Trout's Landing.

"So, this is how it ends." Jeb said mournfully.

"Goodbye roof over my head. Goodbye warm fireplace. Goodbye dusty and too firm mattress." Jeb continued as Ruby stared at him from nearby with mild amusement.

"All of that will be in the burrows. Are you coming or do you want more time to be dramatic?" She said while holding the bundle of eggs wrapped in the ever faithful fur blanket.

Jeb hummed in thought for a moment.

"I think I need to be a bit more dramatic for a minute. Maybe utter somethin' dark and broodin'."

Ruby rolled her eyes as Jeb cleared his throat and took a more dour tone.

"And so my time in the light of day comes to an end. Now deeper into the dark I go. Confined to the Earth's dark embrace, forever more."

He fell to his knees and threw his head in an exaggerated manner onto the dusty mattress. Ruby rolled her eyes once more.

"Are you done?"

"Yup! All good!" Jeb said with a perk before getting up and grabbing what little of his belongings he still had and following Ruby out the rundown admin building.

In truth Jeb was only mildly saddened about leaving four walls and a roof over his head. But he wasn't really there for long to grow too attached. It also helped that he felt more like a squatter in the building than its resident. Technically they were all squatting here. But it didn't seem to bother the kobolds none too much, Jeb thought as he watched them blaze a trail through the fishing lodge with renewed vigor.

While he still wasn't exactly keen on the kobolds rolling around in the eerie balefire to warm up. He couldn't argue that they seemed happier at least. More productive too, he thought as he watched the place move at a pace that the kobolds didn't have before. They darted this way and that way it made Jeb tired just watching them.

"Zippy lil fellers." He muttered as he saw for the first time just how fast they could move when the cold wasn't slowing them down!

It reminded him of velociraptors from Jurassic Park with how they darted around the place. You'd think it would be amusing with how small they are, but he'd bet damn near anyone would shit a brick if they saw one rushing out of some dense jungle foliage covered in war paint and feathers screeching out warbling kobold noises.

Hell even the salamanders were... still lazy. While some took to napping closer to the blue fire, it didn't seem like it gave them anymore energy. Were they really that lazy all the time, Jeb thought as he and Ruby neared the entrance to the completed main section of the burrows where they encountered a slight problem.

"I can't fit through that." Jeb declared as he stared at the tunnel that was just big enough for a kobold or a salamander to fit through.

The Chief walked over at his declaration and had an apologetic look on his snout.

"Sorry Master Jeb. We figured you would stay within the dwelling there for some time."

"No it's alright. Besides, the smaller it is the better you're able to defend it." Jeb reassured the Chief.

"But how will you move in?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I could just teleport down. But I'll need to get down there the hard way the first time. I'd rather not try and go underground with a blind port." Jeb explained.

"How DO you manage to teleport, Master Jeb?" The Chief asked excitedly.

"Well... I don't rightly know. I just kinda imagine the place where I want to be at, focus, and poof! There I am." Jeb said, a little embarrassed that he didn't have a more detailed explanation for the Chief.

But the Chief didn't seem to mind the lackluster explanation and still seemed to find the fact that he could teleport interesting in and of itself. Though he seemed about the only one. He'd figure the kobolds would be more awed by him being able to teleport. But he was kinda bummed out when it was only the Chief that seemed to really care.

Oh well, Jeb thought as he sat aside his meager belongings and moved closer to the dark tunnel that led below the earth beneath the sycamore tree that loomed over the lodge. He sat down and started shimmying forwards.

"If I can just squeeze myself down there the first time, then ya'll wont have to worry about compromisin' security for my sake."

He REALLY wasn't looking forward to doing this though. Just getting his legs into the tunnel was a little harder than he thought it would be. Getting the rest down was going to be a pain in the ass. Hopefully he didn't get stuck, he thought as he twisted and contorted as best as he could as he slowly pushed himself down into the dark earth.

He got up to about his waist when he found himself stuck. It felt like he was squished between dirt and root. He sighed and turned to the others.

"Well, looks like-ERP?!"

He words died out in a confused and startled yelp as something grabbed his feet and began to pull! If it wasn't for the nonchalant looks on the other kobolds he would've panicked a bit more. Maybe even slamming a boot into whatever it was that grabbed him. He focused and could tell it was kobolds that had grabbed his boots from the other end and were pulling him down.

Wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. Jeb assisted them by grabbing the ground and pushing himself deeper while still twisting his frame. He grunted and groaned as his vision darkened the deeper into the hole he went. Just how deep did they dig, Jeb thought as he was slowly dragged into the earth until the sparsest light from the tunnel illuminated his vision. Until even that was gone as he was forced past a corner in the dirt that cut off whatever light he had left. Plunging his vision into darkness completely.

