The goblin chieftain strode toward the crevice, his tribesmen shuffling single file behind. Beyond the crevice stretched a plateau, and on it sat Malys, who took up nearly half of the space. The Red was impressive, and M’rgash stood in the heavy shadows of the opening and heard the sharp intake of the dragon’s acrid breath. The warriors behind him heard it as well, and M’rgash heard the nervous chattering of their teeth.
“Don’t run,” the goblin chieftain mumbled. “Show no fear.”
The dragon sat on her rear haunches, her horns even with the top of the rocky ridge that surrounded her plateau. The last bit of the sun’s rays poked through the crevice and made her scales look molten. Her dark eyes gleamed malevolently at M’rgash. Wisps of steam curled upward from her great nostrils as she slightly nodded her head, deigning to acknowledge him.
To her right stretched a line of two dozen barbarians. Savages, they wore strips of fur and leather. Their tangled hair hung past their shoulders, and their skin was tanned and weathered from living above ground. Their muscles were thick, sweat-slick cords that stood out along their arms and legs with veins that twisted around them like rope. The goblin chieftain picked out their leader immediately. He held the largest spear and wore a heavy silver chain around his neck with a large golden charm dangling from it. The lead barbarian’s eyes met M’rgash’s glance, but only for a moment. The barbarian returned his attention to the dragon.
To Malys’s left was a gathering of nearly fifty hobgoblins. M’rgash softly growled when he noted that Illbreth the Untrusting was leading this particular clan. The hobgoblins were clustered together, whispering and skittishly pointing at the dragon. M’rgash chuckled to himself. His cousins, nearly double his size, had little military training and didn’t know how to stand at attention. The hobgoblins were a dark reddish brown, their hide a mixture of tough skin and hair. They carried maces and spears that were in far better repair than their black leather armor.
M’rgash, seeing that he had Illbreth’s attention, strode through the opening so his soldiers could follow. He ordered them to form three lines directly behind him. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they looked like a reasonably well-polished military unit. However, the goblin chieftain smelled the strong scent of fear they gave off. He hoped the Red and Illbreth did not also recognize the odor.
Malys idly drummed a claw against the plateau’s slate floor. “We will begin,” her voice boomed. “Know that I could destroy you all if I wanted.”
The fear scent grew stronger, and M’rgash heard the gasps of his hobgoblin cousins.
“But if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t have summoned you here so your bodies could litter my lair. I have need of you.” Her voice reverberated off the stone walls.
The silence that followed was long and uncomfortable, and finally the goblin chieftain found the courage to break it.
“Tell us what you need, dragon.” His tone was strong and steady, filled with respect. “If it is within our power, we will give it to you.”
“It is.” The dragon lowered her head until her chin grazed the ground. Her neck snaked forward until her face was mere feet from M’rgash’s. He could feel her hot breath. “I want your allegiance and the allegiance of your tribe. I want the allegiance of all the tribes represented here. Understand?”
Then she pulled her head in close to her chest and glanced from the barbarians to the hobgoblins, and finally back to M’rgash and his soldiers.
“You have our allegiance!” The barbarian leader took a step forward and bowed to the dragon. “I, Harg Darkaxe, so swear!”
M’rgash saw Illbreth step forward, too. The hobgoblin’s knees wobbled, and his jaw trembled. M’rgash was pleased that though he was frightened, his cousin was even more afraid.
“I-I-I am Illbreth, leader of the Bloodridge Band. I promise the allegiance of my men here, as well as that of all my tribe in The Desolation. We number more than two hundred. We are yours.”
It was M’rgash’s turn. He puffed out his small chest, took a deep breath, and bowed to Malys. “I am M’rgash, chief of the mighty Tunnel Tribe. Our numbers are more than four hundred. And we pledge our—”
“What does our allegiance entail?” The words were Dorgth’s. The young lieutenant had left the third rank and strolled forward to stand even with M’rgash.
The chieftain growled and stretched an arm out to strike his insolent lieutenant. Dorgth leapt forward to avoid the blow, moving closer to the Red.
“What do we have to do? I want to know before I make any promises,” the brash goblin persisted. “I won’t blindly swear allegiance to anybody.”
Behind Dorgth, M’rgash muttered a quiet string of foul curses.
“You dare question me?” Malys hissed. A growl started deep in her belly, and the slate floor trembled in response. “I could slay you before your next breath!”
Dorgth held his place and stared up at her. The sun had set, and he could see much better now. The offending light no longer troubled his eyes.
“I was curious,” the goblin lieutenant answered. “That’s all.” He didn’t offer her an apology. According to goblin protocol, an apology was an acknowledgment of weakness.
“Stand away from your fellows,” the dragon spat. “Come closer to me. That’s it. Closer. Closer.”
M’rgash clenched his hands and pursed his lips as he watched his lieutenant inch nearer to Malys. He would be needing a new lieutenant now. Who should he choose? Thornthumb? Perhaps Snargath? None of them were as brave, but they certainly weren’t as foolish, either.
The Red’s gaze drifted from the barbarians to the hobgoblins, back to M’rgash and his charges. “Do you have any others so audacious, goblin?” The rumble in her belly was growing louder still, and flames flickered out between her fangs.
“No, dragon!” M’rgash bellowed. “Dorgth is an impudent dog. He is not like the rest of my men!”
“Pity” Malys hissed. The rumble crescendoed until the plateau shook. She opened her maw and a column of flame rushed out. The searing lance of fire streaked over the head of Dorgth and hit M’rgash first. The goblin chieftain’s screams were drowned out by the wild crackling of flames. The fire spread to engulf the three ranks behind him. The air on the plateau was instantly filled with the scent of charred bodies and the overpowering odor of fear from those who still lived.
She closed her mouth and stared down at the sole remaining goblin.
“Chieftain Dorgth,” she began, “I trust you will return to your tribe and explain that they are working for me—all four hundred of them. All without question.”
The goblin swallowed hard and nodded. He touched the top of his head where his hair had been singed off and then cast a quick look over his shoulder to see the smoking piles of ashes that had been his comrades. “Y-y-yes. I swear my allegiance—and theirs!”
“Hear me!” Malys snarled. “In exchange for all of your pitiful lives, you and your brethren in the mountains, plains, and tunnels will serve me. You will begin by gathering humans—villagers, farmers, wanderers—in the nearby lands you call Khur and Balifor. Age is unimportant. Take the old, as well as the young—even the infants.”
“A-a-alive?” Dorgth stammered.
“Of course, I want them alive!”
“A-a-and when we have them? What do you want us to do with them?”
The dragon rumbled again, and the tremors sent shivers racing up and down the spines of the hobgoblins, barbarians, and Dorgth. “Cage them. Pen them up. Keep them weak and submissive, but keep them alive. Treat them like cattle, and show them no respect. And when you’ve collected more than the number in your tribe, return to me for instructions.” After dutifully cleaning up the ashes of his vanquished tribesmen, Dorgth led the procession from the Red’s plateau lair.