More often than not, the Highlands had a comfortable, temperate climate for its natural inhabitants. Inside the Abandoned Burrows however was quite different, its climate that of a humid jungle trapped inside barren stone corridors. The air was so thick and the walls were coated in a light layer of condensation. I felt like I could barely breathe! If dragons supposedly kept their hoard in deep dark caverns, this cave was certainly not one fit for me!

On top of the sweat that pervaded every wall, the walls itself were rather tight. Built for smaller creatures than myself. I had to keep my head held low to even pass through the short passageways leading further into the dark depths. If there was one thing I did have going for me, it was that the darkness did not impede my vision. My eyes were well accustomed to seeing in the dark, and the paths these burrows laid out were not hidden from me because of it.

It also gave me the ability to see far more detail in the cavern than I would as a regular person. Of which there was far more than I would have thought. Side passages led to small living areas, with finely detailed art etched into the walls. One such room was filled with finely crafted art of various fauna found on the surface. Flowers, berries and trees that I had seen myself outside. Another living space had its walls chiseled to look like stone bricks. A castle built into the very cave. Each one of these passageways had etchings at their entrances, with symbols I had never seen before. If I had to guess, each was marked with the names of those who once lived there. Their unique language is seen all throughout the burrow. It felt like diving deep into the history of a foreign culture, a fantasy culture at that. Why, the writing on the walls did remind me of dwarves in a way!

Dwarves?…A dwarf, I wonder why I thought about a dwarf…

Either way, no matter the side path I took, it did not seem like anything was left behind by the stonescales. If I were to start finding anything, it would have to be deeper inside. Thankfully for me, the walls of the cavern began to open up the further in I went. Unfortunately for me, a new trouble began to arise in the deeper end of the burrows.

Spider webs. Draped across every surface I came across. Each step I took from this point on caught me in a sticky web. It appears this place was taken over by a spider nest in its owner’s absence. Not that it bothered me too much, arachnophobia was not in my list of fears, I actually quite like insects and bugs! It’s one of the few pastimes I had while sitting around the temple. Watching the bugs nearby. There was even a spider web inside the treasure vault, and I watched it catch and eat plenty of tiny bugs.

Though these webs were considerably larger than that tiny spider in the vault. As well as incredibly sticky! One touch and it sticks to my scales like glue. I may not be bothered by the spiders, but the webs are incredibly annoying!

Tick!-

Hrm? I thought, hearing the slightest bit of noise behind me. Turning my head around to see the eight legged creature that had landed on my back. Purple and green in its colors. Currently trying to pierce my scales with its fangs. Each tick of its teeth failed to break through the surface.

I brought a single finger to its side and flicked it off. Where I watched it scurry off into a tiny hole in the ceiling. Little bastard tried to bite me! Thankfully my scales were too hard for it to pierce. I can continue on my way without any worries the-

“Agh!”

A gravelly squeal rang out from in front of me. My body collided with something the moment I took a step forward. Something small, but I couldn’t see what it was. For all I could see, all that was in front of me was an empty corridor! Yet I could still hear a voice.

“..W-Who’s there?! D-D-Don’t come closer! I’ll bite you!” The unknown figure cried out right in front me. It was close, very close. Yet there was nothing in front of me! I didn’t even have someone I could point my telepathy to. I’d just have to project my voice out in all directions.

“Who are you? I cannot see you, but I can hear you.”

With my voice projected outward with telepathy, it seemed to have evoked a response from the unidentified creature. Letting out a yelp in surprise.

“A-A mind reader!”

“I cannot read your mind, I am only projecting my voice into yours. Where are you?”

The voice’s source seemed to be in front of me still, but my eyes still perceived nothing. Though this creature did not seem to perceive me as well.

“I can’t show me to bad person! B-Bad person will hurt me like spider!”

“I promise I won’t hurt you. I don’t want to run into you again. If you can show me where you are, I won’t trample you.”

The uncomfortable grunts and whines of the invisible person were apparent. They were scared, unsure, but I didn’t want to hurt it. In truth, I was dying to know what kind of creature could turn invisible!

