FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Sent Kobold

Chapter 9: Kobold's Lair

A meeting of friends, old and new.

---

Going from port to port and from ship to ship, Serhis, Baous, and Iskdiwercaesin gradually made their way up the coastline from Saletvarin towards the river near Lehaskeral. The journey was quiet enough, though people would still look and point wherever they went. At the moment, they had found passage on a cargo barge carrying assorted supplies meant to sail up river towards the outpost near the river that Serhis had stayed at for a year.

During the trip, he had explained to Iskdiwercaesin about his past, then both he and Baous went on to talk about what they had been doing before they met him, mainly about Aveamaria and the undead village of Le Nurl. He didn't care much about Serhis' life story, but the other incidents had made him take interest.

"You certainly like to stick your snouts in other people's business," he said, idly looking at the fields as they sailed past.

"We were just looking for missing people. The whole zombie village thing was an accident that I hope will never happen again," replied Serhis.

"Jumping out a window to chase after zombie dogs certainly wasn't an accident, but then, I'd have hunted down anyone thinking they could attack me in my sleep too. That's it then, no other party of adventurers with a grudge against you?"

Baous shrugged. "Not that we know of. What about you? We don't know anything about what you did before we met you."

"I'd like to know as well. Especially how you had a whole mercenary platoon of drow following you. And where you're from."

Seeming a little reluctant, Iskdiwercaesin shrugged. "Fine. If you want to know, then I'll tell you. Just don't go telling everyone about this, I like having a positive reputation for once. Shafaersjachhesjing is my mother's name, Caexerekessaryte is my father's. I don't think either of you have heard about them?" Both shook their heads. "Yeah, I thought so. Their lair is pretty far from here. There were three other eggs in the clutch, so yes, I have a brother and two sisters. Anyway, it was two years before mother decided it was time for us to leave the lair and get ones of our own."

"What? Only two year old and that was it? You're parents just booted you out?" Baous asked.

"Pretty much. It's not like they didn't give us any warning, they pretty much spelled that out for us three months ahead of time. And even if they didn't, I probably would have went out on my own by now anyway."

"That's a bit... quick." Baous didn't have any other words to suit how it felt to him.

"Maybe, but whatever works. Her own mother made her get her own lair when she was that age, so she figured she would follow the tradition, and so me and the rest of my siblings went. I have no clue where they are now. Didn't actually care too much either."

"Didn't? Does that mean you do now?" Serhis asked.

"I think I'd care if they came into my territory. I have a few older brothers and sisters as well and I'm in no rush to go and find them. Why should they care about me."

"So what were they like?"

"My siblings? Good in a fight, I know my brother's good with his claws, don't know about my sisters."

"I meant your parents," said Serhis. "Your siblings as well, but that's all you know about them? What are their names?"

"It's not like their names matter, we're probably never going to see each other again. I'd be more worried about accidentally finding one of my older brothers or sisters. Ah well, my brother's name is Vuthathrae, my sisters' names are Vorelvargach and Litrixhurthi. We hunted together a few times, tussled, kept each other amused, but not much more than that. We all knew we'd go on our own ways, so we didn't bother knowing each other more. As for my parents... they were firm, but fair you could say and they taught me a few things before I went. I thought you were more interested in my little entourage of drow?"

"We are, but this is important too," Baous said.

"Not if they're several hundreds of miles away."

Baous was a little stunned to hear this. When he heard how Serhis wasn't too concerned about knowing his parents, it had shocked him a little, but at least he had hatch mates he could relate to. Iskdiwercaesin knew his parents and his siblings, but dismissed them so casually! For Serhis, this wasn't too surprising, he had practically been immersed in the lore of dragons and knew that their parenting styles varied greatly. Some took great care in their offspring, others would barely wait a year after hatching before the wyrmling was rushed out into the world, and any contact afterwards was just as dependent on the parent's personal feelings. All that Iskdiwercaesin had told him simply informed him about that.

"I spent a whole month of flying around looking for a lair that wasn't already home to some bugbears or that sort of thing. So one time I find a cave that I hadn't seen before, so I went in to see how big it was. Pretty big, since it was a way into the Underdark."

"The Underdark? You mean the place filled with a lot of stuff that are almost always out to kill you? The maze of tunnels under the earth that many would lose the way in? The place were dwarves have to eternally battle anything that crawls out of a mineshaft if they ever met a tunnel they didn't dig themselves?"

"I know, I know, it was a stupid thing to do. I did get myself lost in there too. I was still pretty small at the time, so I could fly around inside the caves. The Underdark is a big, big, place and I was lucky I didn't just fly into a drider's web or get caught by mind flayers or something just as horrible or worse. I couldn't just go towards places that looked like they went upwards either, sometimes it would go round and round and just dip back down into a place that was lower than before. I knew I was really lost after flying around for over an hour in there. It was probably more than an hour. While I flew around, I heard noise, a lot of noise. It was the sound of a battle echoing through the caves. Flying towards a battle while being lost isn't the smartest thing I've done, but it wasn't like I could have done much else. The best thing I could hope for was that it was someone from the surface trying to fight their way out and maybe I could follow them up. If not, I'd just keep my distance and keep on flying around with no idea where to go."

"Let me guess, you found the drow," Baous said.

He nodded. "I found two drow groups fighting each other, so I just kept far away from the battle and hid, hoping to scavenge something off one of the bodies, a compass, a map, something useful. As small as I was, I wasn't that great at hiding and one of the troops spotted me and fired an arrow at me. I don't know why, maybe he thought I was with the other side and was going to give a surprise attack . It wasn't a great shot and hit the stalagmite that I was hiding behind, so I gave him that surprise attack of acid. And several of the other troops around him too. After that, the battle just went on and I kept on breathing acid until the troops with the guy that shot at me were dead. That's when the commander of the other group started to talk to me. I didn't understand a word she was saying at first, not until one of her mages cast one of her spells. She was surprised that a dragon like me was down here. Naturally, I said I had come down here to stake my claim and establish my lair. Gave me one of those damn drow smirks, you know, one of those shit eating grins that says 'I've got the advantage and I'm letting you know it'. Since I helped out burning off some people from some rival house, she asked if I was interested in working with them in conquering that part of the Underdark. At the time, I wasn't sure where to go, I was pretty much cornered by these other drow now that they knew where I was and would shoot me down if I tried to take off, and here's this drow commander offering me a way to get rich. Damn right I was going to say yes."

"How did they think you were going to help them do that? They must have known you were just a wyrmling," Serhis said.

"This drow commander was looking in the long term. The very long term. I think because she thought that she could control me," Iskdiwercaesin ruefully chuckled. "Yeah, right. She thought that after two or three centuries, I'd be her beck and call since she could 'rear' me as her pet dragon. Like I could be something they'd be able to tame like an animal to destroy all those drow houses they like making and deal with all that infighting. So she takes me back to her base and I get introduced as a 'valuable ally' to their cause. Heh, replace ally with asset and it would have been more truthful."

"You didn't try to find a way back to the surface?" Baous asked.

"Didn't need to, although I did manage to sneak a peek at a map and find a way out before a week had gone by. I was being served on claw and foot by drow slaves and the food was passable. Even had my own food taster incase a rival house got into their head to kill me. Went through two food tasters before they gave up. It could have been worse for them. Now, being a slave to a mind flayer, that's horrible. I never met one myself, the drow knew I was still too young to deal with one."

"Err, how did you become their leader then?" Baous asked.

"I'm getting to that. So for almost a year, I laid back and was pampered. I missed being able to fly in the skies, but I thought being some weird combination of guest and prisoner was fine for a while. I wasn't just laying back and sleeping the whole time though, I made sure I saw that drow commander often. She started trusting me more and I gave her some advice on how to crush her enemies. A collapsed tunnel here, flooding another there, that sort of stuff. Then I recommended taking a force up above to travel on the surface, then entering another tunnel to get back down. She wasn't entirely convinced about going topside, since drow in sunlight would be vulnerable they didn't have way to scout the area, so I suggested I go up with them and scout for them, since I was able to fly and said I was bored with nothing to do. That's how I ended up with my own team of drow at first. By going to the surface and back down, those drow could hit their enemies that had fortified themselves from a lot of sides and with a bit of surprise since we were hitting them from an unexpected angle. Soon, I got more than just a team, I got my own force of drow. Not the best, the commander kept them for herself, but I didn't mind. I also got plenty of gold for my trouble and made a rather sizeable hoard after a while. Then we hit the mother load after we took down the main base of a rival house," Iskdiwercaesin smiled as he recalled a fond memory. "After that, I was essentially given free rein over my own troops. They technically still followed the commander, but they had orders to follow mine, so it still worked for me. In almost two years, I had gotten a hoard wyrmlings could only dream of and my own minions. By then, I was more than happy just to stay there, receiving a steady stream of gold and tribute and let the commander do all the fighting until she needed me to do a surprise attack from the surface."

"We're almost there," Serhis said as he leaned over the side of the ship. "I can see the dock up ahead."

"I'll finish up quick then. So after some time, I get this message from a kobold named Gixbias Drakesblood and I don't need to fill you in on what it was about. Now, the commander wasn't too keen on letting her 'pet' dragon go off and run his own city, but she wasn't going to pass by a kobold city and placing it under her control for it's resources and labor. so she decided to come along with me to Tiichi de Soves. As good as she was hiding her intentions when at war and using military tactics, she doesn't do as well in person. She likely wanted to find out where this city was so that she could instruct some diggers to start making tunnels to connect the city to the Underdark and make sure I was always within reach or leave a few drow with me as 'protection' as well as to spy on me. I could tell she didn't like the idea of bringing my hoard there as well, I think it's because she considered it her own and I was just a convenient guard for it, but she didn't forbid it. Not that it would have stopped me. And from there, I don't have to say anything further," Iskdiwercaesin wrapped up the brief recalling of his life without much ceremony.

