@bloonewb

Kali was stunned at the news. Rughoi was making decisions at a breakneck pace. "Do- I... er... Azara? Do you even know the king? How did he choose you? I mean... what's going on?" It seemed as if Azara's name was just pulled out of a jar at random, or possibly the marriage was arranged behind closed doors in a matter of hours at most. Possibly under a single hour. "This is... wrong" she mentally added. There was no way that such rapid decisions could be justified. This would not end well.

@Eviledd1984

Ophion turned his attention to Fasuto as Kara gave Smith a hug. "Don't worry about my father. He's done this sort of thing before. It's a pretty standard procedure, going into the enemy's lair alone to get information and leaving before they can stop him. You did a good job, my love."

@Aristocles

"If you give me a moment i can..ah go with your fellows and help him out" Smith said softly looking towards Ophion. Wrapping his arms around Kara wanting to feel her embrace like when he use to hug her mother for comfort.

"Get word to the captains still out there. I want the campaigns to continue," said Rughoi, passing a stack of letters to the scout. He has not left his chamber since the meeting with Qorod, fearing the possibility of a traitorous plot to assassinate him. He wasn't even sure he could trust the scout, but some risks have to be made. "The letters detail a plan to help whatever remaining kobold people in Aredor escape before their inquisition finds them. I will not have innocent people, especially mine, die on my watch." The scout gave a salute, and left without saying a word. He knew better. Rughoi sighed, and returned to his chair, where he had placed a small crystal orb belonging to Kutur. He rubbed it to remove the condensation, allowing a small window in which he could directly communicate with his advisor. "Kutur, how are diplomatic relations with the humans coming?" he asked. On his side, it looks as if Kutur's face were inside of the orb, and he knew on the other end, it looks as if his face is hovering in air.

"They're fine," came Kutur's response. "Soldiers are on their way, but I don't see them arriving anytime soon."

"When they come, let them all in," commanded Rughoi. Kutur nodded, and relayed the order to whoever was operating the gate. The sound of thudding metal boots on stone roads thundered throughout the city, and he didn't even need the orb to hear it from the castle. "Tell my captains to meet with me in the palace to talk strategy. Oh, and the binding will have to wait. Aredor first."

"But Your Migh-,"

"There are kobolds dying, Kutur. Please . . . not today." And with that, Rughoi put down the orb and slumped in his chair. If being emperor meant he had to struggle with difficult choices, usually with a lack of both resources and knowledge, until he died, then so be it.

@Eviledd1984

"Not now. You were just injured and need some time to recover" Kara explained. "You'll get your chance to help again, don't worry." She gave him a hug and tried not to think about the danger her father might be in.

@bloonewb

Adykon was still with a group of kobolds outside of the walls of the city. He had seen a human force enter the ruined city, and while he suspected that it was merely a detachment of a much larger army, he knew that no army large enough to take down a dracon city had invaded. Aerta would have told him if this had happened. Someone would have seen it and sent the word out to others mages, who would have sent it in turn. It was a surprisingly close-knit community at a certain level. But he had more immediate concerns.

The human army was entering through the front gate. He couldn't get in that way. And it wasn't like any of the guards were just going to let him into the palace. This called for stealth. He ran towards the cracked city walls and managed to get in through one of the broken segments, then managed to make it far enough into the city to have the palace in his sights. While he could kill any one or several of the kobolds with little difficulty, even he would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. He held up his gate stone and concentrated.

"Aerta? Can you hear me? If you can, don't reply. I know that you're tracking me, but they might be able to track you if you say something. I need you to get me a clear shot into the palace. I have the gate stone, but I don't know where to go." He could risk teleporting into the palace without her guidance, but doing so could easily put him inside of a wall or another solid object. Back at the farm, Aerta nodded and performed a scrying spell, finding an empty chamber to send him to, not far from the throne room. Without saying a word, she teleported him using the stone, placing Adykon inside of the palace. He could hear Rughoi through the cracked walls.

