Master of the Hoard - Chapter 20 (Patreon)

They were not happy. The news that they might have to live alongside creatures that, a mere hour ago, had tried to obliterate the tribe didn't go down too well. The possible gains were just too good to ignore, though. The Crawls were clearly already housebroken as minions. They were decent in battle and, more importantly to me, they were hardy. Any meatshields I’d be able to throw between my Talpi and any enemies would be worth the hassle. And when I said that the decision was made, they stopped arguing.

Of course, it was all theoretical, for now. We might arrive to find an empty lair, plucked clear of any items. Still, we spent some time arranging exactly what would need to be handled before I left. Arthor massaged his temples. "Alright. Let me see if I have it all. The builders and shamans handle the worst of the cleaning for now, then finish the larder, cook all the meat so it doesn't spoil so quickly and work on the second Habitat?"

I nodded. "Some diggers should be able to get started right away. There isn't too much need for them elsewhere."

"Okay. Then, once we free some hands, we get to work on restoring the traps we can and arranging new ones. Meanwhile, our scouts..." He glanced at Aelis.

"Meanwhile, we keep a double presence out, moving about in groups of two, to ensure that there are no additional forces incoming. Half of us are going with our Lord to ensure that they are not taken by surprise."

I growled in satisfaction. In response, my stomach growled back at me. I would need to eat, and soon. "Exactly. Roth, you are staying to take care of any incoming enemies. Odds are, we will be able to avoid the worst battles. Of course, if you can hide in the Clenchers' cavern, just do that."

The squat Talpus slapped a paw into the other palm with a keening laughter. "Telling a Talpus how to hide now? Try to grow a decent patch of fur instead of those ugly scales first! Hah, we've got this covered."

"Good. Have you already equipped yourselves from the Crawls?"

He smiled. "Hah. Their weapons are heavy, but they have some nice throwing axes. Had. Some of us are strong enough to use ‘em now." His smile widened. "I'll make sure the rest of us train till they can as well. And their leader..." he grinned wide enough it looked like his head would fall off and stood up. In his lap lay a weapon - a two-handed iron sword. "He gave this one straight to me."

"Great. I'm sure you'll get a lot of practice in. The remainder of the weapons go in the hoard, obviously, but I want you all to stay armed and alert until we're home. Once we make it back, we'll gather again and then, hopefully, we can move on with our long-term plans instead of just scrabbling for survival. Does anybody have any final things we need to discuss?" The grunts of denial were answer enough. "Good. Aelis, will you make sure everybody is gathered to get going... say, six hours from now? Should be enough for all of us to have a chance to rest." She nodded and I dismissed them all except... "Arthor. A final word?"

The tall Talpus looked at me with his arms crossed. "Now what? Do you want to force us back out of the mountains? Maybe we could find some pretty stones to make your hoard nicer?"

I didn't need to sense his emotions to recognize his annoyance. "I know. I am changing a lot of things for you right now. That's not it, though." I lay down, reducing the height difference between us. I hadn't noticed, but with my latest growth spurt, I tended to miss the Talpi, if they were too close. I stared at Arthor, taking in the weird difference between his patterned, haphazard fur and his proud bearing. "I wanted to thank you. You could have stayed away. You could have finished me off. You could have done a lot of different things in the interest of your tribe, but you decided to help me. I will not forget that."

He looked at me for long enough that I started to feel uncomfortable. Luckily, dragons don't need to blink often. Finally, he spoke, his usual sneer momentarily gone. "I considered it. I cannot believe that Creziel joined me. Whatever you said to bring him to your side must have been impressive." He looked pensive for a while. "Coming to your aid was the... logical choice. Even though you are a dangerous acquaintance, I believe we are better off with you as our protector, than without. I must admit, too, that I am curious. You talk about these far-reaching plans and constructions and... I want to see some of what you are describing." His lip quivered downwards and he added, "You'll need to take care, though. This is not a threat, but our people are seeing a lot of change in little time. Not everybody is as accepting and gracious as I."

