(We can synchronize the time later if we have to, so please don't worry if things get out of order)
@Eviledd1984The next morning...
Adykon and his sons woke first, as they almost always did. Female dracons needed more sleep, and he made sure they would get it. Even so, one of the females rose before the others. Kara was up only a few minutes after her father. She did her stretches, making sure to perform them under the light of the sun. She took some time to rub her feet and legs to warm up the muscles, and then she went to wash up, knowing that breakfast would have to be prepared before the family's work and chores on the farm. The children had to get to school, which was located in a small village a couple of kilometers down the road. Luckily, Aerta made sure that they had enchanted stones which could teleport them directly to and from the schoolhouse. They were two-way stones with a limited charge and could only be used to go between their farm and the school.
Aerta met up with Kara in the kitchen. They were making the usual breakfast for the family: a mix of warm flat breads covered in honey, slabs of pork covered in the usual mix of salt and spices, pitchers of fresh milk, a basket of fruit (containing grapes, figs, dates, and slices of apples and oranges), some honey-glazed chicken, and a copious serving of oatmeal cooked with milk and sugar. Their living room consisted of several sets of tables. Formal occasion called for the use of their large rectangular table hewn from fine mahogany, with Adykon's seat clearly at the head, as indicated by its greater height.
Most meals called for the use of a lower round table. Instead of the formal chairs, this table made use of soft cushions for seating. The food was placed in the middle, and anyone could take what they wanted in whatever quantity they desired. There were three round tables in total, one for the family in general, one for smaller meetings, and one for the younger children. Today, they were eating at the main round table, with the youngest being seated separately, where they would be watched over by one of Adykon's younger daughters.
Adykon made sure to reserve an extra seat for Smith, who was still asleep by the time the food started cooking.
@WingsOfBronze"Is that a familiar on your shoulder?!" Ophion didn't take any action to attack the large spider he saw on Fasuto, but he was prepared to if it posed a threat. He had other things to worry about as several more rust creatures began approaching, some advancing over the ground, others burrowing up from out of the sand. He shot down two more, causing the horde to pause in its approach for now. Then, as if guided by an unseen signal, they began firing their acid at the ground right in front of the two mages, creating small burn marks in the soil around them.
@bloonewbRama read off a a list, which had been crudely written in a very rough form of draconic. The parchment on which it had been inscribed was quite fine, having been recently "liberated" from a looted mansion near the city of Traeton.
"Rockblade wants one twentieth of the spoils. Red Shadow wants one-fifteenth. I talked them down from a tenth. They might be persuaded to take one twentieth as well if there's a lot of plunder. The other tribes want between one and two percent of the looted goods. I had to convince them that if they wanted any more, there would be nothing left. The city's turncoat soldiers and guards want their unpaid salaries plus an indemnity on top of that. I believe their back wages could be paid with about a tenth of the loot plus a chance to steal things from the royal palace. The royal treasury itself is another matter, as it isn't counted in the loot so far. We've been over this with the other groups, and most of them recognize the need to keep what little money the city has intact if we're going to run the place following the takeover. However, if we don't have enough to satisfy all the parties, we may just have to dig into the treasury anyway. This will make running the city harder. We're getting the city's problems as well as its loot. Taking over the city is one thing, the really hard part will be finding people who can run it. I don't know how willing the city's officials and scribes are to follow our orders once we're in charge. Paying for defenses will also be an issue, as I suspect we will come under attack not long after we take the city. We'll have taken casualties by then and unless we can repair and staff the defenses, we will be easy prey for a full-strength dracon army."
Rama paused for a moment, looking for any sign of reaction from Rughoi or the others assembled there. Seeing none, he continued.
"So, to increase the share of the loot for your core army, I would suggest looting the city's temples. Don't take too much, as it might incur the wrath of the gods. Instead, I would propose that their temples be rededicated to kobold deities, and that temples which have gods shared in common by dracons and kobolds be left as intact as possible. As for my tribe, I would be happy with a three percent cut of the goods plus first dibs on anything taken from the catacombs early on. Now, were there any questions?"
