“Was she a good dance partner for you?” I asked It-Has-Pockets as we found ourselves once again alone on our little stroll.

  “She sure has some moves,” my lovely troll paramour replied with a huff and a hint of envy. “She probably has some Gravity or Movement Skills, for she pulled off some physically impossible feats that would send even the best dancers tumbling or leave them with whiplash. Despite that, she lacks the smoothness of a true [Dancer], as if she were performing by rote along some set routine rather than adapting to the situation.”

  “Ah, but just because she is a little different from you doesn’t mean you cannot be friends. You each have your strengths and weaknesses, and your efforts would be better served to compliment one another and achieve mutual growth than focus on petty rivalry.”

  It-Has-Pockets paused, hands akimbo as she gave me a serious look that wanted to cut through the bullshit. “Is this the part where you continue on to say how we are now all buddy-buddy with your new Emperor friend? It is fine with me either way, but you don’t need to make such a segue with me.”

  Some of the wind knocked out of my sails by her words and demeanor, I changed tack to focus on actual objectives. “Pockets, my dear, you know better than most how some relationships can come with certain… complications. Emperor Bylo’selhi has left me with a little test, one I want you to take point on to see it to completion.”

  Taken aback, her confidence faltered for a moment as she searched for a reply. “I don’t know how well-suited I would be to getting entangled in affairs between two Emperors. Surely Gambino or Nabonidus would be better candidates to handle such delicate matters of diplomacy,” she finished as she tried to start dancing away from me.

  Not letting her weasel her way out of her new responsibility, I grabbed her around her waist and pulled her close, hugging her with both my arms so that she could not wiggle her way out of my grasp.

  “Now, now, this could be a great learning opportunity for you and a chance to gain a Skill or two. I want you to coordinate sending some assassins after Emperor Bylo’selhi, the disposable kind, so recruit outside talent. Ensure that payment is only delivered upon success of the mission. Since he did not tell us where he lives, he must have left clues for tracking him down. Feel free to ask Gambino for a cohort of kobolds to assist you in this matter. I suggest you investigate local shops, shipping manifests into the city, and local gossip to see if anything unusual has happened or unfamiliar names pop up. You do not need to do these things yourself, but you do need to delegate and administer your little army of helpers to ensure it works smoothly. Can I count on you for this, Pockets?”

  She squirmed a little in my grasp, her muscles tense as she looked for a way out. However, a cheerful smile from me as I gazed into her eyes served to sap her resistance.

  “I,” she faltered for a moment as she collected her words. “I will do my best, although it is not something I have experience with doing.”

  “That is all I ask of you, Pockets,” I replied as I pulled her in closer for a proper hug. I even slipped in a passionate kiss for good measure. “Ask for help and instruction, coordinate efforts. That is the point of this exercise. And given the weight of the matter, considering it concerns two Emperors, I am certain you will gain some permanent benefits from it.”

  “Just like how being a friend of an Emperor has its ‘benefits’?” she raised her eyebrows before she drew in closer to whisper into my ear. “Perhaps this Emperor could share some of those ‘benefits’ with me right now.”

  Things were about to get hot and heavy, but a huffing orc, specifically a clone of Jericho, stormed across the battlements to either address me or coincidentally go on a swift hike that passed by my position.

  “Emperor, the alarm has been sounded in the sublevels of the city! The kobolds say we are under attack. Gambino and Bambina are already on their way to handle it, but the kobolds swear that the enemy forces are dragons.”

  It-Has-Pockets and I shared a look, then I regretfully restrained myself from pleasurable pastimes in order to respond to a threat on my territory. “I will be on my way here directly, Jericho. Relay my orders to interdict and contain, do not engage directly unless it is unavoidable.”

  No sooner had I spoken than one of my Observers stationed in the sublevels detected seismic activity, most likely involving something very large smashing into one of the high roads. Perhaps it was too late for such restraint. Jericho, unaware of my sensory observations, gave her acknowledgement and dissolved into nothingness within moments, no doubt with a dozen copies of her still safely stashed around the city so that she could not truly die.

  “Sorry, Pockets, but duty calls. If all goes well, I can provide you with benefits later tonight.”

