Somewhere, West Virginia, USA.

As the Chief followed the rest of his Tribe into the chasm he feared a bolt of magic or an arrow or anything to pierce his hide.

But none came and when he looked back saw nothing but solid stone where their destruction once was.

He felt a chill as him and his tribe neared the end. Why was it cold? Their Master's lair while mountainous wasn't in a cold climate and it should be spring time.

As they finally came out the end of the strange tunnel he found the Tribe, alive and safe though shivering from the sudden coldness.

The Chief looked around at their new surroundings and heavy forest so thick he could barely see past the clearing that the passage had opened up to. The trees were starting to turn from green to red and yellow. He smelled the air and could pick up the scent of civilization on the wind, as well as burning wood and other foreign smells he couldn't tell.

"Chief what is this place?" The Trap Master asked the Chief.

"I don't know." He said as he turned to see that the passage had closed and that they were stuck here, for good or ill they will find out.

As he turned he saw the Den Mother checking on the others. He saw the eggs many, but not enough, carried and knew that they had to find warmth or they wouldn't last the night. As that thought left his mind he saw a golden orb of light float in front of him.

The Trap Master went to ready a javelin only to find that he had spent the last on their hurried escape, but the light didn't give off any ill energy and instead offered a aura of calm.

"What do you want from us?" The Chief asked the orb.

No answer came. It simply moved past the Tribe of Kobolds and into the forest.

"What do we do Chief?" The Den Mother asked.

"We follow, and hope for the best."

And so they did. With the Chief in the lead they followed the orb, keeping the hill they seemed to come out from to their left, the Den Mother and Trap Master took up the right-side and rear. They entered the forest barley wide enough for more that two or three Kobolds to march beside each other.

The forest seemed to go on forever.

If it wasn't for the broken ground of a stream they came across and that the orb, and thus they started to follow, and the hill to their left always, they would surely be lost.

The sun was barely setting when they left the passage and it has since set by the time they left the forest.

They were freezing.

But they dared not light fires for fear of setting the whole wood ablaze and alerting anyone that would surely kill them on sight.

The Chief stopped when he saw where the light was leading them.

A wooden cabin.

It was huge by Kobold standards. The Chief hasn't seen Human buildings except only in books that survived the Master's bouts of rampage from raiding merchant convoys. But he knew that Humans lived here.

The Chief looked back at his people, they would not survive out here for long in the cold dark. So with a sigh and a brave face he marched after the light that went to the cabin.

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It seemed to fly right through a solid wooden door. When the Chief pondered what to do next he heard a "click" from the door and it swung open. He cautiously descended the stone steps fearful of a trap, only to find that this was what seemed like a large cellar. The floor and walls were a strange stone like substance and the ceiling was made of lumber. The Chief spotted steps leading up to the rest of the cabin at the other end of the cellar.

As he looked around he saw a cast iron stove and plenty of wood to burn! He ushered the others into the cellar and with a wave tried to get the stove to light.

But it didn't.

He tried again and felt that while there was magic, it was dormant.

He could feel a source of magical power nearby, but when he tried to tap into it he recoiled as if burned by it!

He concentrated on the spell once more.

A great chill ran through him that hit him to his core from just conjuring a spark to light the stove.

Magic was everywhere back home, it was practically saturated and magic could be used freely.

Here however magic was dormant and hostile, or as he just found out, exacted a heavy price for using it even for the simplest of things.

With that done and light and heat going he took a second to warm himself.

Though it warmed him, the coldness from the spell was still felt in his core, he hoped it would fade in time. He looked to the golden orb that led them here, before he could ask it anything it dissolved.

"What now Chief?" The Den Mother asked. The Chief paused at the strangeness of it all before turning to her.

"Get the Tribe settled down and warm."

He turned to the Trap Master "You as well, get warm then see about making weapons from anything down here until the sun comes and warms the earth enough to gather supplies."

"What will you do Chief?" The Trap Master asked.

"I'll explore the rest of the cabin."

"Alone." He said before any of them could argue otherwise.

