It had been a day since they attempted to lure out the Wartskin Kobolds. While they were big, gluttonous, and fat, they weren’t half as stupid as Bighorn Kobolds. Even as Mark and Alverost had pushed their domain back to their cities limits, the Wartskin Kobolds hadn’t sent another ‘elder’. In the distance, though, one of them sat on the horizon between their territories. There was no animosity in its stare— it just waited.

The Kobolds had been sent back to rest, and now the war party stood atop a new set of fortifications, built at the edge of their territory with clan Wartskin. They hadn’t even attempted to stop the wall as it was being raised from the ground.

The war party had grown as well. With the Tinyfingers clan fully assimilated, more and more could wield bows and spears, and they lined the wall now. They sat outside of it, even the armed wall insufficient to lure out the monstrous beasts within.

“Boar Dragons.”

“What?” Alverost asked, startled by Mark’s outburst.

“I’m going to call them boar dragons. Thats what they’re like. Kind of like giant, tusked bearded dragons.”

Mark and Alverost hovered over the wall where Kobolds waited anxiously.

“Would you focus?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry. What were we doing again?”

“Normally with siege warfare you just cut off a city’s access to its dungeon and then starve it out… unfortunately, the dungeon is in this city. Normally they’re outside.”

“You think we could just flood it?”

“No. At best we could damage the buildings… at worst it just runs off and down whatever path that dried up river follows.”

“Damaging the buildings…” Mark asked. “Instead of charging in, why don’t we smoke them out?”

“What, you mean like, with fire? We can probably only fire off those emplacements twice a day at most, even with all of our newly gained mana.”

“We only need to fire it once. The city is made of dried wood and reed fiber, after all.” Mark was already at work, sealing the stone that held the silver emplacements at their old fort, and removing the stone around it that kept it in place. It slid to the ground as the stone beneath it burned into mana.

“Oh god, this thing is going to be heavy. We should put it on wheels. Alverost, get some Kobolds to push this thing. I’ll build a cart.”

Alverost didn’t reply, though Mark felt his presence watching before shifting away.

Mark got to work anyway, building a six wheeled wagon with wooden wheels to hold it. The stone rose from the ground, propped up on the device at an angle before Mark fused the stone to wood, creating a battering ram of sorts. It was complete with the roof to prevent attacks from arrows, though Mark doubted his foes would have any, ending in the raised silver sigillum that had been pressed into the stone. A dozen Kobolds arrived just as Mark finished.

“We should have moved these with the siege anyway.” Mark said even as Alverost guided the Kobolds to push it forward.

“I built a ramp at the other side. Its waiting.” Alverost said, even as the Kobolds heaved as they pushed. The cart rumbled and rolled and at some places was sucked into the muck that covered the Hallow’s floor. They pushed it forward anyway, bouncing and buckling and creaking. Mark definitely could have spent more time building it.

When the cart arrived, both it and the Kobolds pushing it were covered half way up with muck and dirt and other things that didn’t bother monsters, but were still very disconcerting to Mark.

The Kobolds stopped, staring at the ramp, and Mark could swear he saw one of their eyes twitch.

“We should warn them before we open fire.” Mark said.

“Why would we warn someone we’re about to attack them, Mark? You’ve said a lot of stupid things, but that one probably tops the list.”

“So that the ones that want to join us can, before we burn the city down.” Mark replied.

Alverost paused for a moment, considering.

Then he swept his way into a Kobolds body. “Kobolds of clan Wartskin! Surrender or die!”

“Alverost!” Mark said, before addressing the edge of Clan Wartskin. “Surrender and we will offer you quarter. We can feed and cloth you!”

“Or die!”

Mark slipped out of the Kobolds body. “That is not what I meant.”

“We offered them the chance to surrender.” Alverost offered a mental shrug. “Lets wait and see if they take it.

Eventually, one Kobold did accept it. She walked up to the wall timidly.

“Excuse me, you said you have food?”

“Yes, if you swear your loyalty to the Clan Below.” Valleria shouted down the wall.

