Kaz hadn’t offered his name, any more than Dugo had, but obviously his blue fur had given him away again. He wasn’t sure he liked having strangers know who he was, but it did explain why Dugo had been so willing to guide Kaz to this hidden place. If the other kobolds really did believe Kaz had slain Zhangwo, then they might feel… Honestly, he wasn’t certain. It would be like meeting a kobold from a howl, which was a very strange thought to have about himself.
Kaz’s ears lowered slightly, and he glanced toward the brown-furred pup who had come up behind Vek. Dugo was panting again, and looked like he should really sit down. Kaz wasn’t the only one who’d noticed, either. A few of the pups who were closer to Dugo’s age were edging toward their friend, as if ready to catch him if he needed support. The concern on their faces confirmed Kaz’s feeling that this was a good place.
“I was looking for Dax, Eld, or Nogz of the Bronze City tribe,” Kaz told the orange-furred warrior he assumed was Vek. “But I wanted to see how the remaining mosui were doing, and someone told me you were watching their pups.”
“That’s right,” Vek said, laying a hand on the head of a particularly round round-pup with fur almost the exact same unusual shade of orange as his own. “There are a few who have surviving parents, and they’re staying with the adults, but for the most part, the little ones escaped because they hid, and only came out when they got hungry. They have no remaining family to care for them. I already had Vakhus here, so people started bringing me the others as well. We outgrew the huts we were given, and people who had been uncomfortable with a few mosui became…even more so. So we came here. We watch the dead pools, and everyone else leaves us alone.”
Kaz nodded. That was about what he’d expected when he’d heard the pups were so far from everyone else. Kobolds and husede alike had years of hatred built up toward the mosui. It would take more years to counter that hatred, and in the meantime, these little ones were at risk.
“I was a slave in a mosui household,” Vek said. His body tensed as Li stretched out her nose, cautiously sniffing at Vakhus. The little round-pup squeaked softly, then leaned toward her in turn, the pink tentacles on his nose reaching for her. Li jerked back as they brushed against her snout, then shivered once and held still as the soft tendrils gently traced her face. Kaz could feel her refusal to be frightened, and knew this was something she needed to do in order to begin to recover from her own time in captivity. Still, he kept a cautious eye on Vek as the other male tried to decide how he was going to react.
“Vakhus saved me, and then I saved him when the rebellion reached us,” Vek said, and Kaz could hear a whole unspoken howl in those few, terse words. “His parents died, so I took him in. I took him to the adult mosui, after they were released back into the city, but none of them wanted him.” He finally looked away from Li and Vakhus. Li’s fear was fading rapidly. Apparently mosui tentacles tickled.
“Most of these little ones can barely even speak our language yet. Vakhus is old enough to know some, but they have a hard time making the right sounds. They want to growl like us,” Vek said, and now there was a hint of humor in his voice. “And the kobold pups keep trying to squeak like them. So I just call them all pups, and since there are no den-mothers here, I started teaching them the howls, and how to gather and hunt.”
His hand left Vakhus’ head, gently ruffling the short fluff there as it did. “Sometimes Eld and Nogz come to help, and the older pups are good at keeping everyone together, but it can be challenging, with so many.”
Finally satisfied, Li backed up. Vakhus turned his squashed little nose after her, but didn’t follow, instead trundling off on his short legs to join the others in their games. He was one of the largest round-pups, and Kaz wondered if others his age and size hadn’t been able to find good hiding spots that allowed the worst of the bloodlust time to die down.
“No one else helps you?” Kaz asked, watching Li watch the pups. “I thought there were jobs that people could do to earn food and shelter. Can’t they make caring for the puppies one of those?”
Vek sighed. “I asked, but the Council said that they wouldn’t ask anyone here to help take care of mosui.”
“No,” another voice said, and everyone turned to look back toward the tunnel Kaz and Li had entered through. Dax stood there, flanked by Nogz and Eld, looking almost as tired and somber as he had when he and Kaz had been trapped in the mines together. He’d obviously heard their conversation before they heard him, thanks to their own focus on their conversation and the puppies.
“Thabil and Qiyi said that, and they outvoted me. As always. They want all of the mosui dead or out of the city, but thanks to their promise to the human female, Lianhua, they can’t actively do anything about it. If we still had collars, all of the mosui would be wearing one, but without that, Thabil is determined to force them out through less obvious means.”
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Dax came to a halt eight or ten feet from Kaz, then pressed his hand to his chest, bowing over it as he would to a leader of warriors. “Welcome back, Kaz Woodblade. And Li.” He bowed toward the little dragon, too, and she had the presence of mind to raise her wings and curve her neck, offering a graceful acknowledgement, while Kaz still struggled to comprehend what was happening.
