by TJ Reynolds
Then, without warning, the path leveled out.
The tunnel tapered downward until it was only ten feet wide, then suddenly, opened up above and to the sides.
By the feeble light of a single torch, a vast chamber was revealed.
It wasn’t a barren, stone-walled cavern. This chamber, by some odd means, was filled with plant life.
Kai gawked in surprise, taking in the plants and mushrooms growing up all around. Their shapes and formations were alien, unlike any forest he’d ever seen. And most of this strange foliage glowed green or blue, filling the air around them with a shimmering haze.
He snuffed the torch to save for later.
Sure enough, there was plenty of light to see by. In fact, with his dragon eyes, Kai could even make out subtle details like the veins in the queer leaves sprouting from a nearby tree.
How any such tree could flourish without sunlight boggled Kai’s mind. There are a thousand thousand things I do not know, he reminded himself. And should I read all the books in the world and travel to Pintea, I’ll likely only learn of more.
A trail wove through the center of the underground forest, evidence that Kai wasn’t the only being who frequented this place.
No birds chirped, and no rustle came from the soft layer of rotten leaves.
The chamber appeared to be abandoned.
This conclusion filled Kai with fear, and he slowed his pace yet again.
The floor of the chamber rose up, and Kai found himself trudging up a fern-covered hill. A few tiny insects buzzed about, but still, nothing showed itself.
Kai paused on the hillside and turned around. He could clearly see the edge of the forest as it butted up against the chamber’s wall. A shimmering haze hung above plants, which at first Kai couldn’t discern. It was pale green and glinted occasionally, as if reflecting some other light source.
It’s mana! he realized at last. The air is filled with the same ambient mana that Ban gives off. But it’s green, which means Earth mana. That must be how everything is growing here. The only question that remains is what is producing the mana?
Turning back to the hill, Kai continued his climb with renewed vigor. He wanted to find out what was happening here.
There was also a good chance he could find some of the odd ingredients he needed for his dragonling shopping list. He wouldn’t mind sorting through the plants and fungus to find potentially valuable reagents. To do so without exploring first would be foolish though.
The hill was taller than he’d originally thought, and when he crested its rise, Kai gasped out loud.
Below him, sprawling away well beyond the limits of his vision, a vast jungle grew.
The landscape was dominated by almost perfectly conical hills, just like the one he’d climbed.
Tall trees grew throughout the jungle floor as well, some as tall as oak trees.
Ban, if you are in there or can hear me, you will want to see this, Kai said.
Sadly, no reply came, and Greg only stared placidly.
Kai sighed and returned his gaze to the subterranean jungle. “Oh well. I guess I get to have all the fun by myself then. Come on, Greg. Let’s see what lives here.”
Kai found another trail winding down the slope, and he strode bravely onward.
The leaf litter was so moist that Kai moved almost silently. Greg, knocking over tall shroom caps and pushing through leaves, didn’t have the same advantage.
Each time the brute knocked something over, Kai winced. The excessive noise in such a quiet space made him nervous. Sure, there was a possibility that nothing lived here. Perhaps the plants and mushrooms were poisonous, or the mana could have been as well.
But if there was something here, it would be able to hear them a mile away.
As this very thought passed through Kai’s consciousness, a rhythmic growl emerged from a line of bushes ahead.
Kai gripped his glaive and halted. His Flame Spear spell was a breath away if needed.
Then he noticed a pair of orange glowing eyes peering out at him from within the foliage. I see you. Now, will you come out and try me, or should I roast you where you stand? Kai pondered boldly.
His confidence dissipated when more growling emerged from a dozen throats all around him.
Kai cursed, turning to catch some glimpse of the creatures that were threatening them. All remained hidden in bushes or behind a tree. It was maddening and terrifying at once.
Perhaps sensing the intense situational tension, Ban’s voice sounded from Greg’s throat. “My word! An underground forest! Why, isn’t it lovely, Kai!”