“I was never very loyal to clan Wartskin to begin with!” She scrambled against the wall, trying to climb it. Simon and Silver looked to each other and shrugged, and Silver offered the pole half of his weapon down the wall. The Kobold clung to it, and he pulled her up. She landed gracelessly behind him.

A moment later, she was being led farther into their domain.

“See Mark? Never say I can’t compromise.” Alverost said, spraying fire into the city that was only feet from the wall. It was entirely too quiet for how close they were to the city, which most likely meant that this side of the city had been evacuated as they advanced.

The roof of a building in front of them, pressed tight to the Hallows ceiling, erupted in a blaze of fire.

“Advance!” Mark and Alverost instructed.

Splotch complied. He was at the head of a host of a Kobolds, shuffling behind him with spears in hand. Dozens of Kobolds stepped slowly into the hold of Clan Wartskin. They knew that somewhere beyond the smoke and ash were the enemy Changed.

The smell of rot and burning flesh filled the Hallow as Splotch stepped over burning wood. Once, the clans that lived here would find this material as a precious treasure. Today it was kindling.

Splotch wasn’t alone— between the burnt remains of cramped buildings and down the narrow streets, contingents of Clan Below Kobolds pushed into enemy territory. Even as the city burned, the fat pig Kobolds refused to charge their encroaching walls. The domains advanced had halted only feet in.

With a crash, a burning building collapsed left of Splotch. He pivoted on the spot, his reaction faster than the Kobolds trailing behind him. He whipped his spear forward, finding purchase in flesh of a monster. Its skin was charred, covered in rot even before the flames took it. Charred skeletons revealed themselves in pile of burning wood around it even as its mouth clamped down on Splotch’s spear.

The spear came loose with a crunch, splintering white fungiwood to the ground, pulling Splotch forward in a stumbling movement. He didn’t hesitate, using leaping forward and stabbing the splintering bit of wood into the beasts eye. It flailed, taking Splotch with it as the pig Kobold raised its head. Splotch leaned into the haft of the spear— now pointed straight up— and fell as the wooden shaft pierced through flesh, finding purchase in the monsters rotting brain.

Splotch sat atop its head for a moment.

“Anyone injured?” He asked, recovering his breath. He was answered only by silence. There was a flash of pink before another gigantic truffle fell to the ground.

Splotch turned to look at his Kobold contingent. They had backed away, watching him in muted horror. He looked around. “Is there another one?”

His question wasn’t answered by his squad mates, but by the dungeons domain washing over them. Alverost barked instructions to unseen Kobolds as the burning scrap of buildings dissipated into nothing.

“Where did your spear go?” Mark asked. “Ah, I see…”

With a squelching noise, the top half of the spear exploded free of the pig Kobold, a new shaft solidifying even while the pigs blood and bile burned away. Small stone walls began to rise from the scraps of the city. Splotch picked the spear up, turning to his squad. They watched him in muted awe.

“With Splotch, we’re invincible…” One of the Kobolds muttered. Splotch was stronger and faster than any of them.

A group of Wartskin Kobolds ran screaming across the street past Splotch. They didn’t even turn to look at him, running instead from a gigantic, Pig Kobold. It turned and ran towards them with a squeal, stumbling over the quickly rising barricades. Arrows pelted it before it even arrived, and Splotch found himself in the back line as his contingent charged forward, invigorated by him.

The Pig Kobold immediately bit one of them in half.

Spears found purchase in flesh as tooth and claw slid off metal armor. The Hallow echoed with the sounds of burning wood and Pig Kobold roars.

Splotches group pushed forward, a path carved in flesh and blood and fire, Eventually, the city fell away, the fire stopped, the smoke cleared. The ground, muddy but firm beneath, changed to purely muddy ground.

Splotches group was far from the furthest. Out to his left, he could see Silver and Axel, though smoke still hung low behind them. He felt the air shift again, the domain of their dungeon a crashing wave that ripped apart the smoke, dissipating burning buildings into mana and fortifying their advance with concrete bunkers and walls.

