"What's going on there?" Thariel pointed to a group of Kobolds leading what she can only describe as an oversized melon with two legs and a lot of fur using rope.

"They're herding Lumprats," replied Sylka, Thariel's chosen guide, softly. The Kobold gave her a side glance, "Have you never seen one of those before?"

"Nope," she's never seen anything like that even back when she was playing Tainted Orchids. She did know that Kobolds rode Woodfeller Anteaters and even Dire Wolves as mounts though.

"I see," Sylka pressed her index finger against her lips, she smirked, "would you like to see more of them then?"

"Lumprats?" Thariel asked while hiding her distaste. The animals, while alien, weren't really that interesting in her opinion. They look weird if anything.

"Yes." Sylka nodded, "we herd them in preparation for winter, then we slowly kill them off while they hibernate during harsh days. They're an easy way to store excess amounts of non-rotting food,"

Now that was interesting.

Humans from her native planet also had the same system during most of their primitive history but the ones here didn't need to do that as they have access to magical greenhouses during winter.

Kobolds- and most likely other less advanced races, - adapting this kind of system made sense however.

"I'd like to see them," Thariel agreed, they changed course and Sylka began leading her towards one of the barns, "I heard you guys also have trefeller anteaters and dire wolves as mounts, can I see them?"

"We have dire wolves, yes," Sylka gave her a wistful smile, "anteaters? No."

"Oh, do Kobolds not ride anteaters?"

"No, we... Do," Sylka corrected, "it's just that our particular tribe cannot spare the resources to feed them as we don't have termite mounds within our territory,"

So that means they're expensive to maintain, it makes sense given the size of those things. They must at least eat several pounds of insects everyday to survive, keeping the anteaters healthy must be a task all on its own.

"Why not just feed them root cockroaches then?" Thariel suggested amidst her confusion.

Despite their namesake, Treefeller Anteaters aren't strictly limited to just eating ants, they also eat other insects and Root Cockroaches are said to be a feet long when fully grown and they breed as fast as regular roaches.

Overall, they are an insect that ticks all of Thariel's icks.

"Cockroaches?" Sylka gave her an odd look.

Thariel's expression shifted into one of sympathizing disgust, "yeah, I guess you're right, I mean, they are a bit disgusting,"

"Uhm?.." Sylka trailed off.

She thought that as a Kobold, Sylka wouldn't mind that kind of thing but being the daughter of a chief probably meant that she had the upbringing of one.

"How about mealworms then? Or grubs? Those things are easy to get and they're not as disgusting," Thariel suggested, "and on that note, maybe you guys can even farm mosquito larvae to feed your fish?"

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At some point, Sylka had told her that the Kobolds here had fisheries and the building on the river that she saw when she first arrived is supposed to be where all their anglers worked/lived.

"Uhm, I think you'll need to talk to my father for that," smiled Sylka, her expression felt stiffer than normal though. "I wouldn't want to take credit for your ideas,"

"Well won't he just ignore my suggestions since I'm not a member of the tribe?" Thariel rebuked.

The Kobolds here were mainly based off of the common asian so they are very traditionalistic and put community values above all else. Daughters suggesting ideas are fair game however, as that is their role in Kobold society; thinking.

"Well, I suppose, yes," Sylka responded with a frown, what was she thinking? Thariel wondered. "Then maybe I'll go with you? I can also tell my mother and sister about your ideas,"

"Thanks," Thariel gratefully said.

"It's nothing, and also, do Vampires commonly deal with insects?" Sylka questioned, she gave Thariel a curious look, "you seem to be knowledgeable about breeding them, and the local brood also utilizes spiders as mounts,"

"I don't know," Thariel answered in honesty, "I do know that a lot of them are fond of insects though, it has something to do with vampires being able to sense and read insect pheromones though, which makes us compatible in training them more than any other species."

Thariel looked at her chest, "and as for me..." The Damphir hummed, "... Well, I once had a pet lizard so I had to breed mealworms and stuff to feed him. He's dead now though,"

"I see," Sylka's gaze shifted to the ground, "so you had a reptilian companion? How did it die?"

"Because it's stupid and reckless," Thariel sighed to distress. Honestly, why did her stupid pet jump into an open wire and electrocute himself to death?

"I sympathize, sometimes we lose our pets in the heat of battle," Sylka gave her a warm smile.