"So what happened to the commander? What's her name?" asked Baous.

"You didn't see any survivors around when you found me, did you? She's probably a smear on a troll club now, and telling her name would be pointless. So that's my life story, is it as exciting as you curious little minds thought it would be, since you wanted to find out so badly."

"A little bit," Baous said.

"Whatever. Can we finally get off this thing?"

"We're here," Serhis announced as they pulled into the docks. The little hamlet hadn't changed since he last saw it, which was half a year by now, when he parted ways with Helena. Slightly over a hundred people lived here, farmers, weavers, craft workers, and others like them had a simple life near the river. It was only when he came back with Helena that they finally picked out a name for the place, Midbow they decided. Even as he walked onto the docks, a saw that a few of the residents recognized him, some politely waving, others scoffing and going back to their business. The fortifications for the hamlet were firmly in place now, a palisade surrounding the village and a few guards were on lookout towers. What couldn't be seen were the numerous traps lining the outside of the walls, courteously of the kobold engineers that had been sent earlier. One of the guards had likely spotted them and sent a message, as the old elf that was there when Serhis first came slowly made his way to them.

"Hello Commander Falentier," Serhis greeted the aging warrior as he neared.

"And hello to you Serhis," Falentier replied in a slightly gruff tone. He wasn't friendly, even after Serhis spent a whole year in the village, and was very suspicious early on, but he was cordial. Gathering numerous plants to be used as an herbal tea might have had something to do with that. "Miss Helena isn't with you I see. And who are these two?"

"These are Baous Winterstone and Iskdiwercaesin Thurkearseoyl They coming with me to Lehaskeral."

"Is that so? Well, I welcome you to Midbow, you two," Falentier said with none of the skill of a greeter and all of the force of a sheriff. "Don't cause any trouble here, and we'll do fine. Serhis here filled you in on what happened?" Both of them nodded, Baous knew from the trip from Dunben to Aveamaria and Iskdiwercaesin having been filled in on the ride here. "You'll have to pardon a few of the folks here if they come off as a bit edgy. As for myself, I trust Miss Helena's judgment that you kobold's will keep you word and help us out and not try to murder us in our sleep, but a few of the people here are going to look at the any newcomers with some suspicion. That goes double for you dragon."

"I'll be sure to smile all the time elf," Iskdiwercaesin said as Serhis mentally sighed. Barely two minutes off of the boat and already making friends.

"We behave nice here," Serhis said to Falentier. "Iskdiwercaesin nice enough dragon. Not very nice, but nice enough."

"Thank you for that cheery endorsement. I'll be sure to let all the little children play with the magical lizard and let them realize what a wonderful dragon I can be," Iskdiwercaesin's well practiced sarcasm wasn't going to unused for long periods of time.

"If I remember, caravan be here tomorrow?" Serhis said, trying to push past Iskdiwercaesin's childishness.

"Yes, that's right. Any other business here or are you passing through?"

"Going to do a few house calls. Tiffany still getting that hay fever?" asked Serhis and Falentier nodded. "Then going to see a few people before I leave."

Stretching a bit, Falentier gave a salute that he would always give out of centuries old habit when leaving before leaving.

Leading the horses and the wagon off of the boat, Baous down and flicked the reins to bring them into the hamlet proper. "Serhis, what did you mean by house calls?"

"There are always a few people sick with something. Tiffany is a Halfling who always gets this strong hay fever this time of year, but I'm going to check and see if anyone else would like to be cured of their diseases." As they went further into hamlet, reactions from the people were similarly mixed as when they arrived. Even after a year of cooperation and trade, the people still felt uneasy since they were attacked, but Helena's proposal still was being followed to the letter. The people of Midbow appreciated the traps that would make any bandit gang think that this small hamlet was easy pickings, only to change their minds very, very quickly and too, too late, but there were a few that thought that the kobolds were biding their time and couldn't be trusted. The tax on their profits for their protection was met with some grumbling, but they couldn't argue with the trade with Lehaskeral. Iron and silverworks were shipped out in caravans to Midbow, where they would traded for surface goods that couldn't be produced underground, and any extra would be sent by boat to the nearest town as trade goods by the people of the village, allowing Lehaskeral to trade with the outside world with Midbow as the middleman for their transactions. Relations between Midbow and Lehaskeral weren't sour, but it could definitely use more work thought Serhis.

The day long wait was uneventful and the people that heard Serhis was back generally treated it as good news. There was an apothecary in the hamlet, but since Serhis was offering to heal the injured and sick immediately, he quickly ran out of spells by the end of the day and had to ask the rest to accept simple healing with bandages and herbs or to wait until tomorrow when he had enough spells again. They spent the night camping in an open field, as there wasn't an inn or many houses built in Midbow, a number of people also still were living in tents. That didn't stop a line from forming in front of their tent in the morning. By the time the caravan arrived at noon, Serhis was again tapped out of his best spells.

Watching as the last patient left, Iskdiwercaesin shuddered. "I've never seen a toe so... green before. And I like the color green."

"I don't know why some people wait until the last minute to get medical help," sighed Serhis. "Andrew was lucky I was passing by. Another week and the apothecary would have had to use a saw on that thing."

"It's nice that you don't charge them anything for the healing," Baous said as he helped Serhis pack up his healer kit. "Alaric hasn't done anything like that before. I'm sure he'd be fuming if he heard that more people appreciated you because of that."

"Not that you'd get anything useful if you did charge these people," Iskdiwercaesin said. "A lot of these farmers don't look like they have two gold pieces to rub together. Or have even seen two in the same setting."

Rolling up some unused bandages, Serhis closed up his pack. "I know that normally these healings would have been far too expensive for any of them. I'm just doing my duty and their appreciation is all that I need." He had also helped with the crews of the boats they booked passage on as they came here. Some of the sailors would come to him, having heard he was a healer and asked to be cured of a disease. They would never specify what kind of disease was afflicting them, but Serhis didn't need to know to use the spell.

"So we're done being a free clinic and curing every possible disease in this place? Because I see a long train of wagons heading through the gates." Pointing towards the main road, Iskdiwercaesin could see numerous wagons loaded down with iron and silver crafts coming into the hamlet and two wagons filled with only the ore. The drivers were draped in heavy cloth to keep themselves warm and to block out as much of the bright sunlight as possible, the thick clothing one of the first things they traded for the first time they came to Midbow, Serhis recalled, though this time they didn't bring as many guards with them.

Done with rolling up their tent, Serhis turned to meet the approaching wagons. "Hello there!" he yelled to the one leading the caravan, waving to get their attention. The driver turned to look at who was calling and they could see that he was visibly surprised to see Serhis approaching.

Pulling up the wagon next to them, the kobold trader looked at them through a set of sundark goggles similar to the set that the cleric of Bahamut himself also wore. "Serhis? I thought you left some time ago. What are you doing here?"

Serhis recognized the driver, he was the merchant that always lead the caravan during the year that Serhis stayed in Midbow. "Hello Atyatche. I'm just passing through again, but I'd like to go back with you when you're done trading here."

"Sure, sure. I-" The merchant stopped talking as he looked up behind Serhis and towards Iskdiwercaesin. "Blessings of Kurtulmak! A dragon! You brought a dragon with you! I would be extremely honored that you think my humble caravan is fit for escorting such a noble being!"

"Nice to see someone who knows how to greet me properly," Iskdiwercaesin smirked as the other members of the caravan bowed towards him.

I should have expected this, thought Serhis was a degree of dread and embarrassment from Atyatche's praises. The kobolds at Lehaskeral already treated him with a high degree of respect and praise due to being a Dragonwrought, the physical representation of their connection to the draconic bloodline. For humble Serhis, such praise felt unneeded and too much. Now that he was going to be coming home with a dragon, even a small wyrmling, those exaltations wouldn't be ending anytime soon. "I also have friend that's coming along with us. There won't be any need to leave space on your caravan, we have our own wagon."

"I would treasure an opportunity to say that I rode along with you. Though... can I ask about his wings?"

Getting a look from Iskdiwercaesin of exasperation, Serhis hesitantly answered. "Maybe when we're on our way back home."

"Fair enough. Everyone start unload!" Atyatche yelled to the caravan. "I want everything done neatly and quick. Don't do anything sloppy in front of our guest! Make it fast, we don't want to keep him waiting!" Kobold efficiency is no contradiction to those who see it firsthand, and these workers wanted to impress Iskdiwercaesin, moving out tons of heavy cargo from the backs of the wagons and into a warehouse by the edge of the river. The Midbow workers that usually helped the small kobolds move things now were moving at a snails pace compared to them. "There, done in half the time," announced Atyatche as the last of the trade goods from the warehouse were put into the wagons. "Let's get these wagons turned around! I'll see you in your wagon at the front of the gates."

Feeling somewhat sorry for the workers that where in the wagons, fatigued from their rush, Serhis hopped onto their own wagon and stood up. "Thank you for your hard work today!" he shouted in an effort to lift their spirits and a small cheer echoed through the caravan. Turning the wagons around, the caravan soon departed from the hamlet at a sedate pace with Serhis, Baous, and Iskdiwercaesin next to the leading wagon.

"It's nice of you to say that to the workers. Too bad they were working their tails off for so little," Baous kept an eye on the lead caravan, as he didn't know the route to Lehaskeral.

