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I Said No Human Sacrifices, Dammit! 19
🕑 Added 2025-10-02 02:43:57 +0000 UTCI did not yawn, stretch my limbs and raise my behind the way a cat does when waking up after really good sleep. I did it like a Dragon, with strength, and dignity, and power and majesty, because that's what I am and that's what I do and that's how I roll.
It took only moments for the Dragonguard to bring my meal to me, as they saw that I was awake and rapidly piled fruit, cooked meat and fish and even bread. The bread was obviously not something that had been produced by my humans, they must've either brought it from somewhere else, or brought the people who make it to our land.
To compliment their alacrity, I think that's the right word anyway, I decided I too should be quick and so I didn't even greet people before I started digging into my food.
It totally wasn't because my stomach was growling.
Fortunately I could quiet down my stomach by eating until I had my fill, by which I mean eating everything and then eating the next cartload of food and then still being a little hungry. Must've slept longer than I thought.
"I've had enough now," I said, thinking about how I should probably be watching my figure, after all I don't want to be some big fat lumpy dragon, I have a lady dragon I have to keep myself fit for.
Can I even get fat?
I don't want to chance it.
"I've been asleep long enough," I hummed to myself. Looking around, I could see that there had been noticeable changes in the Dragonguard. For starters, the were wearing capes and tunics over most of their armor, and they had clearly started to create a rank based hierarchy, because some had decorations, and the one who was approaching me even had crude medals sown into a sash that hung diagonally from her shoulder to her hip.
"Great One!"
I twisted my neck and then when that didn't make a satisfying pop or crack, I decided the sound must happen and thus it did, because fuck you I do what I want, even if I have to force it with magic.
"Speak," I demanded.
"We've prepared for your glorious return, the awakening-"
I snorted white glacial winds from my nostrils and my power carried the wind around the Dragonguard.
"I don't like my time being wasted, speak plainly and quickly!"
"Yes Great One!" she responded. "The Priestess said to inform you the moment you awoke that she would be waiting for you in Second City!"
"See that wasn't so har- wait second city? We have a second city now? I thought we only had villages."
"It grew swiftly!" she said, clearly sounding pleased with herself. "We've even set up a permanent detachment of the Dragonguard and emplaced it in Second City!"
You know it never really hit me how a lot of names are so... common and simple once you take the mystique of them using old, out-of-use words or being in another language. It becomes mundane and boring.
"Alright, which way is it?" I asked.
"That way!" the Dragonguard spoke, pointing directly towards the west, a little northwest actually. "Next, Lady Aqua left you a message before she departed!"
"Then inform me," I ordered, thinking that if she went somewhere, she must've left an explanation.
"The attempt was unsuccessful, no fruit was bore, searching for another date location, will bring back food, end quote."
It was immediately obvious that she was try ing to speak the same language Aqua spoke, and that she was struggling with it, remarkably so, based on how it came out stilted and as if several words were missing. I think the translation magic was doing its best to get it across but it wasn't perfect.
She did well enough to be understood, however, and learning whatever language dragons speak probably wasn't easy for humans.
"Good job. You shall have a reward. Behold!"
I pointed a claw at her, and zapped the grass right in front of her, and there, I manifested a hat.
"Henceforth your name will be Capitan," I said, thinking about how using words in different languages could make names sound cooler.
"Kahpeetahn?" she worded out, and since it wasn't actually a word, it didn't automatically get translated. She tried again. "Capitan?"
"Correct, excellent," I hummed. I hope I'm correct in assuming she's actually a leader of the Dragonguard, because if she's not, then the name's gonna be horribly ill fitting. "Then I shall make my leave, and head west."
I stretched my wings and then did exactly as I said I would. A powerful beat of my wings spread the mists of the sky, the thin clouds, all over the place as I began heading west, and in mere moments I found a very new and mostly still in construction city. While there were some stone and wood buildings primarily near the center that were completed, most was still in construction.
There were big roads all heading into a triangular plaza, there was a large mostly incomplete manor, a huge circular platform that was mostly just roughly cut stone still to one side of the triangular plaza, and finally, a huge encampment of mostly tents and tiny huts as well as holes in the ground that I guessed were stockpiles, covered in tarps.
Not too far away, there was a sizable river passing, and I could already see there were structures being built around it. Several wells had been dug into the area, some properly, others basically just holes in the ground.
Since the circular platform was right there in the middle of the Second City, I decided it was good enough for me to land on, though I was also careful not to land hard enough to turn it all to rubble, having to use my magical power to cancel my momentum. Eat my shit, Newton, your laws of physics have no power over me!
