"No no, call a boat, I said," Rebat chuckled, pointing out to the water. "This is His Might's first river, the Victory River, which feeds into the Dragonblood. On the other side is the Talon's pass. Now, we have to get to the other side, don't we? Now call for one of the crossing boats, and money, I'm sure, will make it ferry us across." Sure enough, the river was never without kobold barges and sailboats going up or downstream, laden with passengers or cargo. "My throat, I could talk forever about it. I am proud, proud to Scen, that I was the first to breach the Traeton walls. I paid for it with this." With that, he pointed to the gash in his throat, where air would escape as he exhaled. "Point is, it cannot call for a ferry. So could you?"

"Alright. I shall" Mazdak replied, wondering why Rughoi had sent an apparently unhealthy kobold to accompany him. After a few minutes of calling out for a boat, a raft finally rowed its way over to the riverbank where Mazdak and Rebat stood. A red-skinned kobold clad only in a pair of shirts greeted them. The ferry pilot turned around and ushered them on board his ferry with a wave of his right hand.

"Where ya headed?"

"The other side of the river. I'll cover the toll" Mazdak explained as he stepped on. The raft was little more than a collection of logs which had been tied together with several lengths of rope, and the 'oar' used to propel the vessel was little more than a tree branch stripped of its leaves and twigs. Still, it got the job done as they crossed the river. For a while, all was silent, with the calm only broken at about the midpoint of their river crossing.

"I can get the clerics of Hekaga's great temple to heal that throat injury, if you like, and your foot, if anything is wrong with that, too. We don't need to do that as part of the deal between our cities, in case you thought I was doing this just to hold the promise of healing over your head to get a better deal in our upcoming negotiations."

"Then I shall do my part and not complain about it," Rebat said. "I, as a good leader of the kobold legion, could not in good conscience waylay a kobold cleric to heal my own wounds, when so many of those under me require more pressing medical attention." His mangled tail curled inwards as he gazed out to the water, rubbing his throat. "After a few months, all pains will recede of their own accord. I suppose I've just . . . forgotten they were there." The ferry slowly bumped up on shore, and Rebat hobbled off, with a helping hand from the ferrymaster. "I know not how you dracons handle things, but in some small way, perhaps I have grown proud of my injuries. In my heart I sing for every piece I give of myself to my people and my emperor. I think the two of us are not so different in that respect, yes?"

"Perhaps. I wanted a peaceful life at one point. Now I have scars in places which I never imagined I'd get. Got some on my chest, my right leg, under my tail, and even one on my right but- well, I don't want to give away too much information, now" Mazdak explained. The dracon curled his toes, digging his claws into the soft wood of the raft at the thought.

The ferry ride was soon over, and Mazdak snapped out of his reverie. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but it was rather distracting. "I'd give more for Hekaga if I had to, and gladly so. It wasn't always that way. Back when Ternoc's father was in charge, I'd have found the thought of sacrificing even a drop of blood to be too much. King Nicator was... terrible. His control was absolute, even as a prince operating under his father. His signature was needed for the next murder to take place, the next rape to take place, the next drug deal to take place, the next egg-smashing to take place, it all needed the signature of-!" He cut himself off, realizing that he was going on a rant. "Sorry. He really was awful."

They began to head down the road. "I can arrange for us to get some mounts if you like. Perhaps you could use it, given that you have an issue with your foot. I-I know that you are an adult kobold, but if you'll forgive me saying so, your kind reminds dracons of our own children, in terms of size at least. I don't like seeing a child in pain, you know. I don't mean to condescend, but that is how- how it comes off to me."

"Mounts? Not till we reach the Talon Pass," Rebat said, limping towards that great landmark. Mazdak insisted on filling the silence, and Rebat just let him speak. He was not old, but there was something about being at the mercy of fate that makes one simply feel older. Rebat could never decide whether that was a condemnation by the gods or a reward.

Eventually, they saw the twin peaks marking the Talon Pass. They looked down at the two travelers with distant disdain, and Rebat felt himself humbled by its giant reach. Truly, a kobold may be great, but he may never be as great as Hetuis' many tails.