“…You not spider-man?”

“I am no web slinger, I'm a friend.”

The invisible one hesitated, afraid to take the risk to reveal themselves. A small grumble coming from them, their form begins to appear in front of me. A humanoid kobold peeling away from the stone walls, his gray scales coming into existence as if from thin air. A short, draconic creature with two tiny horns on his head, one horn broken off at the tip. Large thick claws on relatively tiny arms, and a thick tail on the back of its lithe body. The tail’s end sporting two bone horns in the shape of a pickaxe. A Stonescale!

The stonescale’s eyes, however, were completely covered in thick, sticky web.

“T-There! You see me! You will not hurt me!” The Stonescale said, pointing up at where they believed I stood. Instead they pointed at a wall. Their outstretched arm quivering, struggling to keep up. Only then did I notice the two pierced holes in the kobold’s neck.

“I won’t hurt you.” I repeated “Were you attacked by one of these spiders, little one?”

“Little?!” The small creature bit back, dropping its arms. The stonescale’s movements looked sluggish, legs trembling to keep themselves up. “I am Granite of the Stonescales, the Lady of the Mountain, The Great Chief of my tribe! No Chief should ever be called little!”

For as much as this little Stonescale puffed out her chest. It was clear this “Granite” was struggling to stand.

“I’m sorry.” I say, lowering my head to her level. “Did one of these spiders attack you, Chief Granite?”

The kobold held her head up high, too proud to allow herself to falter. “…Yes.” She gave in.

“Did it poison you? You look unwell.”

“N-No spider could ever kill me with simple poison! I am invincible to poison! If it weren’t for this web in my eyes, I would have defeated them all single handedly!” Granite stomped her foot in defiance to even the notion she could be beaten by spiders! Only to stagger forward after putting all of her tiny might into her stomp.

“…The uh, the spider did bite me though and I um…I do feel a bit weak.”

A spider that weakens you when you bite it… It would have been very dangerous if that spider had pierced my scales then. A poison that allows you to drain the strength of any creature you bite, it would allow the spider to capture any size of prey. There was no doubt in my mind that this small Stonescale was likely being prepared as their next meal.

“It is dangerous for you to be in this place, Chief. I am going to put you on my back and take you outside, where it’s safe.”

I gently brought my mouth to the scruff of her neck, careful not to pierce her skin with my teeth. Cautiously, I lifted up the kobold and placed her upon my back. The moment I clasped her in my jaws however, the blind stonescale protested with all her little might.

“W-W-Wait!! I can’t leave yet! I am the leader of the Stonescales and it is my duty to help my fellow scales!” She struggled against my movements, but was powerless to stop me from placing her atop my wings. Using them to hold her still on my back.

“If you were to be found by another spider, you probably wouldn’t be able to move at all.”

“B-But I have to keep going! Two of us went down here and never came back, I have to find them. Before they get eaten by the creepy crawlies!”

I had begun to turn around, to move back towards the exit and escort this little kobold out, but her words stopped me in my tracks. Looking back at her flailing form on my back.

“There are more of you down here?”

“Yes! Two! They were sent to see if old burrow was habitable, but they never came back. I need to find them before any bad happens. I-I must!”

“Why did you come here alone then? If you knew there was danger down this burrow?”

“…” The blind Stonescale looked down below her, gritting her teeth and tightening a fist to her chest. Anger building up in her tiny, weak frame. “We have no home to live in.. My family and friends are all scattered, homes taken by human worker men. Have to move on our own, in small groups to survive. We not strong like men, our tails our only weapon. I told these two to explore old home, find new place to rest for our kind. It is my fault they didn't come back.”

Violently she shook her head back and forth, defiant. “I must find them! I must! I cannot lead if I can’t do that. Please!”

…With how she was, there was no way she could get far. The webs in her eyes blinded her, and my claws were far too large to safely remove them. Not only that, but she was also bitten by one of them. She is blind and her strength is sapped. However…

“Your scales are too weak to stop a spider, but mine are resistant enough to ignore them. Stay on my back, and we’ll search for them. Okay?”