"There are kobolds dying, Kutur. Please . . . not today."

"And there are about to be several more dead if you don't stop this, Rughoi!" He burst into the room, easily pushing past a pair of guards. He seemed unconcerned with the fact that he was now surrounded.

@Aristocles

Smith was nodding his head and wrapping his human arms around Kara for comfort as well as support. "Sorry" He whispered in her ear holding her close to him.

"What are you- Hey! You can't do- Your under arrest- Rrrgh," said the scout, as the dracon ran past him and began charging towards the city. His Might will have the heads of the entire platoon if nobody stops him. In desperation, the scout grabbed an arrow and loosed it at the retreating figure. It fell short.
________________________
Krakas clutched her head, feeling another wave of nausea sweep over her. Ever since she had a child born of magic, the art made her feel sick. Teleporting was no exception. She curled up on the ground, not caring if anyone thought less of her for it, feeling as if she were experiencing all the pains of her whole pregnancy squeezed into that one minute.
________________________
"Hold. I can't just let anyone enter the palace," said the guard at the door. Ardasa sighed.

"I'll tell you again what I said before. I am Ardasa, daughter of Qorod, of the Earthen Bears. Please, you must remember that name, right?" she pleaded. Unfortunately, the guard must have changed shift while she was away and he didn't appear to recognize her. So she resigned herself to the desperate last option she hoped she would never have to rely on. "Also, betrothed to the emperor." This sparked a reaction from the guard. He fell to his knees, and opened the door in haste, muttering apologies as he did so. Ardasa allowed herself a smile at that. She must remember to abuse this power.
________________________
Rughoi jumped up from his chair. Quickly, he grabbed a knife from off the table and threw it at his foe, and ran over to his bed, where he kept a sword. It was large enough to be wielded in two hands for most kobolds, but it fit him just fine with one. He drew it with a hiss, and tore a shield from the wall nearest to him. It was an old ceremonial shield, a medium shield fit for a dracon, but for Rughoi it would work well enough as a tower shield, which most kobolds fought with. "Well?" he said to his guards. "Accost this intruder."

(Sorry for the delay. Had computer troubles.)

@Eviledd1984

"No need to apologize, my love" Kara explained. "I'm just happy that you're okay, and that you want to help my father. He's fine, trust me. He's taken on greater threats than kobolds before. It's almost routine to him by now."

@bloonewb

Aerta ran over to Krakas, no longer seeing her as a worker, but as a friend and ally.

"Krakas! Are you alright?" The draconess kneeled down next to the female kobold, gently lifting her up. "I'll get you inside. Need anything? Food, water?"

------------------

"Oh, please. This isn't going to end well for you or your guards if we fight. I'm not here to kill you, but to talk. If 'your highness' would just hear me out for a minute, we might be able to spare you from the chopping block" Adykon said. "Also, I can't help but to feel responsible for at least a bit of this. You were in my employ when your men went and murdered that farmer. And then went on to conquer this fetid little city. That was bad, but it isn't too late to fix this mess." Adykon stared Rughoi in the eye, hoping very much that he wouldn't have to kill the dracon-kobold hybrid.

@Aristocles

"Oh does he fight many kobolds alone often?" Smith said looking over towards Kara, Wrapping his thin human arms around her bringing her close into a embracing hug.

Rughoi grimaced, and reluctantly stayed his hand. Arrogance of a dracon! This farmer has been inside the city for nigh on fifteen minutes and already seems to think he could make a better ruler! "What would you know about messes!? What would you know about cities!? I suppose you're here to reestablish the Mitronians to the Traeton throne, because they were such wise administrators!? Go on then, if your immeasurable genius is here to lock my city back into its chains so your grass grows a little greener, then just get it over with." Rughoi tossed his shield on the ground beside him, and returned his sword to his sheathe. "You, no doubt, are here to assassinate me. And when you do, the Mitron prince will spend another thousand of the people's taxes on a lavish parade for you at the top of the city walls." He slumped down on the chair, glaring daggers at Akydon. "Get out of my city. I have created a sanctuary for my people, an escape from the hardships of dracon oppression. I will give you a whole day to see my empire as I have created it. Some taverns and inns haven't been hit by catapult fire. Go, then. Enjoy a night of kobold hospitality. It will be more than the dracons have ever given us. In fact, I know a good one on the palace street, at the end of the corner. Lovely owner, frequented by my own dracon regiments. Because the three gods know nobody in the city wants you here." He looked past the intruder, at his imperial guardsmen. They were dwarfed, yet they stood defiant against this massive invader. They have had the honor of being the few able to kill dracons in open combat, and by the looks on their snouts, they were not afraid to lay down their lives for their ideals.

