Chapter Seventy-eight (Patreon)

A group of four males emerged, shoved the fallen beasts out of the way, and then looked around before sending up a short howl. Another set of four followed them, and the two groups moved to each side of the open gate, guarding it as a particularly large and powerful-looking male stepped out into the hallway. His fur was a pale gray, and the fur around his neck was dyed a vivid red.

He stared around at the carnage before turning to the humans. Raff was still chopping at the fallen monster, looking almost bored, but the other three humans gazed at the male kobolds. Kaz saw Gaoda opening his mouth, and thought fiercely toward the human, let him speak first, let him speak first, let-

The gray kobold bowed slightly, and said, “The Redmane tribe thanks you for your assistance. We were prepared to wait until more of them were dead before killing the last, but you have saved us the effort.”

Kaz nodded. If they had enough warriors left, then they could undoubtedly have killed the last abomination standing. Of course, more of the things might have arrived before then, and some of the warriors would have been injured, if not killed, reducing the number of defenders available when the next wave did arrive. He tried again to stand, knowing Gaoda would be less than pleased by the implication that their aid was unnecessary, if not unwelcome.

Fortunately, Gaoda, being Gaoda, took the statement at face value. He sniffed, flicking a gobbet of something sticky off his sleeve. “It was annoying,” he said, “but at least you show the proper deference. We have kobolds for you, and then we will use your stairs.”

The Redmane blinked, clearly thrown off by Gaoda’s assumptions, and Civ stepped forward. Since there were no female kobolds present, and the human ‘female’ had mentioned them, however obliquely, it was now permissible for Civ to speak.

Civ pressed his fist over his heart, bowing, and Pils and Regz copied him, though they bowed so low that their ears almost swept the ground. Ilto hadn’t recovered enough to be aware of what was going on, and Kaz was aligned with the humans, rather than the Sharpjaws, so neither of them bowed, and the Redmane’s sharp green eyes flickered to them, even half-hidden as they were behind the others.

“I am Civ, of the Redmanes,” Civ said, straightening while still maintaining a submissive pose, with his nose down and his eyes on the other male’s paws. “My leader sent me here with these other males. We are the last of the Sharpjaws. The fulan and the monsters have taken all but a few others, who remain to hold the stairs, as our chief commanded.”

The stranger twitched when Civ gave his name, but neither male brought up the female who had asked to take Civ as her mate. Kaz hoped that this was because of the complex rules surrounding mention of a female who was neither chief nor mate, rather than because Etle was dead or missing. Most tribes in the upper levels weren’t quite as strict with the formalities, but perhaps things were different here.

“What do you wish from us, Civ of the Sharpjaws?” the gray male asked.

Slowly, Civ bent and laid his knife on the stone in front of him. The others followed suit. Civ tilted his neck to the side, exposing his jugular, before saying, “We wish to join the Redmanes, if your chief will take us. Our tribe can no longer sustain us.”

This last sentence meant, roughly, that there was nothing wrong with the Sharpjaw warriors, and they hadn’t been expelled or run away from their own tribe. Instead, the tribe had too many males and either not enough females, or not enough resources to support them all, so they had allowed them to leave.

The Redmane’s eyes narrowed. At this point, he should have sent for a female to make the decision, but he didn’t. Instead, he said, “You have no reason to come to our tribe in particular?” His tone was surprisingly gentle, without the slightest hint of suspicion.

Civ’s hand closed into a fist where it rested on the ground by his knife. “I… hope to find a mate. There is one here who offered for me, before my circumstances changed. I dare to hope she will renew her interest.”

The Redmane chuffed in amusement before lifting his own fist to press it against his chest. His chin barely dipped, but it was enough, and tension drained from the three stiff backs in front of Kaz.

“I am Hod, chief’s mate. Our chief is… unable to greet you, but her daughter, Etle, will decide if you may join us.” The green eyes flickered to Gaoda and the other humans, and his bow grew deeper. “You are welcome to our den, humans, as are these warriors.”