At least, until the buildings disappeared. The center of the dungeon was a mud pit of open air. There were still buildings on the other side of it, mostly displaced by a rising wall of mud that neared the ceiling.

Splotch stopped advancing, leaning on the butt of his spear. There were only three pig Kobolds left. Axel fought one in single combat— though it wasn’t much of a fight. More of a dance. The Pig Kobold had lost one of its legs, and the squad around him kettled it backwards whenever it tried to approach Axel, poking it with spears. The little army they had gathered did much the same, resting and watching as Axel drove his blade through one of the pig Kobolds eyes.

One of the Kobolds behind Splotch approached him, eyes glowing.

“Thats a fucking dragon.” Mark said.

“A boar dragon.” Alverost replied.

All of the city was taken.

Except…

The dungeoncore. A fat dragon curled around it, its eyes a mix of bloodthirst and hunger as it stared at the Kobolds around it. The Clan Below’s domain pressed to just outside of the giant beast.

The core itself was round, white and opalescent. It was a great contrast to the mud that covered it. It was humongous in size, big enough to rival Mark and Alverost’s core.

“It stuck to what comforted it in life. A wild animal.” Alverost spat, staring down the small incline from where they stood. Silver and Axel had finished off the last of the changed Kobolds, this being the only loyal Wartskin Kobold remaining.

“Whats the plan?” Silver asked, squatting and staring down.

“I’ll kill it.” Axel replied. “You kettle it again. Just a big, dumb lizard.”

“No. Its gigantic, and stronger than any of the Kobolds we fought before.” Alverost paused. “Bring the fire sigil here. We control the domain all around it. Lets seal it in and cook it.”

“Wait wait wait.” Mark said. “Do we have to kill it? Look, its not moving. It doesn’t even look hostile.

Even before the discussion ended, stone walls began to rise around the monster. It sat, waiting placidly, like a boss in a video game, waiting for the hero to arrive, staring up the hill towards the army that marked its encroaching end.

Then it stood, pacing around the core, staring at the distant wall. The wall was only a foot high, enough that it could step over it, and it seemed to want to, stepping forward towards Mark and Alverost. Then it stopped, turning back abruptly and wrapping around the core.

“The dungeon is keeping the monster there to protect itself.” Mark spoke. “Its… its afraid.”

“Stupid animal.” Alverost replied.

A circle of descending walls matched those rising from the floor.

It could only go so far before the pig dragon stirred, rising with a roar to slam into one of the walls. The stone gave under its weight, crumbling.

“Shit.” Mark said.

“So what’s your plan if we’re not killing it?” Alverost asked.

“We just take the dungeon boss for ourselves.” Mark scanned the battlefield. “Splotch, have your squad gather the meat and drops from the dungeon and bring them here.”

Within minutes, a pile of food was growing outside of the dungeoncore. The Boar Dragon stood, stepping out towards it— and then stepped back. It stopped, roaring at the dungeoncore.

The pile of food continued to grow, burned and charcoaled meat mixed in with fresh drops from the other Pig Kobolds, and then the Clan Below started dragging entire Pig Kobolds to the pile.

Eventually, with another roar, the Kobold stepped free from the dungeoncore, stomping its way towards the pile of meat and beginning to gorge itself.

Mark was ready, dungeonroots emerging from the pile and connecting to the Kobold.

“This is mine, now.” Mark said.

Axel ran to the dungeoncore, behind the Boar Dragon, and began to whack at the stone with his sword. It took another two Kobolds to kick and pry it loose, bringing it back to their territory.

“You’re not… you’re not keeping that thing, are you? Its disgusting.” Alverost said.

“Oh yeah we are. We got ourselves a new dungeonboss.” Mark replied, already at work to remove the monstrous metabolism and genetic deficiencies that the random mutations had imposed on it.

“How are you going to feed it?”

“We’ll get a bigger farm.” Mark replied.

Clan Wartskin fell quietly, with its last elder defecting. Smoke hung heavy throughout the entire Hallow, the other clans surely watching in shock. All together, it took less than a day to completely destroy the clan.