@Eviledd1984

"My father fights quite a few things, sometimes alone. Kobolds really aren't a danger in a direct match. They mostly have to relay on stealth and traps when dealing with dracons, you know. My mother says that he's a 'high-level fighter' with some wizard skills. She calls that last one a 'multiclass', although I'm not sure what she means by that" Kara explained.

@bloonewb

"This was never your city, Rughoi. Clearly, some of that 'dracon arrogance' is with you, given your mixed-breed heritage. Oh yes, Krakas told me about that some time ago. She also mentioned what she knew about the unusual circumstances of your conception. I understand that it's given you no small amount of issues, but covering those up as if you were fighting for something righteous doesn't work. You aren't freeing the kobolds, just exchanging the rule of one tyrant for another. Nothing will have changed for most kobolds, but life for whatever dracons remain here is a living hell. Just look at what you've done to this place, an already broken city made even worse by your conquest and mismanagement. I'm amazed it hasn't all collapsed, to be honest."

Adykon looked around the room, sizing up the defenses. "Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Either you leave this place and never return, or a large army will come in here and completely wreck the place, kill you, and exterminate every single kobold here and probably for hundreds of kilometers around. You'd have no one to blame but yourself for the outcome, you attacked the city, after all, and when you lose, they will not show you any mercy. Odds are, they'd cut off your head and toss your body in the sewers. Or... you can leave with your troops, followers, and whatever they can carry out of the city, and maybe live as a king underground. You're not going to get a better deal than that. As for your hospitality, I prefer that of my wife and family to anything in this burned-out ruin of a town. For what it is worth, the Mitronians probably aren't coming back to power no matter what happens. Odds are, one of the other cities will establish a noble family they can work with as a new dynasty and rebuild the city from there."

@Aristocles

Smith was confused as well what she meant by "Multiclass". "Ah well i hope he comes back..so i can thank him" The human male said now looking at the other two males. "Please bring him back safely" He said to the two of them wanting his mentor and father figure to back back alive.

Rughoi wanted to jump out of his own scales. He wanted to draw his sword and do battle with this impertinent dissenter right on the spot. He stood up, lost in his own thought, and found himself a few seconds later, hand gripping the handle of his sword still in the sheathe so hard he feared his claws might fall off. There he stood, looking up to the dracon with murder in his eyes, daring the other to continue standing there until his arms are hacked off. Yet something stopped him from doing so, the small bit of reason in his mind, still yelling for attention against the overwhelming opposition of his anger, telling him that perhaps, while undiplomatic, Akydon's words were not without teeth. What was he doing? He was no longer a farmhand in the fields, he was a patrician! He cannot just pick fights with those he disliked anymore. A good autocrat must be better than that. Slowly, these thoughts grew louder in his head, beating back the notions of violence and vengeance. He let go of his sword, albeit reluctantly, and sighed. So as much as he wanted to rant and rave, as much as he wanted to disprove all of Akydon's flimsy claims, as much as he wanted to feel in the right, he opened his snout and said something completely different instead. "I have dracons battling in my army, yet you speak of genocide with such casualness I fear your intentions. Return to your home, dracon. Return to your king. Tell him the upstart emperor is ready to discuss treaty, and have him relay that to his allies, and their allies. These guards here will escort you out of my city, and I promise you on my life that they will not let harm come to you, from themselves or others." He nodded to the guards, and they exited the room, gesturing for Akydon to follow. Rughoi grabbed his crystal ball and wiped the condensation off of it again, reestablishing contact with Kutur.

