“Why do I have to be ordered around by some yapping welp?” an older kobold whines while he works.

“Because the dragonhuman put me in charge, yap!”

Another much younger kobold voices his gripes with the world. “Why do we even follow him? He is not a real dragon.”

The older kobold quickly changes his tune and slaps the younger kobold across the head then returns to digging out stones. “Do you want to eat your mother?”

“What! no, that many gross.”

“Then do not hope for a real dragon to show up. That is what real dragons make kobolds do. Use us as tools for their fun.”

“The dragonhuman feels more human than dragon. We speak Common! What kobolds speak Common?” The younger kobold let the last of his frustrations leak out.

The older kobold doesn’t have a counter for that argument so he just attacks the younger kobold’s character. “When you can defeat a dragon with chantless magic and a weapon made of wood and string then you can rule your own kobolds.”

Yap stands up from digging. A weapon made of wood and chantless magic? Those things didn’t make sense. Bob made all kinds of weapons, but never any made of wood. The Kobold Shamen used magic, but she always had to chant.

“What did he use?”

“A bent piece of wood with string attached to it. He shot out tiny spears that made the dragon throw up in the midst of battle. Then he brought the mountainside down on it with fire magic he didn’t have to chant to cast.”

Yap nodded. Those were interesting ideas. “You keep mining. I’ll be back soon.”

One of the guards with a dagger stops him. “What if the dragonhuman finds you abandoning work?” Yap shrugged. He wasn’t here right now so it’s not like he could do anything.

Yap scampered away from his job and to the outside of the cave. He followed the path down to the river where Yip and his crew of kobolds were fishing. He began collecting sticks and testing how bendy they were. After breaking many sticks he hung his head. He couldn’t find any sticks that were bendy. They were all stiff. He broke a few more sticks than sat down by the riverbed, watching Yip fish. A fish had taken the hook of Yip’s rod. Yip jerked his pole up and then began to reel in the fish. The fish was so large that when Yip pulled it out of the water his pole was nearly bent in half.

Yap sprung up, rushing to Yip.

“Yip, give Yap pole.”

Yip looked at his brother. “Why?”

“Yap making weapon. Like dragonhuman used to kill dragon.”

“Why?”

“Cause it cool. Yap! Yap!”

Yip shrugged, grabbing the fish off the hook then handing the pole to Yap. Yap held the pole over his head and did a happy dance before scampering up the hill. He used fibers from the basket weavers to string the pole. He gives it a few testing plucks. Bows are very intuitive. Then waddled off to Bob’s forge. “Need mini spear.”

Bob eyed him suspiciously. “What for?”

“New weapon. Like dragonhuman used. Yap! Shoots spears and makes dragon throw up.” This inspired a sparkle in Bob’s eyes. He hands a spear over to Yap. “Too big.”

Bob takes the spear back and breaks it in half then hands it back to Yap. Yap places it on the bow. He pulls it back with the string. Letting the string fly it catches the half spear and throws it all of two feet before it falls to the ground. Bob eagerly grabs the polebow from Yap’s hand’s. Testing it for himself his constant head bobbing picks up pace. “I see.”

“See what?”

“Make better.” Bob immediately lights his forge, getting ready to craft an improved version of this new weapon.

Yap watches him work, entranced by the skilled kobold at work, until he quickly gets bored and wonders off.

The Shamen grabs Yap by his arm. “What are you doing outside of the mine, young welp?”

“Making weapons. Like dragonhuman used.”

“You naive little welp. We thought the beetles got to you! How could you worry us like that?”

“I told the guys I’d be back soon.”

“But you didn’t tell them where you were going, and then a group of beetles attacked the miners! Warrior Kobold will be having quite the chat with you later.”

It wasn’t the opportune time but he wanted to ask her. “Does all magic require a chant?”

“Oh course it does, you dumb welp!”

Later after an asschewing from the public order keeper and a docking of Yap’s monthly pay. The guard that stopped him when he left stays behind. He’s tall for a kobold, but very slim. He moves almost quietly. “Hey kid. If you really want to know more about our leader. He has a camp. We got our daggers from there, but halfway up the mountain is a small tent and some weird forges.”

With that hint Yap ran out of the cave.

Bob bobbed his head in tune with the clacks of his blacksmith’s hammer. This is starting to become a game of telephone. He was creating a weapon used by the dragonhuman to defeat a dragon. It had to be big because the dragonhuman was big. Big enough to shoot spears. Made of string and wood. Bob took it upon himself to improve on the design. It had to be coated in something that made dragon’s throw up. Bob didn’t know anything about poisons. The cave lacked an alchemist. It did have a shamen, but she only knew about healing medicine not hurting medicine.

Yap returned from the camp with two clay jars. One of a yellow rock that almost made him throw up by just smelling it. The other was a black rock that was like coal, but flaky. He brought them to Bob who nodded enthusiastically. “This must be the hurting medicine that made the dragon sick.” Bob recognized that combining them would make the poison. But that uncombined they were inert. He placed a rock from both on his smithing anvil. He placed them together then swung his hammer down on them. The rocks made a popping noise and wafts of smoke began to drift into the air. Yap began yapping in surprise. “Chantless Fire magic!” He and Bob carefully crushed and combined the powders. A swing of the hammer produced an explosion large enough to knock both Yap and Bob to the ground. They coughed out the smoke and stood up. One yapping in excitement while the other bobbed his head furiously.