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Once the formalities were out of the way, the original eight warriors fanned out, gathering and dragging the bodies of the fallen abominations into a pile as far from the gate as they could manage. At a glance from Gaoda, Raff stayed to help them, while everyone else moved through the gate, entering a den that was very like that of the Sharpjaws. The ceiling was low, and while the area just past the gate was broad and open, the huts beyond were the type with sturdy walls that stretched from floor to ceiling, creating a sort of defensible maze.

There were only a few kobolds visible, all of them with the deep red dye staining the ruff around their necks. It seemed that having particularly dense fur around the throat was desirable in this tribe, because nearly all of the males had a thick mane that stood up, framing their jaws and ears.

Upon seeing Hod, these males relaxed, their hands falling away from their weapons. Many of them had bows made of layered bone and horn, but others had long bone clubs like those wielded by the Copperstrikers, except that these were lined with chips of obsidian, and the bones were dyed the same red as their fur.

There were no females in sight, until the door of the closest hut burst open and a young female rushed out. Her fur was pure gold, and it was dyed in complex patterns that covered her body, rather than the single ring around her neck. Her eyes were the same bright green as Hod’s, and they were locked on Civ.

Civ was supporting Ilto on one side, while Pils took the other. Kaz had recovered enough that he barely needed to lean on Regz, who walked beside him, but Lianhua kept casting him worried glances anyway.

When Civ saw the female kobold, he started to take a step forward, clearly forgetting Ilto. At Hod’s sharp glance, and Pils’ soft whine, he stopped, as did the young female.

Drawing in a deep breath, the female lifted her chin, staring imperiously at Hod. “As your next chief, I decided a female was needed for negotiations with these strangers.” In spite of her attitude, she sounded like she was offering an excuse rather than condescending to give an explanation.

Hod sighed. “Ehlan has not yet joined the ancestors, and her last command was that all females should stay within the den until the monsters and the fulan have been destroyed,” he said with unexpected gentleness.

“Fa- I mean, Hod, you know I couldn’t- I didn’t- Mother wanted-” The female was fidgeting now, her gaze locked on Civ, who stared back at her with equal intensity, though he maintained his composure.

Hod rubbed his muzzle tiredly before looking at Civ and asking, “Is this the female who offered for you?”

Civ nodded.

Turning to the female, who had to be Etle, not that Kaz had needed Civ’s confirmation to have figured that out, Hod said, “Do you still wish to take this male as your mate?”

Etle’s chin jerked eagerly, and her tail began to swish with almost embarrassing enthusiasm. Hod shook his head, but in resignation, not denial.

“Ehlan gave her permission, and though this male’s ‘circumstances have changed,’” he echoed Civ’s earlier words with more than a hint of amusement, “that stands until Ehlan refutes it, or the next chief overturns the decision.”

The amusement was gone, replaced by deep sadness and resignation. “No ceremonies can take place until Ehlan recovers or a new chief is raised. But, as chief’s-mate and leader of the males, I recognize the bond.”

With a happy little yelp, Etle rushed forward, though she didn’t forget herself so much that she actually touched Civ. They looked good together, with Civ’s black fur only serving to highlight the glossy gold of Etle’s, and the way they looked into each other’s eyes made Kaz feel uncomfortable.

Gaoda cleared his throat, and everyone looked at him in time to see Lianhua thrust an elbow into his side as she wiped a damp eye. She stepped away from him the next moment, looking mortified, but Gaoda already looked like he wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or angered by the gesture.

“The stairs,” he said. “We’ve slain your attackers and returned your males. Now, we want to go on.”

“No, we don’t,” Lianhua said, glancing at Kaz. “We need to rest. I need to recover the ki I used on my shield, and I’m hungry, even if you aren’t. I want some tea, and I want to sit down.”

Hod hesitated, looking between the two of them, clearly not sure which one was in charge. At last, turning to Gaoda, he said, “We will gladly offer you use of our stairs, though I warn you that the territory below is little explored. We can tell you the way to the next stair, and that’s all.”

Looking at Lianhua, he added, “You may also rest here, but food has become scarce with the approach of the fulan. We’ve had to burn many of the plants our gatherers have found. We have some meat, but the creatures infected by the fulan must be burned as well.”