If they can’t bite me, then these spiders weren’t a threat to me. I could go through their nest and search for them with ease. I still had to try and find something to add to my hoard from this place. So this will work, for now. Granite cocked her head at my response. Sitting low on my wings.

“…Okay…Okay! We do that! Thank you Mister…” The kobold put a claw to her chin. “Does Mister have a name?”

“I have a name. It is-“ A distant memory, just on the edge of my mind. It sat there, teetering on the brink of remembrance and forgetfulness. I tried to reach for it, only for the memory to fall into the abyss of my subconscious.

I did have a name, I remember being called a name. People called me and I responded… But what was it?

“…Mister will do” I said, trekking further into the burrow. I suppose I never did get a name in this world.

“Okay, Mister.” Granite responds, her claws tracing lines across the small of my back. “Are you a kobold too, Mister?”

“…I suppose I am a kobold of a kind.”

“A strong kobold kind?” Granite’s attention perked. “What lucky timing that we meet!…Thank you Mister.”

I didn’t want to say “you’re welcome” just yet. I hadn’t truly helped her out of this, and with the webs getting thicker the farther I went down, the harder it would be to find these other stonescales. Granite attempted to remove the webbing that covered her eyes whilst they trekked downward. The occasional yelp coming from the small kobold each time a piece of the web peeled off.

The corridor ahead of me was completely walled off by webbing, forcing me to use my claws to rake my way through. Once I had torn apart a hole in the silken net, I had found myself in a large open cavern filled to the brim with the white, sticky web that had surrounded my path so far. The ceiling is obscured by a dense silken fishnet. All around this room were the purple and green arachnids that pervaded this burrow. Crawling through their dense webs to the prey they had captured inside it. Cocoons created to hold their next meals, all smaller than the size of Granite. I scanned the room, watching the movements of each of the spiders I could see, until I finally saw two larger cocoons on the farther end of the cavern. Sat side by side, fully wrapped and lifted up into their net. That had to be two Stonescales.

Granite was placed onto the ground near the entrance, still trying to remove what was left of the web that held her eyes shut.

“Stay here Chief Granite, I believe I see the two you’re looking for. I will go retrieve them.”

“O-Okay! Be careful!”

I nod…before realizing she would not see that. “I will.”

Cautious steps brought me through the room, a handful of nearby spiders attempted to nip at my legs and tail, all swatted away with ease. I may not see any gems or rare ores I could add to my hoard here, but at the very least, I will have done a good deed. With very little risk to myself.

“Oh! By the way! Have you seen the Mother Spider Mister?”

My feet grew still, eyes going wide. “..The what?”

“Spiders like these always have a big momma at the heart of their nest!”

A movement caught my eye above me, larger than the usual spider. I turn to look, seeing nothing but dark webbing above. Surely that couldn’t have been…

Two large, sharp fangs then pierced into my neck.

A stinging pain went down my spine the moment the venom entered my body. I felt the muscles in my legs buckle under my own weight. Before I lost my ability to stand, I swung myself around to throw off the spider that landed upon me. Eight legs launching off my back and landing a few feet away from me.

Purple and green, with white dots lining its abdomen. 8 black, beady eyes watching my weakened form, waiting for me to drop. It was the same size as me, but its speed was so fast I couldn’t see it coming.

“Mister! I hear noises! A-Are you okay??” Granite called from behind me, unaware of the new danger.

“Get back, Granit! Argh..”

My muscles were shaky, barely able to keep myself standing. Each moment that passed felt like a new brick placed on my back. I had to run, I promised Kane I would run if a danger appeared. Now was the time to leave, to turn around and run! My body grew feeble, but if I used what strength had not been sapped out of me. I could grab Granite and run. The way out was there!

But if I ran, those cocooned stonescales…there won’t be a second chance to save them. No, no I had to run, it was unfortunate for them, but there was no way I could help them like this. I had to take this chance and leave…

…Why couldn’t I just take it?! I want to leave, I have enough strength to flee, but no matter how much I try I can’t get myself to move. Eyes fixed on the cocoons. If I leave them behind, they will die. That is assured, but could I even help them?!

