The Lizardmen's cave had been dug out by their own hands, bit by bit.
Beneath the high mountain at the edge of the ranch, they had forcibly hollowed caves out of the cliff face.
Their claws had a Mohs hardness of seven. A layer of bone enamel protected them against heavy pressure and wear, making them both hard and resilient. Ordinary sandstone and dolomite could be drilled through by hand.
Resources were scarce here. Aside from stone, there were no other mineral deposits, so the Lizardmen used their own bodies as tools.
The cave was very deep, with four levels reaching twenty-five meters underground. The passageways extended in every direction, filled with countless branches. The Lizardmen had practically dug a maze beneath the earth.
Stone braziers stood on both sides of the passageways, and the fuel used to light them was beef tallow.
Alexei led everyone to an empty stone chamber on the second underground level. A dozen or so young Lizardmen were chattering noisily inside.
The oldest was five, while the youngest was only one. They were communicating with a female Lizardman in Lizard tongue, which sounded like the shrieks of eagles and the roars of lions.
Female Lizardmen were easy to distinguish. Their bodies were noticeably longer and their figures slimmer, while their scales were finer. In addition, they had blue manes on their heads, the backs of their heads, and their napes. Most deliberately styled them into various snake-shaped braids. The only adult female Lizardman among them, however, had merely tied hers up simply, forming a high ponytail resembling a great fox's tail.
Male Lizardmen did not have this mane. It was a form of sexual dimorphism.
It was like the difference between male and female lions, except that the Lizardmen had it the other way around.