A rumor is heard of a palace where monsters were holding hundreds of kobolds as slaves. A large castle filled with treasure, all the kobolds that were seen going in and out wearing a silver, blue, and gold woven neckbands. Almost all the doors to the various servant areas were sized for the kobolds as well. Along the road outside the castle, the graves of failed raiders where, instead of gravestones, their skulls still sat upon the spikes where the heads once had been.
Yet, it was not what it seemed. For the adventurer that found their way inside, these beings did NOT want to leave the palace. There were beautiful gardens, and lovely fountains. For all they were required to wear the neck bands, they were clean, looked well-fed, and those that had injuries, those injuries were neatly bandaged and tended to. But the surprise was in the throne room. Two humans, two kobolds, sitting side by side talking as they sat on small thrones. -- Anon Guest
Kobolds get a lot less cute once they learn Fireball -- Adventurer's Guidebook.
They had been getting funny looks ever since they entered the city-state. Lady Anthe was used to a lot of stares, being a Kobold and an Adventurer, but usually such stares were shared equally between herself and the team. This was one of the few times when the people were universally staring at her.
The fifth shopkeep that boggled at her giving orders was the one that made Marvin snap. "What's the matter with all of you? You've definitely seen a Kobold before. What's the fuss about?"
"She's not Protected," said the shopkeep, as if that explained everything. Further investigation and the mandatory we're-not-from-around-here conversation revealed an alliance with area Kobolds that sounded... more than a little icky at first glance.
The local ruler held a form of ownership over the area Kobolds, all of whom wore a golden torc as a sign that they were Protected. The Kobolds acted as tax-gatherers in a way, by going door to door once a year and demanding "shinies".
Lady Anthe had to explain that, once part of a pack/nest, Kobolds had a form of hive intelligence that meant the IQ of an individual member was roughly the mean IQ of the entire nest divided by its members. Which meant that a Kobold in a nest was not that very bright. A group of nested Kobolds was formidable, since they could act in concert, but alone? Not so much.
It sounded like the Kobolds in question were under some kind of protection from the local crown, but the entire business of collars had Anthe on edge. Gold or looking like gold, they still resembled a slaver's collar and she didn't like the idea of her fellow Kobolds being property. So she made it her business to investigate the central hive, which was located in the palace.
She expected a dungeon crawl, and revelations of Kobold slavery. She did not expect what was really there. Alongside the thrones of the reigning Humans, arranged so that their heads would be in near-equal position, were the thrones for the leaders of the Kobolds. They also had torcs, but they also had crowns. They were discussing matters of state, both above and below ground.
The Humans may be Marquis and Marchioness of the realm, but the Kobolds... were the Dragon King and Queen of the nest. They ruled as equals despite the disparity of titles.
As the Dragon Queen explained it, "Dragon Marchioness doesn't have the same ring."
The Kobolds could have been trouble for the Human rulers, until they hit on the idea of appointing the entire Kobold nest as Masters of the Treasury. They had access to all the shiny things they liked and, as an added bonus, license to collect 'tribute' in the form of taxes for the realm. The Kobold nest would accept literally anything shiny, so the Marquis would exchange actual gold and gems for polished brass and expertly-cut glass, all so they could pay for the essential services of the realm.
The Kobolds, being natural tunnellers, would also unearth mineral deposits that would then be refined by the Humans above. It was... astoundingly symbiotic. The torcs were merely there to mark the Kobolds operating under this treaty from any 'wild' ones that could cause trouble.
Lady Anthe eventually decided that they had a pretty sweet deal, all things considered.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Revo2sion]
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