Gracious? Really? With a grave face, I nodded. "I know. I am changing a lot within a very short time. I hope that we will have a chance to settle in, when we return. It should only be a day. Then perhaps I can prove some of my claims." Silence fell and I considered whether I should ask or not. In the end, I decided I would be better off knowing, however. "What's the deal with Jazinth? She looked like she couldn't decide whether to drop to her knees or attack me."

Arthor sneered. The mouths of Talpi are good for sneering. The entire upper left of his mouth curled up, revealing the tiny, sharp incisors behind. "She's feeling guilty. With good cause. Her heart has always been in the right place, but still. She tried to convince me to run. And then Creziel of all people joined the attack on the dragon while she didn’t. Can't be good for her self confidence." He shook his head and made a sad, whistling sound. "Now, unless our blessed Lord has something important, I want to get back. It seems like we'll have our work cut out for us."

I couldn't help it. I laughed, my stomach producing a low, rumbling cough. I really liked the mouthy animal. "Oh, I do have two final things. Remember when I said that I wasn't going to interfere in your decision regarding who becomes the chieftain?"

"I knew it. So you lied. You two-tongued, filthy-"

"No. I am not going to interfere. But," I stressed the word by raising a single claw, "I am going to voice my desires. I want it to be you. You claim to be ruled by logic? Well, consider this. Regardless of how much we prepare, the coming years are going to include conflicts between the growing dragons. And you need to decide which kind of temper you would like to lead your tribe. Roth would enjoy the challenge and fights - just a little too much. Aelis would have the mind that's needed, but lacks the temper and personality to convince everybody to do her bidding. Creziel and Jazinth... no. So, unless there is some genius among you who has been biding their time, you are the best offer for the position."

The thin shaman was the tallest among their tribe, but with every word I said, it looked like he grew smaller, until he stood hunched, staring at the ground before his feet. Almost as if he could feel the impending weight. He remained silent for a while, until he said, "You know, I liked you better when I thought you were to be our next meal."

I snorted a laugh. "That's as good an introduction to our final subject as any. How fast do you believe that you can gather the entire tribe?"

The answer to that was "not so fast." We still had a good number of scouts circling the circumference of the domain. Eventually, we decided to start without the team of scouts taking the longest route. Gathered in the throne room, I looked down upon the tribe that had become my new family of sorts. There were plenty of wounds present, but most of them were superficial wounds and people were looking optimistic. Surviving almost certain death could do that to you. The throne room still held clear evidence of what had taken place. The fires had died out and the dead Clencher had been removed. Even so, there were still scorches and exploded tiles everywhere, and it was pretty hard to ignore the huge corpse parked in the corner of the room.

"I am glad to see you here." I cursed myself - weak start there, Carl. Half of them probably still thought I would eat them if they refused an invitation. "We have not had much time to relax lately - and the coming days and weeks are not going to be different. If today has proved anything, it's that we need to really work on our defenses if we ever want to be secure." I could feel a lot of uncertainty bubbling in my audience - what was I trying to do? Unperturbed, I continued, "However, that does not mean that we need to focus on work and survival the entire time. Tonight - we feast!" I spread my wings and used a claw to indicate the red dragon's corpse.

The Talpi were stunned. Aelis was the first to dare speak up. "Sire, are you sure? Dragon meat... we are not worthy-"

"Nonsense," I interrupted, "you saved my life earlier. That is all the proof I need. Now dig in already."

That was the last prompt they needed. The Talpi swarmed forward like a furry wave, crying out in amazement and eagerness as they pushed and shoved to get at the feast. Moments later, the throne room was filled with gorging animals. I ambled forward myself and took stock of the carcass. My human self would have no idea where to start, but I found my claws moving by instinct, digging and tearing until I could retire to my room with half a leg. As a foreman, I had learned the hard way that socializing with the workers rarely did anything good for either of you. Having fun with a friend in the evening and ordering him about the next day - it was a difficult balancing act, and not one I enjoyed. Better to keep the distance.