"If Humans do live here and they only see me, they might not consider me a threat long enough for me to convince them to give us shelter for the night."

"And what if they just kill you instead?" The Den Mother asked worriedly.

The Chief paused. "Then hopefully my death will give sufficient warning."

The Chief turned away and began to walk towards the steps, though he spotted a steel workbench to the right and the assorted tools and weapons laid upon it. He gestured for the Trap Master and others to loot it for future use as well as what appeared to be bundles of woven fabric and cloth that can be used for clothing.

That done he ascended the strange stone steps and opened the door to the rest of the cabin.

-----

Jeb was tired.

From working, to getting worked up from the game session, to running around town and then that weirdness in the basement. All of it had him so sick of the day that he just wanted it done and over with.

Then he smelled smoke.

Smoke from the wood stove in the basement.

"Got dangit." He grumbled as he made his way from his cozy bed and thick fur blanket and down the stairs to the basement to put out whatever was burning.

As he got to the last step he heard the basement door opening. Knowing he locked the doors he tip-toed his way to the old, reliable, and always loaded, family squirrel gun on top of the fireplace ready to make anyone regret breaking in.

What he wasn't ready for was a three foot bipedal lizard looking between the small-bore and him.

He especially wasn't ready for when it TALKED!

"H-h-hello H-h-human." The lizardman stuttered.

"..."

"..."

"Nope."

"N-nope?" The lizardman asked uncertainly.

"Nope, I'm done dealin' with this shit tonight. I'm goin' to bed. Don't steal nothin'." Was all Jeb said as his tolerance for today was at an end and he made his way back upstairs to his warm, cozy, and not at all insane bed.

-----

As the Chief watched the Human go back up the stairs, worried this was a ruse and that he would die by that blackpowder weapon. He finally allowed himself to breath when he heard the Human close a door and heard a audible "click" that told him that he had locked himself inside his bedchambers.

"Chief! What happened?!" The Chief jumped from the Trap Master's words. When he turned he saw that the Trap Master, Den Mother and at least a dozen of the Tribe and a couple salamanders had made their way after him.

"How long have you been there?!" The Chief asked fearing the Human saw them as threats and was about to return with greater weaponry.

"We inched up after we heard voices, we only came out when we heard the Human leave."

The Chief breathed a sigh of relief, the Human didn't seem overly hostile, at least by Human standards, but he didn't want to chance it by having the Tribe's presence overwhelm what indifference the Human might have for them.

"The Human... didn't kill me." The Chief said almost relieved.

The others were stunned by the statement.

"Yes, we can see that. But what about shelter?" The Den Mother asked.

"Ah, he said that he would settle it at a later date." The Chief stated.

The others weren't so sure to take the word of a Human, but with the Chief's insistence that they not press the issue tonight and the idea of resting and getting warm was too good to pass up. The Chief made his way back down to the cellar and saw his Tribe had started to settle in.

A few hours ago they numbered in the tens of thousands. Now they were little over a hundred, not counting the salamanders and unhatched eggs.

The cellar was already getting cramped trying to pack the whole Tribe together for warmth, but with some of the fabric and wood they have started making huts and tents in the area outside the cellar. They've begun to start small fire pits outside to keep warm.

Some of the Hatchlings had found some boxes of what appear to be food rations in the cellar and had wanted to try the strange Human food.

The Trap Master came over and used a crude knife to open the metal containers that had images of fruit on them, when he opened them they found the fruit preserved in a type of oil. After trying it himself and coming to the conclusion that it would not kill him immediately he allowed the small ones to eat them.

The food in the metal containers and what they brought would have to suffice until either the Human allowed them shelter or the sun came up and they could begin foraging.

As much as the Chief wanted to keep going to make sure that the Tribe was well and truly safe, he grew tired and the events of the past hours and the price of his magic use took their toll and the thought of all those that didn't make it during their hasty exodus was the last straw as the Chief found a spot near the stove that was saved for him.

They would "deal with it" in the morning as the Human said and despite the dark thoughts fell into a deep and peaceful slumber.