"State your business," came a voice behind the pair. Rebat couldn't help but chuckle to himself. A classic kobold tactic, as old as Arjun the Brave. Sneak up on the enemy and scare them out of their wits before they get a good look. Rebat decided to face the voice, and found just what he expected. A kobold warband, covered head to toe in war paint made from the rock dust of the mountains. All but invisible in the terrain they found themselves in, if they chose to stand still.

"You address Commander Rebat, first legion of the kobold guard, under the service of His Might Rughoi the Unbound," Rebat said. He knew the password well enough. One kobold stepped forward and bowed low.

"We are honored to meet with a commander. What are you doing with an enemy of the state?" His eyes were directed squarely toward Mazdak, and it was obvious what he was thinking.

"That is a diplomat, captain. He would like, no doubt, to be home as soon as possible. If you would let us pass," Rebat said. He didn't make demands of his troops often. The captain nodded, and shouted to the warband, as they scurried back into the niches in the mountains, disappearing from vision once again. "With me, emissary," Rebat said, waving with a twisted claw and hobbling through. "I'd like to speak to the Grand Prince before he decides to raise his levies, thank you very much."

Mazdak took notes of the situation, slightly surprised but not frightened by the sudden arrival of the warband. Although he was on a mission of peace, the orange-skinned dracon was still a general, and wasted no time in analyzing the situation, keeping his thoughts private, of course.

"Interesting. Camouflage. Useful for delaying an advance, but not enough to stop it entirely. Between that and their small size, they'd be hard to see, although they'd be much less effective against area-effect attacks or if we could get some troops up on the heights nearby. Once the element of surprise wore off, they'd have to retreat or be killed, and their need to maintain stealth negates the possibility of them using heavy weapons."

Publicly, he kept up his diplomatic tone. "We'll see the Grand Prince before too long, and he has no current plans to march on your city, don't worry. We can stop for a while if you need to rest that foot, unless you plan to hobble all of the way to Hekaga." Raising his voice a little, he turned to the other kobolds. "And thanks for the... escort."

Meanwhile, in Hekaga...

Ternoc had overseen construction of many things in his time as Grand Prince. As most of the palace's state rooms were meant for a king, he had found that he required new ones to be built. Among other things, this meant a second throne room, complete with a new throne altogether. This particular seat of power was comprised of fine red marble, cushioned by linen imported from Naugoa, adorned in six-thread silks on either end of the throne. He had to walk a fine line between majesty and modesty, as the other great powers in the realms didn't approve of Hekaga being led by anyone but their inferior, a fact which didn't bother Ternoc at first, but it had come to grate on him lately. He didn't care for the title of king himself, but he wanted to pass the title down to one of his sons, children which he rarely even saw due to his duties. Of course, in Hekaga, royal and noble wives were supposed to handle the messy business of childcare, and only emerge from their seclusion with their husband's permission. He had, of course, granted them freedom to leave their chambers at will, an edict he had made almost immediately upon taking the throne some decades ago and had never rescinded.

For all his royal duties, the Grand Prince found himself fixated on the current initiatives with the kobolds. They too were pariahs among the major powers, and they had both been stripped of much of the power they had once wielded. Even combined, their might was less than almost any of the other major powers, and far less than any force likely to be sent against them. Although it was a further blow to his pride, he found that his best option was to call in someone who had worked with both the major powers and had contacts with the kobolds. A brief *fwoo-schwing!* sound heralded the arrival of this adviser.

"Aerta. I'm glad you could make it."

"Pleasure's all mine, Ternoc. Really. You should have called me sooner. Kali told me about a little incident with Rughoi and Mazdak."

"Right. It's not a major issue, but I've got to treat it as such. Play the part of offended monarch. Use it against them to get concessions, that sort of thing. He gestured for Aerta to take a seat nearby as the Grand Prince slumped down onto his throne. "So, how would you advise me to proceed?"

The sorceress took a few moments to make herself comfortable, then spoke. "First, you need to remember that kobolds aren't the stupid, child-like little beings which so many of us dracons make them out to be. They won't be so easily fooled. Treat them as you would another dracon realm. Second, you need to use the carrot as well as the stick. Yes, you could wipe them all out in a few months, but to what end? They're no serious threat and are unlikely to become one."