"Your Might, I have sent the orders to the scouts," came Kutur's voice. "They are to ready their arms and begin a march for Aredor."

"Something has changed," Rughoi said, shaking his head. "Send a diplomat to Aredor. Dracon, if possible. Tell them to come to Traeton to discuss treaty. Tell them to say as such to their allies, and theirs. I am offering an end to the tensions, if they shall take it. Quickly, please. I'd be happy to be in the company of kings and lords, if it means I can escape that of sword wielding lunatics." The last part was said with a scornful look at the door.

@bloonewb

Adykon sighed. "Rughoi, you little ingrate. I'm trying to warn you about the impending attack and its consequences. I'm trying to prevent the massacre which would surely follow, including the deaths of all those treasonous dracons in your army. This is within your power to avert, yet you still persist with this utter insanity-!" He saw that the guards were gesturing for him to leave as he heard them talk about the city of Aredor. "They're NOT going to offer you peace, you little fool! They don't consider you a king, they consider you a rebel with delusions of grandeur who took over a decrepit city. And they're right to call you that! As for me, I'm trying to save your life, and... you know what, fine. If your pride means more to you than the lives of your followers, then that is the choice you have made, and the choice these sheep have made in marching off a cliff to their deaths with you. If that's how you want it, fine. Don't say I didn't warn you" Adykon whipped out the gate stone and teleported out of the room, rematerializing near his farmhouse.

@Eviledd1984

"Please bring back who, my daughter?" Adykon walked up to Kara not long after she had spoken those words. "Oh, hi Smith. I see you're doing well. How has- oh, Kara." She gave her father a big hug. "Yes, I'm glad to see you too, dear. We've got to organize a counterattack. Rughoi has gone off the deep end and is beyond all reason. It will take everything I've got to prevent a massacre. His army of kobolds and dracons aren't going to stand up to an assault for long. Not against a properly trained and outfitted force."

@Aristocles

Smith rised up form where he was but quickly sitting back down holding his wound. "Mister Adykon your alive?Thank the gods" Smith said now looking up at him smiling. "When will our next attack be?Are we going to recruit others to help?" He asked the dracon male. Rubbing his side where his wound was happy that Adkyon was back.

The moment the interloper disappeared, Rughoi knew he had to act, and quickly. The intrusion, while in bad spirit, immediately told Rughoi some of the most important facts he's heard since his ascendance. To give up such an advantage unwittingly blathered by an enemy would be idiocy. Quickly, he ran the meeting through his head, trying to keep the valuable information in his head as he began once again to start planning.

The first mistake his enemy made was to simply show up. This taught him that the magical defenses on the city were beginning to fail, and counter-revolutionaries could simply teleport through the walls. Immediately, he relayed this worry to Kutur, who promised to arrange a symposium and bolster the wards.

The second was to let slip the inner workings of the Fertile Valley. His words brought immediate revelation to the question hanging over his head since the attack on Aredor. It was official, the Valley would side against the Kobold Empire.

The third, and admittedly most useful, Akydon had told him of his reputation among his contemporaries. They thought him a joke, one easy to defeat. Rughoi realized then that he was wasting his time trying to gain respect from the neighboring powers. He must take advantage of this fact, and work around it. He ran to his bookshelf and took off a thick tome, detailing the history of the dracon continent and the relationships between kingdoms, and in those pages he found his salvation. The kingdoms of Hewaniar and Taoulmuansi, both longtime rivals of the Draconis cities. They will no doubt rejoice in the fall of Traeton, their economic rival, and would jump at the opportunity to topple their military competitor, Aredor. Perhaps a correspondence here, a correspondence there . . .

