I wanted to go help the Einvaldskonungr Tribe, but I wasn't sure exactly what I could accomplish. The Groenneitr Tribe had planned well. First, they instigated the local humans to invade the red kobold city. Then they took advantage of the lack of defenders to loot the treasury of a baron. After that, the baron retaliated by driving the red kobolds from their home. Then the green kobolds launched an attack on the lightly defended villages the red kobolds were establishing.
Although kobolds might be able to make traps, there was a limit of what they could do when they also had to worry about feeding every member of their tribe. Because of this, the new homes of the red kobolds were only lightly defended. These villages were an easy target for the green kobolds to loot.
What concerned me was the reasoning behind their actions. While it was true that Einvaldskonungr would attack the baron's castle for what they did, the red dragon would also seek out the green dragon. One possible explanation was that the green dragon was trying to lure Einvaldskonungr out of his lair. Perhaps Groenneitr wanted to claim Einvaldskonungr's hoard while the red dragon was either attacking the human castle or looking for the green dragon's lair.
However, that begged the question. What would that achieve in the long run? Unless Groenneitr was willing to flee with his loot, which might be difficult, Einvaldskonungr would eventually find him. While that could be the green dragon's plan, I doubted it. Also, dragons had various ways in which they could transport their gold. I doubted Einvaldskonungr would leave his gold behind.
Both dragon territories were within the borders of the Konungdómr Kingdom. However, some of Groenneitr's territory did overlap into its warring neighbor, the Penningr Republic. Of course, they weren't really a republic. The people really had no say in anything that happened. Instead, the Penningr Republic was ruled by a group of merchants. The only reason they were still at war with the Konungdómr Kingdom was because they were able to use the conflict as a way to make money. It was even possible that Groenneitr had some type of connection to the Penningr Republic.
Although green dragons loved using other people to attack their enemies, red dragons were much more direct. That meant that Einvaldskonungr wouldn't be telling the red kobolds to do anything except repair their villages so that they can start mining for precious minerals and gems. While they were busy rebuilding, the red dragon would be the one attacking.
Because of all these factors, I really didn't know how to help the red kobolds. I couldn't even afford to leave the city at the moment. The dragonberries I created each day using my spell points was the main source of food. While the city could survive, our food resources would suffer drastically. The only thing I could do was offer a place of refuge for those who were displaced or who needed food. While considering what else I could do, I decided to send out scouts and messengers to every red kobold village and let them know I would accept any kobolds into my city.
Actually, there was one more thing that I could do. Unlike most familiars, I could see through Alsvartr's eyes no matter how far away she was. While I rarely used the ability, it was still there. That meant that I could send Alsvartr out so that I could see what was happening with my own eyes. She was the ideal spy. Alsvartr could fly through the night, and during the days she could use the Invisibility spell. She could even turn into a shadow and move from one shadow to another.
Before sending her out though, I decided to take one more look at her information sheet. After pulling it up, I was sure that she would be able to accomplish almost any spying mission and come back without being caught.
A few days later, Alsvartr arrived at Einvaldskonungr's lair. While the red dragon had proven that he knew a lot about what was happening, I half expected the red dragon not to know everything. The reason why was because red dragons were notorious for their tempers.
It was entirely possob;e that the kobolds would wait until they could provide more news about who stole the red dragon's tribute. Most kobolds were smart enough to have a designated target, or at least have a large offering when waking up a dragon. Dragons were completely fine with killing the messenger of bad news, or even the person who dared to disturb their slumber.
Because of this, I wasn't too worried about her arriving late. Afterall, few dragons were likely to just immediately jump up and leave all their gold and gems behind. Even a greedy gnome would be smart enough to lock a safe before leaving home. Casting the spells and gathering his hoard would take time. Also, dragons had kobold minions for many reasons. One of these reasons was because they were experts at leaving traps to guard a dragon's lair.
In fact, Einvaldskonungr had probably already taken care of his hoard a long time ago. I bet that if I sent my familiar into the cave, she would find nothing. Then again, considering how old the red dragon was, Einvaldskonungr might have been able to take all of his hoard with him.
There were many ways that dragons transported their hoards. One way dragons often transported their hoards was that dragons, much like birds, possessed pouches in their throats. In birds, the pouch was called a crop. A bird's crop was an expandable muscular pouch near the gullet or throat, which was used to store excess food for later digestion. The crops of some birds could also create crop milk. This crop milk was a secretion from the lining of the crop of parent birds that was regurgitated to young birds.
Like birds and various other animals, dragons could store excess food that they could digest later. In dragons, each pouch was called a kýll. If emptied, though, I could also store objects. It was sort of like cheek pouches for chipmunks and hamsters. Being gluttons, dragons possessed several pouches so that they could store food for later consumption. While most dragons only used these pouches to store food, they could also store other items. However, storing sharp or bulky items was rarely done because it was very uncomfortable, and sometimes even painful.
One last way dragons transported their hoards was with magic items or magic spells. Being innately magical, they would often learn spells such as Secret Chest. Magic items such as Bags of Holding were also popular. Many dragons would temporarily store multiple Bags of Holding in their kýlls.
Some dragons, mostly young dragons who hadn't learned a magic spell such as Secret Chest, or those who hadn't obtained a Bag of Holding, would sometimes temporarily store their gold and gems within their kýlls. However, this wasn't always ideal since the gold was heavy. The weight would knock off their balance if they carried too much. It was also considered somewhat vulgar and uncivilized by older dragons.
Despite there being several ways dragons could store their hoards, I doubted Einvaldskonungr would be able to carry everything with him. More than likely, he would store the most precious items with spells or with Bags of Holding. However, there was a limit to the number of Bag of Holding he was likely to own. Because of this, I was certain that at least some of his hoard would be left behind.
After over a hundred years of receiving tribute from his tribe of kobold minions, he definitely had a lot of gold and gems. In fact, many dragons considered it a point of pride to have all the expensive ores mined by their kobold minions smelted into coins bearing their likeness. Some dragons would even brag when they obtained coins with another dragon's likeness. Of course, humans would often melt down the coins because if a dragon ever discovered someone who possessed their coins, they would hunt that person until the ends of the earth.
Half a day later, I heard an enraged roar from Einvaldskonungr. The roaring continued for a few minutes before it settled down. Just the sound of his roar caused some of the rocks on a ledge to fall. Then silence reigned for a few hours. I was impressed.
If I didn't know better, I would have been fooled by his acting. I was a little confused though. Were there green dragons or their allies around? I had Alsvartr fly around to see if anyone else was there, but she discovered nothing. Then again, with magic involved, who said the observed had to be close by.
While I was considering this, a low, rumbling growl echoed from out of the subterranean chamber where he could be found, causing the pebbles at my familiar's feet to shake. I was a little excited. It was going to be my first time to see him in action, even if it was through the eyes of my familiar.