I smiled at the go-getter. He was covered in small scratches but he had done it! I walked up still smiling then stopped. “Ah, good kobold what is your name?”

The kobold still looked extremely happy as it answered. “I’m Milo!” I looked at the body next to him and sighed “Great job Milo! Now go bury the body.” I turned away from him and tried not to cry. He was too pure!

I couldn’t bear to ruin his dreams! I walked away as Zog looked over and said. “Ain't that the wrong kobold?” I nodded and said “Let’s just let him be happy. I don’t wanna ruin this for him.” Zog nodded and went back to eating some weird bird.

I turned towards Milo and yelled “Hey Milo, change of plans. Give the body to Zog! He’s hungry!” Milo smiled happily and rushed back to us. I patted him on the back as he handed the corpse to Zog.

“Hey Milo, come over here!” Milo once again nodded happily and waddled over. “Alright Milo, since you are now my second in command you need to start training. You see that tree?” I pointed to a large tree about 20 feet away. “Stand here and hit that tree a hundred times with your sling. Once you're done, find me and I’ll give you another task.”

Milo instantly started slinging rocks. I walked away and started building a few basic teepees. You only need a few long sticks and a pelt to build one. Not a nice one but it would at least keep the cold away. We would stay here and train for a few weeks so might as well have some shelter. I had finished setting up one of the teepees when my soldiers started trickling in.

I put them to work doing the same thing as Milo while I continued to work on the shelters. Zog helped out but after a bit handed me the eggs and said he was going for a walk.

I nodded at this and waved him off. The rest of the day passed without much going on. I had managed to make 5 small teepees and after covering them each with a blanket they were ready.

Only Milo and two others of my now 9 kobolds hit the tree a hundred times before the day was over. I handed each an iron dagger and said “From now on you guys are soldiers of this tribe. The others are workers. That means you are their betters. Got it?”

They all nodded happily and walked off bullying the workers as they went. I smiled at this and yelled at some workers to gather firewood. I pulled out a piece of flint and steel from my bag and started gathering some dry leaves.

The calm was rudely interrupted by the sound of bestial screams in the forest. I also heard Zog’s laughter filtering through the forest so I disregarded the threat.

The workers returned soon enough and started making a pile. I then spent the next 30 minutes trying to light it as Kobolds nervously fidgeted next to me. Finally, it caught a spark as I yelled in triumph. “Yes! I did it! Fire!”

I did a little jig before composing myself and getting to work “Workers, go gather food! Warriors walk around the trench, make sure nothing gets near us!” After issuing orders I pulled a book out of my satchel and laid down to continue relaxing.

This was interrupted by Milo screaming for help. I sprinted towards him and saw what looked like a group of humans. They wore familiar colors that made me scream in rage. I dashed towards one and slammed the sharp end of my shovel into the side of his knee. As he collapsed to the ground I slammed a dagger into his eye.

I then quickly pulled out the dagger and threw it into the thigh of another attacker. I was about to follow up with my shovel but Milo loosed a stone from his sling that slammed into the man's face caving it in.

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There were still around a dozen of the attackers closing in on us. My warriors were not dead yet but it wouldn’t take long for us to be overwhelmed. I was about to sound the retreat when Zog crashed through the foliage swinging his club as he roared in anger.

I took advantage of the confusion to grab my dagger and jump over another person. She fell to the ground as I quickly stabbed her a few times in the back of the neck.

Milo and the others began loosing volleys of stones into the ranks of the attackers, most shots missed but a few hit. The attackers got over their fear and split into two groups. 6 humans charged at my group moving to overwhelm us. Thankfully the workers had heard the commotion and came to join the fight.

They streamed into the fray screaming in terror as they overwhelmed one of the soldiers. I yelled in triumph as I ran forward and slammed my shovel into one of the attackers' feet.

He howled in pain and swung his sword towards me. I quickly dodged to the side but it still managed to scrape against my arm. I winced in pain as Milo jumped onto the man's face and started ripping it apart.

The other two warriors kept up the ranged support with varying results. They managed to fend off the attacker long enough for me to finish the one Milo was mauling.

I looked over to see what Zog was doing and found him walking towards us. He was happily munching on a decapitated body as he attempted to wipe off the blood on his loincloth.

The attackers took one look at him and ran. I smiled in triumph and yelled “I’m the best! They run in fear of me!” My shrill voice carried through the forest as my followers roared in triumph. “Alright boys, gather all their weapons and bodies. We’re gonna have a feast tonight!”

The kobolds once again cheered as I backed away and walked over to Zog. I quickly checked him over for injuries before heading back to camp. Thankfully my fire hadn’t gone out. I sat down and pulled out my shovel looking it over and making sure the blade hadn’t chipped.

I set it down and began to slowly polish it as I smiled in reverence. The shovel truly was the only god of this world. I was broken out of my worship when Milo waddled up to me carrying a sack full of weapons.

“I got the stuff boss. Lots of good, great stuff!” I grabbed the sack and started looking through it. The attackers had a few low-quality weapons and one okay sword. It was small for a person but could be used as a longsword for a kobold. I tossed it over to Milo and said “Your’s now, put it to good use.”

Milo flashed a smile before darting away and yelling for the other warriors to come see. I gave the other two warriors each a sword and then kept the rest of the weapons. As I walked around the camp I noticed a large speckled egg next to the fire with red and green flecks.

I smiled in triumph at the thought of my forces growing. I picked the egg up and placed it on my teepee. This kid would be the future of our tribe. After making sure my new soldier was safe I walked out and called my forces to the center of the camp. “My people! Today we triumphed against invading forces! We smote down the devils that came to destroy our people! Together we are powerful! But our enemy is as well. So from now on we're gonna set up a shit ton of traps! So we don’t have to fight but they'll still die!”

This drew a resounding cheer as the thought of not dying filled the kobolds with joy. I finished my speech by saying. “Now go! Get to work. We have a long week ahead of us.”

I hopped down from the log I had been standing on and tried to walk back to my book but was once again stopped. One of the warriors walked up to me and said. “Uh, boss, one of the humans is alive. They said they want to talk to you.”

I nodded and walked towards the man. He had blonde hair although it was covered in his friends' blood. He looked a bit familiar but I waved it off. I was about to make fun of him but he spoke first.

“Der'mo yebat, they will find you! In your sleep! And we will kill you! For what you have done you will die! You have committed high treason. Hang yourself so the prince doesn’t have to dirty his hands anymore.”

I looked at him and staggered backward as he started to laugh. “He knows you're alive. The prince will kill you and your little ogre friend! For what you did to the imperial dynasty!” I pulled out my shovel and slammed it into his dick.

My chest heaved as I fought to keep the memories away. Then he said something that made my mental resistance crumble. “You abandoned your master, Der'mo yebat. You are a coward. Now go fucking die in a ditch.” I fell to the ground and lost consciousness as the memories overtook me.