Building a Kingdom as a Kobold

The relay post was supposed to be the safest place in a siege. That's what they said—solid stone, lines of sight, every wall checked by Stonealign himself. But tonight it felt like the eye of a storm that didn't know how to stop spinning.

I hunched over the battered relay stone, both paws on the cracked crystal, trying to force a signal through static. The comm line hiccupped, spitting sparks and garbled system alerts. [User: Relay connected.] [Signal Quality: Critical.] [Node Error. Reset Required.] If I'd had time, I'd have thrown it out and started yelling instead.

Cinders paced behind me, tail snapping, apron and arms streaked with flour and what looked suspiciously like blood. She kept glancing back toward the kitchens—her kitchens—but she wouldn't leave the post, not yet. "They're late coming from the lower shelters. If those kids got stuck again—" She didn't finish. She never finished complaints when she was worried.

Nearby, a huddle of kobolds pressed together against the signal post's wall, sharing out a dented lantern and a crust of bread. Their eyes were huge, darting from shadow to shadow every time the wind shifted or a system alarm blared. One whispered, "Are we safe here?" but no one had a real answer. Cinders shot them a fierce look that said, You're safe as long as I'm here. I tried to believe it myself.

Flick was halfway up the wall, ignoring all three "no climbing" rules and at least two protocols the sovereign invented for emergencies. He scouted the perimeter like a shadow with claws, pausing to peer through every crack. He looked back, yellow eyes bright. "Something's wrong by the east foundation. It's quiet."

"Quiet's better than screaming," I muttered, trying to boost the relay's output. The lines across the stone glowed, then flickered out. [Warning: Unauthorized Movement Detected: Substructure.] Not helpful, system. I pounded the side of the relay. A spark leapt out, stinging my thumb, but the signal didn't improve.

Cinders crouched, setting down a basket she'd been using as a shield. "How's the line?"

"Dead," I said. "Mostly. I can ping the main square if I push, but not the east wall. Not anywhere that's actually on fire." My laugh sounded thin even to me.

The ground shook—a long, slow rumble, like someone rolling boulders beneath the street. Cinders stiffened. Flick froze on the wall, one paw pressed flat, listening. Even the younger kobolds stopped fidgeting, eyes wide.

I went back to work. "Come on, come on," I whispered, feeding more of my own pulse into the node. A spark bit my thumb. The system blinked. [Relay Node Intermittent. Manual Override Available.] Great. Like I hadn't tried that twice already.

Flick dropped down beside me. "You hear that? Not just fighting. There's digging. Under us."

"Digging?" Cinders echoed. She was already standing, eyes scanning the base of the post, looking for cracks or seams. "That's new."

I shrugged, forcing bravado. "Maybe it's just a really persistent rat."

Cinders didn't laugh. "If it's a rat, it's got claws and a plan. We need to sweep the kitchen passage. If those younger kobolds are trapped, they'll be the first to get hit if the monsters come up from below."

The ground trembled again—this time a little sharper, like something tunneling with purpose. One of the younger kobolds squeaked and nearly dropped the lantern. I grabbed it before it hit the stones and handed it back, ruffling his head. "No worries, kid. If anything gets through here, they'll have to step over me, Cinders, and Flick." I hoped my voice was steady.

Flick's ears twitched. He padded over to a thin crack running along the east side of the post. He pressed his snout close, then shot me a look.

Cinders swore under her breath, then straightened her apron. "I'm checking the kitchens. Relay, hold here. Flick, with me—wait, no. Actually, stay on the shadows. If anything moves, you make noise."

Flick grinned—a little too eager, even for him—and darted off between storage barrels and vanishing into the narrow gap behind the post. I barely caught a glimpse of his tail before he was gone. He always did that—ignore the plan, follow the shadows, but he came back with answers more often than not.

Cinders knelt beside me, voice low. "I need you here, Relay. If something breaks, I'll trust your signal over the system any day."

I almost laughed, but her eyes made it a promise instead of a joke. "I'll get the word out," I said, forcing my voice steady. "You just bring those kids back."

Cinders nodded, tightening the apron around her waist like it was armor. She bolted for the kitchen side door, moving fast and low. The darkness swallowed her after three steps.