Behind them, Raff and seven of the eight warriors hurried through the gate. The last one stopped just outside, nocking an arrow whose stone tip gleamed with the persistent orange flicker of firemoss oil. He loosed it, and after staring after it for a moment, turned back and bowed to Hod.

Hod gestured, and the males fell in, pulling the gate closed. It seemed heavy, and then they latched it into place, he could see why. Rather than being made of a few strategically placed long bones, covered by thick leather, this gate was almost solid bone beneath a pebbled, rocky leather that Kaz suspected was yanchong skin.

As soon as the gate was locked, the males began stuffing wads of fur around the edges, blocking the flow of air from the outside as best they could. It seemed they had done this several times before, because they finished quickly, leaving one last male to remove a bone plug from a single small hole, which he promptly pressed his eye against, watching the hall outside.

Raff leaned in toward Gaoda, murmuring, “They set the bodies on fire. All of ‘em, in a big pile.”

One of Gaoda’s brows lifted, but he just shrugged. Turning to Lianhua, he said, “This place will reek of smoke soon, cousin. Are you certain you wish to stay?”

Lianhua’s nose wrinkled, but she nodded, looking at Hod. “One night, if that’s all right?”

The male bowed, but hesitated, glancing from Lianhua to Raff, who stood off to the side with Chi Yincang. “Our chief has declared that males and females must live separately for now. This applies to you for so long as you remain within our den.”

Gaoda scowled, then seemed to remember he counted as a female, as far as kobolds were concerned, and a pleased smile spread across his face. “That’s fine,” he said magnanimously. “Just show us to our hut.”

Hod turned to Etle, giving her an expectant bow, and the female sighed audibly as she stepped away from Civ. Walking over to Gaoda and Lianhua, she gave a shallow bow, female to female of another tribe. “Come with me, and I’ll show you where the females sleep,” she told them. Gaoda obeyed easily for once, though Lianhua’s steps were reluctant until Kaz gave her an encouraging smile.

Once the ‘females’ were gone, Hod turned to the males. He looked up at Raff and said, “Our den is not designed for someone of your stature, but we can put two huts together to make one long enough for you to lie down. I’ll lead you there, and then you may rejoin your females for your meal, if you wish.”

Chi Yincang’s eyes had tracked Gaoda and Lianhua until they vanished between the huts, but now he nodded, though his face remained as still as a cave pool.

Hod dipped his chin, then looked at one of the other males who had gone outside with him. This male had gray fur slightly lighter than his own, though his eyes were a silver that was nearly blue, rather than green. Still, the similarities were strong enough that Kaz would guess they were related, if not father and puppy.

“Huss, assign huts to the male kobolds. Treat them as members of our tribe, though we can’t make that official just yet.”

Huss bowed in return, and motioned for the males to follow, which left Kaz with a conundrum. He was a kobold, but he didn’t want to join the tribe, so he should stay with the human males instead, except that he wasn’t certain his legs would carry him anywhere once Regz stopped supporting him.

Raff reached out a big hand, which was covered in a disturbing amount of filth. Kaz had to force himself not to flinch away as the fingers closed around his arm, taking his weight from Regz, who stepped away. Kaz swayed, but didn’t fall, and, better yet, Li didn’t snap at Raff’s hand, breaking her teeth on the hard metal glove that protected it.

“This one’s ours,” Raff said, looking at Hod. “He’s our guide, not one of of th’ Sharpjaws.”

Hod looked surprised, his bright eyes focusing on Kaz, resting briefly on his throat, which was bare except for Li’s tail wound around it. “I see,” the Redmane said. “Then you and he should follow me. Unless he’s injured?”

Raff looked down at Kaz. “You hurt?” he asked. “Y’look a little wobbly on your feet.”

Kaz shook his head, fighting not to shrink beneath all the eyes on him. “I’m fine. Just bruised.” He pressed his hand against his side in explanation, wincing as if in more pain than he actually was.

Raff shrugged, scooping Kaz up as if he were a pup. Kaz wanted to demand the human put him down, but that really would make him seem like a puppy, and the fact was, he still felt weak, so instead, he just held himself as stiffly as he could and allowed it.

Hod snorted, looking bemused. “Follow me, then.”