He really should've been more panicked, he thought as the kobolds continued to pull while he continued to push. Here he was with no light and barely an inch between him and who-knows how much dirt and stone. He wasn't sure if it was being in Anna's underground labyrinth or his recent mental changes, but the fact that a simple shift in the earth would be all that it took to crush or trap him didn't bother him in the slightest. If anything, it was oddly comforting.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Maybe this won't be so bad." Jeb muttered to himself as he felt his feet and legs become free for a moment before several other claws gripped onto his boots and pants before tugging.

Jeb gave one last mighty push against the cool dirt around him as he assisted the kobolds in getting him free from his earthen confinement. The ground shuddered before Jeb felt himself briefly weightless. Then he hit the ground. He groaned as he looked around. He half expected it to be lit up a bit down here. But the only light source he could tell was from small ventilation shafts that brought in fresh air and some pittance of light, and the eerie glow of his own eyes.

"Where's the light?" Jeb asked as he stood up in the surprisingly spacious chamber he found himself in.

"We can see in the dark just fine so we don't need light." The voice of the Chief stated.

Jeb turned towards the Chief and found both him and Ruby standing beside him.

"Where did you two come from?"

"The tunnel might be a tight fit for you, but it's comfortable for us." Ruby explained.

"Alright. But what about all those lights I got you?" Jeb asked.

"While we can see fine in the dark doesn't mean we WANT to remain in the dark. We enjoy the light as much as anyone else. We just don't NEED it." The Chief explained as the other kobolds that assisted him in getting free departed to continue their respective tasks.

Jeb looked around at the spacious area. As his eyes illuminated the space he could tell it would serve more as a general gathering area like his basement or the former burrows were. Already several kobolds were setting up shop as small shelters were being dug into the walls and tarps or bits of salvaged cloth were strung up from roots to provide a modicum of privacy. Above the area was a matted mess of thick roots from the sycamore tree that sprawled every which way as they assisted in holding up tunnels and other rooms. As the space expanded more and more of the kobolds were relocating to the safety and familiarity of the underground. Piles of salvage were strewn about in certain areas. One pile had what looked like scrap metal, another had wood collected from around the area or what was salvaged from the felled cabin or even taken from his former home. Glass, plastic, there was a pile of collected salvage for pretty much anything and everything the kobolds could get their claws on down here.

Some kobolds acted as "shopkeepers" and bartered with their fellow tribe. Some traded scraps for other scraps and created a barter chain as they moved through the area as they worked their way towards their target fixation. Others made simple exchanges like salvage for food. He could see what was left of his rations from his basement being traded for shiny rocks from the river while fresh fish meat was exchanged for bits of copper wire or piping.

He felt a tug on his sleeve and turned his glowing eyes down towards a kobold who looked up at him with amber eyes and held a stick with a bit of dried river moss on the end.

"Master Jeb? Light?"

"Uhm, sure." Jeb said and conjured a spark of blue balefire that illuminated the small improvised torch.

The kobold warbled excitedly before darting away and sharing the baleful ember with a few others that then proceeded to run around and light similar such torches around the place. Jeb watched as the communal area was illuminated with the blue fire. The eerie flame cast shadows on the walls that seemed to dance around the area. If it bothered the kobolds it wasn't obvious, Jeb thought as he turned and saw a string of lights being salvaged.

"What're they doin'?"

"You said they run on 'electricity' correct?" The Chief asked.

"Yeah? Oh, yeah." Jeb said a little unsure of where the Chief was going before realizing what he was going for.

No generator, no power, no fuel. The lights and heaters would only last so long before they were just taking up space and it seemed the kobolds would rather salvage what was good before it stopped working altogether. Jeez, it really did seem like alot of modern amenities were just useless to them wasn't it, Jeb thought. Food, water, heating, shelter. If they could find a source of iron or even find a way to make their own gunpowder then they'd be living every Sovereign Citizen's dream!

Though he was sure the caveat of being slowly corrupted by an eldritch demigod would be a bit too much for some folk to take, Jeb thought as he turned to Ruby.

"So where are we stayin'?"

"This way!" She said excitedly before darting away.

Jeb chuckled at how excited she was and said goodbye to the Chief so that he could see to his duties in peace as he followed after her. She darted down one of the several tunnels nearby. He wasn't ENTIRELY sure which way was which after trying to squeeze down the tunnel. But if he had to guess he'd say that most of the larger tunnels went towards the cabins as he could see kobolds regularly coming and going from them. There were a few other tunnels going in other directions but he wasn't entirely sure where they went to or what they were for though.

Ruby led him down one such tunnel though. He had to slouch a little as the tunnel wasn't quite tall enough for him. He even smacked his head on a root as he followed her. He groaned as he smacked his head into another one and got shoulder checked by another before arriving at his supposed home with Ruby.