…I had to try.

Shakily, I pushed myself forward. If I could remove the spider, the way would be clear. My claws could rip it to shreds in one strike, I need only reach it!

My arm came out and swiped down at the 8 legged monstrosity. The claws scratched at the stone ground, my movements were slower, and the spider was already faster than me. It was already in the ceiling webbing before my paw came down. Before I even knew it, two sharp fangs had pierced my neck again.

Again and again, I went to assault the Mother Spider, and again and again it pierced my scales and injected it into me. I could barely raise my head, forced to the ground by the weakening venom coursing through me. The massive arachnid watched me closely, just a foot away from my face, waiting for the moment I succumbed. I should have listened, grabbed Granite and ran. Now I was the inevitable food for a host of spiders. I want to live, I want to save them, I want to kill this monster.

“You can do it, Mister!!!”

I want to burn this bastard to cinders.

___

Granite had heard the battle, a ferocious monster and the sound of eight large legs across the end chamber of the burrows. Something had attacked Mister, and she couldn’t see a thing! Another thick strand of silk web holding her eyelid shut, with just one more pull…

“Eeergh-! Gah! I got it! I can see now Mist-!…er?”

What she saw was no kobold, a red four legged kobold?! No, it had to be a drake, wait no. Drakes don’t have wings! Wyvern? The wings are on his back, not his arms! The not-kobold drake thing was laying on the ground, with lots and lots of holes in its back and neck. The giant mother spider right in front of him, waiting to eat the big yummy meal. Was that who she was talking to?!

Red scales, wings on their back, large, speaks through the mind…it couldn’t be what she thought it was. Impossible, dead, extinct! It’s been many many years since one was ever seen, ever since the great one died. Why if Mister was one of them, he would set this nest ablaze!

With Granite’s big emerald eyes opened wide. She could see past the big scary spider that chittered in front of Mister. Two big cocoons on the back wall of the cavern, it was them! If she could get there, she could save them!… But Mister was struggling…he was bitten too many times. There was no way she had the power to take it on, too weak, too small. All pride, no power.

But Mister had power, strength, resilience! If anyone could…he could!

“You can do it, Mister!!!” She cried out. Her cry received an answer! Mister rose to his feet despite all the venom in his big body. Head held up to face the evil chitter demon in front of him. His amber eyes glowed with a fury that illuminated the darkness around him. She was wrong, Mister certainly was no kobold, or drake, or wyvern. He was a dragon.

And the dragon gathered his breath, and breathed purifying flames onto the demonic spider.

Her vision in the dark was no longer necessary. Blinded by the golden light of a divine being’s brilliant flames. Setting alight the webs that coat the chamber.. Granite was left blinded by its majesty. Its brilliance surrounds her in its golden glow…

It’s fire, she was surrounded by fire. Not only her, but the two cocoons as well.

The dragon’s fury was on full display, ripping and tearing into the burning spider queen. Opening the floodgates of his flames directly into the spider’s 8 beady eyes. His own amber orbs burn a furious glow, brighter than the flames he spewed. Granite weaseled her way past the ongoing slaughter, dodging to the side when the blaze reached her path. She latched on to her comrades’ cocoons, using her claws to rip open the shell that held them inside. Pulling the two stoneclaws away from the burning webs with what little strength she had left.

The three kobolds, tired and weary, fled for their lives from the growing pyre. A terrifying, divine being at its center. His fury promised the end of the demonic spiders.

___

“Why do you always play a dwarf, man?” A voice spoke in the darkness. An unfamiliar voice. “You could play literally anything at all, and you always pick a dwarf!”

“Hey! There’s nothing wrong with dwarves. I enjoy playing as the big guys, plus their interests in mining and caving are fascinating topics to explore.” That voice, that voice was familiar. Kind, and gentle. His sincere interest in a topic always bled through in every word. The teacher.

