Chapter 44

"What do you think, chief?"

Sakh'arran stared at Xiao Chen had a very serious look on his face, he was unresponsive which prompted Sakh'arran to patiently wait for a reply.

"Hmm... If this demon, sends its minions on a rampage, the village won't be safe"

Xiao Chen muttered as he spread a scroll containing a detailed map of the surroundings, the location of the village was clearly marked on the map along with it was the path they took, the previous location of the Galuks and the forest, including the two forts that they have erected.

"If they blocked all routes to the north, most likely, they lay in ambush along the foot of Teka'rr Mountains, hmm..."

Xiao Chen strokes his chin and thinking of what can he do to ensure the safety of his tribe. Sakh'arran was ignored but he wasn't offended, whenever the chieftain is lost in his thoughts, everything no longer matters as long as he isn't in danger.

"Right! The kobolds are excellent miners, right?"

Xiao Chen glanced at Sakh'arran who was now scratching the fur of Blackwind, petting her head to make up for the times that she ignored her.

"The kobolds are truly excellent miners, chief. They tunnel underground in search of precious ores and stone, they had knack for finding such things. Cave and tunnels that's where they dwell, uhmm...most of the time..."

Sakh'arran explained to the chieftain. Sakh'arran didn't knew what the chieftain was planning but he had a feeling that it is something important and maybe odd like the way he trained his warriors.

"Relay my command, let the survivors of the south take a rest and distribute some of our food supplies to them. The next dawn, we'll return to the village, and also better to tear down this fort. The minions of that demon might make a use of it as a gathering point to launch attacks towards us."

Xiao Chen ordered, bringing out a stack of blank scrolls from a wooden chest and started drawing something on it using the map in front of him as a basis. Sakh'arran knew well that the chief was going to be busy with whatever he was doing and not to be disturb unless necessary.

Sakh'arran busied himself with relaying commands to the others and also took initiative in giving commands that he deemed necessary.

Glancing towards the direction of the chief, Sakh'arran saw the chieftain returning inside his tent with a stack of scrolls on his hand.

Xiao Chen busied himself in creating a rough outline of a defensive wall around the village, the outline covered more ground than the previous wooden walls. Since he had great miners to utilize, he can search for raw materials from deep in the undergrounds or the ones hidden within the mountains.

Xiao Chen was planning to introduce new technologies to this world but first he had to make a detail plan of them. According to Mohrios and the other representatives, the Season of Damnation only ravages the south.

The Taurens felt a strong energy within the Teka'rr Mountains that drives off the minions of the demon and serves as natural barrier for the north. Many of them had tried to seek the source of that energy but none ever returned after venturing deep into the woods of the mountain.

Trolls, ogres, orcs, goblins, kobolds and taurens had tried but none succeeded in finding the source of that energy, they all just vanished. It became a paradise for animals and beasts alike since no one can survive within it except for them.

Deep into the night, Xiao Chen rested but within his mind, he was still busy thinking of the details of his plans.

*****

Sakh'arran entered the chieftain's tent and saw him staring on a scroll in front of him filled with scribbles that he can't understand. Beside the scroll that was laid in front of the chief was a thick stack of scrolls that Sakh'arran didn't want to peak on, the one in front of the chieftain was already making him dizzy with all the messy lines and scribbles on it that he couldn't understand.

"The warriors are ready to move, chief"

Sakh'arran announced his presence after shaking the things he saw from the chieftain's work out of his head.

"Right, get Kul'tha and his group to take care of this things. And also, better to let the kobolds ride on the empty wagons"

Xiao Chen spoke as he started putting the piles of scrolls on the wooden chest beside his makeshift table.

"They are basically almost blind during the day because they are accustomed to living in dark places in tunnels and caves. We'll go on full steps march and they will slow as down if they walked on their own two legs."

Xiao Chen explained as Sakh'arran stared at him with a puzzled look on his face. He went on a stroll last night and found the kobolds still widely awake, moving about inside the camp.

They were curiously staring and touching things around the camp, they sometimes even licked and nibbled on the equipment's of his warriors which made him look at them strangely. He chatted with them for a bit and found out about their weakness against light, they lived in the dark most of their lives and their eyes became very sensitive to light.

He was also reassured by the kobolds that anything that he wants hidden underground or on the mountains, they can find it as long as he gives them a description or a sample of it.

The physical features of the kobolds intrigued Xiao Chen; they look like a miniature dragon minus the fire breathing part. Standing barely three feet tall on average, with scaled skin between reddish brown and black in color and burnt orange to red eyes.

Their legs were sinewy and digitigrade. They had long, clawed fingers and a jaw like a crocodile. Small white or tan horns protruded from their head, and they had rat-like tails.

They had the smell of wet dog and stagnant water. They said that they were descendants of dragons who were cursed and became as small as they are now.