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.
