— Calesatris —

Calesatris was tired and the trek had been long. As the bird flew it was only a few days' walk but the different zigzagging paths and twists meant that the days turned into an almost full week by the time they had the way mapped. Icana, unlike Calesatris, was fit and well adjusted to these sorts of treks. Icana had given her a few looks of pity, but hadn’t rubbed her lack of fitness into her face too much.

As they neared a week trekking through the forest their pace had crawled to a standstill as they encountered a kobold. It was a cute little dragonoid-like creature and their kind were commonly in service of dragons. The people were not quite sure of the relationship but it seemed like they were the backbone of many powerful dragon’s reign, while completely absent from the company of some of the most terrifying and powerful dragons in the records. This kobold looked healthy but still quite young. It was preoccupied picking up wild veggies and fruits and stuffing them into its little bag. Icana motioned for them to wait, and using sign language communicated that they would simply follow and watch this kobold in hopes it would lead them back to its own.

The singular little kobold soon met up with others and then a half a dozen, guarded by a rather large and moderately armed kobold, headed back towards the towering mountains at the edge of the forest. The armed kobold seemed to have a mix of bone, and iron equipment wrapped around itself. A massive skull was acting as a sort of shield, as it sported a makeshift iron tipped spear in the other hand. It wasn’t the largest kobold they had ever seen but based on how it guarded the group it wasn’t lacking in talent.

After a few hours they found themselves at the edge of the forest and peering out they both gasped in surprise. There was a cave a ways off and it was reinforced by wooden walls, and spikes aimed outwards. There were signs of a recent battle and many of the spikes and walls were in a state of damage but it appeared that the kobolds were in the process of repairing it.

“Calesatris, they are rather well organized. This cannot be good.” Icana frowned from the bush.

Calesatris nodded her head and quietly motioned nearby, “You see that? Those are bones. I would wager my life’s work that those are dragon bones of some kind. The reason for the damage perhaps?”

“That is troubling that they can manage that but also those Wyverns have been an issue for a while. It is good news if they are thinned out.” Icana offered.

“I suppose it all depends on who or what replaces them…” Calesatris offered back as she pulled free a book and began to quietly scribble some notes, “Let us sit and wait.”

The pair nodded in agreement as they blended back into the bush, unseen by all around as Icana used her magic to further divert eyes from their little hiding spot.

— Onyx —

Time passed quickly once you were focused and monsters were not trying to kill you every moment of the day. Over the last week things had moved steadily and they had found a young kobold who was rearing to learn. She was aptly named, Blaze, and was obsessively perplexed and thrilled by fire. Once David and Blue explained the concept she was able to quickly begin experimenting with the hunks of copper ore. David was no expert but he knew that mold casting was a common method of using copper so they let Blaze test that theory to her heart’s content. It only took her a few days to begin producing simple copper tools like an ax and hammer. They were by far the simplest of things to make and quite crude by David’s standards but it was a start.

The mushroom farm was thriving and coupled with the incoming food from the forest they were more than self-sufficient. Once this was confirmed David began using his affinity to force hatch eggs twice a day, and combined with a few that were allowed to naturally grow and hatch they had reached the number of 49 kobolds in a flash. In fact David had run out of eggs by the week’s end, meaning David would need to be patient for the females to lay their next batch.

While the kobold’s did their jobs with gleeful determination it allowed David to focus his free time on helping Red. His healing breath didn’t seem to do much for him as he was curled up in a ball in the depths of their cave. Blue pointed out that his hardened form and slight blue glow was much the same as David’s own when he underwent his long metamorphosis. It only further reinforced David’s theory about what exactly was happening to Red.

“Blue… do kobolds change like dragons? Has it ever been mentioned by your elders?” He offered a rumbling chirp.

“Master. This is all new to me. I took an oath but… when Red and I served under Qazayss it was all different. Unyielding. The way of life Blue -thought- was supposed to be normal.” She signed a bit.

David considered her words and rumbled, “I won’t pry out of respect for both of you but I do hope this not quite normal life is better…”

“Oh. Yes it is Master” Blue gave a cheerful little smile back, “I believe Red will be okay. This is new but I can feel his life still burning”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

David returned her smile the best his draconic features could emulate, “I agree. He's grown a lot and I have a feeling he will wake up soon.”

David wasn’t far off as the following day Blue came running to David with a gasp of glee. David had received a notification a moment before too and they quickly made his way down into the tunnel depths. Once he reached the chamber that Red was slumbering in he was greeted with a surprising sight.

Red was standing about twice as tall as he did before. His muscularity was even more developed but he still resembled a kobold just super sized now. Once Red stepped forward to let off a happy greeting David eyes took in the sight of a pair of large, majestic red wings. Blue, now dwarfed by her mate, ran up and hugged him. Her head was planted against his hips as she let off a cheerful and confused little chirp. As Blue dotted over Red, David took a moment to peer back at his prompt and consider its words.