“Really? You could be an elf, or an angel, or even a devil! Dwarves are so boring, there’s nothing interesting about caves and rocks.”

“Oh that isn’t fair. Caves are half the fun of this game. Remember the spider cavern in our last game?”

“Yeah, I remember you casting fireball and knocking two of us unconscious.”

The teacher let out a hearty laugh, the other voice groaning in response.

“To be fair!” He replied “Fireball is the only good choice for a spider nest.”

“…Y’know what, fair enough.”

The two of them chuckled, until their voices faded into nothing.

___

Everything hurt, my neck felt very sore. I didn’t want to move a single muscle in my body.

But I was alive.

Somehow, someway. I was back in the treasure vault of the temple. Far away from the burrow I last remember.

The anger I felt, the fury I let out. I remembered it all, until the moment the venom took me. I remember the smell of the burning insects I set ablaze. The flames did not relent until all the venomous monsters were burnt to ashes.

I had never felt so angry, so vicious. It was not a wish to survive, it was a wish to kill every last one of them. It was my instinct.

“…How long have you been there, Kane?” I asked the pale attendant, who stood stoically at the entrance of the vault. Eyes unmoving even as I aroused from my slumber.

“Since I recovered you from the burrows, My King.”

“And how long ago was that?”

“One day ago.” Kane said, approaching my resting place and bringing his head low, his hair hanging low to hide his features. “How are you feeling?”

“Not well, but I'm alive…I think I have you to thank for that.”

“Your appreciation should be pointed at the stonescale chief, who had informed me of what happened inside the burrow. She has repeatedly asked to see if you are alright.”

“That’s why you were standing at the doorway weren’t you?”

“That is.. half the reason, My King.”

It was sore and painful to move, but hearing his words felt like the right time to raise my head and look at his lowered frame. “What is the other reason?”

Kane, as soon as my head faced his, got down on his knees and bowed low. “To beg for your forgiveness.”

My surprise was painted clear on my face, seeing him prostrate himself before me. I’ve gotten used to him meeting me on one knee, but this was different. Kane did not speak to me in the cold tone he had these past few days, his earnesty was laid bare, as well as the guilt that he had felt.

“For what reason do you need my forgiveness?”

“For putting you in great danger. For leaving you to enter that place alone. For betraying your trust and fo-“

“Wait wait.” I cut him off. “It was not your fault for the danger, it was my fault Kane. I had a chance to run like you told me to…I failed to do so and put myself in danger. I’m sorry.”

“No, do not apologize.”

“Why?”

“Because I lied to you.”

As straight as an arrow, the words he spoke.

“…Please look at me.”

I needed to look him in the eye, to see what his words spoke on his face. He raised his head as I commanded, our gaze met, and I saw his red eyes differently than I had ever before. They had his ever cold resolve that hid his emotions from the world, but a crack in his guard showed me the guilt that lay in his eyes.

“Explain.”

The Vampyr had never heard his master’s words so fierce. A commanding tone he had not once heard. A fitting tone for a king.

“The burrow’s inhabitants were known to me long before. I had deemed it’s queen mother too dangerous to bring against you, for if its venom may have a stronger reaction against you than anticipated. I could not take the risk of you being harmed by it.”

“But?”

“…But your command the day you did battle against the bear, taught me something about you, My King. You are kind.”

My head cocked at the observation.

“In my time as your Mother’s attendant, I met many men with kind hearts. Those who would sacrifice themselves for others' happiness. I learned over time how simple it was to manipulate a kind man. It was my role to exploit them, to use their kindness against them. If you bait a kind man with a person in need in front of them, they will trap themselves in your web. Because of this, I sought an opportunity to unlock your instinct by exploiting your kind heart with the same method. Yesterday, I spotted the young stonescale entering the cavern alone. I knew that if you were to follow the stonescale inside, you would wish to help them. Regardless of the risk you would face. I believed that if you were forced to protect another against a threat that could truly kill you, it would give you the needed push to activate your instinct.”

Kane’s nature as a cunning vampyr was laid bare to me. A cold blooded tactician who used every tool at his disposal to fulfill his goals…no matter the cost. His gaze no longer looked at mine, bowing his head low again.

