Kai laid down on a pile of hay in the corner. He felt mentally drained more than physically. As he drifted off to sleep, he wondered if answers would come in dreams.