Ternoc sat up as he heard that last part. "Alright. Offer them something. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, kobolds are famously hard workers when properly motivated, particularly when it comes to simple, repetitive tasks such as mining or harvesting crops. But when they don't have the right motivation, they tend to be quite the opposite."

"Lazy? Indolent? Slothful?" Ternoc searched for the right word.

"Not quite. More like hedonistic. It's not a matter of laziness, but of a desire to, ah, breed. If they aren't working or fighting, they simply want to make more kobolds. Most of them do, anyway. Some end up sublimating that desire into other activities, which they proceed to do as if it gave them the same high as if they were having-"

"-I get the idea" Ternoc remarked, visibly uneasy at the thought, much to Aerta's amusement. "What's so funny?"

"Ah, nothing. All those wives to lie with and you still don't like someone mentioning-"

"-that's- that's different! I have to produce heirs. A task which I have succeeded in, I'll have you know."

"Hmm. Congratulations."

"Yes, Aerta. I'd thank you not to smirk at that. How many children do you have, again?"

"Twenty-two, plus another egg laid. I'm expecting him in three months."

"Oh, well, congratulations. Yes, so, what could I possibly offer the kobolds?"

"Apart from maybe plans and equipment for a bath house? You may consider overtures to their royal family directly. Show them a good time in Hekaga... but not TOO good. Unless you fancy marrying one of your daughters off to Rughoi."

"That will never happen" Ternoc explained. "Besides, isn't he monogamous?"

"From what Kali tells me, yes. He might change that, but I doubt he will. Still, one never knows with him. Apart from his insecurity and overcompensation, Rughoi is hard to predict sometimes."

"Right. What to do about him?"

"Don't try to flatter him, don't go out of your way to make him angry. No matter what you do, he'll find a reason to get mad. It makes him feel righteous. He's one of those kinds who believes that the victim is always right. Try to get him to relax before having a formal audience with him. Just offer him the stuff dracons like to do, and make sure he gets some treatment for his toes."

"Gods damn it, Adykon mentioned that last bit! Does everything revolve around his half-breed feet?!"

Aerta chuckled at the bizarre thought. "Of course not. But ask yourself this: could you make good decisions if you were in pain much of the time? You know what it's like to have absolute power over your kingd-" Ternoc shot her an angry look.

"-grand principality. Sorry. Over your own realm. Rughoi has basically the same level of control over his as you do over Hekaga. Treat his emissary well, then invite him over. If Ardasa comes too, so much the better. I can arrange for rapid transport by giving Kali a gate stone, or he can come by land. Either way works."

"Right. Thanks, Aerta."

"No problem. Now, if you'll excuse me, I left some soup boiling in the kitchen and I have to get lunch ready for my kids." With that, she teleported back home, leaving Ternoc alone once again, save for the guards stationed at the entrance to the room.

@Eviledd1984

(Sorry for the delay!)

Meanwhile, on Adykon's Farm...

Kara put her hands on his injury and willed a little more of her magic onto it, suffusing the limb with a warm glow of white light.

"How's that? Feeling better? Can you move it a bit better now?"

@Aristocles

"A little, Thank you Miss Kara" He said with a soft smile on his face, Moving his arm just a little the pain not as strong as before. However their was still a bit of pain in his body, "How is your father?" He asked her rising a brow trying to relax his body.

@Eviledd1984

"Oh, we're back to formal titles, are we?" Kara gave him a little hug and a kiss. "No need for that, my love. Father's been doing well, still dealing with the kobold guy, but everything's calm for now." She reached behind his back and began to scratch in hopes of soothing him, moving her claws around in little circles.

@Aristocles

"Oh that is good to hear, And will him or any of you need my help with anything?" He asked Kara returning the kiss with one of his one, Nodding his head letting the claws of Kara rubbing his back.

"My father will be fine. Always is, really. But as for me, there are some thing you could help me with, love" Kara replied as she kept up the back scratch. "How about you help me gather some herbs from the woods nearby? I have a list of what we need, and it won't take us more than a few hours."