27
Stirring the Lizard’s Nest
Kai
“Focus, Ban!” Kai exclaimed, swinging his glaive between one set of glowing eyes and another. “This isn’t the time to enjoy the scenery!”
Ban’s champion grunted, then Kai heard its gravelly voice add in a much quieter, more subdued voice, “Oh, I see we are in a delicate situation. No worries. I am here now.”
Kai wasn’t sure what to do. If he pressed the attack, the creatures around them might trigger some trap. The “delicate situation” as Ban called it didn’t make a lick of sense. He’d been surrounded, he was outnumbered, and yet the enemy remained in partial hiding.
Unsure of what else to do, Kai tried to activate Shadow Shroud.
Shiv it all! he bellowed inwardly. That is a spell I’m going to miss!
No inky-black ether bubbled from his core. He and Ban’s champion weren’t concealed. Though Breeze Step had already saved him once, Kai couldn’t stand losing a spell.
Considering his other options, Kai was caught between whether or not to rely on Flame Spear or Confounded Core. His mind leaned toward Confounded Core, hoping to use chaos to take some of the advantage away from his numerous foes.
Before he started casting the spell, however, a tiny voice shouted, “Are ye dragons?”
Kai blinked, and exchanged a look with Ban. Do you think they are asking us?
Ban’s champion shifted on its huge legs, javelins held at the ready. I don’t suppose they’re asking the plants. Still, it is a strange question.
“Are ye dragons? Answer or we attack!”
Kai cleared his throat, and keeping his glaive at the ready, replied. “I am a dragon. My friend here is my Earth Core’s champion. Who are you and what have we done to deserve this treatment?”
The bush ahead of Kai shook somewhat, and he almost thought he heard whispers.
A few moments later, the voice spoke up once more. “I will show myself. Will you stay your blade?”
“Y… Yes,” Kai stammered back. The strangeness of the predicament not having lost its hold on his mind.
Then, a tiny figure emerged from the bushes. It held a spear aloft with a crystalline tip, and its short, dense body shimmered slightly in the low light. Scales? Kai thought. And are those ears or horns?
The creature smacked the butt of the spear on the ground. “I am Sora, leader of the Ruby Kobolds. Why have you come to our territory? And how have you survived the Dragon Wars?”
Kai had to admit the questions were well spoken. Bulging yellow eyes shone with noticeable intelligence. The creature’s mouth jutted out from its face like a canine or reptilian beast.
Yet despite its many fangs, it spoke almost eloquently. If you discounted the rasping hiss to each word at least.
“I’ve come to explore. My Earth Core’s dungeon is not far from here. We’ve reclaimed the Sunken Keep as our own. I was too young to be involved in the war. I… I think I’m the only dragon left.”
Wanting to make an impression, Kai smacked the butt of his own weapon on the ground. All around, the bushes trembled slightly, and he heard a few gasps.
The leader didn’t flinch, however, but waited for Kai’s proclamation.
Kai thought of a pertinent question and fired away. “We do not wish to fight you. Is there any way you will let us leave this place? And if we do, will you promise not to attack our keep?�
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The kobold’s gaze didn’t falter. “The Sunken Keep Earth Core was taken long ago. The Earth Cores in the mountains were broken as well. We have been forced to fight off many enemies since. If you leave us in peace, we will offer the same gift to you.”
“My name is Kai. This is Greg,” Kai offered in a softer tone. “Please, command your warriors to withdraw so that my friend and I can leave. If you wish, we will do so at once.”
Sora strode a few feet closer, but Kai felt no threat in the kobold’s posturing. It looked curious instead. “Wisdom dictates you should come with us. My chief should have words with a dragon so close to our home. We are kobolds, after all.”
Hoping to appear knowledgeable, Kai said, “I will meet with your chief. Be warned though. Should I suspect treachery, I will attack.”
“Our oaths would prevent us from attacking any dragon without provocation. As you know, kobolds were bred to serve. But the same goes for you and yours,” Sora said, pointing his short spear at the hulking knightmare beside Kai. “Come peacefully, or we will cut you down.”