"So little? I doubt it." Lounging in the wagon, Iskdiwercaesin was still the subject of many eyes from the many wagons behind them.

"It was one of my duties before I left home," Serhis said, recalling long hours in the mines where he healed some injuries from mining accidents and offering encouragement to the miners. "Atyatche, what's happened since I was away?"

"The biggest thing has got to be the splitting of the tribe."

"Already? Which location did they choose? The hills with iron and copper to the West or the mountains near the volcano to the North-East?" asked Serhis.

"Hmm? Oh right, you were the one who told the All-Watcher about those places after you explored the surface. He chose the mountains to the North-East. Gathering more iron is always a good move, but the volcano felt like a better deal, what with a great heat source nearby and it's going to be a boon to forging. Some of the coal from the felsite layer is already being shipped here for our own forges, they've just hit the hematite vein, and they've just started going after the gold deposit last I heard. Chipping through that obsidian is going to be a pain."

Baous seemed to be following the conversation, but Iskdiwercaesin was now uncharacteristically showing how lost he was from his expression. "What did that all meant? A split? Felsite? Hematite?"

Baous explained about how Serhis' tribe had been needing to split due to lack of space and tried, with some great difficulty, to explain about the igneous extrusive layer and basic geology he had learned from his dad. Needless to say, it was half a minute before Iskdiwercaesin had lost all interest.

"Who's the All-Watcher for that group? Have they decided on a name for the new settlement?" Serhis asked.

"They're still picking out a name. Korsynth Firetail is the All-Watcher, Hastial Spearhorn is the chief priest, and Wral Sheerwing is the commander of the armed forces."

That last bit of information made Serhis somewhat irritated, but he didn't let it show. So the commander actually has the rank he always called himself now, he thought. He didn't like his style of leadership and the man's personality was hardly stunning, but it looked like his "negotiation" with Midbow had given Wral higher stature and was deemed fit to command the forces of the new settlement. Personally, Serhis was just glad he didn't have to see him around Lehaskeral again. What was surprising to him was that he knew the newly anointed chief priest. Serhis had studied next to Hastial most of his life. Not much of a conversationalist and wouldn't be the type to make fiery speeches, but he was certainly pious, and the older kobold would certainly handle his responsibilities well.

It stuck Serhis that if he had never left Lehaskeral, it would have been extremely likely that he would have been the chief priest. It was a strange feeling to clearly see how differently his life would have played out if he hadn't lost the favor of Gakulak and became a cleric of Bahamut, to know that he would have become a leader in his own right and would have been teaching a new generation of kobold wyrmlings. The one thing he knew he would have disliked immensely about that scenario would that he would have to deal with Wral and the politics.

Riding through the plains towards the Hyllian Ridge and Lehaskeral, Serhis and Atyatche continued their discussion about the details of the split, while Baous tried to understand the conversation and sometimes asked questions if he didn't know a certain subject, it would take a few days until they reached their destination. The grassy plains soon turned into forests, the forest then gave way to hills where the wind blew a fresh, crisp breeze from the ice covered mountains, and the grassy hills finally turned into the hard rock of the mountains. After checking with their escort that they weren't being followed, Atyatche lead the caravan back into a cave hidden away in the rocks. Baous recalled how Serhis described his mountain home and recognized the splitting paths that lead into the maze of traps further in. It was when they went past the second intersection that Baous didn't know what to expect, Serhis hadn't told him about what was beyond the kill zone that was the entrance to Lehaskeral. That was to say, he found out that anyone who didn't managed to get past the external defenses would have been lucky, since they still would have had a chance to get back out. Serhis pointed out the numerous arrow slits, murder holes, and currently disarmed traps as they rode through the narrow tunnel single file, and tactfully recommended that he keep his head down, until they entered a staging area similar to the one in Tiichi de Soves.

"They don't mind that I'm here, do they?" Baous asked as they passed a regiment of kobolds currently in the middle of drills, their arms and spears slowing down as they spotted the caravan enter with the them riding just behind the lead wagon.

"I don't think it's you that's going to be the issue," Serhis said. Any interest in Baous was quickly gone as soon as the soldier looked behind Baous and spotted Iskdiwercaesin and it didn't take long before nearly all of the kobolds in the room had bowed before the wyrmling at least once. "Thanks for the escort Atyatche. We'll leave our wagon here and I'll report to the All-Watcher."

The merchant nodded before he began organizing his caravan to unload. Pulling the wagon to a stop, they tied up the horses and Serhis began leading the way.

"After I give my report, I'll show you around," Serhis said to the two of them as they went through the tunnels.

"There's certainly a lot of kobolds around here," said Iskdiwercaesin, who was still getting stares as they passed through the kobolds that were coming and going through the tunnels.

"Really? It looks like it's a lot less crowded. When a split happens, the All-Watcher tries to make it as even as possible, but it's mostly the older ones that stay behind." Rounding a corner, Baous had to steel himself, and his stomach, as he saw what looked to be another upcoming elevator ride. There were a few elevators in this hallway and they saw one packed to absolute capacity beginning to descend. It looked like that they would have be get into a very cramped space with multiple kobolds for a ride, but as the workers saw Serhis and Iskdiwercaesin, all of them stepped clear and an entire box was available for their use, much to Serhis' embarrassment due to the preferential treatment.

"So this is an elevator. Can't say I'm impressed," Iskdiwercaesin said as he entered. Baous didn't say anything, but he did hope to see the dragon lose his composure, at least for a moment, at the moment they began to descend, which would at least make his own discomfort a bit more tolerable.

"Both of you might want to brace yourselves. This one is a bit faster than the one at Tiichi de Soves," announced Serhis as he pulled the lever. A wooden fence closed in front of the elevator, a feature that wasn't included in Baous' previous ride, but he was more concentrated on seeing Iskdiwercaesin's expression of surprise and mild vertigo as the elevator began moving. He then wondered about his own expression when he looked outside the wooden fence.

Serhis had earlier said that Lehaskeral was only slightly deeper than Tiichi de Soves, but the structure was radically different. Where Tiichi de Soves descended through carved rock, the residents of Lehaskeral made use of a natural feature, a large rift carved deep within the mountain, and had placed their elevator system to descend through the open space rather than having to carve through solid rock. They could see all the levels of the city in it's entirety, as if it were a surface city on it's side and they were descending from the sky towards it, large areas on the cliff of the rift had been carved out and they could see each individual layer as they went down, and though Lehaskeral was as deep as Tiichi de Soves, it was much wider. An underground river looked to have been redirected to become a waterfall as it fell down through the rift, feeding the farms at the bottom of the city as well as powering the mechanisms that ran the elevator before being directed further down to areas that they couldn't see. The simple size, scale, and scope of Lehaskeral told a story that said how ancient this city was, how it grew in stages, and of how multiple generations of kobolds had expanded the city over it's lifetime.

"So this is a kobold city... Alright, I'm impressed," announced Iskdiwercaesin as he admired the view, Baous right next to him looking dumbfounded as they watched as the bottom get closer. The elevator came to a stop well short of the bottom, but they could see it well enough, with large loads of food and produce loaded into hand carts or just being lugged around, and that the elevator could descended lower, past the natural bottom of the rift and into a dug out hole, leading into the mines.

Stepping out of the wooden box as the shutters moved aside, they made their way into one of the lower levels of the city. Reaching the quarters of the All-Watcher, the guards seemed to have to consciously force themselves not to move aside as they came closer. "Welcome back Serhis. What business do you have with the All-Watcher today?" one of them asked, her eyes constantly drifting towards Iskdiwercaesin.

"I've come back to submit a report of the areas I've explored. Afterwards, we wish to stay in the city to rest and recuperate before leaving again."

"And... err... what about...?"

"Don't mind me," said Iskdiwercaesin. "I'm just here to take the tour."

The guard looked slightly confused and elated to have been spoken to by the dragon. "The All-Watcher is currently inside. As he doesn't have another meeting for the next hour, you may enter," the guard stood aside to let them pass.

"Should we say something when we see the All-Watcher?" asked Baous before they entered the All-Watcher's quarters. "Is there some sort of traditional stuff I have to do?"

"No, you don't have to say anything. I'll just introduce you all, then I'll present my report. All-Watcher Vipereye is probably going to want to say something to you though," Serhis said to Iskdiwercaesin.

"Oh? What about?"

"I'm not sure exactly what he would want to know. Perhaps he'd like for you to lead a ceremony tomorrow or something similar."

The quarters of the All-Watcher of Lehaskeral could be summed up in a single word: simple. All that could be seen inside is a desk, a large table for meetings, a rack with scrolls and books, and a simple bed with a chest at the end for personal possessions. No tapestries adorned the walls and no rug or carpet covered the floors. The only thing that was unique about these quarters was the carved murals in the walls, and those might be centuries old. A lot could be learned about a person from where they live, and the room of the All-Watcher spoke a lot from holding so little. Sitting at his desk and looking through stacks of reports that he had to read through every day to ensure the smooth operation of a whole city, All-Watcher Dallenst Vipereye didn't notice them enter the room until they were already at the foot of his desk.

"What is it? The next meeting isn't until an hour later, so your very early," the All-Watcher said from behind the scroll he was reading. "Or has there been an incident that I need to be aware of?" Serhis politely coughed to get his attention, Dallenst lowering the scroll to see who was in front of his desk, and said with some surprise, "Serhis! What are you doing back. And... is that a dragon?!"

"Is it always the same with you kobolds? Always so surprised about seeing me. Not that I mind being something of a pleasant surprise," Iskdiwercaesin said.