"What?" Thariel snapped out of her melancholy and faced the Kobold. Did she also lose a pet? And battle? Did Sylka have a Dire Wolf in the past?

"Nothing, oh, and we're here," Sylka deflected.

Thariel let Sylka's avoidance be and turned her focus towards the barn. The space beyond the fences blocking the building's gaping entrance reached above Thariel's waist.

Beyond it, in a room that would have normally been an area too dark for her to see is a gathering of bloated balls packed with fur.

The Lumprats waddled around without a care in the world, their bulbous eyes strangely listful as they moved from wall to wall in dazed monotony. These ones were fatter compared to the first one she saw, how long has the tribe been taking care of these guys?

"What do you guys feed them?" Thariel asked.

"Nothing much," Sylka said from beside her, "fish heads, the fruits we occasionally harvest from the forest, and leftovers from our feasts."

So the Lumprats were omnivores, Thariel should have expected this when she first heard the "rat" at the end of their name.

"I see," Thariel looked away from the animals and faced Sylka, "don't you guys only eat meat? Why harvest fruits?"

"For the rats," Sylka's answer made sense in hindsight, "and only them, we don't even have groves for such trees," Sylka's expression turned sour, "the tribe considers it a waste to raise fruit trees unfortunately so a farm for fruits has never been realized."

"Then what about the farms near the river?" Thariel asked.

"We get those to trade with the occasional merchant who passes by," Sylka answered.

That makes sense, but also Thariel realized something-

"You were the one who told everyone here to feed Lumprats with fruits," Thariel concluded. Sylka's bitter look confirmed her guess, "why didn't you convince them that creating a grove was a good idea?"

"Because they think it's a waste," Sylka answered, "there's no point to putting effort into something the tribe considers as useless, they say it's only a waste of time,"

"Or so they say, reality couldn't be any different." Thariel faced the cattle in the barn again, "feeding these guys is invaluable though,"

"A lot of ideas related to cattle often are," Sylka softly replied, "but new things scares the old and they indoctrinate the young into following their ways so no change can be made."

"I guess," Thariel said, "but maybe you should try to inspire change?"

"I can't," Sylka's reply had an undertone which implied that she tried to do just that but failed, "the other kobold tribes aren't faring much better but them thriving isn't the problem... Not right now at least."

"The goblins are?" Thariel guessed.

"Yes," Sylka nodded, "it is them that I am most worried about," the Kobold murmured, "I fear that their access to dark magic are overtaking our efforts at pushing them back."

Sylka's expression turned from calm to worried, "and I fear that an alliance between the tribes would save us this time around. We are simply hopeless."

Thariel got what Sylka was indirectly telling her here- they needed help and the one who can give them that just came.

It was a quest in every sense of the word and if she was playing Tainted Orchid's, a notification that says "new plot lines discovered!" Will pop up on the side of the screen to tell her that she just received it.

Commonly, she can wait this sort of thing out but that wasn't an option here. Time would move if she leaves this place and continues searching for the Silent Shrine. The problem wouldn't stay idle and wait for her to come back.

But also unlike in the game, Thariel can offer her aid in other ways. Not just follow the absolute requirements of a quest like players are commonly forced to.

She had other choices beyond "fulfill this task" or "give us these items" and one of those is to ask the Kobolds to relocate (unlikely to happen) or get the Vampires to interfere. Maybe get a Timber Drake to come and wipe the greenskins if she felt desperate enough.

But the question was, is it worth it?

This kind of thing would take a few days to finish and she didn't have that kind of time, the few hours of night time she's burning talking to these everyone here is already enough to put her plans out of schedule.

She did have one option left though. It was a good thing that she brought a few potions with her during this trip.

"Here," Thariel grabbed a bottle from her satchel and held it out.

"What... A potion?" Sylka recognized the item instantly. She took it and stared at it in a daze, "what is it?"

"Strength boost, give it to your father, it'll help a lot." Thariel smiled, "drinking it should be enough to keep the Satyr at bay and even kill a lot of goblins, hybrids or not."

"... Thank you,"

"Mhmm," Thariel let her actual feelings show in her smile, "it's nothing much though. I wish I can do more but I have other things to do, sorry."

There was no reply but the way Sylka stared at the potion told Thariel how much gratitude the Kobold felt for receiving it.