Ethyltina 15, 1000 PC

Post date: Jun 29, 2009 1:4:8 AM

All is well! Hurray!

Sparta joined me on my return to the Sha'Tek. The tribe was just as I remembered it. Only a few rooms had torchlight; the dining hall had a full stock of mushrooms and lichen; the tunnels were just wide enough for a fat kobold to pass through; and the faint sound of pickaxes clanking against rock echoed from the mines below. It is good to be home again.

Far from being unwelcoming, the Boss was very supportive of my "walk-above," as he put it. In fact, he said he was planning to send me out eventually anyway! So I guess being scared enough of responsibility to run away was actually a good thing. Sparta and I took the opportunity to propose our plan for a new city to Chief Varnil. He seemed receptive to the idea, and he gave his blessing. He also gave some good advice about the weak races trusting only themselves. But is trust really the issue? Could halflings and kobolds live together without trusting each other? ...Probably not. I need to think about it more, though.

Better still, the Boss managed to capture T'Krosh before I arrived. The witchdoctor is still kind of scary, but I think something has changed about him. He does not want me dead anymore, having been convinced that I am in control of my fire-magic. I offered him the chance to serve me, and he accepted! I just wanted us to not be enemies anymore, but really, there needs to be some clear roles in a relationship such as this. I should be tough with T'Krosh; he needs to be reminded that I am in charge now, and that attacking innocent humans is no longer acceptable (as he did to my friends while I was injured by Nagav).

With Varnil's blessing, I set about to recruit some kobolds in my quest to build a new city. To attract attention, I put on a bit of a play using the full breadth of my magic. With a full audience, I re-enacted many of the battles I've had since leaving the tribe. I have never had much cause to speak to a large crowd, and I was scared at first, but I think I have potential! Anyway, the audience must have liked it because about two dozen brave kobolds enlisted for the journey. May I keep these first few volunteers as safe as the rest of my future subjects!