Bonded Kobold, Red’s evolution finished. Red has evolved into an Ascended-Kobold. The deeper magic of the kobold’s blood has activated and one trait slot is available.

David settled down on his haunch as he thought. Deeper magic of his blood might imply what he suspected after all and kobolds were related to dragonkind in some way. If he had access to traits then…

“Blue! Wait!” David's voice boomed as he stopped Blue dead in her tracks as she was about to hand over a large piece of meat from a deer-boar like creature discovered in the forest recently.

“What is wrong, Master? I am starving…” Red’s voice echoed back with a clear crisp nature that he had lacked before.

“I understand Red. Trust me here… Blue, do you still have the troll meat I asked you to preserve? If so, go grab it.” Blue nodded quickly to David’s question before disappearing. Red approached with a grumpy look on his face.

“Red. Did you receive a… prompt or message of some kind?” David questioned.

“Pro..m..pt? No. No message. I just feel the desire to consume flesh and something more…” Red answered honestly.

“Red. I have an idea and I want you to humor me.” David rumbled and motioned to Blue as she entered again carrying a pack of something. “This is from that troll on the mountain. I want you to eat it and tell me everything you feel.”

Red wrinkled his nose but nodded. He took the preserved meat and began to eat it. He immediately let out a groan, “This tastes…. unpleasant Master.” Even though he complained he continued to eat.

“I am getting full, Master. It is… tingling. I feel a sense of warm. I do not know how to explain it… I feel a sensation that is asking me to accept or reject it? ” Red stared out somewhat confused.

“Accept it. Embrace it.” David commanded him. Red closed his eyes and not even a full minute later his prompt pinged him.

Ascended-Kobold, Red’s trait slot is filled.

Accelerated Healing obtained. All trait slots filled.

David offered a wide grin and then Red began to bend over in pain. His voice was deeper, stronger now as he cried out. Blue let off a gasp and ran forward trying to calm him.

“Blue. Careful. It will pass… just give him space!” David reached out with a massive claw and held her back. Red struggled for a few minutes, and before long he let off a gasp of relief.

“How do you feel, Red?” David asked as he let his massive paw blocking Blue’s way fall. She quickly darted to his side.

“Very, very good Master” Red rumbled as he stood tall and began to feel around his body.

“Let's have a little mock fight then…” David chuckled as he turned and made his way out of the lair, Red quickly following after him.

— Calesatris —

Their observation had been rather boring as they watched the kobolds work. They seemed to have endless reserves of energy as a few individuals bounded in and out of the tunnels. She had started to doze off before being nudged by Icana as the black dragon they had suspected living here came forcing its way out of the tunnel depths. It was magnificent and Calesatris’s hands darted to her drawing book to attempt to capture some of its beauty. The dragon was wholly unique among the ones she has personally observed.

It was an almost pure black, full legged variant. Its body was large, extremely muscular and covered in thick spikes. It also sported a double pair of horns on its head. Icana was tense next to her, her hand on her powerful bow as she was fighting the urge to act.

The black dragon moved among the kobolds and his interactions appeared to be… cordial? It was an odd sight and not quite what she would consider the normal expected relationship. Then following behind the great dragon was something surprising.

The pair both gasped lightly, “That is… no.” Calesatris quickly flipped through her book till she found the older account from her forebears.

“That is a Winged Kobold. They are rare, powerful and have only been spotted among some of the great Dragons over the centuries. How?” Calesatris eyes sparkled in amazement, and Icana simply gave her a worried look in return.

The black dragon and the winged kobold both took to different sides of a dirt arena and stood facing each other. It appeared they were squaring off? The kobold, a magnificent bright red color, was handed a large skull as a shield and a wooden capped spear. The skull shield appeared small for the kobold but it seemed to be comfortable with it.

“A duel” She murmured to her companion.

Kobolds began pouring out of the wood works to watch. Many more kobolds than she first thought in fact, and it appeared that most were still quite young. Fascinating. Very odd too. As the gathering finished settling in the pair squared off and then in a flash the large black dragon bound forward. The kobold dived to the side and instantly raised its shield, as the dragon’s tail came slapping home with a hard thunderous boom. A thick spike protruding out of the tip of the tail had found a weakness in the kobold’s defense and blood now pooled at its feed.

Both Calesatris and Icana gasped a bit too loud as the deep cuts on the kobold’s chest and arms began to slowly heal. The wound that would have slowed down even a veteran warrior sealed itself up in no time at all. Their gasp was a mistake and soon they found the menacing gaze of the large black dragon aimed clearly at their hiding space. Icana cursed lightly nearby as she began to weave and reinforce her hiding magic.

“Icana. I don’t think it is going to work…” Calesatris felt a knot of fear build up in her stomach as she stared out at that horrifying dragon, eye to eye.