Bowing before the All-Watcher, Serhis introduced the two behind him. "This is Iskdiwercaesin Thurkearseoyl and Baous Winterstone. I have come back to submit a report about what I have witnessed as I traveled the lands." Serhis was a little surprised himself. The All-Watcher wasn't easy to surprise, but apparently his sudden reappearance along with Iskdiwercaesin's presence seemed have to have shocked the 112 year old kobold from his usual stoicism.

And not for long it would seem, as Dallenst calmed down. "Ah. Very well then. Your report please."

Serhis' report was swift and concentrated on mainly on the facts of lands he had visited and was firmly objective in it's content. The All-Watcher took had wanted a bit of clarification on the dwarves mines that he had visited after passing the plains near Le Nurl. It was when he spoke about Tiichi de Soves that Dallenst took a keen interest. After boiling down nearly half a year's experience as much as possible, Serhis concluded his report. "Is there anything more you wish to know All-Watcher?"

All-Watcher Vipereye coolly regarded them. "How long will you be staying here?"

"For a few days. We also would like to replenish our supplies before we leave."

"Very well. I would have like to asked more, but my next meeting is soon, so at a later time," Dallenst said.

Serhis hadn't realized how long his report had taken, especially since the All-Watcher had occasionally asked for more details on a certain area. "Then I will take my leave sir." Bowing as he left, Serhis, Baous, and Iskdiwercaesin left the office and past a group of kobolds that composed of the next meeting.

"If we're going to be here for a few days, where are we going to be staying?" asked Baous.

"There should be lots of room for us since there's been a Split. I'll have to ask around and see which areas are available for us. I'll be sure to get someplace that's cool enough for you to sleep comfortably, there's a few rooms that are a bit drafty. I-" Serhis was interrupted as a familiar face started running towards them, arms wide open to administer a large hug.

"Serhis!" yelled the running kobold, his arms wrapping around Serhis in a tight hug, but taking care not to hurt the wings. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Xet! What are you doing here?" Serhis would have given a hug back, but his arms were securely by his sides.

"I should be the one asking you that," Xet said as he stood back. The rusty brown scaled kobold flapped his silk robes to get out the wrinkles, then turned his burnt ochre shade eyes to the group.

"I guess I should introduce you. This is Xet Sigilscale. Xet, this is Baous Winterstone and Iskdiwercaesin Thurkearseoyl. They've been traveling with me on the surface."

"Wow. An actual dragon. How did that happen?" Xet asked with no small amount of awe.

"I'll explain while we walk. I wanted to show them around first. What are you doing here? I thought that you were usually studying at this time."

"When I heard you came back, I knew that you'd come to the All-Watcher's place first before you went anywhere else. I'm just lucky I ran all the way or I'd have missed you." Serhis had noticed how out of breath Xet was. "Came all the way down from the Rift Commons. I can catch up on my studying later since you're back. Where are you going first? Where did you go? What was it like? Are you going to stay for long or is this just a short visit?"

"I'll tell you all about it while we're walking," Serhis tried to stem the wave of questions. "We'll start from the bottom areas first, then we'll start heading up."

"Heh, you might want to avoid Biln's workshop when we get near there. He's been working on the ditherbomb mixes. Again."

"How much of the place got reduced to rubble this time? Two of the walls and half of the ceiling?"

"No, the whole damn place! Biln made it out alright though, dived behind that steel plate box he installed since the last time that happened."

"You're kidding! How did he foul it up this time? A ratio of three to one of sulfur and saltpeter?"

"He actually didn't mess up this time, he really wanted a bigger bang. Shook it up and off it went. A bit bigger than he thought though. Don't ask me about the specifics, you know how most of the numbers and stuff like that goes over my head."

The friendly questions and answers had made Serhis more at ease. Not for a long time had he been so eager to talk about his half a year adventure or so curious to learn what had happened in his absence. He was in a place he was sure was safe and it made him calm and eager to share his experience.

For Baous and Iskdiwercaesin, some of the things the two were talking about were completely outside their understanding or interest, ranging from the newest installation of traps to the amount of ore mined out. Baous was noticing how animated Serhis had become, either because of the warmer temperature or the fact that he was seeing an old friend again.

"... and so this human dives for cover as I'm lighting the fuse. I can't blame him, not since the other ship had half it's top blown off!"

"You have a lot of guts that," laughed Xet. "You already had a lot of nerve going on a large piece of floating wood over that much water. Are you sure that you couldn't see anything but water all the way around?"

"I know it's hard to believe, but I was there. Water in all directions, all the way to the horizon. Remember what happened when I told you of little drops of water falling from the sky?"

"Yeah, I said you were full of it. And then you go and prove me wrong."

Slowing down as they pass an intersection in the tunnels, Serhis halted as they began to hear chanting. "I'll continue that story later. I should pay Elder Sandhide a visit."

"Um, Serhis," Xet tugged on Serhis' robes before they could go further down the tunnel.

"What is it Xet? Is he somewhere else? He's usually the one lead the chants. Then again, after the Split, something might have changed."

"Serhis, I don't know how to say this, but... Elder Sandhide died three months ago."

Within three seconds, the mood had shifted so quickly. As difficult as it was to read the emotion on a kobold's face, Baous could see how Serhis seemed to be slowly absorbing the news. "Who's Elder Sandhide?" Baous asked.

"He is... was, my old master," Serhis said, a bit of shock and numbness settling in. "He's taught me the way to make traps, personally trained me to become a cleric."

"I'm, I'm sorry Serhis," Baous said.

"Nothing to be sorry about. It's just... rather sudden. How did it happen?"

Xet gave an odd look at Baous before he answered. "They found him in his cot when he didn't show up for sermons as usual. It looked like he knew it was coming too, had everything taken care of and wrote something down. Don't know what it said, but he did have some sort of arrangement for his death. They burned the body afterwards."

Serhis nodded. It was the standard way to dispose of an empty shell after death, no matter how important the individual. Kobold culture and religion has a cycle of reincarnation, so the body wouldn't have mattered, only what would happen next. "Has there been an egg?"

"No, nothing yet. We've also been keeping in touch with the new settlement and they haven't had anything special either."

"... Xet, can you finish giving them the tour. I'll be in the temple for a while."

"Uh... sure. I guess I can do that," he glanced at Baous and Iskdiwercaesin.

"I'll meet up with you later," Serhis said as he walked down the corridor, listening to the chanting get louder. These were chants he was familiar with since he was very young and he could repeat them all from memory. He had to consciously stop himself from joining the rest of the chanters. He was no longer a cleric of Gakulak, he had no place in singing along with them. Sitting down on one of the stone benches, he watched as the newest Elder lead the sermons. He didn't know the new Elder personally, but knew enough about her to be apt for the task.

Serhis had faced death before, but this time, it felt so different. This was a death from someone he was close to. Elder Sandhide had taken a personal interest in his own upbringing, instructed him in the ways of the priesthood, taught how to assemble traps, and always was concerned with his wellbeing. It wasn't comparable to a human child and their parent, but Serhis guessed the closest comparison would have been to a stern, but caring grandfather or uncle. He knew that the Elder was old, already past his second century and Serhis had thought the rough, red scaled old beast still had another decade still in him. It was hard to tell with other Dragonwroughts, age wouldn't have afflicted him with lethargy or dimmed mental awareness, in fact they would have gotten wiser with age. To have heard that Elder Sandhide had sorted out his affairs so cleanly was exactly what Serhis would have expected of his master, who would never leave business unattended and it was a small consolation. Then again, Serhis thought to himself, perhaps there was one thing that could be considered unresolved.

Himself.

When he had come back and told of how he now followed the tenants of Bahamut, Elder Sandhide had only given a stiff nod as an answer. Serhis had fully expected a tirade, but instead experienced a cold and accepting response. Had it been another cleric besides himself, the ancient kobold would have berated the poor fellow for lack of faith. They parted with no more words. For their last words, there were none.

I should have said I appreciated his training. I should have said I would still do my best to show how grateful I was. I should have said I still honor the ideals of hard work he had taught me. I should have said... I should have said...

Remembering how the Elder's eyes seemed to blaze at the moment he declared that, Serhis had always wondered if there was a hint of sadness or regret when he turned away. As he sat on that stone bench, dimly aware of how some had recognized him and gave their greetings to him, he started to understand why the Elder had such an interest in him. The Elder was training him to carry the tradition after he had passed on. Though the Elder was a bit harsh at times, and by no means shy from beating the stupid out of a particularly thick skull, he knew that the Elder meant well. He was patient as he unrolled the tattered scrolls to teach a young Serhis and when met with a question, would explain in detail, and not only had he taught Serhis the subject, but also on how to be patient and thorough too.

When Serhis was young, Elder Sandhide was someone to emulate, someone that he wanted to become, someone that could perform feats of magic and understood how the world worked. As he grew, Elder Sandhide was someone to admire, someone that he idolized, someone that that knew where he stood on subjects for valid reasons. Now, Elder Sandhide was someone he respected, someone that had his virtues, despite his faults, someone that cared for those under his charge, but his xenophobia towards the outside world and lack of sympathy towards the surface was at odds with Serhis' empathy and curiosity of the unknown.

Serhis wondered why they became so different. His upbringing was certainly different than other kobolds due to being a Dragonwrought, but having been taught personally by the Elder, that might not have so different.

Maybe it was because I'm a Dragonwrought, no more than that, thought Serhis. Gold dragons were known for being noble and always strove to uphold ideals of justice and fairness. Maybe I'm no different than what Iskdiwercaesin was, blindly following the compulsions of an instinct. He had some doubts about that, other Dragonwrought have been recorded to have also been as cruel as the most vicious of dragons, regardless of the dragons their scales imitated, but the possibility was there. Or it was because he had learned the Elder's lessons in a light that the Elder hadn't intended, he had chosen who he was going to be. These were questions were not going to be answered Serhis knew, and put them from his mind.