Left alone with the other kobolds and the relay, I watched the stone flicker, listening to the ground, the fighting, the wind carrying distant shouts. Flick was still out of sight. Cinders was already risking everything. All I could do was keep the line open and hope someone heard us if it all fell apart.

Another system message, half-garbled, scrolled across the node. [Substructure Breach: Pending.] [Alert: Proximity—Hostile Presence Increasing.] The ground rumbled again. The youngest kobold squeezed my hand, looking for any comfort. I gave her a brave smile I didn't feel.

I pressed both paws flat on the relay and sent the first of many pings, heart hammering, as the night closed in.

---

Cinders took the kitchens like she took every crisis—by crashing through the front and not caring what got in the way. The back door groaned under her fist, then gave way, spilling her into a smoke-choked room. Shadows flickered across every surface. The air tasted of burnt grain and fear.

"Cinders!" a young voice called. She almost missed it—too soft, too scared. There, under the prep table: three younger kobolds, all dust and wild eyes, one holding a bent spoon like a blade. A fallen shelf pinned the table legs, trapping them.

She gritted her teeth. "Move left. Come on, help me." She braced a shoulder against the wreckage and shoved. It shifted, just enough. "On your bellies, now!" The smallest squirmed free, the next crawled out crying, the third froze, paw bleeding and eyes glazed.

As she disappeared into the smoke, and I pressed my ear to the ground, desperate for something—anything—that wasn't just bad news. All I heard now was rumbling. Too close. Too fast.

I glanced at the huddle of kobolds behind me, trying to look braver than I felt. "Don't let go of each other, okay?" I whispered, even though my throat was tight. The smallest nodded, her eyes shiny with hope or maybe just the reflection of the warning light that kept blinking above us.

A voice burst through my receiver—Flick, panting, wild: "Relay! There's a tunnel! Monsters under the east storeroom—more than five—no, more—"

I scrambled to boost the signal, slapping at runes, pushing every bit of pulse I could spare. "Repeat that, Flick! How many?" Static, then a hiss—then nothing. No time. I slammed the main broadcast, every word raw. "All groups! Breach below kitchens—monsters tunneling—prepare for contact, now!"

No answer but my own echo. I pounded the relay again—please, please, someone answer—but nothing.

In the next instant, I saw Cinders in the alley through the kitchen smoke, dragging people? They all looked small clinging to her as she herded them past broken beams. A shape moved in the dark—Flick, scrambling out of a drain, mud in his fur, eyes wild.

The ground under the relay split with a sharp, tearing sound. I felt it before I saw it. Dirt buckled, then a mossbeast's claw punched straight through, missing my tail by a whisker. The warning light went solid red. The post started to crack. All I could think was—this can't be happening, not here, not now.

"Get behind me!" I yelled, shoving the nearest kobold behind a pile of crates. I grabbed the relay one last time, pushing everything I had through it. "Kitchen breach! They're—" The words died in a burst of sparks as claws smashed the relay stone, lighting up the night blue and green.

Noise. Claws. Cinders yelling. Flick dragging the last kid out. I could barely hear myself over the alarms—real ones now, every system in Ashring screaming. I hauled the youngest up into my arms, felt Cinders' hand on my back. "Move, Relay! That way!"

Flick was already moving, leading us toward the north lane. I ran, dodging monsters as they burst from the earth, eyes empty and hungry. Cinders shoved the other two ahead, her pan raised like a shield. I caught Flick's tail just as a beast lunged, its jaws snapping in empty air.

I looked back once—the signal post was gone, buried under claws and rubble, monsters pouring into the street. I'd sent the warning, but I had no idea if anyone heard. Maybe we were the only ones left to run.

The system's last alert blinked in my vision: [Evacuate Immediately.] I didn't need the advice. I ran, heart pounding, dragging everyone I could. Cinders at my side, Flick up ahead, younger kobolds crying and coughing but still moving.

Ashring wasn't safe. Not anymore. But as long as I could move, shout, send warnings—even if nobody answered—I'd keep running.

If the monsters wanted my home, they'd have to chase me through every street to get it.