Dargon. (Original Fantasy)

Dargon 1.5: Dargs


You are a dragon, and with it, comes a long memory. You have to be, for your species live long and bountiful lives, and wisdom comes naturally from the knowledge of the elders.

It also means that when you find something that nags at you for some reason, you can't let it go. You're sure that it would put you in a difficult position some day or another, but so long as you get out alive, then everything was fine.

"That one." You point towards a pint-sized waterskin filled to the brim with packets of white crystals. All of them sealed for some reason, though you were sure that your mind is basically scrolling through your memories, trying to find out why was it so familiar in the first place. "I'll take that one."

Of course, 'pint-sized' was scaled for dragons like you. If you were a mortal, then the amount of crystals inside that waterskin would be enough to fill a mortal house.

The other dragon scowls at you, snatching the waterskin and tossing it in your direction. You easily catch it of course, and carefully bring it up to the light. "Take it, and get out of my sight. Bad enough that the villagers are trying to sneak in some of these crystals on their own, but for another dragon to be addicted to this kind of thing? You disgust me."

…

A-ha. Now you remember. But you can't exactly talk about it out loud, given that this other dragon was… hm, how do you put it? A white knight. Fighting for justice and whatnot. All those silly things like preaching mortal morality like it was the greatest thing since gold. They're more than likely to spazz out and try to 'investigate the maker of these crystals', which would get them killed.

By you.

Family was family, even if you're a little bit pissy that there's mortals doing dargs right next to your planned lair.

Should you pay a little visit to your family?

...

Well, that would be a matter for another time. For the moment, you take to the skies, shooting out of the other dragon's lair… but not before shooting one last jab in their direction. Because no one one-ups you, if you could help it.

But nothing comes up. Which means that you'll be paying them a visit some other time, just to ensure that you could one-up them for the insult. You're sure of that. You're even thinking of potential comebacks right now.

For now however, it doesn't matter. At least, for the moment. You've successfully bullied another dragon in your territory so they wouldn't do anything stupid, which means that you're free to get back to… building your lair…

Your floating, flying lair that you're going to have to dig out by your own claws, if you have to.

But it would be so boring…

… Hm? Oh, someone discovered your little ah, 'raid' on the goblin outpost. Who discovered– oh, other goblins! This should prove interesting. So long as you aren't seen, of course. And you can understand what they're saying.

Which you could. You just… well, you didn't care about them the first time you smashed that ballista outpost to pieces.

Swooping down to a lower altitude, just enough to eavesdrop on whatever they were saying, you began listening in, taking note of their little 'investigation' with just a touch of dryness.

They got it all wrong. No, it hadn't been the humans that destroyed the outpost as a punitive measure, it was all you! And are they–? Oh yes they are. They're certainly angry enough that they're sending a runner to muster the armies… whatever armies these goblins could muster anyway. They're apparently getting revenge?

And they're reporting that the nearest human village is just over where the other dragon was currently protecting…

And there's no doubt that the other dragon would be sulking after your little intrusion into their 'territory'…

Woops.

Well.

You're washing your hands off this little matter. Right?

[] Uh… no. You caused this mess, so you better stop it. Just… kill some goblins. Even if it's beneath you.

[] Uh… no. You could probably just warn off the other dragon of the goblin attack, and everything would be fine.

[] Sure. You still have family to visit anyway – you want to ask them as to why there's mortals taking dargs in your territory.

[] Sure. You still have to dig out your floating lair, after all. Even if it would be boring. Maybe you can go and practice some magic while you're at it.

[x] Write-in.
- [x] Uh... no. If these goblins attack a village defended by a dragon, even a lame one like that other one, they'll get wiped out. And that would be bad, because an army of goblins would be much more useful building your lair for you. Recruit them as minions.

I'm uh, just gonna start making another post since the write-in vote was overwhelming. Post up in a few hours! Hopefully.