Thinking on the death of another was making Serhis think deeply. It was in a way the one of the deepest losses he had ever known. Compared to others, he had led a charmed life. Baous had lost a family he had never known and still was searching for some sort of history and past to understand himself better. Iskdiwercaesin lost more than his wings above the skies of Tiichi de Soves and his future was uncertain. He had a few close calls, but the outcome was always for the better. For their foolhardy adventure to the surface as children, they were punished, but they were still lauded for having spotted the orcs and their efforts to lead them through the traps and eluding them successfully. When he lost the favor of Gakulak, Helena was there to give him an alternative, one that would change his life for the better. When he was thrown into the river, he found a friend in Baous. And for his efforts in the ritual with Iskdiwercaesin, the wyrmling had pulled through, despite the risks. He didn't always win his battles, but he could always recover.

Serhis resolved to accept this loss and be thankful for what had been taught to him. Giving a prayer to both Bahamut and Gakulak, he mourned the passing of the Elder on those stone benches, in the heart of a place he called home for so long. When he finished, he turned back down the tunnel and listened as the chants faded into echoes.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So, you're... Baous. I pronounced that correctly? Serhis said you understood Draconic and spoke some, right?" Going up one of the many stairs that were cut into the side of the rift, Xet lead them upwards towards the next level.

"Um, yes. Speak well enough," Baous answered in Draconic. As they ascended the stairs, he had to stick to one side to avoid being bumped into constantly by the kobolds that were descending the staircase. At the very least he managed to get a good view from his position, but since he was nearly twice the size of the average kobold, that advantage was more due to the fact he was much taller than the guardrail that blocked the side of the drop and it came up to his knees. He would have been more likely to trip on it than it preventing him from going all the way down to the bottom. And so he clung to the wall, trying not to be an obstruction. Which was hard enough already, way too many kobolds slowed down a bit as he came into sight, looking at the curiosity that was visiting their home. Iskdiwercaesin's presence only served to make that slowing more severe. He was sure that he saw more than one kobold that had been descending was now following them back up.

"Well, as long as Serhis says you're alright, I'll trust him on that. I guess he did need some sort of bodyguard to protect him from orcs, goblins, rampaging paladins, and gnomes. So thanks for helping him come home in one piece."

"Thank you. More friend than bodyguard."

"If you say so. You must be pretty strong to carry around that big hammer. He's lucky to have you around. Poor guy's helpless when it comes to the heavy lifting. These are the workshops," Xet announced as they reached the next level, allowing Baous and Iskdiwercaesin some room to move around.

"I've noticed that the people here do this bow and hand gesture or something when they see us. Why's that?" asked Iskdiwercaesin. Baous had noticed that too and had been meaning to ask Serhis, but didn't have the chance before he went into the temple.

"A show of respect to you," Xet said to Iskdiwercaesin, his voice a mixture of awe, respect, and a hint of fear.

"Is that right?" Iskdiwercaesin smirked, his status of being a local celebrity clearly something he was going to enjoy. "Never seen a real dragon before, have you?"

"No sir. Never. It's- It's an honor to give you the tour of our city."

Passing through the workshop area, they could see kobolds hard at work, smelting ore and shaping into various objects. "No other dragon owns this mountain?" Iskdiwercaesin had to raise his voice to overcome the noise of hammers ringing against hot metal.

"No sir. I think the last ruler was over a century ago. I'm not sure about the exact years, but I'm certain it's been at least that long."

"Who was this ruler? What happened to this dragon to need to abandon this marvel of a city? It can't have been from old age."

"Uhhh, I... I think her name was... Kepeskssissth. I can only remember the last name. You'd have to ask one of the Elders. Sorry."

"About Elders, Elder Sandhide? What Serhis old master like?" Baous asked.

"Not much I can tell you. He was the head of the clerics of Gakulak and knew how to swing a mean stick," Xet unconsciously rubbed his backside. "He was a Dragonwrought like Serhis, with red scales and eyes. Looked like something out of a scary story when he got angry. Why do you ask?"

"Thinking what type of person that raise Serhis. Serhis look like he took it hard."

"Well, I have to say that I can see a bit of the Elder in Serhis. Not much, always a bit quiet, but when they start talking, they're always sure about what they say. Both are patient though, but Serhis even more so. Every time I went to the temple to see him, my own legs would ache seeing him sit there reading some scroll for so long. Elder Sandhide... when he wants the latest trap project done, he wants it on time."

"You gave him news a bit sudden."

Xet seemed a little offended at Baous' words, "I would have like to given him the news in a better way, but when we went near the temples, it's not like I could have stalled."

"Sorry. Wanted Serhis not be so shocked too," Baous apologized, which seemed to mollify Xet.

"Back to my question," Iskdiwercaesin said. "What happened to her? Does she still have claim to this mountain?"

"I'm not sure. Best I could figure out, she just up and left. Probably for a good reason. So I don't know about her still owning this place, but if she ever came back, like right now, All-Watcher Vipereye would accept her as the rightful ruler. He might even still remember her, since he's over a hundred years old," Xet shrugged.

"What, were you thinking about taking this place for yourself?" Baous asked Iskdiwercaesin.

"Can't blame me for trying. I'm more surprised that someone else didn't try to do it before me. I stake a claim, but... I'd rather have Tiichi de Soves. At least I know where I stand there and I don't have to worry about some dragoness coming back for what's hers."

"Heh, you're showing a bit of restraint there. I'm impressed," Baous said with a hint of sarcasm.

Xet stopped ahead of them and gestured for them to move to the side. No sooner than they stepped out of the way, a team of kobolds with handcarts barreled through where they were standing, somehow avoiding to run over any other kobolds on the way. Baous still had trouble figuring out how these kobolds managed to move around each other with little to no problems. "This is the main tunnel for what comes out of the mines. The mine elevators further down that way," Xet pointed out a series of elevators. "Most of it gets processed near the mines, but some comes up here for specialty work."

"Where we going next?" Baous asked.

"Well, above us is the residential section, so there's not much to see there, and near that is the hatchery, and there's no way we're letting strangers in there. Then there's the trap making workshops, not sure if you're interested in that, and the alchemist labs are on the same level. It's safe enough to visit there. Sort of. Near the very top is the barracks and the stables. There's some stairs up over that way," Xet began to lead them upwards again. As they made their way upwards, Xet turned his head and asked them, "from what I'm getting from Serhis, all of you are going around, doing your own things. I know about you all going to look for these... 'kobolds', after you leave here, but what else do you do? Sounds like your wandering around more than anything."

"Since Serhis doesn't have marching orders from his deity or anything like that, it's not like we have anything else to do," Iskdiwercaesin said. "I'm looking for any way to gut that miserable excuse of a dragon that's now in Tiichi de Soves, so I'm on the lookout for anything useful against a black dragon. If I'm lucky, I could find something that I can use directly against him. If not, hunting for more treasure doesn't hurt."

"I want to be helpful to others. Serhis go around healing others, going after people that make trouble, and I like to help him do that," Baous labored to make himself understandable. "It not sound like much, but it can make adventures happen."

"Uh huh, right. Like having to deal with the bickering surfacers and their problems really does anything useful. If Serhis just wants to see the surface, he could have asked to go with the patrols again," Xet scoffed.

"Didn't you and Serhis want to see world on your own as well some time ago? He still curious, and world very big," Baous said.

"... he told you about that?" Xet said with some apprehension, Baous nodding in the affirmative. "... it was a stupid idea to go up on our own. I'm just glad those orcs were stupid to think Serhis was a lump of rock." Even he spoke, Baous and Iskdiwercaesin could tell he didn't mean everything he said. The part about the orcs, they were sure he was certain about. "He, uh, did he mention anything else about me?"

"Let's see, there was another person with you named Rhasalis? Both of you are also hatch mates with Serhis? You're training as a sorcerer and she's some sort of scout? You're his best friends?" Baous tried to remember any important details from what Serhis said before.

Xet shrugged, "I guess it was nice of him to mention all that. Anyway, where do you two want to go next?"

"Since you're a sorcerer, I'd like to see where you train. I hear kobolds have a much more organized way to do that than most sorcerers," Iskdiwercaesin said.

"Ah, umm. Maybe a little later on? That part of the city's pretty far away from here, so maybe someplace a little closer?" Xet answered.

"Or maybe it's because you're suppose to at your lessons right now."

They all turned to see Serhis flying by the stairs and land on their level, to the amazement of all nearby. "Whoa! You can fly now?! Cool! Why didn't you say you could that? I figured you knew how to glide from what you said earlier, but you can actually stay up in the air now?" Xet was surprised and ecstatic for his friend's accomplishments, and maybe just a little jealous.

"Thanks to Iskdiwercaesin and his lessons," Serhis said. "You don't have to give them the tour anymore, I can continue it from here. We can head over to the training grounds and I can go on from there."

"Nah, you don't have to do that," Xet responded with a wave of his hand. "The teachers don't have much more to give me and I already find out what I want to learn faster than they can make up a lesson. Heh, I'm probably good enough now that I can give a few of them lessons of my own." Whether it was overconfidence or actual fact, Serhis didn't know. "Hey, want to see me make a fireball? Don't even need that stupid bat guano or nothing!"

"Ah, no thanks," Serhis politely and quickly declined. As much as Xet tried to tried to contain his rashness, he always seemed to have a moment of weakness, Serhis thought to himself with equal parts exhaustion and good-natured understanding.