There was panic.
Okay so maybe this wasn't the greatest of ideas. People began running around, screaming and crying and some were even praying or begging and then suddenly, it all changed.
The blue fur of my very first Kobold immediately caught my eye, and the powerful howl she let out immediately caused everyone to flinch and the panic was calmed immediately, as the crowd of people milling about and around the plaza had their attention gathered by the tall, powerful, imposing and furry form of one of my Kobolds, Ornlu.
Am I allowed to cringe about giving her a name based on the first legendary wolf that came to my mind? I guess it's better than naming her Lupa or something but still...
"ON YOUR KNEES FOR THE GREAT SILVER ONE!!!"
It was then that people realized who I was, and what I am.
"Let's not. Ornlu - I see that you've been hard at work," I spoke. "What is this city? I've hardly been informed."
"Great One, your praise is-"
I tilted my head and craned my neck to attempt to mimic a facial expression, it was harder than it seemed, but she must've gotten the message because her wolf ears twitched and she cleared her throat.
"Right! After your command to eradicate slavery and those who promoted and profited from it, we your Dragonguard and servants set out on a campaign to rid the world of slavery! This is the town we created to house the former slaves and it grew rapidly as we gathered more who had nowhere to return to."
"Alright, that's cool, where's the priestess though?" I asked. "She should be here setting things up, no?"
"The Priestess leads us to battle and cares for us! As the greatest among us, and your chosen one, she has always been the first to rush in, and the last to retreat!"
I exhaled. "I see... so you've been working on this for..." I estimated a few months, I must've slept for a really long time. "Long enough."
Looking around I could see that there were many problems. There were many who looked sickly and weak. Many dressed in damaged and weathered rags. Almost everyone was clearly underfed. There were no obvious injuries and though they looked sickly, they did not look sick, or at least, my senses didn't detect any actual illness going around.
"Has there been a plague of any sort? People look weak and as if they had recovered from sickness," I asked.
"Yes, we had many plagues, every time the Priestess returns from campaign she takes the time to ensure there are no sicknesses to spread!" Ornlu explained. "All is as you commanded, we've liberated those who we could! Ariel is currently on a mission to deliver those who have homes to return to, to said homes! And Castile is at the internment camp, presiding over those who've surrendered or been captured!"
My mind rapidly turned to the two other kobolds.
I whipped my tail behind me and thought for a moment. "Right, so what's been the fate of those who surrendered or were captured?"
"We've judged them according to the codes and laws the great one's bestowed upon us!" Ornlu said enthusiastically. "They've been made into wards of the state, and they've been performing all the hard manual labor no one else wants to do. Those who refused have been summarily executed!"
She sounds pretty happy about it. Am I raising a bunch of psychopaths?
Well she's not really human anymore so I guess she wouldn't have the human perspective on things.
"Okay. Your work is acknowledged. I shall grant you this," I said, moving my claw right in front of her, and launching 3 zappy zaps to the ground, one crackling blue, another a seafoam green, and the final one, a fiery red. "The blue one will create a Kobold in your image, the green one will create a kobold in Ariel's image, and the red one will create a Kobold in Castile's image. It recharges, but use it wisely, this privilege is not one to be taken lightly."
"Yes great one!" she responded enthusiastically. "As you've commanded we've scouted among our own those who are worthy of taking the test to become your eternal servants as ourselves," she said, "we will not disappoint you with our choices, they shall all be put through the gauntlet, and only the greatest will be allowed to-"
"Yes, yes," I waved my hand, not really wanting to spend such a long time talking about a done deal. "Who's in charge of the city planning for this place?"
"That would be the Scribe's Assistant," she said. "His name is Hill Vase."
Right. Hill Vase. No idea who that was. But I did know who the Scribe was, so all I had to do was find her and then have her get me in contact with the fellow in turn. I feel like playing some SimCity... I wonder if I can get more involved in the planning this time.
I could help future proof the city. At the same time, do I really want to be efficient? A grid's efficient but boring... decisions, decisions...
I had the nagging feeling I was forgetting about something, something important.
But if I forgot, it probably wasn't all that important.
If this were a story, this would be the moment where a cutaway gag would play, showing what I was forgetting, but unfortunately, life isn't that convenient for me, and I'll have to try to remember what I was forgetting about later. I'm sure it can't be as problematic as forgetting about the worm.
...
"Where's the priestess?" I asked Ornlu. "Tell me where she is right now, so that I may go find her."
She pointed wordlessly, and I set off to find her. That niggling feeling at the back of my mind is getting stronger by the second as I take flight.
