Nest of Kobolds

"Where is Moya?" one of the kobolds - specifically, one of the ones who we had encountered earlier - questioned firmly. "Is she not back? Did it get her?" It seemed less concerned about its fellow and more concerned about the implications.

"She was here, earlier. Gone, now," answered another kobold, who seemed to have been embroiled in heated conversation with the other one up until now.

"Gone? Why? Where? What could be more important?"

The other creature shrugged, uncaring. There didn't seem to be as much fuss about the encounter, despite those involved making it back in one piece to alert the others.

"We need to prepare!" another kobold, again part of the party we had encountered outside, chimed in. "It could be here in minutes! We could have been followed!"

"Yeah, yeah," yet another kobold replied from the throng that was milling about in the nest. "Your monster is very scary. Get back to work."

The "nest" was more or less a flimsily-fortified section of woods - it looked sort've like a lumber camp, if all the building materials used were scrap and garbage. There was one clear way in, and therefore only one clear way out - not the smartest of designs, for a variety of reasons.

The kobolds who had encountered Rockford and I in the wild continued to protest, but the others weren't having it. I suspected that if they had simply reported a run-in with an Adventurer, the others might be more receptive to countermeasures, but the apparent fanciful nature of their report left the rest struggling to even believe it.

Funny, the guards in town were much the same. Perhaps we were not so different, after all...

From the entrance, my kobold - named Moya, apparently - entered in a blind panic, nearly falling over herself in a desperate bid to get inside. She huffed and puffed as if she was hyperventilating, fear evident in her gaze. Her eyes were glued to the entrance of the nest, as if anticipating something.

"Moya! Where were you?!" the angry kobold from earlier yelled as he spotted her, not realizing that she was not in any state to reply.

"I-It's here! It's here to kill us all!" Moya shouted incoherently, pointing her weapon - a small (by human standards) wooden club with bits of metal sticking out of it - at the entrance and the woods that lay beyond.

Immediately, the kobolds who knew what she was probably talking about were on guard, looking with fearful anticipation at the entrance. The other kobolds, drawn by the commotion, were curious, and seemingly off-put by Moya's display. Either way, all eyes were on the entrance to the nest.

…Which is when Rockford and I came exploding into the scene from the opposite end.

Having torn a hole in the shoddy fortifications that encased the nest, Rockford and I were now in the midst of the kobold throng, which was currently in a state of shock.

"YOUR TIME IS NIGH!" I roared, and carried with those words was another application of the Intimidate spell. The kobolds closest to us immediately lost their will to fight, scrambling away in a desperate panic much like Moya and her group had in the woods outside. The effect did not seem to permeate the entire pack, however, as those further away stood their ground.

Well, perhaps "stood their ground" was giving them too much credit - they were more likely frozen in fear. While they weren't effected by the spell, they WERE effected by the sight of their comrades turning tail in an instant.

It also probably didn't help that the words I used were in their own language.

"Objective fulfilled: Use a skill that effects more than one target. Objective fulfilled: Use a psychological skill on a group of targets."

Intimidate sent five of the fifteen fleeing - I was inclined to believe that was the maximum it could effect in a single cast.

Meanwhile, as all hell broke loose, Moya's theatrics came to an abrupt end. Returning to a neutral expression and getting calmly to her feet, it was as if the last minute of hysterics had never happened. She turned without a word and immediately struck the kobold nearest to her with the pommel of her club while its back was turned.

"What the hell?!" the kobold snarled, looking behind it to find the culprit - only to find most of its allies in a state of shock or confusion, Moya among them.

"Just a little more, now," I thought, casting the Charm spell once more on a random kobold in the mob. As the creature lost its fear and stood in dutiful attention, I immediately commanded it, as well, to strike one of its fellows - unarmed, this time - while they weren't looking.

The confusion escalated. Not only was a strange stone monster now bearing down on them, and not only were five of their number now fleeing for their lives from said monster, but now they were being attacked by their own number, and they couldn't even figure exactly who was the culprit.

