[@bloonewb]

Ternoc had observed Ardasa's conversation from afar. He wasn't close enough to hear them but in snippets, but he got the impression that it wasn't anything good. His name came up once, so it wasn't hard to infer what their topic of their conversation was about. 

"I don't need to be a telepath to tell you that they fear me, Ardasa. It's written in your eyes. You look like you just saw a roach climb up your dress. Fear mixed with disgust. I have told them time and again that they have nothing to be scared of, but I cannot blame them for being frightened. Centuries of tyrants will do that. It is hard to blame them for being suspicious of me. I can only hope that as years pass without anything bad happening to them at my hands, they will trust me, or at least, tolerate me as their ruler." 

Ternoc sighed and looked around, making sure that there were no more messengers. For once, there were none. "If I had wanted to oppress, torture, kill, dispossess, or eliminate the kobolds here, it would have been done years ago. It would have won me support if I did, come to think of it. I won't pretend to be the fatherly protector of the kobolds, or the advocate for the poor. I have a kingdom to run and I cannot show favoritism to groups, classes, or factions which could jeopardize my rule, either directly or indirectly. Being a ruler is like juggling; pay too much attention to one ball, and the others will drop to the floor. Everything I do is part of maintaining that delicate balance, including this trip."