As a new day dawned I immediately went out to take off and go further into the forest to search for any more servants. The kobolds were working nicely, but they were just a couple dozen, not enough for anything I wanted to do after looting the ruins.

Thus the necessity for exploration, I will take this and most likely the following days getting to know the area that would be my territory, only to explore it however, as I want to avoid the previous mistakes made by those before me, mother included.

Immediately claiming it without actually having the minions to properly patrol it wasn’t the wisest thing, while there weren’t humans here who is to say there wasn’t anything else? It would also be helpful in the food situation.

While with this low number of servants wouldn’t pose trouble on food that most likely wouldn’t be the case in the future, sending minions to patrol and hunt would be rather efficient if sent in proper numbers and while I could technically watch over my territory myself it wouldn’t be the best use of my time.

I doubted that there would be multiple settlements close to one another, even more considering the nomadic nature of kobolds, but perhaps lacking the the threat that humans posed to them and the many ruins past their frontier had allowed them to advance somewhat without a risk of being wiped out.

It was a curious development, not unexpected considering that they had no problem settling near a dragon’s lair, but curious nonetheless, by now I had already passed their old village and decided to turn right and look for anything new.

I traveled for what seemed like hours, snatching and eating whatever small creature I found on the way, there wasn’t much to see apart from spreading wilderness and occasional breaks in between the trees, sometimes finding a couple more ruins, not anywhere as large as my current one.

Now that I had time to think about it with less pressing matters on hand, why are there so many ruins here? Considering how other species took over the area it’s clear that something happened that forced them to abandon the west, but I currently don't have anything in mind of what could have caused that.

Clearing my head of thoughts that would lead nowhere I focused more on the ground, looking at the repetitive landscape for what I hope is the only time I needed to do this, but as hours passed I did finally manage to spot another group of kobolds, while it was a severely smaller group than last it would mean that at least all of this wasn't for nothing.

I descended in front of the group, startling them clearly not expecting one such as me to have appeared so suddenly, I roared at them for compliance as I did with the last group, they didn’t give any trouble and kneeled, it was when I noticed they were carrying improvised backpacks made of sticks and various plants.

Meaning that they were hauling things and not a nomadic group like I originally though it to be, but possibly scavengers or gatherers, perhaps they were doing better than I gave them credit for, but it just meant that they would make better servants than I previously accounted for, perhaps the previous group also had them but I most likely didn’t bothered to check.

But that didn’t matter now, all that did matter was if they could show me where the rest of them were “MORE, WHERE?” the kobold in front of me stood up and nodded, giving me a sign to follow him, with nothing more to do I trailed behind them, after roughly forty minutes of travel by foot we arrived at what was a relatively small town of kobolds, the area was clear of trees while in the center there were primitive buildings, not sturdy at all but good enough for their purpose.

I grumbled inwardly knowing that a few minutes more of flying I could have spotted this large inhabited clearing, but what was done was done, announcing my presence with a roar I demanded their immediate subordination.

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They stared at me, some in awe but others in what seemed like shock, something odd was happening since it appears they didn’t heed my command, they most definitely heard it but it’s almost as if it didn’t even happen, but why wouldn’t it, maybe something was interfering, but then what could it be?

I moved onwards with the scavengers behind me, those at least followed me as they should, meaning that there was definitely something messing around with my authority, why else wouldn’t it work?

Just when I started thinking of answers to this problem a kobold started approaching, it was different from the rest, wearing hides and even using coins as jewelry, did it believe itself royalty or it didn’t know its place as a servant?

I stared as it kept approaching, the surrounding kobolds watching as bystanders, it warbled something incomprehensible and some of them ran away just to come back with weapons, the audacity of this bastard to challenge one such as me, it then warbled some more, directed to the scavengers behind me, it seemed they exchanged some words and it most definitely seemed to annoy it, so I could at least trust in them.

It then warbled some more, seemingly directed at me, any meaning those words have didn’t matter and wouldn’t matter, not like I could understand it’s primitive gibberish in the first place, but I was still feeling generous enough to offer them the opportunity to serve me, “SERVE, LIVE, RESIST, PERISH” maybe all I had to do was be clearer in my message.

Some of the kobolds started getting fidgety, but they still didn’t move from their position. Did they really think that the decorated iguana was their leader? What was so hard to acknowledge the truth? they look hesitant to even move, they understand that they shouldn’t be doing it, yet do.

However that forsaken kobold didn’t even seem to get the message, instead it raised it hand to what seemed like a way to get the attention of the others, I simply could not stand for this and just as I was about to throw a torrent of fire to this fool I felt a sharp pain on my side, I quickly looked down to see the tip of a stone spear in my front shoulder, my scales stopping it before it got deep to cause any damage while also breaking the shoddy shaft of it.

The assailant stood there looking at the broken stick in its claws, not wasting any time I pounced at it’s neck, while I wasn’t as tall as them, barely coming up at the waist, I was still a dragon and with a hard crunch I twisted it’s neck, the scavengers on my back took up arms and rushed to my flanks looking onwards fully deciding their side.

This set things in motion as the armed kobolds rushed in and clashed with their previous comrades, while they were outnumbered it gave me time to take to the skies. I was going to burn this damned primitive settlement to the ground, maybe then it will push some sense into their minds.

After every building was set on fire I looked to the ground below, it was chaotic to say the least, dozens started to run as the flames encroached on to the forest embracing anything remotely flammable, I went back to the battle that was ongoing to see that they had stopped fighting and looked at the fiery destruction I have caused, it seemed that my message finally caught on.

I focused on the kobold with the jewelry if it could even be called that. The damn fool stared at the destruction it’s own defiance caused, I dived straight to its back, pushing it into the ground and used my claws to pierce its neck delivering a swift death.

I roared in victory and gave for a last time a message demanding their allegiance to me now that their leader was dead, I gave a command to the new servants to begin their journey to their new home, the ruins that belonged to me, considering the distance and number of them it will take days to reach my lair but they will get there eventually, that’s what matters in the end as far as I am concerned.

Having already spent most of the day exploring I chose to turn back and return home, the stone spearhead still in my front-left shoulder would need to be removed, while it wasn’t a large issue it was annoying to have it there as the wound started to itch.

However thinking about the previous events had made me realize something, those that don’t think themselves lesser than a dragon can’t be turned into minions, not immediately at least as the previous demonstration showed, I had no idea why that was, but now that I knew things started to make a bit more sense, the more a society is structured the harder it is to change it, meaning that while they have proper hierarchy they won’t see a reason to join me.

It was just speculation from my part but it made sense in my opinion, with an answer to one of my question I flew the rest of the way to my lair enjoying the flowing of the wind, eventually arriving and immediately going to my hoard, getting one of my servants to remove the spearhead, it wasn’t much a problem, just uncomfortable.

Laying down on top of the hoard, feeling its comforting embrace, I decided to sleep the rest of the day off even if the sun wasn’t setting in a few hours, I still had long days to come.