Most of the dracon lands were a desert, but a few forested areas existed, especially in the fertile area where Adykon lived. The trees were hardly like those of more temperate climates, though.

(It would look much like Lebanon's Cedar trees, like these below)

@Aristocles

"Very well i can help you with that, It is the least i can do for you" He said nodding his head, Slowly picking up his robes putting it on carefully as not to hurt his wound in anyway possible.

"But only if you're well enough to travel" Kara cautioned. "And we'll be doing some climbing too. Not sure if those robes will be of much use to you there."

After long, tiring days of travel, Hekaga's tallest spires began to emerge through the dunes and sparse grasses of the Irodil Mountain terrain. Rebat marveled at its sheer size. Hekaga was a city built by creatures far larger than himself, and has lasted hundreds, if not thousands of years. All of this shows up in its architecture, each spire seeming to compete with the others over how magnificent and gaudy it can be. The little kobold felt humbled by its presence, thinking of the wisdoms that such a city would have that his own self wouldn't. "Come now, mustn't be late," he muttered, hobbling his way towards the enormous gate.

@Aristocles

Thinking for a moment of the situation and how he could not further hurt himself, "Well then what do you suggest i can do?" He asked rising a brow her way. His robes only half onto his torso and could be removed easily if needed. "With his prescient wound i don't know if i can climb" He added.

@bloonewb

Hekaga was somewhat dissimilar from other dracon cities in a number of ways, having been the only one of the eight major cities to have been founded by a dragon. The beast had ruled over the city much like a rancher controlled his cattle, to be slaughtered when the cows were nice and fat. In short, Hekaga was designed to generate an income for its rulers, not for the benefit of its citizens. When the dragon finally died, his sons fought each other for rule of the city in much the same way heirs to an estate might squabble over the land. When the dust settled, only one of the sons was still alive and still living in the dracon lands, and he possessed all of his father's cruelty, but little of his father's skill and power.

The result was that he was swiftly overthrown and replaced by a dynasty of dracons, who in turn were displaced a few centuries down the line by another family, and so on and so forth. Just about the only thing these dynasties had in common were a brutal rule punctuated by a sudden end, a fact appreciated by all of the ruling houses following the first one. As a consequence, Hekaga's rulers were more than deeply paranoid about being killed off by a revolution from within, far more so than they feared being removed from power by an attack from the outside. This fact was evident in the city's walls, which extended inside of the city to carve Hekaga into walled-off neighborhoods, each separated by gray stone barriers. Permits were needed to enter many of the city's districts, and there was quite a market for counterfeit passes, access to tunnels running under each neighborhood, and a 'market' for bribery among the guards. Luckily for Mazdak and his 'guest', he had clearance to enter any or all of these districts, as indicated by his blue-stamped pass.

"We're not gonna be late, Rebat. In fact, I'd say we're just in time." Mazdak neglected to mention that he hadn't been given any specific time frame to meet with the Grand Prince, and that delaying the meeting might in fact prove beneficial, since Ternoc was still formulating the minutia of his position on the kobold issue. "We should get you cleaned up, first. Perhaps we can stop by the palace baths. How'd you like the be the one waited on by dracons, for a change?"

@Eviledd1984

"In that case, you might want to wait for me at the base of the trees" Kara suggested. "But if you can climb at all, I'd really like that. We've been inside the house for too long. It'll be nice to feel the sun on my scales and the grass under my feet. I'm sure you must feel the same way, love."

@Aristocles

"That sounds like a good idea" He said smiling and slowly getting up keeping himself shirtless for the timebeing, Cracking his neck thinking that some fresh air would be good for him.

"Yeah. Of course. If you need a hand up some of those trees, I'd be happy to help you" Kara added, making sure that her top piece was tied on correctly. "If you could grab the basket I can grab the list. We've got about fifty items to get, and most of them can be found in the woods. We'll have to visit a city for the rest. Some aren't really found in the dracon lands."

@Aristocles

"Oh i see..well i can help you when we get into the city" He said thinking that she would need protection for when they get to the market. He knew that people were not kind to different races and even humans whom act differently. Grabbing a basket as asked by Kara and heading down the stairs.