After gathering up our new tribe we set out. Sien was about 2 weeks walk from Burwin, the city we lived in. The journey would most likely result in the death of a few of my followers but it was fine.

We were currently trekking through the forest, entirely surrounded by various creatures and trees. I was sitting on a makeshift howdah on top of Zog as our soldiers marched beneath us. Each of the kobolds were around 3-4 feet tall although with their malnourished frames, they looked much smaller. I was a proud 5 feet tall as a kobold of good breeding.

I smiled smugly as I snacked on some dried fruits we had brought. I looked at my shovel which was across from me and my smile grew even wider. The beautiful shape of the weapon still amazes me to this day.

After fawning over my shovel for a bit I got to work. Our orders were to act as a kobold tribe. That meant we would have to make a warren, clear out any nearby monsters, and secure a food supply. Thankfully kobolds reproduced quickly so it wouldn’t take long for my army to grow.

I pulled out a map of Sein and its surrounding region. Sein was a decently sized settlement built into the hills in the northeastern region of the empire. It was relatively new but was said to be a staging point for the start of a Kobold empire.

I smiled as a plan began to form in my head. I patted Zog on the head and said “Hey Zog, let me down, will you? We’ll stop here for a moment.” He leaned down and I hopped off. I turned to my kobolds and saw how downtrodden they seemed. They were all breathing heavily and one even collapsed the second we stopped.

“Alright, boy’s, here's the plan. We are gonna make our way over to Sin. But before we do that we are gonna take a week or two to do something.” They all looked confused but I ignored them. “Alright, everyone. I want a trench dug. Ten by ten. Get to it!”

They got to work and I pulled aside two of them. “Hey, come with me. Zog makes sure they don’t die!” After making sure everyone was working I took my two helpers into the forest. We walked for a few minutes before I found what I was looking for.

I turned to them and said, “Get your slings out, we’re fighting.” I turned away and looked back at our quarry. A Certi, a giant carnivorous lizard. It was chowing down on some wild pig.

“Alright boys, hit him with a few volleys and once he gets closer I’ll stop him. Aim to kill.” After saying that I pulled out my shovel and got ready. My soldiers nervously fumbled with their slings and after almost a minute loosed a couple of stones in the lizard's direction. They missed by a lot but at least got the beast’s action.

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I frowned at their incompetence as I readied myself for the fight. The lizard charged at us, its tongue hanging out of its mouth. As it came within ten feet it jumped and slammed into one of my soldiers.

I quickly slammed my shovel into its nose, this unfortunately had no effect. My other soldier had already run away and the one getting mauled seemed to be dead.

The lizard turned towards me, its mouth dripping with blood as it charged at me. I quickly dodged and hit its side as I leaped back. The lizard seemed to be hesitating so I charged forward. I swung my shovel overhead and slammed it into the lizard's head.

I smiled in triumph as the lizard backed away slowly. I was small but after years of constant violence, I was quite strong. I followed up by jumping on top of the lizard and wrapping a rope around its neck.

The lizard struggled as I held on with all my might. After a few minutes, it finally stopped struggling as it slumped to the ground. I collapsed to the ground as well gasping for air. After a while, I got up and examined my soldier.

He was missing most of his chest and an arm so I kicked the body away before grumbling about inferior products. They couldn’t even use a sling! I would have to do something about that.

I quickly pulled out a dagger and finished the beast off. It was too old to begin training. Then I went to check the den. I yelled in triumph as I found my quarry. 4 small eggs laid in a small crack in a nearby boulder. I quickly scooped them up and put them in my satchel. They would be useful in the days to come

After gathering my equipment I walked back to our impromptu camp. The kobolds had started on the trench and Zog had already begun ripping trees up and moving them. This would allow us to see any threats before they got too close.

I walked forward and yelled out “All of you! Gather up!” After a bit of struggling to climb out of the trench by now a force of ten lined up. “All of you, one of your brethren have defected. Whoever finds him and kills him will be my second in command. Now go!”

The kobolds' scattered greed was easily seen in their small idiotic faces. I turned to Zog to find him using a pine tree as a back scratcher. It was a small one but I was still astonished. I walked up to him and smiled. “Zog, look what I found!” I pulled out the eggs and waited for Zog's reaction. “Breakfast?”

Zog’s dumb answer made me wish for death. I slapped him across the face and said “No you ingrate! These are going to be our rides! We’ll have our own drake knights! An elite unit that will serve me and you loyally! Without fear!”

As I waited for the kobolds to return I started making a nest for the eggs. I quickly assembled a basket and placed it on Zog's howdah. “Alright Zog, Don’t let them get hurt. Got it?”

Zog nodded while munching on a piece of a tree. I couldn’t help but smile at his stupidity as I started to take care of my weapons. I quickly polished my shovel and was starting to clean my dagger when a kobold returned dragging a dead kobold behind him. “I did it, boss! I killed the squealer!”