Dargon 1.6: Intercept


You are a dragon, and you have (accidentally) caused the onset of (accidental) hostilities. Now, not that you didn't have any part in it – you clearly remember stomping through that goblin outpost with great relish – but you certainly didn't expect the little mortals to rise up in arms and begin stomping towards the nearest village.

The village that had a dragon protecting it. 'Had', being the keyword here. There's no doubt that the poor sod that you slapped around was busy sulking in their lair, which means that the other dragon won't be out there defending their little project when the goblins arrive.

In force.

To torch the village, and potentially the 'child of prophecy' living in there.

Oops.

Still, there was an opportunity here, one that you – in all of your magnanimous intelligence – could seize given the slightest bit of effort. A goblin army is going to be marching out of their tunnels, going through a densely-forested area, and razing down a village.

Ergo, it means that there was a cadre of wonderful laborers for your soon-to-be-built lair, just ripe for the taking.

You watch the goblin 'army' muster, crawling out of their little tunnels and waving their pointy sticks around with wild abandon. You watch as janky little contraptions burst forth from the inside of the mountain that they made their home, of trees being sharpened by tens of laborers to serve as ammunition for the siege throwers. You watch as their leaders emerge with dignified expressions, the crackle of magic omnipresent around the contraptions that they wear about, with some of them even floating over the others using some kind of metallic thing on their back to flaunt their superiority.

Frankly, it was overkill for a little village. But then again, maybe this kind of murderous sentiment had been brewing for years, and your little trip through one of their outposts had been enough to fully rouse these goblins to war.

Giddiness rises from the depths of your throat as you watch these little, tiny goblins march forth with their screeches and harsh clicks, the numerous leaders getting their forces in line… before turning to squabble with one another over the best way to raze the village to the ground.

You wait for the goblins to finally cease their squabbling. Then wait some more. Aaand they keep on squabbling. Dear goodness, how did they actually even muster up their forces in the first place if this was how they were going to move things along?

A glance at the sky shows that it was already a new day. A new day that you start off by smashing your head against a cliff, since the goblins are still going at it. Frankly, you're tempted to just… lay waste to the entire force. Force them to bow down and all that.

But no. You're different from most dragons. You're patient, when you want to be. And there's certainly nothing that could stop you once you set your mind to a task… so long as you aren't easily distracted by other, shinier things in the meantime.

In fact, that was the main reason why you were Grandmomma Kiryu's most favored grandchild, the one that would 'inherit the family business'. It's not something that you want to do given what she does for a living, but–– Oh finally, the goblins have started moving.

Stretching your wings and limbs just in case, you watch from an outcrop of rock as the goblin army begins to march towards the village, seeing that they were still a few minutes off from your little trap.

With the little extra time, you turn towards the waterskin that you're currently carrying alongside you, unwrapping it with a quick gesture and taking out one of the crystals within. You narrow your eyes, a part of you just knowing that this was drags (or was it dargs? it's all interchangeable, really), but there was another, smaller part of you that suggested that it might be something innocuous like sugar instead.

There was only one thing to do when faced with this conundrum.

And you're not going to sniff it yourself. You aren't stupid.

You've got your little goblin army for that. Of course, not that they know that as of yet.

For what it's worth of the little bastards, the goblins were moving fast. Fast enough that they were now within the area where you'll make your grand entrance, which means that you'll have to shelve your little experiment for the moment.

It was time. Finally.

A burst of movement lets you spring forth from the outcrop of rock, rendering you a blur of movement across the skies. From below, you could hear your future goblin laborers take note of your position, firing their log-throwers in a rough volley that had no coordination whatsoever, and dodging the stripped and sharpened tree trunks as they sailed through the air was…

Well, 'easy' was still giving the goblins too much credit.

You land with natural grace as expected, wings flaring out as another gust of wind echoes through the front lines of the goblins. Their initial charge was stopped, and the arrows and bolts that sailed in your direction were redirected to the surrounding forests, rendering the trunks into pincushions made of their dead kin.

"Greetings, inferior mortals." You greet, standing proud in Intimidating Pose no. 12 as the early morning light and mist trickled in. You're pretty sure you had nothing to do with that, which really just means that nature itself was lending its prowess to make yourself look better. "You are being recruited into my army."