  “Plus interest,” she said with a wink and a pinch to my posterior.

  With a smile on my face and an itch for a good scrap, I made my way posthaste to the sublevels of my city. Along the way, I wondered if Emperor Bylo’selhi left me a parting gift or if I was the victim of some shenaniganry on behalf of all the flights pulling a prank.

  A little while earlier.

  Patrolling the mausoleum may not be a glamorous role, but it still carried importance. After all, the other kobolds and I were handpicked by Gambino himself for such an honor, and we took our jobs seriously.

  “Must have been the wind.” I heard as I rounded a corner on my patrol, the voice coming from a fellow guard, with his lantern in hand, finishing looking about for something amiss. Not that this place needed extra illumination from lanterns, but they were good props for a guard.

  With his words, I knew that something was amiss, and I mentally reviewed my lines as I continued my patrol with predictably measured steps.

  “Who’s there?” another guard shouted as he looked around with exaggerated effort, his movements fluid as he moved his lantern about. Long shadows stretching across the many sarcophagi offered no reply. “Must have been a rat,” he continued before resuming his patrol.

  Half a minute passed before I stumbled upon three shadowy figures darting from one statue between alcoves to another. I fumbled for a moment before remembering my lines, calling out in challenge.

  “Halt, identify yourself!”

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  Other guards poured in to assist me, and with lanterns raised, we marched forward into the darkness that refused to yield to the light of our lanterns. A dagger flew out of the shadows, and with a yelp and a gurgle, the guard next to me dropped to the floor as he choked on his lifeblood that slipped away.

  “To arms, we are under attack! Sound the alarm!” I shouted as I charged with my brethren into the ranks of the hidden enemy.

  The enemy leapt from the shadows, killing two of us before appearing behind us. More guards showed up, and together, we encircled the enemy.

  “Surrender!” I demanded as I held my spear out in a menacing manner towards them.

  One figure removed her hood, and I could see clearly, no matter how well her mortal form tried to contain that sweet draconic perfection, that she was indeed a dragon. We were all as good as dead, but we had a Role to fulfill, and since I was Scripted to die, I found comfort in knowing that my resurrection would be inexpensive. I prepared to engage them, one or two of us attacking at a time instead of swarming, as all good henchmen should do against Important Characters.

  Only a moment after having locked eyes with her, I mysteriously found myself upon the floor, a large hole in my chest having seemingly appeared as if by magic. With consciousness fading, I struggled to cough up my last line in order to complete my Role.

  “Damn, one day before retirement.”

  Gambino and I made our way down to the mausoleum with measured steps. It simply would not do to arrive too early or too late for our scene. Our ever-dedicated kobold guards were being decimated, as The Script guided, and one-liners were being rattled off one after another before they died. As our unexpected guest finished off the last one, we reached the final steps on the stairs. The lights dimmed, and with [Spotlight] shining down upon me, I began our introduction.

  “Prepare for distress.”

  “With this master and mistress,” Gambino joined in flawlessly as I finished my line.

  “To guard the Empire from desolation.” All three of our opponents were firmly fixated on our performance.

  “To unify the masses into a nation.” Only one had her hood down, the other two remained concealed.

  “To decry all evil, forsooth, embrace free love.” They appeared content to let us finish our performance.

  “To ascend, draconic, and join those forms above.” Hidden [Kuroko] surreptitiously begin to remove the bodies of the fallen so that they can begin the resurrection process while the bodies are still fresh.

  “Bambina,” I declare with a flourish as I face my lover.

  “Gambino,” he joins in, body towards me but face towards the audience. Our hands join together at chest-height and we each have a leg raised behind us.

  “[Twin-Souled Draconic Scions], arriving at the speed of sound!”

  “Concede defeat, or prepare to go a round!”

  “All bodies have been cleared from the ground,” a [Kuroko] informs us before he bows and disappears off stage.

  Choirs, safely concealed in the upper reaches of the mausoleum, begin chanting as the orchestra starts with introductory drums. With a shared kiss, we become one, and through the unity of our love for each other, our Emperor, and our people, we transcend the mortal limitations of our meager forms and become an ethereal and ephemeral figure of perfection.

