So, I have until the next full moon to find a way to make a demon tree? You ponder as you wander out of the jail and into the arena pit. You settle into the stands and watch as Feathers drills a handful of fresh kobolds in combat against Mercy. You're not sure when they arrived exactly, but a slow trickle of the lizardlike creatures have been pinging in your menu for a while now.

That could be a problem, you muse, leaning out of the way as a screaming kobold flies past to impact in the wall behind you. “Keep your guard up higher. Most people you'll fight will be taller than you. Get used to it now.” you advise. The kobold shakily nods and clambers back to his feet. From everything Amanda told me the process of artificially creating an element takes time, and that was assuming that the construction would be finished. That expansion wont be ready till tomorrow evening at the earliest, and Amanda said that it could take a long time for natural magics to compress-

This time you duck. You're pretty sure it's the same kobold. You have to give him points for commitment.

-to compress raw mana into a usable element. Maybe there's a way to speed up the process? If I built a room, she filled with with mana, and then I deleted it, surely that would crush the element into being quicker.

You take a moment to watch the fighting. Mercy seems to have formed some sort of... phallic warhammer out of burnt wood. She's obviously pulling the power behind the blows but was just as obviously exasperated with the same kobold doing exactly what he'd done the last two times and charging in, spear waving, yelling at the top of his lungs. Even Feathers seems to have given up on training him.

THWACK

You extend an arm and bring the kobold's painful slide across the sandy floor to a standstill at your feet.

Although sometimes, perhaps, brute force is not the way to go.

The kobold seems all for leaping to his feet and charging back in once more, but you stop him. A quick glance at his character sheet shows he has far more experience in crafting skills, with a reasonable Intelligence for his level – although an apparently terminally low Wits. You look over the remaining four still fighting Mercy attempt to create a spear wall. The one in the centre, a female with a dusting of yellow to her scales, is holding her own with light steps and probing jabs, but as you watch she trips over the kobold to her right who was ducking behind a shield. The entire formation shudders and collapses into a heap.

Feathers leaves them on the floor and comes to stand by your side. She shakes her head at you.

“No good. No skill. No used to work with others.”

You nod, and look back down at the bruised, but determined looking kobold stood next to you.

“Well, it would make sense that those who are perfectly happy with their place in the world, those who fit into their lives perfectly, would not be the ones drawn to me. Is that how you'd train with your village?”

“Yes. Lot of goblins, lots of spears.”

“I'm not sure it's the best way to do things here, unfortunately. Not enough time, too many people with different skills.”

Feathers nods, frustrated. “But what then? Need training. Need fighters.”

Something clicks then. “No. Not fighters. At least... not all fighters.” When she doesn't seem to get what you mean immediately, you point at her. “You're a Barbarian. You don't fight in a spear wall, and you're one of my best. Sapphire doesn't fight in a spear wall, she has Hyena and a bow.”

You take a look at the kobolds, and call to Mercy. “Mercy, you OK for one more round? I'm going to try something new with them.”

At her careless wave, you call the kobolds towards the weapon racks, and peruse their character sheets for a moment. You turn to the yellow dusted one first.

“High dexterity, good strength. High wits. Light on your feet, quick with your mind.” You take her spear, and carefully snap the point off. A little heavy handed perhaps, but you have a feeling you'll need to force a new way of thinking of them or they'll fall back on Feathers' training immediately, which isn't what you want. The kobold takes the new staff back with some confusion, but with a little demonstration gets the hang of using it like a double ended club. “Keep moving, keep her off balance.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Next is another female, anxiously grasping the spear to her chest. She sports an impressive rack of horns above her brow. “Good strength and endurance... and an oddly high charisma. Good perception and wits.” You take a shield from the rack and place your hand on the front. A quick blast of flames burns a shadow of your hand into it. “You're in charge out there. Listen to what the others are good at. Keep them safe.”

She accepts the shield, looking a little awed, but manages to croak out a simple “Yes sir,”. You turn to the third, the male who was still holding his shield but no spear. His eyes have a glint to them that's oddly eye-catching. “Endurance. Manipulation. Appearance.” You take his shield, and he looks upset, until you take a larger one from the rack, and press it into his right hand. A short dagger goes into his left. “Get her focus on you. Push her around if you can, make her unable to leave you alone. And for gods sake, know when to duck a blow, these shields are not indestructible, got it?” A nod, and you move on.

Second last was another female. She was certainly the most normal looking of all of them, without the obvious differences from the norm that the others displayed. Her eyes were a little higher in her face, her muzzle a little shorter, and her horns a little more swept back. Overall it gave her a slightly exotic cast, insomuch as such things translated to kobolds. You glance over her and she responds with a silent smile, placing her spear back on the rack. “High intelligence and... occult. I trust you don't need me to tell you what to do.”

“No sir.”

The kobold you designated at the leader of the fuax-party looks between you with confusion on her face, which clears up as a spark of lightning crawls around the fingers of the last girl.

Finally, you turn to the kobold male who was sent flying into the wall. “Intelligent, but not wise. Fast, and a good throwing arm. Slightly stealthy. High skills in crafting traps and alchemy. If I were to ask if any supplies had mysteriously gone missing while I was away, what would I find?”

The kobold grins sheepishly at you. “Sorry boss.” Out of his inventory he produces a handful of small metal balls. With a little manipulation, one flips open into a wicked looking caltrop. You roll your eyes.

“Don't do that again. If you need something, ask.”

“Yes boss.”

You send the quintet back into combat, while Feathers stays by your side.

“Don't understand. Why just make them adventurers? We not adventurers.”

“No, we're not. But we're not soldiers either.”

You both pause as Mercy lets out a yelp of pain. Your newly designated shield kobold has crashed into her legs while she was warding off spear thrusts. A half step backwards has her stepping onto a handful of caltrops. You both wince in sympathy.

“Then why?”

You shrug. “It seems like the right thing to do. They're good at different things, and cave fighting is different to fighting in a field or forest.”

A sizzling zapping noise accompanies Mercy's next shout. “Gods damn it Red, you owe me a favour!”

Feathers looks at you for a long moment before nodding in acceptance. “OK. Will train like adventurers. Not like tribe lasted, in the end. Must have been doing something wrong.”

You put a clawed hand on her shoulder. “You always did the best you could. But adventures get all the benefits. It's our place to die, apparently. I don't really want to accept that, any more.”

Feathers sniffs, softly, and you look away again. You leave your hand on her shoulder, and feel her scrub at her face. You gently guide her closer to you, wrapping a wing around her for a second. A spray of sand sprays from where she was stood, as your thieving kobold slams into the earth.

With that, it's all over. Within half a minute, Mercy has dispatched the last of them and Feathers is critiquing their performance with her usual brevity. “Staff for blocking as well as hitting!” A smack of wood on flesh and a yelp. “See? Should have blocked!”

You shake your head and leave them too it, heading up the stairs and into your spring room once more. One of your near silent, summoned workers is waiting for you there. His motions are inkoboldly smooth as he inclines his head.

“There are goblins at the door.”

Message apparently delivered, he glides away to resume... whatever he was doing. While you're glad you got the two of them, now you have actual, living creatures around they're kinda creepy. A few seconds of staring at his departing back and then you snap your head around, and stare towards the entrance. A few kobolds are blocking most of your view, but you can't hear any violence.

The guards part as you approach, allowing you through. Beyond them, in the afternoon light, stand a small delegation of greenskins, a half dozen or so, laden with packs. The closest goblin, a squat, dark green male, bows deeply.

“Longteeth send regards, oh burning majesty.”

Accept Longteeth Delegation into lair?

You smile a smile that shows a great many fangs.