"Do not resist."

Sadly, some of these goblins didn't quite get the message. One of the more decorated goblins shoots forth a gout of lightning from their staff, screaming some kind of expletive in their harsh language, but you quickly put an end to the little thing's protests with a quick blast of starfire.

The starfire quickly punches through the bolt of lightning, then burns a large hole through the poor goblin. The blast of starfire keeps on going for a long while, punching through tree trunks and leaves alike, setting fires and combusting whatever it hit.

As for the goblin that tried to shoot lightning at you? They're nothing more than a screaming puddle on the ground by now, only rendered silent by the mercy of one of their subordinates that rammed a sword through their half-slagged head.

"Anyone else feeling a little bit… rebellious?"

Oh, you know that these goblins have no idea what you're talking about. You're currently speaking in Draconic after all, and lowering yourself to speak in their own little language was just… ugh. The point is, you're not going to do it.

But the sight of an entire goblin army letting down their arms and bowing in surrender does make you grin. There was no doubt that you were preening at the sight, of rubbing your superiority against theirs…

Still, this was just the beginning. Your 'acquisition' of this little army would no doubt inflame the fires of rebellion from some of the more jittery goblins, which would mean that you would need to – sigh – make some examples.

But to rule through fear or bribery?

That was a question that each dragon had to answer for themselves.

… It's been less than a week since you burned down your first village, damn it! You're not meant to do this thing just yet!

[] March forth towards the village with your goblin army in tow and posture. No, it's not seeking validation, it's rubbing your obvious superiority into the other dragon's face. Why groom a single child when you're in charge of an entire army, eh?

[] March forth! Towards your planned site for clawing out your floating, flying lair, that is. You came here to get some laborers, and by your Grandmomma's wisdom you're going to start construction right away. Oh, you could already taste the sky temple being built in your name…

[x] Now that this little wrinkle is solved, maybe you should actually check if the crystals in the waterskin are actual dargs or not. Get a few volunteers, have them consume the crystal… then observe. You'll find out as to whether or not they're the real deal in a few moments.

[] Write-in.

Plot threads ahoy!

Dargon 1.7: Testing


You are a dragon, and you had just gathered your first army servants lackeys. Which means that your options have been expanded by a lot, but it also means that you were now responsible for the management of quite a lot of goblins. No doubt that they would be a problem in the near future until they were properly corralled and leashed under your control.

For now however, you were thinking of something different. Something… smaller. Nothing more than a little experiment and a little humiliation all in one. Because sometimes, you need to hammer in the fact that nothing that the goblins can do will matter.

The carrot can come later. After they've built your lair.

"You, you, and you. Do come up here for a second, will you? I have something to test." Of course, the goblins didn't understand a single lick of what you were saying, primitive mortals that they are. But what they could understand was a finger pointed at three of their leaders, then a beckoning gesture.

Of course, they protested. In their little, goblin-like ways of course, which meant bickering with some of the other leaders of the army and even using them as mortal shields against your wrath. In response, you send a blast of starfire at the ground in front of the army, your brows creasing into a deep frown.

The goblins looked at you, then at the hole in the ground that was slowly getting larger as the starfire ate away at the dirt. The other leaders of the army turned to one another, nodded, and pushed your little test goblins to the front of the army, even binding them magically when they started raving and began blasting any nearby goblins around them with magic.

So here you were, in the middle of the forest, at the head of a goblin army, and with three of its leaders magically-bound in front of you, screaming and raving about one little thing or another.

Anyone who saw this would no doubt misunderstand the situation.

Which was why you were going to make this quick. With a single arm, you jam a crystal into each of the mouths of the goblin leaders, carefully watching their reactions and– oh, there was the widening of the pupils. And there was the rush of activity. And there was the jittering and rise in aggression that aaand they broke through their bindings.

Still, you had enough information to make a conclusion. You thank your (un)willing test subjects by sending a short gout of starfire in their direction, vaporizing them in what is most definitely a quick death.