  With a mighty roar, we sound out a challenge to the woman with her hood down, and with a sneer, she too ascends to a draconic form. The tempo of the music increases as we size one another up, and though the confines of the room hem us in physically, it would do little to hamper our inevitable violence.

  I hear music as I descend the steps to the mausoleum. I barely even remembered I had one; it had been one among many projects that my kobolds had requested of me to doll the place up so that they had sufficient variety in terms of atmosphere and setting to practice their craft. I even caught the sound of singing, and not from the choir of kobolds, but from the combatants themselves.

  As I enter the room proper, I bear witness to Gambino and Bambina putting a beatdown on some dragon I have not seen before. They were singing to one another, and their opponent appeared distressed, disturbed, and generally uncomfortable with the fact that her voice betrayed her, as she seemed compelled to sing and dance along as they fought.

  Two hooded figures remained off to the side of the conflict that was currently wrecking the room. My enchantments were quite busy as the broken bits of stone melted into the floor. Over time, the room would ‘heal’ itself of this conflict, restored back to beauty as if nothing had ever happened.

  Even I winced as the interloper took a nasty smack to the face that sent her crashing into the wall next to her, the blow dazing her as she struggled to regain her senses. Nanu was many things, and though she could be gentle in bed, such niceties rarely extended to her tutelage in the art of combat. Gambino and Bambina had taken their licks enough times to become more than comfortable in fighting in their ‘draconic’ form, a body more of condensed energy and light than physical mass. Still, it looked and moved just like a dragon, and given the battered appearance of their opponent, performed just as well as one.

  Gambino and Bambina were, when combined in such a form, more than a match for what I assume was the Princess of a flight yet unknown. While they could not maintain the form forever, they did receive enough power from it to end a fight quickly. Additionally, it cemented them as the undisputed leaders of my kobolds, for they had achieved the goal of all kobolds; for they had become dragons themselves.

  My beloved companions let forth a breath attack of sound and motes of musical notes, and their opponent, caught in the blast, danced and sang with renewed vigor, all the while she took a beating, for she was so caught up in the music that she could not adequately fight or dodge.

  Meanwhile, I locked my gaze with one of the hooded figures, and I knew it in my bones that I beheld another Emperor. Seeing one in an hour, much less a day, was quite the surprise, but two spoke of conspiracy. Wordlessly, he, accompanied by his other hooded escort, threaded his way around the mess the room had become, and I met him halfway.

  He drew back his hood, and I saw the visage of a handsome man, perhaps one barely in his 40’s compared to humans in most mortal worlds, still full of vigor, but with all the charisma and delightful experience of a silver fox. He extended his hand for me to shake as he introduced himself.

  “I am Emperor Encrodecro of The Crypt Lords. Your adorable little kobolds are currently putting a beatdown on my daughter, Sucroxiona, and while I enjoy a little bit of roughhousing from time to time, we may wish to bring it to an end before they go too far. I understand she was itching for a fight and killed some of your kobolds, and I will ensure she pays the egg-price for their revival, plus interest for the mess. She underestimated you, and indeed, the collective power of many powerful kobolds assembled in one place, so I am certain she will find herself sufficiently humbled by this experience.”

  Polite, straight to the point, not putting on airs, I think I can give this guy a pass, considering his flight started the mess. I nodded to him and turned to the now rather one-sided conflict that continued to wreck the room and shake the ground.

  “And scene!” I shouted.

  Gambino and Bambina immediately halted their attack, wasting no time in transforming back into their true form as a small army of attendants poured out of the stonework to offer refreshments and fuss over them.

  “A most splendid performance, you two,” I declared as I gave the eager two headpats as they clambered over to me for praise and adoration.

  “Indeed, it was a most exciting display of artistic talent and theatrical dedication to your Roles,” chimed in my peer as I continued to dish out accolades upon the eager crowd of kobolds that soaked up each and every compliment.

  Before long, we were alone in the mausoleum, the kobolds leaving with the other dragons in order for the adults to discuss matters in private.

  “So, how about you and I get down to business,” Encrodecro stated after a period of inspecting the décor and poking at the rubble. He beamed me a wide smile, one that hid the fangs that dwelled behind it.