"Aw, and here you come in flying and showing off. Shouldn't I get a turn? Well, if you say no, maybe later then. By the way, how are you feeling there?"

"I'm fine. Just needed to think things over for a while," Serhis answered truthfully.

"I'm sure your master would have been proud to see you," Baous tried to cheer him up.

"Yeah. He... would have been."

"Come on Serhis, no moping. You're already hard to see cheerful as it is," Xet paused a little as he came up with an idea. "I know where we can go next! The hot springs! I'm sure that'll be nice."

A dip in the hot springs did sound good to Serhis. One thing he missed from Lehaskeral all this time, it was the soothing waters. The heated baths on the surface couldn't compare by a long way. "I'd like that," Serhis admitted, "Baous, Iskdiwercaesin, would you like to come along?"

"A hot springs, eh?" Iskdiwercaesin mused. "I've never heard anything about kobold hygiene. This'll be interesting."

"I've never heard about dragon hygiene either," Baous smirked a little.

Iskdiwercaesin's riposte was quick, but wasn't vicious. "I'm very sure you'd never have heard of something so civilized."

"It's over this way," Xet looked at the two, a little perplexed at Baous' casual demeanor to the dragon and vice versa, then went further up the stairs, towards the top of the waterfalls.

"I'll save us a spot," Serhis said as flew on ahead of them, watching the water cascading down as he flew over the lip of the rift.

One of the lesser known things about kobolds, somewhere underneath them being obscenely rich and being far more dangerous than many would give them credit for is a knack for finding hot springs. Some cities function fine without one, but where one is found, things run a lot smoother. In this case, the extra runoff provided power from the waterwheels to move the elevators and some of the large capacity mine carts, while providing extra warmth as the heated water fell through the open rift, and providing water for the farms at the very bottom. In a city that could support up to twenty five thousand kobolds, having the proper facilities for washing after a hard day's work in the mines would have been extremely difficult to provide otherwise short of magical assistance.

Due to the recent Split, the baths were emptier than usual, Serhis saw that there were a few pools that had no one inside them, something he had never seen during his entire life in Lehaskeral. It was a luxury to have the whole pool to himself, even for a moment. After he waved to a few people that he recognized in the other pools and folding his robes nearby, he slowly sank into the soothing waters.

Those heated baths on the surface just couldn't compare, Serhis thought to himself as the heat started to make him relax. The wooden wash basins he had to deal with would go cold quickly, though there were a few high end inns he had visited that prided themselves for their magically heated baths, but they all lacked the certain charm a hot spring had. His thoughts still dwelled on his late master, but those soon faded as he sat back and enjoyed something he was going to have to go without again for an unknown number of month. That feeling of serenity was later interrupted as he heard an excited yell and a splash that hit his face, making him sputter as he shook his head. "Pfft! Xet!" Serhis saw the top of Xet's head rise up from the surface, a wild smirk on his snout.

"Hehehe, come on, it's not so bad," Xet laughed. "I've been wanting to do that for a long time. Never had a chance before, since this place is normally so full. Feeling better?"

"Yes, a bit," he answered truthfully.

"Good. Heeey, you're still using a towel?" Xet playfully teased Serhis for his modesty.

"I keep telling you, I don't feel comfortable with nothing on out in the open." The only time he would completely disrobe would when he was sure no one was around. That didn't stop him from setting traps at the bathroom entrances, for both his own modesty and protection. A surprising number of powerful people have been recorded in history being found dead in their baths, their armor and enchanted items a few feet away. Serhis didn't consider himself powerful, but the ambush at Aveamaria and later Le Nurl had made him cautious. He was about to say something else, but Xet's grin was widening and he had a bad feeling about that. "Xet, what are you thinking?"

Xet lunged at Serhis, splashing water everywhere, reaching for the towel wrapped around Serhis' waist. "You made a mistake telling me that!" he half yelled, half laughed.

Serhis had to dive into the water to avoid Xet's grab, his claws barely missing from pulling the towel off. Spraying water everywhere, Serhis chucked arm and wingfuls of water into his hatchmate's face. "You're going to have to try harder than that!" he screamed in good humored fun. He was soon being chased around the pool, hoping to tire Xet out before he could be indecently exposed, even if most of his body was underwater. That was assuming he didn't tire himself out from using his arms and wings to splash water and laughing like a maniac.

Xet knew he was at a disadvantage, so he resorted to a tried and true kobold tradition. Not playing fair. Reaching for his own towel at the side of the pool, he jammed the fabric underwater, and with zero delicacy, snapped it like a whip at Serhis' fleeing backside.

"Aiyee!" Even with a leathery hide, Serhis yelped with a high pitched squeak. It didn't stop him from running, but now he had something else to worry about.

"Come on Serhis! You know you can try and even the score!"

"Never!"

With none of the dignity that was inherent to either of their stations, the grand chase ended as they saw Iskdiwercaesin and Baous coming to join them, both of them with expressions of bafflement and amusement. "Did we miss something?" Iskdiwercaesin asked, successfully keeping a straight face.

"Nah, nothing imporTANT!" Xet made one last lunge while Serhis was distracted, but Serhis jumped out of the way.

"Look like you having fun. Can I join?" Baous asked, securely fastening his own towel to his waist. If anything was going to make itself clear that Serhis had a playful side, this was it.

"Only if you're helping me get his towel," Xet said. "Nah, joking with you. Come on in."

Lowering themselves into the hot spring, Iskdiwercaesin let out a quiet sigh and Baous dunked his head into the water, making the image of a wet dog complete as some of his fur floated on the water from the surface tension.

"You've made a mess. There's water all over the place," Baous noted, the stone soaked all around them.

"Um, oops," Serhis said.

"Bet you had lots of fun though. I could hear you laugh all the way to the front."

"Ahh, this is nice," Iskdiwercaesin contentedly sighed.

"We are glad that you approve," Xet said. Even as they sat in the steaming water, many eyes were turned towards them. Had Iskdiwercaesin stepped into an already occupied pool, any inside would have vacated it for his own private use. Either that or a legion of kobolds would have rushed in to apply oils, give massages, and sing for his entertainment, Serhis thought.

"I don't know what you kobolds are thinking, keeping something like this hidden away. If I had someplace like this, I'd have all those rich merchants and nobles swarming to come here and I'd charge them some coin for it," Iskdiwercaesin mused.

"With all due respect, we like not having others come to our city," Xet responded.

"Ah yes, that policy of isolationism you've got. Well, I suppose it has it's merits, having a hidden city. I know I would have missed a place like this if I traveled over here, even for such a big place," Iskdiwercaesin said. The soothing atmosphere was making him so thoughtful, Serhis and Baous could tell. "Serhis, does Tiichi de Soves have hot springs?"

"There is one. It's not a big and it's rather deep inside the mountain," Serhis said. "Thinking about what you're going to do as you rule that place?"

"Of course. I might be young, but that's not stopping me from going after such a big prize. What else would I do after I destroy Dianekesswhedabkeari?" If there was one thing that was something unmistakable about Iskdiwercaesin, it was that he seemed to be obsessed in killing the black dragon. Serhis was beginning to wonder how unhealthy that line of thought was going to be for him.

"How are you going to do that?" Xet asked. "Do you have some sort of plan? Something that this other dragon can't defend against?"

Iskdiwercaesin seemed reflective as he answered. "First, I'd need to gather strength to fight him again. Since he'll always be stronger and tougher, not unless I have some way to age a few centuries faster than him, I'm going to be smart about it. I know magic and I didn't see him use any spells while we fought, so I won't have to worry about getting hammered by any spells from him. The problem's going to be that my spells are going to have a tough time getting through, I saw that most of the magic missiles I tried to hit him with didn't do anything when they hit. What I'm going to have to do is get some equipment that'll help me in a fight. Whatever I can get, buy, or take, I'll need it all when I face him again."

"We're going to someplace with hidden magic items when we leave, right? What do you think you'll find there?" Baous asked.

"I don't have a single clue. Something useful, no mage goes though the trouble of making a magic item if it's worthless. Or the place was looted before we got there and we don't find a thing. It's suppose to be some sort of hidden outpost from some stupid war long ago. Probably filled with something that crawled inside looking for a lair, or the former occupants are still inside, walking the halls for all eternity. Ooooh, spooky," Iskdiwercaesin blithely said.

"Aren't you worried that the black dragon is going to be even more powerful when you fight again?" Xet anxiously asked.

Iskdiwercaesin scoffed. "Maybe a little bit, but he's not going to be out and about, gathering magic items for himself. He's probably still sitting in Tiichi de Soves and watching things happen around him. I'd have done the same thing. But I can't be patient like him, that'll do nothing. I'm going to rush things, patience isn't going to work. I'll face him in the tunnels or someplace else where he won't be able to fly. He'll be stuck on the ground, same as me," Iskdiwercaesin said with a degree of viciousness.

"If you're going after him, we'll be fighting him with you, you won't be going in there alone. " Baous said as he gave a thumbs up, water dripping from his arm.

"Now there's a surprise. Didn't know you cared."

"I don't have anything personal against him like you do, but from what we heard from a kobold merchant that was leaving there, it sounds like he's not going to have peaceful plans in mind for Tiichi de Soves."

"And so you're going to some damn hero off to save the day," Iskdiwercaesin mocked.

"It's not like that. I think," Baous faltered. "Maybe a little. But I still think that we have to do something about that someday."