'Eavesdropping' on the goblin army that you just 'recruited' lets you know that they are now thoroughly cowed by your… everything. Which was all well and good. But it also means that these goblins might break ranks and try to run for it the first chance they get. And you can't possibly catch all of them… or well you could, but it would be a waste of your time.

In any case, where were your thoughts again? Right. The results of your little experiment. There is no doubt that the waterskin that you're carrying right now was full of dargs. Stimulant, pain reliever, and magic booster all at once. All at the cost of rational thought and addiction, of course. And frankly, these crystals are… what you'd say ah, the little embarrassment of your family line.

Not that Grandmomma Kiryu cared, given that she started a smuggling ring for this kind of thing, but still. You were going to breach that topic once you're done with setting things up in your territory. Like getting these goblins up to your preferred spot for a lair, and setting them to work.

"Come now, that was just a little experiment. You follow my orders, and you're going to live a good life. Granted, it'll be a life with a dragon always looking over your shoulder, but…" You trail off, before clearing your throat and starting over. Yes, doing such a speech might not exactly endear you with the rest of these little goblins. "Well, come on then. Let's go to my little…"

Bah, your word choices at the moment aren't exactly the most appropriate. "Follow along, little ones. You've got a lair to build."

You walk through the army with a swagger in your step, watching as the puny mortals parted before your wake. It was only when you were halfway through the army that you realized that yes, these goblins didn't know Draconic, and they certainly can't follow your orders if they can't even understand you in the first place.

Which means that…

Sigh.

You'll have to speak in Goblin. Or whatever the little mortals call their puny language. It's fine, you don't judge. Much.

"Kasst."

Ugh, just disgusting. The harsh-sounding words, the little clicks and shrill yells that make for a goblin's 'accent', just the fact that you had to debase yourself just so these little, quivering messes of flesh and pointy sticks could understand what you mean for them to do is just… ugh.

Nonetheless! Your words seem to galvanize the goblin army laborers, sending them scrambling forth to reinforce their lines into something that actually resembles an army. Granted, you actually hadn't killed much of their number. Just a few of their leaders to set an example, that's all. And there's no doubt that you would be killing more of their leaders in the near future since they would most likely try and do something iffy in order to escape under your control and…

Once again, ugh. You're being dragged down into the politics of goblins. Such a thing should be beneath you given that you're a dragon and all that, but well… You can't exactly get a smooth operation of lair-digging done if these goblins are trying to kill one another every few minutes or so.

But there's also the problem of dargs in your territory. That one was… more of an immediate problem, especially if some of these goblins smuggled some of that substance in and caused some havoc, thus rescheduling your lair-digging plans at a later date and well.

You hate problems. Not because of the fact that you're lazy, but… you just want to be efficient. Yes. That's all.

And if that means working your keister off for a few hours just to get things running smoothly? Well… you guess you could sacrifice just a little bit of your time.

What do you do before you go off and investigate these dargs in your territory?

[] Politics! The bane of any would-be ruler trying to accomplish something great. Better that you solve this now instead of letting problems crop up in the future. Besides, figuring out who is truly following your orders (or fears you enough to not strike out) should be easy enough. You've survived through your Grandmomma's little 'court'. This should be child's play.

[x] Economy is the lifeblood of any laborers out there. These goblins would require wood, coal, ores, blood, sweat, and tears in order for them to carry out your orders to create a lair for your purposes. You would provide your little laborers with materials and resources. The rest would be up to them… and woe betide those that you find wanting.

[] Diplomacy… sucks. There is no doubt about that. Draconic diplomacy sucks even more, but you're sure that you could squeeze out a few favors from the other dragon once you've informed them of the narrowly-averted disaster that nearly fell upon their little project. Of course, your involvement in this entire mess shall be hushed up. Can't have another little fight, can we? Even though you'll win.

[] Write-in.

Just gonna call the votes now since it's a landslide. Economy ahoy! And hopefully the goblins don't do anything stupid while you're gone.