Mazdak took notes of the situation, slightly surprised but not frightened by the sudden arrival of the warband. Although he was on a mission of peace, the orange-skinned dracon was still a general, and wasted no time in analyzing the situation, keeping his thoughts private, of course.

[i]"Interesting. Camouflage. Useful for delaying an advance, but not enough to stop it entirely. Between that and their small size, they'd be hard to see, although they'd be much less effective against area-effect attacks or if we could get some troops up on the heights nearby. Once the element of surprise wore off, they'd have to retreat or be killed, and their need to maintain stealth negates the possibility of them using heavy weapons."[/i]

Publicly, he kept up his diplomatic tone. "We'll see the Grand Prince before too long, and he has no current plans to march on your city, don't worry. We can stop for a while if you need to rest that foot, unless you plan to hobble all of the way to Hekaga." Raising his voice a little, he turned to the other kobolds. "And thanks for the... escort." 

[i]Meanwhile, in Hekaga...[/i]

Ternoc had overseen construction of many things in his time as Grand Prince. As most of the palace's state rooms were meant for a king, he had found that he required new ones to be built. Among other things, this meant a second throne room, complete with a new throne altogether. This particular seat of power was comprised of fine red marble, cushioned by linen imported from Naugoa, adorned in six-thread silks on either end of the throne. He had to walk a fine line between majesty and modesty, as the other great powers in the realms didn't approve of Hekaga being led by anyone but their inferior, a fact which didn't bother Ternoc at first, but it had come to grate on him lately. He didn't care for the title of king himself, but he wanted to pass the title down to one of his sons, children which he rarely even saw due to his duties. Of course, in Hekaga, royal and noble wives were supposed to handle the messy business of childcare, and only emerge from their seclusion with their husband's permission. He had, of course, granted them freedom to leave their chambers at will, an edict he had made almost immediately upon taking the throne some decades ago and had never rescinded. 

For all his royal duties, the Grand Prince found himself fixated on the current initiatives with the kobolds. They too were pariahs among the major powers, and they had both been stripped of much of the power they had once wielded. Even combined, their might was less than almost any of the other major powers, and far less than any force likely to be sent against them. Although it was a further blow to his pride, he found that his best option was to call in someone who had worked with both the major powers and had contacts with the kobolds. A brief *fwoo-schwing!* sound heralded the arrival of this adviser. 

"Aerta. I'm glad you could make it."

"Pleasure's all mine, Ternoc. Really. You should have called me sooner. Kali told me about a little incident with Rughoi and Mazdak."

"Right. It's not a major issue, but I've got to treat it as such. Play the part of offended monarch. Use it against them to get concessions, that sort of thing. He gestured for Aerta to take a seat nearby as the Grand Prince slumped down onto his throne. "So, how would you advise me to proceed?"

The sorceress took a few moments to make herself comfortable, then spoke. "First, you need to remember that kobolds aren't the stupid, child-like little beings which so many of us dracons make them out to be. They won't be so easily fooled. Treat them as you would another dracon realm. Second, you need to use the carrot as well as the stick. Yes, you could wipe them all out in a few months, but to what end? They're no serious threat and are unlikely to become one."

Ternoc sat up as he heard that last part. "Alright. Offer them something. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, kobolds are famously hard workers when properly motivated, particularly when it comes to simple, repetitive tasks such as mining or harvesting crops. But when they don't have the right motivation, they tend to be quite the opposite."

"Lazy? Indolent? Slothful?" Ternoc searched for the right word.

"Not quite. More like hedonistic. It's not a matter of laziness, but of a desire to, ah, breed. If they aren't working or fighting, they simply want to make more kobolds. Most of them do, anyway. Some end up sublimating that desire into other activities, which they proceed to do as if it gave them the same high as if they were having-"

"-I get the idea" Ternoc remarked, visibly uneasy at the thought, much to Aerta's amusement. "What's so funny?"

"Ah, nothing. All those wives to lie with and you still don't like someone mentioning-"

"-that's- that's different! I have to produce heirs. A task which I have succeeded in, I'll have you know."

"Hmm. Congratulations." 

"Yes, Aerta. I'd thank you not to smirk at that. How many children do you have, again?"

"Twenty-two, plus another egg laid. I'm expecting him in three months."

"Oh, well, congratulations. Yes, so, what could I possibly offer the kobolds?"

"Apart from maybe plans and equipment for a bath house? You may consider overtures to their royal family directly. Show them a good time in Hekaga... but not TOO good. Unless you fancy marrying one of your daughters off to Rughoi."

"That will never happen" Ternoc explained. "Besides, isn't he monogamous?"

"From what Kali tells me, yes. He might change that, but I doubt he will. Still, one never knows with him. Apart from his insecurity and overcompensation, Rughoi is hard to predict sometimes."

"Right. What to do about him?"

"Don't try to flatter him, don't go out of your way to make him angry. No matter what you do, he'll find a reason to get mad. It makes him feel righteous. He's one of those kinds who believes that the victim is always right. Try to get him to relax before having a formal audience with him. Just offer him the stuff dracons like to do, and make sure he gets some treatment for his toes."

"Gods damn it, Adykon mentioned that last bit! Does everything revolve around his half-breed feet?!"

Aerta chuckled at the bizarre thought. "Of course not. But ask yourself this: could you make good decisions if you were in pain much of the time? You know what it's like to have absolute power over your kingd-" Ternoc shot her an angry look.

"-grand principality. Sorry. Over your own realm. Rughoi has basically the same level of control over his as you do over Hekaga. Treat his emissary well, then invite him over. If Ardasa comes too, so much the better. I can arrange for rapid transport by giving Kali a gate stone, or he can come by land. Either way works."

"Right. Thanks, Aerta."

"No problem. Now, if you'll excuse me, I left some soup boiling in the kitchen and I have to get lunch ready for my kids." With that, she teleported back home, leaving Ternoc alone once again, save for the guards stationed at the entrance to the room.