Shifting in the water, Iskdiwercaesin looked at Xet. "That's about it. Anything else?" Xet shook his head. "If you don't mind me then, I'm going to relax." Iskdiwercaesin dunked his head under the water and all they could see was a green, blurry mass underneath the surface.

"... He's been down there for a long time," Baous said after a few minutes.

"Green dragons can breathe underwater. He could go to sleep and be fine," Serhis said with a shrug.

"Serhis, can I ask you something," Xet said. "Do you think you'll be alright going on the surface again? Going to far off places and someday going against another dragon?"

"I pray that I will be. I have a good friend to help me and I him. Why are you asking? You know that I'll do everything I can to come back."

Xet hesitated, unsure if he should ask at all. "Do you think you won't mind if others coming along with you?"

"What?" For Serhis, this was completely out of the blue. Xet didn't have a high opinion of the surface and shared in the general consensus that they only dealt with anything above ground when strictly necessary. Xet asking to go with them willingly and for what seemed like little reason was unexpected to say the least. "Why do you want to do that?"

"There isn't much for me to do here," Xet said pensively, reluctant to explain things. "We aren't at war with anyone, so I don't have much to do. All I do lately is sit in the training halls and read the same old scrolls over and over. But then you came back, and I thought maybe I could have a chance to do the things you've been trying out."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Serhis asked. "I know that things aren't exciting around here, but do you really want to leave? There's been a few times I thought I was going to die while I traveled, at least while you're here, you're safe. And what of your training?"

"Didn't I tell you I was done? None of the instructors have anything left to teach me and I've been having to going out with the patrols to practice my spells and we barely run into anything more dangerous than goblins and sometimes a pack of orcs. And if I waited around, the only use I'd be is if something tried to attack the city, so it wouldn't matter how dangerous it is out there. At least if I go with you, I'd be useful."

Serhis didn't know what else to say. Xet seemed determine to leave home with an eagerness. "Baous, what do you think?"

"He did say he wanted to come with us, right?" Baous asked and Serhis nodded. "I don't know. I guess it wouldn't hurt, but he's your friend, so it's up to you."

Looking down, Iskdiwercaesin was still underwater. He didn't know if the wyrmling had heard anything, but he did have a feeling that Iskdiwercaesin wouldn't care much either way, though he would like the extra firepower that Xet could give. It just felt so sudden. "If you want to come with us, you can," Serhis said.

"You won't mind Rhasalis along for the trip as well?"

Now Serhis was truly astonished. "Rhasalis?! Why would she want to go to the surface too? And does she know about this? Or that I'm back?"

Serhis' risen voice seemed to have caught Iskdiwercaesin's attention, as his head bobbed up to the surface. "Did something happen?"

"Xet's asking to go with us and he's asking if another can come along as well," Baous informed him about the strange turn of events. At the moment, there wasn't much else to feel except confusion.

"She's still on patrol, but I know she'd want to go," Xet pleaded. "She's thinking about being more than a scout. She'd want to see more than the same old patrol routes and there isn't anything else she's doing."

It made Serhis wonder what had caused Xet's insistent need to leave Lehaskeral. Perhaps his stories had made him eager to join, but Serhis didn't think it was entirely that. For Rhasalis to want to join as well, that he doubted she would go without a problem, she always seemed duty bound to Lehaskeral. "I'll ask her first, but if she wants to, she can."

"Thanks Serhis! You'll see how good we've gotten," Xet went over to give him a hug before he started to get out of the spring. "I'll see if Rhasalis is back yet," he said over his shoulder as he ran.

As he watched Xet run off, Serhis sunk back into water. "That was a good idea. Right?"

Baous and Iskdiwercaesin couldn't offer an answer. Sometimes, there's just no telling how things will go until after it happens. "He seems nice," Baous said, "and he looks like he really wants to help."

"Very willing to help," commented Iskdiwercaesin, "for whatever reason he has for doing it. A fellow sorcerer too, huh? At least I won't have to deal with all the casting anymore. And another friend?"

"Yes. She's trained in infiltration and sabotage. I think we'll have to ask the All-Watcher first before we leave, but as we're no in conflict with anyone, I think he'll give his approval."

"Well, I think it's time I got out," Iskdiwercaesin said, climbing out of the water. "Are you going to use that towel of yours, or should I back up before you shake?"

"Oh ha ha," Baous sarcastically laughed as he also got out, fur dripping wet.

Moving to get out as well, Serhis half stood up, blinked, and quickly sat back down in a ball. Looking around, he saw that Xet was long gone. "Can someone get me another towel?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Modesty restored, they took their time as they left the baths. Baous and Iskdiwercaesin seemed interested in seeing what they could buy, so Serhis directed towards the workshops and the forges in the lower levels and to meet him again at a certain part of the middle level. Flying through the rift, he went towards Rhasalis' living quarters in the barracks. There was a chance that she might have moved to a different area by now, especially after the Split freed up plenty of room or had been assigned another place, but he could always ask around. Fortunately for him, he saw that she was still in the same quarters. Busily working on a trap, Rhasalis noticed Serhis as he approached and gently set down her tools before rushing over to smother him in one of her hugs.

"Serhis, you're back!" Rhasalis nearly tackled him as they met.

"Hi, there Rhasalis," Serhis said when he got enough air in his lungs to greet her. Backing up a few paces, he patted his robes to get out the ruffled parts. Kobolds might not be the most expressive when showing affection, but when they do, it's with a vigor. In regards to Rhasalis, doubly so.

"It's nice to see that you're well," Rhasalis said, returning to her seat while Serhis pulled up a chair of his own. "Xet was so out of breath when he found me. You must have made him run quite a long way."

"Only from the baths. Where is he?" Looking around, the young sorcerer wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"After he gave me a few details about you coming back, he rushed off saying he wanted to see if he could scrounge up any equipment he could find. Are you leaving soon?"

"No, we'll probably be here for some time. I don't see why he'd need to rush, but I guess he's way too excited" Serhis replied. "About what he said, coming with us I mean. You're going to be traveling with us as well?"

Rhasalis paused, seeming a little surprised. "I did sort of say that if you ever came back, maybe we should go with you if you when you passed by. I didn't think he'd take it seriously. Guess he was listening."

So it was Rhasalis that thought about it, not Xet, he thought to himself. The surprises just kept coming. "I know why Xet would want to go, but why you? Do you mean you don't really want to?"

She was taking her time now that she was actually confronted with the real choice of leaving Lehaskeral. When it looked like she had decided, her answer was clear and deliberate, "I do wish to go with you and Xet. As for why... If I had wanted a challenge, I would have went with the others to the new settlement. Going with you, I won't know what to expect. I'd be able to help you while you traveled and I'd still be serving Lehaskeral. You've already done remarkable things and I'd like to be able to come along with you to do that as well."

As much as Serhis thought about it, he didn't see any reason why not to accept them joining and it would definitely be better with a few more friends on the road. "I guess I'll talk with the All-Watcher tomorrow. Or whenever he has time to spare."

"Then you won't mind telling me what you've been doing while you up there? I suppose Xet already told you about Elder Sandhide? I hear that you're with a dragon now. Iskdiwercaesin? And some sort of kobold that looks like a dog on two legs? Where are they?"

That was like Rhasalis, asking all the important questions in quick order. " Yes, Xet informed me about my old master. They went to the workshops to get equipment too. I suppose I'd have to get some new stuff as well while I'm here, but I guess I should tell you what's happened."

Getting out of her seat, Rhasalis took one of his arms and started to pull him out of the barracks. "You can tell me on the way. I want to see these two companions of yours."

As he started to walk on his own instead of being pulled along, he summarized most of the events in the same way he did with Xet. By the time he had finished, they were at the workshops and forges, asking around if anyone had seen the two. It wasn't hard to find them once he found one person who had seen them and it looked like he wasn't the only one to do that as well, since he found Xet already with Baous and Iskdiwercaesin, discussing what they should get.

"What about amulet of warmth? Serhis always say it too cold and he been want to get one for some time," Baous suggested to Xet.

"Maybe, but for the equivalent of a hundred platinum pieces, it's is pretty expensive, and I'm not sure how much I can take. I could probably take as much as a thousand platinum pieces worth of stuff, maybe a few hundred more and there's a lot of stuff that can be useful. Since we're going to be on the surface for a long time, I- Oh, hi there," Xet noticed Serhis and Rhasalis as they came closer.

"You're going to want that amulet," Serhis said. "I'm sure you didn't get one because your patrols aren't too long, but trust me, you'll want one after a week. Baous, Iskdiwercaesin, this Rhasalis, also my hatch mate."

"Hello Rhasalis. Sorry if not speak much Draconic. Hope we be good friends," Baous said to her.

"At least you have an understandable accent. Some of the Draconic I've heard from drow wizards is atrocious. It's amazing they managed to get the right spells off," Iskdiwercaesin said. "And my greetings to you, Rhasalis."

"I... hope so too," Rhasalis said to Baous, unsure what to make of the kobold. "And thank you, noble Iskdiwercaesin, for allowing us to travel with you."

"Heh heh heh, I'm sure we'll get along just fine," Iskdiwercaesin chuckled. "I guess that means they are coming with us?"

Serhis nodded. "As I said before, I'll have to speak with the All-Watcher first. I'm pretty sure he won't mind."

"Well, if they can't, might as well help them pick out some of the good stuff," Iskdiwercaesin said.

As Serhis watched them talk to one another, he was overcome with an odd feeling. It wasn't an awkward feeling, but a strange experience of having his friends meet like this.

