The master has surprised me once again. This time they have formed a contract with kobolds. If we grant them victory in their war, they shall become the master’s servants. I was surprised at first. After all, kobolds are one of the weakest races. But for some reason the master sees value in them, where others would look at them as useless. It seems the the Shiny God values the inferior races even though they are able to make such wonderful beings on their own.

As I exit the core room and enter Dak’s barracks I receive salutes from every hellclaw soldier that I pass by. These creatures that master has created are so much more efficient than the goblins that serve us. They follow orders to the finest detail, and only break from their work to eat and sleep. We will not be able to rely too much on the hellclaws during this war. It would not be worth the risk of leaving the town and more importantly the core room unguarded. I signal towards a group of the hellclaws and they rush over to me. They immediately stand at attention after giving a short salute.

"Orders master Sluggo?" asks one of the hellclaws.

"I want ten of you with the main force. The rest of the hellclaws need to be on guard. I will not tolerate any gaps in the town’s defenses and the core room must be heavily guarded while we are gone. Keep shift-changing and breaks to a minimum until we return" I order.

"Understood." say the soldiers, in unison, as they quickly hurry off. The hellclaws should be able to easily defeat whatever forces we may be fighting alongside the kobolds, but if Alvin failed we could have the Holy God's forces here any day. We can't risk leaving the master vulnerable.

I continue to travel out of the barracks and into the town, which at first glance appears almost devoid of life. Most of the residents are inside and many others have moved out to the battlefield in preparation for the war. I pass by the church and briefly stop to admire the master’s work. It would be fantastic if we can continue to spread their influence. Perhaps we can begin infecting the capital once the Holy God is dealt with?

After a few minutes of walking, the bright light of the sun blinds me as as I exit the mine. It has been a few days since I've seen the world outside of the dungeon. Mostly because I have been busy tending to the goblin birthing sacs and organizing our forces. The bright light reminds me that I much prefer the darkness of the master’s core room. As my vision clears I find that my two escorts have arrived to bring me to the battlefield. The two heavily armored goblins wear jetblack platemail. I am unsure whether the armor is metal or skin… perhaps both? Each of the goblins have a giant sword strapped to their backs. I believe Glaaki said these two acquired the goblin zealot job shortly after their enlightenment.

Neither of the guards salute me and simply take up posts on either side of me. Normally the other goblins seem to salute or bow to me out of fear and respect. Do they not see me as their boss? I walk through the forest while being escorted by the silent duo. I happen to notice the grass and flowers near their feet wither as they walk. Curse magic as an aura? Fascinating!

Nearly an hour of traveling through an unmarked path in the forest we exit the tree line and begin to approach the old raiding camp of our goblins. Of course it is no longer recognizable. The walls have been reinforced and multiple sharpened stakes now sit as barricades around the entrances. As we enter the camp, I notice a few tents and wooden watchtowers have been set up already. Goblins and humans alike seem to be rushing around trying to have everything ready for the battle. As I travel towards the command tent that is serving as a centerpiece of the camp, I notice that there seems to be a roaring bonfire nearby. The goblin hag seems to be brewing something inside a massive cauldron. Food perhaps for our forces? As I approach the command tent my two escorts break away and begin walking somewhere else.

Does Glaaki plan on creating soldiers that have no loyalty towards me? I will have to create my own personal guard after this battle. I will not leave the master’s safety to the others due to some stupid power struggle! I notice two goblins standing guard at the entrance have been staring at me awkwardly. As I turn my attention to them I'm surprised that they seem to be taking the post quite seriously as neither of them are slacking off. The pair of goblins salute me as I approach them.

"Glory to Shiny God." say the duo in unison.

It seems the goblins are finally shaping up into passable servants! Perhaps this is the influence of Glaaki's ritual? I enter the tent and approach the command table in the center. Dak and Clara seem to be going over a map and some documents. Dak looks up and salutes me immediately.

"Hey Boss. We just going over da plan. Don't know what the boys are gunna be fightin’."

"Dak what is with this troop composition. We have no ranged weaponry?" says Clara with a sigh.

Dak bangs his fist on his chest, the clanging sound of metal against metal droning harshly.

"Don't need pointy sticks. Just got to run in and get to choppin!" says Dak with a laugh.

"Clara is right Dak. We need to diversify our forces. Your copper skin may stop arrows, but when we fight the church will it hold against their magics?" I ask.

"That's what I've been trying to explain all morning!" says Clara.

"We already got new troops! Some of the gobbos are riddin’ molfs and roaches. Gobbo cavalry!" shouts Dak as he pumps his fist in excitement.

"Dak informed me we don't even know who the enemy is. Do we at least know how many kobolds are going to be assisting us? " asks Clara.

"Sadly the master did not obtain that information." I say while imitating a human bow.

"Kobolds are weak. Not strong like hellclaw. Why does the master even want them?" asks Dak.

I feel anger rise up within me at Dak’s statement but I do my best to hold it bback.how dare he question the Shiny God's orders!