“You succeeded.”

“And I am a fool to do so. To use such tricks upon My King is unforgivable, but to use it in a way that puts you in greater peril is worthy of my execution.”

Wait what?

“Now hold on..-“

“I have failed in my duty as your protector, your teacher, and your servant. To even beg for your forgiveness after my actions is deserving of your disdain. Yet I must, as I cannot continue serving as your attendant without being reprimanded for my sins against you.”

“Please, slow down!”

“Whatever punishment you wish to place upon me I shall accept in full, no matter th-“

“Kane! Wait, please.”

Finally, I got him to stop. The bowed man fell silent. His words made me unhappy, angry even, but this…

“…You were right, I did want to help them. The reason I didn’t run away was because if I did, two of them would die. I didn’t know who they were, all I knew was that I was the only thing that could save them. But you are wrong about me being kind.”

Kane’s eyes finally looked up at me again. This time without the guilt, only with curiosity.

“When I entered into my instincts, I didn’t do it out of a wish to save their lives, or even save myself. All I could think of was my anger, that it got the best of me, that I wasn’t strong enough. The last thing that went through my mind was how much I wished to see everything in that cave burn to ash. I burned everything, even with the stonescales still inside. You don’t need forgiveness from me… I am the one that needs to beg forgiveness from Granite, for putting her and her fellow stonescales in danger.”

It was true, how could I dare punish Kane for putting me at risk. When at the same time I put three young kobolds at risk from my own fire. Surely Kane would understand that..

“That is just proof of how kind your heart truly is, My King.”

His pale hand reached out and gently rested upon my shoulder. The closest he’s ever been to me. A low rumble came from my chest almost involuntarily at his reassuring touch…A purr?

“Even now, you place the needs and feelings of another before your own. It is a part of you that people such as I will exploit in your life, to take advantage of your kindness. Despite this, it is no weakness. It is only a sign of your worthiness to rule.”

…My worthiness to rule. If there was any time to discuss this with him, it was now.

“Kane.”

“Yes, My King?”

“If I were to say I didn’t wish to rule, to become a great king who rules over the masses. If I were to say that I wanted something simpler, what would you do?”

His hand fell away from my scales, and Kane brought himself to one knee before me. My question left him lost in his own thoughts. I feared the answer he would give. Every day he would remind me of “my right to rule”, my “worthiness to rule”, and how great of a king I will be. How would he react, if I denied that vision he has placed upon me?

“…I would ask you the reason why you would not wish to?”

“I would tell you of how little I know of this world, of its people. How I feel that I have no right to claim dominion over those who did not wish for me to. I would tell you how hard it is to live up to the expectations placed upon me. How I am a mere month old, but am told every day how I will be king of the entire world. I would tell you how I want to learn how to live, before I learn to rule.”

The silence was deafening, the Vampyr’s lips pursed. I finally got to say it all. To lay it all bare and leave nothing between us. Yet his silence was still maddening.

“I appreciate everything that you have done for me, Kane. You are the reason I am here now, you have spent the past five hundred years watching over me. I do not wish to disappoint you, but I cannot keep up with the pedestal you have held me upon. Please, I hope you understand.”

Say something, anything at all. I didn’t care if it was you hating me, no longer wanting to serve me. I needed to speak the truth, and I need you to be honest with me too. So please, say something!

“If that is your wish.” Kane began, his tone was hard for me to read. Whether he was unhappy, or furious, I was not sure. No matter what he said, I would accept it.

“…Then I shall accept it, and serve you regardless.”

My heart felt a weight lifted off it.

“Even if I do not fulfill my Mother’s legacy?”

“When I was entrusted with you by Queen Calamity, I made an oath on that day. I promised to protect you from harm, for eternity. I failed in my oath when I led you into the spider’s nest. I will not fail again. It does not matter if you rule over all, or choose to live peacefully atop this mountain for your lifetime. I will fulfill that oath, not only to her, but to you.”