Baous' attitude reflected his own in a number of ways, a respect for life, justice, and loyalty, and to see him talk in broken draconic gave him the distinct feeling this was how Baous saw him when talking to others. Iskdiwercaesin... he still wasn't sure if they considered each other friends exactly, but at least they were getting along. The wyrmling was selfish at times, but he did have a sense of loyalty as well, a redeeming feature that made Serhis hope his choice to spare the dragon was right, even with all the problems the dragon's presence entailed. Both seemed to be accepting the others rather well.

Xet was still as energetic as ever, even after running down somewhere over a dozen flights of stairs and Rhasalis was as polite as ever. To people she considered potential friends anyway. Personally, Serhis had thought both would have more wary about Baous, their experience with outsiders was rarely pleasant, but maybe it was because he had risked his life protecting Serhis that convinced them to give Baous a chance. How they reacted to Iskdiwercaesin however, that played out as how Serhis would have guessed to his annoyance. Iskdiwercaesin acted pleasant and charming and they would be awed and impressed.

Old friends were met with new ones. It might have been only a few months, but Serhis' experience with Baous and Iskdiwercaesin was complicated, while his the hatch mates he knew from birth were getting along with each other just fine. Perhaps it was the chance that they wouldn't have gotten along that made him feel strange and then the awkwardness would have been in full force.

Shaking his head, Serhis put away those thoughts for another time, his introspective nature better suited when in meditation and prayer, not while he was with friends. Giving a few suggestions for what they should get next, they went through the city.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They were going to leave in three days, at most. That was what Serhis had originally thought, but now a week had passed and they were still in the city. The delay was mostly due to Iskdiwercaesin's interest in purchasing certain items, namely some armor tough enough to withstand a good deal of harsh punishment, namely the claws of a rival dragon, but light enough to permit flight, he still held to the hope that he would be able to fly again, and so he wanted breastplate armor made of mithril, a combination of protection and mobility. Of course, there wouldn't just be a suit of the stuff lying around that also was meant to be worn by a dragon, and so he placed a custom order. It would have been even longer if it was just one kobold at the forge, but since this was something meant for a dragon, a number of armor smiths wanted to have the honor of creating it, and so it was hammered together in record time. It was a bit loose when Iskdiwercaesin tried it on, but he didn't mind, saying he was going to grow into it in a short while. The only complaint that he had was that he would have to refit it in a few decades when he grew even larger, but he didn't mind the large quarter discount the armor smiths had given him.

The extra few days wasn't too bad, considered Serhis. When he got the chance, he went to the All-Watcher with Xet and Rhasalis at his side to request that they be allowed to travel with them. All-Watcher Vipereye was a bit skeptical about having two of the city's highly trained protectors leave, but eventually he allowed it. A small part told him that the All-Watcher probably had other motives as well for allowing them to go, and that Xet and Rhasalis had their own agendas, beyond looking for a challenge and seeking new things, but he shrugged it off. If they wanted to tell him, they would do so on their own. Serhis later got reacquainted with a few others while he had the chance and even settled into the old routine of doing routine maintenance on traps between healing the mine workers of injuries and illness, after he consulted with the clerics of both Kurtulmak and Gakulak. Soaking in the baths also was nice, though he was more cautious while Xet was around. All in all, it was a pleasant week of relaxation before being on the road again. He even made the delay work to his benefit.

He found Baous in the quarters that had been temporarily assigned to them, one that was nearer to the rift. He remembered the last time they stayed in an underground city, Baous almost baking with all that fur, and since these quarters were the coolest in the city, it wasn't hard to ask that they stay there.

"Almost finished?" Serhis asked over Baous' shoulder, making the furry kobold startle.

"Whoa! I didn't hear you come in," Baous said, putting down a piece of charcoal and paper. He didn't have much to do for the whole week, so he spent most of his time drawing the sights of the city. He already finished making a rather accurate sketching of the smelters and forges, along with the workers, a few days ago and right now he was putting the finishing touches on their view of the rift and the waterfall, Baous was working hard to get the smallest details as much as he could.

"That's because I didn't put traps on the entrances this time around," Serhis said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, but kinda bored," Baous replied as he went back to using a sharpened stick with ink.

"We'll be leaving tomorrow. Iskdiwercaesin's armor should be done by then, and I also have some more good news."

Baous started to pay more attention to Serhis and noticed that he was hiding something behind his back. By the way Serhis held it, it was big enough that if it wasn't for his wings, hiding whatever it was would have been futile. "A surprise?"

Nodding, Serhis handed his gift to Baous. A shield of wood, dark in color and of obvious fine craftsmanship. "A way of saying thank you for all those times you've protected me. I guess this makes you even better at it. I remembered that Innoc trained you in using shields, but only with the flimsy wooden practice ones. It's a darkwood shield, so you won't have to worry about the weight and it's tough, really tough. I didn't have enough time to get it enchanted, but it'll help keep you safe all the same."

Baous accepted the gift, the polished wood smooth to the touch, though it probably wasn't going to stay that way after use. "Thank you Serhis."

"Don't thank me just yet, I still haven't repaid you enough for the scarf," Serhis tugged on the silvery fabric around his neck. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small gem. "For you."

"Thanks Serhis, but I don't need jewelry. Maybe Iskdiwercaesin would like it thought."

"It's more than just a gem. Where's your hammer?"

Getting up and pulling the war hammer out from underneath his bed, Baous was curious about what he meant. "What do you need it for?"

"Here. Hold it up."

Lifting the war hammer up for Serhis, Baous watched as the gem seemed to attach itself to the weapon. "Huh. That's neat."

"It's more than neat, it's useful."

"Does it do something?"

Serhis nodded. "Your war hammer is great against things that actually bleed and breath, but the enchantment won't do anything against the undead. Well, the hammer's still good for smashing up skeletons, but you know what I mean. Since I seem to keep dragging you into some crazy situations where there are undead, I thought that this might be helpful. This gem makes your hammer disrupt the magic that control those moving corpses, so you won't have to beat it down to little pieces, you can drive away the magic. Adding the enchantment to the one already on the hammer is complicated, so the gem was the best I could think of. They're called augment crystals and if we find any more, we can switch them out, two crystals can't work on the same weapon."

Twirling the war hammer in his hands, the simple gem glittered as it spun. "You think we're going to run into more of those things?"

"I don't know, but it won't hurt to be ready for them," shrugging, Serhis sat down on his bunk. "I just wanted a way to say sorry for all the times I wasn't fast enough driving away the undead on my own, as well as saying thank you for your gift to me," Serhis tugged at his silver scarf.

"Didn't you finally get one of those amulets?"

"Yeah, I did, but I still like wearing this. It matches my robes." Baous wasn't sure if Serhis was or wasn't joking about that last part. Fashion wasn't a field either were experts on. "It's also a way of saying thank you for all those times you've saved my hide. This is a way for me to protect you, in a small way."

"Thanks. I'm grateful for this," Baous shook the hammer a bit to make sure it wouldn't somehow mistakenly fall off, the gem holding fast to the top. "How about I get you something for all those times you've given me some healing? What would you like?"

"Heh, I think we should hold off on the gift giving unless it's something special."

"If you say so."

Setting down his armor and pack, Serhis got ready to go to sleep. "I'm going to get some extra rest before we go out tomorrow. It's going to be a long trip."

"I'll finish this up and I'll do the same," taking care not to smudge the charcoal, Baous kept looking out at the rift for the finishing touches. By the time he had finished, Serhis was curled up in a little ball, sound asleep. "Good night."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Everyone have what they need?"

Standing in the main staging area in the front of the city, the party had gathered along the side of a wall, checking their gear and equipment. Serhis had made sure to check his own things before they left, but he wanted to make sure everyone else had.

"These kobolds know how to do some good work," Iskdiwercaesin said as he examined his new armor. The blue-steel color of the mithril breastplate seemed to match his green scales well, the armor was slightly loose as he requested, but when he completed growing in a few months time, it was likely that the protective metal would be a form fit.

"Of course. You'd be surprised how many 'dwarven-quality' crafts weren't actually made by dwarves," Xet said as he jumped into the back of the wagon with Iskdiwercaesin and Rhasalis.

"I'm surprised all right. That Iskdiwercaesin gave a glowing compliment," Baous examined the horses before he climbed onto the wagon, satisfied everything was in order.

"I might have high standards, but I do give credit where it's deserved. Hmm? Is that a shield? And what's with the gem? I didn't realize you had some taste."

"Some things I gave to Baous," Serhis said as he waved to the gate guards, signaling that they wanted to leave.

With the gate out of the way, Baous flicked the reins and fished the map out of his pocket. "From what I can see... the abandoned outpost is here, right?"

Looking over his shoulder, Iskdiwercaesin nodded. "It'll be two days into the wilderness, but it'll be worth it. It better be worth it."

"And after that?" Rhasalis asked.

"A small town some distance from there."

"Is it close to the ocean? I want to see this large pool of water Serhis talked about. And find out what lobster tastes like."

"Uh, no Rhasalis. Not close to ocean. Very far away," Baous said.

"You can speak in Common. I understand it."

"Oh. Well, we won't be anywhere near the ocean while we go towards the Ceritun Plains," Baous said in Common.

"We'll see where we can go after we reach the Plains," Serhis said.

"I look forward to it," Rhasalis replied.

As they went through the outer tunnels, they felt a fresh breeze come through the entrance, the cool wind from the morning sky made the tunnels emit a howl. Dim sun light shined through the entrance as they passed and blanketed the surrounding grass and hills in a hazy glow, though none of them would have had any trouble if it was pitch black either. With the horses hooves clopping on hard stone, then the grass, they made their way north towards the wilderness.

Their band of three had suddenly grown to five. It would be for the better, Serhis thought.