“Fair! It’s a deal then,” Kai responded, feeling impressed with the efficiency in which these people spoke. “Shall we get moving?”
Sora nodded then bumped his spear a final time. “Crimson Spears, remain behind. Trail our party as we move and keep your eyes open for danger! Cobalt Axes, show yourselves!”
Ten or so kobolds emerged from the foliage, each bearing short but savage-looking axes.
When Kai saw their legs, he recoiled. Each beast looked half reptile and half insect, their lower bodies brimming with sleek, crystalized legs.
Then he observed that the kobolds were riding spiders.
Their weapons were stone-crafted and had been fixed into either plant or fungal handles.
Despite the four-foot stature of the kobolds, and how crude their weaponry was, Kai knew the creatures knew their business by the efficiency in which they moved.
And in conjunction with spider allies, the force could be devastating.
“Form a column and head back! Hurry!” Sora snapped.
The kobolds skittered away on their mounts, forming a neat column of two kobolds abreast. Then the group marched down the trail.
Kai followed suit, Sora taking up a position directly in front of him.
Ban’s curious eyes shone out from Greg’s stolid face. Fascinating! Kai, don’t you know what this means?
Of course I don’t, Ban. I know next to nothing about the old world. None of the books I’ve read mentioned kobolds, Kai responded, keeping his eyes on the surrounding bushes.
Kobolds were created by the dragons themselves hundreds of years ago. The intention was to forge a perfect servant race! We might have stumbled upon supreme allies, Kai!
Maybe. I doubt they’ll want to serve anyone after having been abandoned, Kai observed. What do you think of the spiders? Have the kobolds always worked with spiders like that?
Ban’s response was animated and chock-full of enthusiasm. Not that I can recall! In fact, hosting kobold tribes within one’s dungeon is an ancient practice. Most modern dragons considered the practice out of style. Too close to slavery by some definitions.
Slavery? Kai asked. Did they not have a decision in the matter?
Of course they did. In fact, some kobold tribes have been recorded as appealing to their dragon masters for freedom. Ban paused and made eye contact with Kai. But they were designed to serve. It gives them pleasure to serve. In this way, the kobolds are more like Earth Cores in their natures than any other race.
The two marched along in silence for a time. As always, Kai relished the acquisition of more knowledge. It felt like the old world and the world Kai had grown up in were two things infinitely separated.
Each time he stumbled upon a fragment, however, it gave him hope.
Perhaps this new world that was emerging would include some of the ancient magic that had been bled away in countless disputes.
That’s what Rhona’s after, isn’t it? he thought. She’s chosen to be a Brintoshi monk. I didn’t even know those existed until I found that book in Ban’s dungeon.
The forest opened up around them as the trees became taller. The underground grew patchier, and in some places, Kai saw evidence that not all was as it should be in this place.
A huge shroom tree lay on its side ahead. Part of its stalk had been hacked away neatly, and from the looks of the fibrous material, it might have been harvested by the kobolds. Such small creatures could make almost anything out of the fungus. Yet filling the dried husk of the enormous cap was a dense webbing.
It might have been left there by the kobold’s spider allies, but Kai wasn’t sure.
Ban, what do you suppose the danger is here that Sora warned his warriors about?
Perhaps some great beast lives here. I don’t know what might be giving them grief, but now that we’ve arrived, I do hope we can alleviate the problem.
Kai considered Ban’s response a moment. That might be it, but Ban, before you entered Greg’s body, we’d been fighting spiders. All the way up until we entered this forest, we have. Killed dozens of the nasty things.
Spiders? Like the ones they’re riding?
No. Well, the same size I suppose, but the ones that attacked were black. So black I could barely see them.
Ban and Kai continued to chat, Kai catching him up on the spider’s venom and how well Greg had performed in combat.
Soon, their banter cut short when the smell of smoke caught Kai’s attention.
He almost thought it a figment of his imagination until he smelled it again a short time later.