First, there was in-fighting - furious squabbles over who was attacking who. But as Rockford was made to advance - and I may or may not have cackled maniacally, to drive the point home - the kobolds' morale was shattered to pieces.

They all took off running, scrambling and fighting to leave the nest first. The only ones that did not participate in this desperate bid for freedom were Moya and her newly charmed compatriot.

A few frenzied minutes later, the nest had been completely emptied, save for myself and my 'allies.'

"Looking good!" I observed with a satisfied grin. I hopped off of Rockford, fearing for my own safety for what would come next. "Alright, final act! TEAR IT ALL DOWN!" I cried, picking up a discarded 'weapon' - it was a pickaxe that they were using as one - from among those thrown away by the kobolds.

Rockford immediately tore into the flimsy reinforcement around the nest with reckless abandon, and it came down just as easily as it had when we made our initial entrance. Moya and her Charmed companion joined in on the fun, as well, but their attempts to batter down the walls with what weapons were available was met with limited success.

I, too, tried to do my fair share with my pilfered pickaxe, and while I had more success than the charmed kobolds, there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell of keeping up with Rockford's steady progress.

Pretty soon, the nest had been completely torn to shreds. The only things that were spared were their rations of food - as none of it looked particularly appetizing, and I didn't see the harm in letting a few scraps remain - and their small horde of wealth.

'Wealth' was perhaps a bit too generous. It was a collection of the things the kobolds had scavenged or, presumably, stolen, that they thought would have any value to them. In reality, besides a few pieces of gold and a few gems of unknown quality, it was mostly worthless to any discerning eye.

"Though I'm not exactly an expert..." I muttered as I sifted through the pile, hoping to come across something of note.

"Objective fulfilled: Loot some treasure."

Thankfully, there appeared to be nothing resembling a nursery, or whatever kobolds would have to raise their young. I suspected that this was because the nest was still relatively new, but given my extremely limited knowledge on the subject, who knows?

I was just glad I didn't have to make a judgement call on any eggs or, worse, infants left behind...

"Wha-what happened...?"

The voice, confused and lethargic, sounded like it came from someone who just woke up from a deep sleep. This snapped me back to reality, having been completely absorbed in my ransacking of the nest.

The Charmed kobold had, seemingly, been relieved of its affliction. I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it seemed like it remained Charmed for quite some time.

"The...the nest? What? Why?" it continued to question, as it slowly returned to its senses.

"Nest is gone. Your friends ran away. I suggest you do the same," I stated plainly to the confused creature, towering over it with pickaxe in hand. Rockford, having concluded his destructive task, was waiting nearby, silent and ominous as ever.

The kobold stammered with a growing fervor, realizing, at last, that it was very much in danger. After processing my words - and overcoming the shock of hearing them spoken from a human - the little creature took off running in a random direction and disappeared into the forest.

"And that takes care of that!" I announced triumphantly, leaning on the handle of the pickaxe. Kobold nest - no longer a problem! Though, how exactly would I prove that the problem was solved? I couldn't take a picture to prove it was busted up and empty. "Maybe I should bring back some pieces...?"

…Wait, weren't there two Charmed kobolds?

I swung around wildly at the realization, looking for the one they called Moya - and found her standing patiently some distance behind me, looking the same as she always did.

…Was she still Charmed? Wasn't it cast on her way before the other one?

"Are you..." I began, approaching her slowly. She looked up at me as I drew near, but her expression - as far as I could tell, given her reptilian features - remained neutral. "Aren't you gonna run away, too?"

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to," Moya replied evenly. I guess this proved she wasn't Charmed, otherwise she would have run off without a word, again. "My nest is gone, my clan along with it. I had a hand in its destruction, like it or not."

"But, you were being controlled and were forced to do it," I argued, for some reason, on her behalf.

"Oh, that? That wore off some time ago," she countered, again without changing her expression or tone. Was she...naturally this stiff?

"So...you helped me out...voluntarily? Why?"

"I had hoped you would be impressed by my service and would allow me to join you," she explained plainly. "I believe I can still help you, and I believe I would have a much better future in your service."