Despite every muscle in my body screaming in refusal, I couldn’t hold myself from reaching out to Kane. My arms pulling the kneeling vampyr close and forcing him into a hug. Catching even the always composed attendant off guard. The tall, pale man squeezed tight in my grasp.

Feeling his arms wrap around my neck in return brought warmth to my chest.

“I do not deserve you. Don’t leave me in a spider cave again.”

“You deserve the world over, My King. Never again.”

“…Actually.” I said, pulling away to look at Kane again. “I wish to ask you for something.”

Kane pulled back as well, habitually falling to one knee again before me. “Anything.”

“I want you to give me a name.”

“A…name?” He seemed taken aback, I swear for a moment I could see him pondering the fact I did not have one already, just like I did.

“Well I don’t believe ‘Myking’ works as a name, so I do need a name, and I want you to pick it.”

“I see…in that case, I believe I have the perfect name.”

“Oh, and what name is that?”

“Ruin. Son of Calamity. A fitting name.”

Ruin…it was unlike any other name I have ever heard, but in a way, hearing Kane speak it was like hearing him call to me for the first time.

“It’s perfect, from here on, I-“

“Heeey! Is anyone here? The creepy tall man isn’t at the door!” A high pitched, gravelly voice called out from the entrance to the vault. The tiny gray form of Granite turning the corner to see Kane and Ruin inside.

“Ah! You’re awake!” She squealed in delight, running up to my resting place. Before stopping in her tracks the moment she saw Kane look her direction. Her full sprint turned into a careful walk up to me. Only to join Kane on her knees and bow.

“O’ great and mighty one! I, Chief Granite of the Stonescales, humbly wish to thank you for saving the lives of our humble and very weakly and pathetic brethren!…humbly!”

Today, I had not one person prostrate in front of me, but now two! Kane turned his head back towards me.

“I had forgotten to mention that Stonescales had once worshiped the Dragon Queen.”

She continued to bow with her large hands high in the air. I feel if I don’t interject, she would never stop.

“I am happy to see that you are safe, Chief Granite. I hope that my actions have not left burns either of your fellow stonescales.”

“Oh no oh no! Everyone is okay because of your divine, purifying flames! They wiped away the evil demonic monsters with no mercy!”

“A-Ah, I see. I hope that my fire did not damage your burrow.”

“Oh…well, um…” Her head came up from the endless bowing, but clearly pointed away from me. Idly scratching her cheek. “The great and mighty one’s divine battle may have caused a teeny…tiny bit of a cave in. B-But it’s okay! We humble and meek Stonescales will find a new home surely!…humbly.”

“I see.” Then a thought came to my head.

“Why do you not stay here at the Temple, Chief Granite?”

The chief snapped to attention, her big round eyes opened as wide as they possibly could.

“H-Here?!?!”

“Yes, but not for free of course. There would be two conditions.”

“One, this Temple requires much in terms of maintenance, and as I have seen, you stonescales are quite the proficient builders.”

Those big, green eyes seemed to glitter at the mere thought of it. “Oh! Yes yes! We do great stone work. We would happily build and carve and build again for the great one!…humbly.”

“Perfect. Now, for number two…” I brought my gaze to Kane, who watched in silence, and gave him a warm smile. “..To all the stonescales that come to live here, they must swear unwavering servitude to me, the dragon known as Ruin. The wealth of your people will also be committed to me. As you all, will become part of my hoard.”

When I finished my second rule, Kane gave an approving nod. It seems the burrows would result in my hoard growing after all.

“Servitude to the great one? Yes, yes of course! To show my commitment, I shall be the first to swear in!” Granite puffed out her chest, holding her hands up in prayer. “I, the Chief of the Stonescales, swear undying fealty to the Dragon King! To live in service to the Great Lord Ruin. Now, and forevermore!”

At the end of my journey into the burrow, I did not know what path I wished to take in this world. I still haven’t found the answer to that question, but I now feel I have the freedom to find the answer for myself. For now, I will continue to learn, and grow my strength and hoard. When I find the answer I am looking for, I best be ready to follow it.