It was about the size of his former room. Both at his former home as well as the admin office he had taken as his own. The roughly circular room was about twelve-by-twelve if he had to eyeball it. Unlike the tunnel he took to get here, it was tall enough for him to stand straight and could touch the dirt and root ceiling on his tiptoes. The room wasn't very furnished. Or at all really.

Ruby looked excitedly towards him and looked around.

"So?! What do you think?!"

Jeb hummed in thought for a moment as he looked around and wandered a little bit. He was going to play up being indecisive for a bit but couldn't hold it when he saw Ruby's excited face start to fall. He chuckled and sat aside the bundle of eggs and picked her up and twirled her around the roomy... room.

"It's fine. We could live in a dumpster for all I care. We won't but that's beside the point."

Ruby squealed in delight and hugged Jeb. They held one another for a long moment of just enjoying the cool earthy air and the background noises of kobolds digging. He sighed and sat her down.

"But I need a few bear necessities. You might be fine sleepin' on the dirt but I need somethin' a little more comfortable."

"Oh?!" Ruby perked up and darted down the tunnel once more.

"God it's weird seein' how fast they go. So used to seein' 'em slow and sluggish." Jeb said to himself. He looked over to the bundle of eggs and moved them towards a small indent in the ground.

"Stay right there you lot. Your pa has to get his things first." He said to the eggs before taking a second to concentrate.

The comfortable cool earth was replaced with a chill breeze and Jeb found himself back topside. He looked around and saw the lodge still going like a rat race. Kobolds continued to fish up the nightmarish fish from the river. He could see some braving the river with mild concern as they started to scale the rock face on the other side with some tools.

He heard calls from above and looked in time to see a bucket of rocks zipping across the zipline towards the tree. He turned his head towards the source and saw the kobolds excavating a small alcove where the higher end of the zipline was. Since they've started rolling around his balefire its like he's seen what kobolds are actually like, he thought as he watched them darting around and acting far more carefree.

Gone were the sluggish and depressed tribe of lizardfolk that squatted in his basement, Jeb thought as he looked around. Even the Trap Master seemed to have more pep in his step lately. He was still grim and gruff. But he noticed he wasn't so hard on the rest of the tribe when they acted a bit more reckless like he used to.

Jeb smiled as he picked up his duffel bag of crap. He still had reservations about what the eldritch influence was doing to them, and him as well. But silver linings and all that. At least they were happy, he thought. Now he just had to make sure they stayed that way. So far they haven't run into anything else that could pose a serious problem for them. But it was just a matter of time before someone, or something, comes knocking again.

He sighed as his thoughts turned to Anna and the murlocs. He's seen neither hide nor hair from either of them since last time. Even when he's taken a minute or two to practice spreading his awareness around the lodge. She was still nearby but he couldn't tell where the small source of her presence was located. The murlocs were also quiet. He figured they'd show up or at least receive reports from the kobolds venturing up the river to scavenge what was left of the murloc settlements and outposts. But the only thing they reported was the presence of carrion birds picking away at the rotting remains he left behind.

Even the main settlement was without signs of life save for ravens and eagles. He figured a bear or something would arrive to take a free meal but the kobolds said there weren't any tracks from ground based wildlife in the area. Which was really weird. Did the aftermath just spook them away from the area or was it something else, Jeb thought as he mused on the next problem coming over the horizon.

But times were joyous and happy, he thought with a shake of his head. He can worry about it later. Today everyone was upbeat and he wasn't going to be the sourpuss. With his things collected he concentrated on the dirt room that would be his new home.

Chill outside air was quickly replaced with a cool earthen smell. He opened his eyes and fell backwards as he felt vertigo. He landed on a pile of something soft at least, he thought as he shook his head to clear away the feeling.

"Note to self. Avoid rapid teleportation."

"OH! There you are!" Ruby called from the tunnel.

He craned his neck and his glowing eyes illuminated her as she held in her arms bundles of soft moss. He frowned and looked down and found himself laying on a soft bed of forest moss. It was actually really comfortable, he thought as he threw his crap to the side and flopped back down with a sigh.

Ruby hummed and placed the moss around some more before walking over and collecting their eggs. She dragged them over and placed them lovingly beside Jeb before laying down on the other side of them with a contented sigh as she snuggled against him and the eggs as they laid against the soft moss.

Maybe living underground wasn't so bad, Jeb thought as he closed his eyes. He had a few things he wanted to check on today. See how the kobolds were on tools. Maybe see if the dwarves were willing to trade for some custom made. But those could wait for a minute. He yawned and wrapped his arms around Ruby and the eggs before nodding off for a nap.