Finally, Kaz managed to press his own fist against his chest and bow over it. This male was a chief of sorts himself, while Kaz didn’t even have a warrior’s necklace. Kaz didn’t care about that any longer, but he knew how he must seem to other kobolds. Without a necklace, he was still a puppy himself, and certainly not someone a grown warrior and chief should be bowing to. Yet here was Dax, apparently entirely unconcerned with any of that.
Dax chuffed a tired laugh, tilting his head toward Nogz. The younger of his two pups immediately yipped happily and ran off, joining the others in play. Eld, who had been the leader of the kobolds working in the yumi pools in spite of his own youth, remained at Dax’s side.
“Several of my kobolds came to tell me that a blue-furred kobold with a golden lizard was wandering the fields. Then I got a message from Kedia as well,” Dax said, ear twitching in amusement. Kaz’s own ears lowered in embarrassment as he realized he’d been far more conspicuous than he’d believed. Had everyone simply been giving him space, since he didn’t seem interested in talking?
“We’ve been on your trail for a while now, but we were always a little too late, and it’s hard to catch your scent. Then someone said they saw you with Dugo, so we hoped you’d be here,” Dax explained.
“He’s here all right,” Vek said. “But what am I supposed to do with him?”
Dax huffed softly as he looked at Kaz. “It’s not so much what you’re supposed to do with him as what I hope he’ll do with you.” He pointed at Vek. “We need another kobold on the Council, and I want you. You’re the only person actually doing something about the mosui, and I’m afraid the adults aren’t making things better for themselves. They refuse to work, and steal food and other things. They try to order the husede to serve them, and hide in their homes when people become angry about their actions. Soon, Thabil will use their behavior as an excuse to force out all of the mosui, including your round-pups, and there won’t be anything I can do to stop her.” His voice held deep bitterness as he watched Vakhus.
Kaz had a feeling this wasn’t the first time the two males had had this conversation, and that feeling was confirmed when Vek said, “There’s no way Thabil and Qiyi will allow anyone to break their hold on this city, even if I wanted the job. Which I do not.” He sounded firm, but his eyes rested on the puppies as he spoke.
There’s one way,” Dax said. “Kaz can force them to step down. One of them would be bad enough, but Qiyi only howls when his mother tells him to. They’re just like Rolpa, the chief of the Bronzearms. She refused to listen to anyone, only hungering for more power and more territory. When she pushed too far into mosui territory, they pushed back, and she killed a dozen or more of them. That’s why Zhangwo set the fulan on us all. Her selfishness and refusal to see reason led to hundreds of deaths, including her own. Thabil may not be able to see it, but soon all of the kobolds will rebel again, unless I manage to convince them to come here and form our own tribe. Even then, I’ll probably only be delaying the inevitable.”
Kaz felt a chill run through him, lifting the fur on his spine. He remembered the aftermath of the rebellion against the mosui, and it was terrible. Once the mosui lost control of their slaves, they had fallen quickly. How much worse would it be when those fighting were more equally matched?
“What do you want from me?” he rasped, unconsciously holding Li closer, until she coiled her tail around him and hissed at Dax.
“You’re our only hope,” Dax said simply. “Everyone in this city - kobold and husede alike - knows you’re the reason we’re free today. They’ll listen to you, even over Thabil. If you take her down, and tell them to choose leaders who will represent them better, they’ll do it. They’ll even allow Vek to join the Council, and kobolds desperately need another voice there.”
Kaz was already shaking his head, and found himself backing away, even though he didn’t remember deciding to do so. “This is between you and Thabil. Aren’t you supposed to be able to,” he cast his mind about, searching for the word, “‘vote’ for your leaders?”
“Supposed to,” Dax said. “But ‘supposed to’ doesn’t matter if everyone is afraid of Thabil or feels like she’s acting in their best interests. She’s very good at convincing the older husede that she’s doing everything she does for their sake. And Qiyi is surprisingly good at making friends among the younger ones. He tells them he’ll talk to Thabil, so they feel like they have a voice, but of course they don’t.”
“Still,” Kaz said, backing up another step and trying to decide if he should have Li hide them so they could run. “I’m not a part of this tribe, and I didn’t really do that much. It’s not my-”
“I’m not going to be the only one who knows you’re here,” Dax said, almost reluctantly. “You’re not just another puppy any more, Kaz. People have seen you, and they’re talking. Nucai told us that if you ever returned, he would reward us for telling him immediately.”
Kaz’s fur lifted as he halted, baring his teeth at Dax. “Are you threatening me?”
It was Dax’s turn to step back as he held up his hands. “Never,” he said with great sincerity. “Even if I didn’t owe you my life, and those of Eld and Nogz, I only talk to Nucai when I have to. He’s made it very clear that he can shut down the crystals that power this city,” he added grimly, “and I don’t much like people who use power to try to force me to do their bidding.”
He shook his head, then looked up at the distant ceiling. “But Kaz, what do you think Thabil and Qiyi are doing right now?”