Rughoi closed the history book with a smile. The Fertile Valley armies, marching for his castle, are probably already congratulating each other on the victory. To see the shock on their faces when they must contend with a highly disciplined human legion, two armies from two great kingdoms in the west, and his own roving horde of kobold elites. Every flip of the coin put him ever closer to victory.

@Eviledd1984

(This one has been edited. I can edit it further if need be.)

"The new attack is technically underway right now, Smith. I told Rughoi quite a few things which he probably thinks will save him, although I'm no mind reader. He knows that the city's wards are weak, and will likely waste resources in strengthening them. Truth is, this gate stone can pierce through just about any wards, so we can teleport in again at any time. The main attack won't use teleportation, by the way. The other dracon cities already know of the human forces marching to reinforce Traeton, and they will be something of an obstacle to the dracon army. Still, even those human forces are outnumbered and outmatched." Adykon explained. "Our allies have tens of thousands of soldiers on the way to reclaim the city, with up to a hundred thousand on call if need be. Oh, and no self-respecting dracon city would support the kobolds, in case you needed to know."

@bloonewb

Aerta approached Smith and Kara and sat down. "If something goes wrong, we will all attack at once, teleporting back into the castle. We can kill him ourselves if we must. You, me, Adykon, Kara, Fasuto, Ophion, and maybe a couple of others."

@Aristocles

"Well if you need me to come along then i can most come to help" Smith said rubbing his wound. Thinking of what he could do to help the group wondering what his spells could do to help the them. "I don't want to die anytime soon" Smith added now looking at Aerta and then to Kara hugging her close to him.

"Sooooooo . . . husband," said Ardasa, smiling broadly despite herself. Rughoi turned a lazy eye toward her. The day was especially hot, and Rughoi had insisted on keeping vehemently to his promise to work on the city alongside his people. Ardasa woke up this morning thinking that she should get to know her betrothed, but was quickly beginning to regret her decision.

"Not for another moon. Kutur promised me that," came Rughoi's gruff response, as he slathered a brick with seal.

"Well, maybe not, but we hardly know each other! We should get to know each other!" said Ardasa. "Like, say, fields in spring. How do you stand on fields in spring?"

"I know enough. You're the daughter of the Earthen Bears, a valuable one thousand footmen addition to the overstretched army." said Rughoi. "What else do I need to know?"

"Yeah . . . that about covers it, I think," said Ardasa. This certainly didn't go well. "I suppose I'll see you in a moon, then?" There was no response. She turned to leave, but something made her stay and offer one last alternative. "Wait. It's traditional for the betrothed female to issue a demand from the male to prove your loyalty and ability. Anything I want." This made Rughoi stop, and Ardasa congratulated herself on remembering this facet of culture. "Come with me to the coast of Lake Draconis. Get out of the city for a bit. Don't forget - you have toooooo," she teased, turning the last word into a bit of a singsong. Rughoi growled, but nodded.

"Fine. Lake Draconis it is," he said, and went back to the crack in the wall.

(I am back. I may have some edits to make, but it is more important to get back into this RP. My PC seems to be better now. Sorry for the delay.)

@Eviledd1984

"I'll be there, next time you go into a battle. My magic can heal you, keep that from happening" Kara explained to Smith.

@bloonewb

(Working on edits to older posts. Thanks again for your patience. This post is good to go.)

Adykon looked over at his wife, seeing that Aerta was still hanging out with their daughter and stepson to be. The warrior appreciated their efforts, but he knew that this would be decided by armies, magic, and leadership, not just by brute force. Moreover, it would be determined by information. For that, he turned back to Krakas.

"So, I think we have some things to go over. I'm good, but I can't read minds. Krakas, I need you to tell me everything you can about your son. Anything about Rughoi at all which you think might be helpful. Odds are, he's trying to consolidate what power he has and gain more of it, but I don't know any more specifics than that."

@Aristocles

Smith looked over at Kara moving a bit closer towards her. Moving his head over towards Kara's ear wanting to speak to her. "Can you do me a favor Kara?" He said in a soft whisper wanting only her to hear.