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| - "We seek the longest, most hard-hided and sharp-toothed rormasu in Shadowfen today," Footfalls-in-Snow remarked with a giddy clicking to his voice. After I asked, he explained rormasu (and I write this spelling without qualification as a scholar of language) means "big-mouthed reptile that blinks above water," or in the vastly more common tongue, "crocodile." "We sometimes refer to them as 'marsh dunerippers,'" offered Namasur. "Ra'baanash the Spotless calls them 'four-clawed daedroths,' but I think the humor is lost in the translation from Khajiiti. You wish me to spell this out for you, yes?" Kishra-do asked. At this moment, I stopped our wading, and explained the purpose of this book was to describe specific combat advice for the unwary hunter, not gibbering palaver for the bookish. Fortunately, I didn't have to endure this babble for much longer, as the Argonian politely asked us for silence, as something large and scaly was lurking in the brackish waters close to the lower swamp banks we were navigating. There it was, hoping to hide, a pair of prying eyes attached to a long, scaled snout, floating in the muddy fen, a line of thick plates resting along its back like the shingles on a Breton's outhouse. At least four of us end to end would not have reached from snout to tail; this was an immense specimen, red eyes watching without blinking, the hint of sharper spines along its end stump. "He is quick as a bolt over a few short sprints, and prefers deeper water to clamp on and drown its dinner," Footfalls-in-Snow explained, producing a knife of supreme sharpness. Clenching it between his teeth, he actively courted disaster, swimming out to tackle this monster in its own territory. Were crocodiles capable of higher intelligence, its expression would have shown puzzlement, quickly turning to alarm as Footfalls-in-Snow coaxed the reptile up onto the soft mud of a marshy bank, which didn't seem to swallow the Argonian's feet and impede his movements. Suddenly there was a thrashing of water, and a pair of oversized jaws lashed out from the bog, snapping close to the Argonian's arm. Footfalls-in-Snow shouted something about the power of the snap to crush the limbs of the unwary, then threw a dagger quickly, but ineffectively, at the raging foe. As it clambered up to sink its teeth into the Argonian, he explained the crocodile had "ancient skin; it roamed Mundus before us," and its hide was extremely tough. Leaped over the swinging tail of the crocodile, he landed atop its back, infuriating the prey. It buckled and twitched, but the Argonian had his adversary in an impressive grip, produced another dagger, and plunged it into one of the crocodile's red eyes, which spurted out a most unpleasant fluid. "A thumb can be just as forceful!" he yelled over the fountain of dirty water, mud, and blood. Then he reached into the crocodile's mouth, seemingly placid as the great mouth and sharp teeth snapped shut, swallowing the Argonian's arm. He stood up, pressed the crocodile’s head into the water, and ripped out part of its loose, flapping interior gullet as the crocodile released its grip. "Now it drowns!" he yelled, jamming the beast's head still further underwater. Thrashing turned to splashes; then bubbles formed around the Argonian's forearms at the surface. Then the long lizard's body became corpse-like. Footfalls-in-Snow had drowned a marsh crocodile using only bare hands and bravery.
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