Building a Kingdom as a Kobold-Chapter 53: Why Does It Always Have To Be Mysterious Ruins?

The shadows moved.

I stood frozen at the edge of the campfire, flame shard warm against my hip, as the figures stepped forward from the trees.

Tall. Lean. Ears longer than mine, pointed sharply back. Cloaks and robes that shimmered faintly like leaves in the wind. They didn't walk so much as glide.

Half-elves.

I swallowed hard.

I had been here for thirty seconds. Thirty. And already the universe had decided to throw plot at me. I hate mornings. I hate destiny. I especially hate both before mosswater.

The squad slowly noticed. Flick stopped mid-tangle with the tent ropes. Tinker lowered his broken scanner. Cinders froze with her spoon raised threateningly at a particularly annoying root.

Relay, of course, stepped forward cheerfully.

I closed my eyes. For the love of flame, please don't make this worse.

"Greetings, esteemed surface dwellers! I am proud to announce you have encountered the first official Ashring Expeditionary Peace Corps." He paused dramatically. "We come in theoretical peace."

Silence.

I resisted the overwhelming urge to facepalm.

The tallest half-elf tilted their head slightly, golden eyes narrowing as they scanned our mismatched disaster of a group. Their gaze finally settled on me. It lingered on the flame shard.

I tensed.

Finally, soft words came. The voice was melodic, distant, far too calm for my liking.

"You carry forbidden flame."

Relay brightened. "Technically she carries it. We just work here."

The half-elf ignored him completely.

I didn't move. "We don't want trouble."

"You have already brought it."

Wonderful. I was really starting to miss the dungeon.

They spoke in low tones among themselves for several agonizing minutes.

The squad fidgeted.

Flick started whispering, loudly. "Are we captured? Should I escape dramatically? I can escape dramatically."

"No," I hissed.

"But I rehearsed a speech for this."

"Absolutely not."

At last, the lead half-elf stepped forward again. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

"You will come with us."

I stared flatly. "Not a request, huh?"

The system helpfully chimed.

[Surface First Contact Event: Success (Barely)]

[New Quest: Follow The Silent Ones]

[Warning: Chance Of Regretting This Decision: High]

I sighed, flicked my tail once in frustration, and motioned to the squad.

"Let's go meet the locals."

Relay gave a thumbs-up like we hadn't just been politely kidnapped. Cinders scowled but packed up her pot. Tinker adjusted his scanner and whispered, "I want to scan one of them so badly." Glare simply nodded solemnly. "Fate guides us."

Flick whispered, "Should I still escape dramatically?"

"No."

We followed.

The half-elf village was even worse up close.

Don't get me wrong. It was beautiful. Towering trees formed living walls, their trunks twisted into shapes that absolutely had to violate several architectural codes. Bridges of woven vines and smooth bark crisscrossed the air. Glowing fungus lamps hung lazily in the breeze, bobbing like judgmental jellyfish.

It was gorgeous. It was elegant.

It was absolutely, one hundred percent designed to make kobolds trip, stumble, and faceplant into the dirt at every opportunity.

We made it maybe thirty steps inside before Tinker's tail got tangled in a root, Relay walked into a bioluminescent mushroom and screamed because "the light is eating me!", and Flick... actually Flick vanished again. Of course.

"Focus, squad," I muttered, ears flicking irritably. "Remember your training. Which none of you have. But still."

The half-elves were watching. A lot of them. Tall, lean figures with sharp features, shimmering leaf-patterned cloaks, and expressions that hovered somewhere between 'fascinated by the adorable dog-people' and 'ready to call pest control.'

A group stepped forward.

Their leader was obviously the boss, because she wore more leaves than seemed strictly reasonable. Long silver hair, piercing green eyes, and an aura of serene 'I will smile politely while preparing to incinerate you.'

"Welcome, visitors from the depths. I am Sylrien, Warden of the Verdant Ring. You stand before Eshara, heart of our sacred forest."

I stepped forward. I wasn't nervous. Not at all. I was perfectly fine. My paws weren't sweating. Shut up.

My brain short-circuited trying to remember the correct diplomatic response. I went with the ancient sovereign tradition of winging it.

"Uh. Hi. I'm the Sovereign of Ashring. We're... neighbors. I guess. Sorry for existing?"

There was a beat of silence. The young squad froze behind me. Relay had stuffed a paw in Flick's mouth to stop him from blurting anything disastrous.

Then Sylrien nodded, her voice gentle. "We have awaited your arrival, Sovereign of Ashring. Please, come."

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

We were escorted along the winding walkways. I hated it. Everything about this village was floaty, delicate, and designed for beings who weren't three apples tall with claws and no sense of balance. I half expected the floor to dissolve under my feet out of spite.

They brought us to a circular clearing. In the center stood an ancient flame-brazier, cold now but unmistakable. A spiraling flame symbol carved into it matched the ones etched on the oldest stones of Ashring. My heart skipped.

I glanced at the system window that popped into view.

[Mythline Anomaly Detected. Optional Quest: Seek the Origin Flame?]

Oh no.

"Of course it's a quest," I sighed under my breath. "Because my life can never just be simple, can it?"

Relay leaned closer, eyes wide. "Boss... is that what I think it is?"

"I think it's something that's going to cause me more problems than I can possibly imagine."

Before I could respond further, the air shifted. Leaves whispered urgently. Shadows lengthened.

At the edge of the clearing, a lone figure appeared between the trees.

Not an elf. Not a kobold. Not anything I could recognize.

Scribbles.

He stood there, flickering like a bad connection, glyphs spiraling and collapsing around him. His small frame seemed distant, unfocused, like he was caught between two layers of reality. His voice barely reached us.

"Found... flame... wrong... can't hold... Sovereign... run."

The half-elves stiffened. I stared, frozen. My squad looked at me in horror.

Then Scribbles twisted sharply as if yanked by unseen chains and vanished with a pop of displaced air and scattered runes.

The brazier behind me flared faintly.

"...And there's the nightmare fuel," I whispered.

Relay very quietly said, "I want to go home now."

I did too.

Too bad I didn't even know where home was anymore.