There were quite a few things I loathed as a dragon. My lack of hands, above all. Due to their loss I longed for the ability to use my tools and lose myself in building something. Even a bloody bird house would do. My girth was also pretty annoying. Being able to run three times faster than the Talpi was nice, but there were a good number of tunnels I simply couldn't fit through - especially with my latest growth spurt. Oh, and the beastial instinct trying to take over at the slightest sight of blood? Yeah, pretty annoying. Even so, I couldn't find it in myself to dislike my current place in... whichever world I now inhabited. I was a goddamn dragon, for crying out loud. I could beat most enemies into a pulp more or less, had access to magical skills and looked at the possibility of living for a good long time - if I managed to survive, that is. On top of that, my senses were amazing. I could see in pitch dark, sense emotions and hear a coin drop to the floor several hundred feet away. Even so, I felt pretty satisfied with my lot in life. Or the afterlife. Whichever. The warm satisfied thoughts, coupled with a full belly soon rocked me into a much needed sleep and I surrendered to oblivion with a smile.

A few hours later, I cursed those very same senses, as I was startled awake by confused cries throughout the domain. What the hell? I brought up the mini-map, checking for intruders and finding nothing. Only... every single Talpus was awake, most of them crying, laughing or shouting. I zoomed in on the Habitat and felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. The Talpi were obviously celebrating. Had this been going on for long? No. Shock and confusion were evident on some of them and the sound was overwhelming, chittering and squeaking flying back and forth as they danced, shouted and gestured. I was ambling to my feet, growling with annoyance as the pop-up appeared before me, explaining everything.

[Congratulations. You have received a permanent increase to your attributes.

You have consumed the flesh of a being rife with the gifts of Deyra. The mana-rife meat bestows upon you the following:

+3 Toughness

+3 Strength

+1 Agility]

Oh. Wow! That was incredible. It would also mean... I roused myself fully and walked out towards the dragon corpse. Right enough. The first greedy Talpi were already converging on the carcass, trying to improve their lot in life before everybody else caught on. I growled at them and they backed away to a respectful distance, disappointment evident. More and more Talpi were piling in as they connected the dots and I finally noticed somebody I knew. "Roth. Come over here."

The squat Talpi was patting his arms as he approached. "Can you believe it, lizard? +1 to Toughness and Strength! That's two levels!"

Oh yeah. The poor critters only gained a single attribute when they leveled. Also, maybe, the gain was linked to how much meat you consumed? Interesting. The excited squeaked conversations grew in volume by the second. I would need to get this handled right away. "Everybody. Pay attention." The noise disappeared right away. "We are not turning this into a fight. Everybody will receive an equal share of the remains of the dragon meat. If you try to cheat, I will know. Besides, Roth will stay here and ensure everything is handled peacefully."

The wide Talpus glared at me before relenting and turned to address the rest of the gathered animals. "That's right. Any of you try to take more than allowed, I'll beat you before I turn you over to Onyx."

I added a final comment. "We will make this as fair as possible. And to ensure that nobody is cheated of their rights, I want you to carve off extra portions for those scouts who are yet to return." I could feel the question hanging in the air and added. "I will refrain from partaking this time. Let it be my gift to the tribe."

The explosive cheering that followed threatened to burst the roof and I smiled as I ambled back towards my room. The sacrifice wasn't massive for me. Her carcass was already half-stripped of meat. I might be able to gain a single increase of the same size as yesterday, but I doubted it. All told, the portion of meat that would gain me increases equal to a single level plus change might grant the Talpi increases worth one or two levels for the entire tribe. Totally worth it. And if it gained me the reputation of a magnanimous master, all the better. Going back to sleep took longer this time, but eventually, the world faded away and I surrendered to the darkness.