"Dak, do not question the master! Or do you not trust the Shiny God?" I say as my anger slips out. Dak's shoulders slump as he pats the back of his head.

"Sorry boss." A moment of awkward silence passes before I break it.

"I did not mean to question your loyalty Dak. Forgive me," I say, though not entirely sincere. "So Clara, what is our force composition?" I ask.

"Ten hellclaw soldiers provided by you and Dak," she motions to the still sulking Dak. "Five molf riders, and that crazy goblin that never gets off the lightning roach was screaming from somewhere nearby. Glaaki also sent over fifteen goblin fanatics and two goblin zealots. Oh, and one Dak." says Clara.

"Hardly an army, but we will have to make due with what we have.” My voice may give off airs that I’m confident, but I’m not too certain of our chances of success. “The humans are not participating?" I say.

"Not without knowing what we are fighting. We will help out in the back lines with operations but that's it. We were not hired to fight." says Clara trying to remind me of their role in the town.

Dak perks up and begins talking. "Don't need army! Dak is army!" He shouts.

"Oh Sluggo, we need to have a conversation about goblins having jobs all of a sudden," says Clara. Her annoyance with recent events is clear on her face. "Maybe you can also tell me why some of my townspeople grew an extra eye?" The question is being inflected with a serious tone as she crosses her arms in front of her.

"Not now. After the battle I'll tell you whatever you want to know. Though I will warn you, you may not like the answers to the questions you are asking." I say.

Dak and I leave the tent as Clara continues to sort over documents while referring to the map on the table.

"The boys should be ready boss. Did the Shiny God say when the kobolds would be comin?" asks Dak.

"No. The master simply wanted us to be ready for the battle." I said. Perhaps this is a test of our loyalty? The master gave me few details to work off of. I would have thought I was being told some friends were coming over to play by their tone, if it wasn’t for the word ‘war’ being mentioned. It seems our Shiny God knows something it cannot tell even me. I can't let this affect the troops. We will simply follow orders. No need to question them. Of course, we will have more issues after the battle. The church could be here any day and Clara seems to have lost the little trust she had in us. Glaaki has only managed to convert a quarter of the humans, so we can't risk a rebellion this early on. Perhaps one of my mindeater siblings could be of use?

Suddenly my thoughts are interrupted by an alarm bell being rung from one of the watch towers. As I turn towards the alarm I notice Dak and most of the soldiers have already moved to defensive positions around the camp. One of the goblins cultists runs up to me. His dark robes covering most of his body yet underneath I see his third eye is darting around in a panic, the cultist quickly salutes me.

"Glory to Shiny God! Kobolds sighted boss!" says the cultist.

I quickly shove past him and run towards the barricades. They are already here? It hasn't even been a full day! Hopefully we are prepared enough. As I make my way towards the front of our soldiers I am unable to see anything past the tree line. Perhaps I need to upgrade from this basic goblin body, its senses are inferior to the cultists. After minutes of everyone waiting on edge, suddenly five kobolds lead by a single naked goblin break out of the tree line running towards the camp at full speed.

"We here! No kill!" shouts one of the kobolds.

"They are kind of cute." says Clara who at some point snuck behind me.

"The master did not say they would be with a goblin." I say while crossing my arms.

Why did the master give us so little information? The kobolds make their way towards us.

"You win war. We worship Shiny God, yes?” asks the female Kobold.

"Yes, those are the terms of the agreement. Where are the rest of your forces? Where is the enemy? Who is your leader?" I ask.

"We kobold. We all leader." says the female kobold, perplexed by the question.

"She queen, she leader.” Says one of the other kobolds. The queen immediately glares at the kobold but he stares at her with a toothy grin.

"Don't worry, Dak win War!" shouts Dak.

"What is a Dak? What you mean forces. Shiny God win war and we worship, yes? Not kobold win war, yes?" says the kobold queen. Clara slaps her leg and begins laughing.

"Your boss made a deal with five kobolds? What are they even at war with a single boar?" At this point most of the humans have begun laughing from behind us. This is hardly good for our morale. Did the master make a mistake?

"I don't understand. Why are we helping the five of you when the church could be here declaring war on us any day?" I ask.

"Shiny God say win war. Then kobolds worship Shiny God. We help Shiny God with church after, yes?" says the queen.

Suddenly, our conversation is interrupted by the alarm once again. The forest nearby suddenly goes silent as the brush shakes and three massive creatures burst from the forest. Their bodies reach over twelve feet long and must weigh close to 900 pounds. Their bodies are lengthy, and enamored with girth, each comparable in the four legs protruding from their lower halves. Each of the creature’s snouts are coated in blood. They stand on their hind paws, raising their heads in the air before they roar. They look back to us, and charge towards our forces.

"Kill them. Win war for kobolds! Become dragons!" shouts the queen.

"Dak win war, don't know about being a dragon!" shouts Dak as he rushes towards the creatures. For a moment, everyone stares at him before the rest of the soldiers begin to charge.

"Are those weasels…?" Asks Clara from behind me, the question lingering: the answer obvious.