The huge mushrooms around them thinned out, and in their place, a different kind of underground tree grew. These were lanky and thin, but had legitimate leaves. Thirty feet tall, the trees glowed a pale green.
Then once more the landscape shifted. Another hill rose, this one taller than the others. Kai marched up the steep incline. The stumps of great shrooms dotted their surroundings. This kobold tribe had been very busy.
When the trail leveled out again, the village proper came into view at last.
Unsurprisingly, the kobolds appeared to live in dried and harvested mushroom caps. Each dome had a wrinkled exterior, proof the fungus had once been much larger.
The small homes could have only housed two or maybe three of the kobolds. Some were much larger though. Either two or three shroom caps were stacked on one another. Or, in some cases, the kobolds had assembled long, single-story structures that were framed in the tree trunks. Slats of mushroom, looking much like lumber, formed the walls and ceiling of these.
In total, the kobold village boasted at least thirty structures.
Wonder how many kobolds live here? Could be hundreds, Kai mused as he eyed some of the largest structures. The longest stretched a hundred feet, an impressive structure for any being , let alone ones with as many restrictions as the kobolds must have had.
As they passed the building, Kai noticed that the windows were all dark. Or is this village no longer as full and bountiful as it once was?
Kai’s suspicions were sadly confirmed when they turned down a main stretch of the village. On either side, the kobolds could be seen bustling about, entering and exiting their tiny huts.
Glancing behind him, Kai saw how many of the mushroom huts they’d passed were unoccupied.
Finally, Sora brought the column to halt in a wide circle. In the middle, a sizable fire burned. Planks of mushroom wood crackled away, making plenty of heat and light.
Another single mushroom cap building sat at the opposite end of the clearing. This had been made from a different kind of mushroom, however.
The cap had a deep blue color and white spots mottled its surface. It was also twice the size of any other single cap Kai had seen so far.
Sora dismissed the Crimson Spears, but the axe-wielders remained. Their tiny formation showed incredible discipline as the kobolds were as still and silent as a dungeon minion.
In another powerful display of his tiny voice, Sora announced their arrival. “The dragon Kai and his Earth Core champion Ban! Request to meet with the esteemed chief!”
Kai lifted his eyebrows at Ban. We sound pretty fancy, don’t we?
I suppose we do, Ban shot back.
Kai was tempted to keep the banter up, but held his mental tongue. A few moments later, a much taller kobold appeared in the doorway of the hut.
The chief stood at least five feet tall. The same scaled body, two strong legs and arms, and reptilian snout made up the creature before them. In most aspects, the chief seemed like any other kobold, but a dozen subtle differences made it clear how much more powerful this one was.
“Thank you, Sora. I was concerned some other foe had stumbled into our territory,” the chief said in an authoritative tone. “But did you say dragon? You must be mistaken, Sora.”
“Not at all!” Sora snapped back. “Observe his eyes. Also, I felt him use ether to conjure a spell. Not a skill, but a genuine dragon spell, ma’am!”
So, it’s a woman, Kai thought as he observed the kobold before him. No sign of gender betrayed itself for him to note.
The chief squinted her eyes and looked up into Kai’s face. When she saw his dragon eyes, her own widened in surprise. “If this is true, then perhaps not all of the dragons were defeated. Tell me, has the Earth Core at the Sunken Keep returned?”
After signaling to Kai, Ban answered through his champion’s gravelly voice. “I am sorry to say the answer to that question is no. The dragons were all slain, and the Earth Cores shivvered. But Kai is a half dragon, born after the war ended. He healed my broken core, and we have come from Brintosh. I am now the Earth Core that calls the Sunken Keep my home. We are pleased to meet you… esteemed chief.”
“Tessra. Call me Tessra, wise Earth Core,” the chief said with a small bow of her head. “What is your business in the Ruby Kobold village? Do you seek us out to renew our oaths?”
Kai was shocked that the chief could imagine such a request. They’d only just shown up. What kind of monster would demand servitude from absolute strangers?